CRISIS - Part IV

From: (EXECUTIVE)
Date: 31 Mar 1997 09:19:08

"CRISIS" --- Act 4 ===> "On the Road Again"

[ Willie Nelson's lawyers will be in contact with you. ]

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A few days later, the Sliders are on the highway en route to Dulles Airport. Quinn is at the wheel of the vehicle.

[ At close range, I bet. Clearly Quinn is ill, or he would have told us the make of the vehicle, like anyone else in reality would. ]

Seating next to him is Maggie.

[ "Seating" next to him? Is this ebonics you're writing in? ]

She has a contented look on her face as she strokes his right leg.

[ Very in character ]

QUINN (whispering): "Not while I'm driving!" He moves her hand away. In the seat behind Quinn is Wade, who is staring at the trees on the side of the road.

[ Must be moving slow if she can "stare" at the trees. Come to that, it isn't much of an all-expense paid trip. They're stuck driving down to the airport themselves! ]

Rembrandt is seated next to her, behind Maggie.
REMBRANDT: "It sure was nice of the other Wade to let us borrow her car."

[ What was the make of that car again? ]

--- WADE: "I only hope we can trust her."
QUINN: "I hope we can trust her father." Maggie looks in the rear view mirror.
MAGGIE: "That Oldsmobile has been following us ever since we left the motel."

[ Hold on, boys and girls! I sense an action packed, non-predictable, well-written car chase coming up! *guffaw* Not like this hasn't been done to death in numerous tv shows and films either. ]

QUINN: "Maybe they're going to the airport too. Thousands of people do everyday, you know."
MAGGIE: "Except that I've seen this car before. It was an Army issue model on my Earth. Quinn, you better get your pedal to the medal!"

[ Medal? ]

--- QUINN: "Well, we are running late for that
flight!" Quinn steps on the accelerator, and
they start doing 60, 70, 80, and he holds at 86 miles per hour.

[ That is some driving. Holding exactly at 86 the whole way. ]

BROWN: "Yeah...Ride 'em Q-Ball!"
The car tailing them also increases in speed as it pursues them. As Wade tightens her seatbelt, Maggie loosens hers when somebody in the car >>> behinds <<< them starts shooting at them. Maggie

[ "behinds?" More ebonics? ]

loads ammo into her rifle,

[ What else would she load it into? Her purse? ]

and then rolls down the window. She proceeds to return fire on the other car. The Probe starts to swerve off the road very slightly
as Quinn maintains control.

[ It swerves off the road AS he maintains control? Kinda like staying calm as you lose your temper. ]

REMBRANDT: "Do what you usually do, Quinn!"

[ Which would be what, exactly? ]

QUINN: "It won't work as well with this tight stickshift, but I'll try!" Quinn slows down some as he turns the car
90 degrees to the left.

[ Such precision! ]

The only other car on that part of the highway is the Oldsmobile pursuing them. The driver of the other car has no choice but to do the same. The pursuing car swerves off the side of the road into the bushes.

[ Where Executive is hiding so he can spy on people like the peeping Tom we all know him to be. :) ]

At the same time, Quinn turns around and speeds up to 80 again.
QUINN: Why the hell didn't you shoot their tires, Beckett? They were at close range!"

[ Yes, close range again! And it fits into the sentence so perfectly, far better than, oh, "...close enough." or just about anything else someone with at LEAST half a brain would say ]

MAGGIE (yelling): "I didn't have a chance with the way you were
driving! You're lucky a cop hasn't pulled us over yet!"

[ Yeah, he was only maintaining control as he swerved. And the cop could pull them over at close range as well ]

WADE: "Will you calm down? Quinn, how much further is it to the
airport?"
QUINN: "If we don't get pulled over, about 5 minutes." After 4
minutes,

[ Amazing what a precise universe they slid into. Everything happens exactly on the minute ]

Quinn slows down to normal speed

[ I often see "Normal Speed" posted on road signs. It is so much easier to understand than those pesky numbers. ]

as they approach the airport entrance. Several miles behind them, the Olds driver gets out of Colonel Patterson's car. He lights
up a cigarette as his only passenger - the gunman complains.

[ Interesting name. What's the nationality of this "Mr Gunman Complains"? ]

PETE: "You know Patterson is going to be pissed when he finds out we scratched his car, Reynolds!"
REYNOLDS: "Just be glad the girl didn't kill us!" Pete's >>> celluar <<< phone

[ Celluar? What the heck is a celluar phone? ]

rings, and he answers it.

[ Usually he answers it only when it DOESN'T ring. :) ]

PETE (on the phone) [ If he's standing on the phone, how is he able to hear Dole's voice? ] : "Yes, Mr. President. They must have gotten to the airport by now." He pauses as President Dole interrupts.
DOLE: "Then you just make sure to get on the next flight
to Omaha. I don't need another national crisis on my hands!" The President hangs up. Reynolds puts out his cigarette,

[ That is soooo cool, and obviously not derived from CSM on the X-FILES ]

and gets back into the car, as he looks at Pete.
REYNOLDS: "Don't tell me. We're going to Omaha.

[ Let's hope he doesn't tell him, or else we'll be treated to more of Exec's wonderful use of dialogue. ]

In her one bedroom apartment, Wade's double is sitting quietly in fear on her sofa. In the recliner just 8 feet across
from her is a burly secret service agent. He is nattily dressed in an

[ "Nattily dressed?" Is he a transvestite dressed in the clothes of someone named Natalie? ]

all-black designer Armani suit with matching necktie.

[ At close range, no doubt ]

In his right hand is a .45 Magnum handgun pointed directly in Wade's direction.

[ As opposed to a .45 Magnum bazooka? ]

WADE #2: "I told you all I know about them.
What else do you want?" AGENT BELASCO: "You already know what Colonel Patterson and the President want.

[ No one else does. They have no clearly defined motivation ]

Of course what they want doesn't really matter. Your father will pay good money to ensure his daughter stays alive. What can you be worth to him? $5 million? Maybe 10? --- WADE #2: "I hope he doesn't pay you one damned cent!!!"

[ Such hard-boiled dialogue. And the ransom fits so well into the plot, considering it has almost no effect on the plot later. ]

BELASCO (laughing): "Well once I find out that the ransom money is wired to my bank account, you will be free to go!"
He picks up the phone, and starts to dial Omaha information. BELASCO:
"Yes, operator. Please give me the number of the
Welles-Arturo Institute."

[ What an original name. Did you think of that all on your own? ]

To Be Continued --->