The Night Manager Page #3

The jeeps speed up the mountain side to the top of a lonely

peak.

17 EXT. EASTERN TURKEY. MOUNTAINSIDE. DUSK. 17

LANGBOURNE, PINE, ROPER and the buyer BARGHATI alight from

the jeeps, flanked by FRISKY and TABBY. A series of chairs

have somewhat surreally been laid out on a small hill crest.

Mountains on all sides, a valley deep below. On one side a

FILM-MAKING TEAM is setting up a number of cameras in

different positions.

They sit down. An ARMY GUY runs up the hill. He waves to

PINE.

SOLDIER:

Ready sir!

ROPER:

All right! Cameras rolling! Mr

Birch will give the order to begin.

There is a pause in the night. ROPER turns to PINE.

The Night Manager ep 5

ROPER (CONT’D)

Time to light the fuse.

He hands him a gun.

PINE takes it and shoots in the air. And it begins.

It’s a firework display of ammunition.

It lights up the sky. And below figures run, cars are driven

fast across parched mountain.

The suddenly - a huge explosion as a truck is apparently

blown sky high by a rocket from above.

The FILM-MAKER films all this.

Then a plane flies over - suddenly rocket fire from the

ground attacks it. It’s all incredibly real.

PINE:

British Vulcans M61A2. A

six barrel, air-cooled,

electrically-fired Gatling-style

rotary cannon firing twenty

millimetre rounds at a rate of six

thousand six hundred a minute,

muzzle velocity of over three

thousand feet a second.

The plane bursts into flames. BARGHATI watches. Quite taken

in. Did the pilot die?

But now they see a figure parachuting to the ground across

the valley. Almost relieved applause from the buyers.

Then another cargo plane, black cross on its side. The plane

opens and ten parachutists pour out.

A tank emerges from camouflage and seems to shoot at the men.

Clouds of smoke. But then suddenly the tank is no more,

engulfed in flame.

The cameras film.

PINE (CONT’D)

FGM Javelin light anti-tank

missile. A self-guided fire-andforget

system with an effective

range of up to two thousand five

hundred metres. A tandem warhead

fitted with two shaped charges, to

guarantee penetration of surface

and base armour.

A drone aeroplane suddenly appears. ROPER nods.

The Night Manager ep 5

PINE (CONT’D)

And if the enemy sends in drones...

A pause as it circles. Suddenly the heavy patter of ammo from

below. The drone goes up in flames in the sky.

PINE (CONT’D)

FIM-92F Stinger. A man-portable

surface-to-air missile weighing

only fifteen KG and guided by an

infra-red homing system. The new

model contains a rollover sensor

and revised control software.

ROPER smiles. Pleased.

The drone dives and swoops to the ground. A huge explosion on

the hill below. The patter of guns in the night.

ROPER leans over. Whispers to PINE as they watch.

ROPER:

War as spectator sport. It’s the

future.

Beat.

ROPER (CONT’D)

Brings back Guy Fawkes night

doesn’t it old boy? Or didn’t your

dad do that sort of thing.

PINE:

No he didn’t like the noise.

ROPER:

Ghosts of Ulster I imagine. Mine

did. Never saw him happier.

More explosions from below. Suddenly ROPER calls out.

ROPER (CONT’D)

Watch carefully. We cleared a whole

village for this bit.

And suddenly three aircraft appear over the hills and appear

to obliterate the small village in the valley below. A tirade

of flames. PINE and his fellow spectators watch from the

hill.

ROPER (CONT’D)

Counter-insurgency operations

require weaponry and training

specific to desert and mountain

warfare.

A series of rocket launchers assault the town. Explosions

rock the dwellings.

The Night Manager ep 5

ROPER (CONT’D)

With these toys and our training,

insurgents in a small village such

as this can be flushed from their

rabbit holes in a matter of

minutes.

A series of huge explosions as figures run through the town.

ROPER (CONT’D)

Collateral damage somewhat

inevitable but I’m sure you’re used

to that.

He smiles as the SOLDIERS run house to house. More explosions

in the town which is now a smoking battlefield.

ROPER (CONT’D)

The squadron takes out the

defensive air cover, and seizes the

town.

The ARAB BARGHATI nods. Takes notes. The FILM-MAKER films.

ROPER (CONT’D)

And when the rebel leaders try to

escape...

And now we see a sports car drive down the destroyed main

thoroughfare of the village.

Then the car screeches to a halt. The two INSURGENT LEADERS,

dressed in classic peasant-revolutionary clothes, rush from

the car. Vulcan missiles screech through the sky.

As one they hit it and the car becomes a burning fireball

below them. As the FIGURES stand, arms up in terrified

surrender.

ROPER (CONT’D)

Farewell all resistance.

ROPER smiles.

BARGHATI closes his book.

ROPER (CONT’D)

And cut.

The FILM-MAKER cuts his camera. JASPER walks over, grabs the

camera.

JASPER:

I’ll take that for you sir.

He walks off with the camera.

PINE walks forward as BARGHATI looks at the destruction.

The Night Manager ep 5

18 EXT. HILL FORT. DAY. 18

The trucks of arms are ready to go. PINE sees that painted on

the sides of all the trucks are large HUMANITARIAN AID -

AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL signs. The convoy will look like an aid

convoy of farm material, nothing more.

Twenty ARAB MEN, military types, climb in.

PINE is watching. He is looking as false registration plates

are put on.

Now we see that he is staring close at the plate. And we

suddenly sense that he is learning the plate numbers.

BARGHATI approaches. PINE smiles at him.

BARGHATI:

Goodbye Mr Birch. I will convey

your best wishes to my consortium.

PINE:

And where is your consortium?

BARGHATI:

That is the question you do not

ask. Just as I do not ask where the

goods came from. This is a long and

noble tradition. The supplier is

silent, the buyer is discreet. And

business is done. I went to London

School of Economics in 2005. I

learnt everything I know in your

capital city. Please send it my

regards.

PINE:

Of course.

BARGHATI:

Good bye.

He turns and walks away into the mist and climbs into a car

that speeds him away to the West.

The trucks start to file out in the opposite direction, to

the East, as the sun rises on the day.

20 INT. LONDON. NEW IEA OFFICES. DAY. 20

BURR walks through the secret offices in mid conversation

with SINGHAL. STEADMAN is in the next door room, on the

phone.

The Night Manager ep 5

SINGHAL:

I’ve left Pearl with a small team

in Istanbul, in case our boy makes

contact.

BURR:

What chance of that?

They stare at each other. BURR refers to STEADMAN still on

the phone in the next door room.

BURR (CONT’D)

Joel’s advising we burn our boy

completely. He thinks Roper may

have turned him.

SINGHAL:

What do you think?

BURR:

He attacked our own people. Maybe

he had to. Or maybe he wanted to. I

don’t know. Mayhew has hung us out

to dry. I tried to get access to

the bank accounts of the companies

on the Tradepass list - every

request blocked. I need a sodding

warrant and I can’t get a warrant

because I have no authority.

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