Rush Hour Page #4

WHITNEY:

What was that all about?

RUSS:

He wants his own man.

WHITNEY:

What?!

CUT TO:

EXT. LAPD-DAY

The entrance is UNDERGROUND and very busy. Carter and Johnson pull up

in the sedan.

INT. DETECTIVE DIVISION ROOM - L.A.P.D. -- DAY

Overloaded DETECTIVES at desks. Trying to solve too many crimes in a

city with too many bad people. Din of PHONES, KEYBOARDS, VOICES.

A pissed off Johnson enters in front of Carter.

CARTER:

You're killin' me here.

JOHNSON:

Carter, just because you saved my

butt, doesn't mean it's yours.

CARTER:

Oh, baby, you cruel...

Johnson enters a small office right across from Carter's desk where he

now plops down.

TWO DETECTIVES walk up.

FIRST DETECTIVE:

Heard about what happened over there

at the diner. Nice work.

SECOND DETECTIVE

(laughing)

Not everybody gets to blow up a city

block.

FIRST DETECTIVE:

Don't worry about it. Nobody liked

the food there anyway.

SECOND DETECTIVE

Probably give you a medal. For urban

renewal.

Both Detectives slap hands and laugh.

CARTER:

That's good. What did you two do? Work

that up in the men's room while you

were playing with each other?

The cops stop laughing. They walk away when Carter's phone rings.

CARTER:

Carter... Yeah... uh-huh...now? Okay.

He hangs up and looks at Johnson in her office.

CARTER (cont'd)

Captain wants to see me.

JOHNSON:

(melting)

Last night's as much my fault as

yours. If he's gonna put the blame on

anybody --

CARTER:

Hey, I was senior. It's OK. This is

why I get the big bucks.

Carter gets up and crosses toward the CAPTAIN'S OFFICE in the corner of

the room. A brave man facing the Lion's den. Even Johnson can't help

but admire his courage.

INT. CAPT. DIEL'S OFFICE -- DAY

WILLIAM DIEL is behind his desk. Diel is fifty, professional, doesn't

smile a lot. He's not smiling now. Carter enters.

DIEL:

I don't know what went wrong last

night, but this department could've

lost one detective and our only

explosives expert.

CARTER:

Sir, I can explain.

DIEL:

What you did was dangerous and

completely outside policy.

CARTER:

I know, but --

DIEL:

That's probably the only reason

Johnson's still alive.

This takes Carter a little by surprise.

DIEL:

Good job.

CARTER:

Hey, sir, it was a pleasure to

preserve Johnson's ass.

(pause)

Well...you know what I mean.

DIEL:

I got a call from the F.B.I. The

daughter of the Chinese Ambassador has

been kidnapped and they asked for

help. You're it.

Carter straightens his posture a bit.

CARTER:

Feds asked for me?

DIEL:

They asked for the best street man I

had.

Carter tries to be humble, but... damn, that's hard.

CARTER:

And that, of course, would be me.

DIEL:

Don't push it. You better watch your

ass with these Fed types. If there's a

screw-up, they won't think twice about

burnin' it.

INT. DETECTIVE DIVISION ROOM -- CONTINUOUS

Carter exits Diel's office, crosses back through the desks to his own.

A lot of eyes on him.

Johnson comes out of her office.

JOHNSON:

What happened?

Carter just packs up his stuff.

JOHNSON:

Did he fire you? He can't fire you!

Carter puts a hand on her shoulder.

CARTER:

Hey, baby, it's cool. Captain just

reassigned me to the Feds.

JOHNSON:

The Feds?!

CARTER:

FBI needs a taste of the street.

And I'm it.

Carter returns to packing up his stuff.

CARTER:

Way he put it, I was the only one he

thought could handle it. But you know

what the worst thing is?

JOHNSON:

(caught up in it)

No...what?

CARTER:

I could get promoted right out of

here.

JOHNSON:

What's wrong with that?

CARTER:

I wouldn't be close to you.

(sniffing)

What is that perfume, girl?

Johnson comes back to reality.

JOHNSON:

No matter how many times you go

undercover, you still come out an

a**hole.

CUT TO:

EXT. STREET -- DAY

Unmarked car pulls up in front of the Chinese Consulate. Carter sticks

his badge out the window to FBI Agents. Carter is wearing shades.

Playing it cool.

CARTER:

Detective James Carter. L.A.P.Deee.

One of the Agents relays the information via his radio. Then they open

the gates. Carter drives in.

INT. CHINESE CONSULATE RESIDENCE -- DAY

Carter enters. The place is under FBI control. But everything's gonna

be okay now. Carter's here. Carter is the only one not in a dark

suit.

Interviews of all staff being conducted in one room - we get a glimpse

as a door opens and an AGENT with an EAR PLUG exits. Carter gives the

Agent a knowing nod.

CARTER:

(re:
ear plug)

Oh yeah, gotta get me one a those.

Sees ANOTHER FBI AGENT with a high-powered rifle move past.

CARTER:

Ooo, there's a chill. Love that.

WHITNEY:

Carter.

Carter sees Whitney motioning him into the office.

INT. HAN'S OFFICE -- DAY

Carter enters. Lots of activity. All electronic equipment is up and

running. AGENTS are testing the PHONE TAPE.

Russ is on the phone as Carter walks up.

RUSS:

(into phone)

...yes, sir, I understand. I'll do my

best...but there is a question of

authority, sir... yes, sir, okay.

Russ hangs up. Turns to Carter. Carter nods. Confident that Russ

knows he's the man for the job.

RUSS:

Carter. I'm Russ. Agent in charge.

Carter eyes him. The suit, the hair, the shine on the shoes. Russ

holds out his hand. They shake.

CARTER:

Any demands yet?

RUSS:

At this point we don't have much.

CARTER:

How much they want?

RUSS:

(ignoring him)

You come highly recommended, Carter.

And your particular assignment

requires a special talent.

CARTER:

Interrogation is one a my specialties,

but undercover work is my forte.

Everything about Carter changes; posture, language, attitude, as he

morphs into a gang drug supplier.

CARTER:

Yo, bro, y'cruisin' fo da go-dee on da

hi, u be comin' to da ri-man, say

what. [or something to this effect]

Russ stares at Carter for a moment. Carter quickly changes back to

himself.

CARTER:

Never knew I was a man in blue.

EXT. CHINESE CONSULATE RESIDENCE -- DAY

Russ and Carter exit.

RUSS:

... the director considers this top

priority, considering he is a Chinese

National and here under difficult

circumstances. His name is Lee. And

he is to be shown every courtesy.

Within reason.

CARTER:

Sir, he's just gonna get in my way.

If I'm gonna handle this situation...

RUSS:

(interrupting)

He is the situation.

Carter stops walking.

CARTER:

I'm talking about the girl.

RUSS:

Don't worry about the kidnapping,

Carter, the F.B.I. will handle that.

Your assignment is Lee.

Carter hesitates a moment, trying to sort this thing out.

CARTER:

What kind of assignment is that?

RUSS:

Bottom line:
I don't want some Chung

King Cop getting his head blown off

and turning this operation into a

international incident.

CARTER:

(getting hot)

Why don't you assign one of your own

men to this?

RUSS:

Because with your special talents, I'm

sure you'll do a better job.

CARTER:

What the hell am I supposed to do with

him? Take him to the zoo?

RUSS:

Just make him think you're following

leads. Interview some suspects, look

at fingerprints, do detective sh*t. I

don't care. I just don't want to see

him- or you, for that matter- until

this is resolved.

(hands Carter a file)

Now, we want to make a good

impression, don't we? His plane lands

in an hour. Don't be late.

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