True Lies

TITLE SEQUENCE:

1 EXT. MOUNTAINS, NEAR GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - NIGHT

The snow covered Alps stand out clearly in the light of a full

moon. A fortress-like CHATEAU is situated in a flat saddle of

forest partway up the mountain, next to a frozen lake. The

property is surrounded by high stone walls, and the stately

grounds are bathed in floodlights and patrolled by armed guards

with dogs.

2 EXT. CHATEAU - NIGHT

The driveway and motorcourt are filled with cars. A formal-

dress party is in progress... a private reception for a middle-

eastern dignitary. Tuxedoes men escort their diamond-encrusted

ladies through the huge front doors, where they doff their

overcoats and are politely scanned with hand-held metal

detectors by white gloved security staffers.

The walled perimeter of the house runs along the lake, forming

a kind of rampart. There is an opening, to a kind of waterway

or canal, which connects to the private docks inside the

grounds. There is a steel grating across the opening. The

bars disappear down into the thin ice of early winter.

With the house visible BG, we CRANE DOWN below the parapet wall

along which a guard is a white exposure-suit is walking... down

along the dark wall to the grating... TILTING DOWN to see a

glow pulsing under the ice.

3 EXT. BENEATH THE ICE, UNDERWATER - NIGHT

Camera moving toward: A FIGURE in diving gear working at the

metal bars with an oxygen arc cutting torch. One bar has

already been cut out. Two quick cuts and a second bar falls to

the muddy bottom. Lit now only from the floodlights filtering

down through the ice, the figure slips through the bars and

swims powerfully along the stone canal wall.

Seem from below, the figure is a black shadow moving against

the rippled-glass of the ice above.

4 EXT. CANAL AND BOATHOUSE - NIGHT

A dock extends into the frozen canal, just behind a large

boathouse. There is a faint chipping sound. The ice breaks

quietly, and the pieces are slid back. A head appears, in a

rubber drysuit hood. The DIVER slips the regulator out of his

mouth and turns slowly, scanning... revealing:

HARRY TASKER. Our hero. Harry floats with just his eyes above

the surface, silent as a water snake, as a guard passes on a

footpath nearby.

After a few beats Harry slips out of his tanks and fins,

letting them sink, and climbs the frozen ladder onto the dock.

He moves like a ninja into the shadows of the boathouse.

Opening a WATERPROOF BAG, he pulls out a walky talky.

HARRY:

Honey, I'm home.

5 INT. / EXT. SURVEILLANCE VAN, MOUNTAIN ROAD - NIGHT

Meet Harry's partner, ALBERT "GIB" GIBSON, an overweight twenty-

year-man with a lived in looking face. Gib answers Harry via

his headset.

GIB:

Roger that.

(he covers the mike and

turns)

Hey, Fize! Get your butt in

here. Harry's inside.

Outside, FAST FAISIL, an Iranian-American, finishes making

yellow snow and hurries back to the van. They are parked on a

winding mountain road a half-mile from the chateau, whose

lights are visible through the trees.

Faisil jumps in and goes to the eyepiece of a huge telephoto

nightvision scope. The eerie green image lurches as he sweeps

the grounds, locating the boathouse.

6 EXT. BOATHOUSE - NIGHT

Concealed in the shadows, Harry is shucking out of his drysuit.

Underneath is he is wearing black tux pants, suspenders,

cummerbund and a formal shirt. He puts a tiny plug, like a

hearing aid, deep in his ear canal. A SUB-VOCAL TRANSCEIVER.

Very advanced.

HARRY:

Switching to sub-vocal. Gib, you

copy?

GIB (OVER)

It's Talkradio. You're on the

air.

Harry slips into his shoulder harness... holster on one side,

containing his .45 auto Glock-22, and the transmitter pack for

the ear-piece slung on the other. He slips on a formal jacket,

concealing the rig. Then a final touch. A little aftershave

from a tiny plastic vial.

Harry adjusts his bow-tie and strides confidently out of the

shadows, crossing quickly to the main house. He looks

ultrasharp in his black tux with the white silk cummerbund and

his hair slicked back. He enters the main house through a back

service entrance.

7 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT

Harry strides through the huge kitchen like he owns the place.

The kitchen staff are scurrying around, too busy to really

notice. He finger-tastes a dish as he passes.

HARRY:

(French/ subtitled)

This needs more garlic.

He breezes through unchallenged, exiting into the--

8 INT. MAIN HALL - NIGHT

Here the party is in full swing. Harry blends smoothly into

the crowd of foreign dignitaries, businessman and minor mid-

east nobility. They are a high-octane mixture of new oil money

and old European money, and run the spectrum from stodgy

bankers to playboy arms dealers.

Harry strolls amiably among the glittering woman, the cigar

smoking men, casually snagging a glass of champagne and a

canape from the passing waiters. He nods to someone as if he

knows them. Greets another is quite fluent Arabic. People in

his wake look at each other like "Do you know him?" They

shrug, go on with their conversation. Harry moves through the

crowd. Scanning.

HARRY:

There's Daddy Petrobucks.

HARRY'S POV - Through the crowd is sees JAMAL KHALED, the host

of the party and owner of the chateau. He is fat and animated,

greeting guests with a flourish. As Harry watches he warmly*

greets a beautiful WOMAN. They become absorbed in a*

conversation.

The woman glances up and sees Harry checking her out. There is

a frank moment of returned interest. Then the crowd shifts,

cutting off their view of each other.

9 INT. STAIRCASE AND SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT

Harry makes his way up the grand staircase to the second floor. *

He slips through doors into the private area of the mansion.*

10 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT

The doors open and Harry slips into the darkened library. He *

crosses quickly to a window and opens it onto a terrace.*

11 EXT. BALCONIES - NIGHT*

Harry goes onto the terrace, and in a display of acrobatic*

prowess, he pulls himself up onto the third floor balcony*

directly above. He lets himself into--*

12 INT. KHALED'S OFFICE - NIGHT*

Khaled's office is ornately furnished. Beautiful antiques

glint in the moonlight coming in the French-doors. Harry

crosses to an immense desk and boots up the computer there.

Bathed in the glow from the screen, he pulls a FLAT BOX, about

the size of a paperback, from the back of his cummerbund. He

connects it quickly to the modem port in the back of the

computer.

HARRY:

Modem in place. Transmitting...

now.

He pushes a button and a green light comes on.

13 INT. VAN - NIGHT

Gib and Faisil watch as their monitor screen lights with DATA

from Khaled's private computer.

FAISIL:

Affirmatory. We are in.*

Fast Faisil is a computer ace. His fingers fly on the keyboard

as he types rapid key commands. We see familiar "windows

appear". The words are all in Arabic characters.

FAISIL:

These are encrypted files, guys.

This is going to take me a few

minutes.

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