ACT THREE
15.
INT. Vera's Home – Night
CARI and NADINE are sitting at the island, eating ice cream. VERA unlocks the door and walks in, water dripping from her hair. CARI and NADINE look up, surprised. They both get up, and NADINE takes VERA'S coat from her.
NADINE:
Vera, honey, where have you been?
VERA:
There was this guy. Two guys, actually.
NADINE:
Ooh, really?
VERA:
Not like that. I'm surprised gunfire didn't break out, or that no knives were being ripped out of boots.
CARI:
What are you talking about?
VERA:
I was walking home from Starbucks—
NADINE:
(looking outside)
In this?
VERA:
Not the point.
NADINE:
Sorry.
VERA:
These guys, I think they're somehow involved in the hostage situation at the Ramada. They were talking about having left everything behind to get money from a hotel, and how the police weren't giving in to their demands. They didn't seem like they knew what to do.
CARI:
You should call the police.
VERA:
They already know what's going on. If I call them and worry them… The only thing that would solve is whether or not I continue my internship at the paper.
CARI:
This is serious, Vera. This hostage thing—nobody's died yet, but it's only been a day.
NADINE:
Yeah, and who knows what will happen if they decide to do something to convince the cops to move forward with their demands?
VERA:
I don't know.
(sighs)
I need some sleep.
NADINE:
We all do. We'll worry about this in the morning.
NADINE and CARI head to their rooms, as does VERA. However, VERA returns only moments later to lock the deadbolt on the front door. We see this entire thing as a wide shot of the entire room until the door is locked, where we see a close up of the deadbolt. As it locks, the special effects take over as we zoom into the inside of the door, with the deadbolt being locked.
16.
EXT. Calgary Herald Parking Lot – Morning
MUSIC CUE: "The Trial of the Century" by The French Kicks.
The camera is showing everything in a wide shot. We can practically see the whole lot. VERA swerves into her spot and gets out. We switch angles and are now closer to VERA and she closes her car door. We hear the sound of her alarm as she checks to make sure it is locked. JASON appears behind her, as she walks toward the front doors. He catches up with her.
JASON:
(in a fake English accent)
Would that it were the pretentious miss Fuller.
VERA:
My, my. You always have such a way with words, Dave.
JASON:
I don't know. Poetry's not really my thing.
VERA:
But the junkie part is.
JASON:
(sarcastic)
Clever.
VERA:
I thought so, too.
JASON begins walking faster, getting ahead of VERA.
VERA:
Where are you off to in such a hurry?
JASON:
Oh, didn't you hear? Val decided that it would take a little stress off of her to have another person helping Peter with the hostage situation. And guess who got nominated?
VERA is shocked.
JASON:
(continued)
Hey, don't look at me. You're the one who snost and lost.
VERA:
Who in their right mind would nominate you?
JASON:
Alex.
During VERA's next line, they open the front doors and walk inside the building.
VERA:
Oh, well, she's a keeper. It figures she'd think you would do a good job at handling such a delicate situation—the girl doesn't even know how to turn a laptop on.
JASON:
Jealousy is not a good colour on you.
They show their identification cards to the lady in the glass box.
VERA:
Have you ever seen her working on one?
JASON thinks for a moment, coming up blank.
VERA:
(continued)
Name one other person who you haven't seen working on a computer?
(beat)
That's what I thought. But, hey, congrats, buddy!
As the camera switches to a shot behind the two, VERA speeds up, walking in front of JASON to the archway entrance of the newsroom. The camera angle switches to one inside the newsroom as they walk in. The place is already busy. VAL approaches them as they reach VERA's desk.
VAL:
Jason! What are you doing here? You were supposed to meet Peter at the hotel an hour ago to go over the rules!
JASON:
I was?
VAL:
Great job of paying attention yesterday.
(under her breath)
Amateur.
VERA smirks, enjoying JASON's scolding. JASON looks over at her and sees her smirk. He clearly wants to make a snide remark to her.
VAL:
Vera?
VERA:
Yes?
VAL:
Can you go with Jason to the hotel? Clearly he needs some supervision.
VERA:
You're assigning me to the story, too?
VAL:
(sarcastic)
No, I'm assigning you to baby-sit him.
(beat)
So? Yes or no?
VERA:
Yes! Definitely yes.
VAL:
All right. Well, you two better head over there before it's too late. I'll call Sherri, get her to find your ID's. Don't leave without them. Got it?
JASON:VERA:
Yes.Yes.
VAL walks away, and VERA and JASON head back toward the front doors.
JASON:
(quietly)
Who's Sherri?
VERA:
The lady in the glass box.
MUSIC CUE: Stop playing "The Trial of the Century" by The French Kicks.
17.
EXT. Ramada Hotel – Day
MUSIC CUE: "Lost and Found" by Adrienne Pierce.
KEITH JOHNSTON, a forty-ish balding man with a great sense of humour and responsibility, is waiting for VERA and JASON behind the police tape. VERA and JASON pull up nearby in VERA'S car and find KEITH.
JASON:
Where's Peter?
KEITH:
He's at home.
The two look at him sceptically.
KEITH:
He got a little scared.
JASON laughs.
VERA:
Keep it up, buddy, karma's a bitch.
KEITH:
You have your photo identification cards?
VERA and JASON nod.
KEITH:
(continued)
All right. Come with me. I'll show you what's going on and how to deal with anything that could be thrown at us in the next little bit, and then we'll figure out our game plan for the day. Sound good?
VERA:
Yep.
KEITH:
All right. Let's go.
KEITH, VERA, and JASON walk further toward the crime scene as we pan out, showing the entire crowd.
18.
EXT. Ramada Hotel – Day
JASON and VERA follow KEITH to the reporter station, where several print, television, and radio personalities are gathered.
KEITH:
This is a great experience for the two of you. Unfortunately, there are people inside that are in great danger. Nobody has been hurt yet, but the police are trying to move as quickly as possible.
VERA:
What if they get impatient?
JASON:
Here we go.
MUSIC CUE: "Lost and Found" by Adrienne Pierce begins fading out.
KEITH:
What do you mean?
VERA:
The suspects. What if they get sick of waiting and decide to take things into their own hands? I saw on TV once that a group holding a science conference hostage decided to kill one hostage every hour in order to make sure their demands were met.
KEITH:
That's for the police to deal with, not you.
VERA:
But—
KEITH:
I assure you, the city police are doing everything in their power to make sure that no major incidents happen.
VERA:
(shocked)
Incidents?
KEITH:
The Edmonton city police are being put through an orientation right now, and will head down here to meet with us. Everything that can be done is being done. It's not your position to say otherwise.
VERA:
I'm just trying to make sure that those people in there get the protection they deserve.
JASON:
Oh, that's rich.
VERA:
What?
JASON:
Come on. You know the only reason you're so apt about having your say in this is so you can get the big headlines and prove to Val that you should be working solo.
VERA:
That's not true!
KEITH:
Are we five? No. Really? We need to be professionals about this. Or maybe I should call Val and tell her that her interns are doing nothing but getting in my way.
VERA:
Sorry.
KEITH sees someone of interest and runs off to talk to him, holding a voice recorder out.
KEITH:
(running off)
Joel! Joel! I got a couple questions for you!
JASON and VERA look around for something to do—something that won't get a myriad of people mad at them.
JASON:
Well, you have fun here, miss pixie-stick. I'm off to the races.
JASON begins to walk away, but turns around and walks backwards when VERA speaks.
VERA:
Where are you going?
JASON:
Would you believe? They wouldn't let me into the building.
VERA:
(running up to him)
You can't go in there!
JASON:
And why is that?
VERA:
It's dangerous.
JASON:
Right, because you really care about my welfare. Hey, cover for me, will 'ya?
VERA:
No!
JASON:
Vera, come on.
VERA:
I'm not getting myself fired so that you can go have your fifteen minutes.
MUSIC CUE: Begin playing "I Hate it That I Got What I Wanted" by Clearlake.
JASON:
You will.
VERA:
I will what?
JASON:
You'll cover for me.
VERA:
No, Jason, I won't.
JASON:
(to Vera)
Yes, you will. You know, just because you despise me, you're the only one I trust.
VERA:
Another line.
JASON:
But this time I mean it.
JASON does a little skip before he walks away, looking for a way into the hotel. VERA looks around her, worried.
19.
INT. Ramada Hotel – Day
JASON quietly walks through the main corridor, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. We hear muffled voices, and JASON peeks his head around the corner, looking into the lobby. The two men who were seen earlier in the alleyway are quietly discussing amongst themselves in the corner. KILBE, a large, dark-haired man who seems to be the leader, is pacing back and forth near the front desk, speaking on his cell phone to the police. There are several families and couples huddled in the room, looking scared.
KILBE:
I don't care what you have to do, just get me the money and the safe trip out of here ASAP.
JASON continues to watch the scene unfold, a look of fear creeping into his eyes. It's not a lot, but it's there. A woman huddled against the wall that JASON is peering by gasps as she notices him. The fear in his eyes is subtly becoming more and more evident. He raises a finger to his lips, and shows her his Herald ID. She nods, and he continues to watch the scene, looking for a sneakier way in.
MUSIC CUE: Stop playing "I Hate it That I Got What I Wanted" by Clearlake.
20.
EXT. Ramada Hotel – Day
A wide angle shot of the crowd. We notice VERA sitting on a lawn chair by the reporter station, jotting down notes in her book on the foldable table. It is crowded near her, but she is alone. We slowly zoom in on her as we hear snippets of the conversations nearby.
WOMAN #1:
As negotiations slowly proceed, fears continue to grow about the possible backlash from the terrorists.
MAN #2:
Uncertainty about the patience of the terrorists is causing some to fear for the safety of the hostages. Nadia Jamal's sister, Jaani, is one of the hostages inside. Nadia, what do you have to say?
NADIA:
She has to be okay! Someone needs to do something, we have to get her out of there!
WOMAN #2:
We will continue to bring you coverage of the breaking news as it all unfolds.
VERA looks up at one reporter, cringing. KEITH walks up to her.
KEITH:
Sorry about that. I just wanted to ask a couple questions about the situation—maybe get some inside info.
A beat passes as VERA continues to stare at the crowd.
KEITH:
What's wrong?
VERA:
(not looking at Keith)
It's just… These reporters—they're doing nothing but exploiting the situation. Making it seem as dramatic as possible so their station can get higher ratings. It's not right.
KEITH:
If you can't get past that, then journalism is not the career for you.
VERA finally looks at him.
KEITH:
(continued)
You're going to do plenty of things in your life and wonder how you could have done it. There will be many things that you have to do, but that you don't necessarily agree with. Believe me.
VERA nods, but still has a look of disgust on her face. KEITH looks around.
KEITH:
Hey, where'd Jason go?
VERA looks at him, realizing that now is the moment of truth. Either she tells him the truth or she lies to cover Jason.
21.
INT. Ramada Hotel – Office – Day
MUSIC CUE: "Bad Boyfriend" by Garbage.
The room is empty. A lock is being jiggled. JASON pushes open the door, and stumbles into the office. He looks around, unsure of what to do.
JASON:
(quietly)
Phone… Phone…
JASON finally finds what he is looking for inside one of the drawers of the big desk, and picks it up. It's a cell phone. He opens it and sees the flashing screen message of:
Battery Low.
JASON sighs in frustration and tosses the phone back into the drawer. He sorts through some papers on the desk, frantically searching for a phone. He accidentally knocks over a lamp, breaking it. You know what he wants to say, but instead he just flails his arms around, panicking. As the door knob turns, he grabs a heavy book from the shelf, tensing up. VERA walks in, closing the door behind her.
MUSIC CUE: Start fading out "Bad Boyfriend" by Garbage.
JASON relaxes.
VERA:
That's a very good way of getting yourself caught.
JASON:
It was an accident.
VERA:
I know.
JASON breathes a sigh of relief.
JASON:
I thought you were one of those guys.
VERA:
You mean, one of the terrorists?
JASON:
Are they?
VERA:
Well, the news stations have sure jumped to that conclusion.
JASON:
Well, they probably are.
VERA:
How would you know that?
JASON:
Ver, this really isn't the time or place to be having this little discussion. We need to figure out how to fix this mess.
VERA:
You mean the mess you got yourself into?
JASON looks at her with impatience.
VERA:
(continued)
I'm just saying. If you didn't take it upon yourself to be the hero, neither of us would even be in here.
JASON:
Speaking of, why are you in here? It couldn't possibly be because you were worried about my safety.
VERA:
That's not the point. Come on, let's get out of here.
JASON and VERA head toward the door, VERA in front. She opens it and peeks outside, making sure nobody is around. They quietly step outside, and begin their trek down the hallway. All is silent, save the score quietly playing in the background.
RAZZE:
Going somewhere?
VERA and JASON freeze for a moment, then turn to face the man. VERA's face shows shock, and now we can attach the face to the voice, seeing what VERA sees. Cut back to VERA, who flashes back to the alleyway.
FLASHBACK
EXT. Alleyway – Night
RAZZE:
It's just what? I left my family, I left my job, I left my life! All to go to this hotel, get the money, and find a better life. I'm not going to just escort myself right to my jail cell.
END OF FLASHBACK
22.
INT. Hallway in Ramada Hotel – Day
MUSIC CUE: "I Hate it That I Got What I wanted" by Clearlake.
VERA looks at the man, fearful but still tough. JASON is doing everything he can to hide his fear, and makes a big mistake.
JASON:
(sarcastic)
Yeah, we'll just be leaving now, mister.
RAZZE:
Oh, you're going to mock me?
RAZZE pulls a gun out of his jacket, dangling it around as he steps a bit closer to JASON and VERA.
RAZZE:
Do you really think that's wise?
Suddenly, JASON's fear becomes a bit harder to mask.
JASON:
Look, man, I'm sorry.
RAZZE:
Oh, you're sorry? Well! Come on, I'll show you outside then.
RAZZE grabs onto JASON's arm, pulling him down the hallway.
VERA:
Wait! Don't—
RAZZE:
Oh, don't worry. He won't be alone. Len!
LEN walks out into the hallway from a hotel room and grabs VERA's arm roughly. She turns her head to face him, scared. LEN and RAZZE drag the two struggling journalists away.
MUSIC CUE: Abruptly end "I Hate it That I Got What I Wanted" by Clearlake.
END OF ACT THREE
13
