FADE IN: EXT. NEWGATE HIGH SCHOOL NIGHT The old school looms like a Gothic fortress in the darkness. ETHAN HALE slips through a hole in the fence and walks toward building. Battered army coat over a hooded sweatshirt which hides his face. The rain pounds on the pavement. Two beams of light FLASH ON and stop Hale in his tracks. A SCHOOL SECURITY TRUCK pulls to a stop beside him. The driver s window slides down. SLICK Hey General, been waitin on you. Black, early thirties. Hale waits. SLICK (CONT'D) Wanted to say goodbye. SLICK (CONT'D) Fourteen minutes ago night security funding for Newgate has been eliminated. Me and my boys are gone. (and) Newgate is about to become a war zone. Slick shifts the truck into gear. SLICK (CONT'D) Watch yourself, General. EXT. NORTHTOWN LATE NEXT DAY Rain falls on boarded up store fronts and shut down factories. EXT. BACK ALLEYS Out of work men huddle in doorways, beneath overhangs, taking any shelter from the icy rain.
2. EXT. CITY MISSION The weather beaten cross rises up against a gray sky. The mission bell begins to ring. EXT. BACK ALLEYS CONTINUOUS The men stir from their shelters. INT. MISSION CONTINUOUS, (30 s), six feet two inches and a solid two hundred forty pounds of missionary zeal, ladles stew onto tin plates. Her brother OLNEY, a little younger, skinny as a rail, places a piece of bread upon each passing plate. Eight year old LEWIS hands each person a soup spoon wrapped in a cheap paper napkin. LATER The food has been served and Big Sondrea moves to a pulpit set up on the stage. Let us pray. The homeless bow their heads. (CONT'D) Hard times have paid us a long visit. EXT. THE CLOUD FILLED SKY CONTINUOUS An airliner breaks through the clouds, landing gear down. INT. JET CONTINUOUS (v.o.) The factories have closed and the jobs are no more. Many have left for greener pastures - - never to return. LIN,(30 s), gazes at the dreary city below. But for us, this is our home. We love this city.
3. The muffled amens from the mission people. (CONT'D) I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel, Lord. EXT. CITY SIDEWALK SAME TIME Hale pushes his shopping cart filled with cans. But I ask you now for assistance in finding that light. (and) I ask you for a favor, lord. EXT. AIRPORT CONTINUOUS Caitlin steps off the plane. Send us an Angel of Mercy to soothe our souls and offer us hope for tomorrow. EXT. BACK ALLEY CONTINUOUS Rain pours down on a graffiti laden dumpster. Send us a soldier of faith, Lord, to fight the good fight. Hale emerges from the dumpster, clutching a load of cans to his chest. INT. MISSION CONTINUOUS Amen. Prayer finished - the hungry men and women attack their food. Sondrea steps down from the pulpit. Big Sondrea smiles. OLNEY Angel of mercy? Soldier of faith?
4. BIG SONDRE They re out there, little brother. (smiles) Comin to pay us a visit. OLNEY What in the hell are you high on? BIG SONDRE Best high there is - faith. EXT. RECYCLING CENTER LATER Hale takes the bills from the recycling man and pushes his empty shopping cart away. EXT. BACK OF LIQUOR STORE CONTINUOUS Hale exchanges the bills for a brown paper bag, which he buries in his coat before moving off into the rain. EXT. CITY STREETS NIGHT CONTINUOUS The traffic creeps along the rain soaked streets. INT. CAR CONTINUOUS Caitlin s sister drives. Ten years older, she dresses befitting the successful attorney she is. So, you re back. Run out of third world countries to teach in? I felt like going to a place I knew. Well, we re close to a third world country. It s home. It used to be. LIN What does that mean?
5. It means things have changed. We grew up here. You can t change that. No, but a place can change. And this one has. EXT. NEWGATE HIGH SCHOOL LATER Hale climbs a drainpipe to the flat roof. Bending back an air vent, he slips into the school. INT. S CONDO LATER Sarah and Caitlin have coffee in the sparkling new kitchen. It s nice. So - clean. It s new. But it s not home. I m sorry. Don t be sorry. Mom had to sell the old place. Anyway, she likes Florida. Sarah levels her gaze upon Cait. (CONT'D) I ve seen that look. I plead the fifth. I m not going to cross examine you. The hell you re not. I just wondered what you plan to do? I m a teacher, remember? You want to teach - here? It s what I do.
6. Good. You ll love Springbrook. State of the art school. Computers, online tutorials, the works. I was thinking of Newgate. Newgate? Our old high school, remember? Forget about Newgate. (and) Everybody else has. INT. NEWGATE HIGH SCHOOL SHOWER ROOM CONTINUOUS Steam fills the room. Hale stands beneath the stream of hot water. Now we see him clearly for the first time. Early thirties, long hair, beard, lean. INT. CONDO BEDROOM SAME NIGHT A neat, never been used room with a box beside the bed. We had a garage sale. I saved some things. Cait reaches into the box and pulls out her old yearbook. Wow, I d forgotten about this. INT. NEWGATE LIBRARY CONTINUOUS Hale takes down the yearbook marked 1987. He opens it to a dog eared page. CLOSE ON A picture of a young Caitlin. He takes a pull from his bottle.
7. INT. S CONDO LATER Cait sits alone on the edge of her bed and stares at a picture in her old yearbook. Ethan Hale - so young and clean cut and his face so pain free he could be a different person. EXT. VETERAN S GARDENS NEXT DAY SILAS works the garden. Black, mid-fifties. SILAS What you going to do when they close that old school? Hale sits on the grassy rise behind him. The VETERAN S HOSPITAL can be seen in the background. SILAS (CONT'D) You can t pull that shit at Springbrook. They got security. He stops his work, looks up at Hale. SILAS (CONT'D) I got that old trailer. It s full of empty. Just help out now and again. Hale gets to his feet. HALE You ve got plenty of vets to help out. SILAS They live in the hospital. They got a place to stay. So do I. HALE He moves away. Hale keeps walking. SILAS Hey boy! They gonna shut down that old school soon!
8. SILAS (CONT'D) You a veteran, too! (and, softly) Damn ghost soldier. EXT. NEWGATE HIGH SCHOOL DAY The aging fortress looks no friendlier in the light of day. INT. PRINCIPAL S OFFICE CONTINUOUS This is quite a resume. You ve taught in every hellhole on the face of the earth. (and) What s the catch?, black,(60 s), conducts the interview. Excuse me? He puts down her resume. Are you a reporter? No, I m not. You re writing a book you can sell to the movies? No. Okay, you re a cop looking to bust some of my students. That s three strikes. I get as many strikes as I want. I make the rules here. Why the third degree?
9. Because teachers leave this school like rats leaving a sinking ship. I m looking to sign on. Just give me one good reason why. She thinks - and can only offer a shrug. It s home. EXT. ALLEY LATER Hale pushes his shopping cart filled with cans. Five TEENAGE BOYS enter the alley. Hale keeps close to the wall, avoiding eye contact. The LEAD BOY nudges his friend and smiles. LEAD BOY Hey soldier, what s in the bags? Hale pushes on, eyes on the ground. The biggest boy blocks his path. The boys laugh. You deaf? Deaf and dumb? Open the bag, Bengie. Hell, this here soldier could be a terrorist. Bengie, rips open one of the bags. BENGIE Shit, ain t nothin but cans. Lead boy winks to his friends. LEAD BOY Unless this soldier is smart and hid the bomb in the bottom. Bengie turns the bag upside down.
10. Cans clatter across the alley. BENGIE Nothin but cans. LEAD BOY Yeah, in that bag. Bengie empties the second bag scattering Hale s day of work across the pavement. He shoves Hale. Another shove. You must be plenty pissed off, huh soldier? Spend all day pickin up cans. Now you got to pick them up again. Hell man, you can t be no soldier. Soldier supposed to fight. (and) Gimmie that army coat. He grabs Hale s coat. Hale bats his hand away. Oooooh! Soldier boy likes his coat! His eyes go mean and he punches Hale in the face. Hale is beaten to the ground and covers up as they kick him again and again. The burp of a siren echoes through the alley. The five boys turn and run. A police car eases to a stop beside Hale. The COP looks down at the beaten man. Hey...? COP Hale wipes the blood from his mouth.
(2) 11. Hale nods. The car pulls away. COP (CONT'D) Can you hear me? COP (CONT'D) Don t leave these cans lying around. INT. S KITCHEN CONTINUOUS The sisters share Chinese food. Sarah takes a deep breath, levels her gaze at Cait. EXT. ALLEY LATER I ll tell you what I know, but I don t know much. About what? About why you came back here. Rain, always rain, falling in sheets.. Hale, weak and exhausted from the beating, dozes in the alley, his cart once more full of cans beside him. After you left he got into a couple scrapes with the law - fighting, drunk and disorderly, that kind of thing. A shadow appears in the downpour. The shopping cart rattles. Another homeless man is stealing the cart. Hale struggles to his feet and gives chase. But is too weak and stumbles and falls. (CONT'D) He joined the Army. And his luck held - Bush started a war.