Strange Days Page #20

Train tracks ahead. Looking back... here come Spreg and

Engelman down the embankment, overtaking us. We hear the

thunder of a train... spinning again to look forward.

Freight-train doing fifty on the nearest track. Almost to

us.

We leap forward. Over the track. The diesel roars past

behind us. Looking back... a black wall of moving steel.

Backing away from it.

We see Engelman and Spreg crouching down... trying to aim

through the wheels. Hear the impotent pop of their guns

over the roar of the train.

Turning to run again. We see a tiny hole appear in a sign

right in front of us with a metallic SPANG. Running and

running.

Looking back. No pursuit. Train still rolling by. Can't

see the cops. Running, running. Heart pounding and lungs

heaving. Sobbing sounds coming from somewhere, seeming to

fill the night.

Looking down... one shoe on, one shoe off. Iris' hand

takes off the remaining shoe, clutches it to her chest.

We move forward into the dark train-yard as--

THE TAPE ENDS.

And Mace sits stone still. Shakes. For a beat. And

another. Then she tears the trodes off and throws them

across the room, near where Lenny is on the cellular.

LENNY:

(into phone)

Hang on. Hang on, Max.

(looks at Mace)

You see?

MACE:

I see.

(trembling)

I see the earth opening up and

swallowing us all.

LENNY:

Yeah I know.

(into cellular)

So what do we do?

CUT TO:

INT./ EXT. MAX'S CAR - NIGHT

As Max drives along a crowded downtown street.

MAX:

(into phone)

Don't talk to anybody. Anybody.

You're invisible. Okay? Just meet

me at Tick's in a half hour. And

Lenny... don't get pulled over.

CUT TO:

INT. CECILE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Lenny pushes "End" on his cellular and looks at Mace. The

first-time impact of the Squid experience, and the killing

of Jeriko, still haunts her. We've never seen Mace

scared. But she looks scared now.

LENNY:

We got to make another copy of this.

Little life insurance.

MACE:

You know what this tape could do if it

gets out.

LENNY:

(tucking Glock in

his waistband)

I've got a good idea, yeah.

MACE:

People finding out... seeing... that

the LAPD just flat out executed

Jeriko One. Jesus. Maybe they

ought to see.

LENNY:

Maybe. But tonight is probably not

the best night. Come on, we're

rollin'.

CUT TO:

EXT. CECILE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Cecile catches them on the steps as they are leaving.

CECILE:

Lornette, when you gonna stop laying

off everything on me? We had plans

tonight--

MACE:

(steely)

Listen to me, little sister.

There's something going on, and it's

very big. Now you've got to take

care of Zander. And stay off the

streets tonight... you hear me on

this?

Cecile gets the message. She nods.

MACE:

Curtis. What about you? Do we

understand each other? You stay

put.

CURTIS:

Yeah. I'm wit it.

Mace and Lenny go on down the steps to the car.

CURTIS:

(to Cecile)

Damn! She worse than you.

CUT TO:

INT./ EXT. CIVIC AND STREET - NIGHT

Lenny and Mace see helicopters circling as they maneuver

the dark streets. Xenon searchlights crisscross the

rooftops nearby. They see patrol cars passing on cross-

streets, lights flashing. It feels like the entire LAPD

is looking for them.

Everywhere in the street there are small crowds, street

parties in progress. People drinking and firing bottle

rockets. The police watch everything.

LENNY:

So, let's see, I've got Tran's

goons, some squidhead psycho and the

LAPD all trying to kill me. Happy

new year, Lenny.

MACE:

Well, look at the plus side.

LENNY:

There's a plus side?

MACE:

Yeah. You gave up your hot tub tape

to save me. That's real progress

for you.

LENNY:

It was a tough call.

MACE:

I still can't square the psycho

smarts of whoever did Iris with

those two cops.

LENNY:

I don't think those cops did Iris.

I think whoever Iris was wearing for

killed her.

MACE:

Why?

LENNY:

To break the trail. If those cops

had gotten hold of her, they would

have beat it out of her who she was

wearing for, and then gone after

them too. Our killer is running as

scared as we are. Which makes him

really dangerous. Judging by how

scared I am.

They pull up to the checkpoint; Lenny squirrels into the

seat, hiding in the shadows, as Mace flashes her security

pass and the cop waves them on.

Lenny lets his breath out slowly.

CUT TO:

INT. UNDERGROUND GARAGE/TICK'S VAN

Lenny and Mace pull in with a SQUEAL of brakes and park

the car. Sound of rock music -- some kind of refried

psychedelia -- coming from Tick's van down the ramp.

Mace and Lenny get out, approaching the van. Hearing

tires squeal, they turn to see Max pull up. He gets out

wearing an ill-fitting rental tux. Music louder, echoing

in the empty garage, even though the van is shut tight.

MAX:

Sounds like Tick's already

celebrating.

LENNY:

You may be a little overdressed for

this party.

(Lenny pounds on the

van door)

Yo, Tick! It's Lenny. Open up!

Mace slips out her .380, on alert.

LENNY:

(knocks again, then opens

rear van door)

Tick, I got to talk to you, man...

oh sh*t.

Tick's slumped in the back of the van with playback trodes

on his head. He's breathing, but otherwise he's still.

Near lifeless. A cyborg after a power outage. All the

equipment in the van is trashed.

LENNY:

(as he starts to

examine Tick)

He's been cooked-off

MAX:

Is he dead?

LENNY:

No. But his frontal lobes are like

two runny eggs. They put an

amplifier in-line to boost the

signal till it french-fried his

brain.

Mace hits "Off" on the built-in CD player. The sudden

silence is creepy. Lenny gets right in front of Tick's

eyes, shouting at him, at the top of his lungs.

TICK'S POV:
We see a roaring blizzard of inchoate static.

Somewhere in the middle of it is a suggestion of Lenny's

face, almost invisible. We hear the tiniest ghost of his

voice, like a radio playing two blocks away.

LENNY:

He's totally cut off from the outer

world.

MACE:

How long does it last?

(off Lenny's look)

Oh.

MAX:

Those two psycho cops are on a

slash-and-burn to find the tape and

cover their tracks.

MACE:

This seems a little sophisticated

for them. These are not subtle

guys.

MAX:

There's more to this whole thing

than you think.

LENNY:

Whattya mean?

MAX:

All I'm saying... you don't know how

high up the food chain this thing

goes. I've heard stuff.

LENNY:

What stuff?

MAX:

Smoke. Rumors. I've heard stuff

about a death squad. A group a guys

loyal to the hardline school. Guys

that've had too many years of city

hall and the review boards and the

goddamn media pissing down their

necks, suspending cops right and

left, tying their hands... while

outa the other side a their mouths

these same people're squealing save

us, save us, do something you

f***ing morons, crime is totally out

of control.

Lenny takes this in. All the fight goes out of him. This

is just too overwhelming.

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