EXT. COLUMBUS, OHIO - DAY

The state capital of Ohio.  It’s an impressive building for
a city this size.

SUPERTITLE: COLUMBUS, OHIO - STATE CAPITAL

INT. OHIO STATE SUPREME COURT - DAY

In chambers striving for august, JUSTICES listen to a lawyer
MR. RODMAN, argue his case before the highest court in Ohio. 
Mr. Rodman enjoys the sound of his own voice.

MR. RODMAN
This informant, paid by the police,
using taxpayers dollars to continue
his felony drug habit, was the link
which allowed police to raid a private
farm.  A working farm.  A farm where
honest Americans make their living.

One particular justice, ROBERT WAKEFIELD, younger than the
others, is clearly bemused by this performance.

MR. RODMAN
The government, in its haste, has
employed an army of criminals whose
allegiance to the truth is, at
best, questionable --

Judge Wakefield interrupts --

ROBERT
Mr. Rodman...it’s too bad your client
didn’t show as much sense in choosing
what he planted as he did in choosing
his attorney...

A polite chuckle from the justices --

ROBERT
Lately the only variation I’m hearing
in your argument is the name of the
client.  And you can sit there all
day arguing the ins and outs of
Illinois v. Gates, but you aren’t
going to convince me that this country
has not sanctioned the use of
anonymous informants.
(beat)
Furthermore, there is no sacred
protection of property rights in the
United Sates.  When you make the
decision to have marijuana on your
farm, whether it’s one joint or an
acre of plants, your property can be
seized and your property can be sold.

MR. RODMAN
I’m sorry the court finds my argument
repetitious.

ROBERT
Mr. Rodman, may I offer a piece of
advice?  The next time you argue
this point before this court,
regardless of my whereabouts, I
recommend you have something up your
sleeve other than your arm.

INT. ROBERT’S CHAMBERS - DAY

The office is marble and dark wood.  A young CLERK, black,
29, enters carrying an oddly-shaped gift.  They both look at
it.

CLERK
What do you think it is?

ROBERT
Depends who it’s from.

CLERK
(reading the card)
Your friends at Warren, Putnam and
Hudson.

ROBERT
You can learn a lot about somebody
from this stuff.  Three categories:
you like me, you hate me, you want
something from me.
(re: the elaborate
box)
Definitely third category.

CLERK
What would a law firm want from the
new drug Czar?

ROBERT
Depends on the state.

CLERK
(checks)
Arizona.

ROBERT
Medicinal marijuana initiative.
(beat)
Or am I being cynical?

They both laugh.  Robert reaches up and pulls a bottle of
Scotch from a shelf.  He pours a couple of fingers in two
glasses.

CLERK
Maybe there’s a book in it.

The clerk takes one of the glasses.

ROBERT
Not by me.

They toast and drink.

EXT. COURTHOUSE - DAY

Robert exits, trailed by a small group of reporters.  He
gets into a car being driven by two security TYPES.

INT. AIRPLANE - DAY

Robert sits in a business class window seat.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

An expensive hotel.  Robert Wakefield stands at the window,
looking at the view of our nation’s capital.

SUPERTITLE: WASHINGTON D.C.

ON THE TABLE

The remnants of a meal.  It was a steak and a small caesar
salad.  The wine glass is half-empty.

ANOTHER ANGLE ON ROBERT

In front of the mirror now, trying on a dark, tasteful jacket.

CLOSER

On Robert in the same position, only now we are in HIS HOME. 
It’s daytime, and his wife BARBARA is helping him into this
same jacket.  As her hands dust the lint off his shoulders

WE MATCH CUT TO:

ROBERT

In the hotel rooms, making the same motions.  Satisfied, he
straightens, then turns to look at himself.

OMITTED

ANGLE ON ROBERT

Back at the hotel room window now.  Reaches to the table and
lifts the wine glass.

CUT TO:

EXT. DIRT ROAD - DAY

This is the middle of nowhere.  Scrub cactus and dust and a
heartless sun.

SUPERTITLE: MEXICO - TWENTY MILES SOUTHWEST OF TIJUANA.

A broken down-looking Police Sedan is parked on the side of
the road.  It seems abandoned except there are TWO MEN inside.

INT. POLICE SEDAN - DAY

Two Mexican men, State Police officers, JAVIER RODRIGUEZ,
30’s, and MANUEL "MANOLO" SANCHEZ, 20’s, wearing jeans, knock-
off Polo shirts, and cowboy boots, wait patiently in the
car.

JAVIER
I had that dream again.

A long pause.

MANOLO
Which one?

Another long pause.

JAVIER
Where my mother’s suffocating.

They continue to wait until there is the sound of a JET
ENGINE.  It grows LOUDER as it approaches.

EXT. THE POLICE SEDAN - DAY

The shadow of a large plane crosses the desert floor.  Then,
an old DC-3 flies fifty feet above the Police Sedan.

INT. POLICE SEDAN - DAY

They watch the plane disappear over a small rise in the
desert.  They look at each other and wait some more.

EXT. MEXICAN DESERT - LATER

From the direction of the landing strip, a moving van lumbers
down the road, two TEENAGERS in the cab.

INT. POLICE SEDAN - DAY

Javi and Manolo watch the moving van approach.  Javi reaches
under the seat and picks up a bubble flasher.  He rolls down
the window and plants it on the roof.  He flips the switch.

Nothing happens.  He jiggles the wire and the siren BURPS
and the light flashes.  Manolo and Javi step from the car,
smiling.

EXT. MEXICAN DESERT - DAY

The moving van slows to a stop.  Javi approaches.  The DRIVER
unhurriedly rolls down the window.

DRIVER
Is there a problem?

JAVIER
No.  There’s no problem.

The driver hesitates a confused beat then reaches for his
wallet.

DRIVER
Okay.  I see.  How much do you want?

The driver pulls a wad of bills.  Javi shakes his head.

DRIVER
You want more than this?

Javi shakes his head.  The driver exchanges a look with his
partner.

DRIVER
You want something else?

Javi smiles.  The driver gets out and walks to the back of
the truck.  He opens the rear door.  There are neatly-stacked
crates marked with a SCORPION logo and "911."  He reaches
into one of them and pulls out a tightly-sealed package also
with the scorpion stamped on it.  He turns to see Javi with
his gun drawn.

Manolo, at the passenger side, has also drawn his gun and is
motioning the partner to move to the back of the truck.

JAVIER
Drop the package.  Put your hands
behind your head.  You’re under
arrest.

The driver hesitates.  He starts to comply then looks at
Javi and Manolo.

DRIVER
I don’t understand.  I think there
must be some mistake.

JAVIER
No, there’s no mistake.

Javi motions to Manolo who cuffs both teenagers.  The driver
begins spewing OBSCENITIES under his breath.  Javi puts the
driver in the front of the Shadow.  Manolo follows in the
moving van.

OMITTED

OMITTED

EXT. DIRT ROAD - MEXICO - LATER

The truck follows the Shadow down a desert road.

Suddenly, from behind, four armored SUV’s with tinted windows
appear, closing fast.

The SUV’s force both vehicles off the road where they pull
to a stop.  A long beat as hot wind blows desert detritus
past the truck.

Finally, the SUV doors open and FEDERAL POLICE OFFICERS
surround them like a SWAT team.

The passenger door of the lead SUV opens and GENERAL ARTURO
SALAZAR, 50’s, a squat, powerful presence in a perfectly
pressed uniform gets out and approaches Javi.

SALAZAR
(to Javier)
What’s your name?

JAVIER
Javier Rodriguez.

SALAZAR
Well, Javier Rodriguez, you’ve done
a very good job, but we’ll take care
of it from here.

Javier stares into the implacable reflection of his
sunglasses.  In the distance, the DC-3 takes off and ROARS
over their heads.

SALAZAR
We’ve been following these Narco-
trafficantes for some time but had
not been able to bring them to
justice.
(to his men)
Put the prisoners in the car.
Impound the truck.

The men follow Salazar’s orders.

SALAZAR
(to Javi)
One question.  How did you find about
this?

JAVIER
An informant.

SALAZAR
What is the name of your informant?

JAVIER
(beat)
It was an anonymous tip.

Salazar looks at Javi a beat.

SALAZAR
(to his men)
For a State Police officer, you’re
very well informed.  Let’s go.

MOMENTS LATER
Javi and Manolo watch the convoy of
vehicles drive away.

Javier lights a cigarette.

MANOLO
Wasn’t that General Salazar?

JAVIER
Yeah.

MANOLO
What’s he doing up here?

JAVIER
I don’t know.  Something.

They start for their car.

OMITTED

OMITTED

OMITTED

EXT. DEL MAR SELF-STORAGE - DAY

SUPERTITLE: SAN DIEGO

Two men, RAY CASTRO, 30’s, proud, ambitious, and MONTEL
GORDON, 40’s, suspicious of everyone including himself and
always, always the smartest guy in the room, walk from a
Lincoln Towncar toward a dumpy office.  Castro is talking
under his breath --

CASTRO
No telltales.  Nothing to read.
Not touching my face.  Not even
blinking.  No giveaways.
(beat)
How’re you feeling?

GORDON
(keyed up)
I feel good.

CASTRO
No more pissant basin league bullshit
for us, hunh?

GORDON
Nope.

Castro stretches his arms, swings them around.

CASTRO
Limbering up, gonna stay loose, keep
it all together.  Take this
motherfucker down.

They reach the door to the office.  Gordon looks at Castro,
then turns the handle.

CASTRO
Showtime.

INT. OFFICE, DEL MAR SELF-STORAGE - DAY

It’s a cluttered, rundown working office unusual only in the
extent of its ordinariness.  A SECRETARY goes about her
business like a somnambulist.  CLERKS shuffle and file.

Castro switches into Spanish --

CASTRO
(in Spanish)
Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen. 
We’re looking for Eduardo Ruiz.  We
have a two o’clock appointment.

INT. OFFICE, DEL MAR SELF-STORAGE - LATER

In a back alcove, Castro and Gordon sit across a cheap table
from EDUARDO RUIZ, 40’s, an entrepreneur in an expensive
suit and bad hairpiece.  They are waiting.

RUIZ
You ever buy a quarter ton?  Not
many people have.

Another "businessman" enters from another door and whispers
in Ruiz’s ear, then leaves again.

RUIZ
So, it’s worth the wait, right?
What can I do?  Rent a Huey?  Have
an airlift?  It’s not like you can
put it in a condom up some mule’s
asshole, right?  How many peasants
would that take?  A line stretching
from here to Mexico City --

GORDON
Nobody said shit, Eduardo --

One of Ruiz’s hands dips under the desk where we see a handgun
is holstered on the underside.

RUIZ
Relax.  We’re waiting, that’s it.

CASTRO
Hey, you want to hear a joke?  I got
a joke.  Why do women wear makeup
and perfume?

GORDON
Chill out --

CASTRO
It’s a funny fuckin’ joke and it’s
quick.  Why do women wear makeup and
perfume?

RUIZ
I don’t know.

CASTRO
’Cause they’re ugly and they stink.

Castro laughs uproariously.

INT. DEA SURVEILLANCE SPACE - DAY

ON FUZZY SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: Castro laughing.  Ruiz politely
smiling, one of his hands hidden by the table.

GORDON
Man, you never been close enough to
a woman to know how she smells.

DEA AGENT (V.O.)
What’s his hand doing?  Watch his
hand.  Anybody?  I don’t like the
hand.

IN THE OFFICE

The room is filled with crappy surveillance equipment.  DEA
AGENTS, in DEA logo’d outerwear, jiggle a monitor fuzzily
displaying the view from another hidden camera: Gordon and
Ruiz around the cheap table.

DEA AGENT
This is ridiculous this fucking thing.
(taps monitor)
Look at this shit -- the first
television transmission.  I had better
shit when I was the AV guy at junior
high, swear-to-God.

ANOTHER DEA AGENT
Come on, Castro, pay attention.
Watch his damn hands.

ON THE MONITOR

Another "businessman" enters the office and whispers in Ruiz’s
ear.

RUIZ (ON MONITOR)
Soon.

Another AGENT peers out a window through binoculars.

HIS POV: THE EXTERIOR OF THE OFFICE WHERE CASTRO, GORDON,
AND RUIZ TALK.

EXT. DEL MAR SELF-STORAGE, SAN DIEGO - DAY

A BLUE VAN makes a slow turn into the parking lot.

EXT. ROOF - DAY

TWO FBI AGENTS, in jackets reading "FBI," hide on an opposing
roof.  They look through high-powered binoculars.  Binocular

POV: THE BLUE VAN TURNING INTO THE PLAZA.

FBI AGENT #2
All right, here we go.  The blue
van.

HIS BINOCULAR POV DETECTS THREE UNMARKED CARS DISCREETLY
FOLLOWING THE VAN.

FBI AGENT #2
Three unmarked vehicles.
(picks up walkie)
Three unmarked vehicles accompanying.

The unmarked cars split up and one turns into the parking
lot of a fast-food restaurant.  The other circles around the
back of a building.

FBI AGENT #2
It’s local.  Local or Customs.  Oh,
man, I don’t know.  Looks like the
cavalry.

FBI AGENT
This is our show.  Ah, man.  I don’t
want to share this one.

INT. OFFICE, DEL MAR SELF-STORAGE - CONTINUOUS

Through the window Ruiz, Gordon and Castro watch the van
disappear into the bay of a storage unit.  A man is pulling
down the door behind it when three unmarked squad cars ROAR
into the lot, surrounding the unit, officers exit the cars
with their guns drawn -- Gordon and Castro stare in disbelief.

Ruiz FIRES the gun under the desk which hits Gordon full in
the chest, knocking him backwards.

Ruiz’s men run into the room pulling guns.

Castro dives and pulls his weapon, firing at Ruiz’s men,
hitting both of them.  Ruiz bolts through another door. 
Castro pursues, talking into his shirt collar --

CASTRO
Agent down.  Repeat, agent down.

Gordon gets slowly to his feet, shaking off the blast to his
Kevlar, and runs after them.

EXT. DEL MAR SELF-STORAGE - DAY

The DEA are shooting at the men inside the storage unit who
are shooting back.

From all over the stake-out location, DEA AGENTS emerge firing
their weapons.  An equal number of FBI AGENTS emerge firing
in return.  Nobody was aware of the other’s presence.

It’s CHAOS, a clusterfuck of law-enforcement zeal with three
competing sets of good guys shouting through BULL-HORNS,
GUNSHOTS and SCREAMING.

Ruiz breaks through the corner of the lot, cutting between
two buildings.  Castro emerges and chases him.

EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY

Ruiz runs out the back of the storage company.  He cuts
between parked cars, heading for The Fun Zone, a kiddie
restaurant.

INT. THE FUN ZONE - DAY

Castro enters The Fun Zone.  There’s a cardboard cutout of
SPASTIC JACK, a beloved comedy figure who looks like a rabbit
version of Jar Jar Binks, promoting the "Special Edition"
glass: "Collect All Four."  There’s an enclosure filled with
colored plastic balls.

The restaurant is empty except for a CLOWN filling out a
time card.  The clown stands.

CLOWN
Hey dudes, we’re not open yet.

Castro makes a motion for him to be quiet and keeps moving
toward the room of colored balls.

Gordon enters the restaurant and follows him.  An ANIMATRONIC
BAND starts to play a SONG.

Gordon sees a half-hidden foot buried underneath the plastic
balls at the far end of the room.

He takes careful aim and FIRES.

Ruiz SCREAMS and sits up.  Castro pounces on him, disarming
him, and roughing him up.

EXT. THE FUN ZONE - DAY

Castro and Gordon shove Ruiz into the sunlight.  They wait
while their eyes adjust.

RUIZ
Take me to the hospital.  I’m bleeding
to death.

Castro shoves him forward.

ACROSS THE PARKING LOT

DEA has opened the back of the van where a quarter-ton of
cocaine is spilling out onto the pavement.

CUT TO:

INT. GUEST HOUSE - AFTERNOON

A bong hit is expelled into the air.  In the living room of
a comfortable, preppy guest house, private school TEENAGERS
party and hang-out: cigarettes in ashtrays, beer and bong on
the coffee table, loud MUSIC.

SUPERTITLE: CINCINNATI, OHIO

The TV is on with the sound off.  The curtains are closed.

The four boys wear school blazers with their ties pulled
askew, the three girls’ clothing are also identical.  Some
sit on couches, some on the floor.  They are stoned.

One intense-looking boy, SETH ABRAHAMS, 17, wild curly hair
and the attitude of a young Coleridge, and a girl, CAROLINE
WAKEFIELD, 16, really sixteen which means she looks about
12, pretty and flirtatiously irreverent, sit at a desk in
front of a Powerbook G-3 playing an on-line trivia game.

Seth speaks rapidly and precisely.

SETH
Father of Greek tragedy?  Anyone?
Okay, Aeschylus it is.
(hits keys)
His trilogy?  The Oresteia.  I mean
this is beautiful, can anyone stop
the Seth Machine?
(hits keys)
Score.  Thank you.  Madmax from Omaha
we own you.  And Tragedy is closed
out.

Seth leans over and snorts a line of coke from a mirror.  He
hands it to Caroline who effortlessly does one.

CAROLINE
Entertainment.  The Susan Lucci
section or Banal Love Songs of the
Nineties?

Seth looks at her.  He has a crush.

SETH
Banal Love Songs it is.
(hits keys)
Hey, you wanna try something?

She nods.  They both take a swig of beer.  He takes her hand
pulling her past the stoned people on the couch --

IN THE KITCHEN

Seth takes out a box of baking soda.  He tears off a square
of aluminum foil.  He takes out a spoon.  Caroline watches
as he dumps a small amount of cocaine into the spoon.  He
adds a pinch of baking soda.  He puts in a few drops of water. 
Stirs it around with the heel of a lighter.  Then holds the
flame under the spoon.

CAROLINE
What are you doing?

SETH
(concentrating)
Just watch.

He watches the substance in the spoon as it swirls and
bubbles, then separates... He pours the most viscous part
onto the aluminum foil, making four separate little puddles.

He quickly dismantles a ballpoint pen, making a straw.  He
hands it to Caroline.

SETH
Inhale the smoke and hold it.

CAROLINE
What is this, like freebase?

SETH
Not like.  It is.

He lights the flame under the aluminum foil.  The puddle
crackles and pops, then starts to smoke --

SETH
Go...  Go!

There’s a rush of thick grey smoke.  Caroline catches most
of it.

SETH
Hold it.

She pulls it in deeper and holds... Suddenly her expression
changes... Her eyes lose their focus, her face slackens, an
almost sexual response.  Seth is watching her intensely.

SETH
See... Now, you see.

Caroline slumps back against the counter.  Seth moves against
her, kissing her, running his hands over her breasts and
body.  She stares over his shoulder, holding it as long as
she can.

Finally she exhales --

CAROLINE
More.

The cloud of grey smoke from her lungs fills the room.

CUT TO:

INT. WHITE HOUSE OFFICE - DAY

The White House CHIEF OF STAFF meets with Robert Wakefield. 
The Chief of Staff has the floor; he always has the floor.

This is a man you do not want to disappoint.

CHIEF OF STAFF
Until you officially take over the
office of National Drug Control
Policy, under no circumstances should
you speak to the press unprotected,
without going through this office or
having someone in the room.  There
are a lot of interests in this town
and, right now, they’re all scared
of you.  The reason they’re scared
of you...technically, you have veto
power over their budgets.  So think
about that: FBI, CIA, DEA, CUSTOMS,
TREASURY, ATF, DEFENSE, IRS, Radio
Shack and the DMV, they’re all gonna
want to speak to you.  And that’s
the good news... You’ll also be
meeting Senators and Congressman,
each with a specially prepared
question.  Their question is designed
for one thing: to make them look
smart.  If you lecture them, they
won’t think you respect them.  If
you respond with utter humility,
they will.  Remember, this is about
your respect for them, and the
President’s respect for them. 
Speaking of which, as soon as he
gets back from Russia and China,
we’ll get you in there for some face-
time, let the two of you catch up.
(beat)
It’d probably be a good idea for you
to meet your predecessor.  I’ll have
Jeff Sheridan take you over.
Also, four weeks from today you will
give your first official press
conference.  In it you will outline
the President’s strategy for winning
the war on drugs.
(beat)
Okay, anything else?

ROBERT
I’ll be sure to let you know.

INT. EXECUTIVE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D.C. - DAY

Robert makes his way through a warren of hallways in the
endless corridors of the Old Executive Building alongside
JEFF SHERIDAN, 35, an enthusiastic government employee who
has found his place.

SHERIDAN
I just want to be clear about one
thing.  I used to work for him, but
now I work for you.  I’m not a
partisan person, I’m an issue person. 
In the next few weeks, if you allow
me, we’ll get you well-versed on an
incredible array of issues.  The
most important of which, in my
opinion, being Mexico.  I know
everybody that you’re gonna meet.
It’s important that they like you.
It’s not important that they like
me.  That’s why I can help protect
you.

ROBERT
Like you protected Landry?

SHERIDAN
I see where you’re going with that,
but if I could just say something,
which is basically that a guy like
Landry is so autocratic he doesn’t
know how to let himself be helped;
it’s a point of pride to take every
bullet, no matter who fired it, or
whether it was even aimed at him,
which personally I think it very
self-defeating.  Now, don’t get me
wrong, he’s a man of enormous
integrity, but there’s a political
component to this job that the General
just didn’t have any patience for.

INT. OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY - DAY

Robert and Sheridan enter the office of outgoing Drug Czar,
GENERAL RALPH LANDRY, 60’s, buzz-cut, professional soldier
with a sense of humor.

Landry is putting some personal items in a box.

GENERAL LANDRY
Jeff, you want to excuse us for a
minute?

Sheridan nods and leaves.

GENERAL LANDRY
(bemused, off
Sheridan’s exit)
Functionaries.  Nice people, the
Schedule C’s.  About twelve graduate
degrees apiece, but it seems sometimes
all they do is start rumors.

Robert and Landry shake hands.

ROBERT
You’ve done a fine job here, Sir.
The Office of National Drug Control
Policy is in better shape than when
you found it.

Landry tries to determine whether Robert believes this.  He
looks around the office as if the policy is hiding somewhere.

GENERAL LANDRY
I’m not sure I made the slightest
difference.
(wistful)
I tried...  I really did.

ROBERT
There are a lot of encouraging
statistics.  The work’s just started,
but I intend to see it through. 
You’ve got my word on that.

GENERAL LANDRY
You’re here for two years, three
maximum.  What’d they promise you?
Court appointment?  What?  District?
Appeals?
(checks Robert’s
reaction)
Not Supreme... Supreme?

ROBERT
I’ve come in to do a tough job and
that’s what I’m going to focus on.

General Landry SIGHS.

GENERAL LANDRY
When Kruschev was forced out, he sat
down and wrote two letters and handed
them to his successor.  He said "When
you get into a situation you can’t
get out of, open the first letter
and you’ll be saved.  And when you
get into another situation you can’t
get out of, open the second."  Soon
enough this guy found himself in a
tight place.  So he opened the first
letter.  It said, "Blame everything
on me."  So he blamed the old guy
and it worked like a charm.
(beat)
He got into another situation he
couldn’t get out of, so he opened
the second letter, which read, "Sit
down and write two letters."

They stare at each other a beat.  Then Landry smiles.

CUT TO:

EXT. MANOLO’S STREET, MEXICO - DAY

A cinderblock house.  Kids and dogs in the street.  A face
we recognize as Manolo’s peers out of a curtain into the
street.

INT. MANOLO’S KITCHEN - DAY

The ceiling is stained, the floor sags.  A cheap radio plays. 
Manolo is at the door.  Javi sits at a dinette table.

He talks to Manolo but watches Manolo’s wife, ANNA, 20’s, a
nice-looking, ostensibly demure young woman, as she moves
around the kitchen.

JAVIER
Relax.  If they were going to kill
us they would have done it in the
desert.

MANOLO
They wouldn’t do it in front of all
these people.  They’d send someone
later, when we’re alone.

Manolo tenses, and throws open the window.

MANOLO
(yelling out the window)
Away from the car.  Now!

MANOLO’S POV out the window as KIDS play in the car, sitting
behind the wheel.

JAVIER
Even if that were true, they’re not
going to come to your house where
you’re waiting for them.

ANNA
He’s right.  They’ll do it when you’re
walking somewhere, make it look like
street crime.

MANOLO
Shut your fucking mouth.  Nobody’s
talking to you.

Anna sets a cup of coffee in front of Javi and stares at
him.

INT. POLICE SEDAN - DAY

Javi and Manolo cruise through the streets of Tijuana.

JAVIER
If you want her to stay out of it,
then stop telling her everything.
You should learn how to keep a secret.

MANOLO
She’s nosy.  She hears me on the
telephone.

JAVIER
Anyway, I don’t think we’ll ever see
them again.  Everything’s back to
normal.

EXT. TIJUANA STREET - DAY

Tourist hell.  A cacophony of street venders, panhandlers,
and vehicular traffic.  Javier and Manolo are speaking with
a flustered young American TOURIST COUPLE.

TOURIST WOMAN
You’re a police officer.  Aren’t you
going to take a report or something? 
Don’t you want to know what kind of
car it is?

TOURIST MAN
It’s a Brown Ford Explorer --

TOURIST WOMAN
It was right here.  It’s been stolen. 
I want to file a report.

MANOLO
Please.  Filing a report will not
help you find your car.

JAVIER
The police won’t find your car.

TOURIST WOMAN
But you’re the police.

Javier pulls out a note pad and scribbles a number.

JAVIER
Call this man, he’ll find your car
for you.

TOURIST MAN
I don’t get it --

TOURIST WOMAN
How will this guy know who has our
car?

JAVIER
The police will tell him.

There’s a beat of confusion.

TOURIST MAN
Why will they tell him but they won’t
tell us?

TOURIST WOMAN
(getting it)
Because we pay him, stupid.
(to Javier)
Right?  And he pays the police.

And then our car appears.

JAVIER
Yes.  Better than filling out forms,
right?

The man reaches in his wallet and offers Javier a twenty. 
Javi waves him off.

Javier and Manolo walk back to their squad car when two SUV’s
come to a stop in front of them.

Javier and Manolo exchange a look.  The doors SLAM and
FOOTSTEPS approach.

OFFICER (O.S.)
Javier Rodriguez.

CUT TO:

EXT. LA JOLLA GOLF AND TENNIS CLUB - DAY

A ladies luncheon in the Nancy Reagan Dining Room overlooking
a putting green.  The bejewelled WIVES of successful men
yammer at one another around tables with rich flower
centerpieces.

SUPERTITLE: LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA, JUST OUTSIDE SAN DIEGO

One wife, HELENA AYALA, 32, ex-model, with a sweetness and
intelligence that almost contradicts her beauty, stares out
the window at a small BOY, 5, using a putter as tall as he
is.  Helena is six months pregnant and radiant.

A waiter brings Helena’s starter course.  Her friends, NAN
DOBBS, early 40’s, post Junior League, a little tipsy,

STEWIE and ALEX, same League, watch her --

NAN
Duck salad?

HELENA
Mmm.

Nan can’t believe it.

NAN
Helena, you never order duck salad.

HELENA
Well, that’s true.  I don’t.
(re: her belly)
I think someone else is asking for
it.

NAN
Well, he’s got good taste.  Isn’t it
the most wonderful thing you ever
tasted?  I mean ever.

HELENA
It’s delicious --

STEWIE
They’re the most marvelous little
creatures.  Canard.  They fly, swim,
walk.  And so cute with their babies
marching along behind.

NAN
Looking for a nice sauce ala orange.

Everyone laughs.  Helena is by far the youngest in her crowd.

ALEX
It’s a very fatty bird.  All that
winter insulation.  Just like me.

NAN
You mean all breast, just like you.

ALEX
You’re bad --

NAN
(singsong)
Jealous, that’s all --

HELENA
I’ve heard... I can’t remember
where... That it’s full of that good
kind of fat, the kind you’re
supposed to eat --

STEWIE
Unsaturated fat --

TWO WOMEN IN UNISON
Polyunsaturated.

HELENA
And now there’s a good cholesterol
and bad cholesterol.  Everything
they tell you completely changes
every other week.  I don’t know why
they think we should listen at all.

NAN
What I know is ducks, as cute as
they are, were designed by God to be
eaten.

Nan reaches for a taste and the other women lean forward
also, a sea of inanity swirling around Helena’s salad.

EXT. COUNTRY CLUB PARKING LOT - DAY

Helena buckles her little boy, DAVID, 5, into the front seat
of her Mercedes.  He won’t let go of his putter.

HELENA
I’ll put this in the back.

DAVID
No --

HELENA
All the professionals keep them in
the trunk.

DAVID
Not Tiger Woods.

HELENA
Especially Tiger Woods.
(sharing a secret)
...Actually, he keeps his on the
back seat.

She pulls the putter away from the reluctant boy and sets it
on the back seat.

EXT. HOTEL - DAY

A modern high-rise on the waterfront playground of San Diego.

Helena passes the hotel in her car.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - DAY

A standard room looking out at the water which is dotted
with sailboats and cruise ships.  The bed is covered with hi-
tech surveillance equipment.

The equipment salesman, LONNIE, 40’s, who makes a fetish of
gadgetry, explains the finer points of operation to FRANCISCO
"FRANKIE" FLORES, 30’s, sallow, watery-eyed, in expensive
clothes.

LONNIE
Gates, Myrhvold, Bezos.  I sell to
all those guys.  Why?  Because the
technology to intrude has reached
the masses.  Your competitor, your
ex-spouse, adversaries, stalkers,
they’re at the local electronics
store right now, and they’re gonna
be intruding on you not only through
your telephone, but your fax, cell
phone, pager, cable TV, Musak,
windows, walls, air conditioning
ventilation, modem, and internet
connection.

He walks over to the bed and the sexy equipment --

LONNIE
Nobody has these babies, no way, not
the shiznit.

Frederico picks up a piece of equipment.

FRANCISCO
I want to intercept cell phone calls,
digital and analog.  And locate the
source of the call.  I need databasing
capability, to cross-reference calls
and numbers.

Lonnie lovingly picks up a laptop computer with a sleek device
attached to it --

LONNIE
Your Cellular Secretary, friend across
all the digital wireless spread
spectrum.
(beat)
So, Francisco, what do you do?  You
a PI?  Private security?

Francisco looks at Lonnie coldly.

FRANCISCO
Assassin.

LONNIE
(not missing a beat)
Assassin, okay.  Let’s get you started
in surveillance.

EXT. GEORGETOWN BROWNSTONE - NIGHT

The house takes up most of one of the nicest blocks.  PEOPLE
enter and party VOICES drift out.

SUPERTITLE: GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, D.C.

INT. GEORGETOWN BROWNSTONE - NIGHT

A power cocktail party in full swing.  This is where most of
the business in Washington gets done.

Robert, scotch in hand, listens to a smug PHARMACEUTICAL
LOBBYIST explain the world.

PHARMACEUTICAL LOBBYIST
We in the legal drug business, and I
mean Merck, Pfizer, the rest of my
very powerful clients, realize this
isn’t a war with a traditional winner
and loser, but an organism at war
with itself, whose weapons of mass
destruction happen to be intoxicants. 
And if you want a body count look no
further than alcohol which racks up
80,000 kills a year.  Cocaine manages
a measly 2,000.  Same for Heroin. 
But, the big daddy is Big Tobacco
which kills 380,000 each year, which,
by the way, is more people than have
been killed by all the illegal drugs
in the last century.

ROBERT
(faking it)
That’s very interesting.

The lobbyist smiles.  Robert sips his drink.

ANOTHER ANGLE ON ROBERT

In another room.  Listening to STAN, overweight advocate for
the United States Council of Chambers of Commerce.

STAN
It’s time, Robert, to choke some
honesty out of these rural
legislators; get’em to fess up that
it’s pretty much Prisons or Casinos
in terms of their choices for economic
growth.

ANOTHER ANGLE ON ROBERT

listening to ETHAN, earnest advocate of harm reduction.

ETHAN
What’s the difference between Prozac
and Ecstacy, you ask?  One’s a
mattress and the other’s a trampoline. 
Molecules don’t have morality. 
Really, think about it: some molecule
changes the way a serotonin re-uptake
inhibitor works, it’s not suddenly a
bad molecule; it’s just a molecule. 
My theory: America has a real fear
of short, intense experiences.

Robert turns away --

ROBERT
(under his breath)
Like you.

ANOTHER ROOM
Robert at the bar getting another
scotch.  A secretive man, TIM, 40’s,
nerdy, sidles up beside him and
whispers furtively in his ear.

TIM
(whispering)
Chemicals?  Some say problems, others
say solution.  Imagine a cloud that
when it rains prohibits the growth
of poppies or takes the THC out of
marijuana.  Imagine a pill that
eliminates any psychological craving,
from Dilaudid to Dove Bars.  Law
enforcement hasn’t let science sit
on the sidelines.  Addiction is no
more relevant than polio or the Black
Plague.

Tim slips away into the crowd.  Robert moves away from the
bar.

ANOTHER ROOM

An argument is breaking out between an ECONOMIST and an
UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE with Robert as the audience.

ECONOMIST
(to the undersecretary)
You’re not battling traffickers or
dealers, but a market, and the market
contains a paradox: if you arrest
traffickers, you raise prices, and
you also raise profits, which brings
more traffickers into the business.

UNDERSECRETARY
(to the Economist)
Back in the real world, we’re talking
about Mexico and not John Maynard
Keynes.  We will spend 18 billion
dollars this year on this "war," and
the question on the table every year
is do we certify Mexico as an ally
or not?

Another man, RUSH PHILLIPS, a middle-aged powerbroker,
overhears, then joins and Robert is encircled.

RUSH PHILLIPS
You want to make a difference, hit
the users. You don’t jeopardize our
financial markets by some hypocritical
stance on drug consumption.  We’re
snorting it, why penalize Mexico for
supplying it?

UNDERSECRETARY
Mexico, don’t talk to me about
Mexico --

ECONOMIST
It’s the stick of law enforcement
that creates the carrot of huge
profits... That’s economic truth --

RUSH PHILLIPS
Addicts don’t vote; they don’t have
PACs; they don’t spend soft money,
that’s political truth --

UNDERSECRETARY
We’re locking them up and
consumption is falling --

ECONOMIST
The price of coke and heroin has
dropped and purity has increased.
All this law enforcement has achieved
is kids can get better stuff, cheaper. 
In economic terms, you can forget
it; this is not a winnable war.

RUSH PHILLIPS
Christ, you want to decertify
somebody, take Pakistan or Columbia.
We don’t need them for anything.

ECONOMIST
If you manage to seize an
inconceivable 50 percent of all drugs
coming into this country, you’ll
still raise the price of coke and
heroin less than 3 percent which
won’t affect drug use at all.

RUSH PHILLIPS
Why are we calling this a war at
all?  You don’t declare war on your
own people.  Addiction is a little
worm that gnaws a house apart from
the inside.

MICHAEL ADLER, about Robert’s age, and as successful, but in
a different way, approaches, catching Robert’s eye through
the arguing demagogues.

UNDERSECRETARY
We need Mexico for these reasons:
number one -- Defense; two -- Trade;
three -- Tourism; then, way on down
the line, comes Drugs.  The President
knows this.  Why’s he holding
everybody’s feet to the fire?

MICHAEL
(solemn)
Mr. Wakefield, there’s a situation
that needs your attention right away.

Robert looks at Michael, squints, looks closer, then follows.

RUSH PHILLIPS
(oblivious)
One in sixteen Americans is of Mexican
descent.  Mexico our third largest
trading partner...

ANGLE ON ROBERT AND MICHAEL ON THE BACK PORCH.

ROBERT
You’re looking pretty good for an
old guy.

MICHAEL
My work keeps me young.

ROBERT
Which part, getting terrorists loose
on bail or freeing convicted murderers
on technicalities?

MICHAEL
The worst serial killer in history -
who?  Gacy - right?  Killed forty
two people.  Our government killed
fifty thousand in Vietnam and lied
about it every day.

ROBERT
Michael, you represent drug dealers,
not civil libertarians.

MICHAEL
We kidnapped Noriega out of Panama.
Is that covered in your Constitution?
Because it isn’t in mine.

ROBERT
Noriega is a criminal.

MICHAEL
Noriega was head of a sovereign nation
who made the mistake of doing business
with the U.S.  Government.  So, no,
I don’t have a problem waking up
every day and fighting our government,
fighting people like you, trying to
keep this system a little bit honest.

ROBERT
(amused)
Last I read your clients were chopping
people up with chainsaws and
delivering illegal narcotics into
this country.

MICHAEL
I hope when you were on the bench,
Judge Wakefield, you didn’t handle
the presumption of innocence in the
same fashion.

ROBERT
If I ever return to the bench,
Counselor Adler, I hope I have the
pleasure of hearing your arguments.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM, SAN DIEGO - DAY

Eduardo Ruiz lies in a hospital bed, handcuffed to the
railing.  His bandaged foot is held aloft by a sling and a
tube drains the wound.  He is tugging on the handcuffs as
Castro and Gordon enter the room.

GORDON
You planning on going somewhere,
Eduardo?  You don’t like it here?
This is the best situation you’re
going to have for a long, long time.

RUIZ
I am a legitimate business.  Fishing
boats.  Tuna.  Check it out.  Tax
records, everything --

GORDON
Listen you motherfucker, you tried
to kill me with a fucking cannon.

RUIZ
You can’t visit me here.  I want my
lawyer.

GORDON
The amount of coke we got on you
means capital punishment in some
states.

CASTRO
Move ’em to Texas, fry ’em up.

GORDON
We got you on tape making the deal.
We got you bragging about the quality. 
We got you bragging about your
business.  We got you.

A NURSE appears in the doorway.  Gordon goes to the door and
shuts it in her face.

GORDON
One chance here, Eduardo.  Make us
believe you got a boss.  No boss,
it’s all on you.

RUIZ
It’s a death sentence.  I’ll never
make it to the trial.

GORDON
We can protect you.

Ruiz looks at them in disbelief.

CASTRO
Who do you work for?

RUIZ
This is coercion.

GORDON
That’s a big word for a fisherman.

CASTRO
Who do you work for?

Gordon and Ruiz stare at each other.

RUIZ
I know another word... Immunity.

CUT TO:

EXT. AYALA HOME - LA JOLLA - DAY

A starter castle high in the hills near Mount Soledad, an
exclusive neighborhood with views of the ocean.  Joggers jog
to the SOUNDS of tennis and Jacuzzis gurgling, and lawn care
equipment operated by Mexicans.

Behind the Ayala gate we see David playing with his golf
club on the lush lawn.

Workers set-up the party under the direction of a professional
party planner.

A BMW 740il with tinted windows pulls into the driveway.

DAVID
Daddy!

The window lowers and we see CARL AYALA, 40’s, handsome,
charismatic, second generation American, in expensive,
conservative clothes, covering his cell phone as he greets
his kids.

CARL
Hello.  Hello.

He goes back to his phone call, pulling around to the garage. 
David goes back to his game.

INT. AYALA DINING ROOM - DAY

There are MAIDS in the house and a COOK in the kitchen.  The
large rooms are filled with fine art.

Helena Ayala sits at the dining room table with plans, bills
and receipts spread before her.  Carl enters and paces around
the room, continuing his cell phone conversation.

CARL
(into phone)
I’m sorry, Jonas.  I don’t care if
that is the price you have gotten in
order countries.

Helena watches her husband pace as he talks.  He can’t help
it, but a portion of this call is theatrical, for an
audience’s benefit, which in this instance happens to be his
wife.  Helena’s expression of annoyance resets itself into
love.

CARL
This is America, a different country. 
I am Carl, a different man.  So you
see, everything about our situation
is different and I believe the pricing
will be different, too.
(beat, listens)
You’re a reasonable man... So take
the weekend to think about it.

Carl clicks off the phone, turns to Helena.

CARL
Every day with this guy is like
starting all over again.

Carl winds down and finally becomes present in the room with
his wife.  He looks at her.  She looks back.

CARL
Hi.

HELENA
Hi.

CARL
What’s up?

HELENA
Just watching you.

CARL
I got that.  How was your day?

She pushes the topiary away from her.  Suddenly, she seems
tired.  Carl comes over and puts his hand on her pregnant
belly.

CARL
You all right?

HELENA
I keep feeling like I’m forgetting
something.

Her husband watches her, then wraps his arms around her.

EXT. AYALA HOME - DAY

Carl and Helena step out on the front porch of their home
and watch David play with his golf putter.

OUTSIDE THEIR GATE

An unmarked police car rolls up and stops behind the wall. 
Another arrives and another and another.  OFFICERS in DEA
jackets exit the cars.

There is MURMURING, then SILENCE.

Helena slowly turns to look at her husband.  He doesn’t look
at her.

HELENA
David, come inside --

Suddenly, POLICE and DEA enter the front yard.  Gordon and
Castro enter the yard and move quickly up the drive to Carl.

CARL
What is this?  What is going on?

GORDON
Mr. Ayala?

CARL
That’s right.

GORDON
You’re under arrest for violation of
Federal Narcotics laws.

Gordon and Castro spin him, cuff him, and without emotion
begin pulling him from his yard.  David is trying to get to
his father.  In a kind of shock.  Helena trails after him.

Castro drags Carl into the street toward the open door of
the cruiser.  He pushes him down into the backseat.

GORDON
We have a warrant to search your
home, Mrs. Ayala.

Gordon hits the side of the cruiser and it pulls away.  Carl
looks at his wife through the window.

Gordon and Castro head up the driveway toward her house.

Helena is left standing in the street.  NEIGHBORS, who have
appeared in front yards and at the ends of driveways, stare
at her with suspicion.  David approaches and holds onto her
leg.

CUT TO:

OMITTED

INT. SALAZAR’S HEADQUARTERS - ANTEROOM - DAY

Javi and Manolo wait in Salazar’s anteroom.  A ceiling fan
swirls the air.  After a moment the door opens and an AIDE
motions to them.  They stand.

AIDE
(to Manolo)
Not you.  You.

Javi goes into the room.

INT. SALAZAR’S OFFICE - DAY

The office is Spartan and military.  Salazar and Javi sit
facing each other.  Salazar looks at a piece of paper.

SALAZAR
Javier Rodriguez.  Twenty-nine years-
old.  Graduated from Montessori
school.  Five years as a beat cop in
TJ.  Three years with the State
Police.  Parents died four years ago
in their apartment from carbon
monoxide poisoning because they could
not afford to fix their gas heater. 
Your sister works in a Maquiladora
in Juarez, making designer blue-jeans. 
On the police force three years, you
currently make 316 dollars a month.

Salazar crumples the piece of paper and tosses it in the
trash.

SALAZAR
That’s your past.  I want to talk
about your future.  Would you be
willing to do something for me?

JAVIER
If I can.

SALAZAR
I’m trying to bust the Tijuana Cartel.

JAVIER
What is it you want me to do?

SALAZAR
A small thing.  Nothing really.

Javier thinks about this.

JAVIER
Does this offer include my partner?

SALAZAR
Only if he can be trusted.

JAVIER
He’ll do what I say.

Salazar slides a folder across the desk.  Javier opens it
and sees a black and white surveillance photo of the
informant.

SALAZAR
His name is Francisco Flores.  He is
a killer and gun smuggler for the
Tijuana cartel.  I need to speak
with him.  I need you to find him
and bring him to me so that I can
speak with him.

INT. POLICE SEDAN - DAY

Manolo faces Javier.

MANOLO
This is fucking crazy.  Instead of
killing us, he sends us on a suicide
mission.  Do you know who Frankie
Flowers is?  He’s a psycho-cokehead-
hitman.  A faggot.  He’s killed
fucking who knows how many people. 
You’d need half the force to get
close to him.  And you can’t get
their help because he lives in fucking
San Diego.

JAVIER
Then I guess I’m going by myself.

CUT TO:

INT. AIRPLANE - DAY

Robert Wakefield sits in business class.  He twists the cap
off a mini-bottle of bourbon and pours it over a cup of ice. 
He empties a second bottle into the cup, then swirls it around
on the ice.  He takes a sip.

INT. AIRPORT GATE - DAY

Robert exits with his briefcase and hanging bag, two SECURITY
MEN trailing him.  He sees Barbara and Caroline, his wife
and daughter, waiting by the their station wagon.  They wave.

INT. CAR - DAY

On the way home from the airport.  Caroline drives carefully
with Barbara in the front seat and Robert in back.

ROBERT
What’s it like?
(thinks)
Imagine you’re being accosted by a
swarm of beggars in the heart of
Calcutta, except the beggars are
wearing 00 suits and they don’t
say "please" or "thank you."

CAROLINE
What about legalizing everything?
Has anybody talked about that?

ROBERT
Fine -- legalization.  Okay,
forgetting all of our international
trade agreements, legalize everything
today.  The Government inserts itself
into all drug transactions.  The
U.S. becomes a giant pharmacy.  Our
borders are mobbed, lines of people
from here to Europe wanting to smoke,
snort and shoot themselves into
oblivion.

BARBARA
(lightly)
Like a Grateful Dead Concert.

ROBERT
Drugs begin pouring out of America
into every other country in the world. 
Canada is completely overwhelmed.

CAROLINE
What if every country legalized at
the same time?

ROBERT
(smiles)
Somehow, I don’t see that happening.

INT. WAKEFIELD DINING ROOM - EVENING

From the hallway we see Robert and Barbara and Caroline having
dinner.  A family tableau.  We hear Barbara talking, the
murmur of the days events.

In the room, Barbara continues her dinner table thoughts.

Robert has a good deal of reading material stacked on the
table.

BARBARA
So you know we put the case before
the arbitration panel, none of whom
had any expertise.  Superfund is
just one of those words.  People
stop paying attention.

ROBERT
That’s frustrating.

BARBARA
It’s so frustrating.

There is wine on the table and Caroline is allowed a glass.

Her parents watch her take a responsible sip.

CAROLINE
(to Robert)
Did you meet the President?

BARBARA
Honey, your father knows the
President.

ROBERT
As it happens, the President of the
United States, my new boss, the leader
of the free world, has me penciled
in for some "face time".

CAROLINE
Will we get invited to the White
House?

ROBERT
I don’t know.

CAROLINE
How long’s the job?

ROBERT
It’s a presidential appointment so...
until I quit or get fired.

BARBARA
Czar for life, just like a real czar.

CAROLINE
That makes mom the Czarina.  I’m a
Czarette.  Like Anastasia.

Caroline thinks about this.

CAROLINE
None of my friends can fucking believe
my dad is the actual Drug Czar.

BARBARA
Caroline --

CAROLINE
Sorry, but I mean, come on.

Robert doesn’t know if she’s putting him down.

CAROLINE
It’s great, daddy.  It’s just amazing,
that’s all.

They all look at each other.  Caroline sips her wine.

CUT TO:

INT. SAN DIEGO JAIL - DAY

In the intake area of a busy San Diego precinct, Helena sits
on a bench and regroups.  Detectives move past her. 
Handcuffed criminals are separated, bagged and tagged.

beautifully dressed man, ARNIE METZGER, 30’s, super- lawyer,
knows everyone from the top of the system to the bottom,
slick but likable, smart and ruthless, too, separates himself
from a DETECTIVE he’s gladhanding and approaches Helena.

ARNIE
Helena, I’m so sorry --

HELENA
Arnie, thank God.

Metzger sits, giving her a hug.

HELENA
Can you please tell me what on earth
is going on?

Arnie looks at her as if to say, "do you really not know?"

Then, he speaks quietly with his hand in front of his mouth.

ARNIE
I understand.  You’re upset.  You
want to know what’s going on.  That’s
good.

HELENA
Why are you talking like that?

ARNIE
Listen to me carefully.  First of
all, Carl isn’t here.  DEA’s got him
and they’ll hang on to him until
arraignment, which will probably be
tomorrow.  So here you’re wasting
your time.  Are you with me?

He checks to see if this is registering.

ARNIE
Good.  From now on I want you to
expect that every word you utter
will be tape-recorded, that the
movement of your lips is being read.
Got it?

HELENA
Arnie, this is crazy.

He makes eye contact with her.

ARNIE
Got it?
(she slowly nods)
Good.  Do not discuss anything over
the telephone.  Do not talk to the
neighbors.  Stay out of your yard.

HELENA
What is he being charged with?

ARNIE
I don’t know, but under no
circumstances would I talk about it
here.  I want you to go home and
relax the best you can.  Continue
your life as if nothing has happened.
That is very important.

HELENA
Arnie, I feel like Alice stepping
through the looking glass.

ARNIE
That’s a very apt analogy, Helena.
Now, go home and be with your
children.

EXT. BUILDING PARKING LOT - DAY

Helena exits.  Her expression is set as she drives.  She
turns a corner in the shopping district, passing JAVIER AND
MANOLO who are walking down the street.  Tourists, drunk
Marines and the homeless piss away another day.

We follow them into a bar with blackened windows and a
discrete sign.

INT. BAR - DAY

This is a place where men come to meet men.  And it’s already
lively even at this early hour.  Javier and Manolo find a
seat and wait.

LATER
Javi is working on his second beer
when he seems to recognize somebody.

ACROSS THE ROOM

Francisco "Frankie" Flowers has entered the bar.  Javi watches
him circulate through the room then settle at the bar.  Javier
finishes his beer, rises, and takes the empty seat next to
Francisco.  Manolo watches.

Very quickly Javi strikes up a conversation.  We don’t hear
what they’re saying but it doesn’t matter because Francisco
clearly likes Javi.

Off Francisco’s anticipatory smile --

OMITTED

OMITTED

EXT. MILITARY BASE - MEXICO - DAY

The back of a blue van opens and a blindfolded Francisco
falls onto the ground.

Surrounding him are Javi and Salazar, who watch as two of
Salazar’s MEN drag Francisco away toward an abandoned mission-
style building.

SALAZAR
(clearly pleased with
Javi)
I’m curious how you did this with
such economy.

JAVIER
Everybody has a weakness.

CUT TO:

EXT. SOMEBODY’S PARENTS’ MANSION, CINCINNATI - NIGHT

With its old-growth trees and manipulated shrubbery, the
large house is shrouded in the mystery of well-heeled
suburbia.  It is very late.

INT. SOMEBODY’S PARENTS’ MANSION - NIGHT

Somebody’s parents are out of town and the house feels empty. 
Big empty rooms with expensive furniture nobody sits on.

Faint MUSIC echoes through the house.

INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT

High ceilings of a 1930’s kitchen.  Vodka bottles and
cranberry juice and limes are spilled across a counter.  ON
THE RHODES AGAIN by Morcheeba plays from a jam-box on a
counter.

Maybe ten TEENAGERS are partying hard in this kitchen.  It’s
weird and disassociated, people wandering in and out, playing
with kitchen utensils, heavily fucked up.

There are drugs on a mirror on the eat-in table.  Caroline
and Seth and two friends sit around this table.  VANESSA,
16, almost pretty, is hitting a freebase pipe and holds the
hit.  FUCKED-UP BOWMAN, 17, super-preppy with a wan, Baby
Huey face, takes a slug of vodka.

They are jittery, sweaty, tweaked, fucked-up --

CAROLINE
All I’m saying, what I’m saying, is
it never seems like anybody ever
says anything that matters to them,
like we all look at each other and
nod with responses we’ve been trained
to make, not real responses, just
social conventions, phony, fake
smiles, surface bullshit... I mean,
we’re all smart and do we have any
idea what each other are like, really
like?  Do I know what Seth’s afraid
of, or Vanessa, or fucked-up Bowman?

Everyone looks at Fucked-up Bowman who grinds his jaw
appreciatively --

CAROLINE
...Probably, but do I ever say this
stuff, just say, "hey, I’m
uncomfortable in this crowd, I don’t
know what the fuck I’m doing, either? 
I know you’re afraid and it’s okay--
"

Seth’s words come quickly, they’re riffing, totally in sync,
totally wired --

SETH
We act like we have all the answers
and we’re totally invincible like
our parents seem and their parents
before them and it’s fucking bullshit --

Fucked-up Bowman takes another slug of vodka and almost pukes.

FUCKED-UP BOWMAN
For instance --

SETH
For instance I know you jack-off
thinking about Caroline even though
you’re supposedly "in love" with
Vanessa.  Whatever the fuck that
means?
(a digression)
I mean, what is that convention,
anyway?  We’re all these random
collections of self-interest, and
then we just decide that now we’re
two people walking along --

Caroline expels a hit of rock cocaine --

CAROLINE
And Vanessa doesn’t think she’s pretty
so she does all these weird fucking
diets which is totally about self-
esteem.  And she’s beautiful.
(beat)
And that’s not even fair.  Because
listen to me.  I’m fucking lying
right now.  This is exactly what I’m
talking about... I’m supposedly
talking about you, making some big
point about you, and it’s really
about me.  So I should talk about
me, not you, not even the universal
"you..."
(takes a beat)
Okay.  Okay, I’m worried I’m not
really smart or that I’m not nearly
as smart as people think I am, or
that my parents’ expectations have
been way too high since I was five,
I mean who knows they’re going to
Harvard when they’re five, not that
I’m blaming them for anything because
everything’s great, and I may not
even get in, but we all feel this
shit and we never acknowledge it and
if we can’t acknowledge it to the
people we care the most about then
who will we ever say it too and what
kind of life will that be?

They all look at each other with love.  This is an adventure
and they’re having a connection --

FUCKED-UP BOWMAN
I jack-off thinking about Seth.
Everybody I know does.

Bowman does another huge hit of freebase.

CAROLINE
(disgusted)
Ach, that’s what I’m talking about.
Sarcasm.  Always fucking sarcasm.
You’re afraid and you think if you
admit it people will think you’re
weak or won’t like you --

SETH
We live our lives by these unspoken
rules that are handed to us.

They all look at each other, vibrating with the moment --

VANESSA
Let’s be different --

FUCKED-UP BOWMAN
I can’t feel my hands.

Bowman looks around, squinting, confused.  He’s chalk white.

FUCKED-UP BOWMAN
I’m serious --

Suddenly, he clutches his chest and begins to twitch.  Puke
and foam come from his mouth.  He seizes and falls from the
chair.  Vanessa SCREAMS.

Seth and Caroline push the table aside to get a better look. 
Other people in the kitchen slowly take notice.

VANESSA
He’s blue.  He isn’t breathing --

CAROLINE
Is he breathing?

Bowman’s eyes have rolled back in his head.

SETH
What do we do?  Okay.  Fucked-up
Bowman’s turning blue.  Doctor.  We
need a doctor.

VANESSA
Your dad’s a doctor.  Call him --

SETH
He’s a research doctor.  You’re
dad’s a doctor, too --

VANESSA
What kind of research?

SETH
Mapping the fucking pig genome.
We’ll call your dad, he’s a
neurosurgeon --

VANESSA
It’s three a.m.  I’m not supposed
to be here.  I snuck out --

CAROLINE
Are you kidding...  I’m staying
with you --

SETH
He’s gonna fucking die right here
on the kitchen floor --

ANOTHER KID
He can’t.  My parents are in
Barbados --

OMITTED

EXT. SUBURBAN HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ENTRANCE - NIGHT

The Taurus wagon races up to the emergency room of Suburban
Hospital.  The back door opens and Bowman tumbles out onto
the wheelchair ramp under the fluorescent lights.

The car screeches around the circle --

ACROSS THE PARKING LOT

TWO OFFICERS in a police car see the body tumble out of the
car.

The cop car wheels around and cuts off the egress of the
Taurus wagon --

INT. FORD TAURUS WAGON - NIGHT

Seth is behind the wheel.  Caroline and Vanessa are in the
back.  They stare out at the cops getting out of the cruiser.

SETH
Nobody has anything on them, right?

CUT TO:

OMITTED

INT. TORTURE ROOM - BARRACKS - DAY

Francisco is strapped naked into a chair.  Duct tape covers
his mouth.  His face is bruised and swollen.  A cruel TORTURER
talks to him calmly while dumping chili powder into a
container of soda water.

TORTURER
We know Tijuana Cartel gunmen killed
our chief of intelligence, Francisco. 
We know you killed police commanders
in Tijuana and Mexico City.  Why do
you resist?

He approaches Francisco and begins shaking up the soda water. 
He rips the tape off his mouth.

FRANCISCO
My father is rich.  He’ll pay you.

TORTURER
Not the correct answer, my friend.

The torturer puts another strip of duct tape across
Francisco’s mouth.

TORTURER
We know that you went after the
neighbor of General Salazar, a simple
alfalfa farmer.  His grand-daughter
was shot.  This is stupid behavior,
Francisco.

Francisco starts to squirm and whimper.  The torturer closes
one of Francisco’s nostrils and sprays the pepper-laced water
into the other nostril.

It’s like a bomb went off in Francisco’s brain.  He SCREAMS
and passes out.  Blood and mucous oozes out of his nose.

INT. BARRACKS - MEXICAN MILITARY BASE - DAY

Javier stands guard outside a door, listening  to the
strangulated SCREAMS of Francisco.  He’s sickened.

ACROSS THE COURTYARD

Manolo ignores Francisco’s CRIES, while shooting the shit
with several of Salazar’s MEN, who laugh appreciatively at
something he’s said.

CUT TO:

EXT. AYALA HOME, SAN DIEGO - NIGHT

Valet parkers in uniform work the driveway.  The party is
ablaze and there are lights in the trees.  A Lester Lanin-
like band plays a STANDARD that drifts across the grounds.

EXT. AYALA HOME - NIGHT

A conservative monied crowd mingles.  Helena is talking with
a GROUP of rich people who include her friends, Nan, Stewie
and Alex, from the country-club, and their HUSBANDS.

STEWIE
This is fabulous, Helena.  What a
turnout.

HELENA
Thank you so much, but I had a lot
of help.

Helena circles away.  As Helena leaves, the women speak their
minds --

NAN
It’s a turnout because it’s a
spectacle.  Can you imagine?

ALEX
I’ve met her husband, as nice as
they come.

STEWIE
It teaches me a valuable lesson...
(re: the nice house)
Apparently crime pays.

NAN
Silly, you knew that already.

ON THE STAGE

The band stops playing and steps aside as a man in a tuxedo
takes the microphone.  Behind the band is a huge "A.L.A. -
Adult Literacy Advocates" Banner.

TUXEDO
Hello. Thank you.  Thank you all. I
have the results of the silent
auction...

CUT TO:

INT. JUVENILE DETENTION, CINCINNATI - HOLDING CELL - MORNING

Caroline Wakefield lies on a bench in a grey-walled holding
cell.  She wears paper slippers and her belt has been removed. 
Even youth can’t disguise her hangover.

INT. SOCIAL WORKER OFFICE - MORNING

Caroline is perched on the edge of her chair.  Across the
desk from her is a tired SOCIAL WORKER, 40’s, who has been
assigned Caroline’s case and is giving her the "exit"
interview.

SOCIAL WORKER
...How old are you?

CAROLINE
Sixteen

SOCIAL WORKER
Live with your parents?

CAROLINE
Yes.

SOCIAL WORKER
Parents still together?

CAROLINE
Yes.

SOCIAL WORKER
Do you work?

CAROLINE
I volunteer.  I read to blind people. 
One day a week for two hours.

SOCIAL WORKER
In school?

CAROLINE
Cincinnati Country Day.

The Social worker looks up from her questionnaire and sees
Caroline for the first time.

SOCIAL WORKER
Private?

CAROLINE
Yeah.

SOCIAL WORKER
How are your grades?

CAROLINE
I’m third in my class.

SOCIAL WORKER
What’s that mean?

CAROLINE
I get A’s.  All A’s.

SOCIAL WORKER
You do?  What else you do?

CAROLINE
(her college resume)
I’m a National Merit Finalist.  I’m
on the Hi-Q team and the Math team. 
I’m in the Spanish Club.  I’m a
Thespian.  I’m Vice-President of my
class.  I’m on the volleyball team.

The social worker pushes the forms she’s filling out away
and looks again at Caroline --

SOCIAL WORKER
You wanna tell me what you’re doing
here, Caroline?

INT. JUVENILE DETENTION - MORNING

A cold institutional lobby with hard plastic chairs and bad
lighting.  Government workers move behind thick glass windows
with tiny mesh screens cut into them for talking.

Barbara Wakefield sits on one of the uncomfortable chairs. 
She’s alone and has been crying.  There’s the sound of heavily
locked doors OPENING and Caroline appears.

Barbara stands and wraps Caroline in her arms.

BARBARA
Oh, honey.  Are you all right?

Caroline begins to cry into her mother’s chest.

EXT. JUVI JAIL - MORNING

It’s an early morning as Barbara Wakefield escorts her
daughter from the bland government building.

CAROLINE
Did you tell Dad?

BARBARA
Not yet.

CAROLINE
Are you going to?

BARBARA
I don’t know.

CAROLINE
Is this bad for him?

BARBARA
What do you think?

The streets are deserted.  Their Saab wagon sits forlornly
under grey skies in an uncovered public parking lot.

CUT TO:

INT. DAVID’S ROOM - NIGHT

Helena slips into David’s room and quietly watches him sleep.

INT. STUDY - LATER

Still wearing her evening gown, Helena collapses into a chair,
exhausted.  A TAP at the door startles her.

It’s Arnie Metzger, who goes to the bar and pours himself a
strong one.  They sit opposite each other and neither speaks
for a while.

HELENA
(quietly)
I am on the board of my son’s school. 
I had a fundraiser for A.L.V. in my
front yard.  I have a right to know
if my husband is a legitimate
businessman.

ARNIE
Of course he is.  I’ve known him for
twenty years and he doesn’t jaywalk...

Helena is relieved, but she’s not looking at Arnie and when
she does she sees him shaking his head in a very definitive,
"No."

Arnie stands and continues talking as he walks to the windows
and shuts the blinds one by one.

ARNIE
...Carl is a very important member
of this community and when we’re
through suing the police and the
district attorney and the DEA, they’ll
have to rename the public parks for
your husband.

The blinds are closed.  Arnie crosses to Helena and talks
very softly in her ear.  She’s a beautiful woman and Arnie
manages to make this act seem both practical and
inappropriate.

ARNIE
(whispering)
Your husband is very good at his
job...

Helena leans back and looks at Arnie.  He whispers more --

ARNIE
Which is smuggling illegal drugs
into this country.

EXT. AYALA HOME - NIGHT

Workers break down the party under the watchful eye of the
party planner.  The neighborhood is quiet.  There is a
telephone repair van parked up the street.

INT. VAN - NIGHT

Castro and Gordon have visual and audio equipment trained on
the Ayala home.  They both wear headsets.

GORDON’S POV: the blinds covering Helena’s study glowing
peacefully.

CASTRO
They’re whispering.  I can’t hear
them, but I know it.  I smell
conspiracy.  I feel the lie vibrating
out of the home.

GORDON
She ain’t in on it.

CASTRO
I have dreams about this, actual
dreams about busting the top people,
the rich people, the white people.

GORDON
I’m telling you, she doesn’t know
shit.

CASTRO
She knows Arnie Metzger.

GORDON
So does half of San Diego.

CASTRO
You want to make a wager on this?

INT. STUDY - NIGHT

The music is still playing.  Helena looks numb.  She motions
Arnie to her.  He leans in.

HELENA
If all our assets are frozen and our
"sales force" has scattered...  How
am I supposed to survive?  I’m giving
birth in three months.  How do I get
through this?

ARNIE
You’re gonna get through it, but the
first thing we do is get Michael
Adler to represent Carl.  We get
Adler and we beat this thing.

HELENA
How much do I pay him?

ARNIE
I suspect he’ll accept his payment
in publicity.

CUT TO:

EXT. WAKEFIELD HOUSE - NIGHT

A large, well-maintained Colonial on Mockingbird Valley Road,
an upper-middle class neighborhood in the wealthy East End
of Cincinnati.  Leaves fall on the Saab wagon in the driveway.

INT. ROBERT’S STUDY - NIGHT

Robert is looking at Caroline and he’s not happy.  Barbara
is there, at a neutral distance from both of them.

ROBERT
Caroline?  How well did you know
this boy who overdosed?

She looks up beseechingly.

CAROLINE
He didn’t hang around us.  He’s like
one of those hippie kids.  I’m not
part of that group.  It was a party
in all these rooms.  His girlfriend
who I barely know was completely
hysterical... He’s blue, he’s
puking... We didn’t want to get in
trouble, but what were we supposed
to do?
(beat)
I mean, what would you have done if
you had been us?

BARBARA
How well do you know this boy, Seth,
who was driving?  You know the police
have charged him with a DUI and
possession of marijuana.

CAROLINE
He’s a friend.  He’s also like the
only one who was dealing with the
situation.  He’d definitely had a
few beers, but it’s not like he wanted
to drive.  We didn’t know what else
to do.
(beat)
It wasn’t my pot.

She searches her parents’ faces.  It has been a convincing
performance and she expects victory.

ROBERT
Okay, honey.  We understand.  You’re
mother and I have to talk.

Caroline is confused by this reaction.

BARBARA
Honey, we’d like to talk alone.

Caroline stands abruptly --

CAROLINE
Like always.

Caroline leaves the study and shuts the door harder than
necessary.

Robert and Barbara look at each other, raising their eyebrows
and breathing deeply --

ROBERT
I think she’s lying.

BARBARA
Me, too.

ROBERT
(reaching a decision)
We’ll ground her, clip her wings a
bit.  School and scheduled activities
and that’s it until further notice. 
This has to be handled delicately. 
Dan Kelly, in the District Attorney’s
office, will probably help us out,
quietly.  Christ, this could be
embarrassing.

BARBARA
Honey, this is difficult, but we’ve
all had our moments.  I tried --

ROBERT
Stop.  You experimented in college.
I don’t want to hear about that.

BARBARA
Should we take the quotes off
experiment and call it what it is?

ROBERT
This is different.

BARBARA
Why?

ROBERT
To begin with, she’s only sixteen
years-old.

BARBARA
I think she has to find out for
herself, on her own.  We have to
allow her space --

ROBERT
Space for what?  To O.D. like that
other kid?  I will not send the
message that this type of behavior
is okay with her parents.  Because
it isn’t.  Correct?

BARBARA
We don’t want to push her away.
These are growing experiences.

Robert looks at his wife, then it dawns on him.

ROBERT
How long have you known about this?

No response.

ROBERT
(yelling)
How long have you known?

BARBARA
Six months.  I found some marijuana,
that’s all.  And a little pipe about
two inches long.  I talked with her. 
She said her friends smoked pot and
drank --

ROBERT
Explain to me how you could think
that I shouldn’t know about this.
Explain to me how this wouldn’t be
relevant to me.  As a parent.

BARBARA
She asked me not to.

He leaves the room.

INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT

Robert is in the hallway, at Caroline’s door.  He opens it
and we get BLASTED WITH MUSIC.

Caroline is sitting in a rocking chair with headphones on. 
She faces the window and moves back and forth, back and forth.

Robert calls her name, but the SOUNDTRACK is drowning him
out.

He calls again, this time apparently loud enough for her to
hear.  She takes the headphones off - the MUSIC stops - and
turns to look at him.  Or rather, she looks right through
him, as though he didn’t exist.  Robert is so taken aback by
the coldness of her gaze that he doesn’t speak.

She turns away from him and puts the headphones back on.

CUT TO:

EXT. MILITARY BASE - MEXICO - DAY

Javier and Salazar walk across the base.  Salazar is feeling
ebullient and it shows.

SALAZAR
You watch and learn.  I earn his
trust.  Then more pain.  Then I appear
with kindness.  Within a week he
will follow me around like a dog.

JAVIER
But will he be house-trained?

SALAZAR
When he loves me like a father, he
will never tell anyone he was here.
He will freely give the names of his
superiors.  Then we get them and
they too will give us names.  And
eventually somebody will get us to
Juan Obregon and the cartel will
fall.

They enter the barracks.

INT. CELL - MEXICAN MILITARY BASE - DAY

It’s pitch black in the cell.  There’s a human in here, but
we can’t see him.

Suddenly the door is thrown open and light floods in,
illuminating a very broken Francisco Flores.

The figure of Commander Salazar fills the doorway.

SALAZAR
This is shameful.  A disgrace.
Francisco Flores --

Francisco cowers in the corners --

SALAZAR
It’s all right, son.  It’s all right. 
Salazar is here.  You’re among
gentlemen, now.  This shameful
treatment will stop immediately.
(calling out)
Guard!

A GUARD appears in the doorway.  Francisco is spooked.

SALAZAR
I want to know who is responsible
for this treatment.

GUARD
Yes, sir!

SALAZAR
We aren’t barbarians.

GUARD
Yes, sir!

SALAZAR
Bring this man a change of good
clothes.  Has he eaten?

GUARD
I don’t know, sir.

SALAZAR
(to Francisco)
You will dine with me from now on.

Francisco moves closer to Salazar already feeling safe in
his presence.

CUT TO:

INT. COURTHOUSE, SAN DIEGO - DAY

A packed courthouse.  Carl is at the defense table.  He
doesn’t look at Helena who sits in the gallery next to Arnie
Metzger.

The PROSECUTOR is finishing his argument --

PROSECUTOR
This is a man who heads a large
criminal organization with
international contacts we can only
begin to understand.  Our case against
him is very strong.  He is not a
flight risk.  His flight is assured. 
The people ask that your honor denies
bail.

The prosecutor sits.  Carl’s defense lawyer, MICHAEL ADLER,
from the Georgetown party, stands and speaks.

ADLER
My client is no more a flight risk
than your Honor or the able
prosecutor.  He is a pillar of his
community, a family man with a wife
and child in La Jolla, the community
where he has made his home for over
twenty years.  As our defense will
quickly show, my client is guilty of
nothing more than being a handy target
for an admitted criminal.  Therefore
we ask that you release Carl Ayala
on his own recognizance.

Adler sits.  The JUDGE makes a quick decision.

JUDGE
I’m gonna deny bail.

The judge SLAMS his gavel.  The crowd is on its feet.  Carl
tries to get a glimpse of Helena.  They make eye contact. 
Reporters from the press gallery are yelling for Helena.

Arnie ushers her away.

EXT. COURTHOUSE - DAY

Adler, Arnie, and Helena push through a crowd toward her
car.

There are several reporters there who ask questions --

REPORTER
Mrs. Ayala, were you aware your
husband is the largest cocaine
smuggler in America?

ADLER
Alleged, people, alleged.

Helena gets into her car and slams the door.  Adler faces
the reporters.

REPORTER #2
Mrs. Ayala is it true your husband
has ordered a hit on Eduardo Ruiz?

Adler is in a role he relishes.  Helena drives away.  We
move up to Gordon, who is watching from the hotel window
across the street.  He speaks into a walkie-talkie, and a
car down below pulls out to follow Helena.

ADLER
Carl Ayala sits on the board of the
Children’s Hospital.  He is heavily
involved with Adult Literacy.  He
has a small boy and another child on
the way.  If you spread this kind of
innuendo, you can expect legal
recourse.  Are we clear on this point?

CUT TO:

INT. GOVERNMENT BUILDING - EARLY MORNING

The marble government corridors are empty.  No one is in
yet.

One office has lights on.

INT. A.D.A. KELLY’S OFFICE - EARLY MORNING

Robert Wakefield talks with an Assistant District Attorney,
DAN KELLY, 40’s.

ROBERT
I appreciate you coming in so early.

A.D.A. KELLY
Judge Wakefield, it’s an honor to
handle it for you.  Consider it gone
away.  She’s a minor; it probably
would’ve expunged on her 18th birthday
anyway.

ROBERT
Still, this was a sensitive issue
for me and I wanted to thank you
personally.

A.D.A. KELLY
Like I said, open container, P.I.,
Misdemeanor possession.  Easy to
make it disappear.  For you, poof,
it’s gone.

A.D.A. Kelly thinks a moment, then tries for tact.

A.D.A. KELLY
One thing bothers me...  That kid
they dropped off had coke and heroin
in him.  Serious amounts.  He’s lucky
he lived.  So I gotta ask: what’s
your daughter on?

ROBERT
I don’t know what you mean.

A.D.A. KELLY
I mean, did you ask her?  What kind
of drugs has she tried?

Robert is silent for a beat.

ROBERT
I... I don’t really know.

A.D.A. KELLY
Is she in any kind of therapy... 
professional help?

ROBERT
No, of course not.  She’s one of the
top students at her school.

A.D.A. KELLY
Well, I hope it stays that way.

INT. ROBERT’S CAR - EARLY MORNING

Robert in his car, thinking.  The streets are empty.  He
picks up the cell phone.

ROBERT
(into phone)
It’s Robert.  Wipe your schedule
clean for the next three days.  I’m
tired of talking to experts who never
set foot outside the beltway.  It’s
time to see the front lines.

INT. CAROLINE WAKEFIELD’S BATHROOM - MORNING

Caroline sits on the toilet in her private bathroom.  She’s
not going to the bathroom, it’s a seat and she’s wearing her
pajamas.  She’s reading a magazine.  The exhaust fan is on.

There are pictures of her and her friends on the walls: goofy
pictures from camp, from school, a collage she’s made with
cutouts from magazine pictures and copy.

On the sink next to her is a little square of well-charred
aluminum foil; she’s done many hits.  She leans over and
picks up a small piece of crack cocaine from a small pile in
her soap dish.  She drops it on a clean place on the foil. 
She picks up a lighter and the tube of a ball point pen she’s
turned into a straw.

She heats the bottom of the foil.  The crack "crackles."

She chases the smoke across the foil.  A huge hit.  She leans
her head back, her eyes roll back, she tries to focus on the
magazine, on anything, she stares up at the ceiling.

She holds it as long as she can then blows it toward the
exhaust fan.

Caroline looks at her watch.  It’s 7:20.  She stands suddenly,
unsteadily.  She looks at herself in the mirror.

She’s really high and indecisive.  She looks around wildly.

She sees the shower.  She turns it on.  She drops her pajamas.

She goes back to the foil and hits another piece of the rock,
taking another really big hit.  She crushes the foil and
flushes it down the toilet.  She hops in the shower.

IN THE SHOWER

The water streams over her face.  After a long beat she
finally exhales the smoke of the hit through the water and
steam.  She’s in ecstacy.

It’s almost time to leave for school.

CUT TO:

EXT. LA JOLLA PLAYGROUND - DAY

Helena reads a book, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, and
keeps an eye on David, who is playing on the monkey bars.

ACROSS THE ROAD at a careful distance is the ubiquitous
telephone repair van.  On the roof a parabolic mike swivels
around.

INT. TELEPHONE REPAIR VAN - DAY

Castro and Gordon watch Helena via a small surveillance
monitor.

GORDON
You should see little Montel play.
Little Montel is the next Maradona.

CASTRO
Maradona is a cokehead.  Hand of
God, my ass.  We’re wasting our time
here.

GORDON
He won.  He was a winner.  That
bothers you.

CASTRO
Winners don’t do coke.  Or haven’t
you been reading the bumper stickers?

Gordon looks at the monitor --

GORDON
What do we have here?

ON THE MONITOR:
David kicking a soccer ball with an
older strange man, TIGRILLO, Latino,
40’s, fit and tough looking.

The man is very good.  He juggles the ball and bounces it
off his head and David follows him away from the center of
the playground.

EXT. PLAYGROUND - CONTINUOUS

Helena notices David moving away while playing with the man. 
She follows, then begins to jog after them.

HELENA
David, come back here this minute.
David!

As she closes distance the man stops juggling the ball and
abruptly picks up David and begins swinging him around by
his arms.  David is having fun as Helena approaches.

HELENA
David --

DAVID
We’re playing!

The strange man swings David up so that he’s under his arm.

STRANGE MAN
Yeah, this is fun.

HELENA
Please put down my son.

The man holds David.

STRANGE MAN
Shouldn’t let your kid wander off
with strangers.

HELENA
Thank you.  That’s a valuable lesson. 
David, come on.

The strange man holds David tighter so that he’s no longer
having fun.  He begins to wriggle --

STRANGE MAN
Mrs. Ayala --

This gets her attention --

STRANGE MAN
Your husband owes a lot of money. 
Enough that snapping this kid’s neck
wouldn’t nearly cover it.

David begins to cry.  Helena looks around wildly for help.

STRANGE MAN
You better come up with it in a hurry
or your kid is going to disappear,
and he won’t turn up until the evening
news.

He drops David who runs to his mother.

STRANGE MAN
You get exactly one warning.

The strange man moves away across the field.

STRANGE MAN
The first payment is three million
dollars.

He continues walking away.

INT. TELEPHONE REPAIR VAN - DAY

Gordon and Castro stare with rapt attention.

GORDON
Are you getting this on tape?

CASTRO
I love my job.  I love it.  The next
time I’m having a bad day you gotta
remind me of right now and I’ll get
over it.

CUT TO:

EXT. BARRACKS - NIGHT

Javier and Manolo stand guard outside the front door of the
dining hall.  Javi smokes a cigarette.

MANOLO
A group of us are going out tonight.

JAVIER
Who?

MANOLO
Guzman, Tomas, Esteban --

JAVIER
Your new friends.

MANOLO
Yeah.  It should be fun.  You wanna
come?

JAVIER
Not this time.

INT. DINING HALL - BARRACKS - NIGHT

Francisco and Salazar eat at a beautifully set table.  They
are waited on by military officers who serve perfect flan at
the end of the meal.

FRANCISCO
In my home I have B&W speakers.  I
recently purchased a compact disc
burner.  I can make my own cd’s,
with whatever music I like, as if I
bought them at the store, only I
don’t have to pay these crazy prices.

SALAZAR
We have much in common.  We both
attended school in the United States,
and both of our fathers are engineers.

FRANCISCO
I got into stereo equipment when I
was a kid.  Some people don’t notice
the difference but it is very
important to me.

SALAZAR
Of course it is.  Have some more
wine.

A soldier pours another glass of red for Francisco.

SALAZAR
Now, Francisco, my friend... I must
know where these men are who killed
my captains.  Not where they were
last week, but where they are today,
and better still, tomorrow.
You are clever.  You can predict
where they will be, can’t you?

Francisco begins to weep.

Salazar slides a pad of paper toward Francisco who slowly
begins writing.

EXT. TIJUANA NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY

Manolo and Javier pound on the front door of an apartment. 
A MAN opens the door and they grab him.

EXT. TIJUANA STREETS - DAY

A MAN walks down the street.  Two SUV’s pull up in front of
him.  He starts to run.  Salazar’s men jump out and chase
him.

Francisco is in the backseat of one of the SUV’s, watching.

EXT. TIJUANA - DAY

An SUV pulls up to a curb.

INT. SUV - DAY

Javier and Manolo and Francisco sit in the SUV.  Francisco
is weeping.

FRANCISCO
I can’t go home.  I don’t want to
go.  Please don’t make me.

He looks beseechingly at them.

JAVIER
It’s not our decision.

FRANCISCO
I’ll be killed.

JAVIER
Stop complaining.  Nobody knows what
you’ve been up to.

They push him out of the SUV.

CUT TO:

INT. SAN DIEGO JAIL - DAY

Castro and Gordon sit with Eduardo Ruiz in a conference room.

They are recording his statements.

RUIZ
Carlos, I mean Carl, started out in
the family connection business: real
estate in Tijuana, fishing boats out
of Ensenada, hydroponic raspberries. 
He met up with the Obregon brothers
of the Tijuana Cartel who were
interested in two things: entering
society and using his fishing boats.

GORDON
So you pay off our customs officials?

RUIZ
In Mexico law enforcement is an
entrepreneurial activity, this is
not so true for the USA.
(condescending)
Using regression analysis we made a
study of the customs lanes at the
border and calculated the odds of a
search.  The odds are not high, and
we found variables that reduce the
odds.  We hire drivers with nothing
to lose.  Then we throw a lot of
product at the problem.  Some get
stopped.  Enough get through.  It’s
not difficult.

CASTRO
You’d think he wasn’t sitting here
facing life in prison.

RUIZ
This has worked for years and it
will continue to work for years.
NAFTA makes everything more difficult
for you.  The border is disappearing.
(pointing at them)
You people are like those Japanese
soldiers left behind on deserted
islands who think that World War II
is still going on.
(with total disdain)
Let me be the first to  tell you,
your government surrendered this war
a long time ago.

GORDON
(to Castro)
This attitude’s not gonna help him
any, is it?

RUIZ
I got greedy.  I decided to bring a
little in on my own and somebody
tipped you off.  That was my mistake. 
Carl would never be so stupid.

GORDON
He hired you.  That was a mistake.

RUIZ
Carl and I were friends from
childhood.  He was loyal, that’s not
a mistake.

EXT. TIJUANA - SAN DIEGO BORDER CROSSING - DAY

Car after car, an unending multi-lane stream of vehicles
moving into the U.S.  Any of these cars could be carrying
drugs.

INT. CUSTOMS CONTROL BOOTH - DAY

On an elevated walkway, this booth commands a view of
everything.  Robert and Sheridan listen to an OFFICIAL give
the spiel.

OFFICIAL
The busiest land border crossing in
the world.  Over forty-one thousand
vehicles per day, twenty-two thousand
pedestrians on foot.  I think we do
a pretty good job but we know a lot
of drugs are still getting through.

ROBERT
Any idea how much?

OFFICIAL
I’ve read official estimates but I
wouldn’t bet my house on them.  I’ve
heard the entire cocaine supply for
the United States can fit into four
tractor-trailers.
(gestures to the
traffic)
At least a half-dozen of those cars
right out there are carrying a load
of dope, with drivers employed by
people who don’t give a damn if
they’re caught or not.

ROBERT
What do you look for?

OFFICIAL
We ask questions and measure the
answers.  When something doesn’t
ring true, a fact that doesn’t make
sense, a slight hesitation, then
it’s off to secondary for a closer
look.  Before NAFTA we had about 1.9
million trucks a year.  Now it’s
almost double.  Pretty soon there’ll
be Mexican truck companies that will
have as much freedom in crossing the
border as American truck companies.

ROBERT
Any way we can do it better?

OFFICIAL
Sure.  More money in intelligence on
their side of the border.  So we
have a better idea who we’re looking
for.  More dogs.  More people. 
Supposed to be getting some giant x-
ray machines to run the trucks
through.  Outside of martial law
that’s about the best you’re gonna
do.
(beat)
But, I should tell you, there are
two things that really have us on
edge right now.
(beat)
In the last six months seizures have
tripled, even though we’re pulling
over the same number of cars.  What
does that tell you?

ROBERT
That triple the amount of stuff is
going through.

OFFICIAL
Right.  But, that’s not the biggest
problem.  One of our Intel officers
picked up information from DEA that
traffickers have come up with a
process, a chemical