48 Hrs.

FADE IN:

OPEN COUNTRY - DAY

Endless green hills bisected by a ribbon of highway. A road

gang clearing brush by the side of the road... Twenty-five

men in prison fatigues sweating through their mid-afternoon

labor.

THREE GUARDS:

Flank the working prisoners... Mountie hats, shotguns,

sidearms, sunglasses; they look like they mean it.

HIGHWAY:

A battered pickup appears...approaches. Suddenly, it coughs,

shudders, stalls. A big Blackfoot Indian named BILLY BEAR

gets out and starts cursing and kicking the vehicle.Then he

begins walking toward the road gang...

ROADSIDE:

BRADY is the Guard near the center of the work gang; he

smiles at the oncoming man, pokes a prisoner beside him.

BRADY:

Wonder what reservation they let

him off of...

The prisoner is GANZ who looks up, grins at Brady...

GANZ:

Yeah, there goes the neighborhood.

Brady laughs as Billy Bear closes in on him.

BILLY:

Say, buddy, my engine's

overheating and I got 30 miles

before the next station... Could

I get some water out of your

cooler?

Ganz leans on his hoe, speaks as Billy passes...

GANZ:

Maybe you shoulda stole a better

truck, Tonto.

BILLY:

You got a real big mouth, convict.

BRADY:

It's okay, chief. He's just

joking...

BILLY:

How about the water...

GANZ:

Firewater, Tonto? Is that what

you...

Billy whirls, swings at Ganz. Both men roll to the ground.

BRADY:

Hey! Jesus Christ!

THE OTHER GUARDS

Seeing the commotion, they run toward it.

GANZ AND BILLY:

As they struggle, Billy slips a pistol into Ganz' hand.

BRADY:

That's a state prisoner,

asshole...! Back off...

ROADSIDE:

Brady pulls Billy away from Ganz just 'as one of the other

officers arrives... Ganz suddenly whips out a pistol, shoots

Brady at point-blank range. Before the other Guards can even

react, Billy comes out with his own pistol, caps the Second

Guard.

THIRD GUARD:

Still forty yards away... In mid-draw, be howls as a bullet

from Ganz breaks the nearby ground. He fires, then turns and

runs for the prison bus.

GANZ:

Smiling, fires twice. but the range is too great for pistol

work...

THE OTHER PRISONERS

Watching....Then they all scatter in different directions...

GANZ:

Hefts his weapon...

GANZ:

Come on...

He and the big Indian run to the pickup, climb in and roar

away.

INT. BUS

The THIRD GUARD making a call on the police radio...

OFFICER:

APO 657, Unit 25 to APO 478t APO

657t Unit 25 to APO 478.

RADIO RESPONSE:

Go ahead, Unit 25.

OFFICER:

Escape in progress. Two officers

shot off rail crossing 31.

Prisoners escaping. Two men, one

six-four, 200 pounds, dark, an

Indian, the other, Albert Ganz,

five-ten...

FURTHER DOWN THE HIGHWAY

Several miles from the escape... A big semi parked by the

side of ttie road; back doors to the closed trailer open. A

station wagon parked across the road. The pickup appears,

approaches the semi, slows down and drives up the ramp into

the van. Ganz and Billy jump out, shove the ramp up inside

the truck and close the big doors.

STATION WAGON:

Ganz and Billy climb inside ancl roar off, back in the

direction of the road gang.

BILLY BEAR:

Takes off his hat, puts on a baseball cap and sunglasses...

BILLY:

Get ready to duck.

Ganz dives for the floor. Three police cars go by, sirens

blaring, lights flashing. They pass the road gang. Ganz

reappear, smiles...

GANZ:

You know something? I'm having a

real good time.

HIGHWAY:

The station wagon blasts down the pavement... Becomes a small

dot on the landscape.

TRANSITION.

A DOORWAY - NIGHT

the portal slams open revealing a man holding a huge

pistol,jack cates, s.F.P.D., a large and powerful man... He

stealthily moves up a stairwell.

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