Rebel Treasure forty third post

INT THE UNLOADING AREA – ANOTHER TENT
The tent flap lifts, letting in the sounds of SHOUTING and RUNNING FEET. Morgan pushes Mrs. Sliddell into the tent and onto the ground beside Abigail.

MORGAN
(departing)
Don’t go getting comfortable. I’ll be right back after we take care of a little problem.

MRS. SLIDELL
I’d like to teach you some manners.

When the area falls quiet, she brings her unbound hands from behind her back, and begins to loosen Abigail’s bonds.

MRS. SLIDELL (CONT’D)
We’ve got to move fast. The only thing is – where?

ABIGAIL
No problem. Get us out of here and I’ve got a place where they can’t touch us.

INT THE AIRLINER – ELECTRONICS BAY
The technician doesn’t even bother to look up from his console, as the boys and the two guards file in.

TECHNICIAN
(into his headset)
We’re being targeted from the ground.

PILOT (O.S.)
You’re kidding.

TECHNICIAN
No. We have a launch. A SAM is on its way.

PILOT (O.S.)
Hold on! Taking evasive maneuvers.

Ben and Riley exchange hurried glances, then brace themselves in the doorway. The guards belt themselves in. The room begins to revolve as the plane goes into a steep bank.

TECHNICIAN
Chaff away!

Ben bolts for the staircase dragging Riley with him.

As the plane rights itself, they negotiate the staircase and charge into

COACH
the jump area, grabbing chutes off the racks.

TECHNICIAN (O.S.)
We haven’t shaken them.

PILOT (O.S.)
Say again?

Ben tears up a panel on the floor to reveal a hand crank for the ramp, and cranks away for all he’s worth.

Before he can get it open all the way they have to hang on for dear life as the plane begins to bank in the opposite direction.

RILEY
Do you think they can make this any harder?

Ben grunts and grabs two seat cushions, and shoves one at Riley.

BEN
Ready?

Riley looks down the tunnel-like ramp apprehensively. Ben takes a breath and runs for the opening, flopping on to the seat cushion and riding it down the ramp like a toboggan.

Riley gulps once and follows.

EXT IN THE AIR – NIGHT

Ben and Riley fall free of the plane just as both SAMs collide and explode off of her left side. The plane is safe, but Riley tumbles out of control. Ben trims his profile to a head downward orientation and dives after him.

As Ben overtakes his spinning comrade, he manages to grapple his ankles and roll him out flat. They wind up face to face and hand to hand, free falling in tandem.

In our view, their bodies shrink to the size of ants, and in the first rays of dawn their chutes blossom.

ON THE GROUND

First Ben, then Riley land on the side of a sand dune and immediately shuck their chutes.

RILEY
I think they knew we were coming.

BEN
They knew Sadusky and his men were coming. Not us.

RILEY
Which way are we going?

Ben takes out his GPS and takes a reading.

INSERT
A flashing dot on the map grid marks their position.

BEN (O.S.)
If Lon ran true to form he left us a clue like the way he laid out the treasure at his ranch.

[next pt 44]

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Rebel Treasure forty second post

INT THE AIRLINER – ELECTRONICS BAY

PILOT (O.S.)
Coming up on New Mexico.

Agent Sadusky ushers the boys into the plane’s nerve center.

BEN
Communications or intelligence?

SADUSKY
Both. Actually it’s on loan from the Dept. Of Homeland Security.

BEN
You mean we’re dealing with some terrorist organization?

SADUSKY
A home grown one. Thanks to you, you’ve alerted us to a clear and present danger.

BEN
The new KGC isn’t stopping with a little gold or the state of New Mexico.

SADUSKY
No. They’ve got bigger plans.

Riley hovers behind the TECHNICIAN seated in a cockpit of monitors, keyboards, joysticks, etc.

RILEY
Can I play?

The technician looks up in confusion, and over to Sadusky. Sadusky gives him the nod of approval. The technician slides out of his seat and cedes it to Riley. Riley seizes a joystick and commences rotating the column, and soon the image on the display overhead begins to spiral.

TECHNICIAN
Do you even know what you’re doing?

RILEY
Sure. I’m redirecting this spy satellite.

BEN
Look for signs of an old railroad roadbed crossing this desert up from Mexico.

Riley scrolls the satellite image slowly across the viewer.

RILEY
Here’s a likely candidate.

He enlarges the image and a short north/south dash appears.

BEN
It’s headed in the right direction at least. Zoom back out.

The image expands to show more area.

RILEY
These series of smudges seem to line up.

BEN
And the top one lines up on a creek. Let’s follow this canyon.

Riley focuses in on the narrow valley and scrolls slowly upward. A Hummer emerges from a rock wall, its headlights switch from high to low beam.

RILEY
Eureka!

Riley dials up an infra-red image of the area and superimposes the results.

BEN
(his finger on a glowing blotch)
That’s got to be a generator.

Behind the duo, Sandusky signals to his squad who silently slip out of the communications center.

RILEY
All these other sources add up to a ring around what just may well be the vault we’re looking for.

BEN
Which means they haven’t gotten in yet.

Ben enters data from the readout into his GPS.

SADUSKY
Excellent work boys. And now it’s time we parted.

BEN
What do you mean?

SADUSKY
Simply. It’s time for the professionals to step in and do what they do.

Sadusky turns to go, and the boys are quick to follow down the

SPIRAL STAIRCASE

SADUSKY
Listen, if you promise to behave, I’ll let you see us off.

BEN
No, you listen. I have every reason to believe that my wife is down there. I’m going!

They sweep through:

FIRST CLASS

SADUSKY
I’m sorry, Ben. You’re a civilian.

BEN
So, deputize me!

RILEY
Yeah! Deputize us!

SADUSKY
Not possible!

He parts the curtain and enters into

COACH

Now a pre-jump area, bathed in an eerie red light. Two GUARDS seize Ben and Riley as they walk through.

SADUSKY
Remember, best behavior.

PILOT (O.S.)
We’re at altitude.

Sadusky’s team of agents are all suited up for a parachute drop. Sadusky strips off his three piece suit, revealing his jump uniform and straps on his chute.

A section of the tail cracks open and a straight corridor defined by the aisle yaws open to the night time sky.

A green light flashes and one by one they troop down the ramp and out into space. Before joining them Sadusky tosses Ben and Riley a salute.

BEN
(to the guards)
Can we at least watch the show upstairs?

As the ramp closes, the guards step aside and allow them to pass back into first class.

[next pt 43]