The Rock Page #4

H"EL

Ladies and Gentlemen. You are my prisoners. I have no intention of harming=

you. You will be fed regularly. That is all you need to know for=

now.

Gamble and Starling begin passing out the field rations.

53 INT. WASHINGTON D.C. - J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING - NIGHT

F.B.I. Director JAMES WOMACK exits his office in a tuxedo,

trailed by MARGIE WOOD, a young F.B.I. Agent.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

Can it wait till morning, Agent Wood,

I'm going to hear Bruce Springsteen ...

AGENT WOOD:

(re:
Womack's tux)

In that?

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

Christ, the concert's for the Prince of

Wales or somebody ...

AGENT WOOD:

I really think you should take this

call personally.

They stare at each other and CUT TO:

54 INT. HOOVER BUILDING - DIRECTOR WOMACK'S OFFICE - NIGHT -- Womack,=

grabbing his phone.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK F.B.I. Director Womack.

HUMMEL (V.O.)

First:
I am holding eighty-one civilian hostages on Alcatraz Island. Make=

an excuse to their families and do not alert the media or there will not be=

eighty. Second:
fifteen guided rockets armed with V.X. poison, are=

currently aimed at the population of San Francisco. I will call again at=

0-hundred hours and state my demands.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

Wait. Who is this?

HUMMEL:

Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel.

CLICK. Womack stares at the phone: calls to outer office:

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

Mary Jane, get the Pentagon!

(to Agent Wood)

Call the San Francisco office. It

seems Alcatraz was just re-opened.

Agent wood gives him a curious look and CUT TO:

INT. ALCATRAZ - INFIRMARY/COMMAND CENTER - AFTERNOON

Cpts. Hendrix, before Hummel.

Frye, and Darrow, and Sgt. Crisp at attention

Maj. Baxter at Hummells side.

HUMMEL:

At ease, Gentlemen. It is traditional for me to meet with my officers=

before an operation. The heart performs one thing, the legs another, the=

brain another - all better function together or the body becomes ill, is=

prone to disease.

(beat)

Major Baxter, Gunny Crisp and I have been on the front lines since 'Nam.'=

Captain Hendrix was my adjutant in the Gulf. Get a haircut, Pete, you're=

lookin' like a beatnik.

(the crew-cutted HENDRIX

smiles

Captain Frye, Captain Darrow. You and your men are new to me.

CAPTAIN FRYE:

Would the General like a recitation of

our service records?

HUMMEL:

I'm well aware of your service records, Captain, they are excellent. I want=

to be clear on why you - why all of us are here. You both stand to profit=

from this.

CAPTAIN FRYE:

Profit is not my motive, sir. I am

here to redress a wrong.

CAPTAIN DARROW Yes, sir, and to learn some people a lesson.

HUMMEL:

This country has places where wrongs are redressed, Captain Darrow: They are=

called courts of law. In the military, they are called Courts=

Martial.

(MORE)

HUMMEL (cont'd)

This country has places where lessons a-re leaned. They are called schools.=

Am I confusing you?

CAPTAIN DARROW:

Well, sir, frankly ...

EL:

I see that I am '

(beat)

HUMMEL:

The only accurate term for what we are doing here is treason. Plain and=

simple. An insurrection against a government to which we have sworn=

allegiance. Everyone in this room must understand that.

Hummel looks from face to face, studying each.

HUMMEL:

The question is what kind of traitor are we. Coward or lion? Benedict=

Arnold, or Thomas iefferson? I have posed that question to myself, have=

answered it, and my conscience is clear. Have all of you?

HUMMELS' OFFICERS

Yes, sir.

HUMMEL:

Within thirty-two.hours you will leave this country and not return. All of=

you can live with that?

OTHER OFFICERS:

(unison)

Yes, sir.

HUMMEL:

Well, I cannot. So, regardless of what happens on this island in the hours=

ahead, I will stay.

The men exchange surprised glances.

CAPTAIN HENDRIX:

But General, you'll be prosecuted.

HUMMEL:

Yes, Captain. And I plan on conducting my own defense. it will make the=

O.J. Simpson trial look like an episode of "Perry Mason." Take your posts,=

gentlemen. Semper fi.

Hummel's men fall out and exit. Baxter, the last to exit,

salutes Hummel.

INT. PENTAGON - SITUATION ROOM - NIGHT

Many people around a table, each with a DOSSIER on Hummel:

F.B.I. Director Womack (still in tuxedo), F.B.I. agent

Margie Wood, White House Chief of Staff HAYDEN SINCLAIR,

National Security Advisor LOUIS LINDSTROM, Chairman of the

Joint Chiefs GENERAL ALBERT KRAMER, Air Force General

PETERSON, and C.I.A. Director MILTON AMWAY.

GENERAL KRAMER Last night Hummel and eleven marines, under the guise of a=

security exercise, walked off with fifteen V.X. rockets. It wasn't=

discovered until the shift change this morning.

ON THE SCREEN - A YOUNGER L in Vietnam.

GENERAL KRAMER:

Here he is in Vietnam - I think a Major

at the time.

MORE SLIDES OF HUMMEL in various international theaters.

HAYDEN SINCLAIR:

Four tours in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Desert Storm. Three purple=

hearts... two silver stars and... the

Congressional Medal of... Jesus.

(looks up)

The man is a hero.

GENERAL KRAMER A legend. During Tet he held off a brigade of V.C.=

single-handedly. Saved his whole company. Hence the nickname=

"gunfighter."

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

What was this book Hummel wrote on

Vietnam? Anybody read it?

RAYDEN SINCLAIR:

No. Give me the skinny.

GENERAL KRAMER:

The "skinny," Mr. Sinclair, is that the U.S. should have either won the war=

or gotten the hell out of Vietnam and stopped wasting American lives. I=

happen to share General Hummells view.

The door opens. A NAVAL ATTACHE pokes his head in.

NAVAL ATTACHE:

General, it's him.

The call connects to a phone on the table.

GENERAL KRAMER:

Frank, this is Albert Kramer.

HUMMEL:

Hello Al. Howlre Judy and the kids?

GEN'ERAL KRAMER

They're fine. I'm with General Peterson, F.B.I. Director Womack, Chief of=

Staff Sinclair, Security Advisor Lindstrom, and C.I.A. Director Amway. =

You've got a lot of people worried, Frank. Can you help us out?

INTERCUT - PENTAGON and ALCATRAZ as necessary.

HUMMEL:

I'll come straight to the point, General Kramer: Eighty-three Force=

Reconnaissance Marines have died under my various commands. Forty-seven in=

northern Laos and southern China ...

HAYDEN SINCLAIR Southern China? We never admitted we sent troops into=

China.

There is a pause.

HUMMEL:

Who is that. Identify yourself.

Everyone stares at sinclair.

HAYDEN SINCLAIR White House Chief of Staff Sinclair, General.

HUMMEL:

How old are you, white House Chief of

Staff Sinclair.

RAYDEN SINCLAIR:

I'm thirty-three.

HUMMEL:

Well White House Chief of Staff Sinclair, by your ninth birthday I had led=

over two hundred incursions into China and personally killed that many of=

the enemy.

(MORE)

HUMMEL (cont,d) General, put some duct tape over Mr. sinclair's fat,=

ignorant mouth. He has sh*t for brains and he is wasting my=

time.

Rate this script:5.0 / 2 votes