Collateral Part 4

Collateral Part 4

INT. TAXI

VINCENT
Only thing didn't show up was the Polish cavalry.

Max is angry. He says nothing.

VINCENT
You're alive. I saved you. Do I get any thanks?
No. All you can do is clam up. You want to talk?
Tell me to fuck off?

MAX
Fuck off. You had to kill Fanning?

VINCENT
Who the fuck is Fanning?

MAX
Fanning, the cop. Why'd you have to kill him?
He's probably got a family. Kids will grow up without him.
He believed me.

VINCENT
I should've saved him because he believed you.

MAX
Not that.

VINCENT
Yeah. That.

MAX
What's wrong with that?

VINCENT
It's what I do for a living.

MAX
Some living.

VINCENT
Head downtown.

MAX
What's downtown?

VINCENT
How are you at math? I was hired for five hits. I did four.

MAX
Why didn't you just kill me and get another cab driver?

VINCENT
You're good. We're in this together. Fates intertwined. Cosmic coincidence.

MAX
You're full of shit.

VINCENT
I'm full of shit? You even bullshitted yourself, If all I am is taking out garbage,
killing bad people.

MAX
That's what you said.

VINCENT
You believe me?

Max gives an exasperated sigh.

MAX
Then what'd they do?

VINCENT
How do I know? They all got that "witness for the prosecution" look to me.
Probably some major federal indictment of somebody who majorly
does not want to get indicted.

MAX
So that's the reason?

VINCENT
That's the "why." There's no reason. There's no good or bad reason
to live or to die.

MAX
Then what are you?

VINCENT
Indifferent. Get with it. Millions of galaxies of hundreds of millions of stars and a speck on one in a blink.
That's us. Lost in space. The cop, you, me... Who notices?

MAX
What's with you?

VINCENT
As in?

MAX
As in if somebody had a gun to your head and said:
"You got to tell me what's going on with this person over here or I'll kill you.
What is driving him? What was he thinking?" You know, you couldn't do it,
could you, because...they'd have to kill your ass because you don't know
what anyone else is thinking. I think you're low, my brother. Way low.
Like, what were you? One of those institutionalized raised guys? Anybody home?
The standard parts that are supposed to be there in people, in you...
...aren't. And why haven't you killed me yet?

VINCENT
Of all the cabbies in L.A. I get Max: Sigmund Freud meets Dr. Ruth.

MAX
Answer the question.

VINCENT
Look in the mirror. Paper towels, clean cab, limo company someday.
How much you got saved?

MAX
That ain't none of your business.

VINCENT
Someday? Someday my dream will come? One night you'll wake up and you'll
discover it never happened.It’s all turned around on you. It never
will. Suddenly you are old. Didn’t happen. And it never will because you were
never going to do it anyway. You’ll push it into memory, then zone out in your
Barcalounger, being hypnotized by daytime TV for the rest of your life. Don’t
you talk to me about murder. All it ever took was a down payment on a Lincoln
Town Car. Or that girl. You can’t even call that girl. What the fuck are
you still doing driving a cab?

Max can't answer at once. After there is a silence for a few seconds, Max begins to talk heavily.

MAX
Because I never straightened up and looked at it, you know? Myself. I should have. I tried to
gamble my way out from under, but that was just a born-to-lose deal.

Max begins gradually to build up speed.


VINCENT
Slow down.

MAX
It’s got to be perfect. It’s got to be perfect to go. Risk all torque down. I could’ve done it anytime I wanted to.

VINCENT
Red light.

Though Vincent warns him, Max ignores a red light. And he speeds up still more and ignores red lights one after another.

MAX

But you know what? New news. It doesn’t matter anyway. What does it matter anyway? We’re all insignificant out here in this big-ass nowhere Twilight Zone shit. Says the badass sociopath in my back seat. But you know what? That’s the one thing I got to thank you for, bro. Because until now, I never looked at it that way. What do we got to lose anyway, right?


Vincent points a gun at Max’s head.

VINCENT
Slow down.

MAX
Why? You going to pull the trigger and kill us? Go ahead, shoot my ass. You going to shoot me now? You going to kill us? Well, shoot my ass then. Shoot me.

VINCENT
Slow down!

MAX
You’re right. You know what, Vincent? Go fuck yourself!

Max hits a construction site and rolls his cab.

VINCENT
Well, that was brilliant.

MAX
Didn’t have your seat belt on?

Vincent strikes Max but he hear distant police’s siren. He goes out of rolled cab and leaves. After Max goes out too, the police officer approaches him.

OFFICER
1 L-20, show me code six at Olympic and Figueroa on a TC with injuries.



RADIO

Copy your location.



OFFICER

Are you okay? What happened? Sir, you were involved in an accident. An ambulance is on its way to help you. You understand what I’m saying? Sit down and relax, okay? Don’t worry about the cab. They’ll get you a new one. Relax and breathe.



The officer begins to check the damaged cab, and finds a dead body in the trunk. He points his gun at Max.

OFFICER
Put your hands up! Put your hands up. Face the cab. Get down on your knees!

Max does as he is told obediently.

MAX
Arrest me.

OFFICER
Hands on your head.

MAX
Take me to jail. L.A. County’s great.

OFFICER
Don’t move! Put your hands behind your head.

Max looks at Vincent’s notebook, and sees that Vincent’s final target is Annie.

OFFICER
1 L-20, I need a backup on a 1 87 suspect.

MAX
Ah!

Max grabs the gun from the police officer while he is trying to handcuff him.

OFFICER
Put the gun down!

MAX
Put your hands down! Look, I got to go.

Police yells out, but Max continues to point the gun at him.

MAX
Stop moving! Stop moving! When did this become a negotiation?
Cuff your hands together. Hold your hands together.
Listen, somebody's going to get killed if I don't go right now.
Now, cuff yourself. I'm going to Sixth and Fig.
Call the cops.

Max starts running. He sees a man on the street talking on a cell phone.


MAX
Give me that.

Max grabs the man's cell phone.

MAN
Hey, hey!

The man starts to chase Max, but Max points the gun at him.

MAN
Whoa! Fuck.

Max calls　Annie, but she doesn't answer.

MAX
Shit! Come on! Come on. Go through. Come on. Come on. Pick up.

INT. BUILDING
Vincent enters an elevator.

EXT. BUILDING

MAX
Pick up. Come on, girl. Come on, pick up.

ANNIE
U.S. Attorney's Office.

MAX
Annie! It's Max. Max, the cab driver. Listen to me, all right?
A guy named Vincent...

Annie can't understand the situation.

MAX
Listen to me, Annie.

ANNIE
It's kind of a strange time to be calling.

MAX
Listen. There's a man named Vincent. He's coming to kill you.

ANNIE
He's what?

MAX
Kill you! He's coming to kill you! He was scoping out the building when I dropped you off...

ANNIE
If this is supposed to be some type of joke, it's not funny.

MAX
It's not a joke. Listen to me, please. Felix hired him. Okay? Or people that Felix worked for.

ANNIE
Felix Reyes-Torrena. How do you know about my case? I don't understand.

MAX
All I know is he's already killed witnesses. He's coming to kill you. When I dropped you off,
I don't know how, but he ended up in my cab. Annie...

Vincent breaks into Annie's office, but she's not there.

MAX
Annie, listen. All I want you to do...

ANNIE
I don't understand.

MAX
Listen. Please listen. Get out of the building. Annie.

ANNIE
I'm leaving the building now.

MAX
No, wait.

ANNIE
Max.

MAX
Wait, wait.

ANNIE
Max.

MAX
Where are you? What floor?

ANNIE
I'm on the 16th floor. I'm in the Law Library and Files.

MAX
He's two floors below you, corner office.

ANNIE
In my office?

MAX
He does not know you're there. Stay there and call 911.
ANNIE
Are you sure he's on the 14th floor?

MAX
Just stay there and just call the police.

ANNIE
Max.

The cell phone starts to die.

MAX
Shit.

Vincent notices the red lamp on Annie's office phone. He sees she is on the 16th floor.

ANNIE
Max.

MAX
Shit.

ANNIE
Max.

MAX
He knows you're up there.

ANNIE
I can't hear you. Hello?

MAX
Annie. Annie, listen to me.

The cellphone's battery runs down.

Annie hangs up the phone.

MAX
Annie. Annie. Shit.

Max dashes toward the building. Annie calls 911 and the operator answers.

OPERATOR
911. Operator.

ANNIE
There is a man in my building and he is...

Vincent breaks a pipe with a small ax.

ANNIE
Hello?

The entire building loses power. The lights go out.


INT.BUILDING'S ENTRANCE

Max finds a guard was killed and his gun is missing.

INT.BUILDING
Vincent approaches Annie.

INT.ENTRANCE
Max breaks the door with the gun.

INT.BUILDING

When Vincent aims at Annie, Max comes.

MAX
Let her go.

VINCENT
Max? Why? What are you going to do about it?

Max shoots at Vincent and escapes with Annie.

MAX
Come on.

VINCENT
Max!

Vincent chases them.

INT.ELEVATOR

ANNIE
God. Felix Reyes-Torrena?

MAX
Yeah. I met him.

ANNIE
What do you mean, you met him? How?

MAX
I don't know. Look, when I dropped you off, there was a fare.
He said his name is Vincent.

EXT.ELEVATOR
MAX
Wait, wait, wait.

ANNIE
This is the street.

MAX
This way. Come on.

Max and Annie run toward the subway.

MAX
Stay up. Stay up. Stay up.

ANNIE
What we going to do?

MAX
Wait, wait.

INT.SUBWAY

MAX
Wait, wait. Wait.

Max and Annie go aboard the train.

MAX
Stay down.

Vincent wavers and gets onto the train.

INT.TRAIN
Vincent sees them and approaches.

MAX
Shit! There's a station.

The train stops at the station. Vincent waits for them on the platform to come out, but they stay inside
the train. The train doors close and Vincent gets back on.

VINCENT
Max! I do this for a living!

Vincent and Max shoot each other. Vincent sits down on the seat and Max too sits down across from Vincent.
Vincent is wounded in the chest.

MAX
We're almost...at the next stop.

VINCENT
Hey, Max...A guy gets on the MTA here in L.A. and dies. Think anybody will notice?

Vincent dies. Max and Annie get off the train.