The American Page #11

sitting in it. JACK knows the guy can see him too.

The BARMAN hands JACK his change.

BARMAN BARMAN:

Letter from a friend. Lettera da un amico.

And hands him a small white ENVELOPE.

JACK turns casually away from the BARMAN’s prying eyes and

opens the envelope with extreme caution.

Inside is a folded CUTTING. It’s from the Swedish Daily

newspaper ........... JACK unfolds the cutting. We catch a

glimpse of:

-Ingrid’s winter house.

-A police line.

-Three COVERED BODIES in the snow.

JACK slips the cutting in his pocket and looks outside.

The car is empty. The YOUNG MAN has disappeared. JACK

hesitates. Then decides to make a move. He grabs three SUGAR

CUBES from a silver bowl on the bar and exits.

"The American" June 21st, 2010

page 57.

89

EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, TOWN SQUARE- NIGHT 89

JACK leaves the bar, turning left and walking purposefully

down the street.

90

EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, STREETS- NIGHT 90

It’s a warm Autumn night. The YOUNG MAN follows JACK.

JACK turns down a dark, deserted alleyway.

The YOUNG MAN hesitates.

His right hand moves casually to his jacket pocket.

And he follows.

91

EXT. ALLEYWAY- NIGHT 91

We’re with the YOUNG MAN as he stalks his prey through the

mediaeval maze of streets...

We end up in the narrow alleyway that JACK photographed on

his first day in town.

Up ahead, disappearing round a distant bend, we catch a

glimpse of JACK, his heels CLACKING on the cobbles.

The YOUNG MAN follows swiftly, his trainers silent. He gets

to a crossroads where FOUR NARROW ALLEYWAYS- all identical-

converge. The YOUNG MAN is unsure which alleyway to take.

The streets are empty.

He listens.

From an upstairs window he can hear the soundtrack of a late

night film on television. It’s a romantic film, the violins

muffled and sad with longing.

From another alleyway comes the sound of SAVAGE BARKING. The

YOUNG MAN looks around for the source of the barking, but the

streets are empty.

Suddenly, the barking stops.

The YOUNG MAN looks confused.

From his right hand jacket pocket we hear the unmistakable

CLICK of a cocking mechanism.

92

EXT. COURTYARD- NIGHT 92

We recognise the secret courtyard: the one reached by means

of the hidden archway.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 58. page 58.

With one hand, JACK feeds another SUGAR CUBE to the MONGREL.

With the other hand, he holds his WALTHER behind his back...

...and c*cks it.

93 EXT. ALLEYWAY- NIGHT 93

The YOUNG MAN is walking on, past the hidden archway,

scanning the CROSSROADS ahead, unsure which of the possible

alleyways holds his prey.

JACK emerges from the HIDDEN ARCHWAY and walks quickly up

behind him.

JACK has removed his shoes and his bare feet are silent.

He has thirty metres to cover. The gun hangs heavy in his

right hand. It’s fitted with a TAC 65 SOUND SUPPRESSOR. He

raises his right hand.

Twenty metres.

The gun is pointing at the YOUNG MAN.

Fifteen metres.

His finger takes up the slack of the trigger.

Twelve meters.

Then:

A VESPA turns into the alleyway behind JACK, its headlights

on full beam.

JACK drops his right hand and thrusts his silenced WALTHER

deep into his jacket pocket.

The YOUNG MAN looks his way.

JACK is outlined by the moped’s beam of light.

The two men are face to face, within a stone throw of each

other.

The YOUNG MAN’s eyes widen with fear.

The VESPA hurtles towards JACK.

The MAN ON THE VESPA is wearing SUNGLASSES.

The YOUNG MAN starts to panic.

BANG!

The VESPA misfires.

"The American" June 21st, 2010

page 59.

Mistaking the sound for gunfire, the YOUNG MAN bends down and

fires back.

We hear the sound of a single suppressed shot: CHOOP!

JACK dives into an alleyway and hides behind a wall.

The BULLET grazes the FRONT SUSPENSION of the VESPA and

lodges in the REAR COWLING.

The MAN ON THE VESPA swerves and crashes, hitting a stone

staircase.

JACK looks around.

The YOUNG MAN has disappeared.

The MAN ON THE VESPA is completely unconscious.

The front wheel of his VESPA slowly turns, squeaking.

Swiftly, JACK puts on the MAN’s SUNGLASSES.

Then grabs hold of the battered VESPA...

94

EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, MEDIAVEVAL MAZE- NIGHT 94

JACK rides the VESPA barefoot, turning left and right without

hesitation, through archways, down steps, dropping level by

level, cursing in time with his jagged breathing until...

95

EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, TOWN SQUARE -NIGHT 95

JACK emerges from a narrow street.

He’s on the VESPA, looking for the young man.

95A

EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, VILLAGE SQUARE - NIGHT 95A

THE YOUNG MAN runs to his car, gets in, suddenly HEADLIGHTS

blaze as the Fiat Punto drives off and heads out of town.

JACK comes round the corner, turns and goes after the car as

we smash cut to:

96

EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN- NIGHT 96

JACK’s top speed is 70 Km.

The Fiat Punto gleams black in the streetlight and is well

ahead of Jack.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 60.

JACK doesn’t stand a chance if he doesn’t act straight away.

He reaches for his pistol, from his belt at the back, with

his left hand.

JACK shoots once, hits the rear window and rearview mirror.

The Fiat Punto swerves left, hitting the trash cans lining

the side of the road. The car brakes to avoid crashing into

the right corner at the road-junction. The car comes to a

temporary halt and backs up to turn to the left. The car

takes off again like a rocket. JACK is now right next to him

and aims again, shooting at the front right side tire. The

car violently swerves right and forward and hits the low wall

- the car crashes sideways into the wall. As a result, the

Vespa hits the car.

JACK gets up unsteadily. He’s badly scraped but otherwise

unhurt. The crash has made his gun fly thru the air, it must

be somewhere on the road.

He walks around the smashed up Fiat Punto. (shot as the POV

of the driver)

Inside, the YOUNG MAN groans and twitches, locks his doors.

JACK tries to open the driver door unsuccessfully. He bends

down to pick up a stone from the roadside.

The YOUNG MAN goes for what might be a gun but JACK smashes

the car window with the stone and punches the YOUNG MAN in

the face.

Grabs him by the head......and breaks his neck.

He looks for his gun on the road, finds it, and walks away

back in the direction of the town.

JACK gets into his own car and drives off.

EXT. L’AQUILA, TOWN SQUARE- NIGHT 97

JACK is on the phone.

JACK:

The Swedes found me.

A beat.

PAVEL:

Stay put. Finish the job.

*

JACK:

How did they know I was here?

PAVEL:

Because you’ve lost your edge,

Jack.

*

*

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 61. page 61.

98 EXT. L’AQUILA- THAT NIGHT 98

JACK comes out of a pharmacy with a disinfectant and

bandages...

...and quite literally bumps into CLARA.

JACK winces with pain.

CLARA:

Buongiorno!

JACK:

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