The Night Manager Page #6

She smiles at him.

PINE:

Why are you with him?

Beat. The question she knew would come.

SOPHIE:

When I was twenty three I went to

study international relations in

Paris. I fell in love with an

Englishman called Philip.

(MORE)

TNM Ep1 PRE-SHOOTING SCRIPT 15-3-15 29.

SOPHIE (CONT'D)

He promised to marry me. I

abandoned my studies...I waited...

Months passed. Years. Then one day

a little man with a ginger

moustache knocked on the door with

an eviction letter and an airplane

ticket back to Cairo. Philip is to

marry a woman from Berkshire and I

am not invited. When I got back, my

family wouldn’t let me in the

house. My mother told me to

continue in the profession I had

chosen, and slammed the door.

PINE:

What did you do?

SOPHIE:

I put on my most revealing dress,

went to the smartest hotel in town.

Freddie Hamid was at the bar.

Freddie is always at a bar

somewhere.

He takes her cigarette, smokes it.

PINE:

Sophie’s a name you gave yourself

yes?

She nods.

SOPHIE:

In Paris. I wanted to be more

Western.

PINE:

What’s your real name?

SOPHIE:

Samira.

PINE:

Samira. It’s lovely.

SOPHIE:

It’s Sanskrit. It means a cool

breeze on a hot day.

She is suddenly filled with a sense of loss, for her life,

the mess she has made of it.

SOPHIE (CONT’D)

What will happen to me Jonathan?

PINE:

Nothing. I’ll make sure of it.

TNM Ep1 PRE-SHOOTING SCRIPT 15-3-15 3030.

And she kisses him and they begin to make love.

40 OMITTED 40

41 INT. EGYPTIAN DESERT. CHICAGO HOUSE. KITCHEN. DAY. 41

He is cooking in the small kitchen. Rice and beans. He

sizzles the beans expertly. SOPHIE watches him, grabs cutlery

and lays the table. It’s oddly and wonderfully domestic.

And must be broken. PINE receives a text. From Youssuf. HAMID

IN HOTEL. LOOKING FOR HER. FURIOUS.

PINE pauses.

PINE:

Did you ever meet Richard Roper?

SOPHIE:

I saw him at a few parties. Why?

PINE:

What was he like?

SOPHIE:

Very charming. When he talks to you

it’s like he’s deciding whether to

buy you.

PINE:

And did he?

SOPHIE:

Do you really want to know the

answer to that?

She stares at him. He knows he did.

PINE:

Why do you call him the worst man

in the world?

SOPHIE:

Because he sells destruction.

Beat. PINE stirs the beans.

SOPHIE (CONT’D)

What is it?

PINE:

I think you have to leave the

country.

SOPHIE:

Why?

TNM Ep1 PRE-SHOOTING SCRIPT 15-3-15 3131.

PINE:

I think Roper knows you took the

papers.

Her hand shakes slightly.

PINE (CONT’D)

It’s OK.

SOPHIE:

Where can I go?

PINE:

To England.

SOPHIE:

I don’t want to.

PINE:

You may not have a choice.

Beat. She nods. He continues to cook. Then:

SOPHIE:

Then come with me.

Beat. He continues to cook.

SOPHIE (CONT’D)

Jonathan?

He looks at her. Nods.

SOPHIE (CONT’D)

Is that a yes?

PINE:

We’ll see.

SOPHIE:

You’re burning the beans.

He returns to his cooking. She smiles.

PINE:

I have to go back to the hotel or

people will wonder where I am. Stay

here. I’ll organise the flights.

I’ll call you when it’s done.

He smiles at her. She stares at him. Kisses him.

42 INT. EGYPTIAN DESERT. TAXI. DAY. 42

Morning. The taxi drives through the arid sand. JONATHAN PINE

stares at the passing desert rocks.

TNM Ep1 PRE-SHOOTING SCRIPT 15-3-15 3232.

Like gods blessing their love? Or omens of misfortune?

43 EXT. CAIRO. NEFERTITI HOTEL. DAY. 43

Bustling Cairo. JONATHAN PINE jumps out of a taxi, and with

urgency enters the Nefertiti Hotel.

44 INT. CAIRO. NEFERTITI HOTEL. FOYER. DAY. 44

PINE walks in, checks for HAMID, he’s not here. PINE walks

into reception.

And then to his amazement sees OGILVEY sitting in the

restaurant calmly sipping a coffee.

45 INT. CAIRO. NEFERTITI HOTEL. BAR. DAY. 45

PINE walks into the bar. OGILVEY smiles.

OGILVEY:

There you are. I was beginning to

worry about you.

PINE:

I tried calling you. Where the hell

were you?

OGILVEY:

I was on a call to London. They’re

very pleased with what you found.

PINE:

If they’re so pleased, how come

they tipped off Richard Roper?

OGILVEY:

What are you talking about?

PINE:

Someone in London tipped off Roper.

Two days ago my source had her face

smashed up in her hotel room by

Freddie Hamid.

Beat.

OGILVEY:

Are you telling me your source was

Freddie Hamid’s courtesan?

OGILVEY’s whole appearance changes. Sudden pale fear in his

eyes, a man under pressure.

OGILVEY (CONT’D)

Where is she now?

TNM Ep1 PRE-SHOOTING SCRIPT 15-3-15 3333.

PINE:

Somewhere safe.

Beat.

OGILVEY:

Well wherever you’ve hidden her,

that’s a temporary solution. Yes?

PINE:

Yes.

OGILVEY:

So what are you planning?

PINE:

I’m getting her out of the country.

OGILVEY:

Where to?

PINE:

Where do you think?

OGILVEY stares at PINE.

OGILVEY:

Jonathan, if you think the British

government is going to give safe

haven to Hamid’s tart, think again.

PINE:

The British Government has a duty

of care...

OGILVEY:

The Hamid family have invested over

5 billion dollars in Britain in the

last five years. They have hotels

being built in London and

Manchester. They fund political

parties, they’re at every top table

you can name. You think your girl

is safe in London? Freddie Hamid

has more friends in London than you

and I put together. She has none.

PINE:

She gave us vital intelligence.

That can save lives. This wasn’t a

business transaction. This was a

humanitarian act, and we have a

duty of care.

OGILVEY speaks with a coldness.

TNM Ep1 PRE-SHOOTING SCRIPT 15-3-15 3434.

OGILVEY:

I’m advising you Jonathan. You fly

that girl out, it’s a confession of

her guilt. Freddie Hamid will know

it was her. So will Richard Roper.

And no one will lift a finger to

stop them.

PINE’s face.

46 INT. CHICAGO HOUSE. EVENING. 46

The phone rings. SOPHIE, in the living room of the house,

answers. Music is on. PINE is in his office in the hotel.

SOPHIE:

Yes?

PINE:

It’s me.

SOPHIE:

I think your friend Harry is gay. I

found his CD collection.

Pause.

PINE:

London is not an option.

SOPHIE’s face falls. She turns off the music.

SOPHIE:

There we have it. The changing of

the guard.

Beat.

PINE:

I’ll still be here to protect you.

She puts the phone down. PINE closes his eyes in pain.

47 INT. CAIRO. NERFERTITI HOTEL. NIGHT. 47

The quiet of the late evening. JONATHAN PINE is on duty at

the hotel.

The sound of a taxi outside.

He stares. Everything slows.

The door opens and the HOTEL DOORMEN open the doors for a

glamorous ARAB WOMAN, dressed in long silks and sunglasses

even though it is night.

TNM Ep1 PRE-SHOOTING SCRIPT 15-3-15 3535.

It is SOPHIE ALEKAN.

She enters and walks calmly to the desk. Stares at PINE.

SOPHIE:

My key please.

PINE stares at her. Hands her the key.

She stares at him. Then turns and glides past him and into

the lift to the top floors.

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