DIRK AND NATHAN POV:
Dirk sees Hilda tugging on the rear exit door. He FIRES TWO SHOTS and misses. He fires A THIRD SHOT as Hilda opens the door and runs out.
Nathan follows Dirk to the back room and secures the door again.
NATHAN
Where the hell did she come from?
Dirk runs to the front window and peeks out. HE SEES HILDA RUN TOWARD THE POLICE.
DIRK
She never saw our faces.
She can’t ID us.
Dirk storms toward Lindsay and Kelly. He grabs Kelly by the hair and pulls her off her seat. He puts the HOT MUZZLE to her forehead. KELLY CRIES OUT. The muzzle leaves a small impression in her skin.
DIRK
I should have done this sooner.
NATHAN
Let her go.
Dirk points his gun at Nathan.
DIRK
Now it’s my turn.
Nathan puts his hands in the air.
NATHAN
This won’t help anything.
So one of them got away.
Big deal. She can’t hurt us.
Dirk hesitates for a second. He looks at Kelly, then back at Nathan.
NATHAN
Please. Too many people are
hurt already.
Dirk pulls the trigger. CLICK. The gun is empty.
Dirk laughs. He lets go of Kelly, who runs back to the hostage group.
Dirk dumps the spent .357 casings on the floor. He digs more bullets from his pocket and reloads.
DIRK
I wish I could see your face.
EXT. DINER PARKING LOT – DAY
Sheriff Thorton grabs Hilda by her shoulders and looks her in the eye. Hilda’s hyped on adrenaline. Out of breath. In a state of shock.
SHERIFF
It’s all right. Shhhh.
It’s all right. Are you hurt?
Hilda shakes her head. A paramedic rushes over.
SHERIFF
She’s all right.
PARAMEDIC
I still need to evaluate her.
Hilda swallows hard. Her hands are shaking.
HILDA
I’m all right.
She waves the paramedic off.
SHERIFF
(to Hilda)
What happened in there?
Hilda takes a step back. She’s reeling from what happened.
HILDA
I saw three men with guns.
They’re wearing masks.
(beat)
One of them shot a cop.
SHERIFF
Is he still alive?
Hilda shakes her head.
HILDA
(about to cry)
They shot him twice in the chest.
(crying)
I think they killed him.
The Sheriff punches the air in frustration.
SHERIFF
Son of a bitch.
Dale approaches.
DALE
What happened?
SHERIFF
Chuck’s dead.
DALE
Shit…God dammit! I fucking
new this would happen.
SHERIFF
(to Hilda)
Is anyone else hurt?
HILDA
A waitress got shot in the arm.
SHERIFF
What about the cook?
HILDA
They burned his hand but
he’s all right.
DALE
How many people are in there?
Hilda’s flustered, dizzy, STARTS TO FAINT. THE SHERIFF CATCHES HER.
SHERIFF
(to Paramedic)
Stay with her.
The Sheriff jogs to—
HIS CAR
The SWAT Commander follows him. Sheriff Thorton grabs his MEGAPHONE from the passenger seat.
SHERIFF
This is Sheriff Thorton.
Throw out your weapons and
step out now.
The SWAT Commander pushes the megaphone aside.
SWAT COMMANDER
What are you doing?
SHERIFF
Trying to end this thing.
SWAT COMMANDER
And kill everyone inside?
SHERIFF
We have to do something.
Sheriff Thorton runs his hand through his hair. He tosses the megaphone in the car.
SHERIFF
My brother’s inside there.
SWAT COMMANDER
I’m aware of that. I’m also aware
there are a dozen other hostages.
We’re doing everything we can.
SHERIFF
Well it’s not enough.
SWAT COMMANDER
Call the diner. Keep them
talking as long as you can.
We’ll get your people out.
INT. DINER – DAY
Nathan and Dirk pace back and forth near the counter. THE PHONE RINGS.
NATHAN
What if she can ID us?
DIRK
She never saw our faces.
NATHAN
She knows you killed that cop.
DIRK
We, killed that cop. Now we’re
all involved. For the long haul.
NATHAN
You said you’d get us out of here.
How are you going to do that?
Dirk answers the phone.
DIRK
What do you want?
EXT. DINER PARKING LOT – DAY
Sheriff Thorton on the phone. The SWAT Commander stands beside him and listens.
SHERIFF
This is Sheriff Thorton.
Don’t hang up.
DIRK (VO)
If you start shooting, I swear
to God I’ll kill every one of
these people.
SHERIFF
No shooting I promise.
I just wanna talk.
DIRK (VO)
Make it fast.
SHERIFF
Let the rest of the women go.
DIRK (VO)
I haven’t let anyone go.
That bitch got away on her own.
SHERIFF
Don’t make this worse.
DIRK (VO)
I want a car with tinted windows
and a full tank of gas. And I
want your guys to back off.
The Sheriff looks at the SWAT Commander and covers the cell phone with his hand.
SHERIFF
He wants a car.
The SWAT Commander nods.
SHERIFF
(to Dirk)
You still there?
DIRK (VO)
Twenty minutes. Or I start
killing hostages.
The line goes dead.
SHERIFF
Wait.
INT. DINER – DAY
Dirk slams the phone down. He turns his head to read the CLOCK on the wall. IT’S NOON. Then he turns back to read the iron man plaque on the wall by the grill station. He takes the plaque off the wall and reads the name beneath Simon’s picture.
CLOSE ON: IRON MAN PLAQUE
Dirk sees the name Simon Thorton.
BACK TO SCENE:
Dirk looks at Simon who’s holding ICE on his severely burned hand.
DIRK
Small world.
EXT. MARY’S TRAILER – DAY
Mrs. Abbott emerges from the trailer and climbs in the old Volare.
INT. VOLARE – DAY
WHITE TRASH DRIVER
What about the baby?
MRS. ABBOTT
She’s down for a nap.
EXT. DINER PARKING LOT – DAY
The Sheriff slams his hand on the roof of a police car. Dale stands beside him with his hands on his hips.
DALE
We can’t just give them a car.
SHERIFF
Then what do you suggest?
DALE
We can’t let them leave.
A cop runs up to Sheriff Thorton and hands him a fax. The Sheriff examines the page.
SHERIFF
What’s this?
OFFICER
Arrest warrant for Timothy Rivera.
The Corolla’s registered in his name
but he’s not our man.
(beat)
Orange County police popped him
for drug possession two nights ago.
He’s been in lock up since then.
DALE
(to Sheriff)
Then who’s inside?
SHERIFF
Peter fucking Piper for all I know.
(beat)
Find out. Fast. I wanna know
who we’re dealing with.
INT. DINER – DAY
The clock on the wall reads 12:07.
NATHAN AND MARY POV:
Mary points to Dirk, who checks the front window blinds again.
MARY
Why did you get involved with him?
NATHAN
He said this place was easy
money. That he knew somebody
who stole ten grand from one of
these and got away.
Dirk approaches Nathan and Mary.
NATHAN
(to Dirk)
You see a car?
DIRK
Not yet.
EXT. DINER BACK DOOR EXIT – DAY
SWAT team members dressed in black attach a special MIRRORED device over the peep hole. They use a blow torch on the lock mechanism.
EXT. DINER PARKING LOT – DAY
The SWAT Commander lays out a hand drawn map on the hood of the Sheriff’s car. Sheriff Thorton and officer Dale examine it.
SWAT COMMANDER
Timing is critical. One man will
bring the car up front and get out
with the engine running. I want your
men to drive away. Give the elusion
all is clear. When our suspects
approach the car, my men will enter
from the storage room undetected.
One team will secure the hostages.
The other will engage the suspects.
Sheriff Thorton rubs his hand on the back of his head.
SHERIFF
What if they get away?
SWAT COMMANDER
They won’t.
DALE
What if they try to take
the hostages with them?
SWAT COMMANDER
The car barely seats four people.
When it reaches a safe distance
from the diner, my sharp shooters
will take it out.
SHERIFF
Too risky. I don’t like it.
SWAT COMMANDER
Right now it’s all we got.
The Sheriff checks his watch.
SHERIFF
Eight minutes.
DALE
You think they’re bluffing
about killing the hostages?
SHERIFF
They didn’t hesitate to kill a cop.
INT. MEN’S RESTROOM – DAY
Nathan takes his mask off. He splashes water on his face. His gun rests on the sink. His hands tremble.
INT. DINING ROOM – DAY
Dirk’s seated at a table. He watches the clock tick past 12:15. Deadline’s looming. Still no car. He counts heads with his finger and removes more bullets from his pocket.
LINDSAY AND KELLY POV:
LINDSAY
I’m sorry.
KELLY
For what?
LINDSAY
It was my idea to come here.
KELLY
It doesn’t matter. At least
Hilda got away.
(beat)
My uncle’s a New York State
Trooper. Cops train for this
kind of stuff.
LINDSAY
I hope you’re right.
HAROLD AND BETTY POV:
Harold leans over the table and whispers to his wife.
HAROLD
We can’t just sit here.
We have to do something.
(beat)
The other guy’s only holding a
twenty-two. I could take
a couple shots from that and
still survive. If I can get close
enough to him–
BETTY
Shhhh.
HAROLD
It’s us or them. I’m not
going to sit in the hangman’s
gallows and wait to die.
Masks or not, we can identify their
voices. Sooner or later, they’ll
figure that out.
BETTY
Don’t say that.
HAROLD
We’re all witnesses.
BETTY
The police will do something.
HAROLD
They better do it soon.
CARL AND JON’S POV:
Carl slips a small folding knife from the top of his boot and hides it in his hands underneath the table where HE UNFOLDS THE BLADE.