The Walk Page #4

Now, what is 11 times 10?

One hundred and ten.

110 stories.

That's how tall the towers are.

Hey, guys? I believe I've kept

my part of the bargain.

What is this, a bow and arrow?

Okay, this is not as

sensational as a radio-control airplane,

but it's a lot quieter.

It works! It works!

So now, I have enough money,

I have my accomplices,

I have somewhat of a plan.

The only thing left was selecting a date.

It had to be before the weather turned cold

and before the towers were completed.

So I chose August 6th.

I choose August 6th!

That is three months from today.

Jeff and Jean-Louis fly to New York

at the end of July.

In the meantime, we start looking

for American accomplices.

So. August 6th.

Polypropylene ropes, hemp ropes,

small block-and-tackle with three sheaves,

large block-and-tackle with single sheaf,

uh, slings, steel wire, quarter-inch cable,

pulley blocks, construction gloves,

monkey wrenches, tape measure.

And a balancing pole in four sections.

And, uh, what's all this for?

I'm going to hang a high wire

between the two towers

of the World Trade Center

and walk on it.

Good luck!

Next!

As soon as we got back

to New York, I started my spy work.

I went to the towers every day.

Sometimes 6:
00 in the morning.

And every day,

I would wear a different disguise.

I took photos of everything.

I made detailed notes

of every inch of the towers.

As you know, the North Tower

has been completely finished

for the last two years,

and the South Tower

is completed up to the 80th floor.

- Both towers are open for business.

- Mr. Tozzoli, excuse me.

Toulouse Cezanne

from the magazine L'Architecte.

Could you please tell me

the exact distance between

the north corner of the South Tower

and the south corner of the North Tower?

The what?

The exact distance between the towers?

Lou?

A hundred and forty feet.

A hundred and forty feet.

I rode all the elevators.

The local, the express,

the express to the upper sky lobby,

the express to the lower sky lobby.

I took hundreds of rides.

I spied on the maintenance men,

the loading docks.

I watched the freight trucks

as they made their deliveries.

What time do they arrive?

How long do they stay?

How much paperwork is exchanged?

My greatest disguise was

that of an architect.

I wore a tie and carried a blueprint,

and I tried to look important.

And this gave me access to

everything under construction.

Philippe, that looks really bad.

Maybe you should go to the hospital

and get it stitched.

No, it will be fine. But look at the date!

The coup is three weeks from today.

Jean-Louis and Jeff arrive next week

and I still have no access to

the North Tower roof.

Are you going to be able to

walk on the wire with that foot?

Yes, it will heal by then,

but what am I going to do tomorrow?

How am I going to continue my spy work

with this ruined foot?

- Do you need crutches?

- No, I don't need crutches.

Yes! Crutches!

- Let me get that door for you.

- Oh, thank you.

Hey, there, let me help you

with them crutches.

Oh, thank you.

Here you go, sir.

- Express elevator.

- Thank you.

I hope you heal up soon.

Yes, I think I'll feel much better

in a few weeks.

- Floor?

- Ah, yes, 85, please.

Pardon me, but, uh...

May I ask...

What are you doing here?

You don't belong here.

Yes, in fact, I'm quite right.

You...

You don't belong here at all.

Do you...

Philippe?

I knew it! Philippe Petit.

Daredevil wire walker.

I saw you in Paris on top of

the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

- Ah, yes!

- Yes, wow.

You know, the cops had absolutely no idea

what to do with you.

They never do.

- Barry. Barry Greenhouse is my name.

- Hello.

Yeah.

So, you gonna be performing

here in New York?

Yes, yes. And you, do you work here?

Yeah.

Life insurance.

This man works on the 82nd floor.

But this could be very important

if I can somehow

seduce him into becoming an accomplice.

He works in the North Tower.

He has access to the stairwell and

the North Tower roof.

Wait! Uh, Barry! One moment!

So Annie and I invite him to dinner.

...Notre-Dame, the coup at

World Trade Center will be very similar.

I bring my book of spy work

and my clippings from Notre-Dame

which he had already witnessed,

so he knew I was serious.

And little by little, I

paint for him, a picture.

And when the sun comes up...

I walk.

Well, it's certainly

illegal, that's for sure.

And extremely subversive,

not to mention dangerous.

This is something only a twisted,

antisocial, anarchistic,

pissed-off malcontent

would have anything to do with!

You have your inside man!

Oh, Philippe!

Welcome. Welcome, Jeff.

Very good. How are you?

- Super.

- Good.

- My friend.

- Hey.

Very good.

So, there they are.

Wow.

Philippe, the coup is a disaster.

Why are we waiting for night

to climb to the roof?

Because during the day,

we are more likely to run into people.

But at night, when someone sees us,

we have no excuse to be there.

No, but during the day,

we will certainly run into some people

and they will ask us where we are going.

During the day, you say,

"I'm going to such and such office

"to see so and so!"

But at night, you have no excuse.

Why are you shaking?

I told you I'm afraid of heights.

Afraid at this height?

I panic on a step stool.

And what about the guards, huh?

There is one guard at night.

He stays only on

the floors under construction.

We'll have no problem avoiding him.

- And he never goes to the roof.

- Philippe.

- Philippe, where are you going?

- We need to get an interphone.

This is what you want.

You want a walkie-talkie.

Uh, no, I want an interphone

like this one with the wire.

- Like this one?

- Yes.

- This thing here? You don't want that.

- Yes, please.

This thing here with the wire?

That's old-fashioned.

What you want... Look at this.

- Wireless.

- No. Please, I just want this interphone.

- Like this, okay?

- Okay, buddy.

You're not listening to me

'cause I'm trying to do you a favor here.

This thing is discontinued,

which means I can't get you a warranty.

I don't care. I want this one.

With the wire. Please.

Yes. Whatever you want.

- Thank you. Okay.

- You're the boss.

- Does he think we're a bunch of suckers?

- He's trying to con us.

What's wrong with a walkie-talkie?

We need a wire

so the cops can't listen in.

Hey guys.

If you're planning a drug deal...

...or robbing a bank...

...be careful.

Oh! You guys thought

you were the only ones

who spoke French in New York City.

Mmm. I got it.

It's okay. By the way,

I have nothing against bank robbers.

I say we invite him to dinner.

I'm Philippe.

I'm Jean-Pierre.

It's J.P. in America.

J.P.,

welcome to the

Fisher Industrial Fence Company

of Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Looks like the real thing.

- Who made this?

- It's a long story.

I'll bet. So, do I get a job title?

Yes, because you've

lived in New York the longest,

I'll make you Personnel Director.

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