John Q Page #15

Sheer pandemonium. Hostages run for cover. The phone receiver swings back and forth, and a bloody J.Q. is slumped against the wall.

EXT. HOPE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL - LATE AFTERNOON

Lampley continues his live coverage as horrified crowds move around him.

LAMPLEY:

All we know at this point is that an attempt has been made on the gunman's life. Repeat. John Q. has been shot.

INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - TREATMENT AREA - LATER

J.Q. sits, his shirt soaked in blood. Among all the madness, something funny happens.

INT. DUCT SYSTEM - LATE AFTERNOON

The sniper loses his balance and his leg crashes through the acoustic tile ceiling. He is momentarily stuck.

INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - TREATMENT AREA - LATE AFTERNOON

J.Q. blinks. The wound, the hysteria, the events of the day, and now a leg sticking through the ceiling. It's all very surreal. He gets up, moves to the leg, and pulls. And the ceiling comes crashing down.

EXT. COMMAND POST

Stunned, Monroe, Moody, Grimes and Payne grimly watch J.Q. subduing the sniper on the video tape monitors. Their faces are in stark contrast with the chaos that surrounds them.

MOODY:

He's not down.

GRIMES:

This is very bad, Gus.

A UNIFORMED POLICEMAN runs up with a cell phone and hands it to Monroe.

MONROE:

Not now.

POLICEMAN:

It's the Mayor, sir. And you better kill that video feed. The media's pirated the signal and the whole thing just went out live over national TV.

As Monroe takes the phone and Moody starts barking out orders, the feed is disconnected, and the monitors go blank.

EXT. TWO-LANE HIGHWAY - GOLDEN HOUR

The beautiful woman's body is loaded onto the medivac. The helicopter lifts off and disappears into the darkening sky.

INT. COMPUTER ROOM - SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA - NIGHT

The daisy wheel keeps on turning. WE SEE the words as they're printed. Vernell Tilson. Status 2. Arthur Friedlander. Status 3. Amy Podgorsky. Status 2. And a new entry, Mike Archibald, Age 9, 85 pounds. It's official. He's on the list. Status 1.

INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - GOLDEN HOUR

The sniper now sits restrained to a chair, his hands and feet bound by adhesive tape. The other hostages are somber, knowing that they are caught smack in the middle of this mess. J.Q. sits stripped to the waist as Maguire removes the bullet from his shoulder, his wheel spinning, spinning.

J.Q.

It's over. Mikey's not going to make it.

JULIE:

But the list.

J.Q.

What list? They're shooting at me. They're not going to help my kid. It's time to change plans.

DR. KLEIN

What about an El-vad?

DR. TURNER

No.

J.Q.

What's an El-vad?

DR. KLEIN

A left Ventricular Assist Device. It's basically a pump inserted into the chest cavity, wired to the heart to keep it stimulated.

J.Q.

All this time there's been a way to save his life and you never said anything?

DR. TURNER

It's not a solution. It's only a band aid. Mike's immune system may be too weak.

J.Q.

Will it give him time?

DR. TURNER

Not long. It's only a temporary measure.

J.Q. My kid's down to hours and minutes, Doc. Things don't get more temporary than that.

EXT. HOPE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL - GOLDEN HOUR

The police are unceremoniously disconnecting Channel 8's pirated signal, hassling Lampley's crew, and telling them they are all going to be arrested.

LAMPLEY:

You're going to bust me? Get real. You just shot an innocent man on primetime TV.

A roar from the crowd indicates something big is happening. J.Q. is coming outside. He's got the sniper in tow, using him as a human shield. The crowd behind the barricade is huge now, holding up signs like "Have a Heart," "Save Mike," and "John Q. Public." They scream encouragement with J.Q.'s every move. As he comes forward, police and SWAT teams train their rifles on him.

J.Q.

Grimes. Grimes!

Behind the barricade, Frank Grimes stands with Monroe and Moody.

MONROE:

Alright.

GRIMES:

Alright, what?

MONROE:

Let's go out there. See what he wants.

GRIMES:

But I thought you said I was out.

MONROE:

I stepped in sh*t, Frank. Is that what you want to hear, goddammit? Now quit breaking my stones. I need you to save my ass on this one.

Frank Grimes smiles before grabbing a megaphone from one of the uniforms and stepping out from behind the barricade with Monroe and Moody.

GRIMES:

Hold your fire.

J.Q. looks around at the hundreds of weapons all pointing right at him. They're everywhere he turns. He sees Grimes approaches.

J.Q.

Look what I found.

The crowd cheers support for their new hero.

GRIMES:

John.

J.Q.

Who are these guys? Who the hell are you? Oh, I know who you are, the guys who tried to take me out.

J.Q. indicates his bleeding shoulder.

J.Q. (CONT'D)

Almost.

GRIMES:

This is Sergeant Moody and Police Chief Monroe.

MONROE:

What are we doing, John?

J.Q.

You were going to call me back. I gave you your hostages and you were supposed to call me back. But no, you want me dead.

GRIMES:

I don't want you dead.

J.Q.

No, you want to kill me. You want to kill me so bad you can taste it.

GRIMES:

Nobody wants to kill you.

J.Q.

Nobody wants to kill me?

(indicates the sniper)

Who is this?

The crowd voices their displeasure in a chorus of "boos."

GRIMES:

That wasn't my call. I --

J.Q.

I, I, I bullshit! You tried to kill me. You tried to kill me while I was talking to my boy!

The crowd erupts. They're getting rowdy now. The cops are getting jumpy, their rifles trained, their trigger fingers ready.

MONROE:

John, listen to me. Lieutenant Grimes had nothing to do with that. It was my call.

J.Q.

Don't lie to me. I don't need to be bullshitted by some lying flunky cops.

GRIMES:

What are we, friends all of a sudden? All of a sudden, we owe you something? You pulled the gun. You're the one that took the hospital. What did you think would happen? You want truth Here's some truth. This is going to end up bad for you. There's only two ways out of here. Jail or dead.

J.Q. hears the words and they sink in. He knows they're right.

GRIMES (CONT'D)

Look around you. Look at all of it. It's crazy. You don't want to do this.

J.Q.

I just want my life back.

GRIMES:

I understand. It's hard to be a man these days. Hard to know what the right thing is. Put the gun down, John. It's all over. You got everything you asked for. Mike is on the list. Status one.

J.Q.

I don't believe you.

GRIMES:

I give you my word.

J.Q.

Forgive me for being skeptical, Frank, but your word is sh*t!

The crowd goes crazy, cheering and shouting out their encouragement. The faces are those of outrage and passion. Some even with tears streaming down their faces. J.Q. looks out the overwhelming display of support.

GRIMES:

Hey, what are you doing? Stay with me, John. You think these people give a sh*t about you? They don't. You're just the cause of the moment. Believe me, in a couple of days, they'll be outraged about something else. Nobody cares, John. That's the real truth. Nobody cares. Only you. It's only you and me out here, and all these guns pointed at you. So, what do you want to do? It's your call.

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