The American Page #9

JACK:

I know a place where we can use it.

Follow me.

And gets up, walks towards a tiny path thru the high grass.

MATHILDE follows without speaking. In her wake flutters a

confetti of autumn leaves as her loose summer skirt sweeps

across the forest floor.

JACK:

Watch out for vipers.

He keeps his voice down but she hears him nonetheless, waving

with her right hand: the hand holding the AMMUNITION BOXES.

She’s no fool.

Neither is he. He has the gun.

He stops and points at a very overgrown field on a hill,

surrounded by trees.

Mathilde walks on and at ninety meters distance she stops

besides some purple trumpet blooms and ‘plants’ the

SUNFLOWER.

Returning to Jack, he hands her the weapon.

MATHILDE:

Muzzle velocity?

JACK:

At least three hundred and sixty

miles per hour. That’s including

twenty off the top for the sound

suppression.

Impressed, MATHILDE looks at the marks on the metal where the

serial number has been burned off.

MATHILDE:

RUGER?

JACK:

M14.

MATHILDE:

I’ve not had one before.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 45A. page 45A.

JACK:

You’ll find it easy. I’ve rebalanced

it for the weight of the

suppressor. The fulcrum is two

centimetres forward of the grip

now. Which won’t matter if you’re

firing- and I’m guessing you are-

from a fixed position.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 46. page 46.

No answer.

JACK:

No major recoil issues. You should

be able to hold onto any target.

Even the smallest.

MATHILDE puts two jacketed rounds into the magazine and

stands with her feet apart, braced. The breeze beneath the

walnut tree ruffles her summer skirt and presses it against

her legs.

CHOOP! CHOOP!

For a moment longer she holds on the target then lowers the

gun, holding it under her arm like a lady on a shire hunt

would hold a 12 bore.

MATHILDE:

You’ve done a good job, Edward.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

She makes a minute adjustment to the telescopic sight, with

her fingernail. She can’t have turned the vertical screw more

than one notch.

Then she fully loads and fires again.

CHOOP-CHOOP-CHOOP!

JACK lifts his binoculars and looks at the target. In the

centre of the sunflower head are three small HOLES.

With the magazine containing the remaining 28 jacketed

rounds, MATHILDE takes aim again.

CHOOP-CHOOP-CHOOP-CHOOP!

Through his binoculars, JACK can see the empty space where

the sunflower head used to be, the scarred stones behind and

the little scraps of yellow plastic floating on the warm air.

JACK:

Good shot.

MATHILDE says nothing. She fills the magazine with expanding

rounds, snaps it in place and hands the weapon to JACK.

MATHILDE:

Go to the Flower and fire near me.

He’s taken aback.

MATHILDE:

Say...

She looks round for a target.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 47. page 47.

MATHILDE:

...two steps away from me. Two

bursts. Five seconds apart.

Slowly, JACK walks down to the stones, turns and looks back.

Mathilde is well hidden in the deep shade of the trees. In

the poor light all he can see is her dress and her blouse. He

wipes the sweat from his eyes and shuts them tightly.

This is not just a weapon test... it’s a test of trust.

He opens his eyes again.

MATHILDE turns to face him as he shoulders the weapon.

He aims the M14 at the TREE right beside her.

Holds his breath.

And pulls the trigger.

CHOOP! CHOOP!

MATHILDE remains untouched.

So do the LEAVES.

Troubled, JACK blinks rapidly and counts to five.

Then he fires again.

CHOOP! CHOOP! CHOOP!

Through the sight, we see the leaves fall and the branch

moving sideways.

Relieved, JACK walks slowly back towards Mathilde.

MATHILDE:

The sound suppression is superb. I

couldn’t place the direction of

fire.

From her sports bag she removes a plain brown MANILLA

ENVELOPE.

MATHILDE:

I shall require the rounds and the

weapon by the first of next month.

In the meantime would you tighten

the adjusting screws on the sight,

they are too loose. And shorten the

stock by two centimetres. I also

want a thirty round magazine.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 48. page 48.

JACK:

You’ll upset the balance.

MATHILDE:

I’m prepared to accept that.

JACK:

Then I’m happy to oblige.

MATHILDE:

What about the case?

JACK:

A briefcase. Samsonite. Standard

pattern in black with combination

locks. Is there a number you’d

prefer?

She thinks.

MATHILDE:

Zero-one-four.

JACK:

Zero-one-four.

MATHILDE hands him the ENVELOPE and disassembles the weapon.

JACK wraps the M14 parts up in their cloth squares and places

them in the bottom of the PICNIC HAMPER.

MATHILDE:

What do you want done with these?

She has collected up the spent CARTRIDGE CASES.

JACK:

Throw them in the water.

They walk back to their picnic place.

She walks down to the river and hurls the brass cases in.

Again, the beauty of the place transfixes her.

By the time she turns back, JACK has laid out the picnic.

MATHILDE:

How thoughtful.

She reads the label on the bottle of wine.

MATHILDE:

Aspirinio. I don’t know it.

JACK:

Like Moscata but frizzante.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 48A.

Deftly he uncorks a bottle.

page 48A.

Deftly he uncorks a bottle.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 49. page 49.

And pours it into the grass.

JACK:

It wouldn’t look right if the

picnic wasn’t touched.

MATHILDE:

You chilled the wine. I thought...

JACK:

It had to be chilled. They’re

Italian cops.

MATHILDE:

(disappointed)

You think of everything.

JACK:

I’m paid to. Don’t move.

She freezes.

JACK points slowly.

On her tanned forearm is a BUTTERFLY.

MATHILDE:

Wow.

They both stare at the insect, transfixed.

MATHILDE:

It’s so beautiful.

JACK:

It’s endangered.

She looks up at him. Like it’s a revelation she says:

MATHILDE:

You like coming here.

JACK:

It serves its purpose.

MATHILDE:

You’ve never taken a woman here

before?

JACK is momentarily taken aback.

JACK:

No.

The BUTTERFLY flits away.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 50. page 50.

MATHILDE:

(sadly)

Perhaps you do not have a woman in

your life. It is not easy for us to

keep relationships. Not in our

world.

JACK:

I have an acquaintance.

A beat.

She waits for him to say more.

He doesn’t.

MATHILDE:

Friendships are transitory. It

is...

Suddenly, there’s movement in the bushes.

JACK snatches up his BINOCULARS. MATHILDE scans the tree

cover.

JACK:

Wild boar.

He hands her the binoculars. And hurriedly packs up the

picnic.

75 INT. CAR- DAY 75

Her sunglasses back on, MATHILDE watches the meadows slip

backwards in the nearside wing mirror as the car bumps back

down the alpine track.

MATHILDE:

I wish you hadn’t brought me here.

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