Tomorrow Never Dies Page #16

WADE:

Okay gentlemen. The name of the game

is 7-card Cambodian stud. Everything

is wild!

And then - moving through a beaded glass curtain - we find Bond, in a

white dinner jacket, sitting with CAPTAIN CHEONG. The Captain is

elegant, mid-5O's, eye patch. (To be put into local dialect.)

CAPTAIN CHEONG:

In the Strait of Malacca, when a boat

is even five minutes late, one begins

to worry, Mr. Bond.

BOND:

I know. Pirates from Sumatra want

the cargo; smugglers from Thailand

and Burma want the ships.

CAPTAIN CHEONG:

Sometimes kill the crew; other times -

(points to his eye)

Torture them.

BOND:

I'm sorry.

CAPTAIN CHEONG:

The Kuala Lumpur ferry was 35 miles

off-course that night. Captain blamed

the auto-pilot; I suspected he was

drunk - until the Sumatra ferry

captain had same problem.

BOND:

Did you test the auto-pilots? The

satellite positioning receiver?

CAPTAIN CHEONG:

Next morning. Both boats. Nothing wrong.

(chuckles)

My 90 year old grandfather thinks

'Ghost in the computer - Silicon

Dragon.'

BOND:

(smiles, standing to leave)

I appreciate your time -

CAPTAIN CHEONG:

Maybe you should talk to Sidney Winch.

Owns a marine salvage company. Nobody

knows more about the Strait.

BOND:

Where can I find him?

CAPTAIN CHEONG:

Him? He, is a she -

(points)

at the bar.

NEW ANGLE - THE BAR -

SIDNEY WINCH, about 32, tough, smart, and (here's a surprise,)

beautiful, is ordering a drink when Bond appears:

SIDNEY:

Bourbon. Neat.

BOND:

I wonder if you handle your liquor

more carefully than you handle your boat.

Very slowly, Sidney turns to Bond. She looks him up and down - as if

deciding whether this specimen is worth her time. Her conclusion: A

definite - though skeptical - maybe. She gives him a sultry smile:

SIDNEY:

Sometimes, you just have to plunge

into things. Be reckless.

BOND:

- And I bet you always leave turmoil

in your wake.

SIDNEY:

(thinking, 'not bad')

Have we met?

BOND:

This afternoon. Our boats practically

kissed in the harbor.

(holds out his hand to shake)

James Bond.

SIDNEY:

Sidney Winch.

The BARTENDER APPEARS.

BOND:

Vodka martini, shaken not stirred.

(to Sidney)

And another for you?

SIDNEY:

No. But you can buy a drink for my

friend, Taro.

She steps back REVEALING a huge SAMOAN, TARO, wearing a dark suit and

tie, sitting on a stool. Taro smiles menacingly at Bond.

BOND:

Boyfriend?

SIDNEY:

Chaperone. I'm waiting for my dinner date.

BOND:

Pity.

(to Bartender)

Bring him whatever he wants.

SIDNEY:

So what brings you to Kuala Lumpur,

Mr. Bond?

(beat)

Wait - don't tell me: Unhappy marriage?

Running from some poor little girl

with two kids and a Chanel pocketbook in -

London?

Bond analyzes the situation: 1) She's with a thug. 2) She's in marine

salvage. 3) She went to the Harbor Master's office for the charts.

4) She's a smart-ass. He decides to see if he can rattle her:

BOND:

Actually, I'm here on business. You

might say it was a... Golden opportunity.

SIDNEY:

(a chill in her voice)

And exactly what business are you in,

Mr. Bond?

BOND:

Insurance. Lloyds of London.

SIDNEY:

(daggers in her voice)

The Strait can be a very dangerous

place, Mr. Bond. A few words

scribbled on a piece of paper in

London doesn't carry a lot of value

out here. Including life insurance.

BOND:

I'll keep that in mind.

SIDNEY:

(looking off)

I see my date is here.

(to Taro)

And I think Mr. Bond is ready to leave.

BOND:

Nice to run into you again.

SIDNEY:

Let's not make it a habit.

She exits. Turning his back on Taro, Bond watches her cross the

room. Taro places a huge hand on Bond's shoulder -

TARO:

I think you should go -

BOND:

Not quite yet, Taro -

And from BOND'S POV - Sidney greets HARMSWAY with a big hug.

SIDNEY:

Uncle Elliot!!

Watching this, Bond seethes with memory of Paris and his hatred of

Harmsway. Taro tightens his grip -

TARO:

I said you should -

But before he finishes, Bond spins, and: 1) slams Taro's head on the

bar, 2) snatches the ice-pick from the bartender, 3) yanks Taro back-

ward by his collar, 4) slams the ice-pick through Taro's tie into the

wooden bar, and 5) kicks the stool out from under the goon.

Taro is now hanging by his tie, from the bar, choking.

Bond takes a moment to straighten his own bow-tie. Wade appears,

jubilant, with a wad of cash:

WADE:

Yo! Jimbo! I won five hundred -

(seeing Taro)

What happened?

BOND:

He tied one on.

EXT. A DESERTED MARINA - MORNING -

Bond walks down a long dock towards a lone boat, moored at the end.

EXT./INT. BOAT AT MARINA - MORNING -

Bond looks around furtively, before climbing aboard the sleek ocean-

going craft. On the aft-deck, there's a large covered object.

As Bond reaches for the CABIN DOOR, it opens by itself - and a

succession of THREE YOUNG ENGLISH WOMEN in STRING BIKINIS emerge.

GIRL ONE:

Good morning!

GIRL TWO:

Good morning.

GIRL THREE:

(calling back into the cabin)

He's arrived.

Bond turns from the door to watch the women. He hears:

Q'S VOICE

You're late 007. I've been expecting

you.

Q emerges from the cabin in a blazer and an ascot. He's irritated:

BOND:

Q! How are you?

Q:

Retired. I'm not getting paid to

help you save the world anymore.

BOND:

I'm sorry. It was a national emergency -

Q:

That hardly makes up for the imposition.

(beat)

Now, for what I hope will be the very

last time - pay attention, 007.

(he unfurls a map:)

First, computer generated retrograde

analysis map. Body here, meteorolog-

ical influences here, likely vector-

ing of the ship's coordinates here.

BOND:

Do you have any idea of what any of

that means? In English?

Q:

Not a clue. I didn't lose the ship.

(reaches for a Filofax sized device)

Next, your new personal communicator.

(flips it open)

Picture-phone, fax, beeper.

BOND:

(taking it)

Do I have to dial '9' to get out?

Q:

I don't care who you dial, so long as

it's not me. Next -

Q walks to the large object on the aft-deck. Pulls off a tarp:

Q:

Your new car. (Insert name)

BOND:

(interrupting)

- Four wheel drive?

Q:

Yes. And do try to keep all four of

them on the road.

(continuing)

All the usual refinements: Smoke,

missiles, machine guns -

(shows him a key fob)

Fully operational remote control.

Drives forward, reverse -

(Bond presses a button,

opening a window)

Stop that!

(grabbing it away)

Plus infrared thermal imaging radar,

heads up instrumentation, and 17

beverage cup holders.

BOND:

... 17 Beverage cup holders?

Q:

Standard equipment. The world's

automobile manufacturers seem to be

in some kind of mad war to see who

can provide the most beverage cup

holders.

Bond nods, and LOOKS AT a distraction from the GIRLS IN BIKINIS.

BOND:

I must say, Q, you seem to be doing

rather well in your retirement.

Q:

Don't even think about it. 007.

They're my granddaughters.

STRAIT OF MALACCA - DAY -

Clear skies and blue water. The only vessel in sight is a thirty-

five foot SPORT FISHING BOAT underway at full throttle.

EXT. SPORT FISHING BOAT, FLYING BRIDGE - DAY -

Wade at the helm; Bond next to him, near sonar, holding Q's map.

BOND:

Slow down. We're close.

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