Traveler Page #4

CHAMBERS:

(into speakerphone)

This is Special Agent in Charge

Fred Chambers. I understand I'm

speaking with one of the men from

the Guggenheim pictures.

JAY (O.S.)

Yes, this is Jason Burchell. Sorry,

who am I speaking with?

Agent Borjes writes down the name Jason Burchell.

CHAMBERS:

Start the work up.

Borjes nods and exits the room. Marlow takes his empty seat

next to Chambers. She is the only female in the room.

19.

CHAMBERS (cont'd)

Thank you for calling, Mr.

Burchell. You're doing the right

thing by contacting us. It will

only help your case.

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. ESSEX HOUSE HOTEL - EXECUTIVE SUITE - SAME

Jay talks on the other end of the phone. Across the suite,

Taylor listens in on a second handset by the window.

JAY:

Well, sir, I want to make it clear

up front we had nothing to do with

the bombing. But we think a friend

of ours was in the building when

the bomb went off.

CHAMBERS:

You think?

JAY:

His name's Will Traveler. He called

us just before the explosion. If

he's alive, he might have seen

something useful.

CHAMBERS:

So you're saying there's a third

suspect?

JAY:

Yes. No. No. And I'm not sure why

you're referring to us as suspects

in the first place.

CHAMBERS:

Two men fleeing what is about to

become a crime scene is usually a

good place to start.

JAY:

Right. But wouldn't standard

procedure dictate at least some

evidence be used to establish

motive in this case?

Marlow writes down the word, "lawyer" and slides the note to

Chambers. Chambers slides her the speakerphone.

20.

MARLOW:

Mr. Burchell, this is Special Agent

Jan Marlow. I'm curious. Are you a

lawyer?

JAY:

Yes, well not technically, but—

MARLOW:

Then you know that in cases of

national security standard protocol

takes a backseat.

ON TAYLOR:

Listening on the other phone. Can't believe what he's

hearing. His blackberry phone VIBRATES. He opens it: CALL

FROM "C.F." He heads into the bedroom and answers, desperate.

TAYLOR:

Dad?

EXT./INT. LEARJET - FLYING - OPEN SKIES

CARLTON FOG (55, Brooks Brother's Power Suit, Salt and Pepper

Hair) is on his cell phone in the comfort of his private jet.

He watches CNN coverage on his plane's DirectTV. It shows the

CLOSE UP of Taylor and Jay onscreen.

CARLTON FOG:

Son, what the hell am I seeing on

TV?

INT. NEW YORK FBI FIELD OFFICE - SIT ROOM - SAME

Chambers and Marlow wait for Jay to make his next move.

MARLOW:

Are you still there, Mr. Burchell?

JAY (O.S.)

Yes. Look. I just wanted to tell

you our friend was in the building.

If you have the footage of us, you

should have tape of Will. Five ten.

He was in a blue Adidas track suit.

A TALL AGENT opens the door. Chambers MUTES THE PHONE.

TALL AGENT:

NYPD is one minute out.

Chambers nods, unmutes the phone.

21.

CHAMBERS:

We can look at the tape again, Mr.

Burchell. How does that sound?

INT. EXECUTIVE SUITE - WILL'S BEDROOM - SAME

Taylor's confusion and fear come out as he talks. He is not

one who hides things from his father. We INTERCUT between the

suite and Carlton Fog's jet.

TAYLOR:

Jay's on the phone with them now.

CARLTON FOG:

Listen, son. Yesterday there were

over ten million shares of Westing

Insurance sold on the market. Do

you know who they cover?

TAYLOR:

Yeah, they specialize in fine art—

CARLTON FOG:

The goddamn Guggenheim foundation

to be exact. That means somebody,

somewhere knew this was going to

happen.

Taylor struggles to grasp that last bit of information.

TAYLOR:

Well, what do you think we should

do?

INT. NEW YORK FBI FIELD OFFICE - SIT ROOM

The GRAINY SECURITY footage of the Guggenheim plays on a bank

of monitors built into the SIT room wall. It shows:

Jay and Taylor fly down the museum ramp. The two jump a wall

at the bottom of the walkway. They push through the packed

lobby floor. Two Security Guards give chase.

THEN THE FOOTAGE GOES TO STATIC...

CHAMBERS:

That's all we have?

AGENT WITH GLASSES

Rest burned up in the fire.

JAY (O.S.)

Did you see him?

22.

MARLOW:

Mr. Burchell, I'm afraid the rest

of the footage was lost. There's no

sign of your friend.

INT. ESSEX HOUSE HOTEL - WILL'S BEDROOM - SAME

Taylor's now pacing like a monkey on crack.

TAYLOR:

But Jay wants to go to the cops.

CARLTON FOG:

That is not an option here, son. If

you're on TV it's not an accident.

TAYLOR:

But we haven't done anything wrong.

CARLTON FOG:

That hasn't stopped the authorities

from screwing this family before.

You two have to get out of there.

Taylor pulls the phone away from his ear.

CARLTON FOG (O.S.) (cont'd)

Son? Son?

But Taylor is listening to something else. POLICE SIRENS.

INT. ESSEX HOUSE SUITE - LIVING AREA - SAME

Jay hears the same thing. He goes to the window. 20 stories

below, six NYPD Cop Cars approach on Central Park South.

CHAMBERS (O.S.)

Mr. Burchell?

JAY:

Are those for us?

MARLOW (O.S.)

We think you should come in. We can

talk about this in person.

JAY:

I told you, you've got the wrong

guys.

CHAMBERS (O.S.)

Just wait there. NYPD will bring

you—

23.

CLICK. The line goes dead. Jay looks up. Taylor stands next

to Jay, his hand depressing the receiver catch.

JAY:

What are you doing?

TAYLOR:

(gathering his things)

Time to go.

JAY:

What? We're not running—

TAYLOR:

My dad just called, Jay. Okay?

Listen to me. This is bigger than

Will. People in high places knew

something was going to happen

today. I know it sounds crazy. But

we gotta get out of here. Out of

the city.

JAY:

If we run we look guilty.

TAYLOR:

It's a little late for that now.

Their ROOM PHONE STARTS RINGING LOUDLY.

TAYLOR (cont'd)

Look, it's not an accident that

we're on TV. Someone wants us to

take the blame for this.

(beat, more urgently)

Damnit, Jay! You of all people know

this can happen. Look at what they

did to your dad.

Beat. The SHRILL RING of the phone fills the room. Jay makes

his decision.

JAY:

If we go, we find Will. He's the

only one who can clear this up.

TAYLOR:

Whatever gets you out of this room.

The phone stops RINGING. The silence is deafening. Jay grabs

his backpack and they rush out the door.

END ACT TWO:

24.

ACT THREE:

INT. ESSEX HOUSE HOTEL - HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER

Jay and Taylor pull on their backpacks and dash down the

hall. But Jay stops at the elevator bank. He struggles to

peel the emergency exit floorplan off the wall.

DING! An elevator arrives. Jay finally gets the map. TAYLOR

PULLS HIM INTO THE STAIRWELL JUST AS TWO POLICEMEN EXIT THE

ELEVATOR. The cops don't see the door close. They head for

the executive suite, guns drawn.

INT. STAIRWELL - CONT.

Taylor leads. They haul ass down the stairs. Crashing into

walls. But as they reach floor 10

THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS RINGS UP FROM BELOW.

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