CHROME
by
Lanny Maude
FADE IN:
Blue sky and patchy clouds.
NORTON (V.O.)
On the night of August 14th, 1945, a
Northrop P-61 from the 548th Night Fighter
Squadron forced a Nakajima Ki-43 into the
sea near Ie Shima. Since World War II
officially ended the following morning, many
consider this to be the last aerial kill of
the war.
The narration pauses for a few seconds.
NORTON (V.O.)
This claim has never been officially
recognized.
EXT. AIRFIELD - DAY
A United States Army Air Force airfield, home of the 548th Night
Fighter Squadron. It's late afternoon.
The words "Ie Shima Island, Northwest of Okinawa" FILTER INTO
VIEW.
The words "14 August 1945" FILTER INTO VIEW.
The words FADE AWAY.
Things are pretty quiet. Most of the activity is taking place
on the softball field where the chaplain has organized another
softball game. He feels that you can reach more people through
softball than you can through religious books.
Away from the softball game, a P-47 Thunderbolt sits idling on
the makeshift runway while its pilot goes through his pre flight
checks.
The runway is made out of crushed white rock. That makes it
easier to rebuild after the occasional Japanese bombing raids.
The raids are fewer since the atomic bombs were dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few days earlier.
One notable sight is a row of four P-61 Black Widows on hard
stands next to the runway. They're big, black, twin-engine
night fighters with 66-foot wingspans. The P-47 on the runway
with its 40-foot wingspan looks puny by comparison.
The closest P-61 sports the distinctive nose art of a blonde
woman wearing a skin-tight red outfit. She's on her knees,
leaning back. The large script letters next to the woman
identify the plane as the Lady in the Dark.
INT. MESS HALL - DAY
Soldiers are grouped here and there, eating their dinners,
passing the time. CORPORAL HARRISON and PRIVATE LEWIS converse
across the table at which they're seated.
HARRISON
This your first combat assignment?
LEWIS
Yeah. It's weird, though. I didn't think
war would be so quiet.
HARRISON
The Japs don't bother us as much since we
dropped the bomb.
Across the room, LIEUTENANT "BOBBY" ROBERTS and LIEUTENANT
"SPOTS" BREWSTER enter. They're both wearing goggles with dark
red lenses. They head for the chow line. Nobody takes any
special notice of them.
Nobody, that is, except for the new guy. He questions Harrison.
LEWIS
Who're they?
HARRISON
The guy on the left is Lieutenant Roberts.
He's a pilot. The other guy is his RO,
Lieutenant Brewster.
Harrison returns to his meal. Lewis was expecting more of an
explanation.
LEWIS
What's with the goggles?
HARRISON
They're vampires.
He sees the puzzled look on Lewis' face.
HARRISON
You know...night fighters.
LEWIS
But why're they wearing those goggles?
HARRISON
They don't want to ruin their night vision.
He takes another bite.
HARRISON
We don't want them to ruin it either. Not
when they're the guys who keep us safe at
night.
LEWIS
They fly all night?
HARRISON
No, they fly for about two hours at a time.
Then they'll land when the next plane is in
the air.
A brief pause.
HARRISON
They'll go do their pre-flight after eating.
They always pre-flight before dark. I guess
that gives them time to fix things if
there's problems.
LEWIS
Those Black Widows are sure beautiful
planes, but they're so big.
HARRISON
True...although with a total of four
thousand horsepower, they hold their own out
there. An Oscar has only twelve hundred
horsepower.
LEWIS
Oscar?
HARRISON
Ki-43. Japs call it a Hayabusa. I think
that's some kind of bird. Oscar is our code
name for it.
LEWIS
I would love to go up in a Widow.
HARRISON
Maybe I can get you in on a check out flight
during the day tomorrow. We're almost done
repairing one that got shot up pretty bad.
Lewis lights up a little.
HARRISON
You'd be amazed how much damage they can
take and keep flying.
LEWIS
If you can do that, you got a friend for
life.
He looks over at the pair of lieutenants who are quietly eating
their meal.
EXT. AIRFIELD - DAY
It's still late afternoon. Roberts and Brewster walk up to Lady
in the Dark. They're wearing their red-lensed goggles. They
proceed to check the plane.
Roberts checks out the forward landing gear, making sure that
everything is in good condition. He checks the towing pin, runs
his hands over the tread, checks the strut extension. He peeks
inside the gear bay to check the emergency pressure.
Brewster performs the same tire, strut, and pressure check on
the starboard main gear.
Roberts moves to the port main gear while Brewster walks around
to the back of the plane.
Brewster opens a hatch so he can climb into the radar operator
compartment. He checks the latches on the upper Plexiglas
hatch, making sure they're secure and locked.
They scan over the outer skin of the plane, making sure that
there are no loose rivets or other problems. They grab the side
antennas as they walk by to make sure they're secure.
Roberts ducks under the fuselage and into the nose gear
compartment. He climbs up into the cockpit, opens the top
hatch, and climbs out onto the fuselage.
He makes his way back to the wing so he can check the fuel tank
filler caps. Everything's okay so he climbs back into the
cockpit.
INT. COCKPIT - DAY
Roberts settles into the pilot seat. He enables a row of
circuit breakers to bring the instrumentation to life. He
reaches toward the altimeter.
MATCH CUT TO:
LATER
CU on the altimeter as Roberts taps the glass. It's reading
8,500 feet. He looks back up, without his red-lensed goggles,
to see the night-time sky surrounding him.
EXT./INT. PLANE - NIGHT
The Lady in the Dark is on patrol. The moonlight escaping the
cloud cover adds an eerie feel to the scene.
Roberts looks at his watch, then speaks into the intercom.
ROBERTS
You still awake back there?
Brewster's face is illuminated by all of the radar equipment.
BREWSTER
Yeah. Sure not much happening tonight.
ROBERTS
Our time's up. Ready to head home?
BREWSTER
Let's go. Nothing to keep us here--
There's a flash on his equipment.
BREWSTER
Wait...
He studies his readouts, fiddles with some controls.
BREWSTER
Contact. Vector zero four zero, bogey at
1,000 feet altitude.
ROBERTS
Distance?
BREWSTER
Maybe 4,000 feet. He's dogging. Slow down
or we'll overshoot.
Roberts throttles back. The altimeter starts dropping.
ROBERTS
Good enough? I don't have a visual yet.
BREWSTER
Slower. This guy's crawling along, trying
to sneak in.
Roberts engages the air brakes. The big plane continues to
drop.
BREWSTER
You may have to circle around or pull an s-
turn to get behind him.
ROBERTS
No, I can do it.
BREWSTER
You see him yet?
ROBERTS
Not yet...
He squints his eyes into the darkness. Up ahead there is a
brief flash of moonlight on fuselage.
ROBERTS
Wait. Got a glint ahead.
He continues staring as the plane continues dropping. He
finally sees it clearly enough.
ROBERTS
Got it!
He watches for a few seconds.
ROBERTS
He's crawling.
He throttles back as far as he can without stalling the plane.
BREWSTER
Told you...
ROBERTS
I'll get him. I'll drop in right behind him
before he even sees me.
BREWSTER
Got an ID yet?
Roberts looks hard.
ROBERTS
Tail looks like an Oscar.
BREWSTER
One Oscar, coming up...
He makes some notations in his notebook.
Meanwhile, the Widow closes on the Oscar. Roberts finally
realizes he's not going to be able to get behind the Oscar.
ROBERTS
Not going to make it behind him, and I don't
want to chase him.
BREWSTER
What you going to do?
ROBERTS
I'm going to come right in on top of him.
BREWSTER
You're crazy.
ROBERTS
No, this is the easiest way to get him. He
doesn't have radar. He won't know we're
there until we're already on top of him.
Brewster is silent. He just doesn't know what to say.
ROBERTS
Ten bucks says he loses it and ditches.
Brewster thinks about it.
BREWSTER
Okay. You're on.
The big Widow comes down almost on top of the Oscar. It's
moving faster than the Oscar so it quickly moves up until its
nose is directly over the JAPANESE PILOT's head.
It advances just a bit farther and the Japanese pilot senses
something wrong. He looks up. All he can see is black, as if
something swallowed the stars.
He's startled and overreacts, pushing the stick forward. His
plane goes into a nose dive. He's too close to the water to
pull it out in time. The plane crashes into the ocean.
ROBERTS
Ten bucks.
BREWSTER
Yeah, yeah. Let's go home. I can't afford
to lose any more.
ROBERTS
You got it.
He banks the plane around, pointing it back toward the base.
Once he gets the plane straightened on its new course, he sees
an anomalous flash of moonlight near the ocean surface.
ROBERTS
You showing anything on the screen?
Brewster takes the time to study the radar screen.
BREWSTER
Negative. We're all by ourselves.
ROBERTS
It looks like there's something up ahead.
Maybe a ship...
BREWSTER
A ship would show on the scope.
ROBERTS
Whatever it is, we're getting closer. It
doesn't appear to be moving.
Brewster plays with his instruments in an effort to get some
kind of reading.
ROBERTS
I've never see anything like it.
He's looking at a squashed, saucer-shaped craft. The outer ring
of it is rotating. The center section is stationary. It is
highly reflective, as if it were made from polished chrome.
There's a tube extending from the craft into the water.
The Widow flies over the top of the craft. The craft doesn't
budge.
Brewster can finally see the craft from his seat in the rear of
the plane.
BREWSTER
That's impossible. It's just hovering
there.
ROBERTS
I'm going to come around.
He banks the craft and swings it around for another look. While
he's doing this. The tube on the bottom of the craft is being
retracted.
ROBERTS
It's still just sitting there.
The craft suddenly moves. It's acceleration is amazing. It's
almost instantly moving as fast as the Widow, skimming across
the surface of the ocean.
ROBERTS
Yow!
BREWSTER
What?
ROBERTS
It's running! I'm going to take it.
BREWSTER
What is it?
ROBERTS
I don't know, but I'm going to let command
sort that out later.
He chases the craft and lines up his sight. He fires a burst
from the four .50-caliber machine guns in the top turret. The
tracers show a direct hit on the craft.
A direct hit with no effect.
BREWSTER
You hit?
ROBERTS
Yeah, but nothing happened.
He makes up his mind easily.
ROBERTS
I'm going to cannons.
He lines up again and fires the four 20mm cannons.
The effect is spectacular. The craft explodes in the biggest
fireball Roberts has ever seen. He reacts by yelling.
ROBERTS
Aaahhh!!!
BREWSTER
What?
Roberts next reaction is quick...a matter of reflexes. He pulls
back on the stick and pushes the throttles because he's heading
straight for that fireball.
The plane momentarily disappears into the fireball before
emerging from the other side.
The fireball dissipates.
There is an obvious look of fear on Roberts' face, but his
training took over to keep the plane flying.
Brewster opens his eyes and realizes that he's not dead. But
from his vantage point, he can see that the plane did not escape
the fireball unscathed.
The rear control surfaces of the plane are fabric-covered. The
fireball managed to burn off most of the fabric.
BREWSTER
Bobby?
ROBERTS
Just a minute Spots. I'm having trouble
getting the plane to react.
BREWSTER
I can tell you why.
ROBERTS
Why?
BREWSTER
The tail surfaces are gone.
ROBERTS
Gone?
BREWSTER
Not completely...mostly.
Roberts doesn't know what to say, but he's not ready to give up.
BREWSTER
I'm scared...
ROBERTS
Don't worry. We're still in the air. I can
keep us level until we get home.
BREWSTER
What about landing?
ROBERTS
Well, I've got until we get home to get used
to the controls.
The plane flies through the darkness, all alone, limping home.
EXT. AIRFIELD - NIGHT
The CREW CHIEF is talking to part of his ground crew. The
ground crew is spread across a couple of Jeeps.
CREW CHIEF
I want you guys on it as soon as she's down.
INT./EXT. PLANE - NIGHT
ROBERTS
Ready?
BREWSTER
As I'll ever be.
The plane lines up on the runway, moving low and slow. The gear
hatches open and the landing gear unfolds.
EXT. AIRFIELD - NIGHT
The Jeeps are running and ready to go. The crew chief is
watching the plane approaching.
CREW CHIEF
Ready...
The big Widow gets to their position.
CREW CHIEF
Go!
The Jeeps take off after the plane.
EXT./INT. PLANE - NIGHT
The plane manages to set down. Roberts has to fight it to keep
it straight. Ultimately, he wins. He brings the plane to a
stop. He just sits there, staring through the cockpit.
BREWSTER
Bobby?
ROBERTS
Yeah?
Brewster is looking at the approaching Jeeps.
BREWSTER
The welcoming committee is here.
Roberts and Brewster climb out of the plane just as the Jeeps
stop. Roberts speaks to one of the ground crew.
ROBERTS
I need an immediate review of the gun camera
footage.
The crewman moves to get the camera.
Roberts and Brewster climb into one of the Jeeps. The driver
takes off.
Everyone else is standing at the tail end of the plane, looking
up in disbelief at the damage.
INT. MESS HALL - NIGHT
Roberts and Brewster are sitting in the empty mess hall,
drinking coffee.
A CORPORAL pokes in his head.
CORPORAL
Hey, guys.
ROBERTS
(simultaneous)
Hey, Dewey.
BREWSTER
(simultaneous)
Hey, Dewey.
CORPORAL
Colonel wants to see you right away.
ROBERTS
What for?
CORPORAL
Didn't say what for. Just right now.
ROBERTS
Thanks.
The corporal leaves. Roberts and Brewster aren't far behind.
They don't want to keep the colonel waiting.
INT. OFFICE - NIGHT
COLONEL FAIRMONT is sitting at his desk reading through some
papers in a file folder.
There's a knock on the door.
FAIRMONT
Come.
The door opens and in comes Roberts and Brewster. They salute.
ROBERTS
You wished to see us, sir?
Fairmont returns the salute.
FAIRMONT
Yes. Have a seat, boys.
As the two sit, he walks to the door and closes it.
FAIRMONT
I'm sorry to tell you that your gun camera
was damaged.
Roberts and Brewster both react.
ROBERTS
What?
FAIRMONT
Maybe when you flew through the explosion
you mentioned...the film was destroyed.
ROBERTS
But what we saw. How are we supposed to
prove--
FAIRMONT
You can't. That's one of the things I
wanted to speak with you about.
He pauses a moment, as if trying to figure out how to start.
FAIRMONT
You say you saw something fantastic out
there--
ROBERTS
(simultaneous)
We did!
BREWSTER
(simultaneous)
Yes!
FAIRMONT
I don't dispute that. But given the lack of
evidence, I would recommend that you keep
the story to yourselves.
ROBERTS
But--
FAIRMONT
I highly recommend that you keep the story
to yourselves.
The pair answers reluctantly.
ROBERTS
(simultaneous)
Yes, sir.
BREWSTER
(simultaneous)
Yes, sir.
FAIRMONT
Don't worry, I'll make sure you get credit
for the Oscar. The other one...stays
between us.
INT. FILM ROOM - DAY
A dark room with a few chairs and a projector sitting on a
table.
A GENERAL and two MEN in suits are sitting in the dark, watching
a movie. The general is holding a file folder.
The words "Washington, D.C." FILTER INTO VIEW.
The words "17 August 1945" FILTER INTO VIEW.
The words FADE AWAY.
The movie is Roberts' supposedly destroyed gun camera footage.
It clearly shows the strange craft as the Widow fires on it.
NORTON (V.O.)
Just another example of a government cover-
up. What else would you expect.
GENERAL
As you can see, this craft is identical to
the one engaged by the 547th in the
Philippines.
He turns on the lights, then stops the projector.
MAN 1
The need for absolute secrecy is vital.
This can't get out. Not yet.
GENERAL
I'll add the film and the debriefing reports
to the Chrome archive.
He tosses the file folder onto the table.
CU on the folder to show "Project: Chrome" stenciled on it.
ZOOM IN on the word "Chrome."
MATCH FADE TO:
INT. CLUB - DAY
The only thing visible is the stenciled word "Chrome."
ZOOM OUT to show that "Chrome" has been stenciled on a bass drum
that is sitting on the stage in one of the local clubs.
The word "Here" FILTERS INTO VIEW.
The word "Now" FILTERS INTO VIEW.
The words FADE AWAY.
ROADIES are finishing the stage setup. A couple of them try out
the instruments.
NORTON (V.O.)
This is where I get involved. I wasn't
around in 1945. I'm not that old.
An EXECUTIVE is speaking to one of the roadies.
EXECUTIVE
I want the spotter right there.
He points to a position high at the rear of the stage. The
roadie looks.
EXECUTIVE
That way...
He turns away from the stage.
EXECUTIVE
...he'll be able to see everything.
He gestures to the club with his hands. The roadie nods and
runs off to complete his tasks.
EXT. CLUB - DAY
A sign on the outside of the club reads "Special Engagement One
Night Only - Chrome."
INT. CLUB, BACKSTAGE - DAY
The executive is speaking to the BAND and the EVENT STAFF. The
band is very popular. The event staff consists of some big
guys. They are used to handling crowd control.
EXECUTIVE
We're pretty sure we'll get a positive
tonight. Something about the noise--
BAND
(simultaneous)
Music...
They're used to this. They know the executive isn't a fan of
their music.
The executive capitulates.
EXECUTIVE
Okay. Something about the music attracts
positives. Be aware there may be more than
one, but it's rare for that to happen in
public.
He focuses on the event staff.
EXECUTIVE
The spotter will make radio contact only
when necessary.
EVENT STAFF
(simultaneous)
Yes, sir.
Wait a minute...that sounded almost military.
EXECUTIVE
Above all, do not engage a positive. They
must not realize how we are tagging them.
Understood?
EVENT STAFF
(simultaneous)
Yes, sir.
EXT. CLUB - NIGHT
Fans are lined up, waiting to get into the club.
INT. CLUB - NIGHT
Things are rocking. It's wall-to-wall flesh, and Chrome is
really entertaining the crowd. Most of the event staff is
keeping the idiots off of the stage.
Two of the event staff are wandering randomly through the crowd.
Behind the curtain at the back of the stage, the spotter is
watching a monitor while using one hand to scan the crowd with a
special camera.
The image on the monitor looks like thermal photography. All of
the people show up on the screen as a red/orange blobs. The
red/orange blobs are bouncing and gyrating all over the place.
Wait a minute...there's an orange/yellow blob. The spotter
concentrates on that blob for a moment, comparing it with the
others.
NORTON (V.O.)
One thing we figured out was that their body
temperatures are higher than ours. Not by
much, but enough to make a difference.
The spotter finally switches the camera off of thermal mode so
he can get a visual on the orange/yellow blob.
There he is...a POSITIVE. There are no visual indications that
this is a positive. He looks like a lot of the rest of the
crowd. Maybe just a little too normal compared with some of the
others, but nothing real obvious.
The spotter speaks into the microphone that's on his head.
SPOTTER
We have a positive.
Out on the floor, one of the event staff pushes the speaker into
his ear a bit so he can hear better.
SPOTTER (O.S.)
(filtered)
I repeat, we have a positive. Center;
three-quarters back; dark hair; goat, no
'stache; faded-red shirt.
The closest event staffer makes his way closer. Once the
spotter is sure the event staffer has the positive, he verifies.
SPOTTER (O.S.)
(filtered)
You got him.
The event staffer move directly behind the positive, actually
brushing up against him on the way past.
The positive looks back, but only sees the event staffer moving
away from him. No big deal. He doesn't notice that there is
now a micro-miniature device attached to the back of his baggy
jeans.
The band plays on. The crowd loves it.
EXT./INT. PLANETFALL - NIGHT
The big, beautiful building belongs to Planetfall Records. It's
late, so there's not much happening in the street.
From the underground parking garage, to the lobby, to the
offices, to the studios, it's quiet. It looks like to only
person in the building is a SECURITY GUARD, keeping an eye on
the various security monitors.
Outside, a shiny black car cruises along the street. It turns
in at Planetfall and drives down into the parking garage below
the building.
The garage is empty. The car glides to a roll-up door at the
far end of the garage.
In the security room, a buzzer sounds. The guard looks at a
monitor to see the car sitting in front of the door. He
recognizes the car, so he hits a button.
The door rolls up to allow the car to drive through. As soon as
the car is through, the door lowers.
On the other side of the door is the secure parking area. There
are a number of cars parked here. The black car slides into its
reserved parking place by the elevator.
MICHAEL PERRUCHE gets out of the car. He's tall and well-
dressed without overdoing it. He moves to the elevator, whose
door opens immediately when he presses the call button.
He enters the elevator. Inside, there are only three buttons:
up, down, and emergency. He presses up. The door closes and he
is whisked to the top floor of the Planetfall building.
The elevator door opens onto an inconspicuous hallway. Perruche
heads for one of the doors, which he opens and enters the room.
This is the monitoring room. Here is where all of the activity
is taking place tonight. He goes straight to the station that
is being monitored by SHARON FAULKNER.
PERRUCHE
What you got?
FAULKNER
Live bug on C-sat 3. Picked it up at the
Chrome concert. Tracking. Into residential
now.
PERRUCHE
Get me an address as soon as possible. I
want it verified.
EXT. POSITIVE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The positive from the concert drives his nice car to his nice
house in a nice neighborhood. He triggers the automatic garage
door as he approaches and rolls right in, closing the garage
door behind himself.
LATER
The next morning, an INVESTIGATOR drives a nondescript car into
the neighborhood and parks across the street and one house down.
He briefly checks the house through binoculars before he settles
in to wait.
LATER
A POLICE OFFICER pulls up behind the investigator and parks.
The officer gets out and walks to the window of the
investigator's car.
OFFICER
License, registration, and proof of
insurance, please.
The investigator is ready with the paperwork. Once he hands
those to the officer, he shows his Private Investigator badge.
INVESTIGATOR
I'm gathering some information.
The officer looks briefly at the badge.
OFFICER
One moment, please.
He walks back to his car.
The investigator can see the officer on the radio through his
rear-view mirror.
The officer returns shortly and hands back the investigator's
paperwork.
OFFICER
Have a nice day.
INVESTIGATOR
Thanks.
The officer leaves. The investigator keeps watching the house.
LATER
A mail truck comes down the street, pausing at each house long
enough to stuff the mail in the mail box.
Not long after the mail truck leaves, the positive opens his
front door. The investigator checks him through the binoculars.
Nothing unusual.
He snaps a filter over the front of the binoculars as the
positive walks to the curb to get the mail. He looks again.
Now the positive's face has a wavy, unfocused look.
NORTON (V.O.)
This is the other way you can spot one of
them. We have special optics for detection.
The investigator grabs a camera with a telephoto lens and takes
a few quick snaps of the positive.
As the positive returns to his house, the investigator is
already at work. He gets a card from the glove box on which he
scribbles the work "Verified" followed by the address of the
house.
He slips this card into a Priority Mail envelope. He follows
the card with the memory device from his camera. He quickly
addresses the envelope to Planetfall and slaps a stamp on it.
He sets the envelope on the seat next to himself and drives
away.
EXT. POST OFFICE - DAY
The investigator quickly pulls through the drive through section
of the Post Office and tosses the envelope in the mail box.
INT. PLANETFALL, PERRUCHE'S OFFICE - DAY
Perruche is sitting at his desk. Faulkner enters with some
papers.
FAULKNER
This packet is ready to go.
She hands it to him. He scans it briefly.
PERRUCHE
Who's getting it?
FAULKNER
Norton's the closest.
He looks at the map in the papers.
PERRUCHE
It looks like his style will work nicely
with this one.
He hands back the papers.
PERRUCHE
Send it to Norton.
FAULKNER
Yes, sir.
She leaves the room.
INT. NORTON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The front door opens and in comes ROD NORTON.
NORTON (V.O.)
That's me. I'm a middle manager at a
nothing company. I don't really care for
the job, but it's low stress.
He's carrying his briefcase and the mail. He tosses his keys on
the entry table, sets his briefcase by the table, and closes the
door.
Norton is clean-cut and fit. Not too muscular, just healthy.
He takes the pile of mail into the kitchen, where he sits at the
table to sort and read his mail. One piece of mail is a large,
unmarked envelope with no return address. He sets this aside.
The rest of the mail is sorted quickly. Some of it goes into
the trash without being opened. He gets a couple of bills that
he looks at. The last piece of mail is the large envelope.
He opens the envelope and spreads the contents across the table.
There are a couple of photographs, a map, and a page with an
address and coordinates.
He studies the photographs, committing them to memory before
dropping them back to the table.
He leaves the room for few seconds and returns with a hand-held
GPS receiver. He enters the coordinates on the map into the
receiver.
EXT. NORTON'S HOUSE - DAY
It's early morning. The front door opens and out comes Norton
carrying a back pack. He's dressed for the outdoors. He stows
the pack in his car and takes off.
EXT. WOODS - DAY
Norton pulls up and parks his car. He pulls out his pack, makes
a last minute check on a map, and heads off into the woods.
He follows a trail for quite some time, never running into
anyone else on the trail.
NORTON (V.O.)
I've always loved the outdoors. My wife and
I used to go camping all the time. It's
because of her that I'm involved now.
He eventually finds a nice shady spot to shed his pack. He
pulls a very large pair of binoculars from his pack so he can
peer across the valley. There are houses on the other side of
the valley.
He pulls out his GPS receiver and gives it a chance to lock on
the satellites. Once it's found its position, he selects the
point designated by the coordinates on the map.
He uses the readout on the receiver to select which house to
watch. He sets up a light weight tripod so he can mount the
binoculars instead of holding them.
He pulls out a pad and pen for taking notes and gets comfortable
behind the binoculars.
Throughout the day, he rarely takes his eyes from the
binoculars. Also, the list of notes on his pad grows.
LATER
Norton stays until it gets dark. The last scene he sees through
the binoculars before he puts them away is a pretty clear
picture of the positive watching television. It's clear since
it's dark outside with the TV lighting the room.
Satisfied that he has enough information, he stores his gear,
shoulders his pack, and hikes back to his car. He puts his pack
in the car and drives away.
EXT./INT. NORTON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Norton arrives home. It's late. He pulls the pack from the car
and heads into the house.
Inside, he goes straight to the phone. He dials a number from
memory.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
What can I do for you, Mr. Norton?
NORTON
Have the maid service on standby this coming
Saturday evening.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
Maid service on standby Saturday evening.
Anything else, Mr. Norton?
NORTON
No, that will be all.
Click. The connection is broken. He hangs up the phone on his
end.
EXT. WOODS - DAY
It's day now, but only for couple more hours. Norton's car
parks in the same place at the trail head that he parked last
week.
This time, after pulling out his pack, he straps a large
rectangular container to the pack. He shrugs on the pack then
heads off on the trail.
By the time he reaches the same location where he stopped last
time, it's dark. He's using a red-beamed flashlight sparingly.
He doesn't want to ruin his night vision and he doesn't want to
give away his position.
He sheds his back pack and detaches the large container. He
opens the container to reveal a huge rifle. He pulls out the
rifle and prepares it, finally aiming toward the target house.
NORTON (V.O.)
My wife was killed by one of them. It was
probably an accident. But it was enough
that when I was approached, I agreed to
join.
He opens the rifle's action to slip in a cartridge...a .50
caliber BMG cartridge. It's almost 5-inches long.
He closes the action, locking the cartridge into place. He
peers at the target house through the scope mounted on the
rifle.
The view through the scope is into the positive's TV room.
INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT
The positive enters the room. He uses the remote to turn on the
TV and change it to a sporting event.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Norton gets the positive in the cross-hairs of his scope. He
moves his index finger to rest lightly on the trigger.
Then the positive moves.
INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT
The positive leaves the room.
He returns shortly carrying a bag of chips. He sits on the sofa
to watch the game.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Norton lines up again. He centers his scope on the positive's
chest. A lone drop of perspiration runs down the side of his
face. He moves his index finger onto the trigger.
Then the positive moves again.
INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT
The positive leaves the room again.
He returns with a can of beer. He gets comfortable on the sofa.
He's got his game, his chips, and his beer.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Norton is feeling some stress. He pulls a bandanna from a
pocket and wipes his forehead. He takes a few deep breaths and
puts his eye to the scope again. He puts the cross-hairs on the
positive's chest.
INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT
The positive is enjoying the game...until the ringing telephone
disturbs him.
He gets up to answer it.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
The positive moves from Norton's sight picture.
NORTON
Argh!
Norton disengages himself from the rifle. He stands and walks
around. He's got to calm down in order to make this shot.
He wipes his face with his bandanna then walks up the trail a
few yards. He turns around and walks the other way on the
trail.
He finally returns to the rifle. He prepares himself and sights
into the room.
The room is empty.
He holds the position, waiting.
INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT
POSITIVE (O.S.)
All right. I'll see you tomorrow.
The sound of a phone hanging up precedes the positive's re-entry
into the room. He returns to his place on the sofa.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Through the scope, Norton sees the positive return to the sofa.
He centers the cross-hairs on the positive again then lightly
rests his finger on the trigger.
He takes and releases a deep breath.
He verifies his aim before he starts to apply pressure to the
trigger.
INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT
The positive is taking a sip of beer.
Suddenly, a window breaks and the positive is knocked off of the
sofa.
A faint boom is heard in the distance.
The positive lies dead on the floor, leaking purple blood from a
very large wound.
The positive's head changes. It transitions from a human head
to an alien one. The features are much less defined; there's no
hair, no prominent ears or nose.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Norton ejects the shell from the rifle. He picks it up with his
bandanna and tucks it into his pack. He packs the rifle back
into its case and attaches the case to his back pack.
He shoulders his pack and takes off, using his red-lensed
flashlight as necessary.
He makes it back to his car, where he tosses his pack into the
car and takes off.
EXT./INT. NORTON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Norton arrives home. He takes his pack from the car a brings it
into the house.
Inside, he goes right to the phone and dials a number from
memory.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
What can I do for you, Mr. Norton?
NORTON
Have the maid service report on my
assignment.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
Maid service on your assignment. Anything
else, Mr. Norton?
NORTON
No, that will be all.
Click. The connection is broken. He hangs up the phone on his
end.
He separates the rifle case from his pack and removes the rifle.
He gets a cleaning kit to start cleaning the rifle.
EXT. POSITIVE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
A cleaning service van pulls up to the house. The CREW leaves
the van. They're carrying bags and cleaning paraphernalia.
They go straight to the front door, just like they belong.
One of them rings the doorbell, while another one slips an
electronic device in the keyhole. When all of the lights on the
device match, the crew member turns the knob on the device. The
door opens easily.
The crew enters the house and closes the door.
INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT
Without a word, the cleaning crew enters and goes to work. They
wrap up the body in plastic, clean up the blood, vacuum the
broken glass, and generally straighten the room.
They do go to great lengths to recover the bullet.
EXT. POSITIVE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The crew exits quickly and efficiently. They are carrying the
body of the positive wrapped in plastic between them. They toss
the body in the van and climb in after it.
The van drives away. The neighborhood is quiet.
But then, a car that was parked up the street glides away from
the curb in the same direction that the van went.
EXT. HAMILTON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The cleaning van stops at the curb. One of the crew, PERRY
HAMILTON, gets out of the van.
HAMILTON
See you.
He closes the door. The van drives away as Hamilton goes to and
enters his house.
The mystery car, running without headlights, parks one house
away from Hamilton's house.
EXT./INT. PLANETFALL - NIGHT
The cleaning van cruises by Planetfall and pulls into the
parking garage. It proceeds to the door to the secure section.
After a few seconds, the door raises.
The van moves into the secured area and the door lowers. There
are a couple of MEN waiting. The van parks near the men. The
cleaning crew leaves the van.
The two groups of people only barely acknowledge each other in
passing.
The cleaning crew get into their separate vehicles and leave.
The men take the body from the van, toss it onto a gurney, and
push it into the elevator.
Inside the elevator, one of the men pushes the up button. The
men pass the ride in silence.
When the doors open, they push the gurney out of the elevator
and down the hall. They open one of the doors and take the
gurney through.
The new room is Planetfall's alien storage facility. The men
transfer the body from the gurney into a storage drawer.
When they finish, they leave the room, turning the lights off on
their way out. The last one out closes the door, but it doesn't
quite latch. It swings back open a few inches.
INT./EXT. HAMILTON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
In the bedroom, Hamilton is sleeping. He's alone.
There's a movement in the shadows. It's an ALIEN SPY dressed
all in black. He pulls a syringe from a pocket and removes the
protective cap from the needle.
The spy sneaks to the side of the bed. He quickly jabs Hamilton
in the neck and presses the plunger.
Hamilton wakes startled. He starts to get up as the spy backs
away.
HAMILTON
What--
That's as far as he gets. He drops back to the bed as
consciousness leaves his body.
Outside, the garage door opens. The spy leaves the garage and
heads for his car. He drives his car into the garage, then
closes the door.
In the garage, the trunk of the spy's car is open. The spy
enters the carrying Hamilton. Hamilton is now fully dressed.
He unceremoniously dumps Hamilton into the trunk and closes the
lid.
He goes to Hamilton's car to get the garage door opener.
Back outside, the garage door opens again. This time, the spy
pulls out of the garage. He stops the car long enough to
trigger the garage door to close, then drives away.
EXT. CITY - NIGHT
The spy drives from a residential section of the city to a
commercial section of the city.
LATER
The spy drives from the commercial section of the city to an
industrial section of the city.
EXT./INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
The spy finally comes to a stop in front of an unlabeled
warehouse.
When he gets out of the car, he takes a little bit of time to
make sure that no one is watching him. Once he's satisfied that
he's alone, he extracts Hamilton from the trunk.
He lugs Hamilton to the warehouse, opens the door, and goes
inside. Once inside, he kicks the door closed.
There are large crates scattered around. The only light is
being supplied by a couple of fluorescent bulbs high above the
floor.
The spy carries Hamilton to a crate in the back of the
warehouse. He pushes the side of the crate and it swings open.
Inside the crate, there's a large, shiny object on the floor of
the crate that looks like a grate of some kind.
The spy steps into the crate. After a few seconds, he and
Hamilton vanish.
INT. ALIEN LAB - NIGHT
A small, featureless room...except for one of those large,
shiny, grate-looking things on the floor.
There is also an ALIEN DOCTOR here. He's wearing a typical lab
coat.
The spy and Hamilton appear on the grate. The doctor moves in
to help the spy manage Hamilton.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Welcome back.
SPY
(in alien with subtitles)
Thanks. Everything ready?
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Just waiting for you.
The aliens carry Hamilton through a door, into an adjacent room.
In this room, there is a narrow 12-foot table with some kind of
mechanism in the middle. There is also an ALIEN TECHNICIAN at a
control console on the other side of a pane of glass.
The spy and doctor put Hamilton on one side of the table and
slide the top of his head into the mechanism.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Your turn.
The spy hops onto the other side of the table. He lies down and
slides the top of his head into the other side of the mechanism.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Ready?
SPY
(in alien with subtitles)
Yes.
The doctor straps the spy in place with restraints.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
How's that?
The spy tugs at the restraints, making sure that they'll hold.
SPY
(in alien with subtitles)
Okay.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Now just relax. This can be a little
disorienting.
The spy takes a deep breath before responding.
SPY
(in alien with subtitles)
Ready.
The spy signals the technician, who starts manipulating the
controls.
Lights on the device on the table flash as the thing swaps the
consciousness of Hamilton with that of the spy.
Hamilton, in the body of the spy, lies strapped to the table.
The spy, in the body of Hamilton, lies unconscious on the other
side.
Hamilton starts to move, but realizes that he's restrained.
HAMILTON
What's happening? Where am I?
The doctor goes to the table. He's carrying a syringe.
HAMILTON
Who are you?
The doctor jabs him in the neck with the syringe and presses the
plunger.
Hamilton's voice fades as he speaks.
HAMILTON
Why do people keep doing that to me?
He's now unconscious. The doctor pulls another syringe out of a
pocket. He flicks the cap off of it while he moves to the other
end of the table.
He shoots the spy in the neck with the syringe. After a few
seconds, the spy opens his eyes and looks around.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
How do you feel?
SPY
(in alien with subtitles)
Okay, I guess.
He holds up his hands and looks at them.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
No. Say it in English. You must be able to
pass as one of them.
SPY
I feel okay. Just a little strange.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Try to sit up.
He does what he's told.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Now stand.
Again, the spy complies.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Good.
He signals to the technician, who leaves the room.
The spy checks himself, the sensation of being in another's body
is unusual.
SPY
This is so strange.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Do you feel dizzy at all?
SPY
No, I feel okay.
He goes to the other side of the table to look at Hamilton in
his body. He reaches into the pocket, pulls out the car keys,
and dumps them into his own pocket.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Then you better get back. We don't want
them to find you missing.
SPY
Okay.
The two return to the transporter room.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
You know what to do now.
He claps the spy on the shoulder.
DOCTOR
(in alien with subtitles)
Good luck.
SPY
Thanks.
He stands on the transporter disk and shortly vanishes...
INT./EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
...And reappears in the crate in the warehouse.
He leaves the crate, making sure that the side panel is secure.
He quickly exits the warehouse, climbs into his car, and drives
away.
EXT. HAMILTON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The garage door opens as the spy drives up. He drives into the
garage and parks. He grabs the remote control before switching
cars.
He drives off in Hamilton's car, triggering the garage door to
close as he goes.
EXT./INT. PLANETFALL - NIGHT
The spy drives by Planetfall and pulls into the underground
parking.
He slowly cruises across the parking lot to the far side. He's
a bit nervous about the whole thing. What if this doesn't work?
What if he gets caught?
He gets to the secure door at the far end and waits.
In the security room, the buzzer sounds. The guard looks at the
monitor and recognizes Hamilton and his car. He presses the
button to let the spy in.
The door rolls up and the spy drives through. He really has no
idea what to expect beyond this point. He's the first to get
this far.
He parks among the scattered cars that are already there. He
sits there for a moment, knowing that the hard part starts now.
SPY
(in alien with subtitles)
Well, here goes...
He gets out of the car and takes the obvious next step: he heads
for the elevator. He punches the button and stands a bit to the
side.
When the elevator door open, he looks in carefully. Empty.
He enters the elevator. Not much choice with the buttons, so he
presses up. The door closes and he is whisked to the top.
When the door opens, we carefully looks out into the hallway.
Empty. He leaves the elevator slowly. He looks up and down the
hallway, not sure what to do next.
Until he notices one door ajar with the lights off. He quickly
makes his way to the door, goes into the room, and closes the
door.
He flicks on the lights and looks around. It's the storage
facility. He quickly scans the drawers, looking at the dates on
the drawer fronts.
He finds the drawer that's holding the body of the positive that
was killed earlier that evening. He opens the drawer to look.
He briefly puts his hand on the body's chest before he closes
the drawer.
He pulls the tag out from the drawer front and takes it over to
the desk. He locates a piece of paper and a pen so he can
carefully copy the name of the assassin for tracking purposes.
When he's done copying Norton's name, he glances up at the
computer screen on the desk. It's on a search screen. The spy
looks around then types in Norton's name.
The computer responds with Norton's personnel record. The spy
can't believe his luck. He sees that there is a printer in the
room, and one of the menu choices is print.
He sends the record to the printer.
As he's getting the paper from the printer, he hears a noise in
the hallway. He rushes over to stand behind the door. He can
hear indistinct voices moving away from the room.
Once all is quiet, he turns off the lights and opens the door a
crack. No one there. He leaves the storage room and quickly
makes his way to the elevator.
What he doesn't realize is that he left the drawer tag on the
desk, and the computer is still on Norton's personnel record.
He gets into the elevator and makes the return trip to the
garage. He's not being as careful right now. Mostly, he's just
trying to get out with the information he's stolen.
Amazingly enough, he gets back to the car and gets out of the
garage without being caught.
EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE - NIGHT
The spy parks in the parking lot of a convenience store in order
to check a road map. He uses the map to find the address listed
on Norton's record.
INT. PLANETFALL - NIGHT
A CLERK enters the storage room carrying a stack of file
folders. He puts the stack on the desk and notices the drawer
tag. He looks at the drawers, then back at the tag. Then he
happens to look at the computer screen.
CLERK
Oh, no...
He runs out of the room with the tag.
INT./EXT. NORTON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Norton is sleeping. That is until the phone rings. He answers
the phone with sleep in his voice.
NORTON
Hello?
PERRUCHE (O.S.)
(filtered)
Rod, this is parakeet. Do you understand?
When Norton answers, the sleep is gone from his voice.
NORTON
Yes, sir.
PERRUCHE (O.S.)
(filtered)
Rod, you have to bolt.
NORTON
Did you say bolt?
PERRUCHE (O.S.)
(filtered)
Yes. Right now!
NORTON
Yes, sir!
He hangs up the phone and leaps out of bed.
Outside, the spy shuts off his headlights as he pulls up in
front of the house on the other side of the street. Just as he
parks, Norton's garage opens.
Norton takes off, paying no attention to the spy across the
street. The spy pulls away from the curb without turning on his
lights to follow Norton.
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
The highway is practically deserted.
Until Norton drives by.
Then a short time later, the spy drives by, driving without
headlights.
EXT./INT. CABIN - NIGHT
This is Norton's safe house in the woods. It's not listed
anywhere in his personnel records. No one at Planetfall knows
where it is.
Norton pulls up and parks. He gets out and carries his
emergency bag to the cabin. It's obvious that he left in a
hurry because he's wearing a bathrobe.
On the dirt road leading to the cabin, the spy stops at the
point where he can just see the cabin. He backs down the road
away from the cabin, so any noise he might make won't give him
away.
Inside the cabin, it's small, but not crowded. Norton is in the
bedroom. The light is coming from an oil lantern.
Norton is sitting on the edge of the bed. He opens his bag and
pulls out a handgun. He sets the gun on the night stand and
puts the bag on the floor.
He stands long enough to shed his bathrobe, then he climbs into
bed. He blows out the lantern.
Outside, the spy slowly approaches the cabin. He just saw the
light go out. He moves up to the front door and quietly tries
it.
Of course it's locked.
He pulls out a set of lock picks and goes to work on the front
door.
In the bedroom, Norton is sleeping.
In the front room, the spy is very quietly closing the door
behind himself. He unsheathes a large knife and lets his eyes
get used to the dark.
He looks around the room and his eyes finally settle on a katana
that is mounted on the wall. He quickly compares his knife and
the sword, and he decides on the sword.
He gets the sword off of the wall. It does make a slight noise
when he pulls it from its scabbard.
The noise may have been slight, but Norton heard it. He listens
alertly as he reaches for his gun. He cocks the hammer.
The spy hears the hammer being cocked. He hides in the shadows
to the side of the opening into the short hallway.
Norton slowly advances down the short hallway, his gun out in
front of him.
The spy waits, the sword ready.
Norton reaches the end of the hallway. His gun sticks out
through the opening first.
The spy see the gun. More than that, he sees the movement, and
he reacts by swinging the sword. The sword connects with the
gun and sends it crashing through a window.
Norton and the spy stand there looking at each other. Only
Norton doesn't see an alien spy, he sees Hamilton.
NORTON
Perry! What are you doing here?
SPY
(in alien with subtitles)
Die, Earth scum!
He takes a swing at Norton, but Norton ducks under it. Norton
quickly goes over his options.
He wants his gun back, so he dives through the broken window.
Outside, he starts hunting through the dead leaves, trying to
find his gun.
Inside, the spy runs for the front door. He goes outside and
around the cabin where Norton is looking for his gun.
Norton, without his gun, decides that his best defense will be
from a standing position. He stands and faces the spy.
NORTON
What's gotten into you, Perry?
SPY
It's the end of the road for you, Mr.
Assassin.
Norton backs up as the spy advances. The spy raises the sword
over his head, preparing to strike.
Norton takes a quick glance behind himself as he's backing up so
he doesn't trip. He notices a fallen branch. He stomps on the
end of the branch and it flips up into the air.
Norton grabs the branch and blocks the sword blow just in time.
The sword bites deeply into the branch, but the branch holds.
The two stand there looking at each other, the sword stuck in the branch.
The spy tugs a couple of times and finally frees the sword.
Norton realizes the branch won't block another blow like that.
He brings the branch down across his knee and breaks it into two
pieces.
The spy swings again, but Norton blocks it by holding the
branches up in an "X" pattern.
The sword stops without causing too much damage to the branches,
and Norton goes on the offensive. He kicks the spy squarely in
the chest.
To the spy's credit, he doesn't let go of the sword as he is
forced back. The spy recovers and the two stand there facing
each other again.
SPY
This isn't fair. You have two weapons, I
have one.
NORTON
Want to trade?
The spy is angry and charges with the sword raised for another
strike. Norton takes the opportunity to jab the spy in the
stomach with one of the branches.
The spy stops and doubles over. Norton finishes the job by
smacking the spy in the head with the other branch.
The spy is down.
Norton tosses the branches aside and drags the spy back into the
cabin. He dumps him on the floor and leaves the room.
The spy stirs a little. He manages to get himself into a
sitting position. He's cradling his sore head in his hands when
Norton returns, carrying some rope.
Norton goes to stand in front of the spy. The spy looks up at
him.
SMACK!
Norton sucker-punches him unconscious again. Norton gets the
spy into one of the chairs and ties him up good. This spy is
not going to escape.
Now that the situation is under control, Norton lights an oil
lantern. He leaves the room for just a moment, returning with a
glass of water. He throws the water in the spy's face.
The spy coughs and shakes his head. His head still hurts so he
lets out a little moan of pain. He slowly opens his eyes,
focusing at last on Norton.
NORTON
Who are you?
SPY
Don't you recognize me?
Norton slugs the spy in the stomach. The spy doubles over as
far as he can against the restraints.
NORTON
I don't think Perry would try to kill me.
Norton grabs the spy by the hair and lifts him back up.
The spy spits in Norton's face.
Norton responds by sucker-punching him again.
Norton goes back to the bedroom where he digs a cell phone out
of his bag. He quickly dials.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
What can I do for you, Mr. Norton.
NORTON
Let the parakeet know I'm bring in some new seed.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
You're bringing in new seed. Anything else,
Mr. Norton?
NORTON
No, that's all.
He closes the connection.
EXT./INT. NORTON'S CAR - NIGHT
A lone car is traveling on the highway.
Inside, Norton is driving. He's listening to music on the
radio. His recovered gun is sitting beside him on the seat.
The spy is lying unconscious in the back seat. He's still tied
up, plus he's been blindfolded.
EXT./INT. PLANETFALL - NIGHT
Norton drives by the Planetfall building and pulls into the
parking area. He drives to the roll-up, which almost
immediately raises.
He drives into the secure parking. The men with the gurney are
waiting. He parks by the men, gets out of his car, and gestures
toward the back seat.
He heads for the elevator while the men move in to get the spy.
A little bit later, Norton and Perruche are in a small room.
It's featureless except for a large viewing window in one wall.
The window opens on an empty examining room.
NORTON
I don't know how they're doing it, but
they've managed to duplicate existing
people. Wait till you see this one. He's a
dead ringer for Perry.
The door to the examining room opens and the men push in the spy
on the gurney. The spy is now conscious. He strapped to the
gurney and still blindfolded.
The spy is speaking in an endless stream, but the room is
soundproof.
The men park the gurney in the middle of the room and leave,
closing the door on their way out.
NORTON
Just look at him.
PERRUCHE
He does look like an exact duplicate.
Perruche enables a speaker so he can hear into the other room.
SPY
(filtered; in alien with
subtitles)
--worthless infestation! We will win! We
will destroy all--
Perruche disables the speaker.
PERRUCHE
There's no doubt that he's alien, but I've
never known them to duplicate someone.
NORTON
They've obviously figured out how to do it.
PERRUCHE
Wait a minute...
Perruche presses a different button.
PERRUCHE
Give me current position on Perry Hamilton.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
One moment.
NORTON
What are you doing?
PERRUCHE
Just a hunch.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
Perry Hamilton is currently in the building.
Perruche and Norton look at each other. Then they look at the
spy.
PERRUCHE
He's not a duplicate. He's Perry.
NORTON
How can that be?
PERRUCHE
At least it's Perry's body. It has to be.
We're reading his tracking device.
NORTON
Then what have they done to Perry?
Perruche hits the intercom button again.
PERRUCHE
Prepare a tracking map on Perry Hamilton for
the last 12 hours.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
(filtered)
Yes, sir.
PERRUCHE
Let's go.
The two leave the room. Through the glass, the spy is still
ranting and raving.
In the monitoring room, Perruche and Norton are looking at a map
of the city. Hamilton's tracked positions are marked in red.
It mostly forms a trail, but there is one separate location
marked in red.
Perruche points out the anomalous position on the map.
PERRUCHE
This is the part that doesn't make sense.
NORTON
It must have been a tracking equipment
malfunction.
PERRUCHE
No, I think that the aliens have not only
developed a means to take over a body, like
Perry, they have some form of matter
transmission.
NORTON
This could mean new trouble for us.
PERRUCHE
I think it also means they don't know about
our tracking implants. They would never
have done this to one of ours if they knew.
NORTON
What now?
PERRUCHE
We strike.
EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
It's shortly before dawn as the armed, black-suited SOLDIERS
position themselves around the warehouse.
EXT. ALIEN LAB - NIGHT
Meanwhile, across town, a COMMANDER sits in a black van and
looks at a map just like the one with Hamilton's tracking
information. He puts a finger on the solitary location, then
looks up to view the unmarked industrial building.
He signals to the SOLDIERS in the back of the van to surround
the building. They quietly disembark and take up their
positions.
EXT./INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY
One of the soldiers has his finger to his ear, putting pressure
on his earphone so he'll be sure to hear.
COMMANDER (O.S.)
(filtered; whispered)
Go!
The soldier signals the others. They break open the front door
with a battering ram and stream inside. They quickly position
themselves all over the warehouse.
EXT./INT. ALIEN LAB - NIGHT
Across town, a similar action is taking place. The soldiers
batter the front door and stream in, but they face some
resistance.
The aliens are caught off-guard so they sustain heavy casualties
in the fighting.
Back by the transporter, a WORKER hears the gunfire. He runs to
the transporter and vanishes.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
He appears in the crate and runs out, only to be confronted by a
warehouse full of soldiers.
SOLDIER 1
Freeze!
The alien puts his hands up. The soldier addresses one of his
buddies.
SOLDIER 1
Secure that crate.
INT. ALIEN LAB - NIGHT
Hamilton is trapped in his cell. He can hear the gunfire, but
he can't do anything about it. He's alone.
Suddenly, a soldier bursts into the room. He sees Hamilton, who
of course looks just like an alien.
SOLDIER 2
Hands up!
Hamilton raises his hands.
HAMILTON
Wait! I'm one of you guys! Call Perruche!
The two stand there facing each other. The soldier isn't quite
sure what to do.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
The soldier addresses the rest of his unit.
SOLDIER 1
The other position has been secured. Clean
up here. It's almost dawn.
EXT. ALIEN LAB - NIGHT
The last of the soldiers are piling into the van as the first
glimmer of light shows on the horizon.
NORTON (V.O.)
It was a successful raid. We managed to
capture some new technology. The hard part
is figuring out how it works.
INT. PLANETFALL - DAY
Hamilton is staying in a room at Planetfall until he can be put
back into his body.
NORTON (V.O.)
Poor Perry. We couldn't get any of them to
tell us how to run the machine to restore
him. I don't think he's too bothered by it,
though.
INT. CLUB - NIGHT
Norton is sitting at a table, sipping a drink, listening to
Chrome play.
NORTON (V.O.)
Me? I know I'm doing my part to save the
world. That plus I get free admission to
any band contracted by Planetfall.
The band is rocking. The fans are having a blast.
NORTON (V.O.)
Chrome is my favorite. I may seem a little
old for it, but I like them. They know
what's going on. It helps me feel a little
less lonely.
ZOOM OUT to take in the whole club. Everyone seems to be having
a good time.
FADE TO BLACK.
The End
Chrome is © 2000 Lanny Maude