Militia Page #10

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Gannon stands up. Walks back. Hubbel follows.

The door closes.

INT. LUMBER WAREHOUSE BASEMENT - NIGHT

Morris still sits in the chair. Hands still untied.

Paralyzed with shame. Humiliation.

His legs start to pull back, as he stands up.

INT. LUMBER WAREHOUSE MAIN AISLE - NIGHT

Morris enters. He sees Keating tied up. Gannon and Hubbel

entering from out back...

They turn and see Morris. Looks of pity. Embarrassed for

him. Ashamed of knowing him.

Hubbel lets out a small LAUGH.

Morris stares at Hubbel. His eyes almost breaking.

Morris's eyes dart over and settle on the ARMORY...

He walks down the aisle into the shadows.

55.

INT. LUMBER WAREHOUSE MAIN AREA - NIGHT

Gannon and Hubbel stand next to Keating, after having seen

Morris leave. Gannon looks down at Keating.

GANNON:

All right-

OLSEN (O.S.)

Need you up here.

Gannon turns up and sees Olsen standing on the cat walk to

the communications room.

GANNON:

Kinda in the middle of something-

OLSEN:

Now.

INT. LUMBER WAREHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE - NIGHT

Beckmann and Olsen sit. Radio ON, listening. Gannon enters.

Olsen turns toward him.

OLSEN:

You ever try and go over my head

like that again--

Beckmann holds up a finger, as he turns the CB up...

AM NEWS 1130 REPORTER (O.S.)

--that the attack took place over 30

seconds and the assailant firing off

400 rounds, but police have informed

us it took 90 seconds and 1200 rounds.

Also the attack took place on the

SOUTH side of the cemetery, which

has authorities puzzled, considering

the difficulty to gain access to the

south side by car--

Gannon listens to the information getting more specific.

Beckmann turns it down. Olsen grows visibly more disturbed...

GANNON:

The south side?

Olsen then stares at Keating down below.

56.

OLSEN:

If you can't prove it's Keating, I'm

going to write the confession note,

I'm going to string a noose, and I'm

going to hang Noah.

That gets Gannon's attention.

OLSEN (CONT'D)

Beckmann said public shooters usually

kill themselves. Then this one can

too. Just a little later than usual.

Keating in the background, waiting in the midst of the aisles

of lumber over Gannon's shoulder.

GANNON:

Then let me get back to work.

INT. LUMBER WAREHOUSE ARMORY - NIGHT

Gannon opens a locker in the armory. Inside it we see

Keating's things: BODY ARMOR. JACKET. CAMOUFLAGE. BOOTS.

Then a stack of books: Catcher in the Rye. Animal Farm.

Breakfast of Champions. Dorian Grey. Slaughterhouse 5.

Then on the ground next to the books...

Six hundred-round magazines of AMMO.

Gannon looks down at the copy of 'Catcher in the Rye.'

Ravaged. Its cover and binding, yellowed with palm sweat.

Scotch tape stiches up rips. Bent corners and edges.

He notices on the tip of one page: handwriting.

Gannon opens the book...

His eyes widen.

INT. LUMBER WAREHOUSE MAIN ROOM - NIGHT

Keating sits in a chair in the midst of the lumber aisles.

Hubbel next to him. A lost expression behind Keating's eyes.

Keating's open 'Catcher in the Rye' drops on the ground.

Gannon stands over it. We see inside the book:

Every page, the original words of the author are whited out.

Erased. And on top of each line:

57.

Keating's own words.

His own work. Scribbled and written in, filling in every

white space the book has to fill. An orgy of evidence.

Gannon looks at Keating as he stares off.

GANNON:

Know you don't talk much.

Gannon pulls a GUN out and FIRES it into an aisle's lumber.

The sound ECHOES off the aluminum walls like a canon in a

cave. Gannon sees Keating's shoulders shrugged to his ears...

GANNON (CONT'D)

...But now I know you hear just fine.

(re:
Catcher)

Page nine was hard to miss.

Catcher in the Rye is open to page nine, written at its top:

'WILCOX.' The name of the cemetery.

Then beneath the name, a detailed map of attack like in a

war room. Lines of fire mapped out like weather patterns.

Written on the opposite page:

'Each and all. They will lay reticent. Taciturn...'

Gannon reads it aloud.

GANNON (CONT'D)

'Each and all. They will lay reticent.

Taciturn. Every one of them...

Gannon peers over Keating's shoulder and sees: a forklift.

Gannon walks toward it, eying the height...

GANNON (CONT'D)

Gone to the dim and out with silence.

And their crime is fit only for the

penalty of execution...

Gannon walks to an aisle's end to a coil of ROPE. He pulls

twelve feet of rope, cuts it, then walks back to the forklift.

Looping the rope into itself...

GANNON (CONT'D)

...And it could have been ceased.

Yielded. Extinguished...'

Gannon loops the rope primarily at the end. Keating watches

as Gannon continuously works the rope as he talks...

58.

GANNON (CONT'D)

...If the ones who spoke would have

instead listened.'

Until he finishes. Gannon turns around and Keating looks

down at what Gannon holds in his hands...

A NOOSE.

GANNON (CONT'D)

Little overwritten if you ask me.

Gannon tosses the noose over one of the forklifts. Resting

at ground level. Then Gannon motions to the book.

GANNON (CONT'D)

Can only guess once that's translated

to English it means 'I will kill a

bunch of people.'

Keating remains silent. Gannon switches the forklift control

to raise the forks to their maximum height.

The noose now hangs at eye level. Barely swinging, almost

waving at Keating. Gannon turns back to Keating.

GANNON (CONT'D)

If you don't confess...

(motions to the noose)

Olsen's just gonna say you did.

They're gonna put your neck in that.

And you're gonna swing from it. Which

would be a tragedy...

(motions to Catcher)

...considering no one would know

what you've got to say in this-

KEATING:

--This was nice.

Gannon stops. Shocked. Staring at Keating. Gaping at him

like seeing a statue move.

KEATING (CONT'D)

A very nice thing to watch. But did

you actually think it would work?

This little ploy would make me want

to confess?

Gannon realizes his jaw dropped. He tries to correct it.

KEATING (CONT'D)

A stage reading of my work, which is

inadmissable at best, would excite

(MORE)

59.

KEATING (CONT'D)

me into taking responsibility for my

actions? I can see you're not using

MITT interrogation format by your

lack of structure, but nice as this

was, it was ineffective.

Olsen and Hubbel round the corner, guns drawn.

OLSEN:

You fire off a f***in' round?

Gannon looks over at him, about to speak when...

KEATING:

Yes. He did.

Olsen gapes at Keating. After a beat:

OLSEN:

Did he just talk?

POLICE SQUAD CAR #1 (V.O.)

(from CB)

--Negative, Clark County, Nevada

just had three separate attacks...

INT. LUMBER WAREHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE - NIGHT

Beckmann looks at his NOTATIONS on which militia's he's

contacted. Crosses off 'TAYLOR COUNTY' as the police radio

FILLS the room...

POLICE HQ RADIO (V.O.)

Copy that. Hearing there's activity

in Texas as well. Over.

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