HOT ZONE

AT THE PARTITION WINDOW - JAXX AND JOHNSON

Shocked to see PETER; his face peppered with hemorrhages.

JAXX

Aw, Pete... I don't believe this is

happening.

JOHNSON

We could all be exposed --

Jaxx shivers at the thought. PETER RAISES UP in bed

making eye contact with them. Sadly, he mouths the words:

JAXX

(reading his lips)

He wants me to call his family.

Tell them he won't be home for

dinner...

(she nods

affirmative)

I copy, Pete. Hang in there.

Pete understands. He gives her "thumbs up" and sags back.

INT. BL3 SUITE OFFICE - LATER

The fridge full of deadly viruses is visible through the

glass. Jaxx sadly hangs up the phone. Karl is with her.

JAXX

The Slammer's already full and this

thing is just getting started.

C'mon, don't just stand there. Get

mad! Say, "I told you so."

JOHNSON

That's not going to save lives. We

both know none of the antivirals

we've got is going to pull these

people through. They'll be soup in

a week. We need a super immuno

serum to even have a chance to save

anyone. We need a survivor.

JAXX

Well let's get one! If we can pull

Pete or any one of these patients

through, the immunities in one

person can save four more with their

antibody serum. Then sixteen and --

She fixes on Pete's guinea pigs through the glass.

JAXX

Pete's got guinea pigs here that are

immune to Ebola, a Supermonkey who's

beat it. I'll bleed these animals

dry and spin off some immuno plasma.

She's on fire. A heightened urgency to her every word --

JOHNSON

You can't despeciate enough serum

from those guinea pigs and mice to

treat an epidemic! We should've

been stockpiling years ago.

JAXX

Well, what the fuck would you do?

Pete's dying in here -- !

JOHNSON

(frustrated)

We need a "magic bullet."

Jaxx instantly understands. She actually smiles --

THE REFRIGERATORS - CONTINUING ACTION

Jaxx pulls out 4 units from plasma storage and sets them

on the bench reverently.

JAXX

Sister Genevieve. The last four

units you brought back from Africa.

"Gold-plated" Ebola-eater.

Karl savors the container -- his long lost friend.

JAXX

Let's give the last of Sister G. to

Pete... There's a good chance the

serum will give his immune system

the boost he needs to beat the

bug... We owe it to him.

He wipes a stray tear from her cheek.

JOHNSON

Do it. Try it. Try everything. I

wish I'd had ten of you in Africa

and Panama -- Bolivia -- India --

Jaxx doesn't know how to react to the compliment --

JOHNSON

But this epidemic will be hopelessly

out of control if we can't get the

viral bombs off the street who're

out there exposing innocent people.

Jaxx takes Sister G's plasma with grim resolve and heads

down the corridor. From the back, we see her shoulders

shudder. She's crying.

CUT TO:

INT. SLAMMER - MINUTES LATER

Jaxx gives Peter the best she has to offer; she hooks one

of the last units of Sister Genevieve's convalescent Serum

to his I.V. He forces a smile from his isolator.

PETER

Hey, what flavor is that? I ordered

pistachio.

JAXX

That stuff will rot your teeth.

This is Sister "G." Nothing but the

best for you, Pete.

Pete is at a loss for words. Jaxx won't let him speak.

JAXX

The Good Sister would've wanted you

to have it. Get well.

She reaches in through the glove port and daubs the sweat

on his face. Hemorrhages have popped out all over.

The intercom BUZZES breaking the moment. More trouble.

Peter turns away in tears. As Jaxx leaves. PAN UP TO:

The last of Sister Genevieve drips slowly into Pete's

body.

INT. WAR ROOM - MINUTES LATER

TIGHT ON FAX PICTURE OF: TINY WHIPPERT

FEMALE EIS OFFICER (O.S.)

We've got every other handler and

employee in quarantine -- but we

can't find him; "Timothy Whippert."

C.J., JAXX AND JOHNSON go over Tiny's personnel file with

the exhausted young FEMALE EIS OFFICER.

JAXX

This is that handler who dumped

those hot cadavers on us --

C.J.

Checkout his blood test.

Johnson pours over the Titre chart in Tiny's file.

THE CHART - REACTIVITY OF MA-104 CELLS FROM ANTISERA

Three categories. "Anti-Ebola," "Anti-Marburg," "Anti-

Simian HF." "O" appears in everything but "Anti-Ebola."

It's got numbers.

JOHNSON

Whoa. High-titres. Plus four, plus

three, plus four -- Jesus he's

crawling with Ebola anti-bodies.

He's a bomb.

JAXX

How long ago did he react? Do we

know?

C.J.

EIS just found out he cut himself

doing a necropsy on a hot cyno about

two weeks ago.

JOHNSON

If he's got symptoms, he is a

walking lethal contagion, one. And

two, he's either dead, or almost

dead by now -- or three -- He's

immune --

Johnson turns to Jaxx -- She's almost afraid to say it.

JAXX

Survivor --

Match in a haystack. This is it -- the whole room

ignites.

FEMALE EIS OFFICER

I made contact with his mother. She

said he'd gone to the mall to the

movies. Apparently, he's a 'Bruce

Willis' die-hard fan.

C.J.

Where? What mall? C'mon -- c'mon.

She points to a spot on the map. Karl is hyper-alarmed.

JOHNSON

Epidemic scenario. Worst case. A

viral bomb roaming densely populated

areas is more dangerous than a

"serial killer."

Silence. Then the room goes into action.

C.J.

Let's bring him in. And no Police!

SLAM CUT TO:

EXT. MALL - AFTERNOON - QUICK CUTS: STATE POLICE CARS

Screeching to a halt in front of the Mall entrances.

TROOPERS pilling out and taking up positions at the doors.

CUT TO:

INT. MALL - CINEMA ENTRANCE - SAME TIME

Jammed with holiday MOVIEGOERS, SHOPPERS and CRUISERS.

INT. DARK THEATER - CONTINUING ACTION

INFRARED SURVEILLANCE POV - SCANNING THE CROWD

"Look Who's Talking" on the screen. WE HEAR: BRUCE

WILLIS cracking up the audience as the Baby.

WE SEE: TEENAGERS kissing passionately on the back row.

Their tongues all over each other.

PAN TO: A SYMPHONY OF PEOPLE COUGHING

Aerosol droplets glisten like snow in projector light.

TO JAXX - STANDING BACK

Scanning the crowd with an infrared night scope. The

COUGHING AMPLIFIES, LOUDER, LOUDER, in Jaxx's mind. She

finally covers her ears, it's so annoying.

THE MALL - OUTSIDE THE CINEMA - FOLLOW JOHNSON

Patrolling long "MOVIE" lines of PEOPLE spilling into the

main Mall. "BACK TO THE FUTURE 2," "LITTLE MERMAID,"

"LOOK WHO'S TALKING," "MY LEFT FOOT."

He checks his Xerox of Tiny's photo, looking, searching.

HIS POV - PEOPLE IN SLOW MOTION

A virologist's nightmare. Everywhere he looks he sees

germs spreading. Two TEENAGERS sharing puffs on the same

cigarette.

Countless runny noses. People COUGHING -- A COUGH BLASTS

in Karl's direction, he brushes his jacket off as if

Tarantulas were crawling on him.

A MAN AND WOMAN eat from the same popcorn box with their

two CHILDREN. One child eats stray kernels off the floor

unobserved by his parents. The other wipes her runny nose

with her bare hand then sticks the same "wet" hand in the

popcorn box.

SURVEILLANCE POV - MCDONALDS (JAXX POV)

FOUR FAST FOODERS eat with their hands. All double dip

their french fries in the ketchup after each bite.

TO: JAXX; Now on stakeout in the "food halls" area. She

makes eye-contact with Karl and "thumbs" to the door.

TO POLICE: Standing out like sore thumbs at the entrance.

They're wearing surgical gloves. Several sport surgical

masks. They cause a stir stopping SHOPPERS to show them

Tiny's picture for a reaction.

TO JOHNSON: He's steamed. Cops. He mimes putting on

surgical gloves then blowing his brains out. He looks

back to Jaxx -- His adrenalin starts to pump --

JAXX - TALKING TO A PIZZA MAN

The Man is nodding, absolutely sure, pointing to Tiny's

photo. He turns and points to the public eating area.

JOHNSON"S POV - PANNING TO:

There's Tiny. Sitting alone woofing down burgers in

overalls and hunting shirt.

JOHNSON WENDS through the tables, circling the big man.

JAXX CLOSES on the opposite side talking on a hand radio.

THE FEMALE EIS OFFICER reacts on her radio and signals to

two other EIS OFFICERS through the crowd. They close.

JOHNSON'S POV - MOVING CLOSER

He can almost reach out and tap the big man's shoulder.

TWO POLICE suddenly spot Tiny from the other side and head

right toward him through the tables.

TINY spots them, bolts up and heads into the crowd --

JOHNSON hurries after him pushing through people.

MALL HALLWAY - CONTINUING ACTION

Tiny is now running bulling his way through the crowd.

The Police in hot pursuit. Johnson runs trying to get

between Tiny and the Police --

POLICE

Stop right there! Stop! Freeze it!

ON TINY - BACK TO CAMERA

He reaches inside his overalls as if to draw a gun --

THE POLICE - GUNS COME OUT

POLICE

Clear! Get outta the way!

People hit the deck. JOHNSON BULLS PAST the Police --

JAXX FIGHTS her way through the fleeing crowd --

TO TINY - HE STOPS RUNNING

-- and turns struggling to pull his hand out --

POLICEMAN'S POV - GUN AIMED

Johnson is in his line of fire -- Suddenly JAXX ENTERS

frame disarming the Cop with her self-defense wrist lock.

JAXX

His blood could be more lethal than

your gun -- Jerk -- stupid --

KARL GRABS TINY'S HAND and slams him into a merchant's

cart of cheese and smoked sausages. The Big Man goes down

taking the cart with him.

JAXX AND POLICE rush up with the female EIS officer.

The Big Man on the floor pulls a handful of stolen CD's

from inside his overalls. It's not Tiny.

BIG MAN

Take'em. Here. That's all I got.

I swear. Jesus -- I peed in my

pants.

Karl pulls himself up frustrated -- angry. Jaxx helps

him --

JAXX

Karl -- ?

JOHNSON

Ah, I can get up by myself.

(to Female EIS

Officer)

Do your job, Lieutenant. You're the

epidemic police. Check him out --

People part. Jaxx leads Johnson away. A Policeman slaps

cuffs on the Big Man.

EIS OFFICER

Are you on medication?

The Big Man shakes "no" as they lead him away.

EIS OFFICER

Have you been bitten or scratched by

a wild animal?

(another "no" and a

laugh)

Have you experienced any unusual

symptoms in the last 24 hours.

Now the Big Man looks at his captors suspiciously; Police

in surgical gloves. Some with masks.

BIG MAN

Hey -- what is this? Y'all think I

was ebb-ducted in a UFO, don't cha?

The Crowd laughs. The young EIS Officer is embarrassed.

CUT TO:

EXT. RUNDOWN HOUSE - AFTERNOON

Karl knocks on the door again.

JOHNSON

Mrs. Whippert we just want to ask

you some questions about your son.

We're not the police.

Jaxx starts to speak. Then a frightened voice inside --

MRS. WHIPPERT

(through door)

I toll those other people who was

here earlier where he was.

JOHNSON

Mrs. Whippert, he's not at the

movies -- so why don't you help us?

They both eye the several racks of deer antlers nailed

haphazardly on the porch posts.

JOHNSON

I'm a sportsman too, M'am. Fishing.

Your son's a hunter I see --

Silence. He looks to Jaxx. They're warm, Jaxx adds a

"mother's concern."

JAXX

M'am, I know you're scared, but just

understand, your son may be very

sick. As a mother myself, I know

you really want to help him.

A beat. The door slowly opens. Tiny's MOTHER peers out.

Drink in one hand. Cigarette in the other. Frightened.

MRS. WHIPPERT

Well, he toll me not to say nothin'

to nobody when he callt yesterday.

He went a huntin'. He's on up at

his cabin...

Jaxx and Karl trade glances. "He's alive"!

CUT TO:

INT. WAR ROOM - AFTERNOON

C.J. hangs up the phone.

C.J.

We got it! Subject was still

kicking as of yesterday --

He moves to the wall map. Two DEPUTY AIDES join him. He

puts a pin in the map.

C.J.

The cabin is about seventy-five

miles up the Savage River from here.

Get me topos and recons of this area

down to the square foot --

Staff get on the phones.

PUSH IN TIGHT ON THE MAP: The pin is in the southeast

corner of West Virginia. Names like Black Rock Canyon,

Big Run and Backbone Mountain appear --

INT. SLAMMER - SAME TIME

TWO AIDES in spacesuits wheel Deke's covered body by.

INT. MORGUE - LIMBO

The monkey handler's lifeless face frozen in horrible

agony, skin disintegrating, disappears as gloved hands zip

the body bag over him. The body slides into the rack.

The big submarine door closes. Gloved hands crank it

shut.

CUT TO:

EXT. HELIPAD - LATE AFTERNOON

Karl is loading a field isolator into a Huey with an AIT

Team. Inflatable rubber rafts follow.

A government vehicle drives right across the open field

-- lights flashing.

INT. CAR - MOVING POV - HELICOPTER IN VIEW

The Driver stops. Chuck Reese gets out and faces Karl in

the flashing lights. Johnson is hardly glad to see him.

JOHNSON

We lost the first monkey handler.

First Ebola victim on U.S. soil.

Awkward silence.

REESE

Let me go with you.

Karl squints at him suspiciously.

REESE

Karl, look, we've quarantined

seventeen people this guy may have

exposed. I should have done it your

way. I... stayed behind in Africa

all those years ago. In a way, I

guess I stayed behind ever since...

Not this time.