John Q Page #11

MIRIAM:

Mr. Archibald. Please let my husband go with me.

STEVE:

Honey, for godsakes, just do as the man says. Get out of here.

MIRIAM:

I'm not leaving you here alone.

MITCH:

Sh*t, I'll go.

STEVE:

Shut your face. What kind of man are you?

MITCH:

Screw you, Tyrone.

Steve leaps from his seat and goes after Mitch, bristling with the racial slur. J.Q. moves in fast, trying to separate them. But instead of going for Steve, Mitch goes for broke and rushes J.Q. The Ethylchloride is out and Mitch sprays it into J.Q.'s eyes, temporarily blinding him.

John tries to get his bearings but Mitch is already swinging the scalpel. As J.Q. blocks the knife, his arm is sliced and starts to gush. Mitch goes for the kill, but J.Q. grabs his arm and they wrestle to the ground, the scalpel and John's gun clattering to the floor. The element of surprise gone, Mitch is now getting the worst of it. J.Q. is getting in some heavy blows and no one is stepping in to stop it. Mitch sees the gun across the floor next to Julie.

MITCH (CONT'D)

Julie, baby, get the gun.

Julie gets up.

MITCH (CONT'D)

Shoot him, honey. Shoot him.

But instead of grabbing the weapon, she picks up the Ethylchloride, sprays it directly in Mitch's eyes from superclose range and doesn't stop. Mitch's hands fly to his eyes and he screams. J.Q. gets up and recovers his weapon, sticking it in his waistband. Julie stands over Mitch, who is still writhing in pain.

MITCH (CONT'D)

You stupid b*tch!

Julie rears back, and with her go-go boot, she kicks Mitch square in the groin.

JULIE:

That's for beating the sh*t out of me.

She kicks him again.

JULIE (CONT'D)

That's for being an a**hole.

Once more for good measure.

JULIE (CONT'D)

And that's for calling me a b*tch.

LESTER:

Damn.

The hostages look at Julie with newfound respect. J.Q. takes the security guard's handcuffs, drags Mitch across the floor, and manacles him to the radiator.

J.Q.

Everybody's a tough guy.

Grimes voice crackles over the walkie-talkie.

GRIMES (O.S.)

Where are those hostages, John?

J.Q. moves to the door, unlocks the chain, points to Rosa and Miriam.

J.Q.

Let's go. Both of you.

Rosa launches into a rapid-fire monologue of thanks. She speaks quickly, saying the word "Dios" over and over.

DEBBY:

What's she saying?

MAGUIRE:

She said she'll pray for his boy.

Miriam kisses Steve, holds him tight.

STEVE:

Everything's going to be okay. The baby is going to be just fine.

J.Q. puts a hand on Steve's shoulder.

J.Q.

Get out of here. Go.

Steve is stunned. Can't get to his feet.

J.Q. (CONT'D)

Vasta. Vasta. Let's go.

EXT. HOPE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL - DAY

The front door opens and Steve, Miriam, Rosa and the baby are released. We see Channel 8 reporter Tuck Lampley doing a live "stand up."

LAMPLEY:

The gunman has just freed several hostages who will immediately be debriefed by members of the crisis team. Will the man known as John Q. get a heart for his little boy? Time will tell. Where this leads next is anyone's guess. Live from Hope Memorial Hospital, this is Tuck Lampley.

The hostages are hustled through the police barricade by a team of kevlar riot police. The media rush the hostages, shouting out questions and frantically trying to stick their microphones close enough.

REPORTER #1

Is it true an ambulance dropped off a gunshot victim after the gunman took over the ER?

MIRIAM:

Yes. He unlocked the door and let him in.

STEVE:

If he didn't, the man would have died.

ROSA:

John Q. very good man.

REPORTER #2

The gunman?

ROSA:

Si. Good man, el senor.

But Tuck Lampley's attention is on the police command post where dozens of blue uniforms crowd around a small bank of monitors. Suddenly, it hits him.

LAMPLEY:

They've got a camera in there. I don't believe it. They're watching a video feed.

Freddy B. squints through the glasses.

FREDDY B.

How do you know?

LAMPLEY:

Well, they're looking at something, Freddy. And I need to know what it is. Can you steal it?

FREDDY B.

No problem, boss. If they got it, I can get it.

EXT. COMMAND POST - DAY

WALLY PITONIAK, Chief of Hospital Security, has arrived. He and Sergeant Moody are standing over an unrolled building plan that has been stretched across the command table like a battle map. Monroe and Grimes have Rebecca Payne on the defensive.

GRIMES:

You mean all of this could have been avoided if you had just put the kid's name on a list?

PAYNE:

Don't you dare try to blame this on me. You think Mr. Archibald is the only one with a sick child? Try the HIV ward. There's a whole floor full of them. People get sick. They die. That's the way it goes. I'm faced with tough decisions every day.

MONROE:

The fact is there's a man threatening to kill innocent people because you refused treatment for his son.

PAYNE:

The fact is there are fifty million people in this country without medical insurance, sir. And there's one of me in every hospital. That's not my fault. It's just the way the country's set up. You want to change it? Write your congressman.

Moody looks over from his map.

MOODY:

Excuse me, but why don't we just tell him his son's on the list? Doesn't that make sense? I mean, how's he going to know.

MONROE:

That's not a bad idea.

PAYNE:

You want me to put his name on the list, fine, but it's a mistake. You give in to this man, there's going to be guns in every hospital in America.

MONROE:

I don't personally care if you put the kid on it or not. That's your conscience. But give us a hand, will you honey? Work with us. Tell him his kid's going to be alright. Do you think you can do that?

Pitoniak has indicated a spot on the schematic by circling it with a red pen.

MOODY:

Sir? Sir, take a look at this.

Monroe moves over.

MONROE:

What is it?

Pitoniak points to the map, marking a red "X" through the circle.

PITONIAK:

It's a phone.

MONROE:

So?

Moody points to one of the monitors. ON SCREEN, a view of the nurse's station and beyond. And in the foreground, big and clear as day, is the RED NURSES' PHONE.

MOODY:

It's that phone.

INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - DAY

More waiting.

MITCH:

So, what now? What's the plan?

JULIE:

Mitch...

MITCH:

No. I want to know. Every day you read about this kind of sh*t. And now we're in the middle of it. How is it going to end, John? This country, man. I swear to God. You can't go anywhere anymore without getting robbed, mugged, or murdered. Kids killing classmates, drive bys... I won't even go into a post office anymore.

MAGUIRE:

Shut up, Mitch.

J.Q.

He's right. You know how easy it was to get this gun? One gun show. Five minutes.

MITCH:

That's right. You're just a punk with a gun. I understand your kid is sick, but what makes him better than me? I've got a life, too.

J.Q.

Yeah, but you've got insurance.

MITCH:

So, what, you're going to shoot me? Because that's what you're telling the cops. If poor little Mikey doesn't get the very first heart available, all of us die.

J.Q.

No, I don't want to cheat anyone. I just want my kid to have a fair shot.

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