The Rock Page #7

Sanchez tosses a quarter on the desk and exits.

IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

Impressive, Sanchez.

GOODSPEED:

You mind if... uhm.... I take a shot?

SANCHEZ:

He'll eat him alive.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

He's already had you for the first course.

(hands Goodspeed the

pardon)

WOMACK:

Go.

Goodspeed takes the pardon, goes for the door.

THE INTERROGATION ROOM

GOODSPEED enters. He's completely out of his element, has no idea what he's=

doing, and is-suddenly face-to-face with this.... Mason creature.

The two men regard each other.

GOODSPEED:

Take his cuffs off.

The Marshal uncuffs Mason's wrists. Mason rubs his wrists,

staring now at Goodspeed.

MASON:

Who the f*** are you, Mother Theresa?

So much for Goodspeed's confidence.

GOODSPEED:

No actually, I'm Bill Goodspeed.

(rallys)

Mr. Mason, we really need your help. That's a pardon and release contract=

from the Attorney Generalls office. It makes you a free man, provided you=

cooperate.

He slides a ballpoint pen across to Mason. Mason looks at

the pen, then Goodspeed.

MASON:

What do you do for the F.B.I.,

Goodspeed.

GOODSPEED:

(lying)

I'm a field agent.

MASON:

Tell me what you really do.

IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

Don't answer that, Goodspeed ....

IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM

GOODSPEED:

I'm a chemical biological weapons

expert.

MASON registers this information....

73 IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

Stupid, stupid, stupid ....

IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM

Mason stares at the pardon contract, thinking.

MASON:

You said I'd be a free man. Define

free

GOODSPEED:

Uhm, well, emancipated. Unfettered.

MASON:

I know what the f***ing word means,

idiot. In this context.

GOODSPEED:

I don't understand....

MASON:

During the time I cooperate, will I be

outside? Outside a jail?

GOODSPEED:

Well yes I suppose ...

MASON:

You suppose?

GOODSPEED:

Yes. You'll be outside.

IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM

F.B.1. DIRECTOR'WOMACK

Don't give away the farm, Goodspeed.

IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM

MASON:

What's happening on Alcatraz,

Goodspeed?

GOODSPEED:

A hostage situation. A matter of life

and death.

Mason thinks. He picks up the pen.

MASON:

(looks at mirror)

Then on one condition: a minimum of two hours in the Fairmont Hotel - I=

trust it still exists. I want a shower and a new suit of=

clothes.

GOODSPEED:

I think we can arrange that.

With that Mason picks up the pen and signs the pardon

contract. He hands it to Goodspeed, who exits.

Mason turns toward the mirror, staring right through.

INT. F.B.I. ~ OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY

Sanchez and Goodspeed enter. Goodspeed hands U.S. Attorney

Reynolds the signed pardon contract.

SANCHEZ:

Why didn't you throw in a trip to Fiji?

U.S. ATTORNEY REYNOLDS

I'll have this forwarded to the

President, Director.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

No. You'll give it to me.

(pause)

Give it to me, Reynolds.

Reynolds reluctantly hands the pardon to Womack.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

(to Sanchez)

Show Attorney Reynolds outside there's a car waiting for him. And Sanchez -=

I'll handle the next stage.

Sanchez leads the perturbed Reynolds out. Goodspeed and

Womack are alone now. And WOMACK tears up the pardon

GOODSPEED:

Sir, that's a legal document.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

I'll decide what's legal, Goodspeed.

Over WOMACK'S SHOULDER, GOODSPEED WATCHES AS --

IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM - MASON

places THE QUARTER on the floor. He raises his metal chair;

SLAMS it down on the quarter.

GOODSPEED:

Sir, those references to Alchimadus, Beckett, Solzhenitsyn: all had=

something in common.

IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM - MASON

picks up the coin. It has a DEEP BURR in it. He moves to

the mirror; begins carving into the glass.

GOODSPEED:

They were imprisoned for doing nothing

wrong. What's going on, sir?

GOODSPEED watches MASON over Womack's shoulder.

F.B.I. DIRECTOR WOMACK

You're out of your depth, Goodspeed. You are on a need to know basis and=

you do not need to know.

MASON has etched a circle in the mirror. He slams his elbow

against it. The glass caves in, CRASHES to the floor.

Goodspeed and Womack whirl around, startled. Mason leans

into the observation room.

MASON:

one more thing:
a shave and a haircut.

(sees womack)

Hello Womack.

Mason and WoMack stare at each other and CUT TO:

EXT. MOJAVE - DESERT FLATS - MORNING

A hot desert-vista. Miles of nowhere. A DODGE sits under a

tripod. Suspended from the tripod, a BLINKING DEVICE.

The device DETONATES, showering the car with WHITE HOT BURNING LIQUID and=

amazingly, the car melts into a pool of molten steel, disintegrating to=

ash, which blows across the desert.

50 YARDS AWAY - U.S.A.F. LT. JIMMY FISK and CPT. LARRY GILER (both late=

20's) emerge from the heat waves in heat-refletive suits, walking toward A=

HEAT PROTECTIVE BUNKER (a wall coated with heat reflective metal.)

BEHIND THE BUNKER

U.S.A.F. General Peterson watches with other Air Force

OFFICERS and TECHNICIANS.

Fisk and Giler enter, pulling off their suit hoods. Their

faces are beet red from the heat.

CPT. GILER

What it's all about, sir: Willy Peter burns steel, burns titanium; it'll=

sure burn up your poison and everything else in the atmosphere.

GENERAL PETERSON I need four F-16's equipped with air-to-ground missiles=

within...

(consults wristwatch)

.... twenty-six hours.

LT. FISK

Let me name some things that are more possible, General, with all due=

respect:
winning the Lottery, climbing Mt. Everest barefoot, getting a=

parking space at Yankee Stadium, marrying Sharon Stone ...

CPT. GILER

Can't do it, General.

GENERAL PETERSON

You can. And you will.

General Peterson walks off.

CPT. GILER

Get yer minds off Budweiser, baseball, and broads, fellahs - we're goin,=

,round the clock!

CUT TO:

INT., F.B.I. VAN - BACK COMPARTMENT - DRIVING - MORNING

A van with no windows. Mason is shackled to a steel loop at one end of the=

seating bench. GOODSPEED sits across from him, a CELLULAR PHONE at his=

ear.

THREE F.B.I. AGENTS (CORD, STAR and HUNT) sit down the

bench, talking amongst themselves.

CARLA (V.O.)

(recorded voice message)

Hi! Bill and Carla ain't in! State

your business! Make it interesting!

GOODSPEED:

(into phone)

Listen Carla:
I'll explain later, but

don't come to San Francisco.

CLOSE ON MASON, watching Goodspeed, picking up anything he

can from the conversation.

INT. GOODSPEED'S APARTMENT - DAY

CARLA stands in the threshold of the apartment, watching the

answering machine --

GOODSPEED (V.O.)

(on the machine)

I repeat, don't come to San Francisco.

CARLA:

Like hell I'm not...

She exits, slamming the door.

INT. F.B.I. VAN - BACK COMPARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

,Goodspeed clicks off the phone, thinking, nervous.

GOODSPEED notices that MASON is staring at him.

MASON:

(sotto)

Who's Carla? And why don't you want

her to come to San Francisco?

Goodspeed doesn't answer. He notices the F.B.I. AGENTS

staring at Mason and him. He straightens up.

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