The Last Mission (6) Anderson doesn't laugh. Grabs a belt of grenades from a crate beside him. Tosses it to Mitchell. ANDERSON Load the jeep. Anderson turns to walk off but stops. Interrupted by the DRONE of a low flying plane. Everyone looks up. THE RECONNAISSANCE SPITFIRE Flies past. Low and fast. Everyone ducks. The plane's wings rock back and forth. ANDERSON Looks like his radio is out. The plane flies on. EXT. EL KUFRA - BEDOUIN CAMP Animals graze peacefully near a cluster of tents. Fires are stoked. Meals prepared. Tents mended. The ground starts RUMBLING. Ominous. Gentle at first. But, growing stronger with each moment. The animals sense it. They stir. Cry out. Hurriedly, they flee. Moving quickly from the camp. BEDOUIN#1 looks up. Dust clouds rise from black specks on the horizon. BEDOUIN#1 (in Arabic) Break camp! EXT. EL KUFRA - OBSERVATION TOWER High up in the tower platform. LOOKOUT#1 raises his binoculars. A field telephone nearby. He watches panicked Bedouins strike their tents. Their flocks scurrying in all directions. LOOKOUT#1 What the hell? Moving the binoculars to the horizon, Cruwell's vehicles race into view. Approaching rapidly. Breathless, he grabs the field telephone. LOOKOUT#1 German panzers on the south plain! INT. EL KUFRA - SAMIRA'S TENT Samira sits on her cot. A packed kit bag beside her. Holding the photo of her, Jack and Anderson. She smiles warmly. Remembering. She removes it from the frame and places it into her pocket. A siren WAILS. Samira grows concerned. Walks quickly to the door. Looks outside. Soldiers in full battle gear race to trenches. EXT. EL KUFRA - MOTOR POOL The Commandos HEAR the alarm. All stop working. Looking at one another. A jeep drives up. El Kufra Officer gets out. Approaches Anderson. Obviously distressed. EL KUFRA OFFICER Sir! We're under attack. German panzers! Closing fast! ANDERSON (to Pritchard) Move them out! Meet up at the rally point! El Kufra Officer departs. Commandos race for their vehicles. Mitchell turns to Anderson. MITCHELL Samira. ANDERSON No time! Mitchell grabs a pistol belt. Walks to Steiner's jeep. MITCHELL I'm driving. Steiner moves to the passenger seat. Mitchell starts to climb in. ANDERSON Don't make me order you- MITCHELL We're not leaving her behind! Steiner looks to the horizon. His eyes suddenly grow wide. STEINER Sir? Anderson turns. ANDERSON What? Steiner points. Anderson looks over. Dust clouds get closer as the German vehicles approach. ANDERSON Mitchell! You drive! Anderson climbs in. The jeep speeds off. EXT. EL KUFRA - PERIMETER British Soldiers man trenches and bunkers. Machine guns are readied. Artillery guns are loaded. Faces are tense. Worried. The ground RUMBLES as the Germans draw nearer. GUN COMMANDER (O.S.) Fire! The artillery guns ROAR! EXT. GERMAN VEHICLES are bracketed by shell bursts. EXPLODING in great plumes of sand. Chunks of hot shrapnel WHIZZ through the air. A HALF TRACK Gets HIT and bursts into flames. Bodies fly out. Tossed like dolls. CRUWELL Rides in the turret of the lead tank. Watches it happen. Clenches his fist and SLAMS it down. CRUWELL Fire! The tanks FIRE. Accompanied by the CHATTER of machine guns. EXT. EL KUFRA The German shells striking artillery positions and bunkers. Precision shooting. Tanks CRASH through the barbed wire perimeter. Machine gun FIRE riddles British Soldiers. They dive for cover. Their faces say it all. Fear and panic are setting in. EXT. SAMIRA'S TENT Samira rushes outside. Carrying a sub machine gun. Moving quick, she dodges EXPLOSIONS with every step. She watches the German vehicles race toward the ammo dump. EXT. CRUWELL'S TANK Cruwell spots the dump up ahead. Smiles. CRUWELL (into radio) Target and fire! A salvo of shells STREAK from the tanks. SCREAMING in. EXT. AMMO DUMP Shells BURST among the ammo crates. A huge BLAST! Ammo containers are blown skyward. Bullets streak in all directions. Set off by the intense heat. In moments, the whole area is ablaze. EXT. SAMIRA Runs from the massive fireball. But, there's another EXPLOSION. The blast wave knocks her to the ground. She lays in a gully. Unmoving. EXT. EL KUFRA - THE JEEP Races through camp. Scooting past EXPLODING shells. Mitchell drives like a madman. Steiner sits beside him. Anderson sits behind. The jeep races past a hangar. Rounds a corner. Mitchell SLAMS on the brakes. SCREEECH. Their path is blocked by a row of blazing tents. MITCHELL Can't go that way. Mitchell searches for another path. None appear. Anderson grabs his shoulder. ANDERSON Mitchell. We're out of time. MITCHELL We can't leave without her! Anderson grabs him. ANDERSON It's her or us- STEINER Look! He points. They turn. TWO GERMAN TANKS Race toward them. Cruwell and Franz riding in the turrets. MITCHELL We'll double back! Go across the airfield! Mitchell puts it in gear. ANDERSON Straight at them? MITCHELL You have a better idea? Anderson ponders for a moment. Then ANDERSON Go! Mitchell hits the gas. Heading directly at CRUWELL AND FRANZ'S TANKS Racing at them. Side by side. CRUWELL (into radio) Open up! Machine guns FIRE at the jeep. MITCHELL Drives for the narrow gap between them. Accelerating. FRANZ Swivels his machine gun. Missing the jeep racing through the gap. SHOOTING CRUWELL'S TANK Instead. Bullets RICOCHET off the cupola. CRUWELL (into radio) Franz! Get them! FRANZ'S TANK Turns radically. Pursuing the jeep. A FIGHTER PLANE Heads for the runway. Attempting to take off CRUWELL Spots it. CRUWELL (into radio) Driver! Left forty five. The tank turns. Heading straight at the plane. Speeding down the runway at one another. In a moment, they'll collide. CRUWELL Fire! The gun ROARS. The plane gets hit and EXPLODES. Cruwell ducks inside the tank as it CRASHES through flaming wreckage. Disappearing into the smoke. EXT. DESERT - NEAR EL KUFRA QUIET. Bleak. Sand dunes. The GROWLING of a vehicle engine. Accompanied by a CLANKING NOISE. Mitchell's jeep appears, leaping over a sand dune. Racing on it catches up with a handful of vehicles fleeing the base. Franz's Tank follows close behind. FRANZ Spots a pair of trucks up ahead. FRANZ (into radio) Fire! A shell BELCHES from the tank's gun. THE TRUCK Gets hit. Bursts into flames. Careens out of control. No survivors. ANDERSON Watches it happen. Points the machine gun at Franz's tank directly behind. He SHOOTS! FRANZ Notices Anderson. FIRES back. Bullets strike ANDERSON In the chest. Blood splashes against the windshield and dashboard. STEINER Anderson's hit! Mitchell turns. Anderson lays in the back of the jeep. Blood seeping from his wounds. Without warning, Mitchell leaves the driver's seat to help Anderson. Steiner's aghast. MITCHELL Take the wheel! Hastily, Steiner moves to the driver's seat. MITCHELL Checks the machine gun. Totally damaged. He looks at FRANZ Who reloads his machine gun. His eyes meet Mitchell's. Franz smiles. A defiant, fuck you sort of smile. FRANZ (into radio) Target the jeep! MITCHELL Watches the main gun traverse and target them. Noticing a grenade belt on the floor, he grabs it. MITCHELL Get ready to hit the brakes! And when I tell you, hit the gas! STEINER What- MITCHELL Just do it! FRANZ Smugly waves good bye to Mitchell. The tank's gun is lined up perfectly. It can't miss. MITCHELL Keeps his eyes on Franz. FRANZ MITCHELL Fire! Now! Steiner hits the brakes. A shell BLASTS from the tank's cannon. But, it overshoots the braking JEEP And narrowly misses. The jeep rapidly loses speed. FRANZ'S TANK Keeps rolling. Getting closer with every second. MITCHELL Pulls the pin from the grenade. THE TANK Is nearly on top of them. Surely to hit THE JEEP Unless MITCHELL Now! Steiner hits the gas. Mitchell tosses the grenade. It lands perfectly in the muzzle. The jeep lurches forward. Racing away from the tank. INSIDE THE BARREL The grenade wobbly rolls along. Stopping at the tip of a loaded shell. BACK TO SCENE A sudden flash from the barrel. An EXPLOSION follows. The ammo ignites in a massive BLAST. Franz is blown skyward. The tank rolls on for a few yards. Stops. Flames spewing from inside. Up ahead, THE JEEP Stops. Mitchell and Steiner catch their breath. Anderson lays on his back. A pool of blood behind him. Looks pale. ANDERSON Perfect...timing...Sergeant. Mitchell nods. Anderson moans. MITCHELL Let's go. The jeep drives on. EXT. EL KUFRA - DAY The Union Jack hangs limp from a pole. Surrounded by black smoke. The base is in ruins. Bodies lie everywhere. Hands raised, British Soldiers are marched away under German guard. EXT. EL KUFRA - GULLY Samira lays motionless. A pair of shiny jackboots appear beside her. One nudges her shoulder. She stirs slightly. Von Ravenstein kneels down. Smiling. EXT. DESERT - NEAR EL KUFRA Franz lies in the sand. Face blackened. Cruwell stands over him. Sombre-looking. Kempka walks up, making an effort not to look at the body. KEMPKA We're tracking them sir. Northwest. Cruwell ignores him. Looking off to the horizon. CRUWELL I hate the desert Kempka. Not because of the heat or the flies. Because it's so empty. Lifeless. Dead. He looks at Kempka. CRUWELL And you like it? A beat, while Kempka ponders. KEMPKA The Bedouin have a saying. The desert is a fort for one man. A tomb, for another. Cruwell looks back to Franz. CRUWELL Yes. It is. Kempka avoids looking. Cruwell notices. CRUWELL Look at it. Hesitantly, Kempka does. The corpse is unrecognizable. Still smoking. He quickly looks away. CRUWELL Is that the first body you've ever seen? KEMPKA Yes sir. CRUWELL It won't be the last. Cruwell starts to walk off. KEMPKA It was a good attack sir. CRUWELL (indicating Franz) Not for him. Cruwell walks on. After a moment, Kempka follows. EXT. ROMAN FORT - DAY An ancient, crumbling fortress. Chipped bricks. Broken walls. Standing in a turret FUCHS Watches Mitchell's jeep approach. He turns, calling down to the Commandos assembled in the COURTYARD Below. FUCHS It's Anderson sir! Pritchard looks up. Waves acknowledgement. A single jeep and a cargo truck are parked nearby. Taylor checks a radio. Campbell, the medical supplies. McTavish, the weapons. Mitchell's jeep quickly drives up and stops. Riddled with bullets. Smoke pours from the engine. The MOTOR coughs and dies. Mitchell and Steiner get out. MITCHELL Anderson's hit. The others move forward to help. Carefully, they remove him from the jeep and lay him on the ground. Campbell moves to him. Tends to his wounds. Pritchard, Mitchell, McTavish and Taylor move to the side. PRITCHARD What happened? MITCHELL A tank trailed us from the camp. (indicating Anderson) He tried to take it out. TAYLOR Who were those troops? PRITCHARD Brandenburg Battalion. MITCHELL German Special Forces. Mitchell looks at the survivors. MITCHELL This is it? Pritchard nods. PRITCHARD And Samira? Mitchell shakes his head. Lips tight. PRITCHARD Dammit. We need her to guide us through the perimeter. MCTAVISH What now sir? PRITCHARD Contact Cairo. Taylor? TAYLOR Still trying sir. PRITCHARD Keep at it. Taylor moves off. PRITCHARD Weapons? MCTAVISH Got some MP38's. A couple of Bren guns. A PIAT. Lost most of the ammo though. He nods toward Anderson. MCTAVISH What about him? PRITCHARD What do you mean? MCTAVISH He's not going to make it. And the Germans can't be far behind. MITCHELL So? MCTAVISH We have to look at our options. (beat) All our options. MITCHELL (to Pritchard) He risked his life to save Steiner and me. You can't be seriously considering this? MCTAVISH If you're squeamish Mitchell, we can take care of it. Mitchell steps forward. Undoes the strap on his holster. MITCHELL McTavish. You're not too bright. So I'll use little words. You try to put a bullet in Anderson. I put one in you. McTavish opens his mouth to speak. FUCHS (O.S.) Colonel! Everyone looks up. Fuchs stands high above. Calling down. FUCHS They're coming! PRITCHARD Get down here! Fuchs starts down. PRITCHARD turns to Campbell. PRITCHARD Get him ready to move. He turns back to Mitchell and McTavish. PRITCHARD He goes with us. For now. MITCHELL What do we do? PRITCHARD Steiner, Fuchs and I will take the a jeep. Give the Germans a false trail to follow. Take the truck. We'll meet you at the hide sight. Taylor and McTavish scurry to load equipment on the truck. Pritchard takes Mitchell aside. PRITCHARD Sergeant. About Anderson... MITCHELL Enough of our men are dead already. Or are you ordering me to do it? PRITCHARD I'm not ordering you to do anything. But is one man worth the risk? Mitchell smirks. MITCHELL One man can make the difference. Sir. Pritchard smiles. Mitchell heads for the truck. EXT. DESERT - DAY German Vehicles wait, halted in the desert. A pair of fighter planes ZIP past. Cruwell stands out front. Sweeping the horizon with binoculars. There's no sign of the Commandos. Dejected, he lowers the binoculars as Kempka walks up. KEMPKA Sir? Field Marshall Rommel on the radio. Cruwell sighs. KEMPKA What should we tell him? CRUWELL Tell him...tell him we're returning to Tobruk. Kempka nods. Walks back toward the vehicles. EXT. DESERT - THE HIDE SITE - NIGHT The truck is parked in a gully. Hidden beneath camouflage netting. Nearby, Taylor works a radio. At the gully's edge, Mitchell and McTavish stand guard. Behind them, a coughing. Both turn. A short distance away, Anderson lays on a stretcher. Swathed in blankets. Campbell watches over him. A small fire CRACKLES nearby. Anderson sits up. Hacking. A moment later, he quiets. Mitchell and McTavish return to peering into the darkness. Mitchell notices McTavish's sneer. MITCHELL If you hate him so much, why would you join the mission? MCTAVISH Why did you? (beat) That's right. I didn't have a choice either. McTavish takes a swig from his canteen. MCTAVISH Besides, I wanted to be the one who got Rommel. MITCHELL Killing Rommel won't stop this. MCTAVISH It can't bloody well hurt. More coughing. They look over. Anderson spits up blood. Clearly getting worse. MCTAVISH Mitchell. You think you know him? He looks at Mitchell. MCTAVISH You know nothing about Anderson. Twin fingers of light pierce the darkness. Vehicle headlights. Mitchell and McTavish hunker down. Ready their weapons. The vehicle gets closer. Stopping just beyond them. A figure in silhouette, a figure steps from the vehicle. PRITCHARD Thunder! Relief crosses Mitchell and McTavish's faces. They stand up. MITCHELL Flash! Pritchard SEES them. Smiles broadly. EXT. ANDERSON Laying on the ground. Pritchard kneels beside him. Mitchell stands to the side. Campbell's nearby. ANDERSON Gin and tonics. PRITCHARD Shepherd's Hotel. ANDERSON Who cares. You're buying. They chuckle. Taylor walks up. TAYLOR Colonel? I have Cairo on the net. Pritchard stands. PRITCHARD Have to tend to that. Anderson nods. Pritchard and Taylor walk off. Campbell steps up and adjusts Anderson's bandages. Mitchell remains. Standing there. Anderson notices. ANDERSON Campbell? Can you give us a ANDERSON minute? CAMPBELL Yes sir. Campbell leaves. Anderson reaches into his jacket. Removes a cigarette. Puts in his mouth. Takes out some matches. Tries to strike one. It won't light. Mitchell takes it from him. Strikes the match and lights Anderson's smoke. Anderson takes a long draught. ANDERSON There's a good chap. MITCHELL How do you feel? ANDERSON I've been shot. How do you think I feel? Both laugh. ANDERSON What's the situation? MITCHELL We're waiting on Cairo. ANDERSON They'll order an abort. And you get your discharge. MITCHELL The mission had to be completed. That was the deal. ANDERSON I signed it before we left Cairo. Mitchell's astounded. MITCHELL Thank you. ANDERSON McTavish wanted to finish me at the fort, didn't he? Mitchell nods. ANDERSON I guess he's got a good argument. Mitchell looks to Anderson. Quizzical. ANDERSON Samira's husband and I were at Oxford together. He's the reason I'm here. (beat) Last year, we had a shot at Rommel. But, it went bad. Very bad. (beat) Jack was wounded. McTavish and I carried him for miles. But, the Germans were on us. We had to leave him. Anderson turns sombre. MITCHELL You did what you had to do sir. ANDERSON That's the thing Mitchell. I didn't. He was too weak to pull the trigger. And so was I. (beat) I left him there. Alive. Anderson sighs deeply. ANDERSON We didn't get too far when the Germans found him. They tortured him. It took a long time for him to die.
Copyright © 2004 Shaun Goldsmith |