The Rock

The three-man and single SDUs head toward Alcatraz, passing ABOVE CAMERA.

EXT. ALCATRAZ – LOWER LIGHTHOUSE – NIGHT

The SEARCHLIGHT atop the lower lighthouse scans the bay, back and forth. It fixes on something.

INT. ALCATRAZ – LOWER LIGHTHOUSE – NIGHT

Hummel and Baxter watch from the window. Captain Fryels voice emanates from the walkie-talkie.

CAPTAIN FRYE (V.O.)

Something on radar, sir. Two Hueys in standard formation, due east and approaching.

Hummel raises binoculars. Scans the bay.

HUMMEL'S POV – THROUGH BINOCULARS – THE HUEYS AND SEA STALLION

Flying low, SCREAM toward the island.

BACK TO SCENE

Hummel lowers the binoculars, clicks on his walkie-talkie.

BAXTER

Decoy?

HUMMEL

Royce, Scarpetti, Gamble, Starling: get to the west end of the island on the double. Think we have visitors.

EXT. ALCATRAZ – WATER TOWER – ALLEY – NIGHT

Pvt. Royce clicks off his walkie-talkie.

ROYCE

You heard the man, let's move it.

Pvts. Royce, Scarpetti, Gamble and Starling race off.

EXT. UNDERWATER – NIGHT

The SEALs, pulled by their SDUs, WHOOSH past camera. The SDUs lights dim the FLUORESCENT GREEN.

CLOSEUP ON BOYER

The three-man SDUs driver, intense, determined.

CLOSEUP ON BOYER'S fluorescent green INSTRUMENT PANEL

Charting their approach to the island.

They've drawn close to the island. Commander Aanderson swings an UNDERWATER SPOTLIGHT, which reveals –

A LARGE WATER INTAKE PIPE

Jutting out from the Island's bedrock, 7 ft. in diameter, covered by a GRATE thick with rust, barnacles and seaweed. There's a SMALL JAGGED HOLE, presumably through which Mason escaped 33 years earlier.

EXT. UNDERWATER – POWER P. INTAKE PIPE – NIGHT

The SEALs cast off the SDUs and direct their GREEN FLUORESCENT SPOTLIGHTS inside the hole in the grate.

Mason stares at the hole. Commander Aanderson nods to Mason: "lead the way." Mason does so. Enters the pipe. one by one, the SEALs and Goodspeed follow Mason in.

EXT. ALCATRAZ – SHORELINE NEAR POWER PLANT – NIGHT

Pvts. Royce, Scarpetti, Gamble and Starling walk the shoreline, peering into the black water.

ROYCE

Looks all clear, sir.

INT. ALCATRAZ – INFIRMARY COMMAND CENTER – NIGHT

Baxter turns to Hummel:

BAXTER

Nothing.

HUMMEL

Tell 'em to stay out there.

INT. ALCATRAZ – SUBTERRANEAN POWER PLANT – NIGHT

A large subterranean room under the island's Power Plant... large WOODEN CISTERN in the middle.

The SEALs emerge in the cistern and climb out. The room has one exit, sealed with a HEAVY IRON door.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

Thank you very fucking much, Mr. Mason, you've led us to a room with no exit.

SEAL BOYER

Skipper, blow it or burn it?

COMMANDER ANDERSON

No time for the torch. Explosives'll bring the fucking world down on us.

(turns to Mason)

An idea, please, we're tight on time.

MASON

Wait for me to unlock the door.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

You do not look like Jesus Christ, Mr. Mason, so I'm having a hard time how you're going to accomplish that.

MASON

(points)

Under there.

UNDERNEATH THE STEAM ENGINE

Is a tiny crawl space. 10 STEAM RELEASE VALVES periodically emit BURSTS OF STEAM.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

You are shitting me. You catch one of those steam bursts and you're a corpse.

MASON

True.

(unshoulders his equipment)

I memorized their timing.

Mason sits on the edge of the crawl space. FBI looks inside the crawl space: WHITE HOT BURSTS of 500 degree Fahrenheit steam BLAST DOWN.

SEAL SHEPHERD

Uhh sir, you said never leave his side...

COMMANDER ANDERSON

You're not required to follow, Lieutenant Shepherd. This man is going to die.

MASON

(grumbles to himself)

That's been said to me before...

Mason takes a deep breath and he rolls –
 

INTO THE CRAWL SPACE

Mason logrolls one revolution... STEAM BURST another evolution STEAM BURST another revolution STEAM BURST.

Mason rolls to a stop on his side. STEAM BURSTS on either side of him. Mason collects himself. Breathes deeply and rolls again. His movements are precise, from memory. He rolls past each burst, any imprecision certain death...

IN THE CISTERN ROOM

Goodspeed, Aanderson and the SEALs watch Mason, amazed.

SEAL REIGERT

Who the fuck is this guy? Houdini?

IN THE CRAWL SPACE

Mason rolls past the STEAM RELEME VALVE and disappears.

IN THE CISTERN ROOM

Several seconds pass. We HEAR THE DOOR being unbolted. It CREAKS open. There stands Mason.

MASON

Welcome to the Rock.

The Incursion Team files through the door.

CUT TO:

INT. TUNNELS UNDER ALCATRAZ – NIGHT

Here, the tunnel moves up a steep incline to a LOCKED STEEL BULKHEAD. SEALs Reigert and Dando check it out.

SEAL DANDO

She's at least three inches thick sir.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

Shit. Burn it.

Dando unpacks an ACETYLENE TORCH. Reigert turns on the ACETYLENE VALVES (tanks rigged to Dandols gear) and sparks the torch. IT FLAMES UP, white hot.

Dando starts toward the bulkhead. Mason steps past him, bending his KITCHEN FORK into an awkward shape. He fishes the fork in the lock; twists it, and... POP.

Mason throws open the thick bulkhead door. And climbs through the bulkhead.

MASON

(muttering)

Guys are worthless.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

Who is this guy...?

INT. DRAINAGE PIPES LTNDER MAIN CELL HOUSE – NIGHT

The team arrives at a series of concrete drainage pipes. Mason points up to one of them.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

The shower room?

(Mason nods yes)

After you.

Mason and the SEALs climb into the drainage pipe.

INT. DRAINAGE PIPE UNDER SHOWER ROOM – NIGHT

The SEAL team, Mason leading the way, climbs toward a FAINT LIGHT emanating from a DRAINAGE GRATE above.

SEAL Reigert readies a FIBRE OPTIC SEEING DEVICE; he pushes the fibre-optic camera up through the grate.

INT. ALCATRAZ – PRISON SHOWER ROOM – NIGHT

The FIBER-OPTIC CAMERA turns, looking in a 360 degree radius, and transmitting images of –

THE PRISON SHOWER

A tiled room with shower heads and a 20 160A ft. ceiling. Above, a mezzanine circles the showers; here Alcatraz's guards once watched inmates below..

INT. DRAINAGE PIPE UNDER SHOWER ROOM – NIGHT

Commander Anderson views the shower room images on a TINY (2 inch by 2 inch) WRIST-HELD VIDEO MONITOR. The shower is deserted, but there's something of interest –

A MOTION DETECTOR (a blue beam flashed from a transmitter to 161A a receptor) across the grate.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

Motion sensor.

Anderson gingerly lifts the grate. Reigert wiggles his hands past the edges of the grate and nudges the beam transmitter (with one hand) and the beam receiver (with the other) away from the grate.

INT. INFIRMARY COMMAND CENTER – NIGHT

A SILENT ALARM next to Pvt. Royce blinks on. Royce turns to Maj. Baxter.

ROYCE

Sir. Anti-disturbance temblar tripped in the shower. We got visitors.

INT. MAIN CELL HOUSE – SHOWER ROOM

The grate pops open. SEALs Boyer and Reigert, wearing NIGHT VISION GLASSES, emerge taking defensive positions back-to-back. Commander Anderson follows. Then, one by one, the rest of the SEALs emerge.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

(to Lt. Shepherd in the drainage pipe)

Stand fast. We'll secure the area.

Anderson directs Boyer and Reigert to a TILED COLUMN. They creep across the tiled floor, taking "check and defefid" positions behind the shower's TILED COLUMNS. But suddenly, shockingly... FLOODLIGHTS flash on. Coming from the mezzanine above.

The SEALs whip off their night vision goggles.

INT. PIER 39 – MOBILE COMMAND TRAILER – NIGHT

ON THE VIDEO MONITOR – We see the illumination of the shower room (transmitted from the SEALs cameras.)

SANCHEZ

What's that...what the hell is that?

INT. ALCATRAZ – DRAINAGE PIPE UNDER SHOWER ROOM – NIGHT

Goodspeed, Mason, and Lt. Shepherd react to the sudden illumination above.

GOODSPEED

(whispers)

What's going on?

SEAL SHEPHERD

(whispers)

Don't know.

INT. SHOWER ROOM – NIGHT

The SEALs whirl around, startled, unnerved, squinting into the blinding whiteness of the floodlights.

HUMMEL (V.O.)

Drop your weapons.

The SEALs, terrified, hesitate but do not drop their weapons They stand back-to-back, weapons trained at the catwalk. squinting into the white light.

The SEALs behind the tiled columns take cover. we cannot yet see Hummel and the marines. This plays with as much tension as possible. The situation is chilling:

COMMANDER ANDERSON
Anderson here, General Hummel. Commander. Team Leader.

HUMMEL (V.O.)

Commander Anderson, if you have any concern for the lives of your men, you will order them to safety their weapons and place them on the deck at their feet.

INT. PIER 39 COMMAND CENTER – NIGHT

ON THE VIDEO MONITOR – We see the floodlights above on the Mezzanine and hear Hummel's voice:

SANCHEZ

Oh Christ this isn't happening.

INT. ALCATRAZ – SHOWER ROOM MEZZANINE – NIGHT

Hummel looks down at the SEALs. Baxter's text to him. The other marines are at positions around the mezzanine perimeter, M-16's trained and ready.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

Sir, we know why you're out here. God knows I agree with you sir, but like you sir, I swore to defend this country against all enemies. Foreign, sir, and domestic.

(shouts now)

General, we've spilled the same blood in the same mud. You know goddamn well that I cannot give that order...

BEHIND A COLUMN

SEALs Reigert and Boyer stare into the floodlights.

HUMMEL

Your unit is covered from an elevated position, Commander. I'm not going to ask again.

ON THE MEZZANINE

Cpts. Frye, Darrow and Pvts. Cox, McCoy, have their weapons trained; they're pumped and trigger happy.

HUMMEL

Don't do anything stupid, Commander. No one has to die here.

COMMANDER ANDERSON

You men following the General: You are United States Marines and under oath you forgotten that? We all have shipmates we remember – some of 'em were shit on and spit on by the Pentagon – that doesn't give you the right to mutiny.

HUMMEL

That's a nice speech, Commander. I heard plenty like it in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. They all added up to zero. Pretty words aren't gonna get you out of this, Commander. Now abort this mission. Goddamn it, abort.

BEHIND THE COLUMN

SEAL Boyer, just 20, having never seen combat, is trembling with fear, indecision.

SEAL BOYER

It's us or them, Reigert, fuck they're gonna waste us...

SEAL REIGERT

Get a grip on yourself...

ON THE MEZZANINE

Pvt. Coxi's BOOT nudges a TILE which has come loose from its mortar. The tile inches to the edge of the mezzanine. Then it falls...

Boyer, reacting to THE FALLING TILE, brings up his machine gun and fires A SUSTAINED BURST in its direction –

And all hell breaks loose. THE MARINES fire in unison. A cruel withering fusillade.

The SEALs in the middle of the floor take the brunt of it. They gamely return fire. But they're hit. Again. Again. Again.

IN THE DRAINAGE HOLE