HOT ZONE

INT. MONKEY HOUSE - DAY

A NOTICE: ALL OPERATIONS OTHER THAN FEEDING,

OBSERVATION AND CLEANING ARE SUSPENDED.

ANYONE ENTERING ANIMAL ROOMS MUST HAVE

FULL PROTECTION, RESPIRATOR AND GLOVES.

DEAD ANIMALS ARE TO BE DOUBLE BAGGED AND

PLACED IN REFRIGERATOR.

S. GIRARD

WIDEN TO: TINY; reading the notice in the maintenance

room. His eyes are red. He's sweating. Deke, the

handler who looks like a Biker, is panicked.

DEKE

What's all this 'sposed t'mean -- ?

Tiny wipes his forehead. He's spooked but hides it.

TINY

Ah, just "monkey flu," prob'ly.

INT. MONKEY HOUSE - FRONT OFFICE - DAY

The room is jammed with HANDLERS and LAB WORKERS.

Two EIS OFFICERS in white military style uniforms sit at

the desks interviewing People one by one and taking blood

samples. TINY is next in line before Deke.

GIRARD ROAMS uneasily. Everyone in the room looks uneasy.

REESE fields questions. A BLACK WOMAN cuts him off --

BLACK WOMAN

I don't care what happened in

Africa. I wanna know if I'm gonna

get sick working here and maybe die

'fore my children get home from

school --

This is not the "low key" meeting Reese had hoped for.

REESE

Please just be calm. One of the

Epidemic Investigators will take

care of you.

(points to EIS

officers)

Your bloodtests are confidential.

If you have any of the symptoms --

call us immediately.

THE VIEW ROCKETS IN ON TINY - AT THE EXAMINATION TABLE

He watches his blood rise in the vial from the needle in

his arm. Squeamish -- sweat rivulets run down his nose.

CUT TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

EXT. MONKEY HOUSE - EARLY MORNING

All angles. silent. Waiting.

CUT TO:

INT. JAXX HOME - SAME TIME

Jaxx feeds her menagerie. This could be the last time.

Maggie, the old bulldog, manages to wake up for a big face

lick. Her Parrots wolf whistle.

JAXX

(ritual)

Thanks, guys. Eat your heart out

girls.

Blackhawk jumps up for a hug, almost refusing to let her

go as if the dog knows there is danger ahead.

Gerry enters, duffel bag in hand. It's time.

EXT. POST HOUSING - EARLY MORNING

PVT. KLAGES exits in her civvies and gets in a waiting

car driven by her boyfriend, SGT. PIERRA. They drive on.

INT. POST HOUSING APT. - EARLY MORNING

PVT. GODWIN talks on the phone to her mother.

GODWIN

(on phone)

Everything's fine, Mom, really. I

have to go, Mom. Love you, too.

INT. HOT SUITE - EARLY MORNING

Peter checks his blood under the scope. He "high-fives"

air -- marking another day on his calendar. "Three to

go."

He does some jumping jacks to rev himself up.

CUT TO:

EXT. USAMRIID

Bitter cold. Overcast. EIGHT ARMY MEMBERS load the three

white UNMARKED VANS with anesthesia/euthanasia gear, ice

chests for samples, etc. All wear civvies.

JAXX (V.O.)

Action report, Col. Nancy Jaxx.

November 20th. Assembled Team at

Post, 0630. Civilian clothes for

drive to Reston to avoid

attention --

JOHNSON pitches in with JAXX and GERRY loading gear.

A 4 Man AIRBORNE MEDICAL ISOLATOR TEAM load an isolator

stretcher -- hermetically sealed with its own air supply.

Orange spacesuits with bubble helmets are stacked on top.

JAXX (V.O.)

No personnel with experience in

Racal spacesuits except me; I've

asked the Airborne Medical Isolator

Team to give technical support --

INSIDE LEAD VAN - GODWIN AND KLAGES

Sit in back "shucking" syringes; i.e. removing the

wrappers from syringes and loading them with anesthetic.

JAXX (V.O.)

Mood tense... Anticipation high...

They eye the stretcher warily as it's loaded. Casualties?

REAR DOORS CLOSE - BLACKENING THE SCREEN

CUT TO:

EXT. MONKEY HOUSE - MORNING

A few PEOPLE are going to work in other buildings. GIRARD

PARKS in front of Synergy.

HIS POV - MAIN ENTRANCE

Deke, the handler, is standing on the lawn wearing a

respirator, gloves and heavy jumpsuit.

Girard gets out furious.

GIRARD

What are you doing outside? People

can see --

Deke suddenly raises his respirator, drops to his knees

and vomits. Girard recoils. "Scared shitless."

SHARP CUT TO:

EXT. INTERSTATE 495 - MORNING

The White Vans creep in rush hour traffic.

INSIDE LEAD VAN - STUCK IN TRAFFIC

Johnson smokes anxiously reading the Washington Post. We

see the inside headline: "Deadly Ebola Virus Found in Va.

Laboratory Monkey: Animals Sent to U.S. from

Philippines."

JOHNSON

(reading; cringing

with the words)

"This virus does not spread that

easily," said CDC expert Chuck

Reese, "There's a low probability of

someone getting infected."

HIGH ANGLE - I 495 - CONTINUING ACTION

The traffic stretches to the Potomac. The Washington

Monument and Capitol hill gleam white in the morning sun.

RADIO (V.O.)

-- And V.P., Dan Quayle said to

reporters President Bush is not

breaking his "read my lips" promise.

It's Congress who's forcing him to

ask for new taxes --

INTERCUT: WAR ROOM - USAMRIID - SAME TIME

LOCAL NEWS plays on three TVs. C.J. covers his phone,

signaling a Deputy C.O.

C.J.

It's Girard. They've got a man

down. Get Reese -- and Johnson.

INTERCUT: GIRARD - IN HIS OFFICE

PARAMEDICS carry Deke out on a litter. Girard is scared.

GIRARD

(on phone)

He's got symptoms. I'm evacuating

the building and... I'm officially

requesting the Army to destroy all

the monkeys... Sterilize the whole

facility...

TO C.J. - WAR ROOM

C.J.

(on phone)

I'll need that in writing. The

Team's already enroute.

CUT TO:

TIGHT ON FAX MACHINE - A MESSAGE SCROLLS OUT

It's from Girard. C.J. reads it. The "go ahead."

RESUME: THE LEAD VAN - CLEAR TRAFFIC AHEAD

Karl hangs up the mobile phone. He's pumped.

JOHNSON

The good news is we're nuking the

whole colony. The bad news is the

virus just jumped species. A

Handler went to the hospital with

symptoms. It'll be all over the six

o'clock news.

AHEAD - THEIR POV

The RESTON exit sign rushes toward them.

CUT TO:

EXT. MONKEY HOUSE - REARVIEW - MORNING

The Vans deploy on the grass behind the building. Girard

waits at the Maintenance door with the 2 EIS Officers.

TEAM POV - INSIDE THE VAN

Gerry and the rest of the Team watch from the Vans as

Girard and Jaxx speak inaudibly. He hands her the keys to

the building and the signed release. He practically runs

to his car -- he can't wait to get out of there.

The EIS Officers head inside. Jaxx signals.

THE VANS - DOORS OPEN

AIT PERSONNEL pile out and carry equipment inside.

JAXX

Tell everyone to hit the head. Once

they suit up the only place to go is

down your leg.

MAJ. HAINES, the AIT leader, cracks up. Tension released.

INT. LEAD VAN - MORNING

Gerry throws sheets of plastic over a rope dividing the

back of the van into a crude changing room.

THE NEAR SIDE: Gerry and Sgt. Pierra strip naked.

Shivering in the cold, they jerk on surgical scrubs.

THE FAR SIDE: Klages and Godwin laugh embarrassed.

Klages starts shucking clothes. Then Godwin. Both

freezing cold.

OUTSIDE - JOHNSON - DAY CARE CENTER IN VIEW

Jaxx joins him. The sound of children echoes in the air.

JOHNSON

Nice neighborhood. Kids. Fast

food. Diseased monkeys. Good city

planning.

THEIR POV - THROUGH THE TREES

The playground and happy children. Jaxx purges her guilt.

JAXX