McBain
Player Valuation: £80m
How are you folks, thought I'd introduce something a little different to the forum in light of the new Star Trek movie. Ive always though the best career for me would be a writer, but I have always lacked the concentration. I'm working on an drama/action movie I want to finish soon which Im hoping to try to sell the rights to one day, but here's something I started to write a while ago. Ive got a bazillion movie ideas and heres one of them. I have alot more written but these are the opening few scenes, Im just hoping they dont sound like any other film. Its rather more like a 'scriptment', which is inbetween a true script and a treatment. Comment if you like, anything, do you undestand it? Does it make a clear visual image? Whatever you think about it, apart from you LCAB, you bad Star Trek lid.
Basic Plot: Set several hundred years into the future, the design for the interstellar gateway between systems has been finalised. Tenders for the 157 trillion dollar project are being persued by businessmen system wide. Blondell, possibly the most underhanded one of them is about to make his play. The designs are secretly handed to a courier ship, captained by Evan Narayan, and his crew of five. Blondell knows of the designs and gets one of his own men on board the ship to steal them. This is the first part in a trilogy, so if this ever gets finished and made, hopefully by around 2015, you heard it here first! And its registered with the screenwriters guild so no pinching.
Working Title: 'Space Assassin'
Space has changed. The year is 2168. The distance to the stars grows ever closer. The low-orbiting Satellite City is fed intravenously from the Space Hub and along the space elevator on the eastern coast of Australia. The massive construction project Sat City (known as Project L4) was started over a century earlier. Breaking the fundamental of having to push through the atmosphere has finally awakened the commercial industry to the possibilities of interstellar travel.
The closest city to the perfect location to build the base for the tube known as 'The Hub', is Sydney, Australia.
Sat City has grown enormously. Once a science research outpost, designed to place and monitor a structure within the LaGrange region. Discovered by French Science guy Pierre LaGrange in 1772, at various heights from the Earth are four points that act as gravitational anchors for the 5th. Its part of the same reason why planets don't just float off. It wasn't long after developers claimed the new 'safe space' from a greedy government and built the tube linking it to the ground. The Sky Lift, 60 separate tubes (3 tubes wide), each capable of being unlinked and piloted to safety in the event of catastrophe, introduced mass transit to beyond the skies. Sat City grew to its structural limit within thirty years, and now sustains a healthy hundred thousand visitors per week. Like any city port, its filled with latest entertainment, shops, restaurants, and like any port, its villians.
ONE of them stands on the Street in Sydney now, smugly waiting for his money.
TOM BLONDELL is a tall streak of promises and lies. The wrong side of youthful charm, with a fictional, ego driven take on his own rightful position. Through a troubled childhood, Blondell had not inherited any of his family's vast fortune, and it drove him over the edge of sanity. Over the next few months, after his parent's tragic deaths, more family members disappeared, their inheritances with them. It wasn't until Police suspicion became so great that Blondell himself disappeared.
But here he is now, fifteen years later, looking up at the faintly shimmering Sky Lift in the distance from a street curb in Sydney.
BLONDELL stands back from the street corner, hands in pockets and mind wandering to the time when he owned most of what he saw. His slick blonde hair frozen in the gentle breeze; his expensive sunglasses shielding himself from the harsh summer sun.
A few stragglers wander past him, revealing all 6 feet five inches, hidden under an elegant coat .
Blondell's Key VISUAL pipes in through his Ear-Com.
VISUAL
Vehicle emerging from the Western Distributor. E.T.A sixty seconds.
BLONDELL
Understood.
Blondell moves to the edge of the curb and looks right down to the end of the street. Theres a makeshift roadblock moving into place and holding the traffic. He looks to the rooftop. Two figures are targeting Blondell, and he knows it.
BLONDELL
Keep an eye on them.
PULL BACK from the two Thug Snipers aiming over the ledge to reveal a third and forth, trained squarely on them with two much more highly advanced sniper guns.
EAGLE clicks in.
EAGLE(V.O)
Angel one and two in position sir.
BLONDELL(TO HIMSELF)
Good.
Blondell looks to the wispy clouds dancing across the vibrant blue sky.
BLONDELL
Here we go again.
Blondell heads across the street, swiftly.
Blondell enters the Café Andre, past the extremely chiseled looking barista, strangely cleaning the spotless counter, past the two obvious thugs at the first table.
BLONDELL
The usual, thanks.
He continues to the back of the empty café and sits down. The café is quaint in design, with high, arched ceilings and wooden crossbeams. Blondell has an innocent stare, an almost cold smile in the moments before chaos.
EAGLE(V.O)
Vehicle imminent.
A deep humming sound spins to life outside, and a long, sleek, jet black machine rolls up at the front door. Blondell looks up to see the two Thugs in front of his table. Two bad suits, one with sunglasses on inside.
THUG
Don't mind us. Stand up please.
Blondell obliges and opens his arms.
The sunglassed thug holds out a sleek, pencil like black rod. Squeezing it, its end flashes, beeping. Blondells body scans into the thugs sunglass display and changes to green.
SUNGLASS THUG
Clean.
BLONDELL
I do my best.
BLONDELL sits back down as the car doors open, several people get out and doors are slammed in turn. He wipes the thin corners of his mouth.
STARK, surrounded by five suited GUARDS, waddles into the café and maneuvers his large body into the small seat opposite BLONDELL. Stark is grotesque, bloated, and looks his surroundings in disgust. His voice is deep and grating and has a habit of salivating, so he talks in between slurps and snorts. He points a chubby, gold ringed finger at Blondell.
STARK
Blondell.
BLONDELL smiles.
BLONDELL
Mr. Stark… And family.
Blondell looks dismissively at Starks Guardians, in particular, REMO, a burly, ugly man, who's face has been surgically altered to scowl. Remo likes to laugh, more a lecherous giigle. The coffee arrives.
BLONDELL
Remo. Another face lift?
Remo grins, showing missing teeth.
REMO
You should'a seen the other guy.
STARK
You can! He's wearin' him!!
BLONDELL fingers the foam and puts it into his mouth, trying to hide his disgust as Stark slobbers down his chin. This routine is starting to bore him to tears all of a sudden.
BLONDELL
So, Stark. What's new?
STARK looks to Remo.
STARK
This ******* boring you, Blondell?
BLONDELL
Is it that obvious? Lets skip to the briefcase.
BLONDELL speaks as if to a child.
STARK
Same ******* deal.
REMO
Bend over Blondell. Here it comes.
Stark sputters. ABOVE the BARISTAS head, the wooden beam begins to move, or rather, sections of it begin to SHIMMER.
STARK
It's business. You know that. I can't help getting pleasure seeing you like this. What do I do? I'm a sick ****er.
Remo chuckles while the OUTLINE of a figure silently drops behind the BARISTA.
Remo smirks at Blondell.
BLONDELL
No need for profanity. I'm in a fix. What can I say? Desperate times, call for desperate associations.
The BARISTA'S neck is suddenly and violently twisted by the invisible fingers that press on his skin. CRACK. He is obiously unconscious, but still standing! The other Guardians don't notice.
BLONDELL laughs. Remo gets angry.
REMO
**** you! We own you now. Shut the **** up!
Remo BACKHANDS Blondell across the cheek.
STARK begins to laugh. Slowly at first... a sloppy chuckle. His MEN giggle, allowing STARK to lead.
REMO
You like that one?
A LOUD SCREECH, followed swiftly, and violently, in one sweeping move, by a barely visible BLADE. In a split second it slices through the four Guardians, one after the other in half circle. They fall, gargling blood, dropping their guns in time. Blondell, cool up until this point, almost jumps out of his skin.
Stark flicks his chair back, leaping up, drawing his gun. He's the fattest, but the quickest. Remo does the same, albeit slower.
Blondell dives out of the way.
Stark begins FIRING. He can't see anything in front of him, and neither can Remo, but just keeps peppering the Shop front with bullets. Debris flies left right and center. They empty their clips, and before they can reload, while they are peering into seemingly nothing but a half visible battered shopfront, the front half of STARK'S neck EXPLODES all over Remo, showering him with blood. He flips up the table behind him and ducks behind it.
Blondell is lying behind some Planter Boxes. He takes out his gun, and looks through the dust and smoke. The Barista is standing pointing his gun, like a statue.
BLONDELL (QUIETLY TO HIS MEN)
What the ****s happening?
No response, just snow in his earpiece.
The two Shakedown Thugs make their move, jumping up past the erect Barista, and out of the smashed front window. They run to the car.
REMO hides behind the table, reloading his GUN and looking around, spitting out his ex bosses blood.
REMO
****!! ****!! What the **** did you do BLONDELL!!?
BLONDELL
Me? It wasn't me! Remo you prick! You set this up!
REMO
I HEARD YOU ******* TALKING BLONDELL!! WHO YOU TALKING TO.??..
Suddenly, a high frequency DRILLING sound fills the café.
Remo and Blondell slowly peer out from their hiding spots, to the Body of Stark slumped across the table. His face is a bloodied mess, the remainder of his jaw leaking blood and saliva and half of his neck all over Remo.
Two BONE-LIKE pins begin EXTRACTING themselves from the remains of the back of STARKS bloodied, smoking head. The sound hurts Blondell's ears.
Blondell recoils instantly, slinking back, his first thought is that Starks head is a bomb.
The PINS spit onto the table and the sound stops. One falls off the edge and hits the ground, and rolls over to Remos foot softly.
The back of Starks head cracks open, a panel flips out, and an eerie grey mass begins prising itself out of his bloodied skull. An iridescent light glows from his brain stem, showing the mass's transparency.
REMO(SOFTLY)
What the ****...
Starks battered brain is escaping his body, it's lurid tentacles grasping for traction.
Remo and Blondell are aghast, looking once at each other before turning back to the mass. STARK'S brain stem slips out, revealing more tentacled legs. It scurries off the table, across the floor gracefully but bleeding quite badly,.
BLONDELL
My God…
He raises his gun.
REMO
Don't you touch him!
Remo aims at Blondell.
STARKS BRAIN has reached the back door, and is reaching for the handle, when a single shot ZIPS from the rafters and BLOWS Starks brain all over the door.
Blondell covers his face as the brain stem flops to the floor, revealing a small, silver beeping device. Each fallen tentacle suddenly begins fusing together like a braid, intertwining upwards. Accompanied by a tone, it's pitch increasing as it runs out of tentacle.
Remo drops his gun, and falls on to his knees.
Blondell now realises it is a bomb. The tentacles are fuses.
BLONDELL
Oh ****! Get out!
He scrambles to the exit, but Remo stays, crawling toward the large body of Stark.
Blondell notices the Barista though, as he exits. Laying sprawled on the floor, still in the same standing position.
Blondell makes it outside before the Café Andre explodes into a fireball that sends cars and pedestrians flying, and Remo to certain death.
Blondell lies on the curb, surrounded by shrapnel and glass. He sees Starks Beemer humming away.
Instantly a Tactical Response Group Van pulls up, and several Police jump out. A TACTICAL CHOPPER hovers over head, circling the black smoke.
Blondell has eight Red Laser sights criss-crossing his body.
TEAM LEADER
Don't move.
Blondell puts his hands behind his head, but is more shocked to see the two Shakedown Thugs, dead on the kerb.
INT/SYDNEY POLICE HEADQUARTERS/DAY
GUY BERENSEN, a fat, unfashionable Detective, has his back to Blondell while he makes a cup of coffee.
Blondell is looking at a digital file of Stark's profile.
BERENSEN
See anything familiar?
BLONDELL
Could be your twin brother.
Berensen faces Blondell, who turns off the projection.
BERENSEN
Did you know about Stark's Synthesis?
BLONDELL
How could I? I know as much as you do, albeit a little more. I just stopped in for a latte.
BERENSEN
Blondell. You dont fool anyone. You got burnt today. Your file is so deep, no amount of hacking can erase it. You're back in the City in the very building the day it blows up. You're laying on the pavement the sole survivor. Like a cockroach. There were three teams there today Blondell. Know how I know that? I'll tell you. On the roof. If your guys killed their guys, who killed your guys? Not that you'd value life.
Blondell looks a little smug. Berensen keeps at it.
BERENSEN
This is really a good day for me. You gotta understand, when something gets blown up, and the only people who get killed are all criminals I'm trying to catch, it's better than a good day. It's ******* Christmas. Sure, I don't get to take the credit, but here you are. And here I am.
Berensen doesn't hate Blondell, he hates what he stands for with all his soul. He leans in closer, softer, much more threatening. He suddenly has a very sharp knife in a hand he's moved around Blondell.
BERENSEN
Do you know what they do to the tallest poppies in the field Blondell?
Blondell isn't disturbed, He has seen the Police-issue tricks all before.
MITCH CREARY, a Federal Agent, enters the room, with Detective Berensens superior, CAPTAIN WYNFIELD. The hologram knife disappears.
WYNFIELD
Berensen!
Berensen is eyeing Blondell like a hawk and semi circles him on his way out.
BERENSEN, without ever removing his eyes from Blondell, heads for the door.
BERENSEN
Leave me the carcass at least.
CREARY
Hello Tom.
BLONDELL
Mitchell Jr. How was the trip down?
CREARY
You tell me. Talk to me Tom.
INT/SAN TRANSIT WAY HUB/NIGHT
Blondell walks into Central Transit Way. It's a Transit hub for Taxi's and the Tube. People are moving fast. They want to get home. Blondell cuts a path to the Quick Link, a set of communication screens, like Phone booths but sexier.
He scans a credit into one of the slots, and the digital imaging of the communication company he uses 'NEXCOM' logo flashes into call sequence.
BLONDELL
Seoul. Eight-nine-nine. Five-six-nine-three-three. Browser.
INT/BEDROOM/DAY
The Image loads the call, and opens to a dark bedroom. FRANK BROWSER lies in bed, his wife next to him.
He turns to face Blondell, yawning and not opening his eyes.
BROWSER
Yeah.
BLONDELL
Frank. Tommorrow. Meet me in my office.
BROWSER
Just tell me now. (surprised) Hey You on the ground man?
BLONDELL
No. (grinning) You know that's not how it works.
Blondell removes the card, ending the call.
He walks away from the Quick Link, and out into the crowd.
BROWSERS BEDROOM NIGHT
Browser rolls out of bed. He's huge black man with a bald head. He sits on the edge of the bed rubbing it, yawning. His wife, MARISHA is partially awake.
MARISHA
You packed?
BROWSER
Yeah.
MARISHA
You already knew.
BROWSER
I had an idea.
INT/THE TUBE/DAY
Browser is on the tube train, headed for the Space Station, Sat City. Train, or tube travel has become the fastest and safest method of moving quickly around the globe. Earth's tube system is an enormous network spreading under or across every ocean and sea, connecting humanity from every major 'hub' or city. The Tube is literally that, a magnetised tube that when entered, propels the carriages at immense speed. The Hub that connects L4 is found on the Blue Mountains ridge. The melting of the Polar ice caps each year has radically shifted the Australians shore-line The once proud city, Sydney, now rests mostly underwater. Water rising in the City occurred very slowly, and gave the Australians time to prepare, and move to the higher ground of the mountains. A new City has spread across the slopes and cliffs of Echo Point.
Browsers ride is a passenger train, sleek, comfortable. The large windows fitted with sensors so when the train is underground, full screen digital views of slower, picturesque train rides. Your mind can't distinguish them from reality. Browser hates looking out the window anyway, and sticks to watching the news on his own sunglasses.
The Great Southern Tube, Tokyo to Sydney via Hong Kong raised angular out of the water, is an engineering feat, but incomparable in stature to the Sky Lift.
TBC
Basic Plot: Set several hundred years into the future, the design for the interstellar gateway between systems has been finalised. Tenders for the 157 trillion dollar project are being persued by businessmen system wide. Blondell, possibly the most underhanded one of them is about to make his play. The designs are secretly handed to a courier ship, captained by Evan Narayan, and his crew of five. Blondell knows of the designs and gets one of his own men on board the ship to steal them. This is the first part in a trilogy, so if this ever gets finished and made, hopefully by around 2015, you heard it here first! And its registered with the screenwriters guild so no pinching.
Working Title: 'Space Assassin'
Space has changed. The year is 2168. The distance to the stars grows ever closer. The low-orbiting Satellite City is fed intravenously from the Space Hub and along the space elevator on the eastern coast of Australia. The massive construction project Sat City (known as Project L4) was started over a century earlier. Breaking the fundamental of having to push through the atmosphere has finally awakened the commercial industry to the possibilities of interstellar travel.
The closest city to the perfect location to build the base for the tube known as 'The Hub', is Sydney, Australia.
Sat City has grown enormously. Once a science research outpost, designed to place and monitor a structure within the LaGrange region. Discovered by French Science guy Pierre LaGrange in 1772, at various heights from the Earth are four points that act as gravitational anchors for the 5th. Its part of the same reason why planets don't just float off. It wasn't long after developers claimed the new 'safe space' from a greedy government and built the tube linking it to the ground. The Sky Lift, 60 separate tubes (3 tubes wide), each capable of being unlinked and piloted to safety in the event of catastrophe, introduced mass transit to beyond the skies. Sat City grew to its structural limit within thirty years, and now sustains a healthy hundred thousand visitors per week. Like any city port, its filled with latest entertainment, shops, restaurants, and like any port, its villians.
ONE of them stands on the Street in Sydney now, smugly waiting for his money.
TOM BLONDELL is a tall streak of promises and lies. The wrong side of youthful charm, with a fictional, ego driven take on his own rightful position. Through a troubled childhood, Blondell had not inherited any of his family's vast fortune, and it drove him over the edge of sanity. Over the next few months, after his parent's tragic deaths, more family members disappeared, their inheritances with them. It wasn't until Police suspicion became so great that Blondell himself disappeared.
But here he is now, fifteen years later, looking up at the faintly shimmering Sky Lift in the distance from a street curb in Sydney.
BLONDELL stands back from the street corner, hands in pockets and mind wandering to the time when he owned most of what he saw. His slick blonde hair frozen in the gentle breeze; his expensive sunglasses shielding himself from the harsh summer sun.
A few stragglers wander past him, revealing all 6 feet five inches, hidden under an elegant coat .
Blondell's Key VISUAL pipes in through his Ear-Com.
VISUAL
Vehicle emerging from the Western Distributor. E.T.A sixty seconds.
BLONDELL
Understood.
Blondell moves to the edge of the curb and looks right down to the end of the street. Theres a makeshift roadblock moving into place and holding the traffic. He looks to the rooftop. Two figures are targeting Blondell, and he knows it.
BLONDELL
Keep an eye on them.
PULL BACK from the two Thug Snipers aiming over the ledge to reveal a third and forth, trained squarely on them with two much more highly advanced sniper guns.
EAGLE clicks in.
EAGLE(V.O)
Angel one and two in position sir.
BLONDELL(TO HIMSELF)
Good.
Blondell looks to the wispy clouds dancing across the vibrant blue sky.
BLONDELL
Here we go again.
Blondell heads across the street, swiftly.
Blondell enters the Café Andre, past the extremely chiseled looking barista, strangely cleaning the spotless counter, past the two obvious thugs at the first table.
BLONDELL
The usual, thanks.
He continues to the back of the empty café and sits down. The café is quaint in design, with high, arched ceilings and wooden crossbeams. Blondell has an innocent stare, an almost cold smile in the moments before chaos.
EAGLE(V.O)
Vehicle imminent.
A deep humming sound spins to life outside, and a long, sleek, jet black machine rolls up at the front door. Blondell looks up to see the two Thugs in front of his table. Two bad suits, one with sunglasses on inside.
THUG
Don't mind us. Stand up please.
Blondell obliges and opens his arms.
The sunglassed thug holds out a sleek, pencil like black rod. Squeezing it, its end flashes, beeping. Blondells body scans into the thugs sunglass display and changes to green.
SUNGLASS THUG
Clean.
BLONDELL
I do my best.
BLONDELL sits back down as the car doors open, several people get out and doors are slammed in turn. He wipes the thin corners of his mouth.
STARK, surrounded by five suited GUARDS, waddles into the café and maneuvers his large body into the small seat opposite BLONDELL. Stark is grotesque, bloated, and looks his surroundings in disgust. His voice is deep and grating and has a habit of salivating, so he talks in between slurps and snorts. He points a chubby, gold ringed finger at Blondell.
STARK
Blondell.
BLONDELL smiles.
BLONDELL
Mr. Stark… And family.
Blondell looks dismissively at Starks Guardians, in particular, REMO, a burly, ugly man, who's face has been surgically altered to scowl. Remo likes to laugh, more a lecherous giigle. The coffee arrives.
BLONDELL
Remo. Another face lift?
Remo grins, showing missing teeth.
REMO
You should'a seen the other guy.
STARK
You can! He's wearin' him!!
BLONDELL fingers the foam and puts it into his mouth, trying to hide his disgust as Stark slobbers down his chin. This routine is starting to bore him to tears all of a sudden.
BLONDELL
So, Stark. What's new?
STARK looks to Remo.
STARK
This ******* boring you, Blondell?
BLONDELL
Is it that obvious? Lets skip to the briefcase.
BLONDELL speaks as if to a child.
STARK
Same ******* deal.
REMO
Bend over Blondell. Here it comes.
Stark sputters. ABOVE the BARISTAS head, the wooden beam begins to move, or rather, sections of it begin to SHIMMER.
STARK
It's business. You know that. I can't help getting pleasure seeing you like this. What do I do? I'm a sick ****er.
Remo chuckles while the OUTLINE of a figure silently drops behind the BARISTA.
Remo smirks at Blondell.
BLONDELL
No need for profanity. I'm in a fix. What can I say? Desperate times, call for desperate associations.
The BARISTA'S neck is suddenly and violently twisted by the invisible fingers that press on his skin. CRACK. He is obiously unconscious, but still standing! The other Guardians don't notice.
BLONDELL laughs. Remo gets angry.
REMO
**** you! We own you now. Shut the **** up!
Remo BACKHANDS Blondell across the cheek.
STARK begins to laugh. Slowly at first... a sloppy chuckle. His MEN giggle, allowing STARK to lead.
REMO
You like that one?
A LOUD SCREECH, followed swiftly, and violently, in one sweeping move, by a barely visible BLADE. In a split second it slices through the four Guardians, one after the other in half circle. They fall, gargling blood, dropping their guns in time. Blondell, cool up until this point, almost jumps out of his skin.
Stark flicks his chair back, leaping up, drawing his gun. He's the fattest, but the quickest. Remo does the same, albeit slower.
Blondell dives out of the way.
Stark begins FIRING. He can't see anything in front of him, and neither can Remo, but just keeps peppering the Shop front with bullets. Debris flies left right and center. They empty their clips, and before they can reload, while they are peering into seemingly nothing but a half visible battered shopfront, the front half of STARK'S neck EXPLODES all over Remo, showering him with blood. He flips up the table behind him and ducks behind it.
Blondell is lying behind some Planter Boxes. He takes out his gun, and looks through the dust and smoke. The Barista is standing pointing his gun, like a statue.
BLONDELL (QUIETLY TO HIS MEN)
What the ****s happening?
No response, just snow in his earpiece.
The two Shakedown Thugs make their move, jumping up past the erect Barista, and out of the smashed front window. They run to the car.
REMO hides behind the table, reloading his GUN and looking around, spitting out his ex bosses blood.
REMO
****!! ****!! What the **** did you do BLONDELL!!?
BLONDELL
Me? It wasn't me! Remo you prick! You set this up!
REMO
I HEARD YOU ******* TALKING BLONDELL!! WHO YOU TALKING TO.??..
Suddenly, a high frequency DRILLING sound fills the café.
Remo and Blondell slowly peer out from their hiding spots, to the Body of Stark slumped across the table. His face is a bloodied mess, the remainder of his jaw leaking blood and saliva and half of his neck all over Remo.
Two BONE-LIKE pins begin EXTRACTING themselves from the remains of the back of STARKS bloodied, smoking head. The sound hurts Blondell's ears.
Blondell recoils instantly, slinking back, his first thought is that Starks head is a bomb.
The PINS spit onto the table and the sound stops. One falls off the edge and hits the ground, and rolls over to Remos foot softly.
The back of Starks head cracks open, a panel flips out, and an eerie grey mass begins prising itself out of his bloodied skull. An iridescent light glows from his brain stem, showing the mass's transparency.
REMO(SOFTLY)
What the ****...
Starks battered brain is escaping his body, it's lurid tentacles grasping for traction.
Remo and Blondell are aghast, looking once at each other before turning back to the mass. STARK'S brain stem slips out, revealing more tentacled legs. It scurries off the table, across the floor gracefully but bleeding quite badly,.
BLONDELL
My God…
He raises his gun.
REMO
Don't you touch him!
Remo aims at Blondell.
STARKS BRAIN has reached the back door, and is reaching for the handle, when a single shot ZIPS from the rafters and BLOWS Starks brain all over the door.
Blondell covers his face as the brain stem flops to the floor, revealing a small, silver beeping device. Each fallen tentacle suddenly begins fusing together like a braid, intertwining upwards. Accompanied by a tone, it's pitch increasing as it runs out of tentacle.
Remo drops his gun, and falls on to his knees.
Blondell now realises it is a bomb. The tentacles are fuses.
BLONDELL
Oh ****! Get out!
He scrambles to the exit, but Remo stays, crawling toward the large body of Stark.
Blondell notices the Barista though, as he exits. Laying sprawled on the floor, still in the same standing position.
Blondell makes it outside before the Café Andre explodes into a fireball that sends cars and pedestrians flying, and Remo to certain death.
Blondell lies on the curb, surrounded by shrapnel and glass. He sees Starks Beemer humming away.
Instantly a Tactical Response Group Van pulls up, and several Police jump out. A TACTICAL CHOPPER hovers over head, circling the black smoke.
Blondell has eight Red Laser sights criss-crossing his body.
TEAM LEADER
Don't move.
Blondell puts his hands behind his head, but is more shocked to see the two Shakedown Thugs, dead on the kerb.
INT/SYDNEY POLICE HEADQUARTERS/DAY
GUY BERENSEN, a fat, unfashionable Detective, has his back to Blondell while he makes a cup of coffee.
Blondell is looking at a digital file of Stark's profile.
BERENSEN
See anything familiar?
BLONDELL
Could be your twin brother.
Berensen faces Blondell, who turns off the projection.
BERENSEN
Did you know about Stark's Synthesis?
BLONDELL
How could I? I know as much as you do, albeit a little more. I just stopped in for a latte.
BERENSEN
Blondell. You dont fool anyone. You got burnt today. Your file is so deep, no amount of hacking can erase it. You're back in the City in the very building the day it blows up. You're laying on the pavement the sole survivor. Like a cockroach. There were three teams there today Blondell. Know how I know that? I'll tell you. On the roof. If your guys killed their guys, who killed your guys? Not that you'd value life.
Blondell looks a little smug. Berensen keeps at it.
BERENSEN
This is really a good day for me. You gotta understand, when something gets blown up, and the only people who get killed are all criminals I'm trying to catch, it's better than a good day. It's ******* Christmas. Sure, I don't get to take the credit, but here you are. And here I am.
Berensen doesn't hate Blondell, he hates what he stands for with all his soul. He leans in closer, softer, much more threatening. He suddenly has a very sharp knife in a hand he's moved around Blondell.
BERENSEN
Do you know what they do to the tallest poppies in the field Blondell?
Blondell isn't disturbed, He has seen the Police-issue tricks all before.
MITCH CREARY, a Federal Agent, enters the room, with Detective Berensens superior, CAPTAIN WYNFIELD. The hologram knife disappears.
WYNFIELD
Berensen!
Berensen is eyeing Blondell like a hawk and semi circles him on his way out.
BERENSEN, without ever removing his eyes from Blondell, heads for the door.
BERENSEN
Leave me the carcass at least.
CREARY
Hello Tom.
BLONDELL
Mitchell Jr. How was the trip down?
CREARY
You tell me. Talk to me Tom.
INT/SAN TRANSIT WAY HUB/NIGHT
Blondell walks into Central Transit Way. It's a Transit hub for Taxi's and the Tube. People are moving fast. They want to get home. Blondell cuts a path to the Quick Link, a set of communication screens, like Phone booths but sexier.
He scans a credit into one of the slots, and the digital imaging of the communication company he uses 'NEXCOM' logo flashes into call sequence.
BLONDELL
Seoul. Eight-nine-nine. Five-six-nine-three-three. Browser.
INT/BEDROOM/DAY
The Image loads the call, and opens to a dark bedroom. FRANK BROWSER lies in bed, his wife next to him.
He turns to face Blondell, yawning and not opening his eyes.
BROWSER
Yeah.
BLONDELL
Frank. Tommorrow. Meet me in my office.
BROWSER
Just tell me now. (surprised) Hey You on the ground man?
BLONDELL
No. (grinning) You know that's not how it works.
Blondell removes the card, ending the call.
He walks away from the Quick Link, and out into the crowd.
BROWSERS BEDROOM NIGHT
Browser rolls out of bed. He's huge black man with a bald head. He sits on the edge of the bed rubbing it, yawning. His wife, MARISHA is partially awake.
MARISHA
You packed?
BROWSER
Yeah.
MARISHA
You already knew.
BROWSER
I had an idea.
INT/THE TUBE/DAY
Browser is on the tube train, headed for the Space Station, Sat City. Train, or tube travel has become the fastest and safest method of moving quickly around the globe. Earth's tube system is an enormous network spreading under or across every ocean and sea, connecting humanity from every major 'hub' or city. The Tube is literally that, a magnetised tube that when entered, propels the carriages at immense speed. The Hub that connects L4 is found on the Blue Mountains ridge. The melting of the Polar ice caps each year has radically shifted the Australians shore-line The once proud city, Sydney, now rests mostly underwater. Water rising in the City occurred very slowly, and gave the Australians time to prepare, and move to the higher ground of the mountains. A new City has spread across the slopes and cliffs of Echo Point.
Browsers ride is a passenger train, sleek, comfortable. The large windows fitted with sensors so when the train is underground, full screen digital views of slower, picturesque train rides. Your mind can't distinguish them from reality. Browser hates looking out the window anyway, and sticks to watching the news on his own sunglasses.
The Great Southern Tube, Tokyo to Sydney via Hong Kong raised angular out of the water, is an engineering feat, but incomparable in stature to the Sky Lift.
TBC
