David Conley

RUN EPISODE #1 By David Martyn Conley - BLACK In the darkness, we hear a calm voice. FEMALE VOICE I want to apologize... INT. GRAHAM HOME- MORNING FISHER, 30s African American female. She is very attractive and dressed in very expensive clothing. She sits at the head of a dining room table. We are close on her face. FISHER ...I am usually a better negotiator than this, but I’m afraid I don’t have much time. I need to know I can count on your support. INT. GRAHAM HOME- DIFFERENT ANGLE We are close on DENNIS, African American male mid 30’s to early 40s. He is seated, sweating, and extremely nervous. DENNIS S-Support? INT. GRAHAM HOME- CONTINUOUS We are back to our close on Fisher. She smiles. FISHER I need a favor Dennis. A big favor. You do a favor for me. I’ll do one for you. INT. GRAHAM HOME- DENNIS ANGLE Back to the close on Dennis. This time we see more of him, though and it is clear he has a rope tied around his chest. There is a man partly visible over his left shoulder. DENNIS What kind of favor? FISHER Simple. 2. INT. GRAHAM HOME- FISHER ANGLE Still Close on Fisher. FISHER You deliver something for me... INT. GRAHAM HOME- DIFFERENT ANGLE For the first time, we see the entire room. It is a tastefully decorated upper middle class dining room. Fisher sits at the head of the table. Dennis is next- to Fisher’s right. He is turned facing Fisher. He is bound by rope around the chest. His hands are behind his back. Across the table from Dennis is LILY Hispanic American Female, mid 30s. She is bound to a chair as well, except her arms are bound to the arms of the chair. Next to her is their daughter MORGAN,15 yr old product of both parents. She is bound as well, just like Lily. Two men stand silently in the room. LANG, 30s stands next to Dennis. ORTIZ stands just behind and between the ladies. Both henchmen are still as statues. The room is boiling with tension. FISHER ... and I won’t kill your family. Dennis looks abruptly to his family. They are looking at him The tension goes up ten degrees. INT. GRAHAM HOME- CONTINUOUS Dennis looks back to Fisher. DENNIS Deliver what? On cue, Lang rolls a computer bag into Dennis’ field of vision, next to Fisher. Fisher’s eyes remain on Dennis until the bag arrives. She looks down at the bag. FISHER (CONTD) This bag. She unzips it. LILY What’s in it? Dennis shoots Lily a look. She looks to him and back to Fisher. Fisher keeps her gaze on Dennis. She stretches open the mouth of the bag. She looks into the bag, then up to Lily. The look on Fisher’s face is mildly sympathetic. (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 3. FISHER Its a bomb, Lily. Dennis is going to detonate it on the ten o’clock Metrolink train as it pulls into the airport. Lily looks to Dennis. He looks to her and Morgan. One hundred degree rise in tension. LILY Oh My God! MORGAN Daddy! DENNIS Its alright baby. FISHER No, Morgan, honey. Its not. I won’t lie to you Dennis. This is as bad as it gets. A lot of people are going to die. You... are going to die. Lily and Morgan here, will live. LILY No. No!! Morgan cries helplessly. DENNIS What if I refuse? A beat. Fisher stares at Dennis without expression. Then... FISHER Let me crystallize the choice for you, Dennis. Ortiz, quickly, puts a gag in Morgan’s mouth and grabs her immobilized hand. She is powerless to resist since her arm is already secure. Simultaneously, Lang moves toward Morgan’s chair. Along the way, he produces what looks like a pair of heavy duty hand held pruners. The Grahams begin to panic. It is hard to say who is more terrified. Each of them fights feverishly in futility. Fisher remains calm. MORGAN DADDY!!! (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 4. The men are upon her. Ortiz pries at the index finger on her left hand. Lang holds the hungry, menacing tool ready. He places it at the crease of the first knuckle, and looks to Fisher. LILY STOP! STOP IT!! LEAVE HER ALONE!! A frantic Dennis looks to Fisher who is already looking at him intently. DENNIS Waitaminute. Waitaminute! Waitaminute. Please. I’m begging you. Don’t... Fisher stares at Dennis’ desperate face for a beat. Lily and Morgan are crying- silent, intense whimpering in the pause. Dennis shakes his head. DENNIS (CONTD) Please... Without moving her head, Fisher shifts her gaze to Lang. Without hesitation, Lang cuts off Morgan’s index finger at the first knuckle joint. The gag muffles the volume, but not the power and pain of Morgan’s scream. Lily screams too while leaning toward her baby. Dennis goes crazy against his restraints. He tries to scoot the chair toward Fisher. DENNIS (CONTD) YOU BITCH!! I’LL KILL YOU! Fisher puts her foot on Dennis’ chair between his legs. stops the chair and Dennis’ advance cold. She FISHER Tick tock Dennis. What’s it going to be? I will cut them both into little pieces in front of your face. Don’t waste my time. Dennis, slowly sobering from a blind rage, looks to his frightened family. Fisher nods to the men. They go for her finger again. Both women scream again. DENNIS OKAY!!! Lang and Ortiz freeze. Lang looks to Fisher. her gaze to Dennis. Fisher turns (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 5. DENNIS (CONTD) I’ll do it. The implications of that decision are not lost on Lily and Morgan. They continue crying/moaning. Now the sorrow is deeper. Fisher leans close to Dennis, studying his face. FISHER Thank you Dennis. EXT. CITY STREET- MORNING Dennis walks swiftly down the street, rolling the computer bag behind him. He is a man on a mission. People are hustling along the street around him on missions of their own. FISHER (V.O.) We will stick to your routine as much as we can. Normally, you catch the number 18 bus, at 8:30a.m. to work. Today you will connect with the 9:03a.m. Metrolink. DENNIS (V.O.) How did you...? FISHER (V.O.) Focus. INT. GRAHAM DINING ROOM- MORNING Fisher stands at the table. On the table in front of her is the computer bag. Dennis stands at the table too. The bag is between them. Ortiz stands silently between the two ladies. Lang is working on a SMART PHONE. Fisher activates the bomb. A timer starts at 90 minutes counting down. FISHER (CONTD) That train will arrive at the airport at 10a.m. exactly. That’s when the bomb will explode. If you don’t make it, your family dies. Dennis nods his comprehension. Lang steps up and hands the smart phone to Dennis. LANG I downloaded a monitoring program on your phone. We can track you, (MORE) (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 6. LANG (cont’d) hear your phone calls, monitor your texts and email. Dennis stares at the phone in his hand. He looks from the phone, to the bomb, to his family and back to the phone. Lang and Fisher watch him closely. FISHER Take the phone Dennis. EXT. CITY STREET- MORNING Dennis still moving along the street. The hand not gripping the computer bag handle is holding the SMART PHONE. INT. GRAHAM DINING ROOM- CONTINUOUS Dennis exhales. at Fisher. He takes the phone and holds it. He looks FISHER (CONTD) You get cute, they get dead. You understand? Dennis nods. DENNIS Can I... Dennis clears his throat. Tears begin to form but he still looks Fisher in the eyes. DENNIS (CONTD) I... uh... I want to say goodbye to my family. Fisher holds Dennis’ gaze for a beat. She politely grabs the phone from Dennis’ hand, looks at her watch and back to Dennis. FISHER Please, make it quick Dennis. EXT. CITY STREET- CONTINUOUS Dennis is still moving. His pace is a little more urgent. He is fighting to not let his emotions take over. No one on the street seems to notice. We hear the sounds of tearful embraces. (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 7. LILY (V.O.) (crying) What are we going to do? INT. GRAHAM DINING ROOM- CONTINUOUS Dennis, Lily, and a bandaged Morgan are all in a huddle. Dennis is hugging their two bound bodies. They are leaning into him as best they can. Fisher and the two men are standing away together. DENNIS I gotta do what they tell me, baby. MORGAN I love you Daddy. He smiles weakly. DENNIS I love you both so much. LILY We love you too. We’re going to pray, but Dennis listen. (whispering) You’re smarter than them... than this. You figure this out... if you can. Dennis looks at her urgent face, trying to understand. He nods. He kisses her on the lips. She kisses his lips then the side of his mouth, then his cheek, desperately climbing toward his ear with kisses. She arrives. EXT. CITY STREET- CONTINUOUS Dennis is walking, head up, determined. LILY (V.O.) (Desperate Whisper) You figure this out! A realization comes across Dennis’ face. EXT. CITY STREET- DIFFERENT ANGLE The source of Dennis’ realization is revealed. His bus is approaching the stop a half block away. Dennis is about to miss the Bus!