Nick of Time Page #11

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But GENE is long gone.

INT. HOTEL BAR AREA - DAY - 12:3 6PM

GENE walks into the area of the bar. The BARTENDER is just

returning to chat with a customer, a REPORTER who is getting

sloshed. GENE moves slowly along the bar, into an area where

MR. SMITH'S view of him is blocked.

REPORTER:

So where was I?

BARTENDER:

I don't know. Something about the

Governor's new regime.

GENE hears this and glances towards them.

REPORTER:

Oh yeah. She's dumping the Good Old

Boys like yesterday's newspapers.

GENE sees that MR.SMITH can no longer see him. He scans the

lobby, sees a smaller door that leads onto Flower Street.

REPORTER:

The white boys are in for it. When

they got her elected they never

thought she was gonna make the

Governor's office look like the United

Nations.

The BARTENDER laughs. GENE quickly cuts across the lobby and

out the smaller door onto Flower Street.

REPORTER:

We're talking Custer's Last Stand

here. The only minorities not on her

staff are the ones still lost in the

Rain Forest.

EXT. FLOWER STREET - DAY - 12:3 6PM

GENE comes out the door, dashes across the street, weaving

through the traffic.

Once across, he heads up the sidewalk toward the van, keeping

low, sneaking up behind it. He crouches by the front door,

one hand sliding into his pocket for the' gun, the other -on

the door handle. He raises his head cautiously and looks

inside the cab.

No MS. JONES up front at least. He takes a breath, braces

himself. With one motion he jerks the back door open, yanks

out the gun.

INT. VAN - DAY - 12:37PM

The first thing he sees, fixates on, is LYNN. She is stretched

out on the seat, eyes closed, mouth open. She appears dead.

GENE:

(a gasp)

Lynn!

MS. JONES (O.S.)

Shhh. You'll wake the baby up.

MS. JONES is sitting on the seat behind the one LYNN is on.

GENE points the gun at her face. She smiles.

MS. JONES

(softly)

What we have here is what they call

a Mexican standoff. The thing you

gotta ask yourself is, "What's behind

the seat?" Now, a twenty-two'd go

right through it, but even a button

will throw a twenty-two off so there's

a good chance it'd get screwed up

somewhere along the way, miss the

target. Maybe a thirty-eight? A

thirty-eight'11 drill pretty straight,

unless it hits metal, then it'll

bust up in little bitty pieces.

They'll keep going but they'll be

slowed down quite a bit. How's about

a three-fifty-seven? It'll go through

the seat, her, you, the dashboard,

sh*t, it'll go through the engine

block before it knows it's hit

anything, end up in some pedestrian

three blocks away. What do you think?

What's my poison?

GENE look at Lynn's sleeping face - the gun in his own hand.

He lowers the gun, defeated.

MS. JONES

Well it's a comfort to know you've

got the co-Jones to pull that thing

out. Whether you've got the balls to

pull the trigger we've still got to

see.

EXT. FLOWER STREET - DAY

GENE climbs out of the van, shuts the door, leans there. The

gall of his defeat is hard to swallow. He realizes he's

holding the gun, hurriedly tucks it away.

INT. THE VAN - DAY - 12:38PM

MS. JONES puts her gun down, raises a walkie-talkie.

MS. JONES

(into the walkie-talkie)

He's coming back in.

MR. SMITH

(filtered)

I've got him in the crosshairs.

INT. BUFFET AREA - DAY - 12:38PM

MR. SMITH near the entrance, eating some food. He watches

GENE walk past him. Their eyes meet.

INT. BONAVENTURE HOTEL - LOBBY - DAY - 12:39PM

GENE looks at his watch, then checks the itinerary once more.

ECU - ITINERARY

12:
45 - Governor Eleanor Samara Grant - Pacific Kim Multi-

Cultural Conference - Pool Deck - Fourth Floor

ANGLE ON GENE-NEAR BUFFET AREA - 12:39PM

GENE addresses another Bellboy, HECTOR who is moving luggage

out to the street.

GENE:

Pool Deck?

HECTOR:

Fourth Floor. Take that escalator.

GENE thanks him and moves across the lobby MR. SMITH follows

GENE:

INT. BONAVENTURE HOTEL - BAR AREA - DAY - 12:39PM

GENE heads toward the escalators. Ahead of him, he sees

ELEANOR GRANT and BRENDAN GRANT surrounded by AIDES and

SECURITY MEN facing a crowd of PRESS PEOPLE. The Governor

and her husband have an arm around each other. They are

smiling, relaxed, quite the" happy couple. They give each

other a warm kiss. Camera flashes, recording the moment.

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