The Saint Page #18

She lowers her head, weeping openly.

CAMERA PUSHES in on Templar, staring at her. Even the darkest of men have a seed of goodness. Here, for the first time, does it flower in Simon Templar.

But we don't know this. Templar betrays nothing. He picks up his homing device and clicks it on. He types in this command: MOSCOW. The device beeps; THE MOSCOW STREET GRID appears. He types a new command: SUBTERRANEAN DATA. Moscow's SUBTERRANEAN GRID appears superimposed over the street grid; we see the guts of the city; the Moscow subway, water and gas mains, etc. In a corner of the screen is a TABLE OF SCHEDULES. Templar analyzes the information on the screen.

He quickly rises; goes to Jillian, pulling off his belt. He pulls her up. She stands limply, still weeping, no longer resisting. He's bigger and stronger, there's no use. Templar gathers Jillian's wrists together and ties them with the belt. He pulls her to the trapdoor and CUT TO:

EXT. MOSCOW - SIDEWALK

Several pedestrians walk by. Templar walks Jillian quickly to a MANHOLE COVER. He kneels and hoists the cover off. He points into the hole. Jillian, her wrists bound, steps down uneasily, her feet finding the top rung of a STEEL LADDER. She descends into the manhole. Templar follows.

INT. MOSCOW - SUBTERRANEAN SEWER SYSTEM - DAY

Jillian and Templar come down the ladder, dropping to the steel-gridded walkway over the Moscow sewer. Templar pulls Jillian twenty feet down the walkway. At this point in the wall there is a HATCH with a compression HATCHWHEEL, the turning of which opens the hatch, like on a submarine. Within the hatch we hear RUSHING WATER.

TEMPLAR:

That's a municipal water main. In one hour you're going in there.

Templar pulls out a SWITCHBLADE. Clicks it on. Jillian, shivering with terror, stares at the blade...

TEMPLAR:

Listen. They shut it down twice a day for five minutes to clean the filters. Once at noon, once at midnight. Noon is in one hour.

JILLIAN:

How do you know all this?

TEMPLAR:

Part of my job. Now ask the logical question...

JILLIAN:

.. . where does it go?

TEMPLAR:

Very good. Under the United States Embassy. There's an exit hatch into the embassy courtyard. That's where we're going.

JILLIAN:

We...?

Templar lowers his gun. He lowers the blade to her wrists and cuts the belt.

TEMPLAR:

You heard me.

A long pause. They stare at each other.

JILLIAN:

Then what happens?

TEMPLAR:

Let's get to the embassy, then we'll talk about it.

JILLIAN:

Templar - about that night at my house…

TEMPLAR:

Don't talk about it, okay?

He turns away from her. She watches him.

JILLIAN:

Okay.

CUT TO:

EXT. MOSCOW - RED SQUARE - CONTINUOUS - DAY

The Michael Romanov supporters are marching past the Kremlin with PLACARDS BEARING ROMANOV'S FACE, chanting: KARPOV MUST GO! Ahead, awaiting them, are --

Two units of MOSCOW POLICE in riot gear. A POLICE SERGEANT clicks on a megaphone.

MOSCOW POLICE SERGEANT

Disperse. Disperse!

On come the Romanov supporters. Rocks start flying. The Romanov supporters push into the line of police. The police push back with shields and truncheons. A melee breaks out. The Romanov supporters surge past the police. It is a wild, uncontrolled, chaotic scene.

EXT. MOSCOW - THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY - DAY

ROMANOV SUPPORTERS flood past the embassy gates, chased by Moscow Policemen. Fights rage allover the street. A full-fledged riot is breaking out. OVERTURNED CARS are burning. LOOTERS run through the streets with stolen goods. We hear the sporadic CRACKLE of small arms fire.

IN THE U. S. EMBASSY COURTYARD A U. S. MARINE and ARMY GREEN BERET detachment, grimfaced and heavily armed, stand silent vigil inside the embassy's wrought-iron gates. COLONEL WILLIAM CROSBY, embassy c.o., exits the embassy and approaches the front gates. A FULL BEER BOTTLE smashes at his feet, showering him.

COLONEL CROSBY:

Jesus H. Christ.

ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE U. S. EMBASSY Ilya and his men stand next to their vehicles, silently watching the embassy.

CUT TO:

INT. MOSCOW SEWER SYSTEM - DAY

The WHOOSHING water in the municipal water main begins to subside. Templar looks at this watch.

INSERT - TEMPLAR'S WRISTWATCH - it is exactly 12 noon.

TEMPLAR:

Right on time.

The water subsides to a trickle. Templar grips the hatchwheel and turns it. Opens the hatch. Residual water spills out onto the walkway. Templar pulls himself into the water main. He extends his hand to Jillian. Jillian looks uncertainly inside.

TEMPLAR:

Four blocks. Right under Tretiak's men and up into the embassy compound. You can do this. She grabs Templar's hand. He pulls her up and inside --

INT. MOSCOW - MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN - DAY

-- a four foot diamater pipe. Templar pulls out a PENLIGHT, switches it on and sticks it between his teeth. On hands and kneess Templar and Jillian move off through the water main.

INT. MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN - EXIT HATCH UNDER STREET

Templar and Jillian crawl up. Templar shines his penlight at the ceiling; AN EXIT HATCH WITH HATCHWHEEL is above them.

JILLIAN:

It doesn't seem like we've gone far enough.

TEMPLAR:

We haven't, up there's the street in front of the embassy.

(looks at his wristwatch)

Come on. We've got two minutes.

They crawl off through the water main.

INT. MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN UNDER EMBASSY

Templar and Jillian crawl toward A SECOND EXIT HATCH.

TEMPLAR:

There it is.

They reach the exit hatch. They look at it. Jillian trembles.

JILLIAN:

Oh my god...

The EXIT HATCH has no hatchwheel. It's sealed. Jillian, panicked, looks down the water main.

JILLIAN:

We. ...we've got to go back.

TEMPLAR:

(checks his watch)

Not enough time.

(thinks)

The hatch under the street.

JILLIAN:

What about Tretiak's men …

TEMPLAR:

Better than drowning.

They scramble off. We hear WHOOSHING WATER coming down the pipe.

JILLIAN:

The water's back on!

Back they go, crawling as fast as they can.

INT. MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN - EXIT HATCH UNDER STREET

Templar and Jillian reach the exit hatch under the street. Templar grips the hatchwheel as --

THE WATER ROARS through the pipe, hitting Jillian flush, blowing her backward; she desperately clings to Templar's shoulders as he spins the hatchwheel. The water rises mercilessly. There's a foot of air, then six inches, then just three, then none at all, and they're under water... TEMPLAR desperately turns the hatchwheel, spinning it one last time and WHOOOSH, the hatch door blows open –

INT. MOSCOW - MANHOLE BELOW THE STREET

- - and SMASHES against A ONE FOOT DIAMETER PIPE running along the wall of the service manhole, CRACKING a fissure in it. PRESSURIZED GAS blows out of the pipe. TEMPLAR pulls himself up. He reaches down and pulls Jillian up. Templar kicks the exit hatchdoor closed and spins the hatchwheel shut. JILLIAN looks at the GAS spewing from the cracked pipe. She sniffs the air. Templar looks at the pipe. A warning is printed in five languages: GAS - DANGEROUS.

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