The Saint Page #12

INT. REMY' S JET - CONTINUOUS

Templar turns to the cockpit storage hatches behind him. He yanks open one designated: PARACHUTES.

REMY SAMARKAND:

Don't!

TWO HUGE TOUCANS fly out of the hatch. They flap around the cockpit. Templar looks askance at Remy...

TEMPLAR:

Remy...

REMY SAMARKAND:

I get ten grand for them in Paris. Maybe a Russian would pay more?

Templar grabs a PARACHUTE PACK and races to the back of the plane. He YANKS OPEN the EMERGENCY EXIT DOOR. Cold air blasts his face.

TEMPLAR:

Put down in Helsinki and wait for my call!

And Templar jumps and --

CUT TO:

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - STREETS

An autumn day in Peter the Great's city. Peaceful. Normal. Pedestrians walk the streets. [note: St. Petersburg is called "Venice of the North" because it's built atop marshy islands connected by canals. There are over 400 bridges; on the canals, boat traffic is often as dense as automobile traffic.] A WOMAN, glancing up, notices something.

WOMAN (Russian)

Look.

(points skyward)

Look!

Other pedestrians stop. They, too, look up at --

A PARACHUTIST (Jillian of course) descending into the heart of the city! And down she comes, landing hard in the middle of an intersection. TAXIS and AUTOMOBILES swerve aside, nearly killing her. Others SCREECH to a stop.

JILLIAN gets to her feet, wild-eyed and frantic, tangled in cord and parachute silk. She looks around at --

CROWDS OF PEDESTRIANS staring at her.

JILLIAN:

Help me. I'm American. Police!

A ST. PETERSBURG POLICE CRUISER comes through the intersection to a stop. A YOUNG COP, just 20, hangs up his c.b. radio and gets out. He approaches Jillian.

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - PETER AND PAUL FORTRESS CITY PARK

Across the Neva River from Jillian is a city park with a HUGE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. Under the statue, two OLD RUSSIAN GEEZERS are playing chess, smoking pipes, arguing, etc.

Down TEMPLAR comes. The parachute snags on the BRONZE HORSE'S HEAD. Templar dangles 15 feet off the ground. He looks at the GEEZERS directly below. Hello there.

TEMPLAR:

Sorry about this.

He shrugs off the parachute pack and falls, landing on the chess board, scuttling the pieces. The Geezers fall backward on their behinds. Templar gets to his feet, gaining his bearings, looking for Jillian. He takes off running.

INT. POLICE SEDAN, DRIVING - CONTINUOUS - DAY

Jillian sits in the back seat, catching her breath. The Young Cop looks at her in the rear-view mirror.

JILLIAN:

Do you speak English?

YOUNG RUSSIAN COP Yes. Some.

JILLIAN:

Thank God.

(takes a deep breath, composes herself)

I'm an American scientist. Last night, in New York, a man stole something from me, then this morning I was kidnapped by my lab assistant, god this sounds like a bad novel . . . . .

Suddenly a ROCK bounces off the windshield.

JILLIAN:

What was that?

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG STREETS - DAY

The police cruiser moves past A THRONG OF MICHAEL ROMANOV SUPPORTERS carrying placards and banners. They begin pelting the cruiser with rocks and bottles.

INT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY

The cruiser clears the Romanov supporters. Rocks and bottles smash on the back windshield.

YOUNG RUSSIAN COP There could be revolution maybe. City very dangerous.

IN THE INTERSECTION AHEAD - TWO OTHER POLICE CRUISERS pull into the street, blocking it. The Young Russian Cop brakes; the cruiser comes to a stop in front of the other cruisers.

An OLDER RUSSIAN COP, followed by a PLAINCLOTHESMAN, approach the young cop's cruiser.

EXT. TROITSKY BRIDGE - CONTINUOUS - DAY

TEMPLAR sprints across the Neva River Bridge connecting the Peter and Paul Park with downtown St. Petersburg. He suddenly stops short, seeing --

TEMPLAR' S POV - TWO BLOCKS AWAY

-- JILLIAN in the cruiser, the Older Cop and the plainclothesman approaching.

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - INTERSECTION - DAY

The Older Cop leans in the window.

OLDER COP:

(Russian)

Is this her?

YOUNG COP:

(Russian)

Yes sir Sergeant Ravik.

The plainclothesman emerges from behind the Older Cop. In one shocking, effortless motion, he places a silenced handgun to the Young Cop's head and squeezes the trigger. Blood spatters the windshield. JILLIAN gasps in horror at the plainclothesman. It is...ILYA. The Older Cop opens the door, shoving the Young Cop's corpse to the passenger side. Ilya gets in back next to Jillian, pressing the HANDGUN into her ribs. The cruiser ROARS off into St. Petersburg traffic.

EXT. AT THE FOOT OF TROITSKY BRIDGE - CONTINUOUS

TEMPLAR looks around. He sees A MOTORCYCLE STAND filled with MOTORCYCLES. Runs to it. Chooses a big, powerful, Honda street machine. He pulls out his burglar's tools; jams one in the ignition. He has it running in seconds. He throws it in gear and ROARS off.

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG STREETS - CONTINUOUS - DAY

Templar blasts through traffic on the Honda. He's on a street parallel to Jillian's.

AT AN INTERSECTION Templar looks to his right, where he can see, one block over on the parallel street --

THE POLICE CRUISER moving through traffic. Templar guns the motorcycle. The engine WHINES. He races ahead, accelerating through the gears. AT THE NEXT INTERSECTION - TEMPLAR throws the cycle into a skidding, hair-raising turn. He's going 'round the block to cut off the sedan.

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG INTERSECTION - DAY

The police cruiser moves through the intersection. Suddenly TEMPLAR'S MOTORCYCLE, Templar-less, veers into the path of the cruiser. The cruiser hits it head on. The motorcycle rides up the cruiser's hood and smashes through the front windshield. The cruiser careens out of control. It fishtails twice and crashes into A STREETLIGHT POLE.

INT. THE POLICE CRUISER - DAY

UP FRONT, the Older Cop is unconscious; he's taken the full brunt of the motorcycle through the windshield.

IN THE BACK, Ilya is groggy, semi-conscious. JILLIAN is reeling also; there's a gash on her forehead. The BACK PASSENGER DOOR jerks open. TEMPLAR lunges inside. Ilya raises his gun but he's weak, disoriented. Templar yanks it from his hand and pistol whips him. This has all happened so fast. Jillian looks at Ilya then at Templar...

JILLIAN:

What...? WHO...?

And Templar yanks Jillian out.

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG INTERSECTION - CONTINUOUS - DAY

The intersection is chaos: PEDESTRIANS running up, surrounding the police cruiser, vehicles stopping, etc. Templar, virtually dragging Jillian, plows through the crowd, passing a Russian Army Corporal who's just gotten out of his ARMY SUPPLY TRUCK.

RUSSIAN ARMY CORPORAL

(Russian)

Let me help!

TEMPLAR:

(Russian)

(pointing back at the police sedan)

Help them!

The Corporal runs to the smashed cruiser, and --

TEMPLAR and JILLIAN run to the Corporal's SUPPLY TRUCK.

INT. RUSSIAN ARMY SUPPLY TRUCK - DAY

The driver's side door opens. In comes Jillian, then Templar. Templar shoves Jillian across the front seat and gets in, behind the wheel. He floors it. They accelerate into traffic. Templar looks at Jillian. She's trembling, staring catatonically straight ahead.

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