The Night Manager Page #6

JED fakes it:

JED:

I think I took a picture on my

phone...

Beat.

ROPER:

You think you took a picture...

JED:

Yes.

ROPER:

Why did you do that?

JED:

Because I’m sick of knowing

nothing! That’s why!

The Night Manager ep 5

JED continues to feed the lie

JED (CONT’D)

I thought I’d find out. I took a

photo. I was going to ask someone

what it all meant.

ROPER:

Who?

JED:

I don’t know. Maybe Corky. But then

I got frightened and I didn’t do

anything. I swear I didn’t. I just

left it on my phone, and then later

I deleted it. Please believe me.

She stares at him.

ROPER:

How long after did you delete it?

JED:

I don’t know. Maybe a week?

Pause.

ROPER:

Who did you show your phone to?

JED:

No one. I mean I don’t know, maybe

I left it out...

ROPER:

Anyone could have seen it.. Who?

Corky?

JED:

I suppose.

She hesitates.

JED (CONT’D)

Oh god, I’ve been so stupid.

He holds her. Caresses her.

ROPER:

It’s nothing we can’t solve. But

you must never do that to me again.

Do you understand?

He strokes her hair.

JED:

Yes I understand.

The Night Manager ep 5

ROPER:

Good. I love you very much. You

know that?

And my god, he means it. Which only makes it more terrifying.

JED:

I love you too.

She is staring out into the darkness, after PINE.

33 EXT. HILL FORT. GENERATOR. PERIMETER FENCE. NIGHT. 33

PINE is walking back into the shadows, moving fast, round to

the generators, to see TABBY and JASPER staring at the

mangled connection. PINE fakes ignorance. Making himself an

alibi.

PINE:

What the hell happened?

JASPER:

Someone melted the connection.

PINE:

On purpose? You should tell the

chief.

TABBY:

He knows.

PINE:

Anything I can do?

JASPER:

Go to bed. It’ll take all night to

fix this.

PINE nods, passes them, appears to return to his hut, but

then cuts across the dark hill.

He moves to the perimeter fence, the lights round the fence

are out and PINE moves silently round the fence to where the

army trucks stand waiting.

PINE cuts his way through the fencing and out on to the open

hillside.

34 OMITTED 34

The Night Manager ep 5

35

I/E. TURKISH MOUNTAINS. TAXI. NIGHT. 35

PINE walks down the lonely road towards the main road. The

mountains loom in the distance. He is utterly alone.

Then he sees it - what he was looking for. One sole taxi is

parked up at the edge of the main road. Just as Roper said

they do.

He approaches the taxi. A TURKISH DRIVER is sitting asleep in

the driver’s seat.

PINE taps at the window.

The window rolls down.

DRIVER:

Airport?

PINE takes out the piece of paper.

PINE:

No. It’s a longer journey I’m

afraid.

36

EXT. VILLAGE. APPROACH. NIGHT. 36

PINE is running back up the road.

Then something catches his eye ahead of him.

A father and child are pulling a cart up the road, going the

same way as him. Rough clothes, dusty.

PINE reaches them. Sees their faces. Sees the child stare in

blank terror at him.

PINE sees he has a rifle in his hands. He suddenly points it

at PINE. Fear in his eyes.

The FATHER, CENGIZ, speaks. In English.

CENGIZ:

Who are you?

PINE:

I work at the camp. Have you come

across the border?

CENGIZ:

No. We are from the village.

PINE’s blood runs cold.

PINE:

Which village?

The Night Manager ep 5

CENGIZ gestures. Suppressed rage.

CENGIZ:

They bombed it. British man said we

had to leave. Training manoeuvres.

His face is cold with quiet rage.

CENGIZ (CONT’D)

Come and see.

He gestures PINE to the back of the small cart they are

pulling. PINE looks in.

And stops dead.

An OLD KURDISH WOMAN lies dead in the cart.

CENGIZ (CONT’D)

She stayed in her house. She said

she was too old to leave.

PINE stares at the body.

CENGIZ (CONT’D)

We are going to the camp now. I am

going to show her to the man who

did this.

PINE stares at him.

PINE:

Don’t. For your son’s sake. Turn

round. Go back the way you came.

But they ignore him. And walk on past towards the camp...

37 EXT. HILL FORT. NIGHT. 37

PINE, face pale in the night, skirts back round the outside

of the camp, keeping in the shadows.

He stares through the fence at the camp. It is as if all evil

is in this place.

Still the fort is in darkness.

He finds the hole where he came in. Quietly crawls through.

Then he sees the cigarette smoke.

The light at the end of the butt.

And the figure of a man.

It’s CORKORAN. Staring at him with a gun trained on him.

The Night Manager ep 5

CORKORAN:

Been bunking off old boy? Get a

detention for that you know.

PINE stares at him.

CORKORAN (CONT’D)

Put your hands up. Walk in front of

me, five paces.

He waves PINE onward. PINE begins to walk.

PINE:

It’s your word against mine.

CORKORAN:

Let’s take that risk shall we? You

make one false move, I shoot you in

the back.

CORKORAN right behind him. They walk towards the complex.

Then suddenly the spotlights come back on, someone has fixed

the generator and the two men are illuminated in bright

light.

And in an instant PINE turns and attacks. CORKORAN’s gun goes

off, PINE launches himself at CORKORAN, a tussle, CORKORAN,

ex-military and tough as an ox, fights, wrestles, the gun

between them, CORKORAN raging, possessed with pure animal

desire to destroy. But PINE is younger and stronger and gains

the upper hand.

PINE has CORKORAN’s neck in his arms.

CORKORAN’s face red with rage as he fights like a wild

animal. Biting. Snarling.

But it’s working. The squeeze intensifies.

The blood slowly flows from CORKORAN’s face.

CORKORAN’s eyes widen.

GUARDS are coming towards them.

PINE suddenly leaps back. The GUARDS swarm closer. CORKORAN

turns to speak, but he is in his death rattle. He tries to

speak, to blame, to TELL THEM.

PINE:

I caught him climbing back over the

fence.

CORKORAN turns in shock and rage but too late, life is ebbing

from him.

The Night Manager ep 5

PINE (CONT’D)

Get the chief down here now! We

need him to talk.

The GUARDS run back calling for the chief on the radio.

PINE bends down, as if caring for him. He stares at CORKORAN

in the eyes.

SNAP.

PINE breaks his neck.

CORKORAN slumps to the ground.

ROPER, TABBY and FRISKY are approaching.

PINE stands.

PINE (CONT’D)

Too late.

ROPER stares at the dead body of CORKORAN lying on the

ground. He touches him with his boot.

ROPER:

Get him buried quick. No one’s to

know anything about this. He was

never here.

He turns and walks back up the hill. PINE watches him go.

38

EXT. HILL FORT. DAWN. 38

The mountains brood in the distance. TABBY and FRISKY are

dumping the corpulent body of CORKORAN in a hastily dug grave

above the Hill Fort.

FRISKY:

Smallest grave I’ve ever dug.

39

INT. HILL FORT. PINE’S ROOM. DAWN. 39

PINE returns to his accommodation. Breathes deep.

He opens the door, begins to undress. Then he stops dead.

That’s when he hears the shots. Two crisp shots in the night.

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