TEASER
FADE IN:
1 INT. HARDWARE STORE - NIGHT. 1
TITLE OVER - Pittsburgh.
A brightly lit, spacious hardware outlet, with occasional
late night shoppers pushing trolleys past filled with goods
and supplies.
CHRIS walks into frame, pushing a trolley heaped with items,
and after a moment JULIE enters from the opposite side,
studying the label of an electric screwdriver in her hands.
CHRIS
(off screwdriver)
Do we need one of those?
JULIE
What happened to 'money is no
object?'
CHRIS
That was before I let you loose in
here. I think money is rapidly
becoming an object, and that object
is a large negative sign next to
our cash flow.
Julie smirks and tosses the screwdriver into the cart.
JULIE
Look, just because you're not
technically minded enough to
understand what I'm buying, doesn't
mean you should stop me getting it!
CHRIS
I never said I-
(beat)
Wait, what do you mean 'not
technically minded?'
Julie grins mischievously at him and turns round a corner
into the next aisle. With a smile, Chris follows.
TWIST is looking over the items in the next aisle, reaching
up on her tippy-toes for something on the top shelf.
JULIE
What are you after?
TWIST
(points)
One of those.
CHRIS
(looks)
Twist, that's a leaf blower.
TWIST
Well, yeah, but Julie told me she'd
be able to turn it into a-
JULIE
(quickly)
Uh, Chris, why don't you go on
ahead? We're almost done here.
Chris eyes them both, but takes the opportunity to head for
the checkout at last. Julie waits until he's out of earshot,
before turning to twist.
JULIE (cont'd)
Ixnay on the 'omemade flame
throwerhay!
TWIST
But you said-
JULIE
Do you want Chris to know I'm
teaching you how to build your own
guns?
TWIST
Well... no.
JULIE
Exactly. For our little secret to
remain a secret, you have to not
tell anyone.
TWIST
(pouts)
Fine. Long as you're not going to
back out on me!
JULIE
What, you think you're the only one
who's gonna be using that thing
when I finish making it?
They share a grin, before Julie glances round.
JULIE (cont'd)
Where's Danyael?
TWIST
Oh, uh, he's...
(beat)
Somewhere.
JULIE
Look, I know it's none of my
business, but-
TWIST
Is this going to be a 'what's up
with you and Danyael?' speech?
There's nothing up. We are very
definitely down.
JULIE
He is, anyway.
TWIST
(beat)
What do you want me to say? Things
have just been weird, ever since...
JULIE
Ever since he told you he was in
love with you, then claimed he only
said it to break you out of a
spell?
TWIST
(sighs)
Sounds about right.
JULIE
Have you tried talking to him about
it? All the cool kids are doing
that these days.
TWIST
And say what? 'Hey, Spook, so,
like, are you really in love with
me or what?'
JULIE
(chuckles)
You might want to phrase it a
little differently.
TWIST
Okay, how about-
DANYAEL (O.S.)
We ready to go?
They spin round - DANYAEL has rounded the corner into the
aisle, slurping from a large cup of soda.
TWIST
(shifty)
How long have you been standing
there?
DANYAEL
Uh, just got here.
TWIST
And you didn't hear what me and
Jules were talking about?
DANYAEL
Uh... no. What were you talking
about?
TWIST
(quickly)
Girls' stuff. Come on, Jules.
Twist loops her arm round Julie's and drags her away. Danyael
waits a beat, then shrugs and paces casually after them, as
we cut to:
2 EXT. HARDWARE STORE - CAR PARK - NEXT. 2
Chris and Danyael are loading several carrier bags into the
van as Twist and Julie hang back to talk.
JULIE
You two can't keep this up, you
know. Even Chris is going to notice
something's not right sooner or
later, and we both know he's a lot
less subtle about asking than I am.
TWIST
I know! I just keep getting, you
know, distracted.
JULIE
By what?
Twist opens her mouth to reply - and with a swift BLUR of
movement, a MAN wrapped from head to foot in black LEAPS into
frame, drawing a sword and facing down the two girls!
TWIST
(beat)
Stuff like that...
The man raises his sword and SLICES forward as we:
BLACK OUT:
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN:
3 EXT. HARDWARE STORE - CAR PARK - NIGHT. 3
Twist SHOVES Julie out of the way as the assassin's sword
slices towards them, but as she tries to hit back the man
dodges her outstretched leg and SWEEPS her to the ground.
Chris and Danyael finally hear the commotion, dropping the
bags and racing over.
CHRIS
Twist!
Twist FLIPS back to her feet, narrowly avoiding another swing
from the assassin's sword, but this time she's able to grab
his arm, CRACKING it down with a violent yank.
The assassin drops the sword but snaps his leg round, KICKING
her across the jaw.
She stumbles back and Danyael is there to catch her, as Chris
dives in to the attack.
The assassin moves quickly, his hands chopping out towards
Chris who struggles to hold off the onslaught.
Julie gets to her feet, sees Chris fending off the attacker
and races over to the van.
TWIST
Hey! Where are you going?
Julie doesn't answer, reaching quickly into the van for her
bag as Chris takes a heavy KICK to the chest.
Julie turns - she has Chris' katana in her hands, and Twist
pulls Danyael back out of the way.
JULIE
Chris!
He turns - and Julie THROWS the sword towards him. Chris
neatly steps back and GRABS the katana from the air, spinning
to face the assassin - but he's gone.
Chris keeps the sword up as he scans the car park, but their
attacker is long gone.
CHRIS
Is everyone alright?
Chris glances over his shoulder to the others. Danyael lets
go of Twist, who gives him a thumbs up, and Julie nods to
him.
TWIST
(rubs jaw; winces)
A few teeth feel a little looser,
otherwise all good.
DANYAEL
Okay - what the hell was that?
JULIE
Either this store has a very strict
returns policy...
CHRIS
(darkly)
... or somebody knows we're in
town.
Chris lowers his sword, his eyes still sharp for any sign of
the assassin. Julie spots something on the ground and kneels
down.
TWIST
What is it?
JULIE
Looks like he dropped something.
She reaches for it - but Chris' hand snaps into frame and
grabs her wrist.
JULIE (cont'd)
Hey! What the-
CHRIS
It could be a trap.
Julie hesitates, then leans back as Chris carefully pokes the
object with his sword. It's a small black object, looking
like a small walkie talkie.
Chris flips the object over, and satisfied that it's safe he
crouches to scoop it up.
DANYAEL
Looks like a radio.
TWIST
Since when do ninjas carry radios?
CHRIS
That wasn't a ninja.
TWIST
Uh, dressed in black, expert in
Hidden Dragon kung fu moves and
carried a sword like yours?
DANYAEL
Yeah, fair to say he didn't work
for the local Denny's.
Julie reaches out a hand, and Chris passes the radio to her.
CHRIS
See what you can make of this.
Chris sheathes his sword back into his long coat and starts
to stride across the car park.
TWIST
And you are going where?
CHRIS
To see if I can find where he came
from.
JULIE
So... we'll just wait at the hotel,
huh?
Chris doesn't answer, his coat flapping in the breeze as he
strides off into the night.
TWIST
He used to do that a lot more
often. We should be thankful.
Julie turns the radio over in her hands, studying it.
DANYAEL
What's your expert opinion?
JULIE
Closed band two-way receiver, hi
band cut-off to minimise
transmission noise, some kind of
filter, probably for disguising the
user's voice, and-
DANYAEL
Uh, can I swap 'expert' for
'English'?
JULIE
Expensive.
DANYAEL
Oh.
TWIST
So he's a ninja with a steady pay
check? Big whoop! I've had ninjas
try to kill me plenty of times.
DANYAEL
(beat)
When?
TWIST
(smirks)
Wouldn't you like to know.
DANYAEL
(eyes her)
This was in a video game, wasn't
it?
TWIST
Maybe...
JULIE
Come on, let's get back to the
hotel and figure this out somewhere
less exposed. Chris can take care
of himself.
TWIST
Finally, she figures it out!
Julie still looks concerned as Twist and Danyael clamber into
the van, and as she opens the driver's side door, we cut to:
4 INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT. 4
Twist sits on the bed, flipping through TV channels, as Julie
sits at the small desk in the room, Chris' laptop open before
her and the assassin's radio in pieces next to it.
She's talking into her cell phone, the laptop screen showing
some kind of diagnostic program as she speaks.
JULIE
(into phone)
So I just run a trace... yeah,
okay, it's searching for the
frequency now. How long will this
take?
The balcony door slides open as Danyael steps back in, and he
sits down near Twist.
DANYAEL
Who's she talking to?
TWIST
Remember Neuro? That hacker Chris
knows? She gave him a call to see
if he could help trace the radio's
signal back to its owner.
DANYAEL
(impressed)
Good initiative.
TWIST
I'd have ideas like that all the
time if I had her energy.
DANYAEL
You think she tries harder just
because she's... you know... human?
TWIST
I think she tries harder because
she wants to impress Chris.
JULIE (O.S.)
You know, I can hear both of you
just fine.
The vampires look round - Julie still has the phone to her
ear but has turned to face them.
TWIST
Uh, we were just-
JULIE
Well, just don't.
(into phone)
Yeah, sorry. The natives are a
little restless, that's all.
She turns back to the laptop as the room's door opens and
Chris walks back in.
TWIST
Hey hey. Any luck?
CHRIS
(shakes head)
Whoever he was, he was good. Used a
few spells to throw off my attempts
to track him.
DANYAEL
Doesn't it strike anyone else as a
little strange he just showed up,
threw a few punches and then left?
I mean, if I was the guy who paid
for him to assassinate us, I'd want
a refund.
CHRIS
That's what I've been pondering.
TWIST
You ponder? I thought it was only
people in black and white movies
that did that?
CHRIS
(ignores her)
Who's Julie talking to?
DANYAEL
She's following up on that radio,
trying to get a lead.
Chris heads over to her, leaning over her shoulder to see
what she's up to.
JULIE
(off laptop)
Borrowed your computer. Hope that's
okay.
CHRIS
Depends on what you're using it
for.
JULIE
Oh, and I borrowed your phone too.
CHRIS
(eyes her)
I'm listening...
JULIE
I've got Neuro working on a hack to
find out where the radio was
transmitting to, hopefully it'll
lead us right to our mystery Man In
Black.
CHRIS
Good plan.
JULIE
(into phone)
Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm here. Chris just
got back.
(listens; to Chris)
Neuro says 'hi.'
CHRIS
Can he keep his mind on the task at
hand, for once?
JULIE
(into phone)
What's that? Okay, great. Thanks.
She hangs up, clicking the laptop down.
JULIE (cont'd)
Neuro reckons he can complete the
trace in a few hours, he'll call
soon as he's got anything.
CHRIS
Good. I think we should go and
check on our merchandise until
then.
JULIE
You think that guy was trying to
follow us to the warehouse?
CHRIS
We'd better get there to find out.
He walks over to the TV and switches it off.
TWIST
Hey! I was watching that!
CHRIS
No, you weren't.
TWIST
(beat)
Alright, no, I wasn't. But I could
have gotten into it if you'd given
me more time.
DANYAEL
(stands)
Are we moving out?
CHRIS
We'd better head for our viewing
appointment a little earlier than
planned.
TWIST
(checks watch)
About ten hours earlier, in fact.
Chris heads for the door, and as the others get up and start
to get ready to leave behind him, we cut to:
5 INT. WAREHOUSE - CORRIDOR - NIGHT. 5
Chris leads the team down a long, dimly lit corridor behind a
middle-aged, balding SECURITY GUARD. They're in some kind of
plain, low-rent warehouse.
GUARD
Kinda late for you folks to be out
here, isn't it?
CHRIS
We're just very eager to make sure
our property is how we left it.
GUARD
Trust me, nobody's getting anywhere
near the inside of this place
without me knowing. Whatever you're
keeping, it's safe. This place may
not look like much, but that's all
part of the security.
He reaches a door and rattles his way through a large key
ring on his belt, selecting one and opening the door. He
pushes it open and stands back.
GUARD (cont'd)
I'll be just outside when you need
me to lock it up again.
CHRIS
Thank you.
The foursome head inside, into:
6 INT. WAREHOUSE - STORAGE ROOM - CONTINUOUS. 6
The room the team step into is entirely dark - until Chris
flips on a light, and as neon strips overhead flicker to
life, they illuminate a large, plain room which has one
platform at one end.
Mounted on the platform are the assembled parts of the
HEALING DEVICE, a large colour photocopy of the blueprints on
the wall behind it.
The various components are mounted in place, leaving plenty
of gaps, but it's still an impressive sight as Chris and the
others head over.
They stand in silence for a beat, soaking up the effect the
partly-constructed machine gives off, before:
TWIST
Still just looks like a chair to
me.
CHRIS
(weary)
Twist...
TWIST
Hey, it's impressive and will
ultimately be a very cool thing
indeed, I get that! Just saying...
(shrugs)
Chair.
JULIE
Let's just check it's all here so
you can stop worrying, alright?
Chris scans over the components, ticking them off against the
blueprint.
CHRIS
It looks like it's all here...
TWIST
Groovy garden. How much of it do we
have now?
CHRIS
About a third.
TWIST
Not bad.
DANYAEL
We're making progress with this,
right? I mean, you guys started on
this not long after you hooked up
with me, so that's what... nine
months?
CHRIS
(nods)
We're doing well. But we could be
doing better.
TWIST
Killjoy.
JULIE
Twist's got a point.
TWIST
Of course I do!
JULIE
I mean... has this thing ever
actually been fully assembled since
it was first broken up? We must be
doing better than most people
who've gone looking for it!
CHRIS
I don't think we're the only people
looking.
DANYAEL
What makes you say that?
CHRIS
Because it's getting harder to
track down the remaining pieces.
That means they're either becoming
disproportionately harder to
find...
JULIE
(catches on)
... or somebody else already has
them.
A moment as the team digest this thought, before Chris' phone
BEEPS. He takes it from his pocket and studies the screen.
CHRIS
It's from Neuro. He's almost done
with the trace and says he knows
where we can start looking, ready
for when he's finished.
TWIST
So what are we waiting for? Let's
go bag us a ninja!
CHRIS
Again, not a ninja.
TWIST
Pfft. Whatever.
The team head for the exit as we cut to:
7 EXT. STREET OUTSIDE BANK - MORNING. 7
The morning sun is trying to nose its way through the clouds
as a large, squarely-built bank comes into view, the van
parked across the street from it.
The team are looking across to the bank - it seems pretty
dead, just a few customers passing through its doors.
DANYAEL
Call me Mr. Obvious, but I never
heard of any ninjas who worked in a
bank.
TWIST
Maybe being a ninja is like a
second job? Mild mannered bank
clerk by day, high kicking assassin
by night?
CHRIS
(snaps)
For the last time, he wasn't a
bloody ninja!
TWIST
And I say again, how do you know?
CHRIS
Because a real ninja wouldn't have
stopped until we were dead or he
was.
(looks to bank)
We've been led here.
JULIE
So let's go find out why!
Julie opens the door before Chris can reply, and is soon
heading across the street.
TWIST
Kind of headstrong, isn't she?
Chris mutters something beneath his breath as he opens his
door, and Danyael slides open the van's side door.
Chris jogs to catch up to Julie as Danyael waits for Twist to
hop out of the van.
DANYAEL
So what are we thinking? Neuro got
a wire crossed, or we really are
dealing with an order of assassins
who hide out as bank tellers?
Danyael keeps talking - but his voice starts to fade away as
Twist's expression changes. She starts to look pretty spooked
by something, and looks towards the bank.
Looking past Danyael, the bank's front doors start to GLOW,
pulsing with a faint white light, getting more insistent as
Chris and Julie approach.
DANYAEL (cont'd)
... and anyway, who's to say they
don't...
Danyael trails off as Twist suddenly breaks away and dashes
across the street after Chris and Julie.
DANYAEL (cont'd)
Uh... Twist?
He watches her before we cut to:
[
top
| next
]
Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.