Outbreak Page #2

MORAZU:
a seven-foot tall Goliath with mischievous eyes.

He PUNCHES on his CHAIN SAW and RIPS into another tree.

A cloud of wood dust envelops him.

OVERHEAD - ZAIREAN ARMY HELICOPTERS

ROAR by overhead, their machine gunners searching for

guerilla activity.

INTERCUT - TWO COLOBOS MONKEYS

a mother and her daughter, whom we'll know as Betsy.

Betsy plays with a fat, round jackfruit, kicking it and

rolling it every which way. Her mother watches the

construction workers warily.

Morazu hums as he pulls a huge tree limb off the road and

into a thick patch of brush where he comes face to face

with Betsy. Morazu smiles. He takes a long piece of

sweetened bread from his pocket and lays it down right in

front of the young monkey.

Betsy eyes it warily.

MORAZU:

(softly)

Take it.

(CONTINUED)

7.

CONTINUED:

A long beat. Betsy takes the bread, examines it carefully,

finally takes a bite.

Morazu grabs her. BETSY struggles, thrashing and SCREAMING.

Morazu pins her hands behind her back. She spins

around and sinks her teeth into his finger.

He lets go with a shriek and swears at Betsy, who disappears

with the bread.

STAY WITH Morazu as he returns to his work. He sucks the

blood out of the small wound.

CUT TO:

EXT. MOTABA RIVA VALLEY (AUGUST 15)

Morazu gets off a bus by a small muddy river and walks

slowly toward his village of about fifty mud-thatched

huts. Pain in his back makes him wince. We see him UP

CLOSE:
his eyes are red and his skin is pale. He's

sweating.

He stops at the village well and takes a drink. Other

villagers come up to say hello, and Morazu greets them

wearily, dipping his cup back in the water for another

drink. The villagers drink too.

DISCOVER in the background: the tribal medicine man, the

"ju-ju man." Streaks and circles of paint cover his

skin. He watches the excitement surrounding Morazu's

return.

CUT TO:

RAIN FOREST - LATER THAT NIGHT

A small group of Colobos monkeys including Betsy and her

mother run swiftly through the forest. Suddenly, BETSY

CRIES OUT. Her foot is snagged in a trap. Before her

mother can respond, she's pulled high into the air into a

bamboo cage. The DOOR SNAPS SHUT. BETSY SCREAMS in fear

and pain, hanging upside down -

CUT TO:

SAME - FOLLOWING MORNING

The Colobos monkeys scatter as VOICES APPROACH, REVEALING

two TRIBESMEN pulling a small wagon. The men chatter as

they lower the cage holding Betsy onto the cart.

(CONTINUED)

8.

CONTINUED:

FADE UP LUCIANO PAVAROTTI singing a love song from

"La Boheme" and...

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON HUMAN SKULL

wearing Porsche sunglasses and an Army Colonel's hat.

COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "Frederick, Maryland, August 19."

INT. GILLESPIE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

FADE UP the VOICE of a MAN SINGING along with the GREAT

TENOR. CONTINUE PANNING OVER the room: the skull gives

way to a full skeleton wearing a star-spangled red-whiteand-

blue bow-tie and carrying an umbrella over its forearm.

CONTINUE PAST the oak rolltop desk.

MIKE GILLESPIE, about 40, keeps singing as he reads

through a lengthy typed report, making notes in the

margin.

LUCIANO hits a high C. Gillespie reaches for it... and

misses badly. DOGS WHINE O.S., probably in closer

harmony to Luciano than Gillespie. He's not pleased.

GILLESPIE:

I rescue you from certain death

and instead of gratitude, you mock

me.

His two WOLFHOUNDS, Olser and Harvey, GROVEL on the floor

contritely, each with a worn shoe in his mouth. Behind

them we see the rest of Gillespie's living/dining room.

His townhouse is spartan; it needs a woman's touch. Unpacked

boxes stand in the corner beside a treadmill.

GILLESPIE:

That can't go unpunished. No

Letterman for three nights.

The dogs wag the running shoes.

CUT TO:

OLD CREEK PARK (FREDERICK, MARYLAND) - NIGHT

Gillespie, puffing, a weekend runner, strains to keep up

with the DOGS. They BARK excitedly.

(CONTINUED)

9.

CONTINUED:

GILLESPIE:

(reaching into his

pockets)

Okay! Okay!

Without breaking stride, he throws what look like sticks

high into the air. The dogs jump and catch the objects in

their mouths and race back to Gillipsie.

We see they're old stethoscopes with thick rubber tubing.

Gillespie lets them fly again. He laughs at their eagerness

and keeps running, sprinting now, trying to prove to

himself that he's still young. Suddenly -- a PHONE RINGS.

Without breaking stride, he pulls a cellular phone from

his pocket:

GILLESPIE:

(into phone)

Dr. Gillespie... How many dead?...

INT. BILLY FORD'S OFFICE (FORT DETRICK, MARYLAND)

Gillespie's boss, GENERAL BILLY FORD, MD, is a heavy-set

man in his early 60's with thinning hair, piercing, intelligent

grey eyes and a warm smile. Scattered all

around his office are cages filled with frogs and reptiles.

As he talks on the phone, he's feeding a green-

horned toad some dead flies.

FORD:

Almost an entire village.

INTERCUT WITH:

FORD WITH GILLESPIE

still running.

GILLESPIE:

Is is Lassa Fever? Ebola? What?

FORD:

How the hell do I know? I'm the

bureaucrat, you're the detective,

remember? All I know is State

wants us to lend a hand and when

the Secretary talks, I listen.

And when I talk, you listen.

You're Code Red. The plane's

leaving at 01:
30.

(CONTINUED)

10.

CONTINUED:

GILLESPIE:

Yes, sir.

Gillespie hangs up, out of breath... excited.

CUT TO:

EXT. GILLESPIE'S OLD BMW - LATER THAT NIGHT

Gillespie and the dogs pull into the driveway of a comfortable

two story colonial home, passing a "For Sale" sign

on the front lawn pasted with a "Sold" sticker.

EXT. COLONIAL HOME

Gillespie knocks. The DOGS BARK excitedly.

WOMAN (O.S.)

Who is it?

The dogs recognize the voice and jump against the door.

GILLESPIE:

Mike.

ROBERTA "ROBBY" KEOUGH, an attractive, intelligent woman

in her mid 30's, opens the door a few inches, until the

latch LOCK CHAIN SNAPS tight. The dogs try to push

inside.

ROBBY:

(smiles; delighted)

Hey, guys!

But when she looks at Gillespie, she's guarded.

GILLESPIE:

Robby, I know I'm the last guy

you'd do a favor for, but I've got

no one else to ask.

ROBBY:

My lawyer said not to talk to you

anymore.

GILLESPIE:

Then just listen. I gotta go to

Zaire.

Robby shakes her head, "No, no way."

(CONTINUED)

11.

CONTINUED:

ROBBY:

Put 'em in a kennel.

GILLESPIE:

So they can die of some weird

disease like Stripes did?

She mouths the word "no."

GILLESPIE:

-- Look, Robby, if I had any other

choice, I wouldn't be here.

ROBBY:

You should've let me have them.

You can't take care of them.

Beat. Robby's torn. The dogs nuzzle against her leg.

GILLESPIE:

I won't be gone long.

ROBBY:

You know I'm moving to Atlanta -they

want me to start in four days.

GILLESPIE:

I'll be back before that.

ROBBY:

(sharply)

Four days is four weeks -- to you.

Silence.

GILLESPIE:

It wasn't all my fault, Robby.

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