THE OATH
screenplay by
Doug Klozzner & Paul Henry Young, M.D.
© Copyright Paul Henry Young
OVER BLACK, FADE IN:
“IN SERVICE NOT TO ONE’S SELF, BUT TO AN IDEAL.”
- THE SALIG WORLD CLASSIFICATION OF BRAIN TUMORS
FADE OUT
EXT. ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - ESTABLISHING - MORNING
St. Louis with its trademark 630-ft steel Gateway Arch. The
muddy waters of the mighty Mississippi swirling at its feet.
EXT. COURT BUILDING - SAME
A flamboyant man in a brown Zegna suit and cowboy hat,
MITCHELL MALONE, late 40s, steps from a limo, blowing smoke
from a cigar. REPORTERS swarm.
REPORTERS
Mr. Malone! Mr. Malone!
INT. COURT BUILDING - MORNING
Malone swaggers up in his crocodile boots to DR. EVERETT J.
SALIG, 60, looking like royalty in a $4,000 suit. Claps him
on the back.
MALONE
Morning, Everett. Fine day for
justice, don’tcha think?
SALIG
(smiles)
Whatever I can do to help, Mitch.
How’s your throat today?
MALONE
Like I swallowed a nuclear reactor.
Salig deftly takes a cough drop from his pocket.
SALIG
Here. These always seem to work for
me.
MALONE
(unwrapping it)
Ah, you’re a savior, doc.
INT. COURTROOM - MORNING
JURORS watch as Malone proceeds to mercilessly cross-examine
a hapless DR. GOLDBERG on the stand.
MALONE
Dr. Goldberg, will you state for
the jury: did you or did you not
operate without a signature of
consent?
DR. GOLDBERG
I--
MALONE
Without even a simple explanation
to anyone as to how you came to the
baffling decision to suddenly cut
open a woman’s chest?
DR. GOLDBERG
(stammers)
There wasn’t any-- there was no
family present-- she had a cardiac
arrest-- with the acceleration of a
pulmonary embolism-- she would have-
- she would have died if I-
MALONE
Doctor. A simple yes or no.
DR. GOLDBERG
I saved her life. Isn’t that what
doctors are supposed to do!
MALONE
Ah such rosy words. Such arrogant,
self-patronizing words from a man
who sits accused of gross
negligence and medical malpractice!
You offer pure conjecture! You have
no proof that death would have
occurred had you simply followed
the rules! I have a distinguished
expert who disagrees!
INT. COURT ANTEROOM - SAME
As Salig waits poised to take the stand.
MALONE (O.S.)
Perhaps the most highly regarded
surgeon and medical scholar in the
country, and CEO of one of the
largest healthcare conglomerates in
the world, thinks you’re wrong!
INT. COURTROOM - CONT’D
Malone plays to the jury.
MALONE
Your actions clearly demonstrate
that you don’t believe we all have
rules to follow! You think you‘re
above the law! Just because you’re
a doctor does that mean you get to
play God?
(heated)
For Christ’s sake man, this is
someone’s mother!
A DEFENSE ATTORNEY leaps to her feet.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY
Objection!
JUDGE
Sustained. Mr. Malone will refrain
from his stage antics and stick to
the facts.
MALONE
With pleasure, Your Honor. With
pleasure. Because the fact remains--
Suddenly in mid-sentence he clutches his head in pain.
JUDGE
Mr. Malone?...
Malone collapses to the courtroom floor.
EXT. DOWNTOWN LUXURY HOTEL - MORNING
A HOTEL MARQUEE READS “NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON HEALTHCARE
REFORM: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN MEDICINE.”
INT. LUXURY HOTEL BALLROOM - MORNING
A PAIR OF AIR JORDAN SNEAKERS...
... belong to JASON P. GIBSON, M.D. (name card says), 38,
ruggedly handsome, sitting on stage as a member of an all-
male panel of TOP DOCTORS. He’s the only one not in a fancy
suit. A DR. SALIANO is speaking:
DR. SALIANO
... so I submit that corporate
investment in medical research is
not the enemy. Putting money into
the hands of those of us on the
front lines is not the enemy. Fact
is, corporate investment has helped
make American medicine what it is
today. Why, without generous
funding from Expercare, my research
would never have seen the light of
day. We’d never have developed our
genetically-engineered cells which
we’ll soon be able to inject to
replace deteriorated spinal discs.
Think how many millions of people
suffer from back pain. For the
first time, because of Expercare
dollars and my research, we’re
poised to offer a cure. Amazing to
imagine, isn’t it? Finally a cure
for back pain...
JAKE
(interrupts)
Dr. Saliano. Really? A cure for
back pain? Where are the clinical
studies? And exactly how many years
have you been on Expercare’s
payroll?
A few uneasy chuckles in the AUDIENCE.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Look. We can only marvel at the
number of lives being saved by some
of these miraculous advances. But
we can’t allow new technology to be
implemented until studies showing
safety and effectiveness have been
completed.
In the audience, a CEO whose nametag says “Behemoth Medical
Devices”:
CEO
Dr. Gibson, I see your reputation
as rabble-rouser is well-deserved.
JAKE
Sticks and stones.
CEO
How many companies here do you
think can afford to invest millions
in a new technology without
expecting a return? Your studies
can take decades. We don’t have the
luxury of waiting that long, and
it’s not fair to our patients.
People demand new technology as
soon as it’s-
JAKE
(interrupts)
I couldn’t disagree more. Here in
Missoura you gotta ‘show me’ proof.
No one laughs.
JAKE (CONT’D)
How can anyone in a responsible
position recommend something that
hasn’t been proven to work?
Jake is ruffling feathers, but he’s on a roll.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Colleagues. The principles of
medicine are being threatened by
greed. We need to ask ourselves:
who’s responsible for this
mentality? Our equipment
manufacturers? Our monster health
insurance industry? Our for-profit
hospitals? Our drug-peddling
pharmaceutical companies? And let’s
not forget our dutifully elected
public officials and government
agencies who put lobbyists and
special interests ahead of the
plain and simple welfare of their
constituents.
His words are greeted with angry dissent.
ANOTHER DOCTOR
And I suppose you have a plan to
‘fix’ the system, Dr. Gibson?...
I’m almost afraid to ask.
JAKE
Guy de Chauliac, father of modern
surgery, wrote that the surgeon
should not be “covetous of money;
but rather let his reward be
according to his work and the means
of the patient”...
(MORE)
JAKE (CONT'D)
I submit that physicians like
ourselves should be compensated
only for the direct rendering of
patient care. And healthcare
companies-- insurance, suppliers,
pharmaceuticals-- should all be non-
profit.
The last thing this crowd wants to hear.
JAKE (CONT’D)
We can’t let the future of U.S.
healthcare be bartered away on Wall
Street and sold to the highest
bidder.
The doctors on stage are fed up.
DR. SALIANO
Dr. Gibson, as one of our
supposedly leading neurosurgeons,
your own brain seems to suffer from
an acute case of naivete.
JAKE
We all took the Oath, gentlemen...
He’s interrupted by BOUNCY COUNTRY MUSIC. His phone ring
tone. Right there on stage. Prompting further scorn and
disbelief from the room.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Sorry.
(answers)
Dr. Gibson here...
EXT. DOCTORS PARKING LOT - UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - MORNING
A RESERVED SPOT FOR “JASON ‘JAKE’ GIBSON, M.D.”
Jake pulls his JEEP to a stop and leaps out. The hospital
towers, stalwart.
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - MORNING
NURSES wheel Mitch Malone toward the OR doors. Salig strides
alongside, like a fifth wheel.
SALIG
I’m here... anything I can do...
INT. DOCTORS LOCKER ROOM - SAME
CLOSE ON JAKE’S ARM TATTOO: SERPENT-ENTWINED ROD OF
ASCLEPIUS, SYMBOL OF MEDICINE, “IN WHOSE STEPS I WALK”
SCRIPTED AROUND IT...
Head OR Nurse GRACE CRANE, 35, simple beauty without airs,
already in mask and scrubs, is unflustered as Jake strips off
his clothes before her. She hands him angiogram x-rays which
he holds to the light and scrutinizes.
JAKE
Three berry aneurysms... a giant
basilar bifurcation, about an eight-
millimeter left P-Comm and a...
GRACE
I would have bet on boxers.
Jake looks down at his colored briefs. He finishes pulling on
his scrubs.
JAKE
You alright, Gracie?
GRACE
I’m fine.
JAKE
Why the mask in here?
He sniffs his armpit. Grace hesitates.
GRACE
He almost ruined you, Dr. Gibson.
Pause. Jake wears his game face.
JAKE
That doesn’t matter now.
INT. OPERATING ROOM - MORNING
Malone’s head has been secured in a vise-like brace. Grace
cleans a shaved area of his scalp with antiseptic. A SURGICAL
TEAM stands ready in green gowns, caps and masks.
INT. OUTSIDE OPERATING ROOM - SAME
As Jake washes his hands in a stainless steel sink. He’s in a
pre-surgery meditative zone. It’s shattered as DR. DAVID
HUDLEY, 30s, bangs into an equipment cart as he enters.
HUDLEY
Sorry.
JAKE
You’re late, David.
Hudley starts washing up.
HUDLEY
No one beeped me.
JAKE
(incredulous)
No one beeped you? I know you’re
new here, but you gotta do better
than that.
HUDLEY
Look, no one beeped me, alright? So
what we got?
Drying his hands, Jake indicates the angiograms on a light
board.
JAKE
Three berry aneurysms... a giant
basilar bifurcation, about an eight-
millimeter left P-Comm and...
Hudley burps. Jake hesitates, annoyed.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Record shows they were discovered
over a year ago. For some reason
never treated. One of them blew out
in court today...
HUDLEY
God, that’s perfect.
JAKE
Can’t tell for sure which one...
HUDLEY
What’s the difference? Guy doesn’t
have a friggin’ chance. Waste of
time.
Jake glares at him.
JAKE
What is your problem?
HUDLEY
Well look who it is for Christ’s
sake.9.
With tightly controlled anger Jake speaks in measured tones.
JAKE
Doesn’t matter. He’s our patient.
And we’re his doctors.
INT. OPERATING ROOM - MORNING
Isolation of the OR. The outside world does not exist here.
From her elevated position at the instrument stand, Grace
slaps a drill in Jake’s rubber-gloved palm.
JAKE
Are we ready, guys ‘n gals?
CUT TO:
A WHIR fills the room. With precision, Jake is drilling into
the attorney’s skull. Bone dust and tiny droplets of blood
spatter the surgeons.
When the perforation is complete, Jake nods at Hudley. Hudley
reaches down, loosens, and slowly pries up a portion of the
skull bone about the size of a sand dollar. Incredibly, it
slips from his hand--
-- Jake catches it one-handed before it hits the floor.
Wordlessly he glares at Hudley from behind his mask, then
hands it to Grace.
INT. OUTSIDE OPERATING ROOM - SAME
Salig watches through the window. He winces to himself,
glancing around to see if anyone else witnessed Hudley’s
incompetence.
INT. OPERATING ROOM - CONT’D
Overhead lights dim. Grace guides a cumbersome operating
microscope into place beside Jake...
A SERIES OF MOMENTS:
Using a mouth switch to focus the microscope, Jake uses his
hands to work forceps through the small skull opening... all
eyes in the room peer intensely at a video monitor...
ANGLE ON MONITOR: FORCEPS IN PLACE.
Grace slaps two gold-embossed clips into Jake’s palm. He
positions them carefully through the opening...
ANGLE ON MONITOR: CLIPS SNAP IN PLACE.
JAKE
Blood flow is stopped. We’ve got
thirty minutes to find the one that
bled.
A DIGITAL COUNTDOWN TIMER ON THE WALL: 30:00, 29:59...
CUT TO:
The room is tense. Only the eyes of green-gowned, capped and
masked figures are visible, watching...
Jake punctures with the needle. Leans back.
JAKE (CONT’D)
One down.
DIGITAL TIMER: 20 MINUTES LEFT.
Utter concentration. Jake punctures again.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Two down.
(a breath)
Okay. We know the bad boy.
He stretches his neck.
JAKE (CONT’D)
How you holding up, Gracie?
GRACE
Couldn’t be better, doctor.
JAKE
Raise my seat, please.
TIMER: 10:03...
Silence. Intense concentration. Jake positions a clip...
THUD! One of Hudley’s clogs drops from his foot to the floor.
Everyone freezes. Grace looks furious. Jake controls his
expression. Hudley slips his foot back in.
HUDLEY
Sorry.
TIMER: 8:32...
Jake slowly moves in... repositions the clip...
There’s a sound of sucking blood. Blood spews from the skull
opening, splashing Jake’s masked face. The room reacts.
Fraught and nervous.
JAKE
It’s ruptured. I need more suction!
Blood runs down the sheets and pools on the tile floor.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Longer clip!
Hudley looks at the monitor.
HUDLEY
Too much blood, you’ll never see it
now. Too late.
Jake shoots him a glare.
ANESTHESIOLOGIST
Blood pressure falling! Sixty
systolic. I’m starting a unit of-
JAKE
Hang on!... Not yet... I got
this...
TIMER: 3:58...
JAKE (CONT’D)
Towel.
Grace dabs sweat from his forehead. With fierce concentration
Jake bends down...
JAKE (CONT’D)
Come on baby, come on...
He searches with the clip, probing...
Eyes watch over surgical masks...
JAKE (CONT’D)
I got you... I got you...
MONITOR: THE CLIP MOVES... HOVERS...
Jake snaps it into place. Beat. The room is silent.
The blood dripping onto the floor... slows... then stops.
Grace nods for a NURSE to place a towel over it. Jake sucks
the blood from the area and brings the clipped aneurysm into
full view..
JAKE (CONT’D)
Parent artery intact. And no
branches trapped in the clip.
TIMER: 0:59...
JAKE (CONT’D)
But we gotta be sure.
Without being told, Grace places a needle in his palm.
No one breathes. As Jake moves in...
Slowly... precisely... moves the needle... punctures... and
nothing happens.
He leans back with satisfaction.
JAKE (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
A collective sigh of relief whooshes through the room. Like
kids after school, the team exchanges congratulations and
high-fives all around, patting Jake on the back like a star
quarterback. Except for Hudley.
JAKE (CONT’D)
(drawls)
Well now... maybe we oughta get one
of them hifalutin skull plates in
here. Our boy at Craniocorp likes
to show his ‘preciation with Cards
tickets an’ one a’ them fancy
suites.
HUDLEY
(brightens)
Go for it.
Jake glowers at him.
JAKE
I‘m kidding... Dr. Hudley...
(stops himself from saying
more)
Please stitch him up. Great job
everyone.
INT. OUTSIDE OPERATING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Walking out, Jake slips off his mask, exhausted. Furious at
Hudley.
JAKE
Bonehead..
INT. OPERATING ROOM - CONT’D
The mood is lighter. Chatter. The Anesthesiologist checks
stocks on his iPad, speaks on the phone:
ANESTHESIOLOGIST
I want ten more shares...
As Hudley stitches up Malone’s scalp, Grace assisting.
HUDLEY
So tell me I heard wrong. Did this
weasel prick really hit Gibson for
four and a half mil?
GRACE
That was almost five years ago. And
it was bogus.
HUDLEY
Bogus, huh? Then how come he won?
Sponge.
Steely-eyed, Grace moves for a sponge, her back to Hudley.
She turns unexpectedly.
GRACE
What size, Dr-
Seeing over his shoulder, she pauses.
GRACE (CONT’D)
Dr. Hudley, was that a spurt of
blood I just saw...?
HUDLEY
(continues stitching)
And why didn’t I see it? My
eyesight is fine.
GRACE
But if there was... maybe I should
call Dr. Gibson...
HUDLEY
I don’t need an armchair
quarterback and I don’t need Dr.
Gibson. I’m in charge here. There
was no blood. Sponge!
Grace, looking troubled, hands him a sponge..
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - MORNING
Jake approaches the exit. He sees Head of Security, SANTIAGO,
30s, robust.
JAKE
Keeping the troops in line,
Santiago? How’s Nicolas?
Santiago glows.
SANTIAGO
Only the best damn 11-year-old
pitcher you’ve ever seen. Five and
O, doc, five and O. Never be able
to thank you enough.
JAKE
(slaps his hand)
You just did, my friend.
SANTIAGO
You leavin’, doc?
JAKE
Yes indeed. My day off.
Santiago, amazed, mouths “day off?” as Jake strolls out.
INT. NURSES LOCKER ROOM - SAME
Still masked, Grace removes her cap and gown. Two other
NURSES are leaving.
Later, Grace.
NURSE 1
GRACE
Bye!
She waits until they’re gone, then unties her mask.
There is an ugly bruise on her face.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - DAY
Modest, barely-furnished loft. Empty save for books, medical
journals, exercise equipment. A hot tub. A basketball hoop by
the refrigerator. A place to work and crash.
Jake opens the fridge. Bare except for half a cold pizza.
Tearing off a slice he munches, restless, keyed up. Grabs a
remote, switches ON THE TV:.
FLIPPING THROUGH NEWS CHANNELS... STOPS AT FOOTAGE OF
HIMSELF AT THE SYMPOSIUM THAT MORNING. BOUNCY COUNTRY MUSIC
AS HIS PHONE RINGS RIGHT THERE ON STAGE.
JAKE (ON TV)
Sorry.
(answers phone)
Dr. Gibson here...
NEWS ANCHOR (ON TV)
Well he certainly proved he’s never
off duty--
The anchors laugh. Jake disgustedly SWITCHES CHANNELS:
BREAKING NEWS ABOUT MALONE’S COLLAPSE AND SURGERY. DR.
EVERETT J. SALIG (FROM OUR OPENING SCENE), IDENTIFIED ON
SCREEN AS “EXPERCARE CEO,” IS BEING INTERVIEWED:
SALIG (ON TV)
... an immediate and full recovery
after a very successful emergency
surgery which I supervised.
Jake’s jaw drops... he did what?
SALIG (ON TV) (CONT’D)
This is the quality the public can
expect from an Expercare-owned
hospital...
JAKE
Expercare this.
Jake throws a baseball glove at the TV.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - MASCOUTAH COUNTY HOSPITAL - DAY
Elsewhere in another hospital, DR. SAMUEL CARR (SAM), 30s,
examines the chart of a rosy-cheeked elderly patient, MRS.
MACINTOSH, 70s, who is absorbed in a book.
SUPER: “MASCOUTAH COUNTY HOSPITAL, ILLINOIS”
SAM
How you feeling, Mrs. MacIntosh?
MRS. MACINTOSH
(chirps)
Like Ginger Rogers, doc.
(off her book)
Sorry, I’m at a good part..
CLOSE-UP: Her book is a lasciviously-covered romance novel.
Sam grins. A NURSE finishes injecting a BRIGHTLY-COLORED DRUG
into the woman’s IV bag, pulls out the needle. Sam joins her
as they leave.
SAM
Amazing improvement for a terminal
cancer patient. If she’s not still
dancing in six weeks, I’ll eat my
shorts.
CLOSE ON THE USED NEEDLE-- SYRINGE LABELLED ‘ISOP’ WITH A
CORPORATE EXPERCARE LOGO-- as the Nurse drops it in a
disposal container and wheels the cart out.
INT. CRANE MANSION - DAY
The ostentatious home of a mogul. Grace looks like a square
peg in a round hole here as she trudges down the staircase
carrying two suitcases.
Her unlikely husband, HOWARD CRANE, 40s, overweight, waves
his drink around at the foot of the stairs, inebriated.
CRANE
You’re being ridiculous, Grace.
GRACE
(sidles past him)
I’m sorry, Howard. My welcome mat
disappeared years ago and we both
know it.
She has the resolute face of a woman who has cried her last
tear. Howard can’t control his rage.
CRANE
You’re not leaving me! You’ll be
back! You’ll see! I built Crane
Pharmaceuticals. I AM Crane
Pharmaceuticals!
Grace opens the front door, not looking back.
CRANE (CONT’D)
No one walks out on me!
Losing it, he seizes her-- raises his hand to strike-- Grace
ducks and whirls away. But we know where her bruise came
from. She runs out.
CRANE (CONT’D)
You... BITCH!
He hurls his glass smashing against a wall--
EXT. BASEBALL FIELD - DAY
-- CRACK!-- a baseball soars over an OUTFIELDER’S head.
Playing with some LOCAL GUYS to unwind, Jake grins at his
grand slam. His teammates WHOOP it up as he trots around the
diamond...
First...
Second...
Rounding third he gets a congratulatory pat on the butt by
the third baseman, JOE.
JAKE
How’s your back, Joe?
JOE
Great, thanks to you and Medicaid!
Continuing down the line, the COUNTRY TUNE sounds in his
pocket.
Crossing home plate, Jake pulls out his phone.
JAKE
Dr. Gibson here...
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - DAY
A cute Scandinavian blonde with a pixie haircut, nurse MIDGE
STONE, late 20s, accompanies Jake down the corridor, in his
dusty baseball outfit.
MIDGE
His vitals are fine but...
something’s wrong. He’s not
speaking...
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Jake walks in. Malone lies in bed.
JAKE
Mr. Malone, I hear you haven’t said
a word in fifteen minutes. Going
for a record?
No response. Jake pinches his arm. His body barely reacts.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Stick out your tongue, Mitch.
(nothing)
Mitch, can you hear me? Stick out
your tongue. Ahhhh.
Malone groans and makes a feeble attempt but cannot even
stick out his tongue. Midge looks at Jake. Her concerned
expression echoes his own.
INT. RADIOLOGY ROOM - DAY
A RADIOLOGIST shows a CT scan of the head to Jake.
RADIOLOGIST
He’s got a huge parietal lobe
hematoma... there’s a lot of shift.
JAKE
This doesn’t make sense. Where
could a blood clot there come from?
The Radiologist has no answer. Suddenly an INTERCOM PAGE:
INTERCOM VOICE (O.S.)
Dr. Gibson, call Neuro-ICU, stat!
Jake snatches a room phone.
JAKE
Dr. Gibson.
MIDGE (O.S.)
Dr. Gibson, it’s Malone, come
quick!
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - MASCOUTAH COUNTY HOSPITAL - SAME
Meanwhile, in her bed, Mrs. MacIntosh is now only a few pages
from the end of her romance novel. She smiles, absorbed.
Suddenly she starts gasping. Clutching her chest, she drops
the book to the floor with a THUD, her eyes pop.
EMERGENCY ALARMS sound on her monitors.
INT. MOTEL ROOM - SAME
Her suitcases half unpacked, Grace sits slumped on the edge
of the bed staring lifelessly around a bland motel room. Her
cell RINGS. She looks at it and answers.
GRACE
Dr. Gibson?
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - NEURO-ICU ROOM - SAME
Jake paces amid medical equipment, Malone hooked to tubes in
the background, NURSES monitoring him.
JAKE
Something’s happened to Malone. He
slipped into a coma.
GRACE (O.S.)
What?
JAKE
He developed a massive clot in the
parietal lobe. I don’t get it. Did
the closure go okay after I-
GRACE
Oh my God.
INTERCUT. Grace is on her feet, suddenly pale and horrified.
GRACE (CONT’D)
I thought I saw some bleeding
during the stitching. But Dr.
Hudley insisted everything was
okay, he overruled my calling
you...
JAKE
Must have caught a stitch on the
cortex.
GRACE
I should have called you, this
isn’t like me, things have been-
JAKE
Never mind. I need you, Gracie.
EXT. LAKE - ILLINOIS - DUSK
A large motor boat floats on a lake.
EXT. MOTOR BOAT - FLOATING - SAME
Dr. Sam Carr ends the day kicking back on the deck with his
wife, LISA, 30s. They watch the sunset. But he’s troubled..
SAM
She was improving. Getting
stronger. I don’t understand it...
it’s the third IsoP patient we’ve
lost this month...
Lisa stops him.
LISA
Sam. Baby. You’re a great doctor.
And we’ve got a great life.
(pointedly)
You can’t make waves at the
hospital.
Sam sighs, looking helpless.
LISA (CONT’D)
Let’s rent a plane this weekend.
Flying always relaxes you.
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - EVENING
Jake hurries toward a consultation room. He passes TWO
DOCTORS talking together.
DOCTOR 1
... totally out of left field.
Never smoked a day in his life and
had the lungs of a teenager.
DOCTOR 2
You can’t predict. Like that stroke
patient yesterday, Collins, only
here six hours and already showing
signs of improvement, then--
(snaps his fingers: dead)
He was an IsoP steroid patient too.
Jake pauses, he wants to hear more. But there’s no time. He
turns and enters the...
INT. CONSULTATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS
... where a young woman, SHANNON MALONE, 20s, awaits. Severe
business suit. Jewelry like armor. Briefcase on her lap.
Petite, but don’t let that fool you.
JAKE
Ms. Malone, I’m Dr. Gibson. I’m the
surgeon who-
SHANNON
I know who you are.
JAKE
Well, I’m afraid I’m not here with
good news. Your father has
developed a hematoma, a blood clot-
SHANNON
He’s in a coma. I’ve been informed.
(pounces, bracelets clacking)
And you caused it!
JAKE
(blindsided)
What? No, the clot was in no way
caused by the aneurysm clipping. I
think it happened after I left when
he was being stitched up. Point is,
I must operate immediately...
SHANNON
Dr. Hudley warned me about you.
JAKE
(shocked)
Dr. Hudley spoke to you?
SHANNON
You care more about covering your
ass than saving my father. I’m an
attorney too. My father taught me
well.
JAKE
Ms. Malone-
SHANNON
Don’t ‘Ms. Malone’ me! Why can’t
you doctors try a little
transparency! I demand another
opinion! Before you inflict any
more damage. I know my rights.
JAKE
Please. Listen to me. We don’t have
time to bring in another
neurosurgeon. If I don’t operate
immediately... your father will
die.
SHANNON
Dr. Hudley warned me you would say
that too. Imagine that, an honest
doctor putting the patient first.
Jake has heard enough. He grabs the room phone..
JAKE
It’s Dr. Gibson. Find me Dr.
Hudley! Stat!
INT. EXPERCARE OFFICES - SAME
The EXPERCARE LOGO adorns the wall of an upscale corporate
suite. Employees are gone for the day.
INT. SALIG’S OFFICE - SAME
Curiously, Hudley is here with CEO Everett Salig in his
plush, spacious office. Hudley’s PHONE RINGS. He looks at it--
the hospital calling. He doesn’t answer. Looks back at Salig,
gives a slight nod. Salig picks up his desk phone.
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SAME
Grace rushes into the hospital. NURSES, noticing the bruise
on her face, exchange looks...
INT. HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE - EVENING
Hospital Administrator VINCE WILSON, 70, snowy-haired and
bearded, hangs up his phone. He has a pained expression.
CUT TO:
Jake now sits before him, impatient. Wilson speaks gently.
WILSON
Jake, you and I have been
colleagues, hell, we’ve been
friends, for twenty years. I
consider myself one of the folks
who had a role in making you the
surgeon you are today. And there’s
no doubt you’re one of the best.
Maybe even the best.
JAKE
You and my grandfather taught me
everything I know, Vince. We’re
wasting time.
WILSON
Listen. I want you to know that I
don’t question your assessment of
Malone’s condition. And I believe
your surgery was impeccable.
JAKE
Then what?
Wilson sighs.
WILSON
I just got a call from Salig.
JAKE
The man’s a black hole of ethics
and you know it. Malone is going to
die if I don’t operate now.
WILSON
Jake, my hands are tied. He owns
this hospital...
JAKE
Vince...
WILSON
I’m ordering you to wait for a
second opinion-- and until Shannon
Malone gives permission. She’s an
attorney too, you know.
Jake is grim.
INT. MALONE’S OFFICE - NIGHT
Dark, empty office. SCRATCH SCRATCH. The lock is being
picked.
The door opens, a gold “MITCHELL MALONE, ATTORNEY” nameplate
on it. TWO MEN enter with flashlights.
They start to search the desk... the file cabinets...
INT. CONSULTATION ROOM - UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SAME
Jake paces, hands in his hair. Grace is now with him.
JAKE
(off her bruised face)
Wanna tell me about that?
Grace just looks at him.
GRACE
What are you gonna do, doctor?
Pacing, agitated.
JAKE
My grandfather used to say, “When
you’re dead, you don’t know you’re
dead. Only hurts those around you.”
He stops pacing.
JAKE (CONT’D)
“It’s the same when you’re stupid.”
INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT
A SURGICAL TEAM awaits as Malone is wheeled in. Grace
arranges tools on trays. All eyes look up as--
Jake enters in his scrubs.
JAKE
Are we ready, guys ‘n gals?
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. ICU HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Shannon, carrying her briefcase, jewelry clattering,
accompanies a NURSE and ORDERLY as they wheel post-op Malone
back into his room, head bandaged. He’s lifted into bed.
Shannon sees Jake in the background, still in his scrubs,
observing from the doorway. Her eyes shoot daggers.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - NIGHT
With an exhausted moan, Jake eases into his hot tub. Closing
his eyes... he soaks and soothes. It’s late. He’s wiped out.
His COUNTRY TUNE sounds. He sighs, grabs his phone.
JAKE
Dr. Gibson.
SISTER MARTA (O.S.)
(Spanish, SUBTITLED)
Doctor Jake? I hope it’s not too
late?
JAKE
(Spanish, SUBTITLED throughout)
Hola Sister Marta. How is your
mother?
SISTER MARTA (O.S.)
She is well. Loco, but well. That’s
why I’m calling, to thank you. You
gave her her legs back.
JAKE
The tumor was completely benign.
Just lucky we caught it in time.
We hear crying babies in the background, sounds of activity.
SISTER MARTA (O.S.)
You are too modest, Doctor Jake.
People die of so-called benign
tumors in our hospital almost every
day. Even little children. I wish
somebody like you were here.
Jake’s DOORBELL rings, startling him.
JAKE
I’m sorry Sister, someone’s at my
door. I’m glad your mother is well.
SISTER MARTA (O.S.)
Adiós, Doctor Jake, gracias...
Wrapping a towel around himself, Jake rises from the tub,
pads across the floor. Looks out the peephole with surprise,
opens the door.
JAKE
Gracie?
Grace sees him dripping in a towel.
GRACE
I caught you at a bad time.
JAKE
Come in, Gracie.
She enters, looks around. Awkward.
GRACE
So this is where the good doctor
hangs his hat... I do know a good
decorator...
JAKE
Gracie, what’s going on?... You
wanna talk about that?
Her bruise. Grace hesitates, clearly uncomfortable..
GRACE
Got any beer, doctor?
JAKE
Prob’ly time it’s Jake.
CUT TO:
Jake sips a beer in his tub. Grace sips hers a few feet away.
GRACE
You were on the news, Jake.
JAKE
Yeah. They never get my good side.
GRACE
You saved his life. Twice. How on
earth does Salig take credit for
that?
Pause.
JAKE
You wanna know about Salig?
Pause.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Let me tell you about Salig.
He takes a big gulp of beer.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Ten years ago I was asked by the
International Society of
Neurosurgeons to write a book. To
create a comprehensive
classification of brain tumors.
Took me two years of research, but
I did it. Submitted it to the
Society and low-and-behold a few
months later it was published.
Problem was it was published under
another name. Any guess who that
was?
Grace’s face turns to stone.
GRACE
You gotta be kidding me.
JAKE
“The Salig World Classification of
Brain Tumors.”
GRACE
My God, that was you?
JAKE
He weaseled in a phrase or two.
GRACE
Surely you contested it.
JAKE
Of course. Got scolded but good for
daring to step on a brilliant man’s
toes.
GRACE
And you’ve carried this for ten
years? Why that... son of a bitch.
Jake finishes his beer and collapses the can in his hand.
JAKE
How about another brew, nurse?
CUT TO:
Grace pads barefoot from his kitchen with two more beers. She
kneels behind Jake, puts her hands on his shoulders.
GRACE
Do you mind?
She starts massaging. Jake is uncomfortable.
JAKE
Why are you here, Gracie?
Grace continues to knead his muscles.
GRACE
Well... I could say it’s because I
was worried about you, the risk you
took with the surgery. Or I could
say it was to apologize for not
telling you about Hudley botching
the closing.
JAKE
But?
GRACE
But... I guess I can’t hold it in
any longer... I care about you,
Jake. I’ve cared about you for a
very long time. And I think you
feel the same.
JAKE
Gracie...
GRACE
Let me finish. I’ve left Howard. I
moved out. This time for good.
JAKE
... Your face.
Grace nods.
JAKE (CONT’D)
How long?
GRACE
Twelve years ago, when I lost the
baby and he found out I couldn’t
conceive again, Jekyll became Hyde.
I’ve wanted a divorce for ten of
those years.
JAKE
I’m sorry, Gracie...
GRACE
Tonight is the end of one of the
worst days of my life. I was
responsible for putting a patient’s
life at risk and... and...
She caresses his cheek.
JAKE
Gracie don’t...
GRACE
You don’t feel the same?
JAKE
That’s not the point...
GRACE
Then what else is the point?... You
are the kindest, most considerate
man I’ve ever met. What you did
tonight showed unbelievable
courage. You know you’ll be hauled
on the carpet tomorrow...
Their eyes meet. Yearning in Jake’s eyes. He needs this too.
They kiss. As their lips lock in passion, Grace slides into
the tub, unbuttoning and flinging wet clothes out and onto
the floor..
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE JAKE’S BUILDING - NIGHT
A DRIVER sits silently behind the wheel of a black Mercedes.
From the back seat, Howard Crane watches, eyes like burning
coals in the dark.
LIGHTS GO OFF in Jake’s loft. Grace’s car in the drive.
EXT. ST. LOUIS - MORNING
Bright sunrise announces a beautiful day.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - MORNING
Jake and Grace sleep in his bed. The DOORBELL rings.
CUT TO:
In t-shirt and rumpled boxers, Jake treads to his door. Opens
it to a coarse, unshaven CIVIL SERVANT.
CIVIL SERVANT
Dr. Jason Gibson?
JAKE
That’s right.
He hands over a document.
CIVIL SERVANT
You’ve been served.
CUT TO:
An incredulous Grace sits with Jake at his kitchen table.
GRACE
The morning after you saved his
life? How can that cretin cowboy...
JAKE
Probably his daughter.
Jake is at a loss. Grace sees this is a knife in his heart.
She takes his hand.
GRACE
Everyone knows you’re one of the
good guys, Jake. People will see
through this...
Jake isn’t so sure.
GRACE (CONT’D)
Come on. I’ll make breakfast.
She gets up and opens the fridge. It’s bare. Jake doesn’t
look up.
JAKE
There’s a diner around the corner.
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - DAY
Jake approaches Malone’s hospital room. Gathers himself.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - CONTINUOUS
He enters. Carefully:
JAKE
Morning, Mitch.
Despite the bandage on his head, Malone looks surprisingly
well. He picks at his breakfast tray in bed.
MALONE
Everything they say about hospital
food? As true as the day is long.
Ain’t fit for a dog.
He shoves it away and looks up at Jake, not recognizing him.
MALONE (CONT’D)
You the surgeon?
JAKE
(measured)
I am. Do you remember what
happened?
MALONE
Some. Not much.
JAKE
Minor memory loss of recent events
is normal. It should come back.
Otherwise you’re doing fine.
As Malone peers at him, the fog clears.
MALONE
Wait... Gibson. Kincaid case. 4.5
mill. Your patient slashes herself
dead right in the emergency room.
Scandalous..
Jake remains impassive.
JAKE
You know I ordered a psych
evaluation stat. I ordered for her
not to be left alone. You
brainwashed a jury it was my fault.
You know it wasn’t.
MALONE
All I know is it’s too bad you
didn’t learn your lesson... doctor.
Jake gazes at him.
JAKE
What is it, Mitch? What have you
got against doctors? Tell me.
Malone stares back in stoic silence.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Was it you or your daughter this
time?
MALONE
(pause)
I trained her well.
Jake remains expressionless.
JAKE
I put my ass on the line for you
last night and saved your life...
just thought that might mean
something.
He turns and walks out. Malone watches him go.
MALONE
Bullshit! I feel fine. I want outta
here!
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
Jake passes the nurses station. Midge motions him over.
MIDGE
Dr. Gibson, I thought you should
know... Everett Salig was just
here, visiting Malone.
JAKE
(disdain)
Did he bring roses?.
MIDGE
No, but I can still smell his vile
cologne. Pompous a-hole. Pardon my
French.
Jake is more than satisfied with that assessment.
JAKE
Your French is perfect, Midge.
Unseen by them...
Hudley watches from the other end of the corridor. He
disappears into an elevator.
INT. OUTSIDE HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE - DAY
As Salig strolls out of Wilson’s office. We DOLLY in...
INT. HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
... where Wilson sits at his desk, looking like a man asked
to administer a death sentence.
EXT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - DAY
Salig now exits the building-- and passes none other than
Howard Crane. The two men share a conspiratorial nod. Salig
gets into his chauffeured car to leave. Crane enters the
hospital on a mission.
INT. HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE - SAME
Jake now sits before a beleaguered Wilson.
WILSON
Jed Gibson was like a brother to
me, Jake. Named the auditorium
after him, hell, we should’ve named
the whole damn hospital after him.
You’re his spitting image...
Everyone knows you’re the most
dedicated, brilliant neurosurgeon
this place has ever seen.
(looks down)
That’s why this is so difficult.
Jake waits.
WILSON (CONT’D)
I have to suspend your hospital
privileges. Indefinitely..
Jake is on his feet.
JAKE
Vince, don’t do this.
WILSON
(distressed)
I’m on your side, Jake. But a
second malpractice suit? I have no
choice. He’s taking you to court...
This comes from the top.
JAKE
(disgusted)
Salig. You know it’s tough for a
man to see when his salary depends
on his blindness.
WILSON
Jake...
JAKE
This whole thing’s a joke! What I
did was right and you of all people
know it. Malone’s making a stellar
recovery-- look at his chart!
WILSON
I have--
JAKE
Then you also know that if Hudley
hadn’t botched his stitching the
second operation wouldn’t have even
been necessary. Ask yourself, why
would he ignore the bleeding?
WILSON
(carefully)
Are you purporting... that one of
our very own staff physicians
purposefully...?
JAKE
All I know is ever since Mitch
Malone arrived at this hospital
David Hudley’s had a knife aimed at
my back and has shown an obscene
level of incompetence. My God, the
man dropped a piece of skull in the
operating room! Something’s going
on, Vince.
Wilson sighs.
WILSON
Your case is being examined by
staff committees, Jake. In the
meantime, there’s nothing else I
can do...
Right on cue Crane BURSTS into the office. WILSON’S SECRETARY
trying to stop him--
WILSON’S SECRETARY
Mr. Crane---
Crane brushes her aside and jabs a thick finger at Jake:
CRANE
You! You son of a bitch! Who in
hell do you think you are?
WILSON
Excuse me, Mr. Crane--
CRANE
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? NOBODY TAKES
MY WIFE!
Loud enough for all in earshot to hear. Outside the open
office door HOSPITAL STAFF stop and gape...
CRANE (CONT’D)
This man seduced my wife! With
noble words! With lies! Destroyed
my twelve-year marriage! Do you
deny it, Gibson? Do you? Go ahead
you arrogant son of a bitch, I dare
you!
Wilson looks to Jake for explanation. But Jake’s eyes remain
fixed on Crane.
JAKE
I think we both know who should
take the credit here.
Enraged, a loose cannon, Crane draws his fist to swing-- but
a SECURITY GUARD appears in the doorway...
Crane holds his hands up in complacent surrender.
CRANE
I was just leaving.
But as he goes he slams against Jake. Hisses in his ear:.
CRANE (CONT’D)
Payback time, you do-good son of a
bitch.
FADE TO BLACK
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - MORNING
Jake wakes up alone. Clock says 6 a.m.
VARIOUS SHOTS:
Jake wanders around his loft. Doesn’t know what to do with
himself.
Shoots hoops by the refrigerator.
On his exercise bike.
Lifts weights.
INT. MOTEL ROOM - MORNING
Grace buttons her nurse’s uniform, ready to leave for work.
Opening the drapes, she looks out at the sunny morning.
Touching her fingertips to her lips, she kisses them gently,
smiles. The motel room doesn’t seem so dismal anymore.
INT. LOCAL DINER - MORNING
Jake eats breakfast in a worn leather-seated booth. He looks
around at the DINER PATRONS. He’s the only one eating alone.
EXT. BATTING CAGES - DAY
CRACK! Jake hits balls. Alone at the batting cages.
CRACK!
He drops the bat.
Enough of this.
He takes out his phone and dials. MUSIC SWELLS as we...
CUT TO:.
A MONTAGE:
- On a sunny lake, Jake teaches Grace to steer his sailboat.
He guides her hand. She’s a natural, banking with the wind,
whooping with delight in the sparkling water spray.
- They play miniature golf. Jake is the worst. Grace tries
not to laugh when he can’t sink a ball. A few KIDS giggle at
him. Grace kisses him on the cheek.
- Jake helps Grace carry her suitcases into his loft.
- Jake helps her unpack. He holds up a pair of panties. Grace
snatches them away.
- Grace stocks his empty kitchen cabinets and refrigerator
with groceries. Jake tries to help but just gets in the way.
- Grace hangs pictures on the walls. Gives his loft a much-
needed woman’s touch...
- She lays out fresh new ‘his and hers’ towels...
- New dishes...
- She attempts to teach Jake to cook with disastrous results.
She examines something charred and black in a frying pan.
Jake shrugs comically. But SOUNDTRACK MUSIC turns darker
as...
- ... in Salig’s spacious office, Salig pours two scotches.
One for himself. And... one for a stone-faced Howard Crane.
Crane throws it back in a gulp. Salig pours him another.
END MONTAGE
INT. ITALIAN RESTAURANT - EVENING
Grace’s parents ANN and HAROLD, late 50s, a colorful duo.
They have dinner with Jake and Grace.
ANN
So we’ve been hearing your praises
for years, Jake. Grace is right,
you are more gorgeous than on TV.
JAKE
They never get my good side.
GRACE
(blushes)
Mom.
Harold eats spaghetti with gusto.
HAROLD
For the record, Jake, I’m in your
corner. Profit and medicine-- they
don’t belong in the same bed
together. Every time one of those
goddamn drug commercial comes on I
think of you.
ANN
He doesn’t mean the erectile
dysfunction ones, honeybunch.
GRACE
Mom.
Jake tries to smile. Tries.
JAKE
It’s getting worse. Last month, a
patient told me his hospital bill
for back surgery had a charge of
$53,000 for “surgical implants”. No
breakdown, no explanation. Just a
flat $53,000. $53,000. What
surgical implants, the guy asked?
Surgeon himself said he only put
two screws in, and they weren’t
made of gold. Guy couldn’t get a
straight answer. Insurance paid it.
Guess who foots the bill?
Harold shakes his head, disgusted.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Meanwhile, my grandfather made
house calls into his 80s. Sometimes
for nothing but gratitude.
ANN
(smiles)
He raised you, didn’t he? After
your parents died?...
JAKE
He did... Because of him, being a
doctor is all I’ve ever wanted.
Ann pats his arm. Pause.
HAROLD
So when’s the trial start?
JAKE
Two weeks. I’m going stir crazy. I
was born to practice medicine, not
cooking.
GRACE
Understatement of the century.
Harold twirls his spaghetti.
HAROLD
You know... I saw a news story the
other night, between pill-pushing
ads, about some free clinic in the
Smoky Mountains, only a couple
hours away, said it’s in need of
doctors. Might wanna check it out.
Grace gives Jake an encouraging look.
JAKE
Well, I am in need of patients. No
pun intended.
CUT TO:
EXT. AIRSTRIP - SMOKY MOUNTAINS, TENNESSEE - DAY
A SINGLE-ENGINE PLANE lands on an airstrip nestled amid
autumn foliage in the Smoky Mountains.
CLOSE ON PLANE WINDOW: Jake looks out.
HIS POV: On the tarmac, a white-coated doctor, DR. WHITE,
40s, and a few CLINIC STAFFERS wave enthusiastically.
INT. CLINIC - DAY
Dr. White shows Jake around the little backwoods clinic.
DR. WHITE
I remember an article about you in
Time magazine. Something about...
you discovered a way to operate
through the roof of the mouth?
How’s that even possible?
JAKE
It’s not common practice. But in
certain cases, if a tumor is
located on the base of the skull,
it can give better access.
DR. WHITE
Sheesh. Crazy what you guys can do..
INT. CLINIC OPERATING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
They enter the OR. Or lack thereof. It’s tiny and makeshift.
Jake is struck by the lack of equipment as he picks up an
ancient orthopedic drill sitting on a shelf.
DR. WHITE
I know, I know. We got a Bovie
machine waiting to ship, but up
here in the land that time forgot,
let’s just say the money tree ain’t
bloomin’. But we get by.
JAKE
“The conditions for the Surgeon are
four. First, be learned; Second, be
expert; Third, be ingenious; and
Fourth, be able to adapt.” Guy de
Chauliac, father of modern surgery.
You work with what you got, Dr.
White.
Dr. White is clearly impressed, and a little embarrassed.
DR. WHITE
You’re wildly over-qualified, Dr.
Gibson, and this is about as far
from neurosurgery as a toddler is
from tenure... But we’d be happy as
a pig in you-know-what to have you.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - EVENING
Jake and Grace have a quiet dinner.
GRACE
I think it’s great. Anything that
keeps you out of the kitchen is a
good thing.
JAKE
I got by fine until you showed up.
GRACE
God you’re sexy when you’re
grouchy. Seriously. You’ll be
helping people. It’s what you do.
She pours wine.
GRACE (CONT’D)
Oh, I ran into my friend Deb’s
sister at the mall today. She and
her husband are in town, he’s a
doctor too. They want to meet you.
(MORE)
GRACE (CONT’D)
We talked about getting together
tomorrow.
JAKE
I think I’m busy.
GRACE
I think you’re not. Let’s find
something we could all do together.
EXT. MINIATURE GOLF COURSE - DAY
Lisa and Dr. Sam Carr accompany Jake and Grace onto the
miniature golf course. Turns out Lisa is the friend’s sister.
LISA
I haven’t done this in years! What
a fun idea!
JAKE
(aside to Grace)
You owe me big time.
CUT TO:
It’s painful to watch Jake try to sink a ball.
As he scopes it out from different angles, on his knees, on
his stomach, etc., Lisa chitchats with Grace.
LISA
So... Debs is pregnant again.
Number four. Regular baby factory.
Grace smiles, wistful, we remember she can’t conceive.
Meanwhile Sam patiently waits for Jake to sink a ball...
SAM
So...
(’casually’)
When did Expercare take over your
hospital, Jake?
Concentrating furiously, Jake takes a little swing, three
feet from the hole. He misses.
JAKE
Former hospital.
SAM
Just wondering what you think of
them.
Jake’s face says ‘don’t get me started.’
SAM (CONT’D)
Yeah. I don’t know... I’m not
really sold on that IsoP steroid
treatment, either.
He now has Jake’s full attention.
JAKE
Why not?
SAM
It’s just that... well, I don’t
know. Seems like we’ve had...
several deaths lately...
Immediately Lisa wedges between them.
LISA
Must we talk shop, boys?
Giving Sam a strong look, she takes out her phone and forces
a change of subject.
LISA (CONT’D)
Grace said I must make you promise
to plan a weekend with us, Jake.
I’m texting you my contact as a
reminder. Unfortunately we’re
switching carriers because our rate
is through the roof, but I’ll get
you my new number. Or just ask
Grace’s parents, I see them like
every other day in town. Well I’m
waiting, what’s your number?
Conversation with Sam is effectively over.
JAKE
Okay, okay. 314...
INT. CALLAHAN’S OFFICE - DAY
Jake sits with his lawyer OSCAR CALLAHAN, 50.
CALLAHAN
You can’t represent yourself, Jake.
JAKE
Why not?
CALLAHAN
Same reason your last lawyer told
you, I imagine. With malpractice
carriers and the hospital involved,
they won’t allow it.
JAKE
No offense, but who better to
represent me than me?
CALLAHAN
Jake, that’s naive.
JAKE
What’s naive about it? I’m the one
who was there. It’s my ass on the
line.
CALLAHAN
Not gonna happen, Jake, I’m sorry.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - NIGHT
Jake and Grace lie in bed.
JAKE
No.
GRACE
What do you mean ‘no’? Jake, I have
to testify.
JAKE
I won’t let you get dragged into
this.
GRACE
But I saw the blood. I saw the boob
drop a piece of skull, for crying
out loud! It’s a no-brainer. No pun
intended.
Jake looks at her with love.
CUT TO:
NEWSPAPER HEADLINE: “REMATCH! DO-GOOD DOC VS. LETHAL
LAWYER”...
EXT. COURT BUILDING - MORNING
... it’s on a NEWSSTAND outside the court building. In a
variation of our opening scene a TAXI stops at the curb, Jake
gets out in a worn leather jacket, fending off REPORTERS...
REPORTERS
Dr. Gibson! Dr. Gibson!
INT. COURTROOM - MORNING
Malone watches, cowboy hat in his lap, Shannon behind him,
briefcase in her lap, as a slick prosecutor, M. L. AUCLAIR,
40s, questions Dr. Hudley, looking innocent as pie on the
witness stand. JUDGE ABIGAIL TILLMAN, late 50s, presides.
AUCLAIR
Dr. Hudley, would you please review
for this court the events following
the arrival of the plaintiff,
Mitchell Malone, into the
neurosurgery service at University
Hospital?
Jake sits expressionless beside Callahan. We see his Air
Jordans under the table. JURORS listen.
HUDLEY
Yes sir. Shortly after the patient
was-
AUCLAIR
Excuse me, by patient you mean Mr.
Malone?
HUDLEY
Yes sir. After Mr. Malone was
admitted to the hospital, Dr.
Gibson and I discussed how we
should proceed with treatment. But
Dr. Gibson was not his usual self.
AUCLAIR
How do you mean?
The exchange is clearly well-rehearsed.
HUDLEY
Well, you know, Dr. Gibson has a
reputation for always being on some
crusade or other. Even in hopeless
cases he never admits defeat.
AUCLAIR
But on this day?
HUDLEY
On this day he expressed
indifference about operating on Mr.
Malone. Disdain even. I remember
him saying “Look who it is for
Christ’s sake.”
Jake starts to bolt up but Callahan grabs him. Judge Tillman
takes note of this with a warning look. Sitting in the
gallery directly behind Jake, Grace contains her outrage.
AUCLAIR
(repeats to the jury for
effect)
“Look who it is for Christ’s
sake”... Dr. Hudley, were you aware
that the defendant had come to know
Mr. Malone prior to his admittance
to the hospital?
HUDLEY
Yes, everyone knew that Mr. Malone
filed a malpractice suit for
negligence against Dr. Gibson and
the hospital several years ago. I
believe Dr. Gibson lost for almost
five million dollars.
CALLAHAN
Objection!
JUDGE TILLMAN
Overruled. That’s public knowledge.
But stick to the present case, Mr.
Auclair.
AUCLAIR
I believe this directly impacts the
present case, Your Honor.
JUDGE TILLMAN
Continue.
AUCLAIR
Thank you, Your Honor. Dr. Hudley,
do you believe that this prior
lawsuit--
(a smug glance at Jake)
-- for nearly five million dollars--
had something to do with Dr.
Gibson’s negative attitude about
operating on Mr. Malone?
HUDLEY
I do.
Jurors glance suspiciously toward Jake.
AUCLAIR
Please confirm for the jury: you
were in fact present during the
first surgery, during which you
were led to this belief?
HUDLEY
Yes sir, I assisted Dr. Gibson with
the procedure.
AUCLAIR
Did everything not proceed normally
during the surgery?
HUDLEY
It started normally-- up until the
largest aneurysm ruptured and bled.
AUCLAIR
Oh? And how did that occur?
HUDLEY
As Dr. Gibson was placing a clip
around the aneurysm’s neck to
stabilize it, it suddenly blew out.
AUCLAIR
I see. Any idea as to why it “blew
out,” as you put it?
HUDLEY
Yes. He used the wrong clip.
Murmurs in the courtroom. Jake is on his feet and this time
Callahan can’t stop him.
JAKE
The size of that clip had nothing
to do with the aneurysm bleeding
and you know it!
JUDGE TILLMAN
(BANGS her gavel)
Order!
JAKE
Why don’t you tell the court how
you dropped a piece of his skull!
Gasps. Malone pales at this revelation.
JUDGE TILLMAN
ORDER!
JAKE
(looks over at Malone)
Don’t worry, I caught it..
JUDGE TILLMAN
Mr. Callahan! I will instruct you
to keep your client in order and I
will not ask again! Do you
understand?
CALLAHAN
Yes, Your Honor.
Judge Tillman glares at Jake. He takes his seat. Grace leans
forward and squeezes his shoulder reassuringly.
JUDGE TILLMAN
Continue, Mr. Auclair.
AUCLAIR
Thank you, Your Honor. Dr. Hudley,
you are saying that Dr. Gibson used
the wrong clip?
HUDLEY
That’s correct. The clip was too
short.
AUCLAIR
The use of a clip that’s not the
correct size-- is that a mistake a
competent surgeon such as Dr.
Gibson might easily make?
HUDLEY
No. A surgeon of Dr. Gibson’s
experience would know just how long
a clip should be for any situation.
Auclair glances at Malone. Malone gives him a discreet nod.
Auclair dramatically produces two evidence bags, each
containing a gold-embossed surgical clip.
AUCLAIR
Are these the two clips in
question, Dr. Hudley?
HUDLEY
Yes, those are the clips.
Auclair shows the jury.
AUCLAIR
As you can see, the difference is
plainly obvious to even a layman.
Jurors nod to themselves, with unsympathetic looks toward
Jake. Callahan sighs to himself. Jake is being clobbered..
AUCLAIR (CONT’D)
As a practicing surgeon, Dr.
Hudley, is it your professional
opinion that the rupture and
bleeding caused by the use of the
wrong clip did in fact endanger Mr.
Malone’s life?
HUDLEY
Well, yes, there’s no doubt about
it. We all thought he would die
right there in front of us!
Louder murmurs. Callahan clutches Jake’s arm to contain him.
Auclair’s voice escalates as he goes in for the kill.
AUCLAIR
So, in your opinion, Dr. Hudley--
did Dr. Gibson’s actions in the
operating room that day indicate to
you that he purposely used the
wrong clip, causing the aneurysm to
bleed uncontrollably, as a
deliberate attempt to terminate Mr.
Malone’s life?
Callahan is on his feet.
CALLAHAN
OBJECTION! Your Honor!
INT. ANTEROOM - DAY
Court recess. Jake and Grace sit over sandwiches. Neither has
an appetite.
GRACE
You have to tell Callahan I want to
testify.
JAKE
No, Gracie.
GRACE
Hudley lied under oath! I was
there! I’ve been head OR nurse for
years before that jackass ever
stepped foot in the hospital, my
testimony will mean something!
JAKE
What it would mean is that Malone
could take away your career too. I
won’t let that happen to the best
scrub nurse I’ve ever seen.
INT. CLINIC - DAY
An interim day at the clinic. Dr. White listens as Jake
discusses x-rays with him. Jake circles telltale signs with a
red marker on the x-ray films as he explains.
Slipping on a pair of professorial-looking glasses, Jake
starts drawing on a dry erase board, a diagram of the brain,
to further illustrate. Dr. White motions clinic staffers to
gather around and join them.
All watch and learn, it’s like a college classroom.
Impishly, Jake draws a goofy face and everyone cracks up.
INT. COURTROOM - DAY
Back to court. Everett Salig himself now sits on the witness
stand. $4,000 suit. Lofty and proud. Auclair treats him with
deference.
AUCLAIR
Good afternoon, Dr. Salig. Thank
you so much for taking the time to
be here.
SALIG
Not at all. It’s my pleasure.
AUCLAIR
Dr. Salig, I would not waste the
time of an important man, so I will
get right to it. On the morning of
August 6th, the day of Mr. Malone’s
collapse and subsequent admittance
to University Hospital, Dr. Gibson
performed emergency brain surgery
on Mr. Malone, is that correct?
SALIG
That is correct.
AUCLAIR
But Dr. Gibson didn’t stop there,
did he? He operated on Mr. Malone a
second time later that evening, is
that also correct?
SALIG
That is also correct.
AUCLAIR
Can you, Dr. Everett J. Salig, as
an experienced surgeon,
internationally respected medical
scholar, and CEO of the very
company that owns the hospital
where Dr. Gibson is employed, tell
the jury, in your own words, what
happened that night, and what led
Dr. Gibson to perform another
procedure?
SALIG
Certainly.
Salig smiles with polished kindness at the jury. Malone
watches from his seat. Jake watches from his.
SALIG (CONT’D)
I’m afraid we were all somewhat
concerned with Dr. Gibson’s
behavior that evening. I believe he
was coming from a baseball game.
His clothes were soiled. I am
reluctant to say... but he may have
been drinking.
CALLAHAN
Objection!
Jake stares in disbelief.
JUDGE TILLMAN
Dr. Salig, please qualify that
statement.
SALIG
Certainly, Your Honor. In my
experience, Dr. Gibson has always
exhibited exceptional skills as a
surgeon. In fact, I can’t say
enough about his surgical
proficiencies. Unfortunately, he
has also exhibited exceptional
pride at said abilities. Not what I
would call a team player. From my
observations, it is clear to me
that Dr. Gibson will let nothing
stand in the way of his authority,
his demanding to always be right.
Sadly, his reputation as one of the
most ego-driven meddlers in
medicine is well-known.
CALLAHAN
(leaps up)
With respect, Your Honor, this is
completely out of order! I believe
this court is to decide on any
matter of negligence in regard to
Dr. Gibson’s medical practice, not
hearsay about his character.
JUDGE TILLMAN
Sustained. Dr. Salig, you will
explain your statement about Dr.
Gibson’s demeanor on the evening of
August 6th like I asked.
SALIG
Certainly, Your Honor, of course.
Jake silently fumes.
SALIG (CONT’D)
On the evening of August 6th, Dr.
Gibson seemed to be unusually
distracted. He seemed in a great
hurry to operate on Mr. Malone for
a second time. This was not
rational, and I for one was worried
about him. I didn’t think he was
capable of making proper decisions
that evening, so I asked Dr.
Hudley, who had assisted in Dr.
Gibson’s first surgery on Mr.
Malone, to speak with Mr. Malone’s
daughter Shannon, his only family
member present, and suggest that
perhaps a second opinion was
necessary.
AUCLAIR
Is Mr. Malone’s daughter Shannon in
this courtroom?
SALIG
Yes, she is sitting right there.
Salig points her out, smiles. Shannon is like ice.
AUCLAIR
But Dr. Gibson didn’t wait for that
second opinion, did he?
SALIG
No. I’m afraid he did not..
AUCLAIR
In his arrogance, Dr. Gibson rushed
Mr. Malone back into surgery,
against the explicitly expressed
objections and instructions to the
contrary of his one and only family
member, his daughter Shannon.
SALIG
Yes, I’m afraid he did.
AUCLAIR
And against your advice as well?
SALIG
Yes. I’m afraid so.
(turns his gaze to Malone)
Sadly, Mr. Malone now suffers
memory loss as a result.
Malone peers back.
AUCLAIR
Dr. Salig... why did you advise
against the second surgery?
SALIG
Well, frankly, rushing into a
second surgery was... reckless at
best. Most surgeons would wait for
a patient who has suffered severe
bleeding around the brain, as Mr.
Malone did, to further recover
before proceeding with a difficult
and dangerous operation.
AUCLAIR
Is that what you would have done?
SALIG
Certainly. I would have waited at
least a week or two. As I said,
until he had begun to recover.
AUCLAIR
Do you think Dr. Gibson’s rush into
surgery was a deliberate attempt to
harm Mr. Malone?
CALLAHAN
Your Honor! Objection!
JUDGE TILLMAN
Sustained.
AUCLAIR
I’ll rephrase the question. From a
medical standpoint, Dr. Salig,
based on a reasonable degree of
medical certainty, did Dr. Gibson’s
action jeopardize the life of Mr.
Malone?
SALIG
Yes. It certainly did.
AUCLAIR
And as you sit here today, Dr.
Salig, do you believe that Dr.
Gibson knowingly, willingly and
deliberately performed surgery in
complete awareness of this?
Salig’s eyes find Jake.
SALIG
Yes. He certainly did.
Jake can hold back no longer and leaps to his feet.
JAKE
That man would not be alive today
if I hadn’t done what I did and you
know it!
JUDGE TILLMAN
(BANGS her gavel)
ORDER!
JAKE
He’s lying under oath!
JUDGE TILLMAN
ORDER!
JAKE
How do you sleep at night, Salig!
JUDGE TILLMAN
That’s it! Dr. Gibson, you are in
contempt of court! Now sit down!
Jurors look scornfully at Jake, standing there, blood
boiling, in his Air Jordans. Callahan closes his eyes in
defeat.
AT THE BACK OF THE COURTROOM...
Howard Crane watches, a smug smile. He makes a quiet exit.
CUT TO:
INT. MASCOUTAH COUNTY HOSPITAL - NURSES STATION - DAY
A nurse, JENNY, wheels her cart into a nurses station. Nurses
BRENDA and RENE chitchat.
BRENDA
Whatcha doing this weekend, Jenny?
JENNY
A bottle of sauvignon blanc.
Match.com. Fun times.
RENE
You’re too picky. It’s a medical
fact: you’ll be single as long as
you let your standards get in the
way.
JENNY
You didn’t get that from a Hallmark
card.
BRENDA
You could at least have some fun
while you chase after the ideal
man, who by the way doesn’t exist.
JENNY
Give up your ideals and you just
get what you settle for. Then spend
the rest of your life bitching
about it.
RENE
(looks at her wedding ring)
Yeah, rub it in...
Suddenly an ALARM.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
Sam Carr leads a CPR TEAM, trying to revive an ELDERLY
PATIENT. He places defibrillator paddles on the man’s chest--
SAM
Clear!
The man jolts, then goes limp again.
SAM (CONT’D)
Clear!
Again the man jolts, goes limp..
SAM (CONT’D)
(anguished)
He’s been stable for weeks... this
makes no sense... Clear!...
(the same; once more)
CLEAR!
It’s no use. Sam is deeply troubled.
SAM (CONT’D)
I have to call it.
INT. NURSES STATION - SAME
CLOSE ON THE NURSES CART. An ‘IsoP’ syringe with Expercare
logo...
INT. 5-STAR RESTAURANT - EVENING
Posh. Exclusive. Soft music. At a dimly-lit back table...
Howard Crane slides an envelope across the silk tablecloth.
... to Malone. Without expression, Malone pockets it.
INT. COURT BUILDING - MORNING
Grace waits at the crowded courtroom doors. She smiles as
Jake approaches.
GRACE
I hate coming separately.
(leans in, whispers)
I want to kiss you.
Then a hand touches Jake’s shoulder. Callahan.
CALLAHAN
We have an offer.
INT. ANTEROOM - MORNING
Malone sweeps off his cowboy hat with an expansive gesture
like a man sitting down to a feast. Jake and Callahan eye
him.
MALONE
Jake, my boy. Welcome to the last
day of arguments. Last chance to
regale the jury. But let’s be
frank...
(MORE).
MALONE (CONT'D)
we walk into that courtroom, we
both know what the outcome will be.
JAKE
So why are we here?
Callahan touches Jake’s arm to say ‘let me do the talking.’
CALLAHAN
So why are we here?
MALONE
(smiles)
Let’s call a turnip a turnip. It’s
possible this thing cuts two ways.
On the one hand, I feel sorry for
you, Gibson-
CALLAHAN
Doctor Gibson.
MALONE
I feel sorry for you, with your
idealism, your naive faith in the
truth and society’s ability to do
what’s right. The fact is, you’re
an oddity, a utopian do-gooder.
(indulgent)
You’re what this shallow society of
ours spawns every once in a while:
a visionary hero, a knight in
shining armor, gimlet-eyed,
charging at truth in a storm, like
it’s one of Don Quixote’s
windmills.
JAKE
Life isn’t about staying dry. It’s
about learning how to play in the
rain. Why are we here, turnip man?
Callahan gives up trying to silence him.
MALONE
Because... like I said, it’s
possible this thing cuts another
way. It’s possible... that I could
right now be in some nursing home
drooling in my Fruit Loops. But I’m
not... I’m practicing law, the only
thing that’s meaningful to me.
JAKE
I’m sure plenty of plaintiffs out
there appreciate that.
MALONE
Don’t push me, Gibson.
Callahan clears his throat.
CALLAHAN
Why not lay out your offer, Mr.
Malone.
MALONE
Why not indeed.
(pausing for effect)
I’m prepared to dismiss this case
without prejudice.
Jake and Callahan share an astonished, then suspicious look.
CALLAHAN
How much?
MALONE
Not one shiny penny.
JAKE
What’s the catch?
MALONE
Simple.
He sets a document before Jake.
MALONE (CONT’D)
Surrender your medical license.
Jake is on his feet.
JAKE
No.
MALONE
Gibson-- I must point out that,
legally, from this point on your
insurance company is responsible
for only the first $500,000 in
damages. So when you lose-- and
make no mistake, you will lose--
guess who’s gotta pony up the rest?
So unless you got five million
beans stashed under your mattress,
and you don’t mind being publicly
vilified for subverting the ethics
of medicine for the rest of your
life... I’d seriously think this
through..
JAKE
Wait a minute-- are you saying my
multi-million dollar umbrella
coverage is all of a sudden only
500 grand?
Callahan is embarrassed.
CALLAHAN
I thought you knew. Your prior
lawsuit, well, think of it as a
sort of pre-existing condition...
MALONE
This offer is of course withdrawn
the moment we walk back into that
courtroom. You’ll be ruined for
life. Dead as disco. But settle
here and now, right now, and I’ll
even keep this out of the papers.
Jake is in disbelief.
MALONE (CONT’D)
You’ve proven yourself in medicine,
my boy. Time to move on. Why, you
could go into politics. Or
business. Write a book. Worked out
pretty well for Everett Salig.
Jake glares.
JAKE
How much did he pay you?
MALONE
I assure you Dr. Salig paid me
nothing.
JAKE
Howard Crane. How much did he pay
you to destroy me?
Malone doesn’t answer. Instead, he takes a Montblanc pen from
his pocket, and quietly places it before Jake.
INT. TAXI - MOVING - MORNING
Jake and Grace ride away, Grace upset.
GRACE
You had no choice. He’s doing this
because of me-- this is my fault...
JAKE
No. You had no choice either.
She looks at him sadly, loves him for understanding.
JAKE (CONT’D)
They’re covering something up,
Gracie. Something’s dirty.
GRACE
So what do we do?
JAKE
I’m tired of being played a fool...
(resolute)
I got no more cheeks to turn.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - DAY
St. Louis Cardinals, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, serpent-
entwined Rod of Asclepius and other decals are plastered all
over Jake’s laptop.
Wearing his ‘professor’ glasses Jake pores over the screen,
surrounded by heaps of medical journals and notes...
JAKE
... all over the country... only
three months after Salig takes
over, every single one of his
hospitals shows at least 20 percent
profit... just three months...
Grace looks on as Jake researches...
INT. CRANE MANSION - DAY
Howard Crane pours himself a drink. He’s alone. He knocks it
back and pours another.
He walks over to the fireplace... and looks at photos of
Grace on the mantel.
EXT. ST. LOUIS - EVENING
The sun is setting.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - SAME
Jake is still at it, reading from a medical journal....
JAKE
... listen to this-- Salig has been
developing his IsoP steroid for
years... an experimental treatment
for seriously ill patients... he
calls it a “revolutionary membrane
stabilizer”... and guess who’s
manufacturing it?
Grace has a pretty good idea.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Yeah. One of Howard’s offshore
companies... So how come there’s no
mention of his “revolutionary” drug
online, no press release, barely a
footnote in a medical journal three
years old? That’s not Salig’s
style, he doesn’t take a crap
without alerting the press.
Grace closes his laptop.
GRACE
Give it a rest Energizer Bunny.
You’ve been at this for hours.
JAKE
But--
She drags him to his feet.
GRACE
Get your coat, we’re going out to
dinner. I owe you, remember?
Anywhere you want. Sky’s the limit.
INT. LOCAL DINER - EVENING
They sit in one of the old leather booths, seat patched with
tape. Jake wolfs down a cheeseburger and fries, he’s starved.
He looks up to see Grace grinning at him.
JAKE
What?
INT. CRANE MANSION - SAME
Howard Crane is now very drunk. He moves unsteadily through
his mansion. Weaving toward the fireplace, he sets his drink
on the mantel, and looks again at the photos of Grace.
His face clouds.
With a massive sweep of his arm he sends them CRASHING to the
floor.
In a rage he stomps them, shattering glass, grinding them to
a pulp with the heel of his shoe.
EXT. CLINIC - SMOKY MOUNTAINS, TENNESSEE - MORNING
The small clinic in the mountains.
INT. CLINIC OFFICE - SAME
Jake packs items into his black bag. Dr. White and a few
staffers eat cake off paper plates. There’s a bowl of punch.
A little farewell party.
DR. WHITE
Damn sorry to lose you, Jake
Gibson. Knew it was too good to
last...
Pause.
JAKE
None of it’s true. You know that,
right?
White nods.
DR. WHITE
I know that. I like to think the
cream will always rise to the top.
Jake zips up his bag.
JAKE
In a perfect world, doctor. In a
perfect world.
White regards him sadly.
DR. WHITE
Have another piece of cake before
you go. It’s for you.
Suddenly a CLINIC NURSE, frantic, wheels in an unconscious 10-
YEAR-OLD BOY.
CLINIC NURSE
Dr. White-- we have an emergency!
INT. CLINIC EXAM ROOM - MORNING
Jake looks on as Dr. White examines a CAT scan of the boy’s
head. White is clearly out of his league.
DR. WHITE
Dirt bike accident. He’s
comatose... Jake, I’m not a brain
doctor...
Jake doesn’t hesitate.
JAKE
He’s got an acute left-sided
epidural, a blood clot, between the
dural and skull... causing brain
compression and herniation... it’s
putting pressure on vital brainstem
control centers... and it’s
progressing as we speak. Dr. White,
this boy is dying by the minute.
DR. WHITE
We’re not equipped to handle this.
We’ll have to transfer him to
Knoxville...
JAKE
He won’t be alive when he gets
there.
White looks at Jake, torn.
DR. WHITE
But you can’t...
JAKE
It’s a boy’s life or a piece of
paper.
INT. CLINIC OPERATING ROOM - MORNING
Jake finishes scrubbing his hands in a small sink. Focused,
in the zone. Drying them, he turns to Dr. White and a few
clinic staffers in the tiny makeshift operating room.
JAKE
Are we ready, guys ‘n gals?
CUT TO:
Jake stands ready over the boy on the table.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Scalpel.
He is confronted with frightened and confused eyes.
JAKE (CONT’D)
21 blade.
A clinic nurse hesitates. Jake grabs a scalpel and handle
himself from a poorly laid-out tray and assembles them
together.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Dr. White, be ready with the
hemostat clamps. They’re right
there.
Jake bends over... and carefully cuts into the shaved area of
the boy’s head. There is no microscope, no video monitor. A
nurse winces at the blood.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Clamps.
Dr. White hands them to him.
Jake applies them to the scalp.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Now we have to open the skull.
Perforator.
Dr. White pales.
DR. WHITE
I’m sorry doctor...
Jake turns to see an empty space on the orthopedic shelf.
JAKE
It was right there.
DR. WHITE
It broke down...
JAKE
(incredulous)
It broke down?
DR. WHITE
I’m sorry...
JAKE
Do you have any kind of hand drill?
Blank looks.
JAKE (CONT’D)
This boy is dying, we have to open
his skull now!
Sweat trickles down his temple. He surveys the little ill-
equipped room...
HIS POV. A small bone chisel and mallet sit in the corner.
Jesus. He grabs the crude tools. Frightened looks.
JAKE (CONT’D)
It’s called improvising. Be ready
with suction.
He takes a breath.
JAKE (CONT’D)
I got this.
He positions the chisel on the boy’s skull... raises the
mallet... and meticulously begins to chisel.
CHINK... CHINK...
Horrified eyes watch over masks.
CHINK... CHINK... CHINK... Finally dark red blood spurts out.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Suction.
White hands over a large-bore suction device, a medical
cannister with a tube attached. Jake positions the sucker tip
into the hole in the skull.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Watch his blood pressure. Severe
compression of the brain is about
to be relieved...
Clotted blood begins flowing through the tube. As it does,
Jake carefully removes the small chiseled-out piece of bone.
JAKE (CONT’D)
There... see how the skull fracture
tore this conterminous blood
vessel? That’s the source of the
clot. That’s how it bled and formed
just beneath the skull.
Staff look at each other. Jake lets the suction continue.64.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Soon as the blood is clear, I’ll
secure hemostasis around the edge
of the wound, then sew him up.
He’ll be fine...
DR. WHITE
That’s it?
JAKE
That’s it. We did it.
Audible relief. The staff are awed. Jake is a rock star.
White lays a hand on his back.
DR. WHITE
You did it.
INT. CLINIC WAITING ROOM - MORNING
The BOY’S MOTHER bursts into tears of joy and embraces Jake
in a massive bearhug, squeezing him.
BOY’S MOTHER
Thank you doctor, thank you... oh
thank God you were here...
Jake is only too aware of the legal consequences of his
action if word were to get out.
JAKE
Just glad I was.
He gladly diverts attention when his COUNTRY TUNE rings.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Excuse me.
Gracie?
(looks at phone, answers)
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - SAME
Grace looks oddly pale. Tense.
GRACE
How was your morning?
INTERCUT.
JAKE
Cake. Punch. Prehistoric brain
surgery. Tell you all about it when
I get home. What’s up?.
GRACE
Well, I was reading Women’s Health.
This article says spontaneity is
the key to a healthy relationship.
So I was thinking, how about I fly
down and meet you for lunch?
JAKE
(confused)
But it’s my last day-- I was just
leaving. It’ll take you two-and-a-
half hours...
GRACE
Just say yes.
Something in her voice.
JAKE
What’s wrong, Gracie?
WIDER SHOT: Grace is not alone. Sam Carr is there with her.
GRACE
Nothing. So I’ll see you at lunch?
EXT. AIRSTRIP - SMOKY MOUNTAINS - DAY
Jake sits on a bench by the little mountain airstrip, sipping
coffee. Spectacular view. Autumn foliage, overlooking a
pristine blue lake. A fox runs across the tarmac.
But Jake is uneasy. Grace meeting him for lunch doesn’t make
sense...
He gazes up at the sound of an APPROACHING ENGINE.
A SMALL PLANE approaches.
Jake watches as...
It descends for landing... suddenly...
THERE’S A FLASH OF WHITE-YELLOW LIGHT-- AS THE PLANE
EXPLODES!
His coffee splashes to the ground. Jake springs up...
Shreds of flaming metal trail black smoke-- as they fall to
the tarmac...
Jake takes a few faltering steps forward in unspeakable,
surreal horror....
There’s nothing left.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN:
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - DAY
Jake lies on his bed. Numb.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN:
Jake stands like a zombie in the middle of the room. Sees the
pictures that Grace hung. Towels she bought. Dishes.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN:
Jake sits rigid on his couch. He cannot stay here.
INT. JEEP - MOVING - DAY
Jaw tight, Jake drives.
EXT. SMALL PRIVATE AIRPORT - DAY
An airplane hangar and a reception building surround an
airfield. Sound of ENGINE DRONE. A small plane takes off.
INT. AIRPORT RECEPTION - DAY
MRS. KNAPP, middle-aged desk clerk, is reluctant to speak
with Jake. She glances at his ID.
MRS. KNAPP
Look, the FAA already questioned
me...
JAKE
Please. I was very close to Mrs.
Crane. We worked together for many
years.
MRS. KNAPP
... Have I seen you on TV?
JAKE
I’ve got one of those faces. Do you
remember anything she said?
MRS. KNAPP
I hardly spoke to her. The pilot
called for a rental. I told him our
twin-engine Seneca was booked all
day, all I had was the little Piper
and he said that was fine. When he
and Mrs. Crane got here all they
had to do was-
JAKE
(interrupts)
Wait-- are you telling me she
didn’t arrive alone?
Mrs. Knapp doesn’t like where this is going.
MRS. KNAPP
We checked his flight credentials.
JAKE
What was his name?
MRS. KNAPP
(becoming upset)
Look, I shouldn’t be talking to
you. This is the only crash we’ve
ever had...
JAKE
Please. I promise I’m not here to
get you in any trouble.
She sees his sincerity and anguish. Reluctantly, she checks
her computer.
MRS. KNAPP
Samuel Carr. M.D. Looks like he was
a doctor too.
Jake is flabbergasted. He manages to hide it.
MRS. KNAPP (CONT’D)
There was one parcel that day, so I
gave it to him and they left. Like
I said, we barely spoke.
JAKE
He brought a package on board?
MRS. KNAPP
Supplies go back and forth to the
clinic nearly every day. It was
dropped off with instructions to
fly it up on the next plane.
JAKE
Who dropped it off?
MRS. KNAPP
I was at lunch. Our secretary
received it.
JAKE
Well wasn’t it x-rayed?
MRS. KNAPP
Some biological samples are marked
‘do not x-ray’...
JAKE
(disbelief)
I’m not hearing this...
MRS. KNAPP
(pleading)
Please. We’re a small operation.
We’ve never had a crash...
JAKE
I need to speak with the secretary.
Mrs. Knapp’s eyes brim with tears.
MRS. KNAPP
You can’t.
JAKE
Why not?
MRS. KNAPP
Ida was... killed in a car
accident... about an hour after the
plane crash. Left two little ones
behind.
She breaks down sobbing. Jake is speechless.
INT. FAA FIELD OFFICE - DAY
Jake now stands across a counter from OFFICER CALAMBINI, 50s.
No tears will flow here.
OFFICER CALAMBINI
File is closed, Dr. Gibson.
JAKE
What do you mean? Why wasn’t there
an investigation?.
OFFICER CALAMBINI
There was. It was determined the
engine fire and explosion were due
to a fuel-line rupture.
Jake can’t believe this.
JAKE
What about the package they were
carrying?
OFFICER CALAMBINI
I wouldn’t know anything about-
JAKE
And what about the coincidental
death of the only person who
could have identified who dropped
it off?
OFFICER CALAMBINI
What about it? Apparently lost
control on I-155 when a motorcycle
passed her, went over an
embankment.
JAKE
(doubtful)
When a motorcycle passed her.
OFFICER CALAMBINI
It was raining. Look, I’m sorry for
your loss. But everything was
investigated. The case is closed.
JAKE
Says who? And since when does an
exploding plane not make the
papers?
Officer Calambini is unperturbed.
OFFICER CALAMBINI
Orders from higher up.
JAKE
(bitterly)
Higher up.
OFFICER CALAMBINI
Higher up.
EXT. FAA FIELD OFFICE - DAY
Jake walks out. Concern crosses his face. He takes out his
phone and dials:
ON PHONE: LISA CARR’S CONTACT INFO.
OPERATOR RECORDING (O.S.)
We're sorry, we are unable to
complete your call as dialed.
Please check the number and dial
again...
Jake hangs up. Damn it.
EXT. CEMETERY - DAY
Cloudy and overcast. A PRIEST finishes reciting, amidst a
somber gathering of MOURNERS. Family, friends, colleagues.
Jake stands with Grace’s parents Ann and Harold, Ann in
tears. Lisa is notably absent.
Jake watches in silence as...
Grace’s coffin descends into the ground.
Standing across from him is a stone-faced Howard Crane. Next
to Crane is none other than Everett Salig. Crane glares at
Jake. Jake’s eyes don’t waver as they meet his.
Then Crane turns to Salig. Bitter, his eyes shoot fresh
daggers at the CEO.
He walks away without a word.
INT. MALONE’S OFFICE - MORNING
Malone lights a cigar with elaborate flourish. Jake stands
before him.
MALONE
Should have made an appointment,
Gibson. I’m a terribly busy man.
JAKE
That’s why I didn’t.
Malone looks forbidding, then breaks into laughter.
MALONE
How about an espresso? Beans are
imported from Italy.
JAKE
Something’s going on at the
hospital, Mitch.
MALONE
Sit down, Gibson.
JAKE
(remains standing)
There’s been a surge in sudden
deaths in patients on Salig’s new
treatment program. I’ve heard
doctors talking. There’s concern at
the hospital.
MALONE
You no longer work at the hospital.
JAKE
Not just here. I doctor I knew at
Mascuoutah County in Illinois, Sam
Carr, voiced the same concern--
before he died suddenly in a plane
explosion... along with my head OR
nurse. People are dying who
shouldn’t be dying. Ever since
Expercare took over.
MALONE
Good grief, Gibson.
JAKE
If I still had access to the
hospital database I think I’d find
the same thing across the country.
On top of that they’re hiring
Neanderthals like David Hudley,
presumably on the cheap, and
looking the other way.
MALONE
Ah yes. Dropping a piece of my
head. That was inspired.
JAKE
It’s the truth. There was something
in Gracie’s voice. She was scared.
She knew Carr was onto something.
And they were stopped from telling
me. An hour later an innocent
mother was killed to cover tracks.
It’s a cover-up, Mitch.
Malone puffs his cigar, blows a smoke ring..
MALONE
You are full of theories this fine
morning, aren’t you? I don’t need
to remind you that Dr. Everett
Salig is one of the most pre-
eminent figures in the field of
medicine in the world today. And I
don’t need to tell you how paranoid
you sound.
JAKE
That’s why I need proof. If I were
back at the hospital--
MALONE
But you’re not.
JAKE
But I could be.
He stares at Malone.
JAKE (CONT’D)
I saved your life, Mitch... Tear up
the letter. You owe me that much.
Malone looks oddly uncomfortable. He’s taciturn for a moment.
MALONE
Five million.
JAKE
What?
MALONE
You asked what Howard Crane paid
me.
(quietly)
I can’t tear up the letter. But I
wish you the best with your
inquires.
Malone seems almost sincere.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - DAY
Jake pedals with a vengeance on his exercise bike.
CUT TO:
Jake pores over his laptop, reads medical journals...
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - EVENING
Jake soaks in his hot tub... stares at the pictures Grace
hung.
INT. MALONE’S HOME - NIGHT
Flames in the fireplace. Fading. Malone sits quietly in a
plush chair. In one hand he holds a drink. The other rests on
his brown Zegna suit jacket draped over his lap.
He looks deeply disturbed. He looks almost in shock.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - NIGHT
Jake lies wide awake in bed.
After a moment, he gets up.
CUT TO:
Empty boxes on his floor.
Jake begins taking down Grace’s pictures.
CUT TO:
THE WALLS ONCE AGAIN BARE.
Dishes gone from the cupboards.
Towel rack empty.
With tender care, Jake finishes packing the boxes.
His COUNTRY TUNE rings.
INT. MIDGE’S APARTMENT - SAME
Midge at home in her small kitchen. Frightened.
MIDGE
Dr. Gibson, I’m sorry to bother
you... no, I just got home from an
overnight shift. I know it sounds
crazy, but I think someone followed
me from the hospital.
INTERCUT.
JAKE
Followed you?
Midge pours a cup of tea, nervous.
MIDGE
A car with tinted windows, it
pulled out of the parking lot, and
stayed behind me, every single
turn, all the way to my driveway.
That’s 25 miles, Dr. Gibson. Should
I call the police?
Jake absorbs this.
JAKE
Did you get a license plate?
MIDGE
They were too far back...
JAKE
Do me a favor. Look out your
window. Do you see the car
anywhere?
Midge walks to a window of her ground floor apartment, peers
out, looks up and down the street.
MIDGE
No...
She sighs.
MIDGE (CONT’D)
No of course not. Listen to nervous
Nelly here. I’m embarrassed I
bothered you.
JAKE
You didn’t. Listen. If you see
anything else, anything at all, I
want you to call me again. Promise?
MIDGE
Yes, doctor. Thank you. Goodbye.
She hangs up, picks up her tea-- changes her mind-- and
starts fixing a martini instead.
INT. JAKE’S LOFT - SAME
Jake looks at the phone, thoughtful.
CUT TO:
EMPTY MARTINI GLASS...
INT. MIDGE’S APARTMENT - MORNING
... Midge rises from the sofa, now relaxed. She walks to the
window and peers out again. Shakes her head. Silly girl.
INT. MIDGE’S BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
She enters the bathroom, turns on the shower. Singing to
herself, she starts to undress.
Stripped to her underwear, she starts to unhook her bra--
when she’s startled by the sound of her front door BANGING
open. She nearly has a heart attack as TWO SKI-MASKED THUGS
grab her-- a rag is stuffed in her mouth--
THUG 1
Don’t make a sound.
A gun is held to her head. Her eyes are wide with terror.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
Now listen, little nursey, and
listen good. Are you listening,
little nursey?
Midge is frozen. Thug 1 SLAPS her across the face. Thug 2
presses the gun harder against her temple.
THUG 2
He asked you a question.
Midge nods, terrified, makes a muffled ‘yes’.
THUG 1
Good. You been asking questions at
the hospital about business that
don’t concern you, haven’t you,
little nursey?
Midge obviously can’t answer, she only moans.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
That’s right. But you’re not gonna
ask any more questions, are you?
He slams her against the wall. Midge whimpers, shakes her
head ‘no’.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
That’s right. Know what else you’re
not gonna do, little nursey? You’re
not gonna call the police or say a
word about this to anyone. ‘Cause
if you do, guess what we’re gonna
do?.
Thug 2 moves the gun right between her eyes. Midge whimpers.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
That’s right, we’re gonna come back
and shoot you dead. And one more
thing. You’re gonna stay clear of
that troublemaker Gibson. Find
yourself someone else to have your
little crush on. ’Cause if you
don’t, guess what?
He points his finger gun-like, makes a shooting noise. Midge
is in tears.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
That’s right.
He grabs her face in his hand.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
You’re a pretty little nursey,
aren’t you?
Midge’s eyes widen with fear, as he presses his body up
against her-- and slams his mouth on hers, kissing her
brutally. She makes a noise of protest. He SLAPS her again.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
I think she needs a little reminder
to keep her mouth shut.
THUG 2
Clearly.
Thug 1 moves his face close. Glares into her eyes.
THUG 1
Keep still, pretty little nursey.
He starts to unbuckle his pants. Midge protests wildly.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
What did I say!
(to Thug 2)
Make her keep still.
Thug 2 raises his gun to pistol-whip her--
BUT IT’S SNATCHED FROM HIS HAND.
The startled Thugs turn to see Jake--
JAKE
Door was open.
Jake hurls the gun out of the bathroom-- PUNCHES Thug 1 in
the face-- and tackles Thug 2 to the floor.
INT. MIDGE’S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS
The three men roll and tumble out of the bathroom, pounding
each other.
Midge watches, helpless, as they engage in an all-out brawl.
It’s two against one, but Jake’s an army. Grabbing Thug 2, he
flings him across the room. Furniture crashes.
Thug 2 hits the floor inches away from the gun. He lunges for
it-- but Jake kicks it out of reach.
Then Thug 1 hits Jake and sends him reeling. Glass smashes.
Thug 2 grabs his legs and pulls him down.
Jake is punched, kicked, slammed around.
He takes a beating-- but so do they.
Thug 2 reaches for the gun again. Jake dives for it first,
tosses it out of reach again-- leaving him defenseless for a
second...
And in that second a heavy lamp BLUDGEONS him on the head...
Jake falls unconscious.
Thug 2 retrieves the gun... and points it at a petrified
Midge.
MIDGE
Please...
He keeps it on her a moment... then turns it down at Jake
instead, point blank.
MIDGE (CONT’D)
No...
CLOSE-UP. His finger tightens on the trigger...
THUG 1
No.
Thug 2 looks up at his partner.
THUG 1 (CONT’D)
Not like this. We got orders.
Thug 2 continues to hold the gun on Jake for a moment,
itching to shoot. Then turns away..
EXT. MIDGE’S STREET - MORNING
Engines ROARING, the two Thugs speed off down Midge’s street.
INT. MIDGE’S APARTMENT - MORNING
Midge dabs Jake’s bruised face, cleaning him up as he comes
to.
MIDGE
Thank God you came.
(shaken)
My neighbors are at work...
JAKE
Something in your voice. I had to
check on you. Last time I heard
it...
MIDGE
What do we do? They said if I call
the police...
(hesitates)
Dr. Gibson... I didn’t want to say
anything, it’s not my place, but...
I’ve been checking the hospital
database.
JAKE
What do you mean?
MIDGE
Well... that IsoP steroid we’ve
been using...
JAKE
(alerted)
What about it?
MIDGE
Well, those patients seem to...
well... they seem to keep dying,
Dr. Gibson.
Jake’s mind races.
JAKE
Sam Carr must have been checking
into the same thing. They knew he
was flying the plane... they
must’ve tapped his phone...
(winces at her dabbing)
And I think you can call me Jake.
Midge hesitates..
MIDGE
Jake... is it true about Salig?
JAKE
What about him?
MIDGE
That he... stole your work?
JAKE
Where’d you hear that?
MIDGE
Grace might have mentioned it.
Jake acknowledges with a nod.
JAKE
It’s true.
MIDGE
So it should be called the Gibson
Classification.
JAKE
... In a perfect world...
Midge reaches a sudden decision.
MIDGE
Right.
(grabs her phone)
I have to call the police--
But Jake’s COUNTRY TUNE interrupts her. Jake answers.
JAKE
Dr. Gibson.
MALONE (O.S.)
It’s Mitch.
Pause.
JAKE
I’ve been beat up enough for one
day, Mitch. What do you want?
MALONE (O.S.)
I want you to meet me.
JAKE
Meet you?.
MALONE (O.S.)
Piccolo Cafe. In 40 minutes. You
know it?
JAKE
In public? What is this?
MALONE (O.S.)
Not over the phone... can you?
JAKE
(pause)
Alright.
MALONE (O.S.)
Good. And Gibson?
JAKE
Yes?
MALONE (O.S.)
Be anonymous.
INT. JEEP - MOVING - DAY
Jake drives, wearing wrap-around sunglasses and a Cardinals
cap pulled low. Midge is with him, looking worried.
JAKE
I want you to stay close to me for
now. Okay?
MIDGE
Stop twisting my arm.
EXT. STREET / PICCOLO CAFE - DAY
Jake gets out of his Jeep. Midge waits inside.
We see that Jake also wears a trench coat completing his
‘disguise’. Pulling the collar up, he approaches the cafe...
... where Malone, in sunglasses, fuzzy hunter’s cap, scarf,
and a nearly identical trench coat, sits at an outside table.
Neither of these two would be much good at undercover work.
MALONE
Got you a hot chocolate.
Malone slides over a steaming mug as Jake sits.
JAKE
What’s this all about?81.
Malone sips.
MALONE
Hot diggity, have I died and gone
to heaven or what? Best hot
chocolate in the city. This is why
God invented cold days. Don’t let
yours get cold.
JAKE
Come on, Mitch.
Malone peers at him.
MALONE
Let’s get this up front. You try to
use any of what I’m about to tell
you publicly, you’re on your own.
JAKE
I’m getting used to that.
MALONE
(pause)
I’ve regained some memory. Just
like you said. Put some pieces
together.
JAKE
I’m listening.
Pause.
MALONE
Two months ago, a former college
buddy of mine shows up out of the
blue.
FLASHBACK: INT. MALONE’S OFFICE - DAY
A JAPANESE DOCTOR, late 40s, sits across from Malone.
MALONE (O.S.)
Somehow made it through Harvard med
school, he’s a doctor now. Miracles
never cease. And guess who one of
his classmates was? Everett Salig.
The man hands Malone a document.
MALONE (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Says he’s got dirt. Says Salig
never graduated. Has an affidavit
proving he falsified his
credentials.
Malone peruses the document, frowns, this is a waste of time.
MALONE (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Ridiculous, of course. No way on
God’s green earth. I didn’t even
entertain the notion it was legit.
FLASHBACK: EXT. GOLF COURSE - DAY
Malone and Salig play golf together.
MALONE (O.S.)
So I simply asked him about it.
Salig laughs off Malone’s words. But privately his eyes
smolder like burning coals.
MALONE (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Everett’s been my perfect star
witness for years. Five grand an
hour plus expenses and worth every
penny. I won every time I brought
him in.
EXT. PICCOLO CAFE - CONT’D
Jake isn’t impressed.
JAKE
Get to the point, Mitch.
Malone continues.
MALONE
At our briefing the day before I
mentioned I had a sore throat...
FLASHBACK: INT. COURT BUILDING - MORNING
Malone greets Salig, slaps him on the back.
MALONE (O.S.)
Next morning at eight sharp the
trial began...
Salig offers a cough drop.
MALONE (O.S.) (CONT’D)
An hour later my brain explodes.
FLASHBACK: INT. COURTROOM - MORNING
Ruckus as Malone collapses in court.
MALONE (O.S.)
My briefcase disappeared...
In the confusion, we see Salig take Malone’s briefcase.
MALONE (O.S.) (CONT’D)
And I know my office was
searched...
FLASHBACK: INT. MALONE’S OFFICE - NIGHT
His office is searched by the two thugs with flashlights.
EXT. PICCOLO CAFE / STREET - CONT’D
Malone hesitates, torn.
MALONE
I can’t believe what I’m saying
here. But... hypothetically...
might it be possible... that cherry
cough drop...?
JAKE
A potent vasopressor would cause a
sudden severe increase in blood
pressure, it could cause an
aneurysm to burst... Did Salig know
about your condition?
Malone is grim.
MALONE
He’s the one who diagnosed me.
JAKE
His name wasn’t in your record.
MALONE
Off-the-record favor. Would’ve been
shall we say a conflict of interest
if he was my doctor.
This sinks in. Jake considers the implication.
JAKE
But you didn’t die.
MALONE
Tough as old boots.
JAKE
So Hudley tried to sabotage your
surgery. Hudley works for Salig.
Malone is at a loss, his veneer crumbles.
MALONE
He was supposed to be my friend. I
trusted him...
Jake gives him a direct look.
JAKE
Where’s the affidavit, Mitch?
Malone peers back for a moment. Then reaches inside his
trench coat and pulls out the affidavit like a treasure map.
MALONE
In my other jacket all along. My
brown Zegna. Hadn’t worn it since
that day at trial. I found it by
chance last night and...
(snaps his fingers)
... just like that. Everything came
back. I couldn’t sleep.
JAKE
(off the document)
So this is real?
MALONE
You bet your Buster Browns it is.
He nods at Jake’s Air Jordans. Jake hesitates.
JAKE
Why tell me this, Mitch?
And something we haven’t seen before crosses Malone’s face.
MALONE
Maybe it’s time.
JAKE
Time for what?
Malone repockets the affidavit.
MALONE
Time to do the right thing.
He rises.
MALONE (CONT’D)
I wanted you to know first, Dr.
Gibson.
He offers his hand. Uncertain, Jake shakes it.
Then Malone turns and walks off.
Jake watches him go. Down the street. Twenty yards away...
A SHOT rings out.
... and Malone crumbles to the ground.
Jake leaps up in alarm. Someone screams. PEOPLE flee.
Jake runs to Malone, his baseball cap flying off in the wind.
Tearing away his sunglasses he drops to his knees. Blood
spurts from Malone’s chest. Jake feels his neck. No pulse.
He’s dead. ONLOOKERS are gathering in confusion...
Jake hesitates but a second, then pulls the bloodied
affidavit from Malone’s pocket.
He runs back to his Jeep. But without his hat and sunglasses
he’s recognized by a young SKATEBOARDER...
SKATEBOARDER
Hey, it’s the Do-Good Doc!
The Skateboarder snaps a photo with his phone.
INT. JEEP - CONTINUOUS
Jake hops in, shoving the affidavit in his pocket.
JAKE
He’s gone. Nothing I could do.
MIDGE
Oh my God...
Jake starts the engine.
JAKE
But I have it.
MIDGE
What?
Jake pats his pocket-- and races off.
Immediately a motorcycle appears behind them. Thug 1. A SHOT
is fired, Jake’s window shatters!.
JAKE
Get down!
Midge dives to the floor--
EXT. STREET / INT. JEEP - MOVING - CONTINUOUS
Another SHOT fired. Jake hunches down as he weaves through
traffic.
A chase ensues. Jake tries to outrace and elude his pursuer.
Taking a shortcut, Thug 1 swerves onto the sidewalk, sending
PEDESTRIANS screaming.
This allows him to catch up to Jake-- he aims-- SHOOTS again--
Jake’s side windows are blown out.
Thug 1 weaves back to the road behind Jake and accelerates--
preparing to ease up beside the Jeep for a clear shot--
JAKE
Brace yourself!
On the floor, Midge does. Jake hits the brakes.
-- taken by surprise Thug 1’s motorcycle strikes the corner
of the Jeep hard. Losing control, he flies sprawling onto the
road.
Jake jumps on the gas and races away.
He disappears around a corner...
EXT. ANOTHER STREET / INT. JEEP - MOVING - CONTINUOUS
-- only to face Thug 2 on a bike. Head-on.
Shit. Jake tries to swerve away-- but Thug 2 SHOOTS.
Midge screams-- the windshield SHATTERS--
Jake slumps over the wheel.
Out of control, the Jeep careens and CRASHES into a
restaurant, smashing through the windows, PEOPLE narrowly
diving to safety.
It comes to rest amid broken glass and debris.
Jake is motionless..
MIDGE
Jake!
A dark red stain spreads over his chest.
MIDGE (CONT’D)
No... JAKE!
She shakes him, he’s utterly limp. She peers over the
dashboard just enough to see:
Thug 2 is running toward the Jeep.
ON MIDGE. Thinking fast...
WIDER ANGLE-- we see Midge roll out of the passenger door in
the nick of time just as Thug 2 opens the driver’s door
almost close enough to touch her.
But, undetected, Midge scampers off, as Thug 2 searches
through Jake’s trench coat, reaches into the inside pocket...
SIRENS approach.
Thug 2 runs back to his motorcycle.
He hops on, takes off and is gone.
POLICE CARS pull up to the crashed Jeep.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN:
EXT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - MORNING
University Hospital, stalwart as ever.
JAKE (O.S.)
Holy crap. So that’s what it feels
like to get shot.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - SAME
Jake lies in bed, chest bandaged, IV in his arm. Midge sits
at his side.
JAKE
When I said I wanted to get back to
the hospital this isn’t what I had
in mind..
MIDGE
It was a through-and-through. Thank
God. You’re gonna be fine.
Jake nods.
MIDGE (CONT’D)
But it barely missed your aorta,
Jake... You’re very lucky.
He takes her hand, gives it a squeeze.
JAKE
Thanks Midge.
MIDGE
For what?
Jake just smiles. Pause.
MIDGE (CONT’D)
There’s one thing.
She tosses the morning paper on his bed.
FRONT-PAGE HEADLINE: “DO-GOOD DOC GUNS DOWN ARCH ENEMY
LAWYER.” BELOW IT THE SKATEBOARDER’S PHOTO: JAKE FLEEING
FROM MALONE’S DEAD BODY, LOOKING DECIDEDLY GUILTY.
JAKE
Just keeps getting better, doesn’t
it?
MIDGE
You’re being held under arrest.
They’re moving you to a jail cell.
Jake sits up, determined.
JAKE
Not on my watch. Where’s my coat?
MIDGE
In the closet...
He pulls the IV from his arm.
MIDGE (CONT’D)
What are you...
He scrambles out of bed, goes to the closet. Grabs the trench
coat, reaches in the pocket. His face falls...
MIDGE (CONT’D)
Lose something?.
Midge holds up the blood-stained affidavit. Jake nearly
collapses with relief.
JAKE
I could kiss you.
Midge half smiles at the idea.
JAKE (CONT’D)
We gotta get out of here.
MIDGE
(deadpan)
You think?
INT. OUTSIDE HOSPITAL ROOM - MORNING
TWO COPS guard Jake’s room. Boredom. Midge strolls out,
flirtatious:
MIDGE
Morning officers. I’m making an
emergency bakery run. What can I
get for St. Louie’s finest?
The cops light up.
CUT TO:
AN OPEN BOX OF UNFINISHED DONUTS...
And the two cops in their chairs, out cold.
INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - MOVING - MORNING
Midge rides the elevator down with Jake. He looks ridiculous
hiding behind a pair of her oversized sunglasses and feminine
floppy hat.
MIDGE
Ever notice how much Xanax
resembles sugar sprinkles?
EXT. PARKING LOT - UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - MORNING
They hurry out of the hospital into the parking lot.
JAKE
Listen. We need to check on Sam
Carr’s wife.
MIDGE
What-- now?.
JAKE
I think she’s in danger.
MIDGE
But you have the affidavit. Just
take it to the authorities.
JAKE
The second I show my face I’ll be
in custody. I have no doubt Salig’s
minions are looking for her. It’s
only an hour drive. I should have
gone sooner but... with the funeral
and all... Besides-- she may know
something.
(pause)
On the way we’ll see Shannon
Malone.
Midge’s jaw drops.
MIDGE
Seriously?
JAKE
She needs to know the truth, Midge.
They reach Midge’s car. Jake sees his reflection in her
window.
JAKE (CONT’D)
But first things first.
INT. MIDGE’S CAR - MORNING
Jake waits. Midge jumps back in, hands him a pair of new
sunglasses and a Cardinals baseball cap. Jake replaces them,
looks in the mirror. Much better.
EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY
Cap pulled low, head down, Jake stands beside Midge as she
speaks into the intercom.
MIDGE
My name is Midge Stone, I’m a nurse
at University Hospital. I have
information about... Jake Gibson
and your father.
Pause. BUZZZZ..
INT. SHANNON’S APARTMENT - DAY
Shannon stands in her stylish but small one-bedroom. She
greets Midge like a Nazi.
SHANNON
What’s this all about?
Midge is followed by Jake.
SHANNON (CONT’D)
And who the hell are you?
Jake takes off his shades and baseball cap.
JAKE
Ms. Malone-
Without another word Shannon pulls out a pistol and aims it
at him.
SHANNON
You son of a bitch.
Midge freezes. Jake stays calm.
JAKE
Shannon, listen to me. I didn’t
kill your father. He was shot by
Everett Salig’s men before my eyes.
Because of what he knew. I was shot
too. Now I’m a wanted man. Would I
come here if I killed your father?
Shannon glances between Midge and Jake, doesn’t lower the
gun.
MIDGE
It’s true.
SHANNON
Didn’t ask you, blondie.
JAKE
Your father had a document. An
affidavit that could destroy Salig.
It’s in my pocket. Can I show you?
Shannon holds the gun steady. Very slowly, Jake opens his
coat, takes out the bloody affidavit and tosses it on the
desk. Shannon surveys it, keeping one eye on Jake.
JAKE (CONT’D)
It goes deeper. Patients are dying
after being treated by his
experimental new drug. There’s a
cover-up.
Shannon looks him in the eye, keeping the gun on him.
SHANNON
You believe your grandfather was a
great man, don’t you?
Jake isn’t sure where this is going.
JAKE
Ever since I bounced on his knee.
SHANNON
Save that story for a Christmas
party. My grandfather, he was a
broken man. Ever since he lost his
wife. My father’s mother. My father
was just fifteen. She died during
an operation.
Jake remains calm. Midge is frozen.
JAKE
Shannon, just put down the gun.
SHANNON
There were allegations. Talk the
surgeon had been drinking. He was
quietly transferred. The hospital
covered it up.
(bitter)
Did you know my father started out
as a public defender? Until his
wife died-- giving birth to me. She
couldn’t have been healthier. I
couldn’t tell you exactly what
happened. The hospital somehow
‘lost’ the records. They lost the
records. My father lost his mother
and his wife. That’s when he
decided the public needed better
legal defense against your noble
profession.
(flat)
He carried both their pictures in
his wallet. His mother was
beautiful. So was mine.
JAKE
... I didn’t know. I’m sorry...
SHANNON
Send flowers, you’ll feel better.
JAKE
We’re fighting the same thing,
Shannon. We’re on the same side.
They took Gracie. They took your
father. They took an innocent
witness who was a mother too. They
took a doctor who wanted to expose
something... and I believe his wife
could be next.
(beat)
We’re going to her now.
Jake takes a gamble. He indicates the affidavit.
JAKE (CONT’D)
We have this. You’re a lawyer...
Will you help us?
Shannon doesn’t budge.
JAKE (CONT’D)
It’s an hour drive. I can fill you
in on the way.
Beat.
SHANNON
Salig was on Nightline last night.
He chewed you up pretty good.
JAKE
They never get my... never mind.
Slowly, Shannon lowers her gun. Her eyes burn with vengeance.
She grabs her briefcase.
SHANNON
We’ll take my car.
INT. SALIG’S OFFICE - DAY
Howard Crane paces before Salig. He’s been drinking.
SALIG
Howard, sit down.
CRANE
No. No. You went too far! She was
my goddamn wife!
SALIG
It’s not as if you loved her.
Crane glares at him.
SALIG (CONT’D)
May I remind you that Crane
Pharmaceuticals has increased its
annual revenue by an astonishing 68
percent? 68 percent, that is
correct, isn’t it? You’ve made a
fortune from Expercare Hospitals,
Howard, and never mind how much
under-the-table drug manufacturing
you-- that is to say, they-- engage
in.
Crane grabs a handful of candy from a little bowl on Salig’s
desk.
CRANE
It was all your goddamn mastermind
idea! Anything to make a profit!
He pops the candy in his mouth. Salig eyes him calmly.
SALIG
Lower your voice.
CRANE
Don’t think for one minute about
trying to pin this shit on me!
SALIG
Howard, you’re not fooling anyone.
You’ve known our position all
along. If a patient is going to
expire soon anyway, there’s nothing
wrong with helping them to go
quickly and painlessly. It’s the
humane way.
CRANE
Horseshit. You’re playing God and I
want out. I’m done.
SALIG
Are you indeed?
(sly)
Well then. I hope I’m able to
control any leakage.
CRANE
What the hell are you talking
about?.
SALIG
Leakage. Say, for example, how some
of your company’s drugs may have
been, most unfortunately, tainted.
Crane is enraged, red-faced.
CRANE
You son of a bitch. How low do you
sink, Salig? You wanna go up
against ME? Do you know who I am?
I’ll fight you to-
Suddenly he clutches his throat. His eyes go wide, he can’t
breathe. He starts gasping... topples against the desk...
knocks over a chair as he sinks to his knees.
CRANE (CONT’D)
... ambulance...
Salig just watches, expressionless. He puts the bowl of candy
back inside his desk drawer.
EXT. HIGHWAY / SHANNON’S JAGUAR - SAME
Shannon’s little SILVER JAGUAR zooms down the highway.
She is at the wheel, Midge in the passenger seat. Hunkered
down in the miniscule space behind them Jake winces at his
wound, not terribly cozy...
INT. EXPERCARE OFFICES - SAME
A SECRETARY exits a break room sipping a fresh cup of coffee.
She starts down the corridor... but pauses, hearing a muted
thudding coming from Salig’s office. She hesitates, then
knocks.
SECRETARY
Is everything alright, Dr. Salig?
INT. SALIG’S OFFICE - CONT’D
Gasping, Crane struggles on the floor. Angered at the
intervention, his hand now forced, Salig yells out:
SALIG
Call 911!
His face remains impassive..
EXT. CARR’S HOME - ILLINOIS - DAY
Shannon pulls her Jag into the driveway of an upper middle-
class suburban home. She and Midge hop out. Jake unfolds
himself from his little space and crawls out after them.
Hobbling, he joins them as they approach the front door.
JAKE
So that’s what yoga feels like.
Reaching the door, he holds his hand up to stop them.
CLOSE-UP: TELLTALE SCRATCHES ON THE LOCK. IT’S BEEN FORCED.
Jake holds a finger to his lips. Nudges open the door. He
enters cautiously...
INT. CARR’S HOME - CONTINUOUS
The house has been ransacked. Turned upside down.
Midge and Shannon creep in behind him.
SHANNON
(whispers)
Someone’s looking for something.
MIDGE
You think?
JAKE
Stay close.
The two women follow Jake...
VARIOUS SHOTS - FROM ROOM TO ROOM...
Jake searches the house.
Stealth-like. Quiet.
Opens closet doors--
We fear what will pop out, but there’s no one.
He makes the women wait at the top of the stairs as he
checks...
THE BASEMENT... it’s empty...
In the BATHROOMS, classic pull-back-the-shower-curtain bit...
No one...
JAKE (CONT’D)
We’re alone.
MIDGE
God, I hope she’s alright.
(whirls on Shannon)
You’re a lawyer, why can’t you get
her number?
SHANNON
(bristles)
And how do you propose I do that,
Lois Lane, just snap my fingers?
MIDGE
I assumed you had contacts.
SHANNON
Of course I have contacts. I have
more contacts on my little finger
than-- okay fine, I’ll make a few
calls--
JAKE
Ladies! Ceasefire.
Jake takes out his phone. Reluctant.
JAKE (CONT’D)
I got this.
INT. GRACE’S PARENTS HOME - SAME
PHONE RINGS. Ann rises from a chair, crosses the room and
answers.
ANN
Hello?
She pales. She motions Harold over from the kitchen.
INTERCUT.
JAKE
Ann, listen. You know I didn’t
shoot Malone. He was killed before
my eyes.
Ann has him on speakerphone. She’s speechless. Harold joins
her.
JAKE (CONT’D)
I was trying to save him. He had
incriminating evidence against
Everett Salig. Criminal evidence.
(MORE)
JAKE (CONT’D)
Salig’s men tried to kill me too. I
was shot.
Ann and Harold are confused. Given the circumstances-- this
is a delicate conversation to say the least.
HAROLD
You’re on the news. You’re a wanted
man.
JAKE
I wouldn’t be calling if this
wasn’t a last resort. Sam Carr was
murdered for what he knew. Now
Lisa’s in danger.
Ann is frightened.
JAKE (CONT’D)
I need to protect her. She said you
would have her number.
Ann and Harold share a look. Ann fights tears.
ANN
Gracie... Gracie loved you. She
said... she said you were the only
man she ever met who was...
incapable of harm.
JAKE
(quietly)
I took an oath.
Beat. Harold nods at Ann.
INT. CARR’S HOME - DAY
Jake scrawls down the number.
JAKE
Thank you, Ann. For trusting me.
He hangs up and immediately dials Lisa...
VOICE MAIL (O.S.)
... 865-4549, is not available at
this time. Please leave a
message...
Damn..
JAKE
Lisa, it’s Jake Gibson. I’m taking
a risk calling you-- But I think
you’re in danger. Listen to me. I
didn’t kill anyone. The same people
who killed Sam-
-- he’s interrupted by an INCOMING CALL from the same number.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Lisa?
Her voice on the other end sounds small and terrified.
LISA (O.S.)
I believe you. Can we meet?
INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SAME
TWO PARAMEDICS rush Howard Crane into the emergency room. A
NURSE (2) trots beside them--
PARAMEDIC
Vitals are stable--
NURSE 2
Blood pressure?
PARAMEDIC
163 over 99. We found Diovan and
Toprol in his pocket. He was on his
last breath. If we arrived a minute
later-- we wouldn’t be moving so
fast right now.
We now see Salig following behind them. He’s expressionless.
EXT. PARK - DAY
An empty area of a park. Lisa waits on a bench, wearing a hat
and dark glasses. Jake, also in his sunglasses and baseball
cap, approaches, accompanied by Midge and Shannon. Lisa
reacts like a frightened animal.
LISA
Who are they?
JAKE
(deadpan)
My entourage. Take it from the most
wanted man in Missouri. You can
trust them.
They sit beside her.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Are you alright?
Lisa hesitates.
LISA
Men have been following me. I
checked into a motel... What’s
going on?
JAKE
We’re gonna keep you safe, Lisa.
Tell me what you know.
LISA
I don’t know anything. Sam left a
note... the morning he left...
A tear rolls down her cheek.
JAKE
What did it say, Lisa?
LISA
It said... it said to give
something to you, if... if anything
happened... Don’t trust
authorities, it said. Give it to
Jake Gibson and no one else. But
then you were all over the news...
I didn’t know what to do...
She’s sobbing. Jake puts an arm around her. She cries into
his shoulder.
JAKE
(gently)
Give me what, Lisa?
Without looking up, Lisa reaches into her pocket.
She hands him a computer thumb drive.
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SAME
“GIBSON AUDITORIUM” is displayed over open doors.
Gathering outside the auditorium are Salig, Hudley, SENIOR
HOSPITAL STAFF, BOARD MEMBERS and SHAREHOLDERS. All well-
heeled smiles. Handshakes...
EXT. PARK - CONT’D
Bracelets clacking, Shannon unlocks her briefcase, takes out
her laptop, whips it open, turns it on and hands it to Jake
in one non-stop ultra-efficient motion. Jake looks at her,
impressed.
SHANNON
What?
He pops in the thumb drive. Starts clicking. Files appear on
the screen.
MIDGE
Well?
JAKE
... Looks like Sam was emailing
colleagues around the country.
Confirming, off the record, a high
rate of sudden deaths at various
periods after administration of the
IsoP steroid...
Clicks open another file.
JAKE (CONT’D)
This can’t be...
MIDGE
What?
JAKE
Expercare emergency room critical
admits had a 500-fold increase of
deaths within the first hours of
arrival. 500-fold...
MIDGE
My God...
SHANNON
Lawsuit.
JAKE
None of this was reported in a
published Expercare paper
detailing, quote, “the safety and
efficacy of a revolutionary new
membrane stabilizer for seriously
ill patients.”
Jake clicks. Diagrams pop up.
JAKE (CONT’D)
He took samples of the IsoP to a
lab on his own for analysis and...
(pales)
Mother of God...
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - CONT’D
People begin to filter into the auditorium. We now see a sign
declaring a scheduled board presentation, to announce “FIRST
QUARTER PROFITABILITY,” beginning in half an hour.
EXT. PARK - CONT’D
Jake is awestruck. Midge peers over his shoulder.
MIDGE
What?
JAKE
... Polyfisterase.
MIDGE
What’s Polyfisterase?
JAKE
A forgotten footnote in medicine. A
potent poison discovered in Sweden
in the ‘70s, a mixture of compounds
that when injected into the
bloodstream produces sudden heart
fibrillation and death. It’s
impossible to detect in the system.
That’s why its manufacturing was
banned.
Shannon, deprived of her laptop, has begun scrawling rapid-
fire notes in a notepad.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Salig knew about it. Looks like he
figured out if you simply flip its
molecular structure, create
something called an isomer... it’d
have the same molecular formula
only reversed in space. You’d have
a drug as harmless as sugar
water... until its molecular
structure somehow flips back... and
immediately stops the heart. And no
one would associate the drug with
the patient’s death.
(stunned)
He designed the perfect hemlock.
LISA
I don’t understand...
Jake is grim.
JAKE
He’s using Polyfisterase to kill
critically ill patients. Quickly
and without a trace. IsoP is
Polyfisterase.
LISA
But why would he...
MIDGE
(realizing)
To free up beds. More patients...
SHANNON
More money.
They look at each other. Can’t believe what they’re saying.
JAKE
But how does he get it to flip
back?... Lisa, I need to know the
truth. Why didn’t Sam go to the
authorities?
Lisa looks down. This feels like betrayal.
LISA
When his father’s carpet business
went bankrupt, Sam left school to
help him. It was his last year. He
never completed his residency. He
wasn’t certified.
JAKE
So Expercare hired him under the
table.
LISA
Exposure would have sent him to
prison. They used it as leverage to
make him turn a blind eye. And he
wasn’t the only one.
Fresh tears spill from her eyes.
LISA (CONT’D)
We had a good life. I begged him to
keep quiet.
She starts sobbing uncontrollably. Midge cradles her,
comforts her. Jake removes the thumb drive.
JAKE
I need you both to stay with Lisa.
Check into another motel. Stay out
of sight.
SHANNON
You got yourself a lawyer, sister.
MIDGE
(to Jake)
What about you?
Jake checks his watch.
JAKE
I’ve got a party to crash.
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM - SAME
People take their seats. IN THE FRONT ROW: Salig and Hudley
are joined by Administrator Wilson, who appears less than
enthusiastic.
EXT. PARK - CONT’D
Lisa points to her brown 4-door Honda visible beyond the
trees.
LISA
You can use my car.
Jake’s eyes settle instead on Shannon’s silver Jag behind it.
Shannon narrows her eyes.
SHANNON
If I see so much as a scratch...
She tosses him the keys. Jake hurries off.
SHANNON (CONT’D)
Wait!
She runs up behind him. Discreetly, she offers her pistol.
Jake won’t even touch it.
JAKE
I save lives.
INT. SHANNON’S JAGUAR - MOVING - DAY
His jaw tight, Jake drives...
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM - SAME
The auditorium lights dim. Wilson steps up to the podium.
Polite applause.
INT. SHANNON’S JAGUAR - MOVING - CONT’D
Jake drives.
He hears a SIREN BLIP.
To his great dismay he sees a POLICE CAR behind him, lights
flashing. He checks his speedometer:
80 MPH. Damn it...
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM - CONT’D
A video screen displays a large Expercare logo behind Wilson
at the podium. Applause fades. He does his best to hide his
lack of gusto.
WILSON
Welcome shareholders, boardmembers,
senior staffers. Thank you for
taking time out of your day to join
us...
INT. SHANNON’S JAGUAR - MOVING - CONT’D
BLIP! BLIP! The cop trails in the mirror.
Jake is torn. He’s a wanted man. Speeding in the car of the
daughter of the man he’s thought to have murdered... what to
do?
ANGLE ON HIS AIR JORDAN-- HE GUNS THE ACCELERATOR.
EXT. HIGHWAY - SAME
The Jag zooms ahead, leaving traffic in the dust.
The cop follows, SIREN BLARING...
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM - CONT’D
Wilson continues his introduction.
WILSON
Since our Board of Regents reached
an agreement with Expercare to hand
over the keys to our hospital, I
stand here now at the end of our
first fiscal quarter to share the
results, namely: the highest profit
margin University Hospital has ever
seen...
Vigorous APPLAUSE. Wilson doesn’t smile.
EXT. HIGHWAY - CONT’D
Now a second SIREN. ANOTHER COP joins the chase.
Both speed after the little silver Jag as it weaves through
traffic and races down the highway.
INT. SHANNON’S JAGUAR - MOVING / EXT. HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS
Jake navigates traffic. Looking for an opening. He spots
one... it’s now or never...
He whips the steering wheel.
In split-second timing the Jag SCREECHES a daring u-turn--
rumbles over the mid-lane divider--
... and zooms back in the opposite direction.
The cops try to maneuver the same. But the hole in traffic is
closed.
Jake disappears off an exit ramp.
The cops bark into their radios...
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM - CONT’D
Wilson intones to the audience, wishing he were somewhere
else.
WILSON
So without further ado, let me
introduce the CEO and founder of
Expercare. International medical
scholar, Dr. Everett Salig.
Hearty APPLAUSE as Salig strolls regally up to the podium,
relishing his welcome.
He looks out upon the audience with a kingly smile. Raises
his hands to quell the hurrahs.
SALIG
Thank you, Administrator Wilson...
thank you... thank you... Esteemed
colleagues, honorable guests, my
good friends...
EXT. DOCTORS PARKING LOT - UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - DAY
THE RESERVED PARKING SPOT FOR “JASON ‘JAKE’ GIBSON, M.D.”
The Jag speeds into it. Jake leaps out. He blows a speck of
dust off the hood.
JAKE
Not a scratch.
He runs toward the hospital.
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM - SAME
Salig in mid-oration, a slick chart projected behind him.
SALIG
With over 250 hospitals in its
network across the country, many of
them university-affiliated, and
with more than 20 billion dollars
in assets...
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SAME
Jake slips into a back entrance. Moves swiftly.
SALIG (O.S.)
... Expercare is well-poised to
support the fundamental teaching
and vital research necessary in the
field of medicine in the 21st
century...
Jake passes the auditorium, turns a corner. Slips in a
door...
INT. PROJECTION BOOTH - SAME
An A/V projectionist, RANDY, sits with a laptop in the small
dark room, at an open window. Looking out from the back of
the auditorium, he controls the presentation on stage. He
turns at the intrusion--.
RANDY
Shhh. We’re in the middle of...
Jake tears off his hat and glasses. Randy is agog.
RANDY (CONT’D)
Dr. Gibson...?
JAKE
(quietly)
Randy, I need that microphone.
Astonishment turns to fear in Randy’s eyes.
RANDY
But you’re...
Without further ado, he gets up and flees.
Jake closes the door behind him, drags some A/V equipment to
block it...
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM / A/V PROJECTION BOOTH - CONTINUOUS
Salig continues.
SALIG
As you can see from these new
implementations, your hospital now
embraces the cutting edge of
technological...
The graphic he’s expecting doesn’t appear.
SALIG (CONT’D)
Well, no technology is perfect.
Laughter. He peers out at the rear booth window.
SALIG (CONT’D)
Next graphic please.
Then...
He goes white as a ghost.
JAKE
(into live microphone)
Hello Salig.
Gasps in the stunned audience. People rise to their feet and
look up to see Jake in the open window, holding the affidavit
and thumb drive.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Look what I found.
SALIG
(quickly)
Call security!
House lights go up. Jake is undaunted.
JAKE
Clearly time is not on my side. So
I’ll cut to the chase. I have in my
hands evidence to show that the man
who stands on that podium before
you has based his entire career on
lies and false credentials, and is
using an untested drug program to
terminate patients before their
time... to free beds for profit.
The audience buzzes. Wilson is incredulous.
SALIG
(flustered)
This meeting is adjourned! Please
exit the auditorium!
But the shocked audience stays put, gaping at Jake.
JAKE
How are you doing it, Salig? How
are you getting the Polyfisterase
molecular structure to flip back to
become an undetectable killer drug?
Someone starts BANGING on the door behind Jake.
SALIG
This man is crazy! Gibson, you’re
just trying to hide behind
ridiculous accusations to clear
your name in the murder of Mitchell
Malone. Where is security!
JAKE
Then how do you explain a 500-fold
increase in emergency room deaths
in your hospitals? Look it up,
folks. I’m not making this up.
The confused audience looks from Jake at the rear of the
auditorium back to Salig at the podium. They await a
response. Perspiration on Salig’s brow..
SALIG
Granted there have been glitches
with the IsoP steroid-- which I, by
the way, have very recently
uncovered and was about to bring to
light-- but they do not involve
Expercare. They resulted from short
cuts taken by a pharmaceutical lab
in the manufacturing of the drug,
unbeknownst to us at the time,
which led to a small number of
tainted vials. This falls in the
domain of the pharmaceutical
company, which I’m sorry to say is
owned by one of our hospital
investors, Howard Crane.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - SAME
Howard Crane lies asleep in a hospital bed. A DOCTOR injects
his IV bag with a brightly-colored drug.
CLOSE-UP: THE EXPERCARE LOGO...
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM / A/V PROJECTION BOOTH - CONT’D
By their unsettled reaction the audience seems torn between
the two men at opposite ends of the auditorium.
Suddenly the door SMASHES OPEN behind Jake.
It’s Head of security Santiago, his gun drawn. Approaching
SIRENS are heard outside. Santiago locks eyes with Jake.
We remember that Jake saved his son’s life.
SANTIAGO
You have maybe three minutes, Jake.
He holsters his gun, turns and leaves, leaving Jake on his
own. Jake turns back to the auditorium window and live mic.
ANGLE ON A PAINTING HANGING IN THE AUDITORIUM. A PORTRAIT OF
JED GIBSON. OLD, KINDLY, TWINKLING EYES.
JAKE
The man in that portrait, the
beloved man in whose name this
auditorium was dedicated, my
grandfather, was the best family
doctor this city has ever seen.
(MORE).
JAKE (CONT'D)
When I was five years old I used to
follow him around his office, doing
little chores, emptying waste
baskets, listening to him spend
time with his patients. Learning
how he cared so much about them.
Tagging along on house calls.
Seeing the good in people.
EXT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SAME
POLICE CARS screech to a stop outside the hospital.
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM / A/V PROJECTION BOOTH - CONT’D
SALIG
I’m sure that’s a lovely story, Dr.
Gibson, but the police are here to
arrest you--
Jake’s voice resonates louder throughout the auditorium:
JAKE
I still have some of his patient
logs. The day of his heart attack,
at 84, Grandpa Jed made his last
house call-- an inner city high
school kid who needed a physical to
play football. My grandfather
examined him and completed the
paperwork. Guess how much he
charged?
INT. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SAME
Alarmed STAFF react as POLICE rush into the hospital.
INT. GIBSON AUDITORIUM / A/V PROJECTION BOOTH - CONT’D
The auditorium has grown ghostly quiet.
SALIG
Dr. Gibson, do put aside your self-
serving family tale and self-
righteous ambition and go with some
dignity.
JAKE
You want to talk about ambition? If
I’ve had ambition it’s only been to
expand the effectiveness of our
profession to help people who need
it. And if I’ve helped save only
one life, that’s one more than you,
Salig.
The audience is astonished.
JAKE (CONT’D)
At one time or another this self-
proclaimed expert on surgery has
headed almost every neurological
organization in the country-- yet
he’s never performed a single
surgery!
SALIG
Not true!
JAKE
It is true! Again-- look it up. All
you’ll find is a financial
profiteer who cares about nothing
but the money he makes and will
stop at nothing to make more!
Jake’s passionate integrity and honesty shine through.
JAKE (CONT’D)
My friends in this room today, if
you care about our profession, if
you care about people, you must
acknowledge that our traditional
values are being suffocated under
the likes of Expercare, and the
criminal on stage who runs it.
Jake looks around the silent auditorium into familiar eyes...
PAN ALONG former patients. Family members of patients.
Friends. Colleagues. Those who know him....
JAKE (CONT’D)
Call me naive. Call me an idealist.
I wear that badge with honor. I’m a
trusted physician. I’m a healer and
I’ve dedicated my life to never
doing harm... I took an oath...
Then... SOMEONE begins clapping. Rapidly ANOTHER follows...
Then ANOTHER and ANOTHER and ANOTHER, stepping into the
aisles...
A sudden COMMOTION up front. Police burst in, guns drawn.
But the aisles are filling with the audience on their feet
APPLAUDING... and blocking the police, who wave their
weapons, trying to get to Jake at the back of the
auditorium...
Mere seconds left, Jake motions Wilson over to the open
window. Amid the confusion Wilson rushes to him. Jake hands
the affidavit and thumb drive down to him.
JAKE (CONT’D)
Do the right thing, Vince.
With terrible sadness, Wilson takes the evidence.
WILSON
Salig won’t let this go, Jake.
You’ll always be a wanted man...
CLOSE ON JAKE: HE KNOWS...
Life as he knew it is over.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN:
INT. LOCAL DINER - DAY
Jake’s favorite diner. PAN along the booths... no Jake.
INT. HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE - DAY
Wilson alone at his desk. He opens a drawer, takes out a pint
of scotch, pours a bit into his coffee. Replaces the bottle.
Gazes into his cup, mournful, reflective. He looks like he’s
aged ten years.
EXT. CAPITOL HILL, WASHINGTON, DC - DAY
The Capitol Building, against a cloudy sky.
INT. COMMITTEE ROOM - SAME
MEDIA. Cameras FLASH. Everett Salig is on the stand, polite
and confident in his $4,000 suit as he testifies to a HOUSE
COMMITTEE.
SALIG
The errors in judgment made by Mr.
Crane, God rest his soul, were
unfortunate human errors.
Salig is represented by none other than Malone’s former
prosecuting attorney M. L. Auclair, who stands at his side.
SALIG (CONT’D)
Let us learn a lesson from these
unfortunate mistakes: human
ambition does not belong in
medicine. What the economics of
healthcare demands is a more
streamlined, technologically
regimented, human-error-free,
computerized paradigm... What it
does not need are bleeding heart
doctors like the notorious at-large
murderer Jason Gibson who pose the
real threat to the future of
healthcare reform in America.
The committee APPLAUDS, won over.
SALIG (CONT’D)
Medicine has no room for renegades
who think they can do anything they
want... like our infamous Dr.
Gibson...
INT. LOCAL DINER - DAY
Back at the diner, PAN continues and ends on a TV OVER THE
COUNTER: SHANNON IS BEING INTERVIEWED ON CNN, WITH LISA BY
HER SIDE.
SHANNON (ON TV)
Jake Gibson may have disappeared,
but his exposure of Everett Salig
and Expercare’s heinous, murderous
activities has only just begun.
CNN NEWS ANCHOR (ON TV)
But Dr. Salig has unconditionally
denied these allegations, and the
celebrated thumb drive has been
largely discredited as falsified
records.
SHANNON (ON TV)
The men who have discredited the
records are liars.
CNN NEWS ANCHOR (ON TV)
But one might argue, Ms. Malone,
that the burden of proof falls on
you the accuser, and your
persistent public stance is at odds
with a seeming lack of it.
SHANNON (ON TV)
Dead bodies are the proof. Like my
father.
(her gaze icy)
As I said-- this story has just
begun.
CUT TO:
EXT. JUNGLE - BELIZE - DAY
Dense foliage. Exotic wildlife. Two scarlet macaws perch on a
branch. A multi-colored toucan. Howler monkeys swing through
trees. A jaguar prowls.
A man moves through the jungle.
A Mayan tribesman, SALOMAO, 30. He carries an unconscious 8-
year-old GIRL, pale and limp in his arms. He is dirty,
stumbling with exhaustion. He appears to have been walking
for days.
With sudden alarm he freezes--
A poisonous snake dangles menacingly two feet from his
face...
After what seems like an eternity it slithers away. Salomao’s
heart resumes beating.
He trudges onward. Finally he parts thick fronds and sees...
A deteriorating, one-story stucco building. Little more than
a large shack, several windows broken and boarded up. Salomao
smiles.
INT. MISSIONARY HOSPITAL - DAY
A rat scurries along the floor of the jungle missionary
hospital. The place is filthy, conditions primitive and foul.
MISSIONARY NUNS chase stray dogs out of the halls with
brooms. SICK PATIENTS lie on cots.
INT. OPERATING AREA - SAME
CLOSE ON TATTOO: SERPENT-ENTWINED ROD OF ASCLEPIUS, “IN
WHOSE STEPS I WALK” SCRIPTED AROUND IT.
A bearded Jake, in an old pair of scrubs, washes his hands in
a rust-stained sink. This crude third world excuse for an
operating room belongs in a bygone era.
Salomao is kept back as two NUN NURSES wheel his little girl
in and lay her on a table. Drying his hands, Jake turns to
the nuns and an old SPANIARD PHYSICIAN. His team.
JAKE
(Spanish SUBTITLED)
Are we ready, guys ‘n gals?
INT. MISSIONARY HOSPITAL - DAY
Still in his scrubs, Jake approaches the frightened Mayan. In
a few halting words of native Kekchi Indian dialect, Jake
reassures him.
JAKE
(SUBTITLED)
... your child... good...
Salomao embraces him, overwhelmed with joy.
SALOMAO
(SUBTITLED)
I have no money, but I made this,
with my hands, for you. To protect
and bring you peace.
He offers a small carved icon, which Jake accepts graciously.
SISTER MARTA (O.S.)
Doctor Jake?
Jake turns... SISTER MARTA, 40s, the woman who phoned him
once before, stands in the open doorway.
JAKE
Sí, Sister Marta?
SISTER MARTA
(Spanish SUBTITLED)
Doctor Jake... someone is here to
see you.
With a little smirk, she steps aside.
Astonishment spreads over Jake’s face.
It’s Midge. Carrying two suitcases.
JAKE
(in disbelief)
Midge? What are you...?
She sets them down. Shrugs.
MIDGE
I got tired of pompous a-holes.
Pardon my French.
She smiles. HOLD for a moment.
Jake grins back.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. LUXURY HOTEL BALLROOM - DAY
An audience of CORPORATE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, CEOs, etc.,
listen with approval... to Everett Salig on stage. Expercare
logo is projected behind him. Attorney Auclair hands him an
Expercare binder.
SALIG
Developed by Expercare and based on
my own research, Salig Operational
Automaton Robotics, or SOAR, is
quite simply the future of
medicine. No need for surgeons
making erroneous judgment calls.
Merely enter pertinent data into
the SOAR analysis system and it
provides an immediate, accurate,
unbiased, statistically reliable
diagnostic treatment procedure.
SOAR is programmed to carry out any
surgery. Each and every patient
receives a proper operation-- high
quality at low cost. Need I say
more? A picture is worth a thousand
words. See for yourself.
BEHIND HIM A VIDEO BEGINS: a PATIENT lies on an operating
table beneath a massive, futuristic array of complex robotic
arms holding surgical tools, monitors displaying digitalized
3-D anatomical images, etc.
No people. Only the patient surrounded by computerized
robotics. Everything has an Expercare logo.
A bright red substance begins flowing through a tube into the
patient’s arm. His eyes close. A robot arm holding a scalpel
moves in...
END
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