Stephen Metcalfe - Writer and Director

In process. The reality that is the present Serbia screwed my story up completely.

THE INITIATIVE
BLACK SCREEN
Title 1: The Balkans. The crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe.
Title 2: Balkanization. The tendency to violently splinter into rival entities.
Title 3: To Balkanize. To fuck things up completely.
EXT. THE BALKANS - DAY
A desolate mountain landscape of rock, pine and snow. Gun metal grey sky. Bitter cold. Flurries in the air.
Title 4: January, 1999. The border between Serbian controlled Montenegro and Kosovo. In six months the NATO bombing of Serbia will begin.
Men, women and children move up the mountain road. More and more of them. Inadequately dressed; carrying what belongings they could grab before being evicted from their homes.
EXT. A CUSTOMS BORDER CROSSING - DAY
Still more refugees huddle, waiting. Armed border guards slowly and contemptuously process them through. With a honking of horns, a truck approaches from the Montenegro side and stops at the customs crossing. The driver and his passenger are cheerfully greeted by the guards. Money exchanges hands - bottles of liquor are passed over. Refugees move aside as the truck proceeds on.
DRIVER
(in Serbian)
Pigs.
FURTHER DOWN THE MOUNTAIN -
Farmland. Refugees scatter as the truck passes. It's snowing harder. The driver curses the weather, concerned. And then - !
Through the beating wipers, he sees a group of armed men standing in the middle of the road, blocking the way.
It's a squadron of American soldiers - SFOR, NATO's multi-national police force in the Balkans. A black man, Lieutenant HAYDEN BRANTLEY, unshaven and cold like his men, raises a hand for the vehicle to stop. The driver brakes. Brantley doesn't flinch as the truck skids to a stop, inches from him. He moves to the window.
BRANTLEY
Hi! You came pretty close to those folks back there.
The driver is gesturing, talking angrily.
INTERPRETER
He says you are crazy, he could have killed you.
BRANTLEY
Wouldn't want that, would we. Tell him to open the back of the truck, please.
The interpreter translates. The driver responds -
INTERPRETER
He says -
BRANTLEY
Fuck myself, yeah, I got that.
INTERPRETER
He says you have no right to stop him.
BRANTLEY
Tell him to learn to drive. White, Rodriguez, you're with me.
He and two men move to the rear of the truck. The driver jumps out and follows, still cursing angrily -
White breaks the lock on the back doors with the haft of his rifle. He and Rodriguez swing the doors open. The driver is protesting. In the truck are wooden cases. Handing his weapon to Rodriguez, Brantley jumps up onto the truck bed.
BRANTLEY
Give me a knife.
Rodriguez passes him one. Moving to a case, he pries it open. He rips back boards to reveal automatic weapons.
BRANTLEY
Well, what have we here? Who are these for, huh? You heard of the Dayton Accords? Tell this man he's under arrest.
INTERPRETER
Sir, you don't have the authority to -
But the interpreter is interrupted mid-sentence -
CORPORAL (O.C.)
Lieutenant!!
Brantley quickly leaps down from the bed of the truck. He and his men move around the tuck -
- to the front to see -
They've appeared like phantoms out of the falling snow. At least 40 men. Serb para-militaries. Half soldier, half Hell's Angel. All dead eyed and armed to the teeth.
Breath turns to vapor in the air. Brantley's men grip their weapons tighter. Rodriguez clicks his safety off.
BRANTLEY
Easy.
The door of a jeep opens. A man gets out. He is Brantley's age; handsome - his dark coat would look good on a London street. His boots crunch on the snow as he approaches. He smiles; speaks with accented English.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
You have something that belongs to us.
Two men. Two companies. Impending death in the frigid air.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
Don't be stupid. You have no right to engage us. And if you did -
He gestures to his men.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
- you would die.
BRANTLEY
(quietly)
Stand down.
Brantley's men lower their weapons.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
Good. Good.
He calls out orders to his men. A group of them quickly move forward, guns ready. The driver is ordered back into his truck. He smirks as he passes Brantley.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
You see? We have no quarrel with Americans.
He look at the man who stands next to Brantley.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
But you, you are Serb, yes?
The man - the interpreter - nervously nods.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
You are a traitor.
And the gun is out and he fires. This time Brantley does flinch as his face is splattered with blood and brains. Turning, the leader thrusts his pistol into Brantley's face.
PARA-MILITARY LEADER
This is not your country or your war. Never get involved with things that don't concern you.
As the truck passes, he abruptly lowers the gun. He turns away. His men follow him. They disappear like ghosts into the falling snow. Beneath the interpreter's head, blood is spreading, red on frozen white.
A WOMAN’S VOICE (V.O.)
Ser?
INT. JET AIRLINER - DAY
A flight attendant hovers.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT
(in Serbian)
Ser?
She reaches out to touch -- and waking with a sudden start, Hayden Brantley grabs her wrist. The flight attendant gasps.
BRANTLEY
(releasing her)
I'm sorry. What is it?
FLIGHT ATTENDANT
(in accented English)
Your seatbelt. We're landing soon.
Frightened, she moves away. Brantley’s seatmate is trying not to stare.
BRANTLEY
Go on, go back to lookin’ out the window. It’s a nice view. Go.
The man quickly looks away.
EXT. BELGRADE - DAY
With a scream of engines and air, a JatAir airliner descends.
Title 4: Belgrade. Present day.
INT. NIKOLA TESLA AIRPORT - DAY
The airport is crowded and chaotic with travelers from all over Eastern and Western Europe - tourists, businessmen, students. Brantley moves down a concourse. He is the only black man.
CUSTOMS
Chaos. Soldiers and dogs. Pasty faced officials. Brantley moves to a booth and hands over passport and credentials.
CUSTOM AGENT
Dis is ‘vat?
It's a badge and i.d.
BRANTLEY
Federal Bureau of Insanity.
The custom agent looks even more confused.
BRANTLEY
American F.B.I.
(a beat)
Why don't we talk to your supervisor.
EXT./INT. TAXI CAB - BELGRADE - DAY
It is November. A Fiat taxi is on a congested street of cars, pedestrians and old buildings mixed with new. Sitting in the backseat, Brantley stares at the posters of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic that are displayed in shop windows. The driver glances in the rear view mirror.
DRIVER
(heavily accented English)
You...
(searching for the word)
...Afrika?
BRANTLEY
...American.
DRIVER
Fuck America.
Brantley almost laughs - almost. With blaring horn, the driver squeezes between two cars and turns down a side street.
EXT. KNEZA MILOŠA 50 - BELGRADE - DAY
The U.S. Embassy. The cab stops and Marine guards examine Brantley’s i.d.. The Fiat is waved through the gate
THE COURTYARD - CONTINUOUS
The Fiat stops and another Marine opens the door. Brantley gets out. American flags hang above the entrance.
INT. EMBASSY - DAY
Brantley passes through security. An attractive young women smiles as she returns his i.d. to him.
WOMAN
Mr. Kellogg is on the second floor.
Brantley moves through a metal detector into an immaculate lobby. More flags. Portraits of American presidents. Well dressed busy people. American territory.
INT. U.S. EMBASSY OFFICE - DAY
Brantley sits, waiting. A young secretary enters; smiles.
SECRETARY
Agent Brantley?
Brantley rises.
INT. OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
As Brantley enters the well appointed office, NATHAN KELLOGG, 40'S, rises. Kellogg is the Bureau's Legal Attache Officer assigned to the Serbian embassy. As LEGAT, he coordinates U.S. and Serbian resources in criminal and terrorist investigations.
KELLOGG
Hello, Hayden.
BRANTLEY
Nathan. Long time, no see.
KELLOGG
You look like you could use some coffee. Black with two sugars?
Brantley nods.
KELLOGG
Denise?
The secretary moves to a coffee service. There are two other man in the room and they rise as Kellogg turns to them. ROBERT WEINSTEIN, 40’s, is obviously a weight lifter. EVAN ECKHART, 30's, is a fresh-faced, Ivy League type.
KELLOGG
Hayden, Bob Weinstein. Bob's with the Bureau's Eurasian Crime unit in Budapest.
WEINSTEIN
Brantley.
Extra firm handshake.
KELLOGG
And this is Evan Eckhart. Evan’s the Ambassador's Assistant Chief of Staff.
ECKHART
Sir.
KELLOGG
I was just telling these boys you were part of my JTTF team that investigated the Dar es Salaam Embassy bombing in 02'.
BRANTLEY
Thank you.
- and exits.
BRANTLEY
Am I here for a reason or are we just gonna reminisce.
A quiet moment.
KELLOGG
Let's all sit down, shall we.
The men sit.
KELLOGG
Comfortable?
BRANTLEY
I could go to sleep.
Weinstein and Eckhart glance at one another. Kellogg seems more amused than anything else.
KELLOGG
What do you know about the current state of affairs here in the Balkans, Hayden?
BRANTLEY
Not much.
KELLOGG
Why don’t we fill you in. Bob?
Weinstein cues up a waiting power point presentation.
KELLOGG
These were taken in the Italian port city of Bari.
Italian police have stopped a truck and have the driver and passengers against it.
KELLOGG
The couriers are Albanian Nationals.
Stack after stack of sealed brick-like bags.
KELLOGG
DEA estimates over six thousand kilos of heroin crossed the Balkan Peninsula to distribution points -
A map - arrows move west from Aphganistan into Europe - then across the Atlantic towards the U.S.
KELLOGG
- in Italy and Greece last year. At least half of it ends up stateside. Now these, were taken in a suburb outside of Amsterdam. Theemsweeg. Literally a sex bazaar run by organized crime.
Prostitutes. Women loitering on corners. At bus stops. On display in store windows, as if goods for sale.
KELLOGG
Over 200,000 women a year are smuggled through the Balkans.
The map - arrows moving northeast to southwest - and again, across the ocean -
KELLOGG
Some end up looking like this.
A badly beaten prostitute.
KELLOGG
And this.
The corpse of a woman.
KELLOGG
And last but not least...
Rows of confiscated arms. Assault weapons. Munitions. Missile launchers, grenades.
KELLOGG
Since ‘91, our friends in the former Soviet Union has been holding a yard sale. Weapons are passed on to terrorist cells in Europe, Pakistan and the Mid-East to be used against U.S. interests worldwide. Again -
Arrows moving; branching West, South and East.
KELLOGG
All through the Balkans.
Silence.
KELLOGG
Now you're supposed to ask what we're doing about it.
BRANTLEY
Come on, Nathan. Why don’t you just tell me.
KELLOGG
The Southeast European Initiative, Hayden. Ever heard of it?
BRANTLEY
Multi-national task force created by the State Department in '01.
KELLOGG
We run it.
BRANTLEY
Why didn’t I know that.
KELLOGG
A dozen countries with field teams throughout Eastern Europe, all with one objective. Stop the smuggling, stop crime period in the Balkans.
Brantley puts down his coffee cup. Then:
BRANTLEY
Law enforcement in the Balkans is a joke. It was ten years ago and it is now.
Silence. Eckhart looks uncertain; Weinstein angry.
KELLOGG
Why don’t you both let me take it from here? Come on, the man’s tired. I’ll fill him on the rest.
(rising)
I said, beat it.
Weinstein and Eckhart rise and exit. Kellogg moves to a drink tray and pours scotch.
KELLOGG
How about a drink?
BRANTLEY
I don’t drink when I’m working.
KELLOGG
Than you don’t drink.
Kellogg sips, then:
KELLOGG
Word is you've become an angry man, Hayden. Well, are you?
BRANTLEY
Are we recording this?
Kellogg moves to his desk. He hits a hidden switch.
KELLOGG
Now we’re not. Is it true?
BRANTLEY
Damn right I’m angry. We were supposed to be the good guys, Nate. And we’re not, are we.
KELLOGG
We never were, Hayden. We’re finally being honest about it.
BRANTLEY
I’m ashamed to be a part of it.
KELLOGG
Than why do you still do it.
Brantley looks away. He doesn’t have an answer for that.
KELLOGG
Let’s take a walk, shall we?
EXT. EMBASSY ROOF - DAY
In overcoats now, Kellogg and Brantley move across the Embassy roof. They move to the roof’s edge. They look out on the skyline of Belgrade.
KELLOGG
Not bad, huh? Belgrade. Gate of the Balkans. City of Rivers. You know the first Serbian state was established in the ninth century? Nine hundred years before the Declaration of Independence.
(Chuckling)
Nine hundred years and the place is still the goddamn wild west.
BRANTLEY
Thanks for the history lesson. Now you gonna tell me what this is about?
Kellogg takes out a manila envelope, opens it and takes out a stack of photos. He hands the top one to Brantley. Brantley stares at a man, 50's, moustached, powerful, charismatic looking.
KELLOGG
His name is Milan Luka. They call him the Lion. Head of what is probably the most ruthless crime family in Serbia.
Another photo -- Luka in a combat fatigues and beret, standing with ex-Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic.
KELLOGG
Luka was a para-military leader during the war with ties to Karadzic and Milosevic. We think his forces were involved with -
A photo of a uniformed Luka with a group of armed para-militaries standing at attention behind him.
KELLOGG
- the massacre of Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
A photo of a mass grave - corpses line a ditch. Kellogg hands Brantley the rest of the photos. Brantley quickly goes through them as:
KELLOGG
The Hague has tried to get him on war crimes but hasn’t been able to indict him. Neither have the bounty hunters.
A body riddled with bullets. Another - this one taken recently - Luka in a cafe surrounded by bodyguards.
KELLOGG
Luka is into contract murder, kidnapping, strong arm. Anything that comes across the Balkan Peninsula, he tastes. We want to make him an example of him, Hayden.
Whatever it takes.
The words hang like a death sentence.
KELLOGG
You’ll report to me.
Kellogg turns and moves back across the roof, leaving Brantley. Brantley stares at the photographs. In each one, standing in the background, is the man from the Montenegro border - the paramilitary leader - the man who shot the interpreter.