[email protected] 2969 Timberland Dr. Nesbit ...

WINK

by

Michael V. Simmons

[email protected] Timberland Dr. Nesbit, MS38651 662-280-2419

WINK

FADE IN:

EXT. IN THE BACK OF A VAN KIRUM GLANCES AT A FILE. - DAY

IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

The year is 2016. Some of the cars look futuristic but notall of them. The van has a modern look but not too modern.It's black and has an upside down "Star of David" painted ingold on both side panels. There's a man wearing a blacklab-coat in the back of the van. He glances at a file andcloses it. The outer jacket of the file reads "CharlesEdward Plackard: Possible suicide case number 49592037 USA.

KIRUM(Voice over while looking out the window.)

When I first went out on my ownI'd read every word of thesepeople's files. I guess I feltobligated.

That was nearly twelve years ago.Back when a car did over thirtyfive miles per hour. But too manypeople crashed head on into otherdrivers so governors wereinstalled on all non-emergencyvehicles. Carakazees is what theywere called. Type C investigationsfor me where there's both a crimeand a suicide. I don't do many ofthem any more because the limitsdo work and there's less trafficnow. Many of the larger citieshave new subways completed ornearly completed. The GAT or GreatAmerican Tunnel, that sends highspeed trains across the heart ofAmerica, is sixty percentcomplete.Small airports are everywherebecause flying's the only way toget somewhere fast even on shorttrips. The big auto makers buildplanes and trains now to stayafloat. Pilots have to wear awristband that injects them tosleep the first sign of unusual

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2.

KIRUM (cont'd)behavior. The plane then fliesitself to the nearest safe-zonewhere it lands perfectly everytime.We'll be at a type A investigationsoon to decide if there was amurder or if the man took his ownlife?

Elicia is sitting across from Kirum typing on her laptop.She interrupts herself and blurts out.

ELICIADoctor there are four more afterthis. I can brief you on all ofthem so you don't have to read thefiles.

KIRUM(Very stern.)

For the last time don't call medoctor.

ELICIASorry I keep forgetting. Kirum, Ijust hope you're not relying on meto make the final judgement onthis one? I'm prepared but I don'tthink I'm ready to pronounce an"Absolute".

KIRUMYou were ready a week ago. Idisagree with the one yeartraining policy but for once I'mgoing to take advantage of it.Just make me aware of yourdecision before you act so I don'thave to correct you in front ofanyone.

ELICIAI just got sick to my stomach.

KIRUMWelcome to my world Elicia.

Their van pulls beside two police cars and parks. The lightmood of two officers changes as they watch Kirum and Eliciaexit the van and walk past them and into a nice antebellumhome.

3.

A man approaches them as Elicia takes pictures of thepotential crime scene. Some ritualistic symbols are on thewalls and a man is hanging from the ceiling. His body lookslike the centerpiece of a picture of a cross with a pointedend and blood dripping from it.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONHello folks I'm in charge of thiscase, Detective Christianson. Iassume you're the ATC agents sentto verify this as a crime scene?

ELICIADetective I need everyone out ofhere now. As you're fully awarewhen we're called you don't have acrime scene until we say you do. Iwon't waste time by citingnumerous infractions in procedureunless it becomes necessary. We'lllet you know when we're finished.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONMa'am I'll advise you that whenthis becomes a crime scene, whichI'm certain it will, I'd best nothave to deal with your tracks andprints while I try to find out whomurdered this man.

Kirum ignores their conversation and stares at the figure onthe ceiling. We see a brief flashback of a young girl on aplane with that same figure tattooed on her neck.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONAlright everyone out, take a lunchbreak and meet back here at noon.

Elicia approaches Kirum.

ELICIAHave you ever seen that before?

KIRUMMaybe. Don't let this stuffdistract you. Have you letanything in the report or whatyou've seen here invade yourinstinct?

4.

ELICIA(Looking at the ceiling.)

No. I have no preconceived notionas to what has happened here.

KIRUMGood. Now examine him and recordhis readings.

They place a ladder next to the man and she climbs up toinspect the body.

She examines the man's eyes with a an object similar to asilver pen that emits a laser light. After holding the lightin his right eye for five seconds she reads an LED screen onthe side of the pen.

ELICIAKirum this line isn't flat. Infact it's going crazy.

KIRUMThat's not possible. Maybe you'renot ready. Come down.

ELICIAThis may be my first recording butI've been reading for years. I'mtelling you this man's...

Her leg slips and she has to grab the body to keep fromfalling. Just as she gasps a sigh of relief she sees theman's right eye staring at her and it blinks. She falls offof the ladder and Kirum catches her. She's hyperventilating.

KIRUMWhy'd you let go?

She tries to speak but she can't catch her breath.

KIRUMCalm down and tell me whathappened?

ELICIAHe. He. He winked at me.

Kirum helps her to her feet and squeezes his forehead.

He deliberately climbs up and takes another reading.

5.

KIRUMIt's flat now. You're not to leavemy sight until this is over. Noteven for a second, do you hear?

ELICIAUntil what's over?

KIRUMFirst things first. You still havea job to do. Have you made adecision?

ELICIA(She looks at the body.)

I guess I have...

KIRUMHave you made a decision or not?

ELICIAYes. I'm positive this man tookhis own life.

KIRUMOK. Now tell the Cleaners to getin here and work quickly.Hopefully we won't have to listento the abuse from the local "knowit alls."

We see a large van, with the same Star of David on it'sside, and eight cleaners, along with two heavily armed men,emerge with a stretcher and various tools. Elicia watches asthey take the body down and put it in the back of the vanand into an incinerator. The house is restored to a normalappearance and there's nothing left to suggest someone hadjust died there.

She approaches Kirum who appears to be talking to himselfbut he's talking to a miniature phone that's inside hismouth.

KIRUMI'm sorry but we have several morecases in this area and somethinghas come up that has to be dealtwith and I don't know how longit'll take.

He pauses and listens as he turns away from an onlookingElicia.

6.

KIRUMI miss you too. But you know youdon't need my help with the finalplans. Between you and Charlotteit'll all get handled. Is Charlesstill complaining?

Another pause.

KIRUMWell he's been waiting a long timeto give away his only daughter. Ihave to go, I'll call you when Ican. Goodbye

He uses a tiny remote to hang up and Elicia watches him putit in his lab coat.

ELICIA(Confused.)

Kirum where's the phone?

KIRUM(Smiling.)

I had it put in a right molar. Ican talk and hear out of it andthe remote does the rest.

ELICIAWhat are you 007? Where's mine?

KIRUMI had it done in Japan two monthsago. It won't be in the States fora while.

ELICIAYou're like a big kid with yourgadgets.

KIRUMLooks like the party is about toliven up a bit.

She looks over her shoulder and sees the detective and twosquad cars pull up.

KIRUMDo you feel up to this?

ELICIANo. But I have to learn some time.Besides I'm more concerned about

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7.

ELICIA (cont'd)this wink thing. What's that allabout?

Detective Christianson interrupts with a loud voice as hewalks towards them very fast.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou just couldn't handle losingcontrol could you?

ELICIAI won't even dignify that with aresponse detective.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONI've seen a lot of things but thisbeats all. Did you even read myreport? Why'd you even bothershowing up? You could've justphoned it in and saved the taxpayers lots of money. My God whodo you think you are?

ELICIAI understand you're being upsetbut if you'll calm down I'll tryand answer your questions; whichis more than I'm obligated to do.

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a few secondsas the armed men make their presence more obvious.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou're damn right I'm upset butI'll remain calm cause otherwiseI'll never get any answers. Backto my first question, did you readmy report?

ELICIAIf you're interested in the truthI'll tell you honestly that mydecision was not and could not beimpacted by your report. Nowbefore you react you should know Idid read every word.

He shakes his head.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou people amaze me. I realizeyou're not trained in lawenforcement but any layman can

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8.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSON (cont'd)look at that report and deduce thefact that Reverend Plackardcouldn't have does this alone.

ELICIAThat may be the case but thatdoesn't change the fact that hetook his own life.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONBut that makes no sense. I'm veryfamiliar with you people's workand I don't even want to debatewith you how your innate intuitionhas been honed to perfectioncausing you to be able todetermine the difference between asuicide and a murder. Personally Idon't care what the numbers sayit's a bunch of hogwash to me butas I said that's not my point.

ELICIAWhat is your point detective? Isyour point that because the maidsaw a boy running away from thehouse this has to be a murder?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONMy point is, ma'am, that becauseyou've destroyed a crime scenethis case will never be solved. Mypoint is in a few minutes you'regoing to hand me an urn with theashes of a man of God and I'llhave to tell his family that heand he alone was responsible forhis death. And they, along withhis congregation, will have tolive with the thought that theirspiritual leader and a cornerstoneof their faith lost all hope and,out of the blue, took his ownlife.

ELICIAI hate that's your job Detectivebut I'll remind you of the numbersof cases you have to deal withnow. And that the only reason theATC was created was because Policedepartments could no longer handlethe workload created by the fact

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9.

ELICIA (cont'd)that over ten percent of thepopulation over nine years old nowtakes their own lives. Apercentage that has increasedevery year for the last decade andshows no sign of slowing down. Iget the impression you have apersonal interest in this case butthat doesn't change the fact thatthis was a suicide. And thenumbers don't lie detective, ATCwas the most scrutinized companyin the history of the world forthree years and the instincts ofthose agents were shown to beflawless. I'm not saying you'rewrong I'm just trying to help youdo your job which is to focus onactual murder cases.

KIRUMDetective I would like to know onething. Why did the maid think theboy came from inside the house?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONDoes it even matter? Don't answerthat. She thought someone lookedout the window when she pulled upbut she wasn't positive. But whenwe arrived he hadn't been deadmore than ten to fifteen minutes.I can almost swear someone elseput that stuff on the walls andceiling.

KIRUMAs you said we'll probably neverknow but if it helps I have nodoubt he took his own life.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou know that's the first time oneof you guys has ever sounded likea human being.

A Cleaner walks up and hands Kirum an Urn. He hands it toElicia and she uses a bracelet to stamp Absolute on thebottom of it. The detective walks up and takes it from her.

KIRUMDon't let that get around or Icould lose my job.

10.

The detective feigns a grin and walks away. He turns backaround and asks Kirum.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONWhat exactly does ATC stand for?

KIRUMI guess that depends on who you'reasking. I know most of you guyssay it stands for Accessory toCrime but officially it stands forAbsolute Technology Corporation.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONJust checking.

Elicia rolls her eyes at Kirum.

Elicia and Kirum walk back to the van.

ELICIAJust how long am I not supposed tobe out of your site?

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

Kirum sits in a chair and Elicia is in the bathroom. He'sholding an unlit cigar.

Switch to her face in the mirror and she winks at herself.Hurriedly she walks out and we see her approach Kirum.

ELICIALook I know you're practically amarried man and all but this ismore than a bit awkward. Do youreally plan on sleeping in heretonight?

KIRUMThis is very important. Hasanything strange happened sincethis morning?

ELICIAI guess that means yes? You knowthere's a perfectly goodexplanation for what happened andI'd appreciate it if you'd stopfreaking me out.

11.

KIRUMHas anything happened?

ELICIAYes. I can't stop thinking aboutsomething that happened in collegeand just a minute ago I winked atmyself in the mirror.

Kirum sits with a blank stare on his face.

ELICIALook I know I have this roughexterior but I can't even watch ascary movie by myself so if youknow something then out with it?

KIRUMThat's just it, I don't knowanything. Because we're notallowed to fraternize with otherAbsolutionists all I can go by ismy own experience. In training youlearned that our suicide rate isless than ten percent of theinternational average didn't you?

ELICIAOf course but what does that haveto do with anything?

KIRUMI'm not saying it does I'm justcurious what makes us so special?

ELICIAWhat personal experience have youhad with this Kirum?

KIRUMNone. At least none directly.Occasionally people commit suicidewhile we're still in the areainvestigating. Instead of lettingthe "Program" pick theAbsolutionist Central assigns theagent nearby the case. On threedifferent occasions when I wasassigned the new victims werepeople who'd been at the scene ofa previous call.

12.

ELICIAPeople from the local policedepartment?

KIRUMTwo of them were the first to findthe body and the other one was alocal detective. Out of curiosityI actually read the files of thewitnesses and both had stated thedead person winked at them. Nowdon't get upset.

ELICIADon't get upset! Why would thatupset me? Why didn't you reportthis to ATC.

KIRUMOh I did. The first time it wasignored and the second time I wasput on a one month leave due tomental fatigue.

ELICIAAre you telling me I've caughtsome kind of suicide bug that ispassed on by a wink? This iscrazy. I'm the last person in theworld who would want to die. Awink's not going to change that.

KIRUMI'm not saying it will I justdon't think it's a good idea toleave you alone for now.

ELICIAWhy just two reports? What aboutthe third person?

KIRUMThe detective was investigating asuicide by fire and the woman hadno eyes left. Fire's make for atough Absolution.

ELICIASo why mention that case?

13.

KIRUMThere were two odd things aboutthat case. By the time I saw thedetective he'd been brought backfrom four hundred miles away. He'dtaken his life outside a smalltown in Kansas. Lyon I think?

ELICIAYou never got to see the crimescene?

KIRUMNo. But technically that shouldn'tmatter and I was certain it wassuicide.

ELICIAWhat was the other odd thing?

KIRUMApparently he was following up ona lead on his own time. It didn'tmean anything at the time but hewas tracking a boy who was said tohave been seen by firefighterswhen they arrived at the suicide.

ELICIAAre you saying the preacher maynot have killed himself?

KIRUMOh No. Don't ever doubt your finaldecision. I was as certain as youwere. I'm also as convinced as thedetective that there's somethingsuspicious about that man's deathbut that's out of our hands.

ELICIAAnd you're also worried I'vecaught some suicide bug?

KIRUMOf course not. This is just my MOfor getting new agents into bed.

She smiles.

ELICIAI thought as much. What do thinkthe reading meant on the Pastor?

14.

KIRUMI don't know any more about thosethings than you do. I just takethe reading and send it in.

ELICIAJust my luck to get a reading myfirst time. Do you think that hasanything to do with this?

KIRUMI really don't know.

ELICIAAnd to think they all said I'd beworking with the best.

Smiles.

KIRUMWhat made you want to this?

ELICIAMy parents divorced when I wasthree and I never saw or heardfrom my father until I graduatedfrom college. He sent me a checkfor fifty thousand dollars and anap for ATC medical school. Ididn't think I had a chance ofmaking it through the screeningprocess but six years later here Iam. I thought my roommate wouldhave been perfect but now she'sworking at an ER in Atlanta.

She falls back on her bed and covers her eyes with herhands.

ELICIASo do we hang a curtain betweenus?

KIRUMNo. I don't sleep much anyway. Yougo ahead and get some rest, I'msure everything will be fine.

ELICIABut what about your Cleanser? Itwon't work unless you're sleeping.

15.

KIRUMI'll get in a nap on the van inthe morning and I'll wear it then.

ELICIAI feel bad for putting you throughthis but I have to get some sleepso I can stop thinking about thesame thing over and over.

KIRUMI don't suppose you want to sharewhat that is?

ELICIAI don't know you that well. Maybethe last day of my training sinceI'll never see you again afterthat.

KIRUMI'll hold you to it.

ELICIAIt won't bother me if you want tosmoke that. My dad smoked gigars.

KIRUMThanks but Helen asked me to quitand this is my method.

He picks up a game sleeve.

KIRUMI'm on the last level of Creation.I'll kill time by trying to Killthe Serpent.

ELICIAOk. Have fun.

He takes the small remote out of his pocket. He then puts ona pair of visors and starts his video game using the remote.We watch him play for a minute and then see her put on asmall headset and fall asleep.

INT. HOTEL ROOM EIGHT HOURS LATER. - NIGHT

We see a shot of the window as the first hint of sunlightsneaks through a closed curtain.

16.

Move to Kirum who is heavy into his game.

Move to the face of a sleeping Elicia who looks in distress.

We see glimpses of her in bed with an older man and his wifewalks in on them.

JEALOUS WIFEI knew you'd be here. I hope shedeserves you you bastard.

We see Elicia and the professor getting dressed and then shewakes up. She's crying and walks over to a leather bag. Shepulls out a gun and puts it to her head. Kirum hears a clickand jumps out of his chair.

KIRUMElicia no. Give me the gun.

He struggles to get the gun.

ELICIAYou don't understand. I don'tdeserve to live. Where's my clip?I'll just find another way.

KIRUMJust calm down. I removed the clipwhile you were sleeping.

She tries to run but he tackles her and after a scuffle heties her hands behind her back with a phone chord. She getsin a fetal position and lays on the bed crying.

KIRUMI'll be back in two minutes. Don'tkeep fighting or you'll cutyourself.

Kirum runs out of the room and we see her struggling to getfree. We see some blood on her wrists. After a few minutesshe gets her hands in front of her and tries to open thewindow. She gets it open and looks down at the ground eightstories below. She closes her eyes and falls forward butKirum catches her arm. He's holding on to her by the chordwrapped around her wrists. She's bleeding as he pulls herback inside. The driver comes running into the room and theycarry her to the elevator. They get her into the van.

KIRUMRobert let's go to the hospital.

17.

DRIVERSir you know I can't do that. Thenearest safe-house is eighty milesnorth.

Kirum is flustered and takes time to think.

KIRUMAlright wait here while I get ourthings. Keep an eye on her.

Kirum approaches a bellhop and they go inside the hotel.The driver nervously punches in a code to open a consolebetween the front seats of the van. Inside is a phone and itdials automatically.

COMPUTER VOICEYour location has been determined.Help is on the way. Please remaincalm and don't move unless youhave to.

As the driver listens a young girl approaches the van andopens the back door. Elicia looks up and sees the littlegirl smile. She snaps a picture of Elicia and then winks.Elicia then passes out.

Kirum walks up to the van and sees her limp body.

KIRUMWhat happened to her?

DRIVERI don't know sir but help is onthe way.

KIRUMHelp? What are you talking about?

The driver points to the phone and Kirum listens as themessage keeps repeating itself.

KIRUMI didn't even know we had anemergency phone or a safe-housefor that matter.

DRIVERJust following protocol sir.

18.

Kirum uses bandages from the first aid kit to wrap aroundher bleeding wrists. Then he waits in the back of the van aswe hear a siren approaching. Soon a white van pulls up withthe initials AC on the side.

KIRUMYou're going to be fine Elicia.

A crew gets out of the van and takes her away.

INT. KIRUM'S APARTMENT - DAY

Kirum wakes up and sees his Cleanser on the side of the bed.

His fiance Helen opens the shade and walks over to the sideof the bed. She picks up the Cleanser.

HELENYou told me you had to wear thiswhile you sleep. When did you stopusing it?

KIRUMGood morning sunshine. If I answerthat you'll be left with only fourquestions until tommorrow.

HELENHold up I didn't agree to justfive daily questions on apermanent basis. Can I help itthat you fascinate me and I alwayswant to know your opinion and howyou feel and what your thinking?

KIRUMYou should learn to read my mind.What am I thinking right now?

He puts his arms around her waist and pulls her to him.

19.

HELENSorry but I have to go with mum topick out a cake. Since you don'twant to participate you can goover there and take care of thatdead tree in the back yard. Eversince you said it should be cutdown mom says she can't sleep forworrying about it falling on thehouse. If you don't dad will andhe's in no shape to be handling achain saw.

KIRUMI've already told you hard laborinterferes with my instinct.

HELENOK well let's just see how beingcut off affects your instinct.

KIRUMDoes your dad have a chain saw?

She squeezes his face and gives him a soft kiss.

HELENYes but you should buy a new one.You never know when it might comein handy.

KIRUMI was hoping to hold out and seeif we get one as a wedding gift?

HELENOops I forgot to register at JohnDeere.

KIRUMNo worries I'll handle it whileI'm there.

KIRUMAnd I thought you weren't going tohelp with our wedding.

She puts a purse over her shoulder and starts out the door.

HELENDad will try to run the show if hehelps you but don't let him. Hehas two herniated discs and it

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20.

HELEN (cont'd)would kill him not to be able towalk down the Isle with me.

He picks up his Cleanser and looks at a light pad that'sblinking "Urgent! Critical cleansing needed." He opens adrawer and throws it in.

KIRUM(Voice over.)

It's been two weeks since I lastused it and my head feels clearerthan ever. Sometimes I think thething is just a placebo. I haven'theard from Elicia and I don'texpect to. The company's funnyabout Abs communicating with oneanother. I just hope she's fineafter whatever that was.

EXT. IN-LAWS BACKYARD - DAY

Kirum is making a final preparations to fall a very talltree when his phone rings. He takes his remote out of hispocket.

KIRUMHello.

ELICIA(In a hurry.)

Kirum it's Elicia and we have lessthan a minute so there's no timefor greetings. The small town youmentioned. Don't say it but do youremember yes or no?

KIRUMYes.

ELICIAMeet me there tonight and don'tleave a trail to follow.

KIRUMElicia I'm getting marriedSunday...

ELICIAYou've got to trust me. There'smore at stake here than you canknow. There's only one restaurantand I'll be waiting. Bye.

21.

KIRUMElicia wait. Hello.

Helen and her mom drive up and approach Kirum.

CHARLOTTEHello Kirum. Has Charles stayedout of your way?

KIRUMHello Charlotte. He's actuallybeen a great helper. He's goneafter some outdoor trash bags.

HELENSo that's where your truck went?

CHARLOTTELet's get out of his way dear.It'll be dark in a few hours.

KIRUMCan I have a word?

HELENUh oh mother. A word is nevergood. I'll be right in.

She walks away and Helen gives him a look.

HELENI think I already know? You'vebeen called on assignment haven'tyou?

KIRUMYou can read my mind.

HELENI was just talking to mother abouthow long you've had off and I justfelt like you were about to becalled back to work.

KIRUMWell I have to leave right away soI can be back here by Sunday.

HELENBut the tree?

22.

KIRUMI'm not going to have time. I'mgoing to call a tree service tocome finish the job. I wasdreading the cleanup anyway. Justmake sure they slice the tree infirewood length and I'll chop itafter it dries.

HELENSo the next time I see you will beat the Chapel? But what aboutrehearsal?

KIRUMI might be back much sooner but ifI miss it I'll just have to wingit.

Charles comes from the front of the house and walks up onthem kissing.

CHARLESDid a boy walk back here?

HELENWe didn't see anyone. Kirum's beencalled to work and we're going tohave a tree service come and cutthe tree down.

CHARLESThat's nonsense. I'll have it donein an hour.

He smiles and winks at Kirum who winks back. Charlotte walksup.

CHARLOTTEIf you touch that saw I'm filingfor divorce.

Charles takes her hand and gives her a kiss.

KIRUMI need to get cleaned up and pack.I'll call when I can.

They kiss and he leaves.

23.

EXT. LYON KANSAS - NIGHT

Kirum gets out of a Shuttle Taxi and walks into a Diner.

He sees no one and waits at the counter. A waitress comesout of the kitchen.

WAITRESSHowdy hun. You must be the manthat pretty young woman's beenwaiting for? We close in tenminutes and she said to meet herat Henry's. That's the bar over onCentral. If you hurry you cancatch the end of happy hour.

KIRUMThanks.

WAITRESSSure thing hun. I can make you aquick sandwhich if you're hungry?

KIRUMNo thank you I ate on the plane.

WAITRESSAlrighty then. I'll be over theresoon enough. Maybe I'll let youbuy me a drink?

He smiles and walks out the door. We pick up at the bar.

HENRY'S BAR

He enters and sees a man at the bar and some young peopleplaying darts. Elicia isn't there and he walks up to thebartender.

BARTENDERSorry pal but you just missedhappy hour.

KIRUMFigures. How bout a draft?

He hands him a beer. The man at the bar looks at Kirum.

MAN AT BARSorry you missed happy hour son.

Kirum holds his beer up for a toast and the old man obliges.

24.

KIRUMHere's to another twenty threehours of unhappiness.

The old man grins big.

MAN AT BARNow I'll drink to that.

Elicia walks in and up to Kirum. It catches him off guard asshe kisses him.

Pan to the bartender who looks at Harold.

BARTENDERSo much for unhappiness.

MAN AT BARI'll drink to that.

She takes Kirum by the hand and they sit at a table in theback.

ELICIASorry about that but it's betterif people think we're here on alover's fling. Everyone knowseveryone around here and we stickout like a bear at a wedding.

KIRUM(Facetiously.)

You're right. Maybe we should keepmaking out just to put on a goodshow.

ELICIA(Facetiously.)

Maybe later. I'm sorry fordragging you deeper into thisbut...

He raises his voice.

KIRUMInto what?

She shhhhshes him.

KIRUMInto what? All this time I've beenwondering what happened to you andsuddenly you call and give me

(MORE)

25.

KIRUM (cont'd)secret orders for an espionage.In case you've forgotten the lasttime I saw you you were dead seton taking your own life and forall I know you're still off yourrocker. So please tell me what itis you're hoping to accomplish byus meeting here?

ELICIAJust stay calm for a minute whileI gather my thoughts. Would youlike to know what happened after Iwas hauled away?

KIRUMSure I want to know. I was sureyou were being well taken care ofbut it concerned me to think I'dprobably never know for sure thatyou were ok.

ELICIAWell thanks for the concern andthank you for saving my life.Twice. When I woke up I was in anisolated area of the ATCheadquarters in Washington. Therewas a private duty nurse there andshe was the only person I saw fora week.

Switch to Headquarters.

INT. ISOLATED ROOM HDQRS - DAY

Elicia is reading a book in a white room with no windows.She has clean bandages on her wrists. A man walks in andintroduces himself.

DR. TODDPlease stay seated Dr. Mangum. I'mDr. Todd and I'm very sorry it'staken me so long to meet with you.I understand you went throughquite an ordeal last week. We'reall very glad to hear that you'rerecovering nicely and theredoesn't seem to be any lastingeffects from the virus.

26.

ELICIAIt's quite an honor to meet youDr. Todd but I wasn't aware I'dcontracted a virus.

DR. TODDNo of course not it's extremelyrare but some agent's immunesystems develop a very powerfulreaction to the mixture ofinoculations you're all forced toendure. The symptoms vary but themost common one is a suddenonslaught of deep depressionaccompanied with some hysteria andeven hallucinations.

She pauses.

DR. TODDDoctor I realize this may come asa shock to you but I assure youthere'll be no lasting effects. Infact the worst is over and you'llbe out of here very soon.

ELICIAPlease call me Elicia if you don'tmind?

He smiles.

DR. TODDI can see Dr. Lambert's affect onyou already. He's somewhateccentric but one of our bestagents.

KIRUMYes he says that if someone hearshim called doctor they always wantto know of what? He then has tolie or risk telling the truth andhope they haven't had a badexperience with one of us.

DR. TODDYes I think he's what one wouldcall crazy like a fox.

DR. TODDListen Elicia you don't have to bebashful because of my position. I

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27.

DR. TODD (cont'd)happen to be a Psychologist andone of the reasons I'm here is tohelp you sort through this.

ELICIASort through what doctor? As yousaid I was a victim of my ownimmune system and the worst isover.

DR. TODDRight you are young lady. Everyonewill be pleased to hear that youare doing well. I'm sure that Iwould at least be stir crazy bynow if it were me in yourposition. But not to worry you'llbe back in the real world soonenough.

ELICIAAnd then what?

DR. TODDAfter an undetermined time of paidleave you'll be placed withanother trainer and on your way toa wonderful career.

ELICIAIs there any reason why I can'tfinish my training with Kirum?

DR. TODDNone other than the fact thathe'll be training someone else bythe time you're ready to workagain. We can't let your littlesetback bring everything else to ahalt and Dr. Lambert's toovaluable to leave in limbo.

ELICIAI see. Well I do feel privilegedto have had one of the ten mostpowerful persons in the companycome and check on me.

DR. TODDThis Company's entire worth isbased on it's AbsolutionistsElicia. As you learned by ourscreening process your talent is

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28.

DR. TODD (cont'd)extremely rare and we take everyprecaution and spare no expensewhen it comes to each of you.

ELICIAWell thank you very much. I hopeto make you all proud.

DR. TODDWe have every bit of confidenceyou'll do just that my dear. Isthere anything else I can do foryou?

ELICIAJust get me out of here ASAP.

DR. TODDWe'll do. I'll have a phonebrought in and you can make travelplans for Friday. Your travelexpenses are on us so don't wastetime looking for bargains.

ELICIAThank you again. It'll be nice tospend some time at home. GoodbyeDr. Todd.

DR. TODD(Trying to flirt.)

Goodbye Elicia. I'm going to leavea number with the nurse. If youneed anything, and I do meananything, you can reach me at anytime through my service.

He walks out the door and she has a quizzical look on herface.

INT. OKLAHOMA CITY AIRPORT - DAY

Elicia's getting her bags when a man bumps into her andkeeps on walking without an apology.

ELICIAJerk.

She carries her luggage out and her mother is waiting forher in an old Volvo. Most people are leaving and arriving inshuttles and a few modern looking taxis. She gets in the carafter putting her luggage in the trunk.

29.

JANICEHello darling. I thought I wasgoing to be late. I had to takeSampson to the vet.

ELICIAHello Mother. You look casual.What's wrong with old Fathead?

JANICEI'm finally having him fixed. Theneighbor's dog is in heat againand he's nearly chewed the fencedown trying to get to her.

Elicia feels something in her pocket and pulls out anenvelope.

JANICEWhat's that dear?

Reading the note inside.

ELICIAThat must have been who bumpedinto me at the airport. Mothertake me back to the terminal anddrop me off. I'll get a ride homelater.

JANICEIs everything alright?

ELICIAEverything's fine but I'm curiousto see what this man has to say.

They drive back and she goes to the duty free shop.

THE SHOP.

ELICIAExcuse me but did a man leavesomething here for Elicia Mangum?

CASHIERYes. Here's the key your husbandleft for you.

She takes the key and finds locker 1271. She opens it andfinds a lock box inside. In it is a picture, a note and acar key. She looks at the picture and flashes back to the

30.

girl who winked at her in the van.

Note: Hello Dr. Mangum, If you've ever seen this girl go toparking space 317 A and drive the car there to 5167Carmichael in Lyon, Ks. I'll meet you there at eight PM. Ifyou're being followed don't come.

ELICIA(Voice over.)

If you go you're crazy. If youdon't go it'll drive you crazy.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

Elicia arrives at the address and parks in front of thehouse. A man walks out and they approach each other on thefront lawn.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONSurprized to see me again?

ELICIAHello Detective Christianson. Alittle.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONI thought you'd want to know whothe girl was that took yourpicture.

ELICIAWell you were right but how do youknow anything about that?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONI was kind of hoping I could showyou. But that would mean youstaying here tonight. Don't worryI have a room close by. This isone of our officer's sister'shouse. She's been a great help andshe says she'd love for you tostay.

ELICIALook I'm too tired to say no soI'll stay in town until morningbut I'll get a room for the nightas well.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONI understand. Say we meet backhere at eight?

31.

ELICIAFine. Please make sure she isn'toffended.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONI'll do.

NEXT MORNING SAME LOCATION.

Elicia knocks on the front door.

KARENHello Dr. Mangum.

ELICIAPlease call me Elicia.

KARENElicia I'm Karen Mayhew . Can Ioffer you some breakfast andcoffee?

ELICIACoffee sounds great. Just plain ifyou will.

There's a knock and Karen let's the Detective in.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONGood morning ladies. I hope youhaven't been waiting long doctor?

KARENShe just got here and she prefersElicia.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONKaren has been a God-send. Rightafter Reverend Plackard died herbrother spotted a kid from hishome town near the bus station andstopped to chat with him. The kidacted real nervous and didn't wantto answer any questions. AlertlyJohn radioed me from his car andkept the boy busy long enough forme to drive by with the maid. Shewas positive he was the kid whoran away when she drove up.

ELICIADetective I hope you haven'tbrought me out here because you

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32.

ELICIA (cont'd)still think that man was murdered?I've already told you it was asuicide and...

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONHold up just a minute. I don'tknow why but between the two ofyou I got convinced it was asuicide and I haven't changed mymind about that. But I also knewthe Rev didn't put that stuff onhis walls and now I know who did.What I still don't know is why hedid it and what he saw.

ELICIAWhat did he say he was doingthere?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONNow we're getting somewhere. Johnhad another brainstorm andconvinced me to let the boy gowithout taking him to the station.Reluctantly I agreed and that'swhat led us here.

ELICIAAs you've pointed out beforeDetective I'm not trained in lawenforcement but even to a laymanthat seems a bit strange.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONBeing that we're on a first namebasis please call me James.Officer Mayhew began his careerright here where he worked for twoyears. In those two years he heardmany rumors about the "CatchumConservatory" just outside oftown.

ELICIAI didn't know there was a musicschool around here?

KARENThere's not. At least it's not amusic school any more. Catchum wasclosed down in October of 1930after it's founder Anglund Catchumtook his own life in front of many

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33.

KAREN (cont'd)of the students. The facility andabout five hundred acres wasbought at auction by Anglund'stwin brother Zephyr Catchum.

ELICIAYou seem to know a lot about it'shistory?

KARENYou don't grow up around herewithout hearing all about Catchum.As a little girl I lived in fearthat I'd be taken in as anInnocent.

ELICIAA what?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONElicia we're expected somewhereshortly. Karen I think I'velearned enough to fill her in onthe way. I can also explain why welet the boy go.

KARENOf course. Well it was nicemeeting you Elicia. You both becareful, there's a lot of truth tothe Catchum legends.

ELICIANice to meet you as well Karen.Thanks for the coffee.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou can give Karen her car keyback now.

She hands her the key and James leads her to his car andopens the door. He drives away and makes a call.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONWe'll be there in a few minutes.Is the grandmother awake? Good.See you shortly.

ELICIAWhat's an Innocent?

34.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONI didn't want you to associate whyyou're here with some local legendthat's why I interupted.

ELICIAAnd?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONI'm not saying I believe it butpeople here believe kidnappedchildren are taken to Catchum andused as some kind of spiritualtransports.

ELICIABy spiritual you mean from thespirit world?

He looks at her and scratches his head. He has a half grinhalf frown.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONIt's not my legend. You said youwanted to know.

ELICIAPlease tell me we're not off tosee the Wizard?

They share a good laugh.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONAs far as I know we're still inKansas.

ELICIALet me guess. The boy is,supposedly, an Innocent?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou are a sharp one but he's notanything anymore. That's wherewe're going. In fact we're therenow.

They pull up to a run down home along-side a county road.Officer John Mayhew is there in street clothes.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONElicia this is John Mayhew.

35.

ELICIAI saw you once before but you lookdifferent out of uniform.

OFFICER MAYHEWYes ma'am. This is far from myjurisdiction and if the Sheriffhere thought I was practicing lawin his county he'd put me behindbars.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONOfficer Mayhew is helping me onhis own time. Have you been insideyet?

OFFICER MAYHEWNo but Miss Crandle says we canlook all we want. She was mySunday school teacher when I was aboy but she's not able to get outany more.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONWhile we have a look could you askif we can see the boy's remains?

OFFICER MAYHEWCertainly.

James and Elicia walk down into a cellar that was the boyshideout. On the walls are the same kinds of drawings thatwere on the Reverend's wall. They look around and he showsher several pictures and then they find a picture of her.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONThis is also where we found thepicture of the little girl. Theboy's name was Joseph Crandle andhe took his own life shortly afterhe returned.

ELICIAHe was quite an artist andcreative with the names of hismonsters. Heriel, Haliab, Shabrichand Malcatha.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONWhat makes you think he made themup?

36.

ELICIAI've never heard of any of them.He didn't do it here did he?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONNo he killed himself down at theQuarry. And because of MissCrandle's disdain for the localauthorities they haven't beenallowed down here.

John arrives with an urn and hands it to Elicia. She checksthe bottom and sees "Absolute" stamped on it.

OFFICER MAYHEWI feel sorry for his grandmotherbut she's a religious woman andhas a deep inner strength; muchtougher than you might think.

ELICIAThis was ruled a suicide anyway sowhy would the local authorities beinvestigating?

OFFICER MAYHEWHenry Glaze is the sheriff. Heruns this county and likes to knoweverything that goes on aroundhere.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONThere may be another reason aswell.

He reaches in his pocket and pulls out an object wrapped upin cloth and hands it to Elicia. She opens it and looks at aKirian blade.

ELICIAIs this what the boy painted onthe ceiling?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONWe believe so. He gave it to hisgrandmother to hide the night hedied. Two years ago her grandsonstopped going to church andschool. Then he was always goneand wouldn't tell her where. We'vefound bus tickets to about ahundred different cities in theUS. He was also out of the States

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37.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSON (cont'd)on several occasions. The mostrecent trips were taken withsomeone else and we now know whothat was. It's the girl who tookyour picture.

ELICIAHow do you know that?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONBecause she told us. Her mother'sa single parent and says she hadno idea where her daughter hadbeen going because she had towork. She claims that she reportedLisa missing a few times butSheriff Glaze would never doanything about it. We can go seethem if you'd like?

ELICIAI would like to see Lisa. Where dothey live?

OFFICER MAYHEWWe've had to take some extraprecautions and they're at a safeplace.

ELICIAWhy does this feel like snipehunting to me?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONCome again?

ELICIAI just don't like being in thedark alone.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou'll know everything soonenough.

EXT. CABIN IN THE WOODS - DAY

Elicia and James get out of the car and see Samantha Parkersitting on a porch swing. She doesn't bother getting up.

SAMANTHALisa's on the tire swing down bythe pond.

38.

ELICIAI'd like to talk to Lisa alone fora few minutes.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONIf you say so but it took us twodays to get anything out of her.

ELICIAI want to try.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSON(Pointing South)

It's about a hundred yards thatway.

Elicia walks up to Lisa who is sitting on the swing but notswinging.

ELICIAHello Lisa. I'm Elicia. You tookmy picture a couple weeks ago. Doyou remember?

She smiles but doesn't answer.

ELICIALisa it's very important that Iknow what you were doing there?

Still smiling but nothing.

ELICIAWere you there to heal me? Becausethat's what you did. Don't worry Iwon't tell anyone because they'llthink I'm crazy but I felt instantrelief. Do you remember what youdid to make that happen?

LISA(Very innocent.)

I took him away.

ELICIAThat's right you took somethingaway. Can I know what that was?

LISANot a what. A who.

39.

ELICIA(Confused. Gets close.)

Alright who did you take away?

LISAI can't say his name.

ELICIA(Looks her in the eyes.)

Can you tell me where he is now?

Lisa smiles and suddenly her eyes enlarge and start to glow.In a low demon voice she says.

LISARight here Elicia.

Elicia screams and falls backwards.

LISA(Demon voice.)

I miss you. Do you miss me?

James and Lisa come running up. He goes to Elicia andSamantha goes to Lisa.

SAMANTHAWhat happened?

Lisa's eyes and voice are back to normal.

LISAMom I'm hungry.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSON(Helping her up.)

Why'd you scream?

ELICIAI need to make a phone call.

INT. BACK TO BAR - NIGHT

Kirum's running both hands through his hair and looking downat the table.

KIRUMThat's when you called me?

40.

ELICIAYes but before I did James openedup to me about some things.

KIRUMOh please give me somethinginteresting because up to now I'vebeen bored stiff.

ELICIAReverend Plackard's suicide wasstaged. The boy was there becausehe wanted to destroy Heliab whilehe was inside Plackard who wasvery sick and had just a few weeksto live. That's what the crossknife was for.

KIRUMWhat are you talking about? Iunderstand you've been through agreat deal but I think I see wherethis is going and I'm just notprepared to believe any of it.

ELICIAYou didn't hear and see what I didin that little girl Kirum. Andthat stuff about a bad reaction toshots is a bunch of horse crap.

KIRUMOh no you're not. If you're goingto sit there and try and convinceme that Raymond Todd has somethingto do with this I might as wellleave now.

ELICIANot just him but the whole staffof Administrative Generals. Justlisten for a minute. Who else hasmore to gain by rampant suicidesthan the ATC? Internationalbudgets have been greatly impactedjust to pay for our programbecause they don't have the spacefor bodies nor the manpower toinvestigate their deaths. ThoseAGs are ten of the richest peoplein the world after just ten years.

41.

KIRUMStop. Stop right there. Eliciathis truly has been fascinatingand I can't say for sure thatthere's not some supernaturalstuff involved but I'm not aboutto get mixed up in some conspiracytheory about our Company usingchildren to transport demons todifferent people marked forsuicide. I feel like a lunaticjust saying that out loud.

ELICIADo you know why they're calledInnocents Kirum?

He starts to get up but she grabs his arm and pulls himdown.

ELICIAThey're called Innocents becausethey don't have enough guilt forthe demons to attack. You knowwhat it was that I kept thinkingabout? I kept remembering anaffair I had with a married manand how it tore his family apart.When I put that gun to my head Icouldn't stand the thought ofliving with that sin any more.That's why happy people suddenlytake their own lives.

He runs out of the bar and she follows him until he stopsand looks at a few cars outside.

KIRUM(Screaming)

Damn it! I don't have a ride. Ilistened to you and now I'm stuckhere.

She walks up to him but he backs away.

ELICIAI'm so scared right now I canhardly breathe. My paranoia ismaking me delusional and I'masking you for help. We need toknow the name of the man whostarted ATC. Now I can see whyhe's always been anonymous but

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42.

ELICIA (cont'd)finding him is the first steptowards ending this.

KIRUMYou're asking for more than I haveto give. I've waited thirty sevenyears to find someone who loves mefor who I am. You're young andthis thing will pass and you'llfall in love perhaps a few times.But this is it for me and I can'tdo anything to screw it up. Thebest that could come out of thisis I lose my career and the worstis unimaginable.

She's crying and turns away from him. After a minute hewalks up to her and they hug.

ELICIAYou're absolutely right. I have noright to ask this from you but Idon't have a choice. I can't runfrom this.

KIRUMWhat can you do? Nothing! You'renot in your right mind right now.Let's drive to your mother's housein Oklahoma and I'll catch thefirst flight home tomorrow. Thenyou can spend some time with yourmom until your head clears.

ELICIAThat's tempting but it won't workbecause I'll have too manyunanswered questions. I appreciateyou coming here the way you didand I can drive you to thecommuter airport.

KIRUMI wish I could talk you out ofthis. Do you, at least, have aplan?

She pulls a film recorder out of one pocket and a heavytransmitter out of the other and shows them to him.

ELICIAIf I'm going to report this to theCIA or FBI or whoever handles this

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43.

ELICIA (cont'd)kind of thing I'm going to needsomething more substantial than acrazy story. Will you take thisreceiver and hide it for me? Jamessays it instantly recordseverything I film.

KIRUMThat old thing's only good up toforty or fifty yards and the soundquality is bad. Not to mention thefact the transmitter weighs a ton.I have one at home that's only afew ounces and records up to ahundred yards clearly. Listen tome. I sorry but I can't getinvolved. I'll take the receiverbut that's as much as I can offer.

ELICIAI understand. My car's over here.

They walk away.

EXT. IN-LAWS BACKYARD EARLY AFTERNOON. - DAY

Kirum pulls up and Helen runs up to his truck.

HELEN(Sobbing.)

I'm so glad you're here. It'shorrible. They said they couldn'tcut him out until theAbsolutionist has made a decision.What does that mean Kirum? Pleaseget that tree off my father. Idon't care if he died instantly Ican't stand knowing he's underthere.

KIRUMThere's an Ab agent here now?

HELENYes he arrived a few minutes ago.I told them you were coming butthey said it didn't work that way.I don't know what that means butMom is devastated. She had to besedated. Just see what you can do.

44.

KIRUMI'll find out what's going on butyou have to calm down. Right nowwe need to keep our heads aboutus. Now go check on Charlotte.

HELENOk. I'm just so happy you're here.

He hugs her tight and kisses her the top of her head.

Kirum walks up on a man in a black lab-coat who is readingthe eyes of Charles Waynebridge. He's lying on his back andthe tree has fallen right down the center of him.

KIRUMWhat are his readings?

The man glances up but doesn't acknowledge Kirum. He picksup a clipboard and makes a note. Kirum walks closer andstares up at the huge man as he stands up.

KIRUMI know the rule about fraternizingDr. Pei but I'm going to ask youto break it for me. I assume thisis a Type B investigation andyou're here to decide between anaccident or suicide. I know youneed to get it right for the sakeof statistics but I'm asking youto let me tell the family whatthey want to hear irregardless ofwhat you determine.

SR. ABSOLUTIONISTI'm going to act like I didn'thear that.

The man signals for the team to come in and the clean upbegins. Kirum is distraught. He watches in a daze. Hewatches the Sr. take out a remote just like his and starttalking to somebody. The agent's clipboard is sitting on atable and Kirum walks by slow enough to get a peak. Henotices two things, Flat-line and "Wrong Man".

Inside the house Helen is washing her face. Kirum walks upto her.

HELENI hear the chainsaws. Thank you somuch.

45.

KIRUMHelen do you remember yesterdaywhen your father said somethingabout a boy?

HELENYes he asked if a boy had been bybut what does that matter now?

KIRUMYou said that you and Charlottewere out and Charles decided tocut the tree down on his own. Whenyou found him did either of youlook into his eyes? I know thequestion seems strange but I needto know.

HELENWe came back early because he'dbeen acting strange and mom wasworried. She walked straight tohim and screamed. I saw him andcame inside to call nine one one.Mom was out there the whole timebut she fell down and startedpraying and I think she stayedthat way until the police arrived.

KIRUMHelen I have to prepare you forsomething horrible that's about tohappen. I wish I could stop it butI can't.

HELENHow could it get any worse?

KIRUMRemember you asked what they meantabout the agent having to decide?

HELENOh my God. I know what that meanswhen there might have been asuicide but this was an accident.What decision could there be?

46.

KIRUMIt's called a type B investigationdone for statistical purposes andbecause if it's a suicide ATC hasto do the cleanup and handle thebody.

She screams and tries to run out to her father but he grabsher. She hits his chest with her fists and screams.

HELENYou know that's impossible. Hewouldn't do that; especially rightnow. It's a mistake. Don't letthem cremate my father. Pleasedon't let them cremate my father.

She sits down and cries and Kirum tries to hold her but shewon't let him.

INT. KAREN MANGUM'S HOUSE - DAY

Karen and Elicia are in the front room talking. The camerastarts in the back room and we see pictures of the Mangumfamily as the camera moves into the hallway and into thefront room. The pictures of John stop at a young age butthere are pictures of Karen up until adulthood. Their voicesare barely audible until we can see them and we hear Karen.

KARENMy husband left me because Iwouldn't have a child. We triedmoving away but I still couldn'tbring a child into this world.

ELICIAHow long was John away?

KARENMom accepted the money Augusttwenty ninth on my brother'stwelfth birthday. We were told hecould be back right away but itmight be a year or more. The nexttime my brother set foot in thishouse he had just finished thepolice academy.

ELICIASo your mother never saw himagain?

47.

KARENOh we saw him coming and going afew times. But he wasn't the same.It was like he'd resigned himselfto a tour of duty and wasdetermined to be a good soldier.He still won't talk about any ofit.

ELICIAI don't understand why he can'tjust go under a witness protectionplan and testify against thesepeople?

KARENThere's no such thing as hidingfrom them. You don't know who youcan trust and you're not allowed asecond chance.

The front door comes flying open and John walks in. Bothwomen jump.

OFFICER MAYHEWJames and Lisa are missing.

INT. KIRUM'S APARTMENT - DAY

Kirum is making a call and the phone rings several timesuntil voice mail picks up. He doesn't leave a message. Hesits in a leather chair and rolls a cigar between his thumband index finger.

KIRUM(Voice over.)

I've developed a hard shell overthe years. At first it reallybothered me when religious peoplehad to deal with what theyconsidered an eternally damningact. What was once an occasionallydifficult service for clergybecame an everyday thing and newrules had to be put into placeregarding suicides by manyorganized religions. In many ofthem everything to do with theburial is left to the family ofsomeone who takes their own life.Because they're always crematedthe services are usually minimal

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48.

KIRUM (cont'd)at best and with no participationfrom the church. CharlesWaynebridge was Catholic and Helenis talking to her priest today.She wouldn't let me go with her.What I don't understand is why aSenior-agent was given herfather's case. They're responsiblefor agent suicides and I've neverheard of one handling a civiliancase before now.

His phone rings.

KIRUMHey I've been trying all day toreach you. How'd it go with yourpriest?

HELENAs bad as I expected. Mother is indenial. She's trying to pretendeverything's alright but anyminute now she's going to breakdown I know it.

She cries.

He picks up the receiver Elicia gave him and stares at it.

KIRUMI don't want to get your hopes upbut I'm going to Washingtontonight to try and reverse theAbsolution. I know you need sometime but if you can just see meoff?

HELENOK. My aunt is here so I can leavefor a little bit.

KIRUMGreat. My flight leaves at eight.

HELENI'll pick you up at six. Goodbye.

49.

INT. KAREN'S CAR ON A GRAVEL ROAD. - DAY

It's just Karen and Elicia and the car pulls over and stops.We see Elicia's hand shaking and the camera moves to Karen.She takes her hand.

KARENThanks for not letting my brotherdo this.

ELICIAI never thought I'd be doing thisby myself but he's done his duty.

KARENNo one will blame you if youdecide it's too much.

ELICIAI'm more scared not to. I feellike my life's led up to this andthis is what I'm here for.

KARENBe that as it may don't take anyunnecessary chances. I'll bewaiting for you.

She takes a deep breath and gets out of the car. She looksat the setting Sun and starts walking towards a twenty foothigh mesh fence. She uses a knife to cut a hole just bigenough to squeeze through. When she gets on the other sideshe turns the camera on and points it at herself.

ELICIAI don't know where I'll be whenyou see this Kirum but right nowI'm inside the Catchum compound.No matter what happens I'm goingto leave the camera on.

She turns the camera around and looks up an incline. Shestarts into the woods and up the small hill.

INT. KIRUM'S HOTEL ROOM. - NIGHT

IT'S JUST AFTER DARK IN WASHINGTON, DC.

The camera's on a letter head that says "YorkshireHotel" and then pans out where we see Kirum.

50.

Kirum's on top of the covers of a king-size bed and holds anunlit cigar. We see a flashback to the airport terminalwhere he and Helen are saying goodbye.

KIRUMI can do anything as long as Iknow we'll be together when it'sover.

HELENDon't ask me to promise anythingright now. I can't see beyondtomorrow right now much less alifetime.

KIRUMDo you still love me?

HELENYes. I love you.

Back to his room.

He takes the receiver out of his bag and hooks it up to hislaptop. It's fuzzy at first but then he sees a fire in thedistance.

ELICIAI can see James but I think I'mtoo far away. I wish I had yourcamera right now. I'm going tohave to crawl so the you might seenothing but earth for a fewminutes.

We see the ground and then our camera points at Kirum'sface. He's glued to what's happening.

KIRUMI hope you're not where I thinkyou are?

We look at the computer screen and hear Elicia's voice.She's looking into the camera again.

ELICIA(Whispering.)

That's James tied to some kind ofharness. I'm going to try andfocus in on him.

The camera turns to James and she focuses on his face. His

51.

eyelids have been forced open by a device and a man in apolice uniform is holding him still.The camera pulls back and we see several people in hoodedrobes. One of them stands up and walks in front of James.James is trying to turn away but the officer points his headdown to a hooded person in front of him. We hear Elicia.

ELICIAOh no. Please no.

The hooded figure looks over their right shoulder inElicia's direction. She takes a deep breath and holds it.Suddenly large eyes light up from under the mask and itpoints a finger at Elicia.

The camera doesn't move and we hear Kirum's voice.

KIRUMRun! Run!

From the computer we hear James.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONRun. Run Elicia.

The camera starts moving up and down and we can tell she'srunning away. We hear her crying and breathing heavily. Wesee Kirum staring at the screen. After a minute the camerais pointing forward again and Elicia talks as she runs.

ELICIAI'm almost to the fence. Please bethere Karen.

We look at the screen and as she goes over the hill we seeKaren's car. The lights come on and we can see that Elicia'sclosing in on the fence. She reaches the fence and realizesshe's at the wrong spot.

ELICIAOh no. Where's the hole? Where'sthe hole?

The camera looks along the bottom of the fence as Eliciapanics.

ELICIAI've lost the knife. I hear them.Oh God please help me find thehole.

We can hear voices behind her. She runs along the fence andstops as she sees the hole. She drops down and starts underthe fence and we hear a man's voice.

52.

SHERIFF GLAZEOh no you don't. I've got cha now.

The camera swings around and we see his face as she smashesthe transmitter into his forehead. The camera hits theground but we can still see Elicia running to the car. Shegets in and the car drives away.

We can just see the Sheriff trying to fit through the fence.Then we hear him grunting as he gets stuck.

SHERIFF GLAZEHelp. Over here. I'm stuck.

We pull away from the screen and watch Kirum wash his facein the bathroom. He looks up and we focus in on his face. Hepauses like he remembers something. He goes back and looksat something on the disc he just made. When Elicia focusesin on James we see the name on the old school house. AnglundE. Chathum.

KIRUM(Voice over.)

That's it. The name must havechanged over the years. You knowwhat you have to do.

INT. CABIN IN THE WOODS - NIGHT

Elicia's in shock as she sits in the TV area of the cabinand Samantha is laying down on a couch next to her. Karenand John are in the background and we can't make out whatthey're saying but they're not in agreement about something.

Elicia looks out the window and sees several carsapproaching.

ELICIAOh no they've found us. We have torun.

John looks out the window.

OFFICER MAYHEWHold on don't panic. Help hasarrived.

He walks outside and greets a half-dozen men who arestrapping on handguns and loading shotguns.

Elicia has a smile on her face as John walks up.

53.

OFFICER MAYHEWKaren and Samantha get your thingstogether. Elicia come with meplease.

They walk away from the house in the direction of the swing.

OFFICER MAYHEWI don't know what my sister's toldyou up to this point but I knowwhat she hasn't told you becauseshe doesn't know. When I leftAbrahin, he's the Dean of demonstudents you might say, he gave metwo options. One was to leave mypast behind totally andpermanently without any leeway ifI didn't comply. The second optionwas to become what's now known asan Ab agent.

ELICIAIs that the norm?

OFFICER MAYHEWTo the ATC it's just a businessElicia. They do things in abusinesslike way. At first agentscame from all walks of life. Nowit's an opportunity foradvancement for those who arewilling to transition from thebusiness of murder to the businessof being an accessory to murder.

ELICIABut my instinct is real.

OFFICER MAYHEWYour instinct is being fed to youby a machine you call a Cleanser.Of course you're always rightbecause you've been given theanswer ahead of time.

ELICIASo I wasn't going to school to betrained I was going to school toget brainwashed.

He doesn't answer her rhetorical question as he watches herthink.

54.

ELICIASo for those of us who don't startas Innocents what is the agentscreening process for?

OFFICER MAYHEWHave you ever heard that beinghypnotized depends on the person?

ELICIASo I was one of the gullible onesready to believe I had somespecial power. But how did it allbegin?

OFFICER MAYHEWThat's the trillion dollarquestion. Abrahin doesn't careabout the money he just likesdealing with spirits. I don't knowwho approached whom aboutpossession being a good way tomake money? But it's like whichcame first the chicken or the egg?It doesn't matter you can't haveone without the other.

ELICIAAnd you wanted Kirum to go afterthe chicken while you guys goafter the egg?

OFFICER MAYHEWNot Kirum. You.

ELICIAMe? I thought you were using me toget to him?

OFFICER MAYHEWSome things I don't know myselfbut James and I were told to getyou on our side somehow. You'llhave to figure out what to do nextbecause from where I stand the ATCis untouchable. The best we can dois win a few battles but if youcan infiltrate the top who knowswhat will happen?

OFFICER MAYHEWWe need to go. You and my sistertake care of each other.

55.

She hugs him.

ELICIAWe will. You be careful and makesure you bring James back in onepiece.

OFFICER MAYHEWWill do.

INT. ATC HEADQUARTERS. MAIN ASSEMBLY ROOM. - DAY

KIRUM SITS IN A CHAIR INSIDE A SEMI-CIRCLE TABLE.

Dr. Todd is talking to the other nine Admin. Generals whoare sitting slightly higher than Kirum.

DR. TODDDr. Lambert has a reputation asone of the best Ab-agents we haveand he was Dr. Mangum's instructoruntil she had the viral reactionthat is obviously still affectingher. Dr. Lambert to you is thereanything about this film you justshowed us that gives credibilityto Dr. Mangum's outrageous claims?

KIRUMI agree with your assessment thatshe's still suffering ill affectsand needs immediate psychiatrichelp.

DR. TODDIs there anything more you'd liketo address to this panel doctor?

KIRUMI think I've gone over everything.I just want to say how grateful Iam not to be found guilty byassociation. I know it would beeasy to be suspicious and that'swhy I'm being as candid as I can.

DR. TODDWe thank you for that candor andif there's anything else thatcomes to mind please let us knowright away. As I said earlier, foryour protection, we'll need you to

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56.

DR. TODD (cont'd)remain in Washington under thewatch of our Security until thisunfortunate incident is dealtwith.

KIRUMOf course. You know there's onemore thing I just remembered. I'msure it's nothing but before sherealized I wasn't going along withher she mentioned someone namedChathum.

Attention is heightened and there's some mumbling until Toddclears his throat.

DR. TODDThe name doesn't ring a belldoctor. In what context was thename mentioned?

KIRUMI'm not certain but she saidsomething about waiting for theright moment to reveal who he is.As I say I'm not real clear aboutit.

DR. TODDOf course Dr. Lambert. You've beena big help. Do enjoy your stay asmuch as possible. Security hasbeen instructed to give you yourspace.

KIRUMThank you all for seeing me soquickly.

Kirum walks out escorted by a guard to an elevator going up.They get in and the guard punches the Main Floor button.Kirum calmly walks out and the guard goes back down. Kirumwalks out of the building.

The guard walks back into the room and stops as he noticesthat Kirum has left the camera there. The conversation stopsas Dr. Todd notices a solid green light. The guard picks thecamera up and sees that it's on record. He shows it to Dr.Todd.

DR. TODDStop Dr. Lambert.

57.

GUARD ONE.Station three this is station one.Detain doctor Lambert.

Kirum is quite a distance from the building when he sees twoguards come running out. He takes off running and they chasehim so he gets in a cab. An extremely low speed chase scenetakes place. Kirum finally gets out of the cab and runs onfoot. He reaches a spot where he thinks he's safe to hidebut they catch up to him. One of the guards radios theirlocation.

GUARD TWO.Station one we have the doctor at5157 Central.

GUARD ONE.I'm right behind you.

Kirum sits and catches his breath. After a minute he looksat the guards.

KIRUMIt doesn't matter that I'm caughtthe information is in the righthands now.

Guard one approaches Kirum and hands him his camera.

GUARD ONE.You left this behind Dr. Lambert.If we're going to keep you safeyou're going to have to cooperate.

The guards walk away and Kirum stands there scratching hishead.

INT. HOTEL ROOM OUTSIDE LYONS - DAY

Samantha, Karen and Elicia are sitting in the room andSamantha has lost her lethargy. She stands up and paces fora few seconds.

KARENI'm sorry Samantha but we can'twait any longer. We have to getfurther away from here it's justnot safe.

SAMANTHAI told you last night I'm notleaving without my daughter. You

(MORE)

58.

SAMANTHA (cont'd)two can go without me but I'mgoing back for her.

KARENI'm not going anywhere near thatplace again.

ELICIAI'll go. I know we haven't heardanything from John but I can'tleave here without knowing whathappened last night. Besides it'snot just Lisa but who knows howmany other kids that need to betaken out of there.

KARENBut that wasn't the plan. Weshould be long gone by now andwith or without either of you I'mgoing.

ELICIAThere's an airfield close by. Ifwe take you there can we use yourcar?

KARENI really wish you wouldn't do thisbut that's fine with me.

INT. KIRUM'S HOTEL ROOM. - DAY

Kirum's at his computer. We watch and listen to what thepanel discussed after he left.

ADMIN. GENERAL ONE.Andre Chathum has held thiscompany hostage long enough. Hisultimatums and Iron Fist ways haveto stop.

ADMIN. GENERAL TWO.There's no point in discussingthis issue again. We've voted himout before but it was a uselessvote. The man provides us with allof our agents and his company isthe only one that knows how totrain them. We may not like it butwithout his services we are just aname.

59.

DR. TODDWe're more than a name Mr.Guillander. We're the only reasonATC was granted a thirty yearcontract by most of the world'sindustrialized Nations. But bethat as it may you are correct.This is all a moot point andthere's no reason to rehash itbecause of a loose cannon and somefanatical conspiracy theorists.

ADMIN. GENERAL TWO.Right you are. This is justanother Johnny come lately with acrazy idea about murder suicides.Whatever this group has plannedI'm sure Mr. Chathum can handlehimself.

The camera gets picked up and we see the guards face as heturns it off.

KIRUM(Voice over.)

They're just a group offigureheads; a means to an end forChathum. He had to have legitimatebusiness owners to legitimize ATC.They actually believe we'reproviding a service. At least youwere right about the initials onthe van that picked Elicia up.Wait a minute!

Kirum makes a call on the hotel phone.

DRIVERHello.

KIRUMRobert it's Dr. Lambert.

DRIVERHello doctor are we finally goingback to work?

KIRUMSort of. In fact that's why I'mcalling. Remember when youmentioned a safe-house? Whatexactly is that?

60.

DRIVERFunny you don't know that sir.It's the only place we can go ifsomething happens.

KIRUMDo you have a list?

DRIVEROnly in the van. A map pops upautomatically when the E-code ispunched in.

KIRUMThat's too bad. I'm in Washingtonand I need to know the nearestsafe-house?

DRIVERYou really don't know much do yousir? You're right next door to thebiggest safe-house of them all.

KIRUMYou're referring to ATCheadquarters I take it?

A slight laugh.

DRIVEROf course not sir I'm referring tothe AC mansion. It's ten mileseast of DC at 1100 Wilmington Ln.I know that because it's where Iwas trained after I retired fromthe bus station.

KIRUMTrained doing what?

DRIVERMostly pick ups and deliveries buton occasion I had to take "youknow who" to the airport and Ipicked him up of course.

KIRUMOf course. How do you think Mr.Chathum would feel if I droppedin?

There's a silent pause.

61.

DRIVERI really don't feel comfortablewith you using his name sir. Ivalue my employment too much.

Kirum is looking at his computer screen while he's talking.We see the screen and Kirum rewinds to the beginning of theAdmin. Generals conversation after he left. He notices Dr.Todd staring at the camera and then give a signal to someoneon the panel but we can't see who it is.

KIRUMSure I understand. You've been abig help. Goodbye.

EXT. OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL FENCE. - DAY

Elicia and Samantha both crawl under the fence and walk overthe ridge.

We move to them watching from a hiding spot.

SAMANTHAThere's something funny going on.Doesn't look like there's been anyshootout around here to me.

ELICIAI was just thinking the same thingand why does that say Chathum? Ithought it was Catchum?

SAMANTHAI don't know but we can wait untilit gets dark or we can have acloser look in the daylight.

ELICIADaylight sounds good to me.

They walk up to the old schoolhouse and sneak around to thefront of the building. The door is unlocked and they walk invery slowly. After peeking into a few rooms they hear avoice and jump.

ABRAHINHello Elicia and Samantha. It'snot nice to pop in on somebodyuninvited.

SAMANTHAWhere's my daughter?

62.

ABRAHINYour friends took her why don'tyou ask them?

ELICIAJohn left with her? Is James withthem?

ABRAHINHow long have you known the two ofthem Elicia?

ELICIALong enough to know I don't needto be talking to you. Let's goLisa.

The door opens at the end of the hallway and the sheriff andone of his deputies walks in.

SHERIFF GLAZEWe meet again. Hello Samantha.

SAMANTHAHello Sheriff.

Elicia stares at Samantha.

ABRAHINWhat are you're instincts tellingyou now Elicia? That things maynot be as they seem?

SAMANTHAI'm sorry Elicia but I couldn'thave gotten you here any otherway.

ELICIAWhat do you people want with me?

ABRAHINThe question is what does he wantwith you? What has John told youabout his childhood?

ELICIAEnough.

ABRAHINHe told you he lived here with me?

63.

ELICIAYes until he was eighteen and wasoffered a chance to become likeme.

ABRAHINOh no. Not like you.

ELICIAWhat is your point?

ABRAHINMost children at this school arebrought here because they showgreat promise for good but havehad a hard time showing it. JohnMayhew was put here by his motherafter he killed his own father.

ELICIAYou liar.

SAMANTHAHe's not lying. John Mayhewwatched his father poor gas onhimself and then set himself onfire. He did that after Johnreleased Shabrich on him. One ofthe deadliest of all demons.

Elicia shakes her head no.

ABRAHINWhen he turned eighteen John wasbeing recruited for a specialassignment to help start a newcompany. He was always veryinterested in money and someoneoffered him a chance to make morethan he ever dreamed of.

ELICIABut John is a police officer.

SHERIFF GLAZEJames and John work in a specialjurisdiction out of a small townthat they own. I guess you'venever seen their homes? Mansionsreally. The team of men who camehere last night all came fromnothing and are very wealthy mentoday.

64.

Looking at the sheriff.

ELICIAI thought he worked for you atfirst?

SHERIFF GLAZEYes our town was paid a hefty sumto put each of those men throughpolice training. The money washard to refuse but our primary jobhas always been to protect thissanctuary and those men were deadset on destroying it so I toldthem all to leave.

ELICIASanctuary! They train little kidshow to give and receive suicidespirits. What kind of sanctuary isthat?

SAMANTHAWrong again. I've seen the spiritsinside these children and they arebeautiful. It's the ones insidepeople like John and James thatare killing people.

ELICIAJames. But that's impossible hecan't be an Innocent.

ABRAHINThey're not Innocents Eliciathey're Carriers. Like someonewith a dormant virus who doesn'tget sick but can pass it on toothers who do.

ELICIALisa took Heliab from me is she aCarrier?

SAMANTHANo she's an Innocent just as I wasas a child. The children that havecome through here have saved manylives.

ABRAHINWe sent an Innocent to save Kirumbut the Carrier had gotten the

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65.

ABRAHIN (cont'd)wrong man. When Michael saw Kirumhe could tell he was a Carrier sohe came back not knowing it wasthe father-in-law that wasinfected.

ELICIAWhat happened to hisfather-in-law?

ABRAHINHe took his own life.

Elicia closes her eyes and shakes her head no.

ELICIAI don't understand? If Kirum isone of them why would they goafter him?

ABRAHINI only said he's a Carrier.Thousands of people are unwittingCarriers. They don't realize howtheir innocent winks are killingtheir loved ones.

ELICIASo let me get this straight.Suicides have always been"assisted" by evil spirits but theATC became a catalyst fortremendous growth in suicidedeaths?

ABRAHINNot all suicides are "assisted" asyou put it. But yes the ATC is inthe business of aiding evil init's acts of torture and murder.

ELICIASo what are you doing with thesechildren?

ABRAHINUntil suicide became big businesschildren like the ones here wereable to intervene most of the timebefore people took their ownlives. That's why Anglund Chathumstarted this school to help morechildren use their gifts. His

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66.

ABRAHIN (cont'd)brother Zephyr was planning onusing the students for murder butAnglund Chathum wouldn't allow it.That's when Zephyr "assisted" himto his death. The Innocents wereable to stop him for a while butthe number of suicides became toomuch after ATC was established.All we can do now is provide acathartic refuge for weary spiritsuntil they're ready for battleagain. And occasionally thechildren here and other parts ofthe world are called upon tointerevene.

ELICIABy the children intervening youmean they could take the badspirits away before people taketheir own lives?

SAMANTHANot just that Elicia. There's aspiritual battle going on all ofthe time. Some children here havewonderful spirits which are ableto defeat any evil spirit: eventhose as powerful as Shabrich andHeliab.

ELICIAHow can something like this bekept secret? Why don't you reportthis sheriff?

SHERIFF GLAZEI'm just a small town sheriff.When I first took office I had awife and two kids. Now I have onechild. We're dealing with a manwho shows no mercy and hasunlimited resources. Remember theboy Joseph Crandle?

ELICIAYes I've been to his grandmother'shouse?

SHERIFF GLAZEWe know. She's dead now. JohnMayhew stabbed her in the eye witha Kirian blade.

67.

Elicia remembers the Cross knife and hears John's voice."She's a religious woman and has a deep inner strength;she's much tougher than you might think."

ELICIASo where did James come from? Another school like this one?

SHERIFF GLAZEWe don't know but we were tryingto figure out if he was a Carrierwhen you showed up. The demon inhim nearly killed Abrahin so weknow he must be a Carrier or elsehe'd be dead.

ELICIASo that demon is in you now?

ABRAHINNo I merely took a look insidehim. I didn't let him inside mebecause I wasn't ready for thatkind of battle to take place inme.

ELICIAI still can't believe this. Sowhy'd you take James and Lisa?

ABRAHINHe came here looking for the stafffor the Kirian Blade. We asked himto leave but he wouldn't withoutLisa. My brethren are away and sowhen John came we had to let Lisago with them but they didn't getthe staff.

ELICIASo why was John scared to comehere with me?

SHERIFF GLAZEHe wasn't scared. They're settingyou up for something.

ELICIAWhat could they want from me?

ABRAHINNot they. Him. He has something instore for you.

68.

ELICIAWho is this man you're talkingabout?

SHERIFF GLAZEAndre Chathum.

ELICIAYou can't be serious? Is herelated to the family who startedthis school?

ABRAHINWalk with me. We have more to talkabout.

INT. SECURITY DESK AT ATC HEADQUARTERS. - NIGHT

Kirum stands at the desk while the guard listens on hisheadset.

GUARD FOURGeneral Todd will see you. Takethe the security elevator to thefourth level basement. There'sonly one room on that level.

On the fourth level he sees one door and goes inside. Dr.Todd is sitting at a desk overlooking the room below wherethey had Elicia.

DR. TODDThis is quite unexpected Dr.Lambert. Have you thought ofsomething that's so urgent itcouldn't wait until the morning?

KIRUMYes I've thought of a few thingsactually.

DR. TODDI'm listening.

KIRUMWho came up with the idea of aCleanser?

DR. TODDA Cleanser is an integral part ofan agent's existence. Dealing withdeath and having to make such

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69.

DR. TODD (cont'd)important decisions on a dailybasis causes a great deal ofstress and the purpose of theCleanser is to alleviate some ofthat stress.

KIRUMI see. And would you say that itworks?

DR. TODDIs there a point to this doctor?It's very late and I'd like tospend some time with my wifetonight.

KIRUMDoes the Cleanser work?

DR. TODDIf you studied your literatureyou'd be aware that our agent'ssuicide rate is less than onetenth of the Internationalaverage.

KIRUMNow I see why everybody can't haveone.

DR. TODDI beg your pardon?

KIRUMWell if the Cleanser can greatlyreduce the suicide rate whydoesn't everyone have one?

DR. TODDIt isn't that simple. There areother factors involved.

KIRUMSuch as?

DR. TODDSuch as higher pay and lessstress.

KIRUMBut you just said our jobs arevery stressful. Which is it? Arewe stressed? Are we not stressed?

70.

DR. TODDWell there are other purposes forthe Cleanser. It's used as...

He catches himself and stops speaking.

KIRUMAs? Were you about to say as acontroller? A manipulator? A wayfor ATC to make sure we don'tscrew up it's contract by missingan Absolute?

DR. TODDDoctor this conversation is over.You've obviously been able to dupeus into believing you innocent butI see now that's not true. Ididn't mention your previous boutwith delusion to the other memberstoday but now I see that was amistake.

KIRUMFinally you've said something truegood doctor. No I'm not innocent.In fact I'm guilty a thousandtimes over. Guilty of being a fooland guilty of being a spoke in thewheel of this great Empire ofmurder. And yes I'm guilty ofbeing used by this company todestroy people's lives. You knowwhy?

Dr. Todd tries to walk past Kirum but he stops him fromleaving.

KIRUMYes you know perfectly well why.For the good old fashioned dollarand yen and mark and Euro. Suicidefor a profit that's why. And ohhhwhat a profit it is.

DR. TODDI have no idea what you're talkingabout but I know you've justcommitted career suicide. You'llnever work for this company againin any capacity.

71.

KIRUMOh yeah that reminds me of yourother little fetish. Power. Youlike to sit up here and look downon the world and make decisionsthat impact millions of lives.Well guess what doctor you're justa peon like me. A foot soldier forthe devil himself and like all badthings this is coming to an end.

DR. TODDWhat could you possibly do totouch me you impudent littlepuppet? Show me see your recorderand I'll tell you what you came tohear.

Kirum takes out his recorder and hands it to him. Dr. Toddremoves the disc inside and smashes the recorder against thewall. Kirum's jaw drops open.

DR. TODDYou think you're going to receivesome kind of absolution for comingin here now and pointing thefinger? You've drawn a damn goodpaycheck from this company for aslong as anybody and don't pretendyou didn't realize what you weredoing. Did it really take twelveyears to figure out what theCleanser was for? I know better.You might not have allowedyourself to think it out loud butyou knew. Now because you've had achange of heart after somethingbad happened to your fiance'sfamily you come in here and judgeme? I was a wealthy man longbefore this company started and Idon't have any problems looking inthe mirror at the end of the day.So go back to your little group ofhypocrites and remember one thing.If it ever hits the fan the onlydifference in you and me is I canafford to buy my way out of it.

Kirum sits down and Dr. Todd straightens his clothes andwalks away.

72.

KIRUMYou're right. I didn't let myselfadmit it but I knew there was nosuch thing as some kind ofomniscient instinct. There is onebig difference in you and I. Nowthat I've admitted it to myself Iwon't be able to look in themirror without shame. And I'm notgoing to keep lying to myself justso I can keep my job.

DR. TODDYeah well I hear they're hiring"Instinct Doctors" at McDonald's.For future reference I don't likepickles on my hamburgers.

He walks out the door and it closes behind him.

INT. JANICE MANGUM'S HOUSE. - NIGHT

Elicia walks in the front door and an English Mastiff barksand jumps on top of her. She laughs and plays with the doguntil her mother walks up.

JANICEGet off Sampson you're going torip your stitches out. That's thefirst time he's gotten off his bedsince he came home from the vet.Don't you think you could'vecalled? I've been worried sick.

ELICIAHello mother.

JANICEYou keep me worried all this timeand then show up with that tone ofvoice there has to be somethingwrong. What'd I do now?

ELICIAWhy did you leave my father when Iwas three years old?

JANICEHoney I've told you a hundred...

73.

ELICIAI know what you've told me but I'ma grown woman and this time you'regoing to tell me.

JANICEElicia your father loved you andI've never told you any different.But he was an awful person and acruel husband. Maybe you think youhave a right to know more but thatisn't going to make me relivethose times by talking about them.

ELICIAYou've never told me anythingabout that side of my family. Andwhat about my brother?

Janice turns to walk away.

ELICIAYou can't run from this any moremother.

JANICEYou couldn't possibly rememberanything about that.

ELICIABut I do remember. I remember youtelling me I was going to have tobe a big girl because I was goingto have a baby brother I had tohelp you with. I remember thesmell of father's cigars and howhe'd laugh so loud it filled thewhole house with sound. Whathappened?

JANICEDarling if you blame me for thisit's going to crush me. I did itfor your own good.

ELICIADid what? What did you do mother?

JANICEI traded your brother for you.

Long silence. Janice is crying.

74.

JANICEIf I hadn't promised I'd keep mymouth shut and stay out of yourbrother's life he would have drawnyou into that world and I wasn'tgoing to have it.

ELICIAWhat world are you talking about?

JANICEThat family. The greed andviolence and disregard for humanlife and for dignity. Don't yousee I couldn't let you be exposedto that? There's not a day thatgoes by that I don't think ofThomas and pray to God that hemakes it out of that alright.

ELICIAWell I'm sorry to break it to youmother but he's not alright he'sdead. That's right he died in acar crash on his birthday overeight years ago. How could you nothave checked on him in all thistime?

JANICEI just told you why I couldn't.

ELICIAWell father made the same dealwith you and he checked on me. Heeven paid for my Med-school?

Janice sits down hard.

JANICEDarling no! Don't you see he wantsyou to feel obligated so he canuse you. He's a manipulator. Howdo you think he got me to marryhim? Please you have to listen toyour mother. Don't let him bringyou into his life.

ELICIAThomas. My brother was namedThomas and I never met him.

75.

JANICEActually he was named after yourfather. Andre Thomas Chathum thesecond.

ELICIAI'm going to see him tomorrow.

JANICEIf you're ever going to listen toyour mother listen to me now. Youmay think you can handle him butyou don't know what he's capableof.

ELICIAMother if he wanted to hurt me oryou he could have done so longago.

JANICEThat's not his style. He wants togain your trust and make you needhim. You don't know whattemptation is until you're temptedby Andre Chathum. Once you have ataste you want more and that'swhen he'll crush you. Please don'tgo.

ELICIAThat's a chance I'm going to haveto take. I've hardly slept indays. I need to get up early soI'm going to bed. I was droppedoff so I need a ride to theairport. If you won't take me I'llhave to call a cab.

JANICEOf course I'll take you. Just tryand reconsider before morning.Believe me it's a mistake to goand see him.

Elicia makes a phone call.

KIRUM'S HOTEL ROOM IN WASHINGTON.

KIRUMHello.

76.

ELICIAKirum where are you?

KIRUMWashington.

ELICIAI heard about your father-in-law.I'm so sorry. Are his wife anddaughter ok?

KIRUMNo. Actually they're not ok andthat's why I'm here. How are you?

ELICIAI'm fine but you're not going tobelieve where this thing leads?

KIRUMAndre T. Chathum.

ELICIAThat's right Andre Chathum but howdo you know that?

KIRUMLong story short he was at my tenyear achievement banquet and Iremembered seeing his initials onthe side of his car while I wasleaving. I saw the exact samelettering on the side of the vanthat was used to pick you up and Ithought it looked familiar. Then Isaw Anglund E. Chathum, notCatchum, on your little home-mademovie and it clicked. I have hisaddress near here and I'm goingthere tomorrow.

ELICIAAlright but wait for me. I have tomake a stop along the way but I'mgoing with you and there are somethings you need to know before wego.

77.

KIRUMYou must have been scared to deathto go to that school by yourself.I'm sorry I wasn't there for you.

ELICIADon't even think about it. We'lltalk when I get there in themorning.

KIRUMI'm in suite 1139 at the YorkshireHotel. See you then.

ELICIAOK. Goodnight.

KIRUMGoodnight.

INT. JANICE MANGUM'S HOUSE - NIGHT

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

Elicia's sleeping and a noise wakes her. She gets up andgoes into the kitchen for some water. She starts back to bedand sees a shadow outside. She looks at the door knob andit's unlocked. Very slowly she walks over to the door andreaches for the handle. As she touches the lock the doorcomes flying open and a man grabs her. She screams for asplit second but he covers her mouth and forces her to thefloor face down. With his hand on her mouth his turns herhead around and she sees John Mayhew holding a gun to herhead.

OFFICER MAYHEW(Whispering.)

You don't follow directions verywell do you? If you don't followthese directions it's your life.You're going to stand up veryslowly and walk out that door.First I'm going to take my handoff of your mouth and you're notgoing to scream. Do you hear me?

She shakes her head yes. Very softly she says.

ELICIAJohn?

78.

OFFICER MAYHEWWhat?

ELICIAMeet Fathead.

He looks up and the enormous animal is inches from his head.Sampson growls and John points his gun at him. Elicia knocksthe gun out of his hand and the dog clamps down on histhroat and knocks him to the floor. Elicia finds the gun butwhen she gets the dog off of John she sees that he's dead.She looks out the window and sees James standing by the carsmoking a cigarette. She walks around the house andsurprises James from behind.

ELICIANo sudden moves. Let me see bothhands.

He drops his cane and raises his hands after flicking hiscigarette on the ground.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONWe're just here to give you aride.

ELICIAWell John's riding days are over.Slowly put your cuffs on yourright hand and lay face down.

He does and she cuffs his hands behind his back. They hearsirens in the distance and her mother walks outside. She'svery calm.

JANICEThe police are on the way. This iswhat Andre Chathum's world is likeElicia. Hello James.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONJanice. I'd shake your hand but...

ELICIAHow do you know each other?

79.

JANICEJames was one of the originalCarriers for your father. Likemany of the best ones he came froma nice Christian home. It seemsdeveloping one's spirituality canhave a downside if your heart isevil.

ELICIAWhat else do you know?

JANICEI know most everything but like Itold you keeping my mouth shut waspart of the bargain. I can saveyou a lot of time if you'll listento me. After the police arrive itwill take a while but James'll gofree. My advice is to let him takehis friend with him and get out ofhere before they arrive. If youdon't you'll surely miss yourflight.

Elicia looks at James who smirks.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONMother knows best.

Elicia thinks about it for a second and then takes the cuffsoff.

ELICIACome on I'll help you bring himout.

They put John in the trunk and Elicia sees Lisa in the backseat asleep. She opens the back door and picks her up andsays something to James before closing the back door.

ELICIAWhy did you want me to go to theschool? Just to see the ritual?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONYou have no idea how powerfulAbrahin can be. John knew hewouldn't hurt you and he had toknow how many of them were therebefore going in after the staff.

80.

ELICIAHow many what were there?

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONDabliques. Native Americans with apenchant for the underworld.They're mediums who cancommunicate with both worlds andconjure up things you can'timagine.

ELICIAWhere's the Kirian blade now?

He drives away and she kicks the car. She looks at hermother.

ELICIAHow did they know Abrahin wouldn'thurt me?

JANICEHe wouldn't harm the best chancehe has to destroy Andre Chathum.Right now neither side knows whichway you'll turn. Which one willyou take after? Anglund or Zephyr?

ELICIAI'm still going. Please get rid ofthe police so I can get some rest.

JANICEI know you've never been areligious girl but I hope you'llpray for the strength you'll needto get through this.

Elicia walks away as the police car arrives and Janiceapproaches their car.

INT. KIRUM'S HOTEL ROOM. - DAY

Kirum is using his remote to check his voice-mail when hehears a knock. He opens the door and sees Elicia and Lisa.

KIRUMGood morning. I didn't know youwere bringing a guest.

Elicia gives him a hug.

81.

ELICIAI didn't either but she insisted.Kirum this is Lisa.

He reaches out to shake her hand but she withdraws and giveshim a coarse stare.

ELICIAI had a feeling she might have ahard time trusting you. That's oneof the things I want to talk toyou about. Have you ever heard theterm Carrier applied to an agent?

KIRUMNot that I recall. What's aCarrier?

ELICIAAccording to one Innocent you are.

LISAHe's a Carrier. You're not in anydanger right now though Elicia.

KIRUMOK then. Not long ago I'd have hada different reaction to that butas things stand now I'd like toknow why I might be a danger atanother time?

ELICIAA Carrier can have a spirit insidethem without being affected. Likea dormant virus that can be passedon to someone else that might getsick. When ATC first started itused Innocents to do the dirtywork until Carriers could befound.

KIRUMThe obvious benefit being the ageof the person. An adult can movearound much more freely and lessnoticeably.

ELICIAThat's correct. Also because as anInnocent becomes older their moresusceptible to having theirconsceinces attacked.

82.

KIRUMSo Carriers have a longer career.I get it.

ELICIAWell who's in the best position tohandle the job?

Kirum stops to think for a second.

KIRUMUs. We're already in the field andhandling the Absolute from aprevious agent's doing. So why notkeep things rolling along? But howdoes that happen without usknowing about it?

ELICIAWith some agents it doesn't. Idon't know the percentages butsome Abs are aware of what they'redoing. But with you theCleanser...

KIRUMYou don't have to explain aboutthe Cleanser. I already know ittells us what we're dealing withbefore we arrive and it's not usedfor cleansing.

ELICIADo you know that it tells you whothe next victim is? And it doessome brainwashing as well. Whenthe Rev. winked at me I wasn'tsupposed to be there. It was meantfor you and like many times beforeyou never would have noticed. Youalso wouldn't have realized whenyou winked at the next person.

KIRUMSo who chooses the victims andwhat if I winked at someone justto be winking?

ELICIASometimes there are specifictargets but usually a computerprogram picks them. For the ATCprogrammers it doesn't matter when

(MORE)

83.

ELICIA (cont'd)there are residual suicides. Infact that's just less work for theagents. But it's not just theagents doing the dirty work.Detective Christianson and OfficerMayhew and who knows how many morepeople are involved. They've beenusing me for information to seewhat kinds of rumors have beenfloating around and what theAb-agents actually know and don'tknow.

KIRUMBut a young boy caused myfather-in-law's suicide.

LISANo. Michael was there to protectyou.

KIRUMI'm confused.

ELICIAInnocents are able to take theevil spirits away and Michael wasthere because you were supposed tobe infected. But he saw that youwere clean and also a Carrier. Heleft without realizing you hadinadvertently passed the spirit onto Mr. Waynebridge.

He's stunned. He sits down and none of them say anything fora minute.

KIRUMBut I didn't get infected you did.

ELICIAYou did the ABs after that and youmust have picked it up fromanother victim. Or else...

KIRUMOr else what?

ELICIAMaybe you had become a liabilityand it wasn't random?

84.

KIRUMBut you said I'm immune.

LISANot all spirits work the same andsome are powerful enough tocontrol any mind.

KIRUMThat would explain theSenior-agent. Mr. Waynebridgewould still be alive if it wasn'tfor me.

ELICIAYou mean the ATC.

KIRUM(In another world.)

Here I've been thinking I wasbeing used as an accessory butRaymond Todd was right I am asguilty as him. I'm a murderer.

ELICIAThat's not true Kirum.

KIRUM(Snapping out of it.)

I'm turning myself in to thepolice.

ELICIAKirum that's not the answer. Youprobably won't even be takenseriously and even if you manageto get anyone indicted it'll neverreach the top. We have to get tomy father somehow.

KIRUMYour father?

ELICIAYes. My father is Andre ThomasChathum and he's the reason I'minvolved in this.

KIRUMThat's right you said your fatherpaid for you to go to school.

85.

ELICIAHe did more than that. I'm not aCarrier and I never would've madeit through the screening processif he hadn't made sure I would.

KIRUMBut your name's Mangum.

ELICIAMy mother's maiden name. Maybe Ishould go and see him alone.

Kirum and Lisa react immediately.

KIRUM(Along with Lisa.)

No.

LISAI must be with you.

KIRUMAny other revelations before wego?

ELICIANothing we can't discuss on theway.

They leave and Kirum double checks to see that he has hisremote.

EXT. AC MANSION. - DAY

Elicia, Lisa and Kirum arrive in a taxi and have to passthrough a security gate. The ATC security guards that havebeen following them park outside the gate.

The taxi drives to the front door and James walks up andpays the driver as they get out.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONWe've been expecting you. Thebutler will take you to the study.

Inside the study is just Kirum, Elicia and Lisa.

KIRUMSo explain to me again what theboy was doing at ReverendPlackard's when he died?

86.

BACK TO REVEREND PLACKARD'S HOUSE JUST BEFORE HIS SUICIDE.

Joseph Crandle is holding the Kirian blade as the Rev.climbs up on the ladder.

BOYPlease listen to me Reverend. Itwon't work if you just take yourown life. Heliab will live and goon killing unless you die by theKirian blade.

The Reverend puts the rope around his neck.

REVEREND PLACKARD.(Crying.)

I can't do it my boy. I don't knowwhat's wrong but I can't. Godforgive me for what I'm about todo.

He jumps off of the ladder and hangs himself. The boy triesto use the ladder to get to him before he dies but he hearsa car coming. He takes a quick peak out of the window andsees a car coming. He then grabs the blade and runs out theback door.

KIRUMSo the detective was really onlyinterested in finding the blade?

ELICIAThat's right but I guess afterthey told my father I handled theAbsolution he told them to learnmore about me and that's how thisall started.

The Study door opens and in walks Andre Chathum.

MR. CHATHUMElicia my child you are stunning.You're every bit as beautiful asyour mother the day I met her.

He walks up to hug Elicia but she reaches out her hand. Heshakes it but then pulls her to him and hugs her.

MR. CHATHUMSorry but I could not resist a hugfrom my daughter. I take it thisis Lisa?

87.

Lisa keeps her distance and watches every move Andre makes.

MR. CHATHUMAnd of course the renowned Dr.Kirum Lambert. I heard youracceptance speech for a ten yearsof outstanding service award at anATC awards dinner a while back. Iremember thinking how blessed Iwas to have such exceptionalpeople working for me.

They shake hands but Kirum doesn't say anything.

MR. CHATHUMWell we must have someone chasedown those cats who've gone andstolen all of your tongues.

Andre laughs very loudly at his own joke but no one elsedoes.

MR. CHATHUMI do apologize for keeping you butI had business to tend to. I mustbe gone again this afternoon butManuel has prepared a wonderfullunch for the three of you. I'llbe back this evening and we candiscuss what has gone on up tothis point and any pressing issueson your minds.

He starts to walk out but Kirum interrupts him.

KIRUMMr. Chathum I realize we came hereuninvited but what we have to talkabout should take precedence overany other business you have.

MR. CHATHUMI'll decide what takes precedencewith my business, both personaland professional, doctor Lambert.

Andre walks out of the room. Kirum and Elicia look at eachother.

KIRUMWe really have him scared. Well doyou think we should stay?

88.

ELICIAI'm sorry I didn't back you upKirum that was just a surrealmoment for me and I feel like I'mbeing pulled down a whirlpool andnothing can save me. Yes we'regoing to eat this man's food andtake full advantage of theprivileges of wealth until hecomes home. Then we're going to goput our plan into action.

KIRUMI am starving what about you Lisa?

Lisa doesn't acknowledge his question and she looks atElicia.

LISAHe's more powerful than I thoughthe would be. I can't promise I canhelp.

ELICIADon't worry things will be fine.Let's go see what's for lunch?

INT. AC MANSION LIBRARY - NIGHT

Andre is sitting behind an old desk smoking a cigar andtalking to Kirum.

MR. CHATHUMI know you thought you were beingclever with your recorder doctorbut the fact is you were doingjust what I expected. Thisafternoon I played it back for theGenerals just before replacing allbut three of them. They werenecessary at first but the timehas come to go to the next leveland now the people are being putinto place to see that thathappens.

KIRUMWhat do you mean by the nextlevel?

Andre smiles and gives a quick laugh.

89.

MR. CHATHUMFor a smart man you really don'tthink things through doctor. Withthe current rate of increasedsuicides half the population willbe eliminated in less than eightyears. It's time for ATC to focuson eliminating the weaklings ofthis world. Soon power andpleasure will become the seeds ofa stronger and more prosperousworld. When the purificationprocess is complete we'll rebuildhis kingdom the way it was meantto be.

KIRUMSo how many deaths will it take tosatisfy your thirst for bloodAndre?

MR. CHATHUMI should take care of youpersonally doctor but I thinkRaymond has a much better plan foryou. Now leave my presence youuseless little minion.

The door opens and a guard takes Kirum by the arm and leadshim out of the room. We focus on Andre's face and see hiseyes glow a little and then we hear Elicia's voice.

ELICIAYou asked to see me alone?

He walks up and tries to kiss her but she turns away. Hekisses her on the cheek and she pulls away.

MR. CHATHUMYes my child come and have a seat.

He sits back in his chair and she sits across from him.Neither of them say anything for a while.

ELICIAWhy did you send me that moneywhen you did?

MR. CHATHUMAha that's wonderful. You've comehere with so many things on yourmind and I was hoping that is whatyou wanted to know the most.

90.

ELICIAIt's not most significant it'sjust the beginning ofunderstanding why I was draggedinto this? What do you want fromme?

MR. CHATHUMTo the point again. I see so muchof me in you Elicia. Did you knowthat I named you. You're namedafter an angel who is extremelypowerful and feared.

ELICIAWhy would an angel be feared?

MR. CHATHUMYou have so much to learn mychild. I wish that I could skipall of these steps but I'm willingto be patient for you my Elicia.

ELICIAIf you're going to talk in riddleswe're wasting our time. Are yougoing to answer me or not?

MR. CHATHUMI sent you the money because itwas time for you to have it. Thatand so much more. You're fromRoyalty and yet your mother hashad you living like a pauper.

ELICIAWe were far from poor and whatRoyalty?

MR. CHATHUMDon't be frustrated but you're notready to understand.

ELICIATry me.

MR. CHATHUMYour bloodline can be traced backto the beginning of the Earth. Andin a world that's as plain to meas this one is to you this familyis revered like no other. You arehere now because it is your

(MORE)

91.

MR. CHATHUM (cont'd)birthright to rule this worldafter I move on to the next.

ELICIAAnd what about Thomas? Is it acoincidence that you contacted meright after his death?

He smiles and then laughs very loud.

MR. CHATHUMYou are much smarter than yourbrother young lady and besides hehad too much of his greatgrandfather Anglund in him. Butyou should know that your mothermade the choice not I. I wantedyou to come and live with me butshe threatened me with everythingif I didn't give you up.

ELICIAWhat did she threaten that shewould expose your plan to killmillions of people each year forprofit?

MR. CHATHUMElicia. You're so naive. I had noplan I was chosen. I was given aresponsibility like no human beingbefore me. This isn't about moneyit's about doing what has to bedone. What has been ordained fromthe beginning.

ELICIA(Sarcastic Laugh.)

Please don't sit there and tell meyou're doing the Lord's work? Areyou trying to tell me that God'sresponsible for this?

MR. CHATHUMGod? What God are you talkingabout? The one who has left thisworld behind for people to sufferhunger and disease? No my childI'm talking about the one truegod. The god of this world who isdoing something about our problemsinstead of pointing his finger atus.

92.

ELICIAYou're actually convinced thatwhat you're doing is right? Pleaseexplain how killing innocentpeople is the right thing to do?

MR. CHATHUMFirst of all let me make it clearthat I don't have to justify mymotives to anyone. But let me askyou why you think I would questionthe authority and judgement fromwhich this edict has come?

ELICIASo that's your story? The Devilmade you do it?

He slams his fist on the desk.

MR. CHATHUMHow dare you use such blasphemoussarcasm?

He calms himself.

MR. CHATHUMForgive me child. I'mirresponsible for not consideringthe systematic brainwashing you'vebeen exposed to all of your life.I'm not angry with you.

ELICIA(Sarcastic.)

That's a relief. For a minutethere I was afraid you were goingto take away my allowance.

He leans back into his chair and puffs his cigar. He studiesher for a minute.

MR. CHATHUMSo tell me. What is it that I cando for you?

ELICIASomething tells me that dissolvingATC and getting back on thestraight and narrow is out of thequestion?

93.

MR. CHATHUMAre you deliberately trying tomake me angry?

ELICIANo I guess it just hit me that itreally isn't about the money withyou. What is driving you goes muchdeeper than that and nothing I door say is going to change yourposition.

MR. CHATHUMNow that's my girl. You have noidea what's before you Elicia. Wehave people in the highestpositions of all walks of life.Church and State, Military andBusiness, young and old in allparts of the world. The best thingis it's all going to be yours.Join me Elicia and you'll havemore than your wildest imaginationcan dream up.

ELICIASo what are you proposing? That Ibecome the Princess of a new Worldreligion?

MR. CHATHUMWould that be so bad? I knowyou've probably been told that Godis good and He takes care of usbut do you ever ask yourself wheresin would be without blame?

ELICIASo what are you saying to each hisown and it's every man forhimself?

MR. CHATHUMYou do have a gift for beingsardonic child. What I'm saying iswhy be a hypocrite and preachforgiveness then in the samebreath condemn people for doingwhat comes naturally?

ELICIAAnd what if it comes naturally forsome to commit murder or to steal

(MORE)

94.

ELICIA (cont'd)from their neighbor? Where do wedraw the line between toleranceand ignorance? And what greaterhypocrisy is there than to killsomeone who doesn't meet your lowstandard of morality?

MR. CHATHUM(Flustered.)

Enough. Obviously we can't agreeand as far as I'm concerned wedon't have to.

He sits back in his chair and tries to be nonchalant. Shestands up and walks around the room. She finds the bladethat James showed her.

ELICIASo now you have the Kirian blade.What's it for?

MR. CHATHUMDon't be coy Elicia. I'm sure youknow that Joseph stole it fromAbrahin to kill warriors.

ELICIADon't assume I know very muchbecause I feel like I'm still inthe dark. What warriors?

MR. CHATHUMThose powerful spirits sent by"him" to feed off of the sins ofsimple people.

ELICIAOh you mean like Heriel, Haliab,Shabrich and Malcatha?

MR. CHATHUMYou don't know what it does to mehearing you say those namesElicia.

She approaches him with the knife and stands close to him.

ELICIAHow does it work?

He looks at the blade and gives her a hard stare.

95.

MR. CHATHUMYou'll learn soon enough. Let's goand see how your friends aredoing.

He reaches for the blade and James comes into the room oncue. She holds onto the blade for a few seconds and turns tolook at James. Then she looks at Andre and gives him aslight grin as she lets go.

MR. CHATHUMTake Elicia downstairs to be withher friends. I'll be thereshortly.

James tries to show her out but she doesn't let him touchher. They leave the room and Andre walks over to an altarand bows down holding the Kirian blade.

MR. CHATHUMI know now what has to be done.Take her and mold her alongsideThomas. Soon their young brotherswill be born and I'll prepare oneof them for a life of servitude.

INT. UNDERGROUND ALTAR. - NIGHT

Elicia watches James open a the door to a room that lookslike a Cell with a huge stone bowl in the middle of it.Kirum and Lisa are inside and James closes the door behindElicia when she walks in.

KIRUMAre you alright?

ELICIAYes but what is this place?

KIRUMWe were waiting upstairs whenRaymond Todd showed up and had usput down here.

96.

ELICIAI've way underestimated AndreChathum's resolve. He believeshe's some kind of ordainedAnti-Pope hell bent on doing theDevil's handy-work on earth. Lisayou were right. I hate to ask youto do this but I don't know of anyother way.

LISA(Calmly.)

I'm not scared Elicia.

Elicia hugs her.

KIRUMCan I be let in on this?

The door opens and in walks Andre, James, Dr. Todd and anarmed man. Andre has the Kirian blade and smiles at Lisawhen he walks in.

DR. TODDDon't bother trying to take on Mr.Chathum young lady. He's not onlya Carrier he has Gravhala.

For the first time Lisa has a look of fear.

ELICIAWho is Gravhala?

DR. TODDThe High Priest of all spirits.One whom you will gain fullknowledge of shortly.

LISA(Crying.)

No you can't do that.

DETECTIVE CHRISTIANSONQuiet child. You'll be dealt withsoon enough.

Andre walks up to Elicia.

MR. CHATHUMYou only thought you went throughhell before. Because you're mydaughter I'm going to leave yousomething.

97.

He places the Kirian blade on top of the alter.

ELICIASo you're going to kill me likeyou did Thomas? How did he get acar that was able to go over ahundred miles per hour unless youwanted him to have it? Was he toogood to live?

MR. CHATHUMNot too good just too week. I'dhoped you'd have more strength butit looks like you got the weakblood as well.

ELICIABut who'll carry on after you'regone?

Andre signals for the guard to open the door. In walks avery pregnant young girl.

MR. CHATHUMIt's a pity you won't get to meetthese brothers either. That'sright I'll be the proud father oftwins and one of them will somedayrule the world.

KIRUMYou can't get away with this. Toomany people know we're here.

DR. TODDWrong. After a Senior Ab-agentdeclares this a suicide the bodywill be cremated and noinvestigation will take place.I've already buried you with yourhistory of hysteria and yourattack on me last night.

KIRUMYou liar. You...

MR. CHATHUM(Screams.)

Silence.

98.

Elicia looks at him but closes her eyes before he winks ather.Andre laughs again as his eyes light up and his face becomesmonstrous.

MR. CHATHUMA wink is just a signal for thewarrior Elicia. I gave youGravhala when I kissed your cheekearlier. Take them out of here.

The guard herds Kirum and Lisa towards the door.

LISACan't I say goodbye?

James looks at Andre and he shakes his head yes. Lisa runsto Elicia and hugs her. Elicia looks Lisa in the eye and Dr.Todd sees her.

DR. TODDHold it right there.

He takes out a pen-laser and looks into Elicia's eyes.

DR. TODDStill there alright. I've neverseen movement like this before.

KIRUMI'm so sorry I couldn't doanything...

He tries to grab the guard's gun but gets knocked out by thebutt of the gun.

Everyone walks out behind the guard who is dragging Kirum.

From Elicia's perspective we see the door close and thenturn to look at the Kirian blade.

INT. ALTAR. HOURS LATER. - NIGHT

The door to the altar opens very slowly and Andre stepsinside the doorway. He sees Elicia's body laying across thealtar and blood all around her. He walks in and sits by herside.

MR. CHATHUMI wasn't lying about you being myfavorite. I never should have letyour mother take you and corrupt

(MORE)

99.

MR. CHATHUM (cont'd)your mind against me. But I was atsuch a crucial stage and Icouldn't afford the bad press.

He pulls the hair back out of her eyes and touches her face.

MR. CHATHUMSay hello to Thomas for me.

Suddenly her eyes open and she comes overhanded with theblade and into his right eye.

ELICIATell him yourself.

She walks upstairs and sees Dr. Todd talking to an AB agent.It's the Sr. Agent that did Kirum's father-in-law'sAbsolution. Dr. Todd goes running down the stairs. Kirum andLisa see Elicia and they go running up to her. Elicia looksat Lisa and winks.

LISABrezhula is week from the battle.I knew he was more powerful thanthat nasty old demon.

ELICIAYes he was but I never want to dothat again.

KIRUMWhen I woke up Lisa assured meyou'd be alright. She said Abrahinhad given her someone verypowerful to help you.

ELICIAPowerful and wonderful. I wentback and forth from depression toelation for hours until I heard asoft voice tell me everything wasgoing to be fine. Where's James?

KIRUMHe left last night. Where's Andre?Is that his blood?

100.

ELICIAIt's mostly my blood. I pulled thescabs off my wrists to make Andrethink I was dead. When he got nearme I stabbed him with the Kirianblade just the way Abrahin said Ihad to.

Dr. Todd comes back up and pulls Elicia to the side.

DR. TODD(Smiling.)

You have no idea the favor youjust did me. When the Ab agentdeclares this a murder you'll loseall rights to any inheritance andyou were set to have everything.I'll be in control of this companyfor the next eighteen years atleast.

Doctor Todd walks up to the agent and tries to talk to himbut he's on a phone like Kirum's and doesn't acknowledgehim. When he gets off the phone Dr. Todd escorts him down tothe body.

Elicia, Lisa and Kirum walk outside and the sun is justcoming up.

ELICIAI think all I was able toaccomplish was to change the ATC'score philosophy. Raymond Toddmight have a different motive buthe'll drive up the body count evenmore because of his love of money.

Kirum seems distracted as he watches the big van out infront of the house. He takes out his remote and Elicia'scell phine rings. She listens but doesn't say anything.Suddenly the doors to the big van bust open and the cleanersrun inside.

Kirum walks away from everything and looks up at thebeautiful sky. He lets the Sun shine on his face and thensmiles.

KIRUM(Voice Over.)

Elicia's listening to the lastpart of my conversation withRaymond Todd last night. As he waslosing his temper I called my

(MORE)

101.

KIRUM (cont'd)voice mail using the remote in mypocket.

We see the same scene as Kirum drops his jaw in reaction toDr. Todd throwing his recorder against the wall.

KIRUM(Voice Over.)

The message was meant to go to theFBI but when I saw that thepedantic, Senior Ab Agent MaulinPei was handling the case I gothis number from Robert. I sent hima copy of my voice mail markedurgent and he was listening to itwhen Raymond interupted him a fewminutes ago.

Elicia walks over to Kirum.

ELICIAYou sly dog.

The Sr. agent walks by Kirum and then stops. He looks at himand grins.

SR. ABSOLUTIONISTI'll take fries and you takeburgers.

Elicia, Kirum and the Sr. share a laugh.

ELICIADon't worry I'll keep you bothbusy for a long time helpingfamilies that have been devastatedby my father.

KIRUMI couldn't think of a betterpenance.

Lisa walks up to Elicia.

LISAI'm hungry.

Elicia takes her hand and they walk away.

ELICIAFor such a little girl you surecan eat.

102.

The camera pulls back and up and we watch Kirum and the Sr.Agent talking as Elicia and Lisa go inside the house.

INT. CHURCH. - DAY

Kirum and Helen walk down the church steps as people throwrice. Kirum looks at Elicia and gives her a wink. Helenkisses her mother and she and Kirum wave goodbye. They getinto a sports car and speed away.

The End