The Next Three Days Page #11

161 INT. JOHN'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT 161

John finishes writing a letter on lined paper. He opens his

drawer; it is full of letters in yellow envelopes. He pulls

one out; it is from Lara, on lined paper. He stuffs his new

letter in the old yellow envelope.

162 INT. LUKE'S ROOM -- NIGHT 162

This is the only room that is still furnished. John pokes

his head in, sees Luke on his bed playing by himself.

JOHN:

You want to read a letter from Mom?

Luke shrugs as if he doesn't care, but then scoots over in

his bed so that his dad can sit beside him. John does. He

pulls the letter out of the envelope and reads.

JOHN (CONT'D)

Dearest Luke Who I Love, But Not As

Much As Chocolate...

LUKE:

She didn't write that.

JOHN:

My mistake. Dearest Luke, who I

love so, so much. I wish I could

have walked you home today, it was

so beautiful out.

WHITE 9-10-09 58.

163 EXT. PAULA'S HOUSE - BACKYARD -- LATE AFTERNOON 163*

Luke and John water Paula's vegetable garden.

LUKE:

But what's wrong with her?

JOHN:

She's not feeling well.

LUKE:

Why didn't she just stay home?

JOHN:

Because sometimes people get so sick

you have to go to the hospital to

get fixed.

LUKE:

How do you know when you're that

sick?

JOHN:

The doctors do tests.

Something tweaks. John turns and looks back across the alley,

at his open garage...and remembers their conversation. He

drops the hose and takes Luke's hand.

JOHN (CONT'D)

Come on.

They drop the hose in the garden and walk back to the house.

163A INT. JOHN AND LARA'S BATHROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON 163A*

John flings open the medicine cabinet, finds an old bottle

of Lara's insulin. He checks the label. *

163B INT. JOHN'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT 163B

John hits a key and a medical article appears: LIFE

THREATENING COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES.

...Severe Hyperkalemia...extremely high levels of potassium

...cardiac arrest...particularly dangerous as there are no

outward symptoms...

164 INT. JOHN'S BEDROOM - LATER -- NIGHT 164

The camera swirls as John searches the wall and photos of

delivery vans arriving at the jail. Not seeing what he wants,

he charges the desk & rifles through more photos.

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 59.

164 CONTINUED:
164

He finally snatches the photo he's looking for. He turns it

over -- on it is written TUESDAY 9:30 AM. And right over

the phrase FIND THE KEY he pins the photo of a delivery van

from a medical laboratory.

165 EXT. COUNTY JAIL -- MORNING 165

Parked at a distance, John watches from inside his Prius.

Finally, a DRIVER steps out of the jail carrying a tray of

test results. He opens the back door of the van.

166 EXT. STREETS -- DAY 166

John follows the van.

167 EXT. NURSING HOME -- DAY 167

John watches as the driver steps out with a tray, point and

push his key fob, lock the doors and enter the nursing home. *

IN THE PRIUS - MOMENTS LATER - John watches his stopwatch.

The driver returns with a tray. John hits the stop button.

1 MINUTE 48 SECONDS.

168 INT. JOHN'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT 168

John Googles:
"How to break into a car."

169

INT. KITCHEN -- NIGHT 169

John heats a screwdriver on the open flame of the gas fire,

then places the red hot tip of it on an old tennis ball.

170 EXT. P.M.H. LAB -- MORNING 170*

John waits, eating a donut. He sees the driver step out of *

Pittsburgh Med Health Lab and walk to his panel van. *

171 EXT. STREETS -- DAY 171

John follows the van again.

172 EXT. MEDICAL FACILITY -- DAY 172

Wearing his iPod, the driver steps out with a tray and presses

his key fob; the van chirps and locks. He enters the building

as John steps up to the driver's door.

John checks no one is watching, places the tennis ball over

the key slot and punches the ball flat. The lock pops open.

WHITE 9-10-09

60.

173 INT. LABORATORY VAN -- CONTINUOUS 173

Shelves line the walls; on them sit plastic trays of envelopes.

John climbs in and finds the tray from ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL.

174 EXT. MEDICAL FACILITY -- CONTINUOUS 174

The driver comes back out, heading for the van. He pauses

to flirt with a nurse on her break, but she isn't buying.

175 INT. VAN -- CONTINUOUS 175

John finds the envelope marked "Lara Brennan." He checks

his watch, only 44 seconds have lapsed. He slips the card

out, photographs it with his cell phone and puts it back.

176 EXT. MEDICAL FACILITY -- DAY 176

The driver heads for the van as John opens the back door and

climbs out. Oblivious to his narrow escape, John closes the

door and walks away a heartbeat before the driver gets there.

177 INT. BRENNAN HOUSE -- EVENING 177

John checks his son, who sits on the bare living room floor

playing a video game on the TV, the remaining item.

JOHN:

You okay?

Luke nods and shoots somebody.

178 INT. JOHN'S BEDROOM -- EVENING 178

John brings up Lara's form in Photoshop on his laptop and

erases the hand-written numbers in the test results boxes.

179 INT. JOHN'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT 179

John writes numbers in the blank boxes of the medical form.

Then he sits back and worries that he's got it right. Calls:

JOHN:

Luke! Time for bed.

180

INT. LUKE'S ROOM -- NIGHT 180

John enters the child's bedroom and stops dead.

The wall over Luke's bed is covered with crayon scribbles,

imitating the chart on his father's bedroom walls.

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 61.

180 CONTINUED:
180

Luke walks into the room, and steps up beside his father,

staring at the wall. He takes his father's hand, and the

two just stand there in silence.

181 INT. COUNTY JAIL - CONTACT VISITING ROOM -- DAY 181

John waits as the other prisoners enter. Lara kisses him; *

looks in his eyes. He sees the despair behind the smile. *

JOHN:

...What's wrong?

She takes a letter from her pocket.

JOHN (CONT'D)

What is it?

She hands it to him. John reads. His face changes. *

JOHN (CONT'D)

No....NO! They can't move you. Not

without notice! Monday isn't notice! *

LARA:

I was only here through the appeal. *

We knew I'd be moved to a prison. *

JOHN:

Muncy is the other side of the state. *

Lara nods. Off John's face, the screen goes BLACK. Read: *

THE LAST THREE DAYS

182 INT. REALTOR'S OFFICE -- DAY 182

John stands with Eugenie, the frightened realtor.

JOHN:

I don't have two weeks! I need it *

tomorrow! *

EUGENIE:

The title hasn't been cleared -there

is no way that -

JOHN:

How much can they give me?!

EUGENIE:

Nothing!

John turns on his heel and slams out through the door.

WHITE 9-10-09 62.

183 INT. JOHN'S BEDROOM -- DAY 183

John stares at the wall -- MONEY is down to $1,497.

He rifles through a drawer, finds a pair of sunglasses.

He snatches a baseball cap from a top shelf.

He tosses a bag on the bed, unzips it and pulls out the gun. *

184 EXT. AIRPORT LONG TERM PARKING LOT -- DAY 184

John unscrews the license plate from a dusty black Prius.

He sticks the plate under his jacket, stands and checks over

his shoulder as he walks out of the massive parking lot.

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