.

This journal is dedicated to hosting StarWatcher's fanfiction for The Sentinel and -- new addition! -- The Old Guard Transcript. My stories are gen, with a few (clearly marked) exceptions. Most are slice-of-life tales that focus on the friendship between Jim and Blair. Stories are listed in reverse order of writing, most recent at the top of the list. Each link will take you directly to the story, just as on a standard web-page.

Please note that "The Sentinel", as well as the characters of Jim, Blair, and the other members of the Major Crime Unit of the Cascade Police Department, actually belong to Pet Fly and Paramount. I'm playing in their universe for fun, not profit, and having a grand old time along the way.

For those who are new to The Sentinel, I have compiled background information for the show and characters, with pictures. Those with slow internet may prefer a text version of the background information, with only one picture.

If you're looking for more Sentinel fanfic, I have a list of fanfic resources for The Sentinel.

Note: All of my stories have now been posted to my page at AO3.

And now, on to the stories. Happy reading!




58   Wayback Tutorial.   2,300 words.   Step-by-step guide to using the Wayback Machine.


57   Master List for Old Sentinel Fanfic.   Alphabetical lists of authors and their fic-sites, either AO3, Squidgworld, or accessible via Wayback, for fic that has not been migrated.

***Sentinel Author Lists A, B, and C are now posted.***


56   Close Your Eyes.   2,900 words.   The Old Guard - Nile helps the team get ready for a night out.


55   The Old Guard Transcript - Master Post   38,500 words.   Movie dialogue + descriptions of characters' actions on-screen. Contains links to eleven versions with different font-styles.     Latest edits: Aug 22, 2021


54   Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow   800 words.   Sentinel and Guide are introspective.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


53   Through the I.U.I   6,100 words.   Blair hasn't quite fallen through the looking-glass.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


52   By Another Name   3,300 words.   Some words change our perspective.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


51   Necessity is the Mother...   1,700 words.   Inventions R Us, Sandburg style.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


50   Pretty Ribbons to Say   500 words.   'Trinkets' can be much more...
                    Light style; black font on white page.


49   Just Another Sandburg Moment   4,300 words.   It was supposed to be a simple trip to the bank.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


48   Unique and Unusual   5,100 words.   Jim knows when something is important to Blair.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


47   Eye of the Beholder   14,600 words.   Friends and family aren't always an easy mix, but maybe that can be changed.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


46   Kidnapped!   8,200 words.   Who the heck is 'the boss', and why does he want Blair?
                    Light style; black font on white page.


45   Spring Has Sprung   3,200 words.   Kite-flying for fun and... fun.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


44   Need to Know   23,000 words.   Blair's dreams after Incacha's death will lead him on a quest.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


43   Blame it on Garmina   2,500 words.   Department of Stupid Excuses.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


42   Rain, Rain, Go Away   6,100 words.   The rain is driving Blair crazy.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


41   Them's the Breaks   4,700 words.   It can be surprising who's 'essential'.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


40   Story in progress.


39   Quacks Like a Duck   4,100 words.   Blair and animals -- always more complicated than expected.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


38   Merry Christmas, Chief (gen)   14,100 words.   Christmas = Friendship + Snow + Love.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


38   Merry Christmas, Chief (slash)   15,300 words.   Christmas = Friendship + Snow + Love.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


37   All That Glitters   27,200 words.   Jim and Blair are still learning to work together while dealing with a troublesome case.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


36   Zucchini, Tomatoes and Corn, Oh My!   7,400 words.   Blair becomes embroiled in a tasty enthusiasm.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


35   Lucky Two Hundred   200 words.   Blair's mess is organized -- really it is!
                    Light style; black font on white page.


34   Bryd's-Eye View   5,600 words.   A new detective is introduced to Major Crimes.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


33   One Bright Summer   32,600 words.   Sixteen-year-old Jim is training for a steeplechase, and meets seven-year-old Blair hanging around the stables.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


32   ...Of the Plains   100 words.   Descriptive scene.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


31   It's About Friendship   15,700 words.   Christmas + Friendship.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


30   Wreath of Friendship   500 words.   Christmas Challenge -- "Wreath".
                    Light style; black font on white page.


29   Just Desserts   4,400 words.   What had he done to deserve this?
                    Light style; black font on white page.


28   Sentinel Haiku   50 words.   Series summary, in haiku.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


27   The Misty Solitudes   14,100 words.   While camping, Jim and Blair meet a local legend.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


26   Years May Come, Years May Go   3,700 words.   Major Crime celebrates with a friend..
                    Light style; black font on white page.


25   Ships that Pass...   4,400 words.   A soldier protects a college student, just before a mission.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


24   For the Children   3,100 words.   Blair's Halloween project grows bigger than he expected.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


23   Windsong   8,000 words.   Jim is afraid Blair intends to leave, and Takes Steps.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


22   Stakeout   2,200 words.   Blair is bored; Jim gets his man.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


21   Small Victories   2,300 words.   Jim helps out with Blair's good deed.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


Interlude   Personality Questionnaire   600 words.   Jim and Blair answer a few questions.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


19   For Services Rendered   850 words.   Sometimes doing a favor pays off.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


18   Watching Him Sleep   400 words.   Late-night thoughts after a difficult case.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


17   The Honor of Friendship   1,800 words.   Jim receives a letter that disturbs him.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


16   Closing Blues at AO3. 800 words. I'll put it here one of these days...
https://archiveofourown.org/works/24799672


15   Oh, Good Grief!   545 words.   Some people have wa-a-ay too much time on their hands.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


14   You Damned Well Better   2,900 words.   Missing scene for TSbyBS.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


13   Of Rain and Rainbows   1,800 words.   Post TsbyBS, a shared domestic moment.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


12   'Tis the Season   4,400 words.   Christmas is a time for gifts and... senses testing.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


11   Lessons in Social Dynamics   870 words.   Blair mixes Christmas and sentinel sensitivity.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


10   Spam Dealings (gen)   1,200 words.   Blair vents, Jim reasons.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


10   Spam Dealings (slash)   1,100 words.   Blair vents, Jim reasons.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


09   He Who Laughs Last...   2,100 words.   Blair hatches a get-even scheme.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


07   Xena Studies   1,200 words.   Blair finds sentinel clues in unusual places.
                    Light style; black font on white page.

"Letters" Trilogy

06   Letter to Blair   4,800 words.   Jim writes an unmailable letter.
                    Light style; black font on white page.

08   Letter to Jim   7.200 words.   Blair's letter tells Jim of his hopes and plans.
                    Light style; black font on white page.

20   Moving Forward   30,700 words.   Resolution of the two letters.
                    Light style; black font on white page.

05   A Word from Our Sponsor   2,500 words.   Blair snarks, but Jim is amused.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


04   Once More Into the Breach   6,800 words.   It seems that our boys will never manage to have an uneventful camping trip.
                    Light style; black font on white page.


03   Cleanliness is Next To...   1,200 words.   What happens when someone gets careless about cleaning?
                    Light style; black font on white page.


02   Spreading the Word   3,200 words.   What does a helpful grad student do for his friends?
                    Light style; black font on white page.


01   Glorified Calisthenics   2,200 words.   Blair does a favor for Megan, and Jim learns that some things aren't as easy as he thought.
                    Light style; black font on white page.

.

 

Finding Old Fic via the Wayback Machine

I’m sure you’ve seen folks say, “I found it in the Wayback Machine.” For a long time my reaction was -- as yours may be -- “But how?!?!?” Well, I’ve been on an old-fic treasure-hunt for several months now, and I’ve learned / taught myself some tips and tricks. Now, in my inimitable, long-winded way, I’ll try to demystify the process. (I’m a retired teacher. “Start at the bottom and proceed step by step” is baked into my genes.)

If my instructions are too simplistic -- as in, you already know the basics -- check out this tutorial at Dreamwidth by Runpunkrun. Punk has more detailed information about how to make stubborn links give up their fic, as well as several posts at Tumbler with in-depth explanations. Also, Charles Rockafellor gives us some useful info about searching for AO3 pages on Wayback, partway down this tutorial; scroll down to ‘Wayback Machine’.

EDIT: Claire Houck is another great resource. Her post gives in-depth suggestions for how to find URLs for old fics.


(By the way -- yes, you may share this post wherever you want; I intend it for the benefit of fans everywhere.)

 

First and foremost -- this guide is NOT about finding deleted fic from AO3. (The tutorials from Punk and Charles tackle that.) It’s about finding the fic that hasn’t been moved to AO3 or Squidgeworld, the old fic that’s tucked away in multiple small, scattered archives that were so common in the early 2000’s. Those archives disappeared when the owners were no longer able to keep them up, or when the platforms shut down -- Geocities, anyone? But many of them are still accessible via the Wayback Machine, and it is often possible to find copies of that long-lost fic.

 

Before tackling the Wayback Machine, check to see if the fic is available in current archives -- Archive of Our Own,   or Squidgeworld,   or Fanfiction.net. Many authors have moved their fic to the larger archives, and AO3, in particular, has imported fic from older, specific-fandom archives, so the stories may already be available at one of these sites. Note that authors’ names may not be linked if they haven’t ‘claimed’ their imported works, or authors may have changed their pseudonym. I have found it more effective to search by fic-title and fandom, rather than fic-title and author.

But if you’ve searched the archives and not found the fic, it’s time to put on your treasure-hunter’s cap and venture into the wilds of pre-central-archive fandom sites.

 

First thing you need is the Wayback Machine, more formally called the Internet Archive, open in a browser window -- https://web.archive.org/

(Your layout may be different, with the search bar in the middle of the page. I use smaller windows, which moves things around.)

Notice “Enter a URL or words related to a site’s home page.” I have never managed with ‘words related’, but if you remember a uniquely-named site, it might work.

 

Second, you have a fic-URL, possibly from an old rec list, or from another fan. The fan says, “Oh, that’s An Irish Blessing, by Hazel. Here’s the addy.” They give you a plain URL -- http://www.btinternet.com:80/~hazel69/fiction/blessing.html   If you put that URL into a regular search engine, you get some kind of error message. When that happens, copy/paste the URL into the Wayback search bar and go from there. (Details later.)

BUT! Maybe the other fan says, “Here’s the addy for Rogue’s Sentinel Corps,” and they give you the Wayback URL that worked for them a few years ago --
http://web.archive.org/web/20030712014018/http://moodyblusr.us/rogue/sencorp.html   Unfortunately, it doesn’t work when you click on it because it references only one save-point, and that point seems to have disappeared. Neither does it work if you put the whole thing in the Wayback Machine; WB doesn’t recognize its own URLs. In this case, don’t use the whole URL! Go to the second ‘http’ and delete everything to the left, so that you get -- http://moodyblusr.us/rogue/sencorp.html

Put that basic fic-URL into the Wayback search bar. You get something like this --

If you’re searching for a single story, the easiest thing is to click on the first link that reads, ‘September 10, 2004’; the story should come up. If it doesn’t, or if you’re searching for a site, or a series page, you need to dig a little.

‘Digging’ is not difficult, but can be a bit tedious. Short version -- click on a year that has one or more vertical lines in it, as above; the yellow highlight indicates that that year’s calendar view is live. Then scan down the calendar, as below, to find a workable link.

Long version -- as you scan down the calendar, there are color-coded dots. Blue means a ‘live’ link. Teal means you’ll be redirected; it sometimes (not often) works with a green time-stamp, but it’s worth trying them if there are no blue dots. Orange means dead link. Pink means ‘server error’ -- basically a dead link.

Hover your cursor over your chosen blue spot. Then click on the timestamp to open the story or site.

Here’s where you may hit tedium -- ‘live’ saves and ‘dead’ saves are not logically distributed. (I always expect live links to be in older years, and dead links to be in newer years.) You may have ‘dead’ saves in 2007 and 2008, then a ‘live’ save in 2011. The same year may show a dead link in March but a live link in November. So if you hit a ‘dead’ link, scan down every calendar in every year that has a vertical bar to find a blue -- live -- link. If you find what you want, save it! You don’t know how long that link will be good.

If you’re searching for a single story, start in earlier years. Those links seem more stable, and the story (if completed) probably didn’t change. But if you’re searching for a site or series-page, start in later years, so that you can grab all the stories possible. (We don’t know how complete the site was when WB started saving it.) However, if blue spots in a later year give you error messages, go back a year or two -- say from 2009 to 2007 -- and try again.

 

I’ve discovered an advantage to saving a fic-page from Wayback -- it often saves with a visible reference URL. This very convenient for sharing in fic-finder communities; you can provide the URL and let the folks who want the fic download their own copies, instead of fielding a dozen requests for an emailed copy.

There seem to be three types of saved pages. One shows the original URL at the upper left, just under the browser’s addy bar, as in the white page below. Another shows the complete Wayback URL stretched across the top of the page, as in the brown page below.

The third type of saved page doesn’t show the source; I suspect the difference is in the original site’s setup. But it’s kind of disappointing. Now that I know how useful it is to have an original URL, I make a doc for that author’s folder, then copy/paste the URLs if they don’t show in the saved pages, so I’ll always have the necessary info.

 

Troubleshooting Tips

NOTE: If you haven’t already read it, check out this tutorial at Dreamwidth by Runpunkrun. Punk has more detailed information about how to make stubborn links give up their fic, as well as several posts at Tumbler with in-depth explanations. Or take a look at Charles Rockafellor’s tutorial about links for AO3 addresses; scroll down to ‘Wayback Machine’.

EDIT: Claire Houck is another great resource. Her post gives in-depth suggestions for how to find URLs for old fics.

 

As marvelous as the Wayback Machine is, it’s kind of kludgy; somewhat frequently, the page you’re waiting for opens with an error message. Short version -- copy the URL that didn’t open, then paste it into a fresh version of Wayback (first illustration, up at the top) and take it from there. This doesn’t always work, but the success rate is high enough -- about 60% for me -- that it’s worth the attempt.

EXAMPES --

[1] At the bottom of the fic, there’s a link for ‘Return to Home Page’, which useful for finding the original site and grabbing other stories by that author. BUT! It opens to ‘Page Not Found’ or similar. Copy the URL from your browser’s address bar, paste that into a fresh version of Wayback. The Home Page often opens from the fresh input.

[2] The story has several chapters, with a link to the next at the bottom of each... but Chapter 3 gives you an error message. Examine the URLs of the chapters that opened; they’re often sequential, as in the “First Contact” illustration above. Chapter 1 URL ends in ‘/sc-1’. Chapter 2 URL ends in ‘/sc-2’. So copy Chapter 2’s URL, paste it in a fresh Wayback window, change ‘/sc-2’ to ‘/sc-3’, hit enter and see if the Chapter 3 opens.. If it doesn’t, try to grab Chapter 4 the same way. You might not get Chapter 3, but you may get the rest of the story.

[3] Sometimes you get a ‘Loading / Redirecting’ page that will take you to an error page with a useless URL for the error page --

Before the error page opens (the system takes a few seconds to grind through the process), copy the first part of the top URL shown (underlined in red). Then paste that URL into a fresh Wayback page.

I repeat: pasting a grabbed URL into a fresh version of Wayback doesn’t always work, but it’s definitely worth a try. I’ve also discovered that sometimes it works on a different day! I recently grabbed several fics that didn’t open for me two weeks ago, but opened promptly and easily when I tried again. (Except for one. There’s always one, right?) So keep a list of URLs for fics that won’t open, then try them again in a week or two.

 

Locating the Original Site for more Stories

Fans are dedicated. When we find one “lost story” by an author, we may want to grab all of their stories. But suppose, as sometimes happens, the only available URL is for a single story, and that page has no link to the home-page, or other site ID.

Sometimes it’s possible to reach the main site by shortening the original single-story URL.

EXAMPLE 1: I had this link to Crossed Swords by Anne, which came up easily in the Wayback Machine --
          http://www.slashnexus.com/TheSentinel/20010506_CrossedSwords.html

Then I shortened the URL in hopes of finding the main Sentinel page --
          http://www.slashnexus.com/TheSentinel/

That didn’t work, so I tried it without the final slash --
          http://www.slashnexus.com/TheSentinel

That didn’t work, so I shortened the URL again --
          http://www.slashnexus.com

Success! I reached the site, with only one story by Anne, but a nice selection of other stories by other authors.

At this point, the astute reader will notice that “http://www.SlashNexus.com” is right there at the top left of the story. *facepalm* Yeah, sometimes StarWatcher is very dense. I think I assumed it was the provider’s URL, rather than a site-link. In this case, no harm done. But learn from my mistake -- check all over the page if you’re searching for a site-link!

 

EXAMPLE 2: Depending on the site, such a search may not reach an author page or home page. Instead, the system reports that Wayback has not archived the addy, BUT it tells us that “This page is available on the web!” (Makes no sense to me, either. Just roll with it.) In the illustration below, I tried to get a page for AliCat’s stories at the Stargate archive, Area 52. Note the bottom red arrow, where the page offers, “Click here to search...” (Depending on how wide your browser window is, that may be above the center box instead of below.) Click that link.

With a little luck, a page opens with a list of story-links in the left column, as below. Be patient; it takes a little while to populate. Consequently, it’s more efficient to right-click on each link and open the story-page in a new window. A direct click does open the story page -- but when you go back for the next link, you have to wait for the links-list to repopulate.

Each link will (should) open to the standard Wayback grid. Since the goal is to grab a single story, clicking on the first linked date is the most efficient way to open the story page.

In this case, each story-page opened easily. BUT! Remember, if it opens to ‘Page not found’ or a similar message, copy the URL in your browser bar, then paste it into a fresh version of Wayback.

This example is a best-case scenario; all 22 linked URLs applied directly to the search -- fanfic for a specific author on a specific site. But depending on the search-string used, there may be several hundred results. Yikes! Punk has an explanation of how to handle that situation for AO3 searches, but I can’t quite figure out how to apply it to other sites. If I do, I’ll add that information. Until then, it’s either back away, or accept the tedium of scanning down each column for the fic-URLs we want.

 

Okay -- second verse of “That’s all I have for now.” As I said above, feel free to share wherever you think it might be useful.

Also, if you have any tips that you think I should include, add a comment and let me know. Or if I’m not clear anywhere, let me know and I’ll try to make it plainer.

Finally -- Yes, I fully intend to share all my “research” -- links to old sites in general, and links to specific stories as necessary. But that is literally hundreds of entries on the list; it’s not yet ready to be posted. When it’s ready, the list (or lists) will be accessible through this master post. I’ll add an announcement to the end of this post when the list goes live, or you can bookmark the Master Post link below and check back occasionally.

https://starwatcher-fic.dreamwidth.org/36338.html



 

 

Continued from Part 1



        [Nile sits on a thick flat rock in front of the campfire, elbows on knees, poking at the fire with a stick.]

        [Booker’s laptop screen with open browser shows Copley’s visa.]

Andy:  [pacing, impatient]  Come on, Book. You’ve been working on that for hours.
        [winces, puts left hand on right shoulder]

Booker:  He’s a security expert... leaves no footprints. It’s gonna take time.

Nile:  [looking up]  You got a satellite link?

        [Andy puts her left hand under her jacket and shirt, to check out her right shoulder.]

Booker:  Yeah.

        [Andy freezes momentarily as she feels wetness.]

Nile:  Follow the money.
        [Andy slowly brings hand out...]
Whoever he’s working for, maybe?
        [...stares at the blood on her fingers in disbelief]
That’s how we track militants.
        [Andy looks toward the others; they’re not noticing her]
        [flash-memory, soldier stabbing her shoulder in church]
        [Andy goes to a trunk (footlocker), pulls out different coat]
        [Nile is casual, disinterested]
Sure you already tried that.

Booker:  Yeah, won’t hurt to try again.

Andy:  [putting on the longer, heavier coat]
You know how it works, Nile. Get some sleep while you can.

Booker:  [points to carry-bag]  I brought you a change of clothes.

        [Nile shifts her eyes to Andy. The little expression on her face indicates that she’s not sure this woman is safe to -- or worth -- associating with.]

        [Camera pans back. Booker is sitting on a metal box/footlocker across the fire from Nile, twisted to his left to work on the laptop. Andy has been beyond them, farther away from the firelight.]

Andy:  [walking past the fire and them]  I’m going out for a bit.

Booker:  [turns to watch her go]  Are you all right, Boss?

Andy:  Yeah. [exits under an arch, down tunnel toward entrance]

        [Booker sighs, turns back, flicks his eyes to Nile, then back to his laptop, resumes his search.]

        [Nile looks almost hypnotized. She slowly puts down the stick, then carefully extends her right hand into the flames. Booker watches as she holds it there for several seconds; we hear a slight ‘sizzle’ before she gasps sharply and yanks it back, grunts at the pain; she cradles it in her other hand, blows out air.]

Booker:  [slightly amused]  Just because we keep living doesn’t mean we stop hurting.

Nile:  [watches as hand heals, burns and blisters fade to normal smooth skin]
        [frowns, flexes fingers as she looks up at Booker]
Why us?

Booker:  [raises and drops hands, sighs]  Yeah.
        [reaches to left for flask, starts unscrewing cap. sighs again]
That way madness lies.

Nile:  I thought you were the brains of this outfit. [tilts head]

Booker:  [chuckles heartily. Nile smiles in response]
Tell you what I do wonder...
        [pauses, scratches forehead]
is why you?
        [raises eyes to look directly at her]
And why now?

Nile:  How old is Andy?

Booker:  Well, she says she... she doesn’t remember.
        [tiny smile]
And she may not. I don’t know. But what I do know is she was alone for a long time before she found anyone like her. A very long time.
        [gestures to her with flask]
What about you? You have someone?
        [lifts flask to drink]

Nile:  [looks into fire, sighs]  Just my family.

Booker:  [lowers eyes, seems to consider. takes breath to speak, stops, reconsiders]
        [finally speaks, with difficulty, pausing as he remembers the pain]
I had three sons. And the youngest one, Jean Pierre... was the last one to die. He was forty-two when, uh... cancer took him.
        [Nile watches him intently; Booker looks directly at her.]
The only way is forward now.

Nile:  [slight frown]  What do you mean?

Booker:  [softly, explaining gently]
...You’ll always and forever be the young woman right there... but everyone around you, everyone you love... is gonna grow old...
        [deep breath, exhaled in a sigh]
...is gonna... is gonna suffer and is gonna die.
        [continues to tell story with many pauses, struggling as he remembers the pain]
        [closeup on fire flashes to statue of Christ, large open hallway, nursing sisters passing]
And if you try to... if you try to touch their lives... well, they will get to learn your secret.
        [Booker’s son -- curly hair, loose white shirt -- bent over on bed, coughing painfully]
They will beg you to share it with them, and you won’t be able to.
        [Booker sits beside bed, holding glass of water. His son rolls over, shouts, strikes out, hits Booker’s hand so that water flies out.]
And they won’t believe you, of course.
        [deep, painful breath]
And they will tell you... that you don’t love them.
        [Booker’s son turns away from him, mouth open wide as he cries or shouts.]
That your love is weak...
        [Booker walks away from the hospital ward, shoulders slumped.]
        [Nile stares up at him, absorbing every word.]
or selfish. And you will never forget... the hate... and despair in their eyes. And you will know what it is to lose...
        [deep breath, deep pain in eyes; he can hardly force out the words]
everyone you’ve ever loved.

        [Nile continues to watch closely, contemplating his story.]

        [Booker takes a deep breath, lifts his flask and drinks.]

---

        [Interior of une pharmacie. Andy carries a shopping hand-basket, walks by a selection of nail-care items, indicated by the manicure advertisement over the shelf. She scans the shelves as she walks, then stops as she reaches the first-aid section. The clerk, a dark-haired woman, looks up, watches.]

        [Andy bends to examine items she’s never had to use. She looks back and forth across the many possibilities, then straightens to eye the clerk with a slight frown. The clerk looks down, away from Andy.]

        [Andy starts putting items in her basket almost at random, sliding three different tubes of cream or salve from the top of a shelf, a package of this, a plastic bag of that, a box of bandaids. She finishes by grabbing several chocolate bars and tossing them into the basket.]

        [Andy plops the basket on the checkout counter without speaking. The clerk looks up at her (Andy is several inches taller) with a flick of her eyes, also without speaking, then opens a plastic bag to load the items as she scans them. Andy hears a police siren and turns, but it fades in the distance and she turns back toward the clerk.]

Andy:  [with low-key intensity]  Do you have a bathroom?

Clerk:  [stares a moment]  No.
        [Andy looks down, mouth tightens, looks up as checkout continues]
        [clerk notices Andy’s reaction, considers what she sees]
But we have a storeroom. [pauses]  Do you need help?

        [Andy just looks at her, seems lost and confused.]

        [Storeroom. Andy has slipped her coat and shirt off her right shoulder; the wound is about two inches (5cm) long and gaping open a quarter-inch (.5cm) wide; it looks ragged and raw, and is red and inflamed.]

        [Andy breathes deeply and clenches her jaw while she clutches her right coat-sleeve with her left hand as the clerk dabs the wound with a cotton ball; the medicine obviously stings. As the clerk finishes the cleaning, Andy turns to look at the wound, then quickly turns away.]

Clerk:  [opens a package of steri-strips]
Stitches would be better, but... this will help.
        [carefully pulls the wound closed with steri-strips]

Andy:  [quietly, with tiny head-shake]  You haven’t asked.

Clerk:  [meets Andy’s eyes, equally quiet]
Your business is yours. You need help. What does it matter why? Today, I put this on your wound. Tomorrow... you help someone up when they fall.
        [Andy closes eyes, bows head slightly]
We’re not meant to be alone.
        [Andy watches her face, considering her words]
There.
        [Andy looks at shoulder; strips are covered by a pad, held on by a broad adhesive patch]
This should do.

Andy:  [shrugs into shirt and coat, whispers]  Thank you.

        [The clerk looks up, gives her a twitch of a smile, closes the medicine bottle.]

        [Street scene. Andy walks slowly to the car, looking warily around as she goes. She unlocks it and gets in, then sits, remembering.]

Quynh:  Andromache, help me!
        [Andromache's hands press down on gaping, bloody wound low on Lykon’s stomach]
Why won’t it stop?
        [flash of Lykon’s face, strained, Quynh’s face, frantic]

Andromache:  [face streaked with blood and dirt, panting]
This can’t be happening.

Quynh:  [Quynh’s face, blood-spattered, gazing down fearfully]
Lykon! No...

Lykon:  [muttering, blood slides from corner of mouth, shakes with pain]
It’s time.

Andromache:  It’s impossible. [shakes head, breathes deeply]

Lykon:  It... it’s time.

        [Andromache stares at his face as Quynh sobs frantically and Lykon’s eyes glaze over.]

        [Andy sits motionless in the car, gazing through the windshield into the darkness.]


1:13:27 minutes

---

        [Monitor beeping. Camera pans up a blue hospital drape, over a man’s bare chest with smears of blood and cardiac sensors attached, to Joe’s face. He seems unconscious or dead.]

        [Copley and Merrick are in some kind of supply and/or storage room -- shelving units, banks of drawers, etc.]

Copley:  How long will the testing take?

Merrick:  Until we have results we can replicate.

        [Nicky is securely strapped -- arms, legs, and midsection -- to a lab bed/examination table, so that he cannot move or escape. He has smears of blood on his chest and the side of his neck, a blood--pressure cuff on his right arm, an oximeter on his right index finger, and cardiac sensors on his chest. Kozak is pushing a long thin probe into the right side of his abdomen. He grits his teeth and grunts in pain, neck tense as he strains against the straps, but he doesn’t cry out. The speed of the beeping increases.]

Kozak:  [dispassionately]  Do you feel the wound trying to close?

        [Camera pans past medical tray with chunks of bloody tissue laying on sterile cloths, as well as capped pill-bottle-sized containers with other samples surrounded by liquid.]

Copley:  [arms crossed as he watches Merrick across the room]
You don’t need them for that. You’ve got the samples, blood, tissue, DNA.

Merrick:  [strolls toward Copley, unconcerned]
Well you know the concept of proprietary data -- and they’re the product.
        [Copley stares, frowning]
They go in the vault, they stay there under lock and key.

Copley:  For... ever? [shakes head as frown increases]

Merrick:  [firmly, sure of his rightness]
We can’t have them strolling back out into the world, into my competitors’ laps. If this takes years -- maybe decades --
        [intensely, more fervently]
what does it matter to them? If we can unlock their genetic code, the world will be begging us for the key.

Kozak:  [pulls probe from Nicky with chunk of tissue at the end, watches hole close up, runs hand over his skin]
Huh! Remarkable.

Nicky:  [breathes heavily, opens eyes to look at her; voice quiet, slightly hoarse]
You will not be able to give him what he wants.

Kozak:  You think I go too far?
        [picks up syringe]
That I am unethical?
        [uses it to push chunk of Nicky’s liver (?) off probe, into empty vial]

Nicky:  I would say immoral.

Kozak:  [closes vial, looks at him]
I believe this can change the world.

Nicky:  [quietly]  A fine justification. I’ve heard it so many times before.

        [Nicky stares levelly at her as she studies him. She huffs with a small, self-satisfied smile, turns and walks away.]

        [Joe revives with an indrawn gasp; Nicky turns his head to him as Joe tries and fails to dislodge his restraints; he grunts and groans with the effort. Joe subsides, breathing heavily, turns his head to his right, to see Nicky on the bed next to his. As soon as he does, his eyes widen as he registers the doctor standing near Nicky, but she’s already moving. Joe lifts his head to watch her walk past them out of the room, then drops his head on the pillow with a sigh.]

Nicky:  [watches Joe, smiling]  As much as I like watching you sleep, I’m glad you’re awake.

Joe:  [turns to Nicky, purses lips in thought]  Bedhead?

Nicky:  [laughs]  Nicely tousled.

        [Joe tries to shift position, but the restraints don’t allow even that easement. He sighs.]

Nicky:  [staring at the ceiling]  Do you know, I was thinking about Malta.

Joe:  [turns to Nicky]  What time in Malta?
        [Nicky turns to Joe, simply gazes with a small smile. a beat, then Joe grins.]
Oh, that time in Malta.
        [grin widens as he laughs, shaking head]

Nicky:  [smile fades, stares upward, speaks quietly]
Dovremmo ritornarci. (We should go back there.)

Joe:  [softly, watching Nicky as his smile also fades]
Sarebbe bello. (That would be nice.)

        [Kozak walks back into the room.]


1:15:37 minutes

---

        [In the mine, the fire is burning low; Booker and Nile are asleep on opposite sides of the fire. Nile twitches. Flash of the Afghani man Nile shot crying out and falling. Nile startles awake, breathing heavily; she sits halfway up and looks around to see Booker still asleep. Nile sits all the way up, deliberately breathes deeply and slowly, trying to calm herself.]

        [Outside, very early, shortly after dawn. Andy is propped (sitting/leaning) against the hood of the car, very relaxed, one ankle crossed over the other. She’s eating one of the chocolate bars and looking at something in her right hand. She looks up as she hears a rustle of brush; Nile comes out of the mine, breathing deeply. Nile has put on her jacket, and she exits quickly. Her stance suggests that she wants to run, but Nile stops when she sees Andy, sighs, and turns to her.]

Andy:  [looks down at hand, turns it to show Nile cellphone with picture on it]
Your mom and brother?

Nile:  You have my phone!
        [hurries forward to grab it, but stops, uncertain of Andy’s response]

        [Andy holds out the phone. Nile takes it quickly, then sits/leans on the hood to Andy’s left, staring at the picture. Her mom is leaning into her brother’s right shoulder, apparently half a head shorter than her son. Both are wearing glasses and smiling widely. The time shows ‘06:31 Sunday, April 21’.]

Andy:  Where’s your father?

Nile:  [turns to her, speaks quietly]
Killed in action when I was eleven.
        [Andy nods. Nile unlocks phone, scrolls through pictures, stops]
Here...
        [moves closer, shows Andy a handsome man posing in Marine dress blues]
My mom, she was drowning after he died. South Side of Chicago, a million different ways we coulda went left. [nods gently]  She fought for us. Never backed down.
        [Andy raises her eyes to watch Nile’s face]
        [Nile has a small smile as she glances at Andy]
Never let us back down either.

Andy:  [quietly approving]  You come from warriors.

Nile:  [looks at her, accepting]  Yeah. I do.

Andy:  [nods, looks away, gazes outward]
I can’t remember what my mother looked like. Or my sisters.
        [small headshake, slight huff]
None of them.

Nile:  [has watched Andy, sympathetic, now looks away]
Time steals it all away, I guess.

Andy:  [small huff as she bows head, thoughtful]
It’s not what time steals...
        [Nile turns to stare]
it’s what it leaves behind.
        [Andy gazes outward]
Things you can’t forget. I gave up searching for her.
        [eyes close in pain]
I made Quynh a promise and I broke it.
        [slight head-shake as mouth firms, nods slightly]
I’m getting Joe and Nicky back.
        [deep breath]
Whatever it takes.

Nile:  ‘Whatever it takes’? [turns head to watch Andy]

Andy:  [looks at Nile directly, quietly resolute]  Yes.

Booker:  [out of sight] Guys, I found something.
        [rustle of brush as he appears from mine]
An address just outside of London.

        [Andy stands, picks up the chocolate bar wrapper from the hood, holds out her hand to Nile, who clings to her phone, staring at the picture of her mother and brother.]

Andy:  We gotta go.

        [After a moment, not looking at her, Nile puts the phone in Andy’s hand. Andy puts it in her right coat pocket and strides away.]


1:18:27 minutes

---

        [Aerial view -- fields, lots of trees, a few isolated large houses, small town in the distance, small hills toward the horizon, cloudy sky overhead.]

        SURREY ENGLAND appears on screen

        [Rear view of silver Audi (license YY56 TVX), driving fast over a narrow, grassy track. It turns, pulls up and stops under some trees, near a metal farm-gate, with a large two-story house beyond.]

        [Booker exits from the right rear as Nile exits from the front passenger seat (left side). Booker opens the boot as Andy exits from the driver’s seat (right side). Andy scans the territory as Booker reaches into a carry-bag, pulls out a pistol, checks it. As Andy comes around, he hands it to her; she puts it in her back waistband. Booker picks up another pistol, checks it.]

Andy:  Go scout the back.

        [Booker puts the pistol in his back waistband, heads out as Nile watches.]

        [Andy reaches into the boot, pulls out a rifle, checks it, hands it to Nile. Nile takes it and stares down as if it’s unfamiliar. She shakes her head minutely, takes a breath, holds the rifle out to Andy, who is evaluating the terrain rather than looking at Nile.]

Nile:  I can’t do this.

Andy:  [flicks eyes to her]  Yes, you can.

Nile:  [pushes rifle closer to Andy, voice firm, determined]
I mean, I’m not doing this.

        [Andy looks down at the rifle, looks at Nile with stunned disbelief. She takes the rifle and Nile turns away from her.]

Andy:  [steps closer, speaks softly but firmly]
You’re one of us now.
        [Nile shakes head minutely, but turns toward her]
        [speaks more urgently]
We would do the same for you.

Nile:  [louder, angry]  I never even had a choice!

Andy:  None of us had a choice.
        [Nile turns away. Andy slams boot closed]
There isn’t a choice.

Nile:  The day I died,
        [turns, facing Andy down, deep breath, intense]
I killed the guy that killed me.
        [Andy gives Nile her full attention, listening and watching closely]
They try to condition us, you know? Thousands of hours of training. Two shots, quick kill.
        [another deep breath, lips tighten]
But they can’t teach you how to live with it.

Andy:  [quickly, reaches for Nile, hand on left shoulder, speaks urgently. moves closer, face-to-face]
You’ve gotta feel it, Nile.
        [Nile turns head away, while Andy focuses on her, voice sharper]
Every one.

Nile:  [shaking head]  I saw what you did in that church.
        [Andy retreats slightly, drops hand, mouth firms]
All those bodies.
        [voice sounds desperate]
Is that supposed to be me? Is that what we’re supposed to do, and we don’t even know why?

Andy:  [moves closer again, speaks urgently]
You think knowing is gonna make you sleep better at night?

Nile:  [shakes head slowly, speaks softly]
I can’t be that.
        [Andy drops head, sighs]
My family...
        [pauses, looks down, breathes in, faces Andy again]
they’re gonna get old and I won’t, but it’ll be years before they realize that.
        [Andy watches her, carefully emotionless. links, looks aside]
        [Nile’s voice is pleading]
I still have time with them.

Andy:  [flicks eyes up to Nile, tiny nod, reaches for pistol in belt, holds it out]
Here.
        [Nile takes it]
Take the car,
        [Nile looks at Andy directly]
and when you ditch it, ditch the weapons.

Nile:  [looks down, deep breath, faces Andy again]
You gonna be okay?

Andy:  [direct gaze]  Always.

        [Andy carries the rifle as she walks past Nile, who turns to watch as she opens the gate and slips through. Nile opens her mouth as if she might change her mind, call to Andy, then sighs, looks down, lets the impulse die.]

        [Booker moves past a tall green hedge, sees Andy coming. He gestures her forward; she comes to meet him.]

        [Sound of car engine accelerating away; Andy turns her head to look back, then faces Booker.]

Booker:  [quietly]  Where’s Nile?

Andy:  [sharp, short headshake]  You and me, Book. Now and always.

        [Andy moves past Booker and takes the lead. Pauses in the cover of a large tree-trunk.]

        [Nile drives the car. GPS voice says, “Guildford station in one mile.” She sees a sign for a security checkpoint, pulls the car over and stops at the side of the road; the area seems relatively isolated. Nile unbuckles her seatbelt, grabs the pistol from the passenger (left) seat, exits the car, goes to the rear, opens the boot. She starts shoving bits and pieces into the carry-bag. She looks around for observers as she removes the magazine from the pistol to put them separately in the bag, then stops and stares at the magazine.]

Nile:  Empty?
        [stares at pistol, mentally replays Booker handing it to Andy, Andy putting it in belt]
Shit.
        [stares again at pistol and empty magazine, voice shows realization]
Andy.

---

        [View of Copley’s house; ground floor is red brick, with part of the visible wall made of glass panels. Through them we see a spiral staircase to the upper floor, which also has large glass panels, as well as a wide expanse of multiple windows.]

        [Booker, handgun extended, glides silently across the floor, followed by Andy, with her rifle extended. Booker stops at the foot of the stairs, continues covering the ground floor as Andy starts up the stairs beside him, then he follows. They climb silently, cautiously, alert for any threat.]

        [The room is large, well-lighted, with windows on the two visible walls. The area includes a piano, a set of glass shelves with a few artifacts displayed, several padded chairs, and a table with keyboard and monitor. Copley is standing with his back to the door and staircase. He is perusing a wall-sized, standing bulletin board in two large sections; the boards are completely covered with papers and pictures, some outlined in red.]

        [Andy reaches top of stairs, takes cover behind the closed half of a pair of double doors; the other door is standing open. A head gesture tells Booker -- a few steps down with his pistol at the ready -- to head ‘that’ direction. He looks that way, then back to Andy; her chin-lift says, ‘now’. Booker finishes climbing the stairs and heads in that direction as Andy slips around the door. She checks both sides of the room, then focuses on / aims at Copley.]

Andy:  Where are they?

Copley:  [turns slowly, casually to face her. hands in pockets of sweater, obviously no threat, he takes a few steps toward her, speaks softly]
Andromache the Scythian. The eternal warrior.

Andy:  Book?

Booker:  [in doorway behind; takes a few steps forward]
I’m right here.

        [Andy glances at the bulletin board; easily visible is a copy of an ID card from Ceska Republika Obcansky Prokaz. The photo is an earlier Andy, with chin-length hair. Her gun-hand relaxes for a moment, but she shakes off her shock/surprise, lifts the rifle and aims directly at Copley.]

Andy:  [steps forward, quiet threat]  Where are Joe and Nicky?

        [Sound of a shot; Andy cries out as her body jerks and blood appears on her shirt, low on her left side. Booker lowers his handgun, quickly tucks it in the front of his belt, pulls out a zip-tie. As Andy staggers from the impact of the shot and drops her rifle, Booker comes up behind her, grabs her arms and pulls them back.]

Andy:  [struggling]  What are you doing?!
        [continues to struggle, but Booker drags/forces her to her knees...]
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!

Booker:  Andy, calm down! [...and zip-ties her hands behind her.]

Andy:  [shrieks]  NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

        [Copley watches dispassionately, hands still in pockets]

        [Booker kneels behind Andy as he holds her on the floor, right arm around her neck as his left holds her left arm. She exclaims in wordless anger as he brings his face close to her left ear, tries to calm her with a quiet, “Shh.”]

Andy:  [raging, groaning as she breathes heavily, trying to struggle away]
You set us up!

Booker:  [quietly, in her ear]  Listen. Please listen.

        [Copley walks closer, speaks calmly.]

Copley:  When my wife died, I devoted myself to your work.
        [Andy glares at him as she jerks out of Booker’s hold]
        [Booker lets her go, pushes hair out of face, starts to rise]
I learned your secret history,
        [Andy stares, stunned and appalled]
written in the margins,
        [view of bulletin board. label: GREECE. picture of mosaic art, of woman with double-bladed war-ax on horseback, swinging at armored soldier on horseback, with shield]
        [front of a theatre playbill reads: ANDROMAQVE, TRAGEDIE]
        [a xerox-enlarged copy of an ancient coin (?) --a bordered circle with woman’s head inside and ‘ANDROMACHA’ along the circle’s border, with ‘HETC.VX’ below it, marked with red star]
passed on like legend.
        [list of changes in spelling of Andromache’s name through time and place -- Latin, Greek, Russian, Armenian, Farsi, Arabic]
What was dismissed as a myth, was in fact,
        [Andy breathes deep, exhales loudly as she takes it in]
immortality. You could help end... needless suffering.

        [Andy looks up, then closes her eyes as her breath catches in pain. Her head sinks; she looks weary. Slowly her body starts to fold -- she tries to catch it and hold herself upright -- then gives in and curls downward until her head rests on the carpet, beside her right knee; she gasps. Booker stands behind Andy, watching her. He looks a little concerned, raises his eyes to Copley, who has a slight frown, but ignores the issue.]

Copley:  Humanity needs you to share your gifts.

Andy:  [raises head long enough to speak with tight, pained voice]
Humanity can screw itself.

        [She groans, shifts her body, and lets herself roll to the left. She’s now sitting on the floor, leaning against the seat of one of the padded chairs. She continues to gasp heavily, with occasional groans, from the pain of the unhealing wound.]

Booker:  [flicks eyes to Copley, looks uneasy as he steps toward her, starts to bend down]
Andy...

Andy:  [raises head, speaks sharply as she kicks out at him]
Don’t! you fucking coward.
        [Booker steps back from her anger, takes a deep breath]
        [Copley flicks eyes to Booker, down to Andy, stays detached, uninvolved]
        [Andy breathes heavily, shakes head, whispers,]
Why? Why, Book?

Booker:  [steps forward, speaks placatingly]  Andy, listen --

Andy:  [kicks out again, shouts]  WHY?

Booker:  [goes to a knee beside/in front of her, speaks with quiet force]
If Merrick can discover how we keep living, he might find a way how to end it.
        [Andy looks at him sorrowfully, takes deep breath, finds nothing to say]
        [he leans closer, intense]
Hey. That’s what you wanted.

Andy:  [shakes head slowly, speaks softly, barely more than a whisper]
Oh, Book. What have you done?
        [deep breath, sharp gasp, another deep breath, tears in eyes]
Not like this, Book.

Booker:  [drops head, sniffles a deep breath, notices. flings Andy’s jacket aside, reaches out to growing bloodstain on her shirt]
What’s going on? You’re still bleeding.
        [Andy looks aside, still breathing heavily, seems less concerned about her wound than his betrayal. voice shakes as he repeats,]
You’re still bleeding.
        [worried]
What? Shit.
        [louder, looks up at Copley]
She’s not healing.

Copley:  What? [comes to them, looks down]

        [Andy has slumped more, closed her eyes, as if she’s distancing herself from the whole situation. Booker pushes her jacket farther aside, lifts his bloodstained hands.]

Booker:  Look at this. She’s not healing. Go get something. Go on. Go on!
        [Copley hurries away. Booker comes closer, hands and knees in front of her, face-to-face.]
Andy, look at me. [her eyes stay closed]  Look at me.
        [Andy raises eyes to him, face closed off, eyes remote]
Why didn’t you tell me?

Andy:  [shakes head, small shrug of left shoulder; voice quiet, calm, resigned]
Wouldn’t have changed anything.

Booker:  [raises head, shouts]  Hurry up!

        [Copley comes with a small towel, kneels next to Booker, presses it over the wound. Andy groans.]

Booker:  Careful. Have to get her out of here.

        [Booker and Copley grab Andy’s arms, start to lift her.]

        [The other door slams open; Booker and Copley turn at the noise as Keane and several armed soldiers walk in, followed by Merrick. Booker stands as they walk closer.]

Keane:  [points at Booker]  Secure him. Nice work, Copley.

        [Two soldiers grab Booker, pull his arms behind him, zip-tie his hands; he doesn’t struggle.]

Merrick:  [walks to Andy, looks down at her]  Look at you.

Copley:  [looks up, keeping pressure on Andy’s wound]
She’s wounded. Gunshot.

Merrick:  [sharply]  Why isn’t she healing?

Copley:  [raises eyes to Andy’s face]  I don’t know.

        [Andy glares up at Merrick, breathing deeply, doesn’t speak.]

Booker:  [held tightly between two soldiers]  She’s not immortal.

Merrick:  What do you mean, ‘not immortal’?

Booker:  I mean it’s gone.

        [Entire room seems to pause. Merrick stares at him, calculating. Andy’s head is turned away from everyone in the room, still distancing herself. Copley continues to apply pressure on the wound, but makes no movement. Merrick turns, bends to look at Andy’s wound.]

Merrick:  You’re a bloody mess.
        [slowly squats in front of Andy. she deliberately doesn’t look at him]
Now, how old are you?

Andy:  [breathes deeply, gasps, looks at him -- danger in her eyes, despite her circumstances. chin-lift, speaks quietly]
Come closer and I’ll tell you.

Merrick:  [face falls, taken aback. stands]  Let’s get them home.

Booker:  Let her go.

Keane:  Cover me. [opens jacket, reaches inside as he starts toward Andy]

Andy:  [immediately defensive, yanks away from Copley, watches Keane approaching, pushes herself back]
No. No.

Booker:  [struggles to go help her, the soldiers hold him.]
Let her go!
        [soldier punches him in stomach; he grunts and folds over]

Andy:  No!

        [Andy struggles violently, kicking and thrashing, interspersing shouts of ‘No!’ with roars that sound like an enraged animal as Keane tries to hold her still, subdue her. She continues to twist and kick, roaring her fury, but can’t escape. She shakes her head violently as Keane reaches toward her. As he holds her head (relatively) still with a hand under her chin, an injector hisses at the left side of her neck. Her eyes close and body goes limp as she loses consciousness.]

Booker:  [trying to reach her but held by soldiers, speaks in strained voice]
I’m sorry, Andy. I’m sorry.

Soldier:  Hold him still.

        [Booker grunts as injector hisses at the left side of his neck.]

Copley:  [crosses quickly to Merrick, speaks urgently]
Mr. Merrick, look. If it’s true and she’s somehow not immortal anymore, then she might not survive the testing. This will be murder.

        [Two soldiers lift Andy.]

Merrick:  As if the CIA never disappeared anyone. As if they never conducted covert research.

Copley:  No. [shakes head, firmer]  No, this is not what we agreed.

Merrick:  [looks over Copley’s shoulder, tiny nod]
We don’t stop.
        [he turns away]

        [Keane steps behind Copley, coldcocks him with a pistol-butt to his neck. Copley drops face-down, unconscious. Merrick walks out, followed by the remaining soldiers.]


1:26:45 minutes

---

        [Street level, people walking past Merrick Pharmaceuticals.]

        [Kozak is sitting at a table with a keyboard and monitor, entering data. A door bursts open behind her. She turns her head to watch as a guard enters, then Andy held by a guard on each side, with Booker immediately behind her, also held by two guards. Another guard, Keane, and Merrick follow.]

        [Joe and Nicky -- now with the bloodstains cleaned from their skin -- raise their heads to see what’s happening.]

Nicky:  Andy!

Joe:  What happened?

        [The guards sit Andy down forcibly on the bed to Nicky’s right. She grunts/groans at the impact, grimaces and partly curls into the pain, but the guards hold her up.]

Booker:  She’s not healing.
        [grunts as he is forcibly deposited on the to Andy’s right]
        [guards are strapping Andy to bed; Kozak watches, pulling on surgical gloves]
        [Merrick stands a short distance away, hands behind back, watching]
        [Booker stares upward as guards strap him to bed; voice indicates self-disgust]
I killed her.

        [Kozak raises her shirt to examine the wound. Andy lifts her head to look at it, breathing heavily. Nicky and Joe stare in dismay, then slowly lower their heads to their beds.]

Kozak:  I need to get a line in her and stop the bleeding.

Merrick:  Keep her alive at all costs.

        [Guards finish strapping Andy and Booker, nod to the guards who have been covering them with rifles aimed; they lower their weapons and step back.]

Merrick:  Don’t you see? Between Sudan and now, something’s changed. Find out what.

        [Andy stares at him, coldly, still not actively responding to what’s happening.]

Kozak:  This will stabilize her,
        [hangs I.V bag above left side of bed]
but I have to stitch her and give her antibiotics.
        [walks away for more supplies]

Merrick:  Good.

Nicky:  [watching Andy]  All things die.

Merrick:  [looks surprised that one of his lab animals has spoken]
What was that?

Nicky:  [shifts gaze to Merrick]
Everything has to die, Mr. Merrick.
        [speaks softly, gently, as Merrick steps closer]
The only reason we haven’t...
        [slight smile]
is that it’s not our time yet.
        [Andy breathes heavily, unresponsive as Kozak inserts IV / treats her wound]
If it’s now Andromache’s, nothing you can do will stop it.

Merrick:  You’d be surprised by what my products can do.
        [Joe watches, evaluating, judging]
I will carve slices off you for years to get what I want.
        [Nicky is calm, merely blinks]
Your time is coming.

Nicky:  As is yours.

Merrick:  [rattled, blustering]  I expect results!
        [storms out, followed by most of the guards]

Booker:  [turns head toward her, pleading]  Andy...

        [Andy stares upward, refusing to respond.]


1:28:07 minutes

---

        [Outside view of Copley’s house.]

        [Inside, Copley sits bowed over in a chair, elbows on knees, holding a towel to the left side of his head and neck.]

        [Nile comes through the open door, pistol pointed. She cocks the pistol, which alerts Copley. He looks up, lunges for a rifle left behind on the floor, but Nile quickly steps forward and kicks it out of his reach.]

Nile:  Uh-uh.

        [Copley, on his knees, raises his hands as Nile aims her pistol at him, pushes himself up and into a chair as she advances.]

Nile:  Are you Copley?

Copley:  [breathlessly, with raised hands]  He sent you to finish me off.

Nile:  Who?
        [looks down, notices blood on the carpet]
Where’s Andy? And Booker?
        [shifts pistol for emphasis]

Copley:  Who are you?

        [Nile takes a breath, firms her mouth, shoots down into her own left foot.]

Nile:  Ahh!
        [Copley flinches]
        [Nile folds over herself, holds foot off the floor as it heals]
Son of a bitch!

Copley:  [amazed, pointing at her foot]  You’re another one.

Nile:  Yeah.
        [aims pistol at him again as she breathes heavily]
I’m new.
        [deep breath, advances on Copley, voice determined]
Where are they?

Copley:  They’re in a lab... being tested.
        [Nile’s mouth opens, shocked; she gasps ]
Tortured.
        [Nile lifts pistol higher, ready to -- she’s not sure what]
Merrick... he only cares about her immortality... not what she’s done with it.

Nile:  ‘What she’s done with it’?

        [Copley is showing Nile his bulletin board and explaining his research. Nile keeps her gun on him, frowning, apparently not trusting him.]

Copley:  Montenegro. Nineteen-sixteen. She saved a family of refugees, whose daughter would discover the technique for the early detection of diabetes.
        [Nile keeps pistol on him, intently ready for any misstep]
        [he points to another area]
This one; her grandson would save three hundred and seventeen people from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
        [voice becomes ever more passionate as he continues]
        [Nile relaxes slightly, starts to absorb what he’s saying]
This guy -- this man prevented an accidental nuclear exchange in nineteen seventy-eight, and likely saved civilization as a result.
        [Nile takes eyes off him, gazes across the mass of visible information]
        [she slowly lowers pistol, stunned and amazed]
The famous... and... the unknown names.
        [Nile approaches board, scanning across clippings and pictures]
She saves a life -- two or three generations later, we reap the benefits.

Nile:  [huffs, moves along board, checks more of the information. voice is awed]
She’s in it. She can’t see it.
        [turns to Copley]
But you could!
        [voice is accusing]
You could and you gave them up!

Copley:  I thought it could be the end of disease.
        [Nile jerks head, negating the poor excuse]
I thought it could be the end of suffering.
        [hesitates, words come out painfully, distressed]
She couldn’t talk... at the end... my wife. She couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t do... anything. It was supposed to be a gift... to the world.

Nile:  [quietly angry]  It wasn’t your gift to give.

Copley:  [sighs, shakes head]  Why would the immortality end?

Nile:  [audible breath]  What?

Copley:  [turns to look at blood on carpet]  She wouldn’t stop bleeding.

Nile:  [follows his gaze, voice urgent]  Is she alive?

Copley:  I know where they are.


1:30:43 minutes

---

        [Aerial view of London, past high-rise buildings toward lower buildings with turrets.]

        [Silver Audi drive up, parks at curb. Copley exits driver’s side (right), Nile from passenger side. Each opens the rear door on their side. Copley grabs a khaki carry-bag, heads toward the building. Nile grabs Andy’s labrys in its carry-case, slings it over her right shoulder. She pauses a second, looks up at the many stories above, while Copley uses a key-card in the outer door. He opens the door and walks in; Nile quickly follows.]

        [In a security complex, two men sit in front of multiple monitors with views of hallways and rooms, using switches to change views from one place to another as they continually check for threats.]

        [Nile and Copley are in a custodial/storage area -- mop bucket nearby, metal cases piled on a wheeled platform, two doors for elevators. Andy’s labrys leans against the wall to Niles’s left, next to an elevator door. Nile squats by the carry-bag, but looks for security before she opens it.]

Copley:  [quietly]  There’s no cameras here. That’s how he gets people in and out unseen.

Nile:  [unzips carry-bag, pulls out pistol]  How many shooters on site?

Copley:  At least thirty.
        [Nile checks pistol, puts it on floor, pulls out rifle]
Their boss, Keane, is ex Special Forces.

Nile:  [unfolds rifle stock]  What kind of CEO rolls around with his own personal army?

Copley:  These days?
        [bends down, takes pistol from floor, checks magazine]
Most of them.

Nile:  [stands, confronts him]  What are you doing?

Copley:  I’m gonna make this right.

Nile:  [firmly]  Your dying won’t do that.

Copley:  [raises eyebrows]
But I’m supposed to let you walk in there by yourself?
        [starts to walk around her]

Nile:  [stands in his way, faces him directly]
Out of the two of us, I’m the one who will walk out of there again, one way or another.
        [holds rifle in left hand, extends right, waiting for pistol]
        [he doesn’t respond. she looks down at empty hand, up to him, speaks firmly.]
You got me here.
        [he hesitates, then hands pistol to her. she tucks it in back waistband]

Copley:  There’s a private lab on the fifteenth floor. It’s empty.
        [uses key-card; card-reader beeps]
This will get you access.
        [gives her the card]

        [Elevator door opens. Nile grabs labrys, slings it over her left shoulder.]

Nile:  [pauses in doorway, speaks over right shoulder]
You should get out of here before the noise starts.
        [steps into elevator, presses button for 15]

Copley:  [quietly, as Nile takes stance in center of car, adjusts labrys-strap on shoulder]
Good luck, Ms. Freeman.

“Going Down Fighting” by Andrea Wasse X Phlotilla plays in background:
        If it’s the end of the world,
        I’m going down fighting.
        With my finger on the trigger,
        You’ll know I gave it a shot.

        If it’s the end of it all,
        God knows I’m trying.
        ‘Cause this world
        Is all that we got.
        ‘Cause this world
        Is all that we got.

        [Door closes, elevator starts up. Nile twists her neck side to side, shrugs her shoulders, breathes deeply, drops her head back then raises it again -- preparing for battle. She stares straight ahead as she waits.]

        [Door opens. Nile steps out cautiously, looking around. She walks forward casually, turns a corner, sees three armed guards standing, chatting in a hallway. Her right hand holds the rifle behind her back.]

Guard:  Floor’s closed. How’d you get up here?

Nile:  [casually looks to side]  Sorry, I was just looking --

Guard:  [barks, all three guards take aim]  Hands! Let me see your hands.

        [Nile takes a breath, slowly brings her right hand into view. Two shots. Nile falls on her back.]

Guard:  Zero, this is Alpha Two-two.

Monitor-watcher:  Sir. [monitor shows Nile on floor, guards beyond her]

Keane:  [walks forward, grabs radio from console, speaks into it]
Zero send.

Guard:  We’ve had an intruder. Target is down.

Keane:  See if you can get an I.D off the body.

        [Guard kicks Nile’s gun-hand, starts patting down her body. Nile brings her right leg up, kicks him in the chest, shoots him as he staggers back, rises to her knees and shoots the other two -- all headshots.]

Keane:  Shit! [into radio]  TAC teams, find Merrick now!

        [Nile -- now with two midline, bloodstained holes in her shirt -- grabs her pistol, slings the labrys over her left shoulder and moves to shelter of a wall. She checks the pistol, then peers around the corner.]

        [In the lab, Andy is ignoring everything, staring at nothing, Nicky is lying quietly. Joe has lifted his upper body as far as he can, shouting across the other two to Booker.]

Joe:  You selfish piece of shit!

Nicky:  [speaks over him, strongly, but not shouting]
Joe, leave it. Please!

Booker:  What would you know of the weight of all these years alone?

        [Andy still doesn’t react to anything as she stares into nothing.]

Joe:  [laughs without humor]  You’re a very pathetic man, Booker.

Nicky:  Joe, stop.

Booker:  You and Nicky always had each other, right?
        [Andy blinks and swallows]
And all we had... was our grief.

Joe:  Well, now you have even more.

        [Kozak is behind Andy’s bed, adjusting the IV, ignoring the argument as if nothing’s happening.]

        [Nile proceeds down a hallway, pistol extended. She turns a corner and goes through a doorway; Merrick is there. It’s some kind of lab -- long counters with beakers, jars, and bottles on top, boxes/containers for various items. Nile aims at him.]

Merrick:  Who the hell are you?

Nile:  [loudly]  Where’s the lab?

        [Three guards burst through the door across the room and start firing. Nile ducks and fires back, drops the labrys as she runs.]

        [In the med-lab, Andy hears the gunfire. She reacts, turning her head toward the sound. Kozak, in front of her computer, also notices and turns toward the sound. Joe, Nicky, and Booker don’t react. (Sleeping? Unconscious/dead from something Kozak did? How much time has passed since Joe was shouting at Booker?)]

        [Nile runs, firing behind her as the guards follow, shooting. She’s heading toward metal doors with a ‘Restricted Access’ sign. Keane runs in and fires, hitting her just as she reaches the doors. She stumbles through and falls to the floor as the doors swing shut behind her.]

Keane:  Shit! [together with Merrick]  There’s another one!

        [Nile’s still holding the pistol; she groans as she pushes herself up.]

Keane:  She’s going for the rest of them. Doctor’s lab, now!
        [guards head out]
        [grabs Merrick’s arm, starts to pull him toward door]
I’m locking you down in the penthouse until this is over.

        [Merrick stops him for a moment, staring avidly at the labrys case. He goes to pick it up, smiles widely, tucks it under his right arm and follows Keane out.]

        [Nile finds nothing important -- the people she’s looking for -- in the room. She runs to a door across the room that has a card-reader beside it, uses the key-card, pulls door open outward, then runs through an inward door into the med-lab. The doctor turns as the team all raise their heads. Nile pauses, surprised and relieved to see them. Andy's expression is disbelief.]

Booker:  Nile. [sees guard aiming through open door]  Behind you!

        [Nile grunts as she is hit, sags, fires back, pushes the door closed. She now has a third bloodstained hole in the front of her shirt, one on the back of her left shoulder, and one on the front of her left thigh.]

        [Kozak, alarmed, rises. She looks frantically for a weapon, grabs a syringe from a nearby tray and starts forward.]

Nicky:  [shouts]  Nile!

        [Kozak closes on Nile, syringe raised. Nile blocks her raised right arm with her left hand, knocks her down and out with a strong right punch.]

Nile:  [runs to Andy, starts unbuckling restraints]
There’s four shooters at the door and more coming.
        [Andy closes eyes, makes no move to rise. shirt is askew; Nile sees dressing on wound]
        [she flips pistol, offers it to Andy, who turns her head away]
Andy.
        [the men’s heads are raised, watching. Andy keeps eyes closed]
        [frowns, lifts Andy’s right hand, pushes pistol into it. voice is soft, but firmly intense]
Immortal or not, you made a promise. Whatever it takes.
        [Andy opens eyes, looks at Nile, remains passive]
I’ve seen it, Andy.
        [pulls another pistol from back waistband, cocks it]
I know all the good you’ve done.
        [Andy stares at her, weighing, evaluating]

        [The door bursts open, four guards rushing forward. Nile turns beside Andy. Together they raise their pistols, two shots each, all four go down. Andy keeps her eyes on them while she reaches over to unbuckle her left arm. Nile unbuckles the restraints over her legs.]

Andy:  [eying her]  You came back.

Nile:  [a level look, flicks eyes to the others]  Yeah.

        [Nile goes to release Booker as Andy goes to Nicky and unbuckles the strap over his right arm. Nicky reaches to unbuckle the other straps while Andy tucks the pistol in her back waistband and heads toward Joe.]

Booker:  [as Nile is releasing strap that holds chest and left arm]
No, just leave me here.

Nile:  [turns on him, irritated]  No man left behind.
        [leaves him to take care of other straps, goes to guard the door]

        [Nicky throws off the blue hospital drape, sits up to unbuckle his leg restraints.]

Joe:  [loudly -- not quite shouting -- as Andy unbuckles strap on right arm]
Well there’s always a first time. He’s nothing but a traitor. That’s --

Andy:  Stop!
        [firm voice, leans over to unbuckle left arm, looks directly in his face]
This is not the time for it. We don’t get a say in when it ends.
        [Nile is on guard at the door, but watching Andy and the men.]
We never have.
        [Nicky has put on shirt, heads toward Nile, stoops, takes pistol from dead guard, checks it]
        [Andy unbuckles Joe’s legs as he pulls off cardiac sensors]
But we can control how we live.
        [Joe leaves bed while Andy pulls pistol from waistband, crosses to Booker, lying passive, hasn’t unbuckled restraints]
And to be honest, Book, you and I --
        [looks at him directly, making a point]
we been doing a shit job of it.
        [checks pistol, cocks it]
Now get up.
        [Joe crosses behind her, now wearing his shirt]
Let’s go.
        [Booker turns head toward her]
We stop Merrick here and now,
        [Joe is by the door with Nile and Nicky, has also grabbed a pistol from a guard. all three watch the confrontation]
or he never stops coming after us.

        [Booker lifts his head, thinks a moment, then quickly reaches to unbuckle his straps.]

        [Andy squats, pulls open a guard’s pocket to look for ammunition, but finds nothing. She stands, breathing heavily, and lifts her shirt-hem to check the dressing.]

Nicky:  Andy...
        [quietly, concerned, eyes flick to the dressing]
Are you sure?

Andy:  This changes nothing.
        [chin-lift]
We walk out of here like always.
        [deep breath]
Together.

        [All four are watching, grouped near the door, concern in their eyes. She starts toward them.]

Andy:  Let’s get this motherfucker.

        [They head out, moving purposefully, Nile in the lead, then Nicky, Joe, Booker, and Andy.]


1:36:45 minutes

---

        [Merrick is in his penthouse, with two guards across the room. He slowly, almost reverently, picks up Andy’s labrys, gazing lovingly at it as he holds it high.]

        [Nile enters a darkened room, carrying a rifle, followed by Nicky and Joe, each with a pistol, Booker with a rifle, Andy with a pistol. They take up positions to either side of metal double doors -- Nicky, Joe, Andy to the left, Nile and Booker to the right.]

Joe:  [quietly]  Cover Andy.

        [Nile uses her shoulder to burst open the right door and charges into the next room; it looks like the lab where she confronted Merrick. She’s followed by Nicky, Booker -- who kicks open the left door -- Joe, and Andy. Nile breaks left, Nicky breaks right, Booker left, Joe right, Andy straight down the center.]

        [As Nile remains on guard, Booker crosses behind her -- letting her know with a quick hand to her shoulder so she moves farther into the room -- heading toward the doors across the room. Nicky takes a low stance, guarding their left, Joe covers their right but keeps an eye on Andy as she crosses behind Booker and heads for the doors.]

        [Andy and Booker exit the open doors -- which are set back in a short alcove -- together. Andy waits at the corner against the wall on her left; two guards are walking down the hall toward their position, rifles raised. As the nearest comes opposite her, she grabs his right arm with her left, twists her body to throw him off-balance to her left. Booker shoots him as he stumbles past, while Andy steps past the corner and shoots the other guard.]

        [Joe is next out of the alcove, followed by Nile and Nicky together. Joe aims hall-right, Nile guards hall-left. Nicky aims hall-right beside Joe, they shoot two guards who come running around the next corner. Andy puts another magazine in her pistol as she moves hall-left past Nile, followed by Nile and Booker.]

        [As another guard comes from a door-alcove to her left with his left gun-hand extended, Andy grabs his wrist with her left hand, raises it high to spin under it, clubs him across the back with her pistol, holds onto him to keep him off-balance, shoots the next guard coming down the hall, drops the first guard’s arm, turns and shoots him, then heads down hall-(original)-left.]

        [Nicky and Joe are following Andy and Nile from hall-right while Booker remains on guard that direction. Another guard comes from the left door-alcove. Nicky grabs his gun-hand, lifts it high, spins under the raised arm while Joe shoots him, goes to a knee to grab the rifle of the guard Andy shot, lifts it above his shoulder for Joe. Joe takes it, turns to cover their rear (original hall-right) as Booker sprints past following Andy and Nile; Nicky rises to follow him.]

        [Nile has taken position behind a stack of crates, shoots an approaching guard, runs forward while Nicky and Joe guard their rear and Booker takes out a guard that comes from a door-alcove to Nile’s left. Two guards appear from cross-alcoves ahead, and Andy is in front of her with no cover.]

Nile:  [shouts]  Andy!

        [Nile grabs Andy’s right shoulder and spins herself in front of Andy, cries out as the bullets hit her back, falls against the wall with a grimace, recovers, pulls a pistol with her left hand and shoots one of the guards as Andy shoots the other. Andy looks back; Joe and Nicky are under fire at the rear. Nicky looks over his shoulder to check on her, jerks as he takes a bullet. He and Joe shoot two guards, then retreat toward Andy’s position, Joe and Booker guarding the rear while Nicky dashes forward in front of Andy and Nile. Nicky goes to a knee just beyond a set of lab doors to his left, guarding the hall, as Booker, Joe, Nile, and Andy head through the doors. As soon as Andy has passed, Nicky backs up and follows them.]

        [It’s another lab. They spread out as they move through the lab, then converge on the opposite doors. Joe pulls the door inward, and Booker leads out with Nile and Andy behind him. Booker turns, clubs a guard to his right with his rifle-butt, shoots a guard in front of him. Nile confronts a guard, knocks aside his aiming pistol with her rifle, shoots him on the back-swing, lunges past his right side, uses her right hand to grab the back of his neck and shove him away. He runs forward off-balance; Nicky ducks, lifts, and flips him over his right shoulder, continues moving forward; Joe, in the doorway behind Nicky, shoots the guard as he lands on the floor, continues into the lab.]

        [Andy, moving along the wall (to the right of the most recent door), shoots a guard point-blank, grabs his vest, lifts her right knee into his chest as she drops onto her back and flips him over her head. Booker shoots the guard’s partner as Andy rolls and rises to her feet, while Nicky runs to support Joe, who’s beyond them. Andy releases the empty magazine, lets it fall; Booker goes to a knee to check a dead guard’s vest pockets, hands her a fresh magazine. As Andy moves past him, he stands and follows.]

        [Nile barely pauses as she reaches down to grab a fresh magazine from another guard’s pocket. Nicky takes a rifle from another guard, hands it to Joe. Nile slams the fresh magazine into her rifle, stands against a wall, peers around the edge. (It looks free-standing, with boxes visible in the room beyond, with another end/edge 15-20 feet behind Nile for a second entry point into the next room.) Behind her, Andy squats, leaning against the wall and breathing deeply; Joe, Nicky, then Booker deploy farther along the wall. Booker and Nicky are watching the rear, with Booker closest to the second edge, and Joe and Nicky at mid-point of the wall. Next to Andy, Joe looks down, concerned. She looks up, nods her readiness, stands; they start to move out just as the wall explodes between Joe and Nicky.]

        [All are thrown aside/down by the blast. Joe, Nicky and Andy are tossed through the air; we lose sight of Joe and Nicky. Andy lands hard, bounces to a face-down position on her arms, pushes herself to her right side, gasping as she tries to recover enough to rise.]

        [Keane is on the other side of the wall, holding a rifle, with a gas mask on his forehead. Other guards flank him as he peers through the hole, into the billowing smoke/dust from the explosion.]

        [Nile and Booker, farthest from the blast were not knocked completely off their feet, but they are bent over and coughing from the smoke and dust. They force themselves upright, unable to see through the increasing smoke.]

Booker:  Man! Andy!

        [Booker heads through the smoke to where he thinks Andy might be; Keane fires through the hole, although the smoke is too thick for good aim. Booker finds Andy just as Nile reaches her from the other side; they grab her under the arms -- Booker on her right, Nile on her left -- help her up, and start moving away.]

Booker:  [shouts]  Joe, Nicky, we’re moving out!

        [Joe and Nicky, barely visible through the smoke, are both lying stunned / unconscious / dead.]

Keane:  Assault team, move! You two, flank.

        [Five guards head out another door for Andy, Nile, and Booker, while Keane steps through the blast-hole, pulling his gas mask over his face as he moves slowly forward. He sees Joe lying face down, unmoving. Keane puts his gun in left shoulder-holster and pulls something (zip-tie?) from the top right of his vest.]

        [Nicky, lying on his back near Joe’s feet, coughs and rolls to his right side to get his hands under him and rise. Keane steps forward, viciously kicks him in the head, throwing him onto his back. Nicky coughs as Keane steps back, Nicky tries to rise again, Keane steps forward and kicks him violently in the stomach.]

        [Joe, behind Keane, is beginning to move. He starts to push himself up, sees Keane kick a third time. Nicky has risen to his knees and leans aside; Keane’s foot hits a stack of boxed supplies on a wheeled platform. Nicky lunges at Keane, grabs him at shoulder and waste and pulls him down, rolling to throw Keane to the floor, then Nicky continues his roll to his knees, punches Keane with a hard right cross. Nicky pulls his arm back and comes around with another punch, but Keane uses his left arm to knock Nicky’s arm aside, draws his right knee up and kicks Nicky in the chest; Nicky flies backward through the air and slams against the stack of boxes of supplies.]

        [Joe is pushing himself up as Nicky goes flying. As Keane starts to rise, Joe attacks, grabs Keane’s head with his left hand and throws him to the floor. As Keane rebounds and lifts up, Joe rips off his gas mask and sends it flying. Keane and Joe are both thrown off balance by the strength of the action, but Keane recovers to throw a hard left punch to Joe’s face, followed by a right punch into Joe’s throat; Joe recoils, falling backward. Nicky staggers to his feet, throws himself at Keane, grabs his right arm and thigh to pull him down. Keane twists out of the hold, knocking Nicky to the floor, continues the twist to straddle Nicky’s body, stomps on Nicky’s stomach with his left knee. Nicky cries out and curls upward, gasping. Keane shoves his pistol into Nicky’s open mouth and fires.]

        [Joe is on his back, pushing himself up just in time to see what happened. Keane is coughing, struggling to breathe; he staggers away through the hole in the wall.]

        [Booker, Andy, and Nile stumble into another lab, coughing, close-grouped to support Andy. Nile moves forward, rifle ready; Booker holds Andy’s arm as they follow. Three guards appear at the door behind them. Booker looks back just in time to see the guards; he moves between them and Andy as they fire, staggers as he’s hit. Andy ducks through nearby door, Booker follows, staggers inside as he is hit again.]

        [Andy ducks and crouches behind a fat metal cylinder of liquid nitrogen. Nile is on a knee beside the door, firing out at the guards as Booker scrambles past on hands and knees. Andy has no gun after the explosion; she evaluates the situation, looks around, sees a fire ax on the wall. She stands and crosses to it, grabs it from its box and hefts it, evaluating. Nile turns her head to say something (?) but is under too heavy fire; she turns back to shooting.]

        [Andy walks past Booker, who is leaning against a cylinder, still recovering from his wounds, toward the door across the room -- just in time to meet a guard advancing into the room from that side. Andy swings the ax and cuts him down, then heads toward the door.]

Andy:  Enough of this shit.

        [As Andy approaches the door, another guard comes in; she hits him once, lets the momentum spin her, hits him low, then high; he’s down. She flips her hair out of her eyes as she heads out the door, now with blood-spatter on her face.]

        [In the other lab, Nicky is still dead. Joe, on hands and knees, goes to him, reaches out toward Nicky’s face, hesitates, afraid to touch, turns his head aside. Nicky revives with a gasp, and coughs; Joe sighs his relief. Joe clasps Nicky’s arm while Nicky grips Joe’s arms for a moment, where they bracket his head, then --]

Nicky:  Let’s go. Andy.

        [Nicky rolls to his side, grabs a nearby pistol. Joe turns and grabs a rifle from the floor, then stagger-runs past Nicky, who is up but also moving erratically; both men are feeling the effects of the fight.]

Joe:  Com’on, com’on. Come on.

        [Joe leads out the door, with Nicky close behind, the back of his head shiny-wet with blood.]

        [In the other lab, Nile is still holding off the guards from her door. She pulls back and checks her rifle.]

Nile:  Shit! Jammed!

        [She scrambles away from the door as Booker grabs a rifle from one of the downed guards and takes her position. Nile crouches next to an array of cylinders to clear her rifle, turns to Booker.]

Nile:  Where’s Andy?

---

        [Andy is striding purposefully down a hall, ax in hand. She pauses at a corner as she hears a radio.]

Guard on radio:  Hold at the bridge.

        [Andy looks around the corner, quickly pulls back. A lone guard is coming her way down a long hall -- a walkway-bridge with glass sides and top.]

Guard:  Roger that.

Andy:  [whispers]  Fuck.

        [Andy takes two deep breaths, firms her mouth, sets herself, and dashes around the corner, sprinting toward the guard. As he fires, she raises her ax sideways; we hear the bullet hit the metal head. Andy closes on the guard and uses the ax to knock his rifle out of his hand. As she swings back, the guard kicks; Andy cries out as it impacts her hand and the ax goes flying. The guard pulls a knife. As he swings at her, Andy, twists, grabs his right arm with her left, clamps it between her elbow and body, pulls him off-balance and uses the momentum of her twist to drag the guard into her strong right cross, then uses both hands to force his right hand down and slice the inside of his own thigh. Andy twists, lifts his arm over her head as she turns under it then keeps lifting the arm high behind his back, forcing him to bend forward into her right kick to his face. His helmet flies off, but he catches himself with his hands on the floor, then pushes upward, swinging his knife. The guard raises the knife high across his body and slashes downward to the right.]

        [Andy evades to the left. As his arm comes around, her left arm knocks his right arm aside, punch-punch, then knife hand to his throat. He staggers back, goes to a fighting crouch with his knife raised. She waits as he comes in, coils her body, snaps out her left arm to knock his right aside, holds his right arm, twists it downward. A spring-loaded baton slides out to the left from his gear, he grabs it with left hand. Andy spins in with her back to his chest, strikes her right elbow to his chest, keeps moving to pull his right arm across her right shoulder, her two hands holding his sleeve, steps forward, comes back with a high left elbow to his face. With her back to him, Andy lifts his right arm high, brings it down, twists right to bring him forward with her left arm, grabs the baton. Andy turns in to him, both hands twist his right arm up and back. Andy goes to a knee as the pressure forces him down, jams the baton into his left knee.]

        [Guard comes up, tries to grab baton with his left hand, Andy steps away and hits him twice across the face, leans back with a left kick to the chest as he staggers back. Andy runs forward, leaps high, plants her arms on his shoulders as she swings around, keeps going down, drops to floor on her back and uses the momentum to flip him over her head. He lands hard as she quickly rolls to her feet, stands gasping, holding her wound with her left hand. The guard seems unwilling or unable to continue the fight.]

        [As Andy walks to look down at dazed guard, Booker and Nile join her from ‘her’ side of the bridge (screen right), while Joe and Nicky come from the other side.]

Andy:  Where’s Merrick?

        [The guard looks up. Five people stand directly over him, four of them armed; all look pissed-off and dangerous.]

Guard:  Penthouse.

        [The team all look upward, planning their next move.]

Joe:  What d’you think, Oslo, ‘sixty seven?

Andy:  [small head-shake]  São Paulo, ‘thirty-four.
        [Andy extends hand to Nile, who gives her pistol she carries in right hand]
        [Nile holds another in her left.]
Nile’s with me.

Nile:  What happened in São Paulo in nineteen thirty-four?

Andy:  Eighteen thirty-four. [small grin, checks weapon]  You’ll see.

        [Andy and Nile head away (screen left) from ‘Andy’s corner’ at a medium trot; Joe, Nicky and Booker head toward ‘Andy’s corner’ (screen right).]


1:41:35 minutes

---

        [Aerial view of top levels of Merrick building, with city skyline behind. We hear muffled weapons’ fire.]

        [Two guards face the door of the penthouse, rifles aimed.]

        [Merrick stands at the top of a short flight of stairs to a higher level; he grips the labrys in both hands, waiting for the attack. Keane descends in front of him.]

Keane:  [into radio]  First team, hold the hall.

        [Keane makes a circling motion with his hand as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, then joins several guards in an open hall / balcony just inside the penthouse doors; it overlooks a lower level, with a plexiglass barrier along the edge. We see six armed guards, plus Keane.]

Keane:  [into radio, quietly]  First team.

        [Andy -- breathing heavily and holding her hand over her wound -- and Nile walk past bullet-marked walls and dead guards’ bodies; Andy’s face is considerably more blood-stained than earlier, and Nile’s face is streaked with plaster dust. They take up position against a wall beside a floor-to-ceiling window, about six feet down from the door, Andy to the right of the window, with Nile to her right. Andy pulls her hand away to look at the amount of blood. Nile looks, too, and frowns, but neither comments.]

        [Andy and Nile pull fresh magazines out of rear pockets, reload their pistols.]

Andy:  [quietly]  Wait for the signal. [looks toward door]

Nile:  [follows her gaze]  This gonna be like the last signal?

Andy:  [turns toward Nile, smiles]  Go big or go home. [looks back toward door]

        [In the penthouse, guards are still ranged in front of the door, rifles up and ready.]

Merrick:  [stands at top of interior stairs, holding labrys like he’s hoping to swing it]
Keane. Keane, how many more do we have coming?

Keane:  This is it. [takes center position, aims directly at door]  Dig in.

        [Nile looks down, notices that Andy’s right hand has fresh blood where she’s been holding it against her wound, and the blood-stain on her shirt is increasing. She quickly crouches, starts pulling velcro with swift movements to remove the nearest guard’s kevlar.]

Nile:  I’ll make the entry. Stay tight to me, okay? I’ll protect you.

        [Andy crouches beside her, moving almost casually, stops Nile’s actions with a hand on the guard’s vest. Nile looks into her face.]

Andy:  [small head-shake; gaze is direct, but calm and compassionate. speaks quietly]
I go through first.
        [Nile huffs, rolls her head]
I always go first.

Nile:  [through gritted teeth]
Andy, put on the damn armor.

Andy:  It’s like Nicky said. If it’s my time, it’s my time.
        [takes spare magazine from guard’s pocket]
If this doesn’t work out, next time, [chin-lift]  you go first.

        [Nile glowers, but recognizes she won’t sway Andy. She stands and checks both directions of the hallway. Andy remains crouched, but also watching.]

Keane:  [whispering, watching the door]  What the hell are they waiting for?

        [Gunfire breaks one of the plate glass windows that overlooks the city, just before Joe swings into the room on the end of a line. He tucks as he lands, rolls, and comes up aiming his rifle.]

Keane:  Shit!

        [Joe shoots one of the guards, then takes cover behind a wooden horizontal file cabinet. The guards turn to fire at him just as the door explodes inward.]

        [The blast knocks several guards to the floor, but Keane heads immediately toward Joe. As soon as he’s in range, Joe -- still on the floor -- sweeps Keene’s legs with his right leg and kicks him violently as he falls forward.]

        [Guards are running through the penthouse, smoke from the explosion billowing around. Andy appears around the doorframe, shoots one, ducks back to avoid return fire. Nile appears, shoots another, ducks back.]

        [Guards are shooting, shouting, falling. Nile shoots a guard ducking for cover, then dashes forward with pistol extended, Andy behind her. Nile jumps over a downed guard; they advance to positions against the wall on either side of a short hallway. A guard is shooting at them from cover beyond, but can’t get a good angle.]

        [Meanwhile, Joe is beating Keane to a pulp. He lands a hard right under the ribs, a left cross to the face. Another left to the face; Joe’s teeth are bared in a snarl, and Keane is flailing. He throws a wild left punch that Joe easily ducks, then comes up with another right cross to Keane’s face.]

        [The guard shooting at Andy and Nile has a jammed rifle. As he drops it and reaches for another weapon, Andy rises, steps around the corner and shoots him left-handed; her right is clutching her wound. Nile follows, covering her right flank, but there’s no one left to shoot. Andy looks up and Nile turns to watch Joe beating up on Keane.]

        [Joe throws a hard right punch to Keane’s face. Keane is dazed, head wobbling, barely able to stay on his feet. Joe steps up right in front of him, holds him in place with his left hand at the top of Keane’s vest, speaks in a calm, reasonable voice.]

Joe:  You shot Nicky. You shouldn’t have done that.

        [In one sudden movement Joe twists, digs his right shoulder into Keane’s chest, grabs his right arm, drops to his right knee while lifting/pulling Keane over his shoulder, throws him down so that his head hits the floor first. The snap of his neck breaking is audible. Joe finishes on both knees, left hand on the floor for support, panting heavily.]

        [Booker enters another part of the penthouse, rifle aimed, clearing the hall. Nicky follows, carrying a pistol in each hand, arms crossed to fire in either direction. Booker walks farther, covering a staircase, then the hall again.]

        [The effects of the battle hit Andy suddenly; she lets her pistol fall from her left hand, holds her right hand over her wound, staggers forward to clutch for support at the plexiglass barrier at the edge of the balcony over the lower level. Nile follows, stoops to discard her pistol and take another from one of the guards.]

Nicky:  [shouts from lower level]  The elevator is going down! Merrick is getting away!

        [Joe rises in response, starts forward.]

Nile:  Go! Go!
        [Joe grabs a rifle from the floor, heads out]
I’ll stay with Andy.

        [Andy looks down at Booker, on guard on the lower level. It seems that he’d rather stay to protect her, but accepts her silent command with a short nod, turns to follow Nicky and Joe.]

        [Andy pushes away from the plexiglass, crosses the room to look down at the street through the giant emptiness where the window used to be. She supports herself against one of the vertical frames with her left hand, while her right still covers her wound. She’s breathing heavily as she looks down into the street below.]

        [Nile has a small frown, concerned]
Nile:  You okay?

Andy:  [blows out a breath]
Yeah, I’m fine.
        [sniffs, licks her lips]
It just hurts.
        [raises head, breathes out, twists neck left and right with audible cracking, raises left hand behind head, drops it]
        [turns toward Nile with small smile]
Actually, everything hurts.
        [relaxes, leans left shoulder against window frame, still holding hand against wound]

Nile:  Well, wait until tomorrow.

        [Nile rolls her eyes as she walks forward, pistol hanging casually from her hand, to stand near the vertical frame at the right side of the window. She faces Andy directly with a small smile.]

Andy:  [smiles, chuckles softly]  Can’t wait.

        [Nile smiles a little wider, then frowns as she looks Andy over, the large and small damages to her body that will now heal slowly, with after-effects that may linger.]

Andy:  [watches Nile’s reaction, chin-lift, speaks quietly]
I think you showed up when I lost my immortality.
        [licks lips]
So I could see what it was like.
        [looks away, out window]
So I could remember.

Nile:  Remember?

Andy:  Remember what it...
        [licks lips, considers]
what it was like to feel unbreakable.
        [smiles, laughs gently as she shakes her head]
        [turns to face Nile directly]
Remarkable.
        [gives Nile a long, level -- compassionate -- gaze]
You reminded me there are people... still worth fighting for.
        [Nile takes deep breath. Andy gazes up and out, shakes head, huffs a gentle laugh]
I know how I wanna spend the time I’ve got left.

Nile:  [quietly, gently but firmly]  You’re gonna spend it with us, Andy.

        [Andy smiles at her, just as gently.]

Merrick:  You selfish little bitch!
        [Nile spins, brings weapon to bear in solid, two-handed grip as soon as they hear Merrick’s voice, but he has pistol aimed at Andy, finger poised on trigger]
I will kill her!
        [he slowly advances into room from stairs above, pistol in right hand aimed at Andy, her labrys dangling in left]
        [Andy’s face is focused and calculating as she watches him.]
        [he walks closer, ignores Nile as he walks past her, focused only on Andy]
All the lives you could save.
        [Nile watches Andy from corner of eye, waits for signal, keeps pistol aimed at Merrick]
Don’t you see what we could do here? You are priceless.

Andy:  [quietly, calmly]  Hey, Nile.
        [Nile turns head fraction of inch toward Andy, back to Merrick, keeps aim on him, waits for a chance]
        [Andy has glint in her eye, hint of a smile on her lips]
Do you think he speaks Russian?

        [Nile flicks her eyes to Andy, back to Merrick, evaluates, then whips around and shoots in Andy’s direction. Andy drops as Merrick turns and shoots Nile, who grunts as she falls against the window frame. Andy rolls toward Merrick, grabs her labrys from his hand, spins as she rises, lifting the labrys high, then sinks it into his Merrick’s left shoulder beside his neck.]

        [Merrick cries out and starts to bring his gun to bear on Andy. Nile gasps as she desperately pushes herself up from the floor, flings herself between Merrick and Andy just as he fires, slaps his gun hand down and launches herself at him, arms around his body. The momentum carries them out the broken window, both screaming as they hurtle toward the ground, 20(?) stories below.]

Nile:  SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!

        [Just before they hit, Nile curls her body, trying to use Merrick to absorb the impact. They land on the roof of a car, which collapses under the impact, and disappear inside.]

Andy:  [quietly, looking down]  Play dead, motherfucker. [turns to leave]

---

        [Interior of car, view of the rear seat. One of Nile’s boots is propped against the backrest; the leg inside is obviously broken and misaligned. Air hisses from the exploded airbag.]

        [Nicky runs from the nearby door, followed by Booker. Nicky stops beside the car and looks down. Nile’s body is lying on her left side on the back seat, broken and twisted, and blood is spattered across the backrest. Her extended left hand rests on Merrick’s body in the foot-well, the fingers twisted and bent at impossible angles.]

Nicky:  Nile?
        [looks at her through side window ]
        [Booker -- and Joe behind him -- also look in. Booker turns to look up the height of the building, back in the window.]
        [Nicky smiles gently]
Hey.
        [Nile begins breathing, then groans, eyes closing in pain, as bones audibly crackle, her body starts twisting back into alignment.]
She’s okay.

        [Nile brings left hand forward, stares as fingers visibly reposition themselves.]

        [Joe stands behind Nicky and Booker, also watching Nile’s reintegration. Booker grabs the handle, tries to pull the car door open, but the displacement of the frame has wedged it into place; Nicky grabs the doorframe to help pull, and the door finally opens.]

Booker:  Come on. [leans in to the car]

Joe:  [gazes up the height of the building]  Faster than the elevator.

        [Nile grunts, groans, and gasps as she starts maneuvering herself out of the car. She keeps her left hand raised to avoid hitting it against anything as it continues to heal.]

Nicky:  It’s okay, Nile.

Nile:  [pauses, sits at edge of seat next to open door, jerks head in emphasis. speaks softly but fervently]  Ow!

Booker:  Give me your hand.

        [Nile reaches out with her now-healed left hand, grabs the handle of Andy’s labrys, starts to slide out.]

        [Andy has exited the building, walks calmly toward the group. Her jacket is zipped closed (to hide her bloody shirt?). As Nile steps from the car, Joe heads past Andy toward the back end. Booker pulls Nile’s right arm over his shoulders to help her stand; Nicky also helps with his hand under her left arm. Nile winces as she takes a limping step, then straightens as all three wait. Andy stops in front of them, looks Nile over, seems proud as she gives a slight smile and tiny nod.]

        [Despite the blood on her face, Nile seems calm, composed. She huffs and stands straighter as Booker and Nicky let go her arms. Left hand strong around the handle, she holds the labrys out to Andy, who takes it. Andy’s eyes relax as she continues to watch Nile. Her smile grows broad as she extends her right hand to clasp Nile at the nape of her neck, then claps her on the shoulder and puts her arm around Nile's back as they walk. Nicky reaches out to touch Andy’s back before he turns toward their Audi, waiting directly behind the car that Nile fell into.]

Booker:  Let’s go.

“Silence” by Marshmello ft. Khalid begins playing
        Yeah, I’d rather be a lover than a fighter, fighter,
        ‘Cause all my life, I’ve been fighting.
        Never felt a feeling of comfort, oh
        And all this time, I’ve been hiding, hiding.
        And I never had someone to call my own, oh no,
        I’m so used to sharing, sharing.
        Love only left me alone,
        But I’m at one with the silence.

        I found peace in your violence
        Can’t show me there's no point in trying
        I'm at one, and I’ve been silent for so long.
        I’ve been quiet for so long.
        I’ve been quiet for so long.
        I’m at one, and I've been quiet for so long.

        [Booker opens the boot as Nicky opens the right rear door and slides in. Joe slides into the front passenger (left) seat as Andy puts her labrys in the boot and Nile continues around the rear of the car, then comes forward. Andy gets into the driver’s seat (right) as Booker gets in the back seat behind her. Nile opens the rear left door then pauses, gazing up at the height from which she fell. Her mouth firms as her eyes drop to the ruined car in front of the Audi. She takes a visible breath, then slides into the car.]

        [Andy drives the car away, with Joe in the seat beside her. Behind them a crowd gathers around the ruined car as police cars speed to the scene, sirens wailing. The crowd grows larger, with people using their cellphones to take pictures.]


1:48:10 minutes

---

        [Looking over the Thames, a view of older buildings along the water-front, with newer, high-rise buildings behind. Camera pans in to a very old, very small (compared to the building next to it), white-painted, three-story building with ground-floor and first-floor balconies overlooking the water. Booker leans on the railing of the ground-floor balcony, looking out toward the river.]

        [The building is a pub. The sign inside reads:]
The flagstone floor of this
bar has been trodden by the
widest variety of patrons
over 500 years.

Pewter-top bars were
commonplace in the 19th Century,
but this is one of the few that
has survived 20th Century
‘modernisation’ and is thought
to be the longest in
Great Britain.

        [Nile and Joe on one side, Andy and Nicky on the other, sit at a table in a corner against the wall, next to a window. Booker is visible through the window, looking out over the water, holding a glass of whiskey. Nicky leans into the discussion as Joe gestures vehemently and Andy looks thoughtful. Joe turns away from the discussion as Nicky turns to Andy. Nile looks out at Booker’s bowed head, watches as he lifts his glass to drink.]

Booker:  [turns head as Nile approaches]  How’s it going?

Nile:  [stands beside him, back to river, looking into pub]
They’re still deciding.
        [leans back against the railing]

Booker:  [looks at her, turns his back to river, leans against railing next to her]
There’s not much to decide. It’s not like they can kill me.
        [lifts his glass, drinks again]

        [View into pub window; Joe has turned his head, watching them, resting his chin on his hand, a moderate scowl on his face. Andy’s hands are clasped in front of her, gaze unfocused.]

Booker:  [holds Joe’s gaze for a moment, then looks down]
        [Nile is turning her phone in her hands]
Oh, she gave it back?

Nile:  Yeah.
        [takes a breath]
Talked to Copley.
        [turns to Booker]
Said he could fix it. Make it look like I was killed in action.
        [nods gently to herself]
My family will mourn, but, uh...
        [huffs an exhale, tiny shrug, head-shake]
...they’ll be able to move on.
        [tiny nod]
It’s just like what we did with my dad.
        [sighs, turns to look out over the water. voice wavers]
I just really want to hear my mom’s voice one more time.

Booker:  [looks down, pauses, turns to lean next to Nile]
You’re a good kid, Nile.
        [looks at her, speaks earnestly]
You’re gonna be great for the team.

        [Nile looks at him, then back over the river.]

        [View in pub window. Andy is watching them, face calm, but with a tiny frown-wrinkle between her eyes. Beside her, Nicky’s head is bowed.]

        [Camera pans out. Booker is on the riverbank, looking out over the water. Andy comes down the steps from the pub. She walks over, stands to his left, speaks without looking at him.]

Andy:  There’s gotta be a price.
        [Booker nods, very slightly]
        [Andy closes her eyes; she looks like it hurts]
One hundred years from today, they’ll meet you here.
        [nods slightly, turns head to look at him]
Till then you’re alone.

Booker:  [pauses, blinks, takes a breath]
I hoped for less, but...
        [swallows, nods, flicks eyes in her direction]
I expected more.

Andy:  Nile was gonna let you off with an apology.

        [Booker snorts a laugh as he smiles. Andy smiles and chuckles.]

Booker:  [fond head-shake, still smiling]  Just give her some time.

Andy:  [looks out over water, her face sad, turns to him]
I’m gonna miss you.

        [Booker glances at her, away, nods slightly, glances back, turns and draws her into a desperate hug. Andy clings tightly as he lays his chin on her shoulder and she leans into the side of his neck, check-to-cheek. His right hand comes up to stroke the back of her head, then slides down to the nape of her neck before he lets her go.]

Booker:  [breathes, looks into her eyes, tiny head-shake, eyes shift away, back to her]
Um... I won’t see you again.

Andy:  [inhales, tiny chin-lift, reaches out, grabs his upper left arm, shakes it gently]
Have a little faith, Book.

        [Booker watches Andy walk away. Nile, Joe, and Nicky are waiting for her on the pub’s stairs. As she reaches the stairs they turn and start up, Nicky first, then Nile. Joe puts a gentle hand to her back as he lets Andy go after Nile, then follows. As he walks, Joe turns to look over his shoulder. Booker is watching them go. He nods to Joe’s look, takes a deep breath and turns away.]

“Cruel World” by Active Child begins playing
        I dedicate my life
        To something richer
        And all the things that come
        ‘Cause that’s no price at all
        And I know you’ll be there
        And I want you to know I care because
        Keep your head up Hold your head up
        Even though it’s a cruel world
        Count your blessings
        You won’t need them when you’re gone
        It’s a cruel world
        You can’t see it
        You can’t see it
        Even though it’s a cruel world...


1:52:03 minutes

---

        [Nicky, with hands clasped behind him, Andy, with arms crossed, and Joe, with arms hanging loose, are ranged in front of Copley’s bulletin board-wall, examining all the information, often with parts circled or underlined in red, many with Post-it Notes attached, with comments hand-written in red. Nile sits/leans against the back of a chair behind them. Copley stands farther back, arms crossed, allowing them space.]

        [Photo of Joe and Nicky in plaid shirts, rescuing a young man; Post-it with red ink reads: ‘Joe & Nicky 1968’.]
        [A college I.D card, 1992-93, with Nicky’s face; ID# 62773884?, Birth 4/8/197?, signed N. Smith.]
        [Nicky gazes at these artifacts, expressionless.]

        [Below the label of TURKEY, a photo of five men in local clothing; a slightly enlarged section shows only two of the men, with their heads circled in red. Post-it reads: ‘Crimean War 1953 Joe & Nicky?’]
        [Beside the label of CUBA, a photo of five men resting, all holding rifles. Post-it reads: ‘Cuba Revolution 1956-1957 Booker, Nicky & Joe’’.]
        [Copy of I.D card with Joe’s face, with the name Joseph Jones, Deutsch, from Frankfurt and/or Hamburg. Dates are 02.01.1956 and 01.09.2014 and 31.08.2024.]
        [Joe looks stunned at the amount of information collected.]

Copley:  [quietly]  This is only what I’ve found going back the last hundred and fifty years or so.

        [Photo of one of Martin Luther King’s speeches; the enlarged view of a woman with sunglasses and long blonde hair looks like Andy; the two men nearby could be Nicky and Joe.]
        [Under a headline ‘Taste of Freedom’, photo of Andy, circled in red, reaching down to help someone up. Post-it reads: ‘Andy Berlin ‘89’.]
        [Photo of woman squatting with very young child on her knee, offering food to the child, connected with red string to news-clip picture of woman aviator pioneer. Post-it reads: ‘Saved by Andy 1918’. Headline reads: ‘RECOGNITION FOR PIONEER AVIATRIX’, sub-title is ‘A Legion of Honour is Awarded to the French Hero for Her Valiant Efforts during World War II’.]
        [Andy quietly views the displayed information.]

Copley:  When you think about how old you are,
        [Andy blinks, bows head slightly]
the good you’ve done for humanity becomes... exponential.

Nile:  [softly]  Maybe this is the why, Andy.

        [Andy looks toward Nicky, who gives her a tiny smile, and Joe, who drops his eyes and bows his head.]

Andy:  [speaks softly, without looking at Copley]
It’s nearly impossible to disappear in the world we live in today.
        [flicks eyes up toward the gathered information]
There are too many people like you
        [quick glance toward him; Copley’s eyes flick down]
who can bend it to your will. Too many with bad intentions.
        [takes measured breath as she shifts,]
We don’t have all the answers, but we do have purpose.
        [turns and looks directly at him]
And you’re going to help us.
        [Nile quietly stands]
        [Andy prowls toward Copley, one deliberate step after another]
        [voice remains soft, but firm and commanding]
When we leave a footprint in the sand, in the snow, in the ether,
        [drops her arms to her side]
you’re going to sweep it.
        [Nile, Nicky, and Joe move forward at Andy’s pace]
You’re going to protect us from those who want to put us in cages, and you’re gonna help us find those jobs...
        [they range behind Andy, presenting a united front]
that are best suited to us.
        [Copley swallows]

Joe:  [flatly, warning]  She’s not asking.

Copley:  [recognizes warning, nods slightly, eyes steady]
I’d be honored.

Andy:  [nods]  Then let’s go to work.

        [She turns to gaze over her team, smiling. Turns back to Copley, still smiling, but with an unswerving assurance.]


1:53:45 minutes

---

        THE OLD GUARD shows on screen, white letters on black.

        SIX MONTHS LATER shows on screen, over the sound of sirens wailing. Aerial view of apartment (?) buildings, with Eifel Tower in the distance.

        PARIS shows on screen

        [View of Booker’s back as he approaches a door; an almost-empty bottle of whiskey dangles loosely from his right hand. As he steps inside the door, the bottle drops and shatters. He curses in French and kicks/sweeps the glass aside with his foot. He walks a few steps forward to a staircase, turns and sits on the third step, his head bowed as he sighs. He pauses, takes a deep breath, uses his hands on bannister and wall to pull himself up, then turns to a door at his left, keys in hand.]

        [The door isn’t latched, and gives at the pressure of the key; Booker pushes it open and steps into the space, pistol extended and aimed.]

        [A female figure in a red coat is pouring water from a glass bottle into a drinking glass. She doesn’t flinch or react at Booker’s sudden entrance. When the glass is half-full, she pauses.]

Woman:  Booker.
        [sets bottle aside as he continues into room, keeping pistol aimed]
It’s nice to finally meet you.

        [As she raises her glass to drink, we see that it’s Quynh. She lowers her glass and watches Booker calmly, highlighted by the sun coming through the window behind her, while he maintains a steady aim at her from across the room.]


1:54:50 minutes

---

End credits roll over views of Copley’s bulletin board and the collected information. (Listed below lyrics.)

“Baby Outlaw” by Elle King begins playing

        I’ve been runnin’ since the day I was born
        I’m the definition of worn
        Shed a tear for each soul set free
        But that’s what happens when you dance with me
        Pity the man that stands in my way
        I’m a nightmare, even in the day
        I’d be wise with which words you say
        ‘Cause they could be the last breath you take
        Go ahead, baby, tell me

        Well I ain’t nobody’s baby
        Baby, I’m an outlaw
        Call me a criminal maybe
        Baby, I’m an outlaw
        You know I ain’t evil but I ain’t a saint
        Can’t help it, I was born this way
        Oh baby, outlaw
        Ooh baby, I’m an outlaw

        I was cornered in the desert by a man
        He took the pistol right from my hand
        As he put it to my temple, I asked
        “Do you think it’s gonna be that simple?
        See, I got a bullet for a tooth and
        I’m gonna use it to shoot you.”
        Even though you got a gun to my head
        You’ll be the one that ends up dead
        Go ahead, baby, tell me

        Well I ain’t nobody’s baby
        Baby, I’m an outlaw
        Call me a criminal maybe
        Baby, I’m an outlaw
        You know I ain’t evil but I ain’t a saint
        Can’t help it, I was born this way
        Yeah, baby, outlaw
        Ooh baby, I’m an outlaw

        You know I ain’t evil but I ain’t a saint
        Can’t help it, I was born this way
        Yeah, baby, outlaw
        Little baby, outlaw

 

Identifiable Photos / Pictures / Headlines Across Copley’s Boards 

Note: #1  I have zero knowledge of art history, or historical illustrations. If someone can identify any of these, and/or give context, I’ll include the information in this list.

Note: #2  Either Copley or Props department isn’t as organized as they should be. Same headline (Man Sacrifices Himself) appears in two places on the board, in the same shot. The fingerprints appear twice -- once with Nicky’s pictures, once without; same scene, but different shot.


COUNTRIES LISTED ACROSS THE BOARD:  
America, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cuba, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Vietnam

 

WHILE COPLEY EXPLAINS TO NILE 

Label: MONTENEGRO. Three articles underneath with red tape around them. Headlines: ‘MYSTERY HEROES SAVE FAMILY’ and ‘REFUGEE FAMILY SAFE’ and ‘Montenegro Refugee’s Saved by Woman’s Actions. Over 200 Women And Children Diverted to Safety in Act of Heroism’. Red strings lead to photo of a woman (hairstyle, shirt style suggests 1940's or 50's?), captioned: “HIGHLY RESPECTED AND TRUSTED”. It’s paired with a news-clip headline -- DAUGHTER OF MIGRANT FAMILY NAMED HEAD OF MEDICINE. (highlighted) Subheadline: Eleanor Hamble, a physician-??? noted for her commitment in the field, has been named the new head of medicine.

Small picture of Nicky, face-on, with short, spiky hair.

Small picture of Joe, face-on, with beard and shorter hair than current.

Red label: VIETNAM. Photo of three soldiers attached -- two in background wearing gear and helmets, one in foreground, shirtless, bandage around chest. It’s below a headline: HUNDREDS SAVED FROM KHMER ROUGE DEATH CAMP. Illustration on article is a mass of human skulls.

Headline: (partially obscured) -ing Dismantled Following Gang War.

Two enlarged fingerprints on yellow notecard.

Very small pictures -- 4 angles of same occasion -- of a woman who might be Andy. She’s wearing a dark tank-top shirt, a ballcap pull low on her forehead, and large sunglasses. Her hair is lighter, hangs halfway down her neck.

Photo of the painting Nile saw in the mine -- a woman in clothes from an earlier time -- Andy -- with long hair, standing with a black man behind her, holding her with his arm around her waist.

Photo of Nicky, profile, longer hair, above the blowups of two fingerprints.

Photo of Nicky, full face, short spiky hair, beside blowups of two fingerprints.

Headline: MADRID CONQUEST

Label: SPAIN. Headline: Case of The Death Defying Couple Remains Unsolved.

Label: AUSTRALIA. Headline: How the War is Waging in Far-away Gallipoli. Picture is a group of 12-15 men in old-time soldier gear. Connected by red string to larger picture of Andy with short hair and flat hat carrying a man over her shoulder. Post-it reads in red: Saved by Andy in 1915.

Label: POLAND. Headline: Man Sacrifices His Life to Save Bus Full of Children. (Same headline is placed near another label: ITALY.)

Label: GERMANY. Headline: Mystery of "Death Cheat" (highlighted) Woman. No article attached.

Headline: Cambodian Rescue. Reports Of 4 Mask-. From Khmer Rouge D-.

 

SCROLLING ACROSS BOARDS DURING END CREDITS 

Picture of mosaic art, of woman with double-bladed war-ax on horseback, swinging at armored soldier on horseback, with shield.

Front of a theatre playbill reads: ANDROMAQVE (circled in red) TRAGEDIE.

A xerox-enlarged copy of an ancient coin (?) --a bordered circle with woman’s head inside and ‘ANDROMACHA’ along the circle’s border, with ‘HETC.VX’ below it, marked with red star.

List of changes in spelling of Andromache’s name through time and place -- Latin, Greek, Russian, Armenian, Farsi, Arabic.

Section of ancient map, mountain ranges drawn, with an open area between them labeled Scythia (circled in red).

Photo of a bronze, double-bladed war-ax, etched/incised with decorative designs.

Aerial view of ancient walled city, with an article mounted below it: July 15, 2019. Headline: ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER EVIDENCE OF CRUSADER SIEGE OF 1099 (circled in red). Caption reads: Almost a thousand years ago, Crusaders breached Jerusalem and conquered the walled city of Fatimid. Now archaeologists have found a chronicled moat that to many scholars had seemed a myth. It is the first archaeological proof of a historically chronicled Crusader siege conducted by Raymond of Saint-Gilles on the Fatimid-controlled city, which ended on July 15th, 1099. by Artefacts News. Post-it reads in red: Nicky & Joe

A picture of a painting of two differently-armored men fighting with swords and shields on horseback, with a female figure floating in the air above/in front of them.

A picture of a stylized illustration of a Crusader on a white horse, using a lance to kill a Muslim on a brown horse. The article mounted below reads: THE FIRST CRUSADE CHRISTIANS VS. MUSLIMS The Accounts of Eye-Witnesses and Participants 1099 is hand-written in red.

Picture of a painting of two men on horseback, face-to-face. The lighter-skinned man on the white horse is gazing directly at the darker-skinned man, who seems to return his gaze. Printed label reads: The 6th Crusade - 1228

Picture of a light-on-dark illustration (originally a woodcut ?) of a figure on horseback, carrying a lance, with a figure on foot behind, holding high a banner with the Crusader cross on it. Title of illustration is ‘HEROINES OF THE CRUSADES’.

Headline: A STASH OF NAPOLEON-ERA GOLD COINS Found by Metal Detectors. ‘Forgery?’ is scrawled in red under headline.

Headline: Medal is Memento of Napoleon’s March on Moscow. It partially covers a picture of two soldiers on horseback in Napoleonic uniforms, and two other non-uniformed figures on horseback.

Picture of a painting several soldiers in Napoleonic uniforms standing/sitting around outside a building with the door torn off; their postures suggest they’re drunk. One man standing and drinking from a bottle is labeled ‘Booker?’ in red. Attached News-clip reads: THE NAPOLEONIC WARS - 1812 MOSCOW BURNS DURING THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN

Note: Those 3 Napoleon articles are grouped together, with (a copy of?) one of the gold coins hanging at the juncture.

Post-it to left of that group reads: Booker? 1812. Attached to unidentifiable map, but may refer to the forgery group.

Photo of a woman in clothing that looks like northern Civil War uniform on top, full skirt on bottom, with a sword at her left hip.

Photo of 6 soldiers, 3 sitting, 3 standing, holding long rifles. One bearded man standing could be Joe. Printed label reads: The Crimean War, 1853.

Headline: THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 1804 - 1904 (circled in red) A Century of Freedom. Red string connects to a fuzzy picture with a figure in a street circled and ‘?’ next to it. Post-it reads in red: Prevented a Coup d’État in 1904?

Copy of cover of AMERICAN CIVIL WAR DIGEST. Headline of article: Newly Discovered Photographs Reveal The Horrors Of The Civil War. Subheading: The photos bring new insight into the lives of civil war soldiers and officers. Caption reads: An album of photographs dating back to the 1860s recently found in the attic of an old demolished house illustrates one of the bloodiest pages in the history of the United States. It’s attached to a photo of six people in front of a tent -- Nicky, Joe, Andy are recognizable. Three men + Andy are in Union uniform; Nicky and Joe are not, and look rougher -- maybe scouts?

Printed label: WORLD WAR I (1914 - 1918 (circled in red))

Photo of a group of WWI soldiers. (The bearded man in front might be Joe, but the man next to him is definitely not Nicky or Booker.)

Photo of a bearded soldier (Joe?) (WWI? Earlier?) holding the hands of 2 little girls; the youngest is circled in red. The circle is connected to a picture and news-clip headline: Youngest Laureate for Nobel Prize in Medicine. Article begins: PARIS, FRANCE -- Marie-Helene Varte last Friday said the Nobel Prize for Medicine will inspire her to “continue my efforts in the great cause of ending the pain and suffering that diseases such as polio cause in children.” Announcement of the award to Dr. Varte, a French doctor and medical scientist, was announced in Oslo, (rest is cut off.)

Photo with printed label: ‘Irun, 1936 (The Spanish War)’ shows a group of 9 men (5 facing camera) next to a wall of sandbags. A man at edge of picture, with face circled in red, could be Nicky.

Photo of 2 men & 1 woman (+ 4 men grouped to the side) standing in a street, with a poster pinned to it -- the Arc de Triomph, titled: FRENCH RESISTANCE, 1944. The woman might be Andy.

Photo of a long line of WWII soldiers marching. Printed label reads: WORLD WAR II (1939-1945). The 5th man from the front of the line is circled in red, with ‘Nicky’ written beside it.

Photo of bearded man (maybe Joe?, maybe Booker?) in miner’s (?) clothing, carrying a rescued man over his shoulder.

Photo of Nicky on his knee, Red Cross patch on his sleeve, tending to/helping a little boy. Red circle around the boy and a line leads to cover of magazine, ‘The World of Science Today’, with heading: DNA PROFILING. Subheading: French Scientist to get Institut Pasteur Medal For Pioneering Work With DNA -- pg 30.

Photo of Joe with a group of children. Headline of news-clip below reads: Mystery Saviors in the Democratic Republic of Congo. One child circled in red leads to article titled: Young Hip Hop Activist is Changing the DRC. Posted 8 July, 2018.

Photos of atom-bomb blast-columns, with hand-written labels in red: ‘Hiroshima Aug 6’. ‘Nagasaki Aug 9’. ‘What was next???’ String leads to copy of letter: TOP SECRET MEMORANDUM TO: Chief of Staff. The next bomb of the implosion ty- (cut off) scheduled to be ready for delivery on the t- (cut off) Red letters scrawled above ‘the next bomb’ -- ‘DID THEY STOP IT?’

White-on-black poster (?) bumper sticker (?): PEACE!!! Below are news-clip headlines layered on top of each other -- ‘THIS IS DER TAG’ and ‘GERMANY WAKES OUT OF DREAM OF EMPIRE’ and ‘GREATEST WAR IN HISTORY OF THE -’ and ‘PEACE’ and ‘SIGN TREATY’ and ‘GERMANS AFFIX SIGNATURES TO COMPACT IN PRESENCE OF ENVOYS FROM 20 NATIONS’. Clipped article at bottom starts: ‘PRESIDENT WILSON’S CABLED MESSAGE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE:’ “The treaty of peace has been signed. If it is ratified and acted upon in full and sincere execution of its terms it will furnish the charter for a new order of affairs in the world. It is a severe treaty in the duties and penalties it imposes upon Germany, but it is severe only because great wrongs done by Germany are to be righted and repaired; it imposes nothing that Germany cannot do, and she can regain her rightful standing in the world by the prompt and honorable fulfillment of its terms. And it is much more than a treaty -” (cut off).

Photo of civil rights protests, next to a photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. Various signs read: ‘End Segregated Rules in Public Schools’ and ‘We Demand Voting Rights Now’ and ‘Jobs for All Now!’, Man’s face in the middle of the crowd is circled in red, with NICKY! written below.

Photo labeled: Operation Babylift 1975 (archival print). Blonde woman in foreground is carrying a toddler. Behind her, Andy (circled in red) is helping a little boy, circled in red. Circle is connected to headline: ANGEL INVESTOR HELPS AMPUTEE CHILDREN IN ASIA.

Printed label: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. Photo of 6 - 8 men in military fatigues and helmets; 2 have Red Cross emblems on their arms. The man at the head of the stretcher might be Joe. Caption under picture reads: UN TO HOLD EMERGENCY MEETING ON SARAJEVO SIEGE.

Photo of Andy’s labrys.

Computer monitor shows scenes from Merrick’s lab facilities, including Nile dead in hall and Nile coming around a corner with a rifle and the labrys case. The cursor clicks on that one, which enlarges. The ticky-box asks: Permanently Erase This Item? Cursor clicks Erase.


1:57:25 minutes

---

The End 

---

Netflix Disclaimer:   This transcript is for educational use only. Not to be sold or auctioned.


NOTE:  Over on Tumblr, user Yumekuimono has gleaned every scrap of information from Copley’s board to produce A Timeline of The Old Guard’s Involvement in World History -- “AKA: Every Bit of Text on Copley’s Sociogram That Was Ever In-Focus Enough for Me to Decipher (With Supplemental Googling to Confirm Some Dates), Arranged in Vaguely Chronological Order”
 
 


AUTHOR’S NOTE:  I’m still obsessed by The Old Guard movie; I want to remember All The Words, as well as facial expressions, actions, reactions, and be able to refer back to them. My reading memory is better than my visual memory, so I looked for a transcript. Netflix very helpfully provided a transcript, (which seems to be no longer available), but it included only dialogue and time-stamps -- none of the information I really want. No problem; I’m an honorary daughter of ‘The Little Red Hen’; I decided to do it myself. finished, I decided to share it with fandom. Maybe someone else will find it useful for writing fic, or just to satisfy their inner obsessive fan-girl. (Yes, guilty!)

As I watched the movie and added descriptions around the Netflix-provided dialogue which I had pasted into Word, I drew heavily on my theater background -- one of my two college minors, plus several years on stage and behind the scenes at our local community theater -- which tells me that every movement and facial expression is important. I tried to describe those accurately, but [a] I’m shit at facial expressions and [b] I know little of fighting, and had difficulty following the action. If you see something that I missed, or if you think I interpreted a movement or action inaccurately -- please let me know. Honest; I’m serious about this! I don’t bite, and I really, really want this transcript to be as accurate as possible; I appreciate any help you care to offer. Even if it’s just a typo, or a mistake in formatting, sing out! Hell, during my first beta, I found two places where I called Booker, ‘Nile’. I don’t even know.

 

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Looking for StarWatcher's Old Guard movie transcript that you've heard about? It's here. I've decided to put links to all the different font-versions in one post, so that the link will be easier to share around. Below are links to posts that have the SAME CONTENT, but are reproduced in variations of font-styles for dialogue and descriptions that may make it easier to tell the difference.


Producing the transcript was -- quite literally -- a labor of love, and now I've posted it as my gift to The Old Guard's corner of fandom.

Note well:  I intend this work as a fandom resource. You may use it however you wish -- saved as reference, or written as quoted passages in your own works. (Or other methods that I'm not aware of; have fun.) Attribution is nice -- although I may be a bit flustered -- but not necessary. Feel free to share the link(s) anywhere you think people may be interested. And if none of the "versions" below are comfortable for you to read, I don't mind -- I even encourage it -- if you copy one of the versions, paste into whatever word processor you use, and format it to your specifications. Feel free to save copies, whether HTML or word processed, on your own hard drive.


Latest Edits posted: Sunday, Aug 22, 2021

This update includes: major revisions. I added extensively to descriptions -- approximately 4,700 more words of action-description, about 1,300 more words of Copley’s-board descriptions. Changed some dialogue from what was in the provided transcript to what the characters actually said, and a couple of places where I originally attributed a line to the wrong character. (How did I make such a goof? No idea.) I also changed the formatting to put (most) descriptions on separate lines from dialogue.



The Old Guard Transcript:   In   four   eight   ten   eleven   "styles" --



Bold red names, bold black dialogue, descriptions in regular black font.

Bold black names, bold black dialogue, descriptions in regular black font.


Bold red names, regular black dialogue, descriptions in black italics font.

Bold black names, regular black dialogue, descriptions in black italics font.


Bold red names, regular black dialogue, descriptions in black small font.

Bold black names, regular black dialogue, descriptions in black small font.


Bold red names, regular black dialogue, regular black descriptions.

Bold black names, regular black dialogue, regular black descriptions.


Regular red names, regular black dialogue, regular blue descriptions.

Bold red names, regular black dialogue, regular blue descriptions.

Bold black names, regular black dialogue, regular blue descriptions.



(For my personal reading, I've found that red names, blue descriptions, and black dialogue show up quite nicely in my iPad, so I put a version up here, too. If you'd like different colors, just ask [and specify the colors you'd like to see]. Depending on real life, it may take a couple of days to get it out, but won't be difficult to produce and post.)




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