Stormbreaker Act 5
Edits: I have changed my mind about how this story is going to go. You may need to read this chapter again. Sorry.
Crawley led him back to the elevator, this time he entered a code on a buttoned panel. While the elevator is going down we cut to the POV of a built-in Xray and Infra-red scanner, they scan the two humans and check for weapons, before giving sending the information to security to give them the "all clear".
We cut back to the elevator, which has reached the ground floor, instead of stopping, it keeps going, the panel of numbers no longer indicate their position, but Alex could tell from the time it took that they were a good distance underground. Absurdly, the elevator music kept playing.
Cut, cont. The elevator comes to a halt and the doors open to reveal another almost identically carpeted corridor. As the two of them walk down the hallway a camera turns and watchs them with it's unblinking metallic eye. They stop in front of a door numbered 0034. Crowley knocks three times for appearance's sake, whoever's inside already knows they're here.
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BLUNT (OS)
Enter
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Crowley swiped his card on a scanner and opened the door. He gestured for Alex to go in, Alex enters and finds himself in a large meeting room, the centre is dominated by a huge mahogany table. Blunt was sitting on one side, as grey as ever, waiting for him, beside him stood a dumpy middle-aged woman with a stack of files. She looked a lot more human compared to Blunt, almost like someone's mother, but Alex didn't mistrust her any less.
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BLUNT
Good afternoon Alex, we've been expecting you.
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ALEX
(sitting down)
No, doctor. The pleasure's mine.
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If Blunt got the joke, he didn't show it.
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BLUNT
(guestures to the woman)
This is my colleague Mrs. Jones.
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MRS JONES
It's nice to meet you Alex, I'm sure you must have a lot of questions.
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ALEX
Yeah.
Who are you? What is this place, and what's going on?
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BLUNT
As you may have already guessed, the Royal and General is not a bank, in fact it does not exist and I am not their president. I am the chief executive of the Special Operations Division of MI6. Your uncle worked for us. He was, for lack of a better word, a spy.
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ALEX
(grins incredulously)
Like James Bond?
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BLUNT
(Annoyed)
Similar. But we don't use numbers, double-o and all that nonsense. Your uncle was a field agent, highly trained and very courageous. He successfully completed assignments in Iran, Washington, Hong Kong, and Havana ... to name but a few.
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MRS JONES
I imagine all this must be quite a shock for you Alex.
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ALEX
(thinks about it)
No. I'm not shocked.
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BLUNT
Ian Rider's luck ran out on his last mission, He had been working undercover here in England, in Cornwall, and was driving back to London to make a report when he was killed. You saw his car at the yard—
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ALEX
Proctor's…who are they?
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BLUNT
Just people we use, we have budget restraints.
Mrs. Jones here is our head of operations. It was she who gave your uncle his last assignment
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JONES
We're very sorry to have lost him, Alex.
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ALEX
Do you know who killed him?
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JONES
Yes.
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ALEX
Can you tell me?
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JONES
No, not yet.
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ALEX
OK.
(he digests the information)
Right. My uncles a spy, thanks to you he's dead, and I know too much so you've brought me here to make sure I don't run my mouth. Is that what this is? Because I'll sign the Official Secret's Act, or what ever the hell you want me to do, and then I'd like to go home. This is crazy and I've had enough.
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BLUNT
I'm afraid it's not quite that easy.
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ALEX
Why?
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BLUNT
While it's true that you drew a lot of attention to yourself at Procter's as well as that little stunt outside our offices, and it's also true that what we discuss cannot leave this room, but the reason you're here, Alex, is because we need your help.
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ALEX
(deadpan)
My help.
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BLUNT
Have you heard of Herod Sayle?
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ALEX
(Pauses. That name rings a bell…)
I've seen him in the papers.
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BLUNT
I thought you may have, he owns Sayles Enterprises, they're a multi-million dollar company who specialize in computer software. However, Sayle was not always so affluent, he was born in Cairo, to a poor family, he had 7 siblings and they all lived in a small 3-room house with the family goat, and he would have stayed there if not for a sudden turn of fortune. When he was 8 years old he saved an English couple from a falling piano that was being lifted into an apartment. Naturally, the pair were very grateful, and when they found out how poor he was, they adopted him and brought him back home. In England he excelled in class and eventually attended a prestigious private school, at age 15 he was even in the same class as our prime minister.
Now, what really interests us is his most recent invention. It's a computer called the Storm breaker. It's quite revolutionary, it uses completely new technology, one of them being the round processor. I don't suppose that means anything to you.
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ALEX
(from memory)
It's an integrated circuit on a sphere of silicon about one millimeter in diameter. It's 90 percent cheaper to produce than an ordinary chip because the whole thing is sealed in so you don't need clean rooms for production.
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BLUNT
Hm..Yes.
The point is, later today, Sayle Enterprises are going to make a remarkable announcement. They're planning to give away tens of thousands of these computers to his old school, and others like it. The students there will be receiving their own Stormbreaker completely free. An unparalleled act of generosity, Sayle's way of thanking the country that gave him a home.
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ALEX
So he's generous guy.
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BLUNT
So it would seem, he certainly has the prime-minister very excited. The computers will be assembled at Cornwall and shipped across the country early this month. They'll be revealed at the National Science Museum during a special ceremony, and the prime minster himself will press the button to bring these computers online. Afterwards Mr Sayle will be awarded a British citizen ship, something he's always wanted, apparently.
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ALEX
Well I'm very happy for him, but what does this have to do with me?
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JONES
For some time now, this department—Special Operations—has been concerned about Mr. Sayle, and this deal looks far too good to be true. Sayle has not always been an outstanding citizen, he has business dealings with countries like Russia and China, countries that have never been our friends. And the security arrangements at Port Tallon worry us, he's got his own private army and we suspect he has something to hide.
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BLUNT
Not that anyone will listen too us.
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JONES
The government is far too excited about these computers, that's why we sent our own man down to the plant, supposedly to check on security. But his real job was to keep an eye on Sayle.
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ALEX
You're talking about my uncle.
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JONES
Yes, he was down there for 3 weeks, like us, he suspected Sayle. He found him to be an short-tempered, unpleasant individual, but he also admitted that nothing out of the ordinary was going on, and production was on schedule.
Then a few days ago we got a message, Rider couldn't say much because the line wasn't secure, but he had discovered something and said that the Stormbreakers could not be allowed to leave the plant. He said he was coming straight back to London, he left Port Tallon at 4:00pm and never made it onto the freeway, his car was ambushed on a quiet country road and we arranged it to be brought here.
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Alex listen to this in silence, he could imagine his uncle, driving down a quiet road, turning a corner and finding another car, waiting for him.
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ALEX
Why are you telling me this?
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BLUNT
This proves that we're right, we sent our best man to investigate Sayle and he winds up dead, this means Rider discovered something, maybe even the truth-
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ALEX
But why would he do that? Sayles is giving away the computers for free, in return he gets a British Citizenship, what's he got to hide?
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BLUNT
We just don't know. But we want to find out, and soon, before these computers leave the plant.
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JONES
They're being shipped out on March thirty-first, three weeks from now. That's why it's essential for us to send someone else to Port Tallon. Someone to continue where your uncle left off.
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ALEX
(smiles queasily)
I hope you're not looking at me.
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JONES
We can't send another man, Sayles will be on guard now and he'll suspect him. We thought about sending a woman, disguised as a janitor or cook, but I had a better idea.
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She opens a file and hands Alex a photo of a blond 14-year-old boy.
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JONES
A few months ago, this computer magazine ran a competition. "Win a free trip to Port Tallon! Be the first boy or girl to use the Stormbreaker and meet Herod Sayle himself!" It was won by this young man, Felix Lester. He's fourteen years old, the same age as you are, and he's due in Port Tallon two weeks from now.
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ALEX
(realizes what's happening)
Wait a minuet!
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BLUNT
You've already proven yourself to be extraordinarily brave and resourceful. First at the junkyard ... that was a karate kick, wasn't it? How long have you been learning karate?
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Alex glared silently.
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BLUNT
And then there was that little test we arranged for you upstairs. Of course, we expected you pick the lock, or steal the keys from Crawly…but any boy who willing climb out of a fifteenth floor window just to satisfy his own curiosity has to be rather special, and it seems to me that you are very special indeed.
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JONES
We want you to work for us, Alex. We have enough time to give you some basic training and equip you with a few items, then you can take Lester's place. We'll pack him off to Florida or somewhere ... give him a holiday as a consolation prize. You'll go to Sayle Enterprises on March twenty-ninth, you'll stay there for a week and leave on April first, which is the day of the ceremony. The timing couldn't be better. You'll be able to meet Herod Sayle and keep an eye on him, and perhaps you'll also find out what it was that your uncle discovered and why he had to die for it. You shouldn't be in any danger. After all, who would suspect a fourteen-year-old boy of being a spy?
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BLUNT
All we're asking is for you to report back to us. April first is 3 weeks from now, that's all we need from you, 3 weeks. It will be a holiday, and a chance to serve your country. What do you think?
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They stare at Alex eagerly. There is a knock at the door.
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BLUNT
Enter!
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The door opens and a waiter with a trolley of food walks in. He sets a covered plate in front of each person, and then makes his leave. The three of them don't even glance up.
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ALEX
No.
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BLUNT
I'm sorry?
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ALEX
No, thank you. It's a stupid idea, and I'm…I'm 14 for god's sake!
(he was finding it hard to explain himself, it was so absurd he wanted to laugh)
I don't want to be a spy, I want to be a footballer!
Why don't you ask this Lester guy to snoop around for you?
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BLUNT
We don't believe he would be as resourceful as you
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ALEX
At least he'd be better at computer games! Sorry, I'm not interested, and I don't want to get involved.
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Blunt looked at him hard, something had changed in him, during this meeting he had at least been polite and almost human, now all that disappeared as if someone had pulled a plug.
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BLUNT
I'm sorry to hear that.
Please, have some dinner, Alex, it's carre'd'agneu.
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He uncovers the meal that has been left on the table. It's roasted lamb, served with potatoes and beans. He cuts into it with all the precision of a surgeon. Alex does the same out of politeness, but can't bare to touch it.
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BLUNT
We' d better move on to discuss your future, then. Like it or not, Alex, the Royal and General is now your legal guardian.
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ALEX
I thought you said the Royal and General didn't exist.
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BLUNT
(ignores him)
Ian Rider has, of course, left the house and all his money to you. However, he left it in trust until you are twenty-one. And we control that trust. So there will, I'm afraid, have to be some changes. The American girl who lives with you—
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ALEX
Jack?
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BLUNT
Miss Starbright, Yes. Unfortunately, her visa has expired. She'll be returned to America by the end of the month. We propose to put the house on the market. Unfortunately, you have no relatives who would be prepared to look after you, so I'm afraid that also means you'll have to leave Brookland. You'll be sent to an institution. There's one I know just outside Birmingham. The Saint Elizabeth in Sourbridge. Not a very pleasant place, but I'm afraid there's no alternative.
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ALEX
(outraged)
This is blackmail…You're blackmailing me!
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His accusation rings out in the cavernous room, but Blunt and Jones stare at him in stony silence.
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JONES
Help us, Alex, and we'll help you.
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Alex glares at her, and then lowers his gaze in defeat, he knows he can't win this.
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ALEX
You talked about basic training.
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JONES
We have a training center nearby. Felix Lester is expected at Port Tallon in two weeks, that doesn't give us very much time, but if you agree to what we want, we can start at once.
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Alex stares down at the meat on his plate, "lamb to the slaughter" he thinks, as he watches the bloody juices turn his potatoes pink. He makes his decision and looks up.
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END OF ACT 5
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Notes:
After much thought, I am going to change the character and intentions of Sayle. I want him to be more morally grey.
I put the head-quarters of MI6 underground, like a bunker, it makes sense strategically, as it can protect them from most attacks. Also symbolism that they work "beneath the surface."
I give myself an A+ for the symbolism in this act. Good job me.
I've made some changes to the dialogue, as it is too long and will not translate well visually.
I've split the dialogue between Mrs Jones and Blunt, as it would be awkward to have her standing around, silent for the first 5 minuets, like the books. I've also made her seem warmer and more caring by comparison, even though she has no qualms about putting children in danger.
I want this scene to start off as a typical action-adventure spy story, covert secret operations group requites a plucky teen, they trade back and forth banter, introduce the cartoon-ish villain and plot…and then we do a 180 and the scene ends in blackmail and child-endangerment. Fun times with Mr Horowitz.