TRIUMVIRATE Chapter Twenty-Four
By The Host
EXT. PARK – NIGHT
Steve Jameson and Willem Boyd step away from their
parachutes and look at the rubble and wreckage of the great
tower that fell in front of them, marring the green fields
and trees that populate the park. A dull roar of traffic and
battle envelops them.
WILLEM
What do we do? We can’t get around
that. The Tower’s on the other
side.
STEVE
We’ll have to get around it.
WILLEM
How much time do we have?
STEVE
(Checking watch)
Four minutes to fourteen hundred.
This is the spot.
WILLEM
Can we contact the others?
STEVE
No communication until their boots
hit the ground.
Willem nods, looks around, and takes a deep breath of the
clear night air.
WILLEM
I wonder where they are right now.
. .
INT./EXT. MACY’S FIGHTER – MOVING - CONTINUOUS
Davies holds onto the wing for dear life as Macy approaches
the ground. Smoke now trails the fighter.
INSIDE THE COCKPIT SIRENS SCREECH AND KLAXONS SOUND as Hawk
Macy deftly pilots the ship to just above ground level. He
presses a few buttons as it stabilizes and flies along the
length of a busy street, the traffic zooming by thirty feet
below even faster than Macy’s ship. Finally, satisfied, Macy
presses a button and stands as his cockpit window slides
back. He fumbles in his pocket for the communicator and
shoves it into his ear, the climbs onto the left wing of his
fighter.
ON THE WING, Johnson looks up at Macy with wild-eyed
surprise. Macy secures himself, hooking himself to the
handhold, then taps his ear and yells; Johnson hears him
through the communicator despite the screech of wind.
MACY
WE’VE GOTTA BAIL! HER ENGINE’S
JUST ABOUT SHOT! WE’LL HAVE TO
MAKE A JUMP FOR IT!
ON THE OTHER WING, Davies looks down to see the thousands of
vehicles streaking by. He speaks.
DAVIES
ARE YOU CRAZY?! WE’LL BE FLATTENED
BY THOSE!
MACY (O.S.)
LOOK AHEAD!
Some distance ahead, and almost at their level, an open
footbridge spans the highway.
ON HIS WING, Macy points to the bridge; Johnson looks up at
it.
MACY (CONT’D)
WE’LL HAVE TO TIME IT JUST RIGHT,
BUT I THINK WE CAN DO IT! READY?!
Johnson just nods, and then sets about unhooking himself
from his handhold.
ON THE OTHER WING, Davies takes a deep breath as the bridge
comes closer.
JOHNSON, now free, girds himself to let go of his handhold
and jump as Macy feverishly fumbles with his hook.
Something’s wrong; it’s stuck, and they’re almost upon the
bridge.
JOHNSON
COME ON!!
ON THE RIGHT WING Jack Davies lets go and falls, landing
perfectly on the bridge just five feet below.
AT THAT INSTANT Johnson tumbles off the wing and lands
safely. Macy manages to free himself, casting off his
utility belt and back-pack, a split-second later but already
he can see it’s too late but, hey, what the hell, he runs
and jumps with all his might and manages to grab on to the
footbridge itself, dangling above the highway, vehicles
screaming by just ten feet below.
AT THE OTHER END OF THE FOOTBRIDGE, Davies, who had been
quickly making his way from the highway, turns back for
Macy. The fighter plows into the highway a mile away with a
great explosion and Macy is about to slip when Davies
reaches him; he reaches over the rail and grabs one of
Macy’s hands, but he hasn’t got the force to pull him up.
INT. GEMINI - STRATEGIC PLANNING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Dawson watches the holographic Davies holding Macy. Dawson
speaks quickly, fiercely, with an eye on a nearby clock
display.
DAWSON
Jack, leave him. There’s no time.
The world counts on you.
EXT. FOOTBRIDGE - CONTINUOUS
Jack hesitates, looks away from Macy, away down the
footbridge. Dawson speaks in his ear.
DAWSON (V.O.) (CONT’D)
Let him go, Jack.
Jack still hesitates, looking now at Macy, a troubled look
on his face. Macy sees it immediately. He speaks quietly,
blind terror beginning to cross his face.
MACY
Jack. . .
DAWSON (V.O.)
Do it, Jack. That’s an order.
DAVIES
No.
INT. GEMINI - STRATEGIC PLANNING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Dawson is taken aback by Davies’s insubordination.
EXT. FOOTBRIDGE - CONTINUOUS
Jack still hesitates when Johnson reaches them, reaches
down, and grabs Macy’s other arm. Together the two haul him
up and over the railing and onto the bridge. Macy
immediately stands, shoots Davies an icy look, and turns to
Robert. He speaks curtly.
MACY
Thanks, guys.
He pushes past Johnson.
MACY (CONT’D)
This way.
Johnson and Davies trudge along behind Macy, descending into
the city.
AUTOR'S COMMENTARY:
The last bit of this scene was planned when I was writing
the attack on MacGuffin Base. I decided that I would switch
Davies’s and Macy’s roles and see what would happen. I
didn’t know how I would wedge it in when I sat down to write
a few days after Christmas, but it just came naturally,
which is good. Incidentally, I wrote the final forty-five
pages of this screenplay (sixty pages in the original
version) in two evening sessions. I just couldn’t stop
writing; my fingers flew across the keyboard. Not only was
the action exciting, but here you can (or at least I could)
finally see the elements of plot and character rushing
together for the finale.
NEXT CHAPTER
PREVIOUS CHAPTER
SCENE ACCESS
MAIN MENU
4/11/2003 10:30:32 PM
(Updated: 4/12/2003 5:56:14 PM)
Comment on this fan fiction!
|
