BACK INVENT02 23' INVENTOR'S DAUGHTER episode: hands-free helmet EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: OUTSIDE THE ARMY BASE (Humvee exits security gate with Sarg at the wheel and Colonel Abernathy in the back seat looking out the window) EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: CITY STREET (turns corner, stops for a road block with a hardhatted flagman (Enemy1) holding a stop sign and a hardhatted worker (Enemy2) drops orange cones along the shoulder of the road as the Humvee comes to a stop next to him) ENEMY1 (approaches the driver with Russian accent) Sorry for the inconvenience, but... (produces a tranquilizer gun, shoots Sarg in the neck, while the other hardhat opens Abernathy's door, tranqs him, carries his limp body to a nearby van, they drive away) INT AFTERNOON WIDE: MICHAELA'S KITCHEN (Dad sits at the table, tightens small screws inside the ear covers of a batter's helmet with a jeweler's screwdriver) (sound cue: front door opens afar) MICHAELA (voiceover, afar) Daddy, I'm home. DAD In the kitchen. MICHAELA (enters wearing backpack, removes it) What are you working on? DAD Colonel Abernathy made several additions to the new stealth helmet system. MICHAELA Are those MY shoes? DAD Yes, I've modified them to work with the helmet. MICHAELA (points) How are shoes an addition to a baseball helmet? DAD You know the army.... BOTH They give you money, they think they can tell you what to do. DAD Yeah. They liked the idea of combining the five inventions into the helmet, but they added a bunch of new features on top of that. MICHAELA So, what do the shoes do? Or am I not allowed to know that? DAD Just the opposite. You were so good at operating all five of the devices during the hostage rescue that Colonel Abernathy decided to hire you. MICHAELA Hire... me?! DAD The congress cut his budget, so he can't afford the payroll for soldiers to test all the new weapons and devices. So, he'll pay YOU $100 per hour to test them. MICHAELA $100 per hour?! For me?! DAD Actually, he offered to pay you $200. But I'm depositing half of it in your college savings account. MICHAELA Really?! DAD I thought you'd like it. MICHAELA So, I get to play with your new inventions AND get paid for it?! DAD (puts down helmet, picks up one of two girl's party shoes, and turns it over, exposing the wire-wound donut-shaped coil where the heel should be, applies the hollow heel, begins tightening screws) I'm not sure I like the word PLAY. This is serious business. MICHAELA For a hundred dollars, I'll do whatever you say. DAD Strickly business? MICHAELA Strickly business. (points to coil) Say, isn't that thing there just like the one on the gravity glove? DAD Yes. These shoes operate on the same principle as the glove, they create their own anti-gravity field. MICHAELA What do they do? DAD I call them helicopter shoes. What do you think they do? MICHAELA They make me fly? DAD Exactly. Colonel Abernathy also insisted that I include a two way radio and a data uplink into the helmet. MICHAELA That way I can talk to you while I'm flying. DAD That's the idea. Unfortunately, with all the new features, the helmet is a lot heavier and we needed to add a battery belt for the extra functions. (points to belt on the chair) Try it on, see if I got your size right. MICHAELA (picks up belt, hefts it, it's stiff and heavy) It's heavy. (tries on belt) DAD (puts down shoe, picks up the other, applies hollow heel over coil, tightens screws) Yeah, well, with the added power requirement comes extra batteries. (sound cue: phone rings) (glances toward wall phone) That's the business line. Can you get it? MICHAELA (to phone) Dr Tuttle's residence. (offers phone) It's Sergeant Taggert. (points to phone) DAD (phone to ear) This is Howard Tuttle. You're kidding! MICHAELA What's the matter? DAD (finger to lips) Yes. Yes, of course we CAN. But we haven't tested all the new features yet. Are you sure? What about special forces? Well, if they're still in the area, even the local swat team can.... I see. I see. Okay, then, we'll do our very best. (offers phone, resumes tightening screws with vigor) MICHAELA (hangs up) Something wrong? DAD Yes! Colonel Abernathy has been kidnapped. MICHAELA He what?! DAD It's the same enemy as kidnapped me. MICHAELA Why would they kidnap him? He doesn't know how any of your inventions work, does he? DAD No. But they've already called in a ransom demand. They're going to trade Colonel Abernathy for the first five inventions. MICHAELA Holy Socks! DAD It's even worse than that. The kidnappers said that if we try to rescue the colonel -- if they even see a helicopter or even a cop in uniform, they're going to kill the colonel. MICHAELA So, the sergeant wants to use your inventions for the rescue? DAD Sergeant Taggert wants YOU to do the rescue using this helmet system. MICHAELA Well, I did it once. How hard could it be? DAD The helmet hasn't been tested. It hasn't even been calibrated. You could end up dead! I thought maybe I could do the rescue. MICHAELA Daddy! The belt fits me. No way it will fit you. Same with the helmet. Besides, I've used all the tools under pressure. It has to be me. (removes belt) DAD Yes, but the helmet operating system uses a completely different interface. I can't allow you to endanger your life under double pressure. MICHAELA Can you think of a better idea? DAD (deep breath) Okay. Go change your clothes. I should have all of these buttoned up by the time you get back. (Michaela exits) EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: MICHAELA'S BACKYARD (Michaela, in stocking feet, kneels on one knee, slipping on the new shoes while Dad, wearing a comm headset, helps her into her helmet and tightens the chin strap) DAD The more I think about this rescue, the less I like it. MICHAELA Why? DAD The operating system is completely different. It's voice activated and you don't even know all the commands. In an emergency, a slow response could get you killed. I think I'll just call him and tell him we can't do it. MICHAELA Daddy! It will be fine! Your inventions are always easy to learn. Even a child could learn how to use them! I ought to know. (picks up belt, stands, puts on belt) Come on. Let's at least try it. DAD (pauses with fingers to forehead) Alright, but don't rush things. If I see any danger, I'm shutting this whole thing down. If I have to choose between you and Colonel Abernathy, I choose you! MICHAELA Okay. What do I do? DAD Okay, to turn the system on, the command is Helmet System on. MICHAELA HELMET SYSTEM ON. (looks up when a red LED lights up in the middle of the underside of the bill of the helmet, a small transparent lens descends from the underside of the bill of the helmet and stops over her left eye) MOTHER (voiceover, woman's voice) Helmet systems check. All systems GO. MICHAELA (smiles) Daddy! That's Mom's voice! DAD (smiles) I synthesized her voice for you. I figured that if you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to your Mom. MICHAELA I miss her. DAD Focus on the mission, sweetie. (adjusts his headset microphone) (sound cue: Dad's voice filtered through radio) Can you hear me in your headphones? MICHAELA Yes. Loud and clear. DAD Do you see the commands listed across the top of your left eye lens? MICHAELA (POV: left eye lens: thin, red cross hairs are superimposed over what Michaela is looking at, the words "COMMANDS: CONCEAL SHRINK PUSH PULL SEE-THRU MOVE-ME" appear across the top of the screen) Yes. Oh, I see! I use those commands instead of pushing buttons. DAD Yes, that leaves the soldier's hands free to fight his battles. MICHAELA What happens if I say one of those commands by accident? DAD You won't say the commands alone. All commands are two or three words. See if you can figure out the first command by yourself. MICHAELA CONCEAL... ME. (special affect: Michaela disappears) (voiceover) What do I say now? DAD You say STOP. MICHAELA STOP. (special affect: Michaela reappears) DAD You can say STOP after ANY command and it will stop. MICHAELA What if I say two commands in a row, then say STOP? Which one will it stop? DAD If you say two commands in a row, the second command will automatically STOP the first before executing the new command. MICHAELA So, that means I can't ... (reads screen) conceal and shrink at the same time? DAD If that turns out to be a problem, we'll change it later, but for this mission, you can't. MICHAELA What about the glove commands? How do I know what to PUSH and PULL? DAD Do you see the cross hairs in your left eye lens? MICHAELA (POV: left eye lens: aims cross hairs at a window and then to some nearby wind chimes) Yes. DAD Whatever you aim at with those cross hairs, you can push or pull using the command PUSH THAT or PULL THAT and any number from one through nine. MICHAELA What's the number for? DAD The number tells it how hard to push or pull. MICHAELA How do I stop pushing or pulling? Just say STOP? DAD (nods) OR it will stop automatically as soon as you move the cross hairs off the target. (points at wind chimes hanging from the rain gutter) See if you can make those chimes make music. MICHAELA (POV: left eye lens: aims the cross hairs at the wind chimes) PUSH... THAT... ONE. (special affect: the chimes clink softly) (turns toward Dad, smiles) Piece of cake! Now, let's try the see-through camera? It uses the cross hairs too? DAD (nods) The command is SEE-THRU THAT. The full-motion video will appear on your lens until you say the command... MICHAELA STOP. Or I just move the cross hairs off of what I'm looking through. (dad nods) How about the transporter? It uses the cross hairs too? DAD (nods) the command is... MICHAELA (POV: left eye lens: turns head, aims cross hairs at the grass nearby) MOVE-ME THERE. (special affect: Michaela disappears and reappears two feet away) DAD You catch on fast. MICHAELA Okay, now, what about these new helicopter shoes? I don't see a command for them on the screen. DAD It works on the same command as the transporter, except instead of using the cross hairs, you give the direction you want to move and the speed number from 1 to 9. MICHAELA (nods) Oh, I get it. MOVE-ME UP... DAD Michaela! Go slow! MICHAELA ...ONE. (special affect: Michaela ascends slowly) How do I get it to... DAD (quickly) Don't say stop! You say STOP you'll turn the helicopter shoes off completely and fall like a rock! To stop moving in any direction, the command is... MICHAELA MOVE-ME UP ZERO (special affect: Michaela stops ascending and hovers) DAD You are really good at this! MICHAELA MOVE-ME DOWN ONE (special affect: Michaela descends slowly until she touches grass) DAD Good. One last thing... (positions headset microphone) Testing one, two, three. Can you hear my voice in your helmet headphones? MICHAELA Loud and Clear. Can you hear me? DAD Loud and clear. Much as I hate to admit it, my baby girl is ready to go. (pauses, hugs) You be careful! If you get killed, I'll never speak to you again! MICHAELA I'll be careful. I promise. (as soon as Dad backs away) MOVE-ME UP 10 (special affect: Michaela ascends out of frame as if shot out of a cannon) DAD (looks up, stomps foot) Michaela Rose! EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: SKY MICHAELA (enters frame from below) MOVE-ME UP ZERO. (special affect: Michaela slows to hover) Daddy, how do I find out where Colonel Abernathy is? DAD Ask Mother. MICHAELA Mother, WHERE IS COLONEL ABERNATHY? MOTHER Turn to heading 1 9 0 MICHAELA (pauses, thinks) Um let's see... MOVE-ME HEADING 1 9 0 (special affect: Michaela's body turns, POV: left eye lens: a map of the city appears on the left eye lens with a blinking red dot superimposed over the harbor.) Daddy, the screen shows a red dot over the harbor. It's moving out toward the ocean. DAD That's Colonel Abernathy. He must be on a boat now. MICHAELA Mother, how do I fly toward the harbor? MOTHER The command is MOVE-ME FORWARD. MICHAELA MOVE-ME FORWARD NINE. (special affect: Michaela's whole body tilts forward, shoots out of frame at high speed) (jump cut: Michaela flies into frame, camera follows) Daddy, how does Mother know where Colonel Abernathy is? DAD After my kidnapping, all of the soldiers on this project have been injected with a tracking chip under their skin. MICHAELA Like they do to dogs and cats? DAD Except this chip is detected anywhere in the world by a military satellite. MICHAELA Daddy, you did a good job on this helmet. I like this a lot better than a backpack full of devices. DAD So far. But that helmet is completely untested. You go slow. MICHAELA Daddy, do I get a hundred dollars for this rescue? DAD If, and only if, you go slow. MICHAELA (POV: left eye lens: the semitransparent map overlay allows Michaela to see a cabin cruiser a mile beyond the mouth of the harbor) Daddy, I see a big boat about a mile from the harbor going out to sea. DAD You need to confirm it. CLEAR SCREEN. MICHAELA CLEAR SCREEN. (POV: left eye lens: map overlay is wiped, leaving a live view of the ocean below and the cross hairs, a red dot blinks over the forward deck of the boat) Yes. It's confirmed. The red dot is now over the front deck of the boat. Colonel Abernathy must be in there. I'm going down. (POV: left eye lens: positions the cross hairs over the roof of the boat's pilot house) MOVE-ME THERE (special affect: Michaela disappears) DAD Michaela Rose! You be... EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: ROOF OF THE MOVING CABIN CRUISER DAD ...careful! (special affect: Michaela appears standing on the roof of the wheel house) MICHAELA (quietly) Piece of cake. (stumbles in the wind and rolling sea) (sound cue: door opening) (ducks) (softly) Daddy, they know I'm here. We lost the element of surprise. ENEMY1 (exits wheel house, turns, Russian accent) Who is up on my roof? (cranes neck, creeps, cranes neck) Is that you, Vlademir? Vlad? MICHAELA (deepest voice) Da. It's me, Vlademir. ENEMY1 (draws pistol, shouts) You don't fool me! Come down or I fill you with holes! MICHAELA (softly) Well, that didn't work. CONCEAL ME. (special affect: Michaela disappears) (POV: left eye lens: Michaela rises up until the cross hairs are on the pistol) (voiceover) PULL THAT FIVE. (special affect: Michaela reappears) (special affect: pistol flies out of Enemy1's hand to above the roof) PULL THAT ZERO. (special affect: pistol hovers in midair over the roof) PUSH THAT TEN. (special affect: pistol flies into the ocean) ENEMY1 (double take on hand and roof and ocean) What the...? (POV: left eye lens: Michaela focuses the cross hairs on Enemy1's chest) MICHAELA PUSH THAT NINE. (special affect: Enemy1 flips backward over rail and into the ocean) MICHAELA (special affect: Michaela reappears lowering herself from the roof) Daddy, an enemy agent just went into the ocean near my location. DAD Understood. A harbor patrol boat is on the way. I'll have them scoop him up on the way to you. INT AFTERNOON WIDE: CRUISER'S WHEEL HOUSE MICHAELA (climbs down to the deck and enters) Now, I don't know much about boats, but I do believe you turn this boat toward shore by turning.... (turns wheel) this wheel. (boat u-turns) It's turning, Daddy. The boat is heading back toward shore. DAD Keep in mind, Sweetie, that other enemy agents on that boat will feel the boat turning and will come up on deck. Be careful. EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: WALKWAY OUTSIDE WHEEL HOUSE MICHAELA (exits wheel house and turns toward ladder, sees Enemy2 climbing ladder) ENEMY2 Well, what have we here, a stowaway? (draws pistol) Do you know what we do with stowaways? MICHAELA (steps back one step, looks for an escape, sees none) (POV: left eye lens: focuses cross hairs on fire extinguisher above the top of the ladder) PUSH THAT 2. STOP. (special affect: fire extinguisher wiggles loose and falls on Agent2's head with a clank, he drops his pistol and somersaults backward down the ladder to the main deck) EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: CRUISER'S MAIN DECK ENEMY2 (shakes off the hurt, pushes himself to his hands and knees) Now you make me mad. (crawls toward pistol) I shoot you full of holes. Like Swiss cheese. (special affects: the pistol moves out of reach just as Agent2 reaches for it, again, and again, until the pistol reaches the gunwale) What the....? (special affect: the pistol floats up and on top of the gunwale) (struggles to a standing position, reaches for the pistol) I show you no mercy. I throw your carcass to the fishes. (special affect: Enemy2 does a front flip over the gunwale and into the ocean) DAD Michaela? Michaela talk to me! MICHAELA (descending the ladder) You were right, Daddy. Another enemy agent came up on deck when the boat turned toward shore. But Mother and I pushed him overboard. Tell the Harbor Patrol to pick him up too. DAD Understood. Will do. INT AFTERNOON WIDE: CRUISER'S FORWARD HALLWAY (POV: left eye lens: cross hairs pan to the hallway under the wheel house, focuses on the wall on the left side) SEE-THRU THAT. (POV: left eye lens: video shows an empty room) (softly) Not in there. (POV: left eye lens: cross hairs on the right side wall) SEE-THRU THAT. (POV: left eye lens: live video of Abernathy hand-cuffed to a chair and Enemy3 sitting in a chair nearby as Michaela moves down the hall and approaches, Enemy3 stands and begins pacing in front of the door) (Softly) Daddy, I found him. He's handcuffed in a chair and there's an enemy agent with a gun guarding him. DAD You be careful! ENEMY3 (shouts) Vlademir, what's taking you so long? MICHAELA (knocks on door, deepest voice) Da. It's me, Vlademir. Everything is alright. INT AFTERNOON WIDE: CRUISER'S CABIN ENEMY3 (moving to the door, readies his pistol) You don't fool nobody. (opens door quickly, aims out the door, noone there, pauses, steps quickly into the hallway and aims toward the stairway) Nobody there! (opens door across the hallway quickly, aims pistol) Nobody there! (backs into room, closes door) He was there! I heard him! ABERNATHY I think you're going crazy. ENEMY2 (points pistol) You shut your mouth or I smack again! (gestures, sits) ABERNATHY I'm just saying. I didn't hear anything. ENEMY3 (shouts toward door) Vlademir? (bends and picks up walkie-talkie from the floor under his chair, revealing a one-inch high Michaela standing on the rear corner of the chair pulling the handcuff key from Enemy3's pocket with both hands, Enemy3 stands) Vlademir? Do you read? (pauses, listens) Vlademir? (pauses, listens) Captain? Do you read? (pauses, listens) Captain? (pauses, listens) Anybody?! MICHAELA STOP. ENEMY3 (turns, sees Michaela, now full size standing on the chair) Huh? MICHAELA CONCEAL ME. (special affect: Michaela disappears) ENEMY4 (aims pistol, seeing noone, panicked, aims all over the room) Where did she go? ABERNATHY I didn't see anything. I think you're going crazy. ENEMY3 I'm telling you, I saw a girl standing... (points) right there on that chair! ABERNATHY Sure you did. ENEMY3 I tell you I saw her! (constantly aims gun all over the room) And I've seen her before somewhere. In Russia maybe. Yes! That's it! I was standing guard on the roof of the fortress and I saw this girl! She appeared out of nowhere and then she just disappeared! Just like this. I don't know how she does it, but she's here somewhere! (involuntarily smacks himself in the face with his pistol, then on the side of his head with the radio) (sound cue: gong) (drops radio and pistol, falls to knees, crawls after pistol) (special affect: pistol moves out of reach three times as he approaches it) (groggy) You see? She uses the devices made by that inventor! She toys with me. I am no match for invisible person! (struggles to his feet, staggers out the door) MICHAELA STOP. (special affect: Michaela reappears next to Abernathy bending and unlocking the handcuffs) ABERNATHY I see your dad finished the prototype helmet. It seems to work very well. (one cuff free, takes key unlocks other cuff) You'd better stop that agent before he does something dangerous. MICHAELA The boat! Noone is steering the boat! (exits running) It's headed toward shore! INT AFTERNOON WIDE: WHEEL HOUSE MICHAELA (opens door, enters hurriedly, gasps at the sight of Agent3 at the wheel, turns head, sees the shore approaching fast) CONCEAL ME. (special affects: Michaela disappears, then a coffee cup mysteriously rises up from the counter and smashes against Agent3's head) (Agent3 exits staggering through opposite door, dives over the rail and into the water) (Michaela steps in front of the controls, grabs the wheel and the throttle) Daddy! I need help. How do you stop this thing?! EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: NEARBY BEACH DAD (walks toward water) It's too late, Michaela! You need to get off that boat now! EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: WALKWAY OUTSIDE WHEEL HOUSE (Michaela exits as Abernathy climbs ladder) ABERNATHY Michaela, you need to stop this boat! MICHAELA Daddy says it's too late. We're too close to shore. ABERNATHY (turns toward rail, start slinging his leg over) Then we swim! MICHAELA No! Wait! ABERNATHY (drops leg) What?! MICHAELA (throws her arms around him) Grab me and hold on tight. ABERNATHY (reluctantly complies) We don't really have time for... MICHAELA (POV: left eye lens: cross hairs on the beach near Dad) MOVE-ME THERE. (special affect: Michaela and Abernathy disappear) (boat continues, drives full speed into a boat house, the boat house collapses in a heap over the boat) EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: NEARBY BEACH (special affect: Michaela and Abernathy reappear) ABERNATHY Thank you, Michaela. You are a true hero.... What is going on? What's that smell? Is something burning? MICHAELA (immediately steps away from Abernathy and unbuckles the battery belt, which is now smoking and sparking) Sorry, we have a small emergency. DAD (approaches and rips the belt away and tosses it) This battery pack was not intended to transport two people. (tends to burns on his hands) I'll fix it in the beta version. ABERNATHY (reaches into pocket, pulls out two $100 bills, offers them to Michaela) Well, in spite of that, this was an amazing demonstration! Michaela, I'd say you've earned this... DAD (snatches money) Sorry, Colonel. All of this is going into Michaela's college fund. MICHAELA Daddy, you promised... DAD And you promised you would do everything I say. And I said "Go slow". (pockets money, turns with Abernathy, leaving Michaela behind) Listen, Colonel, I'm sorry about the battery pack. I didn't have time to increase the capacity after you added the helicopter shoes to the design. ABERNATHY Say, how did those helicopter shoes work, anyway? DAD They work well. But I had no idea how much of a drain they would be on the battery. MICHAELA (shrugs, follows, to self) Oh, don't worry about me, guys. I'm just the girl who rescued a hostage and disarmed three enemy agents. �2013 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: [email protected] BACK |