OUTSIDE THE WIRE

By Reinhard Cate & Eric Lambden

Inspired by Actual Events

WGA REGISTRATION #1691865 REINHARD CATE 1311 WEBSTER ST. APT #E315 ALAMEDA, CA 94501 510-610-9454 REINHARDCATE@GMAIL.COM

FADE IN: EXT RURAL VILLAGE GHAZNI PROVINCE AFGHANISTAN - DAY Snow covered peaks tower over a barren landscape. A small village of mud brick huts sits centered on a beat up dirt road covered in bits of trash and a light dusting of snow. TITLE OVER: GELAN DISTRICT, GHAZNI PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN A Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle (MRAP) modified for a Special Forces team is parked on the small street. The ultra-modern vehicles mounted remote controlled .50 caliber machine gun scans the impoverished landscape for threats. Bearded Special Forces soldiers stand next to unarmored light all terrain 4 x 4 vehicles parked near the MRAP on the street, (side-by-sides). Theyre like golf carts on steroids. No armor, but they can go anywhere and pack a punch - the passenger of each vehicle mans a mounted machine gun. Villagers ignore the soldiers save for roving groups of children begging for candy and pens. The teams senior non-commissioned officer MASTER SERGEANT DANNY POWERS and one of his soldiers, the teams young JUNIOR MEDIC pace in the middle of the street. Theyre waiting for the end of a formal traditional Afghan gathering, a shura. JUNIOR MEDIC Fuck this. Im bored and these kids are driving me nuts. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Were not done yet, besides the kids arent that bad. If they bother you so much get SUBWAY to tell them to fuck off. JUNIOR MEDIC These god damn little shits. One minute theyre asking for pens, the next theyre tossing fucking rocks at our windshield. Powers chuckles as he listens to his soldier gripe. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Like I said, just get Subway on it.

JUNIOR MEDIC You think anyone in there cares what the Captain says? These shuras are the same bullshit over and over again. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Well, the MAYOR seems to think this is just what the village needs. So the Captain has got to be here. JUNIOR MEDIC You know what bothers me the most? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Whats that? JUNIOR MEDIC I like a good fight as much as the next guy, its just all this waiting around thats killing me. Get it fuckin started already or dont bother. Powers grins as he walks down the road. He enjoys the complaints. A group of masked Afghan National Police (ANP) soldiers lounge around a green Ford pickup truck. They let their weapons hang casually. Instead of manning the machine gun mounted in the truck bed, one of the soldiers is lying down napping. Powers shakes his head. JUNIOR MEDIC Some joint security we got. Fuckin lazy pieces of shit. A group of Afghans and Special Forces soldiers exit the hut nearest to the MRAP and the ANP gun truck. The Afghan soldiers dont bat an eye let alone wake their sleeping buddy. The shura is over. Its time to go. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Alpha and principles exiting the building; be ready to move out. The teams leader and only officer, CAPTAIN STEVEN MEYER exchanges brief, formal goodbyes with the leader of the 3

Afghan group, the Mayor. The teams main interpreter walks with a limp. BATOOR is a young fit Afghan man in his 20s. He continues to speak with villagers from the shura. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Everything go smoothly sir? The teams INTEL SERGEANT joins Meyer and Powers. CAPTAIN MEYER I think it went as well as it could. The Mayor claims the village is ready. The elders say they want security and theyre tired of issues with the Taliban. I think maybe we might have made some progress. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Some good news for once. Felix you get anything valuable? INTEL SERGEANT Nah Danny, just formal bullshit, the Captains show more than mine today. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fair enough. CAPTAIN MEYER Lets head back. Ill call it up from the truck. The Mayor approaches the group flanked by two other Afghans. Without hesitation he addresses the soldiers in Pashto. Hes a politician. Batoor rushes to translate. BATOOR Sir, the Mayor says thank you for coming. He thinks that the village will listen. Meyer turns to the Mayor and speaks nodding to Batoor. CAPTAIN MEYER Thank you. We look forward to bringing security to your village. 4

(Captain Meyer pauses for Batoor to translate.) We would not have been able to come here and do this without your help. The Mayor listens and then responds. He doesnt wait for the interpreter. Batoor lets him finish then translates. BATOOR Sir, he says you are welcome and he is happy to host you. He says what you did today was very important. CAPTAIN MEYER I hope so Batoor. Tell him thank you again. Well call him soon. Batoor translates. The Mayor listens, smiles, nods back to Captain Meyer and then leaves. The soldiers are happy. CAPTAIN MEYER Okay. Lets roll. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS No complaints with that order sir. Meyer and the Intel Sergeant laugh, then turn and walk over to the MRAP in the street. Master Sergeant Powers signals the soldiers in the street and gets on his radio. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) All victors this is Zulu lets link up and RTB. (Return to Base) A side-by-side vehicle with two soldiers pulls up to him. Powers vaults himself up onto the tiny truck bed of the small 4 x 4 next to a military working dog. The teams Air Force JTAC, a Joint Terminal Attack Controller, is driving. The teams Dog Handler is in the passenger seat. JTAC Hey! Theres no free rides on this bus! Powers pats the roof and rubs the dogs head.

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Just get me over to my truck so the infantry guys dont spaz out and leave without me. JTAC Roger that. They take off down the dirt road out of the village following behind Meyers MRAP. One of the ANP soldiers gives them a lazy wave. The working dog barks at the ANP as they drive by. Powers yells to the two up front. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Thanks for the lift boys! DOG HANDLER Were charging you next time Danny! The MRAP suddenly comes to a halt and they dart around it out of the village. They stop just down the road outside the village where an MRAP and more soldiers are waiting. CAPTAIN MEYER (Radio) Zulu this is Alpha. Our MRAP has decided to take a dump, over. Before Powers can respond the Dog Handler speaks up. DOG HANDLER She just needs the right touch. I got this. Don can take me back over there. JTAC So Im a fucking taxi service now. DOG HANDLER Just the designated driver, I thought you Air Force folks liked driving. JTAC We like flying jack ass, I do like driving, just dont like chauffeuring your 6

happy ass around. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS All right, lets get this shit done so we dont get stuck out here. Ill let the Captain know youre coming. They give Powers a sarcastic salute then happily whip the side-by-side around kicking up dirt. The working dog isnt bothered by the side-by-sides erratic movement. The Soldier and Airman are like two kids on a go-cart. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Alpha this is Zulu, Charlie is in route to lend a hand, over. BOOM! The side-by-side isnt half way there before an explosion rips it in half. The two men and dog are thrown from the vehicle and the blast knocks Powers on his back. He struggles to get up, one hand on his weapon. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fuck! What the fuck! Two other soldiers grab Powers, dragging him to cover. RADIO SOLDIER (Radio) Are we in contact?! Are we in contact?! We have men fucking down! TITLE OVER: OUTSIDE THE WIRE FADE OUT: CUT TO: INT. 737 TAKING OFF FROM JFK AIRPORT - MORNING RYAN HARDEN stares out the window at his home for the last time. Hes a rookie Combat Advisor and Department of Defense researcher. Early 20s, clean cut, hes a sophisticated, pretty boy headed to war for the first time. He shuts off his iPad and starts a timer on his watch. CUT TO: EXT. ATLANTA BUS AND SHUTTLE TERMINAL - DAY

The terminal is chaotic - people talking, directions shouted, taxis honk, airport intercom announcements. Soldiers and Airmen walk by in groups. Ryan, huge backpack on shoulder, searches around. CUT TO: INT. USO LOUNGE ATLANTA AIRPORT MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT Ryan and the others wait in the USO lounge of the Atlanta Airport. Its empty and dark, CNN on a few TVs lights the room. Ryan checks his watch again 2:30am CUT TO: INT. ATLANTA AIRPORT 747 TERMINAL EARLY MORNING Ryan and the others start boarding their plane. Its a 747 civilian charter. At the gate, USO volunteers, all elderly women, hand out care packages hand stitched travel pillows, soap, gum, sunscreen, candy, and pocket bibles. CUT TO: EXT. SHANNON AIRPORT TERMINAL IRELAND - DAY The plane touches down and taxis to a terminal. Ryan and the other civilians and soldiers disembark and stretch their legs. Everyone is quickly ushered back on the plane. CUT TO: EXT. KUWAIT CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT The 747 touches down and then taxis over to an empty tarmac at the Kuwait City International Airport. A convoy escorting several buses pulls up. A man climbs out of the lead vehicle and then up the stairs and enters the plane. He is plainclothes, middle aged, with no ID. CONTRACTOR The buses are here to take you all to Ali Al Selim. Front load your packs. Are there any GS15s or full bird Colonels? A few people raise their hands. CONTRACTOR Follow me. 8

CUT TO: INT. BUS TO ALI AL SALEEM AIRBASE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT Ryan tries to sleep on the bus to Ali Al Selim. He moves the curtain at his window and stares at the dark desert. CUT TO: EXT. PROCESSING TENT ALI AL SALEEM AIRBASE EARLY MORNING A mountain of bags dumped in the sand. Everyones luggage is in identical green duffel bags piled like charcoal briquettes. Soldiers and civilians search in desperation, pawing at every bag. Ryan makes a beeline to his bag the one with a gigantic R in duct tape on the side. He shrugs and grins sheepishly at the group. CUT TO: INT. PROCESSING TENT ALI AL SALEEM AIRBASE EARLY MORNING A long line of contractors and soldiers wait to be processed at one desk in a giant portable tent office. Ryan is in the middle of the line, half asleep. PROCESSING CLERK Have your CAC cards ready! CUT TO: EXT. TARMAC ALI ALSALEEM AIRBASE EARLY MORNING Ryan and other soldiers walk up the rear loading ramp of an Air Force C-17. Two MRAPs are already secured inside. CUT TO: INT. C17 MORNING The loading ramp in the rear of the C17 transport plane opens to reveal Bagram Airfield. The plane continues to taxi with the ramp down. As the plane moves down the runway, Ryan tries to catch glimpses of the massive Hind Kush surrounding Bagram. He checks the timer on his watch 55 hours 11 minutes 10 seconds from New York. The planes CREW CHIEF pipes in over the loud speaker.

CREW CHIEF No soft caps on the flight line! A bus will be here to take you to the terminal! Ryan follows other passengers down the loading ramp of the C17. As he steps on the tarmac two F15 fighter planes on the adjacent runway take off. CUT TO: EXT. BAGRAM AIR BASE FLIGHT TERMINAL - AFTERNOON Ryan exits the terminal. A Toyota Hilux pulls up at the curb. A middle aged, bearded civilian in cargo pants, MILLER, his Team Leader, steps out of the truck and shakes hands with Ryan. They load his gear in the truck. CUT TO: INT. TOYOTA HILUX MAIN ROAD BAGRAM AIRFIELD - AFTERNOON Ryan rides shotgun. As they drive down the main strip in Bagram they pass soldiers with shopping bags, weapons slung casually over their shoulders. He sees Air Force, Army and Marine uniforms as well as international uniforms he doesnt even recognize. MILLER Thats the PX on your left. Theres a KFC, Pizza Hut, theres even a Spa. The haji bazaar is over there too if you want some souvenirs for the family. Ryan stares at a group of group of soldiers coming out of the bazaar carrying shopping bags full of pirated DVDs and a large pizza. Pretty Air Force girls in PT gear run by the soldiers who turn and stare. War here is comfortable. MILLER You think thats bad? Theres a Nathans hot dogs in Kandahar. You can get a kosher hot dog in the heart of Afghanistan. Just dont wander off base or youll get your head cut off. Probably live streaming. CUT TO: 10

EXT. CJSOTF-A (Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan) FRONT GATE, BAGRAM - AFTERNOON The car passes through a gate and by some armed guards into CJSOTF-A Headquarters. A small secure compound isolated from the rest of Bagram. CUT TO: EXT. CJSOTF-A BARRACKS, BAGRAM - AFTERNOON Miller leads Ryan to his lodging rows of shipping containers converted into barracks with staircases and balconies connecting them. CUT TO: INT. RYANS ROOM CJSOTF-A, BAGRAM - AFTERNOON Ryan opens the door to his crate. Its dark and dingy inside. Miller throws one of his bags inside and knocks over a cardboard box that spills its contents ammunition. RYAN My roommate is ammo? MILLER Youre lucky enough to have your own room kid, though you wont really be here. You had a long flight, you probably want some rest. Ill come find you tomorrow. Miller starts to walk out the door. MILLER Dont be too loud, walls are paper-thin. Can prolly hear the guy next-door jerking off. Get some rest. Miller leaves. Ryan walks through the container. He moves a box of ammo off the bed and lays down, sleep at last. CUT TO: EXT. RYANS ROOM CJSOTF-A, BAGRAM - MORNING Ryan opens his container door in the morning, jet lag has him up early. He sees the sun rising over the snow-capped peaks in the distance. He can see his breath right away. 11

Inside the camp, two armed soldiers are supervising a large group of Afghans Tajiks who are picking up trash. They are dressed in shalwar kameez, a long shirt or tunic with collar and baggy pajama like pants; and pakols, traditional Afghan hats that are wool, round, and earth toned. CUT TO: INT. CHOW HALL CJSOTF-A, BAGRAM - MORNING Ryan is in the chow line. He gets a bacon and eggs. Behind the counter, traditionally dressed but with paper gloves serve meals supervised by two plate of French toast, several Tajiks again chefs hats and rubber young soldiers.

Several flat screen TVs in the chow hall show different channels of AFN, the Armed Forces Network. One lone TV plays a slide show on loop the names and faces of every Special Operations Soldier, Sailor, Marine and Airman ever killed in Afghanistan. An empty table set for one with a rose sits alone in the corner, a place reserved for the fallen. CUT TO: Ryan eats his breakfast. MILLER Dont get too comfortable. Youre on a bird out late tonight. Youll be outside the wire in 24 hours. RYAN Where am I going? MILLER East. Ghazni Province. Youll be attached to an ODA that just set up a site. Miller takes a bite out of his breakfast bagel packed with egg, cheese and sausage. RYAN ODA? MILLER Operational Detachment Alpha, youre with 12 Miller walks in and joins him.

an Army Special Forces Team. MILLER The task force uses them, SEALs, and MARSOC guys to train the local police. Its our job to support em. RYAN Afghan Local Police? The ALP? MILLER Yup. They recruit a local militia from rural areas then train them to work with the National Police force. If the villages all joined up, place would actually come together. We just dont know why they arent joining in Ghazni. You also need to help the team navigate all the cultural and tribal bullshit. Too easy, right? RYAN Yeah sure. Miller takes another big bite out of his bagel. MILLER Look, theres no other way to put this, but the area is pretty kinetic. The team lost their Dog Handler and JTAC to an IED several weeks ago. And just before that, the last researcher we sent down there took a round to the head in a firefight. Hes still in a coma in fuckin Germany. A nervous Ryan takes a sip from his coffee. RYAN Good to know. MILLER Youll be fine. The area is a Task Force priority, which is why were sending you. You just need to know what youre headed in to. Theres a free desk in TOC if you 13

want to do some research. CUT TO: INT. TOC OFFICE CJSOT-A - NIGHT Ryan sits at a desk reading reports on a computer. The other soldiers in the room watch NFL and college football games on several wall mounted flat screen TVs. Ryan reads from a page entitled TALIBAN ACTIVITY IN GHAZNI PROVINCE before clicking a link to ODA 324 HIT WITH IED ATTACK DEC 10 NEAR FORWARD OPERATING BASE (FOB) WARRIOR. CUT TO: INT. TOYOTA HILUX BAGRAM AIRFIELD TARMAC EARLY MORNING Miller drives Ryan out on the tarmac towards a small civilian plane old, twin engine, 12 seats. Looks like something better suited for World War II. Ryan gets out of the car and Miller rolls down the window to yell at him. MILLER When you get to Ghazni, youll report to Captain Steven Meyer at FOB Warrior! Miller waves and drives off. CUT TO: EXT. PROPELLAR PLANE TARMAC BAGRAM AIRFIELD EARLY MORNING Ryan boards the plane with a few Special Forces soldiers, hes the only civilian. CUT TO: INT. PROPELLAR PLANE TARMAC BAGRAM AIRFIELD EARLY MORNING The CO-PILOT opens the cabin door and leans back to address the passengers. CO-PILOT Welcome aboard todays flight. Obviously you are free to carry your weapons with you, but we ask that you refrain from discharging them. Seatbelts are recommended but not required.

14

CUT TO: EXT. TARMAC FOB WARRIOR - AFTERNOON The plane lands on a runway that seems only 50 feet long. A small base in a barren desert surrounded by mountains. Ryan gets out of the plane and is immediately met by the howling, biting wind. People are shouting just to be heard. Gear is blown over. A Humvee drives up and the driver waves Ryan over. CUT TO: INT. HUMVEE FOB WARRIOR - AFTERNOON The Humvee drives Ryan through a small gate into Camp Patriot, the American Special Forces Camp on the Polish controlled forward operating base. Dust, wooden huts, tents, guard towers and HESCOE walls, collapsible wire mesh containers filled with dirt used as defensive fortifications - a staple of any NATO or American FOB in Afghanistan. CUT TO: INT. RYANS TENT FOB WARRIOR, CAMP PATRIOT - MORNING Ryan wakes up in his tent. Rows of cot style bunk squeezed together. Random gear belonging to other sits next to beds. The tent is empty. Ryan slowly way outside into the cold Afghan morning. He puts boots and a New York Yankees baseball cap. CUT TO: EXT. RYANS TENT FOB WARRIOR, CAMP PATRIOT - MORNING Once outside, Ryan looks around admiring the mountains. He starts to hear a faint whine in the distance. The camp loudspeaker the Voice of God, crackles on. VOICE OF GOD Incoming! Incoming! Incoming! Ryan covers his head and runs towards a bunker. The whine of the incoming mortars gets louder as they get closer. Soldiers all around him rush to cover. The loud boom of mortar impacts echoes across the camp. A mortar slams into 15 beds are soldiers makes his on his

a nearby HESCOE wall as Ryan sprints into the bunker. CUT TO: INT. BUNKER FOB WARRIOR - MORNING Inside the bunker, a group waits for the attack to stop. The bunker is made of three giant concrete horseshoes pushed together. Sunlight sprays through the gaps between the different pieces of concrete. Ryan sits pensively in the corner. A few soldiers are joking around. GLIB SOLDIER Hey man! Dont worry. Haji cant shoot for shit. Even if they got lucky and we took a direct hit, wed all be killed instantly. So its win-win. Boom! Another blast goes off outside. Ryan jumps slightly, but no one else seems to notice. A young Special Forces Captain notices Ryan sitting alone. Hes only a few years older, fit, and confident. Captain Steven Meyer approaches Ryan with a smile and a thick beard on his face. CAPTAIN MEYER Are you my civilian researcher? RYAN Yes, sir. Ryan Harden.

Another blast goes off outside, startling Ryan. The other soldiers laugh and joke around ignoring the barrage. CAPTAIN MEYER So youre gonna be with us out at the VSP? RYAN Yes, sir. CAPTAIN MEYER You know what happened to the last guy who got attached to us? RYAN Yeah. 16

Another blast, Ryan is almost able to ignore them now. CAPTAIN MEYER Its unfortunate; were in a tough area. He was a nice guy, but not much for situational awareness. I hope you can do better. Anyway you speak Dari or Pashto? RYAN Both fluently, sir. CAPTAIN MEYER Well then you're not totally worthless. Welcome aboard. A loud whistle goes off through the camp the attack is over, all clear. CAPTAIN MEYER Get your kit. Were going to head into town this afternoon. Well get you settled in at the VSP after. CUT TO: EXT. BUNKER FOB WARRIOR - MORNING Captain Meyer and Ryan walk out of the bunker. Soldiers scatter like nothing happened. Just another day at Warrior. Master Sergeant Powers approaches them. He sports a trimmed beard, a north face hoodie, and a baseball camp over custom combat pants and high speed boots. A tough guy and rule breaker, hes the teams backbone. CAPTAIN MEYER Danny, this is our civilian. Hes going outside the wire with us today. Master Sergeant Powers scowls and points to Ryans pistol. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You got anything other than that pea shooter?

17

RYAN Not yet, sir. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Im no sir. We need to get you sorted out then. CUT TO: INT. ODA TEAM ROOM FOB WARRIOR DAY Master Sergeant Powers and Captain Meyer take Ryan into the Special Forces team room. Wooden walls built around a steel sea-land container, computers, phones, and two beat up old couches sit on a dirty floor in front of a flat screen TV. Five members of the team we will get to know sit watching Road House on a flat screen TV. The teams WEAPONS SERGEANT, INTEL SERGEANT, ENGINEERING SERGEANT, COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT, SENIOR MEDIC and JUNIOR MEDIC turn and look at Ryan, some brief nods - stubborn acknowledgement. They dont like outsiders. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS This is our new civilian. He needs something he can actually hurt someone with. The Weapons Sergeant takes his time and lazily sits up. WEAPONS SERGEANT Hold on a sec. Gonna miss the best part. The soldiers all cheer when Patrick Swayze rips out the throat of his opponent. The Weapons Sergeant climbs up and walks over to a padlock on a door across the room. He fumbles through a key ring to unlock the wooden door that connects the room to another sea-land container. He gets the door open, walks in, and then shouts out to them. WEAPONS SERGEANT Lets see, we got an M4, a SCAR-H, a bunch of rusted out AKs, and a Mark 48. The soldiers still on the couches call out and cheer when they hear the last weapon. 18

TV SOLDIERS Mark 48! Get some! MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Hell do fine with an M4. Make sure theres an optic on there. The Weapons Sergeant brings out the rifle. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Just dont shoot yourself or anybody else, unless I tell you to. Dont make us regret giving you this weapon. The Junior Medic decides to chime in. Hes the youngest member of the team and fresh out of the Army Special Forces training pipeline called the Q-Course. JUNIOR MEDIC Hey man, little piece of advice: The pointy end goes towards the bad guys. Everybody laughs. Ryan is the joke. He awkwardly holds his rifle waiting for the attention to shift away from him. CUT TO: EXT. CONVOY TO VILLAGE, CAMP PATRIOT - AFTERNOON Ryan and the rest of the team are preparing to mount up on several MRAPs. A 1st Lieutenant exits one of the nearby wood huts flanked by a Sergeant First Class. As he walks over, another two MRAPs start to pull up to the Special Forces teams convoy. They stop in line in the rear of the convoy. 1st LIEUTENANT Hey, sir! CAPTAIN MEYER Hey, whats up Lt? 1st LIEUTENANT Weve got your JTAC and Dog Handler as well as a squad of infantry to back you up. Theyre packed in with some class III 19

and IV supplies and your new cook. CAPTAIN MEYER Thats phenomenal. We need somebody to hold down the fort when we go into town. And I think everyone is sick of MREs. Send the Colonel my thanks. A happy tail wagging yellow lab runs out of one of the wood huts. The team brightens up when they see it. The teams new DOG HANDLER follows after. Everybody is already playing with the dog. The Weapons Sergeant scratches his head. WEAPONS SERGEANT Uh... Can we play with him? The Dog Handler smiles. Hes the only regular army guy attached to the team. Hes in his early 20s and together with his dog; hes the first line of defense against IEDs. DOG HANDLER Yeah, no worries. He's a she and shes a total love bug. The teams new JTAC exits the same hut. Hes a handsome Air Force Airman with a SCAR-H assault rifle. Hes the only one of the operators who has attached his suppressor. The Communications Sergeant and Junior Medic make catcalls at him as he walks by and throws his gear in an MRAP. Everyone loads up on the MRAPs. As the convoy prepares to pull away the 1st Lieutenant runs over to Captain Meyer who sits shotgun in the lead vehicle. 1st LIEUTENANT Hey Captain, you know your link-up today with civil affairs and the engineers?! CAPTAIN MEYER Right, the surveying for public works, we got it! 1st LIEUTENANT You know what theyre building right?! Captain Meyer shakes his head. 20

1st LIEUTENANT Its a shitter! Have fun! CUT TO: EXT. MRAP, VILLAGE CROSS ROADS - AFTERNOON Ryan steps out and quickly closes the heavy MRAP door behind him. The show has started without him. Powers and Meyer both in kit and ball caps stroll casually down the street to another group of soldiers. The Intel Sergeant sees Ryan behind the pack and motions him to catch up. Ryan jogs up fumbling with his weapon. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Dont run, theyll think youre afraid. Ryan stops jogging abruptly to slow to a walk. CAPTAIN MEYER And lose the Kevlar. Youre here to talk to people right? RYAN Yes, sir. CAPTAIN MEYER You probably wanna be approachable then. RYAN Ok. Ryan nervously takes off his helmet and clips it to a carabineer on his kit. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Dont be a pussy Rhianna. That wont protect you from an IED anyway. Youre fine. RYAN Its Ryan.

21

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Sure thing, Rhianna. The other soldiers laugh at him. They keep walking and soon approach a squad of reservist Civil Affairs soldiers waiting by two MRAPs just outside the village. A CIVIL AFFAIRS CAPTAIN and JOHN THE ENGINEER, a civilian employee of the US Army Corps of Engineers, approaches the team. John is in his mid 60s, overweight, a red face, white beard and a cheerful smile. Hes the Santa Clause Afghanistan never had. The Civil Affairs Captain: mid 40s, clean cut, more businessman than soldier. CAPTAIN MEYER Im sorry were late, an ANP squad was supposed to meet us an hour ago to do this as a joint patrol. John laughs heartily and shakes his head. CIVIL AFFAIRS CAPTAIN Captain Meyer, this is John hes a civilian with the army corps of engineers. Been working in Ghazni for five years. The team is impressed. JOHN THE ENGINEER Unfortunately the ANPs antics are something that hasnt changed since I first arrived here. Master Sergeant Powers shakes his head in disgust. CAPTAIN MEYER Well five years, thats a lot of development. Master Sergeant Powers points to his hip. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Five years in and you dont carry a gun?

22

JOHN THE ENGINEER Me? A gun? Ive got strapping young men here handling all the shooting. I build things. CAPTAIN MEYER Well our guys will move in and set up a perimeter and you can do that. John smiles. JOHN THE ENGINEER Sounds great Captain. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR - AFTERNOON The team enters the village on foot. People go about their business in the market place. Some people stare, a few children wave. Overall its a chilly reception. An Afghan National Police (ANP) gun-truck is parked across the street from the Shura Compound. Two masked Afghan soldiers stand at the ready beside it, a third stands in the bed of the truck manning the heavy machine gun. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fuckin assholes. Ryan looks over at the ANP. One waves and gives an awkward toothless smile from behind his ski mask. Meyer looks back at Ryan. CAPTAIN MEYER Give them a week, theyll skip any dangerous patrols and when they are around theyll be asleep, high, or harassing the locals. The Mayor approaches and addresses the group. Batoor listens closely, but before he can translate is interrupted. Subway, the teams black sheep interpreter, jumps in. Hes in his late 40s and overweight, barely fitting under his body armor.

23

SUBWAY He said welcome to the village we had bad weather last night but the people are happy to see you and you should come in for tea. It is also very nice to see Mr. John again. He does many good things for Afghanistan. FAROOQ is a son of the village he will show your men where we need the building. A young Afghan man steps forward, Farooq. He is in his late 20s, skinny, but not bearded like the other villagers. FAROOQ My father AMIN is on the village council. I studied English at the University in Kabul. Mr. John I can show you where we need the toilet. JOHN THE ENGINEER (Smiles and nods) Sounds like a sweet deal to me. CAPTAIN MEYER Farooq, its nice to meet someone who speaks our language. Thanks for helping us. Farooq nods. Captain Meyer turns to Subway and the Mayor. CAPTAIN MEYER (To Subway) Could you translate please? (To the Mayor) Haji Mohammad, Im sorry about the weather. My men will escort your son down to the site. And Id love tea. Subway translates and breaks into a side conversation with the Mayor. The Mayor nods then waves to Meyer to join him. Ryan nudges Master Sergeant Powers and points to Subway. RYAN The Mayor wasnt talking about the weather, hes saying the Taliban were here last night. This guy is missing shit. 24

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Tell Felix. Make sure they get the right info, even if that means stepping in. I have to go escort the civil affairs guys to the shitter site. Ryan, Meyer, and the Intel Sergeant walk into the Shura building with the Mayor. Powers and the rest of the team continue to walk down the street. CUT TO: INT. SHURA HUT, VILLAGE - AFTERNOON Meyer sits down with the elders, and the Mayor. The Intel Sergeant nudges Ryan. INTEL SERGEANT Make sure youre listening in case he fucks up. Ryan nods, gets out his notepad. Subway is off task, having conversations with Afghans in the room, getting loud and animated. Meyer has to yell to get his attention. CAPTAIN MEYER Jahan! Ask the Mayor if he can tell us anything about the Taliban last night. Subway starts translating but another member of the Shura cuts him off. SUBWAY This man sir, he says they dont want your help with security. We should worry about our own security and they will worry about themselves. He says between Americans bringing the Taliban and the gangsters we call police things have only gotten worst, he says Before Subway can finish translating for Meyer, the Mayor responds angrily. Amin has broken shura custom and the Mayor shouts him down.

25

SUBWAY The Mayor, he says the Americans have made great sacrifices. That we should be welcome guests in their village. Amin replies un-intimidated by the Mayors volume. SUBWAY This elder Amin, he says you should not stay if you put us in danger. Amin is not finished, but the Mayor cuts him off again. Subway switches back. SUBWAY The Mayor says the Americans share the same risks, and they have put their money here in the province, and its time for money to come here. Amin shakes his head. He has no response. Ryan impulsively jumps in in Pashto. RYAN (Pashto) My name is Ryan Harden. Im here to help Captain Meyer and his team. Youre right, the coalition is bringing money into this province. And wed like to work with you to improve security and hold everyone accountable to Pashtunwali, including the police. Ryan looks over at Captain Meyer and SUBWAY who is translating for the Captain. RYAN We can bring a lot of money here to this village. But we need your help to do that. Two of Captain Meyers men made the ultimate sacrifice to protect your people and I am also here to honor their service. The elders dont respond but Amin does not interrupt. Some look surprised theres a Pashto speaking American. The Mayor quickly speaks to the elders close to him who nod in agreement. The Mayor then responds for the group. 26

MAYOR Our village welcomes you and will work with you. We have had many martyrs much like the two fallen soldiers. God willing, we can bring security and wealth to this village. Subway translates for Meyer and he quickly responds. CAPTAIN MEYER Mr. Harden is absolutely right. If you help us we can bring security and real prosperity here to this village. We need your help and we need to know about the Taliban. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR - AFTERNOON Master Sergeant Powers and the others follow Farooq on the village street through a small bazaar. Money change hands among vendors and shoppers. The money looks strange. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Is that the Afghani? Batoor looks over. BATOOR No, sir. That is the kaldar from Pakistan. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS They dont use their own currency? Is that just happening here or do most people in the country use the rupee? BATOOR In Ghazni and through the East and South people have relied on the kaldar because it is stable. In the capital and the north yes we use the Afghani, but for the people here it does not make sense. All the vendors use the kaldar and do business in Pakistan. It is against the law to use it, 27

but people do not trust the Afghani. As the group of soldiers move forward, villagers on the street thin out. People move away from the soldiers. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Is your family back in Kabul? BATOOR Yes, my father is in the army. Two of my brothers are in the army. My sisters and youngest brother are in school. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Right on man. You get to go home and see them often? BATOOR As often as you do on your deployments, sir. I try to take time after a team leaves to spend in Kabul. But not this time. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You know how we feel then. You got a wife? BATOOR I have a fiance sir. She is also in Kabul at the University. But I have to save more money to pay for a proper wedding. Do you have a wife, sir? Powers pauses, awkwardly laughs, and then answers. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Well, Ive had four. Batoor laughs. BATOOR Sir! Youre just like an Afghan! MASTER SERGEANT POWERS It wasnt all at once. One at a time, and 28

they didnt work out. Deployments dont work with relationships. BATOOR I see, sir. I think one wife is enough for a man. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Me too buddy, me too. Sometimes doesnt work out that way though. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE - AFTERNOON A small empty plot between two large mud huts: trash, human waste on the ground. Stray dogs flee as the team walks up. JOHN THE ENGINEER Well need to get in here pretty quick though before the snows hit, otherwise itll be a few months. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS If it stops people from planting IEDs or shooting at me, they can have as many of these shitters as they want. JUNIOR MEDIC Hope these people appreciate our use of the American Tax dollar. Shit here, courtesy of the friendly people of the U, S of A. Farooq now finished, is uncomfortable. He doesnt want to be seen with the Americans longer than he has to. FAROOQ This is simple? Do you need anything else? JOHN THE ENGINEER I can build anything my friend and this we can definitely do. As far as Im concerned were good unless Sergeant Powers needs you. Thank you. 29

Farooq nods and then leaves. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I guess he didnt want to hang with us. Batoor observes the street empty around them. People have closed shops near them or moved down the street. BATOOR Sir, this is bad. No one from the village is here, even the children. The TB may try to hit us. Powers notices the villagers leaving and signals to the rest of the team. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Hey Captain, have your boys move off the street toward these buildings for cover. John, come over here with me. JOHN THE ENGINEER Ok, you got it. The Civil Affairs Captain motions his soldiers to move over to him and behind cover of the nearest mud hut. The Special Forces soldiers take up defensive positions. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Guys keep your heads on a swivel. Things might get spicy. CUT TO: INT. SHURA HUT, VILLAGE - AFTERNOON Meyer sits impatiently listening to the Mayor speak. Subway translates back in bursts. The sound of RPK fire startles everyone except the Afghans. The Intel Sergeant motions Ryan toward the front door of the room. INTEL SERGEANT Ryan, watch the door. Ryan quickly positions himself to cover the entrance to the room with his M4 at low ready. The gunfire continues to 30

ring out and Ryan nervously watches the people in the market. They are completely oblivious to the shooting. CAPTAIN MEYER Felix get on comms and figure out whats going on outside. Jahan, apologize for us. We need to make sure everyone is ok. Subway nods and immediately starts speaking to the Mayor. INTEL SERGEANT Roger Cappie. The Intel Sergeant joins Ryan and gets on his radio. He gets nothing but static. INTEL SERGEANT Radio is being funky. Im gonna have to run out there to get a better signal. You need to stay here and watch the Cappies back. Anything seems weird, shoot first ask questions later. RYAN Uh ok. Got it. The Intel Sergeant smiles, slaps Ryans shoulder, then bolts out the door. The Mayor is confused why the soldiers have stopped the meeting and speaks up. SUBWAY He says this is no problem. You should not worry and sit down and have a pastry. Meyer smiles and nods his acknowledgement. CAPTAIN MEYER These kind of disturbances must make work difficult no? Subway translates for the Mayor who smiles and responds. SUBWAY He sees yes, but this is Afghanistan so it is normal. 31

Meyer smiles and nods. The Intel Sergeant jogs back in. CAPTAIN MEYER I understand. (To the Intel Sergeant) Status Felix? INTEL SERGEANT Hey, sir. sounds like theyre just taking some plunging fire from a ways away. Its peppering the area of the market theyre in, but nothing crazy. CAPTAIN MEYER Well give the Mayor a bit more attention and then lets roll out with the rest of the guys. Keep me posted if things get worse. INTEL SERGEANT Roger that. Another burst of RPK fire rings out. The Intel Sergeant pats Ryan on the shoulder to get his attention. INTEL SERGEANT Dont worry about the door. I got it. Youll be of more use making sure Subway doesnt fuck up. Ryan nods and sits back down next to Meyer. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE - AFTERNOON The Special Forces soldiers are spread out in cover, alert and scanning the area, but relaxed. Theyre almost enjoying the action. The Civil Affairs soldiers are hugging cover. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Over Watch this is Zulu. You got any visual over? SENIOR MEDIC (Radio) This is Over Watch 1. North of us, 32

Hilltop about a click away, two dismounts. I got em. Engaging. The .50 caliber machine gun of the MRAPs Crow System fires into the hills. The team continues to scan but the only possible threats are villagers down the street. JTAC Master Sergeant, There are two Apaches on station at FOB Ghazni. You want me to rain hell on these assholes? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS As much as I would love to pound the hillside, by the time they get here those dipshits will be long gone. The radio comes to life. SENIOR MEDIC (Radio) Zulu this is Over Watch One over. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Send it. SENIOR MEDIC (Radio) Theyve disengaged. Break, they hightailed it out of here. May have wounded one of em. Broke line of sight with hillside. Over. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Copy that. Over Watch 2 stay put. Break. Over Watch 1 move to rendezvous position, over. SENIOR MEDIC/COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT (Radio) Copy. Copy all. Over Watch 1 out. Over Watch 2 out. Powers walks out of cover over to the rest of the group who are in cover next to the other mud hut.

33

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Captain, John, you guys can get back to work now. Theyre done for now. JOHN THE ENGINEER Well, weve got the measurements. Its up to the village now about the details they want. If its typical Ghazni standards, Im guessing two rooms with a hole in the floor each. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fair enough, whatever makes em happy. Still, cant imagine doing my weekly grocery shopping while people shoot it out 100 meters from me. BATOOR Thirty years of war, sir. Gunfire doesnt bother Afghans unless its much closer. Powers notices the only ones still behind cover are the Civil Affairs Team. He motions to them to join the rest of the group. The Civil Affairs soldiers smile and stand up brushing dirt off their plate carriers. CUT TO: The Weapons Sergeant, JTAC, Junior Medic, and Dog Handler watch them get up. JTAC I dont think these reservist boys have been in many fire-fights. JUNIOR MEDIC They shouldnt look so nervous its the best part of a deployment. DOG HANDLER Speak for yourself; Id like to avoid getting my dog shot. Lana here isnt a big fan of that.

34

JTAC She gets priority medevac out before us if we all get hit no? JUNIOR MEDIC No fucking way, really? DOG HANDLER Hell yeah, Uncle Sam has invested a hell of a lot more into her. And she saves all our asses when she finds Haji IEDs. JUNIOR MEDIC Well Ill fix anyone up if they get hit dont you boys worry, Lana included. Lets hope next time those douchebags have the balls to get closer. Powers joins the group. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS While I slightly agree with our young delta here, it aint always fire and movement with a bunch of dead bad guys at the end. We need to go. Master Sergeant Powers then speaks into his radio. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Fox this is Zulu moving to you. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (To the Weapons Sergeant) Eli can you lead us out? WEAPONS SERGEANT You got it Danny. The Weapons Sergeant signals the Civil Affairs team. WEAPONS SERGEANT Hey Sir can I have two of your boys with 35

me. The rest stagger up the middle behind us and our guys will carry the rear. CIVIL AFFAIRS CAPTAIN No problem, you heard the Sergeant lets move. WEAPONS SERGEANT (To Dog Handler) Hey Sergeant Montgomery you and Lana wanna come with me up front? Would love her nose to guarantee my footing. DOG HANDLER Wed love to. The Dog Handler looks down at Lana who is wagging her tail. DOG HANDLER Lets go girl. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR - DAY Captain Meyer, Ryan and Captain Meyer exit the Shura Compound with the Mayor and the elders. Master Sergeant Powers and the rest of the team join them on the street. CAPTAIN MEYER Nothing got too close did it Danny? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS No sir, nothing close enough to scare a green beret. CAPTAIN MEYER Every time it never ceases to amaze me. These people do their daily shopping while the Taliban pepper us with small arms. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Savages. The indigs here are something else sir. 36

CUT TO: Another Afghan National Police (ANP) truck pulls up to the village. Like the ANP already in the village their faces are all covered except for their leader, a Sergeant. Hes skinny and has a twisted smug look about him. The villagers avoid him at all costs. The group of American soldiers walks by mostly ignoring altercation as they make their way out of the village. JTAC Look who got here right on time. They always show up right when you need em. DOG HANDLER Theyre not making any friends. RYAN All the ANP down here are Tajiks. Theyre from Badakshan up north. The District Chief of Police literally brought the entire police force down from his hometown. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS What our civilian is telling us is that these ANP dont give a shit about the civilian population. The ANP Sergeant notices a shopkeeper closing up and yells at him in Dari. Before the storeowner can respond the ANP Sergeant slaps him in the face. The team walks by with the exception of Ryan, largely ignores the confrontation. RYAN What the hell is that? CAPTAIN MEYER Its pretty standard ANP garbage. RYAN Were just gonna let them do that?

37

CAPTAIN MEYER No. I think Ive had about enough of this. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Sir, this isnt our lane. Captain Meyer ignores Powers and begins to wave to the ANP soldiers hassling the shop owner. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Eli, Felix go with the Cappie. Rhianna go with em and translate. The Intel Sergeant and Weapons Sergeant quickly move to flank Captain Meyer as he approaches the group of ANP. CAPTAIN MEYER Salam Aylekum. SERGEANT FARID Wa Aylekum a Salam. CAPTAIN MEYER What you doing here buddy? Ryan, whats he doin? Ryan begins to translate as the Intel Sergeant and Weapons Sergeant eye the half dozen ANP. RYAN (In Dari)Hello brother. This is Captain Meyer of the Special Forces. He wants to know what is happening here. SERGEANT FARID Special Forces! We love Special Forces. I am Sergeant Farid. Farid reaches out to shake Meyers hand. Meyer shakes his hand with a firm intense grip. CAPTAIN MEYER Whats he saying? 38

RYAN He says he loves Special Forces and his name is Farid. CAPTAIN MEYER Ask Farid whats going on here? RYAN (In Dari) What is happening here? SERGEANT FARID This? Its nothing. This local here causes problems in the bazaar. We stop him. Ryan is annoyed. He knows its a shake down. Farid has made no effort to even hide a thick wad of stolen cash, which he holds openly in one of his hands. RYAN He says, this man is causing trouble and theyre stopping him. Its not what it looks like to me. He looks like the problem. CAPTAIN MEYER Ok. Tell him not hit this man and to return that money. Were here now and its not how we do business. Powers and the rest of team move now to flank Meyer. The ANP are now outnumbered. RYAN You want me to tell him to give that money back? CAPTAIN MEYER Absolutely, tell him to give that man his money back. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Sir you sure about that? The Colonel aint gonna like that were pissing in their 39

porridge. RYAN Its not hearts and minds if we let the ANP rip off the villagers were supposed to win over. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I just dont want to get into a fuckin shootout with the guys who are supposed to back us up half way through our deployment. Its your call sir. CAPTAIN MEYER Ryan do it. Tell him. If he has a problem tell his boss to take it up with me. The team watches the ANP. Theyre sizing up the Afghans and their weapons. The Americans are ready to fight. RYAN (In Dari) Captain Meyer is asking you to return money that you took from this man. If there is a problem he says the chief of police can speak with him. Farid pauses confused, then smiles and responds. SERGEANT FARRID No problem sir. We have to patrol the rest of the market. Goodbye brother. Farid turns and walks back into the store. He puts the money back on a table motions to the other ANP and walks away. Meyer and the team watch them go. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, COURTYARD - EVENING The The mud art sun is starting to set and the wind begins to pick up. Village Stability Platform (VSP) is a compound of old huts expanded with shipping containers. State of the equipment stacked on stone-age rock.

The Weapons Sergeant and Communications Sergeant uncover a mini-gun on the wall next to them. Below in the courtyard, 40

the Engineering Sergeant throws a tarp over a mortar pit. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, TOC Inside the main mud hut, the soldiers have adapted to the terrain: homemade insulation, couches, wifi, a flat screen TV, and Call of Duty multiplayer. Ryan sits in the corner watching and writing in a notebook. JUNIOR MEDIC Hey fag-a-tron, you want in? RYAN Yeah sure. Ryan moves over to the couch and grabs a controller. They start up and Powers enters just in time to see Ryan score the first kill of the game a headshot. Everybody cheers. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Was that you? I didnt know the gays liked Call of Duty. RYAN Im not gay. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Easy there Rihanna, you dont have to convince me. Everybody laughs as a distracted Ryan lets his character get knifed in the back. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Guys, pause it. SENIOR MEDIC Danny, you know you cant pause war. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Everything stops for this meeting, even war. To the new guys, welcome this is how we run things everyday take a seat. 41

Somebody turns off the TV. Everybody gathers up. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Bravo, youre up. WEAPONS SERGEANT We got the 3 crew serve systems set up in the traditional hot spots the grenade launcher, two 240 bravos, and the mini-gun on the third. Everybody cheers at the mention of the MINGUN. WEAPONS SERGEANT Harden I dont think youre probably too familiar with the Xm 18, I can give you a refresher tomorrow morning, anybody else can drop in too. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Charlie, what you got? ENGINEERING SERGEANT For the new guys, just so you know the TOC here has a link-up to thermal security cameras and were expanding the compound with sea-lands so everyone including yall will get their own hooch. Also guys, I need your monthly 20 bones for the wifi. (To Ryan, JTAC and Dog Handler) If you want to use it you can chip in too. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS All right deltas, youre up. SENIOR MEDIC Were stocked up at the aid station, If we need to, we can cas-evac anyone here to stabilize em. You should all know the drill by now, use the field north of here for med-evac. Warrior can have a bird here in less than ten. And my junior here has set up the methiquinn intake now that 42

winter is nearly over. JUNIOR MEDIC Hope youre ready for some fucked up dreams. Every Monday after the general meeting, Ill hand out the dosages. Starting today at the end of this meeting. Dont make me track you down and make you take your vitamins. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Echo. Talk to me. COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT Sipr and Nipr are up. All the comms in the trucks are up and running. Make sure you check with me after this and Ill see if your radios have an up to date fill. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fox. INTEL SERGEANT Sig acts are down because of winter weather. Keep your heads on a swivel though because that wont stop attacks completely. The Mayors sources claim the Taliban are hunkering down prepping for bad weather, still we need to be cautious. Ryan, I want to use your skill set since youll be interviewing people anyway and you speak the language. You new guys have already met our terps. Theyre both vetted. Batoor is the little guy with the limp, former commando from Kabul. The big guy is a CAT II, born here but moved to the states in the 80s. His name is Jahan, but everyone calls him Subway. RYAN Why Subway?

43

INTEL SERGEANT Apparently the guy used to own a couple Subways in Jersey and New York. Guess he decided that there was better money in being a terp. The group chuckles Powers shakes his head. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Captain, you got anything? CAPTAIN MEYER Welcome first off. You guys should all know the risks down here especially after today. We appreciate you joining us. Also the Colonel has told me that the Task Force has set up a donation site for Ramirez and Thomas families. Spread the word with the wives and anyone youre in touch with in the battalion or task force. They were good guys lets honor their memory by helping their families. The group pauses nodding their heads. Its quiet for a moment, the teams normal rambunctious mood is now somber. CAPTAIN MEYER The Colonels infantry guys will show up on a regular schedule, drop some supplies, mail, and be a show of force in the area. Overall I think the KLE went pretty well. Those of you who werent there, elders claimed the ANP were robbing people again. But Ryan stepped up with his language skills and made us look good. Everybody make sure to take advantage of that if need be. Thats all I got Danny. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Thanks Captain. Ok, so guard duty will be broken down into 2 per shift, 2-hour shifts, youll switch off after an hour, one guy in here with the cameras, and one guy out roaming on the wall. That includes you too Rihanna. 44

Everybody chuckles at Ryan. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS No patrols tomorrow. Well be spending our time getting restocked and as always making sure this compound is secure. With a cook back you wont have to force down those MRES much longer. He said hed be set up with hot chow by tomorrow night. If youre already sick of em you can thank the Pakistanis for shutting the border. But there is various stuff left in the kitchen if you wanna try to whip something up. Ill be sticking with the beef brisket. Or if you prefer, the two terps make haji food but dont come crying to me if you start shitting blood. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, TOC Ryan is sitting at one of the three computers in the TOC checking email. In the other tabs in his browser he glances at news analysis of the war. Captain Meyer and the Weapons Sergeant are using the TOC phones to call home. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS So why are you here? Ryan turns to Powers who is sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the Armed Forces Network. RYAN I got assigned to the task force. Powers is still channel surfing while talking to Ryan, but not looking at him. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS No I get that but why are you in Afghanistan? You went to college and shit, had yourself a pretty nice civilian life. Why the hell would you come here?

45

RYAN I guess I wanted to see the war for myself. I didnt want to be sitting on the sidelines while this is going on. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS So youre a do gooder then? Want to save the world. Ryan pauses. Hes unsure what answer would best appease Powers. RYAN Yeah I guess so. Sooner we fix this place and stand people up on their feet the sooner were out of here. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS This country is fucked. Government we back is corrupt and the people are so backwards that theyll support assholes who cook themselves off in a market packed with women and kids. Its the Stone Age. RYAN I think heres more than that. These people want the war to end. Look at that Mayor, he just wants to help his village. There are people who want an education, security, development, women even go to college in Kabul now thanks to us. Powers drops the remote on the couch and gets up. Frustrated, nothing to watch on AFN. He turns to Ryan. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Rhianna, if thats what you think they want youve got to be the stupidest smart person I know. Just dont get anyone killed. This isnt a textbook. Its the real fuckin thing. Powers walks out of the TOC to his room. Ryan slumps in his chair. The Weapons Sergeant is still on the phone, Meyer tells his wife he loves her and hangs up. He walks to Ryan. 46

CAPTAIN MEYER Look, dont mind Danny. Its been a really difficult deployment and I know you know about the two guys we lost. Theyre giving you a tough time but it means they like you. Id be worried if they ignored you completely and didnt mess with you. Ryan nods his head, looks back at his laptop. RYAN Yeah thanks. Meyer walks past and pats Ryan on the back. CAPTAIN MEYER You certainly take it well. And the bottom line is we have a job to do and thats to help this village. Youre right. The people want a better life here. And we need your help to convince the council to approve an ALP class to do that. RYAN Ill do my best Captain. CAPTAIN MEYER You did well today. What you said at the shura Pashtunwali the tribal code right? RYAN Yeah. CAPTAIN MEYER You really think Americans can hold Afghans accountable to it? RYAN Were guests in their country, their village. Their honor is at stake. CAPTAIN MEYER Then I guess so is ours. 47

Ryan nods in agreement and Meyer leaves the room. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, PERIMETER WALL NIGHT Ryan walking the wall of the compound in full kit: night vision goggles, helmet, his rifle, and plate carrier. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, TOC NIGHT Ryan walks back into the TOC and switches places with the Engineering Sergeant who is watching the cameras. CUT TO: Ryan watches the monitors. After a while, he sees something on one of the thermal imaging monitors: a man squatting on the ground in the distance. Ryan stares for a second before getting on the radio. RYAN Uh Roving, I see a guy about 600 meters to our north, outside in the open, crouching in a field, over. ENGINEERING SERGEANT Copy TOC. I cant come in there and look, you better wake up Zulu, over. CUT TO: A grumpy half-asleep Master Sergeant Powers looks through the thermal imaging while Ryan stands nervously behind him. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Dont wake me up next time you find somebody taking a shit. Ryan looks back into the monitor, and sees the guy wiping up and kicking dirt over hole. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, CHOW HALL - MORNING The makeshift chow hall is just folding tables and chairs 48

surrounded by dusty qalat walls. The team sits around eating MREs. Ryan approaches the MRE box and digs around. He finds some labeled TUNA and a few labeled VEGGIE BURGER. Hes disgusted by the awful selections. He gets out his knife and opens up another box of MREs. On top, he finds MAPLE SAUSAGE. He sits down, opens it. and chows down. Powers enters and sees the two open boxes and Ryan eating. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Damn it Rihanna, sometimes I forget youre a filthy fucking civilian. Learn your MRE etiquette! You never open another box until the lasts one finished. I dont care if you get 3 fucking tunas in a row. And I sure as hell know that Maple Sausage wasnt in that box. Ryan is red faced, embarrassed at his mistake. The other soldiers shake their heads at him. RYAN Uh sorry, wont happen again. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, COURTYARD - MORNING Some soldiers from the team unload dirt bikes and side-byside 4 x 4s out of two sea-land containers. Ryan has slung his rifle behind him and takes pictures of the compound with a fancy DSLR camera as the Weapons Sergeant walks up. WEAPONS SERGEANT What kind of training have you had on that? Paper work says youre qualified, but I wanna know what you know about tactical shooting. RYAN At the course at Bragg they had us do two days of transition shooting, and the rest was with blanks and paintball guns, so I guess not much.

49

WEAPONS SERGEANT All right. Thats no problem. Lets take care of that right now. The last team built a small shooting range on the other side of the compound. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, RANGE - MORNING A few small tin silhouettes set on stakes in front of piled earth to stop the bullets. WEAPONS SERGEANT All right Harden, this isnt a video game, you dont just move the selector to auto and squeeze the trigger until youre out of ammo. You shoot what you can see, and you keep it simple: two to the chest, one to the head. The Weapons Sergeant raises his rifle, fires two quick shots to the chest of the target, and then a quick third shot to the head. WEAPONS SERGEANT You know the low ready stance? RYAN Yeah. WEAPONS SERGEANT Go from low ready, show me. Ryan raises his rifle, fires twice to the chest, once to the head of the target. WEAPONS SERGEANT Just like that, I dont ever wanna see that selector on auto. Powers walks up to the range a few feet away from them. He draws his rifle and fires much faster than them at the targets, and more accurately, before slinging the rifle and quick-drawing his Glock. He fires three more times, incredibly fast, smooth and accurate. 50

WEAPONS SERGEANT Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Powers brushes them off and keeps firing. Ryan mimics the quick draw motion, but cant come close to Powers speed. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, CHOW HALL - EVENING Most of the team has settled in to the chow hall- chicken, rice, assorted veggies, sports drinks and protein shakes. Commando starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is on a small TV. SENIOR MEDIC Hey junior, you know our friend Arnie here is a badass pipe hittin Green Beret in this fine film? JUNIOR MEDIC Hes supposed to be a delta guy. WEAPONS SERGEANT But every Delta operator was a group guy first. Dont let any of those ranger batt assholes tell you different. JUNIOR MEDIC Those assholes have the real missions. Not sitting in some jerry rigged qalat waiting for the Taliban to shoot at us. INTEL SERGEANT Dont forget weve gotta make nice with the village too. JUNIOR MEDIC When do we get to hit houses, smoke bad guys? SENIOR MEDIC Now junior, dont you worry your pretty little green ass off, theres plenty of bad guys in this shithole. Youll get to 51

show off Uncle Sams investment in you again soon enough. JUNIOR MEDIC Hey I got a little six to midnight from that today but none of it was close enough. Those Taliban pricks need to learn how to shoot. The whole group is laughing. Ryan is sitting with the two other new guys: the JTAC and Dog Handler. JUNIOR MEDIC (To JTAC) Hey air force, every one of you JTACs run around with a suppressor on your SCAR? Its like you want to be SEALs or something. JTAC Just a personal preference. Its a lot more fun shooting at people when they dont know where youre shooting from. WEAPONS SERGEANT The mans got a point. The conversation pauses as Arnold Schwarzenegger dispatches several enemies with the contents of a tool shed. JUNIOR MEDIC Look Im not hatin buddy. If you want to rock out like the SEALs go right ahead. Youre lucky youre a pretty boy motherfucker, youd fit right in. Maybe a little more hair gel. INTEL SERGEANT Jesus man you gonna give him a fucking blow job while youre at it? Everyone in the chow hall laughs. Gunfire interrupts them, the impact of 7.62mm AK-47 rounds on the qalats walls echo through the room. A 240 bravo machine gun mounted on the wall answers back. Everyone is up.

52

JUNIOR MEDIC Now thats what Im fucking talking about! CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, PERIMETER WALL - EVENING Infantry soldiers on the wall fire the mounted 240 Bravo machine gun at the hillside. Three Taliban armed with AK47s sprint away in between trees and rocks. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM MORNING Meyer and Powers walk the perimeter of the qalat wall. Lots of bullet pocket marks. Its difficult to tell the new impacts from the old. CAPTAIN MEYER The 240 scared them off pretty quick. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Yeah I think the guys were pretty disappointed. Thought they were going to get to fight for a change. Powers taps the qalat wall. CAPTAIN MEYER Gotta hand it to the locals, these walls are tough. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I dont think theyll have the nuts to come at us with anything else once they get a taste of that new mini gun. You still headed to Warrior today sir? CAPTAIN MEYER Yeah the Colonel wants to meet. Im gonna take Ryan with me if thats ok. Have him brief the S2.

53

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS One less liability sir, hes all yours. CUT TO: EXT. GHAZNI COUNTRY SIDE TO FOB WARRIOR - AFTERNOON The convoy rumbles down Highway One. The poorly maintained two-lane road circles the entire country. They pass old Soviet and Chinese cars and small Iranian motorcycles. CUT TO: The convoy pulls into Warrior. Polish guards on a DShK heavy machine gun wave them through a gate. The Polish resemble the Soviets who once occupied the country - a strange sort of dj vu for the locals. A Hind helicopter, Russian made, flies by and lands on the airstrip. INT. FOB WARRIOT, CAMP PATRIOT, S2 SHOP - AFTERNOON Meyer and Ryan sit with the Task Force Commander, Colonel Wayne in the S2 shop hut. Maps on walls, a make shift wooden conference table and analysts typing away. COLONEL WAYNE So the Mayor just gave you names of TB supporters in the village? CAPTAIN MEYER Yes, sir. He gave us the names after he told us about a TB patrol that came through the night before. Sounds like the same cell that hit us before. They came in, took supplies and roughed up a few of the shopkeepers. COLONEL WAYNE Now Steve, did he say where else these assholes go at night? CAPTAIN MEYER No, sir. He says he doesnt know. He thinks theyre holed up somewhere in the mountains just north of the village.

54

COLONEL WAYNE Well by God with. Well can get you anything up thats something we can work see what kind of air assets we boys. See if we can find there.

CAPTAIN MEYER Thank you, sir. COLONEL WAYNE All right, well lets move on. Usually this brief is something we can do over the phone, but there was something else I wanted to talk to you about in person, Captain. Its come to my attention through our local national partners that your team stopped and harassed an ANP patrol. CAPTAIN MEYER I wouldnt call it harass, sir. We stopped them from shaking down a local vendor. COLONEL WAYNE Is it possible that the vendor in question might have been a Taliban sympathizer? CAPTAIN MEYER From what it looked like, they were just taking what they wanted from bazaar. COLONEL WAYNE Captain, unfortunately we have to work with the Afghans on this. The DCOP is not happy about you interrupting his men, on whatever they might have been doing. So next time you just need to hold tight and stand down. We clear on that, Captain? Hoo-ah? Meyer looks at the reports on the table, then at Ryan. Ryan is visibly angry, but holding back.

55

CAPTAIN MEYER Understood, sir. COLONEL WAYNE Good, now Ive got a great opportunity for you. The Polish have been hosting the DCOP, discussing some patrol issues. Theyve been all hush-hush about it. Lets get you over there to meet him before we send you back. Mr. Harden why dont you come along as well. Ryan nods then looks at Captain Meyer. CAPTAIN MEYER Yes, sir. Colonel Wayne stands up and the rest of the table gets up with him. CUT TO: EXT. FOB WARRIOR, POLISH FUEL DEPOT - AFTERNOON Several green ANP Ford Ranger gun trucks are lined up next to Polish MRAPs waiting to refuel. Its a mess. Confused Polish soldiers watch as a husky American Major, the liaison to the Polish command argues with the Gelan District Chief of Police (DCOP) BAHADUR. MAJOR TUCKER Mahmoud, tell the DCOP we just dont have enough fuel to fill up his mens trucks. Theres a storm coming and we need the fuel to sustain our own operations. Major Tuckers translator, MAHMOUD, turns and quickly responds to Bahadur in Dari. Bahadurs facial expression doesnt seem to hint at frustration let alone emotion. He answers back calmly and smiles. MAHMOUD Sir, he says they will not leave until they are refueled. MAJOR PISANSKI, FOB Warriors Polish commanding officer 56

taps Major Tuckers shoulder. Pisanski then whispers into Tuckers ear. Tucker nods grudgingly. MAJOR PISANSKI Mahmoud, tell him well fill up his trucks. Mahmoud nods and translates. Bahadur smiles and claps his hands gesturing to the two majors. MAHMOUD The DCOP says he appreciates your cooperation. Major Tucker is grumbling to himself. He turns to see Colonel Wayne, Captain Meyer, and Ryan approaching. MAJOR TUCKER Colonel Wayne. Its good to see you sir. Sorry you had to witness that. COLONEL WAYNE Not your fault Tuck. The Poles were going to give him what he wanted anyways. But Ive got someone here Id like to introduce to the DCOP. This is Captain Meyer. He and his boys are now holed up at VSP Latif. Major Tucker and Captain Meyer shake hands. MAJOR TUCKER Nice to meet you Captain. Were glad to have you guys here. CAPTAIN MEYER Likewise, sir. Were glad to be here. Sir, this is my DOD researcher Ryan Harden. He speaks the language and is helping us navigate our way around the area. RYAN Nice to meet you, sir. Ryan and Major Tucker shake hands. 57

MAJOR TUCKER (To Meyer) Well lets introduce you to the man of the hour. (To Mahmoud) Mahmoud could you help us out. We need to speak with the DCOP. Mahmoud nods and approaches Bahadur who is shouting orders at the ANP gassing up the trucks. Bahadur turns and notices Colonel Wayne and immediately shouts over to him expecting Mahmoud to translate. MAHMOUD Sir, the DCOP is very happy to see you. He is wondering when you will visit him. COLONEL WAYNE Mahmoud, tell him I will soon. But first I want to introduce him to the new Special Forces Captain I told him about. This is Captain Meyer. Mahmoud translates and Bahadur responds. MAHMOUD Sir, he says its a pleasure to meet you. He heard about you from his men and from Haji Mohammed. Captain Meyer smiles awkwardly. CAPTAIN MEYER I hope hes heard good things. MAHMOUD He would like to invite you to visit him at his outpost soon. The DCOP says that you can work together to defeat the TB. CAPTAIN MEYER Id like that. We would also love to have him our small outpost. We want to assist your men with the hard work theyre doing in the area. 58

Mahmoud translates for Meyer. Bahadur looks pleased: he smiles, shakes hands with all the officers again and then gets in a gun truck. As the Afghans drive off Colonel Wayne pats Captain Meyer on the back. COLONEL WAYNE See now that went well. Id like you to make sure you visit him and improve the relationship Ive built with him. CAPTAIN MEYER Roger that, sir. Well get it done. COLONEL WAYNE Thats what I like to hear. And remember Steven, no more incidents with his ANP. Meyer eyes Ryan. CAPTAIN MEYER Yes, sir. Colonel Wayne and Major Tucker walk over to speak with Major Pisanski. Captain Meyer waits till theyre out of earshot before he speaks his mind. CAPTAIN MEYER The Afghans acted like spoiled children and we just rewarded the behavior. Its insane. Build on the good relationship he has. Christ. RYAN The DCOP has nothing really to offer. Hes a Dari speaking Tajik in a Pashtun district. If anything his ANP are alienating the locals. CAPTAIN MEYER That was pretty clear back in the market, seemed like they were doing some quality police work. I need a drink. Ryan chuckles, the nearest bar is a country away. 59

CAPTAIN MEYER Well, were not getting back to the VSP tonight might as well find something to do. We could always go to the Colonels bible study night if you want Ryan? Ryan shakes his head and Captain Meyer grins. CUT TO: EXT. FOB WARRIOR, CAMP PATRIOT - EVENING Ryan and Captain Meyer walk toward their bunks when gunfire rings out. The two immediately turn move toward the sound. Two soldiers are on the others side of the wall separating the Polish and American camps, holding rifles, cheering. CAPTAIN MEYER What the hell was that? Meyer motions to Ryan as they approach the soldiers. FOB SOLDIER 1 That was like fucking Bambi! FOB SOLDIER 2 Youre a sick fuck I cant believe you even tried hit the pup. FOB SOLDIER 1 It tried to nudge her up and everything. FOB SOLDIER 2 Too bad youre a horrible shot, its gonna starve to death now. Meyer and Ryan walk out of the camp and see the soldiers. One is posing over the dead dog like its a hunting trophy. The other laughs and snaps a photo on a cell phone. Ryan is disgusted. RYAN What the hell are you doing? Both soldiers freeze when they hear Ryan and then jump to 60

attention almost dropping their rifles when they see Meyer. FOB SOLDIER 2 Uh, following the Colonels orders. CAPTAIN MEYER Shooting FOB dogs? FOB SOLDIER 1 Yes sir! The Colonel says theyre a threat, carrying rabies. He wants em shot on site. RYAN You dont have to make a god damn sport out of it. FOB SOLDIER 1 Yes sir! RYAN You said theres a pup? FOB SOLDIER 2 Yes sir. Barret missed it. CAPTAIN MEYER Ill take care of it. Where did it go? FOB SOLDIER 1 It scurried over near the Intel folks compound on the Polish side sir, it aint gonna get far. CAPTAIN MEYER Come on Harden lets go. The two walk into a small HESCOE compound surrounding a modified wooden hut. They see a black and brown puppy more fur then dog whimpering behind some boxes next to a wall. Ryan walks over and picks up the sad little dog.

61

RYAN Hey sir, I bet the guys would love having this little guy around back at the VSP. CAPTAIN MEYER Oh yeah? Well it cant be more than two months old. Needs a lot of attention. Probably better to put it out of its misery. Ryan impulsively volunteers himself. RYAN You know what? I can take care of it. Its not that much work. Captain Meyer looks at Ryan studying him. Hes thinking. CAPTAIN MEYER Dog lover huh? Ryan rubs the puppys chin. CAPTAIN MEYER Well I dont see a problem with it, but Danny might give us shit for it. Regardless its my call. Lets bring the little bastard back. A Navy Seal with a Yosemite Sam mustache walks out from the hut in the compound, Glock on his hip, cigar in his mouth. CHIEF RANDALL Youre not gonna shoot that little guy are you? RYAN No. I think he just got adopted. Chief Randall laughs and rubs the puppys head barely sticking out of Ryans arms. CHIEF RANDALL Well good luck with that gentlemen. Your Colonel is having his boys shoot anything 62

with four legs. Its pissing off the Poles and everyone else not with the task force. RYAN Were only here tonight, gonna take him offsite tomorrow. CHIEF RANDALL Ah, you must be from VSP Latif. CAPTAIN MEYER Yeah, thats us. Captain Steven Meyer. Captain Meyer reaches out and shakes Chief Randalls hand. CHIEF RANDALL Senior Chief Luke Randall. Im with the PRT up in Ghazni City but my boss wanted me down here this week to meet with your Colonel. Guess hell be running the show for the whole AO. RYAN Seemed like the DCOP was running the show. Chief Randall starts laughing. CHIEF RANDALL You were there at that shit show today huh? Cant believe the Polish caved, but hey theyre Europeans - diplomatic. CAPTAIN MEYER I thought appeasement ended with the Second World War. CHIEF RANDALL You two crack me up. I like your style, sir. CAPTAIN MEYER Thanks. Were stuck here tonight, looks like this is the sane side of the FOB. 63

CHIEF RANDALL Couldnt have put it better myself. Well look, I wouldnt usually invite an O but you seem like a good dude. You and your dog-loving friend here. You play cards? CUT TO: INT. FOB WARRIOR, POLISH SIDE INTEL COMPOUND - NIGHT The hut has all the amenities, flat screen TV on the wall, stacks of DVD, cases of soda, snacks, two civilians, another Navy Seal, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, an AfghanAmerican translator and Major Pisanski the FOB commander sit on couches and chairs around a table. A pretty young soldier in civilian clothes approaches Ryan. SPECIALIST SARAH Aw I thought they rounded all these little guys up! Can I hold him? RYAN Yeah. Of course. Ryan hands over the puppy. The group at the table motion for them to sit down. CHIEF RANDALL This is Captain Meyer our SF man in Latif. CAPTAIN MEYER Gentlemen. CHIEF RANDALL And this civilian here is, sorry I didnt catch your name. Hes with Meyer down there as well. RYAN Ryan Harden. Nice to meet you guys. Major Pisanski has a small water bottle sitting in front of him at the table next to his cards - home brewed vodka. NAVY SEAL #2 64

Well the buy in is 50 bucks. CONTRACTOR #1 Yeah but be careful it goes quickly, ABDUL here will call everything to the river. He has money to blow. ABDUL THE TRANSLATOR Not everything, just when I feel lucky. MAJOR PISANSKI What theyre trying to say is Abdul is a river rat. Its a warm welcome. The group motions for Ryan and Captain Meyer sit down too CUT TO: INT. FOB WARRIOR, POLISH SIDE INTEL COMPOUND NIGHT Captain Meyer is enjoying a cigar. Hes doubled his chip stack. Ryan has busted out and is watching the game. MAJOR PISANSKI This is what you have to understand about Bahadur. He is a mobster that is all. Hes an outsider, robs the locals, and never patrols. He might as well be a bandit. CAPTAIN MEYER So why deal with him? MAJOR PISANSKI Ah thats right. You saw the scene he caused with the fuel today. Major Pisanski takes a swig of his vodka. MAJOR PISANSKI He is connected up at the Provincial Level and we think maybe all the way to the capital. Theres no getting rid of him.

65

CAPTAIN MEYER You cant get him fired? Replace him? RYAN His whole police force would probably go too. MAJOR PISANSKI Precisely. And the way the higher ups see it, some police are better than none. Even if they are extremely corrupt. Major Pisanski takes another swig of the vodka. He offers Meyer a pull. Meyer declines. He then lights a cigarette. CAPTAIN MEYER How am I supposed to convince the locals to support us when we partner with a guy like him? MAJOR PISANSKI That my friend is the problem we have struggled with. Until we can get rid of him, or control him, he will be a thorn in our side. ABDUL THE TRANSLATOR Listen, I was working with some Police Advisors about 4 months ago. At their first KLE they tried to give Bahadur the tough treatment you know? We dont need you. Well go to the PCOP. The next fuckin time they visited him, right after the KLE, we pull away from his compound and BOOM! IED hits our convoy right there. Less than a minute after, Bahadur and his guys are there. First thing he says to me is: tell the Americans you see you do need me. That changed their attitudes toward him really quick. CUT TO: EXT. FOB WARRIOR, CAMP PATRIOT - MORNING

66

The dirt and dust of FOB Warrior is covered in fresh snow. Captain Meyer and Ryan, puppy in tow load up on the VSPs resupply convoy. The MRAPS large tires have snow chains on them as they move slowly off the base. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, FRONT GATE - DAY Ryan and Captain Meyer have to fight through knee-deep snow to get inside the VSP when they arrive. Soldiers from the convoy unload food and ammunition for the VSP as the team helps Captain Meyer and Ryan bring their gear and the teams new mascot in. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, COURTYARD DAY

Heavy snow falls, the Weapons Sergeant and Engineering Sergeant wipe snow off of the teams MRAPS and gear. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, TOC NIGHT

Ryan watches the camera feed on guard duty. More snow. The Engineering Sergeant walks in the door and brushes snow off his kit and helmet, they switch places. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, GYM DAY The gym is packed. Ryan finishes a run on the treadmill as nearly every free corner and available weight is being used. He waits for the pull-up bar. Daft Punk blasts on small speakers connected to an iPhone. The Junior Medic finishes a set of pull-ups and motions to Ryan. JUNIOR MEDIC Hey! Your set, bitch. Ryan nods, steps up, and starts doing pull ups. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORN, TOC NIGHT The team sits around the TV. The puppy is at Master Sergeant Powers feet and hes getting bigger. The 67

Communications Sergeant and Engineering Sergeant are playing Call of Duty against the Junior and Senior medics. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS So Im sure you want to give this little bastard some fruity fuckin Afghan name, but Im going to veto that. RYAN Well what do you have in mind? The Communications Sergeant is still concentrating on the game hes playing, but chimes in nonetheless. COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT Hes a Muj mutt name him Osama or some shit. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I said no fucking fruity Afghan names. ENGINEERING SERGEANT Well the little guy shits everywhere and barks at the Afghans. Those are probably important details that should factor in. COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT What you gonna name him? Shitter? The Junior Medic laughs out loud, which gets the Senior Medic killed. He slugs the Junior Medic in the shoulder. JUNIOR MEDIC I fucking like that. The Senior Medic shakes his head. SENIOR MEDIC I veto that. Junior that might be the stupidest thing Ive ever heard. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You guys are no help. 68

Master Sergeant Powers pauses to think as he scratches the sleeping puppys head. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS RAMPAGE! Fucking Rampage! Thats a muj dog name! Harden I know youd prefer Ghandi or some gay shit like that but hes being raised by a team of ass kickin green berets. Hes fucking Rampage. The group cheers in tacit approval. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, FRONT GATE DAY The snow is melting. Ryan pulls guard for a re-supply convoy as a group of young Afghan Men on Iranian motorbikes drive by. They stare menacingly. Ryans thumb moves to rest on the selector switch of his M4 as they pass. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE OUTSKIRTS AFTERNOON The team, Ryan included all have thick beards. Theyre patrolling on foot, two by two. No one wears their Kevlar helmets, just baseball caps or boonie hats. Most sport fancy Oakleys sunglasses Patches of snow here and there. They pass a large abandoned building. A frustrated Ryan speaks up. RYAN US Tax dollars at work. JTAC What are you talking about? RYAN Its a school. A girls school. Ryan walks over to a plaque on the wall. Its in Dari, Pashto and English. Ryan motions to the JTAC. RYAN Have a look for yourself, the plaque is in English too man. 69

The JTAC walks over to the plaque and reads it out loud. JTAC Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of State for the gracious people of Ghazni, Afghanistan July 2004. JUNIOR MEDIC Gracious my ass. ENGINEERING SERGEANT Who knows if this thing has ever been used? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS No time for sightseeing ladies lets keep moving. RYAN Theres something about the absurdity of wasted aid projects that really stings. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR - DAY Ryan tries talking to villagers in Pashto. He greets several, some begrudgingly acknowledge him, but most keep walking. Only the very old and small children stop. RYAN (In Pashto) Whats your family name? He writes down the response on a small note pad. His rifle is slung to the side. A camera hangs off his shoulder. Children try to grab it and he has to constantly adjust. RYAN (In Pashto) Ethnicity and tribe? Ryan jots down notes and continues to talk to the old man. RYAN (In Pashto) Have you heard of Afghan Local 70

Police? Would you like Afghan Local Police in your village? The rest of the team scans the market as Ryan does his thing. The Junior Medic watches and shakes his head. CUT TO: INT. AMINS SHOP, VILLAGE BAZAAR - DAY Meyer and Ryan enter the small shop: various, goods and knick-knacks, fresh bread. Theyve found the vendor Meyer had intervened to help. The man speaks to Ryan. RYAN Captain he wants to thank you for the work you have been doing, hed like to offer you some bread. CAPTAIN MEYER Tell him thank you and that Im sorry that we didnt come by sooner since the last time we met. And ask him his name. Ryan translates to the shopkeeper, who responds. He remembers Amin now. He is the elder who had argued against the presence of the team in the village. RYAN His name is AMIN. He says you have met his son Farooq. He was the guy arguing with the Mayor at the shura, Captain. CAPTAIN MEYER Well tell him he is very here to help him and the knows of anything we can protect his people, tell welcome and were Village. If he do to better him to find us.

Ryan translates. Amin nods and wraps up pieces of bread. CUT TO: Subway walks to a vendor to haggle for food. He slaps a kid that gets in his way and then starts shouting at the vendor.

71

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Subway what the fuck are you doing?! SUBWAY Sergeant Powers this guy is a real pain in my ass. We come to protect his village and he wont even give some bargain for a little food. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Thats not how this fucking works. (To Ryan) Rhianna get your ass over here. (To Subway) Go fucking stand by Sergeant Felix and shut the fuck up. Subway retreats shamefully. The Intel Sergeant shakes his head at him as he approaches. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (To Ryan) Tell this guy were sorry for any disrespect and it will not happen again. Ryan translates. The man responds, points to his bread. Offers some to Ryan and Powers. Ryan accepts. RYAN He wants to know where we found Subway. He says hes not a real Afghan. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR MORNING A convoy of MRAPs rumbles down the main village road. One of them tows a large trailer with cement, wood, tools. Team is already at the site with the village elders. Arriving on site are: John the Engineer, the Civil Affairs Team, and also several SEABEEs - Navy sailors attached to the task force specializing in construction. JOHN THE ENGINEER Its good to see you gentlemen again, been a while. I see the ANP decided to not show again. 72

CAPTAIN MEYER Turning into a habit, unfortunately. JOHN THE ENGINEER Well Captain, like I told you before it could be worst. Yall ready to get this built? I wont be able to come tomorrow so lets get most of this wonderful little project done now. CAPTAIN MEYER On you John, well keep you safe and you work your magic. The new arrivals exchange greetings with the team and the Afghans. The Mayor then addresses the group. BATOOR Sir, he is saying that this is the first project of a friendship with the U.S. The village must be open to working with the U.S. because it will bring security and prosperity. Captain Meyer notices Amin and Farooq with the elders. The Mayor finishes and then speaks to Batoor and Captain Meyer. BATOOR Sir he asks if you would like to say anything. CAPTAIN MEYER Yes I do. Translate with me. Ok Batoor? BATOOR Of course, sir. Captain Meyer takes off his ball cap and walks forward to speak. His weapon is slung around his shoulder. CAPTAIN MEYER I want to thank you all for supporting this project and for your continued hospitality in allowing us to stay in your 73

home. (Pauses for Batoor) Were here to help you. And we can only do that by encouraging you to stand up for yourselves and your families. (Pauses for Batoor) You dont need outsiders to provide your security. We want to train your village to fight for itself. This is why we need you to join the Afghan Local Police. (Pauses for Batoor) Security will bring prosperity, and with it education for your children. Please join us. We can help you help yourselves. Thank you. The delegation of elders whisper among themselves after Captain Meyer finishes. The Mayor then addresses the group. BATOOR He says ALP will not provide them with security. We cannot have a class and take on the Taliban yet. It is too dangerous for us right now. This is your job and the job of the ANA. But we can still build and improve this village. Before Captain Meyer can respond, the Mayor turns and leaves. The elders also disperse. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Did that cocksucker just say what I think he just said? CAPTAIN MEYER Yes he did Danny. Shot down ALP in front of the group. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Son of a bitch all but promised us a class if we got this project done for him. Fucking weasel. 74

CAPTAIN MEYER Weve got time. Lets just get this built. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE - DAY Construction starts. Cement bags and wood are unloaded. The Engineering Sergeant takes off kit, puts down his rifle to help. The Communications Sergeant and Ryan do the same. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE - AFTERNOON While the cement dries the SEEBEES and Engineering Sergeant hammer together the frame and roof. Ryan takes photos. Some street children come and watch. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE LATE AFTERNOON Children begin to help with construction. The Communications Sergeant shows one of the kids how to use the hammer and Batoor translates for him. The kid has a big grin on his face as he hammers in a nail. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE EVENING The team has finished the frame and the foundation. The sun is setting and the children chase the teams side-by-side vehicles and wave as the team leaves the village. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE - MORNING The next morning the team arrives at the village early. The cement has dried and the pieces of the wooden frame lean against the neighboring mud hut. The street children greet the team. CUT TO: The Civil Affairs convoy from FOB Warrior starts to pull up near the site. The children cheer and chase after the trucks. The team loses sight of them as they run behind a mud hut. As the kids pass from sight, BOOM! An IED 75

detonates. Everyone moves to cover, weapons at the ready. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Get your fucking heads up watch for shooters and secondaries! CAPTAIN MEYER That went off where the SEABEES parked the rig. We need to get there now! Dust from the blast chokes the air and the team scans looking for possible threats. The bazaar has cleared and random villagers run for cover. Subway is on his knees hiding behind a stall. Ryan breathes heavy, M4 at the ready. Hes sweating, ears ringing. And then at once they begin to hear screaming and crying its the children. CIVIL AFFAIRS CAPTAIN (Radio) Were ok, the truck took most of the blast, some shrapnel but were fine. CAPTAIN MEYER (Into Radio) Do not disembark over. We need to make sure there are no secondaries. CIVIL AFFAIRS CAPTAIN (Radio) Sir you need to get over here. Oh God the kids. OVERWATCH MRAP SERGEANT (Radio) We have no contact or hostiles sir. Ive got nothing from up here. CAPTAIN MEYER (Into Radio) Everyone hold tight. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Montgomery! Get over there and clear the truck. Doc, Brian, Felix go with him. CAPTAIN MEYER (Into Radio) Over Watch, watch our backs 76

down here. Were creating a perimeter and setting up an aid station. Over. OVERWATCH MRAP SERGEANT (Radio) Over Watch copies all. The Dog Handler and Lana, the two medics and the Intel Sergeant sprint around the mud brick hut to the blast site. The rest of the team still scans the area. The cries and screaming from the children grow louder. DOG HANDLER Clear! SENIOR MEDIC I need hands and a terp now! Captain Meyer and Master Sergeant Powers see villagers begin to wander over toward the blast site. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (To Batoor) Take Subway, go with Eli and Ben and hold those people back now! Harden! Go with Jimenez and Taylor! Help the Doc! CUT TO: EXT. IED BLAST SITE - MORNING Ryan and the two soldiers sprint around the mud hut. RYANS POV: Time seems to slow. The two medics race desperately to save four severely injured children. The Civil Affairs Captain tries to help. The Dog Handler pulls security with two shell shocked SEABEES. A fifth child is clearly dead. The Senior Medic has taken off his multi-cam top - it covers the childs body. Blood is everywhere. SENIOR MEDIC Harden! Wake the fuck up! I need you here now! Jimenez, I need you on that other kid! Ryan runs to the Senior Medics side. Hes treating a little girl, her leg is gone below the knee. Theres a tourniquet just above a bloody stump. She has shrapnel wounds to her head and torso. Shes screaming in Pashto. 77

SENIOR MEDIC Apply pressure here! The medic puts Ryans hand on a deep wound on the girls side. Blood flows through his fingers as he puts both his hands down trying to stop the bleeding. SENIOR MEDIC Talk to her! Tell her its going to be ok. Ryan quickly starts speaking to her in Pashto. He stutters at first but continues and it calms the girl. SENIOR MEDIC Taylor we need a fucking Medevac for these kids. The SEABEES can walk it out if they have to, but we could get them on the bird too. JTAC Got it! The JTAC walks off as he speaks to FOB Warrior via radio. SENIOR MEDIC Move your hands. The Senior Medic places a gauze wrap into the girls wound. As he fills the gauze in, the bleeding begins to slow. SENIOR MEDIC Junior! Status? JUNIOR MEDIC This kid is critical. But I stopped the bleeding for now. The other little one is stable, just head trauma. Some shrapnel in his legs and his arm is gonna have to go, but nothing immediate. SENIOR MEDIC This one is critical too. The one with Jimenez is stable, but we need to get them all out. 78

The JTAC runs back over to the group. JTAC Bird incoming. ETA 10 minutes. We need to clear an emergency LZ. Montgomery I need you. Could use one more, Doc. SENIOR MEDIC Jimenez, go with him clear that LZ! ENGINEERING SERGEANT On it! CUT TO: Master Sergeant Powers and Captain Meyer join Batoor and other members of the team who are trying to hold back several distraught villagers. One man has collapsed in grief. The sight of the mangled children has caused Subway to vomit by the side of the mud hut. BATOOR Sir, these people are pleading to go to the children. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Tell them they need to let our medics do their jobs. If they get in the way, those kids will die. CUT TO: EXT. FIELD EMERGENCY LZ, VILLAGE - MORNING The JTAC pops a red smoke grenade. JTAC (Into Radio) Two Birds in bound ETA 2 minutes! CUT TO: EXT. IED BLAST SITE, VILLAGE - MORNING Master Sergeant Powers runs over to Ryan and the Senior Medic who are still treating the injured little girl. 79

SENIOR MEDIC Danny, I need your help too. We need to get these kids closer to the bird. The Senior Medic pulls a stretcher off of the side of the damaged MRAP. Ryan is holding the girls hand. The Civil Affairs Captain grabs another stretcher from the truck. SENIOR MEDIC We gotta get her on this stretcher. But we move her the wrong way she could die. Shes running out of time, we cant wait. Every second counts. (To Master Sergeant Powers) Danny, I need you to help me get her on here. (To Ryan) Harden, I need you to carry the other one. Hes stable, but watch the arm and his head. (To Junior Medic) Hey Junior! JUNIOR MEDIC Yeah! SENIOR MEDIC You gonna be ready to move your patient in 30? JUNIOR MEDIC Yeah, we got it. SENIOR MEDIC Danny help me. Hands under her back, support her spine. Watch that leg. On three ok? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Ok. SENIOR MEDIC 1, 2, 3 Lift!

80

They lift the sobbing girl onto the stretcher. The medevac bird touches down on the LZ and the Crew Chief and two Pararescue, Air Force Special Operations Medics, jump out. CUT TO: Master Sergeant Powers and the Senior Medic carry the stretcher with the wounded little girl to the helicopter. The Junior Medic and Civil Affairs Captain carry a stretcher with a wounded little boy close behind. Ryan cradles the third wounded child, a small boy, in his arms. Captain Meyer carries the last wounded child. The Pararescue medics help load the children and immediately start treating the two kids on stretchers. The wounded SEABEEs and the Civil Affairs Captain also crowd on the chopper. It takes off. EXT. FIELD EMERGENCY LZ, VILLAGE- DAY CUT TO: Ryan looks down at his hands - theyre covered in blood. CUT TO: EXT. IED BLAST SITE, VILLAGE - DAY Batoor is still talking to the villagers who watched the scene. The body of the child killed in the blast has been taken away. Thick pools of blood are all over the ground. CUT TO: As the team gathers together the Senior Medic puts his plate carrier back on over his undershirt. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I think everyone has had enough of this fucking day. As soon as the other MRAP links up with this rig to tow it out, well get the fuck out of here. You got anything, sir? CAPTAIN MEYER No. But where the hell is the Mayor? Anyone else seen him? 81

The team shakes their heads. He hasnt been around at all. INTEL SERGEANT I just want to point out that the IED was exactly where we parked the rig yesterday. Someone from this village set this up. Its too fucking convenient. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR - DAY Two Afghan National Police trucks stop and park at the edge of the village. Sergeant Farid and four ANP dismount from the vehicles. CUT TO: EXT. IED BLAST SITE, VILLAGE DAY The team watches the ANP get off their trucks and walk in. INTEL SERGEANT These motherfuckers just continue to build on their track record of showing up when shit is already over. CAPTAIN MEYER Lets just get this done. Well do the after action back at the VSP. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR - AFTERNOON The Team prepares to leave, but Master Sergeant Powers notices two ANP soldiers standing guard outside a mud hut. An old man is pleading with them, the same vendor Subway harassed on the previous patrol. The two ANP push him away, then one of them strikes his face with the butt of a rifle. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Eli, Felix, with me! You too Rhianna! The group walks over to the man. Hes sobbing on his knees.

82

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Ask him whats wrong. What happened? Ryan asks the man in Pashto. Hes sobbing, incoherent. RYAN I think he said theyre taking his son. Taking his last son from him. I dont know what he means. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Those ANP? Ryan asks the man in Pashto. RYAN Yes, those ANP. Master Sergeant Powers walks over to the ANP. Ryan follows. The Weapons Sergeant knows something is wrong; he waves to the Senior Medic and the rest of the team. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Ask him what the fuck theyre doing. Ryan translates. One of the ANP responds - hes defiant, aggressive, pointing at Powers and Ryan. RYAN He says its not our business and we should leave. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You tell him this is our fucking village. The ANP soldier, visibly angry yells again. In a quick fluid motion Master Sergeant Powers disarms him and punches him in the throat. He then sweeps the mans leg dropping him onto his back. Powers drops his knee onto the mans neck. The other ANP soldier drops his weapon and puts his hands up. The Weapons Sergeant and Intel Sergeant have their rifles pointed at him. CUT TO:

83

Master Sergeant Powers releases his knee from the half conscious ANP soldier on the ground, shoulders his weapon and enters the building. The Intel Sergeant follows closely behind him. CUT TO: Powers shoves Sergeant Farid out the door of the mud hut. Farids lip and nose are bleeding, pants un-buckled, belt undone. Powers yanks him forward by the collar of his shirt. Powers then draws his Glock and pistol-whips Farid in the back of the head knocking him to the ground. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Doc get the fuck in there. The Senior Medic nods. SENIOR MEDIC Junior, lets go! Harden I need you too! Farid tries to crawl away from Powers. A crowd of villagers gather to watch. Ryan, in shock, forgets where hes supposed to go. The Junior Medic yells from inside the mud hut. JUNIOR MEDIC Harden! Get in here! Ryan runs over and enters the building. CUT TO: INT. SHOP/HOME, VILLAGE - AFTERNOON Ryan enters the room and sees two AK-47 rifles belonging to the ANP leaning against the wall. In the corner of the room the Senior Medic and Junior Medic crouch with a young boy no older than 5, clothes torn, bloody, and sobbing. SENIOR MEDIC Tell him were not going to hurt him. Ryan quickly translates to the young boy in Pashto. He is still sobbing but nods that he understands. CUT TO:

84

EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR AFTERNOON The Intel Sergeant and the Weapons Sergeant search the ANP while the rest of the team hold them at gunpoint. Powers isnt finished with Sergeant Farid yet. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Batoor! Come here! I want this motherfucker to understand me perfectly. Batoor looks at Captain Meyer who nods his approval to go. Meyer has been silent watching the whole scene unfold, he knows his orders are to not interfere with the ANP but he wont stop Powers. Powers lifts Sergeant Farid on to his knees by the scruff of his hair. He walks in front of the Afghan, looking angrily into his eyes. Ryan and the medics walk out of the mud hut with the little boy. A blanket is wrapped around him and he is reunited with his father. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Tell him that this is our village. We protect it. It belongs to us. Batoor translates. Farid looks angry. He spits blood on the ground at Batoor. Powers draws his Glock, grabs Farid by his hair and shoves the pistol into the Afghans mouth. Meyer finally speaks up. CAPTAIN MEYER Danny! Danny! Wait! Dont do this. Powers ignores him. Farid attempts to plead; the pistol makes him inaudible. Ryan watches in disbelief. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You tell him to bite down on the fucking barrel. I want him to bite down or hes gonna die. Batoor is nervous but he translates. Its nothing compared to the terror felt by Farid. He awkwardly bites down. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I want him to nod, tell him to nod if he 85

understands. Because if he gets this wrong, I will find him and end his miserable fucking life. Batoor translates. Farid nods. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Tell him if he comes anywhere near another kid, here or anywhere else, hes a fucking dead man. And I will know if he does. Batoor translates. Farid, now crying, nods. Powers pulls the Glock from his mouth. Farid falls to the ground and tries to grab at Powers legs to thank him for sparing his life. Powers kicks him across the face knocking him out. The other ANP are shoved over to carry him. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Im sorry Captain, you dont want to know what I fuckin saw in there. You can relieve me sir. CAPTAIN MEYER No, not necessary. Not at all. But we need to go. The ANP carry an unconscious Sergeant Farid away. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, COURTYARD NIGHT The team is unloading their gear. Rampage is lying in the dirt watching the soldiers work. One by one they drop off their plate carriers, radios, and rifles at their bunks and make their way to the chow hall. INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, TOC NIGHT Captain Meyer and Master Sergeant Powers are in the TOC. Meyer is reading email from FOB Warrior. CAPTAIN MEYER So youre gonna love this. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Whats up sir? 86

CAPTAIN MEYER Just got an email from Major Pisanski. Turns out our friend Bahadur had a bit of a cooking accident. Third degree burns on his hands and torso. Powers cant help but smile, they enjoy the DCOPs bad luck. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS How the hell did he do that? CAPTAIN MEYER According to the Poles Intel, ANP had an open flame over a propane tank inside the district police headquarters. You can imagine what happened. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fuckin hell. CAPTAIN MEYER His men brought him and the other injured to Warrior to the Field Surgical Center yesterday. Told everyone he was injured fighting the Taliban. Powers snorts and laughs out loud as Ryan and the Senior Medic enter the room. SENIOR MEDIC Any word on those kids sir? CAPTAIN MEYER Not yet doc, but you guys did good today. The phone rings. Meyer picks it up. Ryan sits down. The Senior Medic is about to leave but Meyer motions to him. CAPTAIN MEYER Got it, yeah ok. Yeah well thats good news. Yeah sir, it was a rough day. Uh huh Thanks sir, I didnt do much sir my team did the heavy lifting. Ill let them 87

know sir. Much appreciated. Meyer puts the phone down. CAPTAIN MEYER The two critically injured kids came out of surgery. Theyll both live. The Senior Medic pumps his fist approvingly. SENIOR MEDIC Ill go let my junior know hes not a total fuck up. The Senior Medic leaves the TOC. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (To Ryan) You didnt look too happy out there today. RYAN A lot of that was a first for me. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You seem to like taking pictures and talking to people. You didnt like the gore and blood too much, though. You know, maybe you should join the Peace Corps. Build wells, hug children, take pictures. Ryan shakes his head, pauses then looks right at Powers. RYAN Whatever. Look Im fucking angrier than anything else today. They knew kids were around when they planted that IED. CAPTAIN MEYER It doesnt matter to them; necessary sacrifice. Its the ideology that justifies it. They could have killed one hundred kids today and they wouldnt have batted an eye.

88

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Theyre all savages. You see it here. Ive seen it in Iraq. These guys dont hesitate. No problem, just cooking themselves off in a crowd. Theyre all the same. Iraqi, Syrian, Chechen, Afghan, Pakistani. Whatever. Its a disease. RYAN What is? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Islam. Everywhere I go its the same common denominator. RYAN Thats bullshit. Its not the same. Youve got different sects, interpretations. You cant lump every lunatic together with millions of innocent people. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You dont see Jews, Hindus, Protestants fucking walk into schools, hospitals, churches, and whatever and then just cooking themselves off. RYAN The first suicide bombers were actually Tamil nationalists. They werent Muslim. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Tamil nationalists didnt fly planes full of people into the twin towers. CAPTAIN MEYER Almost every conflict today its Muslims fighting someone. Not every Muslim is gonna strap a suicide vest on, but theres definitely a correlation and a strong one. RYAN Maybe, but you have to look deeper, you 89

cant just lump all Muslims as extremists and expect it all to turn out ok. Im here to notice the difference. We have to notice it and act on it, identify the real bad guys and then build relationships with the good people. If we dont, we make enemies and more innocent people will die. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Listen, Rhianna: there are two types of people in this world. Youre either a fucking sheep or wolf. Sheep embrace everybody. Then they expect people to be good, helpful, honest. You all assume everyone is a sheep like you. But the problem is you dont know and you cant tell the difference. So when a wolf finally shows up, youre dinner. You need to be a fucking wolf to see a wolf. You need to be ready. Because here and even at home everyone is a threat. And if you dont realize that, sooner than later youre dead or worse. Ryan pinches his nose in exasperation and rubs his eyes. RYAN And Batoor? What about guys like him on the line next to you? He part of the disease? He a threat? Master Sergeant Powers gets up from his desk. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Youre a fucking sheep. Youre not a soldier so dont fucking talk about the line. RYAN Yes, sir. Master Sergeant Powers walks out of the TOC. Ryan sits arms crossed, shaking his head. Captain Meyer gets up to leave, walks by and pats Ryan on the shoulder.

90

CAPTAIN MEYER Messed up situation today, especially for a civie. Some nasty stuff so were all on edge. Come on, lets just go eat. Ryan nods, gets up and walks out with Meyer. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, FRONT GATE DAY Amin, his son Farooq, and other elders from the village approach the gate. Captain Meyer comes out to greet them. Batoor, Ryan, and Master Sergeant Powers stand with him. CAPTAIN MEYER Thank you for coming here. Youre always welcome to visit us here. Would you like to come inside and have some tea? Batoor translates and Amin responds. BATOOR Sir, they say, yes. They would like that. CUT TO: Soldiers search the Afghans, then Meyer leads the group through the front gate of the VSP into the main courtyard. CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, MEETING ROOM DAY The Afghan group, Meyer, Batoor, the Intel Sergeant and Ryan sit around a folding table. A small plate of nuts and dates sits in the middle. The Junior Medic brings out paper cups and pours the elders all tea from a teapot then leaves the room. Amin speaks for the Afghans. BATOOR Sir, he says what you did for the villages children was honorable. He says his niece lost her leg, but you saved her life.

91

CAPTAIN MEYER Tell him Im sorry we couldnt prevent the children from being hurt. But we will always be ready to help and protect his people. Batoor translates. Amin nods then speaks again. BATOOR Sir, he says the village can no longer tolerate what is happening. He says that protecting their families means preventing the Taliban from coming. He says it is their village and they must fight for it. That what happened to those children was unforgiveable. CAPTAIN MEYER I understand. We want to help you protect it. The only way to do that is for your men to join ALP and stand with us. Batoor translates. Farooq then speaks up in English. FAROOQ Captain, you must understand the risk these men are taking by coming here. My father and the council want the Taliban gone, but we need your promise that you will support us. Well need weapons. CAPTAIN MEYER All we need is the men. You bring us volunteers, and we will train and arm every single man. And every man will get paid. Farooq translates for his group who speak amongst themselves. FAROOQ They believe that the village can do this. But there is one more thing. You must not trust Haji Mohammed. Everything you say, anywhere you go, he tells the Talebs. 92

Meyer has to stop and think for a second and then realizes Haji Mohammed is the Mayors real name. CAPTAIN MEYER What? Why? FAROOQ They pay him. The Talebs pay just like your other Americans whove come. He is paid for information. He does not care what happens after. He is worse than a Taleb. CAPTAIN MEYER We can take care of him. Have him arrested. If hes responsible for the attacks FAROOQ No, this will only alert the Talebs. They have contacts in the police. Haji Mohammad will slip away. Please give us some time and we will gather your men for the local police. Farooq translates to his group. They talk amongst themselves quickly, nod in agreement and they all stand up. FAROOQ It is time for us to go. It is late and the road is always dangerous. CAPTAIN MEYER We can escort you back. FAROOQ No. We are safer alone. CAPTAIN MEYER Look, Ive got a cell phone. If you and the council need anything just call us. Were here, we can help. You have my word. Farooq nods and takes down his number. 93

FAROOQ Salam Aylekum CAPTAIN MEYER Wa Aylekum a Salaam. Farooq, AMIN and the elders are escorted from the room. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, FRONT GATE DAY Meyer, Powers, the Intel Sergeant and Ryan watch the Afghans walk down the road from the gate. The Junior Medic joins them. JUNIOR MEDIC The savages like the tea? RYAN Hey, you know what a Chai Boy is right? Chai is tea. JUNIOR MEDIC Ah, fuck The group laughs at the Junior Medic. RYAN Just saying, you were the tea boy today. INTEL SERGEANT Look at you standing up for yourself, dishing it out. Well done. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Getting ripped on by a gay civilian, thats even better. Fuck, lets get some chow. CAPTAIN MEYER Dont wait for me. Im gonna go write this up for the Colonel.

94

CUT TO: INT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, TOC Captain Meyer is typing up a report on a computer. Ryan enters. He sits down at a computer near Meyer. RYAN How do we help these people when the ANP we support are as bad as the Taliban? CAPTAIN MEYER We do what we can; work around them if we have to. RYAN And when you leave? Then what? CAPTAIN MEYER I dont know. We have our orders. So we make the most of the time we have here, eliminate whatever threats we can, and then just hope the sacrifices weve made and the friends weve lost were worth it. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR DAY The team enters the village on foot. Captain Meyer is a man on a mission. Hes angry and wants to confront the Mayor. As the team enters the bazaar they see a change in attitude from the villagers. People in the bazaar acknowledge them; others wave them over to come to their stalls or shops. JTAC Well this is different SENIOR MEDIC I suppose this is what liberating Kabul felt like. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS This may seem like a fucking block party, but keep your heads on a swivel. 95

JUNIOR MEDIC They gonna ambush us with PDA? Christ might as well roll out a red carpet for us. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I dont care if fucking Karzai himself is here serving us birthday cake. Eyes open. ENGINEERING SERGEANT I dont know about you guys, but Im down for some of that bread. That cool Danny? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fine. You shit yourself its on you. ENGINEERING SERGEANT Fuck it. Ill risk it. Some of the guys laugh. Meyer is on point. He wants the team back on mission. CAPTAIN MEYER Ok, we done joking? Good. Everyone fan out and make nice, but do as Danny said heads up. Eli, youre in charge. Keep Harden and Subway. Danny I want you, Felix and Batoor with me. I want to say hello to our good friend the Mayor. Meyer and his group separate from the rest of the team and walk to the village shura building. Friendly villagers who wave and greet them slow their approach. CUT TO: The remaining members of the team spread out in the street. The Engineering Sergeant chows down on fresh bread with the Communications Sergeant. Even Subway is being treated well by the villagers. A small group of men from the village are practically standing in line to speak with Ryan. RYAN Name? Family name? 96

Ryan writes in his notebook as he listens to the response. RYAN Tribe? Ethnicity? He writes the next response and then continues. RYAN Have you heard about the Local Police? Do you want them in your village? We see Ryans note book, he writes down the young mans response. Yes we need help. We need the local police. Ryan then takes a photo of the young man and of the group waiting to speak with him. CUT TO: INT. SHURA HUT, VILLAGE DAY Captain Meyer, Powers, the Intel Sergeant, and Batoor enter the room. The Mayor is sitting in a small semi-circle with the two men from his entourage. The Afghans stand and greet the American group. Meyer has no stomach for pleasantries. CAPTAIN MEYER Batoor, ask him where he was yesterday. A kid died and three others might of if we werent there. Batoor translates. The Mayor is irritated. BATOOR He says that this is his country and you are not a police officer, so it is none of your business. Meyer laughs, but its almost animated. Hes angrier now. CAPTAIN MEYER Tell the bastard he knows the IED was meant for us, not those kids. And I hold him responsible. Batoor translates for the Mayor. As he speaks, the two other Afghans step forward aggressively. Powers flicks the switch on his M4 to fire. 97

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS No need to be rude boys. The Mayor motions to his two companions to stop, then responds to Meyer. BATOOR He says this does not matter. Youre a visitor here and so was the last group. He says youre just like the Russians; only here for a short time, exaggerating your importance. He says we make deals in the country. We bargain and that is the cost of living here. CAPTAIN MEYER Tell him we watch out for our own and we lost two good men. I dont care who came before us or who comes after. But when we leave, he wont be here either. Batoor starts to translate but the Mayor interrupts. BATOOR Sir, he says he knows what Amin and the others told you. He doesnt care. He gives the Taliban information, just like he gives it to you. He says he trades information to keep the village safe, to keep the Taliban from staying here. (Pauses for the Mayor) He says hes not going to be locked up at Warrior, or Bagram. No one is taking him away. He says the Governor and PCOP are his tribe, that the President is his tribe. He says we are just guests. They are his family, and you are nothing, you are foreigners. The Mayor then directs his anger at Batoor. Batoor stops and then lunges for him in a rage. Powers holds him back. CAPTAIN MEYER Batoor! God damnit! Stand down! 98

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Calm down kid! Calm the fuck down! BATOOR He says that I am a Kabuli dog and a traitor! He says my family are traitors! This fucking guy! The Mayor enjoys the emotion elicited from Batoor. He speaks again and directs it to Captain Meyer. BATOOR He says, that he will pass on your accusations to the DCOP. He will make sure Colonel Wayne also knows you have no respect for the council. He says we are no longer welcome in this village. Captain Meyer knows hes gone too far, but theres no turning back at this point. CAPTAIN MEYER We have a word for men like him where I come from. Hes a snitch. Whether its the Taliban, or us, hell get whats coming. Batoor no longer needs Powers to hold him back and he translates. Meyer waits for Batoor to finish and then leads the group out of the room. Powers is the last to walk out. He winks at the Mayor and his two goons and pats his rifle for them as he steps out into the street. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR AFTERNOON Captain Meyer, Powers and the Intel Sergeant walk back to the rest of the group with Batoor. Ryan is surrounded by small children and the Engineering Sergeant has a bag of bread jerry-rigged to his plate carrier by a carabineer. CAPTAIN MEYER I need to tell the guys what happened. That bridge is burnt. The Colonel is gonna shit a brick, might pull us out.

99

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Sir, they wont care. Its what they want. Theyre here to fight. And that guy is a fucking prick. If this were 5 years ago, it would still be Muj rules. We could just disappear his ass. It is what it is. Meyer nods but doesnt respond. He continues to walk then speaks to Batoor. CAPTAIN MEYER (To Batoor) You all right buddy? BATOOR Yes, sir. I apologize for my behavior. Men like him have ruined this country. Many of my friends have died because of people like him. We want to save our country from them. Theyre worse than the TB. Cowards. CAPTAIN MEYER Im sorry. BATOOR Like Sergeant Powers said sir, it is what it is. We fight and they sell our country to the TB to the Pakistanis. CAPTAIN MEYER Hopefully by the time we leave, there will be much less of them left to sell you out. INTEL SERGEANT And a few hundred less Taliban by the time were done! Captain Meyer and Batoor laugh. BATOOR I hope so, Sergeant Felix. The group reunites with the rest of the team in down the street.

100

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS We had a pleasant meeting with the Mayor boys. CAPTAIN MEYER What Danny means is hes no longer an asset. Says were not welcome here. COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT Could have fooled me, sir. CAPTAIN MEYER Were gonna head back to the VSP, but without the Mayors support the likelihood we take contact from here on out is going to be much higher. So just know that boys. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You heard the Captain. We cant make the same mistakes weve made before. Lets move out. Be alert. Dont fucking daydream on the way back. At this point theyll probably hit us at home, so we gotta make sure those infantry cats are aware. The Mayor watches the team leave from down the street. He picks up his cell phone and makes a call. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, FRONT GATE LATE AFTERNOON The team walks in the front gate. Captain Meyers local cell phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and throws it to Batoor. Batoor answers. He listens and speaks quickly in Pashto. He looks worried and then hangs up. BATOOR Sir, it was Farooq. He says the TB are in the village. They are looking for his father. Everyone stops. The Taliban are in the village during the day, its what theyve been waiting for. 101

WEAPONS SERGEANT The Colonel gonna let us go back in this late? CAPTAIN MEYER Im going to call it up. Were going back either way, its gotta be the same cell that hit us before. Danny get em ready. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS You heard the Captain, get the side-bysides ready to go, make sure you have nods, extra ammo. Fucking move! The team fans out. They grab extra ammunition and prepare the side-by-side vehicles to go. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Batoor! Subway! Get ready to move out. Subway, youre with me up front and Batoor youre with the Captain. Rhianna, unnecessary risk for you, youre sitting this one out. RYAN I cant just sit back here. Let me help. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS No one to interview, youre not needed. Youd be a liability. Powers walks off. Subway walks toward his room, hes pale. RYAN Where the hell is he going? BATOOR I have seen this many times. The American interpreters, they havent been home in so long they forget what its like. They forget the risks. Theyre just here for money.

102

RYAN Well, he better be ready. Danny will put a foot up his ass if he isnt. BATOOR He wont go. I promise you. If you really want to go, just stay ready, sir. Batoor pats him on the back and walks away. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, COURTYARD LATE AFTERNOON The whole team is gathered around four side-by-sides vehicles. Ryan is still in his plate carrier waiting for them to leave. Meyer steps out of the TOC. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Whats the word sir? CAPTAIN MEYER Youre not gonna believe this. INTEL SERGEANT He gave us a green light? No! The soldiers celebrate amongst themselves. CAPTAIN MEYER Were good to go. Hes even having air assets chalked to us and hes got his Scouts prepping to back us up. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Wayne wants to bag himself some Taliban scalps. INTEL SERGEANT Fuck, whatever gets us in the action. CAPTAIN MEYER We ready to go, Danny?

103

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Yes, sir. 8 ODA, 1 handler and dog, 1 JTAC, 2 terps. Subway walks by in a tank top, shorts and sandals. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Subway, what the fuck are you doing? SUBWAY Im going to the chow hall. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I told you to get ready, not fucking go to dinner! SUBWAY I wont go get shot for you. The interpreters are the first people they kill. They target us first! MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Thats why youre fucking paid to be here! SUBWAY Im not paid to get killed. Subway quickly walks away into the chow hell. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fucking piece of shit. Im literally going to skull fuck you when I get back, Subway! CAPTAIN MEYER We can use Harden. Hes still in kit. Captain Meyer looks over at Ryan and winks. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS God damnit. Civilian, you still want out? RYAN Yeah I do. I can translate. 104

CAPTAIN MEYER Were walking into a fight, you sure this is what you want to do? RYAN Yeah, I want in. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS This will be fun. All right. Rhianna youre with the Captain and Doc, rear vehicle. Doc, hes your problem now. SENIOR MEDIC Me? Babysitter? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Youre the proud owner of 20 somethingyear-old faggidy civilian. Congrats. Make sure he doesnt get killed. The Senior Medic gives him a sarcastic salute. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Lets move! I want be on the road two minutes ago! CUT TO: The team drives out of the Village Stability Platform. Their convoy of all-terrain vehicles immediately goes off the main road into a field. CUT TO: EXT. GHAZNI COUTNRYSIDE LATE AFTERNOON Ryan sits in the back bed of the side-by-side, his back against the spare tire. Ryan ejects his magazine to check the rounds. He pops it back into place and breathes heavily. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE OUTSKIRTS, HILLSIDE LATE AFTERNOON The team pulls up to a small grove of brush and trees near 105

the village. The two lead vehicles immediately clear and the soldiers take up positions facing the village. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE OVER WATCH LATE AFTERNOON The team is gathered on the hill where they had taken fire from insurgents on their first solo patrol into the village. The team groups around Master Sergeant Powers. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Last Amin told Batoor, the douchebags are in the bazaar near the shura building. Well enter at the construction site and clear the bazaar as we head toward the shura building. Felix I need you and that sniper rifle up here with Taylor on one of those 240s backing you up. Taylor can coordinate air support when it arrives if we need it. We good? Everyone nods. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Ill run point with Eli. There are still fucking civies down there, we dont need to up and wax one and make an international headline. That goes extra for you civilian. Batoor you and Harden need to clear anyone off the street if they get in the way. Also if anyone gets hit well set up an emergency LZ on the field just below the Over Watch position to get the injured out. Questions? The group shakes their heads. Theyre ready to go. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Lets go, move! The team starts to move down the hill, weapons ready as the Intel Sergeant and JTAC cover them. Ryan stays close to the Senior Medic as they move down the hill cover to cover. SENIOR MEDIC I hope youre ready for this kid. Youre 106

walking into a gunfight. Stay close on my six. RYAN Got it. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE LATE AFTERNOON As the team hits the street they walk right into two men on an Iranian motorcycle. The passenger is carrying an RPG. The men jump off the bike when they see the team. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS RPG! Front! Powers fires a shot. The man with the RPG collapses, a mist of blood and brain matter sprays out from behind his head. The second man, carrying an AK-47 sprints for cover. Before anyone can fire on him he collapses in the street. No one hears the shot. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE OVER WATCH LATE AFTERNOON The Intel Sergeant racks the bolt of his XM2010 suppressed sniper rifle. The used shell casing is ejected. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR LATE AFTERNOON The Taliban insurgents body shakes again on the ground in front of the team when the Intel Sergeant fires another round from the sniper rifle to make sure hes down. CUT TO: EXT. PUBLIC RESTROOM SITE, VILLAGE LATE AFTERNOON INTEL SERGEANT (Radio) I got your back Zulu. Keep moving forward. Street is clear, over. The team starts moves down the street, weapons up. CUT TO: 107

EXT. VILLAGE OVER WATCH LATE AFTERNOON The Intel Sergeant and the JTAC notice several armed men at the other end of the village. They reposition themselves to engage and get on the radio. INTEL SERGEANT (Into Radio) Zulu! Be advised! Multiple hostiles at the shura building. Theres a fucking ANP truck and civies among them! EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR LATE AFTERNOON Powers moves forward and gives a hand signal to the Weapons Sergeant who is at his flank across the street. Powers then speaks softly into his radio. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Moving to engage over. CUT TO: Powers moves forward weapon ready. Just as he takes up a firing position, five Taliban insurgents standing outside the shura building see the team and open fire with their AK-47s. The pop and hiss of rounds hitting near the team ring out as they react to the Taliban. The few civilians in the market run for cover. Three soldiers ANP dash into the shura compound. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Contact front! Powers and the Weapons Sergeant, both on point, return fire first immediately dropping two of the shooters. JUNIOR MEDIC Moving! The Junior Medic and the Communications Sergeant move up in tandem firing as they move. One of the Taliban drops dead. Powers and the Weapons Sergeant continue shooting. The two remaining Taliban try to run for cover but its too late they are immediately cut down by precise rifle fire. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Shooters down! Move up! 108

CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE OVER WATCH LATE AFTERNOON Rounds slam into the dirt near the Intel Sergeant and JTAC. The two immediately grab their weapons and move for cover. INTEL SERGEANT Displace! Displace! Move! They dart to a new position. Dozens of insurgents are heading toward the village from the opposite hillside. Several are shooting at the Over Watch position. The JTAC returns fire with the 240 Bravo. Two of the insurgents manning an RPK machine gun are cut down. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR LATE AFTERNOON The group in the street can hear the gunfire. Captain Meyer immediately signals Master Sergeant Powers to move to react to the new threats. The radio blares. (Radio) INTEL SERGEANT Be advised! Platoon plus size element on the north hillside moving on your position! CAPTAIN MEYER (Into Radio) Copy all. Moving to react. CUT TO: The insurgents are trying to enter the bazaar from the hillside. The group lead by Meyer immediately opens fire on Taliban caught in the open on the hill. Several fall dead. But others split into small groups and move down maneuvering onto the street through alley ways. CUT TO: Ryan sees a child crying, sitting under a wooden stall in the street. He leaves cover and runs over to grab the boy just as two Taliban run into the street from an alley. Without thinking Ryan raises his rifle and shoots them both just as he was trained - two to the chest one to the head. 109

Ryan snatches up the kid and runs back towards cover. Master Sergeant Powers and the Weapons Sergeant immediately turn and cover him as he runs back. Ryan gets to the Senior Medics position between a mud hut and a stall. SENIOR MEDIC The fuck! Youre gonna get yourself killed! Stay behind cover! Ryan nods and leads the child forward. SENIOR MEDIC Hey! Ryan turns the Senior Medic. SENIOR MEDIC Nice fucking shooting! The Senior Medic continues to shoot at the hillside. Ryan turns and pushes the small sobbing child inside the hut. RYAN (In Pashto) Hide! CUT TO: Several insurgents take up positions down the street shooting at the team. The team is outnumbered now. The Communications Sergeant and Captain Meyer exchange fire with the Taliban on the street while the Dog Handler fires on the hillside. Meyer drops one of the shooters, but another moves up and takes the mans place. CUT TO: Master Sergeant Powers and the Weapons Sergeant sprint behind mud huts on the opposite side of the street. INTEL SERGEANT (Radio) Alleyway 15 meters. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS (Into Radio) Copy. 10 seconds. Friendlies moving in, watch your fire. 110

The two soldiers slow to a fast walk, rifles up. CUT TO: TALIBAN FIGHTER POV: Shooting at Meyer and the Communications Sergeant from behind a wooden stall with two other fighters. Suddenly the other two men are cut down from behind. He tries to turn to face the threat. Powers shoots him twice, then once more on the ground. CUT TO: Ryan and the Senior Medic fire at the hillside. The blast of an RPG knocks them off their feet. Ears ringing, Ryan gets up he sees the Dog Handler. Hes unconscious, bleeding. The Junior Medic starts dragging him to safety. Captain Meyer and the Communications Sergeant are covering them, firing at the hillside. CUT TO: The Dog Handler comes to. Lana is whimpering, licking his face. The Junior Medic crouches over him unrolling gauze. JUNIOR MEDIC I told you Id take Montgomery. Lana is to get up. Got some But youre gonna be care of you, just fine. Dont try shrapnel in your side. fine.

The Dog Handler coughs up blood. DOG HANDLER I dont fuckin feel fine. JUNIOR MEDIC Can you breathe? DOG HANDLER Its getting tough. JUNIOR MEDIC Were gonna get you the fuck out of here. Dont worry.

111

(Into Radio) Delta to Whiskey 2-0. Need priority Medevac over. JTAC (Radio) Copy All. Be advised Air Support two minutes out. Pop green smoke. Over. CUT TO: Powers tosses a smoke grenade into the street. Several bullets slam into the ground near his feet, Sergeant Farid and two of his ANP soldiers have excited the shura compound shooting, they have the drop on him. Powers rifle jams. Batoor steps into the street and fires his AK-47 at the shooters. Two of the ANP drop, but Farid makes it to cover and shoots a burst from his AK hitting Batoor in the chest, knocking him down. Powers draws his Glock and immediately shoots Farid twice then runs to Batoor. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fuck. Kid dont move. Batoor has been hit several times in the chest and stomach. The rounds pierced his plates. Blood in his mouth, nose. BATOOR No problem Sergeant Powers. Powers doesnt know where to start. He puts pressure on one of the wounds on Batoors chest. The Engineering Sergeant runs over to cover Powers and Batoor. He stands between Powers and the hillside blocking them with his own body while firing at the Taliban. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Doc! The Senior Medic motions to Ryan who is shooting at the hillside. They run from cover to Powers and Batoor. Ryan takes up a position to cover them and shoots at the hillside with the Engineering Sergeant. The Senior Medic looks at Batoors wounds and then looks at Powers. He shakes his head.

112

SENIOR MEDIC We need to move him. Grab his arm. Rounds from the Taliban on the hillside continue to impact around them. Ryan and the others shoot back. Powers and the Senior Medic pick up and carry Batoor by his arms and shoulders. Hes half conscious; dead weight. CUT TO: The Engineering Sergeant empties a magazine and then sprints to a position behind Ryan. ENGINEERING SERGEANT Move! Ill cover! Go! Ryan turns and bounds to cover. The Engineering Sergeant empties another magazine into the hillside. Ryan gets to cover and starts shooting again at the hill. RYAN Im clear! Covering! The Engineering Sergeant keeps firing at the hillside walking backwards. Hes knocked back from a round impacting his plates. It doesnt penetrate but nearly knocks him off his feet. He staggers, but keeps shooting - emptying the entire magazine of his M4. ENGINEERING SERGEANT Mother fuckers! CUT TO: The Senior Medic is desperately trying to stop Batoor from bleeding out. Batoor is fading in and out of consciousness. BATOORs POV: Powers kneeling above him screaming at him, but he cant hear what hes saying. The Senior Medic injects something into his arm. Blood everywhere. Then a helicopter flies over. The sound of explosions. CUT TO: INT. APACHE COCKPIT LATE AFTERNOON An Apache pilot looks down on the hillside fire and death, some Taliban flee, others start to shoot again. 113

REAPER 2-3 Whiskey 2-0, this is REAPER 2-3. CASS on site. Over. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE OVER WATCH LATE AFTERNOON The Intel Sergeant pumps his fist in the air as the Apache buzzes the village. He then continues firing a 240B at the hillside. The JTAC gets on the radio. JTAC (Into Radio) Reaper 2-3, friendlies at green smoke. Break. Request gun run on hostiles 300 meters west. Break. Danger close, over. REAPER 2-3 (Radio) Reaper 2-3 copies all. Keep your heads down. The Apache lights up the hillside again. A 30-millimeter canon tears apart the remaining Taliban firing positions. Other fighters scramble over the hillside, fleeing. EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR LATE AFTERNOON Ryan is kneeling with Powers and Batoor. Powers squeezes Batoors hand. At first they hear mumbling. Powers lowers his head down to listen - verses from the Koran. Batoors eyes close, he stops breathing. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fuck! Doc! Youre losing him! The Senior Medic puts his ear to Batoors mouth. No breathing. He starts CPR frantically. Nothing. Keeps going. Still nothing. He checks Batoors pulse. Nothing. The Senior Medic turns to Powers. SENIOR MEDIC Danny! Hes gone! Powers shoves the Senior Medic out of the way. He attempts CPR intensely. 114

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Fuck that! Come on kid! Nothing is happening. Batoor is dead. The Senior Medic and Engineering Sergeant pull Powers away. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Get the fuck off me! Fuck! They let him go. Powers takes of his Kevlar helmet and slams it on the ground. He squats down shaking his head. Ryan stands over Batoor and raises his hands. He recites the end of the prayer Batoor was mumbling, the Al-Fatiha. RYAN (Arabic) Bismillah Rahmani Rahim. Al hamdu lilah rabb il almin. Ar rahmani Rahim. Powers stands up, staring at Ryan in bewilderment. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS What the fuck are you doing? RYAN Its from the Koran, the Fatiha. Its what he was reciting. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Youre Muslim? RYAN No. You dont need to be Muslim to appreciate the words, or to say them to honor someone. Powers stares down at Batoors body. He walks over to Ryan. He stands almost shoulder to shoulder with him and outstretches his hands. Ryan continues the prayer. CUT TO: The Weapons Sergeant checks the ANP bodies and discovers a wounded, but alive Sergeant Farid. He takes Farids side arm. Its an American made Sig Sauer 9mm and then pulls Farid up by his collar. Farid has his hands up and a 115

gunshot wound to his shoulder and chest, but hes alive. WEAPONS SERGEANT Danny, youre gonna wanna see this. Powers and Ryan stop. Powers walks over to the Weapons Sergeant and Farid. Farid has collapsed to his knees, he spits blood at the soldiers. Powers motions to the pistol. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Does that belong to this piece of shit? The Weapons Sergeant nods. Powers snatches it from him. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Its time to pay the piper, motherfucker. WEAPONS SERGEANT Danny Powers racks the weapon and then shoots Farid in the head instantly killing him. Powers drops the pistol on the Afghans body then walks back over to Batoor. Moments later Captain Meyer and the Communications Sergeant run over. CAPTAIN MEYER What the hell happened?! SENIOR MEDIC Batoor is down sir. CAPTAIN MEYER Shit. And the ANP we saw moving in? Before Powers or any of the soldiers can respond Ryan speaks up. RYAN Taliban sir. It looks like they were captured. They shot those two and then executed the Sergeant. CAPTAIN MEYER Is that so? 116

RYAN Yes sir. CUT TO: The Apache hovers overhead and a Blackhawk MEDEVAC chopper touches down in a field. The Junior Medic and Captain Meyer help two Pararescue medics and a CREW CHIEF load the wounded Dog Handler on a stretcher. The Junior Medic hands off an IV he holds above the Dog Handler to a Pararescue medic. Lana jumps on board. JUNIOR MEDIC See, Montgomery? That wasnt too bad. Told you its the best part of a deployment. DOG HANDLER Fuck you, man. I feel like shit. The Junior Medic smiles and pats the Dog Handlers shoulder. He winces in pain. JUNIOR MEDIC Youre gonna be fine buddy! I hear Germany is nice this time of year! The Dog Handler chuckles in spite of the pain. The Junior Medic moves away from the helicopter. It takes off. The red Afghan sun is setting. CUT TO: INT. AMINS SHOP, VILLAGE BAZAAR - EVENING Everything is torn apart: blood, bread, and smashed soda cans are on the floor. Amin is dead - his body mutilated, eyes gouged out, acid poured down his throat. Farooq kneels over his father. Meyer and the Intel Sergeant enter. CAPTAIN MEYER Im so sorry we couldnt get here faster. Your father was a brave man. Farooq continues to kneel next to his father. He doesnt turn to face Meyer.

117

FAROOQ This is what they do to informants. They take their eyes; force acid down their throat. Burn the corrupt words from their soul. Men from our own tribe did this. CAPTAIN MEYER We will find them. Well stop them. FAROOQ They will come back. There is nothing left here for me or for my family. CAPTAIN MEYER You can stand and fight for them. Farooq stands and faces Meyer. Tears in his eyes. American MRAPs and ANP trucks rumble down the street outside. FAROOQ And who will stand with us when you leave? This is civil war. Your terrorists are no longer here. When your soldiers die they face death away from home. Your wife and children, they are safe in America. We Afghans, we die here, our families die with us. Men from the village enter the room led by two elders. The elders approach Farooq and place hands on his shoulders. The men wrap Amins body in cloth then carry him outside. FAROOQ If I were here when the Talebs took my father, I would be there next to him. Farooq, distraught, walks out into the street. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR EVENING Ryan stares at the bodies of the two insurgents he killed. Theyre both younger then him. Faces contorted, they lie awkwardly on the street where they fell. 118

MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Whats wrong with you? RYAN Nothing. Just wasnt what I expected. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I saw you wax these pricks when it first kicked off. You wanted to be out here and you did your job. Be happy, notches on your fuckin belt. RYAN Yeah, got it. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Youre kind of a little bitch so itll take extra time getting used to. Not as easy as it looks. Just dont start bitching about your feelings. Youre fine. CUT TO: Colonel Wayne and a security detail walk with Bahadur, the DCOP, down the street. Bahadurs hands are wrapped with gauze, he looks more Egyptian Mummy than man. The Mayor exits the shura compound with a small entourage. He embraces Bahadur and then Colonel Wayne. Captain Meyer walks to them and takes off his helmet. When hes close, the Mayor and Bahadur both leave. COLONEL WAYNE Captain, youre in luck. It seems that this little incident has convinced the village they need more security. The Mayor is on board. CAPTAIN MEYER Sir with all due respect, we have Intel hes been the one tipping off the Taliban. COLONEL WAYNE Steven, we have a real victory here. Its on a silver plate in front of us. Theres 119

no need to sour it with those types of allegations right now. We need to move forward, son. Meyer, exhausted, puts his Kevlar helmet back on. CAPTAIN MEYER Hoo-ah, sir. Powers joins Captain Meyer as he walks off. CAPTAIN MEYER The Colonel got his scalps, Danny. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Yes he did, sir. Yes he did. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, RANGE DAY 15 Afghans, a mix of old and young, are crammed on the firing line. The Communications Sergeant hands each Afghan a carefully packed magazine, only 3 rounds per man. WEAPONS SERGEANT AMIR, tell them I want three tight shots on their targets. The closer they are together the better. AMIR THE TRANSLATOR Ok, Sergeant. WEAPONS SERGEANT And theyll wait to fire on my mark. Make sure they understand. AMIR THE TRANSLATOR Ok, sir. Amir translates. The Afghans start to ready their weapons. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR DAY

120

The Mayor walks through the bazaar. No one acknowledges him. Villagers glare or just walk by. He sees two men on a motorcycle drive toward him from down the street. EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, RANGE DAY The Weapons Sergeant stands with Master Sergeant Powers and Captain Meyer watching the range. The Afghans lie prone in firing positions while the Intel Sergeant and Engineering Sergeant walk among them, helping some adjust their rifles. WEAPONS SERGEANT Shoulder your weapons! Take aim! Amir translates for the Weapons Sergeant. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR DAY The motorcycle stops a few feet from the Mayor. The passenger slowly gets off the back. His face covered with a shemagh, a traditional scarf worn by Afghan men. The bazaar clears around the Mayor - people close their shops or hurry away. Hes quickly alone. EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, RANGE DAY The Weapons Sergeant looks at the Engineering Sergeant and Intel Sergeant. The Intel Sergeant gives him a thumbs up. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE BAZAAR DAY The masked passenger now face to face with the Mayor levels a Makarov pistol at the Mayors forehead. The Mayor is frozen in place, terrified. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, RANGE DAY WEAPONS SERGEANT Fire! Amir translates and the Afghans begin shooting. CUT TO:

121

EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, COURTYARD AFTERNOON Ryan puts his bag down. Rampage runs over to him and he scratches the dogs head. He then hands his M4 and his ACOG sight to the Weapons Sergeant. Ryan isnt the only one packed up - the team is loading and packing gear large and small. Theyve been ordered to be ready to leave the VSP. RYAN Hope this works. Did my best. The Weapons Sergeant loosens the bolts and opens the rifle up. He wipes his finger inside and then puts his finger in the Star Chamber and barrel. Takes it out, no residue. WEAPONS SERGEANT Not bad. Not boot-clean, but itll do. The sound of an MRAP horn blares outside the gate. RYAN Thats my ride. Thanks again. The Weapons Sergeant shakes his hand. As Ryan walks to the gate, Captain Meyer and Master Sergeant Powers join him. CAPTAIN MEYER They sure they need you back at Bagram? We could let your boss know youve been critical for us. Ryan looks at the VSP, then adjusts his bag as he walks. RYAN They need to send me on other site assessments. Dont think theres anything we can do about it. Meyer can tell Ryan wants to go. CAPTAIN MEYER All right. Well by the time we finish this. I think the Colonel called it an accelerated class - then move all our gear across the country, you might just be done at your other site. 122

RYAN Thanks. Ill definitely try. Whats going to happen to the VSP? MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Turning it over to the ANP. The DCOP and his goons will have a joint outpost with the villages new local police. All that fuckin work and they decide to move us. Ryan shakes his head in frustration. CAPTAIN MEYER Someone made a deal higher up. They want a Tajik ALP class trained outside of Kabul. RYAN Tajiks? Theres a Pashtun insurgency not a Tajik, Uzbek, or Hazara one. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS I thought you smokin yourself a couple of fuckin Taliban would start making you smarter Rhianna. Some Tajik general in Kabul is thinkin long term. They want their people trained and armed, not just Pashtuns in fucked up areas. RYAN Makes sense. I didnt come here to kill anyone. Im the dirty civilian researcher, remember? Powers shakes his head. CUT TO: EXT. VILLAGE STABILITY PLATFORM, FRONT GATE - DAY They walk out the front gate and stop at the convoy. Ryan hands his bag to one of the soldiers from FOB Warrior who throws it in the back of the MRAP. CAPTAIN MEYER We still havent identified a leader for 123

the class yet. Theres plenty of work to do. RYAN No one has told the council yet, huh? Captain Meyer shakes his head. Ryan sighs then gets in the MRAP, sits down, and starts to buckle up. Meyer looks over at Master Sergeant Powers to invoke a reaction. Powers pauses, then gives in. MASTER SERGEANT POWERS Like the Captain said, we gotta train and feed almost 20 fuckin Afghans for the next couple of weeks then drive halfway across this God damn country. Could use you. And for a civilian you aint half bad in a fight. Ryan smiles and nods, the automatic door starts to close. RYAN Ill try to talk them. Good luck with the class and the council. Captain Meyer smiles and nods. CAPTAIN MEYER Fair enough. Dont think anyone is gonna take it well, but orders are orders. Be safe. Ryan waves goodbye to them as the door closes and the MRAP starts down the road. CUT TO: INT. MRAP, CONVOY TO FOB WARRIOR - AFTERNOON Ryan stares out the window at the VSP. He notices two men on a motorcycle pull up to Meyer and Powers. The man on the back gets off and the bike leaves. Ryan watches Farooq shake hands with Captain Meyer and Powers. A young soldier in full kit is watching Ryan. MRAP SOLDIER You CIA or some shit? 124

RYAN Nah man, nothing like that. MRAP SOLDIER Heard yall got into some nasty ass TIC. You get in any of that action? RYAN Nah not really, man. MRAP SOLDIER Thats exactly what someone in the CIA would say. Ryan smiles ruefully. A loud thud shakes the truck potholes in the road. The soldier, on edge, jumps. Ryan barely notices. He closes his eyes and dozes off. FADE TO BLACK END CREDITS

125