XXX Page #17

Xander moves to the edge and peers down. At the bottom of

the mountain he can see the CASTLE, an imposing medieval

fortress in the snow. He leans over the edge and starts down

the mountain. He doesn't get far before he notices something

else. He slides to a stop on the near vertical face, clinging

to rocks for balance.

On the mountain below him, between him and the castle, is a

GUARD OUTPOST. Right now he's in full view and he's been

spotted. He sees GUARDS scrambling out, hopping on

SNOWMOBILES. From up here they look like ants.

EXT. GUARD OUTPOST - DAY

Viktor, the goateed cold weather warrior, strides out of the

Outpost and looks up the mountain. He shouts orders to his

men.

A Guard runs up and brings him his weapon: A FLAME-THROWER.

Viktor straps it on and. climbs onto his SNOWMOBILE.

All around him the Guards are driving into position. They

form a gauntlet of AK-47's. There must be a DOZEN of them.

Viktor rides up twenty yards and waits, his engine idling.

VIKTOR:

Hold positions!

He squints up at the speck that is Xander.

EXT. MOUNTAIN TOP - DAY

Xander pulls a CONCUSSION GRENADE from his jacket.

XANDER:

Nothing like fresh powder.

He puts his goggles on and pulls the pin from the grenade.

Then he TOSSES IT OVER HIS SHOULDER.

The grenade lands in the snow above him and starts ROLLING

DOWNHILL TOWARDS HIM. Xander pushes off and starts bombing

down the mountain.

The grenade bounces after him and then WHAM! It goes up with

a tremendous shock.

There is a SHIFT in the snow, a GROAN of shifting weight,

then the ENTIRE CORNICE cracks loose and topples over the

brink.

Xander streaks down the mountain with that wall of snow at

his heels.

From down below it's an awesome sight. The slack-jawed Guards

watch as tons of churning snow bear down on them.

Shooting in and out of that powdery mass like a surfer, they

can see Xander skipping like a stone down the mountain face.

There's a mad scramble as Guards turn their snowmobiles and

ride for their lives. A furious Viktor spins around and makes

a run for it as well.

Nobody has a chance. The avalanche is coming like a freight

train, frothing like white water.

Xander blazes right through the scrambling Guards and hits a

JUMP. He goes soaring up and lands square on the sloped roof

of the Outpost.

The avalanche is right behind him, slamming down everything

and everyone in its way.

Guards are swallowed up and tossed, snowmobiles go tumbling

under the onslaught.

Xander grabs onto the chimney as the avalanche washes over

the Outpost. He holds on until the ocean of snow comes to a

stop.

Then it's all quiet.

Above him the slope is a battlefield of icy rubble. There's

nothing moving up there anymore. Xander pulls himself free.

Then he hears a gushing sound and a DEEP BENEATH THE SURFACE,

he sees the WARM ORANGE GLOW OF FLAME. It's Viktor and his

flame thrower. There's another SPURT and the glow fades for

good.

Xander boards to a rock and sits to catch his breath. He's

right above the Castle now. Then his communicator starts to

BEEP.

XANDER:

(into communicator)

Gibbons, long time no talk. You

wouldn't believe my day.

INTERCUT WITH GIBBONS ON THE PRIVATE JET WITH A TEAM OF

AGENTS.

GIBBONS:

What the hell has been going on,

Triple X? How about a status report?

Xander looks down on the Castle. There seem to be MAFIYA

HENCHMEN all over the grounds.

XANDER:

Snow covered fortress. Army of bad

guys. The usual.

GIBBONS:

I'm on the way with a team to relieve

you. What's the latest?

XANDER:

They retrofitted Ahab with some kind

of rocket launcher. They were loading

canisters of liquid into it, light

colored and dark colored in the same

tube but separate. Something tells

me this it that "classified" stuff

you didn't want me to know about.

Does the song "Silent Night" mean

anything to you?

GIBBONS:

Yes it does.

XANDER:

Come on, Gibbons, you can do better

then that.

GIBBONS:

Silent Night is the name of a top

secret binary nerve agent. The glass

canister is shot into the air and

detonated. The black and white

chemicals mix, forming a toxic cloud.

When it settles down to Earth, it'll

kill everything in the vicinity.

XANDER:

Jesus Christ, Gibbons, this is

something we came up with?

GIBBONS:

Yeah, that's right. So now that you

know, you understand why it's

important that we get it back.

XANDER:

Kinda funny, though, isn't it? We're

not supposed to be making weapons

like that anyway. Guess we shoulda

played by the rules.

GIBBONS:

Somebody else makes those decisions,

not guys like you and me. You've

done your job, X, head back to Prague.

I'll be landing in 90 minutes. This

is my operation now.

XANDER:

We don't have that kinda time, boss,

I don't think Prague's gonna be around

much longer. I've gotta go now. I've

got a lot of bad guys to kill.

Xander hangs up and heads down the hill.

EXT. CASTLE - DAY

A GUARD patrols the rocky grounds outside the castle. He

stops for a smoke when Xander walks right up to him.

WHACK! With two quick blows he knocks him out and keeps

walking. He's a man on a mission.

He runs in a low crouch to the smooth castle wall. There's

no hand-holds, it's, a perfectly flat climb. A canyon of

ROCKS is below.

Xander reaches into his jacket and pulls out the "TERMINATOR"

CLIMBING CLAWS. He pulls on the metal gloves and CLAWS into

the solid rock.

Just like that he starts scaling the vertical surface.

We see him outlined against the mountains, steadily making

this impossible climb.

At the top is an overhang. It's a gnarly transition. As he's

rounding it, his FEET SLIP. His legs dangle over the rocky

chasm below.

Using all his strength, he pulls himself up the rest of the

way with his climbing claws.

At the top a GUARD leans over, aiming his gun at him. Xander

grabs him and pulls him over the edge.

The Guard FALLS into the chasm.

Xander rolls onto the parapet, exhausted. Then another GUARD

rushes him, grabbing for his rifle.

Xander springs, the claws lashing out, and tears the gun

from his hands. With the other hand he SLASHES, taking the

Guard down.

He pulls off the claws and heads into the Guard Tower.

INT. CASTLE - COURTYARD - DAY

Xander exits the Guard Tower at the ground level.

As he crosses the courtyard an EXPLOSION rocks the tower he

just left.

There is shouting as GUARDS race around the parapets, unsure

where the attack is coming from. A GUARD runs up to Xander.

GUARD:

(in Russian)

What's going on?

Xander CLOTHESLINES him and catches his AK-47 as he drops.

Up inside the castle he can see Yorgi at a window. Yorgi

appears mildly shocked as they make EYE CONTACT.

Xander takes aim.

POV ON XANDER THRU SNIPER SCOPE

From up above, Kirill has Xander in his sights.

BLAW! The bullet hits Xander's AK, sending it spinning.

Xander rubs his sore hand but stays put. Kirill could have

killed him and he knows it. From a doorway comes Yorgi with

some Guards.

Yorgi walks up and SMASHES Xander in the face.

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