The Siege Page #8

ELISE:

-- So who are you afraid of betraying?

You know these people. They bomb,

they maim. Do they represent the

Palestine you want to build?

(looks at him)

They're using you.

SAMIR:

You are using me, too! Everybody

uses the Palestinians! We are the

whores of the Middle East!

(looks at her)

You make reports about our little

talks --? What about f***ing me?

ELISE:

I had to get special permission for

that.

As he stands up, naked, and goes to the window, we SEE:

THE SAME IMAGE:

Seen again, FROM MUCH FARTHER AWAY by Hub who stands on a

ROOFTOP across the way, watching through 10'50 BINOCULARS.

Frank stands beside him.

FRANK:

Beats cable.

Sequence omitted from original script.

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THE FEDERAL BUILDING -- NEXT MORNING

Hub heads for his office, his SECRETARY nods inside. Someone

is waiting. It's Devereaux, in a civilian suit.

DEVEREAUX:

Hi. I understand they call you Hub.

HUB:

I know who you are, General.

DEVEREAUX:

(offering his hand)

Bill Devereaux.

HUB:

I served in the --

DEVEREAUX:

82nd Airborne, I know. Same time I

was running the --

HUB:

-- 173rd. Put me through school.

DEVEREAUX:

God. Duty. Honor. Country. Where on

Capitol Hill, Wall Street, or

Hollywood would you find one man

who's even paused over one of those

words in the last ten years?

Hub is unsure why he's audience to such a command performance.

HUB:

What, uh, brings you here, General?...

Can I get you some coffee?

DEVEREAUX:

You want me to get to the point. The

President's concerned. He's worried

that -- have you met him by any

chance?

HUB:

No, sir, I haven't. I know -- reading

the papers -- terrorism's a real

concern for him. And your job is to --

DEVEREAUX:

-- With all the affection for the

man I can tell you he doesn't know

fuckall about terrorism, or the

Mideast, that I don't put on his cue

cards. What he's expert in is his

own survival. You get my meaning?

HUB:

I didn't guess you came all this way

for a cup of coffee.

DEVEREAUX:

Agent Hubbard -- you look like you

think I'm here to take your baby

away!

HUB:

With all respect for your expertise,

sir. We're on track here.

DEVEREAUX:

Which is what I said to the President --

the Army is not some big green police

department. Stick with the man on

the ground.

HUB:

I appreciate your support.

DEVEREAUX:

You're sure you're not chasing your

own tail, though?

Hub considers for a moment, then:

HUB:

What do you know about Sheik Ahmed

Bin Talal?

DEVEREAUX:

Old news.

HUB:

Maybe not. We've received two

communications -- from the bombers

to "Release Him."

DEVEREAUX:

We can't release him.

HUB:

I know our stated policy is not to

negotiate with terrorists, but --

DEVEREAUX:

Hub, we can't release him because we

don't have him. We never had him.

And besides that, he's dead.

HUB:

The CIA says --

DEVEREAUX:

The CIA? The CIA couldn't predict

the fall of the Berlin Wall until

bricks were hitting them in the head.

(resuming)

The Libyans snatched the Sheik --

some sectarian Muslim thing -- I'll

explain it next time you have a free

week. They killed him. Qaddafi put

out disinformation that it was us...

Who was your source on this?

HUB:

Elise Kraft.

DEVEREAUX:

...A woman will never know the Middle

East. You're talking about a culture

that keeps its women slipcovered.

Elise Kraft can't tell a Sheik from

the prophylactic of the same name.

HUB:

I appreciate the heads up.

Devereaux rises, offers his hand. As they shake, Elise sticks

her head in the door without knocking.

ELISE:

Hub, we've got Judge Frankel in --

(as Devereaux turns

around)

Oh. Hello, General.

DEVEREAUX:

Please, don't let me --

ELISE:

(to Hub)

Sorry. That tip on the landlord looks

solid. The judge will see us right

away.

DEVEREAUX:

Sounds like I should get out of your

way. We're there if you need us.

(at the door; to Elise)

Your father well, Elise?

ELISE:

As can be expected. How's Maggie?

DEVEREAUX:

Top of her game.

(heads out)

Well, go get 'em.

And he's gone. Elise turns to Hub.

ELISE:

Making new friends.

HUB:

How's your lip --?

She looks at Hub -- and now she knows that he knows. She

brazens it out:

ELISE:

So... you like to watch --?

HUB:

No. Just learning about commitment.

ELISE:

It's a full contact sport.

CUT TO:

JUDGE'S CHAMBERS -- DOWNTOWN

Judge Frankel, 60, puts down his sandwich and wipes his hands.

JUDGE FRANKEL:

-- You're telling me that just because

some Brooklyn landlord tips you off

that he's been paid in cash, you

have the right to call in the cavalry --

! Hub, as far as I know, paying cash

is not yet a crime in this country.

HUB:

You're not hearing me. This Khalil

was carrying cash for --

JUDGE FRANKEL:

-- You've observed him giving cash

to --

HUB:

... No, but --

JUDGE FRANKEL:

-- But you have hard evidence linking

this apartment to the people that

blew up bus 87 --?

Elise sits quietly beside Frank, observing Hub's trials.

HUB:

I know we'll turn up trace elements

of semtex, chemicals... something.

JUDGE FRANKEL:

And when you do, you'll get your

warrant.

HUB:

What about as a feasibility study?

JUDGE FRANKEL:

Meaning?

HUB:

We enter first, take a look, then

fill out the warrant.

JUDGE FRANKEL:

Tell me the difference between that

and breaking-and-entering?

HUB:

We're the good guys.

JUDGE FRANKEL:

Not good enough.

HUB:

What is good enough, Judge? Another

bus? A school, maybe. These things

come in waves.

JUDGE FRANKEL:

Waves mean nothing to me; there's

been a wave of violent crime committed

by black people in this city for the

past twenty years, but if you came

to me with a plan to put all black

people behind bars as a preventative

measure I'd send you packing. There's

a price to be paid for living in a

free society --

HUB:

-- and not in cash I guarantee it.

Hub catches Elise's eye -- "we're out of here."

THE STAIRCASE OF A TENEMENT

Elise and Hub climb seemingly endless FLIGHTS OF STAIRS.

ELISE:

-- Not two Judges from now, not two

HOURS from now, not two MINUTES from

now. These guys could split any SECOND

and you've lost your best shot at --

HUB:

Frank's working another warrant --

ELISE:

You don't understand, they're pros!

From the age of twelve they've been

dodging people like you, people better

than you.

HUB:

You mean people like you?

ELISE:

-- no matter how sparkling your record

is, no matter how terrified you are

to fail --

Finally he stops, turns on her:

HUB:

It's... against... the... law.

ELISE:

-- Just because you went to night

school, or filled out the back of a

matchbook or whatever you did to get

a law degree doesn't make you Sir

Thomas More.

HUB:

Just because you talk the talk doesn't

make you an expert. And just because

you read my file doesn't make you an

expert on me.

ELISE:

You're gonna lose them and they're

gonna do another horrible --

HUB:

-- You think I want to lose them.

Where do you get off talking that

sh*t.

(controls himself...)

If I don't take 'em down properly

they'll be on the street two hours

from now. I could find dynamite,

semtex, plutonium and a book of

matches in there and unless I've got

the right warrant it's all

inadmissible

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