Morning Star Page #18

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86.

...until Kemp, cutting down an alley, has to slam on thebrakes because of the POLICE VEHICLE travelling in the

opposite direction. The two cars halt with a hideous SCREECH,

nose to nose. Hoods almost touching.

Webber arrives behind Kemp. Blocking him in.

Kemp responds by bringing up his gun and BLASTING away. Thewindshield in front of him disintegrates. The OFFICERS in thefront seat of the police car are RIDDLED.

With no windshields in the way, Kemp climbs out of thePeugeot, crawls across two car hoods and settles in behindthe wheel of the police vehicle.

He shoves out the corpses of the gendermes and takes off

again, speeding backward.

Webber floors it. He pushes the abandoned Peugeot the entirelength of the alley - until he reaches a wider street and canget around it.

Looking in his rear view, Webber sees a string of POLICEVEHICLES have joined the chase. Chasing Kemp and him.

One of the pursuing police cars ejects a PATROL DRONE.

It implacably lowers over Webber’s desperately swerving carand FIRES A PROJECTILE... which turns out to be a DISK that

attaches magnetically to the Renault and causes its power toimmediately cut out.

INT. RENAULT

Webber’s badly tossed by the violent lurch of the vehiclesuddenly stopping. The drone ZOOMS past, after Kemp now.

EXT. ARLON STREET

Webber emerges from the Renault, holding up his UN badge.

People back off. He looks up and sees the police drone abovethe rooftops, tracking Kemp. He follows the chase on foot...

INT. FRENCH SQUAD CAR

The FRENCH COP in the passenger seat is controlling thedrone that is now lowering over the police vehiclecommandeered by Kemp that’s now slowing to a stop.

The drone drops lower, allowing the cop to see that thestolen vehicle is now empty.

87.

FRENCH COP (SUBTITLE)

Suspect has abandoned the vehicle.

He must have ditched somewhere

right up here...

A BABY STROLLER suddenly rolls in front of the speedingpolice car. The cop at the wheel has to go into a SKID...

EXT. ARLON STREET - CONTINUOUS

The police car CRASHES into a kiosk.

Kemp throws to the pavement the FRANTIC MOTHER of the baby inthe carriage he just rolled into the street, then strollsover to the wrecked car and SHOOTS the two cops inside.

Webber, arriving a block away, sees the mother tearfullyretrieving her baby from the carriage. Then he sees Kemp.

Kemp gives Webber a hint of a smile before he reaches intothe wrecked police car, does something we can’t quite see andcasually walks away. Webber takes aim at Kemp’s back... butthe now driverless police drone ZOOMS toward him. SMASHINGTHROUGH AN OUTDOOR BISTRO, CRASHING into the street right infront of Webber. Webber shields himself from debris.

When he looks up again, he sees only curling black smoke.

EXT. CHURCH -- DAY

Surrounded by GENDERMES, ambulances. Marling gets out of a

car in the midst of the official bedlam. He observes HEALTH

DEPARTMENT WORKERS in hazmat gear INCINERATING the alieninsect hives with flame throwers.

RECTOR’S OFFICE

The contents of every drawer are on the floor. Webber iscurrently thumbing a stack of PAMPHLETS for a clinic, Centrede Crise. On the top corner of one page, he reads, “Callanytime - Phillipe.” He acknowledges Marling’s arrival-

WEBBER:

I need anything you can find onanyone named “Phillipe” associated

with an anxiety clinic in Pariscalled “Centre de Crise.”

88.

INT. ANXIETY CLINIC -- DAY

ON VIDEO:
a map of Europe, one area blinking red.

NEWSCASTER (O.S.)

...reports that Secretary Voss willmake an unprecedented trip acrossthe DMZ for a round of emergencypeace talks, this despite theSecretary’s receiving a vote of noconfidence from the Assembly...

Kemp watches this on his phone, surrounded by gaunt, anxiouspeople in yellow plastic chairs. Some kind of crowded freeclinic. “Don’t Go It Alone” posters are on the walls. ACOUNCILOR comes over to Kemp with a disapproving look. Kemprealizes his phone is the problem and turns it off, smilingobligingly. The Councilor nods, waves him back.

COUNCILOR:

It’s normal to want to look at

every alert and headline but yougotta go cold turkey.

Kemp follows the man to a cubicle. Kemp produces a card fromhis wallet as they walk.

COUNCILOR (CONT’D)

Pharmaceutical card?

(taking card)

Symptoms:
depression, inability toconcentrate... suicidal feelings?

KEMP:

Mostly homicidal.

The Councilor gives Kemp a look as they go into his cubicle.

TIME CUT TO - INT. ANXIETY CLINIC -- NIGHT

The now deceased Councilor is slumped in his chair with theblood vessels in his eyes burst hideously. The needle thatpoisoned him still sticking out of his throat.

MARLING (O.S.)

He was an ordinary citizen, itseems. Other than being a sympa.

Webber examines the dead man with disposable gloves, Marlingstanding by. Webber notes the dead man’s left hand is minustwo digits. A birth defect. Under the Councilor’s shirt, hediscovers a MEDAL bearing a depiction of the Mother Zone.

89.

WEBBER:

He wasn’t just a Sympathizer. Hewanted to defect. I bet if we look,

we’ll find he recently received avisa to cross the DMZ.

MARLING:

If Kemp killed him for his visa,

then he’s fleeing across thewall...

WEBBER:

Not fleeing. He has nowhere to run

to.

Webber straightens up, looks out the window. A CANDLELIGHTPROCESSION is passing in the street. People in black,

chanting in unison. Incongruously mediaeval.

MARLING:

People are clinging like lambs toVoss and his supposed peace talks-

it’s not even entirely clear he’sstill our boss.

Webber notes the condition of a fidgety, perspiring YOUNGGENDERME on crime scene guard duty. His phone DINGS. A

message from Gast: 100 Rue Montais. It’s over.

He feels a chill.

WEBBER:

Marling, can you check with HQ ifthe blood results came in?

MARLING:

They did. I believe Gast receivedthem this evening... He didn’tshare the results with you?

WEBBER:

He just did.

EXT. PARIS STREET -- EVENING

Everywhere, people stand frozen, staring in mute horror atthe news on their phones. Fresh reports of doomsday. Webberwalks among them like a condemned man. A snatch can be heardfrom a cafe

90.

NEWS ANCHOR (O.S.)

At this hour, it is unknown which

side fired first but we can now

confirm that there has been an

exchange of shots across the DMZ...

Near the train station entrance, an OLD MAN is selling freshfruit from a cart- or would be if he wasn’t preoccupied,

watching his phone. Webber finds himself drawn to him. Heexamines the Mandarin Strawberries. The Old Man belatedlynotices he has a customer. Smiling weakly, he offers Webber afree sample. Webber looks askance for an instant, then hetakes the strawberry from the old man’s knobby fingers.

Tastes it. It swells inside him.

Webber finds himself returning the old man’s grin. Hesurprises him with a hundred Euro note and walks on.

EXT. 100 RUE DE MONTAIS -- EVENING

Webber parks on a forbidding industrial block. Thinks a longmoment about not getting out, but does. He checks his gun.

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