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                                 ZERO DARK THIRTY


                                    Written by

                                    Mark Boal




                                                     October 3rd, 2011                        

                         

          FROM BLACK, VOICES EMERGE--
          We hear the actual recorded emergency calls made by World
          Trade Center office workers to police and fire departments
          after the planes struck on 9/11, just before the buildings
          collapsed.

          TITLE OVER: SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
          We listen to fragments from a number of these calls...starting
          with pleas for help, building to a panic, ending with the
          caller's grim acceptance that help will not arrive, that the
          situation is hopeless, that they are about to die.

                         CUT TO:

          TITLE OVER: TWO YEARS LATER

          INT. BLACK SITE - INTERROGATION ROOM


                         DANIEL
          I own you, Ammar. You belong to me.
          Look at me.
          This is DANIEL STANTON, the CIA's man in Islamabad - a big
          American, late 30's, with a long, anarchical beard snaking
          down to his tattooed neck. He looks like a paramilitary
          hipster, a punk rocker with a Glock.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          (explaining the rules)
          If you don't look at me when I talk
          to you, I hurt you. If you step off
          this mat, I hurt you. If you lie to
          me, I'm gonna hurt you. Now, Look
          at me.
          His prisoner, AMMAR, stands on a decaying gym mat, surrounded
          by four GUARDS whose faces are covered in ski masks.
          Ammar looks down. Instantly: the guards rush Ammar, punching
          and kicking.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Look at me, Ammar.
          Notably, one of the GUARDS wearing a ski mask does not take
          part in the beating.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          2.

          EXT. BLACK SITE - LATER

          Daniel and the masked figures emerge from the interrogation
          room into the light of day. They remove their masks and we
          see that one is a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties.
          She has a pale, milky innocence and bright blue eyes, thin
          and somewhat frail looking, yet possessing a steely core
          that we will come to realize is off-the-charts. This is
          MAYA, a CIA targeter and subject-matter expert on her first
          overseas assignment.

                         DANIEL
          (to the guard)
          Are we gonna board up these windows
          or what?

                         (TO MAYA)
          Just off the plane from Washington,
          you're rocking your best suit for
          your first interrogation, and then
          you get this guy. It's not always
          this intense.

                         MAYA
          I'm fine.
          She's not.

                         DANIEL
          Just so you know, it's going to take
          awhile. He has to learn how helpless
          he is. Let's get a coffee.

                         MAYA
          No, we should go back in.
          Something about the strange intensity of her expression makes
          Daniel reconsider and he turns back to the interrogation
          room.

                         DANIEL
          You know, there's no shame if you
          wanna watch from the monitor.
          She shakes her head.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Alright.
          At the door, Daniel hands the ski mask back to Maya.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          You might want to put this on.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          3.

                         MAYA
          You're not wearing one. Is he ever
          getting out?

                         DANIEL
          Never.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LATER


          SUPERIMPOSE: CIA BLACK SITE - UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
          Ammar, bruised from the beating, is restrained with ropes.
          Maya stands a few feet behind Daniel, attentive, wary of
          what is to come. This is her first interrogation and she is
          on the verge of vomiting from the stench in the room. She
          looks around at the sound-proofed walls, the puddles of water
          on the floor.

                         DANIEL
          Right now, this is about you coming
          to terms with your situation. It's
          you and me, bro. I want you to
          understand that I know you, that
          I've been studying you for a very
          long time. I could have had you
          killed Karachi. But I let you live
          so you and I could talk.

                         AMMAR

                         (RESISTANT)
          You beat me when my hands are tied.
          I won't talk to you.

                         DANIEL
          Life isn't always fair, my friend.
          Did you really think that when we
          got you, I'd be a nice fucking guy?

                         AMMAR
          You're a mid-level guy. You're a
          garbage man in a corporation. Why
          should I respect you?

                         DANIEL
          And you're a money man. A paperboy!
          Daniel paces around Ammar, anger rising.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          A disgrace to humanity!

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          4.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          You and your uncle murdered three
          thousand innocent people. I have
          your name on a five-thousand dollar
          transfer via Western Union to a 9/11
          hijacker.
          He leans into Ammar's ear. Uncomfortably close.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          And you got popped with 150 kilograms
          of high explosives in your house!

          AND THEN YOU DARE QUESTION ME?!
          And then Daniel smiles, laughs. Mercurial.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          I'm just fucking with you.
          Beat. He laughs again.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          I don't want to talk about 9/11.
          What I want to focus on is the Saudi
          group.
          Daniel shows him a photo.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          That there is Hazem al-Kashmiri.
          And I know this dude is up to some
          serious shit, and what I want from
          you is his Saudi email.

                         (PAUSE)
          Feel free to jump in.

                         (PAUSE)
          Ammar, bro, I know that you know
          this dude, just give me his
          email...and I will give you a blanket.
          I will give you a blanket and some
          solid food.
          No response from Ammar. Daniel starts putting on his gloves.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          I know that you know him.

                         AMMAR
          I told you before, I won't talk to
          you.

                         DANIEL
          Have it your way.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          5.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          (to the masks)
          Let's go.
          It all happens in a flash: in one swift motion, Daniel pushes
          Ammar to the floor, the guards pin his limbs, and Daniel
          smothers Ammar's face with a towel.
          Ammar thrashes. Daniel considers his next move.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)

                         (TO MAYA)
          Grab the bucket.
          Maya follows Daniel's gesture to the corner of the room,
          where there's an ICE CHEST filled with WATER and a PLASTIC

          PITCHER.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Put some water in it.
          She dips the pitcher in the water, hands shaking.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          C'mon, let's go.
          The stress and strain on her face is enormous as she brings
          the bucket back to Daniel.
          Daniel starts pouring the water on Ammar's face, which is
          now covered by a towel. Ammar thrashes with rising panic.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Hazem was a friend of Ramzi Yousef,
          you guys met in Tunisia back in the
          70s.

                         AMMAR
          (gasping for breath)
          I don't know, you asshole.
          Maya shakes her head "no."

                         MAYA
          That's not credible.

                         AMMAR

                         (SCREAMING)
          Why are you doing this to me?

                         DANIEL
          You're a terrorist, that's why I'm
          doing it to you.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          6.

                         AMMAR
          Fuck you.
          Daniel pours water over the towel so it hits Ammar's nose.

                         DANIEL
          I want emails of the rest of the
          Saudi group. Give me emails of the
          rest of the Saudi group! Give me
          one email, and I will stop this!
          Ammar doesn't speak. He can't.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Who's in the Saudi group, and what's
          the target? Where was the last time
          you saw bin Laden? WHERE WAS THE

          LAST TIME YOU SAW BIN LADEN?
          Daniel throws the pitcher, rips the rag off Ammar's mouth:
          and water spurts out - Ammar nearly drowned. He gasps for
          air.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          This is what defeat looks like, bro.
          Your jihad is over.
          Daniel stands.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Get him up.
          The guards bring Ammar to his feet.
          Daniel, shifting his persona yet again, touches Ammar's face
          and speaks to him with the comforting tenor of a therapist.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Try to understand the concept here.
          I have time, you don't. I have other
          things to do, you don't.

                         (BEAT)
          It's cool that you're strong. I
          respect it, I do. But in the end,
          everybody breaks, bro. It's biology.
          Dan and Maya exit.
          They've learned nothing.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - MORNING


          SUPERIMPOSE: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

                         

                         

                         

                         

          7.
          A colorful, dusty city. Busy markets. Poor children. Dense
          traffic.
          Meanwhile, across town:

          EXT. DIPLOMATIC QUARTER - ISLAMABAD - DAY

          National flags. Imposing buildings. Armed guards. The
          outpost of a superpower.
          Maya drives through the checkpoint and up to the main gate.

          SUPERIMPOSE: UNITED STATES EMBASSY, ISLAMABAD

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STAIRCASE - ISLAMABAD

          Descending the lobby staircase with Daniel is JOSEPH BRADLEY,
          Chief of Station, Pakistan, a smooth, vain, sophisticated
          former case officer who hasn't quite buffed all the blood
          out of his fingernails.

                         BRADLEY
          How did it go the other night?

                         DANIEL
          It was good. The local cops need
          tactical help. But he's Tier fucking
          One, baby. There's your money maker.

                         BRADLEY
          This is the guy that's KSM's nephew?
          What's his issue?

                         DANIEL
          He's being a dick.

                         BRADLEY
          If he's trying to outsmart you, tell
          him about your PhD.

                         DANIEL
          I am going to have to turn up the
          heat. He needs to give us the Saudi
          group now.
          They reach the lobby, where they can see Maya sitting in the
          holding area. They walk towards her as Bradley considers
          what Daniel is asking for.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          8.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STAIRCASE/LOBBY


                         BRADLEY
          He's gotta have that - given the
          family ties.
          Permission granted, Daniel reassures his boss.

                         DANIEL
          Tight with his uncle, prints all
          over the 9/11 money.
          Daniel knocks on the glass for Maya to come in.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          (to Bradley, clocking
          her good looks)
          Was I lying or what?
          The guard opens the door and Maya comes through - not many
          females come through that door.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)

                         (TO MAYA)
          Maya, this is Joseph Bradley, our
          illustrious station chief.
          (as they shake hands)
          Joe and I did Iraq together.

                         BRADLEY
          And we continue our Christian mission
          here. Nice to meet you.

                         MAYA
          You too, Sir.

                         BRADLEY
          How was your flight?
          They walk down the lobby towards the Secure Wing.

                         MAYA
          Fine.

                         DANIEL
          She's been having a great time ever
          since she got in, isn't that right?

                         BRADLEY
          How do you like Pakistan so far?

                         MAYA
          It's kinda fucked up.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          9.

                         BRADLEY
          You volunteered for this didn't you?

                         MAYA
          No.
          Bradley smiles. He knew she didn't volunteer.
          They reach a secure area and Bradley checks Maya through an
          electronic door.

                         BRADLEY

                         (TO MAYA)
          Third floor, northeast corner.
          She goes through and Daniel and Bradley watch her walk away.

                         DANIEL
          Don't you think she's a little young
          for the hard stuff?

                         BRADLEY
          Washington says she's a killer.

                         DANIEL
          The children's crusade.

                         BRADLEY
          They want the next generation on the
          field. Listen, I have a meeting
          with ISI in twenty minutes.

                         DANIEL
          They're slow rolling us in Lahore -
          you might want to bitch about that.

                         BRADLEY
          Did you see the cable from London?

                         DANIEL
          Dude, I've been in a dark room with
          another man for the last two days.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE

          Maya finds her desk. It's covered with grime. She tries to
          clean it as best she can, then sits and looks at the blank
          log-in screen of her computer.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - CONFERENCE ROOM

          A group of thirty-somethings filing in for a meeting,
          chatting, comradery, taking seats around a conference table.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          10.
          We will get to know:
          JACK, mid-40s, a scruffy teddy bear, the liaison from the
          National Security Agency (NSA).
          JESSICA, 30s, an experienced targeter, and the only woman in
          the station who wears a skirt.

                         JACK
          Some dude tells the Malaysian station
          that his nephew works with a guy who
          knows a guy--

                         JESSICA
          Here we go.

                         JACK
          Hold on - He goes to a big feast in
          Bangkok about a year ago. The guest
          of honor? Usama bin Laden.
          Laughter in the room.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          So I say, was Tupac there too?

                         JESSICA
          Right, but you forgot - you forgot
          Mullah Omar.
          J.J. and JEREMY, two case officers, continue the banter:

                         JEREMY

                         (SARCASTICALLY)
          This is worth 5 million bucks.

          J.J.
          You know we're going to have to chase
          it down.

                         JEREMY
          That's me, man. No job too small.

                         JACK
          That's why I have a gift for you, my
          friend.
          Jack hands Jeremy a piece of paper. Daniel and Maya enter,
          a little late.

                         DANIEL
          Everyone, this is Maya. Maya,
          everyone.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          11.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Please don't ask how it's going with
          Ammar because she's not going to
          fucking tell you.

                         JESSICA
          Ammar is withholding?
          Daniel nods.

                         JESSICA (CONT'D)
          (reading from her

                         FILE)
          Washington assesses that Abu Faraj
          is officially our new number three -
          JESSICA moves to a wall chart of AQ leadership and repositions
          Abu Faraj's mugshot to number three in the line, two down
          from Usama bin Laden. Meanwhile, in the background, the
          riffs continue -

                         DANIEL
          - Best man for it.

          JACK (O.S.)
          London station is already asking if
          we think he's in contact with anyone
          in the U.K.

                         JEREMY
          Like we're just keeping it from them.
          Jessica sits back down and gets down to business.

                         JESSICA
          The Jordanians are being really
          helpful with Ammar's transit papers.
          Jessica passes Daniel a file.

                         DANIEL
          Any imminent threats in here?

                         JESSICA
          They want the Consulate, the Marriott,
          it's low security. And they've got
          Majid Kahn talking about gas stations
          in the US.

                         DANIEL
          And that's a conversation?
          Jessica shrugs. At this point, she believes that it is merely
          a conversation - not a fully realized plot.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          12.

                         JESSICA
          Honestly? There are six hundred
          questions in there. I'd concentrate
          on Heathrow. The Saudis. Does it
          matter what Faraj thinks about
          Heathrow? How much latitude does he
          get to pick targets?

                         DANIEL
          I think he'll give up the Saudis.
          But Heathrow is gonna be tough.
          Anyway. Anything from last night?

          J.J.
          Quetta base thinks they have a bead
          on the Arabs that escaped, and they're
          going to meet with the ISI this
          afternoon, hopefully to set up a
          raid down there.

                         DANIEL
          Great.

                         JEREMY
          And Lahore reporting ISI down there
          was painfully slow last night. Again.
          I'm beginning to think it's not
          incompetence.

                         DANIEL
          I agree, I spoke to the Chief about
          that. Anything on bin Laden?

                         JESSICA
          (reading from a cable)
          A farmer on the Afghan border near
          Tora Bora reports: a diamond shaped
          pattern in the hills, tall male in
          the center of the diamond, flanked
          by four guards. It's consistent
          with UBL's movements.

                         JEREMY
          That's supposed to be his royal guard?

                         MAYA
          That's pre-9/11 behavior.
          Jessica doesn't appreciate the challenge.

                         JESSICA

                         (CHILLY)
          We don't have reason to believe he's
          changed security tactics.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          13.

                         MAYA
          We invaded Afghanistan. That's a
          reason.
          And so the rivalry begins.

          J.J.
          Hey, boss, I got a guy for five
          thousand bucks, he can set up a taxi
          stand and snoop around a bit.

                         DANIEL
          No, don't need him, the diamond
          sighting is bullshit. See if the
          Paks will send someone to talk to
          the farmer. Anything else? We need
          to be putting runs on the board
          against Faraj. Speak to the case
          officers who didn't see fit to make
          it today. And thank them.

          INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT - ISLAMABAD

          The loud WAILING of the early morning call to prayer from
          the loudspeakers of a nearby mosque wakes Maya on the couch.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. BLACK SITE - AFTERNOON

          Daniel and the guards enter Ammar's cell with Maya. Daniel
          switches on a floodlight, awakening Ammar.

                         DANIEL
          Let's take it easy today, huh?
          Daniel hands Ammar a bottle of orange juice and a bag of
          falafel.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Hungry? The food in here sucks so I
          got you some of this.
          Ammar grabs the lunch sack and scarfs down the falafels.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Richard Reid, wow. I was thinking
          about him. The guy gets a bomb in
          his shoe on a plane. Unbelievable.
          You know him, don't you?
          Slowly, Ammar nods.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          14.

                         AMMAR
          Yes.

                         DANIEL
          I'm glad you said that. I have an
          email from you to him. I've had all
          your coms for years, bro. Who else
          is in your Saudi group?

                         AMMAR
          I just handed out some cash for them.
          I didn't know who the guys were.

                         DANIEL
          When you lie to me, I hurt you.

                         AMMAR
          Please.

                         DANIEL
          I believe you. I do, I believe you.
          Beat.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Do you want the water again, or do
          you want something else?

                         AMMAR
          Please.

                         DANIEL
          Just give me a name.

                         AMMAR

                         I DON'T--
          Daniel jumps up.

                         AMMAR (CONT'D)
          I don't know.
          Daniel kicks out the chair from under Ammar. The masked
          guards walk to the rope pulleys.

                         DANIEL
          You see how this works? You don't
          mind if my female colleague sees
          your junk, do you?
          Daniel pulls down Ammar's pants. Maya flinches at the bare
          nakedness.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Dude, you shit your pants.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          15.
          Daniel turns to Maya -

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          You stay here, I'll be back.
          Daniel goes out, leaving Maya standing alone in front of the
          naked, chained man.
          Ammar looks at her imploringly and she struggles to meet his
          eyes.

                         AMMAR
          Your friend is an animal. Please,
          help me. Please.
          A long beat.

                         MAYA
          You can help yourself by being
          truthful.
          The door handle turns. It occurs to Maya that perhaps Daniel
          was testing her resilience, too, as Daniel re-enters with a
          DOG COLLAR in his hand.

                         DANIEL
          This is a dog collar.
          Daniel unhooks Ammar, snaps the collar and leash around his
          neck, as Ammar cries out against the humiliation.
          Maya flinches. Daniel is relentless:

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          You determine how I treat you.
          Now Daniel drags Ammar on all fours, pulling him by the leash.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          I'm going to walk you.
          Maya watches in horror as Daniel walks Ammar to a far corner
          of the room, then leans down to address his victim:

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          What the fuck do you think is going
          on, Ammar? Wahleed has already told
          me that you know.
          At last, Daniel reaches an area of the room where there is a
          large wooden box resting on a platform.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          16.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          This box sucks. I'm going to put
          you in it.
          Ammar tries to speak but can't get a word out.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          When is the attack?

                         AMMAR

                         (VERY SOFTLY)
          Sunday.

                         DANIEL
          Sunday? Sunday where? This Sunday
          or next Sunday?
          Ammar mumbles, almost inaudibly.

                         AMMAR
          Monday.

                         DANIEL
          Is it Sunday or Monday?
          Ammar doesn't answer. The masked men approach.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Which day is it? Partial information
          is treated as a lie.

                         AMMAR
          Saturday.
          Beat. The masked men open the box.

                         AMMAR (CONT'D)
          Sunday!
          The guards grab Ammar and carry him to his wooden tomb. He
          shouts with his last reserve of energy:

                         AMMAR (CONT'D)
          Monday!

                         DANIEL
          Ammar, which day?

                         AMMAR

                         (MUMBLING)
          Monday, Tuesday,
          Beat.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          17.

                         AMMAR (CONT'D)
          Thursday.
          Beat.

                         AMMAR (CONT'D)
          Friday.
          Daniel slams the box shut. Once again, he's learned nothing.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. KHOBAR TOWERS - SAUDI ARABIA - DAY

          ECU: a magazine CLICKS into the receiver of a black assault
          rifle.
          The weapon, carried by a BEARDED ARAB MAN dressed in street
          clothes, rises to shoulder height.

          INT. KHOBAR TOWERS - DAY

          - The man enters the hallway of the KHOBAR RESIDENTIAL TOWERS
          - And immediately opens fire on TWO WESTERN MEN he happens
          to find inside, killing them both.

          TITLE OVER: MAY 29, 2004
          - The CRACK of the shots sends the rest of the residents
          into a panicky, screaming dash for cover
          - As he strides quickly down the hall, he finds three other
          RESIDENTS scrambling for safety, and shoots and kills them
          all.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - CONFERENCE ROOM

          CU TV: news footage of the massacre.
          Daniel, Jessica, and Maya look on in defeat. The "Saudi"
          attack they tried to prevent by pressuring Ammar has occurred.

                         JESSICA

                         (TO DANIEL)
          Don't worry about the Saudis, they'll
          take care of business.

                         DANIEL
          Yeah, now.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          18.

                         JESSICA
          You warned them - they didn't take
          you seriously - this is what happens.
          It's not on you.

                         DANIEL
          Who said that? Zied? Fuck him.
          This is on me. Ammar is on me!!
          And it's on her!!
          (pointing to Maya)
          We can't let this be a win-win for

          AQ.

                         JESSICA
          No, no, no. You had - what - days -
          brief custody - and an unresponsive
          ally. The way you do this is you
          look ahead. London. Heathrow. Mass
          casualties. That plan is still
          active.

                         MAYA
          Ammar doesn't have a clue about what
          happened.

                         JESSICA
          He knows.

                         MAYA
          How?

                         JESSICA
          You have to be really careful with
          people in KSM's circle - they're
          devious.

                         MAYA
          He's not going to talk about attacks
          on the homeland. He's going to
          withhold operational details on the
          KSM network and probably on bin Laden.
          (flipping her argument)
          But he's been in complete isolation,
          he doesn't know we failed. We can
          tell him anything.

                         DANIEL
          Bluff him?

                         MAYA
          He hasn't slept, Dan. He's clueless.

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          19.

          EXT. BLACK SITE - AFTERNOON


                         DANIEL (PRE-LAP)
          You don't remember, do you? You -
          me: same same. Bad memory.
          While GUARDS move in the deep b.g., Daniel and Maya are seated
          at a picnic table with an appetizing spread of Arabic food.

          DANIEL (PRE-LAP) (CONT'D)
          Short term memory loss is a side
          effect of sleep deprivation. It
          should come back to you.
          The Guards bring a prisoner to the table and remove his hood:
          Ammar. He stares weakly at the table.

                         AMMAR

                         (CAREFULLY)
          I don't know. How can I remember?

                         MAYA
          After we kept you awake for 96 hours,
          you gave us names of some of your
          brothers and saved the lives of a
          lot of innocent people.

                         DANIEL
          Which is the smart thing to do, you're
          starting to think for yourself.
          Ammar is lost. But the food is tempting.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Eat up! You earned it.
          Ammar eats.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          So you flew via Amman to Kabul to
          hang out with your uncle? Mukhtar.

                         AMMAR
          How did you know that?

                         DANIEL
          I told you man, I know you. Alright,
          you got me - flight manifests. It
          must've been pretty fucked up for
          you guys after 9/11. What did you
          do after the invasion and before you
          went back to Pesh?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          20.

                         AMMAR
          After 9/11 I had to choose: fight,
          to protect our turf - or run.

                         DANIEL

                         (SYMPATHETIC)
          You chose to fight.
          Ammar looks Daniel right in the eyes.

                         AMMAR
          I wanted to kill Americans. We tried
          to get into Tora Bora but the bombing
          was too high. We couldn't cross.

                         MAYA
          Sorry, who is the "we" in that
          sentence?

                         AMMAR
          Me and some guys who were hanging
          around at that time.

                         DANIEL

                         (CASUALLY)
          I can eat with some other dude and
          hook you back up to the ceiling?

                         AMMAR
          Hamza Rabia, Khabab al-Masri, and
          Abu Ahmed.
          Maya makes notes on her pad.

                         MAYA
          Who's Abu Ahmed? I've heard of the
          other guys.

                         AMMAR
          He was a computer guy with us at the
          time. After Tora Bora, I went back
          to Pesh - as you know - and he went
          North, I think, to Kunar.

                         MAYA
          What's his family name?

                         AMMAR
          Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti.

                         MAYA
          Abu Ahmed means "father of Ahmed",
          it's a kunya.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          21.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          Ammar, I know the difference between
          a war name and an Arabic name.

                         DANIEL
          She got you there, dude.

                         AMMAR
          I swear to you both: I don't know
          his family name. I would have never
          asked him something like that. It's
          not how my uncle worked. My uncle
          told me he worked for bin Laden. I
          did see him, once, about a year ago,
          in Karachi. He read us all a letter
          from the Sheikh.

                         MAYA
          A letter?

                         DANIEL
          What did it say?
          Daniel offers Ammar a smoke.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          Cigarette?
          Ammar accepts. Daniel's lights it.

                         AMMAR
          It said "Continue the jihad. The
          work will go on for a hundred years."

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - RESEARCH ROOM

          We fade into a dimly lit research room, where Maya is alone
          watching interrogation video recordings on an array of
          monitors. Some of the videos are rough; but most simply
          depict two people talking. The video she's watching now shows
          a hooded prisoner sitting in a filthy room, the walls smeared
          with red stains.

                         CU SCREEN:

                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR
          You and I are gonna talk about some
          of the guys in the training camps,
          yeah?
          The prisoner sits in a chair. He's hooded, but relaxed.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          22.

                         PRISONER
          Ok.

                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR
          Some of these brothers have done
          some bad things, and what I want to
          do is I want to separate them from
          the people like you.

                         PRISONER
          Definitely, yeah.

                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR
          There was a guy called Abu Ahmed
          from Kuwait.

                         PRISONER
          Yes, I remember him. A nice guy.

                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR
          How close was he? What was his
          relationship to the leadership?

                         PRISONER
          I don't know.

                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR
          Did he eat with you guys - did he
          eat with the good guys - or did he
          eat with the leadership?

                         PRISONER
          I don't know, sir. I have no idea
          about things like that.

                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR
          Yes you do, you don't need an idea

                         ABOUT THINGS-
          Maya hits pause and we see that her desk is filled with open
          windows of interrogations: she is analyzing ten videos
          simultaneously, comparing them to each other.

          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

          She plays another video showing a Turkish prison.

                         TURKISH INTERROGATOR
          When you met with Khalid Sheikh
          Mohammed, was this one of the
          facilitators?
          The Interrogator flashes a picture. The prisoner moans.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          23.

          TURKISH INTERROGATOR (CONT'D)
          Is this Abu Ahmed?

                         PRISONER
          Yes.

                         CUT TO

          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER

          She fast forwards a video - shot in a Polish facility. The
          prisoner appears to be cold.

                         INTERROGATOR
          KSM, your boss.

                         PRISONER
          Mukhtar?

                         INTERROGATOR
          Mukhtar,'potato', you say 'potahto'.
          I say 'fucking KSM', but yeah,
          'Mukhtar.' After Mukhtar was
          captured, what did Abu Ahmed do?

                         PRISONER
          Abu Ahmed, I believe he went to work
          for The Sheikh.

          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER

          Maya is still in the research room. She's been going at
          this for hours and looks fatigued.
          CU SCREEN: a different INTERROGATOR from the previous video;
          PRISONER is an older man chained to a desk. The exchange is
          in Arabic with an English subtitle on the screen:

                         PRISONER
          In Karachi, in 2003 or 2004.

                         INTERROGATOR
          He was carrying a letter from bin
          Laden?

                         CUT TO:

          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER

          Still going, looking exhausted now, Maya manipulates the
          controls of yet another video clip with a different
          INTERROGATOR and PRISONER. We're now in a Moroccan facility.
          The interrogator shows him a photograph of a bearded man.
          Henceforth, The Photograph.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          24.

                         INTERROGATOR
          Is that him?

                         PRISONER

                         (NODS)
          Abu Ahmed.
          The interrogator holds The Photograph right in front of the
          prisoner's face, allowing us to see it as well.

                         INTERROGATOR
          Say again?

                         PRISONER
          Abu Ahmed. Abu Ahmed. Abu Ahmed.
          Freeze frame.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER

          A Yemeni prison - the dialogue is a mix of French and English:

                         INTERROGATOR
          Abu Ahmed - is he the courier for
          bin Laden?

                         PRISONER
          Who knows who works directly for bin
          Laden? Let's say he's part of the
          mix.

                         INTERROGATOR
          Were there other people who carried
          messages from bin Laden?

                         PRISONER
          Sure.

                         INTERROGATOR
          How many other people?

                         PRISONER

                         (THINKING)
          Four or five.

                         INTERROGATOR
          Let's talk about them--
          The image freezes.
          Maya stares at the screen.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          25.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - KITCHEN

          Maya is in the kitchen grabbing something to eat.
          Jessica, the only other person working this late, walks in,
          pours herself some coffee.

                         JESSICA
          How's the needle in the haystack?

                         MAYA
          Fine.

                         JESSICA
          Facilitators come and go, but one
          thing you can count on in life is
          that everyone wants money.
          The rivalry is in full bloom. Sometimes it's friendly.
          Sometimes it's not so friendly.

                         MAYA

                         (SMILING)
          You're assuming that Al Qaeda members
          are motivated by financial rewards.
          They're radicals.

                         JESSICA

                         (BIGGER SMILE)
          Correct. You're assuming that greed
          won't override ideology in some of
          the weaker members.

                         MAYA
          Money for walk-ins worked great in
          the cold war, I'll give you that.

                         JESSICA
          Thank you.

                         MAYA
          Just not sure those tactics are
          applicable to the Middle East.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT

          Maya hastily throws her clothes and a wig into a suitcase -
          the world's fastest packing job -

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          26.

          EXT. WARSAW SHIPYARD - POLAND - DAY


          SUPERIMPOSE: CIA BLACK SITE - WARSAW, POLAND
          A sprawling shipyard in an industrial area.
          A large MILITARY FRIGATE sits in the harbor. A dark haired
          WOMAN and a MAN board the ship.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. FRIGATE - BLACK SITE - POLAND - DAY

          At first we don't recognize the woman with heavy makeup
          walking down the narrow corridor, and then we realize it's
          Maya in disguise.
          She enters a vast cavernous hold accompanied by a middle
          aged Afghan man, thick shouldered with years of hard
          experience in his kind, somewhat sad eyes.
          This fatherly man is HAKIM, a former political prisoner in
          Afghanistan and one of the CIA's most important assets.
          In the galley, a PRISONER is chained to a table. Hakim slides
          him The Photograph. The prisoner speaks in Arabic.

                         HAKIM

                         (TRANSLATING)
          He says he looks like Abu Ahmed.

                         MAYA
          Who did he work for?
          Hakim translates. Then the prisoner speaks.

                         HAKIM

                         (TRANSLATING)
          It was mostly with Abu Faraj - they
          were always together.

                         MAYA
          What did he do for Faraj?

                         HAKIM

                         (TRANSLATING)
          He carried messages from Faraj to
          bin Laden and from bin Laden back to
          Faraj.
          Maya leans into Hakim -

                         

                         

                         

                         

          27.

                         MAYA
          We need to ask him something to see
          if he's telling the truth. We don't
          know if he really knew Faraj.
          Hakim speaks to the prisoner.

                         HAKIM
          He just told me the names of all of
          Faraj's children. I think he's
          telling the truth.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - CIA SECTION

          Maya is pitching Bradley in his office. Bradley sits with
          his feet up on his desk, holding The Photograph.
          Daniel is slouched on the couch in back.
          Jessica is perched on the arm of the couch, bare legs crossed.
          Bradley notices.
          Maya stands.

                         MAYA
          Twenty detainees recognize that photo
          of Abu Ahmed. They say he's part of
          the inner circle of guys who were
          hanging out in Afghanistan pre-9/11.

                         (BEAT)
          A lot of them say that after 9/11,
          he went to work for KSM.

                         (BEAT)
          When KSM got captured, he went to
          work for Abu Faraj, primarily as a
          courier from Faraj to bin Laden.

                         BRADLEY
          Well, that's good. You still-

                         MAYA
          Yeah, we don't know if Abu is on the
          outside of the network - part of a
          series of cutouts and dead drops -
          or if he has a direct connection to
          bin Laden. Does bin Laden invite
          him into the living room and hand
          him a letter directly? Or is Abu
          just the last guy in a long line of
          couriers, so that's why everybody
          knows him?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          28.

                         BRADLEY
          That's not all you don't know. You
          don't have his true name, and you
          don't have a clue of where he is.

                         MAYA
          We know that he's important. The
          fact that everybody's heard of Abu
          Ahmed but nobody will tell me where
          he is suggests that.

                         BRADLEY
          Maybe. Detainees could withhold his
          location for any number of reasons.
          Perhaps they don't know; perhaps
          this Abu is just a cover story and
          he's really a fucking unicorn. The
          withholding doesn't reveal what you
          want it to - does it?

                         MAYA
          No.

                         BRADLEY
          And if you did find him, you don't
          know that he'd be with bin Laden.

                         DANIEL
          We don't know what we don't know.

                         BRADLEY

                         (TO DANIEL)
          What the fuck is that supposed to
          mean?

                         DANIEL
          It's a tautology.

                         BRADLEY
          (back to Maya)
          Listen, not one single detainee has
          said that he's located with the big
          guy, just that he delivers messages.
          Am I wrong?

                         MAYA
          No.

                         BRADLEY
          No. It's still good work.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          29.

                         BRADLEY (CONT'D)
          Let me know when you've got some
          actionable intelligence, preferably
          something that leads to a strike.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. TAVISTOCK SQUARE - LONDON - EARLY MORNING

          The city is in full swing on this bright mid-summer morning.
          CARS and BUSES roll through the crowded streets.

          INT./EXT. DOUBLE DECKER BUS


          TITLE OVER: LONDON - JULY 7, 2005
          Passengers inside the bus read newspapers, listen to music...
          another ordinary day.
          Then, the bus explodes!

                         CUT TO:

          CU: TV SCREEN
          File footage of the aftermath:

          REPORTER (O.S.)
          This is what remains of the #10 bus,
          which was traveling through Tavistock
          Square...

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE -


                         NIGHT
          Joseph Bradley sits at his desk. The weight of the world on
          his shoulders.
          On the television in the background, the news report
          continues, showing disaster footage of PEOPLE bloodied,
          screaming.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. BLACK SITE - AFGHANISTAN

          The war on terror is growing and spreading, like an octopus,
          throughout the base. We trace the new tentacles of the CIA
          facility - more hangars, vehicles, PEOPLE moving to and fro.

          REPORTER (O.S.)
          All around, groups of Londoners are
          standing on corners asking themselves

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          30.

          REPORTER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          what has happened here, and who could
          possibly have done this?
          We find Daniel trying to catch a moment of solitude...eating
          an ice cream cone and standing in front of a makeshift cage
          filled with wild MONKEYS.
          The monkeys are watching Daniel intently, their hands gripping
          the wire cage. Daniel playfully feeds them some of his ice
          cream.
          A CIA GUARD approaches Daniel

                         CIA GUARD
          (re: the monkeys)
          You Agency guys are twisted. The
          detainee is ready.
          Daniel nods, weary. Then a monkey reaches through the bars
          and steals the remainder of Daniel's ice cream cone.
          He looks at the monkey and laughs.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. ISLAMABAD TRAFFIC - YEARS LATER

          Rain pelts the brown city, turning the gutter water black.

                         MAYA (PRE-LAP)
          I want you to understand that I know
          you. I have been following you and
          studying you for a long time. I
          chased you in Lahore.
          We find Maya entering the gates of a Pakistani prison. The
          weather makes the place seem especially bleak.

          SUPERIMPOSE: MILITARY DETENTION CENTER - ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

          INT. PAKISTANI DETENTION AREA - CONTINUOUS

          HASSAN GHUL, Al Qaeda financier, sits manacled to a desk.

                         MAYA
          I had you picked up instead of killing
          you because you're not a violent man
          and you don't deserve to die.

                         GHUL
          Thank you.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          31.

                         MAYA
          But you do have deep ties to Al Qaeda
          that I want to ask you about before
          you get sent to your next location,
          which might be Israel.
          Ghul looks ashen.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          However, depending on how candid you
          are today, I may be able to keep you
          in Pakistan.

                         GHUL
          What do you want to know?

                         MAYA
          I'm going to ask you a series of
          questions based on your knowledge of
          Al Qaeda and your position as key
          financier for the organization.

                         GHUL
          I have dealt with the mukhabarat, I
          have no wish to be tortured again.
          Ask me a question, I can answer it.

                         MAYA
          What can you tell me about Atiyah
          Abd al-Rahman.

                         GHUL
          He works for Zawahiri. He's in charge
          of military tactics.

                         MAYA
          In what context have you ever heard
          the name Abu Ahmed?

                         GHUL
          He works for Faraj and bin Laden.
          He is his most trusted courier.
          Maya works hard to hide how pleased she is to have this
          confirmation. She's not entirely successful.

                         MAYA
          What makes you say that?

                         GHUL
          He brought me many messages from the
          Sheikh.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          32.

                         MAYA
          Where did you last see him, and where
          is he now?

                         GHUL
          You will never find him.

                         MAYA
          Why is that?

                         GHUL
          Even I couldn't find him. He always
          contacted me out of the blue. He is
          one of the disappeared ones.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. GARDEN COMPLEX - PAKISTAN - DAY

          Pakistani families enjoy a fine summer day.

          INT. GARDEN VILLA

          A BOMB is being strapped to a MAN'S leg by a PAKISTANI

          POLICEMAN.

                         PAKISTANI POLICEMAN

                         (IN URDU)
          You know how this works?
          The man is terrified.

          PAKISTANI POLICEMAN (CONT'D)
          Just act naturally.
          The Policeman finishes securing the bomb, and sends the man
          out the door (who we will later deduce is Abu Faraj's
          courier).

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. GARDEN COMPLEX - DAY

          Faraj's Courier walks past playing children... while from a
          nearby tower, Daniel observes.
          After a moment, ABU FARAJ, who we recognize from his
          photograph, appears at the south end of the park. Faraj
          walks in the direction of his courier, noting his

                         SURROUNDINGS:
          CHILDREN playing.
          Several people in BLACK BURKHAS.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          33.

          BRIGHT SUN.
          At last Faraj reaches an open area where he can see his
          courier face to face.
          They exchange a nervous glance that conveys the danger: It's
          a trap. Faraj spins to flee, but it's too late.
          The black BURKHAS descend on him. It turns out they are
          heavily armed Pakistani agents. From on high, Daniel watches
          his captured prey.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. BLACK SITE - AFGHANISTAN - DAY

          Daniel and an armed guard escort a hooded and handcuffed
          Faraj to his cell.

                         DANIEL
          What do you like? Bob Marley?
          Reggae? Egyptian music? Just let me
          know, if there's music you like, I
          can make a call.

          INT. INTERROGATION AREA - CONTINUOUS

          Daniel and the guards take Faraj to a cell laced with barbed
          wire and lock him inside.

                         DANIEL
          Can I be honest with you? I'm bad
          news. I'm not your friend. I'm not
          gonna help you. I'm gonna break
          you.
          Beat.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          I've done it before.
          (Faraj dozes, weak)
          Hey, wake up. You haven't eaten in
          18 hours, we've got to keep your
          energy up. You hungry?

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CELL

          Guards force feed Faraj through a feeding tube.

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          34.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY

          Bradley approaches Maya at her cubicle.

                         BRADLEY
          You're in luck, I got you a one-on-
          one with Faraj.

                         MAYA
          Seriously? Thank you.

                         BRADLEY
          Don't thank me until you hear what I
          want for it.
          He drops a folder on her desk.

                         BRADLEY (CONT'D)
          I want you to take care of all of
          this before your favorite subject.

                         MAYA
          Deal.

                         BRADLEY
          Don't you want to see what's in the
          folder?

                         MAYA
          You want family ties, financial
          networks, media sources, disgruntled
          employees, imminent threats, homeland
          plots,

                         BRADLEY

                         (WALKING AWAY)
          Thank you.

                         MAYA
          Foreign cells, health status, trade
          craft, recruiting tactics -- anything
          else?

                         CUT TO:

          INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - MORNING

          Both Maya and Faraj look tired. This has been going on for
          hours.

                         MAYA
          A lot of brothers told us Abu Ahmed
          was bin Laden's courier and that he
          worked very closely with you.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          35.

                         FARAJ
          You're thinking of Abu Khalid.

                         MAYA
          Who?

                         FARAJ
          Al Buluchi. My courier for the
          Sheikh.

                         MAYA
          Okay, so you're telling me that all
          the other brothers are wrong, and
          there's some famous Buluchi guy that
          is working for you and bin Laden
          that I've never even heard of?

                         FARAJ
          Why should you have heard of him?

                         MAYA
          What does this Buluchi guy look like?

                         FARAJ
          Tall, long white beard, thin. He
          uses a cane.

                         MAYA
          Kind of like Gandolf?

                         FARAJ
          Who?

                         MAYA
          When was the last time you saw him?

                         FARAJ
          A month ago, in Karachi, but I don't
          know where he is now. Sometimes I
          wouldn't even see him, he would just
          tell me where to leave the messages.

                         MAYA
          I don't believe you.
          The GUARD in the room with them leans forward and SLAPS Faraj
          across the face.
          Faraj's expression doesn't change and Maya herself remains
          flat and steady, unmoved by the violence.
          She's not quite the same young lady she was a few years ago.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          36.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          You're not being fulsome in your
          replies.

                         FARAJ
          You can't force me to tell you
          something I don't know.

                         MAYA
          You do realize this is not a normal
          prison. You determine how you are
          treated, and your life will be very
          uncomfortable until you give me
          information I need.
          The guard slaps Faraj again. Faraj is impassive.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LATER

          Maya looks on impassively as Faraj is subjected to harsh
          treatment.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. BLACK SITE - BATHROOM

          Maya is retching in the stall.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. BLACK SITE - PRE-DAWN

          Maya walks around the facility, quiet at this hour, and finds
          another insomniac, Daniel, by the monkey cage. The cage is
          empty.

                         MAYA
          Faraj is completely denying knowing
          Abu Ahmed, and that's using every
          measure we have.

                         DANIEL
          He's either going to withhold or die
          from the pressure you're putting on
          him.

                         MAYA
          Do you want to take a run at him?

                         DANIEL
          No.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          37.

                         MAYA
          No? Since when?

                         DANIEL
          You know, I've been meaning to tell
          you: I'm getting outta here.

                         MAYA
          What? You okay?

                         DANIEL
          I'm fine. I've just seen too many
          guys naked. It's gotta be over a
          hundred at this point. I need to go
          do something normal for awhile.

                         MAYA
          Like what?

                         DANIEL
          Go to Washington, do the dance, see
          how that environment works.

                         (BEAT)
          You should come with me. Be my number
          two. You're looking a little strung
          out yourself.
          Maya looks at Dan. No longer the man he once was. She
          doesn't hide her disappointment.

                         MAYA
          I'm not going to find Abu Ahmed from

          D.C.
          They both look at the empty cage, clocking the irony.

                         DANIEL
          They killed my monkeys.
          Something about an escape. Can you
          fucking believe that?

                         MAYA
          Sorry, Dan.

                         DANIEL
          Look, Maya, you gotta be really
          careful with detainees now. The
          politics are changing and you don't
          want to be the last one holding a
          dog collar when the oversight
          committee comes.

                         MAYA
          I know.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          38.

                         DANIEL
          And watch your back when you get
          back to Pakistan. Everyone knows
          you there now.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. ISLAMABAD - NIGHT

          Back in Pakistan, the country has indeed changed to a more
          militarized police state, and as we establish the new
          environment, we find Maya's grey sedan...

          EXT. ISLAMABAD - NEAR THE MARRIOTT HOTEL - NIGHT

          The car pulls up to a checkpoint manned by PAKISTANI POLICE.
          The Policeman look at the car - look at the plate - the plate
          is diplomatic - they walk around the car and stop at the
          window - shine their bright light right into Maya's eyes.
          A POLICEMAN motions for her to roll down her window.

                         POLICEMAN
          Where are you going?

                         MAYA
          To the Marriott. I assume you noticed
          the dip plates.

                         POLICEMAN
          But you have a bag -
          The policeman motions to a DUFFEL BAG resting on the rear
          seat.

                         MAYA
          It's a gym bag.
          Maya does not get out of the car. She stares at him
          defiantly. He advances forward a bit. She rolls up her
          window, flicks the door lock, and starts dialing her cell
          phone.
          The policeman walks away to rejoin his group. The police
          confer. The original policeman returns, this time with
          several other cops. They knock on the glass. Hard.
          Maya stares straight ahead.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL RESTAURANT - NIGHT

          Jessica is waiting at the table in a beautifully appointed
          room.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          39.

          SUPERIMPOSE: MARRIOTT HOTEL - ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - SEPTEMBER

          20, 2008
          Maya walks in, flustered.

                         MAYA
          Fucking checkpoints.
          Maya sits down, absorbed in her Blackberry.

                         JESSICA
          Maya?

                         MAYA
          Yeah.

                         JESSICA
          We're socializing. Be social.
          Maya puts away her blackberry.

                         MAYA

                         (HALFHEARTEDLY)
          Okay.

                         JESSICA
          Look, I know Abu Ahmed is your baby,
          but it's time to cut the umbilical
          cord.

                         MAYA
          No, it's not.

                         JESSICA
          So Faraj went south on you - it
          happens. There are still cells in
          London and Spain planning the next
          round of attacks.

                         MAYA
          I can work on it at the same time -
          plus I think it's a good thing that
          he lied.

                         JESSICA
          No, not at the expense of protecting
          the homeland, you can't. Wait a
          minute, why is it a good thing?

                         MAYA
          You sound just like Bradley. He
          doesn't believe in my lead either.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          40.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)

                         (BEAT)
          It's a good thing because the fact
          that Faraj withheld on Abu Ahmed is
          revealing. The only other thing he
          lied about was the location of bin
          Laden himself. That means Faraj
          thinks Abu Ahmed in as important to
          protect as bin Laden. That confirms
          my lead.

                         JESSICA
          Or it's confirmation bias.

                         (BEAT)
          We're all just worried about you,
          okay? Is that okay to say?
          Maya rubs her eyes, not liking where the conversation is
          going. She forces a smile.

                         JESSICA (CONT'D)
          Where's Jack?

                         MAYA
          He's probably stuck in some check-
          point somewhere.

                         JESSICA
          You two hooked up yet?

                         MAYA
          Hello, I work with him. I'm not
          that girl, that fucks. It's
          unbecoming.

                         JESSICA
          So? A little foolin' around wouldn't
          hurt you.

                         (BEAT)
          So no boyfriend. Do you have any
          friends at all?
          She doesn't. Jessica's phone rings -

                         JESSICA (CONT'D)
          It's Jack.

                         (INTO PHONE)
          Hey - that's okay -

          SUDDENLY, AN EXPLOSION RIPS THROUGH THE RESTAURANT.

          -- SHATTERS THE WINDOWS

          -- DESTROYS TABLES AND LIGHTS

                         

                         

                         

                         

          41.

          -- MAYA, JESSICA, AND OTHERS TOSSED TO THE GROUND, SOME

          FATALLY.

          --SMOKE FILLS THE ROOM
          As alarms wail, Maya struggles to her feet, grabs Jessica by
          the arm, and they stumble to safety.

          INT. MARRIOTT - DINING ROOM

          Toward the destroyed kitchen, helping each other over
          obstacles, twisted metal, gaps in the concrete, etc, past
          injured workers and burning flames.

          INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL - KITCHEN - LATER

          They continue moving through the debris as the smoke
          intensifies.
          They find each other's hands and grab tightly.

                         CUT TO:

          C.U.: TV SCREEN
          The destroyed Marriott.

          REPORTER (O.S.)
          The blast left a crater 10 meters
          wide in front of the hotel. The
          Marriott, one of the most popular
          destinations for locals and
          Westerners...

          FADE TO BLACK

          EXT. MOUNTAINOUS TRIBAL AREA - PAKISTAN - DAY

          We're high above the wild hinterlands of the Hindu Kush,
          gliding over the rocky slopes and the pine forests.

          SUPERIMPOSE: TRIBAL TERRITORIES, NORTHERN PAKISTAN
          We move from peak to peak until we find a remote valley, and
          we zoom down... and nestled in the valley we can just make
          out the barest outlines of a tiny village of mud huts.

          INT. TRIBAL VILLAGE HUT

          Now we are inside a hut and we've shifted to the perspective
          of a hand held camera, as if someone inside this stone age
          interior is filming on our behalf, and we see a hard floor,
          thin gaps in the walls, and FIVE TRIBAL ELDERS talking
          casually, eating and drinking tea.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          42.
          We pan across the weathered faces, long beards, and see a
          video recorder resting on a ledge.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - ISLAMABAD - DAY

          Jessica strides excitedly, almost breaking into a run, through
          the warren of cubicles that lead to Maya's desk.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY

          Jessica beaming as she approaches Maya.

                         JESSICA
          The Jords have a mole!

                         MAYA
          What?
          Jessica pops a CD into Maya's computer, loads a file that
          plays the same video clip we have just seen.

                         JESSICA
          He made this video to prove his bona
          fides.

                         MAYA
          Shut the fuck up!
          The camera stops on one man, BALAWI.

                         JESSICA

                         (POINTING)
          Humam Khalil al-Balawi, he's a
          Jordanian doctor. He's really
          motivated.
          Maya practically bolts out of her chair. Together, they
          start walking towards Bradley's office -

                         MAYA
          This could be it!

                         JESSICA
          This is it.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE -


                         CONTINUOUS
          Bradley has just finished watching the video. Maya and
          Jessica are in his office waiting for his verdict.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          43.

                         JESSICA
          He's right there in the inner circle.

                         BRADLEY
          I don't buy it. Didn't you tell me
          yourself nobody turns on Al Qaeda?

                         JESSICA
          The Jords worked him for a year.
          Dinners, money. They've convinced
          him that it's his patriotic duty to
          turn on Al Qaeda and get rich doing
          it.

                         BRADLEY
          Yeah, so the Jords say.

                         MAYA

                         (TO BRADLEY)
          You're right. We can't rely on the
          Jords. We have to evaluate him face
          to face.

                         JESSICA

                         (CATCHING ON)
          He may not be that smart. He may be
          full of shit - but we have to talk
          to him to find out.

                         MAYA
          The key is to meet him so we can
          figure out for ourselves what he can
          actually do.

                         BRADLEY
          He really asked for a dialysis
          machine? You can fill the damn thing
          with poison.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD - BRIEFING ROOM - NIGHT

          Maya and a few analysts are watching TV - President-elect
          Obama is being interviewed on 60 Minutes when Jessica comes
          into the room with disappointing news -

                         JESSICA
          The meeting with Balawi is off. He
          can't come here to Islamabad.

                         MAYA
          Can't or won't?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          44.

                         JESSICA
          He's not going to travel - security

                         RISK -
          The TV interview with Obama reaches the subject of enhanced
          interrogation, and the women pause to listen to the President-
          elect declare, "America does not torture."
          Then they continue:

                         JESSICA (CONT'D)
          He wants us to go to him. He'll
          meet in Miram Sha or the tribals.

                         MAYA
          He knows we're white. You'll get
          kidnapped up there.
          DAVID, an analyst, adds his two cents to the conversation -

                         DAVID
          We could do it somewhere else -
          Germany, or the UK? He's got a clean
          passport.

                         JESSICA
          He's not going to travel out of Al
          Qaeda territory.

                         DAVID
          And you're not going to him.

                         JESSICA
          I'm not. Believe me.

                         (PAUSE)
          We're stuck.

                         DAVID
          What about Camp Chapman? Afghanistan.
          That could be safe territory.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN CIA COMPOUND - KHOST, AFGHANISTAN - DAY

          We survey the sprawling base from above.

          SUPERIMPOSE: CAMP CHAPMAN - KHOST, AFGHANISTAN
          Helicopters and Humvees traverse the base.

          INT. CAMP CHAPMAN - KITCHEN - MORNING

          Jessica applies icing to a birthday cake as she cradles a

          SATELLITE PHONE.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          45.

                         JESSICA

                         (INTO PHONE)
          This may be going overboard, but I
          baked him a cake!

          MAYA O.S.
          Muslim's don't celebrate with cake.

                         JESSICA
          Don't be so literal. Everyone likes
          cake. It's not too late for you to
          come, you know. It will be fun.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - PREDATOR BAY

          Maya sits in front of a series of monitors. She watches a
          live Predator feed.

                         MAYA
          I don't want to be a straphangar.
          It's your show. You were the first
          to see the potential in this.

          JESSICA (O.S.)
          Come on! We've got lots of wine!
          The target on Maya's monitor disappears in a puff of smoke.

                         MAYA
          Cool. Bring me back a bottle.

          JESSICA (O.S.)
          I will.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. DINING AREA

          Jessica pours two glasses of wine and raises a toast to her
          colleague, JOHN.

                         JESSICA
          Not to get technical, but this guy
          is actually the first big break we've
          had since 9/11. To big breaks and
          the little people that make them
          happen.
          Clink.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          46.

                         JESSICA (CONT'D)
          So far, everything he's said we've
          cross checked and it's proved legit...
          and I think the money is persuasive.
          25 million dollars?! That buys a
          new life.

                         JOHN
          Do you think he might be exaggerating
          his access?

                         JESSICA
          Possibly. But Al Qaeda needs doctors
          and they are short staffed and that
          could explain his rise. In six months
          to a year, if he doesn't fuck up, he
          could be called in to treat bin Laden.
          And at that moment, with 25 mil on
          the table, I think he gives up the
          Big Man. And if he doesn't, we kill
          him.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN CIA COMPOUND - AFTERNOON

          The same gathering as the day before, waiting under the
          merciless sun.

          SUPERIMPOSE: DECEMBER 30, 2009
          Jessica turns to her crew, which includes LAUREN, a young
          operative, ZIED, a Jordanian intelligence agent, and the
          base's CIA SECURITY GUARD, among others. They rehearse the
          impending meeting.

                         JESSICA
          So John?
          (John turns to her)
          When he arrives, I'll set the tone,
          and then I'll flip it to you - and
          you'll talk about asset protection.

                         JOHN
          Roger that.

                         JESSICA
          Then Lauren, I know you want to get
          some questions in there - but give
          Balawi time after John speaks. We'll
          cover the basics and have his birthday
          cake, then we'll get to the nitty
          gritty.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          47.
          Jessica turns to Zied.

                         JESSICA (CONT'D)
          Is that order okay, or do you want
          to introduce everyone?

                         ZIED
          I'll introduce you, and you introduce
          your team. He knows this is a high
          level meeting.

                         SECURTY GUARD
          Quick question: all is taking place
          inside our main building?

                         JESSICA
          Right. And Lauren? Washington will
          want real time updates so please
          stay on top of that. Be concise.
          The Director is in the loop. And I
          wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't
          update the President.

                         LAUREN
          Yeah, I'm on it.
          They take in the possibilities.

                         JESSICA
          Now, I just need to get Balawi's ass
          down here.

                         LATER -
          Waiting and waiting. No cars approach. The sun beats down.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - ROAD TO SOUTH GATE

          Several hundred yards before the Camp entrance is a beat-up
          SEDAN. The car pulls up to the checkpoint but doesn't
          proceed.

                         JESSICA
          (to the Security Gyard)
          Why are there gate guards there? We
          talked about this, no one is supposed
          to be there when my source arrives.
          You might have spooked him already!

                         SECURTY GUARD
          Procedures only work if we follow
          them every time.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          48.

                         JESSICA
          This time is different - I'm sorry I
          can't explain, but it's for a good
          cause.

                         SECURTY GUARD
          Look, I'm responsible for everyone's
          safety, okay? It's not just about
          you.

                         JESSICA
          I just need them to go away for a
          minute. You can search him as soon
          as he gets here.
          The Security Guard pauses, then into his radio:

                         SECURTY GUARD

                         (INTO RADIO)
          All stations, go ahead and stand
          down.

                         CHECKPOINT GUARD

                         (OVER RADIO)
          Roger.

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - GUARD POST

          The guards move away from their post. The sedan drives past
          the gate into a maze of barriers. We follow the car as it
          navigates the maze of HESCO barriers, kicking up a cloud of
          dust.

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND

          Jessica runs back to her team and flashes a thumbs up.
          She smiles and pulls out her phone, sending a text.

          ECU: PHONE TEXT:
          He's here. Brb

                         MAYA:
          Cool!
          The car navigates the second set of barriers.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - MAYA'S CUBICLE - SECONDS LATER

          Maya types on her computer:
          Wassup you talking yet

                         

                         

                         

                         

          49.

          ?

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND

          Jessica looks up to see the car approaching and puts the
          phone back in her pocket. The sedan is now 50 yards away.

                         SECURTY GUARD
          Okay, he's coming. We're gonna search
          him when he gets here.
          Everyone prepares. The car gets closer and closer, a driver
          in front and a passenger in back.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - MAYA'S CUBICLE

          Maya texts again:

          ?
          Answer when you can.

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND

          The sedan pulls to a stop. A BLACKWATER GUARD taps on the
          backseat window. Balawi exits on the passenger side. His
          free hand is in his pocket.

                         BLACKWATER GUARD
          (to the other guard)
          Is he supposed to limp like that?

                         SECURTY GUARD
          Take your hand out of your pocket!
          Hey!

                         BALAWI
          Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar

                         BLACKWATER GUARD
          (raising his M4)
          Get you hand out of your pocket!

                         BALAWI
          Allahu Akbar.
          Jessica's smile fades
          And Balawi detonates a suicide vest hidden under this jacket
          and the resulting shrapnel storm pulps the crowd, massacring
          them all -

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          50.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD, CIA SECTION - CONTINUOUS

          Maya looks at her computer screen. She sees her last instant
          message..And waits for a response.
          Beat.
          Maya looks up, concern on her face.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - DAY

          The explosion smoke still hovers over Camp Chapman. News
          reporting of the attack plays over the horrific image.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - LATER

          Maya huddles on the floor under the corner of her desk.

          INT. MAYA'S CUBICLE - LATER

          The office has thinned out, and most people have gone home
          for the day. Maya is crouched in the corner. A wounded
          animal. Jeremy, the case officer from the conference room,
          approaches and gives Maya a computer disc.

                         JEREMY
          You okay?
          No response.

                         JEREMY (CONT'D)
          I didn't think this day could get
          any worse, but bad news from Saudi
          intelligence. The courier guy, Abu
          Ahmed, is dead. It's a detainee
          video.
          Maya still fighting to contain her grief, takes the file as
          an almost welcome distraction. She puts the disc into her
          computer and hits play.
          CU COMPUTER SCREEN: A PRISONER being interviewed by a CIA
          CASE OFFICER holds the photo of Abu Ahmed we've seen so many
          times.

                         PRISONER
          He's dead, in Afghanistan, 2001. I
          buried him with my own hands.

                         INTERROGATOR
          Where?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          51.

                         PRISONER
          Kabul.
          Maya stares at the screen.

                         MAYA
          I don't believe this.

                         JEREMY
          Sorry, Maya, I always liked this
          lead.
          Jeremy leaves Maya at her computer.
          She continues to stare at the screen.

          INT. MAYA'S CUBICLE - NIGHT

          Maya is still by herself.
          Her friend Jack approaches -

                         JACK

                         (CONSOLING)
          Hey. Sorry, I just got here. What
          are you gonna do?

                         MAYA
          I'm going to smoke everybody involved
          in this op, and then I'm going to
          kill bin Laden.
          Off the darkness in her eyes we -

          FADE TO BLACK

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD - CIA SECTION - A YEAR LATER

          The staff has gathered to hear a word from the boss in a
          large conference room; it's packed shoulder to shoulder with
          dozens of people, including Maya, Jim, Jack, Hakim, and
          Bradley at the front.
          GEORGE WRIGHT, Chief of the Afghanistan Pakistan Department,
          has just flown in from D.C. A big man, striding quickly into
          the room with the street roll of the Bronx projects he grew
          up in, George looks ready for a brawl.

                         GEORGE
          I want to make something absolutely
          clear.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          52.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          If you thought there was some secret
          cell somewhere working Al Qaeda, I
          want you to know that you're wrong.
          This is it. There's no working group
          coming to the rescue.
          He stares at his staff.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          There's nobody else, hidden away on
          some other floor. There is just us.
          And we are failing. We're spending
          billions of dollars. People are
          dying. We're still no closer to
          defeating our enemy.

                         PACING NOW:

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          They attacked us on land in 98, by
          sea in 2000, and from the air in
          2001. They murdered three thousand
          of our citizens in cold blood, and
          they've slaughtered our forward
          deployed. And what the fuck have we
          done about it?

                         (YELLING NOW)
          What have we done?

                         (PAUSE)
          We have twenty leadership names and
          we've only eliminated four of them.
          Beat.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          I want targets! Do your fucking
          jobs, bring me people to kill!

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - LATER

          The office has grown bigger and busier and the cubicle maze
          is filled with many new faces of young agents excited to be
          in Pakistan.
          Sitting alone at her desk we find Maya just as she's finishing
          a report. She gets up, crosses the room and goes to the
          desk of a young woman who reminds us in her idealistic
          enthusiasm of the way Maya was six years ago. This is DEBBIE.

                         DEBBIE
          Hi. I painstakingly combed through
          everything in the system and found
          this.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          53.
          She hands Maya a file.

                         DEBBIE (CONT'D)
          It's him. He was one of ten names
          on a watch list sent to us by the
          Moroccans after 9/11: Ibrahim Sayeed.
          They told us to watch out for him,
          apparently they think his whole family
          and extended family is bad and has
          ties to KSM.

                         (BEAT)
          He was picked up for fake papers and
          a doctored exit visa leaving
          Afghanistan, traveling through Morocco
          en route to Kuwait. Abu Ahmed al-
          Kuwaiti. This must be Abu Ahmed.

                         MAYA
          Doesn't matter, but I wish I had
          that five years ago. How come I
          never saw it before?

                         DEBBIE
          Nobody saw it, most likely. There
          was a lot of white noise after 9/11,
          countries wanting to help out, we
          got millions of tips and...

                         (SHRUGS)
          Things got lost in the shuffle.
          Human error.
          Maya turns her attention back to the WHITE BOARD and as Debbie
          keeps talking we follow Maya's gaze across the row of MUG
          SHOTS of Al Qaeda personnel. While a few of the men are
          African or are distinctive looking for other reasons, most
          of them look fairly similar in that they're all wearing the
          same type of clothes and have the same trademark long gnarly
          beards.

                         DEBBIE (CONT'D)

                         (PRESSING ON)
          Anyway I thought you should know
          about it.

                         (PLUS)
          I just want to say I've heard a lot
          about you. You inspired me to come
          to Pakistan.
          Maya's eyes narrow. She keeps looking at the WHITE BOARD

                         DEBBIE (CONT'D)
          Maybe you'll let me buy you a kabob
          sometime?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          54.

                         MAYA

                         (DISTRACTEDLY)
          Don't eat out. It's too dangerous.
          Maya stares at the Al Quaeda mugshots - a thought crosses
          her mind.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - BRIEFING ROOM - NIGHT

          Maya on the speaker phone to Daniel. We intercut. Daniel
          is now a suit in Langley.

                         MAYA

                         (OVER SPEAKER)
          Dan, Debbie found Abu Ahmed!

                         DANIEL
          Fuck. Really?

                         MAYA

                         (OVER SPEAKER)
          He was in the files this whole time.
          The family name is Sayeed.

                         DANIEL
          Ok, but he's dead. So doesn't that
          make him a little less interesting
          to you?

          MAYA O.S.
          He may not be. We now know that Abu
          Ahmed is one of eight brothers. All
          the brothers in the family look alike.
          Three of them went to Afghanistan.
          Isn't it possible that when the three
          eldest brothers grew beards in
          Afghanistan, they started to look
          alike? I think the one calling
          himself Abu Ahmed is still alive.
          The picture we've been using is wrong.
          It's of his older brother, Habeeb.
          He's the one that's is dead.

                         DANIEL
          Okay, what are you basing this on?

          INT. BRIEFING ROOM - CONTINUOUS


                         MAYA
          We have no intercepts about Abu Ahmed
          dying.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          55.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          We just have a detainee who buried
          somebody who looked like Abu Ahmed.
          But if somebody as important as Abu
          Ahmed had died, they'd be talking
          about it online in chat rooms all
          over the place. Plus, the detainee
          said that Habeeb died in 2001. We
          know that Abu Ahmed was alive then,
          trying to get into Tora Bora with
          Ammar. That means it's probably one
          of the other brothers that's dead.

          DANIEL O.S.
          In other words, you want it to be
          true.

                         MAYA
          Yes, I fucking want it to be true.
          Maya slams the desk.

          DANIEL O.S.
          Calm down.
          Beat.

                         MAYA
          I am calm.

          DANIEL O.S.
          State your request.

                         MAYA
          Move heaven and earth and bring me
          this fucking Sayeed family's phone
          number.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS, COUNTER TERRORISM CENTER DIRECTOR -


          LANGLEY, VA. - DAY
          A dark (window shades down) executive office, where in the
          shadows a white American man in a nice suit is kneeling on a
          prayer rug and saying the Islamic daily prayers.
          Daniel waits as the man recites the prayers and presses his
          pale forehead to the carpet. This is WOLF. He is the head
          of the agency's COUNTER TERRORISM CENTER (George's boss).

                         DANIEL
          As-Salamu alaykum.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          56.

                         WOLF
          Alaykum salam.

                         DANIEL
          I need a couple hundred thousand.
          Four max.

                         WOLF
          Where you gonna get that?

                         DANIEL
          From you.

                         WOLF
          You think so?

                         DANIEL
          This could crack open the facilitator
          Maya's been looking for by giving us
          a phone number.

                         (BEAT)
          She's your killer, Wolf. You put
          her on the field.
          (reciting a phrase
          from the KORAN, in
          Arabic, then loosely

                         TRANSLATING)
          Allah rewards those who strive and
          fight over those that sit behind a
          desk.
          WOLF nods. If the blatant attempt to play on his Muslim
          belief bothers him, he doesn't show it at all.

                         WOLF
          As you know, Abu Ghraib and Gitmo
          fucked us. The detainee program is
          now fly paper. We got senators
          jumping out of our asses, and the
          Director is very concerned. They
          will not stop until they have a body.
          There it is. The quid pro quo. There's a reason he's called
          The Wolf.
          Daniel considers all that he'll go through if he volunteers
          to be the fall guy for the controversial program.

                         DANIEL
          I ran it. I'll defend it.

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          57.

          INT. KUWAITI UNDERGROUND HOOKER BAR - NIGHT


          SUPERIMPOSE: KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
          Daniel and a KUWAITI BUSINESS MAN in a suit are drinking and
          ogling the RUSSIAN GIRLS prowling the place.
          After a few sips of his drink.

                         DANIEL
          It's good to be back in Kuwait.
          It's good to see you again, it's
          been awhile.
          The businessman doesn't answer.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          I need a favor.

                         KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN
          Why should I help you?

                         DANIEL
          Because we're friends.

                         KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN
          You say we are friends. How come
          you only call me when you need help?
          But when I need something - you are
          too busy to pick up the phone. I
          don't think we are friends.

                         DANIEL
          Fair enough. How about a V10
          Lamborghini? How's that for
          friendship?

          EXT. LAMBORGHINI DEALERSHIP - KUWAIT CITY - NIGHT

          They wait while a Lamborghini SALESMAN, disheveled, clearly
          just awakened, unlocks the door of the dealership.

                         DANIEL
          (to the Kuwaiti

                         BUSINESSMAN)
          The poor fucker had to get out of
          bed.
          (to the Salesman)
          As-salamu alaykum. Thanks my friend.

          INT. LAMBORGHINI DEALERSHIP

          They step inside and the salesman flicks on the lights
          revealing shiny cars displayed like jewels on rotating

                         

                         

                         

                         

          58.
          platforms. While the Kuwaiti businessman peers inside a
          silver model, Daniel confers with the salesman like he's
          bought twenty of these cars.

                         DANIEL
          Is this a Balboni? Fuck me. This
          is nice. What are you thinking?

                         KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN
          I think I'll choose this one.
          The salesman retreats to a back office.

                         DANIEL
          That's a nice choice, my friend.
          Daniel gives the Kuwaiti a slip of paper.

                         KUWAITI MAN
          Who is it?

                         DANIEL
          Who do you think? The guy's a
          terrorist. His mother lives here.
          I just need her phone number.

                         KUWAITI MAN
          There will be no repercussions in
          Kuwait?

                         DANIEL
          Somebody might die at some point in
          Pakistan.
          They shake hands.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. SERVER ROOM - DAY


                         SUPERIMPOSE: TRADECRAFT
          Sound graphs of phone calls fill the screen. We cruise
          through rows upon rows of server facilities, a single monitor
          in front traces a call to Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. ISLAMABAD EMBASSY - THIRD STORY BALCONY - DAY

          Maya chews on a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Jack calls
          her on her cell.

                         MAYA
          Hey, Jack.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          59.

                         JACK
          You're not gonna like this, he's on
          the phone, but there's no team to
          deploy right now.

                         MAYA
          Fuck.
          She dashes out runs down the hall to an Exit sign - bursts
          through the door to a staircase -

          INT. EMBASSY STAIRCASE

          - Flies down the staircase - down to another floor, barges
          through the door -

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - SECURITY BAY - DAY

          The station's surveillance team leader, LARRY, unstraps his
          flack vest. He looks like the kind of guy you don't mess
          with....so of course Maya barges into his space like a
          locomotive.

                         MAYA
          How come you haven't deployed a team
          to stay in Rawalpindi?

                         LARRY
          For one thing, it's dangerous. For
          another, the area is too congested
          for us to be effective without some
          predictive intelligence.

                         MAYA
          That's why you should forward deploy -
          so you can shorten your response
          time.

                         LARRY
          Still, it wouldn't work.

                         MAYA
          Why?

                         LARRY
          The guy never stays on the phone
          long enough.

                         MAYA
          You haven't tried.

                         LARRY
          Look, I don't have the personnel.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          60.

                         MAYA
          That's bullshit.

                         LARRY
          As it is, my guys don't get any sleep
          tracking the threats within Pakistan.
          Larry pushes past her to leave, and she follows him.

                         MAYA
          Right, I understand. But I don't
          really care if your guys get sleep
          or not.
          Maya looks at Larry's team sleeping on the couch.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY AMERICAN BAR - LATER

          The conversation continues in the bar, for Maya has not
          relented, although the tone is softer now. She offers Larry
          a beer. He takes it.

                         LARRY
          This guy you're obsessed with, what's
          his name again?

                         MAYA
          Abu Ahmed al Kuwaiti is the nom de
          guerre. His true name, we think, is
          Ibraheem Sayeed. His family lives
          in Kuwait.

                         LARRY
          Wasn't it, like, eight brothers -
          and a million cousins - that we know
          about - anyone could be calling home -

                         MAYA
          I know -

                         LARRY
          - It's not like he's saying, "Hey
          mom, it's me, the terrorist."

                         MAYA
          Over the course of two months, he's
          called home from six different pay
          phones, from two different cities,
          never using the same phone twice.
          And when his mother asked him where
          he was, he lied. He said that he
          was in a place in the country with
          bad cell reception -- implying he
          was in the Tribals -- but he was in

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          61.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          a market in Peshawar. I'm sorry,
          but that's not normal guy behavior.
          That's tradecraft.

                         LARRY
          Maybe he just doesn't like his mom?

                         (PAUSE)
          Look, if he talks about an operation,
          or refers to anything remotely fishy,
          I'll get on him. Okay?

                         MAYA
          No. Not okay. Look, Abu Ahmed is
          too smart to tip his hand by talking
          about ops on the phone: he works for
          bin Laden. The guys that talk about
          ops on the phone don't get that job.
          Larry looks away.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          A lot of my friends have died trying
          to do this.

                         (PAUSE)
          I believe I was spared so I could
          finish the job.
          The girl is a true believer - as pure as they come.
          Larry looks at her. Her sincerity is persuasive. And just
          like that, he decides to help her.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. KOTLI CALL CENTER - RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN

          Hakim walks through a crowded call center. Larry joins him
          from a back entrance. They look around: nothing.

          EXT. RAWAL CALL CENTER - PAKISTAN

          Hakim parks in front of the Rawal Call Center.

          INT. RAWAL CALL CENTER - PAKISTAN - ANOTHER DAY

          The call center is arranged into two rows of cubby-holes,
          each separated by a privacy wall. Hakim searches the place,
          finds nothing.

                         CUT TO:
          CU TV SCREEN: News reports of the attemped NYC bombing.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          62.

          REPORTER (O.S.)
          It is in surveillance video and
          pictures like this of the explosive-
          laden vehicle just moments before it
          was parked, that police hope to find
          the man who wanted so badly last
          night to leave a body count in Times
          Square.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION CUBICLE HALLWAY

          The TV news report continues playing in the bg.
          Bradley is moving as fast down a hallway. Coming towards
          him like a shark from the other end of the hallway: Maya.
          Bradley looks determined not to deal with her right now, and
          lowers his head, but she spreads her arms slightly and
          basically blocks his passage through the hallway

                         MAYA
          I really need to talk to you about
          beefing up our surveillance operation
          on the caller.

                         BRADLEY
          We don't have a surveillance operation
          on the caller.
          (turning to Maya)
          Someone just tried to blow up Times
          Square and you're talking to me about
          some facilitator who some detainee
          seven years ago said might have been
          working with Al Qaeda?
          Maya is practically shaking with zealous rage at her inability
          to bend Bradley to her will.

                         MAYA
          He's the key to bin Laden.

                         BRADLEY
          I don't fucking care about bin Laden.
          I care about the next attack. You're
          going to start working on American
          Al Qaeda cells. Protect the homeland.

                         MAYA
          bin Laden is the one who keeps telling
          them to attack the homeland.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          63.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          If it wasn't for him, Al Qaeda would
          still be focused on overseas targets.
          If you really want to protect the
          homeland, you need to get bin Laden.

                         BRADLEY

                         (ANGRY)
          This guy never met bin Laden.
          This guy is a free lancer working
          off the fucking internet. No one
          has even talked to bin Laden in four
          years: he's out of the game, he may
          well even be dead but you know what
          you're doing? You're chasing a ghost
          while the whole fucking network grows
          all around you!
          For a moment she is silenced by Bradley's reprimand but then
          Maya's obsession speaks for her - and like a woman possessed
          she recklessly goes at him:

                         MAYA
          You just want me to nail some low
          level Mullah-crack-a-dulla so that
          you can check that box on your resume
          that says while you were in Pakistan
          you got a real terrorist. But the
          truth is you don't understand
          Pakistan, and you don't know Al Qaeda.
          Either give me the team I need to
          follow this lead, or the other thing
          you're gonna have on your resume is
          being the first Station Chief to be
          called before a congressional
          committee for subverting the efforts
          to capture or kill bin Laden.

                         BRADLEY
          You're fucking out of your mind.

                         MAYA
          I need four techs in a safe house in
          Rawalpindi and four techs in a safe
          house in Peshawar. Either send them
          out or send me back to DC and explain
          to the Director why you did it.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY AMERICAN BAR - NIGHT

          Maya, despondent, sits at the bar, drinking a beer.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          64.
          Jack approaches.

                         JACK
          Fuck the mom, we got the man himself.
          Jack puts a cell phone down on the counter.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Yesterday your caller bought himself
          a cell phone. And every time his
          phone rings -
          (he taps the cell

                         PHONE)
          - This phone will ring. Did I hook
          you up?
          Maya throws her arms around him.

                         MAYA
          I love you!

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. RAWALPINDI - ROAD - DAY

          Larry drives his team around the narrow streets of Rawalpindi.
          In the backseat, the COMPUTER TECH studies his laptop-like
          tracking device.

          MAYA O.S.
          My guess is that he lives close to
          where he's making the calls, and it
          makes sense he'd be living in
          Rawalpindi because there's an Al
          Jezerra office there.

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - BRIEFING ROOM

          We focus on a MAP of Pakistan on the wall. Maya is indicating
          neighborhoods in Rawalpindi. She's briefing Bradley, Hakim,
          Larry and a few other people.

                         MAYA
          It would be convenient for him to
          drop tapes off if he's sending either
          from bin Laden or from an
          intermediary. When he wants to make
          a call, he leaves the house, walks a
          few blocks, then switches on the
          phone. We need to keep canvassing
          the neighborhood until we find him.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          65.

          EXT. STREETS OF RAWALPINDI / MINIVAN - CONTINUOUS

          Larry is at the wheel, moving slowly through a dangerous
          part of town. The streets narrow.
          Two motorcycles suddenly pull around in front of Larry's van
          and stop. The riders pull out guns.

          INT. MINIVAN - CONTINUOUS


                         LARRY
          We got a shooter!
          Larry tries reversing but a compact car wheels in right behind
          them, and Larry slams on the brakes. The TECH raises an M4.

                         TECH
          We're blocked.

                         HAKIM
          Let me talk to them.

          EXT. STREETS OF RAWALPINDI

          Hakim gets out of the car and walks toward the men. We can't
          hear what they're saying. At last, Hakim comes back to the
          car.

          INT. MINIVAN


                         HAKIM
          They said white faces don't belong
          here. If they don't move, shoot
          them.
          A tense beat while the men stare, then finally leave.

          INT. U.S. EMBASSY - ISLAMABAD - CUBICLE MAZE - DAY

          On a large wall map, Maya circles "Peshawar" in red.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. ROADS/HIGHWAY - PAKISTAN

          Larry's SUV speeds onto a highway, weaving in and out of
          dense traffic.

          SUPERIMPOSE: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

          INT. SUV

          In the backseat, the Computer Tech is getting tossed around,
          trying to hang onto the Geo Locating device in his lap. The
          Geo Locator starts to BEEP - a blinking red light.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          66.

                         COMPUTER TECH
          He's east of us. Try the market.

          EXT./INT. MINIVAN

          The congestion thickens. They slow to a crawl.
          The SUV, stuck in traffic. Can't move.
          Larry leaps out of the car and heads into an open air market -

          EXT. OPEN AIR MARKET - PESHAWAR - CONTINUOUS

          It's packed. All MEN - most with traditional beards worn by
          Al Qaeda members - many talking on cell phones.
          Impossible to tell who is who. Impossible to find this needle
          in a haystack.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. MARKET - LATE AFTERNOON - ANOTHER DAY

          The search continues... Hakim prowls a back alley. Then
          goes up on a rooftop to survey the activity below.

          EXT. STREETS - TIPU ROAD - LATER

          Hakim is on a street corner conducting surveillance. We
          follow him into a crowd and then lose sight...
          We find him again, another street, another fruitless search.
          As Hakim goes from street to street, we hear:

          JACK O.S.
          We got a signal on Tipu Road for ten
          minutes. Then he went to Umar Road
          for five minutes. Nogaza Road.
          Darya Abad. That's in the Umar Road
          area. In Rawalpindi: Haider Road,
          Roomi Road. He went to the Convoy
          Road, which is near the hospital.
          So that's Haider, Roomi Road, Said,
          No Gaza, Taimur. He made a call
          from Haifa Street, that's the spice
          district.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. U.S. EMBASSY - ISLAMABAD - MAYA'S DESK

          Jack and Maya click through the tracking maps on her computer
          screen.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          67.

                         JACK
          Lahore street, which is also in Pesh,
          thirty minutes. Wazir Bag Road,
          five. Nishterabad, five. Phandu
          Road, five minutes, the Grand Trunk
          Road, forty five seconds. There's
          no pattern. Sometimes he calls every
          two weeks - sometimes every three -
          there's no consistency - I can't
          predict when he's gonna make another
          call because the guy's erratic.

                         MAYA
          Do you think its intentional?

                         JACK
          It might be. Maybe it just looks
          erratic to us. I just can't tell.

          INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT - ISLAMABAD

          Wearing a black burkha, Maya walks into her house and sinks
          into the couch. She pulls off the head covering but doesn't
          bother to remove the burkha. She switches on the TV. If
          you didn't know her better, you'd think she'd gone native.

          EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STREET - ISLAMABAD

          Find Maya driving up to a check point mobbed with PROTESTERS
          carrying signs - Joseph Bradley IS A CIA SPY! KILL THE SPY!
          Bradley is CIA, etc.

          REPORTER (O.S.)
          Meanwhile, our chief foreign
          correspondent, Richard Engel, confirms
          the CIA's top spy in Pakistan has
          been pulled out of there.

          INT. MAYA'S CAR

          The PROTESTERS have blocked the embassy check point. It's
          going to take a long time to get through.

          REPORTER (O.S.)
          He's been receiving death threats
          after being named publicly in a
          lawsuit by the family of a victim of
          a U.S. drone attack.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          68.

          EXT. MAYA'S CAR

          Several protesters notice her - they move to her car and
          start banging on it.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE -


                         LATER
          Maya and Bradley and several other STAFFERS watch the protest
          through a window -

          EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STREET

          The CROWD grows larger and more unruly.

          INT. STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE


                         MAYA
          ISI fucked you. I'm so sorry Joseph.
          It's the first time she's addressed him by his first name.
          Startling, to hear kindness in her voice.
          Joseph turns to reply then thinks better of it and walks
          away.

                         CUT TO:

          INT./ EXT LARRY'S MINIVAN - STREETS OF PESHAWAR - MORNING

          Larry's minivan chugs through the crowded markets.

                         TECH
          Still on tower three! Five. Signal
          getting stronger. Ten!
          Larry continues driving straight down the main road.

                         TECH (CONT'D)
          Fifteen. Ten. Signal's getting
          weaker.

                         (PAUSE)
          We lost him - no signal.

                         LARRY
          Heading South.
          The van passes horse-drawn carts, men on cell phones, fruit
          stands. The Tech studies his screen.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          69.

                         TECH
          He's up at five again. Fifteen.
          Twenty.

                         (PAUSE)
          Weaker now, he's shifted. We're
          back to five. I don't get it.

                         LARRY
          He's driving in circles.
          Larry now drives very fast back to the main road.

                         LARRY (CONT'D)
          No change?

                         TECH
          No.

                         MAIN ROAD
          And now Larry stops in the middle of the market.

                         LARRY
          Let's hope he comes back around.
          Beat.

                         TECH
          Twenty. Thirty. Forty! Fifty -
          we're within ten meters of him.
          Larry scans the street - sees a half dozen guys on cell
          phones.

                         TECH (CONT'D)
          He's really close.

                         LARRY
          Look at the cars. He's in a vehicle.
          Larry spots something:

                         LARRY (CONT'D)
          The guy with the phone in the white

          SUV.
          They snap a photograph of a WHITE POTAHAR SUV.

                         LARRY (CONT'D)
          Is that him?

                         TECH
          Could be.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          70.

                         LARRY
          You got him?

                         TECH
          I got him.

                         LARRY
          I'm breaking off -
          The grey minivan pulls away.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY

          Larry's photograph of the WHITE POTAHAR SUV plops on Maya's
          desk.

                         MAYA
          Is this what I think it is?

                         LARRY
          The guy you've been looking for, geo-
          located on his cell phone in his
          white car.

                         MAYA
          Thank you!

                         LARRY
          If you're right, the whole world's
          gonna want in on this, so you gotta
          stick to your guns now.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE

          The new Chief of Station, TIM ALEXANDER, barely looks up
          from his desk as Maya enters.

                         ALEXANDER

                         (INTO PHONE)
          I'm amazed that you're still here.
          (looks at his watch,

                         INTO PHONE)
          When can we grab lunch?
          He sees that Maya, who hovers annoyingly over his desk, isn't
          gonna wait.

                         MAYA
          I need a picket line along the GT
          highway and men spaced at intervals
          along the road and at every exit.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          71.

                         ALEXANDER
          Maya, I know -

                         MAYA
          So you agree with me now. This is
          important?

                         ALEXANDER
          No, I've just learned from my
          predecessor that life is better when
          I don't disagree with you.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. GRAND TRUNK ROAD - PAKISTAN - DAY

          A two lane highway. Tucked on the side of the road is an
          OLD MAN with a cart of mangoes.

          MAYA (V.O.)
          Our current hypothesis is that he
          lives somewhere along the highway,
          in one of the towns, or a medium
          sized city called Abbottabod, or up
          near Kashmir.
          ECU: mango cart. Nestled among the fruit is a BLACK RADIO.

          EXT. FARTHER DOWN GRAND TRUCK ROAD/HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS

          Squatting in the dirt near a bus stop is another OLD MAN,
          watching passengers disembark from a bus.

          MAYA (V.O.)
          Kashmir is interesting because it's
          a way station for the Tribals.
          We stay with the old man for a while.
          At last, the white POTAHAR SUV drives past. He makes a note
          in his pad.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. HIGHWAY - MAJOR EXIT - DAY

          A nut seller, another CIA look out, scoops a handful of nuts
          into a bag for a CUSTOMER as he keeps an eye on CARS exiting
          the highway.
          He takes note as the white POTAHAR passes him.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          72.

          MAYA (V.O.)
          Abbottabod is interesting because we
          know from detainee reporting that
          Faraj stayed there, briefly in 2003.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. PAKISTANI STREET - DAY

          The street is filled with compact cars.

          MAYA (V.O.)
          The good news is he's driving a white
          SUV. SUV's are actually pretty rare
          in Pakistan. If he was driving a
          sedan or a compact, we'd be fucked.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - NIGHT


          MAYA (V.O.)
          Obviously this assumes he doesn't
          change vehicles.
          Maya at her desk working and we realize that she has been
          typing all this in a cable she will email to Washington.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. MAYA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - ISLAMABAD - PRE DAWN

          The building GUARD sees Maya heading out to her car.

                         GUARD
          Good morning.

                         MAYA
          Good morning, Amad.
          Maya gets in her car. The gate opens. As she starts pulling
          out onto the street, suddenly a car drives up in front of
          her and THREE SHOOTERS come out and hammer Maya's Toyota.

          INT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS

          - Bullets spider webbing the glass as Maya slams the car
          into reverse -

          EXT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS

          - Maya's guard starts returning fire, but his aim is terrible.
          - SHOOTERS bear down on Maya, pumping bullets into her armored
          car.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          73.
          The gate closes, saving her, at the last possible moment.

          INT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS

          Maya shakes inside her vehicle.

                         MAYA (PRE-LAP)

                         (PROTESTING)
          Any American in Pakistan is a target,
          they don't necessarily know I'm CIA.

                         CUT TO

          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE - ISLAMABAD -


                         MORNING

                         ALEXANDER
          Doesn't matter. You're on a list.
          Next time there might not be
          bulletproof glass to save you.

                         MAYA
          Yeah.

                         ALEXANDER
          And you, of all people, should know
          that once you are on their list, you
          never get off.

                         (PAUSE)
          We'll keep up on the surveillance,
          as best we can.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD - ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN - DAY

          Hakim paces on a street as the POTAHAR we've been following
          drives past him. Hakim watches the vehicle enter a gated

          COMPOUND.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS PREDATOR BAY - LANGLEY - EVENING

          The Langley Predator Bay is an impressive sight, a command
          center bristling with high-tech equipment. The room is filled
          with TECHNICIANS. George is in the center, where he belongs,
          directing traffic. People come up and give him new pieces
          of information.
          The big screen displays a single image:
          The overhead satellite image of the compound in Abbottabod.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          74.

          SUPERIMPOSE: PREDATOR BAY - CIA HEADQUARTERS
          From the back of the room, Maya enters, and watches the
          activity unfold without her... without her input.
          George notices her, gives a thumbs up and then turns back to
          his troops.
          STEVE, early 40s, a senior manager and one of George's top
          deputies, joins Maya.

                         STEVE
          Basically we had a guy who rolled
          with Al Qaeda and did services for
          them. We lost him for seven years
          and now we found him again -- and
          boy does he have a really nice house.
          Is that it?

                         MAYA
          Pretty much.

                         STEVE
          Okay, let's go talk to the boss.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. LANGLEY BRIEFING ROOM

          Maya and Steve are the first to arrive in the wood panelled
          conference room.
          A detailed TABLE TOP MODEL of the compound sits in the center
          of the conference table, right next to a poster-sized
          satellite image of the compound.
          She starts to sit in one of the chairs.

                         STEVE

                         (GENTLE)
          You should sit back there...sorry.
          Steve points her to the back of the room.

                         STEVE (CONT'D)
          They're gonna ask: if bin Laden is
          at the end of this rainbow - is the
          Pak military with him?

                         MAYA
          The question isn't are the Paks
          protecting bin Laden?'

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          75.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          The question is, 'would he allow
          himself to be protected by the Paks?'
          I mean, why would he trust them? He
          tried to kill Musharaf.
          Steve considers a reply, but the meeting principals are filing
          in, including Daniel, and when Steve sees the CIA DIRECTOR
          enter the room, he clears the head of the table.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          Go ahead.

                         STEVE
          If you take a right out of Islamabad
          and drive about forty-five minutes
          North, you'll find yourself here in
          Abbottabad. A middle class community -
          some ex-military - not particularly
          interesting to us. Except we did
          find this compound, which is unique.
          We got a sixteen foot wall around
          the entire perimeter, the windows
          are blacked out. It's a fortress.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          Can't you put a camera somewhere -
          in the trees - to get a look into
          the main house?

                         GEORGE
          It will probably be discovered.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          We have to get a look into the house.
          The Director moves to the satellite image.

          CIA DIRECTOR (CONT'D)
          Alright, what's this? This cluster
          of buildings down here.

                         GEORGE
          The PMA - The Pakistan Military
          Academy. It's their West Point.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          And how close is that to the house?

                         GEORGE
          About a mile.
          A WOMAN'S voice from the back of the room.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          76.

          MAYA O.S.
          4,221 feet. It's closer to eight-
          tenths of a mile.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          Who are you?

                         MAYA
          I'm the motherfucker that found this
          place, Sir.
          The boss studies her for a moment then turns back to the
          model.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          I want to know more about who's inside
          this house by the end of the week.
          The brass files out, leaving Steve and Maya.

                         STEVE
          "Motherfucker?" Really?

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY

          Maya sits at her desk, frustrated, then walks down the aisle
          of cubicles to the glass wall of George's office. She grabs
          a red marker.

                         MAYA
          (through the glass)
          Morning, George.
          In red magic marker, Maya writes the number 21 on the glass.
          Then circles it.
          George looks up.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          Twenty-one days. It's been twenty-
          one days since we found the house
          and nothing's happened!

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY - NIGHT

          We see a drone-fed overhead IMAGE of the bin Laden house in
          real time with a resolution of 100 feet. Maya stares at the
          screen, trying to decipher the shapes moving beneath her,
          thousands of miles away.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          77.
          The BLIPS move in increments, shadows lengthen.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY

          ECU - Maya erases the "51" on George's wall and replaces it
          with "52."
          George looks away.

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS MAYA'S DESK - LATER

          Maya sits at her desk. Her phone rings.

                         MAYA

                         (INTO PHONE)
          Yeah?

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY

          STEVE stares at drone image of the COMPOUND, which is under
          the joystick control of an IMAGERY TECHNICIAN.

                         STEVE
          Swing by, I want to show you
          something.

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS MAYA'S DESK

          Maya jumps up from her desk.

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY - MOMENTS LATER

          Maya walks in. Steve shows her images on the large monitor.

                         STEVE
          This is from a few minutes ago.
          We've got two males, two females,
          and seven kids.
          Maya points to one of the shapes in the courtyard.

                         MAYA
          Who's that?

                         STEVE
          I'm saying that's Bushra. The
          brother's wife.

                         MAYA
          How do you know the gender?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          78.

                         STEVE
          (points on screen, to
          a thin line)
          This is a clothes-line here, for
          laundry. Men don't mess with the
          wash.
          We watch that shape move away from the clothes-line and back
          to the house.

                         STEVE (CONT'D)
          It takes her about four seconds to
          move from there to the front door.
          So she's on the older side.

                         MAYA
          What's that up there?
          (pointing to the other

                         SHAPES)

                         STEVE
          Those are kids. They're shuffling
          around, sword-fighting or something
          with sticks.

                         (POINTING AGAIN)
          You can see their height relative to
          this - these are cows - so they're
          probably between seven and nine.
          Boys.
          Another FIGURE comes out of the house and moves to the clothes-
          line and grabs some laundry.

                         MAYA
          Your female is moving fast.

                         STEVE
          That's what I wanted to show you.
          (to the Imagery

                         TECHNICIAN)
          Can we pause this please?

                         (TO MAYA)
          That's not the same lady. That's
          female #3.

                         MAYA
          So you found two males, three females?

                         STEVE
          That's correct.
          Maya suddenly gets it.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          79.

                         MAYA
          You're missing a male.

                         STEVE
          Yes we are.

                         MAYA
          Wow.

          INT. WHITE HOUSE - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL S.C.I.F. -


                         CONTINUOUS
          George is on one side of a conference table, on the other
          side is the DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, THE SPECIAL
          ASSISTANT TO THE DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, and the

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR.

                         GEORGE
          If there are three females, there
          ought to be three males. Observant
          Muslim women either live with parents
          or with their husbands. We think
          there's a third family living in the
          house.

          SUPERIMPOSE: SITUATION ROOM - THE WHITE HOUSE

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          So this third male that you've
          identified as possibly being bin
          Laden, do I just give up all hope of
          ever seeing a photograph of him?

                         GEORGE
          Hope? Hope is not a targeting layer.
          You give up your hope right now. We
          scanned for heat signatures, but we
          can't validate if it's a man or a
          woman up there. We found a safe
          house, but we can't get a vantage
          point to fire a telescope over the
          balcony wall.

          EXT. COMPOUND - ABBOTTABAD - MORNING

          A DOCTOR comes to the compound offering immunizations. One
          of the women let's him in, and he offers polio vaccines to
          the children.

                         GEORGE
          We talked about burrowing a pin hole
          camera but there's a high risk of
          discovery.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          80.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          We have explored the possibility of
          digging tunnels, of sending hot air
          balloons, of re-routing supply C-
          130's to take a peek, but that might
          be too alerting. We've looked for
          ways of collecting available DNA
          from his trash - you know, looking
          for his toothbrush, but they burn
          the trash. We started a vaccination
          program, we sent a doctor to the
          house, to see if he could pull blood.
          A lady in a black burkha rushes out and angrily shoos the
          doctor away.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          That didn't work out. We thought
          about sending a guy with a bucket to
          pull a sample from the sewer to
          analyze his fecal matter.

          SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE ADVISOR
          What was wrong with that, exactly?
          He looks up.

                         GEORGE
          What was wrong with that? The sample
          would be too diluted.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          And it's asking too much to get a
          voice confirmation with him on the
          phone?

                         GEORGE
          They don't make telephone calls from
          the compound. We pulled the cell
          tower nearby.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          And I'm also going to give up hope
          that he might ever get in that white
          SUV and drive around a bit and we
          could see him? Don't they get
          groceries.

                         GEORGE
          The unidentified third male does not
          get groceries. He does not leave
          the compound. He does not present
          himself for photographs.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          81.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          When he needs fresh air, he paces
          around beneath a grape arbor, but
          the leaves are so thick they obscure
          our satellite views. This is a
          professional attempt to avoid
          detection - real tradecraft. The
          only people we've seen behave this
          way are other top level Al Qaeda
          operatives.
          The National Security Advisor nods to his Special Assistant
          who slides a big folder across his desk to George.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          We did a Red Team on your analysis.
          According to them, this behavior
          could belong to someone other than
          Al Qaeda.

          DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          They did give a forty percent chance
          that the unidentified third man is a
          senior Al Qaeda operative. But they
          also said there's a thirty-five
          percent chance he's a Saudi drug

                         DEALER
          (reading from the

                         BINDER)
          A fifteen percent chance that he's a
          Kuwaiti arms smuggler, a ten percent
          chance that he's one of the relatives
          of the brothers.

          SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE ADVISOR
          Basically, we agree with you, the
          house screams security, it screams
          someone who wants privacy, it even
          screams 'bad guy', but it does not
          scream bin Laden.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          You get the point.

                         (BEAT)
          If you can't prove it's bin Laden,
          at least prove it's not somebody
          else, like a drug dealer.
          Beat.
          The meeting is adjourned.
          As they walk out --

                         

                         

                         

                         

          82.

                         GEORGE
          You know we lost our ability to prove
          that when we lost the detainee
          program.

                         (BEAT)
          Who the hell am I supposed to ask?
          Some guy in Gitmo who is all lawyered
          up? He'll just tell his lawyer to
          warn bin Laden.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          You'll think of something.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY

          Maya is back at George's office, keeping track of time for
          us by writing each passing day on the window of George's
          office.
          We watch as she erases the numbers in red and writes new
          ones. 78.
          Time passes.

          98. 99. 100.
          100 days. She underscores the numerals in thick magic marker.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. WHITE HOUSE - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL S.C.I.F. - DAY

          The same group around the same conference table.

                         GEORGE
          He'd be the first successful drug
          dealer never to have dealt drugs.
          He has no internet access to the
          house. He makes no phone calls either
          in or out. Who's he selling to,
          who's he buying from, how's he making
          his money? And if you're going to
          say he's retired, I'd say where's
          his swimming pool, where's the gold
          cage with the falcons? And why does
          he send his courier to the two cities
          in Pakistan we most associate with
          Al Qaeda, that have nothing
          particularly to do with heroin
          production?
          The National Security Advisor taps his pencil impatiently.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          83.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          The President is a thoughtful,
          analytical guy. He needs proof.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY

          The National Security Advisor and his team file out. George
          approaches.

                         GEORGE
          I have to admit, I just don't get
          the rhythms of politics.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          You think this is political? If
          this was political we'd be having
          this conversation in October when
          there's an election bump. This is
          pure risk. Based on deductive
          reasoning, inference, supposition
          and the only human reporting you
          have is six years old, from detainees
          who are questioned under duress.
          The political move here is to tell
          you to go fuck yourself, and remind
          you that I was in the room when your
          old boss pitched WMD Iraq...at least
          there you guys brought photographs.

                         GEORGE
          You know, you're right, I agree with
          everything you just said. What I
          meant was, a man in your position,
          how do you evaluate the risk of not
          doing something, the risk of
          potentially letting bin Laden slip
          through your fingers?
          George shakes his head with an "aww shucks" kind of shake.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          That is a fascinating question.
          George walks away. After a beat, the National Security
          advisor calls after him.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
          Hey.
          George turns around. The National Security Advisor approaches
          him.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          84.

          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR (CONT'D)
          (lowering his voice)
          I'm not saying we're gonna do it.
          But the President wants to know: if
          we were going to act, how would we
          do it? Give us options.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. AIR FORCE BASE - AIRPLANE HANGAR - DAY


          SUPERIMPOSE: AREA 51 - SOUTHERN NEVADA
          Doors of a HANGAR open in front of a large crowd that includes
          several White House guys, a General, and a squadron of Navy
          SEALs, including PATRICK, JUSTIN, JARED, SABER, TWO SOAR
          PILOTS, and some members of the Af-Pak department, George,
          Daniel, Hakim, and of course, Maya. The doors grind open to
          reveal: TWO STEALTH BLACKHAWKS

                         GENERAL
          I actually tried to kill this program
          a couple of times. They've gone
          through an initial round of testing,
          and they have excellent radar defeat -
          we just haven't tested them with
          people in them yet.
          The General continues his briefing..

                         GENERAL (CONT'D)
          You'll notice these stealth panels
          similar to what we use on the B2 -
          (pointing to the rotors)
          - The rotors have been muffled with
          decibel killers - it's slower than a
          Blackhawk and lacks the offense.
          But it can hide.

                         JUSTIN
          Excuse me. Can I ask a question?
          What do we need this for in Libya?
          Gaddafi's anti-air is virtually non-
          existent.
          Maya looks over, not sure what to say.

                         GEORGE
          Gentlemen, can I have your attention?
          My name is George. I run the Af-Pak
          division at CTC, and I'm primary on
          this for the agency. This is a title
          fifty operation.

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          85.

                         GEORGE (CONT'D)
          Some of us have worked together
          before. This is a good one. Maya,
          do you want to brief them?
          Maya looks at the SEALs. Folds her arms. This isn't going
          to be easy.

                         MAYA
          There are two narratives about the
          location of Osama bin Laden.
          This registers on the SEALs.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          The one that you're most familiar
          with is that UBL is hiding in a cave
          in the Tribal Areas, that he's
          surrounded by a large contingent of
          loyal fighters.
          Beat.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          But that narrative is pre- 9/11
          understanding of UBL.
          The second narrative is that he's
          living in a city - living in a city
          with multiple points of egress and
          entries and with access to
          communications so that he can keep
          in touch with the organization. You
          can't run a global network of inter-
          connected cells from a cave.
          Beat.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          We've located an individual we believe
          based on detainee reporting is bin
          Laden's courier. He's living in a
          house in Abbottabod, Pakistan. And
          we assess that one of the other
          occupants of the house is UBL.

                         JUSTIN
          Excuse me. You got an intel source
          on the ground?

                         MAYA
          No.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          86.

                         JUSTIN
          No? Okay, so how do you know it's
          bin Laden? We've been on this op
          before, you know.

                         MAYA
          Bin Laden uses a courier to interact
          with the outside world. By locating
          the courier, we've located bin Laden.

                         PATRICK
          That's really the intel? That's it?

                         MAYA
          Quite frankly, I didn't even want to
          use you guys, with your dip and your
          velcro and all your gear bullshit.
          I wanted to drop a bomb but people
          didn't believe in this lead enough
          to drop a bomb, so they're using you
          guys as canaries on the theory that
          if bin Laden isn't there, you can
          sneak away and no one will be the
          wiser.

                         (BEAT)
          But bin Laden is there - and you're
          going to kill him for me.

                         PATRICK

                         (SOFTENING)
          Bullets are cheap.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - GEORGE'S OFFICE - DAY

          George is shaking his head as he talks to Wolf.

                         GEORGE
          They are nervous downtown. I don't
          think we'll get approval this decision
          cycle.
          They look up and notice that Maya is standing outside George's
          office staring at them through the glass.
          She angrily wipes the number 128 off the window and changes
          it to 129.
          Wolf nods.

                         WOLF
          It's her against the world.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          87.

                         GEORGE
          Oh yeah.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - CAFETERIA - DAY

          George is pulling his tray away from the food service court
          when Maya ambushes him.

                         MAYA
          We've spun up the SEALs - we've done
          everything humanly possible to collect
          on the compound, and the collection
          is not going to get any better.

                         GEORGE
          We have to keep working it.

                         MAYA
          You're going to come into work one
          day, and there's going to be a black
          moving van and a 'for sale' sign in
          front of that compound.
          George drops his tray down.

                         GEORGE
          Maya, you didn't prove it.

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - 7TH FLOOR - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

          Sitting around the table are the CIA Director, JEREMY, Wolf,
          the DEPUTY DIRECTOR, George, Daniel, Steve and a few other
          people we don't know. At the far end of the table are back
          benchers, including Maya.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          I'm about to go look the President
          in the eye and what I'd like to know,
          no fucking bullshit, is where everyone
          stands on this thing. Now, very
          simply. Is he there or is he not
          fucking there?
          He looks to the Deputy Director.

                         DEPUTY DIRECTOR
          We all come at this through the filter
          of our own past experiences. I
          remember Iraq WMD very clearly, I
          fronted that and I can tell you the
          case for that was much stronger than
          this case.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          88.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          Yes or no.

                         DEPUTY DIRECTOR
          We don't deal in certainty, we deal
          in probability. I'd say there's a
          sixty percent probability he's there.
          The CIA Director points to Wolf.

                         WOLF
          I concur. Sixty percent.

                         GEORGE
          I'm at eighty percent. Their OPSEC
          is what convinces me.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          You guys ever agree on anything?

                         DANIEL
          Well, I agree with sixty, we're basing
          this mostly on detainee reporting
          and I spent a bunch of time in those
          rooms - who knows?
          Maya shoots Daniel a look. What a traitor.

                         DANIEL (CONT'D)
          I'd say it's a soft sixty, sir. I'm
          virtually certain there's some high
          value target there, I'm just not
          sure it's bin Laden.
          The CIA Director leans back in his chair.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          This is a cluster-fuck, isn't it?

                         JEREMY
          I'd like to know what Maya thinks.

                         DEPUTY DIRECTOR
          We're all incorporating her assessment
          into ours.
          Maya can't take it anymore:

                         MAYA
          One hundred percent, he's there -
          okay, fine, ninety-five percent
          because I know certainty freaks you
          guys out - but it's a hundred!

                         

                         

                         

                         

          89.

          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - 7TH FLOOR - HALLWAY

          The CIA Director walks with Jeremy towards the elevator.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          They're all cowed. What do you think
          of the girl?

                         JEREMY
          I think she's fucking smart.
          As the door closes.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          We're all smart, Jeremy.

          INT. LANGELY CAFETERIA

          Maya is eating lunch by herself when she's startled to see
          the CIA Director standing by her table.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          May I join you?
          She nods, gulps.

          CIA DIRECTOR (CONT'D)

                         (SITTING)
          How long have you worked for the

          CIA?

                         MAYA
          Twelve years. I was recruited out
          of high school.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          Do you know why we did that?

                         MAYA
          I don't think I can answer that
          question, sir. I don't think I'm
          allowed to answer.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          What else have you done for us besides
          bin Laden?

                         MAYA
          Nothing. I've done nothing else.
          He evaluates her... weighing her certainty against his decades
          of Washington experience.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          90.

                         CIA DIRECTOR
          Well, you certainly have a flare for
          it.

          FADE TO BLACK:

          SUPERIMPOSE: THE CANARIES

          EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - AFGHANISTAN - DAY

          Jalalabad Airfield: nestled against the rugged mountains of
          the Pakistan border.

          SUPERIMPOSE: FORWARD OPERATING BASE - JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN -

          MAY 1, 2011
          Everything in motion, SOLDIERS, CONTRACTORS, AVIATION ASSETS,
          PATROLS coming and going.

          EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - AFTERNOON

          Patrick and Justin are playing horseshoes. Maya, happy for
          the first time since we've met her, watches them

                         JUSTIN
          So, Patrick, be honest with me. You
          really believe this story?

                         (TO MAYA)
          No offense.

                         PATRICK
          I do.

                         JUSTIN
          What part convinced you?
          Patrick motions to Maya.

                         PATRICK
          Her confidence.
          Maya smiles, laughs.

                         JUSTIN
          Really? Okay. That's the kind of
          concrete data point I'm looking for.
          He shakes his head.

                         JUSTIN (CONT'D)
          If her confidence is the one thing
          that's keeping me from getting ass-
          raped in a Pakistani prison...I don't
          know. I'm gonna be honest with you
          though, I guess I'm cool with it.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          91.
          They bump fists, laughing. Maya's cell phone rings. She
          moves aside to answer it.
          We INTERCUT with George in his Langley office.

                         GEORGE
          Maya, I wanted you to hear it first.
          You know that thing we talked about?
          It's going to happen.

                         MAYA
          When?

                         GEORGE
          Tonight. Good luck.
          She hangs up, turns back to the SEALs, who are still playing
          horseshoes with the grace of young guys in their prime.
          Their lives are in her hands.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING


          BASE - DAY
          The small space is filled with personnel and
          telecommunications gear. At the back of the room Maya sits
          quietly, adjusting a headset and speaking calmly into a secure
          line. From the corner Hakim watches her.

                         MAYA
          Testing - testing 1 - 2 - 3 -
          A SEAL with his com set on gives her the thumbs up. She
          looks around at all the impressive technology in the makeshift
          Command Center. She walks over to Hakim and they leave
          together.

          EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - DUSK


                         MAYA
          Thank you for coming with me.

                         HAKIM
          Of course. I'll go with you where
          ever you want.
          A few hundred feet in front of them they can see SEALs
          preparing their gear.

                         MAYA
          Fuck Hakim, what if I'm wrong?

                         (MORE)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          92.

                         MAYA (CONT'D)
          I wish we could have just dropped a
          bomb.

                         HAKIM
          Please don't drop it while we're in
          the house.

                         MAYA
          I'm serious.

                         HAKIM
          Me too. Don't drop anything while
          I'm inside.
          Off her anxious smile --

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. FORWARD OPERATING BASE JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - OUTER


          LZ - NIGHT
          Blinding white lights - rigged to chain link fencing, like a
          space shuttle launch -
          Silhouetted shapes behind the lights and the thump-thump-
          thump SOUND of high-dollar helicopters -
          Now push through the glare and the fence into -

          EXT. FORWARD OPERATING BASE JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - INNER


                         LZ
          A top-secret LZ.
          Where twenty-two SEALs in full battle rattle and an attack
          DOG load into TWO STEALTH BLACKHAWK helicopters
          Moving fast, wordlessly, loading weapons and gear - under
          the intense bright white light, then -
          - Doors slam, engines whine -
          Fifty yards away, Maya stands alone, looking on.
          - And the HELOS rise above the lights and disappear into the
          night.

          INT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER - PRINCE 52 - PILOT'S CABIN

          Hands feather the controls as the pilot -- one the famed
          Nightstalker's from the Special Operations Aviation Regiment
          (SOAR) 160th -- flies without lights, using only his NODs
          for night vision.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          93.

          EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTERS PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52

          Flying in formation, barely visible in the moonless sky, no
          flying lights.
          The helos near the Tora Bora mountain range: dimly visible
          bulks rising in front of the helos.

          INT. PRINCE 51 - CABIN

          The SEALs gently bounce inside the bellies of the churning
          beasts.

                         PRINCE 51 PILOT
          Thirty seconds to first turn.

                         JARED
          Hey Justin, what are you listening
          to?

                         JUSTIN
          Tony Robbins.

                         JARED
          Tony Robbins?

                         JUSTIN
          You should listen to it. I got plans
          for after this. I want to talk to
          you guys about it. It's not selling.
          You become a representative.
          Everyone chuckles.

                         PRINCE 51 CO-PILOT
          Hard left.

          EXT. PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 - FLYING IN FORMATION

          The stealths take a sharp turn. Skimming the mountain.

                         PATRICK
          Who here's been in a helo crash
          before?
          Everyone raises their hands.

                         PATRICK (CONT'D)
          Okay, so we're all good.

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          94.

          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING


          BASE - EVENING
          Technicians track the helos on an array of computer screens.

                         PRINCE 52 PILOT

                         (OVER RADIO)
          Now entering Pakistan.
          Maya is here, too, working. She's always working.

                         MAYA

                         (INTO HEADSET)
          Pakistani coms, no chatter.

          EXT. TORA BORA MOUNTAINS - LATER

          Find the HELICOPTERS navigating tight mountain passes. NOTE:
          Throughout the flying sequence that follows the helicopters
          fly very close to the ground, with a margin of error less
          then twenty feet.

                         CUT TO:

                         PILOT POV:
          The terrain zooms by as we travel through a twisty mountain

                         PASS -
          - Looming straight ahead on a collision course is a GIANT
          MOUNTAIN. They zoom closer. We can see individual rocks now -

          INT. PRINCE 51


                         PRINCE 51 PILOT

                         (INTO RADIO)
          Big left!

          EXT. TORA BORA MOUNTAINS

          Seconds before impact, the HELICOPTERS bank into a hard left
          turn.
          DUST blows off the mountain.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. PRINCE 51 - LATER

          The dog PANTS - sitting in its handler's lap in the dim cabin -

                         PILOT
          Ten minutes.

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          95.

          INT. PRINCE 51 - LATER


                         PILOT
          Three mikes to target. Standby for
          doors open.
          Inside the dim interior, illuminated by only blinking
          instrumentation, the men are tense, quiet.
          We pass slowly from face to face, noting each SEAL's
          contemplation of the mission that lies ahead.
          Some of them are anonymous soldiers. Many we've come to
          know: Justin, joyfully bobbing his head, grooving to his
          iPod... Saber's eyes fixed on a thousand-yard stare... Hakim
          struggles to get comfortable and control his anxiety, wipes
          away sweat... Patrick checks his gear for the hundredth time.

                         CO-PILOT
          Two minutes.

          EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWKS - PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 -

          Outside: Darkness....just a THUMP THUMP THUMP...
          And then we see them: flying in tight formation, the oddly
          rectangular helos, with their black stealth panels and sharp
          edges, like two alien spaceships advancing.

          INT. EXT STEALTH BLACKHAWK - NIGHT


                         PILOT

                         (OVER INTERCOM)
          Should be coming up just off our
          nose, 3 o'clock.
          Everyone grabs onto their gear, getting ready to fast rope.

                         DOOR
          Patrick flings open the side door. Night wind rushes in -

          EXT. ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN - NIGHT

          Small cottages mixed in with larger suburban homes. Among
          them, swimming pools. The water shimmering. Surreal. Then:
          rows of green fields. A stand of trees.
          It appears: AC 1. It is massive - six or seven times larger
          than any other nearby structure - with sixteen foot high
          walls and a gated interior. A fortress.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          96.

          INT. PRINCE 51 - CONTINUOUS


                         PILOT
          Thirty seconds.
          Patrick leans out for a visual as the wind rips his face -

          EXT. PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52

          The helos circle the COMPOUND, kicking up dust, and begin to
          descend.

          INT./EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER PRINCE 51 - NIGHT

          Cross cutting all that follows:
          - At thirty feet above the ground the helicopter begins to
          shudder and lose stability. Instead of descending in a
          straight path, the bird drifts sideways

                         PATRICK
          (shouting to pilot)
          Hey! Slide right.
          - Then lurches down, falling to within 15 feet of the swirling
          ground, rotors churning the dust, creating near BROWNOUT
          conditions, a dust hurricane

          INT. PRINCE 51

          CU: Pilot finessing the controls - not good enough

                         PRINCE 51 PILOT
          Power!

          EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT

          ECU: rear rotor blades edging closer to the wall, inch by
          inch.
          -- Engines straining LOUDLY in the thin, hot air
          -- The bird loses control, SPINS to a hard landing

          INT. PRINCE 51

          ECU: Pilot thrusts stick

          EXT. COMPOUND

          -- TAIL crashes hard on the WALL, in a awful screech of
          twisting metal and sheared concrete -

                         

                         

                         

                         

          97.

          INT. PRINCE 51

          -- Tossing the men inside the helo around like rag dolls.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING


          BASE - EVENING
          The command tent watches the helicopter crash.

          PRINCE 52 PILOT (O.S.)
          Prince 51 is down. Blackhawk down
          in the animal pen.
          Maya stands, crestfallen.

          EXT. HELO CRASH

          The dust settles to reveal...a twisted wreck.
          PRINCE 51 has crash landed into a precarious position, with
          the back half of the helicopter wedged into the top of the
          wall and the front of it in the ground, leaving the passengers
          inside suspended more then ten feet off the ground.

          INT./EXT. PRINCE 51

          Although he's wearing a heavy pack and carrying gear, Patrick
          jumps down, landing with a knee-shattering combat roll.
          Several SEALs follow him.

          EXT. INNER COURTYARD

          Patrick pulls out of his roll and turns around to face the
          house, looming ominously ahead of him.

          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING


          BASE - EVENING

                         PRINCE 52 PILOT

                         (OVER RADIO)
          This mission is still a go.
          Off Maya's relief -

          INT./EXT. PRINCE 52 - CONTINUOUS

          The second helo passes over but a storm of debris and garbage
          from the rooftop creates another flight risk and the helo
          banks away.

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          98.

          EXT. COMPOUND - FIRST GATE

          Patrick, Justin and SIX other SEALs cluster near the First
          Gate in the animal pen. One of the SEALs places a charge on
          the gate, while others check the Prayer Room.
          Boom! The charge partially blows open the metal swing doors
          of the gate, leaving a very narrow gap. Not ideal. The
          SEALs muscle and squeeze their way through the narrow opening
          in the jagged metal as the SNIPER climbs up on the roof of
          the prayer room.

          EXT. GUEST HOUSE - NIGHT

          Patrick and Jared arrive at the guest house but can't see
          inside - the windows and doors are covered with sheets.
          Patrick kneels down to place a charge at the front door handle
          when the door erupts with gunfire
          - Bullets fly out of the wooden door. One skims Patrick's
          shoulder as he kneels lower. Patrick fires back at the house,
          putting a dozen rounds inside.
          A moment passes. They wait for a response. The door handle
          unlocks. ABU AHMED'S WIFE appears at the doorway and walks
          out.

                         JARED
          Ir-fah ee-dek!

          ABU AHMED'S WIFE

                         (IN ENGLISH)
          You killed him.

          INT. GUEST HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

          The SEALs peer inside and see ABU AHMED lying dead in a
          pool of blood. Patrick and Jared pump safety rounds into
          the body.
          FOUR KIDS are cowering in the corner. Jared moves them out
          of the house.

          EXT. COMPOUND - DIEGO CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

          The rest of the P51 SEALS breach a gate to the courtyard of
          the Main House. The gate flies open in a fiery ball.

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          99.

          EXT. COMPOUND WALLS OUTSIDE MAIN GATE - CONTINUOUS

          SEALs jump out of P52, rush to the outer wall and set
          breaching charges on a gate... While Hakim, the DOG HANDLER,
          and another SEAL peel off down the block
          Saber and his team stand by as BOOM!!!, The gate charges go
          off...only to reveal a BRICK WALL behind the gate.

                         SABER
          That's not a door.

                         SEAL
          Failed breach.
          They hustle to the next entry way and prepare another breach

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. MAIN HOUSE - COURTYARD

          The COMMANDING OFFICER hears that the SEALs outside are
          preparing a charge. SEAL MIKE radios in

          SEAL MIKE (O.S.)

                         (INTO RADIO)
          This is Echo 11, we're going to breach
          the main gate.

                         COMMANDING OFFICER

                         (INTO RADIO)
          Negative. I'm internal, I'll let
          you in.
          The Commanding Officer opens the gate and the other SEALs
          walk inside. As a group, they move towards the main house,
          arriving at the South side front door. The door is open and
          they enter -

          INT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR - CONTINUOUS

          Piercing the first floor darkness with their infra red lights,
          the SEALs advance slowly into the first floor hallway.
          Piles of household clutter, stacked high in bizarre shapes,
          greet them like the innards of a haunted house. One of the
          SEAL's catches movement: A figure with an AK-47 scrambling
          through clutter, then disappearing around a corner.

                         JUSTIN
          Abrar!
          The figure, Abu Ahmed's brother, ABRAR, re-appears at the
          end of the hallway. He pokes his head out -

                         

                         

                         

                         

          100.
          - And is shot by Justin. He falls out of view, whimpering
          in pain.

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

          Justin walks quickly to Abrar.

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR SIDE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

          ABRAR is down, bleeding.
          - Justin fires another round into Abrar as ABRAR'S WIFE comes
          flying in from the sleeping quarters and shields him with
          her body.
          - Justin shoots her. She falls...Abrar is underneath her -
          he is still breathing, gasping and
          - Justin shoots him again, silencing him
          - Then looks to his wife and assesses her condition
          - Badly wounded, faint breathing, life fading from her eyes...
          - Justin turns away

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

          Justin and a BREACHER proceed down the hall to the heavy
          gate that blocks access to the stairway while another SEAL
          stays behind. Somewhere, children are screaming.

                         JUSTIN
          Shut those fucking kids up.
          O.S. the kids quiet down.

                         JUSTIN (CONT'D)
          Talk to me.

                         BREACHER
          There's no fucking way we want to
          blow this thing. The gate is solid.

          MIKE (O.S.)

                         (OVER RADIO)
          This is Echo 11 - we're at our primary
          set point, prepping to breach.

                         JUSTIN

                         (INTO RADIO)
          Wait, Echo 11 - we're internal on
          the south side - this is a negative
          breach.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          101.

                         MIKE

                         (OVER RADIO)
          Roger. We're ready to make our entry
          out here.

                         JUSTIN

                         (INTO RADIO)
          Roger that, we're coming to meet
          you.
          (to the Breacher)
          Stay with these kids. Don't let
          them in the back room.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. MAIN HOUSE - A MOMENT LATER

          In the regrouping that occurs on the side of the main house,
          Justin and Patrick find themselves side by side - and the
          old friends take a moment to reconnect while the rest of the
          team places charges and prepares for the next phase of the
          assault.

                         PATRICK

                         (QUIETLY)
          You good?

                         JUSTIN
          Yeah. I forgot...were we supposed
          to crash that helo?
          Patrick allows himself a smile.

                         PATRICK
          Ibrahim tried to shoot me through
          the door. I popped him from the
          outside.

                         JUSTIN
          I fucking smoked Abrar and his wife.

                         (SHIFTING TONE)
          (alt: I think she was

                         PREGNANT)

                         PATRICK
          Still alive?

                         JUSTIN
          She's gonna bleed out.

                         PATRICK
          What a fuckin' mess -
          The door blows - and they keep moving -

                         

                         

                         

                         

          102.

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

          The SEALs reach the staircase, which is sealed off by a
          separate metal gate than the one inside the hallway.

                         SEAL
          Breacher up.
          A charge is prepared. Justin, who is now inside one of the
          side rooms, sees Jared standing close to the door.

                         JUSTIN
          Hey man, move!
          Jared moves just as -

          EXT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

          - Boooom!
          -- The door FLIES like a missile right into where Jared had
          been standing.

                         JARED

                         (TO JUSTIN)
          Thanks.

                         JUSTIN
          Yeah.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - STAIRCASE TO SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS

          Saber goes up the staircase, Patrick following closely behind
          him, climbing up to see -

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS

          A man ducks out of sight. Saber calls to him.

                         SABER
          Khaled!
          Saber waits with his carbine raised. Anxiety crosses his
          face. He's vulnerable here, an easy target if Khaled were
          to come out blasting.

                         SABER (CONT'D)

          KHALED!

                         CUT TO:

                         

                         

                         

                         

          103.

          INT. SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY

          Khaled hears his name being called from below. A few feet
          away from him in the dimly lit hall is a loaded AK-47. He
          goes to the gun and picks it up.
          He hears his name again, "Khaled!" And the voice sounds
          friendly, urgent.
          Perhaps thinking that he can surrender peacefully, Khaled
          puts the gun down, resting it against a wall, and turns and
          heads back to the sound of his name.
          Saber sees Khaled poke his head around the corner of the
          stairway and fires - killing him instantly.
          Saber pushes past the body, Patrick following, and they climb
          the staircase leading to the third floor.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. COMPOUND - STREET

          The neighborhood, awakened by the crash and gunfire, stirs
          to life. Hakim and the SEALs notice LIGHTS flipping on.
          And down the block, a group of several young men appear on a
          roof.

                         SEAL
          (raising his weapon)
          This is Echo 05, I've got unknowns
          gathering on the Southwest Rooftops.
          Hakim, move those guys back.

                         HAKIM
          (speaking in Pashto)
          Go back brothers, this is official
          government business, and there is
          nothing to see here!!

                         SEAL
          I'm going to start wasting them.

                         HAKIM
          Please! They will kill you!
          The onlookers pause. SEAL aiming lasers dance across their
          chests.

                         HAKIM (CONT'D)
          They will kill you!
          They turn and go.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          104.

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - HALLWAY

          - SEALs clear the SECOND floor as women and children flow
          into the hallway... A SEAL grabs one of the wives and pulls
          her out into the hallway, while another female disappears
          behind a large REFRIGERATOR, and he grabs her too.

          INT. MEDIA ROOM - SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS

          Justin opens a file cabinet, stuffed with documents.

          INT. MAIN HOUSE SECOND TO THIRD FLOOR STAIRWAY

          Saber is climbing the stairs, gun up, towards the third floor,
          when he sees a flash of movement across the landing above
          him. He stops climbing and -

                         SABER

                         (CALLING OUT)
          Osama! Osama!?
          Beat.
          Beat.
          Sweat on Saber's face

                         SABER (CONT'D)
          Osama!?
          A man appears at the end of the third floor hallway.
          -- Ssssht ! a bullet strikes him in the head - knocking him
          back into a bedroom
          - Saber fires again, missing
          - And proceeds down the hallway, going full speed now,
          Patrick right behind him, sprinting into the bedroom

          INT. MAIN HOUSE OSAMA'S LIVING QUARTERS

          Two women stand at the entrance of the room. Saber rushes
          them and with a football tackle, slams them into the wall.
          Patrick enters the room and fires several rounds into the
          man on the floor.

                         PATRICK

                         (INTO RADIO)
          Possible jackpot.
          The women Saber is restraining are wailing, struggling to
          get to their husband, as a ten year-old boy rushes up to the
          body.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          105.
          Patrick pushes him away and kneels down to get a better look
          at the body.

                         PATRICK (CONT'D)

                         (TO SABER)
          Dude, do you realize what you just
          did?

                         CUT TO:

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - THIRD FLOOR ROOM - HALLWAY

          JARED questions the wives.

                         JARED

                         (IN ARABIC)
          Who is he?

                         WOMAN
          He is al Noori Hasan.

                         JARED
          (shouting back to

                         PATRICK)
          She says it's not him.

                         PATRICK
          Talk to a kid.
          Jared kneels down next to a nine year-old girl huddled in
          the corner and snaps open a chem light. He gives her the
          glowing green wand.

                         JARED

                         (IN ARABIC)
          Daughter, what is his name?
          The girl makes no reply.

                          CUT TO:

          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING


          BASE - EVENING

          COMMANDING OFFICER (O.S.)
          (through the radio)
          For God and Country, Geronimo.
          Maya gasps.

          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

          The Commanding Officer issues orders.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          106.

                         COMMANDING OFFICER

                         (INTO RADIO)
          All Stations: target secure, target
          secure.

          INT. THIRD FLOOR - MASTER BEDROOM


                         PATRICK

                         (INTO RADIO)
          Roger. Copy. Target Secure.

          COMMANDING OFFICER (O.S.)
          Target Secure - commence SSE.

          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM

          Justin flicks on the lights. Moving fast he picks up a
          COMPUTER tower and throws it to the floor, cracking it open,
          rips out the HARD DRIVE and tosses that into the bag.
          As we pull back and realize the enormity of the task in front
          of him -
          The lights show an organized office, crammed with information,
          stacks of files, disks, video equipment.
          Twenty years of jihad.

                         JUSTIN
          (to his team)
          Do not leave a hard drive.
          The SEALs gather everything they can.

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - THIRD TO SECOND FLOOR STAIRWAY

          Saber walks down the staircase in a daze. We stay with him
          as he descends, noting the faraway look in his eyes -

          INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM

          Saber walks into the office where the SSE (Sensitive Sight
          Exploitation) is underway.

                         JUSTIN

                         (TO SABER)
          What's up?

                         SABER
          I shot the third floor guy.

                         JUSTIN
          Good for you. You want to help?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          107.
          Justin tosses him an SSE bag.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING


          BASE - EVENING
          The command team studies their monitors.

          PRINCE 52 PILOT O.S.

                         (OVER RADIO)
          QRF inbound.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR

          The COMMANDING OFFICER is talking on two radios at once -
          one to his men, the other to brass back at Jalalabad base.

                         COMMANDING OFFICER

                         (INTO RADIO)
          Echo 05, this is Red 02, how long do
          you need for SSE?

          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM


                         JUSTIN

                         (INTO RADIO)
          At least ten minutes.

          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR


                         COMMANDING OFFICER

                         (INTO RADIO)
          You have four.

          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM


                         JUSTIN

                         (INTO RADIO)
          This is a gold mine, I need more
          time than that.

          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR


                         COMMANDING OFFICER

                         (INTO RADIO)
          If you're not at the LZ in four, I'm
          going to leave your ass behind.

          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM

          Justin yells to his team.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          108.

                         JUSTIN
          Four minutes!

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. HELO CRASH

          Hakim arrives at the crashed helo. He crawls into the
          interior and finds a BLACK BODY BAG. We follow this bag:

          INT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR

          Hakim jogs into the main house with the BODY BAG, and through
          his POV, we see slow down for the first time since the raid
          began, noting the destruction:
          - blood stains on the walls,
          - Bodies pierced with bullets,
          - Wailing children.

                         HAKIM

                         (INTO COMS)
          Where do you need the bag?

          SEAL (O.S.)
          Third floor.

                         CUT TO:

          INT. THIRD FLOOR - MASTER BEDROOM

          SEALs roll the body into the BAG as Patrick and another SEAL
          collect articles of interest. Two SEALs zip up the bag and
          carry it out. Just as...

          INT. MEDIA ROOM - SECOND FLOOR

          Justin's team leaves the office.

          EXT. MAIN COURTYARD - A MOMENT LATER

          The body bag is laid in the courtyard.

          EXT. HELO CRASH - CONTINUOUS

          The EOD SEAL slides into the belly of Prince 51. While he
          places charges, another SEAL climbs up to affix charges to
          the roof and rotors ...and like a tight roper, he walks out
          on the tail of the helicopter, when suddenly his foot slips,
          piercing the tail's thin skin, and he nearly falls off.
          He manages to place a last charge - but the remainder of the
          tail piece will not be detonated.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          109.

          EXT. COMPOUND - POTATO FIELD

          Back at the whirling helicopter, the SEALs shove the BODY
          BAG into the interior compartment and jump in after it.
          The helo rises into the night.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. HELO CRASH - CONTINUOUS

          PRINCE 51 explodes, sending shrapnel and a fireball high
          into the air

          EXT./INT PRINCE 52 - CONTINUOUS

          The SEALs watch the flames as the compound shrinks beneath

                         THEM

          EXT. COMPOUND - ANIMAL PEN - CONTINUOUS

          The fire of the exploded crashed helo blazes in the night.

          INT. PRINCE 52 - A MOMENT LATER

          The SEALs sit silent in the cabin, body bag at their feet.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. LANDING ZONE - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - LATER

          Bathed in the bright white lights, Maya waits for the helo.
          Concern on her face.
          At last, she hears it.
          A moment later, PRINCE 52 hovers into view and lands. Patrick
          and several SEALs run out, carrying the bag...

          INT. HANGAR

          The place is swarming with SOLDIERS, SEALs, and FBI agents
          with large bio-metric scanners - loud shouting everywhere:
          "mark media, first floor, who has a pen, etc."

          EXT. LANDING ZONE

          Maya makes her way towards the hangar tent.

          INT. HANGAR

          She pushes through the busy SEALs.
          Maya sees it now - way in the corner of the hangar.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          110.
          She walks and walks towards the bag.
          She is alone with it now.
          She unzips the BAG
          CU: Maya.
          Seven years telescoping to this moment. The end of a journey.
          She stares at the body for a moment then turns to look across
          the room where ADMIRAL MCRAVEN meets her eye.
          She nods.

                         ADMIRAL MCRAVEN

                         (INTO PHONE)
          Sir, the agency expert gave a visual
          confirmation. Yes, Sir, the girl.
          Hundred percent.
          Maya gazes at the bloodied face, then turns away and zips
          the bag...and leaves the tent.
          Her eyes afire.

                         CUT TO:

          EXT. JALALABAD AIRSTRIP - EARLY DAWN

          Maya waits on the tarmac, alone.
          A C-17, one of the largest most impressive planes in the
          American fleet, rolls to a stop and the hatch opens.
          She climbs the ladder -

          INT. C-17 - CONTINUOUS

          The cavernous cargo plane is empty of passengers. The pilot
          motions to the seats.

                         PILOT
          Are you Maya?

                         MAYA
          Yeah.

                         PILOT
          That's the only name they gave me.

                         (ODD)
          You can sit wherever you want, you're
          the only one on the manifest.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          111.
          Maya sits down, buckles in. The PILOT heads back to the

                         CABIN

                         PILOT (CONT'D)
          You must be pretty important, you
          got the whole plane to yourself!
          Beat.

                         PILOT (CONT'D)
          Where do you want to go?
          She's speechless.
          Overwhelmed.
          Finally, she lets go.
          Those luminous eyes become pools of relief and pain.

          CUT TO: BLACK



Zero Dark Thirty



Writers :   Mark Boal
Genres :   Drama  Thriller


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