Midnight Express Page #2

BILLY tightens. Cursing the frisbee. Sweat now runs his

sideburns again. HEARTBEAT up.

2ND GUARD

American game. Baseball.

GUARD:

Ah!

(puzzled, turns the

Frisbee around and

around)

THE SECOND GUARD studies BILLY curious about the sweat.

Suddenly reaches up, indicates the eyes.

GUARD:

Take off the glasses.

BILLY understanding the gesture rather than the words,

removes his glasses. His eyes. Straight, staring at the

GUARD without trying to look away. A long moment.

FIRST GUARD stuffs the frisbee back into the bag. Scowls.

Takes a puff on his cigarette, coughs. Phlegm rattles around

in his throat.

Reads the International Herald Tribune, seated on a crowded

olive-colored out on the tarmac She has saved him a seat

and pulls her bag off as BILLY sits down.

FIRST GUARD:

Aaaah!

He waves BILLY through.

BILLY puts his glasses walks past the back the SECOND GUARD

turns away. BILLY walks past the Checkpoint. His HEARTBEAT

drops.

SUSAN reads the International Herald Tribune, seated on an

crowded olive-colored BUS out on the tarmac. She has save

him a seat and pulls her bag off as BILLY sits down.

SUSAN:

Are you all right?

He looks at her. Relief. A smile, awkward - he wishes he

could tell her.

BILLY:

Yeah... Yeah.

Lays his head back on the wooden bench. Reaches out:

TAKES HER HAND in his. She returns the grip.

THE BUS DOOR slams shut.

THE TURKISH BUS DRIVER rolls the bus out towards the PLANES

visible in the far distance?.

SUSAN, feeling Billy is better, shows him the Herald

Tribune.

SUSAN:

(saddened)

D'you see this? Janis Joplin died

yesterday.

BILLY, his sunglasses removed, looks at the paper, almost

abstractedly.

SUSAN (OFF)

Overdose, in a Hollywood motel.

NEWSPAPER Picture of JANIS JOPLIN. That big, earthy, rugged

smile.

BILLY'S P.O.V. - Moves Up page One To The Headline: NIXON

OUT-RAGED AT PALESTINIAN HIJACKERS: CALLS FOR CAPITAL

PUNISHMENT:

SUSAN:

(a faint voice)

Never Was anybody like Janis.

BILLY, thinking other happier things, reaches over and

playful!.:
squeezes her tit twice, rapidly.

BILLY:

(smiles)

Never was anybody like you...

SUSAN:

(annoyed, brushes

his hand away ,a

clicking sound in

her throat)

You can't take anything seriously.

BILLY:

(smiles)

You're right.

Bus stops suddenly. BILLY changes expression.

THROUGH FRONT WINDSHIELD we see TURKISH SOLDIERS in several

HALFTRACKS drawn up in a semicircle blocking the bus. The

Pan American PLANE is directly behind. Also JEEPS and a

POLICEMAN waving the bus down.

BUS BOOR opens and the Turkish Police OFFICER hops aboard

briskly:

OFFICER:

Attention please, Ladies and

Gentlemen. For your own safety

we're conducting a security check

before you board your airplane,

Kindly file out the back. Women

and children in one line. Men in

another.

PASSENGERS. A confused hum.

VARIOUS PASSENGERS

What's he saying? I don't know...

Marian. Hey Marian, what the

hell...

The Turkish-speaking PASSENGERS are gathering together

their items and beginning to exit as:

POLICE OFFICER repeats, in ENGLISH

POLICE OFFICER:

Idem.

CLOSE BILLY. The POLICE OFFICER is only beginning the

speech.in English but already Billy realizes, And it's

panic. Silent panic. That horrendous cold feeling all

over his back:
Oh God what have I done, what can I do now?

He freezes.

MOVE TO SUSAN rising, fetching her things, irritated.

SUSAN:

Jesus, they do everything ass

backwards in Turkey.

Behind her we see the other AMERICAN PASSENGERS beginning

to disembark with the usual chorus of overlapped

conversations, expletives, including:

PASSENGERS:

They're checking for hijackers.

Any Palestinians aboard? Hey Harry,

get rid of your grenades...

Laughter is returned from several of the American

contingent, but we MOVE BACK to BILLY in foreground; all

of a sudden he is on his knees trying to crawl under the

seat.

SUSAN (OFF)

Billy, what's the matter?

BILLY:

My passport!

SUSAN:

No!

She bends down to look, coming FACE TO FACE with him. He

grips her arm.

BILLY:

(low voice)

Susan - forget it. Go get us a

seat on the plane. Now.

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