NUMBER TWO MAN

Written by Scott Turner

36 Fox Run, Waterdown, ON, Canada, L0R2H8 1-289-895-7940 scottthescreenwriter@gmail.com www.scottrturner.com

FADE IN: EXT. LAX - ESTABLISHING SHOT - MORNING Large commercial jets take off from the runway into the morning sky. The warm glow of the rising sun illuminates them in an orange hue. A large jumbo jet extends its landing gear and touches down on the runway. Men in orange vests direct the planes on where to turn with neon wands in hand, as if directing a symphony orchestra. INT. LAX - MAINTENANCE HANGAR - CONTINUOUS CLOSE ON REAR OF TRUCK A hand comes INTO FRAME and a large translucent hose is wound around a metal pole. CLOSE ON DOOR CONTROL PANEL A hand comes INTO FRAME and pounds against a large red button. BACK TO SCENE A large metallic shutter opens from floor to ceiling, allowing the morning light to pour through, illuminating a large, complex piece of equipment sitting in the back of the truck. CLOSE ON MANS EYES A look of determination and extreme confidence. man ready to get things done. This is a

A LOUD ENGINE roars to life, like a dragon waking from a thousand years of sleep. CLOSE ON LARGE WHEEL which lurches slowly forward.

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EXT. LAX - TARMAC - CONTINUOUS A large jumbo jet rolls slowly forward on the tarmac. It docks with the loading bridge and comes to a complete stop. The truck, red light blinking on top, moves swiftly forward across the runway, quickly approaching the plane. A loud HONK as another similar truck passes by. The driver of this second truck nods and salutes. Our determined driver nods back. The swiftly moving truck approaches the plane, which is now unloading its passengers. The truck drives directly underneath the large plane and suddenly comes to a stop. The driver cuts the engine and thrusts the driver's side door open. He leans out and boosts himself onto the rear of the truck. We finally get a good view of the driver in his navy blue jumpsuit and orange vest. He is PAUL PARRISH (40s), a wellproportioned man of average height. He's lucky enough at his age to have a full head of wavy brown hair. He's not breaking any hearts with his looks, but at the same time, he's no cave troll. With the push of a button, Paul is lifted up high into the sky by a cherry picker platform. The white underside of the plane approaches quickly as Paul confidently rises into the sky. Just as it appears that he is going to slam into the underside of the plane, he flicks a switch on a remote control, and the platform comes to an abrupt halt. Paul reaches above his head and quickly flicks three large red latches on the underside of the plane. A large panel opens, revealing a round hole directly in the middle. Paul grabs one end of a long, translucent hose hanging from the edge of the platform and raises it to the plane. With the flick of his wrist, it locks into place. A long beat. Nothing is happening. Paul elbows the hose and brown liquid suddenly flies down the tube. He immediately plugs his nose as the waste is emptied from the plane.

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INT. LAX - MAINTENANCE HANGAR - LATER Paul is emptying the vacuum device of the precious cargo he recovered from the plane. It drains down into a large vat and, thankfully, disappears from view. SYD Pauly, how you doin', brother? Paul spins around to find SYD PETERSON (30s), his slightly overweight, man-child of a best friend and co-worker rinsing off a pair of yellow rubber gloves behind him. PAUL Oh, hey Syd. Not too bad. One of the new 787s rolled in this morning. Five restrooms on board, can you believe it? SYD Are you serious right now? Don't fucking kid around with me, man, my heart can't take the excitement! (beat) You know what that sounds like? Five times the work. Syd grabs a large, heavy hose from the floor and drags it over to the metallic vat. With a loud WHOOSH, the vat begins filling with more waste. PAUL (yelling over the noise) Whatever, I think it's kind of neat. Five restrooms on a single plane. You don't see that very often. It's a magical time we live in. SYD (yelling over the noise) You been huffing the fumes again, buddy? You need to get out more. Come out with us to the Four Stripes tonight, I'll buy you a beer. The loud noise of the machinery comes to a stop. A slender, geeky-looking girl, wearing the same navy blue jumpsuit as Paul and Syd approaches. She is ALLISON (30s), another employee of LAX's lavatory clean up crew.

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ALLISON All right, first round's on Syd! Let's get the hell out of here. SYD I'll keep the drinks flowing all night for you, Al. Syd blows her a kiss. ALLISON Gross. Never mind, I'll get my own beer. When are we going? PAUL I don't know, you guys, I've got a lot to catch up on here. The vats haven't been scrubbed since Monday. That's against at last four violations. Plus... it's a pilot bar. Paul and Allison exchange a knowing glance. SYD Who gives a shit? Those assholes like to think they're better than us, but don't let them get to you. If we didn't do what we do, people would literally have to shit out the window of the plane... don't even get me started on the probability of people getting sucked out the window mid-squeeze. We're basically saving lives here. Paul's frown reluctantly melts away as a smirk forms on his face. PAUL Fine, one beer. I really can't be out all night, though. EXT. FOUR STRIPES BAR - ESTABLISHING SHOT - EVENING A small brick building painted navy blue. The neon sign above the door contains the namesake four yellow stripes, much like you might see on a pilot's uniform. To the left of the logo reads "Four Stripes".

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INT. FOUR STRIPES BAR - CONTINUOUS A small mountain of empty beer mugs surrounds Paul and company. Syd takes the last swig of his current round and slams the mug down. SYD So anyway, here I am standing on the tarmac next to my truck and this chick that's waiting to board her little Turboprop, she keeps asking me what it's like being a pilot. TED (30s), an extremely sardonic man who also works with the sanitation crew, is listening intently to Syd's increasingly boisterous story. TED Wait, wait, hold on... she thought YOU were a pilot? You? SYD (nodding) Ted, Im telling you, she was clueless. I might as well have been Wilbur-fucking-Wright! So, she's blabbing away about how she's always had a thing for pilots, I'm trying to figure out if she's joking or if she's really that dumb, and meanwhile the real pilot is standing over by the plane eavesdropping on the whole conversation. ALLISON No one in their right mind is stupid enough to believe YOU'RE a pilot, Syd. Paul laughs and raises his glass in cheers to Allison. SYD Ah, but that's where you're mistaken my beautiful but naive friend. So, she gives me her number and tells me to call her when we land in Scottsdale, because apparently that's where I'm flying her to. I take it, give her a wink and she hops on the plane.

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PAUL So, then what? SYD What do you think? I bought a ticket for the next flight to Scottsdale. ALLISON You're disgusting. She still thinks you're a pilot? SYD If you consider "Oh, Captain Syd!!!" to mean anything, then yeah! The table erupts with laughter. PAUL I've gotta hand it to you, that's pretty smooth. SYD Stick with me, kid, and Ill teach you everything I know. How's things with Sandra? A short beat. PAUL It didn't last. We actually broke up last weekend. Everyone stares at Paul, waiting for an explanation. PAUL (CONT'D) She said I wasn't ambitious enough for her. Apparently I'm not doing anything with my life. She has a good point. This job isn't exactly glamorous. I should have seen it coming. SYD Yeah, that's kind of true. ALLISON Syd, don't be an asshole. Don't worry about it Paul, any girl would be lucky to meet a guy like you. Sure, you're not a pilot like Syd over here, but you're a smart, kind guy. (MORE)

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ALLISON (CONT'D) You just need to have a little more confidence in yourself, that's all. SYD She's right, buddy. You can do anything you set your mind to. Hey, here comes the waitress. She's been smiling at you all night, ask her if she's doing anything after her shift. PAUL Are you serious? She's a waitress, she's paid to smile at everyone. TED Oh, yeah, this is a great idea. Syd turns around in his chair. SYD Excuse me? Miss? My friend wanted to ask you something. PAUL Syd, what the f -The waitress strides over to the table between Paul and Syd. Hi! WAITRESS What's up?

PAUL (voice cracking) Oh, I just wanted to... wondered to... if you had any appetizers on special tonight? Or whenever night? Ted mouths "whenever night?" to Allison. the ribs. She elbows him in

WAITRESS Well, we have a special tonight on cheesy potato skins for $5.99 and two for one on the chicken wings. The entire room seems to hold its breath for Paul's next move. PAUL I think just the bill.

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WAITRESS OK, I'll be right back. Paul takes a long sip of his beer, which conveniently covers the deepening shade of red on his face. Syd covers his face with his hands and pretends to cry. TED I'm pretty sure cheesy potato skins was a euphemism for sex. I actually think you're good on this one. EXT. PAUL'S APARTMENT - ESTABLISHING SHOT - NIGHT A shoddy-looking ten-story apartment building. Not the kind of place you'd want to call home if you had the choice. INT. PAUL'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Darkness. The CLINK of a KEY unlocking a door. The door swings open, illuminating the apartment in the light of the hallway. Paul steps into the apartment and heads straight to the bedroom. As he walks, he kicks off his shoes, lets his shirt drop to the floor, and kicks his pants against the wall, midstride. BEDROOM Paul slides under the sheets of his twin bed and flicks the TV on. He channel surfs for several moments, not finding anything of interest, until a news report catches his eye. An attractive female NEWS REPORTER is sitting in the cockpit of an airplane. NEWS REPORTER Boeing's latest marvel, the 797 CloudSurf, is set to make its maiden flight tomorrow from LAX, flying from Los Angeles to New York City. Veteran pilot, William Mankiewicz, is set to pilot the 5,500 square foot jumbo jet.

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WILL MANKIEWICZ (40s), a tall, confident looking man, wearing a pilot's uniform, is shown on TV in the pilot's seat of the large aircraft. NEWS REPORTER (O.S.) (CONT'D) Are you excited about tomorrow's flight, Captain Mankiewicz? Paul suddenly sits up in his bed with a crooked grin on his face. PAUL Son of a... (beat) Will? WILL Was Napoleon excited when he set sail on the... ship that he used? The same one that discovered this wonderful land that we all call home? Yeah, I bet he was. I bet he was he was so excited that he pissed his pants three times before he had the nerve to get on board for an interview. An awkward beat. WILL (CONT'D) I didn't do that. I'm just saying he might have. NEWS REPORTER So wait, are you saying that in some aspects, your story is actually quite similar to the man that discovered America? WILL Very similar, yes. It's a very similar situation. I'm glad you brought that up, you see, I fully agree with you. I think kids will probably be reading about this in history books in a few years. Paul shakes his head in disbelief. Clearly, he has a history with this man. He grabs the remote and turns the TV off. PAUL Unbelievable

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Paul closes his eyes and dozes off. FADE TO BLACK. DREAM SEQUENCE - INT. AIRPLANE - COCKPIT - LATER PAUL'S POV MAN (O.S.) Paul, the landing gear! lower it, now! I said There's no way

The ground rushes up to meet the cockpit. this will end well.

A hand comes INTO FRAME and pulls frantically on a lever. Will's head appears from the back of the cockpit, smiling. WILL Hey buddy. Looks like we're gonna die. Oh look, a mountain! A mountain has appeared from nowhere and the plane is inches away from smashing into it... CLOSE ON PAUL'S EYES which are bulging out of his head. die. He knows he's about to END DREAM SEQUENCE. INT. PAUL'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT Paul wakes up with a start, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. He looks around the room and something catches his eye. He gets up from the bed and walks over to the wall of his bedroom. CLOSE ON FRAMED PHOTO A group of young pilots-in-training posing in front of a small prop plane. A young Will and Paul are in front, arms around each other's shoulders.

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BACK TO SCENE Paul quietly chuckles to himself. frame on the wall. CLOSE ON FRAMED PHOTO Paul, smiling and laughing with a young girl, presumably the one that just dumped him. BACK TO SCENE Paul takes the frame off the wall and tosses it in the trash can. He looks to another photo