The Cell Page #6

They nod and he directs them to a waiting GMC SUBURBAN.

STOCKWELL (CONT'D)

Agent Stockwell.

NOVAK:

Where is he?

STOCKWELL:

Edison. Just east of Loma Park. SWAT's

had the house under surveillance for

about twenty minutes.

(info memorized)

Suspect is Carl Rudolph Stargher. No

registered weapons, no priors. Got a

license for his dog, though. Named him

Valentine...

INT. GMC SUBURBAN - DAY

Stockwell is behind the wheel, racing down the highway.

Ramsey's in the passenger seat, Novak in back. Shotguns and

body armor line the cargo area. Novak's eyes target the FAX,

a copy of Stargher's license and registration, and the grainy

dot-matrix image of the suspect's face. And Novak knows he's

found him.

NOVAK:

You're the bad man, aren't you, Carl?

EXT. STARGHER HOUSE/NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY

A sparsely populated lower-middle class neighborhood. A half

dozen plain houses at the end of a cul-de-sac. Bare trees.

Brown lawns. Crows in the air.

The house furthest from the main road has a white Ford F250

pick-up in the driveway. Green trim.

THE SUBURBAN, hidden from Stargher's house, four-wheels it

through a prairie and stops outside the backyard of a

PRESCHOOL, where two more Suburbans and a van already wait.

INT. PRESCHOOL - DAY

Stockwell introduces Ramsey and Novak to BROCK, leader of the

FBI Tactical Unit, a calm, confident ex-Marine wearing a

black uniform and body armor.

BROCK:

Glad you could make it. We lose the sun

in half an hour.

Novak and Ramsey join him at the shaded window to observe

Stargher's house. Children's drawings fill the wall. As

Brock explains, Novak checks with binoculars.

BROCK (CONT'D)

Perimeter's two-hundred yards around the

house. Three men at the rear, two on

each side, four up front. I've got two

marksmen on the roof.

NOVAK:

Have they seen him?

BROCK:

No. There's been movement in the

kitchen. But it could be the dog.

(important)

You think she's in there?

Novak is careful with his answer.

NOVAK:

We proceed assuming she is.

RAMSEY:

Let's give old Carl a call. Tell him

he's got company.

NOVAK:

No.

(to Brock)

Can you get a man close?

EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

Quiet. Calm. And then we catch a glimpse of a FIGURE

advancing, using any cover he can, until he is right outside

the house. The sneaky SWAT team member, ERICSON, whispers

into his throat mic.

ERICSON:

I'm at the back door.

BROCK (V.O.)

(in Ericson's earpiece)

Check the kitchen.

Ericson maneuvers his way to the kitchen window and uses a

MIRROR to sneak a peek. In the REFLECTION we see a

motionless man lying on the floor.

ERICSON:

I have a man down. Repeat, man down.

BROCK (V.O.)

Stargher?

Ericson chances a quick visual check and pops his head up

before reporting.

ERICSON:

Can't see his face.

INT. PRESCHOOL - DAY

Brock looks to Novak, urgency and tension mounting. Novak

knows how much is riding on this specific moment. All the

various outcomes. And decides.

NOVAK:

Go.

EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

The SWAT TEAM SWARMS towards the house.

INT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

ERICSON KICKS IN THE BACK DOOR. GUN READY!

ERICSON:

FBI!

He and THREE OTHERS rush inside!

BAM! FOUR MEN KICK in and proceed through the FRONT DOOR!

SWAT TEAM MEMBER

FBI!

An odd quiet is all they encounter. IN THE BACK, Ericson

moves through a LAUNDRY ROOM and finds VALENTINE hiding

behind a pile of dirty clothes, frightened by these masked

figures in black.

ERICSON:

(into throat mic)

I've got the dog!

He points for someone to secure the animal and MOVES into the

KITCHEN, aiming his gun at the man on the floor, finally

getting a look at his face.

ERICSON (CONT'D)

(recognizing him)

Carl Stargher! Do not move!

No problem there. Stargher appears lifeless. As various

SWAT team members secure the house, Ericson removes his mask

and CUFFS Stargher, startled at the sight of the horrible

RINGS piercing his back.

ERICSON (CONT'D)

Jesus Christ...

EXT. PRESCHOOL/STARGHER'S HOUSE - DAY

As an AMBULANCE emerges from a hiding place behind another

garage, we FOLLOW NOVAK and RAMSEY as they run from the

preschool into the house.

INT. STARGHER HOUSE

As a K-9 UNIT secures Valentine, Novak storms into the

kitchen, checks Stargher for a pulse and barks at SWAT>

NOVAK:

Paramedics. NOW.

Ramsey pushes through and Novak informs him.

NOVAK (CONT'D)

He's alive.

EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

FBI AGENTS and local police cordon off the area.

INT. STARGHER HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY

Valentine is muzzled and led away as the PARAMEDICS load

Stargher onto a stretcher. Agent Stockwell turns to a

worried Novak.

STOCKWELL:

They'll take him to County General.

Reid's already there.

NOVAK:

Make sure he stays cuffed. Two men on

him at all times. I don't want anyone

treating him but Reid. Not so much as a

thermometer up his ass. Understand?

Stockwell nods and follows the stretcher outside. A stoic

Ramsey enters from the living room and Novak can see the

disappointment in his eyes.

RAMSEY:

She's not here.

Novak would give anything for that not to be true.

RAMSEY (CONT'D)

(it gets worse)

You should come downstairs.

INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY

Ramsey leads Novak into Stargher's "workroom." It's all

here, the table, the piercing supplies, the bleach. An odd,

grisly collection of DOLLS fills cubby holes in a wooden

storage/shelf unit. Novak's eyes are like a camera,

documenting and storing as much information as possible, but

it's overwhelming.

He moves through the basement. Careful not to touch

anything. He stops and focuses on the hoist and eight hooks

situated over the stainless steel table. (NOTE: ON THE

WINCH'S MOTOR IS A WORN PLAQUE READING "CARVER INDUSTRIAL

EQUIPMENT" with a logo).

Ramsey switches on the video monitor and the screen fills

with images of Anne dying in the cell.

Novak is painfully, tragically drawn to this. Although he's

seen his share of horrific things, Novak is truly disturbed

by the sight of Anne, desperate to escape, drowning, slowly

dying, and he knows: This is what will happen to Julia

Hickson unless he finds her.

INT. THE CELL - NIGHT

CLICK. WATER SPRAYS FROM THE SHOWER. Caught by surprise,

Julia blocks the spray with her hands and searches for a shut

off valve. Of course, there is none. Thirty seconds later,

the water stops. Like an animal caught in a trap, Julia's

eyes dart around her "cage." What kind of hell is this?

Shivering, she catches herself in the mirror and looks deeply

into it. Something's odd about the glass. Is someone

watching her? She bangs on it with her fist.

JULIA:

Hey!

POUND, POUND, POUND!

JULIA (CONT'D)

LET ME OUT!!!

But there's no response. Only her reflection.

INT. KERN COUNTY HOSPITAL - EXAMINATION ROOM - NIGHT

A HUMAN EYE. No movement, no deviation of the iris. A fixed

stare. The catatonic Stargher lies in a hospital bed, wrists

cuffed to the frame. An IV feeds him fluids and monitors

report his vital signs. As a nervous NURSE exits, we see TWO

POLICEMEN standing guard in the outer hallway. Novak, Ramsey

and Teddy Lee stand by as the killer is examined by DR.

MILTON REID, a brilliant forensic M.D. currently shining an

opthalmoscope into Stargher's eyes. He pulls away and checks

the ELECTROENCENPHELOGRAM already on a lightbox.

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