Top Gun Page #13

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MAVERICK:

Nothing. Let's just go fight.

Wolfman looks very apprehensive as they approach the F-14's.

MECHANICS surround both planes, making last minute checks of

all systems. Among them is COOGAN, six and a half feet tall,

looking mean. Maverick tosses him a wave.

MAVERICK:

Morning, Coogan.

WOLFMAN:

How's it goin', Coog?

HOLLYWOOD:

Ever find your sister, Coogan?

COOGAN:

You guys know somethin' about that?

Wolfman swallows hard and hurries quickly into the plane.

Coogan glares at them all with a look that could kill.

77. OMITTED

78. EXT. F-14'S - DAY

Hollywood leads, Maverick follows. They point their noses

down and dive. Two bogies fly side by side at five thousand,

outlined against the blue Pacific. Smaller, slower, they seem

helpless for a moment. We hear the instructors in the F-5's.

VIPER (V.O. filtered)

TWO AT SEVEN O'CLOCK, JESTER.

SCRAMBLE.

JESTER:

ROGER. COMING LEFT.

HOLLYWOOD:

Holy sh*t, it's Viper.

MAVERICK:

Keep your shirt on, he's saying

holy sh*t it's us.

The bogies split. Bogey One hard left. Bogey Two hard right.

Hollywood sweeps left, pursuing Bogey One. Maverick hangs

back to cover him.

Bogey One makes a strong vertical move. Hollywood stays on

him.

MAVERICK:

STAY WITH HIM, WOOD... YOUR SIX

CLEAR!

Bogey One loops and comes down, and Hollywood almost loses

him for a moment before regaining the angle.

MAVERICK:

STAY WITH HIM! TIGHTEN YOUR TURN!

GOOSE:

Bogey at three o'clock high! Nose

on!

Maverick looks quickly at three o'clock high, sees Bogey Two

returning to the fight. He jerks the stick right, and the two

planes make a quick pass.

VIPER:

SNAPSHOT..MISSED HIM..

MAVERICK:

ENGAGING THE OTHER GUY.

WOOD, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN.

GOOSE:

Just cover Wood, Maverick.

Mutual support, man!

MAVERICK:

I'm gonna take him, Goose.

GOOSE:

Don't be greedy. Stay with Wood.

MAVERICK:

I want him!

Maverick goes suddenly vertical, zooms straight up.

GOOSE:

Hey, come on--hey!

Maverick loops the F-14 down to get the quick angle on Viper

in Bogey Two. Viper takes off, running from the fight again.

Maverick looks over his shoulder and sees that Hollywood

still has a good position on Bogey One. He takes a hard right

and streaks off after Viper.

GOOSE:

What what are you doing?

We're cover!

MAVERICK:

Wood's okay. I want Viper.

Goose looks back at Hollywood and Bogey One.

GOOSE:

But we're cover!

Viper streaks across the sky with Maverick close behind. He

pushes the throttle forward to ZONE 5 - full afterburner.

Viper shows all his tricks...hard left, hard right, rolling

into vertical, flipping into a dive. Maverick stays with him.

VIPER (To himself)

Goddamn, rookie, you're all right!

79. INT. F-14

Maverick turns to get Viper in the diamond. He hears a

SIDEWINDER GROWL in his headset.

MAVERICK:

What's the range, Goose. I've got a

good tone.

Viper jinks but Maverick stays with him. Viper is in the

diamond, and the TONE GOES CRAZY. But suddenly....

GOOSE:

Two bogies ! Three o'clock high,

nine o'clock high! Break!

They come out of nowhere, flashing down toward Maverick--a

crossfire ambush. Maverick's eyes are startled.

JESTER:

ATOLL ON THE NORTHERN F-14. HE'S

OUT OF THE FIGHT..

Maverick is stunned. He has been tricked, humiliated.

There's a little salt for the wound as Viper and Jester

celebrate.

VIPER:

WALKED RIGHT INTO IT.

JESTER:

NOT ONLY THAT, BUT ZORRO GOT YOUR

WINGMAN. NICE GOING.

GOOSE:

THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REGRETS TO

INFORM YOU THAT YOUR SONS ARE DEAD

BECAUSE THEY WERE STUPID!

Slaps his helmet like a dolt...

VIPER:

KNOCK OFF THE CHATTER, TOP GUNS.

LET'S RTB. VIPER HAS THE LEAD.

80. INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY

Silence. Several pilots in various forms of undress.

Maverick and Goose sit with their heads down, a hangdog

expression on their faces.

81. INT. DIRTY DAN'S - A BAR -

LATER:

Maverick mopes at the bar, a figure comes up behind him.

VIPER:

Ya know, that was the best flying

I've seen since Nam...(He grins)

...Right up to that part where you

got killed.

Viper sits down. He's in a jovial, taunting mood. Maverick

watches him guardedly.

VIPER:

Twenty years' experience, I

couldn't shake you. You may be a

great flyer. I mean that.

MAVERICK:

I lost.

VIPER:

Of course you did. I said a great

flyer, not a smart one. You fly

reckless. Great instincts. No

discipline. That ambush today, you

followed your emotions instead of

your wingman. Of course you got

killed...and well deserved to. It

was a really stupid mistake. In

battle, it gets people killed.

Maverick nods and stares at his beer.

MAVERICK:

I can take care of myself.

VIPER:

Talent is no holy shield. Von

Richtofen was killed by a farm boy.

Instincts are not enough. Do it our

way. We've worked these things out.

The good pilots can become better

and the great ones can learn how to

stay alive. (he studies him for a

moment) Why do you have to do

everything the hard way?

MAVERICK:

It's my own way. It works for me.

I don't care about the rest of that

stuff.

VIPER:

Then why are you here?

MAVERICK:

For the same reason you are.

VIPER:

Oh, you mean the thrill!

MAVERICK:

The flying. The fighting. I'd go

up there ten times a day to fight.

I'd win at least nine of them.

That's all I want to do. It's what

I do best. I am real good. Just

give me the jet.

Viper studies him,

VIPER:

It's not a gift, just a loan...

He finishes his beer, then rises.

VIPER:

Nine out of ten is okay, as long as

it's only fun and games. But this

isn't about that. This is serious

business. It is dangerous up there!

At 500 knots, things can change a

lot in a second. Discipline is what

protects us.

He signals the bartender and drops some money on the bar. He

stretches, looks around.

VIPER:

It was a good day. You learned

something. You lost and you're

still alive to think about it. And,

you lost your wingman. That's a

cardinal sin...don't ever do it

again. You owe Hollywood an apology

and you owe me a beer.

Viper touches Maverick's shoulder as he moves away. It was

just the gesture Maverick needed, for he seems to relax from

his tension. He sips his beer alone.

82. INT. SAN DIEGO AIRPORT - NIGHT

Maverick and Goose move through the terminal,

anxious/expectant looks on their faces.

GOOSE:

Relationships are a b*tch, here.

It's hard enough to concentrate

...under the pressure. Having a

woman here is asking for it.

MAVERICK:

I guess that's what I'm doing,

then.

GOOSE:

Where do you find the time? Where

do you find the energy. It's tough

enough to keep your mind on school.

A woman here is a real pain in

the...

A pretty woman emerges from the crowd and spots them first.

She rushes them, happily, carrying her sleepy four-year-old,

RICKY. Goose undergoes an immediate change, beaming a big

smile that he has practiced on her for years. She sets down

the kid.

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