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THE BOMB
Written By: Matt Layden
12/10/2006
INT. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY
VOICE (O.S.)
Get out of the god damn building
now!
Men and women dressed in suits and dresses run towards the
exit sign. RICK, a tall slender man with a mustache walks
over to CHUCK, a bald man with more muscle. Chuck is bending
over a small device in front of a window. Rick passes by
computers and fax machines before kneeling next to Chuck.
RICK
How long do you think we have?
CHUCK
Less then two minutes.
Rick inspects the device.
RICK
So what do we have here.
Chuck glares at Rick.
CHUCK
Class 4, high alert. If we don't
get this thing disarmed the entire
floor is gone.
Chuck gets up and paces around the office.
CHUCK (CONT'D)
Is everyone off this floor?
RICK
Yes, their heading down the
staircase as we speak.
CHUCK
I hope it's enough time.
Chuck grabs his small tool kit and places it on the floor. He
opens it and reveals pliers, cutters, tape, gum, and wipes.
Chuck takes out the cutters.
Rick takes the plastic shell off of the device and sees three
wires. One is green, one is red and the other is yellow.
RICK
Three wires. Green, red, yellow. It
doesn't look like any lead to the
core, are you gonna strip it?
CHUCK
No time.
Rick looks back at Chuck.
RICK
You're not stripping the wire?
Chuck looks up to Rick.
CHUCK
No, I said there is no time.
RICK
Well, how the hell are you going to
know which wire to cut.
CHUCK
I don't.
RICK
You can't go on faith.
CHUCK
Well Rick, you're in luck. I'm not
going on faith, I'm going base don
my ability to disarm a fucking
bomb.
RICK
Is that what you said to Fred?
Chuck stops what he is doing immediately.
CHUCK
What the hell did you just say?
RICK
Listen, if you wanna throw out the
stripping of the wires, then I'm
out of here.
CHUCK
Hold it right there. You don't
leave a fellow officer behind.
RICK
That's good, coming from you.
CHUCK
What the hell is your problem?
RICK
My problem is you think you're a
fucking hot shot and it gets people
killed.
CHUCK
I've been in the bomb defusing
profession since before you were
sucking on your mothers tits. You
watch your god damn mouth and get
the hell out of my way, I'm cutting
the red wire.
RICK
The hell you are.
Chuck charges towards the bomb, but Rick stops him.
CHUCK
Get the hell out of my way.
RICK
You're not killing me like you did
him.
Rick pushes Chuck away from the bomb.
1:10 minutes left on timer.
Chuck ran after the bomb once again and Rick held him back,
pushing him against the window, cracking it, making the
Statue of Liberty barely visible, skewed by the broken glass.
CHUCK
Get the hell off of me!
RICK
No, you're not cutting the red
wire. I'm not letting you kill me!
Chuck pushes himself off the window and the two crash through
a fax machine onto the floor. Rick gets up quickly with Chuck
right behind him.
RICK
You think no one knows? We all know
you're responsible for his death,
you killed him.
CHUCK
I didn't kill him. You weren't
there, you have no idea what the
hell went down.
RICK
No, I wasn't, but I can sure as
hell bet it was something like
this...and I'm not letting it
happen again.
45 seconds.
CHUCK
Fuck you, who the hell do you think
you are?
RICK
He was my friend!
CHUCK
He was my partner!
Rick is standing closer the bomb, Chuck still has the cutters
in his hands.
CHUCK
More then a partner, he was my
friend. I see his face every god
damn night. I have to live the rest
of my life, knowing that his death
is because of me. I told him which
wire to cut, as I stood in the
hallway. The blast should have
killed both of us, but it didn't. I
survived.
Chuck is in tears while he speaks.
27 seconds.
CHUCK
I'm not letting that mistake happen
again. I'm not letting anyone die
up here. Now let me get to that
bomb.
Rick stops to think for a moment.
CHUCK
There's no time to think, let me to
that bomb now. Or we're both dead.
Rick can't decide whether to let Chuck cut the wire, or cut a
different one himself. The timer can be heard ticking down.
20 seconds.
RICK
Well now's your chance to redeem
yourself.
Rick stood back, Chuck ran to the bomb with the cutters still
in hand.
16 seconds.
Chuck scrambles with the wires in hand, he doesn't know which
one to cut now.
RICK
Cut it.
CHUCK
I can't.
RICK
What? Cut the damn wire Chuck.
CHUCK
I can't...I see his face...I see
Fred.
RICK
Cut the fucking wire Chuck, cut it
now. Cut the god damn wire or
you're dead.
Chuck's sweat beads drip into his eyes, he wipes them away
trying to decide which wire to cut.
10 seconds.
Chuck places the cutters on the red wire. He squeezes very
gently, not cutting the wire. Chuck then stops himself and
thinks.
6 seconds.
RICK
No time to think, cut the damn
wire.
Chuck begins muttering to himself.
CHUCK
Help me Fred, help me.
Chuck moves from the red wire to the blue wire.
4 seconds.
CHUCK
Do you believe in God?
RICK
I'll tell you in a minute.
2 seconds
1 second.
Cut.
FADE OUT:
EXT. STREET - DAY
Hoards of people are waiting outside in the street. Caution
tape surrounds the building. Police and firemen are
everywhere. There is a rumble heard from up above. Everyone
looks up as debris falls from the sky. The world went black.
The end.
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