RONIN

                          DEIRDRE
               And then...

                          VINCENT
               And then Sam, you and I clean up
               whatever's left to be cleaned.

                          DEIRDRE
               Very good.  Now all we have to do is live
               long enough to get paid.

     EXT. A POSH HOTEL - LATER - NIGHT

     A ROW OF ROOMS, each one with a light behind a shade.  Even
     as we watch the light in each room goes off: one two three
     four five six lights -- one for each member of the team.  The
     night before the big event nobody breaks curfew.

     ACROSS THE STREET -

     A BAR -

     Through the bar window we see the Watcher's silhouette.  A
     match flares as the Watcher lights a cigarette, REVEALING his
     face for the first time: weathered, sharp, treacherous.  THE
     MATCH goes out, and the Watcher's face FADES TO BLACK, and so
     do we.

     FADE IN ON:

     EXT. THE HILLS OF NICE - MORNING

     A PRIVATE ESTATE IN THE HILLS -

     A CARAVAN OF BLACK ARMOR PLATED CARS, all idling, ready to
     pull out, filled with muscular men in suits with bluges under
     their jackets, all of them waiting for - THE TARGET.  Except
     we've seem him before and he wasn't called the Target: he was
     the Killer from the first scene of the film: the gunman in
     the cathedral who made off with -  THE BRIEFCASE.  Which the
     briefcase is still handcuffed to his side.  Now the Target
     gets into his car, a BLACK MERCEDES, and as soon as he's in
     the caravan pulls out and - The Target takes out his cell
     phone, punches in a number and starts to talk, and as he does
     we - PULL BACK, INTO THE AIR, leaving the Caravan behind as
     we MOVE TOWARDS THE WATER and -

     THE PROMENADE DES ANGLAIS, the long roadway that runs the
     length of the town adjacent to the beach.  It's a special
     place, a huge road for cars, along with a promenade for
     tourists.  Here we come upon -

     AN OUTDOOR CAFE -

     Where we find Deirdre, a laptop in front of her, wearing a
     HEADSET.  And, lest we think she looks out of place, we get
     a look at -

     THE REST OF THE CAFE -

     Where many of the other PATRONS are typing away on laptops,
     or chattering like crazy on their cell phone.  She types a
     sentence on her keyboard, and as she types she says it out
     loud.

                          DEIRDRE
               Alright, Gregor, I'm...

     CUT TO:

     INT. A CRAMPED COMPTUER CONTROL ROOM - SAME TIME

                          GREGOR
                   (finishing her sentence)
               Ready when you are...

     Gregor is sitting behind a console, looking at Deirdre's
     message, which we can read on his laptop.  Gregor also has a
     much bigger COMPUTER with him as well, and on this screen we
     see - A COMPUTER GRAPHIC MAP OF NICE.  This is a map of
     incredible detail, a high-tech graphic rendering of Nice.
     Now - THE MAP starts to shift, randomly moving about the city
     as it searches for the proper signal.  The computer isolates
     an entire district of the city, enlarges a part of the
     district, and then locates and enlarges a single street.  Now
     - On screen a FLASHING CURSOR appears on the map, the TARGET.
     The Cursor starts to move down one of the streets of Nice and
     as we follow the Curson it TURNS INTO - THE TARGET CAR,
     driving home the point that Gregor is now locked onto the
     Target.  THE JAPANESE DRUMS we heard in the opening sequence
     start to play again -- softly, ominously, and we're on -

     EXT. A SIDE STREET

     Where VINCENT'S FIAT is parked at a curb, Sam and Vincent
     sitting inside.

     INT. THE FIAT

     Vincent sits behind the wheel, while Sam sits next to him,
     loading a small arsenal of weapons.

     The DRUMS grow, a little louder now, a little more urgent.

     EXT. ANOTHER STREET

     A VOLVO idles, waiting for something, Larry behind the wheel
     of this car, and sitting next to him Swede.  The DRUMS
     continue to play, and their volume is still low, but they're
     jarring, setting our nerves on edge.

     INT. THE VOLVO

                          LARRY
               Where is this broad?

                          SWEDE
               You should learn a little patience.

                          LARRY
               Is that right?

                          SWEDE
               It's consider a virtue in some corners
               of the world.

                          LARRY
               Not in mine.

     THE CAR PHONE rings, and Swede pushes a button.  Deirdre's
     Voice is heard on the speaker phone.

                          DEIRDRE (V.O.)
               Hello gentlemen, are we ready?

     EXT. THE CAFE

     Deirdre looks at her laptop and relays Gregor's instructions.
     She speaks over her headset as if she's conducting ordinary
     business -- as if she's giving someone traffic directs
     over the phone.  The JAPANESE DRUMS continue, quiet and yet
     intense.

                          DEIRDRE
               You want to take a left, then, so that
               you're going west.

     During this next sequence, the DRUMS will continue to play,
     building with the action as we do -

     THE CHASE MONTAGE: A SERIES OF CUTS AS -

     The Volvo takes a flying left turn -

     Gregor watches the Target on his computer as it moves towards
     the Promenade des Anglais, typing the results on his
     keyboard as - The Volvo careens down a steep hill, hits a
     bump, and flies through the air a good fifteen feet, even as -
     The Fiat follows close behind and hits the same bump, does
     the same flight through the air and lands with a thud -

     THE CARAVAN of cars -

     THE TARGET CAR -

     THE TARGET, still talking away on his cell phone - THE
     COMPUTER MAP tracking the Target's movements, as the Map
     shifts and moves as it keeps pace with the target, and now -

     The Promenade des Anglais is right ahead and the DRUMS build
     to a crescendo as -

     The Volvo SMASHES into the Target Car and they grind
     together, as -

     CARS 3 & 4 in the Caravan are cut off by Vincent's Fiat,
     which forces them to slam to a halt, as -

     Larry runs the Target Car to a halt and the JAPANESE DRUMS
     stop.

     Larry and Swede hop out of the Volvo, and Swede brandishes a
     MONSTER of a MACHINE GUN, with which he opens fire, a blast
     of huge guage shells spitting a trail of fire, smashing
     against THE WINDSHIELD of the Target Car, which is bullet-
     proof.  The windshield doesn't break right away -- but the
     heavy blast of firepower causes the windsield to buckle.

     Sam and Vincent are now out of the Fiat, guns drawn, blazing
     away at BODYGUARDS, and Christ, there's an army of them,
     pouring out of Cars 3 & 4.  These guys are armed and returning
     fire as -

     Larry gets out of the driver's seat of the Volvo, and he's
     got some kind of sumbitch weapons himself, a ROCKET LAUNCHER,
     which he points and fires - And now we TRACK THE MISSLE as
     it scorches the air, traveling towards -

     The LEAD CAR of the caravan which has only now realized
     what's going on behind it, and as frantic Bodyguards drive
     back towards the carnage - The Missle IMPACTS, blowing the
     Car sideways.

     Meanwhile - Sam and Vincent are taking out the Other
     Bodyguards, and these guys are warriors -- they moves as a
     team, each man with a gun in both hands, using a weapon until
     it's out of bullets and then discarding it in favor of a new
     one.

     And even as this is going on - Deirdre has joined the fray,
     firing both of her pistols, taking Sam's place at Vincent's
     side so that Sam can run towards -

     The Target Car, where the Target is seated in the backseat,
     pulling out his own piece, ready to fight to the death
     himself as -

     Swede continues blasting away at the windshield with his
     monster gun, and now - The Windshield has started to crack
     and splinter, and abruptly, it shatters, instantly bursting a
     bright red as Swede's bullets tear up the body of the Driver.

     Now Sam has reaches the Target Car, just as the Target, who
     is armed and, as we know, not exactly helpless, steps out of
     the car and sights in on Swede and - ZING!  Sam fires,
     winging the Target, knocking the gun out of his hand and
     still the Target won't give up without a struggle, he hits
     Swede with the Briefcase.

                          THE TARGET
               Fuck you!

                          SWEDE
               Not today.

     BANG.  Swede puts one shot between the Target's eyes, ending
     his life.  Now - Swede takes out a DAI-SHO, the smaller of the
     two traditional Japanese Samurai swords.  With one slashing
     blow he hacks off the Target's HAND AT THE WRIST and grabs
     the briefcase.  The SEVERED HAND is still caught in the
     handcuffs, so that it is carried along for the ride.  Now -
     DISTANT SIRENS sound from OFF SCREEN as Swede moves back
     towards Larry and the Volvo, and as he goes he raises the
     briefcase (with its severed hand) in a kind of mock salute to
     Sam, who starts to move back towards Deirdre and Vincent, who
     have taken care of the remaining Bodyguards, and now the
     SIRENS are growing closer as we - START TO MOVE IN SLOW
     MOTION as Swede approaches the Volvo and - Deirdre and Vincent
     are already at Vincent's Fiat, waiting for Sam, and so they
     don't notice that - A VAN has been parked nearby this entire
     time, and now the van's side door slides open, and unseen by
     any of the others - Gregor steps out of the Van, a gun at his
     side, and a predatory look on his face as - Swede reaches Larry
     and the Volvo just as - Sam has reaches the Fiat, and now he looks
     back and sees - Gregor, crossing the street, and now - Sam
     screams a warning to Larry, but it's way too late because -
     Swede shoots Larry in the neck, hitting him above the
     protective covering of his bullet proof vest.  Now we're
     MOVING IN REAL TIME as - Larry manages to get his backup
     piece drawn, a snub-nosed .38, and he fires all six shots
     into - Swede, hitting him in the stomach -- it's the same way
     Larry shot the target in the warehouse.  Swede is sent flying
     backwards, where he crashes to the pavement.  For a second we
     think he's dead, but then he gets up, in pain but alive, just
     as Sam predicted.  Swede claws at his shirt to reveal that he
     too wears a bullet proof vest.  By now - Larry has rolled out
     of the Volvo, crawling away but too weak to go far, and now -
     Swede has Larry in his sights, he's going to kill him.

                          SWEDE
               I don't particularly like killing, tubby,
               but I want you to know that this one I'm
               going to enjoy.

                          LARRY
                   (sees something over Swede's
                    shoulder)
               I don't think so.

     Swede turns to follow Larry's gaze, and as he does - Gregor
     walks INTO FRAME and puts his gun right beneath Swede's chin.
     Before Swede can even compute this, Gregor pulls the trigger,
     firing straight up into Swede's brain.  Then, without even
     looking at Larry, who is lying helpless on the ground -
     Gregor takes the briefcase and gets into the Volvo, driving
     off just as - Sam arrives, kneeling down by Larry.  The SIRENS
     get louder.

                          LARRY
                   (in shock)
               He just...I don't believe that son-of-
               a...

     Vincent's Fiat comes peeling to a halt in front of them,
     Vincent and Deirdre inside it as Sam manages to get Larry
     into the back seat.  Sam doesn't get in the car yet as Larry
     says -

                          LARRY
                   (still having trouble believing
                    it)
               We've been crossed...

     The SIRENS reach a crescendo as a group of GENDARMES arrive,
     charging with automatic weapons drawn.  Between the French
     cops and our heroes lies the shot up wreck of the Target Car,
     and now - Sam takes out a GRENADE, pulls the pin, and rolls
     it across the ground, beneath the Mercedes, which the cops
     have just reached.  Seconds later - The Car EXPLODES, cutting
     off the cops, and as this happens, Vincents puts the pedal to
     the floor and gets the fuck out of Dodge.  We start to SLOWLY
     PULL BACK on the remains of this battle: the dead bodies, the
     shot up cars, the broken glass, and that flaming, smoking
     hulk of a Mercedes in the middle of the street.

     DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. THE OLD CITY/NICE - SUNSET

     The FIREBALL of the car turns into a BLOOD RED SUN as it sets
     in the Western sky, tinting the stone buildings of the Old
     City a coppery red.

     We're MOVING THROUGH the Old City, through the twists and
     turns of what an American would call back alleys but that
     pass for streets in this place.  It is quiet almost deserted,
     then - A TESTOSTERONE CRAZED PLAYBOY whips his sports car
     through one of these streets, engine whining, as we - MOVE
     DOWN yet another side street, and this sucker really is a
     back alley, you couldn't get a car down here if you tried.
     Finally, we come to - A RAT TRAP OF AN OLD BUILDING, and we
     PUSH TIGHT on this building as we hear -