THE RUNNING MAN

by
Mario Grooters

Based on the novella by

Stephen King

Mario Grooters
van Nesstraat 12
4671 AJ Dinteloord
The Netherlands
0031-6-40786813 or 0031-10-7072094
mario.grooters@12move.nl
 1.

FADE IN:

EXT. HARDING - MORNING

The SKYLINE OF HARDING. A sinister cobalt blue coloring

SKYSCRAPER attracts our attention. The weather is gray and
we hear an ominous and bone-chilling WIND.

We move through a PARK... cross a STREET... and approach a

BLOCK OF FLATS. The area is deserted. A PASSAGE under the
block of flats takes us in a dilapidated COURTYARD. We know
immediately that this is a gloomy time and place. Moving to
an APARTMENT with balcony door, we hear a little girl CRYING.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
For men from the poor side of society
with no work, no cash, and no hope,
there’s only one thing to do: become a
contestant on one of The Network’s
Games. Shows where you can win more
money than you’ve ever dreamed of...
or die trying. Many men are going
prime time on The Network’s highest-
rated participation-viewer show, THE
RUNNING MAN. In the year 2025, the
best men don’t run for president, they
run for their lives. No one ever
survived the game... so far.

INT. BEN’S APARTMENT – CATHY’S BEDROOM/HALL - MORNING

In a bedstead lies CATHY RICHARDS, one-year-and-a-half-old.

She cries. SHEILA RICHARDS, 26, pale, skinny, and hollow
eyes, squints at a thermometer. She exits the bedroom. She
walks through the hall and to the living room. We hear the
howling SOUND of a TV, it sounds like a game show, or so.

INT. BEN’S APARTMENT – LIVING ROOM - MORNING

It is a poor home, there are few pieces of furniture and the

walls are bare. BENJAMIN STUART ‘BEN’ RICHARDS, 28, tall,
looking tough and rough, sits at a table. He watches TV.

ON TV

An OLD MAN runs in a treadmill. The game’s name is TREADMILL

TO BUCKS. The EMCEE grins. The audience YELLS and CLAPS.

Sheila holds in the doorway.

Ben turns his head to Sheila.

BEN
How bad is it?

Sheila walks to Ben.

 2.

SHEILA
Not so bad.

BEN
Don’t shit me.

SHEILA
It’s a hundred and four.

BEN
Damn.

SHEILA
Listen Ben, we’ll get a doctor. Try
not to worry so much. We --

A BUZZER.

ON TV

The old man runs in the treadmill. The emcee JEERS.

EMCEE
That’s the wrong answer, old-timer.
You lose your winnings and you got the
treadmill speed up.

The treadmill speeds up. The old man stumbles and trips. He
collapses. The audience CLAPS en CHEERS.

Sheila looks at the TV. Then she looks at Ben.

SHEILA
We’ll get along, Ben. We will.
Really, I... I --

Ben raises.

BEN
You what? Hustle? No more Sheila.
She’s got to have a real doctor.
(Swiveling at the TV)
And I’m going to see to it.

ON TV

COPS stretcher the badly hurt old man offstage. The emcee
CLAPS and LAUGHS. The audience CLAPS en CHEERS.

Ben walks to the hall. Sheila looks at the TV.

Then Sheila walks after Ben.

SHEILA
No Ben, no, I won’t allow it. You’re
not going to that awful place.

BEN
Why not?
 3.

INT. BEN’S APARTMENT – HALL - MORNING

Ben turns to Sheila.

BEN
At worst, you get a few bucks.
(Indicating at Cathy’s
bedroom)
Then you’ll have to see her through.

SHEILA
I won’t take it. Should I take a
bounty on my man?

BEN
How about her in an unmarked pauper’s
grave? How does that appeal to you?

SHEILA
Ben, this is just what they want,
people like you.

Ben takes his denim jacket from a hook in the wall.

BEN
Maybe they won’t take me.

Ben walks to the outer door. Sheila walks after him.

SHEILA
If you go now, they’ll kill you!

BEN
I want her to go on living.

Ben opens the outer door.

Sheila blocks it.

SHEILA
Give me a kiss before you go, then.

Ben embraces Sheila. Sheila sobs.

BEN
Will you take the money?

SHEILA
I’ll take it. You know I will.

Ben kisses Sheila. He exits. Sheila stays in the doorway.

She shakes by soundless sobs.

INT. BEN’S APARTMENT - HALLWAY - MORNING

Ben plunges down the stairs. Sheila saunters into the

hallway. The outer door of another apartment opens.
 4.

MRS. JENNER, 60, gray, small, and beady little eyes, creeps
softly at Sheila.

Mrs. Jenner touches Sheila’s arm briefly.

MRS. JENNER
Dearie, I can put you onto black
market penicillin when the money gets
here... real cheap... good quality --

Sheila shakes of Mrs. Jenners’s hand. Sheila is mad.

SHEILA
Get out!

Mrs. Jenner recoils. She rises her upper lip.

MRS. JENNER
Just trying to help.

Mrs. Jenner scurries back to her apartment. We hear Ben

DESCENDING the stairs and we hear Cathy CRYING.

Sheila saunters to the stairs. A door SLAMS. She shivers.

INT. MRS. JENNERS’S APARTMENT - MORNING

Mrs. Jenner sits in an easy chair in front of the TV. She

writes Sheila’s name in a notebook.

MRS. JENNER
We’ll see... We’ll just see, Mrs.
Smell-So-Sweet.

She closes the notebook and settles herself in her easy

chair. She watches TV.

EXT. HARDING - MORNING

Ben crosses a deserted street. Garbage lays spread around.

Plumes of smoke rise from sewer drains. Fancy cars, stripped
down, stand jumbled up the street. Ben passes empty shops,
the windows and canopies are demolished.

A view of the Harding skyline with the sinister skyscraper.

Ben walks through an eerie and deserted narrow alley. He

leaves the alley and ends up in a shopping street. Futurist
busses drive by and few people walk the street.

Ben crosses THE CANAL.

At a shopping street, armed COPS guard fancy shops. A COP

looks suspicious at Ben. Ben glances at him. Ben moves on.

Ben looks at a playground for kids:

THE PEOPLE’S FOUNTAIN PARK (ADMISSION $7.00)

 5.

A COP guards the gate. A fountain squirts water. Fancy

dressed MOTHERS sit on benches. They spy at Ben. They watch
their CHILDREN. The children frolic on the Astroturf. Ben
moves on.

The sinister skyscraper has huge and impersonal windows.

A line of MEN stretches out to the entrance of the creepy

skyscraper. Ben queues up. Other MEN queue up behind him.

EXT. HARDING - AFTERNOON

COP 1 and COP 2 are heavily armed. They look at the men.

COP 1
(Pointing at a man)
That one looks like a half-wit to you,
Frank? Looks like one to me.

COP 2
Yeah, a guy down there asked if
there’s a bathroom. What a moron.

COP 1
It’ll be fun watching the Hunters go
after them. I’ll be clued to the TV,
a beer in each hand.

They LAUGH at the men.

EXT. GAMES BUILDING - AFTERNOON

A sign is beside the exclusive entrance of the skyscraper:

THE NETWORK GAMES AUTHORITY

The Network’s symbol, a silhouette of a human head

superimposed over a torch, is beside it. COPS guard the
entrance. The men in the line wait patiently. After a body-
search, men are allowed into the building.

INT. GAMES BUILDING – FLOOR LEVEL – LOBBY - AFTERNOON

The lobby is huge. Ben walks to a counter. Behind it sits

FEMALE DESK CLERK (25’s). She looks impersonal and cold.

She sits behind a computer.

FEMALE DESK CLERK

Name, last first middle.

BEN
Richards, Benjamin Stuart.

Female desk clerk’s fingers race over the keys.

 6.

FEMALE DESK CLERK

Age, height, and weight?

BEN
Twenty-eight, six-two, one sixty-five.

FEMALE DESK CLERK

Do you use or have you used any drugs,
such as Angel Dust, PCP?

BEN
No.

A PRINTER RATTLES

The female desk clerk hands Ben an ID card.

FEMALE DESK CLERK

Don’t lose it, big fella. If you do,
you’ve to start back at go next week.

A SCREAM

Ben and the female desk clerk look at the outer door.

At the OUTER DOOR, FOUR COPS beat up a JUNK. The junk CRIES.
Two cops pick him up. They THROW him out of the building.

Ben looks back at female desk clerk.

FEMALE DESK CLERK (CONT’D)

Tough Old World, big fella. Move on.

Ben walks away.

He walks to THE ELEVATORS. A group of men stand in front.

COP 3 and COP 4 hold Ben before entering the elevator.

COP 3
Show me your card buddy.

Ben shows the ID card.

BEN
You like turning them back, don’t you?

COP 3
You want to go downtown, maggot?

BEN
Got a family, cop? Could be you next
week out there.

COP 4
You a smart-ass, Sonny?
 7.

BEN
Just as smart as you talk without that
gun on your leg and your pants down
around your ankles.

COP 4
They’ll fix you, boy. You’ll do some
walking on your knees before you’re
done.

Ben grins. The elevator door opens. The men, Ben included,
enter the elevator. The elevator door closes.

INT. GAMES BUILDING – FIRST FLOOR – STACK ROOM - AFTERNOON

The men exit the elevator. They walk into the immense stack
room. Many chairs and many TV’s. COPS walk around.

SIX COPS escort TWO MEN through a little door next to the
elevator. Above it is a sign:

TO STREET

Ben walks to a cigarette machine. A BUZZER. Ben looks

around. Where is that sound coming from?

A DOOR. A NEON-SIGN with the letter A is above it. Men walk

through the door.

Ben gets himself a package of cigarettes. He sits down at a

chair near a window. He looks outside and lights up a smoke.

EXT. HARDING – BEN’S APARTMENT - EVENING

Sheila, dressed as a hooker, leaves their block of flats. It

is dark and chilly. She crosses the street.

EXT. HARDING – PARK - EVENING

Sheila walks into THE PARK.

HOOKERS and CLIENTS idle down the path.

Sheila talks to a CLIENT. We cannot hear what they say. The

client hands over money at Sheila. They walk away. The
client puts a hand on Sheila’s bum. Sheila shows no emotion.
The client grins sneaky.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - FIRST FLOOR – STACK ROOM - EVENING

Ben watches TV. The BUZZER.

The DOOR. The NEON-SIGN P. Men walk through the door.

ON TV
 8.

A logo:

THE RUNNING MAN

BOBBY THOMPSON, 45, wearing a Games singlet, good looking,

and silver hair, sits behind a desk.

BOBBY
As you all know very few will survive
THE RUNNING MAN. But come on, step
forward, be a contestant. Run your
way out of your misery. I’m Bobby
Thompson, your host and emcee at
world’s most exciting game.

Again the BUZZER.

The DOOR. A NEON-SIGN R. Men walk through the door.

Ben raises. He walks to the door.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - FIRST FLOOR – MEDICAL ROOM - EVENING

A long and tiled medical room shows many desks with bored
doctors standing aside. COPS guard them. Ben, in tattered
skivvies, stands in line. Most men are naked. We watch the
scene from a distance.

AT THE FIRST DESK

DOCTOR 1 depresses Ben’s tongue with a ladle. He peers into

Ben’s eyes with a tiny bright light.

AT ANOTHER DESK

DOCTOR 2 places the circle of a stethoscope on Ben’s chest.

AT THE NEXT DESK

DOCTOR 3 points at an eye chart. Ben looks at the chart.

CLOSE BY NOW IN AN INLET

DOCTOR 4 puts on a plastic glove.

DOCTOR 4
Bend over and spread your cheeks.

Ben bent and spread. Doctor 4 pulls down Ben’s skivvies. He

explores Ben’s rectal channel. Ben looks ashamed.

DOCTOR 4 (CONT’D)
Move along.

Ben pulls up his skivvies and moves along.

IN THE NEXT INLET

 9.

DOCTOR 5 looks at a list.

DOCTOR 5
I notice that there is a case of
influenza in your family, your wife?

BEN
No. My daughter.

DOCTOR 5
Have you been immunized?
(Suddenly furious)
Don’t try to lie. We’ll check your
health stats anyway.

Ben looks disturbed.

BEN
Immunized May 2023. Booster July
2023. At the Block health clinic.

DOCTOR 5
Move along.

Ben turns around and walks away. He is mad.

IN ANOTHER INLET

Ben stands in front of a WOMAN DOCTOR.

WOMAN DOCTOR
Are you homosexual?

BEN
No.

WOMAN DOCTOR
Do you have any severe phobias?

BEN
No.

WOMAN DOCTOR
You better listen to the definition.

BEN
You mean, if I have any unusual or
compulsive fears such as acrophobia or
claustrophobia? No, I have not.

The woman doctor stays undisturbed.

WOMAN DOCTOR
Have you, or do you have relatives
ever been arrested on a felony charge
against The Network?

BEN
No.
 10.

WOMAN DOCTOR
Okay. Move on, Mr. Richards.

Ben moves on.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - FIRST FLOOR – MEDICAL ROOM - EVENING

The group of men, all dressed now, gets into an elevator.

They move up from the first to the second floor.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - BEDROOM – EVENING

In a huge bedroom Ben sleeps in a bed.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - THIRD FLOOR – HALL - MORNING

The hall has booths left and right.

The men wear OVERALLS, dark blue, The Network’s silhouette on

the breast.

A GAUNT NURSE, in lab coat with Network symbol on it, stands

in front of the men.

GAUNT NURSE
Good morning. Welcome to the third.
You’ve all been issued Games overalls,
that you may keep, no matter what your
game resolution may be. You also
received a card with a number. Please
go to the booth with that number.

Men look at the cards and walk to the booths. Ben walks to a
door:

BOOTH 6

INT. GAMES BUILDING - THIRD FLOOR – BOOTH 6 - MORNING

Ben enters.

RINDA WARD, 22, gorgeous, tall, blond, looking divine in her

iridescent clothing, stands beside the desk.

RINDA
Good morning, I am Rinda Ward, your
tester.

They shake hands. Ben startles.

BEN
Benjamin Richards.

RINDA
Please sit down, Ben.
 11.

Ben sits down at the desk.

RINDA (CONT’D)
Today we test your mental state.
It’ll take the whole day. Lunch will
be later this afternoon. You may
begin after my signal.

Rinda puts down a test booklet and a pen in front of Ben.

RINDA (CONT’D)
Okay Ben, your exam has begun.

Ben leans back and eyes Rinda’s body.

Rinda feels uneasy.

RINDA (CONT’D)
Go ahead, Ben, you had better --

BEN
Why does everybody in here assume that
a man from the other side of the canal
is always mental incompetent?

RINDA
I never think --

BEN
No, you never think... Jesus.

Ben starts the test. Rinda wanders around.

A BUZZER

Rinda takes the test booklet and puts down another. Ben
turns to it. TIME moves fast.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - THIRD FLOOR – BOOTH 6 - AFTERNOON

Rinda takes the test booklet and puts down another. Ben
turns to it. Rinda wanders around.

The clock in the room shows 3:59 PM. Ben writes hasty. THE
BUZZER. Ben stops writing. He puts down the pen.

Rinda collects the booklet from the desk. She looks pleased
with herself.

RINDA
Not so fast on the last one, Ben.

BEN
But the answers will all be right.

Ben raises and swats Rinda slightly on the back.

 12.

BEN (CONT’D)
Take a shower kid, you done good.

Rinda blushes furiously. She shakes of Ben’s hand.

RINDA
I could have you disqualified.

BEN
Bullshit, you could have yourself
fired. That’s all.

RINDA
Get out! Get out of here.

BEN
Okay. You have a nice night in town
and think about my kid dying of flu in
a shitty Network apartment.

Ben walks away.

Rinda stares after him, white-faced.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - THIRD FLOOR – HALL - AFTERNOON

TWO MEN walk through a door:

TO STREET

Cops guard them. Ben’s group, down to about ten men, walk
into the elevator.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - FOURTH FLOOR – BEDROOM - AFTERNOON

In a bedroom the men walk to a bed. Ben walks to a cop at

the door.

CHARLIE GRADY (50’s), tall, and gray, blocks the door.

BEN
Is there a telephone, pal?

CHARLIE
Ain’t got a cell phone, dude?

BEN
Do I look if I can afford one?

Charlie smiles. He jerks his thumb towards an inlet.

CHARLIE
Over there is a pay phone.

Ben turns his head and stretches his neck.

A PAY PHONE is against a wall in an inlet of the bedroom.

 13.

Ben looks back at Charlie.

BEN
Listen, if you loan me fifty cents for
the phone, I’ll --

CHARLIE
Screw off, Jack.

BEN
I wanna call my wife. Our kid is
sick. Put yourself in my place.

CHARLIE
You types are all the same, a story
for every day of the year.

BEN
You bastard.

Charlie jams a hand in his pocket. He throws two coins on

the floor. Ben kneels to pick them up.

Charlie looks down on him.

CHARLIE
If I catch you spreading the word that
Charlie Grady is a soft touch, I split
your scalp with the butt of this
revolver faster than you can say
police brutality.

BEN
(Looking up)
Thank you... for the loan.

Charlie smiles. Ben rises. He walks to the inlet. He picks

up the receiver and punches a number. It rings five times,
but then:

FLAT-DWELLER (O.S.)
Hello?

BEN
I want to speak to Sheila Richards at
five C.

FLAT-DWELLER (O.S.)
She’s out. Walking the streets I
guess. The man there’s shiftless.

BEN
Just knock on the door.

FLAT-DWELLER (O.S.)
Hold on.

Ben looks restless. We hear the flat-dweller KNOCK on a

door.
 14.

FLAT-DWELLER (O.S.) (CONT’D)

She ain’t there. I can hear the kid
yelling. Like I say, she’s walking
the streets.

BEN
Take a message, will you. Write it on
the wall if you have to.

FLAT-DWELLER (O.S.)
No pencil, I got to go, good --

BEN
(Panic)
WAIT... I --

FLAT-DWELLER (O.S.)
Listen, I... Hold on. I believe she’s
coming up. Mrs. Richards, telephone
for you.

Ben closes his eyes and collapses sweaty against the wall.

SHEILA (O.S.)
Hello?

BEN
Sheila!

INT. BEN’S APARTMENT - HALLWAY - AFTERNOON

Sheila stands at the pay phone.

SHEILA
Ben, is that you? You all right?

INTERCUT AS NEEDED

BEN
Yeah. Fine. How’s Cathy?

SHEILA
The same. I hate to leave her, but I
turned two tricks last night, Ben.
I’m sorry, but now I got her some
medicine... good stuff.

BEN
That stuff sucks. Sheila, no more
tricks PLEASE! I think I made it.
They give advances. Stay home!

SHEILA
All right. I won’t go out again.

BEN
Fingers crossed, Sheila?
 15.

SHEILA
I love you, Ben!

INT. GAMES BUILDING - FOURTH FLOOR – BEDROOM - AFTERNOON

Ben looks outside.

BEN
And I love --

FEMALE PHONE OPERATOR 1 (O.S.)

(Haughty)
Three minutes are up. If you wish to
continue, deposit a quarter.

BEN
Wait a second. Get off the goddam
line, bitch. You --

The hum of a broken connection. Ben pitches the receiver.

BEN (CONT’D)
Shit!

Ben walks away.

He stops and looks outside the window. He is pissed off.

BEN (CONT’D)
Somebody has to pay. SOMEONE has to.

Ben lies on a bed. He is looking into space.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - FIFTH FLOOR – AUDITORIUM - MORNING

Fifty men sit in a small luxurious auditorium. They TALK,

but we cannot hear what it is all about.

ONSTAGE

ARTHUR M. BURNS, 50, portly and gray hair, walks to a

lectern. He tabs the microphone... The HUM fades away.

Arthur smiles haughty.

ARTHUR
Good morning, my name is Arthur M.
Burns, Assistant Director of Games...
Congratulations, you’ve made it!

Some men SIGH, other men LAUGH and do some BACKSLAPPING. Ben
sits in a chair; he lights a cigarette.

ONSTAGE

Arthur smiles self-complacent, the HUM fades away.

 16.

ARTHUR (CONT’D)
Shortly, your program assignments will
be passed out. The producers of your
program will explain what is expected
of you... Well, I find you to be a
courageous group. On behalf of the
entire Network, I wish you good luck
and Godspeed... Well, there they are!

The side door opens. GAME USHERS, in red Network tunics,

appear. They carry envelopes. The Game ushers call names.
The men respond. A MALE USHER searches around.

MALE USHER
Laughlin?

LAUGHLIN, 25, blond, and cute, rises.

LAUGHLIN
Here.

Laughlin walks to the male usher.

Some men are eager to start and other men are afraid. We
hear ‘I DON’T THINK’, ‘MISERABLE’, ‘LIKE I EXPECTED’, and
‘WHAT THE HELL IS SWIM FOR CROCODILES’.

Ben smokes his cigarette.

The male usher searches around again.

MALE USHER
Richards... Benjamin Richards?

Ben drops his cigarette and rises.

BEN
Here!

Ben steps on his cigarette. He struggles his way to the male

usher. The male usher hands Ben a white envelope. Ben opens
it. A little card drops out:

ELEVATOR SIX.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - FIFTH FLOOR – ELEVATOR HALL - MORNING

Ben sits on a chair. A COP watches him. It is quiet. The

elevator door opens, TWO COPS inside. Ben rises and enters.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - SIXTH FLOOR – LOUNGE - MORNING

Ben exits the elevator. He walks into the luxurious lounge.

Laughlin and a SEXY GIRL, 18, silly and forged roguish, walk
away from a closed door. TWO COPS flank them.

They meet Ben halfway the lounge.

 17.

LAUGHLIN
So, you’re also in for the Grand
Prize.

BEN
What do you mean?

LAUGHLIN
We got the big-money assignment. Not
the one where you land in a hospital.
No, this is the one where they kill
you. Prime time, baby.

BEN
Well, we’ll see.

LAUGHLIN
Right... Hey pal, good luck.

BEN
Good luck to you, man.

Laughlin and his party walk to the elevator.

A SECRETARY (50’s) rises from behind a desk. She points at a

door.

SECRETARY
Mr. Richards? Would you step in,
please?

Ben nods at the secretary, and walks to the door.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - SIXTH FLOOR – DAN’S OFFICE - MORNING

Ben enters. A large window in a well-designed large office

shows the skyline of Harding. At a large desk in front of it
sits DAN KILLIAN, 40, very black, white teeth, amiable
charisma. Ben looks overwhelmed. He walks to Dan.

Dan raises and extents his hand.

DAN
Mr. Richards!

Ben ignores the hand and sits down. Dan takes his hand back
and sits down in his chair.

He does not seem particularly flustered.

DAN (CONT’D)
By now you’ve probably guessed why
you’ve been brought here. You’ve been
slated as a contestant on tomorrow’s
show of The Running Man. It’s our
biggest show, the most lucrative and
the most dangerous. I´m Dan Killian,
executive producer of the program.
 18.

BEN
Good for you.

DAN
I want you to understand fully what
you’re getting into. You're regarded
as antisocial, however you’re
intelligent enough to stay out of any
serious trouble.

Ben shrugs his shoulders. He looks indifferent.

DAN (CONT’D)
The program is a way to get rid of
troublemakers such as yourself. We’ve
been on for six years. To date, we’ve
no survivors. We expect to have none.

BEN
Then you’re running a crooked table.

DAN
But we’re not. Don’t forget that
people want to see you wiped out and
they’ll help if they can. And there
is EVAN MCCONE and his HUNTERS to
content with... McCone never loses.
(Ben roars)
Okay, the rules are simplicity
themselves.

Dan raises and walks to the big screen window.

DAN (CONT’D)
You, or your surviving family, win
$100 for each hour you remain free.
We stake you to $4,800.

Dan turns to Ben.

DAN (CONT’D)
If you last 30 days, you win the Grand
Prize of $1,000,000,000.

Dan walks back to his desk.

DAN (CONT’D)
Do you have any questions?

BEN
Just one. How would you like to be
the one out there, on the run?

Dan LAUGHS exuberant.

DAN
Oh... Mr. Richards... You must excuse
me...
 19.

Dan goes off into another gale.

DAN (CONT’D)
Then sign the... Mr. Richards...
You... I...

Dan chokes down a new laughter.

DAN (CONT’D)
Please excuse me. You’ve struck my
funnybone.

BEN
I see I have.

Dan takes control of himself.

DAN
Then sign the Games Release form, and
you’re ready to go.

Ben signs the form.

DAN (CONT’D)
Thank you, Mr. Richards. There’ll be
a meeting before the program. If any
question should develop in that
fascinating mind of yours, please hold
them until then.

Dan presses a button on his desk and we hear that the door
opens. Dan invites Ben to the door.

IN THE DOORWAY

A very YOUNG WOMAN.

Ben and Dan walk to the door.

BEN
Spare me the cheap snatch. I’m
married.

DAN
Are you quite sure? Fidelity is
admirable, but you’re all by your
lonesome until tomorrow night. And
considering the fact that you never
see your wife again.

BEN
I’m married.

Dan nods at the young woman. She leaves, emotionless.

Dan and Ben stand at the door.

 20.

DAN
Very well. Anything else we can do
for you? You’ll have a private suite
on the seventh floor.

BEN
A bottle of bourbon and a telephone so
I can talk to my wi --

DAN
Ah no, I’m sorry, Mr. Richards. The
bourbon we can do, but you signed the
Release form, so you’re incommunicado
until tomorrow night. Would you care
to reconsider the girl?

BEN
No, but make that two bottles of
bourbon.

DAN
Certainly.

Dan offers Ben his hand.

DAN (CONT’D)
Mr. Richards, I see you tomorrow.

Ben disregards and exits. Dan stares at him. He is not

smiling.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - SEVENTH FLOOR – ROOM - AFTERNOON

Ben enters a sumptuous suite. An envelope stands prominent

on a table. Ben takes it. He opens the envelope. He pulls
out a note.

Ben saunters through the room. He reads the note.

DAN (O.S.)
Mr. Richards, I suspect one of the
things you will not mention during our
interview is the fact that you need
money badly. You ain’t a TV star, but
a working Joe, paid extremely for
undertaking a dangerous job. Despite
rumors to the contrary, Games
Authority doesn’t give advances.

BEN
Shit.

DAN (O.S.)
However, Games Authority has no rule
that forbids me from extending you a
personal loan.
 21.

Ben sits down at a table. He looks in the envelope. There

is money in it. Ben looks grateful.

DAN (O.S.) (CONT’D)

Inside you will find ten percent of
your advance salary. I suspect you’ll
send your wife the money, so she can
arrange a reputable doctor.
Sincerely, Dan Killian.

Ben writes his address on the envelope. He pushes the

service button on the table. He rises and walks to the door.

COP 5 (30’s) enters the room.

COP 5
Yes, Mr. Richards?

BEN
I want you to take this envelope
somewhere. It’s money for my wife.
Name and address are on the back.

Ben hands Cop 5 the envelope.

BEN (CONT’D)
You know a cop named Charlie Grady?

COP 5
Charles?... Yes.

BEN
Give him this dollar, will you?

COP 5
Okay.

Ben hands cop 5 a one-dollar bill. Cop 5 exits.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - SEVENTH FLOOR – ROOM - EVENING

An empty bottle of bourbon lies on the table. Ben sits in a

chair, looking well in the bag to boot. The other bottle
dangles in his hand. A KNOCK on the door. Ben rises. He
drops the bottle on the table. Ben stumbles to the door.

Cop 5 stands in the doorway.

COP 5
Your receipts, Mr. Richards.

Cop 5 hands Ben the receipts. Cop 5 closes the door.

Ben walks to the bed. He looks at a baby picture of Cathy.

He looks at the back of a traffic ticket form says:

THANKS, MAGGOT. GET STUFFED. CHARLIE GRADY

 22.

Ben sits down on the bed.

BEN
Thanks Charlie, I needed that.

Ben creeps into the bed.

INT. FUNERAL PARLOR - NIGHT

Ben is at Sheila’s funeral. She lies in an open coffin. She

is stuffed with dollar bills.

Ben tries to reach her. Hands grab him from behind. Charlie
Grady, cop 4, and a few other cops hold him.

Charlie threatens Ben.

CHARLIE
This is what happens to losers,
maggot.

Ben is afraid. The cops stand around him. They put their
pistols to Ben’s head.

Cop 4 really looks mean.

COP 4
Told you, you would do some walking on
your knees, boy.

Ben winces.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - SEVENTH FLOOR – ROOM - MORNING

Ben startles from the nightmare. He sits up in the bed.

He looks around. He looks numbed.

BEN
Jesus... What a nightmare!

INT. GAMES BUILDING - SEVENTH FLOOR – ROOM - AFTERNOON

Ben, dressed, stands at the window. A RAP on the door. Ben

turns.

Arthur, accompanied by THREE COPS, enter.

ARTHUR
Mr. Richards, it’s time for your final
briefing, would you --

Ben walks to Arthur.

BEN
Sure.
 23.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - CONTROL ROOM - AFTERNOON

Ben, Arthur, and the cops walk into a control room.

ARTHUR
The eight floor, Mr. Richards. Your
final destination.

Dan and Bobby sit behind a desk. Dan rises.

DAN
Hello, Mr. Richards.
(To Arthur)
Hello, Arthur.

Arthur nods. Ben and Arthur sit down.

Dan sits down.

DAN (CONT’D)
Ben, do you know Bobby Thompson?

BEN
Yes, he’s the asshole from the TV.

Bobby smiles, he straightens up.

BOBBY
That’s funny, Ben. I was going to say
the same thing about you. Take a look
at your left.

Ben cocks his head to the left.

Through a WIDE WINDOW the FANCY RUNNING MAN SET springs into
view.

ARTHUR (O.S.)
We don’t do a run-through here. It
detracts from spontaneity. You go on
at six o’clock, Harding time.

The four of them sit around the desk.

BEN
What about Laughlin?

DAN
He comes on after you. But that’s not
of your concern. Backstage I’ll give
you the money, the camera, and sixty
memory cards. Then I escort you to
the street elevator. Once you’re on
the street, you’re on your own.

BEN
Okay.
 24.

DAN
Notice you have to send us two memory
cards a day. You can drop them into
any mail slot. They will be delivered
express. Failure to deposit will
result in legal default of payment.

BEN
But I’ll still be hunted down!

DAN
Just mail those cards, Ben, they won’t
give away your refuge to the Hunters.

Ben frowns, as if he has doubts about that.

BOBBY
Then straighten out a money detail,
Ben. You, or your estate, will be
paid an extra $100 for any Hunter or
cop you happen to dispatch. However,
try not to bag any innocent
bystanders, that’s not kosher.

Ben smiles and nods his head.

DAN
People can call us when they spot you.
A verified sight pays them $100. A
sighting results in a kill pays
$1,000. We pay independent cameraman
$10 a foot, so --

BEN
That they can retire to scenic Jamaica
on blood money.

Dan rises.

DAN
That’s enough! Miss Jones?

IN THE DOORWAY stands a gorgeous MISS JONES (25’s).

MISS JONES
Yes, Mr. Killian?

Dan walks to her.

DAN
Will you escort Mr. Richards to the
makeup?

MISS JONES
Certainly, Mr. Killian.

Ben walks to them. He glances at the The Running Man’s set.

A prominent view of the THE RUNNING MAN SET.

 25.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - ONSTAGE - EVENING

We hear the TUNE of The Running Man. The STUDIO AUDIENCE

frantically APPLAUDS. They shout ‘BOBBY, BOBBY, BOBBY’.
Bobby urges the audience to hush... The music stops... The
audience hushes, then:

BOBBY
It’s... ShowTime.

The audience CHEERS.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
Tonight’s main contestant is a
screwed, resourceful man from our own
home city.
(Pointing at a screen)
And watch that screen!

A WIDE SCREEN

PICTURES of Ben in old clothing. His retouched face looks

like a bogeyman with a mocking smile.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
Benjamin Richards, age 28. In half an
hour, this man will be on the prowl.
A verified sighting brings you $100.
A sighting result in a kill brings you
$1,000.

ON THE WIDE SCREEN

Ben’s face dissolves to a painting of Sheila. Her retouched

picture She looks like an overwhelming, greedy slut.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
And this is the wife that’ll scoop in
all Benjamin Richard’s rewards.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR – SIDE WING - EVENING

Ben flanked by COP 6 and another COP, lunges forward.

BEN
You bastard.

Cop 6 and the other cop hold him back.

COP 6
Slimmer down pal, it’s only a picture.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - ONSTAGE - EVENING

Bobby looks backstage.

 26.

BOBBY
Here he is ready to pay his fine.

The cops drag Ben onstage.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
Benjamin Richards.

The audience SCREAMS, YELLS, and calls; we hear ‘BOO’, ‘GET

OUT, YOU CREEP’, and ‘KILL THE BASTARD’.

Bobby raises his arms to ease the audience. He walks to Ben.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
Quiet people. Let’s hear what he’s
got to say.

The audience quiets, but reluctantly. The cops release Ben.

Ben stands bull-like.

Ben stares at Dan with hard red-rimmed eyes.

BEN
Someone will eat his own balls for
that picture of my wife.

The audience YELLS and WHISTLES.

BOBBY
Speak, Mr. Richards! Nobody will hurt
you... at least, not yet.

Ben suddenly wheels to face the audience. They become very

quiet.

Ben looks at them with blood-hate in his eyes.

BEN
You bastards, if you wanna see
somebody die so bad, why don’t you
kill each other.

The audience YELLS and SCREAMS. A few men try to get

onstage. Cops hold them back.

Bobby urges the audience.

BOBBY
Thank you for those words of wisdom.
Tell me Ben, would you like to tell
our audience in the studio and at home
how long you think you can hold out?

BEN
I would like to tell the audience
here and at home that that wasn’t my
wife. That was a cheap fake.

The audience YELLS and SCREAMS.

 27.

BOBBY
How long, Mr. Richards?

BEN
I expect to go the whole 30 days, I
don’t think you’ve got a guy who can
take me.

The audience goes NUTS again.

Bobby turns to the audience.

BOBBY
With those last cheap words of
bravery, Mr. Richards will be led from
our stage. Remember his face. He has
a start of twelve hours, so the hunt
starts tomorrow at 6:30 AM. He can be
anywhere.
(Raising his voice)
Skulking outside your home? Will you
report him?

The audience screams ‘YES’. Ben gives them both fingers.

MEN get onstage. The cops cannot hold them back. The two
cops lead Ben to the backstage door quickly. They push Ben
through it. The cops stop the men who want to get backstage.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - BACKSTAGE - EVENING

Ben walks to Dan. We hear the audience SCREAM and YELL.

Dan looks convulsed with amusement.

DAN
Fine performance, Mr. Richards. God,
I wish I could give you a bonus.
Those fingers... superb!

BEN
Give me the Goddamn camera and go fuck
yourself.

DAN
That’s generically impossible, but
here’s the camera, your memory cards,
and your money, minus my loan.

Dan hands Ben the camera, the memory cards, and the money.

BEN
Where’s the elevator?

Ben puts the equipment in a pocket of his overall.

 28.

DAN
Not so fast, Ben, you’ve got a few
minutes left. Your twelve hours’
leeway starts at 6:30 PM. I like you
and I think you do well, so I’d like
to give you a piece of advice.

Dan grabs Ben by the arm; they walk into a hallway.

DAN (CONT’D)
Stay close to your own kind and use
your legs instead of using a weapon.

BEN
What if I could go up to the top?
(Indicating his head up)
Who could I kill up there?

They stop near an elevator. The door is open.

DAN
That’s what I like about you,
Richards. You think big.

Dan offers Ben his hand -- again.

DAN (CONT’D)
Mr. Richards, this is where you and I
part company.

Ben lingers, but refuses the hand -- again. He enters the

elevator. They stare at each other.

The elevator door closes.

DAN (CONT’D)
And remember... stay low.

EXT. GAMES BUILDING - EVENING

The elevator door opens at the side of the building. Ben

appears. He inhales. He walks into an empty street. A COP
glances at Ben. Ben quickly moves on.

Ben hails a taxi at the corner of a block.

BEN
Taxi.

INT. TAXI – HARDING - EVENING

Ben gets in. The CABBIE (40’s) stares at him for a second.

CABBIE
Where, buddy?
 29.

BEN
Robard Street!

The cabbie looks at the TV. Then at Ben.

CABBIE
Hey, I just saw you on the TV. You’re
that guy Pritchard.

Ben slumps back into the cushions. The taxi moves.

BEN
Pritchard... That’s right.

EXT. HARDING – TAXI – EVENING

The taxi drives on the huge bridge over the canal.

INT. TAXI – HARDING - EVENING

The cabbie looks at Ben in his review mirror.

CABBIE
Jesus, you got balls, buddy. You
really do. Christ, they’ll kill you.
You must really have balls.

BEN
That’s right. Two of them. Just like
you.

The cabbie is ecstatic.

CABBIE
Two of them... Jesus... I’ve to report
it... but Christ, I won’t get $100 for
this. Cabbies gotta have at least one
supporting witness.

Suddenly, Ben drops some money on the front seat.

BEN
Let me out here.

The cabbie stops the car. He turns his head to Ben.

CABBIE
Gee, I didn’t say nothing, did I?

BEN
No!

CABBIE
Could you write me a note, saying you
was in my cab.

Ben leaves the taxi.

 30.

BEN
Get stuffed, maggot.

Ben SLAMS the door. He runs away.

EXT. HARDING – TAXI - EVENING

The cabbie opens the window.

CABBIE
I hope they gonna take you for a ride,
you cheap fuck.

Ben runs through a deserted ghostly construction site. He

runs from a wide street into a narrow alley. He takes
several turns. He stops at a high wooden gate. Ben looks
around. He climbs up the wooden gate.

EXT. MOLIE’S HOUSE - EVENING

Ben drops down from the gate. He is in a backyard. He spies

around.

Ben walks to a back-door. He KNOCKS on it... After a few

seconds, a little peephole opens.

The SILHOUETTE of a man’s face.

MOLIE
Why don’t you go away, pal. I never
saw you.

BEN
Come on, Molie. I’ve got money.

Ben waits. A heavy BOLT moves. The door opens.

MOLIE JERNIGAN, 60, white and long hair, appears in the

doorway. He peeps outside. He grabs Ben and pulls him into
the house. The door closes.

INT. MOLIE’S HOUSE - EVENING

Ben and Molie walk into an untidy and dusky room.

MOLIE
What do you want, Ben?

BEN
I need papers, Molie!

MOLIE
What papers?
 31.

BEN
Driver’s license. Military Service
Card. Birth Registration Card.
Street Identicard. Social Security
Card.

MOLIE
Easy, sixty-buck job for anyone but
you, Bennie.

BEN
You’ll do it?

Ben and Molie stand at a desk.

MOLIE
For your wife, I don’t put my head in
a noose for a moron like Ben Richards.

Molie turns to the desk and thumbs on a light.

BEN
How long, Molie?

MOLIE
I’ll hurry it, an hour for each.

BEN
Christ, five hours... Can I go?

Molie turns back at Ben.

MOLIE
Are you nuts, Bennie? The Network is
four deep around your block. Anyone
visiting your wife ends up in a cellar
talking to a bunch of rubber clubs.

Molie turns back at the desk and starts to work.

MOLIE (CONT’D)
Even good friends don’t need that
scam. Got a name you want special on
these papers?

Ben walks to a couch and sits down. A table, with cartons on

it, is in front of him.

BEN
As long as it’s English... Jesus, she
needs food... and a doctor.

MOLIE
She sent someone out. They’re okay.
Stay away from them Ben... Look in the
second box on the table.

Ben looks in the box. A disguise (gray hair, spectacles,

mouth wedding, plastic teeth, and a suit) is in it.
 32.

BEN
And you think that’ll work?

Molie glances over his shoulder.

MOLIE
Of course.

INT. HARDING - AIRPORT - NIGHT

Ben, dressed as JOHN GRIFFEN SPRINGER walks to a CHECKPOINT.

COP 7 stands behind the counter.

COP 7
Show me your ID, please!

Ben/Springer shows the ID card. Cop 7 looks at it, he also

looks at a computer screen.

Cop 7 waves Ben/Springer through.

COP 7 (CONT’D)
Thank you, have a good flight.

BEN/SPRINGER
Thank you, officer.

Ben/Springer takes his ID card. He walks through a security

gate. He looks anxious, but the alarm bell does not ring.
Ben/Springer walks into a plane.

EXT. HARDING - AIRPORT - NIGHT

Planes land and take off.

EXT. NEW YORK - AIRPORT - NIGHT

Ben/Springer exits the airport. It drizzles. He walks to a

taxi. He gets in.

EXT. NEW YORK - BRANT HOTEL - NIGHT

Ben/Springer leaves the taxi. He enters the BRANT HOTEL.

INT. NEW YORK - BRANT HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT

Ben/Springer stands at a counter, HOTEL CLERK 1 (30’s) stands

at the other side. He holds Ben’s ID card.

HOTEL CLERK 1
How long will you be staying, sir?
 33.

BEN/SPRINGER
Two days for now, all depends on the
clients. I’m a businessman.

Hotel clerk 1 hands over a key and Ben’s ID card.

HOTEL CLERK 1
Very well, here you are, sir.

BEN/SPRINGER
Thank you.

Ben/Springer turns around. Hotel clerk 1 writes in a book.

Ben/Springer walks to the elevator. Hotel clerk 1 peeps at
him.

INT. NEW YORK - BRANT HOTEL – HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

Ben/Springer sets the camera next to the bed. He pulls a

pillow slip over his head. He tips the record button. He
lies down on the bed.

BEN/SPRINGER
Peekaboo, Ben Richards here. You
can’t see it, but I’m laughing at you
shiteaters.

The camera stops recording. Ben/Springer is asleep.

INT. MOLIE’S HOUSE - NIGHT

Molie sits in a chair. He is tied and his face is swollen.

A FEMALE HUNTER (20’s) AND MALE HUNTER (30’s), dark aura and
dark clothing, investigate Ben’s games overall.

EVAN MCCONE, 35, bald, five-eight, sophisticated, wearing a

suit and round iron glasses, stands near Molie. McCone looks
sophisticated, but there is something about him that gives
you the creeps.

MCCONE
Please give me Mr. Richards’s new
name, Mr. Jernigan. I will stop the
pain.

Molie hold his tongue. McCone nods at the Hunters.

The female Hunter ties Molie’s arm on the armrest.

MOLIE
What are you doing, bitch?

FEMALE HUNTER
Sit tight, old fart.

The male Hunter pulls out a nail with a pincer. Molie

SCREAMS from pain.
 34.

McCone punches Molie’s crying face.

MCCONE
Tell me. Or do you want to lose more
than a few nails?

MOLIE
Okay, I tell you, you bastard.

MCCONE
Yes?

MOLIE
Springer, his name is John Griffen
Springer.

MCCONE
Thank you, Mr. Jernigan. On the
contrary, nobody calls EVAN MCCONE a
bastard.

McCone nods at the Hunters. They grab Molie.

EXT. MOLIE’S HOUSE - NIGHT

An establishment's view. We hear Molie’s SCREAM fading away.

INT. NEW YORK - BRANT HOTEL - ROOM - MORNING

Ben/Springer snaps awake. He is heavily sweating.

BEN/SPRINGER
Fuck!

INT. NEW YORK - BRANT HOTEL - LOBBY - MORNING

Ben/Springer puts the envelope in a mailbox. He looks around

careful. He walks to the counter.

Hotel clerk 1 is waiting for him.

HOTEL CLERK 1
Good morning, Mr. ew --

BEN/SPRINGER
Springer, I seem to have struck oil,
my man. I’ll be occupying your
excellent facility for an additional
two days. May I pay in advance?

HOTEL CLERK 1
Certainly, sir!

Ben pays the money.

 35.

BEN/SPRINGER
Here you are.

HOTEL CLERK 1
Thank you, sir!

Ben/Springer turns away. He walks to the EMERGENCY DOOR next

to the elevator. Ben/Springer peeps around, looking haunted.
The counter is empty. He slips through the door.

INT. NEW YORK - BRANT HOTEL - EMERGENCY HALL - MORNING

Ben/Springer walks through the narrow hall. It ends with a

door. Ben/Springer looks back. The hall is empty. He
exits.

EXT. NEW YORK - BUS TERMINAL - MORNING

It is still gray and it drizzles. Ben/Springer walks into

the cash deck of the New York Bus Terminal.

INT. NEW YORK - BUS TERMINAL – CASH DECK - MORNING

Ben/Springer stands at a counter. A CASHIER is behind it.

BEN/SPRINGER
Boston.

CASHIER
23 bucks, pal. Bus pulls out at ten
o’clock sharp.

The station clock shows 09:54 AM.

EXT. NEW YORK - BUS TERMINAL - MORNING

Ben/Springer exits the cash deck.

COP 8 runs in his direction.

COP 8
Hey! Hey, you!

Ben/Springer stares at cop 8. He is scared to death, unable

to take flight.

Then cop 8 runs into another entrance of the bus terminal. A

THIEF runs for the stairs, swinging a woman’s purse.

COP 8 (CONT’D)
Stop him!

Cop 8 runs through the terminal, disappearing from sight.

 36.

COP 8 (CONT’D)
Stop that guy!

Ben/Springer trembles. A hand grabs his shoulder.

Ben/Springer is scared stiff and jumps. This is terrifying.
He turns around slowly. He stares at the GREYHOUND DRIVER
with the hand that grabbed Ben.

GREYHOUND DRIVER
If you wanna join me to Boston,
Mister, you’d better get in. I’m
leaving right now.

BEN/SPRINGER
Yeah... Okay... Thank you!

INT. GREYHOUND - NEW YORK – MORNING

Ben/Springer walks to the back seat. He collapses into it.

He closes his eyes. The greyhound starts driving.

EXT. BOSTON - YMCA - EVENING

The greyhound departs from a bus-stop. Ben/Springer crosses

a street. He walks to a building:

YMCA BOSTON.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - LOBBY - EVENING

HOTEL CLERK 2 (30’s) and a TINY BLACK BOY, nine years old,
stand near a gum machine.

BLACK BOY
I lost my nickel, honky. I lost my
fuckin’ nickel.

HOTEL CLERK 2
Get out of here, or I’ll call the
house detective, kid. That’s all.
I’m done talking to you.

BLACK BOY
But that Goddam’ machine took m’nickel
and thass the only nickel I got.

Hotel clerk 2 walks away from the black boy.

HOTEL CLERK 2
I’m calling the house Dick right now.

The black boy kicks the gum machine.

BLACK BOY
Fuckin’ white honky son of bitch.
 37.

The black boy runs off.

Hotel clerk 2 walks behind the counter, where Ben/Springer is

already waiting.

HOTEL CLERK 2
You can’t talk to niggers anymore.
I’d keep them in cages if I ran The
Network.

BEN/DEEGAN
He really loses a nickel?

HOTEL CLERK 2
S’pose so, but if I give him one, I’d
have two hundred pickaninnies claiming
the same thing. How long you’ll be
staying, Mr. ew?

BEN/DEEGAN
Deegan! I don’t know. I’m in town on
business.

HOTEL CLERK 2
That’s $15.50 for the night, Mr.
Deegan.

Ben/Deegan pays cash.

HOTEL CLERK 2 (CONT’D)

Thank you, sir.

Hotel clerk 2 pushes a key over at Ben/Deegan.

BEN/DEEGAN
Thank you.

HOTEL CLERK 2
You’re welcome, sir.

Ben/Deegan walks away. He walks to the elevators.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA – FIFTH FLOOR - PASSAGE - EVENING

Ben/Deegan walks through a narrow passage. He glances aside.

A very dirty BATHROOM

An AGED MAN (50’s), wearing only a pajama bottoms, suddenly

passes him –- that was scary. Ben/Deegan looks bewildered.
The aged man walks into the bathroom.

Ben/Deegan sighs and moves on. He unlocks his room.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA – FIFTH FLOOR - HOTEL ROOM - EVENING

Ben/Deegan enters. He walks to the window and looks outside.

 38.

OUTSIDE

A clock shows 8:33 PM.

Ben/Deegan looks desperate.

BEN/DEEGAN
Fourteen hours... Jesus, it’s just
beginning... Fuck!

Ben/Deegan looks at the TV.

BEN/DEEGAN (CONT’D)
Shit... I missed the show.

Ben/Deegan walks to the bed and lies down. He closes his

eyes.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA – FIFTH FLOOR - HOTEL ROOM - MORNING

Ben/Deegan, dressed in his pants, looks outside.

OUTSIDE

PEDESTRIANS hustle busily up and down the shopping street. A

car stops and the CIGAR MAN, 30, handsome, blond hair, well
built, and smoking a ten-inch cigar, gets out. The driver of
the car, a DUDE (20’s), wearing a brown and white hunting
jacket, also gets out.

Ben/Deegan grabs a towel, his clothes, and walks to the door.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - FIFTH FLOOR – BATH ROOM - MORNING

Ben/Deegan takes a shower in a dirty tub-bath.

He, dressed now, stands in front of a mirror and turns away.

He leaves the bathroom. Suddenly the dude walks through the

passage and almost BUMPS into Ben/Deegan. He scares stiff –-
this almost makes your heart stop beating.

Ben/Deegan sighs, waits, and then moves on into the passage.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA – FIFTH FLOOR - HOTEL ROOM - MORNING

Ben/Deegan enters. He walks to the window. He peeps

outside.

OUTSIDE

A NEWSPAPER BUM walks around the street corner and

disappears. THREE MEN sit at a bus stop. We suddenly hear
someone POUNDING on the door.

Ben/Deegan stiffs like a bolt. He keeps quiet.

 39.

DRUNK MAN (O.S.)

Frankie? You in there, Frankie? You
eat shit, Frankie-baby!

Footsteps move away from the door. Ben/Deegan heart slips

slowly down from his throat. He turns back at the window.

OUTSIDE

The newspaper bum idles along again, but slowly. More cops
walk around. They occasionally look at Ben’s hotel room. At
the bus stop, a bus departs. One man is still sitting at the
bus stop. He looks up at Ben.

Ben/Deegan backs aside from the window.

OUTSIDE

Two men exit a cab. The cigar man leans against a lamppost.
A COP walks to him, nods, and walks away. The cigar man
looks up at Ben’s place.

Ben/Deegan turns away from the window.

BEN/DEEGAN
Shit... They got me... Fuck!

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - FIFTH FLOOR - PASSAGE - MORNING

The door opens. Ben/Deegan surveys left and right. He walks

into the passage. He rushes into the bathroom.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - FIFTH FLOOR – BATH ROOM - MORNING

Ben/Deegan walks to the sink. He pulls off an iron wire from

a toothbrush holder.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - FIFTH FLOOR - PASSAGE - MORNING

Ben/Deegan leaves the bathroom. He walks through the passage

and to the elevator. He pushes the call button.

He looks around, restless, waiting for the elevator to come.

BEN/DEEGAN
Come on! Come on!

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - LOBBY - MORNING

The cigar man crosses the street. He walks to the YMCA.

 40.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - FIFTH FLOOR - ELEVATOR - MORNING

Ben/Deegan enters the elevator. He jams the iron wire into

the slot. He pushes the button: BASEMENT. A small tendril
of blue smoke curled out of the slot. Nothing happens.
Ben/Deegan looks desperate. Then suddenly the door closes.
Ben/Deegan looks somewhat relieved.

IN THE PASSAGE

The dude runs towards the elevator.

DUDE
Hold on.

Then the door closes. The elevator moves down. Ben/Deegan

removes the Springer/Deegan disguise.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - BASEMENT - MORNING

In a dark, dusty, and messy basement, the elevator door

slides open. Ben steps out. He throws away the
Springer/Deegan disguise. We hear WATER DRIP and RATS
SQUEAK. Ben sneaks forward. Suddenly THE FURNACE KICKS ON
with a lot of noise. Ben is scared to terror.

BEN
Wohh... Fuck!

Ben relaxes a bit.

Piles of old papers are drenched with rat holes and rats.
LITTLE RED EYES glittering in the dark. A litter of tools is
in front of a large fuse box. Ben takes a crowbar.

Ben searches the ground, kicking rubble.

BEN (CONT’D)
Where’s that fucking storm drain?

Ben walks to a big and rusty cover.

BEN (CONT’D)
All right!

Ben levers the cover with the crowbar. It CLASHES on the

floor. Rats SQUEAK. Ben looks up, afraid. He turns the
cover partly back on the pipe. Ben walks to a pile of paper.
He grabs a sheet. Ben walks to the furnace. He turns the
sheet into a spill.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - LOBBY - MORNING

The cigar man talks to hotel clerk 2. We cannot hear what

they say.
 41.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - BASEMENT - MORNING

Ben stands near the oil tank of the furnace. He holds the
spill in his armpit. Ben grabs a dog-eared book of matches.
Three matchsticks are in it.

Ben lights the first match, but it gutters out in a draft.

BEN
Fuck!

Ben lights the second match.

It falls from his trembling hands.

BEN (CONT’D)
Goddamn!

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - LOBBY - MORNING

The cigar man saunters through the lobby, spying around. The
dude jumps down the stairs.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - BASEMENT - MORNING

Ben lights the third match. He flames the spill. Ben tucks
the flaming spill in the paper wall near the oil tank.

He walks to the fuse box. Rats squeak, maybe sensing what

was to come. Ben smashes the tubular fuses with the crowbar.

The fire spreads.

EXT. BOSTON - YMCA - MORNING

The lights of the YMCA went out, irregular.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - LOBBY - MORNING

The cigar man and the dude deliberate. The lights went out.
They look around, wondering. What happened?

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - BASEMENT - MORNING

Ben smashes the fuses. The lights went out. There is only
the FLICKERING LIGHT of burning paper.

Ben walks to the storm drain. He sits down, his legs in the
pipe. He slowly eases in. The cover drops into place with a
clang.
 42.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA – STORM DRAIN - MORNING

Ben slides down the slimy pipe. He jams in a narrow part.

Ben sweats and he is covered with slime.

BEN
Shit!

Ben wriggles and groans. His eyes show panic.

BEN (CONT’D)
Come on.

The vented cover throws prison-bar shadows on Ben’s face. He

wriggles. We hear in distance the FIRE CRACKLING and we hear
what look like men SHOUTING, ‘WHERE IS HE’, ‘CLEAR’, and
‘GO’. However, we are not sure about that.

Suddenly Ben pops down through the pipe, launched like a

champagne cork from a tight bottleneck. He SHRIEKS. Ben
glides down, looking like he is in some kind of free fall
water snake.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - BASEMENT - MORNING

SHADOWS -- or MAN? -- search the basement.

The oil tank EXPLODES.

Parts of BODY’S -- or RATS? -- fly around.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA - LOBBY - MORNING

The elevator door bursts out. The SHOOTING FLAME roasts the
cigar man.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA – STORM DRAIN - MORNING

Ben humps down on his buttocks. He drops down the storm

drain. Ben flies through the air. He lands in a sewer.

EXT. BOSTON - YMCA - MORNING

The inferno is complete. Explosions and yellow-white flashes

of fire run through the YMCA. People flee in panic.

INT. BOSTON - YMCA – SEWER - MORNING

Ben sits down in the sewage. He raises and stares into the
storm drain.

A red glow is inside the storm drain.

 43.

Ben SPLASHES into the sewer. After a while, he holds and

looks up at a ladder in a manhole.

A little daylight shines through the cover in the manhole.

Ben sits down on a dry spot. He looks exhausted. Ben closes

his eyes.

FADE TO BLACK:

EXT. BOSTON - EVENING

STACEY, 11, black, and grubby, leans against a building. In

distance we hear police sirens. Stacey smokes a cigarette.
His eyes grow big.

The cover of a manhole rises. Stacey looks it. The cover

suddenly slides aside with a clang. Ben boosts himself out
of the manhole.

Stacey GRUNTS and runs. Ben looks up and chases Stacey.

Stacey trips over his own feet.

STACEY
Oh... shit.

Stacey tries to get up, scrambling.

Ben grabs him. Stacey really looks afraid.

STACEY (CONT’D)
Leave me alone, you son of bitch.

BEN
Sshh. Shut up. Shut up!

STACEY
You ain’t the devil.

BEN
You’ll think I am if you yell.

STACEY
I ain’t gonna. What you think, I
wanna get my balls cut off?

Ben releases Stacey.

BEN
You know a quiet place?

STACEY
Then you’ll kill me!

BEN
I won’t. Come on. I’m on the run.
 44.

Stacey hesitates.

STACEY
Okay... Come on.

They walk into an alley.

INT. BOSTON – SHELTER - EVENING

In the dark, a small bulb flickers and lights up. It throws

a weak glow on Ben and Stacey’s faces.

STACEY
You better not kill me. Bradley will
make you shit your boot and eat it.

BEN
I’m not doing any killings. What’s
your name, son?

STACEY
Stacey.

BEN
Okay Stacey. Who is Bradley?

STACEY
My brother.

BEN
Listen Stacey, I give you three bucks
if you bring your brother over here...
Okay?

STACEY
You ain’t got no three bucks.

Ben hands Stacey two dollars bills. Stacey stares at it.

STACEY (CONT’D)
Jesus.

BEN
There’s another one if you bring your
brother over here.

STACEY
Won’t do you no good try to kill
Bradley. He’ll make you shit your
boot --

BEN
And eat it. I know. You run and get
him. Wait until he’s alone.

Stacey moves to the exit.

 45.

BEN (CONT’D)
And when you bring the cops, you won’t
get anything.

Stacey pauses. He looks back over his shoulder.

STACEY
You stupid if you think I do that. I
hate them fucking oinkers worse than
the devil.

Stacey leaves the shelter and the board shuts it off.

Ben turns off the light. He leans back and dozes off.

FADE TO BLACK:

In the dark:

STACEY (O.S.) (CONT’D)

If he broke my light, I’m gonna make
him pay.

BRADLEY (O.S.)
Sshhht.

The VOICES rip Ben to wakefulness. The board moves. The

faintly figures of Stacey and an adult appear. The board
shuts the exit. The bulb lights.

BRADLEY, 18, black, raw, and tall, looks at Ben with a

mixture of hate and interest. Suddenly his eyes widen. He
looks curious amused.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
You’re that guy on the TV. You offed
the YMCA on Huntington Avenue.

STACEY
You gonna cut him, Bradley?

BRADLEY
(Nodding ‘NO’)
They say you fried five cops. That
probably means fifteen. Man, you’re
hotter than the sun.

Ben shrugs his shoulders.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
Where are you going to?

BEN
I don’t know... Out of Boston.

BRADLEY
You gotta come with Stacey and me. We
gotta talk.
 46.

BEN
All right... Fine with me.

BRADLEY
We go the back way. The pigs are
cruising tonight. Now I know why.

They move out. Ben slips Stacey a one-dollar bill.

INT. BOSTON – STACEY’S HOME – LIVING ROOM - EVENING

A GLANCE IN THE KITCHEN

BRADLEY’S MOTHER (55’s), black, grayish, looking decrepit,

moves about the kitchen. She prepares a meal. She chews a
cigarette, blowing out puffs of smoke.

Ben, cleaned now, and Bradley sit on a few old chairs in a

worn out living room. We hear a little girl SCREAMING.

BEN
Who’s that?

BRADLEY
My Sister Cassie. Five years old, she
has cancer in both lungs.

BEN
What?

BRADLEY
Why’re you doing it, anyway? Why you
being their sucker?

BEN
My little girl has pneumonia. She
cries all the time. And medicine and
a doctor cost money.

BRADLEY
What a world! Maybe you’ll go the
whole month. Man, you’d have to buy a
fucking freight train to haul
$1,000,000,000 off.

A GLANCE IN THE KITCHEN

Bradley’s mother stands behind the cooker.

BRADLEY’S MOTHER
Don’t swear, but praise the lord!

Bradley pays no attention to his mother.

BRADLEY
You would be on easy street then. You
got two days already.
 47.

BEN
No, the game’s rigged. I have to send
two memory cards every day.

BRADLEY
Why not e-mailing it?

BEN
I think they trace me by checking the
postmark.

BRADLEY
Easy to beat that.

BEN
Oh. How?

BRADLEY
Later. Mom, when’s that stuff gonna
be ready?

BRADLEY’S MOTHER (O.S.)

She’s comin on.

BRADLEY
First you have to leave Boston.

BEN
How?

Bradley’s mother enters the room with a hot dish.

Ben and Bradley raise and walk to the dinner table.

BRADLEY
Suppose we get a car. One of my
buddies drives it to Manchester. I
drive you in another car.

The three of them sit down at the dinner table.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
Then we switch.

Bradley’s mother fills the plates with meat sauce.

BEN
That’s pretty dangerous for you.

BRADLEY
Oh, I wasn’t gonna do it free.

The three of them eat. Suddenly a key SCRATCHES in a lock.

They all look suspicious. Bradley rises slowly.

Stacey comes in, carrying a brown bag.

STACEY
It’s prime dope.
 48.

Bradley sighs of relieve, and sits down.

Bradley’s mother rises.

BRADLEY’S MOTHER
Good. Come sit and have dinner.

Stacey hands his mother the brown bag. She walks away.

Stacey’s eyes widen. He stares at the plates on the table.

STACEY
Jesus, there’s meat in it.

Stacey sits down. He fills a plate. Bradley grins at him.

Stacey eats.

Ben lights a cigarette.

BEN
If they catch us, you’ll go in for the
long bomb.

STACEY
Any pig grunts at Bradley, he make ‘em
shit their boot and eat it.

BRADLEY
You’re dribbling on your shirt,
skinner?

BEN
Who’s gonna take care of the boy?

BRADLEY
He’ll take care of himself and Ma,
don’t you, Stacey?

Stacey nods.

Bradley rises.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
Get some sleep, Ben.

INT. BOSTON – STACEY’S HOME – BEDROOM - NIGHT

The bedsprings shift creakily as Bradley lay down on it. Ben

sleeps on a blanket on the ground. We hear Cassie CRYING.
In distance we hear POLICE SIRENS.

INT. BOSTON – STACEY’S HOME – LIVING ROOM - EVENING

Ben watches TV.

Bradley enters.
 49.

BRADLEY
How was your day?

BEN
Swell! You send the memory cards?

BRADLEY
All set, we go tonight!

BEN
Now?

Bradley sits down. We hear The Running Man LEAD-IN.

BRADLEY
Don’t you want to see yourself coast-
to-coast?

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - ONSTAGE - EVENING

Bobby stares deadpan at the camera.

Behind Bobby, ON SCREEN

A BLOWUP of Ben as John Springer.

Bobby points at it.

BOBBY
Watch. This wolf walks among you.
Yesterday he killed five young fine
police officers. Where is he tonight?
Look! Look at him! And look at his
first memory card.

ON SCREEN

Ben sits in a room. The furniture is draped.

BEN
All of you watching this, people in
the Developments. The Network doesn’t
want you to meet each other and talk.
I want to tell you about a monstrous
conspiracy. The Network is lying --

ON SCREEN

Ben’s mouth keeps moving, the sound fades away.

Bobby walks towards his audience.

BOBBY
We seem to have lost audio, but we
don’t need to listen to any more of
this murderer’s radical ravings to
understand what we’re dealing with.
 50.

Bobby looks like a demagogue.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
What will you do if you see him?

The audience SCREAMS ‘TURN HIM IN’.

Bobby grins.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
And what are we going to do when we
find him?

The audience SCREAMS ‘KILL HIM’.

Bobby points at the screen.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
And this is his second card.

ON SCREEN

Ben opens his mouth, but his lips seem to move around
different words – but who is going to notice that?

BEN
Fuck all pigs. Fuck the Games
Authority. I’m gonna kill every pig I
see. I’m gonna --

The sound fades away. Bobby stares at the audience.

BOBBY
Behold the man. This man would lie,
cheat, and kill. Phil!

PHIL (O.S.)
Ben Richards! Are you watching?

ON SCREEN

The faces of young, clear-featured cops appear. They look

fresh, full of sap, and heartbreaking vulnerable.

PHIL (O.S.) (CONT’D)

If so, you’ve been paid your dirty
blood money, an extra $500, $100 for
each of these five, young fine men.

ON SCREEN

PHOTOS of their FAMILIES, wives smiling, and laughing

children. The photo’s beam pleasant emotions.

PHIL (O.S.) (CONT’D)

(Hoarse with emotion)
And these were there families. Five
police officers, five wives widowed
and nineteen orphaned children.
 51.

The audience hushes in desperation.

Bobby stares in the camera. In his b.g. ON SCREEN we see a

photo of a young mother and her young son.

BOBBY
Oh yes, you work cheap, Ben Richards.
Somewhere, even now, a mother is
telling her little boy that daddy
won’t be home ever again because a
greedy maniac with a gun killed him.

A YOUNG GIRL in the studio audience JUMPS up.

YOUNG GIRL
Killer. Vile, dirty murderer.

The audience reacts. They SCREAM and CALL, ‘MURDERER’, ‘COP

KILLER’, and ‘STRIKE HIM DEAD’.

Bobby put up his hands, trying to speak down the audience.

BOBBY
Behold the man. The man who lives by
violence shall die by it. So let
every man’s hand be raised against Ben
Richards.

People in the audience raise their hands.

INT. BOSTON – STACEY’S HOME – LIVING ROOM - EVENING

Ben pounds his fist against an armrest.

BEN
The bastards. Those weren’t my words.
They just made it up.

Bradley turns down the TV.

BRADLEY
That’s what you’re dealing with. How
about it?

BEN
Maybe I kill ‘em. Maybe, before I’m
done, I get up the Games Building,
hunt up the maggots who wrote this
shit and kill ‘em all.

STACEY (O.S.)
(Out bursting)
Don’t talk no more!

Ben turns his head to Stacey.

Stacey rises from the table and runs into the kitchen.
 52.

STACEY (CONT’D)
Don’t talk no more about it!

Bradley rises.

BRADLEY
Let’s go!

EXT. BOSTON – BRADLEY’S CAR - EVENING

Bradley looks like a sober executive. He and Ben stand at

the trunk of a sedan.

BEN
You look good... damn incredible.

BRADLEY
I thought you’d enjoy the
transformation. Listen, they check
every tenth or twelfth car... Here,
take this!

Bradley hands Ben a large revolver.

BEN
Thanks man.

BRADLEY
Just get in the trunk.

Ben climbs in the trunk. He lies down.

Bradley stands aside.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
Comfortable?

BEN
Perfect.

Bradley closes the trunk. He gets in. Bradley drives off.

EXT. BOSTON – BRADLEY’S CAR – EVENING

The car stops at a traffic light.

INT. BRADLEY’S CAR – BOSTON - EVENING

A cruiser stops beside him. The PASSENGER COP smiles at

Bradley. Bradley smiles back. Green light. Bradley pulls
up.

In the REAR VIEW MIRROR

The cruiser drives behind Bradley. Then it turns right.

 53.

Bradley looks relieved, but suddenly his eyes widen.

EXT. BOSTON – ROADBLOCK - BRADLEY’S CAR – EVENING

Three cruisers block the road. There is a little gap.

Bradley’s car is first in line. The DRIVER of the car at the
checkpoint closes his trunk. He gets in. Cop 9 urges
Bradley to move forward. Bradley moves to the checkpoint.

INT. BRADLEY’S CAR – TRUNK – BOSTON – ROADBLOCK - EVENING

Ben’s eyes move like trapped rabbits.

INT. BRADLEY’S CAR – BOSTON – ROADBLOCK - EVENING

Bradley stops at the checkpoint.

COP 9
Step out your vehicle, sir.

INT. BRADLEY’S CAR – TRUNK – BOSTON - ROADBLOCK - EVENING

Ben closes his eyes, licking his lips.

COP 9 (O.S.)
License and registration, please.

We hear a DOOR close.

EXT. BOSTON – ROADBLOCK - BRADLEY’S CAR – EVENING

Cop 9 checks the papers.

COP 9
What’s in the trunk, Mister?

Bradley and cop 9 walk to the trunk. Cop 9 investigates the

car.

BRADLEY
Oh, a spare cylinder that doesn’t work
half right. I get the key.

INT. BRADLEY’S CAR – TRUNK – BOSTON - ROADBLOCK - EVENING

We hear someone WHACKING the top of the trunk. Ben bits back
a scream.

COP 9 (O.S.)
If I wanted it, I’d ask it.
 54.

EXT. BOSTON – ROADBLOCK - BRADLEY’S CAR – EVENING

Bradley and cop 9 walk back to the driver’s door.

COP 9
Move on.

Bradley gets in.

BRADLEY
Hang tight, fella. Hope you get him.

INT. BRADLEY’S CAR – TRUNK – BOSTON - ROADBLOCK - EVENING

Ben closes his eyes.

COP 9 (O.S.)
Drive on, Mister. Move your ass.

Bradley accelerates.

EXT. U.S.A. – BRADLEY’S CAR – EVENING

Bradley’s car drives on a highway in the woods. The car

approaches a town.

A sign besides the road says this is:

MANCHESTER

EXT. MANCHESTER - U-PARK-IT – BRADLEY’S CAR - EVENING

Bradley’s car is in front of a barrier of the U-PARK-IT.

INT. BRADLEY’S CAR – TRUNK – MANCHESTER - EVENING

Ben blinks sluggishly. He looks sick. It looks like the car

settles in an idle, then the engine dies.

INT. BEN’S CAR - MANCHESTER - U-PARK-IT - EVENING

Ben and Bradley smoke a cigarette.

BRADLEY
I’ll tell you how I set it up. I
reserved a room for you in The
Winthrop House. You’re Ogden
Grassner. Can you remember that?

BEN
Yes. How much do I owe you?
 55.

BRADLEY
Six hundred bucks.

BEN
Bullshit. That doesn’t cover even the
expenses.

BRADLEY
It does. Put us on easy street. Send
us a million if you make it.

Ben hands Bradley the money.

BEN
Do you think I will?

A BUZZER. Bradley smiles a soft, sad smile.

BRADLEY
I gotto go.

BEN
Someone’ll kill you for this.

BRADLEY
Would be a bad day for the maggots.

Bradley exits. He sticks his head through the window.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
And Bennie, you send me the memory
cards. I’ll mail them to Games from
Boston.

BEN
I’ll be recognized here.

BRADLEY
Look at the backseat.

Ben looks at A LONG BOX at the backseat.

BEN
Thanks. How long do you think it will
be safe in here?

BRADLEY
I don’t know. Your reservation’s for
a week. But play it by ear. And if
the heat turns on, go to this address.

Bradley hands Ben a note.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
Fella in Portland, Maine. It’ll cost,
but they’re safe.

BEN
Thank you.
 56.

BRADLEY
And when they get you, take a few
along.

Ben and Bradley shake hands.

BEN
Thanks anyway... for everything.

Bradley nods and rushes off. Ben looks at the note and
stores it. In the b.g. Bradley drives away.

EXT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE – EVENING

Ben/Grassner TAPS a cane. He enters The Winthrop House. He

misses a step and stumbles. COP 10 assists him.

INT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE – HOTEL ROOM - EVENING

Ben stands in front of the window, staring at the street.

ACROSS THE STREET

A LUNCHROOM. It is quiet.

Ben turns away from the window. He installs the camera. He

lies down on the bed. We hear a CLICK. Ben is asleep.

INT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE - LOBBY - MORNING

Ben/Grassner puts an envelope in the mailbox. HOTEL CLERK 3

(30’s) passes him by inches.

HOTEL CLERK 3
Good morning, Father.

Ben/Grassner JUMPS. He cocks his head like a blind man.

BEN/GRASSNER
Good morning to you, my son.

Ben/Grassner walks to the stairs. He TAPS his cane.

EXT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE – AFTERNOON

An establishment view of The Winthrop House.

INT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE – HOTEL ROOM - AFTERNOON

Ben/Grassner reads a book. A POUND on the door. He stops

reading. Ben/Grassner puts on his glasses. He raises.

Another KNOCK. He walks to the door.

 57.

BEN/GRASSNER
Yes?

DELIVERY WOMAN (O.S.)

Dinner, referent.

Ben/Grassner opens the door.

A DELIVERY WOMAN (25’s) enters. She carries a dinner-tray.

DELIVERY WOMAN (CONT’D)

Good evening, father.

BEN/GRASSNER
Good evening.

The delivery woman puts the dinner-tray on the table.

She spies through the room.

DELIVERY WOMAN
Well, have a good meal, Father.

BEN/GRASSNER
Thank you.

The delivery woman exits. She closes the door behind her.

Ben/Grassner thumbs on the TV. He sits down. He eats while

he watches The Running Man on the TV.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - ONSTAGE - EVENING

Bobby is onstage. In the b.g. ON SCREEN is Ben’s face. The

audience SCREAMS.

BOBBY
That monster that goes under the name
Ben Richards is still on the loose...
but...

Behind Bobby, ON SCREEN Ben’s face turns into Laughlin’s.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
...I’m pleased to give you some good
news... We’ve got Laughlin.

ON SCREEN

Laughlin’s riddled, sagged body is carried out of A SHED. We

hear the audience BOOZING and HISSING.

BOBBY (O.S.) (CONT’D)

And we all know that Laughlin was the
second runner... Two kids from Topeka,
Kansas, observed Laughlin. Billy and
Mary Cowles.
 58.

The audience CHEERS. Behind Bobby, ON SCREEN are BILLY AND

MARY COWLES, 12, black, shown grinning into a camera.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
And I’m thrilled to have these two
Topeka’s number one citizens as my
guests in tomorrow’s show of The
Running Man.

The audience CHEERS.

ON SCREEN

Laughlin’s dead body is displayed on a table.

Bobby stares into the camera.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
And Ben, I know you’re watching. Look
at Laughlin. Take a good look at him.
That is your destiny!

INT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE – HOTEL ROOM - EVENING

Ben rises and turns down the TV. He turns in for the night.

FADE TO BLACK:

INT. HUNTER’S HOUSE - CELLAR - NIGHT

In the center of a vague and shimmy room, Bradley sits in a

straight wooden chair with leather straps over his arms and
legs. It looks like the chair. Bradley’s head is shaved,
like that of a penitent. We hear water DRIP, darkly. McCone
and the male Hunter walk around.

The female Hunter PUNCHES Bradley in the face.

BRADLEY
I ain’t the man!

FEMALE HUNTER
Yes you are, little brother.

McCone steps forward. He holds Bradley’s head.

McCone pushes a pin through Bradley’s cheek. Bradley SCREAMS

from pain.

MCCONE
Are you the man?

BRADLEY
Suck it.

McCone pulls back. He hands the pin at the female Hunter.

 59.

She slides the pin into Bradley’s eyeball. Bradley goes

BANANAS. The female Hunter pulls the pin back. Bradley’s
eye sticks at the end of the pin.

McCone looks at it and then at Bradley.

MCCONE
Are you the man, little brother?

BRADLEY
Poke it up your ass, bastard.

MCCONE
You are the man.

Bradley LAUGHS. McCone and the Hunters step back from him.

Out of the shadow, Billy and Mary Cowles trip gaily. They
skip around Bradley. They SING: ‘WHO IS AFRAID OF THE BIG
BAD WOLF?’

Bradley twists in his chair. He looks desperate.

BRADLEY
Nooooooooooooooo.

Billy and Mary heads elongate, growing dark with blood. They
open their mouths. In the caves within, fangs twinkle like
razor blades.

Bradley CRIES terrified. The monsters SNARL and ROAR at him.

BRADLEY (CONT’D)
No... Please... No.

BILLY
Are you the man?

BRADLEY
I’ll tell. I ain’t the man.

MARY
Who is the man?

BRADLEY
Ben Richards... He is the man.

BILLY
Where is the man, little brother?

Billy and Mary skip around Bradley. They SING ‘WHO IS AFRAID
OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?’ Bradley twists in his chair.

Billy strains Bradley’s corded neck.

BRADLEY
No... I’ll tell. G-G-God... Oh God.
He’s in... He’s in --
 60.

INT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE – HOTEL ROOM - MORNING

Ben wakes up. He sweats.

BEN
Jesus!

INT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE - LOBBY - MORNING

Ben/Grassner puts the tapes in the mailbox. He TAPS clumsily

through the lobby.

Hotel clerk 3 looks up.

HOTEL CLERK 3
Going out, Father Grassner?

BEN/GRASSNER
Yes I am.

HOTEL CLERK 3
Well, have a nice day, Father.

BEN/GRASSNER
Thank you!

Ben/Grassner bumps into a potted plant on his way out. He

MUMBLES.

EXT. MANCHESTER - WINTHROP HOUSE - MORNING

It is busy with street sellers and cops. People seem to hang

around. It looks like some of them spy at him. Ben/Grassner
stumbles out of the hotel. Ben taps his way down the stairs.

Cop 10 looks at him.

COP 10
Have a nice day, Father.

BEN/GRASSNER
Thank you.

A BOOR (40’s) knocks Ben/Grassner over. Ben/Grassner’s

glasses shuffle on the little stairs.

The boor looks back at him, but moves on.

BOOR
Watch where you’re going, old fart.

Cop 10 hurries to Ben/Grassner. Cop 10 picks up the glasses.

Ben/Grassner gets up. Cop 10 returns the glasses.

Cop 10 looks at Ben/Grassner, somewhat suspicious.

 61.

COP 10
Are you all right, Father?

BEN/GRASSNER
Yes, thank you.

Ben/Grassner puts on the glasses. He moves on. Cop 10 looks

suspicious after him.

EXT. MANCHESTER – U-PARK-IT - MORNING

Ben/Grassner leaves a store. He carries a long box. He

crosses the street. Ben/Grassner walks into the U-PARK-IT.

EXT. MANCHESTER - U-PARK-IT – MORNING

Ben/Grassner walks to his car. He gets in.

INT. BEN’S CAR - MANCHESTER - U-PARK-IT - MORNING

Ben/Grassner removes the Grassner disguise. He tosses it in

the back of the car. He takes a bandage out of the box. Ben
wraps a bandage around his skull.

Suddenly somebody passes the car at the back real close.

Ben scares stiff. He looks around, but nothing happens. He

pulls a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket:

B-94 STATE STREET, PORTLAND

THE BLUE DOOR, GUESTS
ELTON (& VIRGINIA) PARRAKIS.

Ben puts away the note. He starts the car and drives away.

INT. BEN’S CAR - MANCHESTER - MORNING

Ben turns on a highway.

A sign:

ROUTE 17 PORTLAND

A cruiser drives up with him. The COPS look at Ben. The

PASSENGER COP holds a microphone. Ben grins at them. The
cruiser moves in front of Ben’s car. The cops talk to each
other. Suddenly a speed-hog tears by. The cruiser
accelerates and chases the speed-hog. Ben heaves a sigh of
relief.

EXT. PORTLAND – BEN’S CAR - AFTERNOON

A sign:
 62.

PORTLAND

Ben’s lonely car drives cautiously through a street of

blasted, ancient brownstones.

A PARK

It looks ashen. Ben pulls to the curb near the park.

EXT. PORTLAND – ELTON’S HOUSE - AFTERNOON

Ben gets out. The area is abandoned. He walks to a

crumbling and soot-encrusted building.

Ben makes his way up the stone steps. He ends up at a pale

blue door. Ben KNOCKS on it. He waits. Nothing happens.

THE PARK

October branches lose their leaves.

Ben KNOCKS again. He pauses at the door, then:

VIRGINIA (O.S.)
Who’s out there? I don’t buy nothing.
Go away.

A peephole opens with a SQUEAK and someone peeps through it.

BEN
I was told to visit you.

VIRGINIA
I don’t know you.

BEN
I was told to ask for Elton Parrakis.

A bolt moves and the door opens.

VIRGINIA PARRAKIS, 60, gray, scrawny, but unlined face, gazes

at Ben. She looks muddled and afraid.

VIRGINIA
I am Virginia Parrakis. I’m Elton’s
mother. Come in.

Virginia steps back. Ben steps in. The door closes.

INT. PORTLAND – ELTON’S HOUSE - KITCHEN - AFTERNOON

The kitchen looks old and shimmy. Ben sits at a table.

Virginia stands at the stove, making two cups of tea.

VIRGINIA
Elton works. You’re from that fellow
in Boston, aren’t you?
 63.

BEN
Yes, Mrs. Parrakis.

VIRGINIA
I told Eltie that what that Bradley’s
doing is against the law. It was his
idea that Eltie should build an air
pollution station. I told him it
would mean prison. But he doesn’t
listen to me anymore.

BEN
I --

Virginia warms her hands over the gas ring.

VIRGINIA
I suppose they caught you testing smog
and now you’re on the run.

She now turns to Ben. Her eyes are hooded and bewildered.

VIRGINIA (CONT’D)
It don’t matter. It’s the blacks.
Rabble-rousers. I ain’t so...

Virginia stares at Ben, like seeing him for the first time.

VIRGINIA (CONT’D)
Oh, God have mercy.

She looks at the TV above the stove. She looks back at Ben.

BEN
Mrs. Parrakis, please?

VIRGINIA
No... No, no... oh no.

Virginia grabs a knife from the stove. She advances on Ben.

She is furious.

VIRGINIA (CONT’D)
Get out of here.

Ben gets up. He backs away slowly from Virginia.

VIRGINIA (CONT’D)
Get out.

The kitchen door opens.

ELTON (O.S.)
Mom, I’m home.

Ben and Virginia freeze and look at the door. ELTON

PARRAKIS, 30, fat, baby face, lackluster blond hair, enters.
 64.

Elton looks thoughtfully at Virginia.

ELTON (CONT’D)
Put that knife down, Mom.

The crumbling of defeat began to putty her face. She shrinks

away.

VIRGINIA
No. You have to make him go. He’s
that bad man. That... that Richards.
I don’t want you to go in jail.

Elton walks to Virginia.

ELTON
I’m not going to jail, Mom.

Virginia DROPS the knife, and collapses in Elton’s arms.

Elton enfolds Virginia and rocks her gently.

ELTON (CONT’D)
Come on, Mom. Please, don’t cry.

Elton smiles at Ben, apologetic.

ELTON (CONT’D)
Mr. Richards is Bradley Throckmorton’s
good friend. He is going to be with
us for a couple of days.

Virginia SHRIEKS. She disengages from Elton with a rush.

She CLAPS a hand over her mouth.

VIRGINIA
No.

ELTON
Yes, Mom. Yes he is. And I’m going
to take Mr. Richards upstairs and show
him his room.

VIRGINIA
Mr. Richards? He’s Poison!

ELTON
Please come with me Mr. Richards.

Ben obediently follows Elton through the door. Virginia

looks at them. She is full of disbelieve.

INT. PORTLAND – ELTON’S HOUSE - STAIRCASE - AFTERNOON

Ben follows Elton up the shadowy staircase.

BEN
Maybe I better go.
 65.

They walk into a narrow passage. Elton stops.

Elton opens a door.

ELTON
This is your room.

INT. PORTLAND – ELTON’S HOUSE - ROOM - AFTERNOON

The door opens on this dusty damp room. Ben and Elton enter.

ELTON
It’s a poor accommodation, but you may
stay as long as you want. I’ll watch
after my Mom.

BEN
I better go.

ELTON
You can’t, you know. The head bandage
didn’t even fool Mom for long. I’ll
secure your car. We’ll talk later.
Give me your keys, please.

Ben hands Elton the keys. Elton exits. He closes the door.
Ben walks to the window. We hear a ponderously DESCENDING
TREAD on the stairs.

OUTSIDE

Elton emerges on the front walk below. He walks at Ben’s

car.

Ben turns. He removes the head bandage. He tosses it into a

corner. He lies down on the bed. Ben is looking into space.
We hear Virginia weeping. Ben dozes off.

FADE TO BLACK:

INT. PORTLAND – ELTON’S HOUSE - ROOM - EVENING

In the dark, we hear a HEAVY TREAD on the stairs. Ben wakes

up. It looks like he almost lost his bearings. He swings
his feet onto the floor. A KNOCK.

Elton steps in.

ELTON
All set. My mother will mail your
memory cards to Cleveland.

Ben looks confused.

BEN
Cleveland? They go to Boston.
 66.

ELTON
They go to Cleveland now. Bradley’s
on the run.

BEN
Jesus, will they catch him?

ELTON
I don’t know. He’s got quite an
intelligence network.

Elton’s eyes slip away from Ben. The SOUND OF SIRENS faintly
rises.

Suddenly, Virginia stands in the doorway, her arms crossed.

VIRGINIA
(To Ben)
I’ve called the police. Now you’ll
have to go.

Elton’s face drains into a pearly yellowish-white mask.

ELTON
You’re lying.

Ben lurches his feet. He listens firmly. The SOUND OF

SIRENS becomes louder.

BEN
She’s not. Take me to my car!

ELTON
She’s lying. They’re fire trucks.

BEN
Take me to my car... QUICK!

Elton looks at Virginia. His face twists and beseeches her.

ELTON
Oh, mother.

VIRGINIA
(Bleating)
I called them. I had to.

Virginia seizes Elton’s bloated arms as if to shake him.

VIRGINIA (CONT’D)
That darky has got you all mixed up.
We’ll get a reward for that Richards.

Elton GRUNTS to Ben. Elton tries to shake of Virginia.

Virginia clung stubbornly.

VIRGINIA (CONT’D)
Eltie. I had to... For you.
 67.

ELTON
Eltie.

Elton flings Virginia onto the bed.

He walks to the door.

ELTON (CONT’D)
(To Ben)
Quick... Come quick.

Ben and Elton exit the room. They CRASH down the stairs.

EXT. PORTLAND – ELTON’S HOUSE - EVENING

The front door crashes open, and Ben and Elton rush out.
Elton breathes heavily. We clearly hear the POLICE SIRENS.

VIRGINIA (O.S.)
(Protracted cry)
I did it for you.

They cross the street. Suddenly headlights pick them up.

A cruiser comes to a SCREECHING halt, fifty meters away.

COP 11 (O.S.)
Richards! Ben Richards!

Elton leaps to Ben’s car.

The cruiser pulls up. It comes down directly at Ben. Ben

backs up, pulling the gun out of his pocket. Ben squeezes
off two shots at the cruiser. The windshield of the car
starred, but it still comes on. The PASSENGER COP fires at
Ben with an automatic gun. Ben kneels. Dirt strikes him.

Ben fires into the cruiser. The cruiser is on top of him.

Ben jumps aside. He lands on his face. The cruiser digs
through a power turn.

Ben gets up. The cruiser approaches Ben, the automatic gun
rattles. A bullet punches Ben’s left arm. It knocks him
sideways. The cruiser veers and tries to get Ben. Ben
fires.

The windshield implodes.

The cruiser screams into a digging, sideways roll. It goes

up and over... The cruiser crashes into an old, tall tree...
And EXPLODES.

Ben gets up. He struggles to his car. We hear more sirens.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PORTLAND - EVENING

Elton starts the car. We only hear a howling sound.

 68.

ELTON
Come on.

Ben falls inside. He looks at Elton and punches the wheel.

Elton turns the key and the engine chops into life.

Ben grins at Elton.

BEN
Works all the time.

The car plunges forward.

EXT. PORTLAND - BEN’S CAR - EVENING

Two cruisers scream around a corner. They chase Ben’s car.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PORTLAND - EVENING

Ben and Elton slam up violently as they cross a curb. We

hear shots. The rear window blows in. Glass sprinkles them.
Elton SCREAMS. The car whips left and right.

EXT. PORTLAND - PARK – BEN’S CAR - EVENING

The cruisers chase Ben’s car.

At a sharp turn, the first cruiser loses it coming up over

the curb... It veers wildly and crashes over on its side...
It digs itself into a building... And EXPLODES.

The other cruiser chases Ben’s car, but is far behind.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PORTLAND - EVENING

Elton GULPS in huge swatches of air.

ELTON
Are you all right?

Ben studies his left arm.

BEN
Yeah, just a flesh wound and a
sprained ankle. Turn off. Into that
alley.

ELTON
No, it’s a dead end.

Ben hauls the wheel around. The car skids around and heads
for a building.
 69.

EXT. PORTLAND – BEN’S CAR - EVENING

The car smashes into the building.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PORTLAND - EVENING

Ben pitches violently into the dashboard with his head.

Elton GASPS for breath, as if it is his last.

EXT. PORTLAND – BEN’S CAR - EVENING

The car bounces and jolts into the alley. It strikes garbage
cans and splinters crates. It stops against a brick wall.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PORTLAND - EVENING

Ben GROANS. His nose gush blood. He looks at Elton. Elton

is a silent lump lolling over the steering wheel.

EXT. PORTLAND – BEN’S CAR - EVENING

The door of the car opens. Ben hops back to the mouth of the
alley. He reloads his gun. He walks to the corner wall.

The second cruiser skids around a turn. It approaches Ben.

Ben SNUFFLES blood. He leans against the building.

The cruiser closes in.

Ben fires, almost at point-blank. The windshield crashes.

Ben ducks. The DRIVER COP is dead. The PASSENGER COP raises
his arms to protect himself. He SCREAMS.

The cruiser meets the building at high speed... It bounces

back... And EXPLODES.

Ben hops back to his car.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PORTLAND – EVENING

Ben falls inside.

BEN
Go!

Ben pulls Elton from the steering column. It had gone into
Elton’s abdomen. Elton’s shirt is full of blood. He stares
at Ben.

ELTON
I’m hurt. I’m hurt so bad. Where’s
Mom? Where’s my Mommy?
 70.

BEN
Come on... drive.

Elton cries. He manages to back the car up.

ELTON
I’m sorry. I should have known
better. She... she doesn’t think
straight.

Elton COUGHS UP a glut of blood and spits it into his lap.

EXT. PORTLAND – BEN’S CAR – EVENING

The car abandons the city. The light turns down. The car
swings from a smooth tarred road onto a dirt road.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PORTLAND – EVENING

Low-hanging branches SCRAPE the roof of the car. Ben looks

up and outside.

BEN
Do you where we’re going?

ELTON
To a place, I know.

They pass an old sign:

PINE TREE MALL

UNDER CONSTRUCTION – KEEP OUT
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED

They top a final rise and move forward towards the Pine Tree
Mall.

EXT. PINE TREE MALL – BEN’S CAR - EVENING

A huge, but half-build MALL, covered with scrubby junipers.

An immense parking place is grassed over. QUONSET HUTS,
discarded lengths of BOARDS, and a lot of CONSTRUCTION WOOD.

Elton parks the car at a parking lot.

INT. BEN’S CAR - PINE TREE MALL - EVENING

Elton’s place looks like a slaughterhouse.

ELTON
Get out!

BEN
You’re in no condition continuing to
drive.
 71.

ELTON
I’ll play hare... Drive as long as I
can. Get out!

Ben pushes the door hard and gets out.

EXT. PINE TREE MALL - BEN’S CAR – EVENING

The car turns. He bunts a tree. Elton finds the way out.

Ben looks at the Pine Tree Mall.

BEN
Great!

A hunting owl circles the area. It is absolute quiet. Ben

plunges towards the abandoned mall.

INT. PINE TREE MALL - HALL - EVENING

Ben sneaks into the mall.

INT. PINE TREE MALL - SHOP – EVENING

Ben enters and climbs towards a pile of insulation at the

corner. Ben sits back against a wall. He wraps himself in
strips of the insulation. Ben falls into a half-doze.

FADE TO BLACK:

INT. PINE TREE MALL - SHOP - NIGHT

Something large suddenly CRASHES through the hall.

Ben jumps, insulation slid off. He gets up, grabs his gun.
He sneaks to the door.

All of sudden a WILD BOAR crashes through the hall.

Ben stumbles back. He is scared stiff. He points his gun at

the door. The crashing thumbs of the boar move away from
him. Ben waits. Nothing happens. Ben walks to the door.

EXT. PINE TREE MALL - MORNING – DAWN

Ben exits the mall. Fog growls over the sand. We hear the
Woods RUSTLE, birds WHISTLE, and crickets CREAK.

From an elevation Ben looks back at the deserted area. The

area is mysterious in its loneliness. Ben walks to the woods
that bordered the abandoned Pine Tree Mall.
 72.

EXT. PORTLAND - WOODS - MORNING

Ben walks through brambles and ground bushes. His face is a

needlepoint of blood. He is wet from the dawn and brown
sticker-balls stud to his cloth. We hear the WHINING of car
engines. Ben pushes on.

Ben peers out on a macadam highway.

ACROSS THE ROAD. A CLUSTER OF HOUSES and a GAS STATION.

Prominent, A MAILBOX.

Ben withdraws. He sets up the camera on a tree. Ben sits

down in front of the camera. He closes his eyes.

INT. BEN’S CAR - LEWISTON – HARBOR - DAWN

Elton is badly hurt. McCone sits beside Elton.

MCCONE
Tell me, Mr. Parrakis. Where is Mr.
Richards?

Elton hushes. McCone winks at the female Hunter, who stands

outside. She grabs the steering column and twists it. Elton
MOANS. He almost dies of pain.

McCone looks merciless.

MCCONE (CONT’D)
Come on, Mr. Parrakis. Tell me.

McCone grabs Elton’s hair and pulls his head back.

MCCONE (CONT’D)
Tell me, you piece of shit, or I swear
to God that when I’m done with you,
even your own mother won’t recognize
you.

ELTON
(Dying)
He... took a ship... to... Auburn.

Elton dies. McCone throws down Elton’s head. He leaves the

car. We hear the CLICK of Ben’s camera.

EXT. PORTLAND - WOODS - MORNING

Ben opens his eyes. He puts the memory cards in a crumbled

envelope. He gets up. A sudden VOLLEY OF BARKS makes Ben
jump. Something huge breaks cover.

It arrows him.
 73.

BEN
Oh, shit.

ROLF, a big German shepherd, flags his tail. The dog laps
Ben’s face and drools on his shirt. Ben looks confused. He
does not exactly know what to do.

BRIAN (O.S.)
Rolf... Hey, Rolf.

BRIAN, 12, blonde hair, frank and innocent, appears. He

pulls the dog of Ben.

BRIAN (CONT’D)
Jeez, I’m sorry, Mister. He ain’t...
God, ain’t you a mess. You get lost?

Ben sits up.

BEN
Yes, I got lost and I have fallen
around somewhere.

BRIAN
You escape from a bughouse?

BEN
No, I’m on my way to the airport.

Ben snaps his fingers in a pantomime of it just slipped my

mind.

BRIAN
You must mean Voigt Field in Derry.

BEN
That’s the one. What’s your name,
son?

BRIAN
Brian, sir.

BEN
Listen Brian, do me a favor?

Brian looks cautious.

BRIAN
I guess so.

Ben takes the envelope out of his pocket.

BEN
Listen, I’m Government. I’m after
some pretty hard guys. They worked me
over pretty well, kid. As you can
see. The cards in this envelope have
to get through to my supervisor.
 74.

BRIAN
I’ll mail em... Government, Jee-zus,
I’ll tell...

BEN
Nobody, tell nobody. There might be
reprisals. So until tomorrow, you
never saw me... Understood?

Brian looks excited. Ben hands Brian the envelope.

BRIAN
Yeah! Sure!

BEN
Then get on it.

Ben holds out his hand and Brian shakes it awfully.

BEN (CONT’D)
And thanks, pal.

Brian turns around.

BRIAN
Come on, Rolf!

Brian and Rolf trot down the hill.

BEN’S POV

Brian drops the envelope into the mailbox.

EXT. PORTLAND – CROSSING - MORNING

Ben makes his way down the gravel bank between the woods and
the road. He sits down between a few trees.

A few cars pass by. A sports car stops at the intersection.

Ben gets up.

The driver, AMELIA WILLIAMS, 28, half Latino, beautiful, well

dressed, does not look at Ben.

Ben rips the passenger door open.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - PORTLAND - MORNING

The car accelerates. The sudden move picks Ben up. He is

thrown into the car.

Amelia startles.

AMELIA
What... Who... You can’t --
 75.

Ben points his gun at Amelia.

BEN
Wheel it!

Amelia slams both feet on the brake and the accelerator. She
SCREAMS.

EXT. PORTLAND – AMELIA’S CAR - MORNING

The car jolts across the intersection. It stops on the

shoulder, just beyond the intersection.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - PORTLAND - MORNING

Amelia SHUDDERS convulsively. She does not look at Ben.

AMELIA
You’re that... that... R... R --

BEN
Ben Richards. What’s your name,
ma’am?

AMELIA
Amelia Williams. Don’t shoot me.
Don’t kill me! I have money.

BEN
Shht. I have no intention of harming
you. You understand that?

AMELIA
You want the car? Take it. I’ll tell
someone stole it.

BEN
We’ll talk about it. Go up route 1,
Mrs. Williams. Is it Mrs.?

AMELIA
Yes.

BEN
Are there any roadblocks?

AMELIA
N... Yes... Hundreds of them.

BEN
Don’t lie, Mrs. Williams. Okay?

Amelia begins to drive. Driving seems to soothe her.

BEN (CONT’D)
Where are the roadblocks?
 76.

AMELIA
Around Lewiston... That’s where they
got that other so... fellow, about
thirty miles from here.

Ben looks outside.

Amelia drives with frightened unhappiness.

AMELIA (CONT’D)
Will you rape me?

BEN
No. I’m married.

AMELIA
(Disparaging)
Yes, I saw her?

BEN
(Mad)
You’re my protection, Mrs. Williams.
I have to reach Voigt Field, in Derry.

AMELIA
That’s over a hundred miles.

BEN
Yes, it is.

AMELIA
You’ll never make it to there.

BEN
I might, and so might you, if you play
it right.

Amelia lips TREMBLE.

EXT. YARMOUTH – AMELIA’S CAR - MORNING

The car drives through the Woods. They cross a river.

Trailers are tacked at the side of the road. Three cruisers
stand at the side of the road. The COPS seems to have no
interest in Amelia’s car.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - YARMOUTH – MORNING

Amelia bursts out.

AMELIA
Why can’t you let me go?

A bubble of ironic LAUGHTER appears on Ben’s face.

 77.

AMELIA (CONT’D)
You’re laughing at me? Murderer. Why
don’t you find yourself a decent job?
But you’re too lazy. Your kind spit
in de face of anything decent.

BEN
Are you decent, Mrs. Williams?

AMELIA
Yes! Isn’t that why you picked on me?
So you could drag me down to your
level and laugh about it?

BEN
If you’re so decent, how come you
drive this fancy car, while my little
girl dies of flu, and no one will
help.

Amelia looks startled.

AMELIA
What? You’re an enemy of The Network.
It says so on the TV. I saw those
disgusting things you did.

Ben takes a cigarette from a pack on the dashboard.

BEN
You know what’s disgusting? It’s
disgusting to get blackballed. It’s
disgusting to watch your wife earning
the grocery money on her back. It’s
disgusting to know The Network kills
million’s of people while they can
prevent that... That’s disgusting.

Amelia’s knuckles are white on the wheel.

AMELIA
You lie.

BEN
When this is over, you can go home and
get stoned. I met a little girl five
years old with lung cancer. How’s
that for disgusting? What --

AMELIA
(Screaming)
Stop! You talk dirty.

Ben stares outside. He watches the countryside flows by.

BEN
That’s right... That’s right... Dirty-
talking old me.
 78.

The driving fills the silence between them, it lulls them.

EXT. AUGUSTA – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

A sign tells us:

AUGUSTA

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - AUGUSTA - AFTERNOON

Ben stares outside, then at Amelia.

BEN
Listen, there is a good chance they’ll
sniff us here. So, if a cop stops us,
you pull over. Immediately. You open
your door and lean out. Your fanny is
not to leave the seat. You holler:
‘Ben Richards is holding me hostage.
If you don’t give him free passage,
he’ll kill me’.

AMELIA
And you think THAT’LL work?

BEN
It better, it’s your ass.

Amelia looks detested.

AMELIA
You are crazy.

Ben shrugs his shoulders and lowers in his seat.

OUTSIDE

A roadblock. Two cruisers are parked at each side of the

road. TWO COPS stay in one car.

COP 12 and COP 13 wave an old farmer through. Cop 12 holds a

clipboard.

Ben looks nervous.

BEN
Drive up to twenty meters and then
stop. Do it just the way I told you.

Amelia seems in control. She applies the brakes.

EXT. AUGUSTA – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

The car stops in the middle of the road. Cop 12 waves Amelia
forward.
 79.

Amelia opens her door and leans out.

AMELIA
Don’t shoot, please.

Cop 12 glances at cop 13. They unhook, simultaneously, the

straps that crossed their gun butts.

COP 12
Come out of the car with your hands
over your head.

COP 13
You and your passenger, ma’am. We’ve
seen him.

AMELIA
My name is Amelia Williams. I can’t
get out as you ask. Ben Richards is
holding me hostage. If you don’t give
him free passage, he says he’ll kill
me.

The two cops look at each other. Cop 12 drops the clipboard.
The two cops fall aside the road. They kneel. They draw
their guns.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - AUGUSTA - AFTERNOON

Ben thumbs his left foot on Amelia’s right foot.

BEN
Drive!

Amelia SCREAMS. The car rips forward.

EXT. AUGUSTA – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

The two cops shoot at the car. The windshield crashes in.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - AUGUSTA - AFTERNOON

Bits of safety glass splatter them both. Amelia throws both

hands up to protect her face. She SCREAMS.

Ben leans against her, swinging the wheel.

BEN
Steer! Goddammit, steer!

Amelia gropes for the wheel and finds it.

 80.

EXT. AUGUSTA – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

Amelia’s car drives through the gap between the two cruisers.
One cruisers starts to chase them. Amelia’s car drives over
a rise.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - AUGUSTA - AFTERNOON

Ben looks backwards -- No cruisers.

Amelia is in PANIC. Ben looks at her.

BEN
Pull over.

AMELIA
They shot at us.

BEN
Pull over!

EXT. AUGUSTA – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

The car pulls over. Ben gets out. Ben hops back the way
they came, his gun out.

The first cruiser comes over the rise. A COP fires with an
automatic gun. The second cruiser follows the first one real
close.

Ben kneels and fires.

The windshield of the car crashes and the car lurches aside.
The second cruiser runs into the first one, full speed.

The second cruiser rolls three times... And EXPLODES.

The first cruiser stops twisting... And EXPLODES.

Shrapnel spews all around Ben. Ben gets up. HIS SHIRT
darkens red at the side. He probably took another hit. Ben
hops back to Amelia’s car. He gets in.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - AUGUSTA - AFTERNOON

Amelia stares at the burning cruisers. She freaks out.

AMELIA
You killed them.

BEN
Yes... and they tried to kill me...
and you. Now drive. Fast.
 81.

Amelia’s face turns into a mask with twitching lips and

rolling eyes. The car jerks forward.

EXT. ROCKLAND - AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

Amelia’s car drives down the highway. A ROADSIDE STORE AND

GAS STATION. Another city lies in distance.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - ROCKLAND – GAS STATION - AFTERNOON

Ben looks outside and points at the gas station.

BEN
Pull in.

EXT. ROCKLAND - GAS STATION - TELEPHONE BOOTH – AFTERNOON

The car pulls in.

Amelia stands outside the telephone booth. Ben stands in it.

FEMALE PHONE OPERATOR 2 (O.S.)

Hello.

BEN
What exchange is this, operator?

FEMALE PHONE OPERATOR 2 (O.S.)

Rockland, sir.

BEN
Put me through to the local news
service hookup, please.

FEMALE PHONE OPERATOR 2 (O.S.)

Yes sir.

ROBERTS (O.S.)
Rockland News Service TV Tabloid 6943,
I am Peter Roberts.

BEN
This is Ben Richards.

ROBERTS (O.S.)
Look, maggot, I like a joke as --

BEN
Shut up. You get confirmation in ten
minutes, or now if you’ve got a police
band radio.

ROBERTS (O.S.)
Where are you, fella?

Ben cranes his neck at the sign over the store.

 82.

BEN
A place called Gilly’s Gas station.
I’ve got a hostage. Her name is
Amelia Williams, from...

Ben indicates his head at Amelia.

AMELIA
Little Falls.

BEN
Little Falls. Get this on air. Red
Newsbreak Top. I want the pigs to
understand everyone knows I’m not
alone. Four of them already tried.

ROBERTS (O.S.)
What happened to them?

BEN
I killed them.

ROBERTS (O.S.)
(To someone else)
Dicky, open the National cable.

BEN
I’m gonna kill her too if they shoot.
If they want to save the girl, they
better let me through.

ROBERTS (O.S.)
When --

Ben disconnects.

BEN
Let’s go.

They walk away.

EXT. ROCKLAND – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

They travel along the sea.

A sign:

ROCKLAND

At many summer homes, people stand out on their lawns to

watch Ben and Amelia pass. People peer at them from behind
trees.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - ROCKLAND - AFTERNOON

Ben points out to the spectators.

 83.

BEN
Those people only wanna see someone
bleed. They don’t give a shit if we
both die. Can you imagine?

AMELIA
No.

BEN
Then I salute you, Mrs. Williams.

EXT. U.S.A. - AFTERNOON

On a highway, cruisers follow Amelia’s car.

EXT. DERRY - AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

A sign:

DERRY

The street is black with people. People hang over roof

ledges. People sit on balconies.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR – DERRY - AFTERNOON

Ben gazes outside.

BEN
Follow the signs to the airport.

AMELIA
Is she really your wife? The woman in
the pictures?

BEN
(Surprised)
Yes.

AMELIA
She looks like a tramp. She’d better
take care of herself.

BEN
The picture was doctored.

AMELIA
They would do that?

BEN
They would do that!

AMELIA
The airport. We’re here.
 84.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

The car crawls between parked cruisers. Behind the cruisers

cops aim their guns at them. Behind that, is a huge crowd.
Straight ahead is Main gate, blocked by a tank. COP 14
stands in front of the tank. He carries a bullhorn. Amelia
pulls over at twenty meters before him.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - AFTERNOON

Amelia looks regretful.

AMELIA
You’re done. Do I’ve to die, too?

BEN
Do your thing, Mrs. Williams.

Ben slides down in his seat. Amelia is nervous.

AMELIA
I’m scared... Please!

BEN
They won’t shoot at you. They’re not
allowed. Go on, the eyes of the world
are upon you.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

Amelia leans out.

AMELIA
My name is Amelia Williams. Ben
Richards says he’ll kill me if you
don’t give him safe conduct.

INTERCUT AS NEEDED

COP 14 (IN BULLHORN)

Miss, you’re not allowed inside. We
want to talk to Ben Richards.

Ben nods ‘NO’.

AMELIA
He says, he won’t.

COP 14 (IN BULLHORN)

Step out of the car, Madam.

AMELIA
He’ll kill me. Don’t you listen? He
says you don’t care who you kill. My
God, is he right?
 85.

COP 14 (IN BULLHORN)

Step out of the car or we’ll shoot.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

A TALL MAN (40’s) in THE CROWD raises his arm.

TALL MAN
Let her through!

The crowd takes up a CHANT like eager fans at a match ‘LET

HER THROUGH! LET HER THROUGH!’

Cop 14 turns to the crowd.

COP 14 (IN BULLHORN)

All civilians leave the area. The
penalty for obstruction and unlawful
assembly is ten years in The Network
Penitentiary. Clear the area now!

The crowd stays. A GRUBBY WOMAN (40’s) steps forward.

GRUBBY WOMAN
So no one’ll see you shoot the girl.

TALL MAN
Screw all pigs!

Cops club a number of people. SAVAGE FIST FIGHTS.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - AFTERNOON

Ben does not stick his head up. Amelia looks stunned.

BEN
What’s happening?

AMELIA
Fights. Police hitting people.

COP 14 (O.S.) (IN BULLHORN)

Give up, Richards. Come out.

Ben WHISPERS something in Amelia’s ear.

Amelia leans out.

AMELIA
Ben Richards wants to give himself up
to the Airport Police. He’s shot in
two places. He’s been out of his mind
and God, I’m so frightened. Please...
Please!
 86.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

A few people in the crowd are taking away by cops. The rest
of crowd is stunned into speechlessness.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - AFTERNOON

Amelia leans back inside.

BEN
Very good.

AMELIA
We’re not in this together, if you
might think so. I only want to go
home.

A sudden grinding roar of the tank. Amelia SCREAMS, then:

COP 14 (IN BULLHORN)

Richards, proceed to parking lot 16.
The Airport Police will take you into
custody.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - AFTERNOON

The tank backs up, creating a gap.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - AFTERNOON

The car hums forward. Ben crouches going through the gate.

BEN
Go up to the entrance of lot 16 and
then stop.

AMELIA
You’re going to get me killed. All I
need to do is use the bathroom and
you’re going to get me killed.

Ben smiles at her. It looks like he is apologizing.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

People are crowded at parking lot 16. Cruisers flank the

entrance. Cops have their guns ready to fire. Amelia’s car
stops thirty meters before the entrance.

COP 15 stands in front of a cruiser. He carries a bullhorn.

COP 15 (IN BULLHORN)

Richards. Move on. The Airport Police
are inside. As specified.
 87.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - AFTERNOON

Ben WHISPERS something in Amelia’s ear.

Amelia leans out.

AMELIA
Ben Richards says he wants a bullhorn.
Leave one in the road ten meters up.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR – AFTERNOON

A COP drops a bullhorn down in front of Amelia’s car. Amelia

drives to the bullhorn. She stops, opens the door, and pulls
the bullhorn inside.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - AFTERNOON

Amelia hands over the bullhorn.

COP 15 (O.S.) (IN BULLHORN)

Richards, move on.

Ben talks through the partly broken windshield.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

Ten minutes. I have to think.

AMELIA
Don’t you realize you’re pushing them
to do it?

BEN
They know I’m getting set to screw
them. They don’t know what.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - ONSTAGE - EVENING

Bobby walks onstage. He looks excited. In his b.g. ON

SCREEN, cops at Voigt Field has encircled Amelia’s car.

BOBBY
Welcome back people. We’ve got some
breaking news for you. We just heard
that The Network Police stopped
Benjamin Richards at Derry Airport.
We don’t have a reporter right on the
spot. But that’ll change within a few
minutes. So, stay with us.

Bobby walks offstage.

 88.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Amelia looks at Ben.

AMELIA
Why don’t you give yourself up to the
Airport Police?

BEN
The Airport Police isn’t part of The
Network enforcement. They’re an
International organization. You give
up to them, you’d get amnesty, they
say. But that’s bull. They turn you
over to the Hunters, and the Hunters
drag you in back of the barn.

AMELIA
Whatever you do, it won’t work. Don’t
you see that?

BEN
Look, Mrs. Williams, this game is a
setup. But maybe I stacked the deck a
bit. I don’t have the ace, so I’m
going to run a bluff.

Ben grabs Amelia’s handbag. He stuffs it in his left pocket.

Amelia stares at Ben.

AMELIA
What can you do with my bag? Shoot
them with my lipstick?

COP 15 (O.S.) (IN BULLHORN)

Richards! Ten minutes are up.

Ben grins.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

Listen! I am carrying a Hi-impact
Massive Ordnance Air Burst Bomb in my
coat pocket, enough to explode the
fuel storage tanks, and blow you all
to hell... I’ve it pulled out to half
cock. One jiggle and you all can kiss
your ass goodbye.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR – EVENING

PEOPLE in the crowd move tide like, their faces blank and
avid with PANIC. They STREAM AWAY from parking lot 16. Cops
behind the cruisers shuffle uneasy. Cop 15 looks insecure.

COP 15 (IN BULLHORN)

Richards? That’s a lie. Come out.
 89.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

I will, but first I give you your
marching order. I want a General
Atomic 800 Airplane fully fueled and
ready to fly... within ninety minutes.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben put the car’s timer at ninety minutes, counting down.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR – EVENING

Reporters look uneasy. Cameras reel away.

McCone strolls out from behind a cruiser, wearing dark

slacks, a white shirt rolled up to the elbows. He carries a
huge bullhorn. Cop 15 walks back to the cruisers.

McCone stands at fifteen meters from Amelia’s car.

MCCONE (IN BULLHORN)

Richards? I’m Evan McCone. You lie
and I know it. There isn’t a place in
the world for you to lay your hands on
MOAB explosives.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben looks up –- Evan McCone is the personification of evil.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

In my streets you can buy MOAB every
two blocks if you have the cash on the
line, and I did.

MCCONE (IN BULLHORN)

Let the woman go.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

I will. She’s seen the explosive.

Amelia’s face is an unbelieving rictus.

AMELIA
No, I’m not gonna lie for you.

BEN
If you don’t, I’m dead.
(Soothing)
MOAB is white and solid, slightly cold
and greasy to touch.

Amelia CLAPS her hands over her ears.

AMELIA
No, no, no... No... No way.
 90.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

You’d better get it in gear, McCone.
You have eighty-nine minutes.

Amelia WEEPS.

AMELIA
I can’t.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR – EVENING

McCone looks a little restless.

MCCONE (IN BULLHORN)

Richards! Send the woman out.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Amelia rocks back and forth. She MOANS a little.

BEN
The ignition ring is gold. I was
holding it for the last half hour.
The ring is attached to the detonator
on top. It looks like the eraser of a
pencil. If they ask anything else,
you don’t know Jack Shit... Got it?

No answer. The flesh of Amelia’s looks like dough.

BEN (CONT’D)
Sure you do. You’re a bright girl,
aren’t you?

AMELIA
I’m not going to lie.

BEN
Go on... Get out!

Amelia gazes at Ben convulsively. Ben reaches for the door

handle at Amelia’s side. He tugs it and the door opens.

BEN (CONT’D)
Go... Go!

AMELIA
I... I... Oh, my God.

Amelia half falls out.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR - EVENING

Amelia gets on her feet. She runs away from her car. She
runs into the lukewarm stardust of million flashbulbs.
McCone walks to Amelia. The crowd looks expectantly.
 91.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben slouches down. Cop 15 reappears.

COP 15 (IN BULLHORN)

Richards!

Ben looks up –- is it the end?

COP 15 (O.S.) (CONT’D) (IN BULLHORN)

We need more time. At least three
hours.

The timer shows 79:02.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

You have seventy-nine minutes. Then
it all goes up.

INT. VOIGT FIELD - HANGAR - EVENING

Amelia sits at a table with a cup of coffee. The female and

male Hunter stand nearby.

McCone sits near to Amelia.

MCCONE
Of course you’re upset, Mrs. Williams,
but would you mind going through this
once more.

AMELIA
Why?

MCCONE
How did you know it was an explosive?

AMELIA
From what I saw, it looked like a huge
hand grenade.

MCCONE
What else can you tell me?

AMELIA
I saw it had a detonator on top.

MCCONE
Oh, how did it look like?

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben looks at the timer, first 57:11, then 48:55, and 41:01.
 92.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR - AFTERNOON

Spectators creep back to parking lot 16. Spotlights focus on

Amelia’s car.

INT. VOIGT FIELD - HANGAR - EVENING

Amelia sits down. McCone flocks around her.

MCCONE
What can you tell me about the
ignition?

AMELIA
It was a golden ring.

MCCONE
How do you know?

AMELIA
Well, I saw it when I glanced in his
pocket. He was holding it.

McCone eyes tightens. He looks straight into Amelia’s eyes.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben slouches further down. He looks at the timer. First

35:15, then 26:59, 14:14, and 7:32.

COP 15 (O.S.) (IN BULLHORN)

Richards?

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Cop 15 is back in his position.

COP 15 (IN BULLHORN)

We just gotta have more time. The
bird’s flaps are frozen solid.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben peeps outside, but is afraid to stretch out his head.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

You have seven minutes. Open the gate
to the runway. And remember, one hand
is at the ignition ring.

COP 15 (IN BULLHORN)

You don’t seem to realize that --
 93.

BEN (IN BULLHORN)

I’m through talking, six minutes.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR - EVENING

The crowd looks anxious.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben looks at the timer. First 6:00, then 3:11, and 0:00.
Ben moves over to the driver’s seat.

COP 15 (IN BULLHORN)

Richards! If you move the car, we’ll
shoot. The girl talked. We know it
all.

Ben drops the car into gear. He drives off.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD – AMELIA’S CAR - EVENING

COPS in hideouts aim their guns. Nothing happens.

Ben passes a high-octane truck. He drives slowly through the

gate to the runway. Small planes stand aside.

An enormous General Atomic ‘GA’ 800 AIRPLANE from American

Pride is parked on the runway. The engines grumble. McCone
steps out of the shadow beneath the plane.

INT. AMELIA’S CAR - VOIGT FIELD – EVENING

Ben pulls over near McCone.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - RUNWAY - GA 800 - EVENING

Ben gets out. From this moment on his left-hand stays in his
left pocket.

Ben and McCone meet at the scaffold like roll-up stairs.

MCCONE
Benjamin Stuart Richards?

BEN
Yes.

MCCONE
I have a sworn bill from The Network
Games Authority for your comprehension
and execution. Will you honor it?

BEN
Does a hen need a flag?
 94.

MCCONE
The formalities are taken care of.
You’ve been an extraordinary
contestant. I understand the rating
on the program jumped twelve points.

BEN
Wonderful.

MCCONE
Of course, we almost had you during
that Portland interlude. But this
last play has been simply brilliant.

BEN
Thank you.

MCCONE
I salute you. In a way, I’m almost
sorry the game has to end. I shall
never run up against a more inventive
opponent.

BEN
Too bad.

MCCONE
It’s over, you know. The woman broke.
We used Pentothal on her.

McCone pulls a small automatic gun.

MCCONE (CONT’D)
I will pay you the ultimate
compliment. I kill you right here,
where no one can film it.

BEN
Get ready, then

Ben fiddles in his pocket. McCone looks at it. They stand

in a deadlock.

McCone laughs.

MCCONE
Oh, you’re so good, Mr. Richards. Par
excellence. The woman has not broken.
But I wonder what had happened to her
purse if it isn’t in your pocket.

BEN
Shoot me if you wanna find out.

MCCONE
How well I’d love to. But I don’t
take chances with human life, even not
when the odds are ninety-nine out of
hundred in my favor.
 95.

McCone’s eyes blink.

MCCONE (CONT’D)
So you see --

BEN
Listen to me, little man. Even when
you inject her with everything you
got, she’s going to sing the same
tune. Dig it?

Ben climbs the stairs. McCone stares at him.

MCCONE
Richards?

Ben looks back from the stairs. McCone looks up at him.

MCCONE (CONT’D)
When you get in the air, we’re going
to shoot you down with a ground-to-air
missile.

BEN
You won’t, though.

MCCONE
No?

BEN
We’re going to be very low and over
heavily populated areas. Add twelve
fuel pods to MOAB Explosives, and you
get a very big bang potential... Since
you’re so bright... Did you
anticipate me on a parachute?

McCone put away the gun.

MCCONE
Yes, I did... and it’s clean.

BEN
Goodbye, little man.

Ben walks up the stairs. McCone looks up to him.

MCCONE
Au revoir, Mr. Richards.

BEN
(Whispering)
Soon.
 96.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben walks through the first-class compartment. In a seat

sits the bulky parachute. Ben pats on it briefly. He passes
a kitchenette.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

Ben ends up in the Navigator’s place.

ROBERT S. DONAHUE, 30, care-lined face, good looking, gazes

coolly at Ben. Donahue wears a fancy headset and mike.

DONAHUE
(In throat mike)
The fellow who’s going to have us all
killed is coming up, fellas.

Ben shrugs his shoulders. He drags himself through a small

corridor, and into the nose of the plane.

Pilot CAPTAIN DON HOLLOWAY, 50, baldly, thickset, looks back.

Co-pilot WAYNE DUNINGER (30’s), and liaison officer KIPPY

FRIEDMAN (20’s), glances at Ben.

HOLLOWAY
Hello, Mr. Richards. Pardon me if I
don’t shake hands. I am Flight
Captain Don Holloway.
(Nodding at Duninger)
My copilot Wayne Duninger.

DUNINGER
Under the circumstances, not very
pleased to meet you.

BEN
Captain Holloway, are you patched into
communication with McCone?

HOLLOWAY
We sure are.

Holloway points at Friedman.

HOLLOWAY (CONT’D)
Through Kippy Friedman, he is our
liaison officer.

BEN
(To Friedman)
Give me something to talk into.

Friedman hands Ben a microphone with infinite carefulness.

 97.

FRIEDMAN
Here you are sir.

BEN
Get going on your preflight, Captain
Holloway.

Holloway and Duninger are going through PREFLIGHT.

Ben sits down, a microphone in his right hand.

BEN (CONT’D)
McCone?

MCCONE (O.S.)
McCone here.

BEN
Come on, maggot. You and the girl are
going for a ride. Show up in three
minutes or I pull the ring.

INT. VOIGT FIELD - HANGAR - EVENING

McCone rises from behind a desk in the hangar. Staff members

look at McCone.

McCone looks disturbed.

MCCONE
You’re nuts, Richards. I’m not --

BEN (O.S.)
You listen. The woman’s coming
because I told her where I was going
and you’re coming because you’re a
piece of shit. That’s it. Three
minutes. Signing off.

MCCONE
Richards, wait a min --

The line is dead. McCone looks desperate. Amelia glances at

him. Staff members look anxiously at McCone.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

McCone and Amelia climb up the stairs. Amelia is panting and

frightened. Ben welcomes them on top.

McCone’s eyes are dark with hate. He almost looks psychotic.

MCCONE
You haven’t won a thing, maggot.
 98.

BEN
It’s so nice to see you again, Mrs.
Williams.

Amelia WEEPS. She staggers into the plane. She holds at a

row of seats.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Mr. Richards, are we green? Just
talk, I can hear you.

Ben looks surprised.

BEN
Yes we are, Captain Holloway.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Then I’m giving the order to remove
the stairs.

BEN
All right, Captain. Thank you.

McCone looks paranoid.

MCCONE
You gave yourself away when you asked
for the woman.

BEN
Ah, really. Why don’t you give it
your best shot then?

McCone SNARLS. He makes no move. We hear the ENGINES get

ready for take off. The outer door closes automatically.

Ben smiles at McCone.

BEN (CONT’D)
You go wherever you please little man.
Just don’t bother the crew.
(To Amelia)
Come forward. We’re taking off.

McCone pushes through the curtained divider. He heads for

the second class.

Ben slides in a seat. Amelia sit next to him. Amelia

buckles Ben’s belt.

INT. GA 800 – SECOND CLASS - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

McCone puts in an earphone.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - VOIGT FIELD - EVENING

The plane maneuvers for take off. Amelia and Ben sit back.
 99.

AMELIA
You’re like a bad dream... One that
never ends.

BEN
I’m sorry.

AMELIA
I didn’t --

Ben clamps his hand over Amelia’s mouth and shakes his head
‘NO’. The plane jumps by the BURST OF ACCELERATION. Ben and
Amelia are driven back in their seats. Amelia’s face twists
into a grimace of fear.

EXT. VOIGT FIELD - GA 800 – EVENING

PARKING LOT 16 POV

The GA 800 DEPARTS.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

THROUGH THE WINDOW

The earth drops away.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Mr. Richards, what are your
instructions?

Ben thinks, then:

BEN
I have to put myself in your hands,
Captain. So, if you lie to me about
anything and I find out.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Nobody up here is going to do any
lying. We’re only interested in
getting this thing back down they way
it went up.

BEN
Okay. Fly west. At six hundred
meters.

EXT. GA 800 - EVENING

The GA 800 flies to the red glow of the dawning sun.

 100.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben takes a pad of the airline stationary from the seat in

front of him. He takes a stylus and writes something down.
Amelia looks wondered.

THE NOTE:

I THINK YOU’RE BUGGED. IN TEN MINUTES YOU HAVE A HYSTERICAL

OUTBURST, BEG ME NOT TO PULL THE RING. YOU GAME?

Amelia nods ‘YES’. Ben hesitates, he writes again.

THE NOTE:

WHY DID YOU LIE ABOUT ME?

Amelia plucks the stylus out of his hand. She replies.

THE NOTE:

DON’T KNOW, YOU SEEMED SO PITIFUL.

Ben raises the eyebrows and grins. He takes the sheet from
the note and puts it away. He dozes off.

EXT. GA 800 - EVENING

The GA 800 flies towards the darkened sunset.

INT. GAMES BUILDING - EIGHT FLOOR - ONSTAGE - EVENING

Bobby looks excited.

BOBBY
I did promise you a hell of a show
tonight, didn’t I? Well, right now,
as we speak, Ben Richards skyjacked an
airplane. He is airborne and he’s not
alone... Our Chief Hunter is with him.

The audience CHEERS.

BOBBY (CONT’D)
That means another promise. I promise
you a hell of a firework this show,
when the game finally comes to an end.
So, don’t go anywhere. We’ll be back,
after the break.

Bobby walks offstage.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben is half-asleep.
 101.

Amelia MOANS and SCREAMS.

AMELIA
Please, don’t make that man. I never
did anything to you. I want to go
home to my daughter.

Ben startles.

BEN
McCone is a blazing ass.

AMELIA
Why don’t you show it to him? Then
he’d have to believe you. He can call
off the people on the ground. They’re
tracking us with missiles. I heard
them say so!

INT. GA 800 – SECOND CLASS - EVENING

McCone follows the conversation with great interest.

BEN (O.S.)
Can’t show it to him. Take it out of
my pocket means to put it on safe or
risks of blowing us up accidentally.

AMELIA (O.S.)
I can’t stand it any longer.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben looks at Amelia.

BEN
I wouldn’t show it to him, even if I
could. McCone is an asshole.

AMELIA
I almost think I’d rather joggle you
and have it over.

BEN
You haven’t --

The curtain snaps open and McCone stumbles in. He hurries to

Ben and Amelia.

His face looks calm, but his eyes show sheen of fear.

MCCONE
Mrs. Williams, coffee, if you please.
For seven. You’ll have to play our
flight attendant on this flight, I’m
afraid.
 102.

Amelia gets up. She looks at neither of them. She makes her
way to the kitchenette.

McCone stares at Ben.

MCCONE (CONT’D)
Would you give this up if I could
promise you amnesty, pal?

BEN
Pal... Sounds real greasy.

MCCONE
Amnesty. How does THAT sound?

BEN
Like a fucking lie, McCone. Don’t you
think I know that you’re nothing but
the hired help?

McCone flushes, hard, red, and brickable.

MCCONE
It’s going to be good to have you on
my home court. We’ve got slugs that
will make your head look like a
pumpkin dropped from the top floor of
a skyscraper.

Ben rises. He looks insane.

BEN
Here it goes. I’m pulling the ring.

McCone SCREECHES. He staggers back. He overbalances.

McCone falls into it like a man into a sling, his arms flying
in the air.

McCone lies on the floor. His eyes stares through the hands
froze about his head. Ben is LAUGHING at McCone.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Mr. Richards!

Ben stops LAUGHING.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.) (CONT’D)

We crossed the border with Canada.
What do you want me to do?

McCone raises.

Ben sits down in his chair.

BEN
Could you supply me with a map of
North America, Captain Holloway?
 103.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Yes.

DONAHUE (O.S.)
Are you going to send the woman up for
them?

BEN
What’s your name, pal?

DONAHUE (O.S.)
Donahue.

BEN
You’ve got legs, Donahue. Suppose you
trot back here yourself.

McCone walks to a seat in the first class compartment, far

away from Ben.

Donahue appears with the maps.

He hands them to Ben.

DONAHUE
I didn’t mean to mouth you off, sir.

Ben stares at him. Donahue glances at McCone.

Donahue shifts uneasily under Ben’s gaze.

DONAHUE (CONT’D)
Anything else?

BEN
No, go back.

Donahue rushes away.

Ben looks at the map.

BEN (CONT’D)
Captain Holloway?

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Yes.

BEN
Fly south, and remember.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
I’m remembering. Don’t worry.

The plane changes direction. Amelia sits on a chair in front

of the kitchenette. She glances from Ben to McCone. McCone
stares at Ben with wanting eyes.
 104.

INT. GAMES BUILDING – EIGHT FLOOR - CONTROL ROOM - EVENING

Dan and a SOLDIER leer at a radar screen. A COLONEL, 45, a

real combat soldier, tabs Dan on the shoulder.

Dan turns.

COLONEL
Mr. Killian, we’ve a clear track on
the plane. What’ll we do?

DAN
We wait, Colonel!

COLONEL
We can take him out!

DAN
We wait. We have people up there.

COLONEL
I hope you know what you’re doing?

The Colonel moves on.

Dan looks sad.

DAN
(Whispering)
So do I... So do I.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben looks outside the window. The map lies on his knees.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Mr. Richards? We’re above Newark, New
Jersey.

BEN
Holloway? They’ve got a bead drawn on
us all the way, don’t they?

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Yes.

Ben looks at McCone.

BEN
I imagine they’re trying to decide if
they can afford to do away their
professional bloodhound here. All
they have to do is train a new one.

McCone snarls at Ben.

 105.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - EVENING

Holloway, Duninger, and Friedman are having their coffee,

while flying the plane.

BEN (O.S.)
Captain Holloway?

HOLLOWAY
Yes.

BEN (O.S.)
Fly west.

They jump. They look at each other.

HOLLOWAY
West? You’re asking for it, going
that way. It takes us over pretty
open country.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

McCone jumps.

MCCONE
You’re crazy, Richards! They’ll blow
us apart.

BEN
With you and five other innocent
people on board?

MCCONE
They’ll make a mistake.

BEN
We don’t make mistakes anymore...
Captain Holloway? Fly west.

EXT. GA 800 - EVENING

The plane changes direction.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Amelia hands McCone a cup of coffee. He WHISPERS in her ear.

Amelia walks to Ben.

Amelia hands Ben a cup of coffee.

BEN
Thank you, Mrs. Williams.

Amelia walks back to the kitchenette.

 106.

HOLLOWAY (O.S.)
Richards!

Ben looks up.

BEN
Yes.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - EVENING

Holloway looks excited.

HOLLOWAY
We’ve been informed that the Games
Authority beams up a high-intensity
broadcast at us. I was told you would
find it worth to turn on the TV.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben looks back at McCone.

Then he looks at the TV in front of him.

BEN
Thank you, Captain Holloway.

Ben leans forward to turn on the TV. He withdraws his hand

as if it was hot.

McCone looks anxious.

MCCONE
Turn it on. Maybe they’re going to
offer us... you... a deal.

With a GRUNT, Ben leans forward and turns on the TV.

BEN
Shut up.

ON TV

Dan sits at a mahogany desk with Games Symbol on it.

Ben sits back and looks at the TV.

BEN (CONT’D)
Hello there!

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Bobby and Arthur sit opposite of Dan.

 107.

DAN
Hello there yourself, Mr. Richards. I
can’t see you, I can only hear you,
but people told me you’re injured.

INTERCUT AS NEEDED

BEN
I got scratched up in the woods.

DAN
Oh yes, the famous Run Through the
Woods. Bobby canonized it on the air
just tonight, along with your current
exploit, of course.

BEN
Excellent.

DAN
Ben, you’ve been the greatest
contestant we’ve ever had. Great
enough for us to offer you a deal.
For the first time, you haven’t got a
place to hide. There’s no one up
there but us. You’re a dead duck,
finally.

BEN
Says who?

DAN
You asked me once who you could kill
if you could go all the way to the
top... One of them would have been me.
Does that surprise you?

BEN
I suppose so. I had pegged you for
the house nigger.

DAN
Here’s the deal, Ben. Fly your plane
to Harding. A fake execution will be
performed. Then you join our team.

MCCONE
(Furiously)
What?... You black bastard.

BEN
I knew you were good, but this is
really great.

DAN
Ben, you’ve done your song with the
explosives. We know you’re bluffing.
(MORE)
 108.
DAN (CONT'D)
You couldn’t get in a GA 800 with
explosives, not without ringing the
alarms. This makes your position
worse, but --

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

McCone approaches Ben. He points his gun at Ben’s temple.

MCCONE
Here it goes. Here’s where I blow
your fucking head off, donkey.

DAN (O.S.)
You’re dead if you do so, McCone.

McCone hesitates. He falls back a step. His face crumples.

MCCONE
I can take him. Right now, right
here... We’ll all be save. We --

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Dan looks mad.

DAN
You’re safe, you Goddamn fool.

INTERCUT AS NEEDED

MCCONE
This man is a criminal. He killed
police officers. He’s publicly
humiliated me and my department.

DAN
Sit down. It’s time you remember who
pays your salary, Mr. Chief Hunter.

MCCONE
I’m going to the Council President
with this. You’re going to be chopping
cotton when this is over, nig! You
son of a bitch.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Donahue passes Amelia. He looks cold and deadlier than ever.

He trains his machine gun on McCone.

DONAHUE
Put away the gun, old man.

McCone looks astonished. He lowers his gun.

 109.

MCCONE
You --

DONAHUE
Robert S. Donahue, Games Council
Control. Get back to second class and
sit down like a good boy.

McCone SNARLS futility. He puts away his gun. McCone walks

to the curtain. He disappears into second class.

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Dan sits in his chair.

DAN
The problem has been handled, Mr.
Richards?

INTERCUT AS NEEDED

BEN
Yes.

DAN
Good! I was saying I know that you
bluff. You’d better believe it.

BEN
But I don’t.

DAN
Oh Ben, you’re such a peach. If you
really had it, you would have pulled
the string when McCone put the gun to
your head... Mr. Donahue?

DONAHUE
Yes sir.

DAN
Please remove Mrs. Williams’s purse
from Mr. Richards’s pocket.

DONAHUE
Yes sir.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Donahue walks to Ben. Donahue’s face is empty. Ben rises.

BEN
Stand right there, pretty boy. Your
boss is safe on the ground. You’re
the one that’s going to the moon.
 110.

Donahue comes on. Ben takes a step back.

BEN (CONT’D)
I see you... I see you in hell.

Ben makes a pulling move in his pocket. Donahue holds for a

second -- nothing happens -- and he moves on. Ben takes the
purse out of his pocket and throws it away. It strikes
Donahue in the breast. The purse plops at Donahue’s feet
like a dead bird.

Ben looks sad.

BEN (CONT’D)
Boom.

Donahue grabs the purse. He walks to Amelia. Donahue gives

Amelia her purse. He walks to the cockpit.

Ben sits down. He looks at the TV.

BEN (CONT’D)
What’s next, Killian? Set up the
camera at the airport so everyone can
watch the desperado gets it?

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Dan sits in his chair.

DAN
Now the deal, Ben. McCone’s played
out. You cracked him like a soft-
shelled egg. We want you to take his
place.

INTERCUT AS NEEDED

BEN
You’re nuts, Killian.

DAN
No, I’m not. You’re the best runner
we’ve ever had. The best runner knows
the best places to look.

BEN
There’s never been a Chief Hunter with
a family. You ought to know why. The
possibilities for extortion --

DAN
Ben... your wife... and daughter...
are dead.
 111.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben looks shocked and full of disbelief.

DAN (O.S.)
They’ve been dead for more than a
week.

The photo of Sheila and Cathy, the one we have seen before,
shrivels outside in by fire, while we move back from it. We
hear DAN’S VOICE, but we only hear him in distance.

Ben looks totally deadbeat.

BEN
What?

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Dan sits in his chair.

DAN
I said, they were assaulted by
prowlers. Your wife was stabbed over
thirty times.

INTERCUT AS NEEDED

BEN
Cathy.

DAN
Ben, would you like some time to think
about all this?

BEN
Yes... Yes, I would.

DAN
I’m so sorry, Ben. I swear we had
nothing to do with it.

BEN
I need time to think.

DAN
As Chief Hunter you can nail those
bastards. Put them down a deep hole.

BEN
I want to think... Goodbye.

DAN
I --
 112.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben thumbs down the TV. He sits stone like. His hands
dangle between his knees. He closes his eyes.

INT. BEN’S APARTMENT – HALL/CATHY’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

We hear the GA 800 motors THROBBING. We reluctantly move

forward from the front door into the hall. Sheila lies down.
She is covered with blood. Blood spatters and smears are all
over the place. We move into Cathy’s bedroom, and to her
bedstead. It is covered with blood spatters and smears.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben dozes. Amelia sits down next to Ben. Ben snaps full
awake. He thumbs on the TV.

Ben sits back.

DAN (O.S.)
Richards.

BEN
Killian. I’ve decided to accept your
offer.

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Dan leans back, only his eyes smile.

DAN
I’m very glad to hear that, Ben.
Holloway will fly you to Harding right
away.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - EVENING

The twin control consoles swerve, tips, and turns as if in

response to ghost hands. The three pilots sit, looking at
their instruments.

Ben stands in the doorway.

BEN
Jesus.

Holloway turns to Ben.

HOLLOWAY
Hello.

BEN
Who’s driving the bus?
 113.

HOLLOWAY
Otto... The automatic pilot!

DUNINGER
Glad to have you on the team, fella.

BEN
Yeah.
(To Holloway)
Does Otto actually steer the plane?

HOLLOWAY
Yes, he makes us pilots superfluous,
but people still want to see pilots.

BEN
What happens if Otto goes off his
chump?

Duninger looks wondered.

Holloway touches the Otto button.

HOLLOWAY
Never happened before, but if it did,
you’d just override him.

Ben looks fascinated at the turning wheels. The three pilots

are doing their business –- and that is flying the plane.

Holloway looks back at Ben.

HOLLOWAY (CONT’D)
You’ll see Harding coming up there
soon.

BEN
How long?

HOLLOWAY
You’ll be able to see the horizon glow
in five or six minutes.

BEN
Thank you.

Ben exits.

Holloway looks at Duninger.

HOLLOWAY
I’ll be glad when we sat that guy
down. He’s a spook.

DUNINGER
He didn’t like Otto. You know that?

HOLLOWAY
I know.
 114.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Amelia sits in her chair, looking unhappy.

INT. GA 800 – SECOND CLASS - EVENING

McCone sits in a chair, listening in on his earphone.

INT. GA 800 – KITCHENETTE - EVENING

Ben sits on a chair, sipping his coffee. He holds the photo

of SHEILA AND CATHY. Ben WEEPS. He gets up and puts his cup
away. He takes the heavy, empty coffeepot. Ben wipes his
eyes and exits.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - EVENING

Ben steps into Donahue’s compartment. Donahue does not look

up.

Ben holds the coffeepot.

BEN
Donahue. You want some coffee?

DONAHUE
(Not looking up)
No.

BEN
Sure you do.

Ben swings the coffeepot on Donahue’s bent head. We hear a

CRASHING THUMP. Donahue falls silently on his table.

Ben drops the coffeepot.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

Roger five-by, Charlie-one-niner-eight-
four.

Ben takes Donahue’s gun from his flight jacket.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

(CONT’D)
Acknowledge Estimated Time of Arrival.

Ben walks to the nose.

Friedman looks through the opening.

FRIEDMAN
Hey, Donahue. That’s you!
(To Ben)
Will you tell Donahue to get --
 115.

Ben shoots Friedman in the head. Friedman drops dead over

his equipment.

Holloway rises. He tries to close the door. Ben shoots.

Holloway is hit in the stomach. He MOANS, but remains
standing. Duninger rises. Ben shoots Holloway again.
Holloway’s feet flip. He drops next to Friedman.

Duninger’s face is a slack moon.

DUNINGER
Don’t shoot me, huh?

BEN
Here you are!

Ben pulls the trigger twice. Duninger is hit in the chest.

He drops dead.

Ben looks at the twin control consoles.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

Acknowledge E.T.A., Charlie-one-niner-
eight-four.

Ben takes the microphone, reaching over Friedman’s dead body.

BEN
Acknowledge.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

You got the TV on up there? We’ve
been getting some troubled
transmission. Everything okay?

BEN
Five-by.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

Roger, out.

INT. GA 800 – KITCHENETTE - EVENING

On the floor lies the DEAD BODIES of Duninger and Friedman.

Ben drags Holloway’s dead body out of the cockpit. He drops
it next to the other two dead bodies. Ben breaths heavily.

INT. GA 800 – FIRST CLASS - EVENING

Ben walks to Amelia. His right side is sparkling red.

Amelia looks shocked.

AMELIA
Oh dear god.
 116.

BEN
Who would have thought the old man had
so much blood in him?

McCone dashes from the second class into the first class
compartment. His gun is out. He fires. Ben fires at the
same time. McCone falls between two rows of seats. Amelia
SCREAMS endlessly, her hands over her head.

Ben looks down to his belly. He took another hit.

BEN (CONT’D)
Oh shit.

McCone staggers back into the path. Half his face is gone,
but he grins. He fires.

A bullet strikes Ben in the shoulder. Ben fires twice.

McCone is hit in the chest. He staggers around. The gun

falls from his fingers. McCone falls dead.

Amelia SCREAMS continuous. Ben looks badly hurt. He grabs

the parachute.

Ben staggers to Amelia.

AMELIA
Guh... God. Oh God. Oh dear God.

BEN
Put this on, like a packsack.

AMELIA
I can’t... I’m so afraid.

BEN
All right. I shoot you then.

Amelia stares at Ben. She pops out of her seat. She pulls
the parachute on.

She struggles with the straps.

BEN (CONT’D)
No. That one goes under.

Amelia rearranges the strap. She MOANS of powerlessness.

BEN (CONT’D)
Fasten the clip in the ringbolt,
Around... your... belly.

Amelia does so with trembling fingers, then:

BEN (CONT’D)
Come on.

They pass McCone’s body. They walk to the closed outer door.
 117.

Ben points at a door-handle.

BEN (CONT’D)
Okay... Pull that handle.

Amelia holds the ring cord nervously.

AMELIA
What about you?

BEN
What about me?

Ben pulls the door handle. Suddenly the door blows away.

The wind sucks Amelia with it. She SCREAMS.

Ben holds the back of a seat.

OUTSIDE

Amelia opens the parachute.

Ben, hag-like, makes his way from the blown door. He steps
over McCone’s sprawled body. Ben passes the kitchenette.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - EVENING

Ben lurches up to the nose. He trips and falls. He MOANS.

Ben lies down. He looks sleepy. He lifts his head.

The twin control consoles dance on.

Ben drags himself up and into Holloway’s seat.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

Come in, Charlie-one-niner-eight-four.
You’re to low. Acknowledge.

Ben switches Otto off. Till the plane crashes we hear the
VOICE WARNING AND ALARM SIGNAL:

TO LOW, TERRAIN

Ben tweaks the wheel a little. The plane falls away to the
left. Ben almost falls out Holloway’s chair. He MOANS. Ben
tweaks the wheel back and pulls the plane straight.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

(CONT’D)
Shall we assume guidance control?

The Network Games Building looks like a black tombstone with

a strip of light at the top. The horizon tilts. Till the
plane crashes we hear the VOICE WARNING AND ALARM SIGNAL:

OBSTACLE
 118.

Ben pulls the wheel.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (O.S.)

(CONT’D)
(Very alarmed)
Charlie-one-niner-eight-four. What’s
wrong. Acknowledge.

BEN
Speak, boy. Rowf! Rowf!

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Bobby and Arthur rise with horror and disbelieve. They stare
at the window.

OUTSIDE

The ON-COMING GA 800 fills the entire window.

Dan looks up and turns. He looks astonished. Dan rises.

OUTSIDE

The ON-RUSHING GA 800.

Dan staggers to the window. He looks at it with horror and

disbelief in his eyes. We hear the plane ROARING.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT – EVENING

BEN’S POV

Dan looks at Ben. Dan looks completely horrified.

INT. GAMES BUILDING – TOP FLOOR - MAIN OFFICE - EVENING

Bobby and Arthur fight to get out of the room first.

Dan freezes in front of the window.

BEN (O.S.)
You knew it, Killian. You knew my
wife and daughter were dead... even
before I started to run.

Bobby and Arthur turn around. They are scared to death.

They stare at the on-rushing GA 800. They SCREAM like hell.

OUTSIDE

The GA 800 heels over.

Dan raises his arms for protection.

 119.

DAN
Oh Jesus.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - EVENING

Ben’s face is smeared with blood. His eyes look like the
black eyes of a demon.

EXT. GAMES BUILDING - EVENING

The GA 800 strikes the Games Building death on.

INT. GA 800 – COCKPIT - EVENING

Ben sits on Holloway’s chair... The cockpit EXPLODES.

EXT. GAMES BUILDING - EVENING

A tremendous EXPLOSION lights up when the GA 800 disappears

into the Games building at the top.

DOWN ON THE STREET

It rains fire and plane fragments. The street is abandoned.

INT. AMELIA’S HOUSE – BEDROOM - NIGHT

Amelia lies in her bed. She snaps awake. Her mouth is

propped in a blabbering scream. She looks at the window.

AMELIA’S POV

Ben’s reflection -- or face? -- is in THE WINDOW. It looks

tortured, but meek.

BEN’S FACE

FADE TO BLACK:

THE END