Logline: A world-weary cafe patron discovers more excitement than he can handle in the form of a brutal accident, a deranged stranger and a fight for survival.
EXT. CAFE PATIO - DAY
JOHN MCALLISTER, EARLY 30s, crisp suit, sips a latte and reads the morning edition of the Tribune. He puts down the paper and sighs.
JOHN
Boring. I wish something would happen around here.
SHRIEKING TIRES and a BANG, glass and plastic shower from two cars as they collide in the intersection. John snaps his gaze in their direction. John stops in mid-sip, puts down his coffee cup and stands.
JOHN
What the hell?
He pauses.
JOHN
Hold on... the cops should handle this.
He shakes his head.
JOHN
Well, they still can. And I wanted exciting...
He approaches one of the smoking cars. Another man follows him - DEXTER CABRISI, LATE 40s, used-up looking fella. Dexter whistles at the wreck.
DEXTER
Man, look at that! You don't see one like this every day!
John shakes his head in agreement.
DEXTER
What a beauty!
John snaps a double-take at Dexter.
JOHN
'Beauty'?!
Dexter nods.
DEXTER
Best one I've ever pulled off.
He flashes John a grin with no light in it.
DEXTER
You didn't hear a word of that, by the way.
JOHN
The hell I didn't.
John seizes a fistful of Dexter's filthy jacket in one hand, his cell phone coming up in the other. Dexter panicks and peels out of the jacket, races away.
JOHN
Hey!
(Into the phone)
Hey! 911?
INT. JOHN'S CAR - LATER
John slips a business card bearing a badge emblem onto his dashboard. He looks up as he approaches an intersection. The light turns yellow and he presses his brake pedal - nothing happens.
BANG.
CUT TO BLACK
FADE UP
INT. JOHN'S CAR - MOMENTS LATER
Blood and blue glass powder dust the steering wheel and dashboard. John looks up, blinking away blood from one open eye. Dexter stalks toward his car wearing that icy grin.
DEXTER
We have unfinished business.
He raises a gun, holds out his other hand.
DEXTER
My jacket. Now.
John reaches back and pulls the jacket from the back seat, beaten. Sirens rise in the distance. John looks back over his shoulder at Dexter. His good eye narrows. He looks back at the jacket - large enough to trap both Dexter's hands.
JOHN
Okay. Okay.
He holds the jacket just inside the shattered window. Dexter leans forward with both hands to take it from him. John surges out to catch both Dexter's hands in the jacket, twisting away as the gun goes off.
DEXTER
Son of a bitch!
The sirens reach a crescendo howl. EMTs and cops flood from emergency vehicles. Shouts of surprise reach John, following by the WHISPERS and CLICKS of guns clearing holsters. The world fades around him as he puts a hand to his shot shoulder. Then more GUNSHOTS.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. CAFE - MUCH LATER
John sits nursing a coffee. The table is bare. He stares out at the city.
From the next table, a PATRON speaks up.
PATRON
Too quiet around here. Don't you ever wish something would happen?
John shakes his head, smiling.
