SICARIO
Written by
Taylor Sheridan
A MAN, standing waist-deep in the surf. White shirt, neck
tie, hair perfectly parted. Wire framed glasses rest on the
bridge of his nose. His name is ALEJANDRO.
He rises his face to the sun.
ALEJANDRO(V.O.)
I think about the price. The price
of appetite. The cost of
forgetting who we are. Pretending
we are... who we will never be...
He looks young for 35, but his eyes -- seems they lived for
decades before him. He closes them, bathing his face in
sunshine.
ALEJANDRO (V.O.)
So easy to pretend we are not to
blame. That a demon enters us.
No... The demon is inside. We just
make potions that release it.
The muscles of his neck tense.
ALEJANDRO (V.O.)
There's no revenge for all they
have taken. No justice. It simply
is...
His lip curls. His eyes open. He looks down.
ALEJANDRO (V.O.)
And still. They must be forced to
look at all they have destroyed. By
having the same done to them. Or
they will forget... Forget they are
human. Believe they are as
different as they feel... Then they
are the lion, and everything we
loved and lost, simply its meal.
We hear SPLASHING and the panicked gasps of a man trying not
to drown.
Only now do WE SEE: Alejandro is holding someone under the
water.
He lets the drowning man catch a breath, barely. Pushes him
back under. Looks out. Lost in thought.
2.
We watch from the beach as Alejandro stands in the ocean to
his belly, the sun high overhead.
CUT TO:
YESTERDAY.
-- FRAME IS FILLED WITH A BLUE EYE, AS BLUE AS THE OCEAN --
The eye blinks, and we can almost feel a breeze -- we are
that close.
WOMAN'S VOICE
(Whispered) Our Father, who art in
Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy
Kingdom come...
A VERTICAL LINE OF WHITE LIGHT invades us, then grows. The
eye disappears in it's wake.
WOMAN'S VOICE (CONT'D)
Thy will be done, on Earth as it is
in Heaven.
TWO DOORS swing open. We see the silhouettes of TWELVE PEOPLE
DRESSED FOR BATTLE, rifles at the ready, barrels pointing up.
CAMERA is so close to the woman's face, it almost touches
her. Her lips are moving, silently reciting...
We are in a SWAT ASSAULT VEHICLE. It is MOVING BACKWARDS fast
and slams through a faded picket fence. Stops in the yard of
a crumbling house.
They all rise and leap from the vehicle.
EXT. TRACT HOUSE -- PHOENIX -- DAY.
WE ARE RIGHT BEHIND THE WOMAN, who mumbles the prayer as she
runs. The back of her vest reads: FBI. Her name is KATE MACY.
MACY
Give us this day... our daily
bread...
They reach the door, a shotgun BLASTS THE HINGES. It falls
like a drawbridge.
MACY (CONT'D)
And forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against
us.
3.
She speaks the prayer faster, desperate to finish before she
has to kill anyone, or be killed herself.
MACY (CONT'D)
And lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from evil...
SWAT officers rush in, screaming.
Macy's turn: She runs through the busted door-
INT. TRACT HOUSE -- CONTINUOUS.
In the hallway now. The chaos is closer. She hurries the
words. So close now...
MACY (CONT'D)
For Thine is the Kingdom the power
and glory forever and ever amen
DOWN MOTHER FUCKER!! DOWN DOWN
DOWN!!!
Two LATINO MEN, 20'S, are slammed to the ground. Another
LATINO comes from nowhere, throwing himself on an AFRICAN
AMERICAN MAN wearing an FBI vest. A taser is pressed to his
neck and he falls, paralyzed, backward.
Macy takes in the chaos, then pushes farther into the house,
running past a bedroom with an open door.
From the corner of her eye she sees:
A MAN POINTING A SHOTGUN AT HER.
She ducks as a SHOTGUN BLAST rips 10 inches of dry wall above
her.
She turns, pressing the CAMERA against the wall. We watch
over her shoulder as she returns fire.
A rooster tail of shell casings are thrown over us, invading
our view. Bullet after bullet pound him. The man's knees
give. He's falling...
A round hits him in the face and he is thrown back -- blood,
brain, and skull fragments explode like shrapnel on the wall
behind him.
Adrenaline hits her like a fever. She gets dizzy, sits
against the wall, gasping for breath. A SWAT officer rushes
to her.
SWAT OFFICER
YOU HIT??
4.
MACY
I'm good. I'm good.
The SWAT officer looks at the hole in the drywall. Leans
forward. Looks closer... What the fuck IS that??
His face now inches from the hole then jumps back like he was
bitten by a snake.
SWAT OFFICER
WHAT THE FUCK??
WE SEE WHAT HE SEES:
The SKULL OF A MAN. Dry skin sunken into bones like
cellophane.
Macy stands up and turns around. Looks at it. Trying to
process what she's seeing. She walks up and starts pulling at
the drywall. Other officers join her. They yank and tear a
six foot hole in the wall, then stand back, speechless.
Bodies are standing side by side. A lime-green dust has
spilled out on the floor.
The entire house is a tomb.
CUT TO:
EXT. TRACT HOUSE -- LATER.
Macy sits on the porch. Swallows water from a bottle. Holds
it down maybe ten seconds. Vomits... We see another SWAT
OFFICER doing the same.
FBI AGENT REGGIE WAYNE, 30, African American, walks from the
house, fighting the same urge. Sits beside her.
MACY
Can't shake the smell. Just sits in
you.
REGGIE
Yeah... Sorry I wasn't on your six.
Got wrapped up in the front room.
Macy nods.
MACY
I saw.
5.
She looks out over the sea of POLICE VEHICLES on the street
and spots PHOENIX HOMICIDE DETECTIVE LANCE ALVAREZ, 45,
heading right for them.
LANCE
Loan you SWAT and you hand us three
dozen homicides. I oughta fucking
pepper spray you.
MACY
Couldn't smell any worse.
LANCE
Ha ha. You're not the one gotta
clean this shit up.
MACY
Yeah. Thirty families without a
father's real funny, but you keep
worrying about what it does to your
weekend, Lance.
LANCE
Listen you fucking --
Reggie is on his feet in an instant and inches from Lance's
face.
REGGIE
I didn't hear you, you say
something?
Lance swallows his anger and his pride, walks toward the
house.
LANCE
Clear your people out, it's our
crime scene now.
MACY
It's your crime scene when I GIVE
IT TO YOU!!!
REGGIE
What are the chances they'll put
together a case.
MACY
... None.
REGGIE
Look.
6.
She turns and sees: FBI REGIONAL DIRECTOR DAVE JENNINGS, 50,
leather skin stretched over a square jaw that rests on broad
shoulders. Beside him is DEPUTY DIRECTOR PHIL COOPER, 40,
balding and thin, exactly the man you want analyzing data.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
Ever seen him at a crime scene?
MACY
No.
Jennings and Phil reach her.
JENNINGS
You okay?
MACY
I'm fine.
MACY (CONT'D)
Wanna give me the tour?
She doesn't but she will.
INT. TRACT HOUSE -- LIVING ROOM -- CONTINUOUS.
No dry wall anywhere now: the walls have been stripped to the
frame, exposing another DOZEN BODIES. CORONERS in protective
suits remove them as DETECTIVES photograph the scene. The
smell is atrocious.
PHIL
Looks like Sinaloa...
Jennings nods and sighs.
JENNINGS
Yeah. (To a coroner) How many
total?
CORONER
Between here and the hall we have
thirty, but there's more in the
back bedroom and we haven't looked
in the attic or under the crawl
space.
JENNINGS
(To Phil) Call DOJ in Washington,
let em know what we have.
Phil nods, pulls his cell and steps away.
7.
JENNINGS (CONT'D)
This one of the houses owned by
Manuel Diaz?
MACY
No way to connect him, but he owns
it.
The smell is getting to Reggie. Doesn't look like he's going
to make it...
MACY (CONT'D)
Go ahead and step out, it's okay.
Don't have to tell him twice.
Jennings walks to the wall. Studies the faces -- one in
particular, tinted an ashy green from lye and months of decay
-- his mouth open wide and eyes shut so tight that his brow
is a tangle of wrinkles, as though he is suffering his death
for eternity.
CUT TO:
EXT. TRACT HOUSE -- BACKYARD -- CONT.
We see a GARAGE, and to it's left A STORAGE SHED. AN OFFICER
yanks boxes and garbage from it, tossing it on the driveway.
He reaches the floor, which is covered with rubber matts. He
pulls one up and discovers a 3' X 3' piece of plywood hinged
to the floor and locked.
OFFICER
I NEED BOLT CUTTERS.
They are brought over and the lock is cut. The officer kneels
down. Lifts the hatch a little. Looks under, flashlight in
hand...
-- WE ARE UNDERNEATH THE PLYWOOD, FLASHLIGHT IN OUR EYES --
As the hatch is lifted -- TWO HOOKS with wires are visible to
our left and right. As the hatch is lifted, the wires pull
tighter... We see where they lead: TWO GRENADES.
INT. TRACT HOUSE -- HALLWAY -- CONT.
Jennings and Macy walk down the hall. Jennings stops at the
body of the man Macy killed, then notices --
Through a screen door at the end of the hall -- officers
rushing toward the shed.
8.
JENNINGS
PD found something.
Macy and Jennings walk outside. As the sunlight hits them,
the officer open the hatch, the wires pull tight and we hear
a `clink'.
-- THE GRENADES EXPLODE. TWO OFFICERS BLOWN TO OBLIVION --
Dust, debris, smoke, and pieces of them roll toward Jennings
and Macy like a wave, swallowing them.
Our entire world is filled with a brown cloud and screams...
CUT TO:
INT. MANUEL DIAZ'S HOUSE -- DAY.
We see children splashing and playing in a large pool through
enormous windows in MANUEL DIAZ'S living room. As we pull
back, we hear the sounds of a NEWS REPORT.
NEWS REPORTER (V.O.)
Phoenix police have released no
details, but there HAS BEEN an
explosion at a house in South
Phoenix.
CAMERA PIVOTS and we are looking at a TV across a flawlessly
decorated living room. Aerial footage of the tract house and
obliterated storage plays.
NEWS REPORTER (V.O.)
You can clearly see two bodies
covered in tarps but Phoenix Police
will not release names or even
confirm the deaths. Witnesses on
the scene state that a warrant was
served at the house an hour BEFORE
the explosion, so the speculation
is the deceased are Phoenix police
OFFICERS --
A MAN leans into frame. His head slowly shakes as he watches
and listens. A cell phone rings. He answers it, mutes the TV,
and retreats out of frame, leaving us to watch the news in
silence, as the sounds of children splashing and laughing
wafts in through an open window.
CUT TO:
9.
INT. MACY'S APARTMENT -- BATHROOM -- NIGHT.
We stare at the spout. Water washes over us. We look at the
drain. Dirt, blood, and small fragments of pink, white, and
navy blue circle the drain as gravity carries them to the
sewers of Phoenix.
Dark brown hair is vigorously scrubbed. Macy does not relax
in this shower-- that is not its purpose. The purpose is to
decontaminate.
INT. BATHROOM -- MOMENTS LATER.
Macy stands in front of the mirror, brushing her hair. There
are abrasions on her cheek and a deep cut that runs down from
the corner of her eye-- like she cried a scar.
The hair brush catches. Pulls her head back.
MACY
OW.
She extracts the brush. Feels around on her scalp and
retrieves a piece of bone. Looks at it...
She wraps it in toilet paper, sets it on the counter, and
gets back in the shower. Turns it on. Gonna try this again...
INT. MACY'S LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT.
The decor is Spare. Functional and nothing more. Doesn't even
tease herself with pictures on the wall.
Macy walks in wearing a large men's t shirt, nothing else.
Her COMPUTER CHIRPS. ROSALYN4620 is asking that she chat.
Macy looks at the screen.
MACY (CONT'D)
Not tonight mom.
Keeps walking. Her cell phone rings. Call display: MOM.
MACY (CONT'D)
Uhh... (Answers it) Mom, it was a
REALLY TOUGH--
ROSALYN (V.O.)
Everyone sure missed you today.
Macy's body tenses and deflates at the same time.
MACY
Me too. You get my card?
10.
MOM (V.O.)
Get on the computer. I want to see
YOU--
MACY
Mom, I just got --
MOM (V.O.)
It's my birthday goddammit-
MACY
I'm signing on.
She hits a button on her computer and ROSALYN MACY, 60 today,
appears. She leans back and forth in front of the lens, still
unsure about this technology that beams her image through
space.
MOM
Can you see me?
MACY
Stay in one place, Mom. Happy
birthday. Sorry I didn't call-
MOM
Can you see me? I don't see you.
Lean forward -- there you are...
What happened to your face?
Rosalyn's happy mood is gone.
MACY
Nothing. It's something on your
lens.
MOM
Kate. I can see it.
MACY
Like I said, rough day.
Silence.
MOM
What a waste of a law degree, Kate.
Macy holds her tongue, but it takes effort.
MACY
Who came to the party?
11.
MOM
Evan sent me a card. I thought that
was very sweet. Have you two
spoken?
Macy sighs.
MACY
No.
MOM
Well... I hope you two will become
friends.
MACY
I'm sure we'll be great friends,
Mother. Nothing like a divorce to
bring people closer.
Beat.
MOM
You look tired.
MACY
I am... (forces a smile) Happy
birthday. How does it feel to be
60?
MOM
It would feel a lot better with a
grandchild, and I don't think it's
UNREAS--
Macy slams the laptop closed. She rubs her eyes... So tired.
Her cell phone rings. She flips it open, angry --
MACY
I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT
GRANDCHILDREN. (It isn't mom) Yeah,
umm... I can, I can be there in,
say thirty minutes? Yes sir.
Hangs up. Day's not over.
CUT TO:
INT. HOMELAND SECURITY COMMAND CENTER -- PHOENIX -- NIGHT.
Macy and Reggie sit in chairs against a glass wall. NEWS
FOOTAGE of the blast plays on monitors along the wall of a
command center filled with activity.
12.
In the glass office behind them, a dozen men in suits.
Jennings, in the same shape as Macy, has deflated into a
chair, Phil sitting beside him.
Macy turns and looks through the wall at the men.
REGGIE
Know what's going on?
MACY
No idea.
Jennings makes eye contact with Macy through the glass. For
the first time, he seems old to her.
All these men look important, except one: MATT GRAVES, 40,
golf shirt, bit of a belly, red, shaggy hair -- looks like a
tourist. His demeanor is easy, you almost get the sense he's
having fun. Macy turns around and rests her head against the
glass.
MACY (CONT'D)
I need coffee.
REGGIE
We did this by the book, right?
MACY
Come on ... Of course.
Macy lets out a heavy breath, looks back through the glass to
find: every man in the room is STARING RIGHT AT HER.
MACY (CONT'D)
Jesus.
REGGIE
What?(Turns around) Oh shit.
Phil walks toward them, pushes open the door.
PHIL
Would you step in here, Kate?
She rises and shares a look with Reggie. The door closes
behind her.
INT. GLASS OFFICE -- CONT.
Matt smiles, friendly. A man in his 40's, military haircut,
BURNETT, looks her over.
13.
BURNETT
Quite a find today ... The loss of
two officers not withstanding.
She says nothing.
BURNETT (CONT'D)
How familiar are you with Manuel
Diaz's operation?
MACY
His company, Sun Valley, owns
eighty or so foreclosure
properties, another --
MATT
What do you know about his brother?
She looks at Matt.
MACY
Um ... Wasn't aware he had one.
MATT
Guillermo... Mexican police are
holding him in Juarez. What do you
know about his cousin?
Beat.
MACY
Didn't know he had one of those
either.
BURNETT
His cousin is Fausto Alarcon.
Beat.
MACY
I don't know who that is.
MATT
Number three in the Sinaloa Cartel.
BURNETT
Manuel Diaz is likely their most
senior member in the United States.
Macy feels woefully unprepared for an inquisition.
MACY
None of this is in his file.
14.
BURNETT
With good reason.
MATT
Loose lips sink ships, Kate.
MACY
I'm not --
JENNINGS
Agent Macy doesn't work narcotics,
she runs a kidnapping response
team.
MATT
You married?
MACY
I'm sorry?
MATT
Husband?
Who the fuck is this clown in the golf shirt?
MACY
Divorced.
MATT
Kids?
MACY
No. He works for Border Patrol and
got to keep the condo and my
Bronco, anything else?
Matt smiles. Phil stands up.
PHIL
Thank you Kate, if you could wait
outside, please.
She stands there for a beat, utterly confused, then leaves.
She sits back down next to Reggie.
REGGIE
... Well?
MACY
I have no clue.
15.
We watch the men speaking through the glass, then they all
file out of the office except Jennings and Matt. Phil stands
at the door.
PHIL
Will you come in, Kate?
She walks in and stands across from Jennings.
JENNINGS
DOJ wants advisors that focus on
cartels involved in pursuing Mr.
Diaz. This is Matt Graves. He'll be
LEADING --
MACY
He'll be leading who? This is
Phoenix Homicide now.
MATT
We're expanding the scope of the
investigation.
PHIL
You'll act as a liaison.
MACY
What does that mean?
PHIL
State Department is pulling an
agent from the field that
specializes in responding to
escalated cartel activity. You'll
meet up with them...(To Matt) at
Luke, Tomorrow?
MATT
Day after. Early.
MACY
Luke ... Air Force base?
MATT
Gonna go see Guillermo.
MACY
His brother.
MATT
That's the one.
Matt smiles, like they're discussing renovating a kitchen.
16.
MACY
Okay... If I, umm... What's our
objective?
MATT
Our objective is to dramatically
overreact.
Beat.
MACY
Why isn't Reggie in here?
MATT
He's a little green. You've been
kicking doors longer.
She looks back at Reggie.
MATT (CONT'D)
Makes you feel better to have him
around, he can tag along after we
get back from El Paso.
He smiles. She takes this in.
JENNINGS
Kate. You must volunteer for an
interagency task force... Think
very hard before you respond ...
You want to be a part of this?
Jennings' eyes beg her to say no. But the hunter in her is
awake. She looks back at Reggie -- his eyes are full of
concern...
MACY
We get an opportunity at the men
responsible for today?
MATT
The men who are REALLY responsible.
MACY
Then yeah, sure. I'll volunteer.
Jennings looks at her. Nods. She is theirs now...
CUT TO:
17.
INT. TINY HOUSE -- NOGALES, MEXICO -- DAY.
Morning sun hits closed eyes. Dark, fat face. Beads of sweat
on his brow and cheeks. Thick mustache. His name is SILVIO.
A SHADOW falls over him. He feels it. Eyes pop open, tense.
BOY'S VOICE
Papa?
A smile crosses Silvio's face.
BOY'S VOICE (CONT'D)
Despirtate.
SILVIO
No.
Silvio closes his eyes. The little boy taps him on the chest.
BOY'S VOICE
Si.
Silvio's smile grows. It is a game.
SILVIO
No.
We see the boy now. He is eight. Bright brown eyes. His name
is ELISEO.
SILVIO (CONT'D)
SI!! Tengo un juego de futbol!
Silvio acts surprised.
SILVIO (CONT'D)
Nooooo...
The boy laughs and grabs his father's hand, tugging.
ELISEO
Si Papa! Tenemos que ir!
The boy pulls with all his might. Silvio makes a show of
resisting, then climbs out of bed. Eliseo keeps a tight hold
of his hand, and walks him down a hall to a small kitchen
with adobe walls and a dirt floor. An opening leads to a
small patio that now serves mostly as a chicken coop. Two
chickens are in the kitchen.
A woman stands over a stove, cooking.
18.
ELISEO (CONT'D)
Papa necessita cafe y juevos!
Tenemos priso mama!
She turns and smiles at her son, the bright star in her black
life. Her eyes pass over Silvio. She stopped loving him years
ago, but he adores their little boy... At least they have
that.
He sits down. She scoops eggs onto a plate with tortillas,
drops it in front of him. Hands him a coffee. He sniffs it,
hands it back. Without a word she pours in two fingers of
tequila.
The boy stares at his father with endless joy. No idea how
unlucky he is.
Silvio stares back, winks. The boy smiles.
EXT. SILVIO'S HOUSE -- DAY.
Silvio and Eliseo exit the house. Silvio wears a State Police
uniform, dressed to intimidate. The boy wears his uniform,
dressed to play soccer. They walk past cinder-block houses,
one after the other, cracked and faded from the sun.
Tejano music, car horns, and distant yelling penetrate the
morning.
Two ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS drive past.
Silvio and Eliseo wander away, Eliseo's tiny hand clinging to
Silvio's police belt. Eliseo has his father for the whole day
and he isn't letting go.
They turn and disappear around the corner. Only thing on the
street is a stray dog burying itself in an overturned trash
can... The mascot of this dying city.
CUT TO:
EXT. BEACH -- SOUTH OF CARTAGENA -- DAY.
We are back with Alejandro, holding a man under water. Face
to the sun, somehow able to focus fully on the task at hand
while escaping to someplace else.
He lets the man up. Coughing, heaving up salt water, and
sobbing. He looks at Alejandro with the pleading eyes of a
man whose will has been broken.
19.
MAN
Colonel Guteman. Yes...
ALEJANDRO
And you too...
He nods.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Say it.
MAN
Of course me too! If the Americans
would leave, you would see... no
one is pure.
Alejandro lets the man up and pushes him toward the shore. We
now see the man wears a MILITARY UNIFORM. He walks ahead of
Alejandro, looking back.
The man makes a half hearted attempt at attacking Alejandro,
who pushes and spins him like a defiant child.
They walk a few steps and the man tries it again. Alejandro's
appears only half committed to the sloppy assault. Alejandro
slaps the man across the face, then pushes him forward,
slapping the back of his head as he does.
They reach a stump where Alejandro's linen coat rests.
ALEJANDRO
Sit down.
MAN
Why?
ALEJANDRO
Can't walk back like this. We need
to dry.
They sit back and bathe in the sun. The man is uncomfortable-
kidnapper and captive, lounging on the shore. He considers
running. Considers fighting him again, but settles on resting
his tired back against the stump.
MAN
What will you do with me?
ALEJANDRO
Nothing.
Beat.
20.
MAN
Will I be arrested?
ALEJANDRO
No.
MAN
What will you do with the Colonel?
ALEJANDRO
Nothing. (Alejandro turns his face
to the sun) I just wanted to know.
CUT TO:
EXT. JUNGLE PATH -- COLOMBIA -- DAY.
Alejandro and the man walk along a two track road through a
field of sugar cane.
MAN
If you tell. They will kill me...
my family.
ALEJANDRO
Don't give me a reason.
Beat.
MAN
How do I avoid that?
ALEJANDRO
By telling me the truth without
having to drown you.
They come around a bend and we see:
A COLOMBIAN MILITARY BASE.
Structures built in simple but orderly rows. Humvees, one
after the other, parked neatly in front. Soldiers move about.
Colombia may be corrupt, but they are orderly about it. None
of the filth and chaos of northern Mexico. They have been at
it much longer, with battle lines very clearly drawn.
The man turns to Alejandro.
MAN
So... that's it then?
Alejandro nods.
21.
MAN (CONT'D)
You act like the Narcos. You do
things that I don't understand.
Alejandro offers him a polite smile.
ALEJANDRO
If you are very lucky you never
will.
The man walks away, turning back occasionally to see if he is
truly free.
Alejandro turns in another direction, spots THREE US MARINE
HUMVEES, EIGHT MARINES BESIDE THEM. Matt stands in front.
They walk toward each other.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
It is the Colonel.
MATT
We'll get to that...
Alejandro looks over the Marines.
ALEJANDRO
Why so many?
MATT
Don't want anything to happen to
you on the way to the airport.
ALEJANDRO
Where are we going?
MATT
To keep my promise.
Alejandro's kind, hollow eyes almost show emotion.
ALEJANDRO
What did they do?
MATT
Doesn't matter. It leads to Fausto.
And I'm going to turn you loose.
Alejandro stands for a moment. The tiniest hint of a smile
curls his lips.
ALEJANDRO
Thank you.
CUT TO:
22.
INT. CHEVY TAHOE -- DAY.
Reggie drives, Macy riding shotgun. Through the windshield,
we see the entrance to LUKE AIR FORCE BASE approaching.
REGGIE
You're back tonight?
MACY
Yeah. I'll call you, let you know
what time.
REGGIE
I don't understand why they don't
want me there...
She deflects.
MACY
It's El Paso... Don't think you're
missing much.
REGGIE
Well... you keep your eye on that
doughy prick in the golf shirt...
She smiles.
MACY
I'm supposed to worry about you.
REGGIE
This isn't what we do, Kate.
MACY
We do what we need to do.
EXT. LUKE AIR FORCE BASE -- PHOENIX -- DAY.
Reggie pulls to the guard post, hands over their ID's. An AIR
FORCE MP takes them, compares ID's to a list.
AIRPORT MP
(To Reggie) You're not on here.
REGGIE
I know. What's she supposed to do?
AIRPORT MP
Walk.
Macy opens the door and steps out.
23.
MACY
I'll call you when we're heading
back.
She walks around the front of the Tahoe and disappears with
the MP into the guard house.
EXT. LUKE AIR FORCE BASE -- PHOENIX -- DAY.
Macy walks toward the runways, looking around, unsure where
to go.
MATT (O.S.)
Kate.
She turns, sees Matt.
MATT (CONT'D)
This way.
MACY
Am I late?
MATT
No. We just landed.
She walks to him and they head off. Alejandro sits on a
bench, patiently. They walk to him.
MATT (CONT'D)
This is my bird dog, his name's
Alejandro.
He stands.
ALEJANDRO
Hello.
MACY
Kate Macy.
Alejandro studies her.
ALEJANDRO
Have you been to Juarez before?
MACY
No... Wait, we're going to El Paso,
right?
MATT
Yeah, we'll talk about it on the
plane.
24.
He walks off, they follow. He leads them to a GULFSTREAM
G650.
MACY
We're taking this?
MATT
Yeah.
MACY
Really... Okay...
They climb in.
INT GULFSTREAM G650
They strap themselves in as the pilot speaks with the tower.
Macy sits beside Alejandro. Studies him. He looks like a
doctor or accountant, but there is an absent manner to his
actions, as though nothing warrants his full attention but
the weight of his thoughts. He catches her looking at him.
ALEJANDRO
What is your experience with
operations like these?
MACY
None... What IS the operation?
He gives her a polite smile.
ALEJANDRO
Sleep if you can. Juarez will
demand all of your focus.
He lays his head back and closes his eyes. Macy looks at
Matt.
MACY
Are we going into Juarez?
Shakes his head. Could be interpreted as a `no'.
MACY (CONT'D)
DOD flies around in Gulfstreams
now?
MATT
You guys don't have one?
She laughs.
MACY
Right... Food on this flight?
25.
MATT
They got some bitchin peanuts in
the back. Kind of a self-serve deal
though.
He puts his head back, closes his eyes. She looks over at
Alejandro who is already asleep. Macy's wired. No chance of
sleep. Pulls a magazine from the seat back as the plane
begins to taxi...
CUT TO:
-- FLASH BACK --
WE SEE: Alejandro's face in profile. Sunlight spilling over
him through a small window. He looks different. Softer...
Happy...
DARK BROWN HAIR lowers into frame toward him. He pushes it
back, revealing a young woman. She smiles and kisses him. He
lets her hair fall as the kiss grows. Dark hair fills the
frame...
It gets very still. Darker now. Sunlight is gone. We PULL
BACK. Farther. Farther still. See the woman's body. She lays
face down in a hallway, naked. Blood pooled beneath her.
We hear a HEART BEAT. We move down a hall. Heart beating
FASTER. Past a MEXICAN POLICE OFFICER, who somberly watches
us... At the end of the hall we hear something rubbing,
swaying. We move faster. Heart beats faster. Racing now.
Come to the end of the hall, the SWAYING IS LOUDER. We turn
left, push open a door. Look up -- The swaying sound is a
ROPE. It swings in and out of frame. We follow it down -- the
LIFELESS BODY OF A YOUNG GIRL at the end of it.
BACK TO PRESENT--
Alejandro jolts awake, slamming his hands into the seat in
front of him -- scaring the living shit out of Macy.
MACY
JESUS!!
Alejandro looks straight ahead.
MACY (CONT'D)
You okay?
Doesn't look at her. Sweat rolls down his face.
26.
ALEJANDRO
Yes.
She keeps looking at him. He turns to her.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
I'm fine.
We hear the pilot announce their initial descent into El
Paso's FORT BLISS. Alejandro leans back in his seat.
MACY
So... This is your specialty.
ALEJANDRO
Hmm?
MACY
He said the cartels in Mexico are
your specialty.
ALEJANDRO
Yes.
MACY
Anything I should know?
ALEJANDRO
You are asking how a watch works.
For now, only focus on knowing the
time.
Alejandro lays his head back. Closes his eyes. Macy mumbles
to herself.
MACY
Okay... Yoda.
EXT. FORT BLISS AIR STRIP -- EL PASO -- DAY.
Alejandro, Macy, and Matt walk off the plane, blinded by the
desert sun.
A man in his late 30's, mustache, DEA AGENT STEVE FERSING,
waves from inside a BLACK CHEVY TAHOE. They walk over and
climb in.
INT. CHEVY TAHOE -- CONTINUOUS.
STEVE
How you been?
27.
MATT
Good. Trying to get DOD to let me
look into this conspiracy to sink
Figi.
Steve chuckles.
STEVE
It's the damn terrorists. They're
sinking all the tropical islands.
MATT
I figure a month or two there, I
could get it worked out.
STEVE
Hear there's a real drug problem at
the Four Seasons there. You need
any help looking into it...
MATT
Yeah, I'll keep you posted... who's
going over today?
STEVE
Marshals, DEA. Pulled a team for
you.
MATT
I get all warm and fuzzy when you
say `team'.
STEVE
It's a crack bunch too. Just
rotated back from Afghanistan.
MATT
Where's everybody linking up?
STEVE
Army Intelligence Center.
Macy listens intently, trying to figure out what the hell
they're talking about. Alejandro looks out across the border.
Alejandro seems different. He is somewhere else. Somewhere
bad.
EXT. ARMY INTELLIGENCE CENTER -- EL PASO -- DAY.
TWENTY FOOT WALLS surround the center. A GUARD POST in front
of an enormous closed gate.
The Tahoe pulls up... A guard, dressed like he is on mission
in Afghanistan, steps forward.
28.
GUARD
ID's all around. Hey Steve.
Even Steve hands his ID. The guard returns to the guard house
with the IDs. Matt turns around and faces Macy.
MATT
Thought you were in the big time in
Phoenix... welcome to Baghdad.
The guard returns with their IDs.
GUARD
Be safe.
The gate opens and they pull in.
There must be fifty vehicles, most are unmarked SUVs, but a
dozen Humvees and six ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS, complete
with 20mm cannons. The area is alive with activity. Agents,
deputies, and special forces operators are moving about.
The Tahoe parks and our team gets out. They follow Steve
toward the entrance to:
INT. ARMY INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING ROOM -- CONT.
A US MARSHAL stands in front of a video screen showing the
route into and out of Juarez. Twenty men seated in chairs.
None wear uniforms, but all wear tactical vests, drop-leg
holsters, assault rifles by there side. It sounds and looks
like a military operation.
They take a seat in the back. Macy the men seated around her.
ALEJANDRO
Pay attention.
She is surprised by the directive, turns her focus to the
speaker.
MARSHAL
Mexican Federal Police will meet
you at the border and proceed with
you to the courthouse located
(Pointing on map) here. This is a
high level target. The most likely
spot for an attempt will be at the
exchange and the border. The
Marshals will enter -- Kevin,
Keith, wanna stand up?
29.
Two men in their 50's stand up. They look like they were
teleported from another time -- starched white shirts under
bullet proof vests, starched Wranglers, bone colored cowboy
hats, and faces tough as boot leather. They turn to the room
without smiling.
MATT
(Smiling) Man, I love Texans.
Alejandro whispers to her.
ALEJANDRO
Memorize the faces of everyone
here. Know who is with you.
MARSHAL
Marshals' response team is in
Laredo so, our friends from Delta
have volunteered to come along and
will escort the Marshals at the
exchange.
The Marshal speaking notices Matt in the back.
MARSHAL (CONT'D)
Here's the man of the hour. You
coming or waiting here?
MATT
Sure, we'll take the tour. Loan me
a couple of pop guns?
MARSHAL
This is turning into an All-Star
affair. Wanna another hand at the
exchange, Keith?
KEITH
(To Matt) You sober?
Matt laughs.
MATT
I will be by the time we get there.
KEITH
I got a bottle in the truck in case
yer hands git to shakin.
MATT
I miss your hospitality, Keith.
Turns to Macy.
30.
MATT (CONT'D)
Guess we're going sightseeing.
Macy looks very uncomfortable.
MARSHAL
Alright. So, and we'll gear you up
when we're done, Matt -- you can be
the tip of the spear and we don't
have to rob a guy from Delta... Be
careful on the turn-around -- if a
Federale is a shooter it will be on
the turn around. Ray, your Team 1
is lead vehicle and we can divide
team 2 into the carry car and the
trail vehicles, that okay?
A man with a short beard and very broad shoulders nods.
MARSHAL (CONT'D)
Ray, If Delta could stand up so
everyone can see who to stand
behind if the shit hits the fan...
Everyone laughs. The Delta operators rise. Though this is a
room of professionals, these men truly look like the ones you
want to stand behind.
MARSHAL (CONT'D)
Most likely spot for a hit is at
the border crossing on the return.
State Police has agree to hold a
lane for you. Heads up if they
don't... Anywhere along the way,
anyone not in this room is a
potential shooter. This op isn't
over until we are back here, okay?
Be aware, be vigilant, and stay
alert. Let's go.
Men begin rising and readying their gear. The mood is
relaxed. Matt walks to the Marshal -- they shake hands and
disappear in the back.
MACY
Ever been over there?
He looks at her and offers a smile.
ALEJANDRO
I worked in Juarez.
MACY
For the DEA?
31.
ALEJANDRO
No.
He offers nothing further.
MACY
For who?
ALEJANDRO
Mexico. As a federal prosecutor.
MACY
You're not American?
ALEJANDRO
No.
She tries to make sense of that.
MACY
Who do you work for now?
Alejandro smiles.
ALEJANDRO
I go where I'm sent.
MACY
Where were you sent FROM?
ALEJANDRO
Cartagena.
MACY
... Colombia?
Alejandro nods.
Matt emerges from the other room carrying two M4 carbines and
a Kevlar vest. Macy sees him and marches to him.
MATT
(Handing her the vest) See if this
fits.
MACY
(Pointing toward Alejandro) Is he
CIA? Are you?
MATT
Try it on.
MACY
Well?
32.
MATT
He's a DOD advisor, just like me.
She doesn't budge, holds his gaze.
MATT (CONT'D)
Pay attention to Alejandro -- he
says do something, do it.
She takes that as a `yes'.
MACY
I'm not authorized to --
MATT
Fine. Stay here.
She shifts her weight. Hesitates...
MATT (CONT'D)
But you don't want to, do you?
MACY
I just wanna know what I'm getting
INTO --
MATT
You asked to get on this train.
Because you KNOW you're not
stopping anything in Phoenix.
You're just sweeping up the mess.
In six months, every house you raid
will be rigged with explosives...
You want to find the men
responsible? This is where we
start.
He walks off.
After a moment, she follows.
EXT. CESAR CHAVEZ BORDER HIGHWAY -- EL PASO -- DAY.
FIVE CHEVY TAHOES, sirens on the dashboard move through El
Paso.
We watch from above as they cut their way through traffic...
INT. CHEVY TAHOE -- CONT.
Macy sits in the back beside Alejandro. He holds a rifle
between his legs, barrel pointed down. Macy notices his right
hand -- his finger rests on the button that rolls down the
window.
33.
MACY
So how nervous should I be?
The DEA Agent riding shotgun turns back to her.
AGENT
Are you kidding?
He points out the window.
AGENT (CONT'D)
Over there? That's the beast.
He turns back, facing front.
She looks out the window to Juarez. It is so close, you could
throw a frisbee into it.
EXT. BORDER HIGHWAY -- CONTINUOUS.
THE CONVOY turns onto the BRIDGE OF THE AMERICAS. Border
Agents have closed the left lane to traffic, in preparation
for the convoy's arrival.
From above, we see MEXICO. Some THIRTY FEDERAL POLICE TRUCKS,
SOLDIERS FILLING THE BEDS are waiting for them.
The convoy drives straight through -- the Mexican Police
trucks roll forward as our convoy catches up to them.
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF SCENE, WE WILL INTERCUT IN AND OUT
OF THE VEHICLES
The city of Juarez is itself a crime. Filthy and crumbling,
hookers and criminals fill every possible space of sidewalk.
They are as plentiful as the unfortunate masses that are
condemned to live and work here.
SIRENS BLARE. POLICE YELL OVER LOUD SPEAKERS AND THROUGH
MEGAPHONES FOR VEHICLES TO PULL OVER AND LET THE CONVOY PASS.
SWEAT rolls down Macy's face. She can feel her heart
beating... Loud enough she actually wonders if others hear it
too.
At every turn, it seems there are soldiers and police. A
large group of police can be seen on a side-street, standing
around a car -- a DEAD BODY on the street beside it.
Macy sees a woman in her 20's SPRINTING down the street,
SCREAMING, though there is no one chasing her.
34.
Alejandro taps her on the shoulder, motions her to scoot
toward him.
ALEJANDRO
Want to see Juarez?
He points to A BRIDGE WHERE THE BODY OF A MAN HANGS, a dozen
soldiers looking down at it.
As we look closer, we see he has been decapitated -- his head
replaced with that of a pig, crudely sewn to his body with
fishing line.
The body is naked from the waist down -- a state police shirt
on his torso.
As the convoy races up the street, the bridge and it's
swinging corpse come closer.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Hard to believe, yes?
MACY
(Breathless) Yes.
ALEJANDRO
He wears the state police shirt.
The pig -- Not what you think it
means. All state police work for
the cartels. ALL of them. That
man... He tried to work for two...
he got greedy.
They continue past. Into an even worse part of Juarez, if
that's possible. The vehicles come to a stop. POPPING SOUNDS
can be heard. Like fireworks.
AGENT
Hear that?
He cracks his window. The sound floods in. GUNFIRE. Not ten
shots, not fifty. Hundreds. It is a battle. Over the radio we
HEAR:
VOICE
Everybody hold on. Mexicans are
adjusting our route. There's
activity ahead we need to go
around.
We sit here, listening to the gunfight as it builds in
intensity. We hear a series of explosions.
35.
Both agents in the front seats reposition their rifles.
Ready.
The convoy rolls again. Makes a left, drives away from the
battle as though they were avoiding road construction. A few
blocks and they all snake right. Macy is trying hard not to
be terrified.
Suddenly, the convoy picks up speed. Moving 70mph over a road
that barely qualifies as two lanes.
They race past a park. A large building can be seen on the
right. The Mexican flag flies in front. Numerous Federal
Police vehicles in front.
The convoy stops in front and the Delta operators are out of
their vehicles, setting a perimeter. The Marshals and Matt
emerge and move straight to the building, two Deltas follow.
Macy stays glued to the front door of the building. Waiting.
Alejandro shifts in his seat toward Macy.
ALEJANDRO
Nothing will happen here. If they
try anything, it will be at the
border. If no lane is cleared for
us when we return... Be ready.
Watch the cars. Look for old cars.
Throw aways. Not gangster cars...
Those are for the whores on
Saturday night. Did you watch the
cars we passed driving in?
She shakes her head `no'
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Watch for state police. They are
all bad. We will lose the escort at
the loop. You will see. That is
when you worry.
Matt and the Marshals come out with a man covered in a
blanket. He is placed in the backseat.
The federal Police begin turning their vehicles.
AGENT
NOW.
Suddenly, the Tahoe lurches forward -- moving between the
vehicle with Matt and the Marshals -- acting as a shield.
Macy looks out the window at the Federal Police trucks. She
notices the agent riding shotgun has his rifle at the ready
in the direction of the Federal Police.
36.
ALEJANDRO (O.S.)
Lean back, Kate.
She turns to find him pointing his rifle almost at her head.
She leans back, and moves her hands toward her ears, ready to
cover them.
MACY
Jesus.
AGENT
Okay. Go.
The Tahoe begins moving and performs a lighting fast three
point turn, and just like that we are headed north.
Macy lets out an endless sigh of relief. We are driving very
fast now.
Macy looks out the windshield, the hills of El Paso loom in
the distance.
ALEJANDRO
On the left.
Two streets over, as buildings whip by, we see a STATE POLICE
VEHICLE even with us.
It disappears as buildings fill our view, then at the next
block we see it again. We hear over the radio --
VOICE
We have a spotter on the left
everyone. Keep your eyes out for a
strike vehicle.
The driver speaks into his radio.
DRIVER
Mexico holding a lane for us at the
border?
VOICE
That's my understanding. We're
trying to confirm...
As we race to the border, the state police vehicle has
DISAPPEARED.
We come to the loop, the last exit before being fed into the
twelve lanes leading only to the border crossing...
WITH NO WAY OUT.
37.
At the loop, the Mexican Federal Police vehicles peel off,
leaving the convoy alone. At the border, US HOMELAND SECURITY
OFFICERS can be seen standing with rifles, making a very
public show of force.
There is no lane cleared for them, and just like that -- they
are trapped in traffic.
VOICE (CONT'D)
Everyone stay in this lane. Our
agents at the border are going to
wave everyone through and get us
over as quick as they can.
The agents at the border aren't even checking passports, just
moving cars through in the lane where the convoy is trapped,
but there are fifty cars ahead of them...
Alejandro looks out his window and sees, two lanes over:
FOUR MEN in an old Buick LeSabre. They are staring straight
ahead. All drenched in sweat.
Alejandro taps Macy, she scoots closer.
ALEJANDRO
You have a service weapon?
MACY
Yes.
ALEJANDRO
Get it out.
She unholsters her pistol.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Silver LeSabre. Two lanes over my
3.
AGENT
Yep.
He takes the radio.
AGENT (CONT'D)
Silver LeSabre, two lanes right, 3
o'clock.
VOICE
One lane over right, 5 o'clock.
Burgundy Expedition.
38.
VOICE2
Three lanes over right, 1 o'clock,
green honda civic.
Macy grips her pistol.
MACY
Okay... okay...
Then Alejandro spots it.
ALEJANDRO
Gun. Buick LeSabre, 3 o'clock, gun.
The flash suppressor of an AK 47 is peeking out in the back
seat. A sweaty, young gunman holds the rifle between his
legs.
VOICE2
What are the rules here?
VOICE
We must be engaged to engage.
VOICE2
Can we get out of this vehicle and
set a perimeter?
VOICE
Stay in your vehicle. You can do
what they do. If they get out you
can get out.
ALEJANDRO
(To Macy) watch the door handles.
The cars are beginning to move in the convoy's lane. Another
fifteen seconds and they can leave this hell behind.
VOICE
Get ready. They can see our lane
clearing. If it's coming, it's
coming now.
Only a few more cars and the convoy is clear. But that would
mean luck is on their side and luck doesn't live on this side
of the border.
The doors to the Expedition swing open. By the time the
assassins put a foot to the ground, the Delta operators are
out of their cars and halfway to them, rifles raised.
Before Macy can react, she is ALONE in the Tahoe.
39.
Even the driver has exited... she is starting to panic.
MACY
Think... think...
She looks at her pistol, grips it tight. And goes nowhere.
MACY (CONT'D)
Okay...
The assassins are frozen, guns by their sides. A dozen
Americans have weapons trained on them.
The Agent riding shotgun stands in front of the Buick, rifle
pointed at the windshield. Other operators are at the flank
of the Civic before their doors are even open.
But at the Expedition, men are already out, weapons in their
hands.
The delta operators and Alejandro are yelling at the men in
Spanish. One retreats to the safety of the back seat, but the
others know the consequences of a failed hit and they aren't
in checkmate like those in the other cars...
The assassins, none over twenty years old, yell and cuss and
threaten as the operators surround them in a semicircle.
The assassin that exited the drivers seat -- 2 carat diamond
earrings and no shirt on his skinny chest -- screams in
hateful defiance at the operators surrounding him.
He raises his weapon and ALEJANDRO AND THE OPERATORS FIRE --
He is obliterated -- They continue firing, surgically killing
all the Expedition's crew. Bullets ping through the
windshield. Bullets tear the Expedition to shreds. The
assassins never fire a shot.
The innocent masses stuck in the crossfire duck out of view
in their vehicles. The streets are instantly empty.
The noise of the shooting echoes off the asphalt with the
force of thunder.
Macy watches through the back window.
MACY (CONT'D)
WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE DOING??!!
The men watching the other vehicles hold targets in their
sights. The rest will take their chances with the boss. Don't
even look in the direction of the Americans -- just stare
straight ahead, sweating...
40.
The operators and Alejandro work their way back to the
vehicle. Everyone retreats to their cars.
The kid with the AK 47 in the back of the Buick makes a move
for his door handle. Alejandro clocks it, puts 10 rounds
through the window, killing him and the man beside him before
the door is opened.
Macy turns away in shock to find:
A MEXICAN STATE POLICE OFFICER 5 FEET FROM HER WINDOW!!!
He raises an AK 47 to his shoulder -- pointed right at her.
Before she can think, her gun is raised and firing through
the tinted window.
The sound is deafening. As the man falls out of view, all we
can hear is the RINGING IN HER EARS.
Alejandro and the agent riding shotgun jump in and roll their
windows down and sit out of them like turrets as the vehicles
start up and race to the border.
They pass the guard house without stopping, Border Agents
waving them onward through the finish line. More agents point
weapons and scream at the Mexican State police officers who
have emerged from their offices.
It is absolute madness...
Alejandro and the agent sit back in the vehicles and roll up
the windows... They are back in America.
Macy struggles to get her breath. No one speaks. After a long
beat...
MACY (CONT'D)
This is going to be on the front
page of every newspaper in America.
AGENT
No it won't. It won't even make the
paper in El Paso...
The convoy is safe. It races past traffic, red sirens
lighting the dashboards...
EXT. ARMY INTELLIGENCE CENTER -- DAY.
The vehicles pull in and park. Agents and operators exit the
vehicles and amble toward the entrance.
Macy gets out, her head spinning.
41.
Matt walks up to her. She holds out a hand, begging him away.
MACY
JUST... Give me a minute.
MATT
Yeah. That got a little nutty, huh?
MACY
No. No. Don't... NO. This isn't ...
This was a SPECIAL OP. You're a
fucking spook. And HIM!! Who the
fuck is that??
She points at Alejandro.
He lets her vent. Burning the unused adrenaline.
MATT
Hey. I told you to stay here...
MACY
I'm not qualified for this. I'm
good at what I do, but I'm not a
soldier.
MATT
Don't sell yourself short. Reason
Reggie's home is I know he's not
ready for this, but he's gonna have
to get ready real quick, because
this is the future. Juarez is what
happens when they dig in...
MACY
Don't put me in a situation where I
have to break the law to stay
alive. Don't do that to me.
Steve walks up to Matt.
STEVE
You wanna get cracking?
MATT
On that note, I think you better
stay out here.
Matt winks and walks in the building, leaving Macy alone in
the motor pool.
INT INTERROGATION ROOM DAY
42.
A door opens and we find GUILLERMO, 45, fat, three day
stubble, and very unhappy to be here. His hands are cuffed
behind his back. A DEA AGENT holds a bottle of water that
Guillermo sucks like an infant.
Matt walks in.
MATT (CONT'D)
Giving him a belly full of water...
you devil.
Matt smiles, the agent smiles back.
Matt sits in the only other chair in the room.
MATT (CONT'D)
Didn't think we'd get you here, did
you?
GUILLERMO
NO HABLO-
MATT
I love it when they don't hablo.
Brought an old buddy of yours. Bet
you `hablo' to him.
The door opens and Alejandro walks in, carrying two five
gallon jugs of water. It takes Guillermo a minute, then
horror washes over his face.
GUILLERMO
El Medellin.
MATT
Alejandro, he remembers you.
No expression on Alejandro's face.
The DEA Agent moves to the door.
DEA AGENT
I'm gonna step out.
He closes the door behind him. The red `record' button on the
camera mounted in the corner goes out. We notice a DRAIN IN
THE FLOOR.
Alejandro walks toward Guillermo, stands across from him.
Places a foot on his chest. Pushes... Hard... Guillermo sways
back, like a chopped tree. He moves through frame in slow
motion, falling out of frame.
EXT. ARMY INTELLIGENCE CENTER -- DUSK.
43.
Macy leans against a car. Spots a guy with a cigarette.
MACY
Hey. Got another one of those?
He gives her one. Lights it. She draws in, coughs.
MACY (CONT'D)
Been a while. Thanks.
DELTA (O.S.)
Like fireworks?
She turns and sees a Delta operator. Holding a pair of
BINOLULARS.
DELTA (CONT'D)
Come here.
She follows him. They walk to the back of the motor pool to a
stairway that leads to the roof of the building. He goes up.
She hesitates.
DELTA (CONT'D)
Up to you.
She takes the bait. Climbs up.
They sit on the edge of the roof, facing Juarez. He begins
glassing the area.
MACY
Fireworks is code for something, I
assume.
DELTA
Sort of.
He glasses. She smokes, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
DELTA (CONT'D)
Here we go.
He hands her the binoculars.
DELTA (CONT'D)
Look right there.
--THROUGH THE BINOCULARS WE LOOK OVER JUAREZ--
She sees it. Muzzle flashes. Right on the street. Rifle fire
glowing white against the muddy gray of Juarez at dusk. Gone
as fast as it came. She looks at Delta.
44.
DELTA (CONT'D)
Keep looking.
She begins scanning the city. Sirens. Everywhere. She sees
another muzzle flash. She looks up.
MACY
I don't hear anything.
DELTA
Can't. Too far away. Keep looking.
They're everywhere.
She scans the city slowly. Sirens. More sirens. The city is
lit in a throbbing red and blue.
MACY
Unbelievable.
DELTA
Madness, huh.
He bums a drag from her cigarette. They sit in silence and
watch the city go to war.
CUT TO:
EXT. LUKE AIR FORCE BASE -- NIGHT.
Macy, Matt, and Alejandro walk through the parking lot. Macy
is exhausted. Matt's on his cell phone.
MATT
Can they get them all in one place?
No... I'm on a clock now, I can't
wait... No, contact Bob Fiske. Have
him hold all of them at the staging
center.( Turns to Macy) How far is
Tuscon?
MACY
From here? Little over two hours.
MATT
We'll be there a little after 2.
Not what Macy wanted to hear.
MACY
We're going to Tucson?
MATT
You gotta learn how to sleep on a
plane.
45.
Reggie leans against the Tahoe. Not very happy.
REGGIE
They let me on the base when this
peckerwood needs a ride, don't
they?
MACY
REGGIE-
MATT
(Pleasant as can be) Has nothing to
do with your race. I just don't
believe you're good enough at your
job yet to be of any use. Kate's
sure fond of you, though.
REGGIE
Thanks, man. I feel much better
now.
Reggie spots Alejandro.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
Who's that.
Macy shakes her head, doesn't have the strength to go into
it.
MACY
We're going to Tucson.
Matt and Alejandro get in the back seat of the Tahoe. We push
in on Alejandro's emotionless face.
REGGIE (O.S.)
Now?
She nods and yawns at the same time. Reggie takes her in.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
Hey... How was it?
MACY
Bad.
REGGIE
What happened?
She moves toward the front of the car.
MACY
Now's not the time.
46.
They climb in. Reggie looks over at Macy staring out the
window, resting her heavy head on her fist. He looks back at
Matt and Alejandro, both already asleep.
CUT TO:
EXT. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT PROCESSING CENTER -- TUSCON -- NIGHT.
The team walks from their parked car toward an irate BOB
FISKE, 40'S, walking toward them.
BOB
What's the deal, Matt? Why you
holding up my transports?
MATT
We'll be quick.
BOB
I have to feed these bastards when
we hold em. Know how an internal
auditor responds to an eight
thousand dollar check to fucking
Domino's Pizza?
MATT
You're so dramatic, Bob. This is
Kate Macy with the FBI, and her
partner `what's his name'... It was
her call.
Doesn't introduce Alejandro and Bob doesn't ask- Kate
notices.
MACY
I don't even know what we're doing
here. (Pointing to his cigarette)
Got another one of those?
BOB
Finish it before we get inside.
He gives her one, lights her as they walk. The giant, domed
warehouse growing closer. The dull murmur of four hundred
people talking and sitting and moving and complaining is
wafting out like an odor.
Macy tries to suck the entire cigarette in one drag. Reggie
leans into her.
REGGIE
What happened in El Paso? Talk to
me.
47.
MACY
We weren't in El Paso.
REGGIE
... Where were you?
MACY
We were in Mexico.
Reggie stops. Macy doesn't. She reaches the door and flicks
the smoke on the ground.
INT. IMMIGRATION WAREHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS.
The illegals have been separated by sex and criminal record.
Women on the left... The worker bees -- the busboys and
landscapers and construction workers -- are in the center,
and in the back, lined up against the wall, the felons...
Three dozen HOMELAND SECURITY AGENTS stand over them with
M4s.
BOB
There you go. I'm starting the
buses. When you're done with em,
send em out.
ALEJANDRO
All the women can go.
BOB
Coulda told me that on the phone,
Matt.
MATT
First I've heard it.
They head toward the group of felons and the like as the
women are moved out to the buses.
ALEJANDRO
Watch these men close. Look for the
ones like the men you saw in
Juarez.
Macy looks at him. His kind, sad demeanor seems to settle
her. She knows he is offering her something, just doesn't
know why. She turns to the men against the wall. They have
their hands behind their backs, zip tied.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Do you see?
48.
She scans their faces. Many have tattoos, shaved heads. A
boy, maybe 18, haircut like a pop star from the 90's. Diamond
earrings, stares hard at her.
MACY
Him.
Alejandro nods.
ALEJANDRO
Yes. Keep looking.
She studies more faces. The ones that look like American
gangsters- they look down, away, no eye contact. But the ones
with mustaches no longer in style, hair parted down the
middle, the lanky teens with Polo shirts, they stare
defiantly. No fear of consequence from American officers. As
subtle as the differences are- how they wear their pants, how
they lean against the wall... she understands now.
MACY
Yeah. I see it.
She turns to Alejandro, but he is gone. She turns around and
he stands thirty feet back beside Matt, looking over the
migrants.
Macy walks back to them.
MACY (CONT'D)
What are we looking for?
MATT
Two ways to find drug routes. You
can play cat and mouse with those
clowns, or ask these guys what
trails they avoid.
They walk toward the largest group, the simple migrants. The
ones that are filthy, tired. Eager to either be sent back to
Mexico or go to work.
ALEJANDRO
They see it all, and must avoid the
traps set everywhere for them. We
look for one who is older... one
who has had enough.
Bob walks up.
BOB
You done with these behind you?
49.
MATT
All yours.
The Agents begin yelling and marching the smuggler group out.
Alejandro turns to Bob.
ALEJANDRO
Break them into groups of four, Let
them spread out, each group as far
from the other as possible.
Bob huddles his agents and begins explaining as Matt and
Alejandro walk off.
We see Reggie, observing from the entrance. He's had enough
`not knowing', walks to Macy.
REGGIE
What are we doing here?(Looks her
over) What were you doing in
Mexico??
MACY
I'm with you, alright. I don't have
answers.
REGGIE
Well, let's get some then.
She looks at him.
MACY
You think I haven't asked these
questions. Think you can do better?
MATT. Can we talk to you for a
minute?
He starts walking toward them. They head for the open
warehouse door.
EXT IMMIGRATION WAREHOUSE CONT.
Macy and Reggie stop in the center of the parking lot. Matt
catches up to them.
MATT
This feels very serious.
REGGIE
What are we looking for? There's in
the dark and then there's the way
you're treating us. I want to know
the objective, or I walk. Period.
50.
MATT
Then go. I didn't ask you to be a
part of this. She did.
MACY
I walk too.
Reggie stares at Matt, who casually smiles, pacifying the
children.
MATT
What would you like to know?
REGGIE
Everything.
MATT
Guillermo told us about a tunnel
east of Nogales, near Sasabe. So
now, we're trying to find what
areas near there migrants avoid.
Because that's where the tunnel
will be. Better?
REGGIE
Guillermo is...?
Matt laughs.
MATT
I'm going back in.
He turns.
MACY
He TOLD you where a drug tunnel
is... Just... Told you.
MATT
Guillermo didn't have any other
options. We send him back across
the border and he's a dead man. Had
to give us something.
He just smiles...
MACY
Bullshit.
REGGIE
Look man, we have a boss, and you
ain't him. Be straight. What are
you doing?
51.
MATT
We're going to make enough noise
that Manuel Diaz is called back to
Mexico to see HIS boss.
REGGIE
And then?
MATT
And then we know where his boss is.
ALEJANDRO (O.S.)
Fausto Alarcon, Manuel's cousin...
Manuel's boss... He is an
executioner...
Alejandro stands beside them, but looks out over the black
desert.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
When people die in my country, it
is with his hand or his blessing.
To find him would be like...
discovering a vaccine. Manuel will
lead us to him.
His kind, hollow eyes meet Reggie's. Alejandro manufactures a
smile.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Certainly, you understand the value
of that.
REGGIE
Alright... We're good. Just don't
keep us in the dark.
ALEJANDRO
There is only dark, my friend.
Reggie studies this strange, sad man. Looks at him with
something between fear and mistrust. Macy just looks tired
and mad. Matt takes them both in.
MACY
What happens when you find him?
But Alejandro is already walking back to the warehouse.
MATT
It's been a humdinger of a day. Go
home. Get some rest. We'll find a
ride. See you tomorrow.
52.
Matt turns and walks back.
REGGIE
I just drove a hundred fucking
miles...
MACY
This is a blessing, trust me. I
want to stop and get some
cigarettes.
REGGIE
Got you smoking again... it was
that bad?
She moves to the car.
MACY
Worse.
Reggie watches Matt walk back in the warehouse, trying
desperately to play catch up. Wondering why no one, his
partner included, will tell him anything...
CUT TO:
INT. CHEVY TAHOE -- NIGHT.
Reggie drives down an empty interstate 19. Up ahead, he spots
a TRUCK STOP.
REGGIE
Not that I think you should, but if
you want cigarettes --
He looks over -- she is sound asleep. He drives past the
truck stop, tail lights fading into the desert...
CUT TO:
INT. MACY'S APARTMENT -- DAY.
Macy lays in bed watching the blades of her ceiling fan in
their endless revolution. She rises -- dressed in pajamas at
last -- and heads to the kitchen.
She pours a cup of coffee, heads to her computer. Pulls up
the CNN website, scrolls the news, nothing about a shoot-out
on the border.
Goes to the El Paso newspaper website. Nothing there either.
She googles SHOOT OUT, JUAREZ... is bombarded with images.
53.
Her screen is flooded with photos: women naked, tortured,
beaten. Breasts cut off, pinkish flesh exposed.
Bodies of men in ditches, dead in chairs, dead in cars...
dead everywhere. But nothing of yesterday. The images invade
her. Can't look anymore...
She digs up a cigarette, goes to her screen door, opens it
and steps out, lights her smoke.
She sees Reggie pull up and park. She yells down to him.
MACY
What's up?
REGGIE
You're phone's off.
MACY
Yep.
REGGIE
We gotta go. Those spooks been
calling me all morning.
MACY
Want some coffee?
REGGIE
We gotta go.
MACY
I have to get dressed. Come up.
INT MACY'S APARTMENT DAY
Reggie leans against the dining room table, cup of coffee in
hand. Macy moves from her bathroom, slacks on and only an
old, off white bra. He notices. Doesn't hide it.
REGGIE
Gotta get you a new bra, woman.
MACY
List of things I need is almost
infinite.
REGGIE
Just saying. You gotta... some nice
lacy something.
She walks in the room, buttoning the last of her shirt.
54.
MACY
Been so long since anyone's seen me
in a bra, except you... don't look
at me like that. No pity, thank
you.
REGGIE
How was seeing Evan the other day?
MACY
...I don't know.
REGGIE
Miss him?
MACY
Guy works eighty hours a week and
thinks I'm too focused on my job.
REGGIE
Mmhmm. And what does that tell you?
Beat.
MACY
Ask me something else.
Beat.
REGGIE
What was it like? On the border.
She turns to him. How do you describe it...
MACY
It's broken ... The whole place.
Just ... Lost.
He absorbs that.
REGGIE
Wish you hadn't volunteered for
this.
MACY
Me too. But... I have to know.
REGGIE
Know what?
MACY
Could it get that bad here?
55.
REGGIE
Well, you sure picked the mother
fuckers to show us.
MACY
Yeah...
EXT SCOTTDALE BEST WESTERN DAY
Reggie and Macy knock on the door. It opens. Matt, dressed
for golf, stands there with a slurpee.
MATT
Come on in.
They walk into the `suite', the best a motel room can be. The
walls are covered with TOPO MAPS of Arizona, ROAD MAPS, and
GEOLOGICAL MAPS... Alejandro sits at a table with FOUR
MIGRANTS from the warehouse. Worker bees.
Alejandro points to a spot on the map with a chopstick from
their take out.
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE)
You can't cross there.
Points somewhere else.
MIGRANT 1 (CONT'D)
There is okay.
MIGRANT 2 (SUBTITLE)
But the coyotes there are crooked.
No women can cross there...
Alejandro looks at Matt.
ALEJANDRO
We should watch here.
Alejandro points to another spot, just across the border from
Sasabe, Mexico.
All the migrants say `No!' In unison, even laughing at the
notion.
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE)
That is drug land. The only people
that cross there are forced to. To
keep the Border patrol busy.
56.
MIGRANT 2 (SUBTITLE)
You try to cross there, they will
kill you. And for a woman... a rape
tree for her.
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE)
That is for their tunnels. Never
cross where there is tunnels.
ALEJANDRO (SUBTITLE)
You know this land? A tunnel where
cars can pass?
MIGRANT 1
Oh yeah. For years, the best place
to cross... right here.
He points to a depression on the TOPO MAP.
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE) (CONT'D)
This arroyo? You can walk it all
the way to highway 86. There is
shade and a spring -- here. But a
tunnel is there now. Don't go
there...
Reggie's jaw is on the floor.
MACY
Are you getting this?
REGGIE
Yeah. I don't believe it, but I
understand what they're saying.
ALEJANDRO (SUBTITLE)
Can you mark the tunnel on here?
Hands him a pen.
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE)
Sure. It's been a while. Three
years. They made me dig for a month
to cross. I snuck out one night and
ran... They hide the entrance
behind an old car.
MATT
Guillermo was telling the truth.
Alejandro looks at Matt.
57.
ALEJANDRO
This is our way across. Right
here.(Back to the migrants) Where
do you live?
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE)
East of the airport.
Matt spoons the last of his slurpee. Turns to Macy.
MATT
How good is your Spanish?
MACY
Not great.
REGGIE
Mine is. How did you get all this?
Matt smiles, spooning himself slurpee.
MATT
Power of persuasion.
ALEJANDRO (SUBTITLE)
Know a Wells Fargo on Baseline?
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE)
No cabron. We drive to Cave Creek
for the bank. There is a Wells
Fargo on Baseline, but it is a
narco bank. The narcos hit you as
you walk to it... Only the
Salvadorans use it, cuz they don't
know... the soldiers deposit narco
money there. They will rob you
cabron, to make up for what they
skimmed. No, you have to bank up by
the white cowboys, that is safest.
ALEJANDRO
(Looks at Matt) Guillermo told the
truth about everything.
MATT
We're gonna have a good day.(Points
to the migrants) Let's send these
guys home.
MACY
Border patrol's not down there.
58.
MATT
Think they'd tell us all this and
then go back to Mexico? You get one
night's sleep and forget
everything?
ALEJANDRO (SUBTITLE)
Thank you ... don't cross again.
Not for a long time.
The migrant looks down at a small card in his hand. The
others have them as well.
MIGRANT 1 (SUBTITLE)
These green cards are good?
ALEJANDRO (SUBTITLE)
Better than good, my friend.
The men get up casually and walk out, sipping their soft
drinks. Matt looks at Macy.
MATT
Have friends at Phoenix SWAT?
MACY
Yeah, we use them for breeches when
HRT is busy.
MATT
They any good?
MACY
Yeah... they get a lot of practice.
He nods.
MATT
Got a new frame of reference for
practice now, don't you. Let's give
Phoenix SWAT a call, shall we?
MACY
(To Alejandro) What did you find
out?
He lays a hand on her shoulder. The intimacy of the gesture
surprises her.
ALEJANDRO
We are close.
CUT TO:
59.
WE ARE LOOKING THROUGH A TELEPHOTO LENS.
We watch a MAN, 20'S, BAGGY JEANS, WHITE T-SHIRT, sitting on
the curb, fiddling with an IPhone.
VOICE
We taking him when he makes the
grab?
MATT (O.S.)
When he comes out of the bank. We
need the deposit receipt to seize
the account. Let him do the
assault... we hit him when he comes
out.
Through the lens we see A WOMAN, 50's, waddling up. The young
man approaches her. He's talking to her. She shakes her head.
He discreetly punches her in the kidney.
She reacts, then reaches into her purse. She hands him cash,
then kneels down and begins writing something on a piece a
paper.
MACY (O.S.)
What is she doing?
MATT (O.S.)
Endorsing over her paycheck.
She stands and walks the other way, holding her side. The
young man walks in the bank.
PULL BACK and reveal, we are:
INT. CARGO VAN -- DAY.
Matt, Reggie, Macy, Alejandro, and CORY, 35, SWAT SERGEANT.
Two other SWAT officers, and a MAN IN A SUIT.
CORY
Can we get in position?
MATT
When he walks out of the bank, we
pull beside and you take him.
The young man walks out of the bank and is moving down the
street. We are moving now.
MATT (CONT'D)
Now.
60.
CORY
(Into a radio) Take him.
We see TWO PHOENIX PD VEHICLES round the corner. The van
doors are thrown open and Cory and his guys are on the run.
The young man turns but by the time he does, Cory has tackled
him.
The man in the suit, Reggie, and Macy get out. Alejandro and
Matt stay in the van.
CORY (CONT'D)
You have any weapons?
He's frisking him. Finds a small bag of meth, the cell phone,
and the bank receipt.
CORY (CONT'D)
Where's uh... what's his name.
MAN IN SUIT
Here.
He hands him the bank receipt and the man disappears
inside...
Cory continues digging and finds five thousand in cash on the
young man.
CORY
Little walking money, sport?
Macy takes this all in. A crime she didn't even know existed.
She walks back to the van.
MACY
You guys coming?
Matt shakes his head `no'.
ALEJANDRO
Don't go in the bank, Kate.
MACY
This is something I can actually
build a case on.
MATT
KATE --
She turns and walks in.
INT .WELLS FARGO BANK -- MOMENT LATER.
61.
We hold on a PRINTOUT OF ACCOUNT ACTIVITY.
Deposit. Deposit. Deposit. Deposit. Every day. The account
balance around two million dollars.
MACY
These are all Manuel Diaz's
accounts?
MAN IN SUIT
Yeah. Look here.
Macy and Reggie are leaning over him.
MAN IN SUIT (CONT'D)
Cash Deposits coming in daily, the
balance transferred to a money
market account in 9000 dollar
increments. All cash transactions
10,000 and over must be reported to
TREASURY --
MACY
And you can seize that.
MAN IN SUIT
Already have. I'll go through these
wire transfer numbers and freeze
all these accounts as well... this
is a really big bust. I don't know
why we've never tried this before.
Who knew they just stood outside
banks and robbed people, then
deposited the money...
Macy and Reggie ask themselves the same question.
A WELLS FARGO MANAGER walks over some more paperwork. The man
in the suit looks it over.
MAN IN SUIT (CONT'D)
Wow.
MACY
What?
MAN IN SUIT
Know what this is?
He shows her a printout.
MACY
No.
62.
MAN IN SUIT
It's a bank line of credit. You
make payments over what you owe and
it doesn't show as cash it shows as
a negative loan balance... See
that?
He points to the loan amount.
-17,453,229.26
MACY
Oh my god.
Macy walks out of the bank and straight to the van, Reggie
right behind.
She looks bewildered and scared. She climbs in next to them.
MACY (CONT'D)
They just seized seventeen million
dollars... I need that explained to
me. Guillermo Diaz told you all
that in an HOUR?
MATT
We knew where his accounts were, we
just didn't know they were shaking
people down in front of the fucking
branch. It's a bogus bust, though.
Can't prosecute it. No one controls
who deposits money in an account.
An attorney will have that money
back in a few months... but a lot
of heads will roll before then...
MACY
We can arrest Manuel for now. At
least get him off the street.
Heads off.
MATT
Don't you dare.
She turns back to them.
ALEJANDRO
We need him to get called back to
Mexico. That's the objective, Kate.
63.
MACY
That makes NO sense... We can get
him off the street! RIGHT NOW. If I
can tie any of these payments to--
MATT
You can't arrest him.
Beat.
MACY
Watch me.
She marches back toward the bank.
CUT TO:
INT. FEDERAL BUILDING -- DIRECTOR JENNING'S OFFICE -- DAY.
Macy and Reggie sit across from Jennings and Phil. Bob Fiske
is there as well.
JENNINGS
US Attorney won't issue the
warrant. I can't override--
MACY
This is ridiculous. His guys are
robbing people IN FRONT OF THE
BANK... So we find out where his
boss lives in Mexico. Big deal.
I've seen the Mexican police in
action and believe me --
JENNINGS
Kate... what do you want? What
would you like done here?
MACY
I would like to follow some
semblance of procedure, and build a
prosecutable case against --
JENNINGS
We prosecuted more felony drug
cases in this region last year than
in the two previous years combined.
Are you feeling that on the street?
You getting the `vibe' that we"re
winning?
64.
Beat.
MACY
No.
JENNINGS
Do you?
REGGIE
No... I don't.
PHIL
Advisors like Matt come in, stir
the pot, cause these criminals to
react and make mistakes. That's how
we build cases against the
individuals that actually make a
difference in this fight. When
they're nervous, when they stop
trusting their crews, when they
move their money... these are all
opportunities to strike... that's
the purpose of contractors like
Matt.
JENNINGS
This isn't something I dreamed up
myself, Kate. I don't have the
authority to hire advisors or
authorize joint agency missions. Or
fly agents from air force bases,
are you understanding me? These
decisions are made far from here.
By officials elected to office, not
appointed to them... so if your
fear is operating out of bounds I
am telling you, you're not. The
boundary has been moved. Got it?
She does. But that doesn't mean she likes it...
CUT TO:
INT MACY'S VEHICLE LATE AFTERNOON
Macy and Reggie drive in silence. Nowhere in particular...
Just driving.
MACY
Where'd that guy say the safe banks
were, Cave Creek?
65.
REGGIE
Yeah?
MACY
Ever been there?
REGGIE
Don't even know where it is...
MACY
North of Scottsdale. Horse
country...
REGGIE
Yeah?
MACY
Big saloon there called the Buffalo
Chip... Feel like a beer somewhere
far away?
REGGIE
Why? There an angle here?
MACY
Yeah. Angle is me getting drunk and
forgetting about today.
REGGIE
At the Buffalo Chip? Yeah... I'll
go to the Buffalo Chip. Get my two
step on... Drive your drunk ass
home later...
For the first time, we see her laugh.
MACY
Alright. To the Chip.
They drive North, in search of a moment's escape.
EXT. BUFFALO CHIP SALOON -- NIGHT.
Behind the saloon is a small arena, a corral to it's right.
In the corral, a half dozen bulls. In the arena -- a young
cowboy on a bull, hanging on for dear life. Country music
blares through speakers from the beer garden just beyond...
About twenty people sit on bleachers watching the bull
riders, Macy and Reggie among them, drinking beer from giant
cups.
REGGIE
That fool's crazy.
66.
MACY
These guys are pros, this is where
they practice.
REGGIE
This what you do? Come here
trolling for rednecks...
Macy laughs. Reggie takes in the crowd -- lots of young
blonde girls in hats and jeans two sizes too small.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
Peckerwoods got some fine-ass women
though.
MACY
Bet I start seeing you here weekly.
The next bull erupts from the chute, sending a cowboy ass
over elbow...
REGGIE
I'll say this... these folks got it
figured. Music's all..(He stamps
his foot and claps) bout life
just... beating em, but still
happy. Can't take that away from
em.
MACY
Let's go inside. I wanna dance.
REGGIE
Lit's git in thar an' boot scoot.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFALO CHIP -- DANCE FLOOR -- NIGHT.
Macy and Reggie have infiltrated a line dance. Reggie's
interpretation is mockery, but his gun is visible, so no
one's saying shit...
Macy laughs, spins. Doesn't know how to line dance... feels
good to move anyway. She sways, clicks her heels, and acts
like a woman, for just a moment...
67.
INT. BUFFALO CHIP -- BAR -- LATER.
Macy and Reggie sit at a long table, many beers in. They are
easy together... Would be easy to make a mistake tonight and
fuck up a great partnership, but they've walked this line
many times before.
REGGIE
I think some of these girl's are
getting drunk enough to forget
they're racist.
MACY
Oh for God's sake, a Black man is
president. Racism is dead, and even
if it wasn't when he popped Bin
Ladin he won over the hold outs.
A blonde thing is smiling at him.
REGGIE
Yeah, baby.
Reggie notices a HANDSOME COWBOY. Tall, broad shoulders...
REGGIE (CONT'D)
I know him.
MACY
Who?
REGGIE
He's Phoenix PD.
MACY
(Spots him) Really... Invite him
over.
REGGIE
HEY! TED!
Ted turns to the sound. Seems surprised to see Reggie. Walks
over. He carries what looks like a gym bag.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
What do you got there man?
TED
I rode tonight.
REGGIE
A bull? No shit?
68.
TED
Yeah. Were you watching?
REGGIE
For a minute, how'd you do?
TED
Tossed right out of the chute.
(Sees Macy) Hi.
She smiles a bit. Shy even...
REGGIE
Sit down, man.
TED
Let me grab you guys some beers,
what is that?
REGGIE
Anything, man.
He walks off.
MACY
Married?
REGGIE
All yours. In my basketball league.
MACY
Good guy?
REGGIE
He's great. Sergeant in vice.
Divorced, couple kids I think...
Macy watches him as he orders. The girl beside him, much
younger and pretty, is chatting him... He's chatting back.
She retreats into her shell, feeling foolish for thinking it
would be that easy to meet someone... She clouds. Reggie
notices.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
I'ma cock block that little blonde
for you... gonna be a sacrifice...
MACY
Yeah... Thanks.
Reggie walks up to Ted and the girl, charms his way between
and gabs them both. We see Macy, letting herself be
hopeful...
69.
INT. BUFFALO CHIP -- LATER.
Reggie, the blonde, Ted, and Macy all sit together. Ted sits
beside Macy -- the battle lines are drawn for the night --
she is his. He is showing them the cinch that goes around the
bull's belly.
TED
You wrap this around and then- (he
grabs Macy's arm) I'll demonstrate.
He wraps the nylon belt around her hand once, twice, three
times...
REGGIE
I know where this is going --
MACY
Don't discourage him. Know how long
it's been since someone tied me up?
Ted and Macy share a charged look. She smiles.
TED
Don't give me any ideas.
MACY
I'm trying very hard to give you
ideas.
The tension of it, the flirt of it, she looks ten years
younger... Alive. They hold each other's eyes, almost like a
dare... He's captivated by her.
TED
(softly) I want to take you
outside.
There it is... Macy surrenders with a smile...
MACY
Okay.
They stand like school kids.
TED
Scuse us. We're just gonna...
REGGIE
Mmhmm.
MACY
Take a look around back.
70.
REGGIE
Yeah.
TED
Watch my bag.
We watch them walk off through the club.
EXT. BUFFALO CHIP SALOON -- NIGHT.
We are looking at the sheet metal outer wall of the saloon.
Macy's head comes hard into frame, Ted's right after. They
devour each other.
She tears at the snaps of his shirt, runs her hand along his
chest, grabbing a handful of chest hair and pulling.
He tears frantically at her pants. Gets them unbuttoned and
slips his hand inside. Her head flies back in ecstacy.
MACY
What am I -- Uhh.
With one hand she attacks his belt and pulls at the zipper of
his jeans. She reaches into his jeans. His turn to moan...
INT. BUFFALO CHIP -- CONT.
Reggie has the cinch and is toying with the blonde girl.
REGGIE
See you can also... let me show
you...
She laughs at his attempt to do the wrap Ted did.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
Fuck it.( He pulls out his
handcuffs) We'll just use these.
She loses herself in laughter.
GIRL
Okay... (she motions to Ted's bag)
Anything else fun in there?
REGGIE
Let's see...
Shows her Ted's hand cuffs.
GIRL
Did you two plan this??
71.
He laughs, then spots something else. At the bottom of the
bag, he sees it --
A computer print out of a photo from the Wells Fargo security
camera... A PHOTO OF MACY.
Everything about Reggie changes.
REGGIE
Got a cell phone?
GIRL
Yeah... What?
REGGIE
Call 911. Right fucking now, call
911.
Puts his badge on the table.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
Tell them I said so. Read them the
badge number.
And Reggie is gone. The girl starts dialing.
EXT. BUFFALO CHIP -- CONT.
MACY'S back is against the Sheet metal, Ted pressed against
her. Bare legs wrapped around him. He thrusts deep inside
her.
It is rapid, almost angry. She needs this. Release is coming,
she moans freely now, she's so close--
We see something moving toward them in a blur.
Reggie's fist slams the side of Ted's face. It knocks him out
of frame, exposing Macy completely naked below the waist,
legs spread wide against the wall.
She panics, reaching down to pull up her pants and falls over
as Reggie jumps on Ted, beating him senseless.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
MOTHER FUCKER!!! MOTHER
FUUUCCCKKKERRRR!!!
Ted is helpless, curled into a fetal position, face broken
and bleeding.
MACY
What are you doing???
72.
Sirens can be heard. Reggie has Ted cuffed now and is
frisking him. Knife in his boot. Pistol in the other boot.
REGGIE
He was sent here. There's
surveillance photos of you IN HIS
BAG!!! He works for the fucking
cartel.
She leans against the wall, still flushed and breathing
heavy, so close to orgasm, now the farthest thing from it.
TED
Reggie... pull up my pants for me?
REGGIE
FUCK YOU.
TED
You got it wrong... nothing was
gonna happen... wasn't... Didn't
even know she--
Reggie kicks him quiet. Macy starts to do something she
hasn't done in a decade. She's fighting it, but sex brought
so much emotion with it. And now -- no release. Try though
she may, she starts to cry.
Reggie goes to her and hugs her as CAVE CREEK POLICE VEHICLES
pull into the parking lot, sirens blazing.
CUT TO:
EXT. BUFFALO CHIP -- NIGHT.
EVERYONE IS HERE NOW. FBI. All of them. Ted is loaded into a
car.
Macy rests against a SQUAD CAR, smoking a cigarette, too
exhausted to care that she looks like she just got fucked
outside a bar.
Director Jennings walks up, leans against the car beside her.
JENNINGS
See what I mean? They try to react
and make mistakes... you want a
LITTLE --
MACY
No.
73.
JENNINGS
Then keep shaking the tree. Let's
see what else falls.
Jennings stands.
JENNINGS (CONT'D)
Finding that photo and luring him
out. That was smart.
His knowing smile says: our little secret.
She nods in appreciation.
MACY
Thank you, Dave.
JENNINGS
Thank you. Unlike most of the perps
we see, Phoenix PD officers facing
thirty years in prison have plenty
to lose. We'll know whatever he
knows very soon.
Jennings walks off. Macy pulls a long drag from the
cigarette. She looks at it, and must accept the fact that she
is once again a smoker...
Reggie walks up to her. He hands her a new pack. They look at
each other. Try not to, but can't help it. They laugh... But
when Macy's laughter risks turning to tears, she stops.
REGGIE
Thought all you white girls shaved.
She starts laughing again.
MACY
You saved my life.
REGGIE
Nah. Think he was meant to scare
you, or test you, maybe...
MACY
Are they following us?
REGGIE
Don't know. They're gonna take your
vehicle, look for a transmitter.
Which would mean there's someone in
our house involved too.
(MORE)
74.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
Maybe someone tailed us from the
bank... I don't know.
The not knowing scares her.
MACY
Thank you. I mean it.
He accepts it with a nod.
MACY (CONT'D)
Where is he now?
REGGIE
Backseat of your car. With our
shadows.
Takes that in.
MACY
I hope they kill him.
REGGIE
You don't mean that.
MACY
... No.
They lean against the car in silence.
INT. MACY'S VEHICLE -- CONT.
Ted sits in the backseat, face destroyed. The reality of his
situation now fully in front of him. Matt sits in the front
seat, Alejandro beside him.
TED
Okay. Okay. Okay...
MATT
You said that Ted.
TED
Look... I. I. I was asked what her
CASE INVOLVED-
As quick as a cat, Alejandro stabs his thumb into Ted's eye.
Ted pitches forward.
MATT
The beauty of you being so beat to
shit... No one's gonna notice a
couple more scratches... this is a
new game, Ted.
(MORE)
75.
MATT (CONT'D)
I'm the guy who will decide if your
daughters get Federal protection or
whether we post your ex wife's
address on the internet. I decide
whether you go to prison at a work
camp in Missouri or a kill house
like Corcoran. This is where you
negotiate how to survive...
TED
I'm in really fucking deep here.
ALEJANDRO
How many officers do they have on
the force?
TED
I don't know... How do I guarantee
my family's safe?
ALEJANDRO
You want the truth?
TED
Please.
ALEJANDRO
Give the names, give the houses,
phone numbers ... Give me all of
you.
We watch from a distance as Matt and Alejandro listen. Matt
stands and waves over the Director and other agents. They
lean over and listen to Ted spilling.
Ted is then removed and marched toward another vehicle.
Alejandro and Matt walk toward Macy.
MATT
Good job.
She laughs at the conviction this lie is given by everyone.
MACY
I love how we're all going to
pretend I planned this.
MATT
You write it that way in the
report. (Looking at Reggie) Yes?
REGGIE
Well ... she found the picture and
led him outside.
76.
MATT
Real quick thinking, Kate.
MACY
Yeah ... So, can I go home tonight
or ...
MATT
Sure ... This is good news. They're
going to call Manuel back. Soon.
MACY
Whoopee. Then we can call the
Mexican police to go arrest their
employer. Why do I think that won't
happen?
MATT
(Matt really likes this girl) Gotta
have a little faith.
Matt walks off.
REGGIE
You can come stay with me.
MACY
I'll be fine... They have your
picture too, you know.
REGGIE
Yeah. Thought crossed my mind.
Phil waves Reggie over. Macy is alone. She looks left, and
Alejandro is beside her.
MACY
(Dry) I understand now, okay?
They're everywhere and I'll never
know who to trust, as evidenced by
me fucking my hit man behind a bar.
ALEJANDRO
He wasn't an assassin. He was just
supposed to be your friend and
hopefully find out who is showing
you how to hurt them. They are
looking for us, not you.
MACY
That doesn't scare you?
77.
ALEJANDRO
I've been doing this for a long
time.
He looks out over the cactus.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
In Mexico, police do not
investigate crimes for the
government. Attorneys do. That's
what I did. I was very close to
arresting someone who ... someone I
shouldn't have tried to arrest.
His mind wanders back. He remembers...
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
The brilliance of what they do when
they mutilate a body is make people
think -- Oh, that person must have
done something to receive such a
death. They must have been
involved.
He looks at her.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
They must have deserved it ... And
for the family ... It soils every
memory you have of that person.
They make it impossible to imagine
the face you loved without seeing
the initials carved into her
forehead. Imagine her body without
seeing her chest with -- remember
her before...
He draws in a deep breath. Swallows the emotion.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Her breasts were cut off ...
Remember your child without ...
He looks off. Can't even say it ... Won't say it.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
They kill the body, the memory,
everything.
She shivers as she digests his words. Alejandro looks up to
the stars. Studies them.
78.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
You remind me of my wife. I find it
very difficult to look at you.
He steps away.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow
they will call Manuel back, and we
will cut a leg from them.
He walks back toward Matt, leaving Macy staring out across
the desert.
CUT TO:
INT. SILVIO'S HOUSE -- BEDROOM -- DAY.
Silvio sleeps. A shadow crosses his face. He opens an eye.
Eliseo stands there holding coffee and a plate of eggs and
tortillas.
SILVIO
Juevos?
ELISEO
Si papa.
SILVIO
Con jalapenos?
ELISEO
Si.
Silvio sits up. Takes the coffee, drinks. No booze in it.
Thinks about sending it back, but the look on Eliseo's face
makes him reconsider. He'll get drunk soon enough. He takes
the plate and feeds.
Eliseo sits on the bed.
ELISEO (CONT'D)
Trabajando hoy?
SILVIO
En la noche.
ELISEO
Quere jugar baseball? En el parque?
The man chews. Thinks. Exaggerates his expressions.
79.
SILVIO
Hmmmm ... baseball.
The boy laughs.
ELISEO
BASEBALL!!! Si.
SILVIO
Okay.
The boy shoots off like a rocket. Silvio laughs. As he eats,
we see the AK 47 by the bed. A bag of coke and a thousand or
so dollars on the night stand.
CUT TO:
EXT. BEST WESTERN -- SCOTTSDALE -- DAY.
Macy and Reggie pull in and park next to five US GOVERNMENT
SUBURBANS. They get out and walk past them.
They get to the room and knock.
INT. BEST WESTERN SUITE -- CONT.
Matt lets them in. He wears desert camo fatigues, as do most
of the people in the room. There are computers linked to
monitors. One displays footage of MANUEL DIAZ'S HOUSE and
OFFICE. Another is footage of the DESERT. But that footage is
MOVING.
MATT
We may have the tunnel, right here.
We look at the footage. Cactus and desert grass in the
foreground. In the background, a ravine.
MATT (CONT'D)
We'll know soon enough.
EXT. DESERT -- CONTINUOUS.
We look at cactus and brush along a ridge. Slowly,
caterpillar slow, the brush begins moving. We can just make
out an enormous telephoto lens wrapped in camouflage tape.
INT. BEST WESTERN SUITE -- CONT.
Matt points to coolers filled with Gatorade and Red Bull.
80.
MATT (CONT'D)
Tasty beverage?
This guy ...
MACY
What's the plan?
MATT
(Easy smile) Going hunting.
There is a DOD AGENT wearing headphones and sitting in front
of what looks like a sound board linked to a computer.
From the other room, DELTA and one of his team members walk
through. Moving toward the TOPO MAP on the wall.
DELTA
Alright. Listen up. We're waiting
for visual confirmation to move, so
let's clarify the op. We will drive
to this location. Proceed on foot
to this ridge.
He moves to a diagram of a tunnel.
DELTA (CONT'D)
This diagram is based on other
tunnels that have been mapped. This
is NOT accurate, it is for
reference only. We expect a small
exit corridor on our side of the
border. They mark the international
border in the tunnel with red paint
so Border Patrol doesn't pursue
past that point. Once on the
Mexican side, there will be a small
staging area, then another shaft
will lead to the main warehouse and
the road that returns to Mexico.
Once we clear the mules, we don't
expect more than a dozen bandits.
DELTA looks at Matt.
DELTA (CONT'D)
Wanna discuss ROE?
MATT
We'll save that for later.
DELTA
This is an in and out. We are
clearing and placing an agent.
(MORE)
81.
DELTA (CONT'D)
Once we've cleared the tunnel and
dropped the agent, DEA will take
over the scene. Alright?
An operator watching a monitor speaks.
OPERATOR
This looks like confirmation.
We look at the monitor and see a large amount of brush, and
behind it, an old wrecked car entangled in it.
DELTA
That looks like it. Okay, let's
gear up. Got a good drive ahead of
us.
They begin breaking down gear, pulling maps from the walls.
Matt turns to an agent.
MATT
First thing, get that surveillance
van operational.
OPERATOR
I need to fit your guy with a
locator.
MATT
Do it.
The agent takes off.
Macy and Reggie's heads are spinning.
REGGIE
Those guys are Special Ops. (To
Matt) Are we going on this?
Matt turns to them.
MATT
You aren't really dressed for it.
REGGIE
Well, you didn't fucking tell us.
MATT
You went crying to daddy yesterday.
We don't want daddy to know
everything. Loose lips sink ships,
haven't you learned that yet? Don't
worry, we got extra--
82.
MACY
We have tac gear in our car.
Alejandro steps into the room. Dressed in head to toe black.
Face painted as well.
MACY (CONT'D)
Jesus.
She notices Alejandro's gear. Ear piece. Silenced HK Mark 23,
tactical vest. Night vision goggles. No one else is dressed
like him. The operator straps what looks to be a wrist watch
on Alejandro's arm.
REGGIE
What the fuck is he dressed for?
MATT
Relax. You guys will hang back when
we get there, k?
REGGIE
Then why are we going?
MACY
Because CIA can't operate within US
borders without a domestic agency
attached. Right?
At last. She gets it. He smiles.
MATT
Hey. All the drugs we find, you
guys get to confiscate. Gonna be a
big day.
He walks off.
MACY
That's why we're here. That's the
only reason.
Reggie shakes his head.
REGGIE
Great.
He walks out.
EXT. ARIZONA DESERT -- HIGHWAY 86 -- DAY.
Five suburbans and a large cargo van drive down the desolate
highway as the sun begins to set.
83.
INT. SILVIO'S HOUSE -- NOGALES, MEXICO -- DAY.
Silvio sits in his little courtyard, watching the chickens.
He tosses a handful of feed and they scamper after it. He
drinks a beer. Three empties beside him. He looks at his
watch. It's time. He gets up.
EXT. STASH HOUSE -- NOGALES -- DAY.
Three state Police Vehicles. One being loaded full of bricks
of marijuana. Silvio stands beside the car, smoking.
INT. US GOVERNMENT SUBURBAN -- DAY.
Matt sits in the front seat. A Delta operator driving. Macy,
Reggie, Alejandro and three Delta operators sit in the back.
Matt is on his cell.
MATT
What. What. What's he saying?
VOICE
Um. Hold on... They called him
back. He's on the road now.
MATT
Where.
VOICE
Turning left on Scottsdale. You got
about three hours and he'll be
across.
Matt turns back to the Delta operators.
MATT
We're gonna have to hit the tunnel
the minute we get on the ground.
Matt looks at Macy and Reggie.
MATT (CONT'D)
Pretty exciting, huh?
They don't share his enthusiasm. They just want this to be
over.
INT. RANGE ROVER -- DAY.
Manuel is sweating, even though the AC blasts in his face. On
the seat beside him is an overnight bag.
EXT. INTERSTATE 10 -- PHOENIX -- DAY.
84.
We watch Manuel's Range Rover get on the interstate.
VOICE
He's on I 10, travelling
southeast...
EXT. MEXICAN ROAD -- LATE AFTERNOON.
A MEXICAN STATE POLICE VEHICLE ambleS down the road, heading
toward the tunnel...
INT. POLICE VEHICLE -- MEXICAN ROAD -- CONTINUOUS.
Silvio drives, marijuana bundles fill the backseat. He smokes
a cigarette, he slows down, pulls off the pavement.
EXT. MEXICAN ROAD -- CONTINUOUS.
We watch from a distance as Silvio's vehicle bounces down a
dirt road, disappearing into the desert as the sun hides
behind the horizon.
INT. US GOVERNMENT SUBURBAN -- NIGHT.
We pull off the highway and stop. A man in a ghillie suit
stands up, walks toward them carrying a camera with an 800mm
lens. Matt turns toward us.
MATT
On foot from here.
EXT. TRANSPORT VEHICLE -- CONT.
Macy steps out and sees another vehicle parked. Another half
dozen men in full camo. From the back of the Suburban, six
duffel bags are opened. Operators reach in and grab weapons,
magazines, grenades. Generation 4 night vision goggles are
passed to everyone. DELTA walks up to Reggie and Macy.
DELTA
Keep your fucking safeties on and
the barrels pointed down. Stay in
the back and don't shoot anyone on
my fucking team, got it?
Doesn't wait for a reply.
REGGIE
We HAVE done this before.
85.
MACY
I don't think we've done THIS.
They move out. We watch the world through NIGHT VISION
GOGGLES.
We run a bit then kneel down. We are flagged forward. Kneel
down. We leap frog this way forever.
Macy looks out over the desert. TWO COYOTES(the animals), are
stopped, staring right at us. Macy makes eye contact. They
begin trotting off, never breaking eye contact with Macy, as
though they are begging her to follow. While she still can...
We come to a rise. Everyone lays down. DELTA whispers to
Alejandro.
DELTA
Rules of engagement on this deal?
ALEJANDRO
I don't use those. Ask Matt.
DELTA turns the other way.
DELTA
Rules of engagement?
MATT
Weapons free, my friend.
He whispers it down the line.
Reggie's eyes scream `what the fuck'.
We drop into a ravine and follow it. Up ahead we see the
brush and the old car that is hood first in the ground, like
it was dropped from the sky. The team lines up across from
it.
MATT (CONT'D)
(Into mouthpiece) Where is the
target?
VOICE
Bout twenty minutes to the border.
MATT
(To Delta)We need to boogie. And we
need to do it quiet till we find
the center.
Delta pulls his knife. Alejandro comes up to the front.
86.
MATT (CONT'D)
Good luck.
Alejandro nods. He and the Delta operators move ahead,
silently. Disappear behind the old car. After a moment we
follow.
We enter the tunnel. Moving fast.
INT. TUNNEL -- CONT.
We pass the body of a SMUGGLER, throat slit. We continue. A
shaft banks left, we follow...
Another body lies on the ground, throat slit, though eyes
wide open, bleeding out and staring up at us as we pass.
We see the operators ahead. DELTA backtracks to Matt.
DELTA
(whispers) So we're clear, I don't
need to announce. Weapons free.
MATT
They don't get freer buddy.
The operator moves forward, whispers to his group. They all
pull out their 1911 pistols and attach silencers.
ALEJANDRO
Take the left shaft ... Make noise.
DELTA returns his pistol to it's holster, raises his rifle.
His men follow suit.
DELTA
Don't want us with you?
ALEJANDRO
No. Draw them to you. The one I am
looking for will try and run.
The operators move into the left chamber, Alejandro moves off
to the right. Matt holds Macy and Reggie up. Points to the
ceiling: RED PAINT ALL THE WAY AROUND.
MATT
Cross this and it's new rules.
She takes the dare.
MACY
Fair enough.
87.
Matt moves down the left shaft.
REGGIE
Fuck are we doing in here? Let's go
back.
Machine gun fire erupts. The fight has begun.
REGGIE (CONT'D)
We're in fucking Mexico!!
MACY
THEN GO BACK.
He'll never leave her. As he moves up the tunnel, Macy looks
right, toward the shaft Alejandro took. Can't resist.
MACY (CONT'D)
REGGIE!
He's too far ahead to hear. She heads down Alejandro's path
anyway.
GUNFIRE ECHOES FROM EVERYWHERE.
INT. TUNNEL WAREHOUSE -- CONT.
We find SILVIO, and he is panicking, throwing the marijuana
from his car to the ground. Another man runs up and helps.
SILVIO
RAPIDO RAPIDO!!!
They hear more gunfire. Screw it. Silvio's not waiting around
any longer. He gets in the driver's seat.
BANDIT
Traiga me contigo!!!
SILVIO
No cabron!
The man opens the passenger door as Silvio starts the squad
car. A bullet penetrates the bandit's face, just under the
eye. He drops as if he's been unplugged.
Silvio ducks down, throwing the car in reverse, but a hand
reaches in the window, and turns the car off. Silvio looks up
and sees --
Alejandro.
HE pulls Silvio from the car. Spins him around. Pulls the
pistol from Silvio's belt. Tosses it on the ground.
88.
Silvio stares at Alejandro in absolute terror.
SILVIO (CONT'D)
El Medellin.
Alejandro places his pistol to Silvio's face.
SILVIO (CONT'D)
No me mata!!
Alejandro jams his thumb in Silvio's larynx. Silvio gasps for
air. Alejandro grabs his hair, pistol to his head.
ALEJANDRO (SUBTITLE)
What you do now is for your family.
Whether they see tomorrow rests
with you.
Tears roll down Silvio's cheek.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
You will drive me.
MACY (O.S.)
WHAT ARE YOU DOING??
Alejandro turns and sees Macy, her rifle trained on him.
ALEJANDRO
Put that down.
MACY
STEP AWAY. I mean it. Move away
from him.
He looks at her.
The automatic fire from different tunnel shafts rushes in and
out like blasts of hot air.
ALEJANDRO
We are in Mexico now. You have no
jurisdiction.
MACY
We can't be here--
Alejandro raises his pistol and fires six rounds into Macy's
chest.
She collapses to the ground, sucking for air. Alejandro walks
over and grabs her rifle. Tosses it in the back of the Police
car.
89.
ALEJANDRO
Don't ever point a weapon at me
again. Get your breath and go back
to the surface.
She gasps, clasping at the Kevlar vest that saved her life.
She rolls onto her stomach and struggles to stand. Reaches
for her pistol. Alejandro slams her face into his knee.
Tosses her pistol across the room.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Stop it Kate. Just stop. This is
what we were sent here to do.
He pulls her to her feet. Points his pistol at her.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
I don't have time. Go to the
surface. Now.
Blood pours from her shattered nose. She has lost and she
knows it.
MACY
You lured Manuel to Mexico so you
could kill him. This is your cab
driver.
ALEJANDRO
I am here to kill the man with the
power to summon Manuel Diaz. I am
here for Fausto. But I will kill
Manuel too. It's what I do, Kate.
Go. Or I will do it to you.
She stumbles back, turns around and runs.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
(Turning the gun on Sylvio) Get in.
Alejandro gets in the back seat of the police car.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Drive back to Mexico.
The car backs up, spins and drives the tunnel road until we
ARE:
EXT. MEXICAN ROAD -- NIGHT.
We are in the backseat, looking through the windshield.
90.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
(Into mouthpiece) I am through, do
you have my location?
VOICE
Copy. We have you. Target is east
and north of you. Looks like
highway 56 to 17 will intercept him
if he stays on 17. Will advise. Go
east on 56 off highway 2.
ALEJANDRO
(TO SILVIO)
Este a calle cinquinta y seis.
SYLVIO
I have a son... I... have a son.
ALEJANDRO
Having family... does that save the
lives of the men you are hired to
kill? Hmm?
Sylvio stares in the rearview mirror at the phantom ducked
low behind him.
EXT. TUNNEL ENTRANCE -- NIGHT.
Reggie looks around, doesn't see Macy anywhere. Spots Matt
among the Delta team.
MATT
(Into mouthpiece) Is he through?
VOICE
Copy. GPS is transmitting. Audio is
transmitting. Should intercept in
20.
Matt pats DELTA on the back.
MATT
This was a clean, clean fucking op
my friend.
Delta points back toward the approaching Reggie.
DELTA
Except for these assholes. Like it
better overseas where we don't have
baby sitters.
Reggie reaches them.
91.
REGGIE
You see Kate?
MATT
She's not with you?
Beat.
REGGIE
We gotta go back.
Matt sighs.
MATT
Okay, let's go.(Yells to the team)
We're missing one.
Delta rolls his eyes. They approach the tunnel entrance when
Macy walks out. She spots Matt and punches him for all she's
worth. He deflects it, sweeps her leg and she hits the
ground. Hard.
Reggie rushes him.
REGGIE
Hey man, what the --
He is grabbed and flung to the ground by DELTA. He holds
Reggie's face to the ground with his boot. Rifle pointed at
him.
DELTA
Just lay back, baby. Let it happen.
Reggie struggles for even a breath much less a response. Matt
grabs Macy and pulls her back into the tunnel.
MACY
He's an assassin. A government
ASSASSIN--
MATT
Our government doesn't have
assassins. We farm that out.
MACY
Who is Medellin?? What is that?
MATT
Refers to a time when one group
controlled every aspect of the drug
trade. Providing a measure of
order. That we can control.
(MORE)
92.
MATT (CONT'D)
And until someone figures out how
to convince 20 percent of the US
population to stop smoking and
snorting this shit, order is the
best we can hope for... Alejandro
is working to return that order.
MACY
He works for the cartels in
Colombia... He works for the
fucking competition.
MATT
He works for whoever points him
toward the people that made him,
Kate. Us, them, anyone that will
turn him loose.
He stands close to her.
MACY
Get away from me.
MATT
Take a breath and --
She pushes him hard.
MACY
Fucking kill me or get out of my
way.
He looks at her. Takes a step back.
MATT
Long walk back to Phoenix.
MACY
I'll manage.
She walks out of the tunnel toward Reggie. DELTA removes his
boot and walks away.
MACY (CONT'D)
Let's go.
Helicopters can be heard. In the distance, sirens are
approaching.
Macy and Reggie walk away from the scene.
REGGIE
What just happened?
93.
MACY
They woke me up. Showed me the
whole thing.
REGGIE
And?
MACY
And I quit.
They continue to walk, sirens racing toward them.
CUT TO:
INT. SILVIO'S SQUAD CAR NIGHT
Far ahead, we see TAIL LIGHTS. Silvio's labored breathing
gives rhythm to the racing vehicle. Alejandro stays low in
the back seat.
ALEJANDRO
(Into mouthpiece) This is the
target ahead? Confirm.
VOICE
Copy. Black Range Rover, 60 meters
ahead.
ALEJANDRO
Put on your lights. Pull the car
over.
He flips on his siren.
INT. MANUEL'S RANGE ROVER -- CONT.
He sees the siren.
MANUEL
What the fuck. Want to bribe me,
eh.
He reaches for his pistol, puts it in his lap.
INT. SILVIO'S SQUAD CAR -- CONT.
The range Rover pulls over. Us right behind it. Silvio is
breathing even heavier, if that's possible. So many ways this
can go wrong...
ALEJANDRO
Use the speaker. Tell him to get
out of the car.
94.
Silvio grabs the radio handset, flips the switch, and his
voice comes through the speaker on the roof of the car.
SILVIO
Afuera del carro!!
INT. RANGE ROVER -- CONT.
MANUEL
This mother fucker...
He sticks the pistol in his waistband. Opens the car door.
Steps out.
INT. SILVIO'S SQUAD CAR -- CONT.
We watch Manuel through the windshield. He is standing in the
road.
ALEJANDRO
Tell him to raise his shirt and
turn around.
SILVIO
Levanta su camisa.
MANUEL
You know who I am? HUH??
ALEJANDRO
Tell him to do it or you will shoot
him where he stands.
SILVIO
Voy a matarse cabron. Levanta tu
camisa.
Manuel does it. We see the pistol.
SILVIO (CONT'D)
Tira la pistola en la tierra.
Manuel throws his pistol in the dirt.
ALEJANDRO
Look how good you are at pretending
to be a police officer. Out of the
car. Now.
EXT. MEXICAN ROAD -- CONT.
Headlights blind Manuel, but he can see the car door has
opened, and an image is moving toward him. He waits, for the
fool who is robbing the wrong mother fucker.
95.
As the image reaches Manuel, something moves from behind it.
Fast. An arm reaches around Manuel and two shots are fired
from a silenced pistol. Now the pistol is held to the back of
Manuel's head.
ALEJANDRO (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Walk back to your car.
MANUEL
Who was he?
ALEJANDRO
A mule. Like you.
Alejandro fires a round into Manuel's calf. He wails in pain.
He fires another round into his right hand as it hits the
asphalt. He screams louder.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
In the leg so you don't run. In the
hand so you don't try to fight and
make me have to kill you yet.
MANUEL
You know... who .. The.. I AM A
JEFE!!!
ALEJANDRO
I know who you are, Manuel. You are
no jefe, but you will drive me to
one...
Alejandro kneels down, and for the first time, Manuel can see
his face.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
If you try anything, if you betray
me, your daughters will burp the
semen of twenty men with their last
breath. Do you understand me?
Manuel's eyes go wide. He nods.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Get in.
Alejandro opens the back door before letting Manuel get in
the front. In an instant, Manuel is in the driver's seat and
Alejandro seated behind. The doors are closed and the Range
Rover disappears down the road. We are left with Silvio,
gasping, struggling, like a fish tossed thoughtlessly on the
beach, as he flops helplessly on the empty road.
CUT TO:
96.
EXT. FAUSTO ALARCON ESTATE -- NIGHT.
We near an isolated estate. We turn off the main road to a
private road that leads a mile or so onto Fausto's hacienda.
As the large house comes into view. VEHICLES can be seen
parked in front. We approach a car along the road, a man
sitting on the hood.
Manuel rolls his window down.
MANUEL
Soy Manuel Diaz.
GUARD
Si, te conosco. El Jefe esta
esperando.
The rear window rolls down. A pistol comes out. A silenced
round is fired into the face of the man. He falls back on the
hood.
ALEJANDRO
Drive.
MANUEL
What happens when we get to the
house?
ALEJANDRO
You get out and walk toward them.
MANUEL
What will happen to me?
ALEJANDRO
What you do now is for your family.
There is no you.
MANUEL
You think you are so different?
ALEJANDRO
No. Not anymore. Now I am the same.
Turn the car a bit more to the
left.
The car stops. THREE MEN stand in the driveway with automatic
rifles. The Range Rover is parked so the right headlight is
pointed directly toward them.
Manuel opens the door and we are--
EXT. FUASTO ESTATE -- CONT.
97.
Manuel walks toward the men -- looking for a way out of this.
GUARD 2
Senor, buenos noches.
MANUEL
CUIDADO HOMBRES--
Alejandro takes his pistol and presses the silenced barrel to
the top of manuel's head, pulling the trigger and driving
Manuel into the ground like a nail. As Manuel's body drops,
Alejandro fires on all three men -- hitting them all in the
head, killing them instantly.
He walks to the front door, opens it...
INT. FAUSTO ESTATE -- CONT.
A man rounds the corner into the main foyer and without
slowing down, Alejandro touches the barrel to his forehead
and fires.
We can hear the sound of talking in another room. Alejandro
moves to it.
INT FAUSTO'S KITCHEN/ DINING ROOM
FAUSTO, 50's, graying hair. Big belly. Sits at the head of
the table. JACINTA, 30's trophy wife, sits beside him gulping
wine. They have three CHILDREN, two girls and a boy. A woman
in her 60's cooks in the kitchen.
JACINTA
RAPIDO, MAMA!, tengo hambre!
Alejandro walks into the room, presses his foot against
Jacinta's side, and launches her out of frame, then sits next
to Fausto, presses the gun to his shoulder and fires. The
children scream. Mama turns, Alejandro points the gun at her.
ALEJANDRO
SIENTATE! AQUI!!
She comes around and sits as ordered.
Jacinta stands up.
FAUSTO (SUBTITLE)
He'll kill you. Stay still.
ALEJANDRO (SUBTITLE)
Your children speak English?
98.
FAUSTO
No.
ALEJANDRO
Then we will spare them. I
interrupted dinner. Please...
Continue.
Fausto stares at him.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Every night, you have families
killed, and yet you dine. Tonight
should be no different.
Points the pistol at him.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Eat.
He slowly fills a fork, puts it in his mouth. Tells his
children to do the same. They chew their meal and cry.
Alejandro turns to the old woman.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Take the children away from here.
She rises and hurries the children out of the dining area.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
(Points the gun at Jacinta) You.
Whore. Sit over there.
She sits. Alejandro turns to Fausto, notices he has stopped
eating. Picks up a fork and stabs it into Fausto's hand.
Fausto screams.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
You're not finished. Eat...
Fausto forces down another bite, rests his trembling hand on
the table.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
I will give you a choice, Fausto,
one I was not given... You may
choose to die tonight or live with
the shame of having the mother of
your children take your place...
He looks at Fausto. Fausto stops chewing. Processes what was
just said.
99.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Yes ... Choose.
Fausto looks at Jacinta. Her eyes say, "Goodbye my brave
love"... Never dawns on her what he's thinking.
FAUSTO
I take shame.
She's stunned. Tears run her heavy make up. She looks to
Alejandro. No mercy there. Back to her husband.
FAUSTO (CONT'D)
I love me more. I'm sorry.
He isn't. It wasn't a hard decision. She turns to Alejandro.
Holds her chin high in defiance.
JACINTA
Do it. You fuck. Chinga tu madre
PUNTA CABRON ANDALE PUES!!!
Alejandro looks at Fausto.
ALEJANDRO
See why you married her. Spunk.
Alejandro looks into Fausto's uncaring eyes.
Alejandro fires into Fausto's belly. Touches the barrel to
his arm, fires again. Fausto screams. Alejandro presses the
barrel to Fausto's throat, fires again. Fausto falls to the
floor, gargling.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Watch death come for you. Watch.
The devil is near, Fausto. He is
waiting for you.
Fausto's terrified eyes stare back at Alejandro as he gasps
for air. Drowning in his own blood. There is no specific
moment when death comes. He simply fades. Alejandro sits back
down.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
This is what they think of you. You
see?
She stares at him, shaking so profusely you might think she
is freezing to death.
100.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Maybe you have enough pride that
you don't marry another one of
these. Maybe you take his money and
go hide and raise your children far
from here. Maybe your son grows up
to be a doctor. And I don't have to
come back and kill him some day.
Alejandro walks out, leaving Jacinta shivering alone at the
dinner table.
CUT TO:
INT. SILVIO'S HOUSE -- BEDROOM -- DAY.
A shadow falls over an empty bed. Eliseo stands there... this
has never happened before. He walks down the hall to the
kitchen. His mother is in the same place, cooking. But the
look in her eyes is anger. She knows he is dead. And may God
damn him for making her be the one to tell their son.
He stands there. Staring at his mother.
ELISEO
Mama?
CUT TO:
EXT. MACY'S APARTMENT -- BALCONY -- DAY.
Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, she sits on the balcony,
takes a drag of her cigarette. Looks at it.
MACY
Three days ago I hadn't had you in
ten years... fucker.
She leans back and looks out over Phoenix as the sun sets.
She exhales ... looks at the cigarette.
MACY (CONT'D)
(Half joking) You're the only one
who understands me.
ALEJANDRO (O.S.)
I think maybe, it will be the thing
that kills us all ... as a people,
you know?
Macy leaps up as if she's on fire, falls over her chair,
comes up with her pistol. He moves so fast there is no time
to react.
101.
In an instant, he has the gun and removes the magazine,
disassembles the slide, and tosses the pieces on the table.
She screams and rushes him. He spins her and pushes her back.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
Stop it.
He moves to her and gently touches her face, looking at the
gash on her nose. She is frozen in fear.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
That will scar. I'm sorry.
She breathes heavy, trying to remain calm.
He begins lifting her shirt. She struggles and he grabs her
throat. She looks into his eyes and it is a killer looking
back.
MACY
Please.
ALEJANDRO
Let me look ... Move your hand.
She surrenders, turns her head to the side. He lifts her
shirt above her bare breasts. Six large, red welts...
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
These ribs are bruised, but not
broken, yes?
She nods as her lip quivers. Clinging desperately to her
dignity. She has never felt so powerless, and that is his
point.
He drops her shirt and steps back. She crosses her arms,
feeling very weak.
Alejandro sits across from her.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
I would recommend not standing on
balconies for a little while.
She doesn't move.
MACY
You're an assassin.
Beat.
102.
ALEJANDRO
In Mexico, the killers are called
Sicarios... The word comes from the
zealots of Jerusalem. Killers who
hunted the Romans that invaded
their homeland... They don't
deserve the term.
MACY
You are a Sicario.
ALEJANDRO
Policing them does nothing. They
must be killed. Wherever they are
found. They will make every place
they touch Juarez. Now ... Now you
understand how far we have fallen.
He studies her-- arms crossed, legs close together.
ALEJANDRO (CONT'D)
You look like a girl when you're
scared. Such beauty in you when you
let yourself be frail. Like the
daughter they took from me ... This
is not the work for you. Look at
yourself, Kate. What it has done to
you in just three days ... Find a
little town far from the border. A
place where the rule of law still
exists. You will spot predators
there very easy now... Make a
difference you can see everyday.
Because you will not survive here.
You are not a wolf. This is the
land of wolves now.
He looks at her. Smiles sadly and leaves.
She waits. Starts to cry, fights it back. Begins frantically
reassembling the pistol. Rams the magazine in and racks a
round. Comes around the corner. Enters the house. Looks
around. Checks every room, panting, shaking. He is gone. She
stands there and sobs...
CUT TO:
EXT. NOGALES STREET -- DAY.
The mother walks with Eliseo, dressed for soccer. Down the
empty street. Sirens in the distance.
103.
ALEJANDRO (V.O.)
We like to think if we cut the head
from the snake, the serpent will
die...
They round the corner. We follow them to a park. Weeds cut
short to look like grass. Little boys dressed in uniforms,
parents sitting in lawn chairs. A referee. Just people,
desperately trying to enjoy the life they have been given.
ALEJANDRO (V.O.)
But there is no snake. They are
worms. When you cut the head, a new
one grows. From both segments ...
We cannot question if the end
justifies the means because there
is no end to consider...
Eliseo runs to join his team. Whatever his mother told him,
it wasn't the truth.
ALEJANDRO (V.O.)
This is the price of our self
indulgence. Our weakness ... Our
appetite. They are our demons, our
creation.
The mother sits on the ground, watching the boys. Running.
Playing. Being children. The referee blows a whistle. The
boys assume their positions on the field. The forwards line
up, facing each other. Eliseo is dead center, the team's
star. The referee sets the ball in place...
-- GUNFIRE RIPS THROUGH THE MORNING.
Everyone stops and stares in the direction of the gunfire. It
is very still. People frozen like deer in a field -- weighing
the risk. No more shooting. The morning is quiet again.
ALEJANDRO
There is a moment in each person's
life. A choice. Do what feels
good... Do what is good. Make the
wrong choice enough, and it is not
presented again... then all choices
are bad. And the consequences
worse. There is no war on drugs.
Only war. The enemy we fight?
Ourselves ...
The referee blows the whistle and sets the ball down. The
game begins.
104.
Eliseo swipes it and kicks it out of frame, the other boys
chasing him...
THE END.
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