Mission: Impossible Page #25

CONDUCTOR:

No, no, it's IN the tunnel!

VOICE (O.S.)

Stop the train!

CONDUCTOR:

It'll crash into us! Accelerate,

accelerate.

EXT. ROOF OF TRAIN/TUNNEL - DAY

For a moment, we see no one. No ETHAN. No PHELPS. Moving

around to the other end of the car, we see where they've

gone.

They're dangling from either side of it.

PHELPS paws for one of the suction cups and pulls himself

back onto the roof of the train. ETHAN reaches for the other

cup.

The helicopter, fortunate that this tunnel is double track

and barely wide enough to accomodate it, pursues, KRIEGER

pushing it up to full speed again.

But it can't lift up high enough to go completely over the

train.

EXT. ROOF OF TRAIN/TUNNEL - DAY

PHELPS, nearing the back, manoeuvers himself to the

windshield of the rear power car, trying to grab the skid of

KRIEGER'S copter.

He doesn't see what's headed toward him, coming from the

other direction.

Another train.

At the last moment, PHELPS notices the reflection of the

oncoming train in the windshield and swings back onto the

roof of his train, barely avoiding getting creamed by it as

it blows by.

The helicopter avoids the oncoming train too -- and PHELPS

misses the skid.

KRIEGER tips the front of the copter, trying to decapitate

ETHAN with the rotor. PHELPS jumps onto the skid, but the

copter pitches so far forward the blade hits the top of the

tunnel. SPARKS and chunks of cement fly.

KRIEGER levels the chopper quickly. ETHAN uses the moment to

leap from the train onto the other helicopter skid.

PHELPS and ETHAN now hang on the skids, facing one another.

Crouching on the skid, ETHAN digs in his pocket and pulls

out --

-- a red and green piece of bubble gum.

PHELPS sees it and SCREAMS at KRIEGER, who scrambles

frantically for his gun.

ETHAN:

Red light, green light. Asta Lasagna

mother f***er.

ETHAN mashes the red into the green, slaps the gum onto the

copter's underbelly and turns away from it.

PHELPS kicks vainly at the gum, SCREAMING --

-- but the gum EXPLODES. The force of the blast rockets

ETHAN forward, he lands on the train's windshield.

The helicopter whirls and BASHES into the tunnel, veers

wildly, then pitches forward and down, smashing PHELPS under

the skid and EXPLODING in a giant fireball.

ETHAN, stuck on the windshield, can only watch as the

wreckage of the copter tumbles down the train towards him.

It stops just short of him, with its bent and broken rotor

blade barely missing his throat.

ETHAN lays his head against the windshield glass, utterly

drained.

INT. BUSINESS CAR/TUNNEL - MOVING - DAY

KITTRIDGE comes back into the business car and is joined by

BARNES. LUTHER, only slightly bruised, stands up next to

them and gestures to MAX and her laptop.

LUTHER:

I think this is what you're looking for.

MAX looks up, stunned. KITTRIDGE leans over and peers at her

screen. He just smiles and sits down next to her, content to

wait for her to speak.

When she finally does, she's almost charming.

MAX:

My lawyers will have a field day with

this. Entrapment, jurisdictional

conflicts --

KITTRIDGE leans closer to her and lowers his voice, just as

friendly.

KITTRIDGE:

Maybe we'll just keep the courts out of

this one.

MAX:

I'm sure we can find something I have

that you need.

KITTRIDGE:

You know, I would love to try.

EXT. LONDON PUB - DAY

LUTHER sits on a high stool, his PowerBook next to him, while

he sips a beer. A television screen is featuring follow-up

coverage of yesterday's dramatic helicopter-train wreck in

the chunnel. Aside from emphasizing that it was the work of

a lone, crazed character in a helicopter who was killed in

the crash, there are comments about how miraculous it was

there were no other fatalaties. There are intermittent

sounds of aircraft taking off and landing, announcements of

arrivals and departures. ETHAN into shot. He sits beside

LUTHER.

LUTHER:

Reach your folks?

(ETHAN nods)

How they feeling?

ETHAN:

About what?

LUTHER:

The official apology from the Justice

Department, the VIP treatment, you know,

the whole nine yards.

ETHAN:

Well my Mother was a little confused

about how the DEA could mistake her and

Uncle Donald for a couple of dope smugglers

in the Florida keys.

LUTHER picks up his beer.

LUTHER:

(Laughs and with a British accent)

Cheers.

They drink.

ETHAN:

Here's to you, Luther. (clink glasses) To

being off the disavowed list.

LUTHER:

Hey, I'm the flavour of the month!

ETHAN:

You're more than that, Luther. They were

mistaken about you and they're trying to

show you they know it. They want you

back in.

LUTHER:

Sure. They want me back in so I won't

break in! They still can't figure out

how we did it.

ETHAN:

You didn't tell 'em at the debriefing?

LUTHER:

I figured I'd let 'em reinstate my back

pay, give me a promotion, check out my

office at Langley and then, maybe, talk

about it.

ETHAN:

(laughing)

It's all one big negotiation, isn't it?

LUTHER:

Why don't you come back with me?

ETHAN:

Just don't know why I'd be doing it.

LUTHER:

You really liked Phelps, didn't you?

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