TRIAL BY TERRORISM An Original Screenplay By David A. Chodack Fade In: Sub Titles say : NEW YORK CITY, AUGUST 13, 1998 A news clipping fills the screen as an unseen voice reads the words: Oklahoma City, April 1, 1995 Local Police, and agents of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were poring through the rubble of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building today, looking for clues to the motives and the identities of the bombers responsible for the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history ........ FADE TO: INT. DAY - An apartment in Manhattan Overlooking Central Park. The man who has been speaking and holding the news clipping in his hand is a tall, distinguished-looking man in his early 50's. He is dressed in elegantly and expensively European-styled clothes, but when he speaks, his accent is American and the manner and cadence of his speech are reminiscent of a lawyer addressing a jury, leading them where he wants them to go. He is standing in the center of a room furnished expensively but tastefully with several paintings on the walls and various pieces of sculpture and artifacts from around the world scattered around. He is facing seven other well-dressed, prosperous middle aged men, who are sitting around a large, chrome and glass table with cards and whiskey glasses and two half-full bottles in front of them, but are obvious more interested in the news clipping than the card game. THE LAWYER That was our darkest hour, gentlemen. And these were our finest. Dallas, Texas, November 26, 1963 Dealey Plaza Police, Secret Service agents and the general public have been milling around for hours now, stunned beyond belief and comprehension at the tragedy which struck here today, the brazen shooting in broad daylight, of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy by an as-yet-unknown assassin as his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza here in Dallas .......... Washington DC, February 12, 1975 President Richard M. Nixon resigned today, more than two years after the Watergate break-in which irrevocably tarnished his reputation and his administration ........ The Lawyer takes two more news clippings from his inside pocket and holds them up for the group to see, but instead of passing them around, as he did with the first clipping, he holds on to these clippings almost reverently as he reads from them. THE LAWYER The message is clear gentlemen. If we don't act, then the rabble will. They will either be working for us, to help preserve the system, or against us ...... seeking to destroy it. He points to the clipping about Oklahoma City. THE LAWYER We can not afford to be passive gentlemen, or take half-measures. That has never worked in the past and the times and the mood of the country, surely will not allow it now. Either we give the people direction for their growing rage and frustration, or they will seek and find it elsewhere. A stout, soft-looking man with the self-satisfied air of an important banker is the first to respond. THE BANKER But the scope of what you're proposing, the scope and the costs ... it's beyond anything we've ever attempted before! A small, trim-looking man with the hard, dead eyes and flat, expressionless voice of a long-term professional intelligence executive speaks next, in seeming response to what the Banker has just said. THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL Our greatest triumph is yet to come! It is a bold, audacious plan and that is exactly why it might work. It will shake things up so much they should fall right back into place exactly where we want them, once we move them around a bit ...... THE BANKER Yes. And your agency would be one of the prime beneficiaries of those changes, wouldn't it? THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL In the end, yes. Of course we would. That is the only reason we agreed to the gamble of letting the President take office in the first place, instead of acting right after the election, if you remember ...... and we've been getting battered ever since. We will also be the first ones to get hit again when this thing initially blows up, so you are certainly right that we expect to gain from it in the end. As do you and your bank .... Another man, dressed in the uniform of a major Wall Street tycoon -- bold, pinstriped suit, suspenders and red tie, speaks up quickly to smooth things over and restore the peace THE WALL STREET TYCOON And the cost should be quickly recovered -- along with a healthy profit -- through the stock and the currency and commodities markets alone, not to mention "other" sources of income. The Wall Street Tycoon looks at the Lawyer as he says this and the Lawyer begins speaking again. THE LAWYER And the revenue from those "other sources" should be considerable, but let us never forget that money is not our main motive... The others sit in silence, seemingly contemplating his words and then a man with the rigid bearing and crew cut of a professional soldier breaks the silence. THE MILITARY MAN It can definitely work ... as long as the planning is precise and the mission has at least twice the usual level of total and complete deniability THE LAWYER Complete and total deniability is of course a necessity and has already been arranged. Both our Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby figures -- complete with the requisite backgrounds in intelligence operations -- and ties to organized crime in Mr. Ruby's case -- are already in place THE COMPUTER TYCOON Can we really rely on them? THE LAWYER They are just waiting to be activated. And this time, it is the "Oswald" figure who is under the illusion that he is the one planning as well as executing the mission, while "Mr. Ruby" is the innocent patsy. We have only to come to final agreement and gather together the balance of the funds required and Operation Caesar can begin in earnest. In fact, we might even shot for November 23 as a convenient -- and symbolic target day ...... particularly since both Mr. "Oswald" and Mr. "Ruby" will both be shown to have a connection to our Russian friends in their recent past ....... CUT TO: EXT. HIGH DESERT - NIGHT ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, MARCH 11, 1993. A group of heavily armed people nine men and one woman (Irina Kermal), are moving across the high desert leading a group of heavily laden pack animals. They are dressed in the baggy clothes of local peasants and they move in silence. Suddenly, they come to a large rock formation and there is an animal sound which is repeated three times. They stop and suddenly two more men, also dressed like local peasants, step from behind one of the rocks. The woman, Irina Kermal, and one of the men from the group of ten step forward to meet them. They speak in Turkish, as English subtitles appear on the screen. FIRST MAN Greetings my friends. Come quickly. The Persians have been restless lately. MEHDI Well, we bring you something to keep them occupied THIRD MAN And the foreigners? IRINA KERMAL Cetput approved them personally. FIRST MAN Good enough. They start moving again and the two men guide them to a house on the outskirts of a village, where they quickly unload the pack animals. Most of them then go inside, while the two guides lead the pack animals away. CUT TO: INT. HOUSE - NIGHT. A group of a dozen men are sitting around a large room, bare of furniture except for oriental rugs and pillows scattered around. They are gathered around two large wooden crates eagerly examining a batch of automatic weapons and speaking in Turkish. The only lighting is from oil lamps. Against a wall three other men -- Jake Steiner, Sergei Dziguli and Michael Christie and Irina Kermal -- are dressed the same way as the others, but they speak in English. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Look at them. Like a bunch of bloody children after Father Christmas has brought them toys. SERGEI DZIGULI Dangerous toys for very dangerous children, my friend. JAKE STEINER Not dangerous to us, so why worry? You sound like an old lady, Christie and you, Dziguli, I thought you weren't scared of anything. IRINA KERMAL Maybe should be scared. All of you. To you is a game. Your governments fight with the Persians right now, so you send us guns. Later they make friends and you sell us out like you do to the Kurds. Cetput knows that. So do I. So do these men. We take the guns, because to us is no game. Is our lives. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Spirited little thing isn't she? Michael Christie reaches out to pat her on the head patronizingly, while Jake Steiner and Sergei Dziguli sit silently, looking embarrassed. Suddenly, the cry of a wolf is heard three times in a row and everyone in the room reacts. The guns are hastily put back in the crates. One of the men opens a trap door in the floor of the room and first the weapons, then Jake Steiner, Sergei Dziguli, Michael Christie and Irina Kermal disappear through the trap door. Steiner and Dziguli take off in one direction, Christie and Irina Kermal go another way through the maze of tunnels. SERGEI DZIGULI Which way, Steiner? JAKE STEINER Try right. Going left has never seemed to work for you in the past. Hopefully, that will take us towards the edge of the village. CUT TO: INT. HOUSE - NIGHT. Jake Steiner and then Sergei Dziguli emerge from a trap door in the floor. This house is just like the one they left, except it is totally empty. They go to the front door and look out. The coast is clear, but all around, the sounds of shooting are heard, with shouts of "God is great!" in Farsi as English subtitles appear on screen. Jake Steiner and Sergei Dziguli slip out the door and into the street. Then they go in separate directions. There is no sign of Michael Christie or Irina Kermal. Suddenly, a group of four Iranian Revolutionary Guards appears around a corner. They start firing and Jake Steiner starts firing back. Jake Steiner is hit in the side and his clothes start to turn red with blood. Jake drops to the ground as if he is dead and a Revolutionary Guardsman comes over to loot his body. Suddenly, Jake reaches up and grabs the man by his beard. He takes his other hand and breaks the Revolutionary Guardsman's neck and uses the dead man's weapon to kill the other three Revolutionary guards. Then Jake patches his own wound as best he can and continues around the corner. Almost immediately, he is hit by more gunfire and goes down again, as several more Revolutionary Guards appear out of the night. Then firing starts coming from behind Jake Steiner and the Revolutionary Guards start falling. Sergei Dziguli appears at Jake's side. He is wounded also. SERGEI DZIGULI Once again, Steiner you have the smell of death about you just like in Beirut. Now come on let's get out of here. Is long way back to border. CUT TO: EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF A VILLAGE - MORNING. REPUBLIC OF TURKEY, MARCH 1993. Jake Steiner and Sergei Dziguli are staggering along, looking barely alive. A group of villagers rushes out to meet them and takes them to a house in the village, where they are given food and drink and a place to lie down. CUT TO: INT. HOUSE - DAY. Sergei Dziguli is sitting up smoking a cigarette. Jake Steiner is lying under a pile of covers and opens his eyes sleepily. SERGEI DZIGULI So you finally wake Steiner. Was getting worried. JAKE STEINER Where am ... are we? Christie? Irina? The others? SERGEI DZIGULI Was Christie, Steiner. The English bastard sold us out to the Persians. He come back here three days ago all alone. He told Mehdi and the villagers had been attack, then he lead them into trap. JAKE STEINER And Irina? SERGEI DZIGULI Gone, Steiner. She go with Christie and never come back. ................ CUT TO: EXT. CITY STREET - DAY. "WASHINGTON D.C. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22, 1998. Light snow is swirling about and it's windy. The traffic light turns red on a main street running past a park and a silver Jensen Interceptor comes to a stop along with the other traffic. CUT TO: INT. CAR - DAY. The driver of the car is Jake Steiner. He is alone. He is looking in the rearview mirror, watching a blue Mazda, which is about half a block back. JAKE STEINER Still there, huh, sweetheart? Well, whoever you work for, is about a year and a half behind the times if they have you following me. And, they didn't bother to train you too well, did they? Or am I supposed to see you everywhere I go and panic? Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough. CUT TO: EXT. STREET - DAY. A man in his early (Michael Christie) 40's blonde, about six feet two inches tall and 200 pounds is walking next to the park. He is dressed in blue jeans, a black leather jacket and hiking shoes. CUT TO: INT. JENSEN INTERCEPTOR - DAY. Jake Steiner looks away from the rearview mirror and out the front windshield. He notices Michael Christie and he stiffens, gripping the wheel as though he wants to choke it. JAKE STEINER Christie! The son of a bitch is alive and here in Washington! He looks in the rearview mirror at the blue Mazda and then impatiently at the red traffic light. CUT TO: EXT. STREET - DAY. The light changes and the silver Jensen pulls to the curb, cutting off a couple of other cars in the process. Jake Steiner leaps out and runs into the park after Michael Christie, who is nowhere to be seen. The Jensen's driver runs down the main path a little ways and then stops when it is apparent that Michael Christie is gone. He stands there for a moment, then realizes that he is waving a gun around in broad daylight and puts it away inside his jacket. JAKE STEINER Shit! He walks back to his car, checks the rearview mirror to see that the blue Mazda is still there and then drives away. CUT TO: EXT. PARK - DAY. WASHINGTON DC : SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22, 1998. 11:20 AM" Michael Christie is moving leisurely, but purposefully across country, avoiding the trail. he appears to be observing and listening to everything going on around him, very carefully. Finally, he stops at one spot, waits a few seconds and then begins climbing a tree. Once he is comfortably ensconced near the top, he takes a large pistol from inside his jacket and begins attaching a silencer. Then he rests it on a branch and begins sighting along the barrel. Satisfied, he sits back to wait. CUT TO: EXT. PARK. MICHAEL CHRISTIE'S POV - DAY. Michael Christie watches and listens as a man in his 60's (The Man who calls himself Roland) comes walking down the path, well dressed with an expensive overcoat over a suit, good shoes, graying hair and a goatee. The man walks with a slight limp in his left leg, which he seems anxious to minimize and he carries an expensive leather attache case in his right hand. Suddenly, he stops, puts down the attache case and takes out a cigarette case and lighter, as Michael Christie sights the gun right in the middle of his forehead. CUT TO: EXT. PARK - DAY. Michael Christie climbs down from the tree and puts the gun back in his jacket, takes out a cigarette of his own and begins walking along the path towards The Man who calls himself Roland, who seems to take no notice of the fact that he suddenly has company. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Excuse me. Do you have a light? Michael Christie speaks with a South African accent. The Man who calls himself Roland answers with the faintest hinting trace of a European accent and lets his lighter flare right under Michael Christie's nose, making him jump back a pace. THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF ROLAND A thousand points of light to dispel the darkness. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Well, I imagine we'll be lighting up the darkness -- and the telly screens hereabouts -- soon enough. THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF ROLAND Then I take it everything is arranged and in place. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Of course, Mr. Roland .... all except for the final cash installments." THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF ROLAND Just 'Roland' will do. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Of course Monsieur .... Pardon me. Roland. Whatever you say. THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF ROLAND As for the final installments, Mr. Jorgensen, they will be deposited as agreed upon, in Geneva and Montserrat. $5 million US at the completion of Stage One and another $10 million at the completion of Stage Two. In addition, of course, to the $5 million I trust you have already received ..... MICHAEL CHRISTIE Of course, Monsieur Roland. If I hadn't, there would be no further arrangements to discuss. THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF ROLAND There are not Mr........... Jorgensen. You are supposed to be a professional, someone who can be counted on to do the job. How you do it is not my concern. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Whatever you say .... Roland. She'll know how to reach me. THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF ROLAND Yes. I'm sure she will know how to reach you. So I bid you good day. And, may I advise you to be careful. The park can be a very dangerous place. In fact, perhaps you had better take these with you. The Man who calls himself Roland presses a book of matches into Michael Christie's hand. Then reaches out and pats the gun under Michael Christie's jacket. THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF ROLAND The next person you meet may not be just a harmless old man. And even this, may not be enough to protect you. The Man who calls himself Roland picks up his attache case and walks away in the same direction he had been going. Michael Christie stands and watches him go. MICHAEL CHRISTIE(TO HIMSELF) Poor bloody Yanks. They'll never learn. Michael Christie waits until he is sure The Man who calls himself Roland is really gone and then he begins walking towards the park exit, taking the path this time. Midway, he stops and takes off his blonde hair and removes his blue contact lenses. His real hair and eyes are brown. He digs a small hole in the frozen dirt and buries the wig and the contact lenses under a bush, then he continues walking. At the exit, he turns right and then walks about a half block to where a green jaguar is parked. He climbs in the passenger side and the driver (Elsa Brandauer) pulls away from the curb. She is an attractive brunette in her late 20's, with long hair and long legs. ELSA BRANDAUER Well? How did it go? Did you meet Roland? Michael Christie looks at her and nods. ELSA BRANDAUER Well? Michael Christie does not answer her right away. Instead, he sits warming himself in the car for a few seconds, blowing on his hands. Finally, he answers her and his accent is subtly different, English rather than South African. MICHAEL CHRISTIE Well, the one thing he's not is one of you damned bloody Yanks. Tried to make me believe he was a Yank and almost pulled it off, but a couple of little things were wrong. His accent was almost perfect, but not quite and his eyes were trying too hard not to give anything away. Chances are, he's a Frog, because the damned bloody Frogs are always jealous and looking to stir up trouble. They're always spying on us and you Yanks as well, as you should bloody well know. BACK TO SCREENPLAYS PAGE HOME PAGE |