The Last Mission (8) SHOOT back. Toward the graveyard. CRUWELL All units. Move for the cemetery! German Soldiers rush to vehicles and race off. Heading for the graveyard. CRUWELL Kempka! Sound the general alarm! Von Ravenstein limps forward. Grabs Samira by the hair. Drags her to the plane. INT. JU-52 He pushes her through the door and throws her into a seat. He removes one of the cuffs from her wrist. Chains her to the chair. He storms forward to the cockpit. JU-52 PILOT and COPILOT turn around. Surprised. JU-52 PILOT What's going on? VON RAVENSTEIN Get this plane moving! We're under attack. Ju-52 Pilot pushes the throttles forward. The plane heads for the runway. EXT. GRAVEYARD The armored car keeps FIRING. Taylor and Campbell are pinned down. Steiner pops up behind the wall. A rocket launcher on his shoulder. He presses the trigger. The rocket WHOOSHES. Hitting the armored car. It BLOWS UP. Steiner looks around. Pritchard lays on the ground. Dead. Fuchs beside him. Far off, German vehicles race toward them. STEINER Time to go! Taylor and Campbell gather their equipment. Ready to fall back. From above, the GROWL of engines. Everyone looks up. GERMAN FIGHTER PLANES Race in. Machine guns STUTTER. TAYLOR Cover! Steiner ducks. So do Campbell and Taylor. IN THE BELL TOWER Mitchell and Mctavish flatten. THE PLANES ROAR in. SHOOTING. Strafing. Bullets kick up geysers of sand. The planes streak over and fly on. Nothing moves for a few seconds. Everything's obscured by sand and dust. MITCHELL Grunts. Gets on his knees. Stunned, he looks around. MITCHELL Steiner? AT THE STONE WALL Steiner picks himself off the ground. Coughing. Dusts himself off. STEINER I'm here. (beat) Taylor? Campbell? The dust still settles. Unable to SEE them. TAYLOR (O.S.) We're here. The dust clears. Campbell lays against the wall. Blood streaming from dozens of holes. Taylor lays beside him. Both legs gone. Below the knee. TAYLOR But, we have a little problem. Steiner moves toward him. TAYLOR Don't. Steiner stops. TAYLOR Go. Steiner pauses. TAYLOR Go! Steiner grabs equipment. Flees for the monastery ruins. IN THE BELL TOWER Mitchell stands. Gathers his stuff. MITCHELL McTavish. We have to go. Now. Nothing from McTavish. No movement. Nothing. MITCHELL McTavish? Mitchell reaches over. Moves the body on its side. McTavish has a neat, bloody hole in the center of his forehead. CLANKING NOISE from below. Mitchell looks. A GERMAN TANK Stops beyond the stone wall. The tank's gun traverses. Elevates. Pointed right at the tower. Mitchell dives for the staircase. The gun FIRES. The BLAST shatters the bell tower. It keels over. SMASHES on the ground. EXT. GRAVEYARD German Vehicles arrive. Taking up positions around the monastery. Soldiers deploy for the attack. GERMAN SGT. MAJOR struts forward. Pistol in hand. GERMAN SGT. MAJOR Inside! You're surrounded! Save yourselves! Surrender now! INT. MONASTERY RUINS Steiner takes cover near the doorway. Jeep parked inside, nearby. Mitchell tumbles down the stairs. Holding his Boys Gun. He's bleeding and battered. STEINER You all right? Mitchell nods, getting up. MITCHELL You? STEINER Yeah. Where's McTavish? Mitchell shakes his head. STEINER But you got Rommel right? Mitchell's eyes betray him. Steiner looks deflated. STEINER All this way. For nothing. GERMAN SGT. MAJOR (O.S.) Surrender now! Your lives will be spared! STEINER You believe him? MITCHELL Not a chance. STEINER What now? The HUM of the JU-52's engines. Mitchell peeks through a crack in the walls. The plane nears the runway. Mitchell moves to the jeep. Climbs in. Mans a machine gun. STEINER Let me guess. We risk our lives. Save the girl and escape. Easy enough. MITCHELL Nothing to it. Steiner climbs in. Draws a pair of pistols. STEINER Yeah. EXT. MONASTERY RUINS German Sgt. Major waits. An impatient look. GERMAN SGT. MAJOR This is your last warning. Surrender or die. An engine STARTS. REVS up. BLAM! A wall disintegrates. The jeep comes flying through. It bears down on Sgt. Major. SMACK! His body hits the grill and bounces off. Every weapon opens up on them. Mitchell and Steiner SHOOT back as the jeep twists back and forth. Racing past the Germans at high speed. Cruwell drives up in a tank as the jeep races for the runway. CRUWELL Double back! Double back! The tank reverses direction. German Soldiers race to their vehicles. The chase is on! INTERCUT - INT./EXT. JU-52/EXT. JEEP The plane turns onto the runway. Through the cockpit window, Von Ravenstein spots the jeep approaching from the opposite end. VON RAVENSTEIN Run them down. Von Ravenstein pushes the throttles forward. JU-52 PILOT What are you doing? JU-52 CO-PILOT We don't have clearance. Von Ravenstein draws his pistol. VON RAVENSTEIN Now you do. The plane lurches forward. Races down the runway. The jeep races toward it. Cruwell and the other German Vehicles follow behind. Steiner keeps the gas pedal on the floor. Mitchell grabs his Boys Gun. Through the scope, he takes aim at the tires. He presses the trigger. The jeep strikes a bump. Knocking the gun off target as he FIRES. The bullet SHATTERS the cockpit windshield. JU-52 Pilot slumps over the control column. Forcing it forward and to the side. Blood seeps onto the floor. The plane swings off the runway. The oil tank farm looming in the distance. Mitchell lowers the gun. Aghast. STEINER How did you get picked for his mission? MITCHELL Just follow that plane! The jeep races after the wayward aircraft, bouncing along the ground. A bump. Von Ravenstein stumbles backward. The pistol still in his hand. JU-52 Co-Pilot removes his straps. Tries to remove the Pilot from his seat as Von Ravenstein hits the floor. A GUNSHOT! The bullet strikes JU-52 Co-Pilot in the head. He falls over. Dead. Von Ravenstein SMACKS his head on a fire extinguisher mounted to the wall. He's out cold. He pistol drops from his hand. Chained to her seat, Samira looks out the window. Sand races by. The plane's at full speed. She looks to the cockpit. Both pilots dead. The plane's out of control. Through the cockpit window, a hundred oil tanks get closer with each second. Each filled with fuel. Her eyes widen. She looks around the cabin. Near panic. She tugs at the armrest. She can't get free. The jeep races along behind the plane. Unable to catch up. MITCHELL Get closer! STEINER It's too fast! EXT. GERMAN VEHICLES Follow the jeep in hot pursuit. Cruwell's tank races in the lead. Kempka rides an armored car following behind. Both wear radio headsets. KEMPKA Captain? The plane's heading for the oil depot. CRUWELL Fire on the plane! Destroy it before it reaches the tanks. KEMPKA But Captain. Agent Von Ravenstein is still on board. A beat. Cruwell ponders. CRUWELL Fire at will! German guns open FIRE. INTERCUT - EXT./INT. JU-52 EXPLOSIONS bracket the plane. Bullets PING against the fuselage and CRACK through windows. Samira screams. Ducks down. Notices Von Ravenstein's pistol on the floor. Too far out of reach. Then, she SEES the pin on his lapel. She stretches for it. Mitchell grabs his Boys Gun. Takes aim. MITCHELL Hold it steady. He SHOOTS. The bullet strikes one of the plane's tires. It BURSTS. Loose rubber SLAPS against the ground. The plane slows. The jeep narrows the gap. Samira stretches as far as she can. The pin is just out of reach. She strains. The handcuff cuts into her wrist. Then, she grasps the pin. Tears it from the lapel. Picks the handcuff lock. CLICK! She's free. She rushes back through the cabin for the door. She turns the handle and it opens. WHOOSH! A rush of air. She leans out. The ground quickly rushing by. Too fast for her to jump. She notices the jeep racing to catch up. SAMIRA Mitchell! Mitchell SEES her. Turns to Steiner. MITCHELL Get alongside! Steiner eases the jeep up to the door. Close enough for her to jump. She leans out. Mitchell reaches over to grab her. Their fingertips touch. The plane strikes several rocks. It rises upward. SMACKS the jeep. Knocking it aside. She falls backward. It looks like the plane's taking off. Then, it falls back to the ground. Bouncing along. The oil tanks drawing nearer. MITCHELL Again! Get closer! Steiner maneuvers the jeep close to the plane. A few feet between them. Mitchell's arms reach out. Ready to catch her. She's about to jump. The plane strikes another bump. This one worse than the other. The plane bounds upward. Knocking her off balance. She stumbles and falls out the doorway. She screams. MITCHELL Samira! A hand catches her before she drops. She dangles from the aircraft. The ground racing past. She looks up at her rescuer. It's Von Ravenstein. A sick grin on his face. VON RAVENSTEIN What a predicament. If I let you go, you'll die. MITCHELL looks up. Samira hangs out the door. Von Ravenstein holding her. MITCHELL Get underneath her! Steiner drives the jeep beneath her. Von Ravenstein looks over. The oil tanks getting closer with each second. She swings her free hand up. He pulls her close. Gingerly touches a gloved hand to her cheek. VON RAVENSTEIN Such a waste. We shall go to hell together! She opens her mouth. Bites his gloved hand. Clamps down on it. Von Ravenstein screams. He struggles to hold her. But, she bites down harder. Drawing blood. She tears away flesh and leather. Spitting out. Blood rings her lips. Stains her teeth. SAMIRA You first! He drops her. She plummets downward. Falling into Mitchell's arms. They tumble in the back of the jeep. Looking up, the JU-52 is about to SLAM back to earth. Right atop them. MITCHELL Go! Steiner turns the wheel hard over and the jeep races away. SMASH! The JU-52 hits the ground. The landing gear collapses. Propellers are sheared off. Jagged metal flies in all directions. The wings fold over and break off. Von Ravenstein rolls on the cabin floor. Favoring his hand. The oil tanks fill the cockpit window. His lips are pursed. Angry. Not afraid. VON RAVENSTEIN I hate this fucking war! CRASH! The wreckage cartwheels into the tanks. EXPLODING. The tanks BLOW UP. One after another. A horrible conflagration. Cruwell drives up. His face, disbelieving. The entire oil tank farm is ablaze. Hugh flames reach into the sky. Kempka drives up in an armored car. Dismounts. Races to Cruwell's tank. KEMPKA Captain! We have them! EXT. DESERT - DAY The jeep races on toward a canyon up ahead. Steiner drives. Samira beside. Mitchell mans the machine gun in the rear. Samira looks over her shoulder. Her face horrified. SAMIRA They're coming in again! THE FIGHTER PLANES Streak in. Machine guns blazing. MITCHELL FIRES back. Bullets WHIZ through the air. Geysers of sand surround the jeep. INT. FIGHTER PLANE FIGHTER PILOT swivels his head around. Searching for the jeep. But, it's disappeared. FIGHTER PILOT Lost sight of them! EXT. CANYON - MINUTES LATER A tank leads a small convoy of vehicles. Its tracks CLANK and SQUEAL. Cruwell stands in the turret. He raises his hand. The vehicles stop. He looks around. The canyon floor gives way to rocky slopes on either side. Lots of places to hide. It's QUIET. Except for a small breath of wind. Cruwell gestures. A squad of German Soldiers deploy. They move forward cautiously. Led by POINT MAN. Behind him, the SQUAD LEADER. On the flank, behind a small ROCK FORMATION Samira silently loads the rocket launcher. Several yards away, the Germans move past. She stays out of sight. THE POINT MAN Halts suddenly. Holds up his hand. Soldiers take cover. Squad Leader moves up. Point Man gestures. STEINER Lays face down. Several yards ahead. A machine gun rests beside the body. SQUAD LEADER Stay here. He moves forward. Covered by his troops. Reaching the body, he gives it a kick. It's lifeless. No sound. No movement. He reaches down and turns it over. Steiner's eyes are closed. Shirt bloody. Satisfied, Squad Leader signals. German Soldiers step forward. SQUAD LEADER Move up- A GUNSHOT. Squad Leader gets hit in the chest. Dies quickly. Steiner comes alive. Draws a pistol. SHOOTS. Kills Point Man. He crawls to the machine gun and opens FIRE. German Soldiers are mowed down. SAMIRA Pops up behind the rocks. WHOOSH! Fires the rocket launcher. BOOM! It hits the truck at the convoy's rear. EXPLODING in flames. CRUWELL Watches it happen. The vehicles are now bottlenecked. Unable to reverse past the flaming truck. They're trapped. CRUWELL Advance and fire! The tank lurches forward. FIRING all its guns. EXT. MITCHELL Positioned high above. He watches the tank move ahead. He targets the tank's track in the scope. Presses the trigger. CLANG! The bullet strikes THE TANK'S TRACK Squarely. It slides through the road wheels and falls limply onto the sand. The tank's stopped. Unable to move. CRUWELL Shit! A bullet ricochets off the turret. Close enough to convince Cruwell to get below. WHOOSH! Another TRUCK BLOWS sky high. The flames leap from one vehicle to the next. Gasoline EXPLODES. The vehicles are engulfed in flames. Soldiers can't escape the inferno. Screaming. Roasting alive. STEINER FIRES until CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. He's out of ammo. Grabs another belt. HEARS a WHINING NOISE. He looks up. The tank's gun points directly at him. He covers his head with his hands. A shell ROARS out. EXPLODING right on him. Dust and sand settle. But, there's nothing left. He's gone. MITCHELL SEES. Grimaces. Pissed off. Pulls the cocking handle. Takes careful aim. INT. CRUWELL'S TANK Cruwell crouches inside. The crew is young. Twenty to twenty five. DRIVER and GUNNER keep their eyes fixed through the view slits. Able to SEE outside. LOADER kneels near Cruwell. A shell in his arms. Waiting to reload. Cruwell turns to the Driver. CRUWELL Get us moving! Driver works the gears. The engine REVS. But, the tank stays in place. DRIVER Thrown a track, sir. Cruwell nods. CRUWELL See anything? Driver looks through the view slit. Carefully, he looks around. There's bodies everywhere. Laying motionless in the sand. There's a flash. A puff of smoke. The ROAR of the gunshot. The bullet ZIPS through the view slit. Hitting the Driver. Blood spatters everywhere. He crumples. Dead. Gunner and Loader look to Cruwell. Eyes wide. Near panic. CRUWELL Lucky shot. A million to one- Gunner turns back. Suddenly, another GUNSHOT! Again, right through the view slit. It strikes him in the head. He keels over. Dead. The Loader freaks out. Cruwell reaches to grab him but, he's already climbing out the hatch. BLAM! The Gunner falls back inside the tank. A massive splotch of crimson on his chest. He hits the floor. Doesn't move. Cruwell's alone. Fear registers on his face. Terror. He puts his eye to the periscope. He can't SEE anyone. Only dead bodies. All his men. All dead. He removes his eye from the scope. Dejected. Resigned. He looks around. Spots the radio equipment on the wall. He grabs the radio mike. CRUWELL Squadron leader? This is Cruwell. Over? EXT. CRUWELL'S TANK Mitchell approaches quickly. Throwing the Boys Gun down. INT. CRUWELL'S TANK FIGHTER PILOT (V.O.) Copy. We're inbound. Cruwell puts down the mike. Takes deep breaths. Closes his eyes. CLANG! A NOISE from outside. Cruwell opens his eyes. More CLANGING. The tank shudders slightly. He draws his pistol. Someone's moving around on top of the tank. A hatch is thrown open. A shaft of bright light. Tensely, Cruwell waits. A grenade tumbles in. Then, another. And another. And another. Cruwell's horrified. He's got no choice. He opens his hatch and clamors out. EXT. CRUWELL'S TANK He leaps from the hatch and rolls from the tank. It EXPLODES in a huge ball of fire. The blast knocks him to the ground. He remains there for a moment. Gathering his bearings. Slowly, he stands. Looks around. Pistol drawn. No one. Only the dead. FOOTSTEPS. Cruwell turns. A figure moves quickly near some rocks. He FIRES. The figure falls. Slowly, Cruwell makes his way over. SAMIRA Lays on the ground. Wounded in the leg. She tries to crawl but, can't. Cruwell walks up. They look at each other. He raises the gun. Presses the trigger. GUNSHOTS! Cruwell gets hit. Falls. Drops the gun. He crawls to a nearby rock and props himself up. He closes his eyes. HEARS footsteps. Opens them. Mitchell stands over him. Face like steel. Points the pistol at him. He tightens his grip on the gun. Ready to shoot. Mitchell's finger touches the trigger. But, he can't press it. Like his finger is stuck. CARTER (V.O.) William... Mitchell looks over. Samira lays nearby. SAMIRA William. Mitchell looks to his hand. Opens his fist. He holds Carter's identification disc. He looks to Cruwell. Laying there. Defenseless. Fearful. Mitchell starts shaking. Barely able to hold the gun. SAMIRA CARTER (V.O.) William... William... Cruwell turns away. His body quivers. Is he crying? Mitchell lowers the pistol. His breath comes in gasps. Cruwell turns back. Not crying. Laughing. From above, sunlight shimmering on metal catches Mitchell's eye. GERMAN FIGHTER PLANES Dive in MITCHELL'S Eyes widen. MITCHELL Airstrike... He races over to Samira. Throws her over his shoulder. Runs like hell. Cruwell remains on the ground. His4 laughter echoes. Drowned out by the ROAR of the incoming planes. Mitchell, with Samira over his shoulder, sprints for their lives. Like a man possessed. There's a crater just ahead. They might make it. THE FIGHTER PLANES Swoop in. Machine guns CHATTER. Accompanied by that dreadful, familiar WHINE of falling bombs. MITCHELL AND SAMIRA Dive for the hole. THE BOMBS hit with a massive BLAST. A tremendous fireball rolls along the valley. MITCHELL AND SAMIRA Disappear in a curtain of flames. EXT. CANYON - MOMENTS LATER The smoke clears. The dust settles. KEMPKA Appears. Rifle ready. He looks around. Inspecting the area. He gestures behind and GERMAN SOLDERS Appear. All heavily armed. Moving up cautiously. They fan out. Searching. Stepping over bodies. Kempka walks toward Cruwell's tank. Now, a flaming mess. Off to the side, he SEES a blackened form on the ground. He moves to it. KEMPKA Captain! It's Cruwell. He's bloody. Face blackened. Barely recognizable. His uniform smoulders. Kempka kneels down. Inspects his wounds. KEMPKA Orderly! Orderly! Two Orderlies race up, carrying a stretcher. They place Cruwell on it and carry him off. Kempka stands there alone. Surveying the carnage. Burned vehicles. Dead bodies. He spots something up ahead. Lying in the sand. Small. Shiny. He walks forward. EXT. SEA - SUBMARINE - NIGHT The sub bobs on the surface. SUB CAPTAIN, NUMBER ONE and three LOOKOUTS stand on the bridge. Scanning the coastline with binoculars. Sub Captain looks at his watch. SUB CAPTAIN It's time. NUMBER ONE Yes sir. (to Lookouts) Clear the bridge. Two Lookouts make their way for the hatch. LOOKOUT#3 remains at his post. His gaze fixed on the beach. LOOKOUT#3 Sir? Over there. He points. Sub Captain and Number One grab their binoculars. A feint light flickers from the beach. SUB CAPTAIN Number One! Away landing party! EXT. BEACH - A FEW MINUTES LATER Several Sailors in dark clothing paddle a raft to the shoreline. From behind some ROCKS Mitchell and Samira emerge. Both in rough shape. Limping. Lots of cuts and scrapes. Dirty bandages. They stagger down the beach to the raft. He leans on her. She, on him. INTERCUT - INT. CONFERENCE ROOM/EXT. CANYON - DAY A large room. FIELD MARSHALL MONTGOMERY stands near the window. He's fifties. Dour. Proper. Serious. Thin moustache. Wears uniform with black beret. Sunlight filters through the curtains, billowing gently. Kempka kneels down. Retrieves the shiny object from the sand. A KNOCK at the conference room door. MONTGOMERY Enter. Kempka picks up the object. It's Carter's identification disc. He touches it with his thumb. The conference room door opens. Mitchell enters in full dress uniform. The medals on his chest JINGLE. He halts. Salutes smartly. MITCHELL Sergeant William Mitchell. Reporting as ordered. Sir. Montgomery turns. MONTGOMERY Mitchell? Montgomery smiles. MONTGOMERY We heard you were dead. Mitchell smiles too. Proudly. MITCHELL Wishful thinking sir. Kempka places the disc back down in the sand. Shoulders his rifle. Turns and walks away. FADE OUT.
Copyright © 2004 Shaun Goldsmith |