The Next Three Days Page #14

WHITE 9-10-09 74.

204 CONTINUED:
204

John stands. Alex lies dead, sprawled over David. David

looks around through the roiling smoke:

JOHN:

Is anyone up here?!

He steps over Alex and into the room. He checks the closet -empty

of clothes; clearly no child lives here. John turns

to where Alex was kneeling, sees a bureau pushed aside, a

safe crudely installed in the wall lying open, a trash bag

on the floor half-filled with cash.

John drops to his knees and shovels the remaining cash into

the trash bag.

205 INT. ALEX'S HOUSE - BACK HALL -- CONTINUOUS 205

The dog barks; the door SPLINTERS.

206 INT. ALEX'S HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR -- CONTINUOUS 206

John steps over the bodies; sees David looking up at him.

DAVID:

Don't leave me. I don't want to

burn. Don't let me burn.

The hall is now thick with smoke. John stares terrified at

the two men, one dead, one dying, and agonizes over what he

knows is a mistake. Cut to BLACK.

207 INT. ALEX'S HOUSE - BACK HALL -- MOMENTS LATER 207

John carries David past the closet just as the thug's boot

kicks a hole in the door. Cut to BLACK.

208 EXT. ALLEY BEHIND ALEX'S HOUSE -- NIGHT 208

John, bleeding himself, shoves the badly wounded dealer into

the back seat. He throws the trash bag into the passenger

seat and slams the door closed behind him. Not even a

heartbeat later THE GERMAN SHEPHERD leaps up and snaps at

the partially open window. John struggles to get the car

turned on and the window up as THE DOG tries to force his

way into the car.

Through the front windshield he sees THE THUG leap over the

back fence, landing sprawled in the alley with the shotgun.

John jams the car into reverse and backs away -- the man in

the back seat screaming for his life, the dog chasing the

car, the thug getting off a shot.

WHITE 9-10-09 75.

209 EXT. STREET -- CONTINUOUS 209

John swerves wide around the corner, hitting a fire hydrant

and shattering a taillight.

210 INT. PRIUS - DRIVING -- CONTINUOUS 210

John slams the transmission into Drive and speeds off down

the street.

The dog barking disappears. All that's left are the sounds

of the dying man. John keeps throwing looks over his

shoulder.

DAVID:

I don't want to die. I don't want

to die.

Now at a safe distance, John pulls over and looks into the

back seat. We don't have to see the body to know he's dead.

John sits there a moment, listening to the sounds of

approaching fire engines. He catches a glimpse of himself

in the rearview mirror before pulling out. Cut to BLACK. *

211 EXT. BUS STOP -- NIGHT 211*

John's car idles at the curb, his back door sits open. He

steps back into shot from the far side of the Prius, closes

the door and gets in. As he drives away we see David's body

lying on the bench, waiting to be discovered.

212 INT. FAST FOOD JOINT - TOILET -- NIGHT 212*

Standing at the sink shirtless, John pours alcohol on the

wound in his side.

He mops up the blood with a wad of paper towels, then applies

a bandage, fresh from the box. He pulls a new shirt and

jacket from a Target bag.

A moment later, now dressed, John stuffs the trash bag full

of cash into his backpack.

213 INT. FAST FOOD JOINT -- NIGHT 213*

John steps out of the bathroom, zipping his new jacket. He

barely draws a look from the few customers as he limps out

of the restaurant. Cut to BLACK.

WHITE 9-10-09 76.

214 EXT. ALEX'S HOUSE -- NIGHT 214

Water streams from the house, the front door and windows

broken by firemen who now pack up their gear to leave.

LIEUTENANT NABULSI strides into shot, drinking a Red Bull,

which he crushes and discards on the porch.

215 INT. ALEX'S HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR -- CONTINUOUS 215

Nabulsi climbs the stairs to find SGT. HARRIS watching the

CSI team work. Nabulsi steps up behind the CSI worker. *

LT. NABULSI

(almost a whisper)

Get out of my way.

The man flees like he just saw the prince of darkness.

Nabulsi c*cks his head and looks down at the dead man.

LT. NABULSI (CONT'D)

What do we have?

SGT. HARRIS

A miracle. Meth lab in the basement,

the house still standing. Should be

just a crater.

LT. NABULSI

(straddles Alex)

Do we know him?

SGT. HARRIS

Alex Gaidar, history of violence and

drug trafficking.

Nabulsi sees the brightly painted walls of the child's room.

LT. NABULSI

He have a kid?

SGT. HARRIS

Neighbor said wife left with him

last year. Big surprise there.

LT. NABULSI

They type all this blood yet?

SGT. HARRIS

No, but someone left through the back

door bleeding. Zone Three found a

gunshot victim dead on a transit bench.

Nabulsi nods and descends the stairs.

WHITE 9-10-09 77.

216 EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET -- NIGHT 216

John snips the links of a tall chainlink fence, then turns

and walks back to the Prius.

217 INT. GRACE AND GEORGE'S HOUSE -- NIGHT 217

John eases open his parents' front door and removes his key

from the lock. It's the middle of the night, so he is

surprised to see a light on in the kitchen. He enters,

carrying his jacket and backpack, and places them on a chair.

When he gets to the kitchen he sees his father in his pajamas,

reading a biography and sipping a cup of tea.

JOHN:

Hi. What are you doing up?

George shrugs. An uncomfortable silence.

JOHN (CONT'D)

I've come to get Luke.

George nods. After another silence, John starts down the

hall. His father appears in the hallway behind him.

GEORGE:

John? Are you alright?

John turns around, surprised.

JOHN:

I'm fine.

The two men look at each other for a moment, John leaves the

room.

His father steps into the living room and notices his jacket

falling off the chair. George lifts it to set it right and

sees something is sticking out of the backpack: airplane

tickets and passports.

218 INT. JOHN'S OLD ROOM -- CONTINUOUS 218

John steps into the room that he had as a teenager. Luke

sleeps in the single bed. John sits beside him, touches his

face, then looks around the room, wondering how he got here,

and is overwhelmed.

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