Brave River
by Jack Allen
Based on the short story
“Brave River”
by Jack Allen
Jack Allen
Burping Frog Publishing
Livonia, Michigan

EXT. river bank - nIGHT
JANICE DUPAGE is on her knees, bent over, giving a deep, open-mouthed kiss to SPECIAL AGENT REYES.  They are on the muddy bank of the Brave River at night, in the middle of a thunderstorm with rain that pounds them like it is trying to wash them off of the bank into the river.
Janice is wearing a police officer uniform and Reyes is wearing a light tan suit.  Both of them are drenched and covered in mud.
Janice lifts her head and stares down at Reyes face.  She has a shocked, uncomprehending look on her face, and the look on his face is similar.
Sharp streaks of lightning flash over Janice's head.  The streaks are reflected in Reyes' dark eyes.  He is on his back in the mud, looking up at her.  The heavy raindrops pelt his face.  When he talks, he has to shout over the noise of the rain.
Reyes
Janice?  What the hell are you doing?
Janice
I just ... I love you.
REYES
Don't be ridiculous.
He pushes himself out of the thick red mud and stands up.  His tan slacks and jacket are covered with mud.  He holds out his hand for her.
JANICE
But I do.
She doesn't speak loud enough for him to hear.  She puts her hand in his and he pulls her to her feet.  Her police uniform is covered in the thick, red mud from the banks of the Brave River.
INT. brave river police department - dAY
The small squad room is brightly illuminated by the sunlight of morning.  Janice is wearing her clean, new uniform, and standing by the dispatch desk with CAPTAIN BARNETT, also in a police uniform, with a badge on his chest.  Janice is a young woman in her early twenties, and he is in his mid-fifties.
Barnett
Answer the phones, type up reports, that sort of thing.  When a call comes in, we'll dispatch a unit, either myself or Vincent, if only one of us is on duty.  That's pretty much it.  Think you can handle it?
JANICE
Yes sir.
She nods and takes a seat at the dispatch desk behind a high counter.
BARNETT
All right then.  We'll be sure to keep you busy.
Captain Barnett goes into his office and closes the door.  Janice looks around the desk at the computer and radio and the stacks of paperwork, and the expression on her face changes to disappointment.  She pokes at the keyboard and thumbs through the papers.  Her shoulders slump as her disappointment grows.
She opens a folder stuffed with papers from the top of the stack.  With a sigh, she takes out the top sheet of paper and begins typing.
The front doors of the police station are glass, letting in lots of bright, early morning light.  SPECIAL AGENT CARLOS REYES opens one of the doors and comes into the station from the blinding, bright light.  He is wearing a light tan suit with a dark red tie and a white shirt, and dark sunglasses.  His short, black hair is speckled with gray.
Janice stops typing and watches him approach the counter.  Her fingers hover over the keyboard.  He takes off his sunglasses.  His eyes are dark, as dark as his hair.  Janice swallows.
He reaches into the inside breast pocket of his jacket, takes out his wallet, and flips it open.  Inside is a badge and an ID card.
REYES
Special Agent Reyes, NAFTA Security Division.
He snaps the wallet closed and stuffs it back into his pocket.
JANICE
What?
REYES
I need to speak with your Captain.
Janice nods and rises to her feet.
JANICE
Yes sir.  I'll let him know you're here.
She stumbles over the chair.  She looks back at Reyes and smiles, but his face is blank.
She crosses the squad room to Captain Barnett's office.  The door is open and he is on the phone, with the receiver to his ear.  She knocks lightly on the door.  He waves her in without looking up.
BARNETT
Uh huh.  Yeah.  Talk to you later, Phil.  Bye.
He puts the phone down and rubs his eyes.
BARNETT
What can I do for you, Janice?
JANICE
There's a Special Agent Reyes here to see you, sir?
Barnett puts his glasses on and looks past her through the window in the door.
BARNETT
Who?
JANICE
Agent Reyes?  He says he's with the NAFTA Security Division?
BARNETT
All right.  Send him in.  I'll see what he wants.
She nods and walks back to the counter.  Reyes dark eyes watch her.
JANICE
The Captain will see you.
Reyes nods once and walks around the counter, and walks toward Barnett's office.  He goes in and glances at her as he closes the door.  Her eyebrows go up and she sighs.
EXT. rIVER BANK - nIGHT
The wind is howling and the rain is driving sideways.  Janice shouts over the noise.
JANICE
Wait.  I have to get my belt.
She trudges through the mud at the bank of the mouth of the river, where it opens into the Smithson Reservoir.  Her new shoes are coated with mud.  She picks up one heavy foot, plops it into the mud, then drags her other foot out.
Lightning flashes over her head and lights up her belt laying on the bank at the edge of the water.  She picks it up, fastens the belt around her waist, and draws the pistol from the holster.  The barrel is clogged with mud.
Lighting flashes again and she looks to her right.  Just a few feet away, halfway up the bank, is a wooden cross about four feet high.
Janice trudges up to the cross.  Some words are carved into the face of the cross.  She touches the grooves with her fingertips.  The lightning flashes, illuminating the name: Armando Pena.
Reyes is standing at the top of the bank, looking down at her.  She wipes the rain from her face and trudges up the bank to him.
JANICE
Let's get to the squad car.  I left it on the road, about half a mile from here.
She points down the road into the darkness.  Reyes nods and starts walking.  Janice looks back at the cross.  In a brief flash of lightning, the shadow of the cross stretches down the river bank, like an arm reaching out to the water.
BARNETT (v.o.)
Occasionally, in the course of your investigations, criminal trials, or maybe just during a night of drinking with your fellow officers, you may by chance hear a secret story.  It's a story about seven people who risked their lives trying to save a small boy who was drowning in the Brave River when it flooded in 1998.  They joined hands, forming a human chain.
INT. barnett's office - dAY
Janice is sitting in the chair in front of Captain Barnett's desk.  She is watching him while he speaks.  He is pacing behind his desk, staring at the floor, never looking at her, never looking out the window.
BARNETT (cont'd)
Unfortunately, the boy was swept away to his death in the raging current.  Three men also drowned.  Each of the remaining individuals has gone on with their lives, some becoming quite successful, including Mayor Pendan herself.  However, to this day, each of them tells a different story, to those fortunate enough to hear about this event, which ended four lives.  And each individual bitterly hates the others.
JANICE
I see.
She is silent, like she is waiting for him to say more.  He looks at her, looks at the floor, and looks out the window, but he says nothing more.  She gets up and walks out of his office.
EXT. access road - nIGHT
Janice and Reyes are standing next to the squad car, parked at the side of the road near a street light and a large green highway sign.  The rain is still pounding and they are covered in mud.  She digs through her pockets for the keys.
REYES
Why did you say that back there?
Janice stops fishing through her pockets.
JANICE
What did I say?
REYES
That you love me.
She stares into his face.  His brows are low, like he is angry.
JANICE
Because I meant it.
Lightning flashes and thunder cracks.  Reyes just nods.
Janice finally finds the keys in her pocket and unlocks the passenger side door.  She holds it open.  Reyes climbs in, smearing red mud on the clean vinyl seats.
She goes to the rear of the car, opens the trunk and gets out a heavy wool blanket.  She gets in on the driver's side.
INT. squad car - nIGHT
She sits in the driver's seat.  The noise of the rain is quieter, but it still pounds on the roof of the car.
JANICE
Here.  Put this on.
She unfolds the blanket and covers Reyes.
REYES
What about you?
JANICE
I'll be fine.
He just looks at her, like he doesn't believe her.  She starts the car.
INT. sQUAD CAR - dAY
Janice shuts off the car and puts her sunglasses on the dashboard.  Seated beside her is Special Agent Reyes.  They are parked next to a fenced in pen, and he is looking to his right at the stallions on the other side of the fence.  One is brown, one is a gray Arabian, and one is tan with a dark mane and tail.  The horses chase each other around the pen, kicking up dust.
JANICE
This is it.  The Mayor's probably around back.
They get out of the car at the same time.  Janice stops to look to the west, where dark clouds are sweeping over the edge of a jagged line of mountains.  The horses are skittish, as if they sense the coming storm.
Janice leads Reyes around the pen to the barn.  They hear the sound of a hammer pounding before they round the far corner.
MAYOR PENDAN is on a ladder, pounding nails into the planks of a shed.  She has a nail in her teeth.  At the bottom of the ladder, holding it steady, is a young man wearing a gray felt stetson cowboy hat.  Mayor Pendan stops pounding and looks down at them, squinting.  She takes the nail out of her mouth.
Pendan
Morning Janice.  What brings you all the way out here?
JANICE
This is Special Agent Reyes, Ma'am.
Reyes opens his ID card and badge.
REYES
Carlos Reyes, NAFTA Security Division.
Mayor Pendan climbs down the ladder.  She hands the hammer to the young man and wipes her hands on her jeans.  She shakes Reyes' hand.
PENDAN
Valerie Pendan.  Pleased to meet you.  This is my son, Chuck.  What can I do for you today?
REYES
I'd like to ask a few questions.
PENDAN
About what?
REYES
The incident at the river during the flood of 1998.
Pendan stares at him for a long time.  Her hair is tied back in a ponytail, and wrinkles show around her eyes when she squints.
PENDAN
Maybe we'd better go inside.
INT. bar - dAY
CALVIN SUMPTER is standing behind the bar, arranging clean glasses.  He wipes his hands on a dish towel.  On the other side of the bar is Janice and Reyes, who is holding his ID card open.
Sumpter
What about?
Reyes holds his card open, but Sumpter does not seem interested.  He closes the card and puts it in his pocket.
REYES
The incident at the river during the flood of 1998.
Sumpter does not answer, but turns away and straightens the bottles of liquor behind the bar.  Reyes looks at Janice.  She shrugs.
REYES
You were there, Mr. Sumpter, is that correct?
Sumpter turns back and leans on the bar with both hands.
SUMPTER
Is that all you wanna know?
REYES
No, Mr. Sumpter, I-
Sumpter looks at Janice.
SUMPTER
It's your first day, ain't it?
JANICE
Excuse me?
SUMPTER
Your first day?  On the force?  It was her first day, too.
Sumpter picks up a bag of pretzels and refills a bowl on the bar.
REYES
Are you referring to Mayor Pendan?
SUMPTER
Val.  Yeah.  It was her first day.  Hell of a first day for a rookie.  That all you wanna know?
He rolls up the top of the bag of pretzels and plops it on the bar.
REYES
No, Mr. Sumpter.  I'd like your version of what happened.
Sumpter picks up an empty beer pitcher and wipes it clean with the dish towel.
SUMPTER
My version?  What's the matter?  You didn't like the way she told it?
REYES
Who?
SUMPTER
Val.  You didn't like her story?
REYES
I'd like to compare your story to hers.
Sumpter puts the pitcher down and lays the towel over his shoulder.
SUMPTER
My version.  Fine.  This is what I think.  It was her fault.
INT. mayor's house - dAY
The Mayor's house is an old two story house decorated on the inside in the Victorian style with lots of finished wood furniture and fine white lace curtains.
Janice and Reyes are seated on the wide sofa with their backs to a panoramic front window.
PENDAN
It was my fault.
Pendan hands a glass of lemonade to Reyes, and one to Janice.  She picks up her own glass and takes a sip.
PENDAN (cont'd)
I didn't know what to expect.  It was my first day.  They never said anything about natural disasters at the academy.
She holds her glass an inch from her lips.  Her blank eyes stare out the front window.
Janice takes a sip from her glass.  The ice cubes clink in her glass and break Pendan's trance.  Reyes sets his glass down without taking a sip.
PENDAN
It rained all night and it didn't stop in the morning.  We got a warning from Freedmanston, a few miles up the river, about a flash flood.  It hit us before we knew what happened.  That water, it came down the river like a wall, like this huge wall.
REYES
How did it happen?
Janice scoots forward to the edge of the sofa.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
Janice and Reyes are in the squad car in their soaked clothes, covered in mud.  Reyes is covered with the blanket.  Neither of them says anything.  Janice avoids looking at him.
The rain is pounding.  The car's wipers can't wipe the water away fast enough.  At times it is so heavy that it is like someone has thrown a sheet over the windshield.  The spray of rain obscures the road in the car's headlights.
Janice is driving at barely half the posted speed.  Finally, up ahead is the faint glow of the motel's blue and green neon sign.  She makes the turn into the parking lot.
JANICE
Which one is your room?
REYES
Six.
She pulls the squad car in the spot in front of the door with the number 6.
EXT. motel parking lot - nIGHT
They get out of the squad car and scramble to the door.  The wool blanket over Reyes' shoulders is soaked, as wet as their clothes.  Reyes feels in his pockets.
REYES
I lost the keys.  They must have fallen out when I was underwater.
JANICE
I'll get the manager to open it.
She runs through the pounding rain to the office at the end  of the long row of motel rooms.  She pushes the door open and goes in.
INT. motel office - nIGHT
Behind the counter is TERRY, with his feet up on a small table, watching a chopper show on a small color tv.
Terry
Hey Janice.  What's up?  You raiding the place?
He laughs at his own joke.
JANICE
Very funny, Terry.  I need a key to number six.
Terry reaches over his head for the keys on a row of hooks.
TERRY
Number six?  Ain't that the one with that Mexican dude?
JANICE
He's from San Diego.
Terry tosses the key over the counter.  It falls on the floor.  Janice bends down to pick it up.
TERRY
Whatever you say, Janice.  You two wanna get it on, that ain't none of my business.
He laughs.  Janice opens the door and goes back out in the rain.
EXT. mOTEL PARKING LOT - nIGHT
Reyes is waiting outside the door to room number 6, huddled under the blanket like a lost puppy dog.  Janice unlocks the door and they go inside.
INT. motel room - nIGHT
Janice turns on the light.  She closes the door and the storm outside is quieter.  The rumble of thunder rattles the windows.
Reyes drops the wet blanket on the floor.
REYES
I have some dry clothes you can wear, if you want.
JANICE
Sure, I guess.
Reyes opens his suitcase, which is on the dresser by the tv.
REYES
Jeans and a shirt all right?
JANICE
Fine.
He smiles at her, and she can only stare back at him, as if she is lovestruck.  He hands her a pair of jeans and a white dress shirt, both neatly folded.
REYES
The jeans might be too big.  I'm afraid I don't have a belt.
JANICE
That's all right.  I have a belt.
She looks around the room.
JANICE
I, uh, I'm gonna change in the bathroom.
REYES
Ok.
JANICE
Do you need a towel or anything?
REYES
Sure.  A towel.
INT. motel bathroom - nIGHT
Janice picks the biggest towel from the rack over the toilet.  She hands it to Reyes and their hands touch.  She closes the door slowly, watching him.  The door clicks shut.  She closes her eyes and smiles.
She strips out of her wet uniform, and watches herself in the mirror over the sink.  She unfastens one button at a time.  Her long hair is wet and stringy and clings to her face like dark tentacles.  She wipes a strand of hair from her eyes.
She is in her bra and panties and looks at herself in the mirror, turning side to side.  She puts her hand on her flat belly.
REYES (o.s.)
What happened?
Janice turns and looks at the bathroom door.
INT. mAYOR'S HOUSE - dAY
Janice, Reyes and Mayor Pendan are sitting in the large living room.  Pendan puts her glass of lemonade on the table in front of her.
PENDAN
I was the one who took the call.  Some guy lost control of his truck and slid it down the bank of the river.  I still don't know what he was doing down there in his truck.  We got there with the fire department.  I'll never forget it.  It was an old blue and white pickup truck, half sunk in the river, and there was this little boy, a boy, holding onto the side mirror with one hand.  There was this woman, a Mexican, running back and forth on the bank, screaming, just screaming.  She was the boy's mother.  She was illegal, we found out later.
Pendan chuckles and picks up her glass of lemonade to take a sip.  Janice looks at the glass of lemonade in her own hand as if she forgot she had it.
PENDAN (cont'd)
They had this rope, this skinny nylon rope that was slippery when it got wet, and they were trying to throw it out to the boy.  He wouldn't grab it, just wouldn't grab it.  He had to have his other hand free.  He was frozen.
REYES
What did you do then?
Pendan sighs.
PENDAN
We made a chain.  It was a bad idea.  We didn't have a choice, though.  That poor boy couldn't hold on forever.  I was in the middle, holding one of the fireman's hands.
She pauses and swallows hard.  Her eyes look up to the ceiling.
PENDAN (cont'd)
We were doing all right.  Thor Wittig, he was one of the firemen, was in the water and had ahold of the boy's arm.  We were doing all right until the truck broke loose.  We all lost our footing.  I couldn't hold on.  I wasn't strong enough.  That truck dragged them all into the river, Thor, the other fireman, Robert, Captain Barnett's oldest son, and that little boy.  I was in love with Thor, but he didn't know it.  It was my fault.
She pauses.  Janice and Reyes are quiet, waiting.
PENDAN (cont'd)
I'll never forget the look on their faces.  They slid down the bank in the mud.  I'll never forget the sound of that woman's screams.
INT. manufacturing plant - dAY
Inside the manufacturing plant is dark, and a large roll up door is open, washing the concrete floor with searing sunlight.  From inside the plant is the noise of machinery working.
Two people appear in the light of the large roll up door, both in silhouette.  One is Reyes, and the other is Janice.  They walk into the plant and pause to let their eyes adjust to the lower light.  Reyes removes his sunglasses.
Janice looks around until she spots DAVID WRENMARK.  He stands out like a flower in a field of rocks.  All around him, the machinery and assembly equipment is gray and silver and black.  The personnel all wear dark blue slacks and shirts, and gray overalls.
Wrenmark is almost seven feet tall and wears a bright orange suit, gold chains around his neck with his shirt unbuttoned, brown leather cowboy boots, and a yellow leather cowboy hat.
Janice points to him.  Reyes nods and they start toward him.  He is standing by one of the big machines with his hands on his hips, watching them with a smirk on his face.  He is holding his jacket open, revealing a yellow and red paisley vest.  On his hips, clipped to his belt, is a blue cell phone.
Wrenmark
What can I do for y'all?
Reyes takes out his ID card and flips it open to his badge.
REYES
I'm Special Agent Reyes of the NAFTA Security Division.
WRENMARK
That so?
Wrenmark speaks over Reyes before he finishes.  Reyes pauses a second, looking him in the eyes, then continues.
REYES
Yes sir.  I'd like to ask you about the incident at the river during the flood of 1998.
WRENMARK
Don't know anything about it.  Don't have time to talk.  You'll excuse me.
He walks away from them.  Janice and Reyes look at each other.  He closes his ID card and puts it back in his pocket.
JANICE
Look, it's getting late, Agent Reyes.  Why don't we get some dinner?  I know a nice place.
Reyes looks at the machines around them and nods.  The machine beside them is spitting a stream of ball bearings into a hopper.
INT. mOTEL BATHROOM - nIGHT
Janice opens the bathroom door.  Reyes is in the middle of the motel room, and turns to look at her.  He is wearing clean slacks and a white t-shirt, which shows off his muscular arms, and his wet, black hair is combed back neatly on his head.
INT. mOTEL ROOM - nIGHT
Janice comes out of the bathroom.  She is wearing his white shirt, tucked into his jeans.  The top few buttons of the shirt are open.  The waist of the jeans is a few inches too big, and she has pulled it tight with the belt.
REYES
Is that gonna work?
She looks down at the baggy shirt and jeans.
JANICE
It'll work until I can get home to change.
She looks around for a place to dump her wet uniform and puts it on the floor by the dresser.  She takes her pistol out of the holster.  The barrel is plugged with red mud.
REYES
We have to get a warrant from a judge.  We have to arrest Wrenmark and Sumpter before they get away.
JANICE
I know.  I don't think they'll be going anywhere.
She removes the bullets from the gun, one at a time.
REYES
What makes you say that?
JANICE
I just think they have too much at stake to run.  Besides, they think you're at the bottom of the Smithson Reservoir.  As far as they're concerned, you're no threat.
Reyes nods.  He is staring straight ahead with blank eyes.
JANICE
I'm sorry.  I mean, about what I said earlier.
REYES
When?
JANICE
At dinner?  I didn't mean to be so critical.
REYES
Forget about it.  Besides, I'm sure you were right.
Janice puts her gun on the dresser with a clunk.  Red mud oozes from the end of the barrel.  She touches his arm.
JANICE
That's not so.  I think you're a good cop, really.
He grins.  Janice hesitates a second.
JANICE
You knew it all the time, didn't you?
REYES
I guess maybe I did.
JANICE
You son of a ...
Reyes' grin changes to a smile.  Janice leans forward and kisses him.  She leans back.  He looks puzzled, but not upset.  She kisses him again, deeper and harder.
INT. desperado bar & grill - dAY
Janice and Reyes are sitting at a table with their plates of food in front of them.  It is a family style restaurant with a Southwest theme.
Janice is picking at her meal, a grilled chicken Caeser salad with peppers.  Reyes has a juicy steak on his plate, but he has hardly touched it.  He is quiet, and looks lost in thought, as if he knows something he is not telling her.
Janice looks at him between bites.  Her impatience is festering, until finally she drops her fork on her plate and wipes her mouth with the napkin.  When she speaks, her teeth are clenched, and her voice is a hiss.
JANICE
Gosh damn, Carlos.  What is the point of being a cop if you don't want to uphold the law?  It's our job just as human beings to help each other.  If you want, you can leave, but don't expect me to come with you.
Reyes says nothing, does not even look up from his steak.  Janice makes a frustrated, annoyed sound, throws down her napkin, gets up, and walks out.
EXT. restaurant parking lot - dAY
Janice walks out of the restaurant with her stiff arms and bunched fists swinging at her sides.  There is a light rain, and the sky is getting dark.  She gets into the squad car.
INT. sQUAD CAR - eVENING
Janice is driving.  The wipers are working, wiping away the rain drops on the windshield.  The sky is getting darker and the rain is getting heavier.
EXT. sumpter's bar - eVENING
The squad car parks in a spot in the parking lot outside Sumpter's Bar.  Next to the squad car is a brand new, shiny red Dodge pickup truck.
INT. sQUAD CAR - eVENING
Janice sits in the squad car, looking out the window at the bar like she doesn't know how she wound up there.  She sits for a long time, watching the rain on the windshield.  The windows slowly fog up.  She is lost in thought, as if pondering the events of the day.
INT. sUMPTER'S BAR - eVENING
Janice goes into the bar.  It is dark inside, with the sounds of country music and low, murmured voices.  There are only a few people, two guys at the pool table, a girl standing over the jukebox, and two guys sitting at the bar, talking with Sumpter, who is behind the bar.
They all look at her, in her clean, pressed police uniform, then they all look away.  She shivers, as if she never expected the reception for a cop in uniform to be so cold.
Janice sits at the bar at the near end.  Sumpter is at the far end, still talking with the two guys.  He leaves them and walks toward her at the other end, sauntering slowly.
SUMPTER
Janice.
JANICE
Hi Calvin.  Can I have something to drink?
SUMPTER
Sure.  Pepsi all right?
He picks up a clean glass.
JANICE
No.  Let me have ... Give me some whiskey.
Sumpter's eyebrows arch up.
SUMPTER
Whiskey?  You sure?
JANICE
Yep.
Sumpter puts the tall glass away.  He puts a shot glass on the bar in front of her, selects the bottle of Jack Daniels from the collection of bottles behind the bar, and fills the shot glass to the rim with amber liquid.
JANICE
How much?
Sumpter holds up his hand.
SUMPTER
No charge for this one.  I just wanna see you drink it.
JANICE
Shut up.
Sumpter laughs, but doesn't leave.  His laugh is mean, menacing.
Janice picks up the glass, balancing it carefully.  A drop spills on her fingers.  She sniffs the liquid in the glass and winces.
SUMPTER
Don't smell it.  Drink it.
She takes a tiny sip and coughs.
JANICE
God, that's awful.
SUMPTER
Drink it quick.
Janice takes a deep breath, holds it, closes her eyes, and pours the liquid into her mouth.  She makes an ugly face.  She puts the glass down on the bar and covers her mouth with her hand and coughs like she is choking.
Sumpter and the guys at the other end of the bar laugh at her.  Sumpter puts the towel over his shoulder and leans on the bar on both elbows.
SUMPTER
Now, what brought this on, Janice?  You never touched alcohol in your life.
She wipes her mouth, and has a look on her face like she has a nasty taste on her tongue.
JANICE
It's that Agent Reyes.
SUMPTER
What about him?
She looks into his eyes.  He is looking back at her with a compassion and sensitivity that makes her pause.
JANICE
He came here with some purpose, but he won't tell me what it is.  He must have interviewed every person in town, all about that thing, whatever happened in that flood.
She shakes her head and stares into the empty shot glass.
JANICE (cont'd)
I think he knows something.  He won't tell me anything about it, though.  That's the problem.
She waits, but Sumpter says nothing.
JANICE (cont'd)
What do you think?
SUMPTER
Hm?  Oh, I try not to.  More whiskey?
JANICE
Yes.
She nudges the shot glass toward him with her fingers and he refills it.  She picks up the glass, holding it gingerly in her fingers.  Sumpter walks away to the other end of the bar.  Janice tilts the glass to her lips and drinks it with her eyes squeezed shut and a disgusted face.
She opens her eyes.  Sumpter is no longer behind the bar.  She looks around, but he is nowhere in the room.  She sighs.
She gets off the stool, stumbles, grabs the edge of the bar to hold herself up, and giggles.
EXT. sUMPTER'S BAR Parking lot - NIGHT
Janice walks out of the bar to the squad car.  It is raining a little harder than when she got there.  She is a little wobbly, but makes it to the car.  The red pickup truck that was parked next to the squad car is gone.
EXT. main road - nIGHT
The squad car stops at an intersection for a red light.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
The rain is coming down much harder, drumming on the roof of the car.  The red glow of the stop light fills the car, tinting Janice's face red.  The amused, tipsy smile on her face is gone, replaced with a cold, sober expression.
EXT. brown motel parking lot - nIGHT
The neon sign on the pole over the Brown Motel glows like the beacon of a light house in the growing storm.  The squad car turns off the main road into the parking lot.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
Janice drives slowly through the motel parking lot, along the length of the building.  Some of the lights in some of the rooms are on.  The others are dark.
EXT. bROWN MOTEL PARKING LOT - nIGHT
The squad car reaches the end of the parking lot, pulls into a spot beside a van, and backs out to go back in the other direction, but it stops.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
Through the heavy rain that washes over the windshield, Janice is looking at a red pickup truck parked in the spot in front of one of the motel rooms, toward the other end.  She stares at it like she is trying to remember where she's seen it before.
The door to room number six opens.  Agent Reyes comes out, and Sumpter comes out behind him, holding a gun pointed at Reyes' back.  Janice's mouth falls open.
INT. mOTEL ROOM - nIGHT
Janice and Reyes stand in the center of the motel room, facing each other.  Behind her is the open bathroom door.
She steps toward him and they stand very close.  His hands reach out and touch her waist.  He kisses her deeply.  She lets her lips part.  He pulls the shirt out of the jeans and his hands slip under the shirt and touch her bare breasts.  He nuzzles her neck.
REYES
Officer DuPage, I don't think this is ethical.
Janice tilts her head way back.  His lips move down her neck to her collarbone, and he has both hands on her breasts, squeezing them under the shirt.
JANICE
To hell with ethics, Carlos.  Just make love to me.  No one needs to know.
Reyes unbuttons the clean, white dress shirt slowly, one button at a time.  He peels it away from Janice's body, exposing her breasts.  He pulls the shirt off and lays it over the back of a chair.  He unbuckles her plain, wide police belt.  The jeans fall from her hips to a pile on the floor around her ankles.
Reyes holds her hand like he is helping a princess step down out of her carriage.  Janice blushes and steps out of the jeans.  She is completely naked.  She lays back on the bed.  Reyes stands beside the bed and begins to undress.  Janice rubs her legs together.
Reyes pulls the t-shirt off over his head.  He drops his nice slacks.  Janice smiles and her eyes grow big.  He crawls on the bed.  His hand slips between her knees.  Her legs fall apart.  He lowers himself between her thighs, resting his weight on her body.  His lips touch hers.  She wraps her arms around his neck.  He pushes forward with his hips and Janice moans.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
Janice is sitting in the squad car in the motel parking lot.  A huge flash of lightning blinds her for an instant.  Two seconds later, a deafening crash of thunder shakes the car.
She stares through the windshield like she is watching a scene on a movie screen.  Sumpter guides Reyes into the big red pickup truck, holding the gun in his back.  He gets in and the truck backs out of the parking spot, as if they don't see her in the squad car behind the van.
The truck leaves the parking lot and turns right on the main road.  She watches the red taillights get fainter in the heavy rain, with a puzzled look on her face.
She looks around the squad car frantically.  She picks up the radio microphone, holds it up and opens her mouth to speak into it, but stops.  She releases the button.  She puts the microphone back on the hook, puts the car in gear, and holds the steering wheel.
EXT. bROWN MOTEL PARKING LOT - nIGHT
The squad car leaves the parking lot and turns right on the main road, headed in the same direction as the red pickup truck.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
The rain has let up a little, but Janice is unable to see the taillights of the truck ahead on the road.
The glow of a different light appears out of the dense darkness.  It is the bluish white glow of a street lamp.  First one appears, then another, then a couple more.  They are the lights over a larger, fenced in parking lot.
EXT. thompson reservoir road - nIGHT
The squad car approaches the front entrance of the gate and slows.  A large sign reads: Wrenmark Bearings.  The parking lot is deserted, but there is a light on in the guard shack at the gate.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
Janice looks into the guard shack.  A young man in a security guard's uniform is sitting inside the shack, eating an apple and reading a magazine.  He does not look up or see her.  She continues driving.
A little further down the road is another gate, illuminated with more street lamps overhead.  A sign near the second gate reads: Service Entrance.  Inside the gate, a vehicle is moving down the access road, toward the large, dark shape of the factory in the distance.  She can see the headlights and the taillights.  The vehicle passes under a street lamp.  It is the red pickup truck.
Janice speeds up and drives past the service entrance.  She is breathing hard, like she has just run a marathon.
EXT. tHOMPSON RESERVOIR ROAD - nIGHT
The squad car comes out of the darkness on the lonely, quiet road and pulls off to the side and stops next to a large green road sign on a tall pole, under a bright street lamp.  The headlights of the car shut off.
INT. sQUAD CAR - nIGHT
Janice is still breathing hard.  Her hands are squeezing the steering wheel, and her eyes are wide.  She looks at the radio hanging under the dashboard with the red numbers on the front.
Her hand reaches for the microphone hanging from a hook on the side of the radio, but stops.  Her hand moves back slowly to her hip and draws the black and silver Springfield automatic pistol from her holster.  She pulls back the slide only enough to expose the shiny brass case of a bullet in the chamber.
She switches the safety off with a loud click that echoes in the car, and puts it back in the holster.  She takes a deep breath and blows it out.
EXT. tHOMPSON RESERVOIR ROAD - nIGHT
The rain has let up and now is just a light sprinkle.  Janice looks up at the black, featureless sky, where there is not even a hint of a moon.  She opens the trunk and moves some things around, looking for something that isn't there.  She moves the heavy wool blanket aside and takes out the big Mag-Lite.  She locks the car and starts down the road into the darkness toward the dim glow of the factory.
EXT. side of the factory - nIGHT
Janice moves along the high side wall of the factory.  She has the flashlight pointed down at the ground, and struggles through the tangle of brush and slippery wet rocks.
The wall is high and smooth, without windows.  She comes to a steel door, but it has no handle on the outside.  She tucks the flashlight under her arm and tries to pry it open with her fingers, but it does not budge.
She continues through the darkness along the wall, keeping the flashlight pointed down.  The wall ends at the bank of the river.  She goes around the corner, but comes up against a fence.
Janice hears VOICES and shuts off the flashlight.  Holding the fence, she leans out, away from the wall to see around the corner.  She can see lights at the back of the warehouse.  She puts her foot gingerly on a slippery, wet rock, and stands on her tip toe.  Her jaw falls open.
She sees Wrenmark on a dock at the rear of the factory that extends out into the river.  His orange suit and gold chains practically glow in the pale lights over the dock.  At the dock are two boats.  One is a big motor boat.  The other is a small aluminum fishing boat, tied to its stern.
Janice adjusts her footing on another rock, and leans out farther.  She sees Reyes on his knees on the dock, and Sumpter behind him, tieing his hands behind his back.  Wrenmark is talking, and his words are low and echo off the walls of the factory and the banks of the river.
WRENMARK
... poking your fool nose where it don't belong.
He turns away and his voice fades out.  Reyes says something to him, and Sumpter punches him in the back of the head.  Reyes falls forward on the dock on his face.
Janice starts to shout something, and clamps her own hand over her mouth.  The flashlight drops from her hand and clatters off the rocks into the water.
She flattens her back against the wall, breathing hard.  Wrenmark's faint voice echoes over the water, a little more clearly.
WRENMARK
... could have saved me a whole lot of trouble if he'd just let go of that damned suitcase.  But no, he had to hold on like his life depended on it.
SUMPTER
You told him it did.
WRENMARK
Why don't you shut up?
SUMPTER
Are you gonna tell him everything about that kid?
WRENMARK
What does it matter, you stupid?  He's gonna die anyway.
Janice leans out against the fence to see around the corner of the wall.  Reyes is on his knees between the two men.  Sumpter is holding a gun to his head.
REYES
What was in the suitcase?
Wrenmark lights a cigarette.  He turns his back to Janice when he answers, and his voice is too low for her to hear.
Sumpter drags Reyes to the aluminum boat.  He ties his hands to a chain attached to the floor of the boat, and covers his mouth with a piece of duct tape.
Sumpter gets into the motor boat, and cranks the engine.  Its loud rumble reverberates over the water, covering whatever he and Wrenmark say to each other.
Wrenmark unties the line that holds the motor boat to the dock, and tosses it onto the bow.  Sumpter turns the boat away from the dock and kicks up the throttle.  The noise of the engine gets louder, and the boat moves off into the darkness, towing behind it the rocking, pitching little aluminum boat with Reyes on his knees, looking out over the edge.  Wrenmark walks back into the factory.
Janice walks along the fence on the wet, muddy rocks to the edge of the water.  She looks up the river.  The motor boat is moving slowly.  From the center of the boat, a searchlight sweeps both banks of the river.
Janice wades into the river to get around the end of the fence.  She wades in up to her knees, and feels her way in the darkness under the boat dock at the rear of the factory.
EXT. bank of the brave river - nIGHT
The rain has started again, a steady, dripping rain.  Janice is walking along the edge of the water, stumbling in the darkness.  Ahead on the water is the motor boat, moving just slowly enough for her to keep up.  She slips in the mud and falls on her face.  She pushes herself to her feet, continues a few more steps, and falls again on her butt.
EXT. tHOMPSON RESERVOIR - nIGHT
Sumpter circles the motor boat several yards off shore.  He unties the line that holds the small aluminum boat to the stern, and lets the line fall in the water.  He turns the searchlight on the fishing boat.  Reyes is struggling against the ropes.
Sumpter picks up a shotgun, levels it at the fishing boat, and fires.
EXT. bANK OF THE BRAVE RIVER - nIGHT
Janice shouts, but her voice is drowned out by a crash of thunder.
JANICE
Carlos!
EXT. tHOMPSON RESERVOIR - nIGHT
A fountain of water shoots up from the center of the fishing boat.  Reyes struggles with more urgency.  Janice stares with her mouth hanging open, like she can't believe he's not dead.
Sumpter drops the shotgun on the aft seats.  He shoves the throttles forward and spins the steering wheel.  The engine roars.  The bow of the motor boat rises out of the water.  The boat whirls on a big wake and races up the river.
EXT. bANK OF THE BRAVE RIVER - nIGHT
Janice gasps.  The searchlight flashes over the fishing boat for one last instant.  It is sinking by the bow and Reyes is pulling on the ropes.  She unbuckles her wide police belt and lets it drop into the mud.
JANICE (o.s.)
What was in the suitcase?
INT. mOTEL ROOM - mORNING
The early morning sun is shining through the slats of the blinds over the window.  Janice and Reyes are on the bed, naked, twisted in the sheets.  He is on his back with one arm behind his head.  She is laying on top of him, playing with the black and gray hairs on his chest.
REYES
Wrenmark claimed it was two million dollars worth of cocaine
Janice's jaw falls open.
JANICE
I had no idea.
REYES
No one did.
He looks past her.  She turns and looks over her shoulder at the window.
REYES
It's morning.  I better get that warrant.  I'll have to catch Wrenmark at his office.
Janice pulls herself on top of him, spreading her legs over his waist.
JANICE
He won't be there.
Reyes puts his hands on her waist, just below her bare breasts.
REYES
What do you mean?  Where will he be?
EXT. denny's restaurant parking lot - dAY
The squad car skids to a stop under the Denny's sign.
INT. sQUAD CAR - dAY
Reyes braces himself with his arm against the dashboard when the car skids to a stop.  He glares at Janice, sitting next to him in the driver's seat.
He is wearing the clean slacks and white shirt from the night before.  Janice is wearing his jeans and white t-shirt, with her police belt to hold the jeans up.
REYES
Do you always drive like that?
JANICE
What?  It's a cop car.  I'm supposed to drive it like that, aren't I?
EXT. dENNY'S RESTAURANT PARKING LOT - dAY
Reyes gets out of the car, shaking his head.  Janice jumps out on her side and rushes to catch up to him.
At the front door, a pair of gray haired old ladies stand aside to let them go in.
INT. denny's RESTAURANT - dAY
Wrenmark is sitting in a booth at the back of the restaurant with three Vietnamese men in casual golf shirts and khaki slacks.  He is wearing his yellow leather cowboy hat and cowboy boots, and his suit is a deep emerald green polyester, and the chains around his neck are the same shiny gold.
He stops with a forkful of western omelette in his mouth when he sees Reyes and Janice walking quickly toward his table.  He puts the fork down on the plate and wipes his mouth with the napkin.
WRENMARK
Well well well.  I must say, y'all are the last man I expected to see today.
Reyes and Janice stop in front of the table.  All three Vietnamese men stare at them.  Reyes holds up a folded warrant.
REYES
I have a warrant for-
WRENMARK
I know what y'all got.
Reyes hesitates, staring at him, then tosses the warrant on the table, where it lands among the plates and glasses.  The three Vietnamese men look at it, look at Wrenmark, and chatter rapidly to each other in Vietnamese.
REYES
David Wrenmark, you're under arrest.
He waves Janice toward him with one finger.
She unclips the handcuffs from her belt.  She takes Wrenmark's wrist and coaxes him out of the booth.  He pulls his hand back and straightens his suit.  She looks up.  He stands over her like a tower.
JANICE
You ha- You ... You ...
The handcuffs dangle from her hand.  She looks at Reyes.  He is watching her and nods.  One corner of his mouth is turned up in a kind of half smile.
She looks back up at Wrenmark, and slaps the handcuff on his wrist.
JANICE
You have the right to remain silent ...
End.