Mission: Impossible Page #20

BACK TO SCENE:

ETHAN:

Kittridge...

CLAIRE:

Bastard!

ETHAN switches TV off and paces away from it. His anger

erupts and he kicks the old filing cabinets, then picks up a

chair and throws it across the room so it smashes into the

wall. CLAIRE tries to get hold of him, but he shakes her

away.

ETHAN:

Don't...don't touch me...

CAMERA SWING PANS between them.

CLAIRE:

What are you going to do?

ETHAN:

(turns to her and gestures at TV)

He's expecting my call.

(strides to door)

I'm going to the station...

(o/s at door)

And I'm going to call him.

EXT. LONDON SAFE HOUSE - RAIN - NIGHT

ETHAN comes out from a side street by Liverpool Street

Underground Station and crosses the road to the main station.

CLAIRE watches him from the window.

INT. LONDON TERMINUS RAILWAY STATION - NIGHT

ETHAN hurries down escalator. CAMERA MOVES IN on him. He

crosses to the TELEPHONE BOXES. He starts to dial a number.

CUT TO:

INT. CIA - COMMUNICATIONS ROOM - NIGHT

A light flashes and a phone BUZZES. KITTRIDGE in shirt and

tie, picks up. BARNES and several other AGENTS are

monitoring newscasts and engaged in various activities

related to the Hunt case.

KITTRIDGE:

(picking up)

Kittridge.

ETHAN (O.S.)

I see you've been out visiting the folks.

KITTRIDGE:

(covers receiver)

It's Hunt. What do you need for a

pinpoint?

(to Ethan)

Been watching a little T.V., have you?

One of the technicians frantically scratches something on a

piece of foolscap and waves it at KITTRIDGE: "80 SECONDS".

KITTRIDGE nods.

EXT. PHONE BOX - LONDON - NIGHT

ETHAN:

Hauling Mom off to jail in shackles was

an especially nice touch.

INT. CIA - COMMUNICATIONS ROOM - NIGHT

At the console, the number 44 flashes on the TECHNICIAN'S

screen.

TECHNICIAN:

He's in England.

BARNES scratches England and 22 seconds on foolscap and waves

it.

KITTRIDGE:

(covering receiver)

Get MI5.

The TECHNICIAN opens another line on his console and begins

patching through to Whitehall.

KITTRIDGE:

Ethan, I want to reassure you that my

first order of business after you come in

is to get these ridiculous charges

against your family dropped and

eliminated completely from their files.

Come in now, we can plea down the charges

against you as well.

The wall clock is thirty seconds and counting down. The

TECHNICIAN is frantically signalling KITTRIDGE to keep

talking. KITTRIDGE is momentarily stuck. Fortunately:

ETHAN (O.S.)

Can I ask you something, Kittridge?

KITTRIDGE:

Certainly Ethan.

INT. PHONE BOX - LONDON - NIGHT

ETHAN:

If you're dealing with someone who's

crushed, stabbed, shot and detonated five

members of his own IMF team, how

devastated do you think you're going to

make him by marching Ma and Uncle Donald

down to the county courthouse?

INT. CIA - COMMUNICATIONS ROOM - NIGHT

KITTRIDGE:

I don't know, Ethan. Suppose you tell me?

Click. ETHAN has hung up. KITTRIDGE looks hopefully to the

TECHNICIAN who says:

BARNES:

Lost him. We needed three more seconds.

Surprisingly KITTRIDGE is not as upset as he is puzzled.

KITTRIDGE:

He wanted us to know he was in London.

Clearly that's the question that KITTRIDGE is turning over in

his mind and he doesn't have a simple answer to it.

CUT TO:

EXT. PHONE BOX - LONDON - NIGHT

Close Digital clock. It reads 23.59. Angle widens to show

ETHAN looking at it with grim satisfaction. He opens the

door of the phone booth and almost SMACKS right into --

--the pale, weary, ghostlike figure of a man standing just

inches in front of him. Startled, ETHAN looks up, but what

he sees shakes him to the core.

The man is JIM PHELPS.

ETHAN SHOUTS and almost falls back into the phone booth.

PHELPS leans against the door of the booth and smiles weakly.

PHELPS:

You're a hard man to catch up with.

PHELPS falls towards ETHAN. ETHAN tries to speak, but can't

even form words.

INT - RAILWAY STATION CAFE (DAY)

ETHAN and PHELPS opposite one another in a booth, PHELPS

looking clammy and listing to one side. But the banter

seems friendly and very quick - two friends and close

colleagues able to follow one another's reasoning easily,

finishing each other's sentences:

PHELPS:

..the next day I managed to drag myself

to the safe house, must've just missed

you..anyway, I checked our aliases.

ETHAN:

- and picked us up in the States -

PHELPS:

- but you left before I could get there

and I could check just so many places..

ETHAN:

Yeah, smaller countries don't computerize

customs records -

PHELPS:

- so I watched Europe. Once you showed

up in England..it was easy.

ETHAN:

You knew I liked the rentals at Liverpool

Street.

PHELPS:

Hey, I showed 'em to you!

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