Copyright 1994 by Rob Perry and NorthStarr Productions
All Rights Reserved
CASTING
Gary Oldman
Cameron Diaz
Lane Smith 
Karen Novack FADE IN: EXT. AMERICAN LAKE WASHINGTON - ESTABLISHING DAY EXT. AMERICAN LAKE SHERIFF DEPARTMENT BLDG. INT. SHERIFF BUILDING OPEN OFFICE AREA Deputy Karen Novack is a beautiful blond in her late twenties. A young man walks up and stands in front of her desk. His name is Lane Smith and he's in his mid-thirties, tall and good looking. LANE SMITH Hi, I seem to be lost, can you help me, please? Karen holds her hand over the phone mouthpiece and then addresses the young man. KAREN Hang on, I'll be off the phone in a minute. Young man looks up and sees the deputies milling around. Karen hangs up and looks at him. LANE Yes, my name is Lane Smith and I'm looking for an area called Heather Falls, I seem to be lost. Can you please help me. KAREN Heather Falls? It's about 30 miles north of American Lake. Who are you looking for? LANE Dr. CLAUDE DUVALL, --------have you ever heard of him? KAREN Dr. Duvall, the Geologist? LANE Yes that's him. Can you give me directions? Karen reaches for a piece of scratch paper, draws several lines with north and south designations. She looks up and sees him staring at her, they make eye contact and smile at each other. LANE (smiling) I'm sorry deputy, I didn't mean to stare at you. (A beat) You're such a beautiful young lady. Karen blushes and extends her hand in a friendly handshake. KAREN My name is Deputy KAREN NOVACK. LANE Karen Novack, what a nice name. Deputy, I don't think I'll be able to find this place. He looks at her with sincerity and slowly touches her hand. LANE (cont.) Karen, will you have dinner with me tonight? Karen is stunned with his bold approach and she's speechless. KAREN I'm sorry, but I don't even know you. LANE I understand.... thank you for your help. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so presumptuous but it isn't everyday of the week I meet someone like you. Good-bye. Lane gets up and starts to walk away, when Karen calls him. He turns around. KAREN Mr. Smith , just a minute------------ Look, I'll be going by Heather Falls tonight. I'm delivering some items to the Heather Falls Baptist Church. (A beat) So if you come by in about an hour, you can follow me, ok? LANE Thank you very much, I will be here. CUT TO: EXT. AMERICAN LAKE - ESTABLISHING LATE AFTERNOON EXT. AMERICAN LAKE - HIGHWAY TO HEATHER FALLS Land Rover driven by Lane Smith is following Karen in her Ford Explorer on the Heather Falls Highway, one of Lane's tires blows out and he pulls over. Karen looks in the rear view mirror and sees him stopping so she slows down, turns around, pulls up next to Lane's Land Rover and rolls her window down and speaks to Lane. KAREN (concerned) What's wrong? LANE (completely disgusted) Blowout, I guess I'll have to walk from here. KAREN (trying to be helpful and understanding) Don't be silly, lock up your truck and get in, I'll take you to see CLAUDE,------- after I drop off the items at the church. Lane locks up his Land Rover and jumps into Karen's Explorer. KAREN (smiling) It's a good thing I came along. LANE (completely appreciative) You bet, I don't know what I would have done without you. CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS - ACCESS ROAD TO CLAUDE DUVALL'S SECLUDED HOME. ESTABLISHING EVENING Karen pulls up to CLAUDE Duvall's house and parks. She turns off the lights. LANE Thanks for the lift Deputy Novack, CLAUDE can give me a ride back to the Land Rover in the morning. KAREN I'll wait to make sure CLAUDE is home. LANE I'm sure he is but, ok, I'll be right back. Lane gets out of the truck and he walks up to the front door and gently knocks and the door opens, a man in his early fifties stands in the doorway. DR. DUVALL Oh Lane, you're finally here. Come in. CLAUDE opens the screen door and lets him in. DR. DUVALL Lane where's your baggage? INT. DR. DUVALL'S LIVING ROOM LANE My Land Rover had a blowout about 5 miles from here, so a friend dropped me off. She's waiting for me now. DR. DUVALL Oh, Karen gave you a ride. Let's go fetch her. Lane looks totally amazed, how did CLAUDE know Karen gave him ride? CUT TO: EXT. DR. DUVALL'S DRIVEWAY Duvall walks over to the Explorer and taps on the window. Karen rolls it down. KAREN Hi CLAUDE, how are you? DR. DUVALL Karen, it's good to see you! Please come in. KAREN Thanks CLAUDE, but it's getting late and I've a long drive ahead of me. DR. DUVALL Don't be silly, come in for a few minutes, I want you to meet somebody. KAREN Ok, but just for a few minutes. Karen gets out of the truck and follows CLAUDE and Lane in the house. CUT TO: EXT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOME Home is a very large all wood cabin, with cedar wall paneling and richly decorated. DR. DUVALL Please sit down, both of you. Lane and Karen sit down and get comfortable. DR. DUVALL Lane and Karen I want you to meet Rene DIONE, she,-- will be spending the summer with me. We're working on a project funded by the University of Washington. A very beautiful young lady in her early twenties walks in the room. She extends her hand in a friendly handshake with Lane and Karen. RENE I'm pleased to meet you,----Lane and Karen. Mr. Smith I've read all your books,--------- my absolute favorite is "Voice of America" Will you please autograph my copy?. LANE It will be my greatest pleasure Miss DIONE. (A beat). CLAUDE, my curiosity has gotten the best of me. How'd you know Karen came to my rescue? Duvall laughs and looks at Karen, she looks back at him and smiles. DR. DUVALL She called me before leaving American Lake. Just wanted to check you out my good Man, she's very careful. Who knows you could be a serial killer or something! Everyone laughs and CLAUDE motions to Rene. DR. DUVALL (cont.) Rene, will you get everyone a glass of wine and of course you're both invited for dinner. CLAUDE and Rene leave the room and Karen notices the small scar on Lanes left cheek. Lane notices her staring at it. LANE I see you've discovered my scar, the makeup must have worn off. KAREN (very curious) How did it happen? LANE Auto accident, a drunk driver ran a red light and hit my fiancés car, on the drivers side. She was killed instantly, I was in a coma for two weeks. KAREN Oh I'm so sorry, how long ago did it happen? Lane rubs his eyebrow, and stretches his back. LANE About 6 months ago, I'm still in therapy, I almost lost my left arm. Karen looks up and sees a map of the United States on a marking board. She gets up and walks over to it. KAREN What a strange looking map. Lane gets up and walks over, looks at the map. LANE Oh yes, that's Dr. GOODMANS perception of the United States in the year 2,000! Karen is running her hand over the map. KAREN Look at parts of California, Oregon, and Washington ----------------- GOSH this is awful! CUT TO: INT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S DINNING ROOM Karen, CLAUDE, Lane and Rene have just finished eating. KAREN Gosh CLAUDE, that's the best Leg of Lamb I've ever eaten. That Mint jelly really hit the spot. Where did you learn to cook like that? CLAUDE smiles and offers Karen another helping. DR. DUVALL Have some more please. KAREN Oh, no I couldn't eat another bite. LANE Tell me Karen, how'd you meet Claude? Karen smiles and reaches for her glass of water. KAREN We had a missing child and almost gave up, then heard Claude had psychic abilities, so Sheriff Basco, let me use Claude for the search. Actually, he's a friend of Jenny, our staff dispatcher. Well, Claude found the little girl in a shallow mine shaft. He saved her life, she would've died of exposure. LANE Claude is not only a retired Geophysicist, but is also an accomplished Psychic? (A beat) Claude do you do readings? DR. DUVALL Oh, yes....if I'm up for it! Karen appears confused and she looks at Lane and Rene. DR. DUVALL I'm sorry Karen, let me explain. Have you ever heard of Edgar CAYCE? KAREN Is he the one they call the "Sleeping Prophet"? DR. DUVALL Yes, that's him, he had the ability to go into the "Alpha State" , or rather a very light hypnotic trance and analyze any ailments or problems the subject had. KAREN How close was he in the analysis? DR. DUVALL About 90% right, amazing wouldn't you say? KAREN Yes,....do you do the same thing. DR. DUVALL Depends, if I'm up I will usually do as well! KAREN Can you do a "Reading" on me? DR. DUVALL Sure, my dear, but I have had a severe migraine and I'm unable to "Read" at this time. RENE He did my reading and was 80% correct! KAREN I'll look forward to it. Claude, tell me about the map? DR. DUVALL Oh yes,...the Map..... Dr. Duvall walks over to the map and wands his hand over it. DR. DUVALL A group of researchers headed by Dr. Jeffrey Goodman have predicted by the year 2000 , this will be the USA! KAREN Does this have anything to do with the NOSTRODAMUS prediction? DR. DUVALL NOSTRODAMUS is difficult to interpret, but yes, it does follow some of his predictions. Karen looks confused and stares at Lane. LANE Karen, let me help you understand. Depending on your religious belief the scriptures indicate the world will end at the end of the Millennium. What is not clear is what Millennium, 2000 AD 3000 AD OR 4000 AD? We think it will be 2000 AD. Karen looks shocked! KAREN (shocked) You are kidding aren't you, That's only a few years from now. What evidence do you have to support all of this? DR. DUVALL Drastic changes in the weather patterns, of course excluding "El Nino" , more Hurricanes and tornadoes then ever before and also more Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions. I'm afraid we've come to the end. Karen looks at Lane, then glances at Rene. KAREN The end, like the end of the world. the end of life as we know it! DR. DUVALL Yes, I'm afraid so my dear, we believe the period between 1995 to 2,000 will be the worst series of natural disasters that mankind will ever see! KAREN I thought the end of the world would be signaled by the birth of the Anti-Christ? Lane looks at Claude then Rene. LANE It's funny you mentioned that. (A beat) You see that's why I'm here. Claude and I believe we've found him. Karen shifts in her seat and takes another drink of water. KAREN Come on guys, your making me nervous. DR. DUVALL I'm sorry if we are frightening you my dear,--but you did bring it up. We believe he's living here, in the United States. KAREN Ok, I'll bite, what's his name? Claude holds his finger to his lips and looks at Lane. He shakes his head as in no. LANE I'm sorry Karen, we're not ready to release his name. Karen grabs her purse and jacket and stands up. KAREN Claude, thank you so much for the wonderful meal and entertainment, but I must be going. Nice meeting you Rene and Lane. DR. DUVALL Karen, don't be silly, it's late, why don't you spend the night, we've plenty of room? KAREN I would , but I have to go to work in the morning, thanks anyway. Karen heads for the front door and opens it, Lane gets up and follows her out the door. LANE Karen, let me walk you out to your truck. EXT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOME They all walk her out to her truck, she then gets in and starts the engine and pulls the lights on. Karen waves as she drives away. CUT TO: EXT. AMERICAN LAKE WASHINGTON - ESTABLISHING DAY EXT. AMERICAN LAKE - SHERIFF DEPARTMENT BLDG. INT. SHERIFF BUILDING - KAREN'S DESK Karen is filling out a report when she senses someone is watching her. She turns around and sees Jenny the middle age dispatcher with her head set on. JENNY Hi kiddo, how ya doing? Hear the boys put a real fright into you last night. Karen is stunned at Jenny's statement. KAREN What are you talking about Jenny? JENNY (Whispering) Claude and Lane last night, you know , about the Millennium? KAREN Don't tell me you subscribe to that "hogwash". JENNY I'm afraid I do, I think it will be all over in the year 2000!, and I'm not saving any more money, I'm going to spend it all, before doomsday! KAREN Is this a "New Age" prophecy? JENNY No, matter a fact Dr. Goodman published his findings in the 60's! Sheriff James Basco, a nice looking man in his fifties walks up to Karen and Jenny. BASCO What are you two arguing about? Jenny slides her chair back over to the switchboard and answers a call. KAREN Jenny and her friends subscribe to the belief that, the end of the world will be in the year 2000! BASCO Gee thanks for telling me, that way I can retire before 2000 AD. Karen, can I see you a minute. Karen and Basco walk into his office and close the door. Basco reaches in his desk and pulls out a report and briefly turns a few pages. CLOSE ON BASCO: BASCO Karen, last night we did a routine check on a late model Land Rover with a "blowout" on the old Heather Falls Road. The vehicle is registered to a Lane Smith of Thunder Bay, Ontario. We ran the name and found he's wanted by the Fed.'s for questioning regarding missing documents from the U.S. Geological Center in Golden Colorado. Deputy Larson said you were talking to him yesterday. KAREN (shocked) Yes I was, he wanted to know how to get to Heather Falls. He was looking for Dr. Claude Duvall. I gave him directions, but he seemed confused, so later I decided to let him follow me to Heather Falls......I had to deliver some items to the Heather Falls Baptist Church. He followed me, but blew a tire on his Land Rover and I had to give him a ride to CLAUDE'S house. Why? BASCO Well they don't have a warrant out on him, but they want us to keep an eye on him. KAREN Keep an "eye" on him, I don't understand? BASCO Look Karen, we depend a lot on Federal Grants to do certain projects and in all honesty, we need the money. So as a personal favor to a good friend in the government, we're going to keep an eye on him, ok? (A beat) So this is where you come in. You keep asking me for more undercover assignments, so now you have one. Get inside that group and find out what's going on up there in Heather Falls. Will you do that for me? Karen looks perplexed and lets out a mild sigh. KAREN Sure Jimmy, I'll do whatever you want me to do. But you know Claude is Jenny's friend and she'll know I'm undercover. BASCO Don't worry about it, only you and I will know you're undercover. Ok?.. KAREN When do you want me to start? BASCO You already have, one of the deputies said Lane Smith took a liking to you, right, so pursue it, Ok? I'll tell everyone you took a week off to go fishing and camping. Ok?..... CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS WASHINGTON - CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOUSE INT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S LIVING ROOM CLOSE ON LANE: LANE Hi Karen, how are you....uh..uh..can you come up to see us? Sure no problem I'll tell Claude. A beat. Sure see you this afternoon. REVEAL: Lane is on the phone talking to Karen, then hangs up. Claude and Rene walk in the room. LANE Claude, Karen called and she wants to come and see you for the "reading" you promised her. Is it ok? Claude puts down the bag of groceries and glances at Rene, then smiles. DR. DUVALL Lane, I think you're kind of sweet on that girl aren't you? Lane smiles and slightly drops his head. LANE I told her it was ok.....(pause) , but I guess I could call her back and say no! DR. DUVALL Don't be silly Mr. Smith, we would be delighted to have Miss Stewart here for a reading. Claude and Lane walk into the family room, where Claude opens a cabinet containing a IBM Micro Computer, he flips the switch on the "surge" bar, the system comes to life. Internet lights up and the "downloading" of the U.S. Geological reporting stations daily reports starts up, Golden Colorado Menlo Park, and Caltech. Seismic reports are being observed by Claude and Lane, when Rene walks into the room and sits down. RENE Well how does the world look guys? Claude removes the first page out of the Laser Jet printer. He looks at it and runs his fingers over the page and grunts a couple of times. DR. DUVALL The weekly U.S. Geological survey seismic reports show, Menlo Park first with the following statement: During the seven day period ending midnight on Wednesday March 23, they recorded 41 earthquakes of magnitude 4 and greater within the San Francisco bay area. This total compares to 32 earthquakes during the previous seven day period, 10 of which were no larger then 3.0. The Central CALAVERAS fault between Morgan Hill and southern San Jose is getting very active, looks like California is starting to splinter. LANE Last Friday morning a magnitude 5.1 occurred on the northern Hayward fault about three miles northeast of central Berkeley. This is about the same location as a magnitude 4.3 on January 15. The final magnitude 5 plus occurred Monday afternoon about 6 miles south of HOLLISTER. The only other San Andreas earthquake of note was a 4.9 plus on the central peninsula, about 2 miles southeast of Pacifica. DR. DUVALL Looks like the San Andreas is ready to snap! It doesn't look good folks. LANE What are the readings at Cal Tech for the same events? DR. DUVALL About the same, how about the classified reports coming from your contact in Sweden? Lane looks at reports he's removed from his attaché case. LANE Looks like all the readings from Sweden are much, much higher! I would say at least 1 to 2 magnitude higher. DR. DUVALL Looks like Uncle Sam is holding out corrected data from the folks out West. RENE They did that once before when they had the Valley Quake that Menlo and Cal Tech said was a 6.6 and later Golden said it was a 6.8, when it was really a 7.3 when measured in Sweden! CUT TO: EXT. AMERICAN LAKE SHERIFF DEPT. BLDG. - LATE AFTERNOON SHERIFF BASCO'S OFFICE Basco is reviewing some reports when the door opens and Kenny walks in. KENNY Where is Karen? BASCO Karen is on a weeks fishing vacation. She told me to tell you when I saw you. KENNY That's not like Karen, she would have told me about it. INT. SHERIFF BLDG. OPEN OFFICE AREA Kenny walks out of Basco's office and stops at Jenny's station. Jenny looks up and puts the headset down. JENNY Hi kiddo, what's up? KENNY Where's Karen? And don't tell me she went fishing! JENNY She went fishing.....sorry kiddo, see ya! KENNY (UPSET) There's something very strange going on and I'm going to find out what it is. Kenny storms out of the office area and goes out the door. CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS - ESTABLISHING DAY EXT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOME CLOSE ON LANE LANE Hi Karen, it's so good to see you! REVEAL EXT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S DRIVEWAY Karen has pulled up in the driveway and Lane is greeting her. KAREN Hi Lane, is Claude home? LANE He sure is come on in. KAREN Did you get your truck fixed ok? LANE Oh sure, no problem. Karen gets out of the truck and walks up to the porch. Claude opens the screen door and motions to Karen. DR. DUVALL Hi Karen, come on in. Rene has prepared some turkey croissant sandwiches for us, and some ice tea. CUT TO: INT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S LIVING ROOM Karen removes her jacket and sits down on the large couch. Lane takes her jacket and hangs it up on the coat hook. DR. DUVALL So I hear you are on a weeks vacation ,aye! So where you going? KAREN I plan to go fishing and camping. LANE If you really like fishing, you should come up to Thunder Bay, we have Salmon that go 60 pounds! KAREN Sounds really great. I can't stay long because I have to get to upper Stone Lake before dark, so I can set up my tent. DR. DUVALL Don't be silly, stay for dinner and spend the night, we've plenty of room. You can leave first thing in the morning. KAREN Thank you Claude, I'll take you up on that offer. RENE Looks like a storm moving in. Rene walks into the room with the sandwiches. She hands a plate and a cold drink to Karen. LANE Karen, we're looking over reports from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado. Looks like we just had a 8.2 magnitude quake in Bolivia. Just last week we had two 7 's in Columbia! All earthquakes reported in the United States and Mexico always have a lower reading than what is reported out of Sweden! KAREN What does it all mean? LANE It means the "Ring of Fire" is becoming very active, but someone in the United States is not reporting the true reading! KAREN The "Ring of Fire"? LANE The Ring of Fire is the active Pacific plate that rotates in the Pacific Ocean that causes all the Earthquakes and Volcanoes. KAREN Volcanoes? I think you lost me. LANE I'm sorry Karen, what I'm trying to say is activity in the Western states Volcanic regions may start becoming very active. Do you remember that Mt. Saint Helen's volcanic eruption in the pacific northwest, well the same symptoms are starting in California. KAREN What can we do about it? Can we tell the people of California? LANE At this point, there is nothing that we can do. Claude strolls up behind them and comments. DR. DUVALL The problem my dear Karen, is someone in our government is playing all this down and keeping us in the dark about what's really happening. CUT TO: EXT. SHERIFF DEPARTMENT LATE AFTERNOON INT. SHERIFF BASCO'S OFFICE Kenny walks in the room and closes the door. KENNY Jimmy, I need to see you for a minute. BASCO Sure Kenny sit down. What's on your mind? KENNY I'm really worried about Karen. She's not a camper type and she sure as hell can't fish! I don't think she even owns a fishing pole. Basco looks at the wall then down at his desk. He changes his expression from smiling to serious. BASCO I know how close you are to her so I'm going to tell you something that you must not tell anyone. Do you understand? KENNY Sure Jimmy, you can trust me. BASCO She is on special assignment, undercover that's all I can tell you. She'll be back in a week. Ok? KENNY Promise me one thing, if her cover is broken I want to be the one that will pull her out, ok? BASCO You have my promise on that. Don't worry, this assignment has minimal risk. Trust me ok? CUT TO: HEATHER FALLS - CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOUSE - EVENING CLAUDE DUVALL'S LIVING ROOM Claude and Lane have several reports and sectional charts with colored pins and lines with stretched bright thread. Claude points to a section of central and southern California. DR. DUVALL Lane , this area in here, near Mt. Shasta, and here Lake Tahoe then here Mammoth Lakes. We have the same type of "S" waves and level of depressions that preceded the Mt. St. Helen's volcanic eruption! LANE I agree with you Claude, it sure doesn't look good. Karen and Rene are sitting on the couch and Karen hears the last comment so she stands up and walks over to Claude. KAREN (Smiling) What's up guys? Are we still looking at the end of the world by the year 2000! DR. DUVALL Karen, see down her in the lower part of the San Andreas, it's called Bombay Beach, it's actually the lower lock of the fault. We've been having a swarm of earthquakes reported by the U.S. in the magnitude 2.5 to 3.5 range. Sweden reports them as 3.5 to 4.5. KAREN Is that bad? DR. DUVALL The Bombay Beach lock is what's holding the Pacific Plate and the San Andreas from slipping. If the lock breaks, California is in trouble. KAREN When was the last time the San Andreas let go. LANE About 125 years ago. Faults the size of the San Andreas have major quakes in the magnitude of 8.5 to 9.5, every 120 to 130 years. I'm afraid they're overdue! DR. DUVALL The other problem is, we believe they may have three Volcano's going off within the next few months. Mt. Shasta, Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes! KAREN I'm sure glade I don't live in California! Shouldn't the people be warned? LANE Were working on that! CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS - ESTABLISHING EVENING EXT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOME INT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S DINNING ROOM CLOSE ON KAREN Claude, what makes you so positive about the end of the world being the year 2000? KAREN REVEAL Karen, Claude, Lane and Rene, have just finished dinner. DR. DUVALL Both Cayce and Nostrodamus prophesied that our planet will undergo a period of change involving major earthquakes and volcanic activity before the year 2000. KAREN Yes, but they were just psychic's. DR. DUVALL Karen, the mere mention of the word "Psychic" offends some people, but if they can sit still long enough to examine the incredibly accurate and scientifically sound perceptions to be found in the comments of some psychics, their opinion might change, just as mine did. KAREN That reminds me, will you do my "reading" tonight Claude? DR. DUVALL But of course my dear, it will be my utmost pleasure, lets do it now, I need a break from my research. A beat. Let me explain the sequence of events. First I want you to sit on the easy chair, second I will sit in my recliner and go into a light hypnotic trance called "Alpha State". I will record all that is said, then we will review it later. Ok? Ok? Dr. Duvall turns on the recorder and then goes into a light trance. DR. DUVALL Karen Stewart, you have a scare on your left leg where you broke your Femur Bone at age 3. You have a re-occurring case of chronic Asthma. You have a passion for Law and Order. Pause. You are currently on an undercover mission which is not quite clear to me. You are in good health. Claude falls asleep, a deep sleep. Rene covers him with a blanket and motions for all to follow her. Karen has a sick look on her face. CUT TO: EXT. AMERICAN LAKE SHERIFF DEPT. BLDG. DAY INT. SHERIFF DEPT. OPEN BAY AREA CLOSE ON KENNY: KENNY Come on Jenny, tell me where she is? REVEAL Kenny is pumping Jenny to tell him where Karen is. JENNY Kiddo, if I knew where she went fishing, I would tell you. What I can tell you is that she drove up to Claude Duvall's house several days ago and he promised her a "reading". KENNY A "reading" what the hell is that? Awe, never mind, I don't want to know. Do you think she is there Jenny? A beat. Will you call her and see if she is, but don't tell her I'm looking for her. I just want to make sure she's ok! JENNY Ok, but you owe me big time. Jenny dials Claude's number and it starts to ring. JENNY Hi Rene, how you doing? RENE (V.O) I'm doing just fine Jenny. We have one of your friends here and Claude just gave her a reading. No , he's asleep, but when he wakes up I will have him call you. Ok? Bye. JENNY Looks like Karen is with the gang at Heather Falls. Don't worry, they're all harmless. KENNY Thanks Jenny, I owe you big time! CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS WASHINGTON - DUVALL'S HOME INT.: CLAUDE DUVALL'S LIVING ROOM CLOSE ON LANE LANE North of California, pressure from the Pacific Plate is forcing the Juan De Fuca Plate,------- roughly the size of Montana to plunge 50 miles underneath the North American Plate. REVEAL Lane is sitting in the large chair talking to Karen and Rene in front of a roaring fire. KAREN What can you expect from conditions like that, an average earthquake or what? LANE In 1949 a 7.3 hit Seattle and another in 1965. That's 16 years between 1949 and 1965. We are 30 years past due. I would guess at least a 7.5 by the end of the year! KAREN Good grief, has anyone warned the people of Seattle? RENE A 9.5 hit the coast of Alaska on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Alaska is just a short hop from the Pacific Northwest. Awesome as the Good Friday quake was, the quake predicted for the Pacific Northwest if the Juan De Fuca plate breaks loose could be as much as 25 times greater! LANE In answer to your question, yes, the Readers Digest had an article in the March 1994 issue about the Juan De Fuca Plate. Karen has a sick look on her face. KAREN You guys are really scaring me. RENE Karen, you look exhausted, please let me show you to your room, follow me. Rene leads Karen down a hallway to a very large guest room. KAREN What room is Lane in? RENE He's staying in the guest house behind the Main house. He has a severe case of insomnia, and is up most of the night. Rene leads Karen into the room and turns on the light. RENE Good night Karen, see you in the morning. CUT TO: INT.: CLAUDE DUVALL'S GUEST HOUSE - BEDROOM Lane is following the earthquake reports coming out of Golden Colorado through Internet on his Notebook Computer. He starts talking to himself. LANE Wow, another bangaroo in Baja, M6.2 and another one in Eureka, M5.9. Looks like the coastline is starting to come unglued! He removes a secured password card from his attaché case and runs it through his modem. He punches in some numbers and his note book computer comes aglow with the Banner " U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY NATIONAL INFORMATION CENTER, DENVER COLORADO" . He punches in another key set of numbers and sees a list of all the current earthquakes. LANE (Still talking to himself) My, my, my, a 7.2 in Baja and a 6.9 in Eureka and a 5.8 at Mt. Shasta. Well that puts Denver one Magnitude higher then Caltech and pops up Shasta that Caltech didn't show! Claude Duvall walks into the guest house. DR. DUVALL Lane are you up? LANE Sure Claude, come on in. Claude closes the door and walks up and looks over Lanes shoulder. LANE Look Claude, the California coast is starting to get very active. DR. DUVALL Yes, I can see that! Can you access Sweden? LANE No, I wish I could, but I can call a number for that. DR. DUVALL Do it! Lane takes his digital cellular phone and turns it on. he punches in a few numbers and the phone goes into "roam". LANE Hello.. ..Eric?, how are you, hey I need readings for Baja, Eureka and Shasta. A beat. Yes, ok, that's fine, thank you. Lane puts the phone down and looks at Claude. LANE Eric has readings of 7.4 in Baja, 7.1 in Eureka and 7.2 at Mt. Shasta. Good lord, what a difference! CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS WASHINGTON ESTABLISHING MORNING INT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S KITCHEN AND DINNING AREA Claude and all his guests are having breakfast. Rene is pouring another glass of orange juice for Karen. KAREN Claude, thank you for the "Reading" last night. DR. DUVALL Your welcome my dear, -------I listened to the tape and I think we need to talk later. Karen looks confused. KAREN Is there a problem Claude? DR. DUVALL I don't exactly know, yet. Only you can tell me that. But we'll talk later. KAREN Well you were 85% correct on my reading! DR. DUVALL I know my dear, I know. Karen changes the subject. KAREN Lane, you really scared me last night when you told me about the Pacific Northwest earthquake danger and the possible volcanic eruptions in California. What about the rest of the United States? Claude looks at Lane, then Rene. DR. DUVALL Karen, we didn't tell you the whole story. KAREN There's more! DR. DUVALL Oh, much, much more! If we have a large event on the Pacific Plate, we will indeed have an event on the "New Madrid Fault". KAREN Is that in Spain? DR. DUVALL No, I'm afraid not, New Madrid is in Missouri! KAREN That's two thousand miles from us, will we feel it? DR. DUVALL Oh my yes, will we feel it! KAREN Could it cause damage in Washington? DR. DUVALL (Serious) In December 1811, an earthquake hit the New Madrid, that was so large it toppled chimneys and homes. The churning Mississippi River flowed backwards, as giant seismic waves surged upstream. The river burst it's banks with a wave reported to be higher then 30 feet! LANE The quake was felt even in Boston, 1200 miles away! Shock waves from this and two other quakes that hit New Madrid on January 23 and February 7, 1812 are estimated to have reached magnitudes of 8.6 and 8.4 and 8.7 making them the largest and strongest in U.S. history! CUT TO: EXT. AMERICAN LAKE WASHINGTON - DAY - HEAVY RAIN INT. AMERICAN LAKE SHERIFF DEPT. OFFICE INT. SHERIFF BASCO'S OFFICE Jenny pops her head in the door. JENNY Sheriff Basco a U.S. Deputy Marshall Drago from the U.S. Marshall's office in Denver Colorado, ----is here to see you. BASCO Send him in. A young man in his 30's walks in, he's well dressed but looks like a boxer in a Tux. Basco stands up and extends his hand, they shake hands. BASCO Marshall Drago, what can I do for you. DRAGO The Director called you about this business with Lane Smith, I've a warrant for his arrest! BASCO Yes he did Deputy Drago, and he's under surveillance as we speak. DRAGO Good!....I will need one of your Deputies to take me there. BASCO Deputy Lensky will take you . He's familiar with the area. Kenny walks in the room, they shake hands and both leave Basco's office. EXT. HEATHER FALLS - ESTABLISHING EVENING EXT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOME INT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S DINNING ROOM Karen, Claude, Lane and Rene, have just finished dinner. CLOSE ON DR. DUVALL DR. DUVALL Karen, may I see you in the study for a minute? REVEAL KAREN Sure Claude, no problem. Claude and Karen go into the study and Claude closes the door. DR. DUVALL Please sit down my dear. Karen looks around the room and sits down. KAREN Yes, what is it Claude? DR. DUVALL Last night I recorded the "reading" and when I played it back this afternoon there's an entry where I say you're on an undercover assignment. Can you tell me what the assignment is? KAREN I'm sorry Claude, but I can't tell you what my assignment is. Claude pulls back the window curtain and sees the rain coming down at a very heavy rate. DR. DUVALL Karen, are you spying on us? KAREN Spying on what, are you doing something you shouldn't be doing? You know, something illegal? DR. DUVALL Karen, don't turn it around on me, I don't play those games. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. KAREN I'm sorry you feel that way Claude. Karen gets up and walks out of the room. Claude calls Rene and Lane. DR. DUVALL Lane, Rene, will you please come in here! Karen walks over to the picture window and stands there watching the rain come down. Rene and Lane go into the study. DR. DUVALL Please close the door. Dr. Duvall lowers his voice and huddles with Lane and Rene. DR. DUVALL I believe Karen is spying on us, and I've asked her to leave. Lane, you must broadcast tonight, the Feds probably know you're here or they wouldn't have sent Karen, undercover. The Project is too important to be jeopardize! Do you have everything set up? LANE Yes I do Claude, we can broadcast tonight! DR. DUVALL (smiling) Fine, if the American people were scared to death by Orson wells, with "War of the Worlds" in 1939 wait and see what we're going to tell them in 1995! CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS - ESTABLISHING EVENING - HEAVY RAIN EXT. HEATHER FALLS DINER INT. DINNING ROOM CLOSE ON KENNY KENNY Looks like we're hold up here for a couple of hours, until they can clear the road. REVEAL Kenny and Marshall Drago are sitting on barstools having dinner. DRAGO How do you like working in a small town? KENNY Oh, it's ok. What's the warrant for? DRAGO Smith is wanted for the theft of government property. KENNY Is he a government employee? DRAGO No, he's an ex-employee for "Voice of America"! KENNY "Voice of America", like jamming transmissions in Communist country's during the "Cold War"? DRAGO Yes, he's capable of causing a lot of damage to the United States government using his powerful transmitters located in remote areas broadcasting propaganda. He's one of the worst disgruntled ex-government employees we've ever encountered! KENNY What kind of propaganda? DRAGO He's a real "sleezebag", he's threatened to broadcast a world wide message saying the world is coming to an end in the year 2000! KENNY You got to be kidding me? DRAGO My job is to stop him from making the broadcast and I'm to use any means possible. In 1939 Orson Wells made a worldwide broadcast as a gag but people committed suicide because they thought it was for real. The State trooper starts waving the cars through. Marshall Drago gets off the bar stool and takes out his wallet. He places a ten dollar bill on the counter next to his bill. DRAGO They're are letting the cars through, let's go Deputy! CUT TO: EXT. HEATHER FALLS EXT. CLAUDE DUVALL'S HOME INT.CLAUDE DUVALL'S LIVING ROOM CLOSE ON KAREN KAREN I'm going to leave, the rain has let up a little! REVEAL Karen is looking out the window and sees the storm has let up. Rene has come out of the study and is looking at the rain. RENE The roads are probably washed out, I think you should wait until morning. Lane walks out of the study and heads for Karen. LANE Karen, can I talk to you for a minute? Rene looks at Lane, walks back into the study and closes the door. Karen sits on the couch next to Lane. KAREN Yes Lane, what is it? LANE Claude is upset because he thinks you're spying on us. He feels the project will be compromised if you stay any longer. KAREN Come on Lane, I don't know what you guys are doing other than earthquake research. LANE I know, I heard the tape that recorded your phone call to Sheriff Basco last night. But you see, it's what you may find out is what will cause us problems! KAREN Like what? LANE We are not planning to do anything illegal. You'll have to trust me on that. KAREN I know you're an author, but are you a geologist? LANE No, actually I'm a communications consultant. KAREN A communications consultant? Like radio broadcaster? LANE Like "Voice of America", I was their national director until the Soviet Union broke up. The only broadcasting that's done know is from Miami to Cuba! Look the roads are pretty bad, but my Land Rover can make it through anything. I know how uncomfortable you may feel because of what Claude said. I'll take you to American Lake, and you can pick up your truck later. Ok? CLOSE ON DR. DUVALL DR. DUVALL You'll not get a better deal than that my dear. His truck is a Land Rover and is designed to go through any type of terrain, wet or dry! REVEAL Dr. Duvall has just opened the study door and has overheard the offer by Lane. Karen looks at Rene then looks at the clock and sees it's 11:00. KAREN Ok, thank you Lane, I'll take you up on that! Claude, can I leave my truck up here for a couple days? CLAUDE No problem, I'm sorry your visit wasn't a more pleasant one my dear. Karen and Lane get their gear and go out the door waving good-bye to everyone. EXT. HEATHER FALLS HIGHWAY Lane's truck is splashing through the narrow gravel road. A large boulder has washed down on the highway so cars are coming through single file. KAREN This mountain pass is really treacherous, I think I will put on my police radio and monitor all emergency notifications. Lane looks slightly upset but says nothing. Karen pulls the radio out of her large purse. She switches it on and it comes to life. Just then Karen sees Kenny's police blazer go slowly bye. She waves at him and reach's over and pushes the horn button. LANE (startled) Karen, what are you doing? KAREN I just saw my partner going the other way. I think he may be going to check up on me, but he had someone with him. Karen yells into the police radio. KAREN Kenny, Kenny this is Karen! You just went by us in your Blazer. Lane and I are in the white Land Rover. Lane pull over and stop. I can catch a ride with them and you won't have to drive me to American Lake! Karen looks out the window and sees Kenny's Blazer stop. Kenny maneuvers the truck and turns around on the narrow road. Lane pulls over and stops the Land Rover, and appears upset. Kenny's truck pulls up behind Lane.Kenny calls Karen on his radio. KENNY (Radio) Karen, I've a U.S. Marshall with me and he has a warrant for the arrest of Lane Smith. I want you to get out of the truck and walk back to my truck. Lane Smith, I want you to get out of the truck with your hands up and I want you to do it right now! SLOW MOTION Karen sees Lane put the truck in gear. She carefully reaches for the door handle and quickly grabs it and jerks the door open. He sees her and guns the engine and starts to let out the clutch, she jumps clear of the truck and falls into the soft gravel and mud with a splash. The truck bolts out and grinds down the mountain road. Kenny jumps out of the truck and runs over to Karen's side and helps her up. KENNY (out of breath) Are you ok Karen? Karen is wiping her face off when she sees Kenny and she reaches for him. They hug emotionally in the light rain. Marshall Drago comes running up and is yelling. DRAGO Let's go Deputy, he's getting away! KENNY Don't worry, I'll call ahead and have him stopped at the bottom of the hill. Kenny, Drago and Karen run back to the truck, jump in and Kenny peels out in the mud and gravel. Karen reaches for the microphone and calls dispatch. KAREN American Lake Sheriff dispatch....over....... DISPATCH American Lake Sheriff dispatch ....over... KAREN Ginny this is Karen, this is an emergency, call the State Police and have them blockade the Heather Falls highway at the bottom of the hill. We've a warrant for the arrest of Lane Smith who's driving a white Land Rover! DISPATCH Read you five by five.....will contact the Troopers .........over..... KAREN Thanks dispatch. Please be advised the suspect may be armed and dangerous. DISPATCH Deputy Stewart, Sheriff Basco wants to know what your 1020 is?....over...... KAREN We are about 25 miles from the bottom of the hill on heather Falls Highway and are in pursuit of a white Land Rover... over DISPATCH Over and out..... KAREN Deputy Stewart, over and out! CUT TO:
Copyright 1994 by Rob Perry and NorthStarr Productions
All Rights Reserved