Hard Rain Page #4

JIM AND HIS MEN:

Jim's men look at him. Jim motions them to wait some more.

JIM:

You got thirty seconds to get the

hell away!

Jim and the others wait, but there's no answer from Tom.

JIM:

The clock's running! Go!

Still no response from Tom.

THEIR POV:

All they can see is the front of the truck, in the light of

the "Welcome" sign. They can't see the back.

JIM AND HIS MEN:

Jim nods to his men. They head for the truck, down into the

deeper water at the bottom of the dip in the road. All have

guns up and ready.

Jim sends Mr. Mehlor and Ray out to circle around. They all

move quietly. The only sound is the rain.

JIM:

Gets to the truck and moves along its side, Kenny right behind

him. Jim gets to the back of the truck, nods for Kenny to

cover him, then steps out behind the truck, gun up.

JIM'S POV

Tom is gone.

CHARLIE:

Is floating in the water, eyes of glass.

KENNY, MR. MEHLOR AND RAY

Step into the circle of light thrown by the "Welcome" sign.

JIM:

(eyes Charlie)

Ah, Jesus.

(to Kenny)

Your dad'd be real proud of you,

Kenny.

KENNY:

He was going for his gun!

JIM:

Mr. Mehlor, I believe we're gonna

need your science project.

Mr. Mehlor nods and digs into his pack. Ray looks down at

Charlie in the water.

RAY:

"I shall bring floodwaters upon the

earth to destroy all that lives under

the heavens and every creature that

has the breath of life in it shall

perish." Genesis 6:17.

KENNY:

Were you a preacher or something?

Ray laughs.

MR. MEHLOR

Ray did five years in the hole at

Joliet. The only thing you get to

read in the hole is the Bible.

KENNY:

(to Ray)

You got religion?

RAY:

Obviously.

Mr. Mehlor laughs as he pulls something out of his pack.

It's...

SMALL EXPLOSIVE DEVICE

A half-stick of dynamite with a timer, mounted on a magnet.

MR. MEHLOR

When you hit the switch you've got

thirty seconds.

RAY:

You teach your students how to make

things like that?

Mr. Mehlor puts the device on the back door.

MR. MEHLOR

You been to a high school recently,

Ray? My students taught me how to

make things like that. Ready?

JIM:

Hold on.

Something's wrong. Jim touches the handle on the door. It

moves. Uh-oh. He raises his pistol, grabs the door handle

and pulls. The door swings open. We don't need to see what

he sees -- we can tell from the expression on his face.

EXT. ON THE ROAD

Tom is running hard through the knee-deep water, pulling a

string of canvas money bags buckled together. The truck and

"Welcome" sign are two hundred yards behind him. Tom hears

an angry yell.

EXT. BY THE ARMORED TRUCK

Kenny is the one yelling.

JIM:

Shut up. Everyone.

They quiet. The patter of the rain is too loud -- they can't

hear anything. Jim scans the horizon, but sees nothing.

RAY:

Now why'd he have to go and do a

thing like that?

JIM:

To stay alive.

(off their looks)

He thinks we'll kill him -- unless

he knows where the money is and we

don't.

MR. MEHLOR

There is another possibility.

(off their looks)

He's thinking of keeping it for

himself.

JIM:

There's always that. Either way, we

got ourselves a sharp one.

KENNY:

What do we do?

Jim is looking at something in the distance.

JIM:

Pretty soon the water'll be too deep

for him to run. But for us it'll be

just deep enough.

KENNY:

(unclear)

Deep enough for what?

INT. CAR AND BOAT DEALERSHIP - SHOWROOM

A glass window is smashed and water floods into the boat

showroom. Jim and his men stride in. Kenny ogles a

particularly nice cruiser. Jim stops at a smallish ski-boat.

JIM:

Here we go.

KENNY:

(re:
cruiser)

What about this monster?

JIM:

(re:
ski-boat)

This is all we need.

RAY:

Sh*t, Jim, we're stealing. Can't we

take anything we want?

JIM:

The water isn't very deep yet. We

need something with a low draft. Mr.

Mehlor -- find us some gasoline.

Mr. Mehlor heads off.

KENNY:

Sees something else he likes. We don't see what it is.

KENNY:

Oh, Jim...?

EXT. CEMETERY

The name WILLIAM PORTMAN is chiseled into a crypt. Tom appears

from underwater, gasping for breath. He gets to his feet and

trudges off through the water.

EXT. ROAD OUTSIDE CEMETERY

Tom comes out through the gates of the cemetery, splashing

through the knee-deep water. He's running when he hears,

from behind him, boat engines firing up. He turns to see...

LIGHTS:

Racing toward him over the water, a hundred and fifty yards

back.

TOM:

Sprints off.

THE SKI-BOAT

Jim is steering the ski-boat. Mr. Mellor hunkers down beside

him. We PULL BACK to see...

TWO JET-SKIS

Flanking the ski-boat, piloted by Kenny and Ray.

ON THE ROAD:

Tom is running as fast as he can. He looks back, sees the

ski-boat and jet-skis closing. They'll get him before he

gets to town. He suddenly veers off the road toward...

THE HIGH SCHOOL:

The sign out front reads: GO WARRIORS!

EXT. HIGH SCHOOL

Tom runs around the side of the high school.

JIM AND HIS MEN:

Ride up on the ski-boat and jet-skis and round the corner.

THEIR POV:

No sign of Tom.

JIM:

Cut your engines!

The engines are shut down. They all drift. Jim shines a

flashlight over onto...

WINDOWS:

There's a hole in a window large enough to climb through.

INT. HIGH SCHOOL - CLASSROOM

Tom wades through the classroom, pushing floating desks aside.

Flashlight beams stab into the room. Tom hurries to the hall.

EXT. HIGH SCHOOL

Jim turns to his men.

JIM:

Let's get him out. But for Godsake,

whatever you do...

(with a hard look at

Kenny)

...don't kill him. Not until we find

out where he hid that money.

INT. HIGH SCHOOL - HALLWAY

Tom makes his way past banks of lockers, trying to get as

far as he can from the probing flashlight beams.

EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - FRONT DOORS

Kenny drifts up to the front doors. He pulls on them. Locked.

JIM:

Mr. Mehlor?

MR. MEHLOR

Reaches into his pack.

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY

Tom tries lockers, looking for a place to hide.

EXT. FRONT DOORS

Kenny rides his jet-ski fast away from the front doors and

the doors explode.

INT. SCHOOL FRONT LOBBY

Tom ducks down as...

A FIREBALL:

Shoots over him.

KENNY AND RAY:

Ride the jet-skis into the flooded school.

UNDERWATER:

Tom is swimming as hard as he can, out of breath. KENNY AND

RAY:

Ray goes off down a hall while Kenny idles in the lobby.

TOM:

Surfaces, gasping.

KENNY:

Hears the gasp, turns, grinning.

KENNY:

Enemy sub off the port bow!

TOM:

Gets to his feet runs as fast as he can down the hall. He

rounds a corner and keeps going.

KENNY:

Guns his engine and takes off after Tom.

TOM:

Runs another thirty feet, then trips on something and goes

down.

KENNY:

Comes around the corner, grinning when he sees...

TOM:

Halfway down the hall, standing frozen, caught in Kenny's

light.

KENNY:

Guns it, racing forward down the hall toward Tom.

KENNY:

Full steam ahead!

THE JET-SKI

Hits something underwater and stops.

KENNY:

Keeps going. He flies through the air, slams headfirst into

a trophy case and drops into the water.

TOM:

Stands up -- he was kneeling.

TOM:

Low tide, sailor.

A HANDRAIL:

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