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CLIFFHANGER
screenplay by
Michael France
Terry Hayes
Sylvester Stallone
Shooting draft 3/30/92
[NOTE: THE HARD COPY OF THIS SCRIPT CONTAINED SCENE
NUMBERS. THESE HAVE BEEN OMITTED FOR THIS SOFT COPY.]
EXT. MOUNTAIN RANGE - HELICOPTER POV - DAY
We are flying, soaring, wheeling, diving through a range of
magnificent mountains. They are the Colorado Rockies and,
right now, in early spring, it's one of the finest sights on
earth: The lush greenery of the valleys gives way to cliffs of
sheer rock and towering peaks crowned by snow.
As the CREDITS ROLL, we wheel past a mountain wall and realize
this is the POV from
A HELICOPTER
as it soars up to circle the tallest mountain: The Tower. It
rises thousands of feet from the ground below, so high that its
summit is wreathed in clouds.
GABE
(V.O.)
Do you see them yet?
JESSIE
(V.O.)
Patience my love, patience.
GABE
(V.O.)
That's a virtue isn't it?
JESSIE
(V.O)
Wait, I think I have them
sighted. What's the word, Frank?
INSIDE HELICOPTER - FRANK AND JESSIE
Spotter FRANK NEWELL (50's) scans the mountain wall. JESSIE
DEIGHAN (30's) expertly pilots the helicopter. Both wear
jackets identifying themselves as members of the Rocky Mountain
Park rescue team.
FRANK
The word is, we got 'em over
there.
BINOCULAR POV - A LEDGE
that's part of a lower but equally formidable peak separated
from The Tower by a chasm two hundred feet wide. HAL TUCKER
(30's) and his girlfriend, SARAH COLLINS (20's), are decked out
in warm weather climbing gear. Hal's aplomb suggests he's a
veteran climber. Sarah's worried look confirms she isn't.
Hal's knee is wrapped in several elastic bandages. He also
carries a slow burning flare in one hand.
JESSIE
(into mic)
Gabe? Gabe, where are you?
GABE
(V.O.)
Just hangin' out.
WIDE SHOT
the chopper drops lower and from it's perspective, we now see
GABE WALKER, (30's), climber extraordinaire, literally clinging
against the underside of a fifty foot rock ledge. It is a
death-defying manouevre that goes completely against the laws
of gravity.
JESSIE
(transmits)
Oh, my God! I can't recognize
the face, but the butt does look
vaguely familiar.
(whistles)
GABE
(laughs)
Don't say that. You'll embarrass
Frank.
FRANK
It'll take a heap more than that,
rock jock.
HAL fires a flare.
Gabe finally reaches the edge of the ledge and, grabbing the
edge, swings out into space where he hangs by one arm as he
digs his free hand into a chalk bag that hangs from his waist.
JESSIE
Hal's signalling he's OK.
FRANK
They're about two hundred yards
from the top of the tower, right
where that ledge comes out, Gabe.
INSIDE HELICOPTER
Frank lowers his glasses, Jessie struggles with the wind.
JESSIE
(quietly to Frank)
He knows it well.
GABE
(swinging up)
The ledge, I know it well, or
should I say we know it well.
JESSIE
You can stop right there.
GABE
We spent a night there one
night...
JESSIE
Enough.
GABE
Yeah, we were caught in a storm.
I went up there an innocent
climber...
JESSIE
Oh, please.
CUT TO - GABE
he pauses and points out at Jessie hovering above.
GABE
And when I came down, my morals
were corrupted forever.
JESSIE
(to Frank)
Don't believe it...
(into mic)
You know the trouble with you is
you have no brain filter.
Everything you think just pours
right out.
Gabe arrives at an overhang, turns around and prepares to kick
over what is apparently a dangerous move.
Gabe pulls himself up on the ledge. Winded he slumps down next
to the couple.
GABE
Room service...Hi, Sarah.
SARAH
(quietly)
Hi, Gabe.
HAL
Glad you could drop in.
GABE
Hey, anything for a friend.
How's the knee?
HAL
I think it's out. No big deal.
It's that old football injury.
GABE
(to Sarah)
Funny, he told me he twisted it
gettin' out of a hot tub.
HAL
I love you, too.
GABE
(into radio)
Rescue One -- have located helpless
climber, please prepare idiot
line for transport, over.
HAL
(laughs)
Wait 'til you get into trouble,
just wait.
EXT CHOPPER
The helicopter dips down towards the ledge. No way can it land
here. Frank lowers a rescue wire to Gabe who swings
precariously out from the ledge to grab it. The wire is just
out of reach.
Gabe sees that Sarah is growing increasingly nervous at the
prospect of having to make an emergency transport. The
chopper's rotor wash requires all present to speak in a loud
voice.
GABE
(eyes Hal, then Sarah)
How're ya feeling?
SARAH
Fine, I guess...
GABE
(making grab at the
cable)
Sarah, we could take off and
leave this guy behind...
Sarah smiles as if she's considering it. Hal grabs the radio.
HAL
Rescue One -- please be advised
Ranger Walker is making advances
toward my girlfriend that are
liable to get his ass kicked
right into space, over.
JESSIE
(O.S.)
Copy. Hal, tell Gabe he only
makes advances to me or else
he'll be walking down four
thousand feet, and sleeping
outside.
GABE
She's tough.
SARAH
Is it really four thousand?
Gabe secures the line to a heavy piton.
GABE
It's up there, but I guarantee
you can handle it.
THE HELICOPTER
Frank gets out to secure the wire. Now a lifeline spans the
chasm.
ON THE LEDGE
Gabe finishes anchoring the line in the rock. Hal clips his
harness onto the rescue line.
HAL
Remember, whatever he says about
me, don't believe it, honey.
I know you're nervous, but we've
done this a hundred times. Okay?
SARAH
Okay.
He kisses her.
GABE
Remember, keep your arms and legs
within the vehicle at all times--
HAL
(mouthing the words)
Hey, fuck you.
With that, Hal pulls himself hand-over-hand across the sloping
line.
HAL'S POV--THE DROP
is vertigo defined. 4,000 feet straight down. However,
HAL
lets go of the overhead line and clasps his hands to his face
in mock horror. He quickly whizzes the last thirty feet of
line. Frank grabs him.
THE LEDGE
Gabe steals a glance at Sarah, realizes how frightened she is.
GABE
Sarah, tonight why don't you and
Hal come over for dinner?
SARAH
(looking down)
Okay--I don't know about this.
He attaches her harness to the line.
JESSIE
The winds are picking up.
GABE
On my way. Alright Sarah, are
you ready for the best ride in
the park?
Gabe starts to push her out on the line, but at the last moment
her nerve fails her. She grabs his arm, dropping her head to
look down. Gabe takes hold of her chin, stopping her, making
her face him.
SARAH
(scared but tough)
Please, can I think about this
for a minute...Okay, I'm sorry,
it's fine. What do you want me
to do?
GABE
Just keep lookin' at me and only
think about the distance across.
Count it as you go: One,
two...by eight you'll be there.
SARAH
Can I count as fast as I like?
GABE
Sure you can.
SARAH
(gives him a timid kiss
on the cheek)
I'm sorry for all the trouble...
Thank you.
Gabe pushes her out. As he does, he nods across the abyss to
Hal who nods back, confident but concerned. He can't forget
that everything that matters to him is suspended by a thread
over a 4,000 foot drop.
GABE'S POV - SARAH
inching away in the harness, looking more confident now.
GABE
There you go.
SARAH'S POV - GABE
SARAH
One...
signalling "OK...you're doing fine..."
SARAH
Two...
GABE
That's it, you look like a
professional.
SARAH
Three...
SARAH - ANOTHER ANGLE
thirty feet out, going fine. Hal watches, his tension easing,
but...
SARAH
Four...five...
GABE
Nice and easy...
SARAH
Six...
INSERT - HARNESS CLIP
holding the strap under Sarah's left leg breaks!
SARAH
Oh, God!
HAL
Sarah!
SARAH
I'm going to fall! Oh, God, help
me!
GABE'S POV - SARAH
The harness completely unravels all at once, its strands shoot
through the clips. What was a seat has become a trap door in
half a second. As the harness shoots out from under her, Sarah
falls but grabs the harness strand.
SARAH
Help me! Please! Oh, God, help
me! Hal!!
HAL
Hold on! Sarah, hold on! Get
her, Gabe! Throw her a line!
Hal's very worst fears are being realized as Sarah, too scared
to breathe, dangles on the remaining strand of what used to be
the harness. She sways from the wind and the jerk of her own
weight. Her grip loosens.
INSERT - THE TOP CLIP
that is supporting all of Sarah's weight is being seriously
tested. A single knot in the harness has caught there, but it
clearly won't last long.
JESSIE
stares down in horror.
JESSIE
Gabe, get her!
GABE
moves back from the ledge.
GABE
(in control)
I'm coming out!
HAL
No, stay off the line! You'll
break her loose!
GABE
(screams)
The clip's not gonna hold!
JESSIE
(into Gabe's handset)
Go after her.
HAL
(kneeling on the edge)
Hold on, baby, he'll get you.
SARAH
(almost faintly)
I'm slipping--please, please...
Gabe gently pulls himself up on the line, crosses his ankles on
it, and clips himself on with a three foot safety line. He
starts smoothly, quickly pulling himself out. Hal can barely
watch.
HAL
(anguished)
Don't lose her! Don't lose her!
Sarah is in trouble. The bobbing of the line from Gabe's weight
and the winds are making her lose her grip even more. Gabe
pulls himself along the line faster, trying not to shake the
line. He looks across at Hal who has dug in to brace the line.
It's not meant for this much weight.
Sarah starts to look down into the abyss.
GABE
No! Keep looking at me...Sarah!
Don't look down...look at me.
Keep your eyes on me...you can do
it. You're stronger than you
think...hold it, Sarah.
Her eyes slide up to him.
WIDER ANGLE
He is only ten feet away.
JESSIE
(into Gabe's handset)
Gabe, hurry--you can do it! A
little more and you've got her.
INSERT-THE CLIP
The knot has worked itself halfway through. It doesn't make
any difference how tight she holds on to the harness, the
harness itself is letting go!
GABE
(into mic)
She's losing it!
HAL
Sarah, hold on, he'll have you in
a second. Jesus Christ, grab
her!
ON GABE
who knows it and pulls himself the rest of the way, faster,
almost bridging the gap --
ON SARAH
staring desperately at Gabe, holding on --
SARAH
(shrieking)
Please -- oh, no -- please!
GABE
I'm here! Sarah, I'm here! I'm
here--I've got you!
INSERT - THE TOP CLIP
that's keeping Sarah alive surrenders the knot--it passes
through, and
SARAH
falls --
GABE
deliberately lets go of the main line and launches himself at
Sarah --
THEIR HANDS
catch--Gabe's got a tenuous grip on Sarah's upper arm--
ANGLE ON BOTH
Gabe's three foot safety line pulls taut, testing the limits of
the line above as it yanks him and Sarah back. They start
swinging like a pendulum over the abyss--with each swing
Sarah's hand slips further down Gabe's arm. He frantically
tries to tighten his grip on Sarah's arm, but his grip and hers
are slipping. Gabe reaches up with his free arm to grab the
main line and stabilize them, but their swinging keeps it out
of reach.
GABE
Use your other hand! Grab it!
SARAH
Help me! I don't want to die!
GABE
You're not gonna die. Grab me
with your other hand!
HAL
Sarah! Grab him, grab him!
Sarah is too scared to comply, her other arm flailing as if
that might stop the swinging with the next arc.
Their grip slides to wrist level and keeps slipping. Gabe's
hand digs into Sarah's climbing glove and holds!
JESSIE
Gabe hold her! Hold her!
Gabe's face is a mask of strained concentration as he tries to
grab the main line and maintain his grip on Sarah.
He finally snags the main line, but he can't stabilize them
with the next swing.
GABE
(exhausted)
Do it! Reach up! Sarah, reach
up!
For what seems like an eternity, Sarah's eyes lock onto Gabe's
with an expression of unabashed terror as her hand slides out
of her glove! She falls--her eyes still locked on Gabe who can
only look down, swaying helplessly on the wire as Sarah SCREAMS
ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE
Frank and Jessie look down in horror, but neither look as
anguished as Hal. Her screams are heard in Jessie's headset.
HAL
No!!
LONG SHOT - SARAH
falling--falling--falling--looking very small against the vast
mountain range--
SARAH'S POV - FALLING
from this height takes the longest nineteen seconds you can
imagine--
GABE
twists from his safety line, clutching Sarah's glove--he wants
to, but can't shut his eyes--he locks eyes with
HAL
whose horror and grief are even greater than Gabe's.
GABE'S POV - THE CHASM
Sarah is gone. The "Safety" harness spirals down after her
like a carefree bird. Her scream, echoes off the cliffs and
through the canyons -- fainter, fainter -- until it's almost a
memory -- carrying across to:
STREET DAY - 8 MONTHS LATER
A five gallon bucket of blackish water explodes against the
pavement. On the street are signs that read "Do Not Cross -
Danger."
TEN STORIES UP
Gabe is ten stories up on a suspended platform with a window
washer scraper poised in his hand. He looks down in despair.
He appears distraught, lifeless -- the fire has gone out of his
eyes. The WINDOW WASHER glances over the edge, then back at
Gabe.
WASHER
Man, you better keep your mind on
your business--you'll kill
somebody.
GABE
Yeah.
WASHER
Two things you don't do in this
line of work is daydream and
stand back to admire your work.
Got that?
GABE
Take me up.
EXT. DENVER MINT - HIGH ANGLE - DAY - FEW DAYS LATER
The Southwest regional center for printing and distributing
currency.
INT. TREASURY COMPOUND - A MECHANICAL BILL COUNTER
is at work, banding and stacking currency. A HAND reaches to
pick up a band.
THE BILLS
are something a banker could work a lifetime without seeing,
but are real nonetheless -- $1000 bills, banded here in
hundreds. The band is put back in the growing stack by
RICHARD TRAVERS
mid-forties, a tough, imposing Treasury agent. He regards the
fortune piling up in front of him with only cold, professional
interest. The currency is being placed into a trio of metal
briefcases--thirty thousand $1000 bills. Travers shuts the
cases in turn, and locks each with an electronic key card,
triggering a FLASHING RED LIGHT on the locks. A uniformed
PILOT arrives.
PILOT
We'll be fueled and ready in ten
minutes, Mr. Travers.
TRAVERS
Very good.
WALTER WRIGHT, an authoritative man of fifty and head
comptroller of currency approaches followed by MATHESON, a
groomed agent in his late twenties.
WRIGHT
Rich...
TRAVERS
Good morning, Walt.
WRIGHT
I'd like to have a word with you.
This is Agent Matheson, FBI.
TRAVERS
(shakes Matheson's
hand)
Richard Travers.
WRIGHT
Matheson has been transferred
from the Denver office to Frisco.
As a professional courtesy
between offices, I was asked if
he could hitch a ride.
TRAVERS
We've got a full crew, but we can
squeeze one more, right.
WRIGHT
Appreciate it.
TRAVERS
You're the boss. Let's head out
to the tarmac. Matheson, have
you been totally briefed?
MATHESON
I don't know about totally.
TRAVERS
(laughs)
Who the hell ever is. This is
the most protected shipment we've
got-- and the most useless.
These bills aren't even in
circulation; the one thousand
dollar bills we're transporting
are only used for international
banking exchange.
MATHESON
Do you always transport through
the air?
WRIGHT
Mostly. Armored cars can be
hijacked. Trains can be
derailed. But nobody can get to
us in flight.
TRAVERS
I haven't lost a bill in eighteen
years, don't jinx me, Walt.
WRIGHT
I think Treasury personnel are
the most superstitious people in
the federal government.
TRAVERS
We should be. Everybody wants
what we have.
The men laugh and turn the corner.
EXT. COLORADO TOWN - EARLY MORNING
The weather is becoming moody as wind bends the tops of the
trees and blows debris down the street. We see a well-worn
vehicle moving past a filling station.
Two young rock jocks are driving by in their impossibly mudcaked
jeep. Loud music blasts from their stereo. The two
young men are BRETT and EVAN. They wear bright colored jackets
and have their hats backwards over their long hair. Wraparound
shades adorn Brett's face. Brett notices Gabe's Bronco
crossing the intersection. He wildly honks the horn and does
a radical U-turn.
BRETT
Gabe! Hey, man! Gabe! It's
Gabe!
EVAN
How yo doin', Gabe!
Gabe wheels a bit closer. They drive side by side.
GABE
Hey, Brett. Hey, Evan.
EVAN
Where ya been, man?
GABE
Working in Denver.
BRETT
Work! Don't say that word, man.
EVAN
Man, I hate work even when
somebody else does it!
BRETT
Hey, Gabe, we're flyin' off the
Tower today. C'mon with us.
EVAN
C'mon, man--it's perfect weather
for a monster, full-fledged
gutrush!
GABE
No, you guys are too good.
BRETT
You heard it here, folks!
EVAN
I heard! Hey, later, Gabe.
The two boys spin off and Gabe slowly moves on in the opposite
direction.
EXT. JESSIE'S CABIN - MORNING
It is a rustic, modest home built mostly of local lumber and
stone. In the corral we see Jessie forking hay over the fence
to her three horses.
The wind is picking up as Gabe steps into view. Thoroughly
engrossed in her work, she fails to notice Gabe's arrival. She
turns and is momentarily taken aback by the sight of Gabe. She
collects herself.
They lock expressions for an uncomfortable moment, then Jessie
throws one last wedge of hay.
JESSIE
(low)
Hello, Gabriel.
GABE
(softly)
When you call me Gabriel, I know
I've got trouble.
JESSIE
Where've you been?
GABE
Working...I'm trying to figure
out where to start.
JESSIE
Maybe I can help. Let's see...
if one night I got up and packed
up all my things and drove away
without leaving so much as a
note, and stayed away for months,
I think what I'd want to do is
come up with a well thought-out
reason.
GABE
After the funeral I just had to
leave.
JESSIE
Had to leave? Believe me, we all
wanted to leave...but you know
what? We stayed.
GABE
A lot of things fell apart up
there.
JESSIE
I know...
GABE
I don't think you do.
JESSIE
Why can't you believe that you
did everything you could?
GABE
Did I? I don't know. Maybe I
shouldn't have gone out on that
line. Maybe I panicked.
JESSIE
I was there, you were the only
one who didn't panic. So do
everyone a favor, don't hog all
the guilt. You held on as long
as you could. Yes, everything
did go wrong, starting with Hal.
I mean, what was he doing up on
the Tower with a girl who could
barely climb?
GABE
I can't blame anything on Hal.
It was me. I play it back in my
mind everyday.
JESSIE
Then turn it off, Gabe, because
it doesn't get any better.
GABE
I don't expect you to understand.
JESSIE
I don't understand?
GABE
You couldn't.
JESSIE
(mounting anger)
You're saying, I don't
understand? I'm the only one who
does understand. I'm the one you
lived with for two years, I'm the
one you made promises to, I'm the
one who spent too many nights
looking up at these rocks and
wondering if you were ever going
to make it down in once piece or
ever at all. Believe me, there's
been times I didn't know what I
wanted to do more, love you or
hate you. But the one thing in
our relationship that I did know
and still do know is that I
understand you.
GABE
Why are you yelling?
JESSIE
Excuse me?
GABE
Why are you yelling?
JESSIE
(confused)
Did I miss something?
GABE
Y'know, yelling at this altitude
can lead to hyperventilation and
fainting--
JESSIE
I'm not going to faint, but if I
want to faint, I'll faint, okay?
GABE
Okay, but if you do I'll have to
perform resuscitation--
JESSIE
Resuscitation?
GABE
--mouth-to-mouth, which could
maybe...
JESSIE
Which could maybe what?
GABE
Maybe lead to a flare up...
JESSIE
A flare up...
GABE
Flare up of old emotions...
JESSIE
Listen to you...
(melting)
The old "mouth-to-mouth"
resuscitation routine, huh?
GABE
From one professional to another,
of course.
JESSIE
Course maybe you don't have to
wait until I faint.
GABE
(charmingly)
No, I think I will, it's safer.
I have patience.
Jessie moves forward. A light rain has begun to fall.
JESSIE
Gabe, did you come back to stay?
(pause)
You didn't.
GABE
I can't. Not here.
(beat)
If you want, I'd like you to come
with me...somewhere else.
JESSIE
Where?
GABE
It doesn't matter, anywhere but
here.
JESSIE
You come back after being gone
almost a year, and you expect me
to just leave...
(beat)
This was our home, now it's my
home. I can't leave. You can
stay with me, and believe me, I
want you to, but to just take off
for the wrong reasons, I can't do
it. And you shouldn't either.
GABE
Like I said, I can't turn it off.
JESSIE
(softly)
And I can't leave.
GABE
If it's alright, I'm gonna pick
up the rest of my gear.
JESSIE
You know where everything is...
(looks at her watch)
I'm late for my shift.
GABE
Jess--you look good.
Jessie nods a thank you and despondently moves away. Gabe
heads inside as Jessie drives away.
EXT. CLOUDS - MORNING
A spectacular sight: Great rolling thunderclouds backlit by
the early morning sun.
The sound of an engine--then a plane appears through the cloud:
The Treasury Jet.
The DC-9 cruises over mountainous, remote terrain.
INT. JET - CLOSE ON TRAVERS
who looks tense--we MOVE AROUND the cabin and find two more
relaxed TREASURY AGENTS dozing on the opposite side of the
plane. The interior of the plane is rather spartan and cold.
Matheson is edgy. An AGENT offers condescending reassurance.
AGENT
Travers says you're being
transferred.
MATHESON
Yeah, moving up in the world.
Matheson turns back to his window.
Another jet's shadow moves sleekly past the window, momentarily
blocking out the sun.
MATHESON reacts to this and shifts his look upward to--
WINDOW POV - THE PLANE
is flying a parallel course to the Treasury jet, and is just
one hundred yards away.
INSIDE THE PLANE
Matheson stands. Travers has noticed the plane by now too, and
gets out of his seat as the other agents react.
MATHESON
That plane is tracking us.
AGENT
Travers?
TRAVERS
(to other agents)
Stay put. Don't anybody jump to
conclusions.
Travers moves into
THE COCKPIT
where the pilot seems nervous but, oddly, not frightened.
PILOT
He's coming in too slow.
TRAVERS
(cool)
No, we're going too fast, and
we're too high up. Give me 180
knots and drop to fifteen
thousand feet.
THE CABIN
Matheson is out of his seat.
MATHESON
(to agent)
Christ! We're losing altitude
and slowing down! If you have
automatic weapons, get them!
Travers steps out.
TRAVERS
What are you doing? I have
jurisdiction on this jet!
Matheson goes to his briefcase and flips it open. It contains
a full auto uzi. He pulls it from its clasps.
TRAVERS
What the hell are you doing--
MATHESON
Now I have jurisdiction!
(to agents)
I said get your weapons.
TRAVERS
These are highly trained agents
overreacting without just cause.
Travers puts his hands out and walks forward, slowly, backing
Matheson into the cabin. Not in surrender, but as if he's
calming a nutcase. The other agents see this and don't know
which way to jump.
TRAVERS
Calm down...give the gun to me.
You're out of control, son.
MATHESON
(to other agents)
What the hell are you waiting
for, goddammit! Don't you see
what he's doing! He's hijacking
the shipment!
The other two agents get behind Matheson and rapidly disarm
him. Travers pulls out his gun and FIRES it three times, one
for each agent's chest. The agents are cut down, realizing too
late what's happened. Two shots knock Matheson over a seat.
The co-pilot begins to step out when he is shot by the pilot
with a silencer.
Travers puts on a radio headset as he goes to a window.
TRAVERS
(to mouthpiece)
Move into position!
EXT. TREASURY JET/QUALEN'S JET STAR - FLYING
Qualen's jet star is now flying a hundred and fifty feet
directly behind and slightly below the Treasury jet. The door
of Qualen's jet is open.
INT. TREASURY JET - REAR SECTION
Travers has slipped into a protective windsuit. He clips
himself to a safety wire, flips on an oxygen mask and almost
simultaneously pulls the lever that releases the bolts on the
tail cone, leaving a 6' by 3' hole.
A huge vacuum is created by the hole and loose debris such as
papers and bits of clothing are sucked out of the jet.
Travers pulls aside a tarp revealing a winch.
INT. QUALEN'S JET STAR - FRONT SECTION - DAY
Qualen steps into view. His presence is threatening. He is
wearing a headset radio, goggles, oxygen mask and a cold
weather jumpsuit. (The entire gang on board the jet are
dressed in this fashion.) He is wired to a safety line in the
jet.
Qualen is as deadly as advertised. 230 MPH winds are tearing
at him through the open door, but he is unfazed and
unfrightened. Next to him are Ryan and Kynette.
TRAVERS
at the open tail cone.
TRAVERS
(into radio)
More...more...keep proceeding...
THE TWO PLANES
Travers' jet lowers the cable with a lead weighted grappling
hook into the Jet Star. It looks like an Air Force midair
refueling--difficult and dangerous. After about a hundred and
fifty feet of line is lowered
QUALEN
clips it to a ring at the top of the opening.
QUALEN
(into radio)
Locked on. Move into transfer
position.
INSIDE QUALEN'S PLANE
The pilot, KRISTEL, is a woman. Her skill, like her hard
beauty, can be measured in a glance. She's a lot calmer than
her counterpart in the Treasury plane. Beside her is a co-
pilot.
KRISTEL
(to co-pilot)
Check. Moving into transfer
position.
ON THE TWO PLANES
Qualen's jet lowers itself, until it's 150 feet below the
Treasury jet.
TREASURY JET CABIN
Travers, unclipped from his safety line, cautiously goes to the
cockpit and picks up his portable monitor. The pilot, nervous,
struggles with the controls.
PILOT
(shouting)
We're right on the edge of the
storm! This isn't going to work!
TRAVERS
(loud)
Don't lose your nerve! All
they'll find is a plane that went
down in a storm...
Travers checks the monitor which electrically comes alive.
TRAVERS
(gestures to bodies)
...and enough pulverized bone for
six men heroically killed in the
line of duty.
INSIDE QUALEN'S JET
We can now see five other passengers. All are fit and armed:
HELDON and DELMAR and RAY are seated, while KYNETTE and RYAN,
ready to help with the transfer, are on the opposite side of
the door from a very impatient Qualen.
QUALEN
(into radio)
Travers! Hurry it up.
TRAVERS
(into radio)
On my way. The cases are hooked
up and ready.
IN TREASURY COCKPIT
Travers steps back into the cockpit and flips a toggle switch
over an LED.
THE LED
starts counting down from 2:00 -- 1:59 -- 1:58...
Even in the last minute, the storm's gotten worse. The plane
is flying right into the blackest center of it. The pilot
looks more panicked than ever.
TRAVERS
That charge is going to blow in
two minutes. Stick to the plan
and you're rich.
BACK IN THE CABIN
Travers heads back into the cabin and hooks his harness to the
cable between the planes.
TRAVERS
(into headset)
Dip the plane. I'm coming over.
THE JETS - LONG SHOT
Qualen's jet dips down so there's a sharp incline. The cable
is slightly bowed from the wind's force. Travers starts the
slide down, his body almost blown parallel to the ground. In
seconds he is across and into
QUALEN'S JET
where he's pulled in and unclipped by Qualen.
QUALEN
(shouting over the
wind)
Why didn't you send the money
over?
TRAVERS
(shouting too)
Somehow I didn't think you'd wait
for me if I'd sent it first.
Qualen smiles in reply. No. Maybe he wouldn't
QUALEN'S COCKPIT
Kristel is struggling to keep the jet on course.
KRISTEL
(yells)
I can't hold this course much
longer!
Qualen at the door.
QUALEN
(to Travers)
What's the delay?
TRAVERS
(into headset)
Let's move your ass in there!!
INT. THE TREASURY PLANE COCKPIT
The pilot locks the controls and stepping over the bodies,
rushes back to the rear of the jet.
MATHESON's eyes open -- he's not dead yet.
IN THE CABIN
The pilot has just placed his harness on and is about to push
the cases out when behind him, Matheson shakily crawls forward
and riddles the pilot with auto fire. As the pilot falls
forward, he hits the lever that releases the cases.
THE PILOT
drops out of the plane, flailing. If he is screaming, we can't
hear it over the HOWLING of the storm.
IN QUALEN'S JET
Qualen and Travers are watching the whole plan unravel.
TRAVERS
(shouting to cockpit)
What the hell! Get underneath
the jet! The cases will slide
over!
THE JETS - LONG SHOT
Qualen's jet sharply dips down and the cases start to slide
over, but at the same time...
INSIDE THE TREASURY JET
Matheson, dying, crawls to the opening and FIRES a full clip
from his automatic at Qualen's jet, and
THE LED
counts down -- 0:02 -- 0:01 -- 0:00 -- and
THE TREASURY JET - THE BOMB EXPLODES
As the charge DETONATES, it sends a fireball blast back from
the cockpit all the way through the fuselage and out the rear.
THE JETS - LONG SHOT
The Treasury jet plummets, leveling the angle between the
planes. The cases dangle precariously on the wire.
INSIDE QUALEN'S JET
TRAVERS
(shouting)
Lower! Get underneath it!
Lower!
INSIDE QUALEN'S COCKPIT - KRISTEL
isn't quite panicked--yet.
KRISTEL
It's dragging us down!
Disconnect the cable!
Heldon and Ryan try to do just that, but the cable is taut.
There's no way to loose the clip on the door.
QUALEN
Get rid of the plastique!
Heldon rushes to the rear of the plane to grab a bag as...
BOTH JETS
dive down faster at an ever steeper angle, over the edge of the
Colorado Mountain Range.
INSIDE QUALEN'S JET STAR
Ryan and Kynette struggle to release the cable.
RYAN
It's too tight!
Qualen pulls out a pistol and fires several shots into the
cable, snapping it.
BOTH JETS - LONG SHOT
The Treasury jet drops as Qualen's jet, trailing the cable and
the money, sharply shoots upward.
THE TREASURY JET
explodes in mid-air.
INT. QUALEN'S PLANE - THE COCKPIT - KRISTEL
The jet is in serious trouble.
KRISTEL
We're not leveling out!
CABIN - QUALEN , DELMAR AND TRAVERS
QUALEN
(into headset)
What's the matter?
KRISTEL
(O.S.)
I don't know!
QUALEN
C'mon, pull!
The men struggle to reel in the cable, because,
CLOSE ON THE CABLE
The money cases are still, barely, holding on, the cuffs caught
on the broken clip at the end.
QUALEN, DELMAR AND TRAVERS
aren't even bothering with the electric winch, they're dragging
it in hand over hand, but
IN THE CABIN
The cases, torn by the wind, work their way loose one at a time
and drop -- one -- two -- three -- into the snowy mountains
below!
CLOSE ON THE CABLE
Ryan clamps the door shut as Qualen angrily lashes at Travers.
QUALEN
Foolproof plan?! You dumb
bastard! Kristel, what's the
report?!
He moves off.
THE COCKPIT - KRISTEL
tries to bring the plane up, but can't. The pressure gauge
needles are dropping fast.
KRISTEL
The hydraulics are not
functioning! He shot up the
hydraulics! I can't retain
altitude! We're going down--
QUALEN
Crash positions!
Everyone rapidly takes to a seat and starts to buckle up.
QUALEN
(to Travers)
Don't buckle up. You may not
want to survive this.
EXT. THE PLANE
breaks through the clouds, revealing the mountainous landscape
and a hard snowfall.
It is going down--it heads for a tree-lined plateau above the
snow line--the plane hits the ground level--
IN QUALEN'S COCKPIT
KRISTEL
(to co-pilot)
There's an opening!
THE PLATEAU - LONG SHOT
The problem is, the ground itself isn't level. It tilts down
towards another edge five hundred yards distant. If the plane
keeps skidding, it'll go over the edge.
The plane sleds down at an angle, skipping over rocks, through
trees, tearing off a wing--
INSIDE THE CABIN
The men are jolted around. Windows IMPLODE.
THE PLANE
rips downhill through a wooded area like a runaway train.
The second wing is sheared off by trees.
COCKPIT POV - THE OPPOSITE EDGE
A fallen tree stump is coming up fast, it rips through the
windscreen, narrowly missing Kristel and ripping the co-pilot's
head completely off.
THE PLANE
continues to slide, three quarters of the fuselage intact. It
finally comes to rest.
WIDER VIEW - THE PLANE
or what's left of it has stopped several feet short of the
edge.
EXT. SPUR - DAY
Brett and Evan are preparing to jump. Evan is wearing a
walkman blasting music. A heavy snow is falling.
BRETT
(speaking loudly, over
the wind)
Did you catch that thunder?
EVAN
(pulls off his
headphones)
No way, death-breath, that was
too intense for thunder. C'mon
let's rock an' roll.
The two boys leap.
We pull back to reveal they are plunging, arms flailing down a
huge chasm. The rock wall behind them speeds past, Karwhoosh!
Their back-packs burst open, parachutes stream out. Hollering
with delight, they're riding the updrafts like a rollercoaster.
EXT. CRASH SITE - DAY
The plane lies still. All is quiet except for the howling
wind. A section of the rear passenger compartment is exposed
in the snowstorm.
INSIDE THE WRECKAGE
The cockpit is nearly severed from the rest of the fuselage,
the sides broken open.
CLOSER - TRAVERS
lies face down in the debris. He struggles to free himself
from what appears to be the body of Ray. He pushes it off.
Breathing heavily, Travers is about to rise when a gun is
placed against his neck.
WIDER - QUALEN
in front of Travers, holding the gun. Qualen is bruised and
gashed on the forehead. He's about to blow Travers' head off.
QUALEN
You thought about everything
except what's happening now.
HELDON
Kill the fucker, his fucking plan
almost killed us!
TRAVERS
Kill me? Christ we're partners
in this!
QUALEN
Were. Give me the tracking
monitor!
TRAVERS
Why? What are you going to do?!
QUALEN
The monitor! I never ask twice.
Travers pulls off the monitor that was slung around his neck.
TRAVERS
Take it. There's only about
fifty thousand code variations.
That's right, fifty thousand.
Delmar moves up to Qualen.
DELMAR
I'll break your fucking neck!
TRAVERS
Go ahead, break my fucking neck.
But you're going to need the
money to buy your way out of the
country, because we sure as hell
can't stay in the States anymore.
(to Qualen)
You know it and I know it.
KYNETTE
I say, fuck the money. Getting
off this mountain is all I want
to know about. The money's gone.
Kill the rat bastard and let's
move.
QUALEN
No, we haven't come this far to
lose everything--and Travers is
right, we'll need the cash.
HELDON
How're we gonna get off this
mountain even if we find it?
QUALEN
(moves off)
No problem--Kristel...
INT. RANGER STATION
Rain is pounding against the windows. Hal is watching a
football game on a small portable television. He is whittling
away at a piece of wood with a shiny folding knife used by most
climbers. FRANK is standing behind a large 3' by 4' piece of
glass upon which he is painting a bizarre abstract creation.
Frank is approximately sixty years old, but still possesses the
wiry, but partly stiff body of a former rodeo rider who's taken
a hundred falls too many.
Jessie enters looking rather despondent. She goes to the
coffee pot.
FRANK
Oh yes, that's it right here. I
believe 'ol Frank nailed it with
that stroke. Hal c'mere.
Still whittling, Hal drifts over, and observes the painting.
HAL
Hey, Jessie, you're just in time
for another masterpiece.
FRANK
So, what do you see?
HAL
Surprise me.
FRANK
What usually eats a banana?
HAL
(at a loss)
A monkey?
FRANK
So...what are you, blind, son?
This is a banana eating a monkey,
nature in reverse.
HAL
Y'know, Jessie, doesn't Frank
look like a normal guy--but he's
not,
(laughs)
are you Frank?
Suddenly, the scanner radio barks to life.
KRISTEL
(O.S., panicky)
Somebody help...please...is there
somebody there...we need help...
Hal runs to the radio and keys the mic.
HAL
Rocky Mountain Rescue, come in!
INT. COCKPIT
Kristel is sitting on the floor of the cockpit. She's ripped
the guts out of the plane's radios and avionics to jury-rig a
system of wires, transistors and dials. Qualen and Travers
watch. Qualen can't suppress a grin as he observes Kristel's
"distraught performance."
KRISTEL
Please help, we're stranded. We
were hiking and lost our
bearings...we didn't expect this
weather to come in so fast.
INT. RANGER STATION
Hal starts to jot down the information. Jessie stands behind
him.
HAL
(into radio)
Acknowledge. How many are there?
KRISTEL
(O.S., panicked)
Seven people. I don't know our
position, the only visual bearing
is a cylinder rock formation.
Over.
JESSIE
Got to be Comb Bluff.
HAL
(keys mic)
Acknowledge. Winds are too
strong to get a chopper up there,
Are you near any natural shelter?
Over.
KRISTEL
(O.S., panicked)
No, nothing and Billy is going
into shock we need
insulin...please hurry, please...
Dead silence.
HAL
Mayday! Come in, Mayday! Damn,
lost contact.
INT. COCKPIT
Kristel disconnects a couple of wires from the battery.
Travers watches as Qualen leans down and kisses her.
QUALEN
We need insulin--
(to Travers)
Would you have thought of that?
Travers tenses.
INT RANGER STATION
Hal folds up his knife and jams it into a non-detectable sheath
on the side of his boot, then starts pulling out his climbing
gear.
HAL
(to Jessie)
You and Frank get the tents,
thermal clothing, and medical
supplies together.
JESSIE
Who's going with you?
HAL
You're looking at him.
JESSIE
Where's the rest of the team?
HAL
Bob and Rick are in Denver. I
gotta get up there as fast as
possible. Frank, get me a load
of flares.
Jessie turns and exits.
EXT. JESSIE'S CABIN - DAY
Jessie's truck roars into the shot. It is pouring rain. Gabe
is just putting his belongings in the rear of the Bronco. He
flips up the tailgate.
JESSIE
Thank God you didn't leave. We
just got a Mayday. Seven
climbers stranded off Comb Bluff.
The weather's pouring in fast and
Hal's gone up alone.
GABE
Hal knows what he's doing.
Gabe heads back inside and Jessie follows.
INT. CABIN
Gabe gathers the last of his belongings.
JESSIE
If he gets up there and the
weather gets as bad as it can,
they'll never make it down. He
needs someone who has emergency
medical training and knows every
handhold on these peaks.
GABE
He doesn't want my help.
JESSIE
That's not the issue here, those
people are. He can't do it
alone.
GABE
He can handle it.
JESSIE
What if he can't?
GABE
I haven't climbed in months--you
lose the feel.
JESSIE
You mean the nerve.
Gabe is wounded by the remark.
JESSIE
I know you don't want to be
responsible for anybody's life
anymore, but walk away and you
are responsible. Please Gabe, he
went up the west ridge. If you
go up the south face, you can
catch him, no problem--
GABE
Can't do it.
He carries the last box out the door.
EXT. CABIN
Gabe gets into the Bronco.
JESSIE
Can't do it? I don't believe
this. Don't you feel anything?
GABE
I only came back for you.
Gabe stares at her for a moment, then turns and drives away.
JESSIE
Go on! Leave. Go wherever you
want. But you're going to
be stuck on that ledge for the
rest of your life.
CUT TO: GABE DRIVING
It is pouring rain as Gabe guides his bronco down the winding
mountain road. The bronco pulls over.
INT. BRONCO - DAY
Gabe stares straight ahead at the rain that beats down on the
windshield. The wipers going back and forth become like a
monotonous heartbeat. Indecision fills his yes. He puts his
head down on the steering wheel and WE CUT.
INT. WRIGHT'S OFFICE - DAY
Wright's pacing around, trying to figure out what in his office
he should break first. Davis shows up at the door.
WRIGHT
(furious)
Okay, what's the report? Where
the hell is that plane?
DAVIS
(walking to a map)
There's no radio contact at all
sir, and we're not receiving the
tracer signal from the cockpit's
flight recorder.
He points to a huge part of Colorado. Hundreds of square
miles.
DAVIS
We have to assume it went down in
the storm. That storm front is
still building. Even if we could
get a search plane up now, it'd
be impossible to see anything on
the ground.
WRIGHT
What about the roads?
DAVIS
Most of this area doesn't even
have roads.
A secretary enters.
SECRETARY
Mr. Wright, there's two FBI
agents that demand to see you.
TWO MATURE AGENTS enter in a highly agitated state.
AGENT #1
Mr. Wright, I'm Agent Hayes and
this is Agent Michaels. We're
here about the jet disappearance.
WRIGHT
Look, if you're just concerned
about your agent who was along
for the ride--
AGENT HAYES
Matheson wasn't along for the
ride, he was working
surveillance.
WRIGHT
Surveillance? For what?
AGENT HAYES
The Bureau had been receiving
sketchy reports about Treasury
flight patterns being monitored
from Denver to San Francisco. It
was thought best not to alert
anyone in your department in case
there was the possibility of it
being an inside job.
WRIGHT
That's impossible. You suggest
a hijacking? Impossible. Not
only did I have my best men on
that flight, each one of those
cases are monitored, and the
money is in unexchangeable
denominations. It would be
useless for anyone to steal.
AGENTS MICHAELS
(presents a folder)
Not for this man.
WRIGHT
Who the hell is this?
AGENT MICHAELS
Eric Qualen. He's the one we've
been tracking without much
success. He's a former member of
military intelligence who found
it more profitable going to the
other side. Industrial
espionage, diamond hijacking from
South Africa, theft and disposal
of millions in negotiable bearer
bonds, you name it. He's got the
international connections to move
this currency, and one hundred
million offers one hell of a
temptation to this psychotic.
WRIGHT
Jesus Christ, this can't be
happening.
AGENT HAYES
I know. Unfortunately it is, and
what we need is a complete
profile on all the men aboard
that jet, backgrounds both
business and personal.
WRIGHT
(to Davis)
Arrange it.
EXT. SOUTH WALL - DAY
The sheer wall that is leaning actually outward is a terrifying
sight. We see a mere spec moving cautiously upward--it is
Gabe.
CUT TO - C.U. GABE
straining to maintain his balance in the driving wind and snow.
GABE
(echoes Jessie's words)
And if you go up the south wall,
you can catch him, no problem,
yeah.
Gabe has a moment of indecision, almost a look of mounting fear
in his eyes.
Gabe starts to ascend and pauses to look straight up the rock
face, then straight down. As the wind tears at his face, his
eyes reflect in momentary panic.
FLASH BACK:
Black and white grainy dreamlike effect as Sarah falls. She
strobes down the canyon floor, her eyes and amplified voice
shrieking in fear.
BACK TO SCENE:
Shaken, Gabe starts to descend, then pauses and looks up the
sheer face...
He pulls out his bolt gun and fires into the wall. Hooking up,
he proceeds upward.
GABE
Keep going, keep going...
EXT. MOUNTAIN WALL - DAY - HIGH ANGLE ON HAL
Who's now a good way up the wall, at least a thousand feet off
the ground. Wind and snow make the climbing hard. This part
of the wall is sheer, slightly overhung and slick. His only
foothold is about a half-inch of ledge. A larger ledge is
above him, tantalizingly just out of reach.
He gropes up, stretching, trying to get that extra half-inch
reach...he gets it.
THE TOP OF THE LEDGE
Suddenly a hand seizes Hal's. Surprised, Hal starts to slip
back. Gabe pulls him the rest of the way up. Panting from
this last effort, he leans against the wall next to Gabe.
HAL
What the hell are you doing
here?!
GABE
I was with Jessie, she filled me
in.
HAL
Now let me fill you in. You can
get your ass back down an' go
back to that hole you been hiding
in--
GABE
When we get this group down, I'm
gone.
HAL
You're gone now! I don't climb
with people I can't trust. Why'd
you come up, to prove something?
GABE
I'm here for the same reason you
are, so let's do it.
HAL
Can't pass up another chance to
play hero, can you.
GABE
Look, I know--
HAL
You don't know anything. You did
it your way and she died.
GABE
I did what I thought was right.
HAL
Well you were wrong! It was your
weight on the line that did it--
GABE
There wasn't time for anything
else.
HAL
We'll never know, will we?
GABE
Look, it was a bad time for
everybody.
HAL
(explodes)
What the hell do you know about
bad time. You didn't love her,
you didn't have to explain to her
family.
GABE
And you weren't looking into her
eyes when she fell. Now drop it!
Hal suddenly catches Gabe off-guard by the front of the jacket.
Gabe is precariously balanced on the edge, his life totally in
Hal's hands.
HAL
No, buddy, it was you who dropped
it!
GABE
If you want, do it. I don't
care.
Gabe and Hal lock stares for a long moment. Hal pulls him back
in.
HAL
(a threat)
When it's over, you and me...
Hal gives him a withering stare and moves away.
EXT. COMB BLUFF - BINOCULAR POV - DAY
Gabe and Hal are now visible two thirds of the way up.
EXT. PRECIPICE EDGE - DAY
From the top of the bluff, someone is looking down through
binoculars. Gabe and Hal are a few hundred yards below. Ryan
lowers the binoculars and keys a headset radio. The wind is
blowing snow on his face.
RYAN
They're here
INSIDE THE PLANE
Qualen is wearing another headset. He disentangles himself
from Kristel.
QUALEN
(to others)
The guests are here.
THE MOUNTAIN'S EDGE
Hal follows Gabe up. From here, the rest of the range looms
large. The storm raging above makes this a spectacular sight.
Gabe sees the trees torn from the ground by the plane crash.
RYAN
About time...
Gabe and Hal turn around only to find themselves staring at
Ryan's ominous expression and poised weapon.
RYAN
...Walk.
INT. FUSELAGE
Hal and Gabe are hustled inside the plane. Driving snow blows
through the wreckage. Kynette quickly confiscates Gabe's bolt
gun and ice axe.
QUALEN
Where's the helicopter?
HAL
What the hell's going on?
Qualen motions to Delmar who viciously backhands Hal.
QUALEN
That was the first and last
question-- now only answers.
Where's the chopper?
GABE
It can't fly in this weather.
QUALEN
(to Travers)
This is where your background in
police work comes in handy--ask
the questions, Travers.
TRAVERS
Don't use my name!
QUALEN
(hard)
Ask the questions.
TRAVERS
You're both with the mountain
rescue team?
HAL
Yeah...
TRAVERS
Anyone else following?
Hal shakes his head "no."
TRAVERS
What's your names?
HAL
(Hal looks at Gabe, who
nods)
Tucker and Walker.
TRAVERS
Tucker and Walker, we've lost
three bags.
QUALEN
You know how the airlines are.
GABE
Bags?
QUALEN
Suits, underwear, 100 million
dollars...the usual stuff.
Travers was smart enough to bring
along a tracking device. Step
into my office.
Gabe and Hal stand there defiantly.
Delmar grabs Hal and heaves him forward.
DELMAR
(to Gabe)
You too.
INT. COCKPIT - DAY
Tight on a map spread out on the plane's wrecked instrument
panel.
We see Travers keying a set-up of numbers into his portable
monitor. The monitor lights up with a pattern of frequency
beacons.
QUALEN
Where's the third one, Travers?
TRAVERS
(to Gabe)
There, what's that place?
Gabe looks at the monitor, then the map, and he glances at Hal.
GABE
Looks like the Tower. It's a bad
climb.
QUALEN
A bad climb, no, just another
challenge. What's life without
'em, right, Agent Travers.
TRAVERS
Get off my back, Qualen!
QUALEN
(smoothly)
I haven't even got on it yet.
(to Gabe)
Let's go, time to fetch.
EXT. MOUNTAIN WALL - WIDE SHOT - DAY - HAL AND GABE
have led the gang further up the wall, using pitons and
carabiner clips to create a guide rope. It's still just a
matter of climbing relatively easy ascending ledges. The
howling wind continues to blow snow all around them.
QUALEN
(yells from behind)
The faster you find the bags, the
bigger you boys' finder's fee
will be.
HAL
(to Gabe)
Right, all the bullets we can
eat.
THE WALL
The climbers have reached an easier section of the wall. The
ledge is now two feet wide. Travers takes out the tracer
monitor; it shows the first case is just above them.
Travers and Gabe look up through the driving snow.
Qualen has Hal's walkie-talkie in his hand. He monitors
Jessie's message.
JESSIE
(V.O.)
Hal, come in, please.
Qualen turns off the radio.
QUALEN
Sounds cute.
A CREST
juts out of the wall a hundred plus feet above their position.
As the rest of the wall above is completely sheer, the case
must have landed on top of a ledge. But this isn't easily
accessible. WE MOVE DOWN from the crest to see there are only
the smallest of handholds and those are slick with ice, making
climbing almost impossible. Tons of snow and ice are suspended
precariously on top of the mountain.
ON THE LEDGE
Delmar holds his gun on Gabe, as Hal helps Gabe put on his
crampons.
HAL
Watch yourself under that
overhang.
(Gabe eyes him)
It could go anytime.
Gabe eyes the ledge and gets his meaning.
QUALEN
Go on, fetch.
GABE
I need my bolt gun and an ice
axe.
TRAVERS
Don't give him anything.
QUALEN
We agree on something. And for
insurance, take his coat.
HAL
He'll freeze.
QUALEN
Ryan, get a rope, I want the man
on a leash, too.
Gabe looks up, this is going to be tough, even for him.
HAL
Forget me. If you can, get away.
GABE
Would you?
Hal looks at him for a beat, emotionally torn.
Gabe moves away.
HIGH ANGLE - GABE
moves up the wall with some ease at first. There are small
handholds, and decent footholds, but twenty feet up, there's
nothing. To keep going, Gabe has to wedge his fingers into
small cracks, supporting his weight only by several fingerholds
at any given moment.
ON THE LEDGE - TRAVERS AND QUALEN WITH RYAN
who holds the rope fastened to Gabe's ankle.
GABE ON THE WALL - CLOSE
He's moving up a sheer face. He has hit a section that barely
has any edges for him to insert his fingers. He pauses and
removes his necklace.
CUT TO - QUALEN AND HAL
QUALEN
What's he doing?
HAL
The best he can since you gave
him nothing.
CUT TO - GABE
He takes the charm, which is really a miniature ice axe, and
inserts it into a crack. Then wrapping the necklace around his
gloved hand, he pulls himself up with one hand to a secure
handhold.
Gabe keeps this hold with one hand and slides the other up,
hammering into a crack wedged with ice. Some of the ice chips
whistle past and down. Finally, Gabe gropes one hand over the
edge and pulls himself onto
THE CREST.
Exhausted, Gabe slumps prone across the top. He sees a case
wedged in a crack.
He goes to it.
It's battered from the fall, but still holding together. Gabe
manages to force open the trashed locks, he looks inside the
case, and fingers a band of $1000's.
GABE
Jesus.
ON THE LEDGE - TRAVERS AND QUALEN
look up. They can see Gabe has made it, but they can't see him
or the case.
TRAVERS
I don't trust him.
QUALEN
Kill him when he gets down.
Hal overhears the last statement and bolts forward screaming up
toward Gabe.
HAL
Don't come down, they're gonna
kill you! Don't come down!
Delmar rams Hal with his forearm against the back of Hal's
neck, levelling him.
TRAVERS
(shouting)
Pull the rope! Pull it!
ON THE CREST - GABE
Gabe is painfully being jerked onto his side and pulled to the
edge by the frayed rope that is still fastened around his
ankle.
ON THE LEDGE Travers and Qualen
TRAVERS
Pull, goddamn it!!
Gabe frantically claws at the ground as he desperately tries to
sever the rope. Nearly at the edge, he manages to brace one
foot against a rock as he wildly slashes at the rope with his
crampon.
The rope being pulled by Ryan and Kynette suddenly snaps down
on the men.
ON THE CREST
With the case, Gabe scrambles up the wall, towards the girder
of ice, From Travers' and Qualen's point of view, Gabe can
hardly be seen. Since the mountain bulges out as it goes up,
Gabe's got a slight edge of cover.
TRAVERS
(shouts to Heldon)
Shoot! What the hell are you
waiting for?
Heldon runs along the lower edge, FIRING up at
GABE
who has to flatten against the upper ledge. Bullets howl past
twenty per second, SPARKING against the lip of the rock. The
bullets chisel away at the ice above him. Gabe looks ominously
at the frozen overhang.
QUALEN
(holds a gun to Hal's
head)
Bring down the money or your
friend's dead!
TRAVERS
We can't and he knows it.
Frustrated, Qualen shoves Hal aside.
QUALEN
Get him!!
HELDON
Sees Gabe's cover is gone. Heldon's ledge is getting wider.
Heldon moves out to the ledge and continues to fire into the
ice.
THE ICE AND SNOW
emits a roar as it gives away, dropping an avalanche of White
Death.
GABE
drops the case and hugs the wall.
THE AVALANCHE - WIDE VIEW ON THE MOUNTAIN
Only now can we see how much snow and ice has been penned up on
the mountain top--tons of frozen fury sweeps down the
mountainside. It SHATTERS the case against the wall easily
sweeping a SCREAMING Heldon off the ledge.
TRAVERS, QUALEN AND HAL
are safe at their vantage, but stunned at the sight of the
avalanche. Heldon's machine gun FIRES uselessly as he's
swallowed in an explosion of white and a flurry of green as the
bills scatter amid the snow.
TRAVERS
stares at thirty plus million dollars worth of snow settling
far below.
Qualen grabs Hal by the throat.
QUALEN
Your friend just had the most
expensive funeral in history.
Now it's all you...
JESSIE
(V.O. )
Come in, Rescue Unit, over.
Rescue Unit, what's going on Hal?
Qualen presses his gun to Hal's temple.
QUALEN
Talk. No tricks, no codes, no
messages. You haven't found us.
It was a fake call.
HAL
(keys it)
Jessie, I reached the top of the
Tower. So far, no sign of
anyone. Looks like a phoney
call. Over.
INT. RANGER STATION
Jessie looks at Frank. It is still pouring down rain.
JESSIE
You gotta be kidding me! Do you
want me to fly up after you?
Over.
HAL
(O.S.)
Negative. The winds are too
high. I'm going to ride out the
storm here. I'll take shelter in
the Douglas Exhibition Shaft.
Over and out.
CUT TO:
TRAVERS
(pulls away the radio)
Have her come up.
HAL
The down drafts would wipe her
out. It's the only chopper. If
it goes, you got no ride out.
QUALEN
Let's go to the next case.
Delmar shoves Hal forward and the group moves out.
THE UPPER CREST
where Gabe was. Nothing is stirring. Then there is movement
ten feet from where Gabe was hugging the wall.
It's a crevice in the mountain, about two feet wide. A climber
would call this a "chimney", and it's packed with ice and snow.
It's also packed with
GABE.
His hand appears through the snow and he digs himself out,
gasping and coughing. Coated with snow, he leans against the
wall. Alive.
RANGER STATION - DAY
Jessie looks out as the rain splatters against the window. The
station's windspeed gauge is flying around so fast it looks
like it might take off.
JESSIE
(to Frank)
He said the Tower, but he's on
Comb Bluff? Frank, fly me to the
west valley, the winds are never
too bad there and it's only a
half hour climb to the Douglas
Shaft.
FRANK
I don't know.
JESSIE
If I don't meet up with them, you
can come and pick me up by
nightfall.
FRANK
Hal will have my head for this.
Jessie starts for the door.
JESSIE
And it's such a handsome head.
Please Frank, and I swear I'll
buy one of your paintings.
FRANK
(follows)
I admit, I can be bought.
EXT. MOUNTAIN - WOODED AREA
Travers, Qualen, Hal and gang are crossing a small river in the
whipping snow.
Hal checks the monitor. The next blip is above, almost
straight up. Hal motions to the wooded area ahead.
HAL
On top of the peak.
TRAVERS
(suspicious)
It looks like a winding route.
QUALEN
Mr. Travers is not the athletic
type, he needs something more
direct.
HAL
The only faster way up is the
East Face and it's smooth as
glass. Maybe a dozen guys in the
world could do it in good
weather, only a psycho would try
it in a storm.
CLOSE SHOT - GABE'S FACE
is torn with pain. He's making the toughest climb of his life,
besides nearly being frozen to death in the snow storm.
WE PULL BACK and REVEAL a WALL that is as wide as it is high,
five thousand feet by five thousand feet, narrowing to a domed
peak at the summit. Worse, it's checkered with ice. Visible
on the massive wall is a small dot, moving two-thirds of the
way up.
Gabe holds himself steady with one hand, gets a foothold, and
lunges in a 'dyno' movement to another set of handholds and
swiftly continues on his way up.
EXT. CHOPPER - DAY
We see the chopper being buffeted by winds as it hovers over a
flat area in the west valley. Jessie is being lowered by a
winch. She reaches the ground and disconnects the harness,
waving she's okay.
CUT TO - FRANK IN CHOPPER
FRANK
Jessie, Jessie, copy?
INTERCUT:
JESSIE
I copy.
FRANK
Jessie, girl this is insane.
Weather stat called in wind gusts
up to 50 knots for tonight.
JESSIE
If you can't make it back, I'll
hold up at the Douglas Shaft.
Stop worryin'. You sound like a
mother hen.
FRANK
Rooster! Forget the hen stuff.
Be safe, honey. Over.
Frank banks the chopper out of there.
EXT. EAST FACE WIDE SHOT - DAY
The sheer wall of the East Face rises, seemingly forever into
the sky above.
Gabe is clearly exhausted and freezing. The wind and snow
threaten to throw him off the wall, but he forces himself on.
He is climbing up a huge, frozen waterfall.
GABE
(teeth chattering)
A steam bath...
(pulls himself up)
A steam bath, a bottle of Remy
Martin...keep going...
He climbs higher into a "chandelier" of hanging icicles. It's
an incredible formation, part of a
FROZEN GLACIER OVERHANG
a sheer overhang of ice, curling over the top of the East Face
waterfall.
Gabe climbs past the icicles up a sheet of pure ice.
GABE
A steam bath with a bottle of
Remy Martin, and a fire--now
what?
He slows to a stop, and the ice overhang curves out, away.
Gabe sticks his gloved hand into a stream of water. He reaches
out and grabs a huge icicle with his wet fist. The glove
freezes there instantly.
GABE
A steak soaked in Remy cooking
over a steam bath on fire!
Gabe wets the other glove, hauls himself up and goes for a
second handhold. The next glove freezes on another icicle.
Suddenly his feet slip off the wall and Gabe is left dangling
with a glove frozen into place. He tries to pull away to grab
a higher handhold but his hand slips out of the glove.
Gabe clings one-handed to the overhang, his face showing real
terror. His body swings wildly, held only by one gloved hand,
frozen overhead. His legs kick out to find some support,
smashing into HUGE ICICLES. They break off and fall away. His
naked hand stretches for the glove but can't reach it.
Gabe swings his spiked boot up to try for a "heel hold". His
foot smashes into the snowy ice atop the serac and holds!
Stabilized, he snatches the frozen glove from the icicle and
hauls himself up, over the lip, in the world's toughest sit-up!
GABE'S POV THROUGH THE DRIVING SNOW
A small shack with a sign commemorating the "Douglas Mine Shaft
1933".
INT. DOUGLAS SHAFT - DAY
Just a "point of interest" for tourists who have hiked up this
far, housing a mini-museum.
A pair of thundering kicks at the door and the lock shatters.
The light of day knifes into the otherwise dark, windowless
room comprised of old planks of knotted pine.
THE GORDON DOUGLAS DISPLAY
has black and white photos of the square-jawed 1930's climber
with his expedition. More important is what's beneath it.
Douglas' original climbing equipment: a coil of rope, some
pitons, a hat, a cloth backpack, small binoculars, a parka, and
other odds and ends.
Trembling badly, Gabe grabs a pick axe off the wall and
prepares to smash the glass. He hears movement in the shaft
area, an opening not more than ten feet away. Dust floats in
the strip of light that is emitted from the door. Gabe's eyes
tighten like an enraged animal.
SHAFT
From inside the shaft's entrance, Gabe's figure stealthily
approaches, the ice axe raised high, ready for the kill. He
moves into the darkness. Something tries to bolt away and he
lunges at it, furiously slamming the person against the wall.
A radio falls from the person and lets out a static death groan
as it shatters to the bottom of the shaft. Gabe's axe is
poised for the fatal blow.
JESSIE
No!!
Gabe pulls her forward into what little light there is and
stares into her terrified countenance.
JESSIE
Gabe!?
GABE
(crazed)
What are you doing here!?
JESSIE
(hyperventilating)
Looking for Hal. Oh my God, I
heard someone kick the door
open...you came back.
GABE
How'd you get up here?
JESSIE
Frank dropped me in the west
valley and I hiked. You look
frozen. What's happening?!
GABE
You got to go back now!
JESSIE
Where's Hal, what's going on?
Gabe heads to the display case.
GABE
The distress call was a fake. It
was a downed plane full of
thieves.
He shatters the three display cases and starts to remove the
old clothing, flares, gloves etc.
GABE
Before it crashed, they dumped
three cases filled with millions.
They're using Hal for a bird dog.
Once they find the money, Hal's
dead. So get on your radio,
contact Frank, have him pick you
up, then contact the state
police, the park police and
anything else wearing a badge and
tell them to get up here! Do it
Jessie.
JESSIE
I can't. The radio's at the
bottom of the shaft. But
Frank'll be looking for me soon.
When he gets here I'll contact
everybody from the chopper.
GABE
That's no good. It'll be dark
soon, there's no other shelter
for ten miles. If they show,
they'll take you too. Why'd you
have to come up here?!
JESSIE
For the same reason you did, to
help.
GABE
Yeah, let's go.
They exit.
EXT. CHOPPER PAD. DAY
Frank is standing beside the helicopter trying to raise Jessie
on the radio. Wind and rain whip against the chopper.
FRANK
Jessie! Jessie! Come in. I
can't take off.
There is no response.
EXT. THE TRAIL - SUNSET
Hal is leading Qualen, Travers and the others upward. This is
a comparatively difficult route. The wind makes it even harder
but fortunately the snow has stopped. The sun goes down beyond
a facing, taller mountain.
QUALEN
(eyes Travers)
Man against nature, right
Travers.
TRAVERS
What about it?
QUALEN
Down there you buy a life, up
here you earn it or die. How's
your health?
Travers takes out the tracer and pushes to the head of the
group.
TRAVERS
It's close, just up there.
EXT. ELSEWHERE ON THE SUMMIT - NIGHT - GABE AND JESSIE
spot a crater of snow and rush to it.
GABE
There it is. C'mon.
Even though the case is covered by snow, the tracer's blinking
red light is visible. Gabe and Jessie dig it out.
GABE
Let's be creative.
JESSIE
Excuse me?
NEARBY ON THE SUMMIT - TRAVERS
glances at the tracer monitor, which shows the case is nearby.
TRAVERS
This way.
QUALEN
Then go fetch.
Qualen shines a light. All of them push through the trees.
TRAVERS
is excited now. He can't even wait for Qualen's flashlight, he
races through the trees, dividing his attention between his
surroundings and
THE MONITOR
which shows he's practically on top of the case. Finally
TRAVERS
can see the blinking of the red tracer light ahead through the
branches.
TRAVERS
(calling behind)
Over here!
Travers shoves his way through the branches, and heads for the
light, but something's wrong. Qualen comes up behind Travers
and shines the light on:
A SNOWMAN
hastily constructed, stands with a five-pebble smile, as well
as Douglas' cap. The tracer, still blinking, is its nose. The
case is propped up against it. Travers runs to the case and
opens it: empty...written on a $1000 bill is "Wanna trade?"
TRAVERS
(incredulous)
He's alive!
QUALEN
(to the others)
He can't be far away. Find him.
Go!
Qualen, Kynette, Delmar and Kristel fan out, each with a
flashlight and a gun. Ryan straps on the nightfinder goggles.
RANGER STATION - NIGHT
Frank works the microphone.
JESSIE
Jessie, come in Jessie! Damn,
somebody pick up.
ELSEWHERE ON THE SUMMIT - GABE AND JESSIE
watch the chaos from an elevated vantage point. They can see
the flashlight beams, all headed in the wrong direction.
GABE
They've got to find shelter soon,
and so do we. How are you
holding up?
JESSIE
You know me, I'm a night person.
Gabe doesn't see:
RYAN - "NIGHTFINDER" POV
with these goggles, light is amplified a thousandfold. Even
starlight is enough for Ryan to run easily through the thick
woods, and he's going in the right direction.
GABE AND JESSIE
begin climbing down to level ground so they can circle close to
where Travers is holding Hal.
"NIGHTFINDER" POV - RYAN
looks up, and sees Gabe and Jessie climbing down the small
rock, fifty yards distant. Ryan smiles, looking macabre under
the goggles, and opens fire.
GABE AND JESSIE
react as the bullets impact inches over their heads. They jump
the last ten feet and are running even as they hit the ground.
More bullets hit where Gabe and Jessie were a split second ago.
Ryan chases them, easily manoeuvering through the trees.
ELSEWHERE ON THE SUMMIT
Kristel, Qualen, Delmar and Kynette, having heard the gunshots,
turn and run toward them. Travers smiles at Hal's fearful
reaction.
RYAN
is closing the gap, Gabe and Jessie's bright forms just ahead.
They burst out of the trees and find all that's beneath them is
GABE AND JESSIE'S POV
A sudden, sloping plunge down a field of ice. No escape here.
Anything that goes down this slide is going all the way to the
ground far below.
A fresh burst of bullets forces them to dive behind a boulder,
the sole source of cover.
GABE
This way.
RYAN
emerges from the woods. He can see there is nowhere for them
to have gone except behind the boulder. He walks toward it as
if he had all the time in the world.
GABE
Give me a flare!
Jessie fumbles in her backpack and pulls out a flare.
GABE
Take off and meet me at Eagle
Cave.
JESSIE
What about you?
GABE
Don't worry about me, just go.
Gabe ignites the flare and heaves it over the boulder at Ryan.
RYAN - "NIGHTFINDER" POV - THE FLARE
arcs over the boulder to fully ignite, turning everything into
an agonizing flash of white.
RYAN
SCREAMS, blinded as he tries to rip the goggles off.
GABE
Go!
Jessie takes off.
Gabe bolts out from behind the boulder and rushes him. Ryan
shoots blind, fanning out in a semi-circle as he gets the
goggles off.
Gabe charges straight for Ryan, just getting to him before the
machine gun's field of fire can intersect his path. He tackles
him.
The machine gun CLATTERS away, landing on the edge of the ice,
just out of reach. Ryan recovers from the blinding flash,
pulls an ice axe out of a pack sheath and swings it at Gabe.
Gabe rolls away and gets to the machine gun, grabbing it--but
Ryan dives for Gabe, slamming into him--the force of it knocks
the machine gun loose--it skips down the ice slope. The
momentum of Ryan's hit also carries both Gabe and Ryan over the
edge, onto--
THE ICE SLOPE
Gabe and Ryan both start sliding down, Gabe face first on his
stomach, Ryan on Gabe's back. Both are in immediate agony,
because
GABE'S POV - THE ICE FIELD
The edge and a 5,000 foot drop are a hundred yards away.
GABE AND RYAN SLIDING
Gabe flails as the ice gashes him from underneath. He manages
to flip over on top of Ryan and ride him down like a bobsled.
Gabe frantically reaches behind to get the ice axe, trailing
from a wrist strap, but Ryan's arm is thrashing away,
threatening to toss off the axe.
ON SUMMIT
Hal, Qualen, Travers, Kristel, Delmar and Kynette arrive at the
lip. Qualen snatches up the nightfinder goggles and sees...
QUALEN'S "NIGHTFINDER" POV
Gabe and Ryan accelerating, have almost reached the edge. Gabe
grabs the ice axe, ripping it off Ryan's wrist just as they
reach the precipice edge. Gabe swings it toward the ice with
everything he's got. The axe's scythe-like blade catches on
the ice, right at the lip of the precipice. Gabe is wrenched
to a painful halt, suspended over the drop, as Ryan shoots over
the edge. Gabe unhooks the axe and climbs down to a narrow
ledge and disappears into the darkness.
HAL, QUALEN, KRISTEL, KYNETTE, DELMAR AND TRAVERS
Qualen shines his flashlight below, illuminating the long,
frozen streak of blood on the ice.
KYNETTE
That's it, man! Fuck the money
and fuck you if you wanna keep
looking for it. I wasn't born to
die on no motherfucking mountain!
KRISTEL
We have to keep going!
QUALEN
(to Kynette)
She's more a man than you are.
(to Hal)
Find us some shelter.
(back to Kynette)
You can come with us or you can
go and freeze to death.
Delmar shoves Hal forward and they disappear into the darkness.
Kynette follows.
EXT. TENT - NIGHT
The winds howl against the green nylon portable tent.
INT. TENT - NIGHT
Brett and Evan sit inside eating candy bars.
EVAN
"It's a perfect day for a monster
jump." Hey man, can you like do
me a favor?
BRETT
What?
EVAN
Next time you're like watching
MTV, y' know, like flip it to the
weather channel for a split
second and check it out. I mean,
hey, we could be home watching
some righteous pornos.
BRETT
That woulda been cool.
EVAN
Exactly, cheesehead, exactly.
INT. DOUGLAS SHAFT EXHIBIT
Qualen, Travers, Kynette, Delmar and Kristel follow Hal into
the cabin. Their flashlights streak through the gloom.
QUALEN
We'll stay here until sunrise.
(to Hal)
You, start a fire.
Travers stands at the shattered glass display cases.
TRAVERS
(to Hal)
He was here. What was in there?
No response.
Delmar gives Hal a nudge in the kidneys.
DELMAR
Answer the man.
HAL
Nothing, just tourist souvenirs.
QUALEN
Souvenirs? No, wrong answer.
Looks like your friend plans on
hanging around, that possible?
HAL
No, he's gone.
QUALEN
No, he's close, and he's using
our money to keep you alive.
Nobody's worth that much on the
open market.
(to Kristel)
Except you, the loyal one.
(to Hal)
Didn't I tell you to warm the
place up?
INT. THE CAVE - CLOSE ON GABE AND JESSIE
We can see from the flickering shadows that a small fire is now
burning in the cave. We pull back to see
THE FIRE
which is built out of bundles of $1000 bills. It's safe to say
that something like $500,000 is going up in smoke. Gabe takes
a fresh bundle of notes and tosses them on the flames.
GABE
Man, it costs a fortune to heat
this place.
JESSIE
I'm glad you find humor in this.
(gestures at the money)
Do you know what people would do
for that?
GABE
I can't believe you just said
that.
JESSIE
Neither can I. What do you think
they're doing now?
GABE
Making things real rough for Hal.
Jessie looks at the necklace around Gabe's neck.
JESSIE
You still wear the cable necklace
I gave you.
GABE
(nods)
Call me sentimental.
JESSIE
Remember the first time we came
up here?
GABE
Of course I do.
JESSIE
It was great.
GABE
You attacked me.
JESSIE
Can you think of something more
romantic than attacked?
GABE
Only kidding...actually I
attacked you.
JESSIE
No, actually it was more like
mutual attacking.
They laugh wearily.
JESSIE
Why can't things stay the way
they are...everything has to
change. What we had was perfect.
GABE
I don't know. Here, lay down and
get some rest. We're going to
need it.
Gabe lays back and Jessie slides up next to him.
JESSIE
Gabe...your arm?
GABE
Yeah?
JESSIE
If you're not using your arm, can
I borrow it?
GABE
(smiles)
Sure, just give it back when
you're done.
Jessie curls into his arms as the fire's dying flames dance
delicately across their open and thoughtful expressions.
EXT. WIDE MOUNTAIN VIEW - DAWN
The first rays of sun poke through the mountains. The storm
seems to be letting up.
INT. RANGER STATION - DAWN
Frank is slumped over the radio. He obviously hasn't slept.
His attention is fixed out the window, on the windspeed gauge:
the winds are slowing.
FRANK
Gabe, Hal, Jessie...do you read!
Again, do you read. Come in!
What the hell's going on up
there?
EXT. WOODED AREA - DAY
Travers turns down the volume button.
QUALEN
Jessie? Looks like your friend
found company.
TRAVERS
We're down to a few hours before
the whole world shows up here.
(to Hal)
Where's the next one?
HAL
It's up there, on the Tower.
QUALEN
How far?
Travers grabs his hair.
TRAVERS
He asked you, how far?! I think
you've been taking the scenic
route. How far from here?
HAL
Half a day.
HAL'S POV - ON BRETT AND EVAN
ahead in the trees and rocks.
BRETT
Hey, Hal...it's Hal. Hey, man,
you jammed up here, too?
QUALEN
Walk over.
HAL
For Christ's sake, they're kids.
QUALEN
We're not animals, but don't
force us to be. Walk over.
Hal stiffly moves forward.
EVAN
Check it out. Was that storm a
severe bummer or what? We were
in tent city last night.
HAL
(dryly)
Yeah.
BRETT
We're gonna take one more jump
and split. Hal, you babysitting
lost hikers? What's up?
Evan and Brett start to move toward the group.
HAL
Run!
BRETT
What?
HAL
Run, goddamn it!
DELMAR pulls out his gun and Brett and Evan, shocked, take off
running.
Brett gets ten yards before Delmar mows him down with his
machine gun, riddling the kid with at least thirty rounds at
close range.
HAL
You son of a bitch! You said you
wouldn't kill him!
QUALEN
Sue me.
Hal goes to attack Qualen with a flailing fist.
Kristel clubs him with a pistol. An enraged Delmar kicks him
savagely in the mid-section.
Evan runs with Kynette and Travers in pursuit.
BELOW ON THE WALLSIDE
Gabe and Jessie, moving along the rock wall, react to the sound
of the gun-fire, then move on. The wall is relatively sheer,
but there are shelves cut in that make progress easier.
IN THE WOODS - EVAN
runs like his ass is on fire with Kynette and Travers still in
pursuit.
He tries to pull on his parachute and run at the same time.
It's not easy, but he succeeds in closing the first of the
three buckles. He continues running and weaving through the
trees. He sees the edge just ahead, and puts on an extra burst
of speed.
THE SPUR
is a rock formation that juts off like a diving board. Evan
runs like hell down it.
TRAVERS AND KYNETTE
emerge from out of the trees. They see Evan launching himself
off the edge.
GABE AND JESSIE
are several hundred feet below.
GABE
Don't pull it.
ON THE SPUR EDGE - TRAVERS
Tries to grab the rifle from Kynette.
TRAVERS
Shoot him.
Kynette tries to hit the falling target but misses.
EVAN
is falling, nearly two thousand feet.
GABE - WATCHING
GABE
A little more. Now!
EVAN
pulls the D-ring. The parachute billows open, inflating.
KYNETTE
sights down the rifle.
TRAVERS
Hit him! You're letting him get
away!
In a startling smooth movement, Travers rips the gun from
Kynette's grip and fires almost simultaneously.
CLOSE ON THE PARACHUTE
Bullet holes pierce the canopy.
EVAN
Exhilaration turns to panic as a bullet lodges in Evan's upper
back.
GABE AND JESSIE ON THE LEDGE
are powerless to do anything but watch.
JESSIE
Oh, God.
EVAN
struggles to maintain consciousness and control.
JESSIE
turns away. She can't watch any more.
EVAN
lands hard and collapses.
KYNETTE AND TRAVERS
Don't see Gabe or Jessie.
Hal is led over to the Spur with the other gang members behind
him.
QUALEN
Good, Travers. It might catch
on, like shooting skeet.
TRAVERS
You dumb bastard, you waited too
long. If he made it back, this
place would have been covered
with police in a few hours. The
way we're moving, it's going to
be anyway.
HAL
Murdering, motherfucker...
QUALEN
Kill a few people, they call you
a murderer. When you kill
millions, you're called a
conqueror. Go figure. Move on
Tucker, time is short.
ON THE LEDGE BELOW - CLOSE ON GABE
who is still shaking with fury.
He watches Hal and the gang being led away.
GABE
Can you keep going?
Jessie nods "yes" and they move out.
EXT. MOUNTAIN - ARIEL SHOT - DAY
Hal leads the gang through a buttress, a large, boulder
formation that lies between the mountain they've just come
from, and the nearest mountain to it, the Tower.
Hal and the rest of the expedition are totally exposed as they
climb in single file up to the top. The incline is angled so
that the climb amounts to an uphill run on all fours.
CLOSER ON HAL AND GANG
Hal leads the gang forward and keeps casting anxious glances
back at them, and beyond them.
QUALEN
Forget it. Your friend's smart,
not invisible.
Qualen is right. There's absolutely no way Gabe can come up
behind them without being seen.
LOWER DOWN ON BLUFF
where the bluff meets a tree-lined plain. Gabe and Jessie in
hiding, watch Hal and the others go up. They know they can't
follow them without being seen.
GABE
He's taking them the long way
around.
Moving closer to the bluff's base, Gabe and Jessie shove
through a screen of brush to the beginning of
THE CRACK.
A crevice runs the entire length and breadth of the bluff.
Gabe pulls out his ancient binoculars and scans the crack.
GABE'S POV - THE CRACK
Picture a mine shaft designed by a madman. The crack moves
upward, then erratically to the side, then straight up again.
The width of the crack is uneven, ranging from six inches to
six feet. And that's just how it looks on the outside.
Gabe turns the binoculars to the inside of the crack. It looks
as if the crack goes all the way through the bluff. On this
route, Gabe can tunnel the mountain instead of going up the
side.
GABE
We have to get through to the
other side. You up for it?
JESSIE
I've gone this far, and right now
I think I'm in better shape than
you.
GABE
A simple yes or no would have
done.
JESSIE
Want me to lead?
GABE
Cute.
EXT. TOP OF THE BLUFF - DAY
A vista. From this point you can see everything else in the
mountain range. The only thing that's taller is the Tower.
Between the two mountains lies a drop of a mere four thousand
feet.
QUALEN
You said there was a way across.
HAL
There is.
TRAVERS
Then where the fuck is!
HAL
There. You blind?
Travers tenses, then turns to where the sides of the two
mountains converge. At one point, they're only about fifteen
feet apart. It's here that a rope and timber bridge spans the
drop.
TRAVERS
This is insane. The hell with
the money. You radio in for that
chopper, understand!
QUALEN
Hey, you dealt us this hand,
we're playing it all the way.
Move.
INT. THE CRACK - CLOSE ON GABE'S FACE
Gabe is holding a flashlight while sweating and straining in
the dark. The light reveals there's about two inches of
clearance between his chest and the rock, and about the same
between his back and the rock.
GABE
Nice view, huh?
JESSIE
Breathtaking.
There is no light inside, not even above, because the crack
doesn't go straight, it zig-zags up. Gabe and Jessie are well
within the mountain rock. Nothing could be closer to being
buried alive.
Gabe and Jessie snake through a spot where the crack goes
straight up. Gabe aims Jessie's flashlight upwards.
GABE'S POV
scores of bats hang on the wall, surrounding them, up and down,
left and right.
JESSIE'S FACE
is somewhere between nausea and the realization that she's made
a big mistake.
JESSIE
I really didn't need to see that.
Gabe cuts the light and slithers up through the dark.
EXT. RESCUE HELICOPTER - DAY
Frank is flying low and fast, over treetops and snow, nothing
but empty wilderness. A BUZZER goes off. Frank looks at an
infra-red screen mounted on the dash. The indicator reads
there is a body below.
Frank sends the copter into a tight roll, bringing it over a
clearing.
EXT. WOODS
The copter is down, rotors still turning as Frank runs into a
wooded area. Wolves are circling Evan's barely conscious body.
Frank pulls out his pistol and fires several shots. The wolves
flee.
FRANK
Go on -- get lost! Go on!!
TIGHT ON FRANK
as he looks at Evan who is barely hanging on to his life. He
rolls the young man over and sees the bullet wound.
Evan moans.
FRANK
(nearly breathless)
Hell, you've been shot. Hang on
boy, hang on...
He starts to lift the boy's body.
INT. BLUFF CRACK - DAY
Gabe and Jessie have a quick climbing rhythm now.
The passage starts to thin out. They grope up. The passage
narrows to the point that they can't get through it.
GABE
What was God thinking when he
built this place?
JESSIE
If we don't get out of here soon
we can ask him in person.
Gabe looks up to see if the crack has gotten wider. It hasn't.
GABE
Keep going this way.
The light aims up, no opening larger than a mail slot. Still
moving to the side, he gets the opening he wants, but not where
he wants it.
GABE
Oh, you beautiful rock...this
way.
The crack suddenly, drastically widens as he moves to the side.
Since he's been bracing his back against the wall, Gabe falls
out of control, twisting around, face down.
JESSIE
Gabe?!
Gabe bounces down the walls for several yards and catches
himself by bracing his arms and legs against the crack. As he
brakes himself, his flashlight shoots off into space. One more
foot and he would have gone soaring to his death.
JESSIE
Gabe! Are you alright?
GABE
(upside down)
No, not really. Throw down a
rope.
EXT. WOODS - DAY
The copter with Evan's covered body attached to a cradle on the
skid. Frank takes off, banking towards the ranger station.
EXT. BRIDGE
The bridge, narrow and dilapidated, is only wide enough for one
person at a time. Hal is half way across, swaying above the
massive drop, the wind whistling through the chasm.
HAL'S POV
Kristel waits on the other side of the bridge, a gun trained on
him.
QUALEN
(turns to Kynette)
The other one's following. Drop
back to the higher vantage point
and maybe you can drop in behind
and we'll have him flanked. If
you get to him, I know you'll
want to kill him, but get the
money first. Go.
INT. BUTTRESS CRACK
Gabe is face down, arms and legs pressing against the five-foot
gap of the tunnel walls. Carefully, he takes one hand off the
wall, gets out his lighter with the other, and ignites it for
a look.
GABE' S POV - UPWARD
Just as the crack has widened below him, it's widened above
him. More important, it slants at an easy enough angle to
allow him to walk up. A rope is tied around his shoulder.
He braces himself with one leg and one arm until he has his
hands on the curved edge where the crack snakes into a sideways
passage.
JESSIE
Can you see light?
GABE
Up ahead.
OVERHEAD ANGLE - THE CRACK
Gabe takes a deep breath, readies himself, and shoves himself
away from the wall with his arms, pushes himself into a squat
against the opposite wall, hanging for a second with no support
at all, then springs from that wall into the diagonal passage.
Gabe lands hard but flat on the passage and starts backsliding,
but he digs in with his boots and hands and starts heading up.
JESSIE
Gabe are you alright?
GABE
For the record, whenever you hear
me sliding out of control, I'm
never alright. When I secure the
line, come on up.
CUT TO - TREASURY CHOPPER - DAY
Wright, Davis, and a local FAA Agent are airborn across the
Rockies. Wright takes off his headset and turns to Davis.
WRIGHT
An FAA satellite has located a
downed aircraft.
(to pilot)
Head one hundred and ten miles
south, southwest of the park
entrance.
EXT. BUTTRESS TOP
Kynette lies flat, staring down.
KYNETTE'S POV - ON THE BUTTRESS SIDE:
No one is in sight. He hears a noise behind him and spins
around. The opening to the crack is right there on the top of
the mountain.
INT./EXT. MOUNTAIN CRACK
Gabe climbs out of the crack, securing the rope, and leans down
to call to Jessie.
GABE
Come on up.
Jessie, tired, starts her ascent.
EXT. CRACK - DAY
Gabe is looking around the horizon, setting down his ice axe.
He stares back into the crack's gloom.
Kynette looms over him, his gun aimed down. Gabe looks up,
totally caught cold.
KYNETTE
(aims barrel)
Look here, the mountain man.
You're Walker, right?
GABE
Good memory. You must be great
with numbers.
KYNETTE
Your mouth's writing a check your
ass can't cash, but if ya wanna
buy some life, bring me the
money.
GABE
I burned it.
KYNETTE
(hard)
What the fuck you mean you burned
it?
GABE
Never could save a thing.
KYNETTE
Now you get burned.
JESSIE
(O.S.)
Gabe?
Gabe takes the split second that Kynette pauses when he hears
Jessie's voice and dives head first into the crack. Kynette's
bullets rip up the ground where Gabe was just standing.
IN THE CRACK - JESSIE'S POV
GABE
Rappel! Rappel!
Gabe is sliding head first down the rope until he manages to
right himself.
CUT TO - JESSIE
She is rappeling as fast as she can.
Gabe reaches the end of the rope thirty feet down, as the
vertical passage again becomes diagonal. Jessie is waiting as
Kynette reaches the edge of the crack and FIRES down at Gabe
and Jessie. Bullets RICOCHET all over.
Gabe throws himself over Jessie, shielding her.
GABE
Still glad I came back?!
EXT. CRACK - DAY
Kynette looks down the crack as his radio comes to life.
QUALEN
(V.O.)
Kynette, what's happening?
KYNETTE
The bastard got lucky.
QUALEN
(V.O.)
Make him unlucky!
(into microphone)
Kristel, get me the C-4.
EXT. BRIDGE - TOWER SIDE
Kristel standing with Travers, Delmar and Hal.
HAL
C-4?
DELMAR
More bang for the buck.
INT. CRACK
Kynette slides down the rope and enters the blackness of the
crack. His weapon poised for action, he stalks his prey.
Suddenly Gabe lunges out of the dark and attacks Kynette from
the rear. The machine gun goes flying. Kynette rolls to his
feet and smashes Gabe with a shattering punch.
Jessie can only look helplessly on as Kynette slashes at Gabe
with a knife. The crack is getting wider. Kynette powers into
Gabe with another bone shattering punch. Gabe flies back
several feet managing to straddle the crack walls. Overhead
are jagged stalagtites that hang like an entrance to the jaws
of hell.
Kynette moves in for the kill. He swings down with the knife,
the blade hissing in the gloom. Jessie pulls off her belt that
comes equipped with a rather large buckle. Kynette has Gabe
cornered and draws back the knife for the kill.
KYNETTE
Who's the man now?!
As he thrusts forward, Jessie's belt buckle bashes with
shocking force against the side of Kynette's face. Gabe uses
this split second of great fortune to lunge at Kynette and
seizes his knife hand. Gabe drives home a half-dozen painful
punches that force the knife loose from Kynette's hand. In one
powerful moment Gabe drops down, wraps his arms firmly around
Kynette and swings upwards driving a stalagtite deep into
Kynette's upper back. Gabe slumps in exhaustion. He picks up
Kynette's machine gun and checks the clip -- empty. He pulls
his bolt gun off Kynette's back.
GABE
Let's move.
EXT. CRACK - DAY
Up above, Qualen FIRES a burst straight down into the crack.
Kristel arrives with the C-4.
QUALEN
Start to rig it.
INT. CRACK
Gabe and Jessie move laterally through the crack, flattening
themselves against the walls as the bullets ricochet past. The
echoing sound of a radio is heard.
FRANK
(V.O.)
Jessie, Hal, come in...please
report. Over.
JESSIE
Where's the radio?
Gabe moves off in search of the radio.
FRANK
(V.O.)
Hal, Jessie...please if you hear
this, please report in. Over.
EXT. CRACK - DAY
Qualen and Kristel are still at the edge of the crack. Kristel
has placed detonators on the side of the C-4 explosives.
KRISTEL
Ready.
She hands them to Qualen who bends down to place them just
inside the crack.
QUALEN
Perfect. You'll make somebody a
great wife.
INT. CRACK - DAY
Gabe is near Kynette's body. He jams his hand in a crack on
the rock floor.
FRANK
(V.O.)
Hal, Jessie...report in
...please!
GABE
C'mon, stretch!
He strains to reach his hand down to the unreachable radio.
GABE
One inch more!
EXT. RESCUE STATION - CHOPPER PAD
As Frank transmits from the landed chopper, an ambulance pulls
away. A police car stands by.
Gabe still strains to reach the radio.
FRANK
Jessie, I don't know if you can
read this, but all hell is
heating up. We found Evan. He's
been shot, but he's alive. He's
going to the hospital right now.
Do you read? Over.
INT. CRACK
FRANK
(V.O.)
Do you copy? Over.
GABE
Damn!
Jessie stands behind.
JESSIE
No luck?
GABE
Next time, date only basketball
players.
KRISTEL
(V.O.)
Help me. Please help us.
FRANK
(V.O.)
I copy you. Where are you?
Over.
JESSIE
Oh, no!
KRISTEL
(V.O.)
I'm near a rock formation
opposite a crack in the wall.
GABE
She's a lyin' bitch!!
JESSIE
Get it!
Gabe shoves his hand so deeply into the crevice to reach the
radio, his arm appears to be on the verge of ripping out of its
socket.
GABE
I can't!
FRANK
(V.O.)
I think I know where you are.
Hang on.
GABE
I can't get it!!
(He pulls his arm out)
JESSIE
They'll kill him! He has no
idea!
GABE
We gotta get out and fire a
flare. It's the only chance!
They take off.
Just past their feet we see a subtle movement from Kynette.
EXT. BRIDGE - TOWER SIDE - DAY
Qualen and Kristel scramble across the rope and timber bridge
to where Hal, Travers and Delmar are waiting.
QUALEN
They're still alive...
Travers uses Hal's axe to take a couple of heavy swings at the
bolts which tie the bridge to the rock. Qualen grabs his arms
before he can take a third swing.
QUALEN
(looking at watch)
...for another four minutes.
TOP OF CRACK
Push in on a HOLE punched in the snow along the crack's top
near the edge. Shoved inside is a packet of plastique--the
detonator LED races down -- 3:01 -- 3:00 -- 2:59 --
EXT. TOWER FACE - DAY
Qualen gestures toward the mountain with the radio.
TRAVERS
Is it set?
QUALEN
Primed to go off right over his
head, officer.
Hal explodes! He throws himself at Qualen, grabbing for the
radio.
HAL
There's a bomb right over you--
three minutes...
INT. CRACK - DAY
Gabe and Jessie turn towards the unreachable radio.
Hal is being pounded on by Delmar who rips the radio from his
hand.
HAL
(V.O.)
Get out of there! Get--
CUT TO: TOWER FACE
DELMAR
Let me do the job.
QUALEN
Soon.
INT. CRACK
Gabe leads Jessie horizontally through the crack, fast and
furious.
JESSIE
(pointing)
We might be able to go that way.
GABE
Forget it. If that charge goes
off before we can reach it, this
whole damn crevice will slam shut
on us. This way.
They scramble along a single ledge as the crack narrows.
TOWER FACE
Everyone is staring at the wall. Qualen looks at his watch:
the second hand sweeps around.
TRAVERS
Why the hell are we wasting time
here?!
QUALEN
Insurance against him finding
that last case ahead of us.
He looks at Hal who has murder in his eyes.
QUALEN
He wants to kill me. Pick a
number and wait your turn.
GABE AND JESSIE ON THE WALL
Gabe takes the bolt gun from his belt and fires in a shaft of
metal and rigs a carabiner.
CUT TO
Timer reading: 2:42
GABE AND JESSIE
Gabe rapidly scans the rock below. All smooth. He sees a lip
ninety feet below, leading into the wall: a cave. Gabe turns
back to Jessie and flips the rope off his shoulder.
GABE
Pull it apart!
JESSIE
What?
GABE
Start pulling it apart! We're
climbing down on it.
JESSIE
This rope is sixty years old!
GABE
These old ropes can hold 900
lbs., each strand 300. I'm 190,
you're about 135 -- it just may
hold.
JESSIE
Never
GABE
Never, what?!
JESSIE
I've never weighed 135 lbs.!
GABE
Helluva time for vanity!
HELICOPTER - MOVING OVER MOUNTAINS
Frank is in the air, heading out toward the range.
TOWER FACE
Qualen smiles.
QUALEN
Here comes our limo.
Delmar grabs Hal. They all scramble out of sight.
INSERT - THE BOMB
The timer has about two minutes left -- 1:59 -- 1:58 --
GABE AND JESSIE - AT CRACK'S EDGE
They are furiously unravelling the rope.
GABE
Almost have it.
EXT. HELICOPTER - FLYING OVER THE MOUNTAINS
Frank is practically at the buttress and the facing Tower.
KRISTEL
(V.O.)
I can hear you. Hurry.
FRANK
(into radio)
I see your flare. I have visual
bearin'. I'm comin' in. Over.
GABE AND JESSIE - AT THE CRACK'S EDGE
Gabe and Jessie have unravelled the rope fiber. It's three
different strands wound together. Gabe sees the chopper and
shoots off a flare. The chopper flies overhead and past.
JESSIE
(frantically)
Frank! No, Frank! Frank!
GABE
(hands Jessie rope)
Jess, c'mon...
Gabe ties the rope to the carabiner.
He takes the line and lets it drop. Ninety feet of what looks
like twine.
GABE
C'mon, it's the only chance.
Jessie's clearly not convinced, but there's no choice. She
starts to rappel down, Gabe close behind.
INSERT - THE BOMB
is ready to blow -- 0:42 -- 0:41 --
INT. CRACK
Bloody and dying, Kynette musters all his strength and rises.
JESSIE AND GABE - RAPPELLING DOWN
have to swing over to the side about fifteen feet to get to the
cave. It means a pendulum type swing that puts even more
pressure on the rope. The fibers begin to fray and snap. They
swing down lower, twenty feet to the cave, four thousand to the
ground. Fibers snap at an alarming rate.
INSERT - THE BOMB
- 0:34 -- 0:33 --
KYNETTE
Emerges from the crack, knife in hand.
JESSIE AND GABE - RAPPELLING
They reach the end of the rope, six feet above the cave and
fifteen feet away laterally.
GABE
(shouting)
Swing and drop!
They start the swing. As they get over the cave's lip, Kynette
grabs the rope and cuts it. Jessie and Gabe, still clinging to
the rope, fall onto the cave's narrow lip. Gabe lands, but
Jessie tumbles over the edge! She loses her grip and drops.
JESSIE
Gabe!
GABE
Hold on! Hold on! Reach up!
Jessie reaches up with the other hand.
JESSIE
I can't...I can't.
Gabe's hand flashes out. He's got a tenuous grip on her
forearm. Jessie swings like a pendulum over the abyss. With
each swing her hand slips further down Gabe's arm, their grip
slides to wrist level. Gabe's hand digs into Jessie's glove
and holds.
JESSIE
Oh, God...please, oh God!
FLASHBACK - GABE'S POV
Sarah's hand slides out of her glove. He hears the exact same
dialogue. She falls...her eyes still locked on...
BACK TO: GABE
GABE
Reach up! Do it!
JESSIE
Don't let me fall!
GABE
Do it, goddammit!
His left hand finds a grip on a ledge. Pulling with all her
strength, Jessie starts to reach up with her free hand. He
inches up to her shoulder, bicep, forearm and finally grabs her
wrist.
Gabe pulls her to safety.
THE BOMB -- 0:04 -- 0:03 --
GABE AND JESSIE
throw themselves across the cave's narrow lip.
ABOVE ON THE WALL
the bomb detonates, raining debris and triggering a massive
rock slide.
KYNETTE
turns. A storm of rock sweeps him to his death.
JESSIE AND GABE
as the rockslide tumbles past. Safe, for now.
JESSIE
Thanks for holding on.
GABE
(standing)
We were going together before I
ever let go of you.
JESSIE
I'm holding you to that.
(pause)
Gabe, what about Frank?
GABE
I don't know. I don't know.
THE HELICOPTER - OVER THE TOWER
Frank sees Kristel in a clearing, face down in the snow, and
banks down.
EXT. CLEARING
Frank, running, carrying a first aid kit, pauses at the sound
of the explosion.
FRANK
What the hell?
He resumes running. He arrives at Kristel. He turns her over
and breaks a capsule over her nose.
KRISTEL
Welcome.
FRANK
What's happening here?! Where's
the rest of the group?
Delmar steps out from his hiding spot.
DELMAR
Here.
FRANK
What're you doing? I came here
to help you all.
DELMAR
You did.
Delmar fires. The fusillade blasts into Frank. Delmar keeps
firing. Frank staggers to the ground. Silence.
CUT TO: TOWER FACE
Hal has viewed this with Qualen's pistol to his head.
HAL
He never hurt anybody.
QUALEN
I'm touched. Kristel, check the
chopper, let's go.
Hal rises and they move off.
EXT. MOUNTAIN - GABE AND JESSIE
They are moving swiftly down a steep rock path.
GABE
Crockett River is where the last
of the money fell.
JESSIE
If we go along the northern
ridge, we can get there first.
GABE
There's no "we". There's a me.
All I have to do is make it along
the north wall to Bitker Ladder.
What you're doing is going back
down to the station to get help.
And don't put on that mad face.
JESSIE
Forget it. You're in no shape to
climb alone.
I stayed with you this far, and
you didn't drop me, so I owe you.
C'mon, let's go. Hurry up, time
is money.
GABE
"Time is money" -- please.
EXT. THE TOWER - INCLUDE RESCUE COPTER
Travers comes over, with Hal and Delmar in tow. Kristel
follows.
TRAVERS
We'll use the copter to locate
the third case and get out of
here.
KRISTEL
There's not enough fuel to search
around. Just enough to get us
down.
QUALEN
Travers, you're not running
things.
HAL
(to Travers)
When he finds the money, you're
as dead as me.
Travers glares at Qualen.
QUALEN
Give me the monitor. Now!
Travers, strangely nonchalant, hands it to Qualen.
Qualen looks to the screen, which reveals the locale of case
three.
CLOSE - THE MONITOR
suddenly goes completely blank.
QUALEN
What's the code, Travers?
TRAVERS
I told you, 50,000 possible
keycode combinations, in fifteen
second intervals.
QUALEN
(roars)
Give me the fucking code!
Travers pulls a pistol from behind his back.
QUALEN
Look what you found. What was
your idea? To use the chopper to
find the money? Good idea, but
without a pilot, nobody gets off
this mountain.
Qualen grabs Kristel and pulls her in front of him as a shield.
KRISTEL
What're you doing?
QUALEN
(to Kristel)
You know what I think love is
Kristel? The mistake that one
woman thinks she is different
from all the others.
TWO SHOTS ring out.
Blood blossoms across Kristel's chest. Shock and sadness on
her face.
Qualen lets go of her.
Dead, she slumps to the ground.
Revealing Qualen's smoking pistol.
QUALEN
Now, I'm the only one who can fly
us out of here. Partners again?
(low simmer)
Take your toy and get our money.
Travers, Delmar and especially Hal are shocked by Kristel's
murder.
QUALEN
(to Delmar)
Radio when you find it. I'm
waiting here.
EXT. BRIDGE
Gabe and Jessie work their way up a steep slope, up to the rope
and timber bridge that spans the chasm. Gabe is several paces
ahead when he steps onto the bridge. A snapping sound from the
bolts freezes him.
GABE
Get back!
Jessie has just stepped onto the bridge. She jumps back.
The last bolt forced to take all the strain breaks free.
The bridge collapses, swinging down, spilling wooden slats and
debris into the chasm. The rope and timber completely unravel.
Gabe jumps off the disintegrating bridge onto the
ROCK SPUR.
Jessie grabs him, steadying him.
GABE
Doesn't anything last?!
Jessie turns, looking around, as if somewhere she'll see a
solution.
JESSIE
My heart can't take much more of
this. Look, if we climb down
from here, it'll take two hours
to get back to the station.
GABE
That's exactly what I want you to
do.
JESSIE
What about you?
He turns around, pointing across the chasm.
GABE
What do you think? Maybe I could
reach the ledge without falling.
No, forget it.
JESSIE
Oh, good. For a minute I thought
you'd lost your mind.
GABE
points to a series of tiny outcroppings just below where the
bridge was anchored.
GABE
But maybe with a good start I can
hit those hand-holds.
JESSIE
Hand-holds?! I can barely see
them.
GABE
We don't have time to argue about
it!
JESSIE
Are you crazy? Has the altitude
shrunk your brain, Gabe?
GABE
(overriding)
Take the rope.
JESSIE
I won't do it. No way.
GABE
(overriding)
Take the rope.
JESSIE
Enough's enough. How could
anybody in their right mind...
then again, you never were in
your right mind.
GABE
Wrap it around that rock twice.
JESSIE
I'm going to wrap it around your
throat!
GABE
An' if I miss, dig in and try
your best to slow the fall.
JESSIE
Forget it! I refuse!
GABE
Fine, it shouldn't bother your
conscience.
JESSIE
Don't lay any guilt on me.
Suicide's a personal thing, best
done alone.
She turns and goes. Gabe doesn't look after her. He backs up,
all of his senses are focused on the gap and the hand-holds
beyond it. Push in on his face...a moment of meditation as he
centers himself.
JESSIE
Please, Gabe, this is insane.
(to herself)
Please don't do this. I can't
watch this. I can't.
She starts to quickly wrap the rope twice around a thin
outcropped rock.
JESSIE
Y' know, you're not brave, you
just have no common sense. None!
Then he's off! A few powerful strides and he leaps!
ACROSS THE GAP
Nothing but air for four thousand feet. His whole body would
like a spring, the wind rushing past. His arms firing out,
reaching
THE ROCK
racing to meet us. His hands stretching...stretching...his
fingers touching! Sliding down the rock, gripping the hand-
holds. Gabe, like a fly on the wall, hangs by nothing more
than his fingernails.
JESSIE is determined not to turn and look. Suddenly, a scream!
JESSIE
Gabe!
She slowly turns and sees Gabe standing on the opposite ledge.
GABE
Just kidding.
JESSIE
Gabe? Wait 'til I get over
there. Tie the rope so I can
come across.
GABE
Can't do it. Now go back and get
help!
He lets the rope fall and runs off.
JESSIE
Gabe, you bastard! Be careful!
EXT. COMB BLUFF - JET STAR CRASH SITE - DAY
What's left of the Jet Star has been located. Several dozen
Treasury and FAA agents sift through the wreckage, taking
photos and putting pieces into bags for analysis. Many bags.
Many small bags. We move to one bag in particular. Above an
FBI chopper hovers.
CLOSE ON BODY BAG
as the zipper is pulled down. Before we can see anything, we
mercifully reverse POV.
WRIGHT AND DAVIS
are near a helicopter, with STUART, the overbearing FAA
forensics expert.
A SEARCH PILOT zips the bag back up.
STUART
We found I.D. on the dead pilot.
He was known to be in the company
of Qualen. We have to assume
this was his jet.
WRIGHT
Unless you find additional
wreckage, we have to assume the
treasury jet was successfully
hijacked.
STUART
You assume right.
WRIGHT
Son of a bitch. Travers had to
have masterminded the whole
goddamn thing. So much for
having total faith in somebody.
Never again. Never. There's
still a chance they didn't pull
it off.
How do you explain the sudden
drop from the radar screen? I
want every able man up here until
this whole range has been turned
upside down!
DAVIS
I'm on it.
EXT. MOUNTAIN WALL - GABE MOVING ON A LEDGE
that's extremely narrow. It's got irregular breaks, causing it
to go up or down several feet, and Gabe is jogging it, leaping
across the ledge's gaps, leaning toward the wall and away from
the four thousand foot drop.
He makes the last jump to a section of ledge near the bottom of
THE "BITKER" LADDER
A prominent sign reads "Property of the Bitker Mining Company."
The ladder consists of metal rungs woven into loose steel cable
bolted into the rock, running two hundred feet to the top,
something left here by a past expedition, now a tourist's toy.
The bottom rung is three feet above Gabe's outstretched arms.
GABE
(coiling for jump)
Bitker you cheap bastard.
Couldn't you afford three more
feet?!
Gabe leaps up, grabbing the bottom rung instead of a half mile
of air, and he shoots up the ladder as we PULL BACK.
WIDER ANGLE ON MOUNTAIN WALL
A closer look at terrain seen earlier.
As we track Gabe up the ladder, we can see a lake on top of the
mountain. Constant motion keeps it from totally freezing, but
it is still coated with a solid sheet of ice.
ELSEWHERE ON MOUNTAIN SLOPE - HAL
leads the others down the grade, we can see from their relative
position to the lake that Gabe has a lead on them. A very
slight one.
TOP OF LADDER - GABE
pulls himself over and starts running into a
ROCKY AREA
where he spots the third case. It took a tough landing on a
rock. It's shattered into halves, and the bands of bank notes
are scattered around in the snow.
Gabe rushes down behind a rock and starts gathering the cash.
Soaked by the snow, they've nearly frozen into ice bricks.
Something catches his eye. Several feet away he sees rabbit
tracks leading into a very prominent rabbit hole.
EXT. FURTHER UP ON SLOPE - HAL
and the other two crest a rise. Unaccustomed to the altitude
and the exercise, Travers and Delmar are fading. They stop,
catching their breath.
TRAVERS
checks the monitor. Anxiety washes across his face. The
relative position shows they're...
TRAVERS
Almost there. Alright, I've got
it locked in.
DELMAR
(motions to Hal)
Then you're done with him.
Delmar walks over to check the monitor.
TRAVERS
(nods)
Yes, and do it quietly. Your
insane boss just made enough
noise for anyone within ten miles
to hear us.
Travers studies the monitor and moves away.
HAL AND DELMAR
DELMAR
(pointing at Hal)
Ready to die quiet-like, asshole.
HAL
Hey, let's get something
straight.
If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die,
but you're always gonna be the
asshole, so just shoot, alright.
DELMAR
Who's shooting?
Delmar rears back and slams his head against Hal's forehead,
driving him to the ground. Delmar then kicks him in the ribs.
DELMAR
How we feelin' so far? Upset
stomach, aye?
Hal recoils from another kick and tries to rise.
DELMAR
Like soccer? Great sport! I was
a bloody good striker. Here's an
outside right.
(kicks)
Hal recoils in pain as Delmar breaks the bone in his lower leg.
Hal howls in agony, but tries to rise.
DELMAR
Did I hear somethin' break?
Outside left!
HAL
Fuck you.
DELMAR
Cursin'. That's a penalty kick
for unsportsmanlike conduct,
mate.
He kicks Hal again, sending him back several feet, crashing
heavily on his side. Hal tries to remove a folding climbing
knife that fits in a sheath sewn into the side of his boot.
DELMAR
A lovely chip shot to the winger!
(kicks)
Hal has been kicked near the edge of a cliff. He weakly
reaches for his boot knife. Again this is not noticed by
Delmar, who's having a wonderfully sadistic time.
DELMAR
Winger back to striker!
Delmar kicks Hal, who is barely hanging on to consciousness.
DELMAR
He dribbles past one defender.
(kicks)
Two defenders.
(kicks)
Three defenders!
Hal lies crumpled on his side, curled in a ball of pain.
DELMAR
Striker lines up to the goal...
focuses on the ball...
Hal has barely managed to remove the knife and secretly opens
it. Its serrated edge glistens like a chrome serpent in his
hand.
Delmar backs up to take perfect aim at the back of Hal's head.
DELMAR
The crowd is on its feet, the
League Cup Championship for this
season comes down to this last
kick. The striker sees an
opening, draws back his foot and
fires!
As Delmar's leg explodes forward, Hal spins and drives the
knife into Delmar's approaching shin bone. Delmar buckles in
pain, allowing Hal to reach up and snatch a pistol from the
goon's waistband.
Hal fires from a prone position and catches Delmar in the mid-
section, which blows the large man upright, soaring onto his
back.
HAL
The season's over, asshole.
Hal struggles to his feet and removes Delmar's automatic weapon
and limps away in excruciating pain.
CUT TO - TRAVERS
Travers turns, reacting to the shot and the distant sounds of
Delmar screaming. He thinks the painful cries are emanating
from Hal.
TRAVERS
I said quietly...shit.
Travers is looking down at the monitor. His eyes fix on the
screen, following the blip that's just ahead of him. He
freezes...the blip starts to move.
TRAVERS
What the hell?
Travers is now running, following the monitor's lead.
TRAVERS
It can't be.
(furious)
It can't be!
THE MONITOR
The blip changes directions, likewise, Travers.
CUT TO:
Hal has just finished tying a tourniquet around his upper leg.
He hobbles off.
TRAVERS
is slogging up the hill after the blip, which now turns back
toward him. Travers aims his gun and waits.
HILL TOP
A large winter rabbit sticks his head over the hillside.
Travers sees the rabbit with the tracer fastened around its
neck and nearly goes apoplectic. He fires at the rabbit.
Bullets rip up the ledge as the animal runs away. Travers
reaches for his radio.
TRAVERS
(into radio)
Come in--come in!
EXT. TOWER FACE
Qualen in the chopper.
QUALEN
You got what we need?
TRAVERS
No, that son-of-a-bitch Walker is
alive.
QUALEN
No names, this is an open line!
TRAVERS
I don't give a shit, Qualen! I
had to be insane to ever tie up
with a low-life, piece of shit
like you. They beat us. A
couple of fuckin' hick mountain
boys beat the man no law agency
ever could.
QUALEN
Get off the radio!
CUT TO - TREASURY CHOPPER - DAY
Wright is monitoring the conversation between Qualen and
Travers through the headset.
WRIGHT
Jesus Christ, that's Travers.
They're alive!!
(to pilot)
Get a bead on that frequency.
CUT TO - QUALEN AT THE CHOPPER - DAY
QUALEN
Stop transmitting you stupid
bastard!
CUT TO - TRAVERS
TRAVERS
Why? I always wanted my own
radio show! What was I thinking,
I must have been crazy to think
I could get away with it. It's
hard to believe I sold out after
twenty years and this is the
payback--to rot on a mountain
with a fucking dirtbag like you.
CUT TO - QUALEN
QUALEN
You are losing your mind,
Travers!
CUT TO - TRAVERS
TRAVERS
I lost it when I met you! Gotta
go, I'm doing my last official
man hunt.
He turns, looking for some sign of Gabe. Then he sees it:
footprints in the snow. He takes off.
CUT TO - TREASURY CHOPPER - DAY
WRIGHT
(to pilot)
You got a frequency bearing yet?
PILOT
Not exactly, but close.
The chopper banks wildly to the right and soars away.
CUT TO - GABE'S FEET
sink into the snow.
WIDER
As Gabe makes his way to a thickly wooded area. He has the
money swung over his shoulder wrapped in a garment. Suddenly
BULLETS blast behind.
TRAVERS
slides down onto the level that Gabe is running. Finding his
footing, he fires again and bullets blast the bare tree
branches just above Gabe's head. He quickly bursts to his
feet, running for all he's worth.
A round from a second burst of gun fire rips into Gabe's
shoulder. He tumbles out onto...
A SLOPE
that leads down to the frozen lake. Gabe slips on the loose
rock and slides out of control, still holding the money bag.
TIMBER BRIDGE
that spans out onto the river, rising at least 20 feet above
the ice. He slams into the base of it with a THUD.
EXT. MOUNTAIN TRAIL - DAY
Jessie is running down the trail for all she's worth. She
hears the sound of a chopper approaching. Her expression
brightens as she now runs toward the sound. What lies before
her is a cliff edge that drops into an expansive valley.
JESSIE
Frank, you're beautiful!
She runs to the edge, just as the chopper rises into view like
a whirling dragon from hell. The blood drains from her face as
she locks eyes with the man at the controls--Qualen. He has an
automatic weapon trained on her.
EXT. TIMBER BRIDGE - DAY
Travers runs onto the entrance of the bridge. Gabe is gone,
but his footprints indicate he's gone out onto the bridge.
Travers cautiously follows the tracks to the end of the bridge
where they stop, giving the impression that Gabe jumped onto
the ice below.
He peers over the edge. The ice stretches across the river
like glass, but no snow--thus no footprints.
FROM UNDER THE BRIDGE
We see Travers' head glance under. Finding nothing, he
retreats.
CAMERA PANS and
picks up Gabe about twenty feet back, wedged in an "X"
configuration against the underside of the bridge.
The weight from Travers knocks bits of snow and ice onto Gabe.
He strains to hold himself in place.
ON THE BRIDGE
Travers steps back twenty feet, stops just above Gabe. He
notices that snow is scraped off the side, obviously where Gabe
crawled under.
TRAVERS
Didn't you ever play hide and
seek when you were a kid, Walker?
Rule #1, cover your tracks.
He aims his gun at the wooden planks below him.
GABE
knows it's coming. He releases his foot holds and swings,
holding on by just one hand. A stream of bullets rip past him
and lodge into the ice fifteen feet below.
TRAVERS
Make it easy on yourself. You
stole the money, now I've got to
take you in. Come out so I can
read you your rights.
TRAVERS
can't tell if he hit him. He steps over to the edge, peers
down and, just as he does...
GABE
reaches for a hold with his other arm, swings his legs up and
does a kick maneuver, scissors his legs around Travers and
tries to pull him over the edge. Travers strains with all his
might, clinging to a cross rail for dear life.
The thrust from Gabe's weight pulls Travers loose from his
hold, causing them both to...
EXT. ON THE ICE
crash down onto the ice. A spider web of cracks jolt from the
point of impact. Gabe scrambles to his feet, sees Travers' gun
about ten feet away.
As he lunges for it, Travers tackles him. The two of them
crash against the ice again. This time it gives way, dropping
them both into the FREEZING WATER.
EXT. UNDER WATER
Dark, eerie silence. Rays of light come through from the clear
ice making it nearly impossible to identify the hole.
Gabe and Travers struggle, clawing up toward the surface,
kicking...desperate. Gabe reaches for the opening, but Travers
pulls him down.
EXT. ON THE ICE
Travers' head comes up, reaches for solid ice. Gabe yanks
himself up on Travers' back, GASPING for air. Travers elbows
him in the face.
He loses his grip and slides back under the ice.
EXT. UNDER WATER
Gabe reaches up with his arms, but the current pulls him away.
EXT. ON THE ICE
Travers drags himself onto solid ice. Breathless, he lies face
down, looking...
EXT. UNDER WATER/THROUGH THE ICE
Gabe has his mouth pressed against a tiny air pocket, GASPING.
He's holding on with only two fingers, just as if it were a
vertical climb, but he's not going to last much longer. We can
see the distorted shape of Travers staring back at him.
EXT. ON THE ICE
Travers retrieves his weapon.
EXT. UNDER WATER
Gabe loses his grip and is swept away by the slow moving
current.
Travers steps above, preparing to blast him away with his
weapon. Gabe sees this just before he passes beneath a cloudy
patch of ice that causes Travers to momentarily lose sight of
him.
Gabe still drifting, frantically claws at his bolt gun.
EXT. ON THE ICE
Travers moves over the cloudy patch of ice, awaiting the second
Gabe will reappear.
Gabe's head starts to pass into view. Gabe also can now see
Travers' outline.
Travers LEVELS his weapon and takes AIM.
Gabe FIRES the bolt gun. There is a solid THUD as the ice
underneath Travers bulges upward.
Gabe's head emerges through the cracked ice as the bolt BURIES
itself into Travers' chest.
GASPING for breath, Gabe can only manage to pull his head out
of the deathly water as Travers staggers several feet away.
Gabe helplessly watches as Travers WEAVES forward. As life
ebbs from his body, Travers struggles to raise the automatic
weapon and aims it at Gabe's head. The weapon wavers then at
the final moment of truth. It descends as Travers can no
longer maintain consciousness. His weapon hangs at his side.
He spasmodically pulls the trigger. Bullets rip into the ice
at his feet and Travers disappears from view as if falling
through a trap door.
EXT. UNDER THE WATER
Travers takes in water as the current pulls at him. He pushes
his face up for an air pocket, but there isn't one.
EXT. ON THE ICE
Gabe, totally exhausted and only half out of the water stares
down.
ANGLE THROUGH THE ICE
Travers is looking up at him, his gruesome, distorted face
gasping for its last breath. His eyes pleading for mercy as he
drifts into eternity.
EXT. ICE
Gabe, exhausted, slips back into the water and is just about
totally submerged. A hand shoots into the freezing water and
yanks him back to the surface.
HAL
pulls Gabe to the surface.
Gabe tries to focus on Hal.
GABE
(coughing)
Am I dead, or are you alive?
Hal hauls him out of the ice hold.
HAL
Both. You gotta get outta these
clothes, fast.
Hal opens his boot knife and with startling swiftness,
literally slices the near-frozen garments off his friend's
torso.
HAL
Thanks for staying around when
you didn't have to.
GABE
My pleasure.
Hal places his jacket over Gabe's exposed upper body and pulls
off the outer shell of his foul weather gear and starts to
frantically rub his back and legs.
HAL
Don't get the wrong idea, you're
not my type.
EXT. HELICOPTER - OVER MOUNTAINS
The machine veers between towering out-croppings.
INT. CHOPPER - DAY
Qualen is at the controls. Jessie's hands are handcuffed to a
bar fastened to the chopper's roof. Qualen keys the headset
radio.
QUALEN
Travers - come in.
EXT. SHORELINE
Gabe is sitting, wearing the garments given to him by Hal.
GABE
(still thawing)
How's your leg?
I'll live. Where'd you leave
Jessie?
GABE
Near Freedom Falls. She went for
help.
HAL
Hey, about everything that
happened with Sarah. I know you
did what you could--
QUALEN
(V.O.)
Travers--come in.
Hal reaches over and grabs the radio.
HAL
(keys the radio)
Too late, you missed him. He
decided to swim to Arizona--
underwater. Any messages?
Beat.
QUALEN
(V.O.)
Tucker?
GABE
(into mic)
Qualen, glad you stuck around.
There should be a few hundred
cops looking to meet you.
Another beat.
INTERCUT - GABE & HAL (SHORELINE) AND QUALEN (IN THE CHOPPER)
QUALEN
Tucker, you know where the money
is-- I want it.
HAL
(tired)
Qualen, go fuck yourself. The
game's over--you lost.
QUALEN
(now he's had enough)
No, the goddamn game's not over!
It's never over when you're
playing against a team that
doesn't care if they win or lose--
how do you negotiate with someone
like that?!
HAL
What are you talking about?
JESSIE
(V.O.)
Gabe! Hal! They killed Frank!
TIGHT ON - Gabe reacting. He grabs the radio.
GABE
Jessie! Are you alright?
QUALEN
I want the money--meet me at the
highest point from where you are.
Don't do it and we're going to
see if your angel here can fly.
Copy?
GABE
Copy. Jessie, go to the top of
Bitker ladder.
QUALEN
(V.O.)
Love's a killer, isn't it?
The radio goes dead. Hal is staring at Gabe.
HAL
What are we going to do?
GABE
Give him the money.
Gabe takes Delmar's radio from Hal.
HAL
I'm going with you.
GABE
Not on that leg.
HAL
Take the gun.
GABE
You keep it. Get up there if you
can, and if you get a chance, do
me a favor and kill him.
He starts off towards the bridge.
EXT. HELICOPTER
The chopper, with Qualen in it, blasts over the lake,
searching.
INT. HELICOPTER
Qualen scans the mountain side. He sees nothing.
QUALEN
(into the headset)
Where are you, Walker?
GABE
(V.O.)
You're getting warmer!
HELICOPTER'S POV
along the rock wall, up the side of the precipice and there
is...
GABE
standing on the end of a narrow spur that juts out from the
mountain like a diving board, holding the backpack over the
edge.
GABE
I've got your luggage! Give me
Jessie!
The helicopter flies in low, circles him, nearly blowing Gabe
over the edge with its whirlwind. Gabe dangles the money. If
Qualen shoots him, the money falls, too.
INT. HELICOPTER
Qualen hovers the chopper in front of him. He puts the gun up
against Jessie's head so that Gabe can see it.
QUALEN
Throw it up or I'll kill her.
GABE
(V.O.)
You do, and the spring thaw is
going to be worth a lot of cash!
QUALEN
The money!
GABE
WHEN SHE'S SAFE!
EXT. SPUR
The chopper hovers a safe distance away from the ledge. Gabe
still stands on the overhang, the pack still held out over the
edge.
INT. HELICOPTER
Qualen unlocks Jessie's cuffs.
EXT. SPUR
Hovering fifteen feet above Gabe, Jessie lowers herself down on
the grappling cable.
GABE
Run!
She doesn't.
JESSIE
What about you?!
GABE
RUN, DAMMIT!!
She runs for the protection of the rocks.
Gabe and Qualen stare at each other.
Qualen levels his gun at Gabe through the open passenger door.
QUALEN
Let me have it!!
Gabe hurls back the money like he was throwing an Olympic
hammer above the chopper and into the blade. The sack
disintegrates into a million pieces.
GABE
Don't you want to count it?
Qualen glares at Gabe and aims his weapon. Gabe ducks beneath
the chopper and hooks the cable to the top rung of Bitker
Ladder.
THE HELICOPTER
spins around, Gabe instantly flattens to avoid the tail
swinging past him and dashes away from the cliff's edge.
Qualen wildly spins the chopper around looking for Gabe. The
cable from the chopper reels out as the machine maneuvers.
CLOSE ON JESSIE
eyes widening with fear.
JESSIE
Run! Oh, my God!
Gabe, realizing he does not stand a chance in the open,
reverses field and runs for all he's worth toward the cliff's
edge.
THE HELICOPTER
with its skids skipping just over the ground, gains on Gabe.
GABE
as he runs toward the mountain's edge. It's just a few feet
ahead, but the chopper is almost on him. As it drops lower on
the verge of overtaking him, he dives off the edge, FALLING.
Gabe falls the first twenty feet of the long drop, then grabs
a rung of the cable ladder.
THE HELICOPTER
flies low over the precipice, flying over the valley below.
Gabe tries to frantically climb up the ladder when the cable
connected to the chopper pulls taut, popping the bolts that
hold the ladder in place, rung by rung.
Qualen is disoriented by the sudden jolt. The engine strains
as the ladder weighs the machine down. Gabe hangs on for dear
life as the bolts holding the ladder continue to rip out. One
bolt explodes from the wall and crashes into the exposed upper
engine of the copter. Still going, the chopper strains' against
the ladder. Thirty feet of it tethers the chopper to the wall.
Gabe is dangling from the center of it.
On the ladder, Gabe has one arm hooked around a rung, as the
chopper thrashes the ladder up and down.
HAL appears at the top in time to witness this. He sees a
frantic Jessie and hobbles to her.
INSIDE THE CHOPPER
Qualen is totally enraged.
INSERT - THE ENGINE
as sparks fly, it slowly grinds to a halt.
THE HELICOPTER
still strains against the cable ladder, but the rotor blades
slow.
GABE ON LADDER
stares at the stalling rotor. If it were possible for him to
grip the ladder tighter, he'd do it now.
JESSIE AND HAL
JESSIE
Oh, my God!
HAL
Climb, Gabe, climb!
ON THE HELICOPTER
As the rotor WHOPS to a dead halt, the chopper arcs down and
slams against the mountain wall sideways. The winch cable is
still caught in the ladder, and it holds.
Gabe is shaken off by the massive impact. He falls, landing on
the helicopter's side near the smoking propeller. As Gabe
scrambles up for a solid hold,
INSERT - THE WINCH CABLE
One of the two rungs holding the chopper bursts.
THE HELICOPTER
slips, now hanging from just a single rung. Gabe is sliding
off the machine but manages to angle his body and prop himself
against the blade.
CHOPPER ROOF
Qualen crawls out the side, and as his head clears the doorway,
he sees Gabe and fires his machine gun. Gabe ducks behind the
base of the propeller as bullets rip into the side. The gun is
empty and Qualen throws it aside and crawls out to challenge
Gabe.
GABE
Come on--one last challenge!
They latch into a death struggle against the center of the rear
flank of the chopper. Qualen tries to gouge Gabe's eyes out,
but Gabe manages to break free and pounds him repeatedly
against the head.
CUT TO:
Hal tries to aim his weapon, but there is no clear shot.
CUT TO - THE TREASURY CHOPPER
Wright and Davis swing into view. Wright looks through
binoculars.
WRIGHT
It's Qualen! Get me down there.
CUT TO - THE LADDER
The bolt supporting the ladder, which in turn supports the
chopper, is being worked loose by the ensuing battle. With
each of the men's movement the bolts slip further out.
CUT TO - TREASURY CHOPPER
The chopper drops lower and directly above Gabe and Qualen.
The chopper's backwash makes the men appear as if they are
battling in a hurricane.
INT./EXT. CHOPPER
Qualen manages to force Gabe's neck against the chopper's
blades. Gabe manages to drop low and drive home several killer
punches that now have Qualen on the verge of unconsciousness.
Gabe feels a sudden snap, sharp movement of the fuselage. He
realizes he has only seconds to live. Pulling himself away
from Qualen, he prepares to jump.
Qualen, with his last remaining strength, grabs his legs,
tackling him.
QUALEN
We go together, Walker!
Gabe tries to crawl towards the ladder. The bolt is
milliseconds from snapping.
Jessie frantically yelling down.
JESSIE
Gabe! Jump!!
Qualen tightens his grip on Gabe's legs.
QUALEN
(hissingly)
You lost!
Gabe breaks a foot loose and kicks Qualen square in the head.
GABE
You fell.
Qualen slides back and tumbles into the door opening, landing
awkwardly against the dashboard.
EXT. CHOPPER
At the precise moment the chopper finally breaks loose.
Gabe leaps, catching the final rung on the ladder.
THE FALL - LONG SHOT
Qualen's screams trail behind the helicopter as we follow the
entire 4000 foot drop.
INT. CHOPPER
We see Qualen is flattened against the windscreen looking
straight down as the ground furiously rushes forward.
EXT. CHOPPER
Gabe watches as the chopper falls nose first like an atomic
bomb, finally exploding into a massive fireball on the valley
floor.
INT. TREASURY CHOPPER
Wright turns to the pilot.
WRIGHT
Now that's justice. Let's get
down there.
EXT. SPUR
Gabe turns and looks back at the wall. He struggles with his
remaining strength to pull himself up on one rung.
Gabe leans back, gripping the ladder, too tired to move.
Just the thought of one more climb drains him.
GABE
(mumbling)
Forget it. No way. I've had it.
Before Gabe can take this any farther, a loop tied to the end
of a rope falls next to him. Gabe looks up. The same old
Douglas rope that he left with Jessie.
ON THE EDGE - HAL
has thrown the line down, Jessie is by his side.
HAL
Remember, keep your arms and legs
in the vehicle at all times--
Gabe puts the loop around himself and tightens it by rote.
Even this action aches.
Hal and Jessie draw Gabe up. Gabe pulls some of his weight by
using hand and foot holds, but when he reaches
THE PRECIPICE EDGE
Hal and Jessie are both winded from the effort of hauling Gabe
onto the top. Gabe unties himself and collapses into Jessie's
lap.
HAL
(winded, coiling rope)
Jesus -- you think you could have
put a little less effort into
that climb? I thought you were
in shape.
Jessie embraces Gabe. They share the kiss of their lives.
GABE
The "old mouth to mouth"
resuscitation routine.
JESSIE
There's a lot more where that
came from. You're not leaving
again?
GABE
And miss all of this peace and
quiet? Never, right Hal?
HAL
Right.
JESSIE
Then it's a deal.
They kiss as the camera pulls away to reveal the magnificent
mountain range.