Outbreak Page #9

CUT TO:

MOUNTAIN FOREST - LATER THAT NIGHT

A patch of wild blackberries grow in a thicket. Betsy

begins eating them ravenously. Then she HEARS

SOMETHING and turns to see -

A coyote poised to leap. Betsy races up a pine tree.

HER POV:

The COYOTE BARKS below. He's joined by his mate. The

coyotes settle in for a long, hungry wait.

Betsy is terrified.

CUT TO:

48.

MOUNTAIN FOREST - FOLLOWING MORNING

Betsy, still high up in the pine tree, looks down on -

The COYOTES, still waiting. One of them pricks up his

ears and GROWLS. Suddenly a SHOT rings out, and the

coyotes bolt.

In the distance a hunter takes aim and FIRES again.

Betsy cowers behind the tree, hiding herself from this

new danger.

The hunter runs under Betsy's tree, rifle in hand,

cursing to himself, hell bent on killing the coyotes.

CLOSE ON BETSY IN TREE

She waits as TWO more SHOTS ring out in the distance,

then slowly climbs down.

INT. DR. DREW REYNOLDS' OFFICE - DAY

COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, CENTER

FOR DISEASE CONTROL (CDC), ATLANTA, SEPTEMBER 1."

DR. DREW REYNOLDS, 55, dressed in a doctor's coat,

paces in front of a bookcase filled with medical tomes

and topped by tennis trophies. Reynolds has a restless

energy; he squeezes a tennis ball as he listens

to Robby, sitting in a chair across from his desk,

with a folder of fax papers in her papers. She's

clearly intimidated by him, which is his intended

effect on everyone.

ROBBY:

Dr. Gillespie wants us to send

out a special bulletin warning all

physicians to watch out for any

symptoms of a virus from Zaire

named 'Motaba.' He thinks it's

serious enough to warrant

emergency reporting nationwide,

that it can't wait for our regular

monthly report.

DREW REYNOLDS:

Which will be released next week,

correct?

ROBBY:

Wednesday.

(CONTINUED)

49.

CONTINUED:

DREW REYNOLDS:

To get out a special bulletin for

four hundred thousand health

professionals is about a hundred

and fifty thousand dollars.

ROBBY:

Dr. Gillespie says it's the worst

virus he's ever studied -

DREW REYNOLDS:

-- Forgive me, Robby, but this is

the guy who found three cases of

Congo Fever in Nairobi in '87,

and suddenly it's in every

American kid's lunch box -

ROBBY:

-- You're not being fair -

DREW REYNOLDS:

In '91 he said Tsutsugamushi

Fever was coming. In '92 it was

Ebola. His panics cost us plenty.

Around here he's known as Doctor

Doom.

ROBBY:

He could've been right about any

of them. Rule out the worst

first... that's what my father

always taught.

DREW REYNOLDS:

Your father was one of the

greatest Surgeon Generals this

country ever had. He took me

under his wing and let me fly.

I've always been grateful. And

I've always had a special feeling

for you, Robby. The... pain it

gave him to see you working under

Gillespie... all your promise...

the man never gave you a chance

to show it.

A long silence. Drew has hit home.

DREW REYNOLDS:

Look, is there a shred of evidence

that Motaba is more transmissible

than the other filoviruses we've

seen in the past?

(CONTINUED)

50.

CONTINUED:

ROBBY:

No.

DREW REYNOLDS:

Then as long as the bulletin goes

out next week, we're covered.

CUT TO:

INT. ELEVATOR (DESCENDING) - ROBBY

alone, very depressed, leans against the wall. We

sense, if somebody walked in and said hello, she'd cry.

The doors open into her floor and she gets out, not

making eye contact with anyone. She enters...

HER EXPANSIVE OFFICE

Her young assistants, DR. JULIO SANCHEZ and DR. LISA

ARONSON, faxes in hand, join her from their neighboring

offices.

LISA ARONSON:

An E-Coli outbreak in Michigan at

a couple of Ronny's steakhouse

franchises.

JULIO SANCHEZ:

And -- a couple of fevers of

unknown origin at Boston Municipal

that the infectious disease docs

can't figure out. That's all

we've got on the log.

ROBBY:

(jesting)

The Boston case is not some guy

out of Zaire... with Motaba, is it?

LISA ARONSON:

(laughs)

Yeah, right! Nah, it's a couple

of Americans. No unusual travel.

JULIO SANCHEZ:

They've probably got some atypical

strain of Lyme and the Boston

doctors have just missed the boat.

ROBBY:

Then let's see if we can throw

them a lifeline.

51.

INT. RUDY'S PET SHOP (BONNEVILLE, OREGON) CLOSE ON

RUDY - DAY

He doesn't look good, his face is flushed and sweaty,

his eyes glassy. He turns the "Closed" sign around to

"Open" and unlocks the door for an elderly lady,

MRS. FOOTE, standing impatiently outside with her fat

Persian cat in her arms. The BELL TINKLES as the door

opens and she enters.

MRS. FOOTE

Rorshie didn't like the shredded

veal wafers. I asked her and she

said, 'Can we change it for the

beef chips?'

He's not up for this today.

MRS. FOOTE

Are you okay, Rudy?

RUDY:

I'm fine, Mrs. Foote... it's hot.

That's all. Lemme open a win-

Suddenly his face twitches, his body stiffens, his

eyes roll back and he falls to the floor, convulsing

violently.

Mrs. Foote screams.

CUT TO:

INT. BONNEVILLE GENERAL HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY ROOM

COMPUTER KEYS POUNDING: "EMERGENCY ROOM, BONNEVILLE

GENERAL HOSPITAL - SEPTEMBER 1, 08:50."

DR. MASCELLI, 43, a local G.P. auscultates Rudy's

chest with his stethoscope. A nurse, EMMA, starts

an IV. A second nurse, Jim, puts an oxygen mask over

Rudy's face. The lab tech, HENRY, 23, very serious,

wraps a tourniquet around Rudy's arm and draws some

blood into three colored tubes.

DR. MASCELLI

C'mon, Rudy, talk to me!

No response. Dr. Mascelli rubs his knuckles into

Rudy's chest. Rudy groans.

EMMA:

They said he was fine yesterday.

(CONTINUED)

52.

CONTINUED:

DR. MASCELLI

(rattled)

And now he's in shock with

pneumonia.

(to Henry)

Get me some blood cultures.

Henry nods as he fills a lavendar-topped tube with

Rudy's blood.

DR. MASCELLI

I've been reading about real bad

strep cases. I bet this is one of

'em. Emma, don't leave him alone.

His heart could stop any minute.

CUT TO:

LAB - CLOSE ON LAVENDER-TOPPED TUBE - MINUTES LATER

spinning in a centrifuge. Henry turns it off. In the

b.g., the RADIO BLARES with the MARINERS -- ANGELS

game:

BASEBALL RADIO:

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

Johnson's ready... Checks the

runners... Salmon is waiting.

Johnson delivers.

(a LOUD CRACK)

That ball is hit. Deep... deep...

it's gone. The Angels win!

HENRY:

Damn!

Without thinking he reaches into the centrifuge, but

it's still spinning. The lavendar tube shatters,

spraying Rudy's blood everywhere.

Henry squints. He's got blood in his eye. He rushes

to the sink and washes it out.

CUT TO:

EMERGENCY ROOM OFFICE - MINUTES LATER

Dr. Mascelli trying to calm Henry.

(CONTINUED)

53.

CONTINUED:

DR. MASCELLI

You washed it out. Don't worry.

But just in case, I'll put you

on some penicillin

prophylactically.

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