"DIE HARD"


Screenplay

by


Jeb Stuart


Revisions by


Steven E. DeSouza




based on the novel

Nothing Lasts Forever

by

Roderick Thorp


WITH REVISION #1 (Blue) WITH REVISION #5 (Goldenrod)
November 2, 1987 November 5, 1987

WITH REVISION #2 (Pink) WITH REVISION #6 (Salmon)
November 4, 1987 November 17, 1987

WITH REVISION #3 (Green) WITH REVISION #7 (Blue)
November 4, 1987 November 23, 1987

WITH REVISION #4 (Yellow) WITH REVISION #8 (Pink)
November 5, 1987 November 30, 1987

SECOND REVISED DRAFT
October 2, 1987


A Gordon Company/Silver Pictures Production

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"DIE HARD"

FADE IN
1 405 FREEWAY - LOS ANGELES - EARLY EVENING 1

Christmas tinsel on the light poles. We ARE LOOKING east past
Inglewood INTO the orange grid of L.A. at night when suddenly
we TILT UP TO CATCH the huge belly of a landing 747 -- the
noise is deafening.

2 INT. 747 - PASSENGERS - SAME 2

The usual moment just after landing when you let out that sigh
of relief that you've made it in one piece. As the plane TAXIS
to its gate, they stir, gather personal belongings.

3 ON JOHN MCCLANE 3

mid-thirties, good-looking, athletic and tired from his trip.
He sits by the window. His relief on landing is subtle, but
we NOTICE. Suddenly, he hears --

SALESMAN'S VOICE
You don't like flying, do you?

McClane turns, looks at the Babbit clone next to him. Caught,
he tenses, holds his armrests in exaggerated fear.

MCCLANE
No, no, where'd you get that idea?
SALESMAN
(smiling)
Ya wanna know the secret of successful
air travel? After you get where you're
going, ya take off your shoes and socks.
Then ya walk around on the rug barefoot
and make fists with your toes.

MCCLANE
Fists with your toes.

SALESMAN
Maybe it's not a fist when it's your
toes...I mean like this...work out
that time zone tension.
(demonstrating)
Better'n a cup of coffee and a hot
shower for the old jet lag. I know
it sounds crazy. Trust me. I've
been doing it for nine years.

The plane stops. Passengers rise, start to take down overhead
luggage. McClane does this, but as he opens the door above,
the businessman BLANCHES seeing:

3-A HIS P.O.V. - MCCLANE'S BARETTA PISTOL 3-A

Peeking out from his jacket.

3-B BACK TO SCENE 3-B

Recognizing the look, McClane smiles reassuringly.

MCCLANE
It's okay.
(showing badge)
I'm a cop.
(pause)
Trust me. I've been doing it for
eleven.

The businessman relaxes, moves off. McClane now wrestles down
the biggest Teddy Bear FAO Schwartz had to offer. Balancing
this, he moves down to another overhead, takes out a topcoat
and an overnighter. Barely managing all this, he turns,
COLLIDING WITH:

3-C A PRETTY STEWARDESS 3-C

She bumps noses with the bear, gives a look.

STEWARDESS
(smiling, about the bear)
Maybe you should have bought her a
ticket.

MCCLANE
Her?

He scrutinizes the nether regions of the bear, shrugs.

MCCLANE
She doesn't complain.

STEWARDESS
(eying him)
Neither would I.

McClane smiles, with just enough of a sigh to know he's as
wistful about things-that-might-have-been as she is...moves
down the aisle.

CUT TO:

4 INT. THE NAKATOMI BUILDING (LOS ANGELES) - EVENING 4

CLOSE ON A bottle of Dom Perignon as the cork explodes across
a large office floor decorated for Christmas. A Japanese man,
mid-fifties standing on a desk holds up the bottle triumphantly
and looks out at an adoring audience of junior executives and
office personnel. He is JOSEPH TAKAGI, Sr V.P. of Sales for
Nakatomi, a multinational corporation.

TAKAGI
Ladies and gentlemen...I congratulate
each and every one of you for making
this one of the greatest days in the
history of the Nakatomi corporation...

In the b.g., obviously still at work, an attractive BUSINESSWOMAN
in her mid-thirties, studying a computer printout, heads toward
her office. Falling into step with her is HARRY ELLIS,
thirty-seven, V.P. of Sales. Well-dressed, with stylish,
slicked-back hair, he looks and acts very smooth.

ELLIS
What about dinner?

WOMAN (HOLLY)
Harry, it's Christmas Eve. Families...
Stockings...chestnuts...Rudolph and
Frosty...those things ring a bell?

She turns into:

5 HER OFFICE 5

Her name is HOLLY GENNARO MCCLANE, though the nameplate on her
door stops after the first two. She puts the printout down
on her secretary's desk.

ELLIS
(in reply)
I was thinking more of roaring
fireplaces...mulled wine and a nice
brie...

Holly ignores the come-on, turns to her secretary.

HOLLY
Ginny, it's 6:40, you're making me
feel like Ebeneezer Scrooge. Go on,
join the party, have some champagne.

Ginny slowly manipulates herself out of her seat. She is
enormously pregnant.

GINNY
(grateful)
Thanks Ms. Gennaro.
(worried)
Do you think the baby can handle
a little sip?

HOLLY
(eyeing her)
Ginny, that baby's ready to tend bar.

ELLIS
(not giving up)
How about tomorrow night?

Holly just points to the door. He follows Ginny out, clearly
not giving up. Just then the party on Holly's phone picks up
and we:

INTERCUT:

6 INT. NICE HOUSE IN SANTA MONICA 6

where a five-year old LUCY MCCLANE races her YOUNGER BROTHER
to the phone, winsthe wrestling match, and answers with a sense
of importance. An Xmas tree is in the b.g.

LUCY
McClane residence. Lucy McClane
speaking.

Holly suddenly smiles. It is the first time we've seen her
smile and it speaks volumes about the person hidden under a
tough business exterior.

HOLLY
(with affection)
Hello, Lucy McClane. This is your
mother.

She looks up and watches Ellis leave. He "shoots" her with a
"catch ya later" wink.

LUCY
Mommy! When are you coming home?!

HOLLY
Soon. You'll be in bed when I get
there, though.

LUCY
Will you come say 'good night'?

HOLLY
Don't I always, you goose?
(enjoying Lucy's giggle)
Now put Paulina on the line, and
no searching the house for presents!

LUCY
(caught)
I didn't look in the front closet
under the steps! Is Daddy coming
home with you?

JOHN, JR.
(hearing this, jumping up
and down)
Yeah! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!
(on second thought)
And a Captain Power!

HOLLY
(a little tightly)
Well, we'll see what Santa and Mommy
can do. Goose, put Paulina on, okay?

Lucy hands the phone to a young Salvadorian woman, PAULINA,
the housekeeper.

PAULINA
Hello, Mrs. Holly. You coming home
soon?

HOLLY
I'm working on it.
(beat)
Did Mr. McClane call? *

PAULINA
No ma'am.

Holly hides a trace of disappointment.

HOLLY
Well...maybe there wasn't time before *
the flight. You should probably make
up the spare room just in case.

PAULINA
(smiling)
Yes, Mrs. Holly. I do that already. *

Holly's smile comes through again.

7 INT. LAX - EVENING 7

McClane, wearing his wool topcoat and carrying the biggest
stuffed animal FAO Schwartz had in stock and his hangup bag,
comes down the American Airlines ramp and into the terminal.
He avoids one near-collision involving his stuffed animal, an
act which drives him into another fender bender with a CUTE
GIRL who looks like she's ready for high tide at Zuma. As she
smiles, weaves onward, McClane looks at his own Arctic gear
and then the girl as she kisses a similarly garbed boyfriend.

MCCLANE
(sotto, to himself)
California.

He looks around the terminal at:

7-A HIS P.O.V. - TERMINAL 7-A

FAMILY REUNIONS are going on all around his as grandparents
greet grown children and their children, YOUNG WIVES greet
uniformed SOLDIERS, our Babbit businessman greets a pleasant
wife and two pleasant kids. It's all very traditional, very
touching and not the least bit corny.

7-B BACK TO SCENE 7-B

McClane watches, moved by the sight, then looks around the
waiting area, just on the chance his family might be waiting.
Instead he spots a thin, gangling black kid, ARGYLE, in an
ill-fitting chauffeur's uniform. As he waits he beats out a
rhythmn on a "Nakatomi Corporation" card with J. McCLANE written
on it in magic marker. McClane pauses in front of him, unsure.

MCCLANE
I'm John McClane.

ARGYLE
(introducing himself)
Argyle. I'm your limo driver. Hey,
nice bag.

He turns and starts walking. McClane paces him, still juggling
bag and giant animal.

MCCLANE
Argyle. Don't you take this stuff?

ARGYLE
(stops)
Do I? I'm sorry. You're gonna have to
help me, man. This is my first time
driving a limo.

MCCLANE
That's okay. This is my first time
riding in one.

CUT TO:

8 WITH THE LIMO - DUSK 8

TILT UP from the Lincoln emblem on the car.

Both Argyle and McClane are in the front seat.

ARGYLE
Just kick back and relax, man. We
got everything you need: CD, CB,
TV, VHS, telephone, full bar.

He looks in the back seat, which is occupied by the bear.

ARGYLE
If your friend is hot to trot...I
know a couple of mama bears.
(turning to McClane)
...Or is he married?

MCCLANE
Married.

McClane tries to get comfortable, scowls as a RUSTLING NOISE
reveals wrappers and styrofoam from Taco Bell. He scowls at
Argyle.

ARGYLE
The girl was off today. Hey, I
didn't expect you to sit up front.
(back to the topic)
So, your lady live out here?

MCCLANE
The past six months.

ARGYLE
(thinking about that)
Meanwhile, you still live in
New York?

MCCLANE
You're nosey, you know that, Argyle?

ARGYLE
Hey, I'm sorry. When I was a
cabdriver, see, people expected a little
chit chat, a little eccentricity and
comaraderie, I forgot how stuck up you
limo guys were, so excuse me.

MCCLANE
(amused)
It's okay, it's okay.

ARGYLE
(instantly)
So, you divorced of what?

McClane gives up.

MCCLANE
She had a good job, it turned into
a great career.

ARGYLE
But meant her moving here.

MCCLANE
Closer to Japan. You're fast.

ARGYLE
So, why didn't you come?

MCCLANE
'Cause I'm a New York cop who used
to be a New York kid, and I got six
months backlog of New York scumbags
I'm still trying to put behind bars.
I don't just get up and move.

ARGYLE
(to the point)
You mean you thought she wouldn't
make it out here and she'd come
crawling on back, so why bother to
pack?

McClane grins, he like Argyle even if he is direct.

MCCLANE
Like I said, Argyle...you're fast.

ARGYLE
(popping in a cassette)
Mind if I play some tunes?

A hard RAP SONG blasts from the speakers.

MCCLANE
How 'bout some Christmas music?

ARGYLE
That is Christmas music.

And damned it if isn't, the Fat Boys of Run DMC doing a
revisionist number on WHITE CHRISTMAS or something. McClane
gives up, looks out the window.

9 HIS P.O.V. 9

Convertibles with Christmas trees in their back seats,
Time/Temperature signs which reads: 69 degrees, palm trees
trimmed in Christmas lights, intermittent West side token
"Happy Chanukahs"...it is clear that Christmas L.A. style has
its own unique style.

10- OUT OUT 10-
11 11

11-A THE LIMO - CENTURY CITY 11-A

TILT DOWN FROM one of the stars of this film, the well-lit,
impressive and spanking-new NAKATOMI BUILDING. The limo pulls
up, parks, and Argyle gets out. McClane lets himself out,
which is fine because Argyle doesn't remember he's supposed to
do it. They both go to the rear of the vehicle.

12 EXT. NAKATOMI BUILDING - NIGHT 12

Argyle climbs out of the limo and stops by the trunk.

ARGYLE
So, you go on upstairs to the party,
your lady sees you, you run into each
other's arms. Music comes up, you
live happily ever after, that it?

MCCLANE
It's corny, but I could live with it.

ARGYLE
What is it don't work out that way?
Where you gonna stay?

MCCLANE
I'll find someplace.

He looks up at the highrise lit by huge spotlights, then
back at Argyle who's made no attempt to open the trunk.

ARGYLE
Tell you what. I'll pull into the
parking garage and wait. You score
with your wife give me a call on the
car phone and I'll leave your bags
inside at the desk. You strike out...
I'll get you to a hotel.

He hands McClane a business card with the number on it.

MCCLANE
(taking the number)
You're all right, Argyle.

ARGYLE
Just remember that when you sign
for the tip.
(pointing to the
building)
They're paying for it, so don't be
shy.

McClane grins, heads inside.

13 INT. NAKATOMI LOBBY - NIGHT 13

Beautiful and -- on first glance -- deserted. Finally a
SOUND in the sterile lobby reveals the presence of a
SECURITY GUARD hidden until now behind a massive desk.
McClane goes there, signs in.

MCCLANE
Holly McClane?

The Guard points to a prominent touch screen computer console.

GUARD
Just type it in there.

McClane is confused for a moment, then he moves to the screen.
He gives the Guard a look...the Guard raises his eyebrows as
if to say give it a try.

13-A SCREEN - CLOSER 13-A

McClane types, "McClane, Holly". Pause. The screen replies,
NO SUCH EMPLOYEE LISTED.

13-B MCCLANE 13-B

Frowns...thinks. Simultaneously inspired and suspicious, he
types again.

13-C THE SCREEN 13-C

McClane types, GENNERO, HOLLY. This time the screen CHANGES,
shows an elevation of the building and then a floor plan of the
30th floor with Holly's office BLINKING. *

13-D BACK TO SCENE 13-D

MCCLANE
Cute toy.

GUARD
Yeah. When you have to take a leak
it'll help you find your zipper.

MCCLANE
Thirtieth floor... *

GUARD
(pointing)
Take the express elevator and get
off at the noise.

McClane nods, moves off. He moves to the elevators, and as he
does his experienced eye takes in:

13-E ANOTHER SECURITY GUARD 13-E

Patrolling a different area.

13-F SEVERAL HI-TECH CAMERAS AND SENSORS 13-F

which are cleverly worked into the decor of the lobby.

13-G BACK TO SCENE 13-G

McClane reacts with bored professionalism, NODS to the guard.

MCCLANE
Lots of hardware...

The guard shrugs. McClane gets in the elevator.

14 INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT 14

McClane hits "30" and REACTS to the hyper-powered SPEED with
which he rises. He rotates his head, getting out the travel
cricks.

As he approaches the 30th floor we hear a tremendous THUMPING,
THROBBING NOISE. McClane stops and listens before he
realizes -- it's the party. As the doors open the noise
ATTACKS us.

15 30TH FLOOR - SAME 15

McClane moves around the edge of the party, gradually
spiraling inward. He grabs a glass of Mimosa champagne punch
from a passing tray, sips...scowls. Spotting open beers in
an ice bucket, he tosses the punch into a potted plant, even
burying the plastic glass. Sipping the beer, he moves through
the dense party. People he doesn't know throw streamers over
him.

A WOMAN kisses him. He grins. A MAN kisses him.

MCCLANE
(to himself, shaking
his head)
California...

Finally he queries a DANCING WOMAN. The MUSIC drowns out their
words but she nods, points off in some generic direction.

McClane heads that way, cuts around a Christmas tree, loses
his bearings. He sees:

15-A TAKAGI 15-A

who has an air of authority. McClane goes up to him.

MCCLANE
Excuse me, I'm looking for --

TAKAGI
Holly Gennero?

MCCLANE
Yeah. How'd you know?

TAKAGI
I've spent half my life on airplanes, *
I can recognize someone who just
got off one.
(shaking hands)
I'm Joe Takagi, Mr. McClane. I have
...something to do with this company.

MCCLANE
So I've heard.

Takagi smiles, leads the way. As they approach Holly's office
door, McClane notices the name there is -- again -- "Gennero".

TAKAGI
Holly went to the Vault room to FAX
some documents...she should be back
any...

16 HOLLY'S OFFICE 16

Ellis is behind the desk. He's SNIFFLING and just as they
come in he SWEEPS the back of the slick desktop with his hand.

Both McClane and Takagi catch on...but Takagi tries to hide
his awareness.

ELLIS
Ah...hi...I just had to make a quick
call, and this was the nearest phone...

TAKAGI
(as Ellis rises)
Ellis, this is John McClane...
(with meaning)
Holly's policeman?
(to McClane)
Ellis is in charge of International
Acquisitions.

MCCLANE
(shaking hands with Ellis)
That explains the recent deal with
Bolivia.

Ellis REACTS, runs a checking finger under his nose.

MCCLANE
(sotto)
Relax, Ellis. I'm off duty.

TAKAGI
(eager to change the
subject, to McClane)
Can I get you anything? Food? Cake?
Watered down champagne punch?

MCCLANE
(grinning)
I'm fine.
(looking through the
glass)
You throw quite a party. I didn't
know they had Christmas in Japan.

TAKAGI
Hey, we're flexible. Pearl Harbor
didn't work out, we got you with
tape decks.

McClane laughs. He likes this guy.

ELLIS
Actually, it's kind of a double celebration. *
We closed a pretty big deal today and a lot
of it was due to Holly.

The door OPENS. Holly comes inside.

HOLLY
All set, Joe. The contracts went
over the wire, and --
(surprised)
John...!

16-A MCCLANE AND HOLLY 16-A

A moment. Does the sound of the party stop for him? We know
it. For her? It's more cryptic. We sure hope so.

HOLLY
(recovering)
I was hoping you made that flight.

JOHN
(quietly)
I was hoping you were hoping that.

She laughs, kisses him on the cheek. Ellis notes the awkwardness.

TAKAGI
(to McClane)
You wife's made for this business.
She know how to drive a hard bargain.

MCCLANE
Yeah. I remember our first date.

ELLIS
Show him the watch.

As she hesitates:

ELLIS
Go on, show him. What're you,
embarrassed?
(to McClane)
A little token of our appreciation
for all her work.

He takes Holly's wrist, holds it up. McClane smoothly takes
the wrist away from Ellis, looks at the watch.

MCCLANE
Nice, but one of us is three hours
out of sync. I think it's me.
(to Holly, pointedly)
Is there a place I can wash up?

HOLLY
(happy for the excuse)
Sure. Follow me.

They go out. Alone, Takagi's look at Ellis shows his
disapproval of certain snow at Christmas.

CUT TO:

17 EXT. NAKATOMI - NIGHT 17

An Emory freight truck turns off Olympic into the underground
parking garage of Nakatomi.

18 INT. PARKING GARAGE 18

It goes down the ramp and passes Argyle's black limo. The
driver's seat is EMPTY.

19 INT. LIMO - SAME 19

Argyle sits in the back seat hidden from the outside world by
the tinted rear windows. He is making a drink from the bar
with the TV on and his rap music blasting from the cassette
player, oblivious to the truck passing behind him.

20 INT. PARKING GARAGE - SAME 20

The Emory truck stops in front of the service elevator on the
next level down. As the truck idles, the uniformed driver
makes a note on his clipboard.

21 INT. ELLIS' OFFICE - NIGHT 21

TILT UP FROM McClane's BARE FEET. He is clenching and
unclenching his toes.

MCCLANE
(surprised, actually feeling
tension decline)
Son-of-a-bitch. It works.

Holly sits on the desk here, watches him remove his jacket, tie
shirt, etc. Begin to wash up in the private bath.

HOLLY
What are you doing?

MCCLANE
It's a long story. You know, I
think that Ellis has his eye on you.

HOLLY
That's okay...
(pause)
... I have an eye on his private
bathroom.

McClane's face shows his relief (or rather, his attempt not
to show any).
*

HOLLY
So, where are you staying? This *
all happened so fast I didn't even
ask you on the phone.

McClane finishes drying his face and steps to the bath doorway.

MCCLANE
Well, Cappy Roberts retired out
here a couple years ago. He said I
could bunk with him.

HOLLY
Oh...Where does he live?

MCCLANE
Ramona...no, Pomona, that's it.

HOLLY
Pomona! You'll be in the car the
whole time...Look, let's make this
easy. I have a spare bedroom. It's
not huge, but the kids would love to
have you at the house.

McClane fixes her with a look.

MCCLANE
They would, huh?

HOLLY
(beat; honest)
I would too.
*
They lock eyes for a moment, but it's an intense moment that
says a lot about how they still feel about each other.

Just then a man and a woman, both a little tipsy, open the
door to the office, see that it's occupied and beat a hasty
retreat. The interruption temporarily dents the mood. Holly
tries to smile. But for McClane it's the last frustration.

HOLLY
...I've missed you. *

MCCLANE
Especially my name. You must miss
it every time you write a check. When
did you start calling yourself
'Ms. Gennero'?

HOLLY
(caught)
This is a Japanese company, you know?
They figure a married woman, she's on
the way out the door...

MCCLANE
Sure. It's unnerving. I remember
this one particular married woman,
she went out the door so fast there
was practically a jetwash...I mean,
talk about your wind chill factor...

HOLLY
Didn't we have this same conversation
in July? Damn it, John, there was
an opportunity out here -- I had to
take it --

MCCLANE
No matter what it did to our marriage -- ?

HOLLY
My job and my title and my salary did
nothing to our marriage except change
your idea of what it should be.

MCCLANE
Oh, here it comes. One of those
'meaningful relationship conversations.'
I never should've let you get those
magazine subscriptions --

HOLLY
You want to know my idea of a marriage?
It's a partnership where people help
each other over the rough spots --
console each other when there's a
down...and when there's an up, well,
hell, a little Goddamn applause or
an attaboy wouldn't be too bad.
(quietly)
I needed that, John.
(pause)
I deserved that.

There's a clumsy pause as if she's almost challenging him to
say...something but he sets his jaw, says nothing. Just then
the door opens and Ginny leans inside.

GINNY
Miz Gennero? Mr. Takagi is looking
for you...he wants you to say something
to the troops...

HOLLY
Thanks, Ginny. I'll be a second.
Oh, this is --

MCCLANE
(mock bright 'radio' voice)
Hi. John Gennero here. I'm the
sensitive and supportive man of the
eighties.

Ginny looks puzzled, goes out. Holly sighs, moves to the
door.

HOLLY
I'll be a few minutes. Wait here --

MCCLANE
Don't I always?

She's gone. Immediately, he slaps his forehead, contrite.

MCCLANE
(to himself)
Schmuck!

22- OUT OUT 22-
23 23

24 INT. BUILDING LOBBY - SAME TIME 24

The Guard at the front desk notices the Emory truck on his
monitor. The Guard continues to watch the Emory truck and
only half notices as a Mercedes pulls up in front of the
building and two extremely well-dressed BUSINESSMAN (late
twenties) climb out and start up the stairs for the door. As
they cross the lobby to the Guard's table to sign in, we hear
their conversation.

MAN #1 (THEO)
(animatedly)
...So, Kareem rebounds -- listen,
this is a great play -- feeds Worthy
on the break, over to A.C., to Magic,
back to Worthy in the lane and --

Suddenly the other man pulls out a Walther pistol with a
silencer and aims it at the Guard's forehead. Before the
Guard can react he pulls the trigger.

THEO
(dryly)
Boom...two points.

(The speed with which the murder takes place sets the tone
for the rest of the action.) The killer moves behind the
desk, stepping over a small pool of blood from the Guard.

His name is KYLE, big, with long blond hair like a rock
drummer. Karl takes off the silencer and looks at the video
monitor of the Emory truck. The first man, Theo, opens his
briefcase, takes out a portable CB radio and speaks into it.

THEO
We're in.

25 ON THE SCREEN 25

the driver nods at the security camera as several men climb out of
the rear of the van and begin unloading wooden crates by the
service elevator.

26 INT. ELLIS' OFFICE - NIGHT 26

McClane looks at all the lavishness around him and picks up a
phone by the toilet. He opens his wallet and takes out the
phone number Argyle have him. A photo of his children stops
him.

It's of Holly, the two children and himself in happier days:
Six months ago, before Nakatomi came calling to Holly's door.
McClane flips it over. On the back in crude but painstaking
hand of a five-year-old it says: WE MISS YOU, DADDY. LOVE
LUCY (and in more primitive letters) JOHN.

McClane returns the photo to his wallet, dials the number.

26 INT. BUILDING OPERATIONS CONTROL ROOM 26

Theo enters the small control room and comfortably sits behind
a maintenance keyboard. Whistling a vaguely familiar tune, he
TYPES in some commands and locks down the passenger elevators
up to the 30th floor. Then with several more computer commands,
systematically causes:

27 THE HEAVY STEEL GATES TO THE PARKING GARAGE CLOSE 27

28 THE ESCALATORS TO THE GARAGE COME TO A STOP 28

29 OUT OUT 29

30 CONTROL ROOM - SAME 30

Theo finishes typing and disconnects the keyboard and pulls out
the wires from beneath the panel.

31 INT. LOBBY - SAME 31

The doors to a service elevator open TO REVEAL HANS GRUBER,
impeccably dressed, lean and handsome, he steps out into the
lobby like he owns the building -- and in a way he does.

Theo steps to the door of the control room and tosses Hans a
COMPUTER CARD.

Hans goes to the front door, waves the card over a magnetic
plate. An LED BLINKS and the door LOCKS with a THUD.

Hans looks out at the street. Appropriately enough, "not a
creature is stirring." Century City is quiet.

32- OUT OUT 32-
35 35

35-A LOBBY - QUICK CUTS 35-A

An elevator opens REVEALING TEN MORE MEN, all armed with
Kalashnikov machine guns are carrying canvas kit bags. One
of them, EDDIE, a rugged American in his twenties, goes to
the dead guard and immediately begins changing into his cloths.

Meanwhile:

A) Karl takes a tool case from the elevator and joins his
brother TONY, first playfully grabbing him. They head
for the basement stairwell;

B) Theo leaves the control room and nods to Hans.

C) Eddie finished adjusting buttons and snaps on his
pilfered uniform, takes his position behind the front desk.

36 HANS 36

looks at his watch and seems pleased. He steps into the service
elevator with the others and presses the button for the 30th
floor. The entire sequence has taken maybe sixty seconds.

37 INT. ELLIS' BATHROOM - 30th FLOOR - SAME 37

McClane is still barefoot, his pant legs now rolled up above
his ankles. He stretches his toes again. Damn, it works. He
lights up a new Marlboro, dials a number on the (bathroom)
phone.

38 INT. BUILDING BASEMENT - PHONE ROOM 38

A large sign says: PACIFIC BELL EMPLOYEES ONLY. Inside Tony
stands in front of an intimidating matrix of phone lines -- but
what he has in mind won't require a doctorate in Electrical
Engineering. Karl comes over, gives his an elder brother's
punch on the arm, points out what to do. Together they focus
on four CPV plastic conduits which run out of the main panel
over their heads. Tony nods. Opens a case REVEALING a
compact electric chainsaw.

39 INT. ELLIS' BATHROOM - RESUME 39

MCCLANE
(on phone)
Argyle...?

40 INT. LIMO 40

Argyle is reclining on the seat. The music is on so loud that
it is nearly impossible to hear.

ARGYLE
Hey, John, what's the word on you
and your lady?

MCCLANE'S VOICE
The vote's not in yet.

41 INT. PHONE ROOM - SAME 41

Karl cuts through the four tubes one at a time.

42 INT. ELLIS' BATHROOM - SAME 42

McClane on the phone.

ARGYLE'S VOICE
(mocking)
'Vote's not in yet?' What's that
supposed to mean.

MCCLANE
What do you want, 'All My Children'?
We're making progress. After I get my
foot out of my mouth, we'll really be
cooking, and then I can --

He stops and gently taps the phone cradle. No dial tone.

43 INT. LIMO 43

Argyle looks at the phone.

ARGYLE
What?...Mr. Mac, you there?

He turns down the music but there is on one on the line.

ARGYLE
(to himself)
Well, call me back, John. You got
the number.

He hangs up and turns the volume back up.

44 ELLIS' OFFICE 44

McClane hangs up the original phone and then tries the other
one on the desk. It, too, is dead.

45 INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR 45

Hans and the others approaching the 30th floor. As they grow
closer, we hear the noise of the speakers growing louder and
louder. The men cock their weapons and brace themselves as the
car stops and the elevator doors open. ON THE SOUND OF GUNSHOTS
AND SCREAMS WE:

CUT TO:

46 INT. ELLIS' OFFICE 46

McClane grabs his shoulder harness off the back of the chair,
moves quickly to the doorway. He looks down the hall.

47 MCCLANE'S P.O.V. 47

Two terrorists, FRANCE and FRITZ, armed with M-5 machine guns
searching the offices on the hall one by one. They open a door,
look in from the hallway, and move on quickly to the next.

They are four offices away and moving fast.

McClane looks across the corridor and sees the stairwell door
-- too far to reach without being seen.

48 MCCLANE 48

steps back, throws off the safety on his Beretta and braces
himself. He opens the door, peers through a crack at:

49 HALLWAY - FRANCE AND FRITZ 49

QUICK CUTS as McClane's eyes SCAN their weapons...he's totally
outgunned, and he knows it.

Franco and Fritz reach the office just before Ellis' and throw
open the door REVEALING the man and woman who interrupted Holly
and McClane a few minutes before, now in the throes of
passionate lovemaking on the desk. The two terrorists smile
at each other, then enter the office.

A moment later the man, (trying desperately to pull up his
pants) and the woman (buttoning her blouse) are pushed out
into the hall and toward the larger group by Fritz. The other
terrorist, Franco, goes to Ellis' office and opens the door.

It is...empty.

50 INT. STAIRWELL - SAME 50

CLOSE ON McClane's bare feet padding quickly up the concrete
stairs, two at a time. We FOLLOW him up, then out onto the:

50-A 31th FLOOR 50-A

This is the mezzanine floor immediately above the main
Nakatomi lobby. McClane sees Theo and KRISTOFF wheeling carts
of equipment. McClane ducks back into the stairwell, he runs
up another flight and out onto:

51 UNFINISHED FLOOR 51

Eventually it will be one large secretarial pool, but only a
portion is completed. Half-finished partitions and office
furniture in its original plastic wrappings are everywhere.
One end has a few lonely finished working areas.

McClane moves quickly to a desk and picks up a phone. It's
out.

MCCLANE
Shit...

He looks out the window at:

51-A NEIGHBORING BUILDING - MCCLANE'S P.O.V. 51-A

A high-rise apartment building a half-block away sparkles with
lights. McClane stares at a PRETTY GIRL in her bedroom. She's
wearing drop dead underwear right out of the Victoria's Secret
catalog. As we watch, she flops down on her bed, and with
one long leg in the air, effortlessly dials
a call on her high-tech phone. It seems so easy.

51-B BACK TO SCENE 51-B

Frustrated, he watches this, knits his brow.

MCCLANE
Think...

52 INT. 30th FLOOR (HOSTAGE FLOOR) - SAME 52

The employees have been herded to the center of the room where
the desks have been pulled back. Many people are whimpering.

52-A HOLLY 52-A

She looks around the room for McClane. She's so intent on
this that she doesn't see one TERRORIST waving her forward.
Exasperated, he SHOVES her. Her glare at him shows us her
mettle.

52-B WIDER 52-B

As the employees are bunched together, Ellis seeks out Holly.
He's clearly scared but trying to fake courage. He pats her
hand "reassuringly."

Hans steps up on top of a desk and looks over the group. He
reaches into a pocket...several people CRINGE...but what he
comes out with is a Bottega Venata pocket notebook. He checks
his own scribblings like a dais speaker.

HANS
(soothing, in control)
Ladies and gentlemen, due to the
Nakatomi Corporation's legacy of
greed around the globe, it is about
to be taught a lesson on real power.
You...will be witnesses.
If our demands are not met, however --
(sad smile)
-- You may become participants instead.
(beat, checking notes)
Now, where is...'Takagi'? Where is
the man who...
(slight smile)
...used to be in charge here?

Takagi is shoved forward. He's worried but far from cowed.
Hans steps towards him. Extends a hand.

HANS
(quite civil)
Mr. Takagi. How do you do. My
name is Hans Gruber.

Takagi is confused by his charm. Hans waves politely in the
direction of an elevator and with an armed escort takes the
executive away. CAMERA ADJUSTS to show Holly, concerned.

56 INT. STAIRWELL - 33rd FLOOR - SAME 56

McClane pauses outside the stairwell door to the 33rd floor,
he presses the handle and cracks the door open TO REVEAL a
computer floor. The computer machinery drones on under the
lights behind plate glass windows. McClane quietly closes
the door and moves to another floor.

MCCLANE
(mumbling to himself)
32 construction...33 computers...

57- OUT OUT 57-
58 58

59 INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR - NIGHT 59

Hans, Takagi, Karl and Tony. Riding silently. Hans alone
seems relaxed. He whistles. We recognize it as a snatch of
Wagner.

HANS
Nice suit. John Philips...London?

Takagi stares at him, speechless.

HANS
(smiles)
I have two myself.
(beat, as he exits:)
I'm told Arafat shops there too...

60 INT. STAIRWELL 60

McClane starts to open the stairwell door to the Machine Floor
when a NOISE above him gets his attention. He moves silently
up one flight to the roof. Quietly, he cracks the door and
looks out onto a Machine Floor on the lower level of the roof.

61 MCCLANE'S P.O.V. 61

Three terrorist, JAMES, ULI and HEINRICH, are unpacking the
wooden crates we saw in the garage from the service elevator.
It's not clear what they're doing but it seems very military
like and ominously defensive. Heinrich POINTS up to the
ceiling and says something in German. The others nod. Heinrich
starts to turn towards the CAMERA and:

62 MCCLANE 62

closes the door and slips back down the stairs.

63 INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - BOARD ROOM FLOOR - NIGHT 63

Hands enters, looks around. *

HANS *
And when Alexander saw the breadth
of his domain, he wept. For there
were no more worlds to conquer.
(to Takagi)
The benefits of a classical education.

Hans admired a scale model of a bridge. Behind him are *
photographs of the gorge where the bridge will be constructed.
Karl and Tony listen. Takagi watches.

HANS
It's beautiful. I always enjoyed
models as a boy. The exactness, the
attention to every foreseeable detail...
perfection.

TAKAGI
(defensively)
This is what this is about? Out
building project in Indonesia?
Contrary to what you people think,
we're going to develop that region...
not 'exploit' it.

Hans straightens, looks hard at Takagi.

HANS
I believe you.
(smiling)
I read the article in Forbes. *

Takagi looks confused. Hans puts a friendly arm around Takagi's
shoulders and guides him into the adjacent board room where
Theo types in commands onto a built-in computer console.

HANS
Mr. Takagi, we could discuss
industrialization of men's fashions
all day, but I'm afraid my associate,
Mr. Theo, has some questions for you.
Sort of fill-in-the blanks questions
actually...

JUMP CUT:

64 A COMPUTER SCREEN SPITS OUT: 64

NAKATOMI CORPORATION.
BOARD WORKSTATION.
ENTER CENTRAL COMPUTER CODE KEY _ _ _ _.

65 THEO 65

sits fingers poised over the keyboard. Hans sits opposite.
Takagi stands like the accused at the foot of the table, has
just read the screen, blurts:

TAKAGI
I don't have that code...!
(beat; to Hans)
You broke in here to access out
computer?!? Any information you
could get -- they wake up in Tokyo
in the morning, they'll change it!
You won't be able to blackmail our
executives or threaten --

Hans barks him to silence:

HANS
SIT DOWN!

Takagi complies. Hans is abruptly compassionate and quiet.

HANS
Mr. Takagi...I'm not interested in your
computer.
(beat)
I'm interested in the 640 million dollars
in negotiable bearer bonds you have in
you vault.

ON Takagi's reaction.

HANS
Yes...I know about them. The code
key is a necessary step in accessing
the vault.

TAKAGI
You want...money? What kind of
terrorists are you?

HANS
(amused)
Who said we were terrorists?

65-A MCCLANE - ENTERING THIS FLOOR 65-A

He tiptoes along, gun held ready. He can HEAR the MUMBLE of
voices from the conference room, moves slowly towards it.

65-B CONFERENCE ROOM - RESUME 65-B

Hans slowly takes out his Walther and his silencer. He feels
his silencer a moment, as if making a decision, then slips it
back into his coat pocket.

HANS
(weighing the gun)
The code key, please...?

TAKAGI
It's useless to you! There's seven
safeguards on our vault, and the
code key is only one of them! You'll
never get it open!

Hans lifts the gun.

HANS
Then there's no reason not to tell
it to us.

THEO
(aside to Karl)
I told you...

KARL
It's not over...

Hans gives them both a look like an annoyed schoolmaster,
turns back to Takagi.

HANS
This is too nice a suit to ruin,
Mr. Takagi. I'm going to count
to three. There will not be a
four. Give me the code.

He cocks the gun:

TAKAGI
I don't know it! get on a Goddamn
jet to Tokyo and ask the chairman!
I'm telling you! You're just going
to have to kill me --

HANS
Okay.

BANG!! He pulls the trigger:

66 OUT IN THE MUSEUM - MCCLANE 66 *

reacts as if shot.

A66-A HIS P.O.V. A66-A *

The glass doors to the boardroom are splattered red and
dripping...

66-A INSIDE 66-A

Takagi is still seated, but the chair in flat on its back,
blood flowing out into the carpet.

Hans springs to his feet:

HANS
We do it the hard way! Tony, see if
you can dispose of that. (the body)
Karl, you'd better check Heinrich's
work up on the machine floor.

Karl, in the midst of handing Theo a fifty dollar bill, nods.

67 OUTSIDE - MCCLANE 67

stunned, sees Hans move and tries to retreat. But his gun
bumps the underside of the table:

68 INSIDE - HANS 68

hears it. Karl is the first to move:

69 KARL 69

springs through the door, finds nothing. He checks two
adjoining rooms, the first is deserted. The second...is
locked.

70 KARL 70

returns to Hans.

KARL
Nothing...

HANS
(nods)
See to Heinrich...
(to Theo)
Now...you can break the code key...?

THEO
(grins)
You didn't bring me along for my
charming personality.

As he heads for the elevator.

THEO
(under his breath)
'Though you could have...

Hans smiles, confident in his team, and follows. CAMERA
SETTLES ON the door that Karl found locked.

71 INSIDE THE SUPPLY CLOSET - MCCLANE 71

slowly lets out a breath, praying softly:

MCCLANE
Argyle. Tell me you heard the shot.
Tell me you heard the shot and you're
calling the police right now...

CUT TO:

72 INT. LIMO - PARKING GARAGE 72

Argyle is on the car phone. The music is playing.

ARGYLE
I'm working, honey. Working hard.
'Course I'll be by later to pick you
up, have I ever lies to you? My boss?
He thinks I'm cruising to Palm Springs...

72-A MACHINE LEVEL - TIGHT ON CEILING 72-A

Heinrich PRESSES something into a niche here, scrambles like
a monkey to a new position. Helped by one of his men, he
JUMPS down, moves to another area, climbs up again, removing
something from his shoulder bag.

73 VAULT ROOM - 31ST FLOOR 73

Hans and Theo enter the safe room. The huge corporate safe
looms in front of them. Theo places three kit bags onto a
table and rolls up his sleeves. He swivels a computer console
into handy reach, sits down.

HANS
How long?

THEO
Thirty minutes to break the code...
Two hours for the five mechanicals.
The seventh lock...that's out of
my hands.

HANS
If out plan works...the FBI will
get rid of it for us.

Theo grins, begins typing.

73-A HIS SCREEN 73-A

He types BEGIN ALGORITHM CODE PROGRAM. RANDOM NUMBERS AND
LETTERS begin going by: AAAAA; 11111; AAAAB; 11112.

74 32ND FLOOR 74

McClane moves out onto the 31st floor, angry at himself.

MCCLANE
Why the fuck didn't you stop him?
(beat)
Because, you ignorant sonofabitch,
you'd be dead, too. Think...think,
Goddamnit!

Suddenly he looks up at the ceiling and sees a sprinkler head.
His look drops to the wall and focuses on a small red fire alarm
switch by the door.

75 INT. MAIN FLOOR - L.A. FIRE STATION - NIGHT 75

An ALARM sounds. Quickly firemen move to their machines as a
voice of a 911 DISPATCHER drones.

911 DISPATCHER
Main Wilshire units. Two alarm fire
at Nakatomi Plaza --

The voice continues as the station doors open and we:

CUT TO:

76 INT. NAKATOMI - GROUND FLOOR OPERATIONS ROOM - SAME 76

A fire alarm indicator light showing which floor has sounded the
fire alarm -- suddenly begins flashing, emitting short, loud
beeps. Eddie, the terrorist in the guard's uniform and manning
the station, immediately picks up his CB.

77 32ND FLOOR - SAME 77

McClane stands at windows looking Northward for fire trucks.
Suddenly we SEE the flashing red lights of FOUR ENGINES in
traffic two miles away.

MCCLANE
C'mon, baby...come to Papa. I'm
gonna kiss your Goddamn dalmatian.

78 INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR - ON HANS - SAME 78

He rides the elevator back to the 30th floor with Tony.

HANS
(calmly, to Eddie
on CB)
Call 911, give them the name and
badge number on your uniform and
cancel the alarm...then disable
the system.
(looks across at
Tony, presses talk
button again)
Eddie? What floor did the alarm
go off?

78-A MACHINE FLOOR 78-A

They've heard the alarm here, too. Heinrich, Marco and *
Uli HEAR the alarm and continue their mysterious work.

79 UNFINISHED FLOOR - SAME 79

McClane stands silhouetted against the window. In the distance
he can see another fire truck swing off Santa Monica onto
Avenue of the Stars.

Suddenly the red light on the first truck goes out, then on the
second. McClane watches in disbelief. The trucks slow and
turn down separate side streets, heading for home.

MCCLANE
(realizing)
Son of a bitch...

Just then the elevator bell rings and we HEAR the ELEVATOR DOORS
OPEN. A figure (Tony) slips into the shadows -- his machine
gun drawn. We MOVE WITH HIM FROM the elevator area until he
reaches the light switch and throws it illuminating the entire
floor. McClane is gone.

80 ON MCCLANE 80

under a desk. He takes in his options.

81 HIS P.O.V. 81

The feet of Tony. They move slowly in his direction. McClane
Looks down the aisle next to the windows. It leads to a series
of cubicles at the other end of the floor and is a clear path
if he can make it past Tony.

82 TONY 82

He moves steadily toward the area where we saw McClane.

TONY
The fire has been called off, my
friend. No one is coming to help
you. You might as well come out
and join the others.
(fingers the trigger
of his machine gun)
I promise not to hurt you.

Moving more confidently, he steps up to McClane's desk, then
around it and fires a blast into the space. It is empty. As
the SOUND OF THE MACHINE GUN FADES he listens and hears another
SOUND -- a NOISE coming from the other end of the room near
the cubicles.

Tony heads toward the noise. Sensing a trap, he moves past
each cubicle carefully, checking each office until he reaches
the doorway of the last one. The sound is just around the
partition. He tenses, then spins into the cubicle.

83 TONY'S P.O.V. 83

A radial arm saw spins noisily.

84 TONY 84

grins at his nervousness. He moves to turn it off, not
realizing the sound has buried the soft rustle of McClane,
steps INTO FRAME behind him, McClane shoves his pistol barrel
against Tony's temple.

MCCLANE
Freeze, Police...don't move or name
your beneficiary.

Tony doesn't. McClane cocks his Beretta. Tony watches him
calmly.

TONY
You won't hurt me.

MCCLANE
Yeah? Why not?

TONY
(smug)
Because you are a policeman. There
are rules for policemen.

MCCLANE
Yeah. My Captain keeps telling
me the same thing.

McClane suddenly PISTOL WHIPS Tony across the head. Tony
REELS, then swallows, worried for the first time.

MCCLANE
Let's go.

Suddenly Tony spins to the side and McClane FIRES, but the
big man's momentum slams McClane into a filing cabinet and sends
his pistol into the hall.

Tony fires his machine gun, but McClane kicks him into the desk.

He locks his arms around the big man's neck in a hold that
sends Tony reeling into the hall. McClane holds on as they
slam through several plastic board partitions. They careen
across the hall into the stairwell door, opening it, and crash
into:

85 STAIRWELL LANDING 85

then down the concrete steps into the wall on the landing below.
For a moment, both men lie still. McClane, still holding onto
Tony's neck, releases it and the man's head flops sickeningly
to the side.

For a moment McClane just looks at the dead man. Then, slowly,
methodically, he begins to SEARCH HIM. He turns all his pockets
inside out, looks at his clothing labels, stares long and very
hard at a California driver's license with Tony's picture on
it. He expertly examines the machine gun when a HISSING SOUND
coming from somewhere attracts his attention.

He rises, moves cautiously to the source.

85-A NEW ANGLE 85-A

It's Tony's CB, which has fallen from the dead man's waist during
the struggle. McClane stares at it, formulating a plan.

CUT TO:

86 INT. 32ND FLOOR - NIGHT 86

PAN FROM Tony's now shoeless feet TO McClane, who sits on the
floor near the body hurriedly lacing up the dead terrorist's
boots on his own feet. He ties the last lace and tries to take
a couple of steps.

He winces in pain, goes off balance. Quickly he starts taking
the boots off.

MCCLANE
A million terrorists in the world
and I kill the one with feet
smaller than my sister.

He yanks off the boots and tosses them into the garbage. Then
he pulls the body up and sets it down on a secretary's chair.
He starts to push it along when he gets an idea and moves to:

86-A A DESK 86-A

Where he scribbles a note we cannot read on a piece of paper.
Then his eyes fall on some Xmas decorations nearby. He smiles
to himself.

86-B IN THE ELEVATOR - UNFINISHED FLOOR 86-B

TIGHT ON McClane's back as he pushes Tony's body on swivel
chair into the elevator. (NOTE: WE CANNOT SEE TONY'S HEAD)
CAMERA ADJUSTS as McClane pushes the buttons for the 31th and
30th floors.

We notice he's got the dead man's machine gun and that a wooden
desk ruler protrudes from McClane's back pocket.

The elevator doors close and the car starts down. After it's
dropped only half a floor, McClane forces the doors open with
his fingers -- stopping the car between floors.

Using the ruler he blocks open the inside doors, then opens the
outside doors of the floor above (31st) with his fingers and
pulls himself up onto the carpeted floor, then up onto the roof
of the car. Once on the roof of the car he reaches over the
edge and removes the ruler, closing the inside doors and setting
the car in motion again.

86-C HOSTAGE FLOOR 86-C

The hostages have been gathered together in a group in the center
of the open floor, guards flanking them. The elevators are
barely visible from the edge of the group, which is where Ginny
and Holly are sitting. Ginny winces, uncomfortable on the floor.
Holly soothes her. Hans stands in front of them like a stern
camp counselor in front of the assembled bunk.

HANS
I wanted this to be professional,
efficient, adult, cooperative. Not
a lot to ask. Alas, your Mr. Takagi
did not see it that way...
(harder)
So he won't be joining us for the
rest of his life.
(as that sinks in)
We are prepared to go any way you
make us. When we have achieved our
aims you can walk out of here...
or be carried out. Decide now, each
of you. But remember that we have
planned everything to the last detail.
We are completely in change.

A "DING" attracts his attention. He turns.

87 NEW ANGLE 87

The elevator doors OPEN and Fritz, guarding the area. WHIRLS,
gun held ready. His jaw drop as he sees:

87-A TONY'S BODY - HIS P.O.V. 87-A

Still and dead, flopped in a swivel chair, a red Santa hat
gaily placed on his head.

87-B HANS 87-B

REACTS.

HANS
(indicating the hostages)
Get them over there. Schnell!

The guards quickly hustle the hostages away as Hans crosses to
the elevator, but for before.

87-C HOLLY 87-C

Sees the body...and REACTS. She knows her husband's abilities...
not to mention his twisted sense of humor.

87-D NEAR THE ELEVATOR 87-D

As Fritz stands there, confused, Hans comes to the elevator with
Franco, lifts Tony's chin and sees that his neck has been
snapped. He sees a folded piece of paper in Tony's collar,
takes it out.

87-E INSERT - THE NOTE 87-E

It reads, "Now I have a machine gun. HO-HO-HO."

87-F BACK TO SCENE 87-E

FRITZ
Perhaps a security guard we
overlooked...?

Hans lifts Tony's chin again, lets the head flop over.

HANS
(thoughtfully)
Security guard? They're usually
tired and burned out old policemen growing *
fat on a pension...This is...
something else.

87-G ROOF OF ELEVATOR - SAME TIME 87-G

McClane is staring through a tiny crack at the scene below him.
CAMERA ADJUSTS from Fritz in the b.g. to Hans and France just
below.

McClane is WRITING in his weather-beaten cop's notebook. The
first notation is NUMBER OF HOSTAGES: HOLLY + 30 -- odd. Then
it says, NUMBER OF TERRORISTS? As we watch, he adds "3 ? 1
87-H in Lobby (?) and 2+ with hostages?? Plus ones on 87-H
roof (3)."

FRITZ'S VOICE
(slightly spooked)
We have to do something, Hans.

HANS' VOICE
(not pleased)
Yes...we have to tell Karl his brother
is dead. Tell him to come down.

Now McClane writes "HANS=LEADER. Karl=BROTHER. USE THIS?"
As Fritz calls Karl on his CB, Hans looks at Franco.

HANS
Franco, you and Fritz take the body
upstairs and out of sight. I don't
want the hostages to think too
much.

88 INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - CAR ROOF - ON MCCLANE - SAME 88

On top of the car, listening to the conversation below. Franco
and Fritz step into the car and the doors on the elevator close.
The car accelerates upward and McClane grabs onto the heavy,
grease-coated cables to keep his balance. Already his clothes
are soiled; his face and feet, arms and hair are dark from the
dirt and sweat. The car speeds up the shaft -- passing the car
bringing Karl down to the hostage floor -- and stops at the
machine floor. The doors open and McClane hears them roll the
chair with the body off the car. McClane looks up.

89 MCCLANE'S P.O.V. 89

A metal catwalk runs around the inside of the elevator shaft.

90 MCCLANE 90

pulls himself up onto it. As he moves along the catwalk looking
for a way out, he passes an unmarked metal door, 2'x3'. McClane
pushes it open and looks in.

91 MCCLANE'S P.O.V. 91

Total darkness.

92 MCCLANE 92

takes out a coin. A quarter. He stops, switches to a nickel.
Throws it into the void. It is a full four seconds until we
HEAR it "CHING" and bounce on concrete far below. You don't
have to be a mathematics whiz to know it's a long drop.

MCCLANE
Jesus...

He moves cautiously around a corner and we SEE a metal ladder
leading up to a door marked PUMP ROOM. Opening the door
McClane enters a darkened:

93 PUMP ROOM 93

damp and full of pipes and goes to another door. He cracks the
door and looks out.

94 MCCLANE'S P.O.V. 94

The lower level of the roof. Open and deserted. Only a heliport
above him is higher.

95 30TH FLOOR (HOSTAGE FLOOR) - HOLLY'S OFFICE - SAME 95

WIDEN as a FILING CABINET is FLUNG across the floor, drawers
SLAMMING out, papers flying. KARL has done this, and he's *
barely started. He FLINGS a LAMP against a wall, PUNCHES a hole
into the plaster. Finally, Hans goes to him, lays controlling
hands on the man's shoulder.

HANS
I know what you are feeling. But
this is not productive --

KARL
(pushing him away)
He was my only brother...my only
family!
(a flat statement)
I want blood for my blood. We
search...now.

He starts to move. Hans stops him.

HANS
(firmly)
No. Heinrich's team must finish
planting the detonators...and Theo
needs time on the vault. After the *
police come they'll waste hours trying
to negotiate...that's when we search *
for this man. Until then...we do not
alter the plan.

KARL
(quietly)
And if he alters it...? *

For once Hands doesn't have an answer.

95-A HOSTAGES - AROUND THE CORNER 95-A

They've heard the alarm, can see and sense the agitation among
their captors. Ellis slides over to Holly.

ELLIS
What's happening?

HOLLY
They don't look happy...something's
gone wrong.

ELLIS
The police...?

HOLLY
(shaking her head)
John.

ELLIS
John? Christ, he could fuck this
whole thing up...what does he think
he's doing?

HOLLY
How about his job?

ELLIS
His 'job' is 3000 miles away. Without
him, they might let us go...at least
we have a chance...

HOLLY
(quietly)
Tell that to Mr. Takagi.

96 EXT. ROOF - NIGHT 96

McClane climbs to the heliport and leans against the leeward side
of a wall surrounding it. Shielded from wind, he pulls out the
CB, turns to channel nine, and starts broadcasting.

MCCLANE
Mayday, Mayday! Anyone! Terrorists
have seized and Nakatomi building
and are holding 30 or more hostages!
I say again --

97 OUT OUT 97

98 INT. HANS' OFFICE - SAME 98

Hans, Karl, Fritz and France hear the clear signal over Hans'
CB.

MCCLANE'S VOICE
-- unknown number of terrorists,
six or more, armed with automatic
weapons at Nakatomi, Century City...
Somebody answer me, Goddamnit!

Karl looks almost...satisfied.

HANS
The roof. It's the best place to
transmit.

They move.

99 INT. LOS ANGLES EMERGENCY DISPATCH CENTER - SAME 99

A SUPERVISOR weaves her way back from the break room toward a
DISPATCHER who is monitoring the call.

DISPATCHER
It's the same address as that fire
signal -- *

SUPERVISOR
(frowning)
-- the false alarm? I'll handle *
it.

She plugs in her headset. (Her condescending, arrogant tone is
like the one in the famous tape where the dispatch lady spends
so much time on red tape that the patient dies.)

SUPERVISOR
(into mike)
Attention, whoever you are. This
channel is reserved for emergency
calls only --

MCCLANE'S VOICE
No fucking shit, lady! Do I sound
like I'm ordering a pizza?

100 OUT OUT 100

101 INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR - ON KARL - SAME 101

with Franco and Fritz.

KARL
No one kills him but me.

It's an order and the look he gives the other two backs it up.
Karl checks his magazine, SLAPS it into his rifle as the elevator
opens to the roof.

102 EXT. UPPER ROOF 102

McClane moves around the roof, circling the helipad, making sure
he has a good enough view to avoid being ambushed. He can't
see in all directions at once but he's doing the best he can.

MCCLANE
They've already killed one hostage,
and they're fortifying their positions
while we're bullshitting! Now, send
police backup ASAP!

SUPERVISOR'S VOICE
Sir, I've already told you, this is
a reserved channel. If this is an
emergency call, dial 911 on your
telephone. Otherwise I will report
you to the police --

MCCLANE
(to the radio)
-- fine! Report me! Hey, come down
here and fucking arrest me! Send
the police. NOW -- !

Suddenly machine gun shells rip into the concrete wall in front
of him. The noise is deadening as we:

CUT TO:

103 INT. DISPATCHER OFFICE - SAME 103

Both Supervisor and Dispatcher reach for their headsets in
pain from the INTENSE SOUND and:

104 OUT OUT 104

105 EXT. ROOF - ON MCCLANE - SAME 105

Running. Tracer bullets rip into the wall behind him. He
reaches the corner and sees the other two terrorists moving
toward him. Before they see him, he leaps down to the next
level out of range of Karl.

106 INT. EMERGENCY DISPATCH - SAME 106

The Dispatcher looks critically at the Supervisor in the
sudden silence.

SUPERVISOR
(importantly)
Ad...have a black-and-white do a
drive-by.

CUT TO:

107 INT. 7-11 - AT THE COUNTER - NIGHT 107

TIGHT as one after another after another HOSTESS TWINKIE is
stacked up on the counter. CAMERA WIDENS and we SEE the
young male CLERK, who stifles a smile. Another teenage
employee behind the counter also smothers a laugh.

The customer is POWELL, young for a police veteran, old for
the rest of the world.

CLERK
Thought you guys just ate donuts.

POWELL
They're for my wife. She's pregnant.
If I knew she was gonna eat a dozen
at a shot, I woulda bought stock in
the company.

The Clerk nods and puts them in a bag. As Powell pays, suddenly
his BELT RADIO crackles to life.

DISPATCHER'S VOICE/RADIO
Dispatch to One Adam Ten, over.

Powell grabs the radio, speaks into it.

POWELL
One Adam Ten, go ahead.

DISPATCHER'S VOICE/RADIO
Investigate a code two at Nakatomi
Plaza, Century City.

POWELL
(thinking)
Nakatomi Plaza?

He moves to the door, steps outside.

107-A EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE 107-A

Powell looks towards the horizon and up.

There it is, Nakatomi, in all its gleaming glory.

DISPATCH VOICE
One Adam Ten, do you copy?

Powell is already moving to the car. He tosses in the twinkies,
hops behind the wheel.

POWELL
(into police
radio)
Roger, dispatch. I'm on the way.

And he BURNS RUBBER leaving the store:

CUT TO:

108 EXT. ROOF - ON MCCLANE - NIGHT 108

running for his life, from Fritz and Franco, doesn't realize
he is being herded around the building toward Karl. Suddenly
McClane turns a corner and sees Karl. The big man fires a
burst and McClane ducks back stopping at the exterior door
to the pump room he used before. It is locked from the inside.

He BLOWS the lock off with a burst from his machine gun and
slips into the darkness of the:

109 ELEVATOR SHAFT NEAR PUMP ROOM 109

Coming quickly out of the pump room, McClane picks his way
over the same ground as a few minutes before and opens the door
to the elevator shaft. The dimly lit shaft yawns before him.
He starts down the ladder back to the catwalk, moves along
it -- STOPS.

The catwalk ends, and the elevator is gone.

109-A INT. PUMP ROOM - OTHER END 109-A

Karl crosses, starts to open the door to the elevator shaft
when suddenly their radio crackles with --

HANS' VOICE
Karl? Franco? Did you catch him?

FRANCO
No, but he's in the elevator shaft.

HANS' VOICE
Prefect. The elevators are locked off. *
He can't escape. Just shut him in and
return to base.

KARL
Hans, he killed by brother --

HANS
(more firmly)
Karl, I know you want him, but the
police are probably on their way.
Maybe we can convince them it was all
a mistake, but not if they hear gunshots!
If you lock him in he'll be neutralized
-- now do it! Karl? Karl!

Karl turns off his radio. In the light of their flashlights,
the two other terrorists look at Karl in stunned disbelief.
He opens the door to the elevator shaft.

109-B INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - ON MCCLANE 109-B

He's OVERHEARD enough of this to realize he's in deep shit.
He backtracks to the air shaft door, strikes a cigarette
lighter.

110- OUT OUT 110-
117 117

117-A ELEVATOR SHAFT (OPPOSITE SIDE) 117-A

Karl steps off the ladder to the catwalk, his own gun held *
ready.

118 MCCLANE 118

HEARING Karl's approach, McClane thinks fast, looks down at
his narrow confines, and then at:

118-A HIS WEAPON 118-A

and its canvas gunsling and metal strap slides.

118-B BACK TO SCENE 118-B

Quickly, McClane lets out all the slack in the sling. Then,
he BRACES the weapon across the outside opening of the air
shaft door and lowers himself into the:

119 AIR SHAFT 119

meanwhile holding onto the canvas sling with his elbows bent
over it like a kid doing a half-asses skin-the-cat on a swing
set.

His feet slowly move down the smooth aluminum walls until they
reach the top of the air duct, then DANGLE in the open space.
He straightens his arms to give him length enough to touch
the bottom edge of the duct.

Suddenly he FEELS something GIVE above him and looks up.

120 CLOSE ON THE SLING 120

It was designed to carry a gun on a man, not vice versa. The
few inches of extra canvas are sliding through the clips.
When they're gone...he will be too.

121 KARL 121

He moves silently toward the corner.

122 CLOSE - MCCLANE'S TOES 122

now only inches from the bottom edge. McClane's arms are
fully extended now. He hears Karl on the metal catwalk. His
muscles strain and quiver.

123 THE SLING 123

One of the canvas end slips through the clip.

124 ON MCCLANE 124

FALLING. He grabs the ledge of the air duct as he falls and
his body slams into the aluminum wall with an echoing BOOM.
Above him on the catwalk the rifle rattles on the metal outside
the door.

125 ON KARL 125

Around the corner Karl FREEZES, unsure of the sound:

126 ON MCCLANE 126

holding onto the ledge by his hands. With every ounce of
strength he tries to pull himself up into the horizontal duct,
clawing for a hold.

127 ON KARL 127

He rounds the corner and sees McClane's rifle lying beneath
the doorway. He moves to the small door, shines his light and
aims his rifle down into the air shaft ready to fire.

128 HIS P.O.V. 128

The shaft is deserted. Moving his light around he sees the air
duct. Without hesitation he turns and backtracks to the pump
room door.

129 INT. AIR CONDITIONING DUCT - ON MCCLANE - SAME 129

He lies exhausted and motionless in the narrow crawl space. He
awkwardly fishes out the lighter from his shirt pocket and
thumbs it ON.

The flickering GLOW shows him this ain't no place for
claustrophobics -- it's a long, long long dark and narrow
corridor full of weird shadows. The far end (if there even
if one?) is BLACK.

MCCLANE
Whew...for a moment there I was
worried.

He turns out his lighter, and starts crawling.

130- OUT OUT 130-
133 133-

133-A INT. MACHINE FLOOR 133-A

The three terrorists rush down from the roof in hot pursuit,
Karl leading the way through the door. Karl points quickly to
the left and right where there are a series of rooms. The
others checks these while Karl approaches the CAMERA, trigger
finger ITCHING. Almost immediately, the others return.

FRANCO
(a whisper)
Nothing.

Karl looks puzzled. Then he thinks, mentally retracing McClane's
few options. Karl's eyes scan the architecture here, and then
suddenly he looks UP.

133-B OUT OUT 133-B *

134 HIS P.O.V. 134 *

The ceiling is criss-crossed with air ducts. He fires a *
burst into the ducts.

135 INT. AIR DUCT - SAME 135

McClane remains motionless in the air duct. Three quarter-size
holes inches from his face show how close Karl came to nailing
him. Sweat covers his face, drips silently onto the aluminum.

136 MACHINE ROOM 136

Karl listens patiently for sound. Just then the two other
terrorists return.

FRANCO
Nothing.

Karl hesitates a moment, fighting his instincts before finally
turning to go. Suddenly the duct McClane is in GROANS slightly
under his weight. Karl stops and looks up at the matrix of
aluminum duct work, trying to single out the source of the
sound. He steps back into the room and raises his rifle.
Holding it upright he presses the barrel up into the belly
of McClane's air duct, feeling for weight -- the weight of a
body.

137 INSIDE THE AIR DUCT 137

McClane sees the indention of the barrel pressing into the
aluminum fifteen feet away. There is a pause and another
three feet closer. He can hear Karl's footsteps on the
concrete -- moving slowly below the duct.

138 ON KARL 138

His eyes are fixed above him on the air duct. He presses the
barrel up again. Still nothing.

139 ON MCCLANE 139

Silently he moves his hand, slowly draws his Beretta. The
next indention presses up six feet away. McClane points his
gun downward and waits.

140 KARL 140

stops directly below him. The barrel starts up and just
touches the duct under McClane when Franco returns to the
door and calls:

FRANCO
Karl! Police! Come on.

Karl hesitates then lowers his gun and leaves.

141 CLOSE - MCCLANE 141

He hears the door close and lowers his head.

141-A INT. 33RD FLOOR - SAFE ROOM 141-A

The large LED WINDOW in the front of the safe BEEPS and letters
creep by: ACCESS CODE ACCEPTED. We HEAR a CLUNK.

CAMERA ADJUSTS to show Theo, who grins. Now his computer
screen reads, LOCK #1 DISABLED. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?

Theo puts goggles on his eyes, holds out his hands towards
Kristoff like a doctor requesting a scalpel. Kristoff gives
him a GIANT DRILL.

THEO
You bet your ass I'm gonna proceed.

He turns on the drill:

142 OUT OUT 142

143 EXT. CENTURY CITY - AVENUE OF THE STARS - NIGHT 143

The street is empty, quiet. A lone police black-and-white
pulls out of the shadows of a side street and begins a slow
cruise toward the Nakatomi building.

144 ON POWELL 144

Driving, alone. He starts up at the tower. It seems calm,
its glowing lights matching the warmth of the holiday
decorations on the streets. Powell slows to a stop and
scans the premises. In the lobby we SEE Eddie, sitting behind
the desk. Powell reports to his radio.

POWELL
Guard inside. No signs of disturbance
...I'm going up for a closer look.

He pulls in and parks in the front.

145 INT. MACHINE ROOM - SAME 145

McClane punches out a ceiling vent and drops down into the
machine room. For a moment he stands, listening for sounds
of movement. The floor is quiet. He goes to the stairwell.

146 EXT. ROOF - SAME 146

The edge of the roof. Suddenly a tall terrorist, James,
moves along the wall and looks over at Powell's car.

147 INT. 3RD FLOOR - SAME 147

The elevator doors open on Karl, Franco and Fritz. They *
step out onto the darkened floor. We SEE large number "3"
painted on the doors of this floor.

They move quickly toward the windows on the Avenue of the Stars
side where a terrorist, ALEXANDER, with a BAR rifle has set up
a machine gun nest under a half-opened window. Directly below
him we SEE Powell's car.

Alexander PANS the police car with his weapon, finger on the
trigger. This is clearly a man hungry for action.

148 30TH FLOOR (HANS' OFFICE) - SAME 148

Hans watches from above. He raises his CB.

HANS
(his usual calm)
Eddie?

149 INT. LOBBY - SAME 149

Eddie picks up his CB. He watches Powell coming up the stairs.

EDDIE
(to CB)
Had a feeling you'd be calling...

HANS' VOICE
Let him in.

Eddie is a little startled, but he moves quickly.

149-A ALEXANDER 149-A

also hears this, and his eager expression fades. But orders
are orders.

150 EXT. FRONT DOOR OF NAKATOMI - SAME 150

Powell tries the front doors. Locked. Eddie comes hustling
across and unlocks the door with the magnetic card.

EDDIE
Evening, officer. What's up?

Powell steps in and looks around. Bland HOLIDAY MUZAK filters
from Speakers here. (LET IT SNOW) *

POWELL
We got an emergency call that there
was a problem here.

151 INT. 34TH FLOOR - BOARD ROOM - SAME 151 *

McClane makes his way to the Avenue of the Stars side of
the building, enters the board room where Takagi was shot.
McClane goes to the windows and looks down at the street.

152 HIS P.O.V. 152

Powell's car.

MCCLANE
All right!

McClane waits, expectant. Five seconds. Ten seconds. But
no commotion, no shouting. He frowns.

MCCLANE
Where's the fucking cavalry?

152-A INT. LOBBY - SAME TIME 152-A

Powell walks casually across the slick floor, eyes panning the
area. Eddie sits casually watching a game on one of his
monitor screens.

EDDIE
We already had that false alarm, you
ask me, the Goddamn computers sent
you out on another wild goose chase.
They been chasing bugs in that system
since they installed it.
(to the screen)
Oh, shit, come on, I got fifty bucks
on you assholes -- !

Powell's face shows us he's starting to think he's wasting his
time.

152-B- OUT OUT 152-B
153 153

153-A WITH MCCLANE 153-A

The silent tension is driving him crazy.

MCCLANE
Come on, come on...who's in that
car, Stevie Wonder?

He makes up his mind. He lifts one of the big chairs and
swings it at the window. The tempered glass whitens on the
first blow.

153-B EXT. ROOF 153-B

James sees the glass whiten below him and shouts into his mike.

153-C INT. MACHINE FLOOR 153-C

Heinrich hears the radio and shouts to Marco who grabs his
machine gun and runs.

154 INT. LOBBY 154

Eddie watches confidently as Powell moves through the lobby
looking for signs of trouble.

154-A AROUND THE CORNER FROM POWELL 154-A

Uli is there, gun held ready. *

155 BOARD ROOM - 34th FLOOR 155

McClane draws the chair back for the final hit when a terrorist
(MARCO) appears at the door. Both men react, but Marco already
has his gun up. He FIRES a round at McClane. The bullets rip
into the table top and the chair, and McClane goes down behind
the table.

156- OUT OUT 156-
156-A 156-A

157 INT. 34th FLOOR - BOARD ROOM 157

Marco smiles and moves around to the other side of the table,
but finds no one. He looks around frantically than squats
beneath the table and sees:

158 MCCLANE 158

lying prone, his pistol trained on him.

MCCLANE
Drop it or you're a rugstain.

159 BOARD ROOM DOORWAY 159

Just then Heinrich, the terrorist steps into the doorway, sees
the situation.

HEINRICH
Marco, duck!

Marco dives sideways, but Heinrich still isn't quick enough.
McClane FIRES TWICE and Heinrich DROPS sprawling in the hallway,
machine gun FIRING BLINDLY until he hits the floor.

159-A HOSTAGE FLOOR 159-A

They can FAINTLY HEAR the gunshots. Holly pales:

159-B THE LOBBY 159-B

All Powell can hear here is "LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW." He
STOPS just a yard from seeing the armed terrorist, turns back.

POWELL
Screw this.

He turns back.

159-C THE BOARD ROOM 159-C

Marco springs on top of the huge table. McClane rolls on his
back so he can cover either angle but it is clear that Marco
is in the more enviable position.

160 ON MARCO 160

on the table top slams in a fresh magazine and smiles.

MARCO
Next time -- don't hesitate.

He leans his machine gun over the edge.

161 MCCLANE 161

aims directly above him and fires twice into the underside
of the table. The bullets rip through the table and Marco,
who DROPS beside McClane.

MCCLANE
Thanks for the advice.

162 OUT OUT 162

163 INT. LOBBY - SAME 163

Powell heads for the door. Eddie moves to lock up after him.

POWELL
Sorry to water your time. Merry
Christmas.

Powell goes out.

164 INT. 34TH FLOOR BOARD ROOM - SAME 164

McClane rolls out from under the table, goes to the windows,
and looks down in time to see Powell heading for the car.

MCCLANE
Oh, man, please, no --

Desperate, he leans on the glass...which CRACKS again, on the
verge of going. McClane thinks...looks over his shoulder at
the body of Marco.

165 INT. POWELL'S POLICE CAR - SAME 165

Powell check in on his radio. Unconsciously he begins to
HUM the Muzak he overheard in the lobby.

POWELL
One Adam Ten to 6421. We had a
wild goose chase on that 436.
Everything's okay here. Over.
(waiting, loosening
his tie, he murmurs)
'Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
but the...the uh, dum, de dum's
delightful...'

DISPATCHER'S VOICE
Roger, One Adam Ten. We thought it
was a crank call anyway. Clear to
code eight.

POWELL
Roger.
(putting the
car into gear)
'...let is snow, let it snow, let
it snow -- '

Suddenly Marco's body CRASHES onto the hood of his car.

POWELL
(terrified)
-- Jesus H. Christ!
(grabbing for
his radio)
6421, this is One Adam Ten --

Suddenly a barrage of MACHINE GUN FIRE from Alexander on the
third floor drowns out his call! Powell ducks and flattens
against the seat as bullets blow out the front window,
covering him in glass.

DISPATCHER'S VOICE
Roger, One Adam Ten, please repeat.

But Powell accelerates in reverse away from the building,
keeping his head low and praying he doesn't hit anything
as the bullets follow him, digging into asphalt. A half block
away his car runs off the pavement and down a SLOPE, finally
BOUNCING to a jarring HALT in a parking lot which is destined
to become police H.Q. a few pages from now. Powell sits up
and clutches the mike.

POWELL
One Adam Ten, under automatic rifle
fire at Nakatomi! Requesting immediate
backup and SWAT assistance...


166 INT. 34TH FLOOR - BOARD ROOM 166 *

McClane looks down at Powell and grins.

MCCLANE
Welcome to the party, pal.

CUT TO:

166-A INT. OFFICE - TV STATION - SAME TIME 166-A

WIDEN FROM A POLICE SCANNER. We take in the action here,
all color coordination and slickness. RICHARD THORNBURG, *
local TV news reporter, is on the phone to his girlfriend.

THORNBURG *
(into phone)
-- of course I can get us a table,
Wolfgang and me, we're like that.
I interviewed him...hold on, *
babe...

He covers the mouthpiece, because he's become aware of what's
coming from the scanner.

POLICE SCANNER
(various voices)
-- attention all units. Officer
pinned down by automatic weapon
fire at Nakatomi, Century City --
request assistant -- (ETC)

POWELL'S VOICE
(intermixed with
all this)
-- guys, you want to cut through
the red tape? They practically
turned this car into Swiss cheese -- !

THORNBURG
(pleased)
All right...!

He drops the phone, pick up another. Shouts --

THORNBURG
Mary, this is Dick. I want a remote
truck and a crew to meet me at the
South gate in fifteen minutes...
(listens)
Damn right, fifteen...
(listens)
Where are we going?
(Hearing gun shots)
For an Emmy!

Now, hearing MACHINE GUN FIRE, Thornburg hangs up the second
phone. Runs out of the room. CAMERA PANS BACK TO the first
phone.

WOMAN'S VOICE
Richard? Richard?

167 EXT. CENTURY CITY - NIGHT 167

Sirens wail as the first few police cars arrive. Powell sees
them, waves them back, points to the third floor.

168 INT. HOSTAGE WING - ON ELLIS - SAME 168

He leans back and closes his eyes, luxuriating in the sound
of WAILING POLICE SIRENS. He looks at Holly.

ELLIS
I never through I'd love to hear
that sound.

169 HANS' OFFICE 169

Hans, Karl, Fritz and Franco confer.

HANS
(in mid-speech)
-- all of you, stay at your posts!
We knew that police action was
inevitable...
(an odd smile)
...In fact, it's necessary. So let
them start their feeble efforts;
until them, stay calm. We have
the hostages, remember. We are
still in charge.

Suddenly Hans' CB crackles to life.

HANS
(picking it up)
I told all of you...I want radio
silence until further --

INTERCUT:

169-A MCCLANE - 34th FLOOR - BOARD ROOM 169-A *

He's got a CB on the table and ON, and his cop's notebook is
out again. He's already upgraded the NUMBER OF TERRORISTS?
to "12 (?) minus 3 = 9" and added other information. As he
speaks he takes ammo clips the dead men dropped, their
sidearms, etc.

MCCLANE
Gee, I'm sorry, Hans, nobody gave
me the message. You shoulda put
it on the bulletin board. Anyway,
I thought you and Franco and Karl
and the other boys might be lonely,
now that I waxed Tony and Marco and
their buddy. So I invited some of
the guys from my card game.

In the office, the terrorists REACT, startled, as McClane
name-drops.

FRANCO *
How...how does he know so much
about --

HANS
(waving for silence)
Ah, how nice of you to call. I
assume you are our mysterious party
crasher. You are most troublesome
for a...security guard?

170 INT. 34th FLOOR - ON MCCLANE - INTERCUT 170 *

Moving down the corridor. Now armed with Marco's machine
gun and carrying Heinrich's kit bag, he seems more lethal. *

MCCLANE
(into CB)
BZZZ! Sorry, Hans, wrong guess.
Would you like to go for
Double Jeopardy, where the stakes
are double and the scores really
change?

He rolls Heinrich over and is delighted to find a pack of
Gauloise's in the man's pocket. He takes them, pats the *
dead man's face.

MCCLANE
(sotto, to the body)
Bad for your health anyway.

HANS
Who are you, then?

MCCLANE
Just the fly in the ointment, Hans.
The monkey in the wrench, the pain
in the ass -

McClane STOPS in mid-speech. He's just opened the kit bag
Heinrich had over his shoulder when he died. Now McClane
takes out the contents...dozens and dozens of EXPLOSIVE
DETONATORS marked "DANGER" and a CHUNK of cello-wrapped
PLASTIQUE the size of an electric razor. He WHISTLES in
surprise to himself.

In the office, Hans turns off his mike for a moment, turns
to Karl. *

HANS
Check on all the others...don't
use the radio. See if he's lying
about Marco and find out if anyone *
else is missing. *

He moves. Hans goes back onto the CB. Meanwhile, McClane *
SMILES at the tell-tale STATIC as Hans goes off and on. He
knows what's happening. Now, he starts to walk down
a corridor, eyes PANNING FROM elevator to the stairwell
doors.

HANS
Mr. Mystery Guest. Are you still
there?

MCCLANE
I wouldn't think of leaving, Hans.
Unless you want to open the front
door...?

HANS
I'm afraid not. But you have me
at a loss -- you know my name, but
who are you?
(scornfully)
Just another American who saw too
many movies as a child. Another
orphan of a bankrupt culture who
thinks he's John Wayne...Rambo...
Marshal Dillion.

MCCLANE
Actually, I was always partial to
Roy Rogers. I really dug those
sequined shirts.

HANS
(harsh)
Do you really think you have a chance
against us, Mr. Cowboy?

A LIGHT blinks on the elevator.

MCCLANE
(long pause)
Yipee-yi-yea...mother-fucker.

McClane goes quietly through the stairwell door and is gone
by the time the search party steps onto this floor.

Hans sits quietly...thinking.

170-A OUT OUT 170-A

CUT TO:

171 INT. 30TH FLOOR - SAME 171

Karl steps off the elevator and goes through the crowd of
hostages to Hans.

KARL
(quietly)
He wasn't lying about Marco: He's
thirty stories down on the street.
The other man is Heinrich, and I found
his body upstairs.
(pause; Hans looks
alarmed)
And his bag is missing.

HANS
He had the detonators!
(into CB)
Theo? Theo!

INTERCUT:

171-A THEO - IN SAFE ROOM 171-A

With Kristoff, he has DRILLED TWO HOLES in the safe and is
working on a third when he HEARS the CB. He turns off the
drill, answers.

THEO
Yo!

HANS
We may have some problems. How is
your schedule?

Theo moves to his computer screen which shows a schematic of
the safe and blinking icons and the words MECHANICALS #2
and #2 DISABLED.

THEO
Three down, four to go --

HANS
Then don't waste time talking to
me.

Suddenly all REACT to a nearby CB transmitter which broadcasts.

POWELL'S VOICE
This is Sergeant Al Powell of the
Los Angeles Police Department. If
the person who radioed for help on
this channel can hear me, acknowledge
this transmission...I say again...

172 INT. 33RD FLOOR - ON MCCLANE - NIGHT 172 *

MCCLANE
(to CB)
I read you, Powell. You the guy
in the car?

INTERCUT:

173 EXT. POLICE OPERATIONS TRAILER 173

Powell stands in front of his destroyed cruiser and looks
up at the building. Behind him technicians, City Power and
Light personnel, SWAT officers in protective gear, etc., arrive
from all directions. A trailer is being backed into a parking
lot, which will become the police center of operations. It
is like watching a small town being constructed right before
your eyes.

POWELL
(to CB)
What's left of him. Can you
identify yourself?

INTERCUT:

173-A HANS AND KARL 173-A

Listening intently.

MCCLANE
Maybe later. Just listen fast
because this is a party line and
the neighbors are trigger happy.
Now here's the skinny: There's
thirty or so hostages on the
30th floor, with probably 2 or 3
guards to cover a group that size.
The leader here is named Hans,
and besides the pea shooter he
ventilated your car with, *
they got machine guns and *
sidearms up the yin yang. On top
of that one of 'em had a big enough
chunck of plastic explosive to
orbit Kate Smith. *

NOTE: The following dialogue is said OVER McClane's.

FRANCO
We have to find him and shut him
up! He's telling them everything --

HANS
(shaking his head,
calming)
The police are irrelevant. We've *
waiting for the FBI. Until they *
arrive, we can't finish out work.
Meanwhile, let this fool waste time
for the police. Fritz, go help Uli *
find the bag.

The CAMERA TIGHTENS ON him

HANS
We must find those detonators.

They leave.

173-B WITH MCCLANE 173-B

POWELL'S VOICE
How many are there?

MCCLANE
(thinking about it)
Figuring there's at least one to
cover the lobby, a couple with the
hostages...I'd say they came in
with about a dozen...but they're
down to nine now, including the
skydiver you already met. These
guys are mostly Europeans, judging
by their clothing labels, and they're
well financed and very slick.

POWELL
How do you know?

MCCLANE
I've seen enough phoney ID's in
my time to recognize that the ones
they've got cost a fortune. Add all
that up and I don't know what the
fuck it means, but these are bad
ass preps and they're here to stay.

We notice that everything McClane has said about "clothing"
and ID's and police jargon, etc., has set off a little buzzer
in Powell's brain.

POWELL
I hear you...
(on a hunch)
Partner. And LA's finest are on it,
so light 'em if you got 'em.

MCCLANE
I'm ahead of you...partner.

POWELL
Uh, what do I call you?

A moment. McClane smiles. What the hell?

MCCLANE
'Roy'.

POWELL
Got it...'Roy'. Now listen. If
you think of anything else you think
we need to know, don't be shy, okay?
In the meantime I want you to find
a safe place and hole-up and let
us do our job. Understand?

MCCLANE
(to CB)
They're all yours, Al. Good luck.

McClane turns off his CB and sits against the wall.

174- OUT OUT 174-
176 176

177 EXT. POLICE OPERATIONS - NIGHT 177

An unmarked police car pulls up across the street from
Nakatomi building and a MAN in a sportcoat climbs out.
Stocky, his hair a little too perfect, the very fact that
he is the Deputy Chief of Police Operations on a Christmas Eve
gives some evidence to his position in the pecking order. His
name is DWAYNE T. ROBINSON and he moves brusquely past police
technicians and goes to the forward group of officers.

ROBINSON
Who's talking to them?

Powell turns around

POWELL
I am, Sir...Sergeant Al Powell.

ROBINSON
Dwayne Robinson. Well, what have
you learned? What do they want?

POWELL
The terrorists? Don't know, Sir.
We haven't heard a peep from them.

ROBINSON
(puzzled)
Then who the hell have you been
talking too?

POWELL
We don't exactly know, Sir. He won't
give us him name. He appears to be the
man who called in the report...he's
killed one of the terrorists for sure
and claims he capped two others.

ROBINSON
(exasperated)
He claims? Powell, has it occured
to you he could be one of the
terrorists, pulling your chain?
Or some kind of nut case who --

POWELL
I don't think so, Sir. In fact...
I think he's a cop. Maybe not
LAPD, but definitely a badge.

ROBINSON
How do you know?

POWELL
A hunch. Things he said. Like,
knowing how to recognize a phony
ID --

ROBINSON
(exasperated)
-- recognizing phony ID's? Christ,
Powell, he could be a fucking
bartender for all we know!

Something draws Robinson's attention. He looks at:

178 HIS P.O.V. - REMOTE NEWS TRUCK 178

Pulling up and parking just beyond the barricades.
Richard Thornburg gets out, starts supervising the *
positioning of cameras.

178-A BACK TO SCENE 178-A

ROBINSON
Oh shit...

179 HOSTAGE FLOOR 179

Hans examines building plans at Holly's desk. Behind him
the TV is ON, the sound muted. TV cops triumph over oafish
bad guys.

Hans looks up as Fritz brings in Holly.

HOLLY
I...have a request.

HANS
Oh? What idiot put you in charge?

HOLLY
(evenly)
You did.
(on his look)
You murdered by Boss. Now...
(waving towards
the hostages)
They're looking to me. Personally
I'd pass on the jab. I don't enjoy
being this close to you.

Hans is impressed by her candor. And she's easy enough
on the eyes.

HANS
Go on.

HOLLY
We have a pregnant woman out there --
(on his look)
-- relax, she's not due for two
weeks, but a marble floor isn't
doing her back any good. I'd like
permission for her to more to one
of the offices where there's a sofa.

HANS
No. But I'll have a sofa brought
out to you. Good enough?

HOLLY
Good enough. And unless you like
is messy, you'd better start taking
us in groups to the bathroom.

HANS
(nods)
Yes, you're right. It will be done.

He nods to one of his men, and she is waved to the door:

As she goes:

HANS
Mr. Takagi chose his people well,
Mrs...?

HOLLY
Gennero. Miss Gennero.

He nods, thoughtful. She goes out. Hans suddenly notices:

180 CLOSER - TV 180

A slide "SPECIAL BULLETIN" has appeared. This changes to a
SHOT of the Nakatomi building with "LIVE" supered over it.
Richard Thornburg is in front. The CAMERA TIGHTENS ON him.

THORNBURG
This is Richard Thornburg, speaking
to you live from Century City...
where Los Angeles has joined the
sad but world wide fraternity whose
only membership requirement is the
awesome spectre of International
Terrorism...

181 ANOTHER TV SCREEN - NIGHT 181

As Thornburg Continues, we PULL BACK. We're WITH Argyle in
the back seat of the limo.

ARGYLE
(reaching for the
remote)
What else is new...?

The CAMERA PULLS BACK and we SEE the Nakatomi Building rise
up in the b.g. behind Thornburg.

ARGYLE
(stunned)
Holy shit...

THORNBURG
We're told that the situation began
some two hours ago when an
unidentified party of men took over
the building and sealed off all of
its entrances and exits...

Argyle is already bailing out of the car.

182 EXT. LIMO - IN THE GARAGE 182

Argyle looks at the metal gates, swallows. He JUMPS back
in the car.

183 BACK INSIDE 183

Argyle pours himself a stiff drink.

THORNBURG
(on TV)
Since all the telephone lines have
been cut, the only contact with the
building had been through the use of
CB communicators which the terrorists
brought with them. Strangely enough,
so far the terrorists have not
communicated directly with the police...
but an unidentified man has had
several conversations which seem to
indicate...

Argyle nearly spills his drink as he leans over the front
seat and turns on the CB.

CUT TO:

184 OUTSIDE THE BUILDING - SAME TIME 184

Signs of activity along the edges and shadows of the area.
Men and vehicles. The SNAP of weapons and breeches.
Footsteps running in unison. Powell picks up on this, turns
to Robinson, who is standing with the SWAT Captain, MITCHELL.

POWELL
What's going on?

ROBINSON
What's it look like? We're going
in.

POWELL
(flabbergasted)
Going in...are you out of your mind?
There's 30 hostages in there -- for
all we know --

ROBINSON
-- all we know? We don't know shit,
Powell. If there's hostages why
hasn't anyone asked for ransom? If
there's terrorists, where's their
goddamn list of demands? All we know
is that someone shot up your car, and
it could be the same flake you've been
talking to on the radio!

POWELL
What about the body that fell out of
the window -- ?

ROBINSON
Who the hell knows? Maybe he was a
stockbroker who looked at the Dow Jones
and opted for early retirement!

MITCHELL
Chief, we're ready.

ROBINSON
I'm coming.

MITCHELL
(into radio)
Rivers.

RIVERS
(over radio)
Yo.

MITCHELL
Begin your reconnoiter.

185 MCCLANE 185

Inside the building, sadly realizing that the Marlboro pack
has only two more to go. He savors the dregs of his current
number, then suddenly becomes aware of an almost EERIE QUIET.
He moves to the window.

186 HIS P.O.V. - OUTSIDE 186

Hints of activity in the darkness. A LIGHT FLARES extinguished.
Shadows move on trailer walls.

187 BACK TO SCENE 187

MCCLANE
(spooked, into CB)
Powell? Al, you still with me?
What's going on? Al?

INTERCUT:

188 OUTSIDE 188

Powell stiffens. Robinson looks at him warningly, shakes his
head.

POWELL
I'm here, Roy, but I'm, uh, kind of
busy. Let's talk later, okay?

MCCLANE
Al, what's wrong? Did something --
(realizing)
-- Oh, God. You're coming in! That's
it, isn't it? Christ, Powell, I told
you what you're dealing with here --

POWELL
I said we'll talk later, Roy. If
you're what I think you are you should
know when to listen, when to shut up...
and when to pray.

Hating himself, Powell DISCONNECTS, watches LIGHTS snaps on in
the parking lot to illuminate the area.

Also hating himself, McClane does the same thing. Pale, he
moves to a window to watch what he knows is going to be brutal.

188-A IN HOLLY'S OFFICE - HANS 188-A

He hunches over his communicator.

HANS
They'll be coming. Get ready.
Theo, watch the screens. Be our
eyes and ears.
(pause)
Wait until they're close.

188-B EDDIE 188-B

slips away from the desk, a computer card in his hand. He
meets up with another terrorist and they move behind a slit
in the wall. Eddie waves his card at the sensor and a METAL
GRID crashes into place. They hold their weapons behind it,
ready.

188-C VARIOUS SHOTS - TERRORISTS - ON OTHER FLOORS 188-C

All now with earplugs in their CB's, taking up positions:

189 AT THE LOBBY DOOR 189

The SWAT team leader moves in SOP style to the door, scans it
carefully.

189-A EXT. CENTURY CITY - ON MITCHELL AND ROBINSON - 189-A
POLICE BARRICADES

Mitchell listens to CB radio.

RIVERS
(over radio)
We're in position.

Mitchell looks at Robinson, who is visible tense. Robinson
hesitates, then gives his approval with a nod.

MITCHELL
(to CB)
Go.

190 QUICK SHOTS - INSIDE THE LOBBY 190

The SECURITY CAMERAS on the walls PAN and ZOOM:

191 THE VAULT DOOR 191

Kristoff DRILLS AWAY, is rewarded with the message FIFTH LOCK
DEACTIVATED. DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE? Nearby, Theo sits at
a bank of monitors. Screen after screen pinpoints all the
police activity outside, down to the last detail. Theo SMILES.
Suddenly we RECOGNIZE that tune he's been whistling. It's
"Singin' In The Rain."

THEO
(into a throat mike)
It was the night before Xmas, and
all through the house, not a creature
was stirring, expect for the four
assholes coming in the rear in
standard 2 X 2 cover formation.

192 INT. LOBBY - NIGHT 192

Eddie and another terrorist, ULI, take up prone firing
positions, using the gaps in the steel partition like gunpoints.

193 ANGLE ON TWO SWAT OFFICERS 193

Mitchell and Robinson watch from behind the cover of a police
car as the SWAT officers remove a portable welding torch and
begin cutting their way through the locks.

194 INT. 33RD FLOOR - MCCLANE 194

He moves painfully to the window and looks out. He can't see
a thing because of the lights.

MCCLANE
(to himself)
No...

195 EXT. POLICE BARRICADES - ON MITCHELL AND ROBINSON 195

Suddenly rifle fire sounds from the building.

ROBINSON
(worriedly)
They're shooting at them

MITCHELL
(calmly)
It's panic fire...they can't see
anything.

POWELL
(under breath)
They're shooting at the lights.

More shots ring out from the building going over the SWAT
officers' heads and suddenly the huge dome of one of the
spotlights shatters behind Mitchell and Robinson's head.
The glow fades. A moment later the next light twenty feet
away dies.

ROBINSON
They're going after the lights!

The two SWAT officers cutting the garage ate suddenly look up
as their cover starts to disappear.

ROBINSON
Call them back.

MITCHELL
No, they're almost in.

Suddenly the third and fourth lights are shot out and the SWAT
men become sitting ducks.

196 IN HOLLY'S OFFICE - HANS 196

He calmly speak into his CB.

HANS
Don't get impatient. Just wound them.

197 INT. LOBBY 197

Eddie and Uli fire. They hit one of the officers in the leg,
the second one in the arm.

198 EXT. POLICE BARRICADES - ON MITCHELL AND ROBINSON 198

MITCHELL
(on radio)
Send in the car!

An armored car wheels toward the building and starts toward
the wounded men.

199 INT. ROOF-MACHINE ROOM/SERVICE ELEVATOR - SAME 199

JAMES and Alexander quickly load two crates onto the service
elevator and push the button for the 3rd floor. As the car
starts down, they remove an anti-tank gun from one of the
crates.

200 WITH THEO - WATCHING SCREENS 200

THEO
Well, what have we here. The
police've got themselves an R.V.
James, Alexander, southeast corner.

201 INT. 3RD FLOOR - SAME 201

The service elevator arrives on the 3rd floor and James and
Alexander move across the room toward the windows with the
anti-tank weapon. At the window, they prepare the weapon
for use.

Outside the window the armored car has stopped in front of the
wounded man and paramedics quickly load them in from the
sheltered side of the vehicle. Alexander quickly sights on
the armored car.

ALEXANDER
(to Hans, CB)
I have them

HANS' VOICE
(o.s., over CB)
Fire.

202 EXT. THE ARMORED CAR 202

A blast ROARS from the third floor window and the shell hits
the armored car. The car pitches forward like a beast whose
front legs have been shot out from under it -- its front axle
destroyed, unable to move. Alexander looks back at James and
grins.

203 30TH FLOOR - HANS 203

He watches from his window. Coldly picks up his CB.

HANS
Hit it again.

204 MCCLANE 204

listening. He picks up his CB.

MCCLANE
Hans, you motherfucker, you've made
your point. Let them pull back!

HANS' VOICE
Thank you Mr. Cowboy, I'll take it
under advisement. His it again.

McClane slumps to the floor below the window. He feels
helpless, then notices his kit bag.

205 3RD FLOOR 205

James runs back to the crate on the elevator.

206 EXT. POLICE BARRICADE - ON ROBINSON AND MITCHELL 206

They look on in horror as the armored car sits helplessly on
fire. On the police radio channel we HEAR the screams of men
inside.

MITCHELL
(to radio)
Rivers! Rodriguiz!...Report...

RIVERS
(voice over; on
radio, yelling)
This is Rivers. We've got one dead.
Everybody's hit. Rodriguiz's bleeding
bad. We've got to get the fuck out of
here!

MITCHELL
(to radio)
Rivers, hang on! That's an order!
Hang on, we'll get you out.

207 INT. ELEVATOR CAR - 3RD FLOOR - SAME 207

James opens the box of shells and takes two and starts back
across the room.

208 INT. 33RD FLOOR - CLOSE ON A SHAPE ON PLASTIC 208
EXPLOSIVE - SAME

Like a football. It sits on the seat of a secretary's chair
with castors. We PULL BACK TO SEE McClane press three
detonators into the top, then cover the explosive with a
typewriter, tying it securely in place with electrical cords.

209 ANGLE ON SERVICE ELEVATOR - MCCLANE 209

wheels the chair to the service elevator, opens the door and
block them with a fire axe. He looks in -- the top of the car
can just be seen thirty-five floors below.

210 INT. 3RD FLOOR 210

James hands the shell to Alexander, who expertly loads it into
the anti-tank gun. Alexaneder lifts the gun to his shoulder
and aims.

211 INT. 38TH FLOOR 211

McClane push the chair into the shaft.

MCCLANE
Geronimo...motherfuckers.

For a long moment there is nothing, then: the shaft is filled
with light, then SOUND -- an ungodly ROAR -- and McClane is
thrown back across the elevator corridor against the other
back of doors by the concussion wave.

212 ON THE 3RD FLOOR 212

The explosion, like a firestorm, rips across the floor:

213 BLOWING OUT THE MACHINE GUN NEXT AND JAMES AND 213
ALEXANDER

214 SHATTERING WINDOWS 214

215 SENDING DESKS, CHAIRS, PHONES, AND TYPEWRITERS 215
FLYING

216 EXT. AVENUE OF THE STARS 216

The police take cover behind their cars. Powell, Robinson,
and Mitchell look like they've seen the face of God as the
building rocks from the blast. Henry's cigarette falls from
his mouth as a desk is sent hurtling across Avenue of the Stars
into the trees across the street.

217 INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE - ON WILLIAM - SAME 217

watching it on TV, feeling it all around him.

WILLIAM
Oh, Jesus...

218 EXT. DOWN ON THE STREET - SAME 218

Dick Thornburg's crew is taping.

THORNBURG
(in awe)
Unreal.
(to the cameraman)
Did you get all that?

CAMERAMAN
Yep.

Thornburg looks at his competitors still setting up.

THORNBURG
Eat your heart out, Channel Four.

219- OUT OUT 219-
221 221

222 ON HOSTAGE FLOOR 222

The hostages are shaken and the terrorists guarding them
aren't too sure of themselves either. Only Hans is relatively
calm.

FRANCO
They're using artillery on us -- !

HANS
You idiot, it's not the police...
(pause)
...It's him.

223 ANGLE ON HOLLY 223

She comforts Ginny.

224 INT. 32ND FLOOR - MCCLANE - SAME 224

He sits up and lifts the CB.

MCCLANE
Al! Al, the guys in the car, did
they make it?

INTERCUT:

225 EXT. POWELL 225

on the street, watching as the survivors are pulled out of the
wreck and to safety.

POWELL
(on CB)
Safe and sound, thanks to you.
What the fuck was that?

MCCLANE
The plastique I found.
(worried)
Is the building on fire?

POWELL
No, but it's gonna need one hell
of a paint job and a shitload of
screen doors.
(looking off,
nodding)
One spotters say you got two with
that blast.

MCCLANE
Two? Are you sure?

Before Powell can answer Robinson comes running up to him.

ROBINSON
Is that him?

POWELL
Yessir.

ROBINSON
(reaching for Powell's
CB)
Give me that.
(angrily at McClane)
Now, listen to me, mister, I don't
know what you think you're doing,
but demolishing a building doesn't
fall under the definition of 'help'!
There's hundreds of people out here
and you covered half of them in
pieces of glass --

MCCLANE
Glass, my ass! Who the fuck is this?

ROBINSON
This is Deputy Chief of Police
Dwayne T. Robinson, and I'm in
charge of this situation.

McClane leans tiredly against the elevator door.

MCCLANE
Well, from up here, it looks like
you're in charge of shit, Dwayne.
I haven't seen such a fucked up
operation since the
Bride of Frankenstein. Ask
the guys in the armored car if
they minded a little flying glass.

ROBINSON
Listen asshole -- !

MCCLANE
(exploding)
Asshole? I'm not the one who just
for butt fucked on national TV,
Dwayne! Now if you're not part
of the solution, stop being part
of the problem! Get off the
Goddamn radio and put Al back on!

McClane is so furious, he's out of breath.

226 INT. LIMO - ARGYLE - SAME 226

Argyle nods in agreement.

ARGYLE
Tell 'em, Mr. Mac! Tell 'em!

227 INT. 33RD FLOOR - ON MCCLANE 227

still seething. There is a long pause on the CB, then:

POWELL'S VOICE
Hello, Roy. How're you feeling?

MCCLANE
(pissed)
Pretty fucking unappreciated.

INTERCUT:

228 ON POWELL 228

Other officers, including Robinson, monitor the conversation.

POWELL
Hey, I love you.
(looking around)
So do a lot of the guys. So hang
in there, man. Hang in there.

MCCLANE
(tired, touched)
Thanks...partner.

229 TV - CLOSE 229

As it SNAPS ON. We're in the studio set.

GAIL
(as the picture
stabilizes)
...of the Nakatomi building,
sources say that the terrorist
leader 'Hans' may be this man,
Hans Gruber.

A SLIDE of Hans appears behind her. At the same time, the CAMERA
PULLS BACK. We realize we're on THE HOSTAGE FLOOR, and Hans
has just turned on the set out here for his "guests". He smiles
modestly as they "recognize" him from the on air shot, returns
to the office.

GAIL
(on TV)
A member of the radical
West German Volksfrei movement.
Strangely, the Volksfrei leadership
issued a communique an hour ago
stating that Gruber has been expelled
from the organization and is operating
on his own.

HARVEY
(on TV)
Obviously, Gail whatever his
affiliation, it's safe to say
that Gruber's terrorist actions
in Los Angeles tonight are well,
terroristic...

As the bullshit continues, Ellis suddenly STANDS, head towards
the terrorist "office". Immediately the chief guard here,
Fritz, moves to intercept Ellis.

HOLLY
Where are you going?

ELLIS
I'm tired of sitting here waiting
to see who gets us killed first...
them...or your husband.
(to the approaching
Fritz)
Hi there.

HOLLY
(worried)
What are you going to do?

ELLIS
Hey, I negotiate million dollar
deals for breakfast. I can handle
these clowns.
(to Fritz)
I want to talk to Hans. Hans!
Sprickenzie talk?

He doesn't wait for an answer. Fritz follows him. Holly
worries.

230 THE OFFICE 230

KARL
(in mid-speech,
angry)
-- you wouldn't let me kill him
when I had the chance --

HANS
If you'd listened to me he would
be neutralized already!

KARL
I don't want neutral...I want dead --

ALL TURN at a rap on the door. Ellis is there.

ELLIS
Hope I'm not interrupting...?

HANS
(to Fritz)
What does he want?

As Fritz shrugs:

ELLIS
It's not what I want, it's what
I can give you. Look, let's be
straight, okay? It's obvious
you're not some dumb thug up
here to snatch a few purses, am
I right?

Karl looks at Ellis and then at Hans, as if to say, let me plug
this asshole right now. But Hans is either amused of curious
or bored enough to shake his head, turn back to Ellis.

HANS
(politely)
You're very perceptive.

ELLIS
(flattered)
Hey, I read the papers, I watch
60 minutes, I say to myself, these
guys are professionals, they're
motivated, they're happening.
They want something. Now, personally,
I don't care about your politics.
Maybe you're pissed at the
Camel Jockeys, maybe it's the
Hebes, Northern Ireland, that's
none of my business. I figure,
You're here to negotiate, am I right?

HANS
You're amazing. You figured this
all out already?

ELLIS
Hey, business is business. You use
a gun, I use a fountain pen, what's
the difference? To put it in my
terms, you're here on a hostile
takeover and you grab us for some
greenmail but you didn't expect a
poison pill was gonna be running
around the building.
(smiling)
Hans, baby...I'm your white knight.

HANS
(dryly)
I must have missed 60 Minutes. What
are you saying?

ELLIS
The guy upstairs who's fucking things
up? I can give him to you.

As Hans reacts with real interest for the first time, we:

CUT TO:

231 POWELL 231

By the CB. He suddenly REACTS to a GROAN from McClane.

POWELL
Roy! You all right?

232 INSIDE - MCCLANE 232

He's by an open desk drawer, having just ripped open a package
of twinkies he's found. He grimaces, mouth full.

MCCLANE
Yeah, just trying to handle some
year old twinkies. Yucck. What
do they put in these things?

POWELL
(reciting)
'Sugar, enriched flour, partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil,
polysorbate 60 and yellow dye #5.'

MCCLANE
(laughing)
You sound like a man with a
couple of kids.

POWELL
Not yet, the wife in working on our
first. You got any kids back on
the ranch?

McClane swallows Twinkie with a grimace, takes out his wallet,
flips it open to a picture of himself and Holly and the kids
in happier days.

MCCLANE
Two. And I'd sure like to see them
swinging on the jungle gym with
Al junior.

POWELL
It's a date. You buy the ice cream.

McClane laughs, stares at the photo, when suddenly another VOICE
besides Powell's comes over his radio.

HANS' VOICE
(o.s., on CB)
Touching, cowboy, touching.
(pause)
Or should I call you Mister McClane?
Mister officer John McClane on the
NYPD?

McClane FREEZES. How much do they know?

233 THORNBURG - IN TRAILER 233

Reacts, gleeful, writes down the name.

THORSON
(to Mary)
Get on the phone to our New York
affiliate...move, move!

234 POWELL 234

reacts, signals an Aide, who's already writing, too.

INTERCUT:

235 MCCLANE AND HANS 235

MCCLANE
(fighting to stay calm)
Sister Teresa in third grade called
me Mr. McClane. My friends call me
John Mac. You're neither...shithead.

HANS' VOICE
I have someone who wants to talk
to you. A very special friend who
was at the party with you tonight.

McClane's face falls. Oh, God. Eyes closed, he waits for the
voice that tells him it's all over.

ELLIS' VOICE
Hello, John boy?

McClane's eyes open, showing equal parts of shock and hope.
In the office, CAMERA ADJUSTS TO SHOW Ellis as Hans gives him
the CB.

MCCLANE
Ellis?

Ellis has a cigarette, and a terrorist brings him a Diet coke.