The Dark Knight

BLACK SCREEN.

GORDON (V.O)

Harvey Dent was needed. He was

everything Gotham has been crying

out for. He was...a hero. Not the

hero we deserved - the hero we

needed. Nothing less than a knight,

shining...

The sound of cracking. Splintering. A shape appears, in ice.

The shape of a BAT. The ice disintegrates...

EXT. GOTHAM STREET - DAY

Gordon stands before a massive picture of Harvey Dent.

GORDON:

But I knew Harvey Dent. I was...his

friend. And it will be a very long

time before someone inspires us the

way he did.

Gordon, choked with emotion, gathers the papers of his

eulogy.

I believed in Harvey Dent.

And we FADE TO BLACK.

CUT TO:

Racing along a cratered dirt road, and we are -

INT. LAND CRUISER JOSTLING OVER UNEVEN TERRAIN - DAY

Three Hooded Men guarded by East European Militia. A third

Militia drives. Next to him is a nervous, bespectacled man.

EXT. AIRSTRIP, EASTERN EUROPE - DAY

An airstrip overlooking a grey city rocked by artillery

fire. A bland CIA Operative, flanked by Special Forces Men,

stands in front of a commuter plane. CIA Man watches the

Land Cruiser pull up, hard. The Militia Men jump out of the

vehicle.

The Driver shoves the bespectacled man in front of the CIA

Man.

2.

CIA MAN:

Dr. Pavel, I'm CIA.

Dr. Pavel nods, nervous. CIA Man hands the Driver a

briefcase.

DRIVER:

He wasn't alone.

CIA Man, confused, spots the Hooded Men. He turns to Dr.

Pavel.

CIA MAN:

You don't get to bring friends.

DR. PAVEL

(SHAKEN)

They are not my friends.

DRIVER:

Don't worry, no charge for them.

CIA MAN:

Why would I want them?

DRIVER:

They were trying to grab your

prize. (Smiles.) They work for the

mercenary. The masked man.

CIA MAN:

(EXCITED)

Bane?

The Driver nods. CIA Man turns to his Special Forces Men.

CIA MAN:

Get 'em on board - I'll call it in.

EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - DAY

The commuter plane struggles over snow-capped mountains.

INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS

The three Hooded Men kneel by the cargo door, handcuffed.

CIA Man grabs Hooded Man 1.

CIA MAN:

What are you doing in the middle of

my operation?

3.

Hooded Man 1 says nothing. CIA Man pulls out a handgun.

The flight plan I just filed with

the Agency lists me, my men, and

Dr. Pavel here. But only one of

you.

CIA Man opens the cargo door. Special Forces hang Hooded Man

1 out into the howling wind - CIA Man shouts above the wind.

CIA MAN:

FIRST ONE TO TALK GETS TO STAY ON

MY AIRCRAFT! (C*cks weapon.)

SO...WHO PAID YOU TO GRAB DR.

PAVEL?!

Nothing. CIA Man fires out the open door and the Special

Forces yank Hooded Man 1 back in, clubbing him quiet.

CIA MAN:

HE DIDN'T FLY SO GOOD! WHO WANTS TO

TRY NEXT?!

The Soldiers grab Hooded Man 2, hang him out the door.

CIA MAN:

TELL ME ABOUT BANE! WHY DOES HE

WEAR THE MASK?!

The prisoner says nothing. CIA Man presses the gun to the

man's hood - he c*cks the gun...nothing.

CIA MAN:

LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN!

THIRD PRISONER (O.S.)

Or he's wondering why someone would

shoot a man before throwing him out

of an aeroplane.

CIA Man turns to the Third Prisoner. Shuts the cargo door.

CIA MAN:

Wiseguy, huh? At least you can

talk. Who are you?

THIRD PRISONER:

We are nothing. We are the dirt

beneath your feet. And no one cared

who I was until I put on the

mask...

CIA Man, wary, approaches the Third Prisoner - pulls off his

hood, revealing a dark mask with a breathing apparatus. The

eyes behind it are cold. Still. This is Bane.

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