Mission: Impossible Page #16

-- but ETHAN is on him in a flash. He grabs KRIEGER's knife

arm shoving it up against the wall. Staring into KRIEGER'S

face in warning.

ETHAN:

Zero body count.

KRIEGER:

(a threat)

We'll see.

ETHAN:

Time up.

ETHAN releases him and walks away.

INT. VERTICAL DUCT - DAY

The Guard is tied up, lying on the floor of the Service Area

Room. ETHAN and KRIEGER are below the open vent into the

duct system.

The first climb is straight up. KRIEGER cups his hands under

ETHAN'S foot and lifts him up into the duct as he starts to

climb.

INT. DUCT - DAY

ETHAN and KRIEGER crawl quickly through the ducts, moving

horizontally now. They reach a juncture and turn right.

ETHAN:

1 - 2 - 3 - Toast, toast. Luther, I'm

going in. Don't disappoint me...Krieger,

from here on in, absolute silence.

INT. DUCT - DAY

ETHAN and KRIEGER reach a ventilator shaft in the duct. A

laser net protects the ventilator, red shafts of light cris-

crossing every which way. ETHAN looks down, through the net.

He can see the computer room below and the top of the

TECHNICIAN'S head.

INT. DUCT - DAY

In the duct, ETHAN signals to KRIEGER, making a triangle of

his hands. KRIEGER wriggles forward and hands him a multi-

sided, pyramid shaped glass object.

ETHAN raises the pyramid and intercepts a portion of one of

the laser net's beams. The pyramid glows and we realise what

it is -- a prism.

The laser beam now captive in the prism, ETHAN carefully

moves it out of the centre of the ventilator shaft and

directs it toward another prism, clearing a path through the

shaft.

INT. CIA - COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

Up in the ceiling above it, one of the screws starts to move

in the ventilator shaft, unscrewing. When it appears ready

to drop out, a thin strip of metal snakes out from between

the bars of the shaft and edges up next to the screw.

The screw drops out of its hole but it doesn't drop to the

floor, it zips over and clings to the side of the metal strip

with a gentle CLICK, as to a magnet.

The screw is pulled up, through the shaft. Now the whole

shaft moves, down, into the room, held by a hand.

It turns sideways and is pulled up, into the duct.

A rubber tube snakes down, through the hole, coming to a stop

near the thermostat, which says it's seventy-two degrees. A

gentle WHOOSH is audible as frosty air blows through the

tube, cooling the room.

INT. CIA COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

The TECHNICIAN defaults the security systems outside the

terminal room.

INT. CIA - COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

It is eerily still in the locked-down computer room we saw

earlier. No-one is there, there's not a sound but for the

gentle HUM of the computer as it waits to be put to use.

Now ETHAN's head descends slowly into the room, his hair

falling in front of him.

At first it seems he's just poking his head in for a look,

but he keeps coming and coming -- first his head, then

shoulders, then waist, then knees, and finally we see his

ankles and understand.

He is lowered to stop in front of the thermometer and

temperature read out on the computer. Suddenly ETHAN is

lifted back up quickly to hang at ceiling height above the

computer as the ANALYST enters the room.

INT. CIA - COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

The TECHNICIAN crosses to the computer and sits down, a stack

of work to his right.

INT. CIA COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

The TECHNICIAN is working away at the computer. He pauses

and wipes some sweat from his forehead.

INT. CIA COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

With a strange look on his face, the TECHNICIAN looks up.

It's almost as if he senses ETHAN above him but instead --

TECHNICIAN:

Oh, God.

-- he vomits.

He reaches for the garbage can and upchucks again. Puzzled,

sick and feeling another wave coming on, he drags himself to

his feet, hauls himself across the room and leaves.

INT. CIA - COMPUTER ANTEROOM - DAY

Even sick, the TECHNICIAN still thinks to re-activate the

alarm systems with a card-key. They HUM back to life

efficiently, a light flashing:

INTRUSION COUNTERMEASURES ON

INT. CIA COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

ETHAN descends again, slowly but steadily, until he is at the

same height as the computer terminal to hang horizontally in

front of the computer.

A heavy velcro strap binds his ankles together, secured by a

rope that leads up into the ventilator shaft and through the

set of pulleys.

INT. DUCT - DAY

KRIEGER holds the rope, his jaw clenched, sweat breaking out

on his forehead.

INT. CIA - COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

Unfortunately, he's three feet away from it. He stretches

his arms but can't reach.

He blinks, unable to believe this. He curls himself into a

situp and looks up, into the shaft.

INT. DUCT - DAY

KRIEGER sees the predicament.

INT. CIA - COMPUTER ROOM - DAY

ETHAN gestures to him, pointing to the floor. Slowly,

KRIEGER drops him another few feet. Now ETHAN's lower than

the terminal and still three feet away from it.

He closes his eyes, summoning his strength and does another

situp, bringing himself up right in front of the terminal.

INT. FIRE TRUCK - DAY

In the fire truck, LUTHER, who is watching on the Visco

monitor, turns his head upside down to get a look at what

ETHAN sees.

He cups his hands around the microphone of his headset and

begins to whisper. We hear only the moist, airy sound of his

breath, not the words.

LUTHER:

Type this password: AW96B6. Return. Go

to the files menu, find the NOC list

file. Open "NOC List." Put your

diskette in. Double click on the NOC

list.

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