The Next Three Days Page #13

199 EXT. HILL DISTRICT -- NIGHT 199

John follows the flashy car at a distance. It stops at

another corner and something is exchanged. It drives on;

John follows.

200 EXT. HILL DISTRICT - NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT 200

Not the best part of town. It looks rough even for The Hill.

The flashy car parks and David crosses the street.

Half a block back, John turns left at the corner and then

makes a quick right into the alley. He guesses how many

houses from the corner David stopped, gets out and checks

over the fences.

He stops a few houses away when he sees the porch light on a

house flick on. David waits on the dilapidated back porch.

He waves to whoever is watching him through the pinhole and

the light goes out again.

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 68.

200 CONTINUED:
200

John inches closer as the back door opens. David exchanges

a few words with whoever opened it and then packages are

exchanged. The door closes and David walks off the way he

came.

John waits a moment, then moves down the alley, hops the

fence, and sneaks through the twisted bramble of the back

yard. He finds a place to hide, on the ground right beside

the back porch. He pulls out his gun and settles in to wait

between the trash cans, his heart pounding in his ears.

Fade to BLACK. Beat, then: BANG! BANG! BANG!

201 EXT. DRUG DEALER'S BACK YARD -- LATER THAT NIGHT 201

John WAKES to HAMMERING on the door. The porch light flicks

on and John is bathed in bright light -- he didn't realize

he'd fallen asleep. David stands above him on the porch,

holding the screen door open -- if he glanced down there is

no way he wouldn't see him.

John holds his breath and waits. The porch light flicks

off, the locks are unbolted, and finally the thick door opens.

As before, the two exchange words, but now the POUNDING in

John's ears is so loud we can barely hear anything else.

John takes a deep breath and springs to his feet -- knocking

over the trash cans -- and onto the porch!

He smacks David with the gun, grabs him by the hair and jams

him forward into the doorway, preventing the supplier -ALEX

-- from slamming the door on them.

202 INT. ALEX'S HOUSE -- NIGHT 202

Alex releases his BARKING German shepherd and it immediately

attacks David, biting his leg. David screams in agony.

JOHN:

(to Alex)

Back up! Get back!

Suddenly a THUG comes barreling in from the kitchen and aims

a sawed-off shotgun at John, who keeps himself right behind

David's head. The dialogue is almost drowned out completely

by the sound of POUNDING in John's ears and David's SCREAMING.

ALEX:

-- Shoot them both!

JOHN:

-- I'll shoot the dog!

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 69.

202 CONTINUED:
202

ALEX:

-- Shoot the dog!

THUG:

-- You shoot the dog, I'll kill you!

John fires into the floor beside the dog.

ALEX:

-- You want the police here, a**hole?!

JOHN:

-- Good idea!

John fires two more shots into the floor.

ALEX:

(to thug)

-- Put the gun down!

The thug obeys, rests it against the wall.

JOHN:

-- Call the dog off!! Put it away!

ALEX:

-- Release!

The dog stops its attack but goes back to barking.

JOHN:

-- Put it away!!

(aims gun at it)

PUT IT AWAY!!

Alex reluctantly opens a closet door.

ALEX:

In! Get in!

He has to shove the barking dog into the closet.

JOHN:

(to thug)

You, too!

THUG:

I'm not getting in there!

John fires into the wall!

ALEX:

Get in!

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 70.

202 CONTINUED:
(2) 202

And the thug goes in the closet after the barking dog.

sees the bolt and drives it home, locking the door.

John

JOHN:

-- Give me that chair!

Alex doesn't obey, so David grabs it and hands it to him.

John props it under the handle of the closet door.

Move!

JOHN (CONT'D)

He shoves David forward, closer to Alex.

ALEX:

You're dead.

DAVID:

I didn't do anything!!

ALEX:

You brought him!

DAVID:

I didn't bring him!

Shut up!

JOHN:

He pushes them both back into the next room; the dog in the

closet never stops barking.

203 INT. ALEX'S KITCHEN -- NIGHT 203

John shoves David to the floor and waves the gun between

them.

JOHN:

On your knees! Hands behind your

head!

John catches Alex's eyes darting to the counter. Following

his gaze he finds Alex's revolver on the counter. John grabs

it, flips open the cylinder and spills out the cartridges.

DAVID:

I can't kneel!

JOHN:

On the floor!

David kneels with great difficulty.

he's told, his eyes on John.

Alex calmly does as

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 71.

203 CONTINUED:
203

John grabs the paper bag out of Alex's hand and opens it,

finds a couple thousand in cash.

JOHN (CONT'D)

Where's the rest?

DAVID:

That's twelve hundred dollars!

(emptying his pockets)

Here, take it.

A couple of hundred dollars spill onto the floor.

JOHN:

(gun on Alex)

Where do you keep your money?!

Alex scoffs, seeing weakness in John.

ALEX:

Yeah, I'm going to give you my money.

JOHN:

I'll shoot you!

ALEX:

You won't even shoot a dog.

JOHN:

Tell me!

ALEX:

Shoot the floor again, impress me.

John pistol-whips him and Alex goes down. John holds his

gun to his head while he is on the ground bleeding.

JOHN:

I'm going to kill you both.

ALEX:

No, I'm going to kill you both.

DAVID:

Give him your money!

ALEX:

(to David)

Keep your dead b*tch mouth shut.

Enraged, John fires a round into Alex's leg. Alex screams.

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 72.

203 CONTINUED:
(2) 203

DAVID:

Stop it!!

ALEX:

(smiles thru pain)

See? You aren't going to kill me.

That was the worst you can do. So,

now you've done it. Go home. I'll

come find you and kill you.

John looks around desperately. He spots an open bottle of

tequila in the clutter on the counter. He grabs it and pours

it on the floor.

ALEX (CONT'D)

You're wasting some good sh*t.

Now he pours it on Alex.

JOHN:

Yeah, good sh*t; high alcohol content.

John smashes the bottle on the floor; tequila goes everywhere.

THUG (O.S.)

What's going on?! Let me out!

ALEX:

You going to burn me out?

John lights a rag as the thug in the closet continues to

yell and pound. Now calmly:

JOHN:

Yeah. That's what I'm going to do.

DAVID:

Oh Jesus. Oh Jesus.

JOHN:

Your money.

ALEX:

(no longer smiling)

This is a meth lab, you idiot!

JOHN:

No. It was.

And he tosses the burning rag at the smashed bottle. David

screams as the room explodes in flames.

(CONTINUED)

WHITE 9-10-09 73.

203 CONTINUED:
(3) 203

ALEX:

(suddenly desperate)

My kid is upstairs!!

-- What??

JOHN:

MY KID!!

ALEX:

Without warning, Alex dashes for the front hall. Stunned,

John doesn't shoot. He grabs David by the hair, sticks the

gun in his temple and shoves him into the front hall.

Let me go!!

DAVID:

JOHN:

Get up there!!

John pushes him up the stairs as a shield, following the

trail of blood.

DAVID:

The house is going to explode!

ANGLE ON BACK DOOR

Fire spreads, the thug yells, the dog barks. The shotgun

leans against the wall where the thug left it. The closet

door rocks as the thug kicks. The chair won't give way.

204 INT. ALEX'S HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR -- NIGHT 204

John moves David quickly up the stairs in front of him and

down the hall. They peer into one room, nothing. Into the

next - what is clearly a CHILD'S ROOM.

Alex kneels on the far side of the room, barely visible behind

the small bed, his back to us.

Until he wheels, gun in hand, and FIRES twice.

A bullet strikes David in the chest, the second grazes John's

side. Both men are knocked back into the hall and onto the

floor. John pulls himself out from under David as...

Running on adrenaline, Alex stands and strides forward.

David looks up at him. Alex shoots him again and steps over

him into the hall. He sees John, raises his weapon and....

John fires twice, hits Alex in the chest, knocking him down.

(CONTINUED)

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