RONIN Page #18

SEAMUS:

It's been known to happen.

DEIRDRE:

Not to me, you know that.

SEAMUS:

(goading her)

I thought I did.

Seamus's taunt works: Deirdre whips out her gun and puts it

to his head.

DEIRDRE:

I guess you don't know me, then, if you

think I won't kill you for an insult like

that!

Seamus glares at Deirdre for a moment, and she glares back at

him until he starts to laugh.

SEAMUS:

Just testing, lass. Forgive me, but I

had to do it.

Deirdre glares a moment more and then puts away her gun.

DEIRDRE:

Remember what we agreed on, Seamus: when

we get home, I don't play "the girl"

again.

Deirdre gives Seamus a look to make sure this last point is

clear and we -

CUT TO:

EXT. A FARMHOUSE - THE COUNTRY - NIGHT

The Stolen Car parks behind a BARN, and Sam and Vincent get

out. Waiting for them is a friend of Vincent's - JEAN-

PIERRE, a Frenchman in his forties, hearty, burly, friendly.

VINCENT:

Hello, Jean-Pierre.

JEAN-PIERRE

Hello, my friend.

(with a look at Sam)

He doesn't look French to me, Vincent.

SAM:

American.

JEAN-PIERRE

Well, Vincent's American friend, shall we

see what we can do for you?

INT. THE FARMHOUSE KITCHEN - LATER/NIGHT

SURGICAL IMPLEMENTS - Are laid out on a clean cloth.

Scalpel, forceps, a clamp, a sponge, medical thread and

needles. We PULL BACK TO REVEAL: Sam, stretched out on the

kitchen table. Around him we see - Vincent and Jean-Pierre,

who are wearing rubber gloves and examining Sam's wound.

Jean-Pierre holds a mirror up so that Sam can see what's

going on. Sam, with his medical training, is treating

himself.

VINCENT:

(to Sam)

It's right there, beneath the surface. I

can just make it out.

Sam is in terrible pain, but necessity dictates that he focus

on what's going on so that he can talk Vincent through this

next procedure.

JEAN-PIERRE

Are you sure you won't have a drink?

SAM:

(sharply)

No booze...Pain's in the mind, and the

mind I can control.

(quick beat)

Alright, let's do it.

During this next sequence, we CUT BACK AND FORTH between

Sam's reactions to the surgery, and the mirror itself where

he's watching.

SAM:

Douse the wound with alcohol.

Vincent pours a healthy splash of rubbing alcohol onto the

wound and - Sam grits his teeth as the pain explodes up his

central nervous system.

SAM:

(to Jean-Pierre)

Take that sponge and wipe away as much of

the blood as you can, keep it clean so I

can see.

Jean-Pierre does as Sam says, wiping away the blood that

keeps filling the wound. Throughout the procedure Jean-

Pierre will do this; every time the sponge is saturated he

squeezes the excess blood into - A BUCKET which sits on the

floor, slowly filling up with drippings from the sponge.

SAM:

(to Vincent)

Take the clamp...

Vincent picks up the clamp.

SAM:

Peel back the skin and attach the clamp.

Vincent attaches the clamp to Sam's wound. It takes perhaps

fifteen seconds, and everyone of those seconds is agonizing

for Sam. He sweats, he grits his teeth, he grunts the

smallest of grunts. But he doesn't move. Finally Vincent is

done.

VINCENT:

Alright, it's done.

SAM:

You see the bullet?

VINCENT:

Clearly.

SAM:

Good. Now take the forceps, and

remember, Vincent, what we're doing here

is routine. I've done stuff like this at

least twenty times in the field. There

are no vital organs where you're working,

no major muscles or arteries -- you can't

kill me. Just make sure you've got the

bullet before you try to pull it out.

Vincent probes the wound with the forceps. This takes

probably thirty seconds, and it hurts even more then when the

clamp was attached.

Several times - Vincent seems to have the bullet in his

grasp, but it slips, and each time it slips - Sam makes the

smallest of noises, as if to indicate the level of the pain.

Finally - The forceps firmly grasp the bullet, and with a

single tug, Vincent extracts it.

VINCENT:

(holding the bullet aloft)

A souvenir...

He tosses the bullet through the air, and we FOLLOW IT IN

SLOW MOTION as it lands in - A SAUCER, which sits on the

kitchen counter. We're back in REAL TIME, as the bullet

rolls around the plate for a second before coming to a halt.

Now - Sam breathes the hugest of sighs, and his face relaxes.

Instantly, Vincent puts a lighted cigarette in Sam's mouth,

and he drags deeply on it.

SAM:

(to Vincent)

You think you can stitch me up on you

own?

JEAN-PIERRE

Don't worry, we'll take care of it.

SAM:

Then if you don't mind...

(he hands the cigarette back to

Vincent)

I'm gonna pass out.

And that's exactly what he does.

A TIME CUT TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT

Vincent and Jean-Pierre sit on easy chairs. An open bottle

of wine sits between them, a FIRE burns in the fireplace, and

they smoke in a contented silence for a moment. When they

speak, it is in FRENCH, with ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

JEAN-PIERRE

He's tough, your American friend.

VINCENT:

Yes, Sam's tough alright.

JEAN-PIERRE

And you respect him.

VINCENT:

Of course. Don't you?

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