The Avengers Page #20

He sees the timer racing backwards -- stands over the controls, trying to figure out how

to stop the program.

Looks for the chip -- amongst all the rest it's like trying to find a contact lens in

water.

333 FLOOR-LEVEL HATCH

opens behind. Valentine emerges, drops the HATCH COVER with a THUD. Steed

whirls.

VALENTINE:

John Steed.

STEED:

Valentine Peel. I see you've gone

back to using your original face.

VALENTINE:

The last one you'll ever see.

STEED:

Perish the thought.

Valentine fulls forth a rapier from the wall.

VALENTINE:

Did they tell you at Eton that I

was fencing champion, too?

Steed unsheathes his umbrella, revealing ditto.

STEED:

They said you were a very naughty

boy.

The fight is on as the numbers grow smaller!

334 SEVERAL ANGLES

VALENTINE:

You're better than I expected.

STEED:

I was at Harrow ...

VALENTINE:

But did they teach you this?

Valentine whacks the blade off Steed's umbrella handle. Laughs. A diminished phallic

symbol. Steed, dumbfounded.

Valentine advances towards Steed --

Who points the umbrella at him.

STEED:

Bang-bang ... you're dead.

VALENTINE:

You wish.

He moves to close in, when ...

335 CLOSEUP - FLASH OF LIGHT

from the muzzle, as a BULLET ZIPS out, and --

336 VALENTINE

recoils. Blood streams from his shoulder. He looks up, devastated. Steed blows

smoke away from the muzzle.

STEED:

One shot -- for emergencies.

VALENTINE:

(clutches wound)

That's not playing by the rules.

STEED:

(echoes Emma!)

Rules are made to be broken.

VALENTINE:

(pulls his own gun)

If you say so.

STEED:

I do.

He FIRES again. To the heart. Valentine spins to the floor.

VALENTINE:

You said ... one shot.

STEED:

Did I? My mistake.

Steed turns to the console, tries to figure out how to stop the countdown, when behind

the hatch opens again, revealing Emma. Valentine pulls her up, grabs her as hostage --

VALENTINE:

I wouldn't do that, if I were you.

Steed turns.

STEED:

Mrs. Peel -- !

Valentine has Emma, a knife to her throat, stands over the hatch.

VALENTINE:

Bullet-proof waistcoats -- just the

thing. I get mine from Trubshaw's.

We'll be off now, won't we, darling?

(to Steed)

We wouldn't want to miss the

fireworks. Figure it out if you can,

Steed ...

337 DOWN HATCH

Valentine drags Emma, bolting the hatch.

338 ON STEED

He's torn briefly, but there are thousands of lives at stake; Steed goes to the control

module and starts pulling out chips, looking ...

339 EXT. LONDON - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT

The biggest cyclone you've ever seen starts slowly whirling above the city, gathering

momentum ...

340 NUMBERS

going down, down, down, as ...

341 INT. CATWALKS - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Valentine drags Emma backwards ...

342 EXT. LONDON - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT

The cyclone picking up force ...

343 CLOSEUP - STEED'S HANDS

pull up a chip. The red numbers freeze. WIDEN to reveal...

344 INT. CONTROL ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION

The SIRENS CEASE. Steed allows himself a smile of relief.

345 EXT. LONDON - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT

The giant cyclone begins to break apart ...

346 SEVERAL ANGLES - DYING STORM

347 CLOSEUP - RELIEVED FACES

Troops pulling off gas masks as ...

348 INT. CONTROL ROOM - ON SCREENS - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Steed sees the breakup of the cyclone ...

Then -- behind him -- an ominous CLICK-CLICKING as the PROGRAM reconfigures.

A DIFFERENT ALARM BUZZER SOUNDS and the words:

"AUTO-DESTRUCT, 3 MINUTES"

start flashing ...

A different set of numbers start running backwards ...

STEED:

You must be joking ...

349 EXT. CATWALKS - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Valentine, dragging Emma, reacts to the new ALARMS.

VALENTINE:

Fool ...

In his hesitation, Emma suddenly makes her move. A struggle -- Emma takes a bad fall

down a landing below. Ugly THUD. Dead.

STEED:

That will do.

He's materialized across the girder from Valentine. Who pulls his revolver.

VALENTINE:

Aren't you forgetting about

something?

STEED:

You are, and it's behind you.

VALENTINE:

Come, come. You don't really

expect me to fall for --

Bad Emma's arms go 'round Valentine in a lethal embrace.

VALENTINE:

Let go, you ... idiot ...

Uh uh. She holds him in a vice-like grip. Hugging Valentine.

STEED:

I think she really likes you ...

Where's Mrs. Peel?

VALENTINE:

Ugh ...

As the life is squeezed out of him, Bad Emma finally smiles. Cradled together, she

chokes Valentine, who gasps for breath, as --

One last desperate move on his part and Bad Emma tumbles backwards, Valentine

locked in her arms in a dying embrace.

They fall into the mists and liquid below.

Steed almost falls himself as he grabs a beam for support. Looks down, sees ...

350 EMMA

Dead.

STEED:

Emma!

He has said her name. He scrambles down to her body.

Emma lying sprawled out on the ground.

Steed picks up her limp body in his arms like "Sleeping Beauty." His eyes fill with

tears. He lays her down.

STEED:

Emma ...

He produces Peter's ring.

351 CLOSEUP - RING

Slips it onto her finger and ...

352 BACK TO SCENE

Kisses her. A chaste kiss on the lips. But with the force and passion of a lover. He

closes his eyes, looks away in grief. The ALARM STILL SOUNDS but Steed doesn't

give a damn.

Behind, Emma opens her eyes. As if revived by the kiss. Or the ring. Looks up at

him.

EMMA:

Steed?

Steed looks back at her -- surprise, delight.

STEED:

Mrs. Peel?

EMMA:

What kept you?

STEED:

The plot.

(realizing)

Hello, we must be going ...

353 CLOSEUP - AUTO-DESTRUCT NUMBERS

Racing backwards as ...

354 SEVERAL ANGLES

Steed pulls Emma through the catwalks and corridors of Valentine's Labyrinth ...

355 MORE NUMBERS

racing to zero, nothing to stop them ...

356 INT. TORTURE CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Steed and Emma race in -- she sees the sarcophagus.

EMMA:

Quick!

Emma scrambles in and Steed leaps on top of her, bringing down the lid as ...

357 SEVERAL ANGLES

3-2-1 -- and a BLAST like a nuclear EXPLOSION -- as the Underground HQ is

fragmented to smithereens -- Emma's " coffin" goes flying ... as the SCREEN WHITES

OUT.

358 EXT. ALBERT BRIDGE - NIGHT

Beneath the clear moonlight, all bulbs on -- like Xmas.

359 BELOW

it floats the coffin -- which opens, revealing ...

Steed and Emma, squashed together, gasping for breath.

STEED:

'The owl and the pussycat went

to sea -'

EMMA:

'... in a beautiful pea green boat...'

STEED:

A fine night, Mrs. Peel ...

EMMA:

Still a bit chilly ...

STEED:

English weather. You know, after

all we've been through, I should

say we deserve a long holiday ...

EMMA:

Have you any place in mind?

STEED:

As a matter of fact I have ...

The coffin drifts downstream in the moonlight.

SLOW DISSOLVE TO:

360 EXT. SIBERIAN ICE FIELDS - DAY360

A few weeks later. Across snowy wastes, a pack of Huskies drag a sled behind them,

WHIP CRACKED by a --

Frozen fur-clad Siberian peasant. As he turns a corner, dogs stumble from ice and

snow into --

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