Mission: Impossible II (2000)

by Robert Towne.

Revised. 12/4/99.

More info about this movie on imdb.com



FADE IN:



A WORN SATCHEL (MOVING - DAY)



is being carried by a world weary middle European wearing a black

armband. VLADIMIR NEKHORVICH exits a gleaming building, pausing

for a moment, under a motto clearly visible above his head,

'Where the future is now'. He checks the time.



INSERT - WATCH



set in Countdown Mode. It's at 19 hours forty-seven minutes and

sixteen seconds and dropping, 19:37.15, :14, :13, :12 etc.



O.S. children are singing:



Ring a ring a rosy/a pocketful of posy/

a tissue a tissue/we all fall down.



Nekhorvich looks to see children at play outside the adjacent

Natural History Museum. They are moving in and around an odd

freeform sculpture.



POV - SCULPTURE AND CHILDREN



a blur where the sculpture seems to be distorting the children,

almost like mirrors in a fun house.



NEKHORVICH



wipes his eyes, a horn honks. He looks toward the sound.



MOVING SHOT - SATCHEL (INT. AIRPORT SECURITY - DAY)



on the belt that takes it thru X-Ray. On the other side a guard

opens the satchel and pokes thru a few toilet articles, personal

items, books, a battleship gray digital camera and - in a small

plastic container marked 'S.G.' - a small, square shiny object,

hi-tech and at odds with the other items. She pulls out an urn-

shaped vessel.



GUARD

What's this, then?



NEKHORVICH

(handing her documents)

The ashes of a colleague, I'm taking them

to his family. If you wish to open it,

please be careful.



COMPUTERIZED SCREEN DISPLAY (INT. PLANE - MOVING - DAY)



on the cabin wall displays a colorful map showing the flight

point of departure in Sydney, continuously updating distance,

direction and time to its ultimate destination, Atlanta, Georgia.



CAPTAIN'S VOICE

- folks, we're a little over two and a

half hours from touchdown in Atlanta, but

if you look out your windows on either

side of the aircraft, we'll soon be

crossing the southern section of the Rocky

Mountains, a range which includes more

than 50 peaks rising above 14,000 feet.

The chain's loftiest point, Mount Elbert,

at 14, 433 feet should be coming into view

as we pass over central Colorado shortly..



NEKHORVICH (INT. CABIN - DAY)



seems intent on the map, its changing times and distance. He

checks his watch - the countdown has gone from 20 to three hours

and 32 minutes as Nekhorvich is mesmerized by the descending

seconds whipping by.



ETHAN HUNT sits into shot on the vacant first class aisle seat

beside Nekhorvich.



ETHAN

You keep staring at that watch as if your

life depended on it, Doctor..



NEKHORVICH

Well, yes. I suppose I am a bit anxious.



ETHAN

They're ready and waiting. You'll soon be

with old friends.



NEKHORVICH

(meaning Ethan)

I'm with an old friend now, Dmitri.



ETHAN

Sorry it couldn't be under happier

circumstances.



NEKHORVICH

Yes, I'm sorry too.. 'You're sorry and I'm

sorry..'

(bemused laughter, then looks at Ethan)

- you do know Gradski thought the world of you.



Nekhorvich is overcome. Ethan puts a comforting hand on his

shoulder:



ETHAN

He was quite a man. Did he know before

the end you two had succeeded?



NEKHORVICH

Yes, he knew. Just..



ETHAN

..not in time to save him.



NEKHORVICH

No. After you've lived with Chimera for

twenty hours, nothing can save you. Not

even...Bellerophon.



Nekhorvich pats the satchel.



ETHAN

You carry them together? Safely?



With an almost impish grin and a wink:



NEKHORVICH

Yes, and you'll get us to a safe place

with them, thank god!..left to my own

devices, I'm an old fart too inept to read

a railroad timetable!..



Good-natured laughter. Cut off by a flight steward who passes

by, giving a sidelong silence in Ethan and Nekhorvich's direction.

Oxygen masks suddenly deploy from the ceiling. Passengers are

puzzled and alarmed.



CAPTAIN'S VOICE

You Captain again. We've experienced a

slight but abrupt drop in cabin pressure..



A passenger struggling with his mask. As Nekhorvich fumbles with

the strap on his mask he notes that the display screen shows

their altitude is below 30,000 feet and dropping. He checks the

countdown time on his watch again. Nekhorvich looks around him.

The flight attendants are conspicuously absent and all the

passengers who have on oxygen masks are passed out.



INT - COCKPIT



The flight crew now wearing their oxygen masks.



CAPTAIN

(into radio)

Pan, pan, pan, Denver Center. This is

Trans Pac Flight two-two-zero-seven, 747

heavy. We are not reading you. We're

unable to maintain cabin pressurization.

We have initiated a descent to one six

thousand.



The Co-pilot is working on the plane's altitude when his hands

slip off the controls. His eyes flutter, then:



CO-PILOT

Captain, I don't..can't..



He passes out. The Captain, HUGH STAMP, turns to verify that the

relief pilot is also unconscious at the controls.



He then removes his oxygen mask, sets the auto pilot, inputting

numbers to slow the plane and descend. As the craft titles

downward...



INT - GALLERY



The flight attendants are pulling on jump suits. Stamp emerges

from the cockpit.



INT - CABIN



Ethan returns. Nekhorvich beckons to him. Ethan sits. Grinning

around, Nekhorvich conspiratorially:



NEKHORVICH

..it seems we have a problem, Dmitri.



ETHAN

(in the same tone)

You keep calling me Dmitri. You really

shouldn't.



Nekhorvich's eyes narrow.



NEKHORVICH

You're not Dmitri?



With a lightning swift move Ethan breaks Nekhorvich's neck.



ETHAN

- no.



He grabs the satchel.



ETHAN (cont'd)

(to Wallis)

Wallis, hold onto it.



Wallis slashes the satchel handle open, takes the satchel for

Ambrose. He peels off the latex mask, revealing SEAN AMBROSE.



ETHAN (cont'd)

Ulrich, pull the -



He tears off the vocal oscillator at his adam's apple, clears his

throat, now as Ambrose:



AMBROSE

- pull the NO2 tank and dump it, it's potential evidence..



STAMP

(the 'captain' into shot)

All done, chief..



AMBROSE

(what else)

- right -

(kidding)

- don't go too far ahead of me now -



STAMP

Not possible..



Ulrich has rolled back the carpet over an access panel just

beneath them that leads to the belly of the plane. Stamp pulls

back the panel, hops into the compartment below which is four

walls of electronic equipment. Stamp kneels and slides back the

floor hatch. The wind howls, puffs of cloud zip by beneath them.

As they descend into the belly:



WALLIS

Checkpoint Charlie plus 30, altitude minus

two-zero-thousand. Airspeed one-seven-

niner knots..



AMBROSE

It's that time. Go.



They don goggles and, with Ambrose in the lead,

the team leaps, one after another from the hatch, sailing off

into the sky.



INT - COCKPIT (DAY)



An automated voice repeats in an ominous monotone:



VOICE

Terrain, terrain. Pull up, pull up.



The co-pilot stirs. He blearily rouses himself just in time to

see:



A mountain rushing toward him. As mountain meets airplane, the

frame is filled with fire, but when camera pulls back from the

fireball, it is in fact no more than a match head filling frame,

which ignited, lights a fuse..



The MI theme music kicks in, the main credits roll to:



EXT - FACE OF MOUNTAIN (DAY)



For a moment it might be thought part of the same range when the

plane crashed but when Ethan Hunt climbs into frame the angle

widen and titles down, revealing more of where he's come from

than where he's going. Aside from the fact that he's in the

midst of free-climbing what is easily a sheer rock face of at

least a thousand feet, there's the sunny picture-postcard view of

a lovely valley and pellucid lake thousands of feet below. Ethan

climbs out of shot.



WIDE UP ANGLE (DAY)



revealing the summit, a light breeze hitting the lichen and

whatever growth has a slender purchase on the rocky mountainside,

fluffy clouds overhead.



Ethan into shot. Despite the spectacularly precarious handholds

he's using to hang onto the mountain and his life, he appears

relaxed, engaged - for him - in the equivalent of busman's

holiday. It's leisurely danger for Ethan; one might almost

expect to hear Julie Andrews trilling 'Climb Every Mountain' on

the soundtrack.



Then a rock he's been grasping crumbles and Ethan drops about six

inches before he grabs onto the mountain again. As he hangs by

five fingers thousands of feet above the earth he doesn't seem

terribly concerned until he spots a helicopter.



It's materialized behind the summit and passes surprisingly close

just overhead, casting its shadow downward over Ethan.

Instinctively, Ethan flattens himself against the rock surface,

as if the copter poses some sort of threat to him. But when

its rotors whir it into the distance Ethan relaxes and resumes his

climb.



A HAIRY OVERHANG (EXT. MOUNTAIN - DAY)



near the summit Ethan departing from the vertical and is now

traversing the mountain with more of his back than his feet

exposed to the earth far below. He's clinging to the mountain

almost like a fly walking on the ceiling. When he reaches for a

handhold that will restore him to the vertical, he dislodges a

lizard - and manages to catch it before it plunges thousand of

feet to oblivion.



ETHAN

Whoaa..



He pockets the lizard, climbs the overhang.



REVERSE ANGLE - SUMMIT



with Ethan's hand, then Ethan coming into view and making the

summit. He reaches into his pocket and releases the lizard who

favors Ethan with a stern reptilian stare by way of gratitude. To

lizard:



ETHAN

You're welcome.



The lizard scampers off, then a low beeping sound at his back

attracts his attention. He turns to see the source of the

beeping, a small package in day-glo colors with a day-glo

streamer. Ethan looks to the sky where the helicopter is now

ominously circling back.



Ethan lifts the day-glo package and waves it in the direction of

the copter. With a distinct lack of enthusiasm.



The helicopter once again turns, banks and disappears. Ethan has

opened the beeping package and finds a pair of sunglasses.



ETHAN'S POV SUNGLASSES



First, a retinal scan.



ELECTRONIC VOICE

Identity confirmed.



SWANBECK

Good morning, Mr. Hunt.



Swanbeck's face flashes onscreen. Over his introduction of Nyah

is a series of satellite photographs whose subject is so elusive

she never seems to give the camera a clean shot.



SWANBECK'S VOICE

Your mission, should you choose to accept

it, requires you to recover a stolen item,

designated Chimera. Essential to the

mission is the recruitment of a civilian --

a Miss Nyah Nordoff-Hall. She is a highly

capable professional thief currently

active in Spain.



A series of Nyah's 'accomplishments', i.e., warrants, complaints,

Interpol summaries of her various criminal activities, as well as

glimpses of the elusive Nyah circulating about Seville.



SWANBECK'S VOICE (cont'd)

Her dossier's available on I-COM 3. You

have 48 hours to recruit Ms. Nordoff-Hall

and meet me in Seville to receive further

details. Should you or any member of your

IM force be caught or killed, the

Secretary will disavow all knowledge of

your actions.



Swanbeck's face reappears on screen:



SWANBECK'S VOICE (cont'd)

And Mr. Hunt - the next time you go on

vacation, please be good enough to let us

know where you're going. This message will

self-destruct in five seconds.



Ethan removes the glasses, then tosses them into space.



ETHAN

If I let you know where I'm going -



The glasses explode in a puff of smoke.



ETHAN (cont'd)

- won't be on holiday.



Ethan, with a fair amount of disgust, gets to his feet and jumps

off the mountain, in, what for a moment looks like a suicidal

snit. Then, somewhere hundreds of feet below camera, there's a

little puff of color as the tulip-shaped chute pops out of his

back-pack. Begin the sound of a castanets and the animal-like cries

of flamenco dancers.



DISSOLVE TO:



EXT - ANDALUSIAN VILLA (EVE)



Bustling in the activity of a large private party, with arriving

guests and attentive valets, as a young woman, her face unseen,

exits her car and enters the villa.



A FLASH OF SKIRT AND LACE (INT-EXT. VILLA - FLAMENCO DANCERS - EVE)



where to the cries of dancers add graceful feminine hands

wielding the castanets. The dancers perform on a raised platform

and NYAH NORDOFF-HALL'S face can be glimpsed thru the swirling

skirts and pounding heels, looking thru, not at them.



REVERSE ANGLE - ETHAN



looking back in a similar way to Nyah; surreal lighting and the

relentless chorus of pounding heels seem to isolate them in the

crowed party. Nyah continues to look at Ethan over the shoulder

over her wanna-be escort, a very attentive gentleman. Nyah

offers up her empty glass, and the gentleman eagerly takes it to

the bar for a refill, leaving Nyah and Ethan looking at one

another. Ethan approaches her.



ETHAN

Do you know me?



NYAH

No. Should I?



ETHAN

No. You just looked as if you did.



NYAH

No. Just as if I'd like to.



ETHAN

Oh. Well. I think that can be arranged.



NYAH

Not tonight. Bad timing. Sorry -



ETHAN

There's not enough time in the world for

any of it to be bad.



This stops her. Nyah moves closer to him, until they're nose

to nose. Whispered but breezy:



NYAH

Look, it's either you or the rent and I

don't mind telling you it's not an easy

choice.



ETHAN

What if I pay the rent?



NYAH

Uh-huh.



ETHAN

Uh-huh?



Glancing at the gentleman making his way back with her drink

then:



NYAH

Go find the wealthy lady you came with and

next time we meet - I'll pay your rent.

(kissing him, sweetly)

Now bugger off.



And purposeful creature that she is, she takes her frustrated

desire upstairs, timing her footsteps so as to use the sound of

the dancer's steps to cover her own. Once upstairs, a security

guard near the master bedroom can be seen eagerly following her

down the hall, both moving past a pair of windows, visible to

Ethan. In a few moments, Nyah can be seen past the

windows in the opposite direction, without the guard following.

In another moment or two, a very puzzled looking security guard

can be glimpsed in the first window, looking up and down the

hall, clearly having lost sight of Nyah. Ethan smiles, moves out

of shot.



INT - MASTER BEDROOM (EVE)



Nyah has opened the door and moves swiftly thru the bedroom.



INT - BATH (EVE)



A decadent looking affair with suggestive lighting, mirrored

walls. The tub has a tray across it which includes a wine cooler

chilling a bottle of Crystal and a mound of caviar on a bed of

ice. Nyah can't resist. She spoons a dollop of the caviar and

downs it before she moves along the frescoed walls of the tub to

its back. There, she pulls out her compact and removes the puff,

revealing an electronic density meter. She turns it on and holds

it at the rear of the tub. Its sweep gauge jumps sharply from

green thru yellow and into red.



NYAH

(her fondest hopes confirmed)

Mmmm.



She now steps into the tub and focuses on the grout between the

tiles just above the sop dish. Her knee eyes search for any

cracks in the grout and she spots one. Using a tweezers she

pulls the silver of the grout out from between the tiles, revealing

something that looks like a credit card wedged between the tiles.

She slips the card into a narrow opening under the sop dish.



There's the sound of hydraulics and two arms move the marble

casing out from the rear of the tub. Nyah breathes a sigh of

relief and anticipation: kneeling in the tub she finds herself

looking down at an open safe, revealing some half-dozen locked

compartments. As she studies them:



ETHAN

Decisions, decisions.



Nyah looks up to see Ethan's reflection in the bathroom

mirrors, looking down at her kneeling in the tub.



NYAH

What are you doing here?



ETHAN

Think you're the only one who can pick a

lock?



NYAH

(not altogether pleased)

I see. You're not just another pretty face..



Before Ethan can answer, a voice can be heard coming from the

bedroom warbling Granada in Spanish, and with considerable gusto.



NYAH (cont'd)

Oh god. A bloody baritone.



Nyah catches a reflection behind Ethan's in the bathroom mirror.

She reaches up and grabs Ethan by the lapel, yanking him into the

tub, pulling him down on top of her. Once again they're nose to

nose.



ETHAN

I take it you prefer tenors.



She glances up at the mirror. In it is the reflection of SENOR

AUGUSTO DE L'ARENA, a big amiable Castilian in his fifties who's

changing a white dinner jacket that's had wine split on it. He

breaks into a heavily accented version of 'Now or Never', and

disappears from the dressing room mirror.



NYAH

Would you mind if I'm on top?



ETHAN

Oh, either way works for me.



With a jaundiced look she rolls over on top of Ethan and begins

working on one of the safe compartments, using a tiny torque

wrench from a tube of lipstick and a carbide pick from a mascara

brush. She glances down and is rather disconcerted. Continues

working with the pick and wrench.



ETHAN'S VOICE

You're never gonna find it there.



NYAH

(she jumps, dropping the torque wrench)

Damn it! Find what?



ETHAN

His ex-wife's Bulgari necklace that goes

up for auction Tuesday.



Looking down to Ethan, a touch of indignation:



LOOKING UP



more or less, hands locked behind his neck as he rests against

the raked back of the tub, his eyes and nose inches from Nyah's

lower pelvic region as she straddles him. Not exactly in the mood

to move:



She stiffens - he knows too damn much.



NYAH

- right..where is it?



ETHAN

Far right.



She immediately switches her efforts from top left to the

bottom right compartment. She's utterly nonplussed:



NYAH

Where's the bloody -



ETHAN

(plucking it off his chest,

offering it up like a mechanic

under the chassis)

- torque wrench.



NYAH

- this is very disconerting..



ETHAN

Hey, you put me here. I just do what I'm

told.



NYAH

- right..



She unstraddles him and, with a few deft moves with the torque

wrench and carbide pick - and it's open. She withdraws a velvet

pouch and opens the pouch. Out spills the spectacular necklace.



NYAH (cont'd)

Lovely.

(starting to close the safe)

Who are you and what's it going to cost me?



ETHAN

(having sat up)

I wouldn't do that.



NYAH

Do what?



The alarm goes off.



ETHAN

That.



The bathroom is suddenly filled with security guards, gun drawn

Senor de l'Arena, looking highly upset, pops in.



SENOR DE L'ARENA

Oh, Senor Keyes, thank God it is you!

(in Spanish to security guards,

annoyed)

It's Senor Keyes, the security engineer.



ETHAN

Well, Senor de l'Arena the goods news is

that the heat sensors were activated. But

Miss Nordoff-Hall, my associate -



Senor de l'Arena kisses Nyah's hand.



SENOR DE L'ARENA

Mucho gusto, senorita.



ETHAN

- did feel that she had rather too long to

work on the safe before they triggered the

alarm, isn't that right Miss Hall?



NYAH

Oh yes. Absolutely. Much too long I

should yes.



Nyah's initial shock and panic slowly gives way to a wary,

intensified curiosity - about Ethan.



ETHAN

Under the circumstances I think we would

recommend re-setting the senors to

respond to a lighter load. How do you

feel about forty kilos, Miss Hall?



NYAH

Indeed.



ETHAN

Well, Senor de l'Arena, there's no reason

to disrupt your party any longer. we have

some further concerns about the disposition

of your security guards, which you'll

receive in our written report by fax in the

morning, hard copy to follow. Shall we?



He offers Nyah his arm. They start out. Ethan immediately stops.



ETHAN (cont'd)

Miss Hall. Haven't you forgotten

something?



Nyah looking genuinely puzzled.



NYAH

The necklace?



Nyah slowly reaches into her dress and withdraws the glittering

string of diamonds and rubies from her bust.



SENOR DE L'ARENA

(a great kidder)

What are you trying to do, senorita? Rob

me.



They all laugh, and Ethan's got her out the door.



EXT - ANDALUSIAN VILLA (LATE NIGHT - PRE DAWN)



The stars dimming, the sky a gun metal blue. Ethan and Nyah

emerge from the villa, walking slowly. Nyah's clearly

preoccupied.



NYAH

I'm missing something here, aside from a

500,000 pound necklace. Even after I

botched the job, I could've walked out of

there with the bloody thing.



ETHAN

At least you walked.



NYAH

If you weren't going to let me get away

with it, why did you let me go thru with

it?



ETHAN

Wanted to see how good you were.

I'm hoping we might work together.



NYAH

May I say something, no offence? You

look like a gigolo, you sound like a

thief, you act like a cop - what the

bloody hell do you have in mind?



ETHAN

Working under adverse conditions. Highly

adverse conditions.



NYAH

Sounds smashing. I'm in. Muchacho, mi

carro, por favor! Now be serious. You

couldn't possibly want me off tonight's

performance..



ETHAN

You didn't do that badly.



Her car arrives.



NYAH

(as she moves to her car)

You're apologizing for me? Quite the

gentleman..



ETHAN

(opening the car door)

Not really. I triggered the alarm..



One foot on the floorboard she freezes, back to Ethan.



ETHAN

Hey, the Bulgari job last week was

flawless. And I've always been partial to

pale yellows.



She slides behind the wheel.



NYAH

(as he leads on the car)

I don't do laundry, or put up with

cheeky bastards who set me up on their

territory so they can poach on mine.



She takes off, spewing bits of gravel and dust in her wake.

Ethan smiles and shakes his head.



ON THE ROAD - NYAH (MOVING)



around curves, hair flying, she's free. Her car phone rings.

Perplexed, she lets it ring once or twice picks it up:



NYAH

(tentatively)

Hola..



ETHAN

Hi. Would you mind slowing down?



NYAH

Where did you get this number? I don't

even have it!



ETHAN' VOICE

Would you like it?



She hits the End button and disconnects. The phone immediately

rings again. She refuses to pick up. Ethan pulls alongside hers.

She looks at him. They speak through the open cars.



ETHAN

Pull over and listen to me, will you?

Just listen..



NYAH

Listen to what?



ETHAN

I need your help and I thin you can use

mine.



NYAH

Your help? What are you talking about?



ETHAN

Scotland Yard, Interpol, every Dutch

authority. I can make them go away.



NYAH

Oh bloody hell. You're a spy.



She floors it and shoots ahead of Ethan, nicking his car as she takes off.



ETHAN

(to himself)

I deserved that.



SERIES OF DRIVING SHOTS - NYAH AND ETHAN



Ethan rings her again. And keeps ringing. Her face becomes

grim, her flight progressively more desperate and with Ethan's

pursuit progressively more determined. They are reaching the

limits of adhesion around blind curves.



MORE SHOTS DRIVING (DAWN)



The sky's battleship gray; Ethan pursues Nyah around hairpin

turns high above the Costa del Sol; they rip thru patches of

marine fog drifting on the road, obscuring it.



Both are appalled by the other's willingness to escalate risk in

this game of flight and pursuit until Ethan tears thru a fogbank

and sees on his GPS what Nyah can't see thru the fog -

less than four hundred meters ahead is a turn she can't possibly

negotiate and if she can't she'll plunge off the road hundreds of

feet to rock and sea below. Ringing her number again:



ETHAN

(half to himself)

Slow down, slow down.



She turns up a mound and loses control. She spins out and heads

toward the edge of the cliff.



NYAH

(realizing she's in trouble)

Uh-oh.



Ethan cuts her off and sends them both into a 540 degree spin.

Her car stops just at the cliff's edge.



Furious she wrenches open the car door and gets out.



ETHAN

No!



Suddenly there's no Nyah. Ethan leaps over to Nyah's car and

sees Nyah dangling over the ocean and rocks hundreds of feet

below, holding the door handle.



NYAH

Oh..oh..



Taking a firm grip on her wrist.



ETHAN

Don't look down. Just..look at me.

That's it..that's it..



He pulls Nyah up to the car, across the seat and half into

his arms. For a long moment it looks like she's in shock. Then:



NYAH

What's you name?



ETHAN

Ethan Hunt.



NYAH

Well, Ethan Hunt, what is it you want to

talk to me about?



Thru the veil of morning fog, Nyah looks at Ethan. Her dark eyes

suggest wit, and willingness, and longing.



ETHAN

...more than I thought..



They scarcely to move to bring their lips together:



NYAH

Awfully short notice..



ETHAN

Care to wait a decent interval?



NYAH

Who wants to be decent?..



DISSOLVE:



CLOSE - ETHAN (INT-EXT. SAFEHOUSE - SEVILLE - DAY-EVE)



sleeping. His eyes open slowly. He comes to full consciousness,

his head still on the pillow. Something approaching serious

anxiety informs his features. He lifts his head and looks at his

left, angle widening. Nyah lies on her side facing him,

sleeping serenely. Anxiety on the order of oh-God-this-isn't-

approved-recruiting-technique, confirmed. He lets his head flop

back on the pillow. Then he turns so he and Nyah are profile to-

profile. As he looks at her sleeping his anxiety fades, replaced

by curiosity and even wonder. He lifts his hand and just

brushes her cheek. Her eyes open. She knows where she is.



ETHAN

So what've you got against spooks?



Nyah smiles.



NYAH

When they've got your recruiting

technique? Not a thing.



ETHAN

Oh. Well..this isn't exactly by the book.



NYAH

They've got a book for this?



ETHAN

They've got a book for everything.



NYAH

The only other spook I knew was a liar.

Charming but absolutely incapable of

telling the truth. He'd lie about his

favorite color. But then I reckon it's an

occupational hazard. All spies really do

is conceal the truth and tell lies.



ETHAN

Not revealing information doesn't

necessarily make someone a liar.



NYAH

That's not the point. In the end what

spies rely on is the one thing they think

they know that you don't.



ETHAN

Which is?



NYAH

That they're lying.



Ethan laughs.



NYAH (cont'd)

..once they know that they can

get very very..crosee..



Nyah shoulder and moves into Ethan.



ETHAN

So where did I got right?



NYAH

You're not a liar. Or you're an awfully

good one..

(then)

..this thing these blokes pinched..



ETHAN

I don't know that they 'pinched' it.

Don't even know that they're blokes.



Nyah stops to think about this.



NYAH

Well, then, what I am I doing here? I assume

I'm meant to be some sort of thief-to

catch-a-thief..



ETHAN

So do I. Sort of.



Nyah looks at Ethan, a little worried.



NYAH

Spoken like a spook..you ever afraid?



ETHAN

Of what?



Nyah laughs.



NYAH

Ask a question, you get an answer!..



ETHAN

Damn, you're beautiful.



NYAH

That's because I'm on my back.



Quick as a cat Ethan flips Nyah over so she's looking down

at him.



ETHAN

I don't think so.



She sinks into his arms.



EXT-INT - STREET - SEVILLE (VALENCIA FESTIVAL) (EVE)



Ethan's step is unusually jaunty as he bounces along, making his

way thru the festive and jostling crowds preparing for the Crema

portion of the Fallas de Valencia. On this night great papier

mache effigies, some serious, some comic, are placed all thru the

city and torched in great bonfires. Outside the bar Ethan's

looking for there's a street vendor, hawking Fallas mementos and

flowers. He starts past the vendor, and it hits him - he's going

to buy some flowers.



He chooses a colorful spring bouquet so fresh the dew can be

seen on the petals. Ethan pays the vendor, starts into the bar,

and thinks better of walking into Swanbeck with the bouquet.

Turns back to the vendor.



ETHAN

Are you gonna be here a while?



VENDOR

Si, senor.



ETHAN

I'll pick'em up on my way out, okay?



Ethan enter the bar and goes upstairs to the second floor where

he passes security at a pair of double doors.



INT - IMF BRIEFING ROOM



Swanbeck stands looking out the window. Noisy crowds from the

festival provides a constant walla, and during the sequence, the

first effigies are lit, and smoke and flame provide a vivid

background thru briefing room's window.



SWANBECK

Fetival's a pain in the ass. Honoring

saint by setting'em on fire.

(turning to Ethan)

Sit down, sit down.



Ethan sits.



SWANBECK (cont'd)

Let's you know what they think of saints,

doesn't it? Damn near set me on fire on

my way over here. As if I haven't been

burned enough today.



A moment where it's impossible to tell which way the wind is

going to blow between these two. Then civilly:



SWANBECK (cont'd)

Sorry I barged in on your vacation.



ETHAN

Sorry I didn't let you know where I was.



SWANBECK

Don't be. Wouldn't be on vacation if you did.



ETHAN

Well. You're sorry and I'm sorry.



SWANBECK

Why did you phrase it like that?



ETHAN

Like what?



SWANBECK

'You're sorry and I'm sorry.'



ETHAN

You gotta be kidding.



Swanbeck turns to his computer and begins play on a DVD, and

projected onto a computer screen staring back at Ethan is:



VLADIMIR NEKHORVICH



NEKHORVICH

(with exaggerate brio)

Well, Dmitri! How are you?..



Nekhorvich pauses as if waiting for reply. Ethan smiles.



ETHAN

..I'm fine..and you?



NEKHORVICH

I'm fine..



Ethan laughs.



ETHAN

I'm fine and you're fine..



With Ethan simultaneously whispering:



NEKHORVICH

I'm fine too.. I'm fine and you're fine - do

you remember, dear fried, how you got

Sergei and I to repeat those lines from Dr.

Strangelove and we gave you the name of that

silly Soviet Premier because we didn't know

your name?..In those days, you not only

saved our lives, you saved our sanity. 'Now,

then Dmitri - we have this little problem':

Every search for a hero must begin with

something that every hero requires; a

villain. Therefore, in a search for our

hero, Bellerophon, we created a monster

Chimera. I beg you, Dmitri, come to Sydney

and accompany me to Atlanta immediately.

However we travel, I must arrive at me

destination, within 20 hours of departure.

Forgive this fanciful explanation, but for

now prudence dictates that I communicate

nothing but the gravest urgency.

I fear I can entrust this to no one but

you, Dmitri. as we say, 'I'm sorry and

you're sorry'..



Swanbeck stops the DVD.



SWANBECK

Let me ask you something. You have any

idea what the hell he's talking about?



Ethan smiles.



ETHAN

An idea, yeah.



SWANBECK

Like?



ETHAN

Like it's a good idea to pick him up in a

hurry. And a bad idea to fly him on a

commercial carrier. So let's get on with

it. He's still in Sydney?



SWANBECK

Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich is dead. So is his

colleague, Gradski, but that happened

earlier. We had Nekhorvich on a flight

from Sydney that crashed in the Rockies..



Ethan sits back, heavily.



SWANBECK (cont'd)

- Hunt, are you listening?..



Slowly looking up:



ETHAN

If he didn't want to go anywhere without

me, how did you get him on the flight?



SWANBECK

You were there.



Swanbeck clears his throat. He turns back to the computer and

punches in: MISSION DOUBLE IMAGE. File open to computer scans

of AMBROSE, SEAN, and HUNT, ETHAN, the computer scanning and

comparing their features, millimeter by millimeter, stat by stat,

as the computer then imposes, with the help of the physiognomy

scan, Ethan's face on Ambrose: hence, mission double image.



ETHAN



slowly looks up at Swanbeck.



SWANBECK

When I couldn't find you, I had to replace

you. Sean Ambrose was the obvious choice.

He double you, what? Two, three times?



ETHAN

Twice.



SWANBECK

What did you think of him?



ETHAN

You know we had reservations about each

other. Isn't it a little late in the day

to be asking me that?



SWANBECK

Not necessarily.



Swanbeck shows Ethan a photo of airline Captain.



SWANBECK

Airline record list Captain Harold

Macintosh as the pilot for Flt 2207. as

far as the media and all governmental

agencies are concerned, Captain Macintosh

died on the flight, but in fact he missed

it. He did, however make the next flight -

in cargo, stuffed into a rather small

suitcase considering his size.



Another photo of an open suitcase, the body in it partially

obscured by a ring of police and customs officers.



SWANBECK (cont'd)

Someone on that flight planned an

operation designed to down the plane and

make it look like an accident. Someone

skillful enough to bring the whole thing

off without a hitch but - they don't

always get your luggage on the plane, even

when you fly first class.



ETHAN

So there's one thing we know Ambrose

doesn't.



SWANBECK

Then you do think it was Ambrose.



Ethan barely nods.



SWANBECK (cont'd)

And you're not surprised.



Ethan gives Swanbeck a look.



ETHAN

Whatever Nekhorvich was carrying Sean

wanted and he wanted to conceal the fact

that he took it.



SWANBECK

Enough to kill Nekhorvich and two hundred

innocent passengers?



Ethan smiles.



ETHAN

Sean feels he hasn't done the job unless

he leaves a lot of hats on the ground.



SWANBECK

The question is why? What was this

Chimera Nekhorvich was carrying?



Ethan rises and moves to the window.



ETHAN

Right now only Ambrose knows that.



SWANBECK

In any case, you've got to recover Chimera

and bring it to us.



ETHAN

In order to do that, I've got to figure

out how he plans to make money with it.



SWANBECK

- right. In fact since the plane went

down our banking sources have confirmed a

marked increase in the stock pilling of

cash in terrorists accounts.



ETHAN

'Terrorists?'



SWANBECK

Well you know Nekhorvich's history.

You're the one who got him out of the

Soviet Union was it still in bio-

weapon business.



ETHAN

If that's what you're thinking Ambrose

would have set up a bidding situation with

any number of buyers before he got on the

plane. Locating him in time to stop

something like that -



SWANBECK

- is where Miss Hall comes in.



ETHAN

(blindsided)

Excuse me?



SWANBECK

Miss Hall and Ambrose had a relationship

which he took very seriously. She walked

away and he's wanting her back ever

since. We believe she's our surest and

quickest way of location him.



ETHAN

(acidly)

And then what?



SWANBECK

Then makes sure she continues to see him.

Gets him confide in her and report to

you.



ETHAN

You made it sound as if I was recruiting

her for her skills as a thief.



SWANBECK

Well, then I mislead you. Or you made the

wrong assumption. Either way we're asking

her to resume a prior relationship, not do

anything she hasn't already done.



ETHAN

She's got no training for this kind of

thing.



SWANBECK

Go to bed with a man and lie to him?

She's a woman. She's got all the training

she needs.



Ethan's anger flashes but does his best to contain it.



ETHAN

I don't think I can get her to do it.



SWANBECK

You mean it'll be difficult.



ETHAN

Very.



SWANBECK

Well it's not mission difficult, Hunt.

It's mission impossible. Difficult should

be a walk in the park for you. If you can

think of a quicker way to get to Ambrose,

you're welcome to try. Oh, by the way, you

might want to take a look at these..if you

have any further qualms about getting her

to do the job.



He pulls out a little Minolta digital camera (identical to the

one in Nekhorvich's bag at airport security). Swanbeck sets it on

the table. Ethan picks it up the tiny camera and puts it to his eye.



EXT - BAR (NIGHT)



A grim Ethan, starring fixedly ahead of him emerges to an ever

more lively crowd. as he does:



STREET VENDOR

Senor, senor! Your flowers.



The vendor holds up the spring bouquet. Ethan seems genuinely

surprised by them.



ETHAN

Yes. They're very nice..



And he's lost in the crowd, leaving a very puzzled vendor holding

the bouquet.



STILL OF CRASH SITE IN ROCKIES (THRU MINOLTA STILL CAMERA)



One after the other flashing by. They are more evocative than

specific in their suggestion of an abrupt, fiery, ending, where

the lives of hundred are literally and figuratively torn apart

and strewn over a desolate landscape.



NYAH



carefully places the little Minolta on a glass-topped coffee

table. She's beautifully pulled together, the safehouse has the

lights low, flamenco music playing, and when she walks out onto

the balcony Ethan sees the candlelit table and a bottle of

champagne chilling. There's a light breeze the fire from the

burning effigies throwing smoke and flame all over the city.



NYAH

What's the population of Seville any

idea?



ETHAN

Five, six-hundred thousand.



NYAH

There's nearly 2 million in London.



ETHAN

And six billion in the world.



NYAH

That's lot of people out there..how many

of them, I wonder, are capable of

something like that?



ETHAN

Sean Ambrose, for one.



A long shocked moment. Nyah laughs.



NYAH

Right...



INT - SAFEHOUSE (EVE - LATER)



The pounding beat of the flamenco music seems to fill the room

Nyah's back to Ethan:



NYAH

(grimly amused)

Not that it matter much but..I seem to

recall you staying something like, 'I was

hoping we could work together.'



ETHAN

This wasn't what I had in mind, Nyah.



NYAH

But it is what you'd like me to do.

so tell me to do it..



She approaches Ethan. They're inches apart.



NYAH (cont'd)

Come on, out with it. Tell me to go and

insinuate myself back into Sean's life.



ETHAN

Go and insinuate yourself back into Sean's

life.



NYAH

I'd like a little more conviction..



ETHAN

So would I. But it's not mine to give.



NYAH

(archness there)

You've either got it or you don't. Let

your conscience be your guide?



ETHAN

Something like that.



With a smile and a wink.



NYAH

But I don't have a conscience. I'm a

bloody thief.



ETHAN

You can be a thief and have a conscience.



NYAH

No. You can be a thief and have a

conscience: Not me. Why did you have to

tell me about this!

(pouring herself a drink)

What do I have to do to get away from this

guy? When you're with him, he messes

about with your head every waking

moment..even now I'll be at some out-of-

the-way-place, a tin of caviar and a

bottle of Crystal shows up at the table,

with two glass, God knows how he finds

out at any given moment where I am in the

world but he does. And it looks like he's

done it again. You know his definition of

a true paranoid?



ETHAN

I don't.



NYAH

Someone in possession of all the facts.

(she turns away, pauses)

Are you telling me I have to do this?



ETHAN

Generally, I don't favor coercing someone.

Not when there's a chance my life could

end up in their hands.



NYAH

And that's the only reason?



ETHAN

Can you think of a better one?



NYAH

Not me. I was just hoping you might..or

that..somehow in the course of business

this got personal as well as physical.



ETHAN

Look, would it make you feel better if I

didn't want you to do this?



NYAH

Much.



ETHAN

Then feel better!..



Long moment while she looks at him.



ETHAN (cont'd)

Well. That made all the difference in the

world, didn't it?



Ethan walks out onto the balcony. She looks at his back.



NYAH

Sean will never be anything but suspicious

if he picks up some sort of 'yoo-hoo-I'm-

not-nad' message. Not after the way we

broke up.



ETHAN

What wouldn't make him suspicious?



NYAH

Probably that I needed him in some urgent

way..destitute - in serious trouble..the

kind I couldn't possible sort out myself..



Ethan's been smiling slightly.



ETHAN

Serious trouble, Nyah, is something I can

always arrange..



NYAH IN A SPANISH JAIL



standing for front and side mug shot. O.S. sound of teletype

continues. SUPERIMPOSE: Ethan holding up something the size of

a dime:



ETHAN

This little chip sends a coded signal that

can be picked up only by our computer.



On the screen of the GPS computer, a little yellow blip appears

pulsating on the screen.



ETHAN'S VOICE

When it's in your ankle we can track you

within three feet of anywhere in the

world.



OVER ETHAN AND ONTO COMPUTER SCREEN



He types a small Interpol bulletin stating that Nyah Nordoff

Hall, apprehended March 13 in Seville, is awaiting extradition

while the authorities in London, Paris, and Amsterdam squabble

over where she's going to be tried first, for the various thefts

and burglaries she's committed in the three cities.



COMPUTER SCREEN (AMBROSE TENT ANNEX - DAY)



Ambrose picking up on a version of the Interpol bulletin Ethan's

put out. He leans over the screen for a moment, then moves to

the window, and stares out thoughtful at the bay, almost as if

he were watching...



EXT - NYAH IN JAIL COURTYARD



From a beautiful blue sky, pan down to the courtyard of the jail

where Nyah is allowed out for an airing, seemingly alone but

being watched by:



ETHAN AND COMPUTER SCREEN



His attention fixed on the screen, Ethan stares at satellite

shot of Nyah in the jail courtyard.



INT - PRISON - NYAH



being allowed a phone call, a prison guard visible b.g. Cross

cut with Ethan.



ETHAN

Look, I can't run your arrest in CNN, but

I guarantee he's monitoring every law

enforcement agency in the world, for what

they might be saying about him, if nothing

else - he's got the ability and, we

assume, the desire to get you out of

there.



NYAH

This doesn't seem to be accomplishing

much.



ETHAN

Well, I mean it's not a total loss. It is

keeping a very capable thief off the

street..



NYAH

Very funny..maybe he has heard and

doesn't want to know. Maybe he's lost

interest.



Her guard, b.g. is handed a note.



GUARD

(to Nyah)

Your lawyer to see you.



NYAH

What lawyer?



ETHAN AND COMPUTER SCREEN



ETHAN

Well, here we go.



SECTOR: AUSTRALIA, moving into NEW SOUTH WALES, and then to:

Sydney. Here Ethan pulls up names, photos and profiles of

potential candidates. They scroll past, one face morphing into

another. Ethan punches in on WILLIAM A. BAIRD. EXPERTISE:

Qualified in virtually every mode of transport, land, sea, air.

ORDINANCES: Small arms and automatic weapons authority, edged and

impact weapons. PROCUREMENT: Resourceful. EXPLOSIVES: Precision

detonation, diffusion.



Ethan punches: Request immediate availability.



EXT - GOVERNMENT BUILDING - SEVILLE (DAY)



Nyah emerges from the entrance to the jail.



ETHAN

Stop and look for something in you

purse..kneel down..



She does. They're effectively blocked from the street.



NYAH

Limo's waiting.



Ethan hands her a key chain with what appear to be a car-key.



ETHAN

- Ambrose will have counter-surveillance

second to no one's. When and if he

contacts you, push this button

before you actually end up under his roof

it'll scramble your transmission to us.



She takes the key chain. Her hands are shaking.



NYAH

When will you be there?





ETHAN

Before you are.



NYAH

How can you possibly? I've got to get

right on the plane. I'm leaving now.



ETHAN

You don't trust me.



NYAH

Oh, I do. But as we know I'm a very poor

judge of character.



ETHAN

He's got you on Qantas flight 2735. It's

going to be delayed.



NYAH

Yes?



ETHAN

You'll be fine. I'm going to lose

you.



NYAH

Ethan, you take care of yourself, I'll

take care of myself because if push comes

to shove, I'm gonna bail - and without

giving two week notice.



ETHAN

Well, forewarned is forearmed. And while

we're at it, be especially sensitive to

any sudden change in Ambrose's plans,

especially any involving you..



They rise. A quick squeeze of her hand and he's gone. A look of

something like longing replaces the toughness as she gazes after

him, then starts across the street toward the limo and driver. MI

music theme kicks in and continues over:



POV HELICOPTER (MOVING - SYDNEY - DAY)



over the Harbor Bridge, sails dotting the bay like confetti.



EXT - FARM (DAY)



pans of sheep are bleating and looking for sort of cover in

response to the sound of a helicopter touching down.



EXT - COPTER (DAY)



Billy and Luther emerge, Luther with computer looking acutely

uncomfortable in a wrinkled suit.



ETHAN'S VOICE

Welcome to Australia, mate.



They look up to a smiling Ethan who points to the ground beneath

Luther's feet. Luther looks down to see that he is standing in a

pile of sheep-shit.



LUTHER

Thanks - mate.



Both men laugh and all three move to:



INT - FARMHOUSE (DAY)



Luther and Billy with Ethan setting up their operation. There's

a blip on one of the screens.



LUTHER

It's the transponder.



ETHAN

Put in the coordinates and let's get a

visual. The visuals aren't coming up.



LUTHER

The satellite doesn't work as fast as I

do.



BILLY

Yeah, I've heard about you, Luther, and I

just want to tell you it's an honor and a

pleasure to be working with you blokes,

whoaa! That's some transponder!



As Billy speaks, the visual come on line and Nyah has become

visible.



LUTHER

(a jaundiced eye, to Ethan)

It certainly is. How did we get so lucky?



Ethan pointedly ignore the question.



POV - MOVING (PALM BEACH - DAY)



rounding the tip of the bay's crescent, revealing the beach and

dock at Ambrose's palm-lined residence.



NYAH



The speedboat's engine's are cut. Nyah looks momentarily

stricken.



POV NYAH (MOVING)



a lone slender figure silhouetted at the end of the dock, still

as the piling besides which it stands. But the features remain

obscured by the sun at his back.



ETHAN



leans forward as the slender figure grows larger,



BILLY

(to Ethan)

Is it him, then?



POV - MOVING



The tide is too low for the boat to dock, making it necessary for

he boat to approach the shore. The slender figure moves off the

end of the dock and onto the beach.



THE CIGARETTE



idles into shadow water but the props start chewing into the

sand - the boatman grumbles he can't get any closer. The slender

figure has moved to the shoreline and the angle of the light

changes - Ambrose is waiting.



Nyah hesitates only a flicker of an instant, slips over the side

into thigh-high water without taking her eyes off Ambrose.

Ambrose strides right on into the bay. as they are just an arm's

length apart:



NYAH



takes a deep breath, presses the button to scramble the

transponder.



WITH ETHAN (INT. SHEEPFARM SAFEHOUSE)



The picture abruptly goes dead.



BILLY

Damn. Just when it was about to get

interesting.



ETHAN

It's okay. She scrambled the

transmission. Luther, continue feeding

the GPS her position.



Luther punches in. The signal - and the global coordinates are

given. They wait.



INT - SPACE



The satellite positions itself.



WITH THE THREE



ETHAN

Can't we speed this up.



Luther shoots him a disgusted look.



LUTHER

With what? This is the only computer

that'll do this.



THE SIGNALS AND PHOTOS



start to bounce back, growing larger and larger on the screen,

until: Nyah can be seen, water up to her thighs, lingering in

Ambrose's arms with each blow-up, and linger. And lingering.



BILLY

- right. Now there's a bloke who knows

how to deliver a proper welcome. Don't

get me wrong, mate. You were quite

hospitable. Is it him, then?



Ethan's look suggests he's worried about lapse in recruiting

judgment.



LUTHER

It is, Billy.



BILLY

Then we got'em!



ETHAN

We don't know what we've got because we

don't know what he's got, where he's got

it or what he's doing in Sydney with it.



Ethan strides away from the screen, the edge in his voice and the

move not altogether lost on either Luther or Billy.



INT - THE BAY (EXT. PALM BEACH - DAY)



Perfectly poised, still loosely in his arms, Nyah returns

Ambrose's penetrating gaze with a pleasant, clear eyed one.



AMBROSE

Not much luggage.



NYAH

I left in a bit of a hurry. I'm terribly

grateful, Sean.



AMBROSE

How grateful?



NYAH

Well that depends.



AMBROSE

On what.



NYAH

How hard you had to work to get me out of

there..how in the world did you ever find me?



AMBROSE

(stopping)

How I usually find you, Nyah.



NYAH

How do you that.



AMBROSE

Magic...



NYAH

Ahh..



POV THRU TENT ANNEX WINDOW (AMBROSE COMPOUND)



looking down the length of the dock. Ambrose, his arm around

Nyah and carrying her suitcase, moves up the dock toward the

house and camera.



Stamp steps into the annex and looks over to Wallis, who watches

Nyah on the monitors.



WALLIS

No flies on her.

(checking her on a scanner

screen)

No bugs either. She's clean.



STAMP

(drily)

All cats are.



INT - ETHAN - SAFEHOUSE (SHEEP FARM - DAY)



Ethan watches the Nekhorvich video on the computer screen.



NEKHORVICH

...therefore in a search for our hero,

Bellerophon, we created a monster,

Chimera.



Ethan then flips through a series of pictures on the computer

depicting the myth of Bellerophon attacking Chimera.



Billy moves up behind him.



BILLY

What you got there, mate?



ETHAN

A myth..just a myth...shouldn't you be

checking out their countersurveillance?



BILLY

Well you know his blokes'll place the

OSCOR in his annex, where else if you're

pinpointing transmitters, video signals,

covert chip cameras, anything radiating,

oscillating..



ETHAN

..or hard wired..



BILLY

(please)

- or hard wired, right. First line of

perimeter defence'll run from the back of

the dock to the front of the house.

Whatever moves burps or bleep is gonna be

picked up to a height of twenty feet.

Basically impenetrable, I'd say.



LUTHER

Ethan, here's Nekhorvich, and here's his

boss



Luther scans an entry from the IMF database with newspaper

clippings, sidebars of still of McCloy and Nekhorvich.



LUTHER (cont'd)

McCloy, Jon Chaddick, CEO Biocyte

Pharmaceuticals..D.O.B. September 30,

1952, Manchester, England.



BILLY

(a little lost)

Well do you disagree with that?



ETHAN

Not at all. But how about going into town

and confirming your intuitions on site?



BILLY

Oh well, if that's how you feel about it.



Billy leaves.



LUTHER

..then Cambridge..Harvard..entrepreneurial

efforts..in efforts..in 1989, acquired Biocyte in

hostile takeover..



As Luther transfer info to Ethan's computer:



LUTHER (cont'd)

Ethan, have a look at this.



On Ethan's screen appears the Biocyte website; where among he

various icons one offer McCloy's proud detailing of Biocyte's

philanthropic efforts:



MCCLOY'S VOICE

We at out state-of-the-art solar powered

Biocyte building recognized that eternal

vigilance is the price of health.. whether

it's funding the teaching center at the

Royal Prince Edward Hospital, removing

aerosol products from the marker or

braving the influenza quarantine at Bruny

island late last month..at Biocyte your

life..is our life's work..



ETHAN

(quietly)

..Biocyte workers at Bruny Island.



INT - AMBROSE'S (DAY)



They've reached the head of the stairs. Ambrose opens a door.

It's a large bedroom opening onto a veranda with a view of the

tent annex and the beach, and a very large bed.



NYAH

Your room.



AMBROSE

(yes)

Mmmm.



NYAH

And my room?



A long moment. Ambrose walks to a mirrored wall. The mirrors

are sliding doors. With a sweeping gesture, he slides one of the

mirrors back and reveals a wardrobe of beautiful designer

clothes.



AMBROSE

Thought you could use a little something

to wear.



Nyah stares at the spectacular wardrobe. Ambrose pulls out a

slinky Armani and drapes it on the bed.



AMBROSE ( cont'd)

Try it on..



Nyah hesitates.



AMBROSE (cont'd)

Go ahead. I'm dying to see if I

remembered your size..



Nyah picks it up.



NYAH

No changing room?



Ambrose sits on a chair by the window and waits. Her blouse,

belt, skirt, fall on the bed. As her slender arm reaches down to

pick up the Armani:



AMBROSE



grips her wrist, the flimsy Armani dangling in the air.



CLOSE - NYAH



meeting Ambrose's look.



NYAH

You're not interested in seeing how it

looks.



AMBROSE

Oh, I am. Later..



The Armani falls in a fragile heap on the floor.



CLOSE - ETHAN (DUSK)



standing off to one side, listening to Nekhorvich's voice.



NEKHORVICH

..therefore in a search for our hero,

Bellerophon, we created a monster,

Chimera.



LUTHER

Why's Nekhorvich going on about an old Greek myth?



ETHAN

Nekhorvich specialized in recombining DNA

molecules. In the myth, Bellerophon killed

Chimera, a recombinant monster with the head

of a lion and the tail of a serpent who

plagued the ancient world. I think Nekhorvich

has created a monster virus in Chimera and

apparently the means to kill it in

Bellerophon.



LUTHER

That simple, huh?



ETHAN

Why not?



CLOSE - NYAH (INT. AMBROSE BEDROOM - DUSK)



lying back on a pillow, looking and off into space to right

off camera. She hears Ambrose's voice, with Ethan's voice



AMBROSE'S VOICE/ETHAN'S VOICE

Damn, you're beautiful..



Nyah reacts as if she'd been rapped on the nose, her eyes

moist. She turns abruptly to camera.



NYAH

Did you say something?



AMBROSE



leaning on an elbow, looking down.



AMBROSE

I said you're beautiful, Nyah.



NYAH

Only because..it's spring..chalk it up

(looking him dead in the eye)

- to spring fever.



Ambrose, amused, lights a cigarette and inhaling:



AMBROSE

Won't do, love. It's not spring. It's

nearly autumn..You're in Oz. everything's

upside down and backwards here.



NYAH

(more direct)

Maybe that's it, then. Everything's upside

down and backwards...



CLOSE - ETHAN (SHEEP FARM SAFEHOUSE - DUSK)



ETHAN

Luther..get us everything you can on the

outbreak of influenza on Bruny Island last

month, including photos of the victims.



LUTHER

Right. I guess there aren't many flu

epidemics in the middle of summer.



Luther resumes working on his computer and sees Ethan is locked

on Ambrose's compound on his computer screen, thinking of Nyah.



LUTHER (cont'd)

She did it, Ethan. Nyah's in the

compound.



ETHAN

Yeah? I've just rolled up a snowball and

tosses it into hell.



Ethan stands.



OUTSIDE THE SHEEP FARM SAFEHOUSE



A brooding Ethan exits the sheep farm safehouse under a setting

sun.



ETHAN'S VOICE

Now we'll see what chance it has.



Ethan stops, looking out over the broken plain. His voice is

heard overlapping into the next scene.



ETHAN'S VOICE (cont'd)

(softly)

Damn, You're beautiful.



CLOSE - NYAH (NIGHT)



lying in bed, obviously hearing Ethan's voice again, and feeling

very much alone. She stares out into the night, a gaze that in

its bemused intensity is an exact match to Ethan's.



FADE:



CLOSE - PHOTO - HONG KONG TIMES (INT. AMBROSE STUDY - EARLY DAWN)



its front page, except for the headlines and date, covered with

stacks of paper money, banded bundled dollars piled high as a

cord of wood. The amount $24 millions is written in ink over the

money.



AMBROSE

Twenty-four mil..



Ambrose's hands shift to another photo of another newspaper, the

LONDON TIMES, this one piled high with English pounds and the

written amount: 37 million pounds.



AMBROSE'S VOICE

Thirty-seven million pounds. That's a

promising bid.



The third photo is of the AFTERNOON ARUBAN, with $14 million

packaged on it.



Ambrose, wearing a robe and seated at a glass-topped table, sets

this last photo on the table on top the others. He picks up

Nekhorvich's digital camera, removes the film disk, and snaps it

into its plastic case. He places the case into an envelope

(NOTE: The same envelope seen at the track) and hands it to

Stamp.



AMBROSE

We'll need this at the track. Well then.

Sorted.



Stamp is seated near him. Glances toward Ambrose's bedroom and

Nyah asleep in Ambrose's bed.



STAMP

(pointedly)

Not everything. Why do you think she's

really here?



AMBROSE

From her point of view or mine?



STAMP

Wasn't exactly gagging for it when she

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