OUTBREAK
Written by
LAWRENCE DWORET & ROBERT ROY POOL
December 1993 Draft
FOR EDUCATIONAL
PURPOSES ONLY
OUTBREAK
FADE IN:
EXT. JUNGLE
HIGH-PITCHED WHINES. LOUDER AND LOUDER. MORTARS race
through the air and EXPLODE in the distant jungle. Sol-
diers -- black, white, Oriental -- curse and mutter in
French, German, Australian and American as they reload.
COMPUTER KEYS POUND -- the letters leap across the screen:
THE MOTABA RIVER VALLEY, BELGIAN CONGO (ZAIRE), 1960.
THE CAMP OF FORCES LOYAL TO MOISES TSHOMBE - DAY
BLACK MALE NURSE
carrying a bucket of water from the Motaba River rushes
past the Mercenary Army to --
CAMP INFIRMARY
Where he replaces the towel on the forehead of a fever-
ish, delirious AUSTRALIAN MERCENARY with a cold new one.
AUSTRALIAN MERCENARY
Gimme somethin' for the bleedin'
pain. C'mon, mate, help me.
The Mercenary tries to lift himself out of his stretcher.
Can't. He's too weak. His skin is yellow and covered
with blisters that look like chicken pox.
NURSE
(checking the
soldier's temp)
He's still over a hundred and
six. Why can't we bring it down?
The black African army physician, DR. RASWANI, looks on,
helpless. Suddenly, the Australian emits a sharp cry.
His eyes roll back, and he begins convulsing. Before
Raswani can even reach into his bag for medecine, the
Mercenary is dead.
Raswani and his Nurse stare with horror.
The DRONE of a CHOPPER grows LOUDER as a Bell Z180 ap-
pears over the edge of the forest and kicks up a storm of
dust as it lands. Raswani and the Nurse run to meet it.
In their eyes, hope.
(CONTINUED)
2.
CONTINUED:
Two space-suited figures emerge from the chopper, their
faces hidden by thick green plexiglass shields. The U.S.
flag is emblazoned on the side of their helmets, which
also display their ranks. The much taller man is a
lieutenant whom we'll know as McCLINTOCK. Through his
visor, we can just make out his pock-marked, angular
face. The shorter, pear-shaped man is a CAPTAIN. We
can't see his features, only the reflection of horn-
rimmed glasses.
RASWANI
Have you brought the medicines?
CAPTAIN
Soon.
RASWANI
Why the hell didn't you bring
them?
CUT TO:
INFIRMARY
The two space-suited figures follow Dr. Raswani past
soldier after soldier infected with the same disease.
RASWANI
Thirty deaths yesterday, eighteen
the day before, the disease is
killing our men faster than enemy
bullets.
The Captain stops at a young AMERICAN MERCENARY'S cot.
He's shaking with fever. His skin is mottled and looks
like the pulp of an orange. His voice is a whisper:
AMERICAN MERCENARY
Take me home, Captain... Get me
outta this shithole. Please, I
wanna see my girl.
The American Mercenary reaches out with his arms to the
Captain, who shrinks back, not wanting to be
contaminated.
CAPTAIN
We'll get you home, soldier.
First, I need a tissue sample.
He pulls from his black bag a long metal syringe and
plunges the biopsy needle deep into the man's liver. He
places the needle in an aluminum test tube and seals it.
(CONTINUED)
3.
CONTINUED:
AMERICAN MERCENARY
Promise me you'll get me home.
Promise me, Goddamit!
A long uneasy beat.
CAPTAIN
We'll get you home.
CUT TO:
TWO SPACE-SUITED U.S. ARMY FIGURES
boarding their chopper, Dr. Raswani and his Nurse
standing by.
RASWANI
Not just supplies, but doctors
and nurses. And suits like yours
to protect us. This disease
spreads too fast.
CAPTAIN
The plane tonight will bring
everything.
CUT TO:
INSIDE CHOPPER
ascending above the camp.
Lt. McClintock and the Captain look out the window at the
campsite.
McCLINTOCK
It's viral. There's no way to
stop it. It could spread all
over the world.
We can't see the Captain's face, but feel his remorse.
So can McClintock:
McCLINTOCK
If you'll excuse my bluntness,
sir, you can't go halfway on this
one.
CAPTAIN
Don't ever -- ever -- tell me
what I have to do.
CUT TO:
4.
TSHOMBE CAMPSITE - DUSK
Dr. Raswani gives a shot to the American Mercenary, who
looks terminal.
DR. RASWANI
This will help the pain.
The Male Nurse rushes up.
MALE NURSE
They're coming.
AMERICAN MERCENARY
I knew... they'd come back... I
knew. Help me up. Help me --
CUT TO:
RASWANI
ThE Male Nurse, and dozens of soldiers rush across the
forest to the makeshift runway beside the camp. In the
distance a camouflaged DC-3 is rapidly approaching.
INT. DC-3
The PILOT, no more than 21, sees the soldiers celebrating
their arrival down on the runway. His hand is on the
green bomb release lever.
PILOT
I can't.
McClintock is in the copilot's seat.
McCLINTOCK
It's either them or us.
He puts his hand on the green release lever. Hesitates.
PILOT
You can't either.
ON GROUND
Dr. Raswani and the soldiers stare at the plane, coming
in too high for a landing.
INSIDE PLANE
McClintock squeezes the green lever.
(CONTINUED)
5.
CONTINUED:
The bomb cannisters under the wing open up, releasing a
thick cloud of yellow cyanide gas.
ON GROUND
Screams of agony rip out as Raswani and the soldiers
convulse and die.
The plane shoots over the treetops, spraying the ground
below like a crop duster.
Then the plane arcs and approaches again.
OVER RUNWAY
littered with the dead, the plane releases a waxy grey
cloud. One second. Two seconds. An eerie stillness.
The CLOUD EXPLODES in a huge inferno.
The plane releases more and more napalm, burning the
jungle for miles.
The CRIES of ANIMALS caught in the fire pierce the night.
Flames shoot up trees a hundred feet high.
PULL BACK to show the whole forest ablaze. A long beat,
then at the very LEFT CORNER OF the FRAME, a MONKEY with
a black and white coat (a Colobos monkey) emerges from
the fire, looks back at its mate, threatened by the
flames. The Colobos jumps up and down, baring its teeth,
SCREAMING. The fire moves relentlessly forward. The
monkeys dart to safety.
CUT TO:
MOTABA RIVER VALLEY - NEXT MORNING
A metal syringe burned to a molten shard lies beside a
mortar launcher, twisted and deformed like some bizarre
modern sculpture. PULL BACK to reveal acre after acre,
mile after mile of nothing but ashes and carcasses of
burnt-out trees. Not a single living thing remains.
FADE OUT and ROLL CREDITS.
FADE UP:
TREETOPS
A wind rippling through treetops.
(CONTINUED)
6.
CONTINUED:
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "THE MOTABA RIVER VALLEY, AUGUST
12, 1994."
SHOCK CUT TO:
ABOVE RAINFOREST
Brilliant streams of orange and purple, the last rays of
the setting sun, dance across the sky and penetrate the
vapor cloud above the rain forest. Unworldly silence.
Shattered by:
Giant TREES CRASHING to the ground. TRACTORS ROAR,
CHAINSAWS REV with a penetrating whine. Huge trees
living undisturbed for hundreds of years topple to earth,
their roots ripped from the soil.
REVEAL the army of construction workers clearing a path
for the new road linking Kinshasa with Bangui. White
foremen bellow orders in French at their black workers,
including:
MORAZU: a seven-foot tall Goliath with mischievous eyes.
He PUNCHES on his CHAIN SAW and RIPS into another tree.
A cloud of wood dust envelops him.
OVERHEAD - ZAIREAN ARMY HELICOPTERS
ROAR by overhead, their machine gunners searching for
guerilla activity.
INTERCUT - TWO COLOBOS MONKEYS
a mother and her daughter, whom we'll know as Betsy.
Betsy plays with a fat, round jackfruit, kicking it and
rolling it every which way. Her mother watches the
construction workers warily.
Morazu hums as he pulls a huge tree limb off the road and
into a thick patch of brush where he comes face to face
with Betsy. Morazu smiles. He takes a long piece of
sweetened bread from his pocket and lays it down right in
front of the young monkey.
Betsy eyes it warily.
MORAZU
(softly)
Take it.
(CONTINUED)
7.
CONTINUED:
A long beat. Betsy takes the bread, examines it careful-
ly, finally takes a bite.
Morazu grabs her. BETSY struggles, thrashing and SCREAM-
ING. Morazu pins her hands behind her back. She spins
around and sinks her teeth into his finger.
He lets go with a shriek and swears at Betsy, who disap-
pears with the bread.
STAY WITH Morazu as he returns to his work. He sucks the
blood out of the small wound.
CUT TO:
EXT. MOTABA RIVA VALLEY (AUGUST 15)
Morazu gets off a bus by a small muddy river and walks
slowly toward his village of about fifty mud-thatched
huts. Pain in his back makes him wince. We see him UP
CLOSE: his eyes are red and his skin is pale. He's
sweating.
He stops at the village well and takes a drink. Other
villagers come up to say hello, and Morazu greets them
wearily, dipping his cup back in the water for another
drink. The villagers drink too.
DISCOVER in the background: the tribal medicine man, the
"ju-ju man." Streaks and circles of paint cover his
skin. He watches the excitement surrounding Morazu's
return.
CUT TO:
RAIN FOREST - LATER THAT NIGHT
A small group of Colobos monkeys including Betsy and her
mother run swiftly through the forest. Suddenly, BETSY
CRIES OUT. Her foot is snagged in a trap. Before her
mother can respond, she's pulled high into the air into a
bamboo cage. The DOOR SNAPS SHUT. BETSY SCREAMS in fear
and pain, hanging upside down --
CUT TO:
SAME - FOLLOWING MORNING
The Colobos monkeys scatter as VOICES APPROACH, REVEALING
two TRIBESMEN pulling a small wagon. The men chatter as
they lower the cage holding Betsy onto the cart.
(CONTINUED)
8.
CONTINUED:
FADE UP LUCIANO PAVAROTTI singing a love song from
"La Boheme" and...
CUT TO:
CLOSE ON HUMAN SKULL
wearing Porsche sunglasses and an Army Colonel's hat.
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "Frederick, Maryland, August 19."
INT. GILLESPIE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
FADE UP the VOICE of a MAN SINGING along with the GREAT
TENOR. CONTINUE PANNING OVER the room: the skull gives
way to a full skeleton wearing a star-spangled red-white-
and-blue bow-tie and carrying an umbrella over its fore-
arm. CONTINUE PAST the oak rolltop desk.
MIKE GILLESPIE, about 40, keeps singing as he reads
through a lengthy typed report, making notes in the
margin.
LUCIANO hits a high C. Gillespie reaches for it... and
misses badly. DOGS WHINE O.S., probably in closer
harmony to Luciano than Gillespie. He's not pleased.
GILLESPIE
I rescue you from certain death
and instead of gratitude, you mock
me.
His two WOLFHOUNDS, Olser and Harvey, GROVEL on the floor
contritely, each with a worn shoe in his mouth. Behind
them we see the rest of Gillespie's living/dining room.
His townhouse is spartan; it needs a woman's touch. Un-
packed boxes stand in the corner beside a treadmill.
GILLESPIE
That can't go unpunished. No
Letterman for three nights.
The dogs wag the running shoes.
CUT TO:
OLD CREEK PARK (FREDERICK, MARYLAND) - NIGHT
Gillespie, puffing, a weekend runner, strains to keep up
with the DOGS. They BARK excitedly.
(CONTINUED)
9.
CONTINUED:
GILLESPIE
(reaching into his
pockets)
Okay! Okay!
Without breaking stride, he throws what look like sticks
high into the air. The dogs jump and catch the objects in
their mouths and race back to Gillipsie.
We see they're old stethoscopes with thick rubber tubing.
Gillespie lets them fly again. He laughs at their eager-
ness and keeps running, sprinting now, trying to prove to
himself that he's still young. Suddenly -- a PHONE RINGS.
Without breaking stride, he pulls a cellular phone from
his pocket:
GILLESPIE
(into phone)
Dr. Gillespie... How many dead?...
INT. BILLY FORD'S OFFICE (FORT DETRICK, MARYLAND)
Gillespie's boss, GENERAL BILLY FORD, MD, is a heavy-set
man in his early 60's with thinning hair, piercing, in-
telligent grey eyes and a warm smile. Scattered all
around his office are cages filled with frogs and rep-
tiles. As he talks on the phone, he's feeding a green-
horned toad some dead flies.
FORD
Almost an entire village.
INTERCUT WITH:
FORD WITH GILLESPIE
still running.
GILLESPIE
Is is Lassa Fever? Ebola? What?
FORD
How the hell do I know? I'm the
bureaucrat, you're the detective,
remember? All I know is State
wants us to lend a hand and when
the Secretary talks, I listen.
And when I talk, you listen.
You're Code Red. The plane's
leaving at 01:30.
(CONTINUED)
10.
CONTINUED:
GILLESPIE
Yes, sir.
Gillespie hangs up, out of breath... excited.
CUT TO:
EXT. GILLESPIE'S OLD BMW - LATER THAT NIGHT
Gillespie and the dogs pull into the driveway of a comfor-
table two story colonial home, passing a "For Sale" sign
on the front lawn pasted with a "Sold" sticker.
EXT. COLONIAL HOME
Gillespie knocks. The DOGS BARK excitedly.
WOMAN (O.S.)
Who is it?
The dogs recognize the voice and jump against the door.
GILLESPIE
Mike.
ROBERTA "ROBBY" KEOUGH, an attractive, intelligent woman
in her mid 30's, opens the door a few inches, until the
latch LOCK CHAIN SNAPS tight. The dogs try to push
inside.
ROBBY
(smiles; delighted)
Hey, guys!
But when she looks at Gillespie, she's guarded.
GILLESPIE
Robby, I know I'm the last guy
you'd do a favor for, but I've got
no one else to ask.
ROBBY
My lawyer said not to talk to you
anymore.
GILLESPIE
Then just listen. I gotta go to
Zaire.
Robby shakes her head, "No, no way."
(CONTINUED)
11.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
Put 'em in a kennel.
GILLESPIE
So they can die of some weird
disease like Stripes did?
She mouths the word "no."
GILLESPIE
-- Look, Robby, if I had any other
choice, I wouldn't be here.
ROBBY
You should've let me have them.
You can't take care of them.
Beat. Robby's torn. The dogs nuzzle against her leg.
GILLESPIE
I won't be gone long.
ROBBY
You know I'm moving to Atlanta --
they want me to start in four days.
GILLESPIE
I'll be back before that.
ROBBY
(sharply)
Four days is four weeks -- to you.
Silence.
GILLESPIE
It wasn't all my fault, Robby.
ROBBY
(quietly)
I know.
A long beat.
ROBBY
I'll look after them on one
condition: if you're not back in
four days, they're mine.
Gillespie doesn't like it.
GILLESPIE
Okay.
(CONTINUED)
12.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
In writing.
She unlatches the door and moves inside. The dogs race
after her. Gillespie enters...
FRONT HALL
overflowing with moving boxes, some sealed, others waiting
to be packed. Gillespie feels awkward, a stranger in his
own home.
She hands him a prescription pad. He crosses off her
nameplate, "Roberta Keough, MD," and starts writing
while Robby enters...
KITCHEN
ROBBY
Hey, guys, c'mon!
They follow her in.
ROBBY
Guess what I got?
The DOGS BARK excitedly.
ROBBY
Damn straight!
She opens the freezer, grabs a couple of frozen bagels and
flips them to the DOGS. They catch the bagels and start
CHOMPING.
ROBBY
I missed you guys so much.
Gillespie hands her the note.
ROBBY
(reading it)
'I, Michael Gillespie, agree that
if I'm not back in exactly four
days from now, the ownership of my
dogs, Osler and Harvey, will go
to Roberta Keough.'
(handing it back)
Time and date it.
He does. She points to a huge box on the kitchen
table:
(CONTINUED)
13.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
That's stuff from med school...
Some of it's yours. I don't know
if you want any of it.
He fishes through it, shoving aside old medical books
and equipment. He finds an old wood stethoscope with
thick rubber tubing. He shoves in into his pocket.
GILLESPIE
Got a place yet?
ROBBY
An apartment.
GILLESPIE
The first thing you'll do is spend
the whole night unpacking...
You'll stay up 'til dawn but
you'll get everything in its
place.
ROBBY
(smiles)
Probably.
GILLESPIE
Nothin' in my life has been
organized since you left, Robby.
Beat. She's surprised at his admission. And un-
comfortable. So's he. He continues searching through
the box and pulls out...
A photo taken during their honeymoon cruise: they're
both smiling radiantly as they hold between them a
trophy of a dancing couple.
GILLESPIE
Y'know, this is the only evidence
on Earth that I was ever graceful.
He checks her reaction. There is a hint of a smile.
ROBBY
Take it.
GILLESPIE
Nah, people might see it... get
the wrong impression.
He drops the photo back in the box and moves toward
the door.
(CONTINUED)
14.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
Four days.
GILLESPIE
Or less.
As we hear the front DOOR OPEN and SHUT, HOLD ON
Robby: a hint of regret.
CUT TO:
ANDREWS AIR BASE, MARYLAND
COMPUTER KEYS POUNDING: "Andrews Air Base, Maryland."
Flood lights illuminate a huge C5A transport plane
waiting on the runway, its nose cocked open exposing
its innards to the pouring rain. Several enlisted
men rapidly wheel equipment into the open hatch. A
private pushes a dolly loaded with boxes with the red
cross emblem up the ramp.
DR. ISAAC "IZZY" BERMAN, a short, bald Army Major in
his late 30's directs traffic.
IZZY
Blood in the freezer over the
right wing. C'mon! Gut it!
We're late.
The private grunts and pushes the dolly slowly up the
ramp. Izzy lends a hand, and the two of them run it up
the ramp.
Mike Gillespie, dressed in a uniform, climbs down from
the cockpit. Now we see his rank: Colonel.
GILLESPIE
Where the hell's Yaffe?
IZZY
His wife... she's due tomorrow.
I put him on leave.
GILLESPIE
We need him now! Who's going to
read the electron micrographs?
IZZY
I will.
(CONTINUED)
15.
CONTINUED:
GILLESPIE
You can't even read a Playboy
pinup.
IZZY
He said he'd get a guy to fill in.
GILLESPIE
We can't wait.
A Jeep drives across the tarmac, toward them and comes
to a park a short distance away. The Driver scurries
out to open the passenger door to let --
General Ford get out.
IZZY
What does he want?
The driver pulls two suitcases out of the Jeep and
follows Ford into the plane.
FORD
I'm comin' along, Mike.
GILLESPIE
Sir, we're going into very
dangerous territory.
FORD
I'm well aware of the dangers.
GILLESPIE
Beggin' your pardon, General, I
don't think you are. You've had
only the most cursory training
on how to avoid contamination.
Concerns for your safety would
distract us.
FORD
Nothing distracts you, Colonel.
You won't even know I'm there.
GILLESPIE
Sir, I'm not comfortable --
FORD
Mike, have a little compassion for
an old man who's been rotting
behind a desk.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
16.
CONTINUED:
FORD (CONT'D)
For once I'd like to be there
when one of these buggers hits.
You're not going to tell me I
can't go, Colonel, are you?
GILLESPIE
No, sir.
FORD
Good. I feel wanted, now.
(beat)
I get airsick in the back. I'll
be up with the pilot.
As they watch him move forward and out of sight:
IZZY
The guy wouldn't know a virus from
a Barbie Doll. I'm not lookin'
after him. He's yours.
GILLESPIE
Bullshit.
IZZY
All of a sudden, playing golf and
pushin' papers isn't good enough.
Damn, when I'm his age, that's all
I'm gonna want to do.
Gillespie flips a coin, covers it over his wrist.
IZZY
Heads. No! Tails.
Gillespie lifts his hand and smiles.
IZZY
Fuck!
Gillespie grabs the phone to the cockpit.
GILLESPIE
(into phone)
Rafferty, rock and roll with this bird.
INT. COCKPIT
The Pilot, CAPTAIN RAFFERTY, checks General Ford,
nestled in safely behind him.
RAFFERTY
(into headmike)
T minus sixty seconds.
17.
DOWN BELOW
Gillespie pulls a lever and the hatch starts to close.
IZZY
Wait!
Mike follows his eyes out to the --
TARMAC
where a BLACK MAN carrying a duffel bag is sprinting
toward them at incredible speed, like a ghost through
the pelting rain.
Berman swings the lever down and the hatch starts to
open but the Man doesn't wait for it to lower
completely. Without breaking stride, he leaps the
four feet onto the plane and slides to a stop right
in front of Gillespie. He steadies himself and
salutes:
SALT (BLACK MAN)
Captain Walter Salt reporting, sir.
Izzy smiles. He looks at Gillespie, who is impressed
but won't show it.
SALT
I'm sorry to be late, sir. I was
wrapping up some tests in my lab --
GILLESPIE
-- Strap in.
The huge JET ENGINES come to life. Gillespie, Berman,
and Salt strap themselves into the row of jump seats
along the fuselage.
Issy is filled with the excitement of a young kid who
can't believe his luck:
IZZY
You're not the football player
from West Point, that Salt?
SALT
The same, sir.
IZZY
I thought you had the Heisman
sewed up 'til you hurt your knee.
(CONTINUED)
18.
CONTINUED:
SALT
You and my mother, Major... I was
never that good. But thank you
for saying so, sir.
IZZY
Don't call me sir. The only one
who does that is the Colonel here.
Everyone else calls me Izzy.
SALT
Izzy, sir?
IZZY
My mother calls me Isaac, but I
hate it. I pitched for my high
school team. My dad thought I
was gonna be another Dizzy Dean.
So he called me 'Izzy.'
SALT
Yes, sir, Izzy, sir.
The plane surges forward and taxis down the runway.
GILLESPIE
I want to know just one thing.
Can you read electron micrographs
as well as you can run?
SALT
I'm not sure how to assess the
question --
IZZY
-- Just say 'yes, sir,' Captain.
Whatever the Colonel asks, you
just say 'yes, sir.' That's how
we keep him under control.
GILLESPIE
Have you ever seen filovirus
infection in a human being?
SALT
No, sir.
GILLESPIE
It's about as pretty as goin'
naked up the middle against the
Dallas Cowboys.
(CONTINUED)
19.
CONTINUED:
SALT
I grew up on the South Side of
Chicago, sir. Whatever it is,
I can handle it.
GILLESPIE
I hope so, because if you can't,
you'll make a mistake. You'll
be holding a needle and it'll
slip. Or your glove will have
a crack in it and you won't notice.
You work with filoviruses, it's
like working with plutonium. A
single drop of blood can hold
six billion... That's more
filoviruses than there are people
in the world. You get a single
one of those inside you, you're
infected. Say you're lucky and
it's one of the few filoviruses
we have antiserum for. Then we
can treat you and you'll probably
live. But say you're unlucky.
And you get one of those
filoviruses we don't have an
antiserum for, which is most of
them. There's no medicine, no
cure, nothing we can do to help
you. Your body gets so hot, your
liver, your kidney, all your
vital organs melt, and your skin
turns into tapioca pudding.
Stunned silence.
IZZY
(smiles)
He means chocolate pudding.
Salt smiles slowly. He likes Izzy.
The WHEELS come up with a THUMP. The giant jet shakes
and rattles and soars into the air.
SHOCK CUT TO:
TWO U.S. ARMY HUEY HELICOPTERS - DAY
flying low over the rain forest. The first carries
Gillespie and his crew, the second is a gunship flying
escort. They pass over the wide Motaba River that
snakes for miles.
(CONTINUED)
20.
CONTINUED:
On the river: a Zairean Army patrol boat cruises down-
stream, looking for guerrillas. The machine gunner
swivels his cannon around at the two choppers.
The machine gunner looks up at the U.S. Army insignia
and waves.
INT. BACK OF CHOPPER
Izzy slips the clear helmet over General Ford's head.
PULL BACK to reveal:
The General covered from head to toe in BL-4 bio-
safety suit. Salt, dressed the same, looks on, amused.
FORD
(panicking)
How do you breath in here?
IZZY
(laughs)
With a respirator. Positive
pressure's what you want. Keep
those buggers out.
Izzy flips the switch on Ford's respirator, which sucks
air out of the atmosphere, filters it, and pumps it
into the suit. Ford starts to swell up like the
Pillsbury doughboy.
FORD
And I thought it was a hassle
wearin' a tie all day.
INT. FRONT OF CHOPPER - A LITTLE LATER
Gillespie, now suited up in full biosafety gear, but
holding his helmet in his hands, sits beside the
CHOPPER PILOT. In the distance, we see a village in
which numerous huts are burning.
GILLESPIE
We got a lot of equipment.
You're gonna have to get us in
close.
PILOT
I... I don't want to get no
disease, sir.
GILLESPIE
Then don't kiss me, Sergeant.
CUT TO:
21.
CHOPPERS
throwing up a storm of dust as they sweep down to the
ground on the perimeter of the village.
INT. CHOPPER
Gillespie, Salt, Berman and Ford stand by the door,
ready to get out as soon as the chopper puts down.
Gillespie has to shout at Salt over the sound of the
WHIRLING CHOPPER BLADES:
GILLESPIE
Captain Salt, if you fail to
observe strict decontamination
protocol, three things can happen.
First, you can be court-martialed.
Second, you can die from this
horrible disease. Third, and
worst of all, you can incur my
displeasure. You got it?
SALT
Yes, sir.
GILLESPIE
If one of us gets sick, we all get
sick.
(turns to Ford)
And I didn't come here to die.
BURNING HUTS - WIDE ANGLE SHOT
juxtaposed against the U.S. Army choppers disgorging
the U.S. Army Infectious Disease Team -- blue space-
suited figures with the U.S. flag emblazoned on their
arms and helmets.
The ju-ju man remains high on the cliff above the
village, chanting and wailing, burning an offering to
the gods.
The U.S. Army Team approaches the village through the
smoky haze, and we see --
Two different worlds juxtaposed -- men in spacesuits
and a man in a loincloth.
Gillespie, followed by Berman, Salt and Ford, moves
across the village which now looks devastated and
deserted except for a few remaining huts and a small
cinder block building with an old Volkswagen van,
marked with a red cross, parked out front.
(CONTINUED)
22.
CONTINUED:
Ford walks slower taking everything in, appalled at
what he sees.
The U.S. Army team enters the cinder block hut.
INT. CINDER BLOCK HUT
A short, slender, bespectacled black man in his late
forties -- DR. IWABI -- head of the Zaire Infectious
Disease Heath Agency -- and his NURSE, protected only
by a smock, a surgical mask, and gloves, gives comfort
to a young woman who's dying.
GILLESPIE
Doctor Iwabi? I brought blood,
plasma --
DR. IWABI
-- You're too late.
GILLESPIE
I came as soon as I could.
DR. IWABI
It wouldn't have mattered when you
came. This one is different --
worse than Lassa, worse even than
Ebola. It strikes and kills so
fast. The young, the healthy,
everybody.
GILLESPIE
Who was the index case?
DR. IWABI
A road construction worker.
IZZY
How did he get it?
DR. IWABI
We don't know. He died three days
ago.
Salt moves ahead to the next bed and pulls aside the
thin mosquito curtain to inspect the patient. Ford
is right behind him.
SALT
God...
(CONTINUED)
23.
CONTINUED:
The corpse's eyes are yellow and his flesh, speckled
with hemmorrhages, looks like pulp. Blood oozes from
his nose and his nipples. Ford turns away in horror.
SALT
(retches)
I'm gonna be sick.
He starts to rip off his mask. Gillespie grabs his
arms.
GILLESPIE
Keep you helmet on, Goddamit!
SALT
I can't breath.
Salt vomits in his helmet. Rips it off. He rushes
out. Izzy moves after him.
GILLESPIE
Put him in quarantine. Now!
DR. IWABI
You don't need to.
GILLESPIE
Why?
DR. IWABI
It's not spread in the air.
GILLESPIE
How do you know?
DR. IWABI
(pulls down his mask)
There's no cough. Or we'd all be
dead. For days we've been working
with only these masks. They can't
keep out a particle as small as a
virus.
GILLESPIE
Could any infected person have
gotten out of this village and
spread it?
DR. IWABI
The incubation period is only one
or two days. The mortality is one
hundred percent.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
24.
CONTINUED:
DR. IWABI (CONT'D)
If anyone got out, they are dead,
or will be soon. And if they have
spread the disease, we will know
rather quickly.
GILLESPIE
Finding the host is the only way
to control the spread. Our only
hope is that this is like most
viruses and that it has to live in
a host, an animal, to which it's
adapted over thousands of years.
And that animal host has developed
antibodies to protect itself
against the virus. If we can
identify that animal host, and
harvest its antibodies, we can use
them to fight the disease in
humans.
DR. IWABI
There are a hundred thousand
species of animals and insects in
this rain forest. The
construction worker could have
been in contact with any one of
them. Where do I start?
GILLEPSIE
General, tell him that our
government will help with money,
personnel supplies, whatever it
takes.
Ford hesitates.
FORD
Of course, we'll do whatever we
can.
CUT TO:
EXT. OVER MOTABA RIVER VALLEY - DAWN
In a SINGLE-FRAMED TIME LAPSE SHOT, dawn arrives in the
Motaba Valley. FADE UP the hundreds of sounds of the
rain forest ANIMALS. There is something primeval about
this vista; this surely must be what the Garden of Eden
looked like, except for the...
(CONTINUED)
25.
CONTINUED:
Plumes of black smoke which waft up from the blackened,
smoldering huts, each one the home of someone who has now
died from this terrible virus.
Two African orderlies carry a stretcher bearing the dead
body of a villager. They slide it onto a funeral pyre
already burning with bodies.
Gillespie, Ford and Dr. Iwabi make their way to the
choppers where Berman and Salt are loading into the hold
plexiglass cases of blood samples.
ON CLIFF OVERHEAD
The ju-ju man chants. He seems to float above the
funeral pyre like a mirage.
GILLESPIE
What's he saying?
DR. IWABI
He's asking for forgiveness from
the Gods of the forest. They're
angry because they've been awoken
from their sleep by the men
building the road. These deaths
are their punishment.
FORD
Why isn't he sick?
DR. IWABI
He stayed in his cave all week and
greeted his visitors with poison
darts.
GILLEPSIE
(a sense of
foreboding)
It was as if... as if he knew what
was coming.
CUT TO:
INT. C5A COCKPIT
Heading home. Ford reads a hand-written paper Gillespie's
just handed him and gets irate.
(CONTINUED)
26.
CONTINUED:
FORD
A memo to the CDC to issue a
warning to every physician in the
United States to be on the
look-out for this disease? What
the hell is this?
GILLESPIE
A safeguard, sir.
FORD
Are you nuts? Within a week we'll
know if this thing burned itself
out in that village, just like
Iwabi said --
GILLESPIE
-- And if Iwabi's wrong? American
doctors should be warned so cases
can be quarantined. Sir, this one
is different --
FORD
-- You're a smart guy, Gillespie,
but you can't write a memo to the
CDC which says the sky is falling.
GILLESPIE
(sharply)
We should do nothing?
FORD
Did I say that, Colonel?
(beat)
We will monitor the situation in
Africa, and if this virus
reappears, we will act with all
our resources, not just to protect
the American people but the people
of the world. You will destroy
this memo. That's an order.
Gillespie's frustrated.
GILLESPIE
Yes, sir.
SMASH CUT TO:
NATIONAL AIRPORT (WASHINGTON) - DELTA GATE - DAY
Robby is moving forward in the boarding line, and Mike is
walking beside her.
(CONTINUED)
27.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
You asked for four days and four
days it was... last night.
GILLESPIE
It was a bad virus... Cut me some
slack.
ROBBY
I cut you ten years of slack. I'm
not giving you the dogs.
GILLESPIE
Stop joking. Where are they?
ROBBY
I shipped them this morning.
GILLESPIE
You did not.
ON her face: a triumphant smile.
ROBBY
It's better for them. And for
you. I'll be there to feed them
and take care of them. You won't
have to feel guilty.
She moves past the gate. Gillespie's stuck behind it.
Screaming after her:
GILLESPIE
I'm coming to Atlanta... I'm
takin' 'em back.
ROBBY
Dream on.
HOLD ON Gillespie's dismay as she disappears.
CUT TO:
INT. MAIN CORRIDOR OF M.I.D.U.
Mike walking briskly down the main corridor. Two M-16
toting security guards salute as he passes by. He
reaches six-inch thick metal doors, closed tight. He
slides his ID card into the optical reader.
(CONTINUED)
28.
CONTINUED:
The computer screen above it prints out the words,
"Colonel Michael Gillespie." A digitized voice booms
from the WALL SPEAKER:
WALL SPEAKER (V.O.)
How-are-you-today-Doctor-Gillespie?
GILLESPIE
Piss ass good. And you?
ON COMPUTER SCREEN
We see Gillespie's voice print.
The doors spring open.
CUT TO:
INT. ELEVATOR
Gillespie going up in the elevator past the four floors of
glassed-in laboratories. At the first level, workers wear
civilian clothes. At the second level, they wear respir-
ators. At the third level, they wear body suits, and at
the fourth level they wear biosafety suits.
CUT TO:
INT. M.I.D.U. - SMALL LOCKER ROOM OUTSIDE BL-4 LABS -
STEADI-CAM SHOT
Mike and Izzy strip off their clothes.
IZZY
Admit it, for chrissakes: The dogs
will get better care with her than
they got with you.
GILLESPIE
That really cheers me up.
IZZY
You think cause we're friends I
should ignore reality.
GILLESPIE
I think cause we're friends you
might show some tact.
(CONTINUED)
29.
CONTINUED:
IZZY
You were gone so often that when
you were home... you spoiled 'em.
Robby keeps an even keel.
GILLESPIE
Hey, she's available...
IZZY
Don't think I haven't thought
about it.
GILLESPIE
You're just what she's looking
for. Mr. Stability. Three wives
in five years.
IZZY
Two. I never married Sherry. I
liked her too much...
Izzy pulls a red air hose down from the ceiling and in-
flates his space suit before he puts it on; this is stan-
dard safety procedure. Mike steps right into his suit.
IZZY
What are you doing?
GILLESPIE
What?
IZZY
You forgot to test your suit.
Look! It's torn.
There is a small tear on the left leg of Gillespie's suit.
They both realize Gillespie's mistake could have cost him
his life.
IZZY
(beams)
If I let you die, who've I got to
rag on?
FADE UP the sound of furiously RUSHING AIR, then:
CUT TO:
INT. FT. DETRICK MILITARY INFECTUOUS DISEASE UNIT
(M.I.D.U.) - BL-4 LAB - AIR LOCK
Gillespie and Berman, dressed in their BL-3 suits, stand
in the air lock.
(CONTINUED)
30.
CONTINUED:
There's no sound other than the FILTERED AIR RUSHING from
a WALL JET into the long red tubing attached to the back
of their helmets. These red tubes are called umbilical
cords. Gillespie disconnects his, punches the wall plate
and enters...
MAIN ROOM OF LAB
Quickly he connects to another umbilical cord; they hang
from the ceiling at ten foot intervals.
PAVAROTTI and SUTHERLAND singing the duet from "Lucia de
Lamamoore" BLASTS from the SPEAKERS. Whenever
Gillespie's in the lab, he's listening to opera. He
approaches...
The space-suited figure working under the hood. The
figure turns and smiles; it's Salt. Gillespie's
surprised. Salt salutes.
SALT
Good afternoon, Colonel, sir.
GILLESPIE
I thought you were doing your
thesis at Walter Reede.
SALT
A lot's been published on Herpes B
but nothing on this new virus.
GILLESPIE
So you were hoping to change
subjects and get your name on my
research papers?
IZZY
Our research papers.
SALT
I would do my share of the work,
sir. More.
IZZY
And you wouldn't have to worry
about anybody publishing the same
thing cause there ain't nobody
else crazy enough to work with
this dangerous a virus.
Salt hesitates, then beams.
(CONTINUED)
31.
CONTINUED:
SALT
Yes, sir! Have you given the
virus a name, sir?
GILLESPIE
Motaba... after the valley where
we found it.
SALT
I like it, sir.
IZZY
Like it? Listen to the way it
rolls off your tongue. Mo-ta-ba.
Like a perfume.
He lifts up a vial labeled MOTABA and puts it close to
his body as if he's putting on perfume.
Salt watches with horror. In spite of their BL-4 suits,
you just don't play with these things. Salt checks
Gillespie, expecting the same reaction, but...
Gillespie's enjoying the moment. He expects these things
from Berman.
Izzy rubs the vial against his chest, savoring the
experience.
IZZY
One drop and you feel... so
different... Your lover will never
recognize you again.
(shoving the vial
at Salt)
Have some, Captain.
Izzy tosses the vial of Motaba to Wally, who, terrified,
doesn't know whether to catch it or not. But he does.
IZZY
Good hands... That's important for
working with level 4 viruses.
Salt, trembling, notes that the vial is made of plastic.
SALT
This plastic is unbreakable,
right?
IZZY
So far.
(CONTINUED)
32.
CONTINUED:
A short, husky SPACE-SUITED FIGURE pushing a cart of test-
tubes round the corner. The name Owigatsuyama is embla-
zoned above his breast, Sergeant Major stripes on his arm.
THROUGH his visor we see the face of a Japanese-American
man in his early 60's with a warm friendly grin. We'll
know him as Owi.
OWI (SPACE-SUITED FIGURE)
(saluting Gillespie)
Sir.
(gesturing to Salt)
He's here early. No coffee breaks.
GILLESPIE
Should we let this guy horn in on
our new virus, Owi?
Owi hesitates.
OWI
I don't think so.
GILLESPIE
Well, that's that.
Salt nervously eyes Izzy: "Is this a joke?"
IZZY
Captain, Sergeant Owigatsuyama
here not only looks after
everything in this lab, but since
he knows the birthday of every
great tenor and soprano who ever
lived, Dr. Gillespie looks to him
for supreme guidance on all
matters.
SALT
Just a minute! I could've changed
the radio to jazz. I love jazz.
But I didn't. Whaddya haveta do
to get on here?
GILLESPIE
Get me a blood test for the Motaba
Virus.
SALT
With a PCR catalyst I should be
able to have a crude -- and I
underscore crude -- screening test
in a few weeks.
(CONTINUED)
33.
CONTINUED:
IZZY
Excellent. But nobody's asking
you to work a hundred and fifty
hours a week...
GILLESPIE
A hundred and twenty will be
plenty.
IZZY
Welcome aboard, Captain.
CUT TO:
INT. FORD'S OFFICE - LATER THAT NIGHT
Ford feeds flies to the Gila Monster. He looks out the
office window at the BL-4 lab where Salt is working late.
Ford moves on to the frog cages and feeds them too. He
looks back at the BL-4 lab: sees Salt exiting. The
lights go out.
CUT TO:
INT. FORD'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Ford watches the bank of video monitors behind his desk:
one shows Salt in the parking lot, getting into his old
Fiat and leaving.
CUT TO:
INT. BL-4 LOCKER ROOM
Ford, naked, slips on his suit with the ease of Joe
Montana pulling on his helmet. He buckles the suit with-
out even looking, as if he's done it five thousand times.
FADE UP the sound of RUSHING AIR and...
CUT TO:
GILLESPIE'S BL-4 LAB
Ford steps out of the air lock, disconnects his red hose
and reconnects. He moves quickly across the room. Sud-
denly, his air tube snags on the side of the lab bench.
Ford stops, freaked. Quickly checks his hose. Indented,
but not broken. He breathes again.
(CONTINUED)
34.
CONTINUED:
FORD
The world is round, Gillespie.
Didn't anybody fucking teach you?
He grabs a metal file off the tool board and files down
the side of the bench until it's perfectly smooth and
round. Then moves on to...
One of the huge circular freezers in the center of the
lab. He punches in a seven-digit code on the keypad and
the LOCK SNAPS OPEN. He lifts the heavy lid. VAPOR
RUSHES OUT. He looks inside, sees the 65 aluminum test
tubes labeled "Motaba."
CUT TO:
NEGATIVE PRESSURE HOOD - FORD - MINUTES LATER
opening one test tube after another, expertly withdrawing
from each only a tiny sample of the virus, then putting it
into a large test tube. Suddenly --
The air lock opens and three BL-4 figures approach Ford.
We recognize the tall lean figure although he's 35 years
older: McClintock, now a Lieutenant General. Ford hands
him the large test tube.
FORD
Tell the boys the Old Man wants
the answer tonight.
McCLINTOCK
Yes, sir.
McClintock places the test tube into a clear plexiglass
container which is contained within a large plexiglass
container, each with its own combination lock. He twirls
the tumblers. The LOCKS SNAP into place.
CUT TO:
GILA MONSTER
Its eyes darting back and forth, ever watchful, trusting
nothing.
EXT. BALCONY - FORD'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Ford leans on the bannister oblivious to the Gila Monster
beside him. He's depressed and worried. In the distant
sky,, traces of orange and pink announce the new day.
From inside the office, a BEEP. Ford rushes...
35.
INT. FORD'S OFFICE
to his computer terminal. A message ratchets across the
screen: "ANALYSIS FINISHED"
He punches a computer key and swivels around in his
chair to see the huge video screen on the wall. It shows
two viral structures that look like DNA double helices.
One is labelled "CD-40 1960 (Motaba Valley)"; the other
is labelled "Motaba Virus - Gillespie - 1994."
Letters flash across the screen.
Ford puts on his horn-rimmed glasses and stares at the
screen. He doesn't breathe. A long beat.
FORD
You fucker, why couldn't you stay
dead?
CUT TO:
MOTABA RIVER VALLEY - DAY (AUGUST 24)
Deep in the rain forest, a trapper wheels a cage contain-
ing a baboon to a clearing where other trappers and
Government Health workers have lunch. Scattered around
them are cages filled with other animals they've caught
for Motaba Virus testing.
The DRONE of approaching PLANES builds. The animals hear
it first and grow restless. The Army troops guarding the
workers scan the sky but can't see the planes because of
the treetops. They scream into their walkie-talkies.
On the river, the Machine Gunner on the Army Patrol-Boat,
hears their reports and swivels his cannon around, scan-
ning the sky. But he can't see the planes either. The
DRONE becomes DEAFENING. Suddenly:
Over the treetops, three camouflage-painted DC-3 gunships
emerge, CANNONS FIRING right on target.
The Patrol Boat explodes into a shower of splinters.
The DC-3 Gunships turn and arc high into the sky.
On the ground the soldiers sight the planes. They OPEN
FIRE but the planes are out of range.
The ju-ju man comes out of his cave and watches the planes
circle back and release a waxy grey cloud.
The ju-ju Mmn raises his arms defiantly. He bares his
teeth and screams, and his cry fuses with:
(CONTINUED)
36.
CONTINUED:
EXPLODING NAPALM. The planes press on relentlessly,
extending the fireball mile after mile, extinguishing
all life.
CUT TO:
INT. FORD'S OFFICE - SHORT TIME LATER
Gillespie bursts in. Ford looks up from his desk.
GILLESPIE
The rebels hit Iwabi's camp.
FORD
I know.
He swivels around in his chair to the world map on the wall.
FORD
They hit Kisangani, Bukavu, and
Mbandaka as well. Three hundred
thousand acres of forest burned,
at least thirty-seven dead. I'm
trying to find out about Iwabi.
GILLESPIE
He's all right, thank God. He was
in Kinshasha at his clinic but
his entire field staff was killed.
His whole lab destroyed.
FORD
Terrible.
GILLESPIE
I want to continue working on
Motaba, sir.
FORD
Look, as a scientist, I appreciate
the fact that this one fascinates
you --
GILLESPIE
-- It scares the shit out of me,
sir.
FORD
Colonel, the Pentagon's biting my
ass cause we're months behind on
the Anthrax studies. Get 'em
finished. Take the heat off me.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
37.
CONTINUED:
FORD (CONT'D)
Then you can fiddle with Motaba
as much as you like.
GILLESPIE
Sir, if this virus came to
America --
FORD
-- Then it'd be outside our
mandate. The CDC takes care of
civilian problems. Christ, now
you've even got me buying into
your paranoia. We can't protect
everybody against everything.
We've got to make decisions based
on the odds, and the odds of
Motaba causing us any more trouble
are a billion to one.
INT. BL-4 LAB
Gillespie, Salt and Izzy search through the round freezer.
IZZY
Every sample of Motaba gone...
Where the fuck did he put it?
Owi looks contrite.
OWI
General Ford ordered me to move
all tubes to the sealed vault in A
wing... Only he has access. He
said you weren't gonna need it
for months.
Gillespie and his men are despondent.
GILLESPIE
Those were the only samples in the
world of Motaba, Iwabi lost all
his in the fire.
(to Owi)
There's got to be a way to get
that access code from Ford's
computer.
OWI
Sir, I don't want any more
trouble.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
38.
CONTINUED:
OWI (CONT'D)
It's bad enough that I already
made one mistake and forgot to
transfer one of the tubes of
Motaba. I seemed to have mixed
it up with a tube of common cold
virus. If I give you the tube,
I'm sure you'll fix my mistake,
sir.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a gleaming
aluminium test tube with the words "Motaba #48" written
on the side.
GILLESPIE
I love it when you make mistakes,
Owi.
OWI
How do you know? I never made
one before now.
Hold on their grins, FADE UP the sound of FURIOUSLY
RUSHING WIND and:
CUT TO:
EXT. PACIFIC SEAS
A Dutch freighter plowing through the heavy seas.
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "THE DUTCH FREIGHTER APELDORN.
AUGUST 29."
INT. FREIGHTER
In a cramped dark hold, Betsy stares sadly through the
bars of her cage at her captor, SEAMAN SECOND CLASS
DIETER JANS, 21-years-old and making his first trip.
SEAMAN JANS
(in Dutch)
What's the matter, girl?
Dieter pushes a banana through the bar of the cage, and
Betsy snatches it. Then she retreats with it to the far
corner of the cage and studies Seaman Jans with plaintive
eyes. PULL BACK to show the ship headed for the Golden
Gate Bridge.
SMASH CUT TO:
39.
EXT. DOCKS (SAN FRANCISCO) - DAY
Betsy stares out from her cage as it swings down from
ship to wharf.
CUT TO:
BIOTEST ANIMAL HOLDING FACILITY (SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA)
We're in a long aisle with monkey cages stacked two high
on both sides. A translucent skylight gives this place
a greenhouse glow.
A forklift putters down the aisle with Betsy's cage in
front. Betsy's cage is lifted up and placed into a slot.
Betsy stands out from all the other monkeys because she
is the only black and white Colobos -- the other monkeys
are all brown rhesus.
Betsy's cage slides into place. BETSY SHRIEKS at the
man in the forklift.
JIMBO SCOTT, 23-years-young, long, scraggly hair, an
aspiring rock and roll drummer working here to make ends
meet. Jimbo's BEEPER SOUNDS. He checks the message,
then looks puzzled.
CUT TO:
EXT. BIOTEST GUARD GATE - NIGHT
Jimbo's red Nissan pulls up to the exit lane of the guard
gate. The GUARD leans over.
GUARD
Hey, Jimbo, I saw your band last
night. Hot! I didn't know you
were such a good drummer, man.
JIMBO
Wait'll I get my new traps. The
world'll never be the same.
The Guard raises the gate and Jimbo drives forward.
CUT TO:
SIDE OF DARK ROAD
Jimbo opens the trunk to reveal Betsy, drugged, asleep
in her cage. Jimbo slides Betsy's cage out of the trunk
and places it in the back seat.
CUT TO:
40.
INTERSTATE FIVE (OREGON) - DAY
Jimbo speeds along in his red Nissan.
INT. RED NISSAN
In her cage in the back seat, Betsy moves back and forth
restlessly, a baby bottle of water in her hand.
JIMBO
Cars put babies to sleep, why
not you?
Betsy takes a mouthful of water and spits it on Jimbo.
His reaction is instant rage. He slams the cage:
JIMBO
You stupid fucking monkey!
Why'dya wanna go and do that?
He shoves the cage further away. Then he sees it - a
small cut on his hand, caused by a couple of wire pro-
trusions on the cage. He rubs the blood off on his shirt.
The Nissan roars down the road.
CUT TO:
EXTREME CLOSEUP - TISSUE CULTURE - THROUGH ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE
A normal cell.
SALT (O.S.)
A normal healthy liver cell.
The image changes.
SALT (O.S.)
Infected cell.
The infected cell is swollen and filled with black brick-
like structures.
SALT (O.S.)
Bricks of virus. They multiply
until...
The image changes: the bricks have completely overrun the
cell, shattering its outer membrane so that bricks run
rampant inside and outside the cell.
(CONTINUED)
41.
CONTINUED:
SALT (O.S.)
They explode the cell and destroy
it. Then they move on to the next
healthy cell. And the next. 'Til
there's nothing left to kill.
INT. BL-4 LAB - M.I.D.U.
Gillespie, Berman, and Salt, dressed in their biosafety
suits, peer at the video monitor hooked up to the electron
microscope. Salt flicks a switch on the console to
change the magnification. The fuzzy brick-like structures
are computer enhanced and enlarged to razor-sharp crystal-
line structures that look like huge ominous steel balls
climbing up the sides of thick pillars.
IZZY
There's our guy, Mr. Motaba.
GILLESPIE
Ugly bastard, isn't he?
SALT
I wouldn't let him date my sister.
CUT TO:
EXTREME CLOSEUP - MICROSCOPE FIELD
as the image comes INTO FOCUS we see a wavy purple out-
line of a cell.
SALT (O.S.)
The blood test. Normal is this --
pure purple. But if you're
infected...
Focus changes and another image fills the screen: the
field is filled with wide patches of red circles.
Gillespie and Berman each peer into the scope.
GILLESPIE
If you're red, you're dead. Is
that what you're telling me?
SALT
That's right, Colonel. The virus
doesn't know the Cold War is over.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
42.
CONTINUED:
SALT (CONT'D)
(beat)
But the rest is just a quickie; I
haven't had time to refine it.
There are false negatives, purples
that should be red. I don't know
why yet.
GILLESPIE
How long to fix it?
SALT
Hard to say.
GILLESPIE
How long?
IZZY
Hey, don't pressure the kid! It
took the NIH guys eight months to
get the kinks outa the AIDS test...
And they didn't have to put up with
your nagging.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. SMALL ANIMAL TESTING ROOM - TRAVELING SHOT
Gillespie, Berman and Salt moving rapidly through the
room within the BL-4 lab.
IZZY
This bug definitely ate its
Wheaties.
ANGLE ON FOURTEEN CAGES
each contains three or four different small mammals --
rats, guinea pigs, small lab mice, hamster, and rabbits.
All stone dead.
IZZY
It survives in air for twelve
hours, and it survives in water
for two hours.
GILLESPIE
(incredulous)
Bullshit.
(CONTINUED)
43.
CONTINUED:
IZZY
Hey, this little bugger's so hardy
it can read the whole Sunday NY
Times and not die, it can run the
hundred in nine flat, and it can
kill fish faster than my cat.
Voila!
A fish tank with a dozen dead fish floating on top.
IZZY
No test species has survived, even
when I've treated them with all
antivirals, including every damn
antiserum. What's even worse is
there's a latency phase. Iwabi
didn't see this in Zaire, I don't
know why, but some of the animals
I've tested had the infection a
long time before they showed any
symptoms. They even tested
negative but had the disease. If
this is true of humans... why we
could have it ourselves and not
know it.
SALT
Yet be spreading it.
IZZY
Exactly.
SALT
Holy shit.
INT. RUDY'S PET SHOP (BONNEVILLE, OREGON) - DAY
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "BONNEVILLE, OREGON... FRIDAY,
AUGUST 31."
Jimbo slides a cage containing Betsy into a space beside
a cage containing a male brown RHESUS MONKEY. He grabs
the bars of his cage and HISSES. Betsy cowers.
RUDY ALVAREZ, the owner of the shop, slips on a pair of
gloves and opens the cage, reaches in for Betsy. She
tries to avoid his grasp.
RUDY
You got the papers and all?
(CONTINUED)
44.
CONTINUED:
JIMBO
Yeah, sure... I got the papers.
She's legal.
RUDY
Whaddya mean 'she'?
Betsy takes advantage of the opening and bolts out of the
cage, heading for the window. As Rudy and Jimbo both
chase after her, Rudy is steaming.
RUDY
I told you a male.
JIMBO
You said 'she'.
RUDY
Bullshit! I said 'he'. The
customer's already got a female
Colobos. He wants to breed 'em.
Betsy slams against the glass. Rudy grabs her.
RUDY
C'mon, baby... c'mon.
She lashes out at his naked forearm, digging her nails
into him, drawing blood. He yelps and lets go, and she
runs away to the other side of the room, passing the
brown rhesus, who eyes a half-eaten banana in Betsy's
cage. He grabs it and scarfs it down.
Jimbo finally grabs Betsy from behind. Rudy grabs her
from the front and they thrust her back into her cage.
Rudy wipes the blood off his arm.
RUDY
Get this bitch outa here.
JIMBO
What about my money?
RUDY
Go back and get me a male Colobos.
JIMBO
We ain't got one. This was the
only Colobos we had... Look, I'll
sell her cheap.
RUDY
I wouldn't take her for free.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
45.
CONTINUED:
RUDY (CONT'D)
(indicating the
Brown Rhesus)
I can't even sell this one.
JIMBO
(depressed)
Hey, I need some money now, man.
Rudy hesitates.
JIMBO
I done you a lot of favors.
Rudy pulls out a billfold.
RUDY
All right... Fifty bucks for
your expenses. A lot more when
you bring me a male.
JIMBO
What am I going to do with her?
Rudy shrugs.
CUT TO:
SMALL ROAD DEEP IN FOREST - LATER THAT DAY
Jimbo opens the cage which is sitting on the side of the
road by the Nissan, but Betsy shrinks back in a corner
of the cage. Jimbo feels sorry for her.
JIMBO
Look at all the trees. It's like
home.
Jimbo jabs her lightly with a drumstick. She runs out of
the cage but stops at the edge of the road, afraid of the
forest she doesn't know.
JIMBO
(flicking pebbles
at her)
C'mon, get. Get!
She scampers off into the forest. Jimbo follows her
with his eyes, a little saddened.
CUT TO:
46.
INT. 757 CABIN
Jimbo Scott is asleep against the window in the back
row of the plane.
BILLY BOY (O.S.)
Bang, bang! You're dead.
Jimbo bolts up, and looks groggily at the four-year-
old boy standing on the next seat: he's dressed in
a cowboy's outfit with a huge sheriff's star pinned
to his chest. He sneezes right in Jimbo's face. His
mother puts down her Cosmo.
BILLY BOY'S MOTHER
Billy!? Say you're sorry.
(to Jimbo)
He's so excited; he's going to
see his cousins.
BILLY BOY
My uncle's a real cowboy at a
rodeo.
Jimbo looks terrible. His eyes are red and he's
having trouble swallowing. He grabs his pillow and
blanket and gets up. Billy jabs his six guns into
Jimbo's belly:
BILLY BOY
Where d'you think you're goin',
mister?
JIMBO
Someplace they don't have lawmen.
He goes to the back of the plane where's it's deserted,
and lies down across three seats. His body shakes
with a chill. He pulls the blanket tight against his
chest.
CUT TO:
EXT. LOGAN AIRPORT (BOSTON) - DAY
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: LOGAN AIRPORT, BOSTON, SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 1.
The 757 glides almost silently over Boston Harbor as
it sweeps in towards Logan Airport.
47.
LOGAN AIRPORT - GATE
Jimbo lumbers out and is greeted by a young woman
with long scraggly hair who wears blue jeans and an
old, faded T-shirt that says "Metallica." Her name
is ALICE, and she puts her arm around Jimbo and hugs
him.
ALICE
What'sa matter, honey?
JIMBO
Some little brat gave me his cold.
She plants a kiss on him and pats his ass.
ALICE
Too many late nights, that's all.
Come home to bed.
Jimbo smiles and pulls her close.
CUT TO:
EXT. MOUNTAIN FOREST - NIGHT
Betsy's eyes glow in the moonlight. She looks hungry
and sad. She hears the SHRIEK of a HAWK and freezes.
These are foreign sounds. She moves stealthily
across the forest floor.
CUT TO:
MOUNTAIN FOREST - LATER THAT NIGHT
A patch of wild blackberries grow in a thicket. Betsy
begins eating them ravenously. Then she HEARS
SOMETHING and turns to see --
A coyote poised to leap. Betsy races up a pine tree.
HER POV
The COYOTE BARKS below. He's joined by his mate. The
coyotes settle in for a long, hungry wait.
Betsy is terrified.
CUT TO:
48.
MOUNTAIN FOREST - FOLLOWING MORNING
Betsy, still high up in the pine tree, looks down on --
The COYOTES, still waiting. One of them pricks up his
ears and GROWLS. Suddenly a SHOT rings out, and the
coyotes bolt.
In the distance a hunter takes aim and FIRES again.
Betsy cowers behind the tree, hiding herself from this
new danger.
The hunter runs under Betsy's tree, rifle in hand,
cursing to himself, hell bent on killing the coyotes.
CLOSE ON BETSY IN TREE
She waits as TWO more SHOTS ring out in the distance,
then slowly climbs down.
INT. DR. DREW REYNOLDS' OFFICE - DAY
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, CENTER
FOR DISEASE CONTROL (CDC), ATLANTA, SEPTEMBER 1."
DR. DREW REYNOLDS, 55, dressed in a doctor's coat,
paces in front of a bookcase filled with medical tomes
and topped by tennis trophies. Reynolds has a rest-
less energy; he squeezes a tennis ball as he listens
to Robby, sitting in a chair across from his desk,
with a folder of fax papers in her papers. She's
clearly intimidated by him, which is his intended
effect on everyone.
ROBBY
Dr. Gillespie wants us to send
out a special bulletin warning all
physicians to watch out for any
symptoms of a virus from Zaire
named 'Motaba.' He thinks it's
serious enough to warrant
emergency reporting nationwide,
that it can't wait for our regular
monthly report.
DREW REYNOLDS
Which will be released next week,
correct?
ROBBY
Wednesday.
(CONTINUED)
49.
CONTINUED:
DREW REYNOLDS
To get out a special bulletin for
four hundred thousand health
professionals is about a hundred
and fifty thousand dollars.
ROBBY
Dr. Gillespie says it's the worst
virus he's ever studied --
DREW REYNOLDS
-- Forgive me, Robby, but this is
the guy who found three cases of
Congo Fever in Nairobi in '87,
and suddenly it's in every
American kid's lunch box --
ROBBY
-- You're not being fair --
DREW REYNOLDS
In '91 he said Tsutsugamushi
Fever was coming. In '92 it was
Ebola. His panics cost us plenty.
Around here he's known as Doctor
Doom.
ROBBY
He could've been right about any
of them. Rule out the worst
first... that's what my father
always taught.
DREW REYNOLDS
Your father was one of the
greatest Surgeon Generals this
country ever had. He took me
under his wing and let me fly.
I've always been grateful. And
I've always had a special feeling
for you, Robby. The... pain it
gave him to see you working under
Gillespie... all your promise...
the man never gave you a chance
to show it.
A long silence. Drew has hit home.
DREW REYNOLDS
Look, is there a shred of evidence
that Motaba is more transmissible
than the other filoviruses we've
seen in the past?
(CONTINUED)
50.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
No.
DREW REYNOLDS
Then as long as the bulletin goes
out next week, we're covered.
CUT TO:
INT. ELEVATOR (DESCENDING) - ROBBY
alone, very depressed, leans against the wall. We
sense, if somebody walked in and said hello, she'd cry.
The doors open into her floor and she gets out, not
making eye contact with anyone. She enters...
HER EXPANSIVE OFFICE
Her young assistants, DR. JULIO SANCHEZ and DR. LISA
ARONSON, faxes in hand, join her from their neighboring
offices.
LISA ARONSON
An E-Coli outbreak in Michigan at
a couple of Ronny's steakhouse
franchises.
JULIO SANCHEZ
And -- a couple of fevers of
unknown origin at Boston Municipal
that the infectious disease docs
can't figure out. That's all
we've got on the log.
ROBBY
(jesting)
The Boston case is not some guy
out of Zaire... with Motaba, is it?
LISA ARONSON
(laughs)
Yeah, right! Nah, it's a couple
of Americans. No unusual travel.
JULIO SANCHEZ
They've probably got some atypical
strain of Lyme and the Boston
doctors have just missed the boat.
ROBBY
Then let's see if we can throw
them a lifeline.
51.
INT. RUDY'S PET SHOP (BONNEVILLE, OREGON) CLOSE ON
RUDY - DAY
He doesn't look good, his face is flushed and sweaty,
his eyes glassy. He turns the "Closed" sign around to
"Open" and unlocks the door for an elderly lady,
MRS. FOOTE, standing impatiently outside with her fat
Persian cat in her arms. The BELL TINKLES as the door
opens and she enters.
MRS. FOOTE
Rorshie didn't like the shredded
veal wafers. I asked her and she
said, 'Can we change it for the
beef chips?'
He's not up for this today.
MRS. FOOTE
Are you okay, Rudy?
RUDY
I'm fine, Mrs. Foote... it's hot.
That's all. Lemme open a win--
Suddenly his face twitches, his body stiffens, his
eyes roll back and he falls to the floor, convulsing
violently.
Mrs. Foote screams.
CUT TO:
INT. BONNEVILLE GENERAL HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY ROOM
COMPUTER KEYS POUNDING: "EMERGENCY ROOM, BONNEVILLE
GENERAL HOSPITAL - SEPTEMBER 1, 08:50."
DR. MASCELLI, 43, a local G.P. auscultates Rudy's
chest with his stethoscope. A nurse, EMMA, starts
an IV. A second nurse, Jim, puts an oxygen mask over
Rudy's face. The lab tech, HENRY, 23, very serious,
wraps a tourniquet around Rudy's arm and draws some
blood into three colored tubes.
DR. MASCELLI
C'mon, Rudy, talk to me!
No response. Dr. Mascelli rubs his knuckles into
Rudy's chest. Rudy groans.
EMMA
They said he was fine yesterday.
(CONTINUED)
52.
CONTINUED:
DR. MASCELLI
(rattled)
And now he's in shock with
pneumonia.
(to Henry)
Get me some blood cultures.
Henry nods as he fills a lavendar-topped tube with
Rudy's blood.
DR. MASCELLI
I've been reading about real bad
strep cases. I bet this is one of
'em. Emma, don't leave him alone.
His heart could stop any minute.
CUT TO:
LAB - CLOSE ON LAVENDER-TOPPED TUBE - MINUTES LATER
spinning in a centrifuge. Henry turns it off. In the
b.g., the RADIO BLARES with the MARINERS -- ANGELS
game:
BASEBALL RADIO
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Johnson's ready... Checks the
runners... Salmon is waiting.
Johnson delivers.
(a LOUD CRACK)
That ball is hit. Deep... deep...
it's gone. The Angels win!
HENRY
Damn!
Without thinking he reaches into the centrifuge, but
it's still spinning. The lavendar tube shatters,
spraying Rudy's blood everywhere.
Henry squints. He's got blood in his eye. He rushes
to the sink and washes it out.
CUT TO:
EMERGENCY ROOM OFFICE - MINUTES LATER
Dr. Mascelli trying to calm Henry.
(CONTINUED)
53.
CONTINUED:
DR. MASCELLI
You washed it out. Don't worry.
But just in case, I'll put you
on some penicillin
prophylactically.
HENRY
I wouldn't want to give it to my
girl friend.
DR. MASCELLI
(nudging Henry)
Cheer up, the penicillin'll kill
that, too.
Henry manages a smile.
CUT TO:
INT. VICTORIA STREET THEATRE
COMPUTER KEYS POUNDING: "VICTORIA STREET THEATRE,
BONNEVILLE, OREGON - SEPTEMBER 1, 20:25 PDT."
Henry sits with his girl friend, CORINNE, watching
a showing of the Warner-Kopelson blockbuster, Thief
Of Araby. Henry starts to cough violently, then
stands up.
CORRINE
Honey, what's wrong?
He's sweaty and pale.
HENRY
Nothin'. Just thirsty... Lemme
get something to drink and I'll
be okay.
Henry heads up the aisle in the darkened theatre.
INT. THEATRE LOBBY - CONCESSION COUNTER
Henry hits the concession stand line just as it's
filling up before another movie in this multiplex.
He's still coughing. He covers his mouth as he coughs
again and again.
(CONTINUED)
54.
CONTINUED:
Movie patrons, children and adults, on all sides of
him are exposed to his "cold." HOLD ON each of their
faces for a second as Henry pushes his way to the
front of the line and grabs a handful of napkins.
HENRY
Could I please get something to
drink?
TRACY, the salesgirl with a spiked haircut regards him
with a hostile glance.
TRACY
You'll have to wait your turn,
sir.
HENRY
Please -- I'm not feeling too good.
A large Coke. Or Pepsi. I don't
care.
At the front of the line, a black woman (MRS. LOGAN)
with a streak of purple in her hair holds her toddler
in her arms. She sees that Henry is ill.
MRS. LOGAN
That's okay, let him go first.
Henry, coughing violently, slaps down three dollars.
Tracy serves him.
INT. DARKENED THEATRE
Henry walks down the aisle with his drink in hand. He
stumbles and falls forward, spilling the drink all
over a MOVIE PATRON sitting on the aisle.
MOVIE PATRON
Hey?! Watch what you're...
When he sees Henry sprawled face down on the carpet,
he's scared. He touches Henry's back:
MOVIE PATRON
Hey, buddy...? Usher!! Usher!!
SHOCK CUT TO:
INT. BOSTON MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL
COMPUTERS KEYS POUND: "BOSTON MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL."
(CONTINUED)
55.
CONTINUED:
Dr. Julio Sanchez from the CDC and THREE OTHER DOCTORS,
dressed in full surgical smock, cap, foot covers, and
gloves, stride briskly down the hall and approach
double-doors marked "Quarantine: Protective Clothing
Required" in red letters. They put on positive
pressure respirator face masks and we hear the sound
of RUSHING AIR. They push through the double-doors.
INT. QUARANTINE WARD
Jimbo lies near death in one bed, and his girl friend --
Alice lies near death in another. Plastic drapes
have been placed over both beds, holding the air
inside.
CLOSE ON JIMBO
The scarlet hemorrhagic rash can be seen on his
cheeks. Blood trickles from his nose and his mouth,
and soaks his sheets. Dr. Sanchez is shocked at how
far gone Jimbo is.
JULIO SANCHEZ
(loudly)
Mister Scott -- Jimbo... We're
trying to figure out how you got
this disease. It's important, so
try to help me. You work at an
animal facility in San Jose --
Jimbo's eyes are blank. He's dead.
BOSTON DOCTOR #1
What's this guy got?
JULIO SANCHEZ
I don't know. That's why we'll
need a post.
BOSTON DOCTOR #2
No way. I'm not gonna slip and
cut myself and get what he's got.
BOSTON DOCTOR #1
Me neither.
Suddenly from under her plastic protective shield,
Alice stares over at Jimbo's bed. She calls out,
her voice a whisper:
(CONTINUED)
56.
CONTINUED:
ALICE
Jimbo -- Jimbo? Honey, are you
all right...? Answer me, please.
Alice has just spoken her last words. FADE UP the
WHIR of a SUCTION PUMP and...
CUT TO:
INT. BOSTON MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL - PATHOLOGY LAB
Boston Doctor #3, in a biosafety suit, stares at Jimbo's
naked body lying on the autopsy table. Dr. Sanchez,
also in a biosafety suit, stands opposite.
JULIO SANCHEZ
Go very carefully, very slowly.
Maximum sharps precautions.
Sweat drips off Boston Doctor #3's face, fogging his
visor. He starts to make the first cut, but his hand
is trembling too much.
JULIO SANCHEZ
Don't let your eyes leave the
blade. Ever. And you'll be okay.
Doctor #3 cuts deep into Jimbo's ribs but no matter
how slowly he cuts, the sharp edge of the scalpel
seems too close to his fingers. PULL BACK to reveal
they're doing the autopsy in a plastic tent using
negative pressure suction pumps. As the PUMPS WHIR...
CUT TO:
AUTOPSY TENT - LATER
BOSTON DOCTOR #3
Jesus -- the liver, spleen,
kidneys -- they've turned into
jelly.
CUT TO:
OPERATING ROOM NURSING STATION
JULIO SANCHEZ
(into phone)
It's as if they swallowed a bomb
and it went off inside them.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
57.
CONTINUED:
JULIO SANCHEZ (CONT'D)
I don't know if it's Motaba but
it sure looks like what Gillespie
described.
INTERCUT WITH:
ROBBY
at her kitchen table. Petrified. We see she's been
working late: her laptop's on, papers are strewn about.
ROBBY
(into phone)
How many were exposed?
JULIO SANCHEZ
Too many. The medical staff
didn't know what they were dealing
with so they didn't take
precautions. They're scared outa
their minds.
Julio gazes through the glassed-in walls at the half-
dozen pathology residents and nurses, peering at him
with worried expressions. He spins around in his
chair so he doesn't have to see them.
JULIO SANCHEZ
That's just the beginning.
Patient zero -- this guy Jimbo
Scott -- worked in an animal
quarantine facility in San Jose,
California. That's probably where
he picked it up. Probably the
whole place is infected by now and
is gonna have to be nuked.
(beat)
It gets worse. Jimbo here takes
a goddamn plane from Portland to
Boston. The plane stopped in
Chicago. Two hundred and eight
people on the first leg, and
Christ, something like two hundred
and fifty on the second! If this
guy was infectious, by now the
whole country's been exposed. And
Gillispie says there's no treatment
for this mother, nothing to do but
pronounce people dead. What are
we supposed to do, Robby? Christ,
what the hell are we supposed to do?
(CONTINUED)
58.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
(coolly)
Gillespie said Motaba only spreads
by direct contact, that the
disease isn't airborne. Was
patient zero coughing?
Sanchez flips through Scott's medical record.
JULIO SANCHEZ
I don't see anything about his
coughing.
ROBBY
Then the people on the plane are
probably okay. But we're going to
have to check every one of them
out. Plus all the medical staff
who worked on him and his
girl friend. Plus all their recent
contacts.
JULIO SANCHEZ
-- That's thousands of people --
ROBBY
-- I don't see a choice --
JULIO SANCHEZ
-- This whole hospital is buzzin'
with rumors... it's gonna hit the
press real soon. What are we
gonna tell them?
ROBBY
That the C.D.C. is investigating
the situation, but we do not feel
there's reason for alarm. I know
it's scary, Julio, but the truth
is we don't know what it is yet.
JULIO SANCHEZ
Gillespie's the only one who can
tell us.
Robby has mixed emotions: the last person she wants to
involve is her ex-husband.
ROBBY
Send him everything by stat
courier.
JULIO SANCHEZ
Got it.
(CONTINUED)
59.
CONTINUED:
He hangs up. STAY WITH Robby: her mind racing. She
punches in a speed-dial key. An operator answers:
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Center for Disease Control.
ROBBY
This is Dr. Keough. Put out a
stage three alert.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Your password, Doctor?
ROBBY
Zebra, Apple, Charley, Kill.
CUT TO:
WAR ROOM OF C.D.C (23:00)
A wan Drew Reynolds enters this large, frenetic room
crowded with doctors and staff man the phone banks and
fax machines that take up an entire wall. Along another
wall is a huge electronic map of the U.S. A red circle
blinks on Boston. Reynolds knows that if Motaba Virus
rips through America, he's scapegoat number one. He
makes his way to --
Robby at the large desk in the middle of the room.
ROBBY
(into phone)
Great! Now get the list of all
his friends in San Jose. I want
to know every contact the last
last five days.
She hangs up, turns to Lisa Aronson, on the phone at the
next desk.
ROBBY
Paitent Zero didn't take a
commercial plane to Portland.
Presumably he went by car. Fax
every emergency room in the
Portland area a description of the
disease. Then hit every hospital
along every freeway from San Jose
to Portland.
LISA ARONSON
Right.
(CONTINUED)
60.
CONTINUED:
Drew Reyonlds sits down at Robby's desk. Suddenly he
looks much older.
DREW REYNOLDS
We don't even have confirmation.
This could all be for noth --
ROBBY
-- Worst first. My father never
made the same mistake twice.
Reynolds is humbled.
CUT TO:
INT. BONNEVILLE GENERAL HOSPTIAL - INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
Corinne stands at Henry's bedside. She's getting sick
too: pale, sweating, starting to cough, but she's more
worried about Henry, who's barely conscious.
DR. MASCELLI
Henry, we got it early, and you're
gonna make it. But I need you to fight.
Henry stares at him with blank eyes.
CORRINE
Fight, Henry. Fight hard.
The OVERHEAD PAGING SYSTEM GOES OFF.
PAGING OPERATOR (V.O.)
Dr. Mascelli, E.R. stat. Dr.
Mascelli, E.R. stat...
Dr. Mascelli rushes out.
CUT TO:
EMERGENCY ROOM
Two paramedics wheel in Tracy, the Movie Counter Sales-
girl with the spiked haircut. Her father runs alongside.
TRACY'S FATHER
Doc, she got sick so fast. I
thought it was the flu, then she
fainted in the bathroom. She's
hot, Doc, so hot.
HOLD ON Dr. Mascelli's fear, then --
CUT TO:
61.
E.R. HALLWAY - MASCELLI - MINUTES LATER
He's searching through a thick book on infectious
diseases. Nurse Emma approaches, near tears:
EMMA
What's wrong with these people?
DR. MASCELLI
I don't know.
INTERCUT EMERGENCY ROOM - B.G.
We see a roomful of people waiting to check in, including
Mrs. Logan (the black woman with purple hair) and her
toddler. Suddenly the toddler starts coughing and
coughing. His lips turn blue.
MRS. LOGAN
(screams)
My baby. My baby!
Dr. Mascelli throws down the book and rushes out, past --
The FAX MACHINE, spitting out a sheet of paper. The words
at the top declare: "Center for Disease Control, Atlanta,
Emergency Bulletin."
FADE UP the ROAR of a CHOPPER and --
CUT TO:
FT. DETRICK - HELIPORT (23:50)
As the BELL CHOPPER emblazoned with the Boston Police
logo hits ground, Gillespie, Berman, Salt and Owi yank
open the doors and pull out the two shiny aluminum
coffins.
INT. GILLESPIE'S BL-4 LAB
The aluminum coffins containing Jimbo Scott and Alice
still lie open. Gillespie, Berman, and Owi anxiously
watch Salt slip a slide under the scope and peer though
the eyepieces. A long beat. He moves carefully from one
field to the next.
IZZY
C'mon, for chrissakes.
Salt shifts to another field, looks at it long and hard.
Pulls his head back: hopelessness in his eyes.
CUT TO:
62.
INT. FORD'S OFFICE
A fuzzy, bright fluorescent glow FILLS the SCREEN. As
the image comes INTO FOCUS, we see the ugly, large red
circles of Motaba.
ANOTHER ANGLE
A shaken Bill Ford pulls back from his scope. He tries
to project an air of calm:
FORD
P.C.R. tests are tricky. It's
easy to make a mistake --
GILLESPIE
-- Yeah, I followed your orders
instead of my gut.
He grabs the phone and punches in a long distance number.
GILLESPIE
I should've blasted our African
findings across every newspaper
in the country.
(into phone)
Robby.
INTERCUT C.D.C. WAR ROOM - ROBBY
One person after another sees her on the phone and real-
izes what this is about. Within seconds the room is si-
lent. Drew Reynolds squeezes his tennis ball. Robby's
shoulders sag with dismay.
ROBBY
(into phone)
You're sure?
Reynolds drops the ball. Around the room: shock; even
though they all anticipated the positive result, nobody
can quite believe it.
GILLESPIE
(into phone)
You need my help, Robby.
Robby, flustered, doesn't answer.
GILLESPIE
I know this virus, you don't.
I've worked this virus, you
haven't. How many people are
infected?
(CONTINUED)
63.
CONTINUED:
She's afraid to tell him.
GILLESPIE
How many?
ROBBY
We don't know. We've only got a
whole emergency room full of
people in Bonneville, Oregon, and
we don't know what they've got.
GILLESPIE
(dismayed)
How could that many people get
infected so fast?
ROBBY
We're not sure.
GILLESPIE
Robby, don't get anywhere near
this thing.
Robby doesn't answer.
GILLESPIE
You've been in an office for years.
You've forgotten what these things
are like.
ROBBY
I worked with the A.I.D.S. virus.
GILLESPIE
That's level two, nothing! This
is level four. Stay the fuck
away, Robby.
ON ROBBY
She is scared.
BACK TO SCENE
GILLESPIE
Please, Robby. Stay away.
ROBBY
I need to be able to test a lot of
people and quickly. I need the
primer --
(CONTINUED)
64.
CONTINUED:
GILLESPIE
Why has it always been so hard for
you to admit that you need
anything from me?
ROBBY
I don't have time to fight with
you. I'll have a courier pick up
the primer at 01:00.
She hangs up without giving him a chance to respond.
GILLESPIE
Robby!
Hands trembling, he hangs up the phone. Ford says
nothing, but in his eyes -- pity.
GILLESPIE
Request permission to bring my
team to Bonneville, Oregon, sir.
FORD
Request denied. Civilian infections
are not within our mandate --
GILLESPIE
-- A Presidential order can override --
FORD
Let the C.D.C. do its job. If they
need help, they know we're here.
GILLESPIE
The Goddamn fuse is lit! What're
you gonna do? Wait for the bomb
to go off?
FORD
We don't live in the African bush.
We don't crap in our streets, we don't
drink dirty well water filled with
spit. The disease will be stopped.
GILLESPIE
Yeah? Today, maybe they've got a
handful... By tomorrow they could
have a hundred, and the day after
that, a thousand. When the
President and Congress ask why you
didn't bring in one group, the
only group in the entire world
with experience in fighting this
disease, what're you gonna say?
(CONTINUED)
65.
CONTINUED:
FORD
You don't obey orders, Gillespie.
You're the last person I'd send.
GILLESPIE
I'm sending a letter to the Surgeon
General right now. I'm going to
create a paper trail. You will fry.
Gillespie storms out. Ford remains unruffled.
INT. GILLESPIE'S SMALL, CLUTTERED OFFICE
Gillespie bursts into the room and slams the door.
He grabs the glass PAPERWEIGHT off his desk and throws it
against the wall. It SHATTERS.
He stops. A moment of hesitation.
INT. FT. ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE - CONTORL TOWER
SERGEANT MUCIA picks up the phone. The wall clock reads
midnight.
SERGEANT MUCIA
Fort Andrews. Air traffic control.
Sergeant Mucia.
INTERCUT MUCIA WITH GILLESPIE IN HIS OFFICE
GILLESPIE
Sergeant, this is Colonel Gillespie
at Fort Detrick. We're on code
red status for Bonneville, Oregon.
Time of departure 01:00.
SERGEANT MUCIA
That's not possible, sir.
GILLESPIE
Is that Mucia with a 'C' or an
'S'?
SERGEANT MUCIA
(nervous)
'C,' sir.
(CONTINUED)
66.
CONTINUED:
GILLESPIE
Get it done, Sergeant. That's a
direct oroder from General Ford.
SERGEANT MUCIA
Yes, sir.
CUT TO:
EXT. FT. ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE
Flood lights illuminate dozens of enlisted men rapidly
wheeling equipment into the open hatch of the huge C5A
standing on the tarmac.
Gillespie, Salt, and Berman approach the plane, Gillespie
in the lead, the others two steps behind.
SALT
The C.D.C. asked us? That doesn't
sound like them.
GILLESPIE
They're going to have to show the
President they did everything
possible.
There's a nervousness in Izzy's face, something we've
seen before.
GILLESPIE
Get a bunch of paper pushers scared
enough, they'll do anything.
CUT TO:
INT. FORD'S OFFICE
He punches the words "Bonneville, Oregon" into his
computer. The computer answers: "Population: 1218.
Portland Metropolitan Area: Population: 532,000." He
punches another key. A TELEPHONE speed dial WHISTLES
across the room.
CUT TO:
EXT. DUGWAY (UTAH) - NIGHT
A gila monster hunts for prey, its eye darting back and
forth, its tongue twitching hungrily. It runs off,
vanishing in the dry chaparral and desert that stretches
for hundreds of miles.
(CONTINUED)
67.
CONTINUED:
We're seemingly in the middle of nowhere until we find --
An electrified barbed-wire fence emblazoned with signs
warning: "U.S. Military Property: Trespassing Strictly
Prohibited."
Behind the fence stand rows of huge satellite scanners.
Behind them are rows of duplexes. Inside one of the du-
plexes a light comes on.
INT. DUPLEX
McClintock grabs the PHONE RINGING by his bed.
INTERCUT FORD AND MCLINTOCK
FORD
The genie's out of the bottle in
Bonneville, Oregon, Donny, and
we've got to get him back in.
General McClintock looks dumb.
FORD
Cancel all leaves. Mobilize all
personnel. I'm going to want wind
conditions and transmission rates
-- for all insects, animals,
marine, and human vectors. If
this virus is spreading, I want to
know how fast and where.
He looks at his computer monitor, which projects a map of
Western Oregon: the town of Bonneville is close to the
Columbia River.
FORD
Bonneville's only five miles from
the Columbia River and if this
mother gets there, we're in big
shit trouble.
CUT TO:
EXT/INT. C5A
Flying in heavey weather.
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: September 3, 02:30.
The Radioman turns to Gillespie, seated with Izzy and
Salt in the back of the cockpit.
(CONTINUED)
68.
CONTINUED:
RADIOMAN
We've got the Secretary of Defense
on the radio. They had to wake
him up.
Gillespie unstraps himself and takes hold of the
microphone.
GILLESPIE
(into mike)
Tell him it is Colonel Mike
Gillespie, Commander of the U.S.
Army Motaba Virus Task Force.
INTERCUT WITH:
SMALL OAK-LINED STUDY (VIRGINIA)
where PHILLIP GOODELL, the Secretary of Defense, is
dressed in his pajamas.
GOODELL
Give that to me one more time,
Colonel.
GILLESPIE
We've got to quarantine the entire
town of Bonneville and do it
quick. Morning will be too late --
people will panic and try to leave.
If even one infected person gets
out, the entire effort could be
for nothing.
GOODELL
Why can't the State Police do it?
GILLESPIE
They can shut down the major
roads, but we need a much larger
force to encircle the town.
GOODELL
Where would I get troops at this
hour and have 'em in Bonneville,
Oregon before sunrise?
GILLESPIE
Fort Lewis, Washington, or Ford
Ord, California. Closer is
better. Sir, this is a doomsday
disease.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
69.
CONTINUED:
GILLESPIE (CONT'D)
As deadly as A.I.D.S., but it kills
within days. It could spread over
the entire country.
Goodell's wide awake now.
GOODELL
Does your commanding officer know
about this?
GILLESPIE
Yes, sir, of course. He asked me
to call you.
GOODELL
Colonel, all I can do is refer the
matter to the National Security
Council. An action of this scope
would require the President's
approval.
GILLESPIE
Then get it, sir. Right away,
please.
They break radio contact. Salt looks at Gillespie with
awe.
IZZY
If the C.D.C. asked us to help, why
did you have to call the Defense
Secretary? Why didn't General
Ford make the call?
Gillespie shifts uncomfortably. Salt realizes he's in
trouble.
IZZY
You bet your ass, Captain.
Colonel Gillespie has taken it
upon himself to circumvent the
entire chain of command.
The plane bounces in the turbulence. Salt turns to
Gillespie.
SALT
You're shitting me?... Sir?
GILLESPIE
I'll take full responsibility for
whatever happens.
(CONTINUED)
70.
CONTINUED:
IZZY
That only means they'll hang you
first.
GILLESPIE
Don't worry, the C.D.C. -- and the
President -- will invite us to
Bonneville.
(beat)
They'll invite Mary and Jesus too.
CUT BACK TO:
DEFENSE SECRETARY GOODELL'S OAK-LINED STUDY
GOODELL
(into phone)
I just got a disturbing call from
one of your officers, General.
INTERCUT WITH:
FORD IN HIS OFFICE
sitting at his desk. As we hear Goodell go on, a look of
anger builds on Ford's face.
GOODELL
I can tell the President we're
looking at a situation you can
contain with minimal loss of life,
can't I?
FORD
Of course.
CUT TO:
GILLESPIE'S BL-4 LAB (02:30)
TRACK PAST the open aluminum caskets holding the remains
of Jimbo and Alice to Owi working under a negative pres-
sure hood. He removes a rack of test tubes, suddenly
freezes.
Facing him are General Ford and four men dressed in BL-4
suits and carrying automatic weapons in plastic sheaths.
One soldier closes the caskets and starts moving them out.
The others start unpacking the freezers.
(CONTINUED)
71.
CONTINUED:
OWI
Are you crazy? Don't touch them.
Those are Level Four viruses.
The lead soldier raises his rifle at Owi.
FORD
Sergeant, I want every specimen of
Motaba Virus in this lab and this
time no 'mistakes.'
FADE UP COUNTRY MUSIC with a real twang like the JUDDS'
"Red Cadillac" and...
CUT TO:
RED PICKUP
with chrome wheels racing along a deserted country road
in the dark of night.
COMPUTER KEYS POUND: "BONNEVILLE, OREGON, TUESDAY --
05:00."
INT./EXT. PICKUP - NIGHT
TOMMY HULL, 28, a construction worker, sings along. The
windows of his pickup are wide open and the wind blows his
long hair straight back. There's an empty gun rack in the
back. He rounds a turn and BRAKES to a SCREECHING HALT.
The glare of flashing red and blue lights crosses his
face.
TOMMY
What the hell?
TOMMY'S POV - THREE HIGHWAY PATROLMEN
wearing gas masks and toting shotguns in their latex-
gloved hands, stand in front of their patrol cars whose
emergency lights flash off and on, creating an eerie
glow. Down the road, is a second checkpoint where the
patrol cars are facing the other way.
BACK TO SCENE
Tommy Hull climbs out. The HIGHWAY PATROLMAN raises his
shotgun and aims it.
(CONTINUED)
72.
CONTINUED:
TOMMY
What's goin' on?
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN #1
Stay inside your car.
Tommy Hull freezes.
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN #1
Turn around, go home, and stay
there.
TOMMY
What's goin' on? Why are you
wearin' all that stuff?
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN #2
Go home and you'll be all right.
Move it.
Tommy Hull ain't gonna argue with three loads of buckshot.
He STARTS his TRUCK, then stops and gapes, as rapidly ap-
proaching from the opposite way towards town is...
CONVOY OF THREE STATE POLICE CARS
They ZOOM by him. In the back seat of the lead car, we
see Robby and Lisa Aronson.
CUT TO:
EXT. BONNEVILLE GENERAL HOSPITAL (TUESDAY, 6:15 AM)
The convoy of police cars pull in the parking lot where
local police, wearing respirators, hold back a crowd of
about twenty people, the families of those who are sick
inside.
Robby and Lisa and the state police officers climb out
wearing their respirator/helmets and biosafety suits. The
twenty people react as the realization sets in that what-
ever their loved ones have, it's awful.
Tracy's Father pushes forward.
TRACY'S FATHER
Nobody's tellin' us what's goin'
on.
Robby turns to the local POLICE CHIEF, Ray Fowler, a
stringy, taciturn man.
(CONTINUED)
73.
CONTINUED:
ROBBY
I'm Dr. R |
