Collateral Part 3

Collateral Part 3

INT. TAXI
Max is driving Vincent again.

VINCENT
Going to a place called El Rodeo. It's on Washington Boulevard, Pico Rivera.

MAX
Where at on Washington?

VINCENT
Look it up. Limos, huh?

MAX
Don't start.

VINCENT
I'm not the one lying to my mother.

MAX
She hears what she wants to hear. I don't disillusion her.

VINCENT
Right. Maybe she hears what you tell her.

MAX
Whatever I tell her's never good enough.
It's always been that way. So, what's at El Rodeo?

VINCENT
Just drive. They project onto you their flaws.
What they don't like about themselves, their lives, whatever.
They rank on you instead.

MAX
How do you know?

VINCENT
I had a father like that.

MAX
Mothers are worse.

VINCENT
Wouldn't know. My mother died before I remember her.

MAX
What happened to your father?

VINCENT
Hated everything I did. Got drunk, beat me up, foster homes.
Went back with him. Like that.

MAX
Then what?

VINCENT
I killed him. I was 12.

Vincent laughs.

VINCENT
I'm kidding. He died of liver disease.

MAX
Well, I'm sorry.

VINCENT
No, you're not. So, what is this "driving a cab temporarily."
It's all bullshit?

MAX
It is not bullshit.

VINCENT
12 years isn't temporary.

MAX
Got to get the cash together. Insurance, bonds, maintenance, tires.
Got to staff up, get the right client list. It's not just get the car
and put asses in the seats.

VINCENT
Why not?

MAX
Because lsland Limos is more than just a ride. It's like a club experience.
Cool groove. Don't want it to end. It's got to be perfect. Perfect.

VINCENT
It's up here. Turn right. Give me your wallet. Come on.


MAX
Give you my wallet. For what?

VINCENT
I'll hold it for you in case the people inside search you.

MAX
Who's searching?

VINCENT
The people inside. Go in, ask for Felix. He's expecting you.

MAX
Felix. What does he look like?

VINCENT
I don't know, I never met him.

MAX
Who is he?

VINCENT
He's connected to the guys who hired me.

MAX
I don't get it.

VINCENT
You destroyed my work-ups. Number four is due.
What'd you think, night's over? Called on account of rain?
Go in there, say you're me. Score the backups.
They'll be on flash drive or CD.

MAX
How come you don't...

VINCENT
I don't meet people. Anonymity. I protect mine.
You're not going to screw that up. Contract's with their bosses.
These guys don't meet me, or know what I look like.

MAX
If I don't pull it off, then...

VINCENT
They will kill you. You got 10 minutes. At 10:01, I execute your mother
on my way out of town. Don't pretend indifference.

MAX
I can't do this. I can't.

VINCENT
Sure you can. Come on. Hey, hey.

MAX
If I do this, I'm just going to end up getting people killed.

VINCENT
Out of options. Take comfort in knowing you never had a choice.

MAX
How long you been doing this?

VINCENT
Why?

MAX
Just in case they ask me.

VINCENT
Private sector? Six years.

MAX
Okay. All right. Six years. You get benefits? Or, you know, insurance? Pension?
No. No paid sick leave. Quit stalling, get out of the cab.

INT. FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN
Pedrosa, the head of the FBI team, is watching Max go to a club through a TV.
Some security guards are searching Max for weapons.

PEDROSA
Hold on, man. Who's this? Mark the time.

EXT. CLUB
The security guards finish searching Max.

GUARD1
All right, he's clean.

GUARD2
What's up, Holmes?

MAX
I'm here to see Felix. He has something for me.

GUARD2
Don't know no Felix.

MAX
Tell him...Say it's Vincent. I'm Vincent.

The guard talks to Felix on the walkie-talkie.

GUARD2
Copy. Let him in. Let him in right now.

They go into the club.

INT. FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN
Fanning and Richard identify themselves to the FBI.

RICHARD
Detective Richard Weidner, LAPD, Major Narcotics Division.

FANNING
Detective Ray Fanning...

PEDROSA
OK, how are you? Agent Frank Pedrosa.

RICHARD
Thanks for seeing us.

PEDROSA
How can I help? Why do you want to know
about our case?

FANNING
Any unusual activity tonight?

PEDROSA
Like what?

FANNING
That relates to a series of murders
in Wilshire Central or West Hollywood?

PEDROSA
All quiet on the western front.Various people are asleep.
Various people are not. They come and go in cars,
pickups, taxis. Other than that, we watch air move.

Fanning scoffs.

PEDROSA
Your interest in our case?

RICHARD
We got a situation. Two bodies. Could be a coincidence,
could not be a coincidence.

FANNING
It doesn't look like one. We got an attorney and his client...

Fanning notices Max's taxi on a surveillance TV.

FANNING
Roof's all beat to shit. Roof's all beat to shit.

Fanning talks to an FBI agent.

FANNING
Can you zoom in on this?

AGENT
On what?

Fanning points to the taxi.

FANNING
On that. Look at that right there.

RICHARD
What is it?

Fanning makes a phone call and reads the license plate number.

FANNING
Yeah. 5-queen-4-9-9-7-4. 5Q49974.

INT. CLUB
Max meets Felix.

FELIX
I thought you'd be taller. So, Vincent...

INT. FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN

PEDROSA
What are the two names?

FANNING
Ramone Ayala and Clarke.

PEDROSA
Ramone Ayala and Clarke were murdered tonight? Both killed?

FANNING
Clarke for sure. Ramone, I don't know.

FANNING
I got another D.O.A. Daniel Baker out of South Central,
Leimert Park.

PEDROSA
That's three.

FANNING
Three what?

PEDROSA
Witnesses.

INT. CLUB
Felix continues talking to Max.

FELIX
Vincent meets their people in Culiacan or Cartagena.
But he don't meet you. OK. Now you're here.Why?

MAX
I lost my stuff. The list.

FELIX
I want you to listen to me real well. Special groups put together
the list of dedos.

MAX
Dedos.

FELIX
Fingers. Informants. Signal interceptions with voice-recognition
software, surveillance. A very expensive counterintelligence
worked up that list. An important list. Wouldn't you say?
And you lost it?

MAX
Yeah. I'm sorry.

FELIX
Sorry. Sorry? "Sorry" does not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Do you believe in Humpty Dumpty?

MAX
No.

FELIX
Do you believe in Santa Claus?

MAX
No.

FELIX
Nor do l. Nor do l, but my children do. They are still small.
But do you know who they like even better than Santa Claus? His helper.
Pedro el Negro. Black Peter. There's an old Mexican tale that tells of how
Santa Claus got so busy looking out for the good children, that he had to
hire some help to look out for the bad children. So he hired Pedro.
And Santa Claus gave him a list with all the names of all the bad children.
And Pedro would come every night to check them out. And the people, the little kids
that were misbehaving, that were not saying their prayers, Pedro would leave a little
toy donkey on their windows. A little burro, and he would come back.
If they were still misbehaving, Pedro would take them away and nobody would
ever see them again. Now, if I am being Santa Claus, and you are Pedro,
how do you think jolly old Santa Claus would feel if one day Pedro came into his office
and said, "l lost the list"? How fucking furious do you think he will get?
Tell me, Vincent. Tell me what you think.

A man behind Max puts his hand on his gun. Max clears his throat.

FELIX
What?

MAX
I think...I think you should tell the guy...behind me...to put that gun down.

FELIX
What did you say?

MAX
I said you should tell the guy behind me to put his gun away
before I take it and beat his bitch ass to death with it.
I picked up a tail.

FELIX
Federal?

MAX
I don't know, you tell me. That's why I tossed the list.
The work-ups, all of that shit. To protect, in part...your Hermes
Faconnable ass. You think I like coming in here? But, hey...
...shit happens. Got to roll with it. Adapt. Darwin. I Ching.
The fat man, the penthouse guy, the jazz man. That leaves two.

Felix looks at his watch.

FELIX
Can you finish?

MAX
In six years......when have I not?

INT. FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN
Pedrosa replays the video of Max talking to the guards again.

MAX
Say it's Vincent. I'm Vincent.

RICHARD
Vincent?

AGENT
That's what I'm hearing.

MAX
I'm Vincent.

INT. CLUB
Felix copies the data and gives it to Max.


FELIX
Your last two.

MAX
And by the way, as a token of my appreciation.
I would like to offer you a discount.
For all my services, 25 percent.

FELIX
Very generous.

MAX
Hell, make it 35.

Max is standing.

MAX
And by the way...Daniel said he was sorry.

Max leaves the place.

FELIX
Interesting.

Crowd chatters. It is indistinct.

INT. FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN

Fanning is calling.

FANNING
E-mail me his license. To my cell phone. No, no, I'll wait.

Fanning looks at the monitor.

FANNING
Is there anybody else in that cab?

INT. TAXI
Max gives Vincent the data.

VINCENT
Vegas odds would've been against you walking out of there.

MAX
Yeah, I'm very impressive.

VINCENT
Sixth Street by Alexandria, a club called Fever. You know it?

The taxi begins to go.

INT. BUILDING

Pedrosa makes a phone call.

PEDROSA
Locate our witness, Peter Lim. Get him evacuated and safe.
L.A. 101 to chase units.

Fanning makes a phone call.

FANNING
African American, medium build.

PEDROSA
The assault team will do the takedown.
Do not spook him before.
I want air support
to maintain at 1 500 feet.

FANNING
Thank you.

Fanning hangs up the phone.

INT. TAXI

VINCENT
How long?

MAX
12 minutes.

INT. FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN

Police are walking.

FANNING
According to the cab's dispatch unit,
he's been driving that cab for 1 2 years.

PEDROSA
So what?

FANNING
You're telling me the guy walks into a phone booth
and changes into a meat-eater super assassin?
What's he do, squeeze them in between fares?

PEDROSA
The real driver is floating down a storm drain.

FANNING
The guy who walked out looks like this.

PEDROSA
He picked a driver who looks like him.

FANNING
I don't know.

PEDROSA
I do. Zee?

ZEE
We see private-sector security companies hiring out to cartels
in Colombia, Russia, Mexico, hiring ex-Special Forces, Stasi,
ex-KGB, like that, all the time.

PEDROSA
Guys with trigger time, skill sets, tradecraft, look like a cab driver.

FANNING
What are you going to do?

PEDROSA
Take his ass down. Save our witness.

The police get in their police cars.

FANNING
What if they're wrong?

RICHARD
The guy's admitting his name is Vincent.
He's in there talking to the bad guys.

FANNING
There is something else going on.

RICHARD
There's nothing. I thought there was, there isn't.
It's their ball, their game. There's nothing in it for us.

FANNING
Nothing for you.

RICHARD
It's late, I'm going home. You know what time it is?

They get in their cars and are going by the car with tires screeching.

INT. POLICE CAR
PEDROSA
They locate Peter Lim?

ZEE
The wife thinks he's at Fever.

PEDROSA
Sixth and Alexandria. Move it. L.A. 101 to L.A. 103,
L.A. 105, L.A. 108. Witness is at Fever, Sixth and Alexandria.
That's where Vincent is going. Assault team and remaining unit,
take Vincent.First unit on the scene will get the witness out.

RADIO
L.A. 105 to L.A. 101. We copy that.

INT. TAXI

VINCENT
You going to call her?

MAX
Who?

VINCENT
Your lady friend. The one who gave you her business card.

MAX
I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. What?

VINCENT
Pick up the phone. Life's short. One day it's gone.
You and I make it out of this alive, you should call her.
That's what I think. Anyway...

EXT. CLUB
Pedrosa sees the taxi.

PEDROSA
There he is. Hit it. Let's do it.

VINCENT
The table towards the back is where he hangs.

Pedrosa and his men put on bullet proof vests and get
their weapons ready.

PEDROSA
Wilke, take the right. Brian, hold the door.
Clean shots. Watch your backgrounds.
Move 15 feet ahead, three feet left.
Wander, innocent bystanders
get the first rounds. Clear?

The FBI finds Lim, Vincent's next target.

PEDROSA
There's Lim. Second booth from the left.
Get him out.

They see Max.

PEDROSA
Middle of the dance floor. Freeze, Vincent!
FBI! FBI! Get your hands in the air!
Get your hands in the air, Vincent!
This is the FBl! Hands in the air!
FBl. Where's Peter Lim? Drop it!
Freeze!

MAX
I'm not Vincent.

PEDROSA
FBI!!

MAX
Yo, put the gun down! You got the wrong...

Vincent shoots Pedrosa.

AGENT
Pedrosa's been shot. Get an RA unit.

MAX
Wait, wait!

FANNING
Hold on. I'm Detective Fanning.

MAX
I'm Max! I'm a goddamn cab driver, man!
I'm a goddamn cab driver.

FANNING
I know. I'm getting you out of here.
I'm LAPD. Come on.

Fanning and Max leave the club.

MAX
How'd you find me?

FANNING
You're okay. Just move it. Keep moving.
You're OK, you're OK. You're OK. You're all right.

Vincent shoots Fanning and grabs Max.

VINCENT
Let's go! Let's go. Go! Drive! Drive!

They run to the taxi and Max drives away.