BACK INVENT04 23' INVENTOR'S DAUGHTER episode: CIA undercover INT MORNING WIDE: ARMY BASE MEETING ROOM (15 men in Army fatigues sit attentively as Abernathy stands at the podium holding an infantry helmet) ABERNATHY Gentlemen, your platoon has been selected to be the first to field test this. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking this looks like a million other infantry helmets. But this one is unique. It's the Army's answer to stealth aircraft. I call the men who wear these helmet STEALTH SOLDIERS. This helmet has a built in two way voice communication, a satellite tracker, so we know where you are, even if you're out of radio range. It has night vision capability without the bulky (points to front of helmet) scope mounted on the outside. And now, here are the features which are still classified top secret: This same built-in scope that allows you to see in the dark will also allow you to see THROUGH walls and doors. (audience mumbles) This helmet can allow you to literally disappear and reappear. (audience mumbles) It can shrink your body to one inch tall and restore you to normal size to get you access UNDER locked doors. (audience mumbles) It allows you to push and pull things that are way out of your reach. (audience mumbles) And... (pulls out a pair of combat boots) if you're also wearing this special pair of combat boots -- that I call helicopter boots -- this helmet will lift you off the ground and up to one thousand feet into the air while wearing a full backpack. (audience mumbles) And finally, this helmet will allow you to transport your body from one location to another INSTANTLY. (audience mumbles) Gentlemen, I'm not talking about science fiction here. I have seen the prototype of this helmet used by an unarmed person to defeat enemy agents equipped with automatic weapons and bombs. (audience mumbles) This helmet system WORKS! And this system will save lives. Now, I know you'll have some questions about this and how it works. I should be able to answer most of them. But any technical questions can be addressed to the inventor of this helmet, (points) Dr Howard Tuttle. (Dad smiles) Questions? EXT MORNING WIDE: ARMY BASE RESEARCH BUILDING (Dad exits front door of building, heads for the Humvee, as he approaches, Sarg opens the back door) AGENT (enters frame) Dr Tuttle? DAD (turns) Yes? AGENT (opens wallet, shows ID card and badge) My name is John Smith. I'm a special agent for the CIA. DAD (smiles) John Smith? That sounds appropriate for the CIA. AGENT (gestures away from the soldier, steps away) Please. DAD (approaches) What's on your mind? AGENT I was talking to a contact of mine from Army Intelligence. He tells me, that YOU are the inventor of that (points) STEALTH SOLDIER helmet system that's going into field testing. DAD That system is classified TOP SECRET. AGENT (pulls out a folded letter, offers it) I have a TOP SECRET clearance and this should tell you what you want to know. DAD (reads) From the President of the United States?! (reads, points) What's this URGENT SITUATION he's talking about? AGENT The NSA has intercepted some cell phone conversations alluding to a plot to kidnap the daughter of a high level foreign politician in order to force him NOT to sign a peace treaty with us. DAD I... guess I don't see how this involves me. AGENT My contact at Army Intelligence tells me that you originally invented all of the functions of the helmet system as individual devices. I was hoping that we could buy those devices from you to give to the daughter to help her escape if she gets kidnapped. DAD (shrugs, backs away) Sorry, I don't own those devices anymore. I sold them to the Army -- devices, drawings, specifications, lab notes, everything -- when I sold them the helmet system. (points to building) Maybe you should ask them. (turns) AGENT Oh, okay. Thanks for your time. (turns) DAD (turns) Wait. AGENT (turns) Huh? DAD Did you say you wanted the devices for a girl? AGENT Yes. DAD I'm not sure those devices would do the job for her. AGENT What do you mean? DAD Well, the reason we combined all those functions into one helmet was because they all had push-buttons or switches. That means the girl could hold only two of the devices at one time and if she was wearing a dress without pockets when she was kidnapped, she would only be able to carry two of them. AGENT Oh. I see. Well... (shrugs) DAD What you need is the kind of thing I'm working on for my daughter. AGENT What kind of thing? DAD Well, I was kidnapped by enemy agents and so was (points) Colonel Abernathy. I have this fear that my daughter might be vulnerable. So, I miniaturized the elements in the helmet system and created a system that she can wear to school. AGENT You're kidding! Is it done? DAD Well, not quite. I'm still integrating the helicopter shoes. AGENT (approaches) But you HAVE the full functions of the first five of your inventions in the miniature system?! DAD Well, yes, but they're custom fit to my daughter's body. AGENT How old is your daughter?! DAD She's twelve. AGENT So is the prime minister's daughter! Name your price. DAD Excuse me? AGENT Whatever the Army paid you for the helmet system, WE will pay you for your daughter's system! (pulls out cell phone, pokes key) I can have the money transferred to your account TODAY! DAD Not so fast. AGENT What's the problem? DAD My daughter almost killed herself when she first learned to use the devices. What you think you're buying to SAVE the prime minister's daughter could end up killing her. AGENT Are you saying YOUR daughter already knows how to use the devices? DAD Yes. She's tested every one of the devices I sold to the army. AGENT ALL of them? DAD Yes. AGENT (tilts head) Wait a minute. When I first caught wind of this helmet system, I heard about a female soldier who rescued TWO kidnap victims and captured the foreign agents... all without firing a shot. Do you know about that? DAD (nods) I was one of the victims. AGENT And the female soldier? DAD I've been asked not to talk about it. AGENT That's it! It wasn't a female soldier at all, was it? It was YOUR DAUGHTER. DAD I'm sorry. I can't talk about it. AGENT You don't have to talk about it. You just confirmed it. (paces) Listen, Dr Tuttle, this peace treaty between our two countries is crucial to the future of both countries. (stops) How's this? Your daughter can keep her new miniaturized personal safety system. The CIA will hire your daughter. DAD Excuse me? AGENT The CIA will hire your daughter to go under cover posing as the prime minister's daughter until AFTER the peace treaty is signed. We'll pay her whatever you think is fair. DAD Oh, I... I don't know. I'm not even sure she'd go for it. INT AFTERNOON TWO-SHOT: MICHAELA'S KITCHEN MICHAELA (wearing school clothes, closing door and removing backpack) Sure I will! It sounds like fun! DAD I was hoping you wouldn't say that. The more I hear about this, the less I like it. MICHAELA Come on, Daddy, we work well together! We're good at this stuff! Besides, our national security depends on us. DAD (pauses) Alright. (camera zooms out to show AGENT) AGENT (pockets cell phone) Good. We have a jet on the runway at the airport waiting for us. DAD Now?! Right this minute?! AGENT The prime minister is scheduled to sign the peace treaty at a gala tonight. If we leave now... DAD But the new system still has some bugs in it! AGENT (moving toward door) Bring your tool kit. You can fix it on the plane. DAD But.... INT NIGHT WIDE: C-17 CARGO BAY IN FLIGHT (Dad holds a tiny circuit board under a light/magnifier and solders it during the scene, while Agent text-messages constantly) AGENT Alright, here's the tentative plan, assuming that we have no delays with ground transportation: The three of us will arrive at the Prime Minister's residence in the limo. The Prime Minister and his family will get into the car with us. But when he steps out of the limo at the gala, his daughter will stay behind and Michaela will exit the limo at the gala wearing a wig and the identical dress and shoes. DAD What if Michaela encounters someone who knows what the daughter looks like? AGENT The Prime Minister is very protective of his daughter. Only a handful of photos have been taken of her in public. But we think we have notified all the close friends and relatives who know Rebecca personally. But for the few people who might be able to blow your cover, Rebecca will remain with us in the limo wearing a comm headset. She can help you answer embarrassing questions. DAD The more I know about this mission, the less I like it. If the kidnappers hear a slip of the tongue from one of Rebecca's relatives, Michaela could end up.... AGENT You have nothing to worry about. We have CIA agents and agents from their defense ministry, -- male and female -- wearing ball gowns and tuxedos strategically stations throughout the ballroom. MICHAELA (enters frame from restroom wearing a black sleeveless tight-fitting body suit with short pants) The new body suit fits good, Daddy. (admires the suit, twirls) You can't see the batteries or the electronics at all. DAD (points) Try on the shoes. MICHAELA Okay. (sits, slips into the shiny black party shoes) AGENT Wait a minute. We already have a pair of shoes waiting for us on the other end. DAD She needs the helicopter shoes. AGENT But they may not match the dress. DAD It's my daughter's life on the line. I'm not bending on this. Either she wears the helicopter shoes or we scrub the mission. AGENT They're black and shiny. I suppose noone will know the difference. DAD Good. (to Michaela, points) You need to put on the head band and put in the contact lens. MICHAELA Okay. (puts on head band, opens case, removes lens, bends over and inserts lens in left eye) AGENT What's all that for? DAD The left eye lens allows Michaela to see in the dark and see through walls. And it will allow me to see on my computer what Michaela is looking at in real time. She also uses the left eye lens to aim the PUSH-PULL feature and the MOVE-ME features. AGENT Oh. What about the head band? DAD It's the audio-video interface and the data link antenna. AGENT (reads phone screen, points) Okay, everything is ready on the other end. We're ready. DAD I have been on enough of these missions to know that we are NEVER ready. EXT NIGHT WIDE: PRIME MINISTER'S MANSION (Limo pulls up to the curb and stops, Agent, dressed as a limo driver, exits the limo, carefully examines the streets and nearby buildings, then nods toward the mansion door. The Prime Minister, his wife and daughter exit the mansion wearing formal party clothes, enter the limo, Agent closes the door, enters driver's seat, closes door, limo exits frame) EXT NIGHT WIDE: GALA BALLROOM (Limo pulls up to the curb and stops, Agent exits car, looks in all directions as he rounds the limo, opens door, helps Prime Minister's wife out, Prime Minister climbs out followed by Michaela undercover, Agent nods at agents at the door, reenters limo, closes door, limo exit frame as family approaches entry door) MICHAELA (softly) SYSTEM POWER ON. MOTHER (voiceover) Systems check... All systems GO. MICHAELA (softly) Audio and video okay, Daddy? DAD Perfect, if I do say so myself. Do your thing. INT NIGHT WIDE: GALA BALLROOM (POV: left eye lens: Michaela follows Rebecca's parents as they shake hands and hug two successive couples. The next hug and kiss is with a little old lady, she turns toward camera and smiles broadly and approaches) AUNTY Rebecca, darling! How you've changed since I last saw you! MICHAELA (softly) I have no idea who this is. Help me. DAD (voiceover) Rebecca, do you know this lady? REBECCA (voiceover) Hello, Aunty Emma! MICHAELA Hello, Aunty Emma! REBECCA How nice to see you again! MICHAELA (hugs Aunty Emma) How nice to see you again! REBECCA I haven't seen you since we stayed at your chalet. MICHAELA I haven't seen you since we stayed at your chalet. REBECCA That was the most fun I ever had on a vacation. MICHAELA That was the most fun I ever had on a vacation. AUNTY I'm so pleased you enjoyed yourself. I'll try to talk your mom into doing it again real soon. We bought a new horse, you know. REBECCA I look forward to it, Aunty Emma. (Aunty, a social butterfly, catches the eye of a nearby adult and exits frame with arms extended) MICHAELA I look forward.... (softly) I thought that went well! REBECCA We've got a problem. MICHAELA & DAD What do you mean? REBECCA If Aunty Emma is here, it means she probably brought my cousin Leah with her. DAD Michaela, can you scan the room slowly? (POV: left eye lens: pans the crowd until a teenage girl comes into view) REBECCA There. There she is. MICHAELA You want me to hug her too? REBECCA Just the opposite. You need to stay away from her. Aunt Emma needs glasses, but Leah has eyes like an eagle. You'll never fool her. MICHAELA Understood. (POV: left eye lens: pans quickly to the opposite side of the room, moves toward the wall where a waiter stands, hides behind him, peaking out occasionally. (sound cue: loud thud) (dark) DAD What was that? MICHAELA (softly) I don't know. Some kind of explosion. NIGHT VISION (POV: left eye lens: pans the crowd in shades of green) DAD Be careful, Michaela. That explosion may have been a setup for the kidnapping. (POV: left eye lens: in shades of green, a blanket descends over Michaela from above) MICHAELA (moans intermittently for the remainder of the scene) INT NIGHT WIDE: LIMO DAD Michaela? Michaela? REBECCA What happened? DAD Michaela? (pauses) I think the kidnapping is underway. REBECCA Oh, dear! I thought my parents were just being overly cautious! That could have been me! Will she be alright? DAD Michaela, honey, the tracker is on and functioning normally. Do not resist the kidnappers. Their goal is merely to disrupt relations with the United States. One of our units will always be within 30 seconds from you. So stay calm. Raise the tone of your voice if everything is okay. MICHAELA (moans in high pitch) DAD Okay, according to your tracker, the kidnappers have taken you out of the building as we anticipated. (shouts) Agent Smith, let's go! Let's go! Take a left at the next intersection. Go, go, go! (reads map on laptop computer screen) The car they're in is going to cross this intersection... now. (POV: front windshield: a light green van crosses the intersection ahead) (points) There it is! It's the light green van. Follow him, but keep your distance. We don't want him to know we're following him. (POV: front windshield: the light green van turns left and right and left and right. Finally, after the last right turn...) Stop the car! Stop the car! AGENT (stops) Why? The van will get away! DAD Michaela's tracker is no longer moving. AGENT Where is it? DAD It's off to our right. REBECCA I saw this in a movie once. The perp gets out and the car keeps going so the tail follows the car instead of the perp. AGENT You've been watching too much television. There's nothing on our right except an empty office building. (looks up out the windshield) It's a sky scraper. On the other hand, if she's in there, they could be hiding her on any one of fifty floors. DAD Yes. Yes, of course. (taps keys, reads screen) Let's get an altimeter reading from the tracker. Yes, here she is. And she's not standing still as I thought. She's standing in an elevator and the elevator is going up. (taps keys, reads screen) AGENT (exits limo) I'll take another elevator, call me and let me know what floor they got off on. DAD No, wait! AGENT Why? What's wrong? DAD By the time you get there, she'll be gone. AGENT How could you possibly know that?! DAD This database you gave me from the locals, it says this building has a heliport on top. REBECCA What's a heliport? (looks up through limo's skylight) DAD It's a place where helicopters land. AGENT You're just guessing. REBECCA (points up) There's a helicopter landing on the roof of the building. AGENT (looks up) Well, I'll be! So there is! (reenters limo, closes door) But now we're out of contact with her! (reaches for cell phone) Stand by. There's a call coming in. (cell phone to ear) Go for Smith. Patch it through. (to Dad) The ransom demand is coming through. I'll put it on speaker. (pokes buttons) ENEMY4 (voiceover, Russian accent) Mr Prime Minister, we have your daughter. If you want to see her alive again, you will call a news conference immediately and tear up the peace treaty in front of television cameras in time for the eleven o'clock news. REBECCA They wouldn't kill Michaela, would they? AGENT In a New York minute. REBECCA Oh, dear. We have to do something! AGENT Things are going exactly according to plan. REBECCA You mean you WANTED them to get away?! DAD Well, it sounded like a good idea, until we had to put it into action with untested components. I'm not even sure my bug fixes actually worked. REBECCA (points up) The helicopter is taking off! AGENT We anticipated this. The plan was to allow the kidnappers to take her to her final destination, then arrest all the foreign agents in one fell swoop, including their boss. We have a SWAT team ready at the airport. (cell phone to ear, looks up) The kidnappers escaped by helicopter, headed due north. Launch the C-17. What do you mean you can't launch?! It was working just fine when we flew in here! (pockets cell phone) Landing gear problems. Michaela is on her own. REBECCA She'll be alright, won't she, Dr Tuttle? DAD (looks at watch) She has one hour and... seven minutes to escape or... or.... (sighs) I don't know why I let her talk me into this! EXT NIGHT WIDE: REMOTE MOUNTAIN CHALET (helicopter lands, three enemy agents exit, one of them carrying Michaela over his shoulder, wrapped in a blanket, they run to the chalet, the helicopter takes off) INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET BASEMENT STOREROOM (POV: left eye lens: the blanket is removed from Michaela's head and the door closes behind her, she looks around the empty storeroom, the walls are concrete blocks and bare studs with dry-wall on the outside face) MICHAELA Do you read me, Daddy? DAD (voiceover) Michaela! Are you alright?! MICHAELA I'm fine. Do you know where I am? (stands, examines walls, door, ceiling, space under door) DAD According to your tracker, you're about 180 miles north of the city. From the video you're sending from your left eye lens, the block wall tells me they have you locked in an empty basement room. MICHAELA (lying face down, she looks under the door) Then, you can see there's no windows in the room and there's not enough space under the door for me to use the shrinker. I'll have to find another way out. Is the SWAT team on the way? (stands, touches and pushes every wall, and the door) DAD Sorry, sweetie, the C-17 has mechanical problems. And they're having trouble finding a replacement aircraft that can drop 12 parachutists. We have some land vehicles on the way, but... MICHAELA But what? DAD The kidnappers gave us a deadline of eleven o'clock. MICHAELA What time is it now? DAD You have about nine minutes to get yourself to safety before... before.... MICHAELA (tugs on the electrical wiring between two studs near the door leading to the backside of wall switch box) Piece of cake, Daddy! You and me, we're a team. We always get our man! DAD Michaela, tonight is not the night to get our man. You get yourself to safety and wait for the provincial police to get there. Understood?! Michaela Rose! Are you listening to me?! MICHAELA I think I found a way out of here. DAD Michaela Rose, if you get yourself killed, I will never speak to you again. MICHAELA (places hands on the studs on either side of the light switch box) (POV: left eye lens: places the cross hairs on the box) PULL THAT NINE. (special affect: the switch box tears itself out of the drywall and bends the wiring at right angles to the wall, the switch plate snaps off the switch and falls noisily to the floor) INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET UPSTAIRS ENEMY1 (Russian accents) What was that? ENEMY2 I didn't hear anything. ENEMY1 Go down and check it out. ENEMY2 Okay, boss. (draws pistol, exits frame) INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET BASEMENT STOREROOM (POV: other side of the wall, Michaela peers through the hole left by the switch box) (POV: left eye lens: places cross hairs on the floor on the other side of the wall) MOVE-ME THERE. (special affect: Michaela disappears from the room) INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET LAUNDRY ROOM (special affect: Michaela appears) (sound cue: footfalls on stairway) MICHAELA (POV: left eye lens: places cross hairs on dryer door) PUSH THAT 10. (special affect: as Agent2 passes the stacked washer-dryer, the dryer door flies open, smacks him in the face noisily, he falls flat on his back to the floor, dropping his pistol) INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET UPSTAIRS ENEMY1 What is going on down there?! (motions) Go down there and see what's going on! ENEMY3 Okay, boss. (draws pistol, exits frame) INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET BASEMENT STAIRWAY (Enemy3 opens the door to the stairway and enters as Michaela rounds the corner, he points his pistol and descends the stairs slowly) ENEMY3 Well, if it isn't our little hostage! How did you get out, young lady? MICHAELA (raises hands) (POV: left eye lens: places cross hairs on Enemy3's left foot) PUSH THAT 5. ENEMY3 What are you saying? (when it's time to step down with his left foot, it acts as if it's glued to the stair, he loses his balance, somersaults down the stairs, ends up out cold on the floor, Michaela sidesteps, then continues up the stairs) INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET UPSTAIRS ENEMY1 What is going on down there?! (stands, pulls pistol, stomps toward stairway) How much trouble could one little girl be?! INT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET STAIRWAY (the stairway door still open, Enemy3 steps into the doorway prepared to shoot, while Michaela is only half way up the stairs) ENEMY1 Oh, it's you. How did you get out? (sees Agent3 lying at the bottom of the stairs) What did you do to my men? MICHAELA (raises hands) (POV: left eye lens: places cross hairs on the partially open door behind Enemy1) PULL THAT 10. (special affect: The door slams shut, slamming Enemy3 in the back, he somersaults to the bottom of the stairs out cold) MOVE-ME UP 2. (special affect: Michaela lifts off the ground and floats over the falling body, over the stairs and out the door) (sound cue: helicopter approaching) The SWAT team is here! EXT NIGHT WIDE: CHALET GROUNDS (Michaela exits the front door running toward the landing helicopter. When she approaches, the side door slides open, and Enemy4, dressed in suit and tie, points a pistol at her) ENEMY4 (Russian Accent) Where do you think you are going, young lady? MICHAELA You're not the SWAT team! ENEMY4 (motions) Get in! MICHAELA What are you going to do with me? ENEMY4 Your father didn't tear up the treaty on television as instructed, so I'm going to send you back to him. MICHAELA I don't like the way that sounds. ENEMY4 You'll like it even less when I send you back to him from 5000 feet in the sky. (motions) Now, get in! MICHAELA (enters helicopter) 5000 feet doesn't sound so bad. (Enemy4 slides door closed) INT NIGHT WIDE: HELICOPTER OVER THE CITY ENEMY4 Here we are. The Prime Minister's residence is down there. (slides door open, motions with pistol) Welcome home. (motions toward door) This is where you get out. NOW! MICHAELA Thanks for the ride. (dives out the door) (Enemy4 slides the door shut) EXT NIGHT WIDE: AIRPORT (a private jet waits near a hangar with the passenger door open and the stairway down, as Enemy4's helicopter approaches and lands nearby, the side door opens, Enemy4 exits, crosses to the jet, when he reaches the stairway, Rebecca steps into the doorway of the jet) ENEMY4 Rebecca! You... I... You... (points over shoulder) I saw you... You're dead! PRIME MINISTER (steps into doorway behind Rebecca) You are under arrest for treason, kidnapping, and attempted murder. ENEMY4 ATTEMPTED murder?! (points over shoulder) I saw her dive out the door from 5000 feet up. No way she lived through that! MICHAELA That was me. ENEMY4 (turns, gasps, double-takes in both directions) You? You? I... You... I... Mama help me. (sucks thumb as two policemen haul him out of frame) �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 |