Regular Cast	Recurring Cast
FRASER	TURNBULL
RAY/STAN	DESK SERGEANT
DIEFENBAKER	MORT GUSTAFSON
WELSH
HUEY
DEWEY
FRANCESCA
THATCHER
FRASER SR.
Guest Cast – Speaking Roles
BARFLY
BARTENDER
BILLY BUTLER
BLIND LEW
CLERK
CREWMAN
DAVE
ED “IRON BOTTOM” SMITHERS
FRED
GILBERT WALLACE
HELMSAN
LARRY
MAN
SAILOR
SAILOR THREE
SAILOR TWO
THUG
VIC HESTER

STANDING SETS’ RECURRING LOCATIONS	EPISODE UNIQUE LOCATIONS
POLICE STATION	DOCK AREA
-BULLPEN	GREAT LAKES SHIPPING
-FRONT DESK	-HALLWAY
-CORRIDOR OUTSIDE BULLPEN	-OFFICE
-MORGUE	HENRY ALLEN – LAKE FREIGHTER
-WELSH’S OFFICE	-BELOW DECKS
	- CREW MESS
CANADIAN CONSULATE	-BRIDGE
-FOYER	-CAPTAIN’S CABIN
-THATCHER’S OFFICE	-DECK
	-ENGINE ROOM
	-ROOM
	-TEXAS DECK
	LONELY ALBATROSS BAR
	-BASEMENT
	UNION HALL
	WATERFRONT
	SAULT DOCKS

SCRIPT DAYS
Scenes Day/Night
1-11 DAY ONE
11A-16 NIGHT ONE
17-26 DAY TWO
27-28 NIGHT TWO
30-34 DAY THREE
35-57 NIGHT THREE

PROLOGUE
EXT. THE WATERFRONT -- DAY (DAY ONE)
Gunfire rips through cinderblock as Ray and Fraser scramble away from assailants. They reach a lip of the building and jump, landing on a small platform only to discover that they’re trapped -- gunmen behind them and two hundred feet of air to the lake in front of them.
RAY Where the hell’s the backup?!
FRASER No sign of them.
RAY I only got two rounds left.
FRASER The way I assess it, we can either stand our ground or we can give up. If we stand our ground they will probably shoot us. If we give up, they will probably shoot us anyway. What else could they do?
RAY They could surrender but I wouldn’t count on that. Let’s get ready.
FRASER We could jump.
RAY Like hell we could.
FRASER No, it might be alright.
RAY How do you know?
FRASER Would you make a jump like that you didn’t have to?
RAY I have to and I’m not gonna.
FRASER Well, I’m not sure that we have much choice.
RAY Just one clear shot, that's all I want.
FRASER Ray.
RAY No.
FRASER We have to.
RAY Get away from me.
FRASER Why?
RAY I wanna fight'em.
FRASER They’ll probably kill us.
RAY Maybe.
FRASER Do you have a death wish?
RAY Do you?
FRASER I’ll go first.
RAY No.
FRASER Alright. You go first.
RAY No, I said.
FRASER What’S wrong with you?
RAY I can’t swim.
FRASER The quality of the water alone will probably kill us.
RAY (beat) Does this conversation seem strangely familiar to you?
He stares at the edge of the building, then reaches a decision. They both run for the edge and leap...falling two hundred feet to the water below. As they hit the water, we can see a convoy of police vehicles arriving on the scene, flashers flashing, sirens blaring...
As they arrive we hear Ray and Fraser splashing toward shore.
FRASER (0.S) Get your hand off my head.
RAY (O.S.) I hate water.
FRASER (O.S.) Just remain calm.
RAY (O.S.) I don’t even like drinking it.
FRASER (O.S.) We’re largely composed of water.
RAY (O.S.) You maybe.
FRASER (O.S.) We’re just about there.
The screen fills with arriving police vehicles as we...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. WATERFRONT -- LATER
A police barricade keeps out a crowd of curious onlookers. Huey and Dewey help load the assailants into the paddy wagon.
DEWEY It’s not heat, it’s heave. frost heave. I mean frost heat? What the hell would that mean? It’s frost. It doesn’t have heat.
HUEY So what does heave mean?
DEWEY Heave. Like throw up. The frost makes the ground sort of throw up and that’s what moves the foundations and that’s why you got a basement full of water.
HUEY No, I got a basement full of water because the sewer backed up.
DEWEY Well, that’s not water. You got an altogether different problem.
Welsh steps into their conversation.
WELSH You seen Vecchio?
They point over to an empty lot, the skyline of the city as the backdrop. Ray and Fraser are in heated argument.
DEWEY Been going at it for a while now.
WELSH Why? It was a good collar. They did good.
HUEY Differences.
WELSH Differences, huh?
He watches them from a distance.
ANGLE ON: RAY AND FRASER
In the middle of a heated argument.
RAY No, Fraser, I’m sick of it. We almost got killed out there.
FRASER Well, I’ll agree it was a little nip and tuck for a while --
RAY Nip and tuck? Three goons leaning down on us, carrying big guns, we take a chemical bath and you call that nip and tuck?
FRASER The men were arrested, Ray.
RAY That’s not the point.
FRASER Then what is the point?
RAY There’s more to life than dying, Fraser, and every time I’m with you I think I’m going to die.
FRASER We’re officers of the law, Ray.
RAY That’s right. We’re cops. I don’t wear a cape and neither do you.
FRASER No, but I do wear a uniform and you carry a badge.
RAY Do you have to argue about everything?
FRASER And I do wear something akin to a utility belt --
RAY Why are you arguing with me?
FRASER I'm not arguing with you.
RAY Yes, you are. Correcting, niggling, doing that thing with the ‘I’s’ and the ‘T’s’. I say A you say B. I say night. You say day.
FRASER I’m sure I don't do that all the time.
RAY You just did it again. It’s like a disease.
FRASER What I was trying to say --
RAY (yells) I don’t want to hear it! You understand? I don’t want to hear it.
FRASER Well, Ray --
RAY You don’t get this, huh? You keep it up I’m going to hit you. Fair warning.
FRASER That’s makes no sense, Ray, I’m --
RAY I swear to God, Fraser, I will hit you.
FRASER If you’d just, listen --
RAY I mean it.
FRASER All I’m trying to say is --
Ray slugs Fraser in the face. They stare at one another.
Long shot: of the bleak waterfront skyline as the two men walk away from one another in opposite directions.
END OF PROLOGUE
ACT ONE
INT. POLICE STATION -- DAY
Ray roams through the station house, watching its hustle and bustle with a strangely detached air. He passes by the Desk Sergeant, who copes with a phone and an official document...
DESK SERGEANT ... and how long has your wife been missing?
MAN Uh, let’s see. It was November so, uh. . .thirteen years.
DESK SERGEANT OK. You have to fill this out...
... Ray continues into the hallway where he sees Dewey and Huey leading a prisoner toward an interrogation room.
DEWEY No, no. He was right handed.
HUEY Lefty Frizzell was right handed?
DEWEY Yeah.
HUEY So why’d they call him Lefty?
DEWEY ‘Cause he was always gone. Where’s Frizzell? He left. Lefty.
They step into the interrogation room. Ray continues, watching a uniformed cop drag a kid down the hallway. He continues into...
INT. POLICE STATION -- BULLPEN -- CONTINUOUS
...the bullpen where he sees Francesca on the phone.
FRANCESCA Talk nice. I don’t care. Yeah, your whole family could be on fire but if you don’t change your tone cf voice I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do for you.
... he wanders past her desk toward his own when Welsh sticks his head out of his office.
WELSH Vecchio? Want to step in here?
INT. CONSULATE - FOYER -- DAY
Fraser enters. Turnbull is at his desk.
TURNBULL Ah. Constable Fraser. (a beat) Inspector Thatcher is anxious to speak to you sir.
FRASER Good. I'll just...
THATCHER (from her office) Fraser! Is that you?
TURNBULL Anxious.
Fraser hurries into Thatcher’s office.
INT. CONSULATE - THATCHER’S OFFICE -- DAY
Fraser enters.
FRASER I’m sorry I’m late, sir, but Detective Vecchio and I were in pursuit of three individuals from the FBI’s most wanted list, a pursuit that led to a chemical bath --
THATCHER No explanation is required. I have something for you Fraser.
She hands him a letter.
WELSH (V.O.) It just came in today.
INT. POLICE STATION - WELSH’S OFFICE -- DAY
Welsh is behind his desk, watching Ray read a piece of paper. He looks up at Welsh, slightly baffled.
RAY A transfer?
FRASER (O.S.) A transfer, sir?
INT. CONSULATE - THATCHER’S OFFICE -- DAY
Fraser looks at his letter.
THATCHER To Ottawa.
FRASER Ottawa...
THATCHER Ottawa.(a dreamy look comes into her eyes) The Houses of Parliament.
FRASER Icy winters.
THATCHER The seat of power.
FRASER Virtual wilderness.
THATCHER Headquarters. Filled with brass.
FRASER Fresh air.
THATCHER It’s a wonderful opportunity, Fraser.
FRASER Do you think I’m too argumentative, sir?
Thatcher looks at him sharply, surprised.
THATCHER You’re not going to take it are you?
Fraser doesn’t know how to respond.
INT. POLICE STATION - WELSH’S OFFICE -- DAY
Ray is still staring at the paper.
WELSH The powers that be seem to think you’ve been on this undercover thing long enough, so if you want they’ll move you out. You can pick your assignment. (a beat) Could be a pretty cushy deal.
RAY I get my own name again. My own life.
WELSH Yeah. If that’s what you want. Personally I’d try for something a little more interesting. Anyway, think about it, Detective. I'll need an answer soon.
Ray looks a little confused.
EXT. WATERFRONT -- NIGHT (NIGHT ONE)
The same spot on which they had their altercation. The two men face one another.
RAY This is where it started. So this is where we’ll end it.
FRASER I can’t.
RAY You have to.
FRASER For good?
RAY Yeah. You take your transfer, I'll take mine and we’ll call it quits.
FRASER You’re sure about this?
RAY (nods) Do it.
Fraser stares at him for a second. Then pulls back his arm and hits him. Ray staggers backward. They stare at one another.
RAY (CONT’D) There. We’re done. It was a pleasure working with you.
They walk toward the car. Nothing more is said.
INT. CAR -- TRAVELING -- NIGHT
They drive in silence.
Suddenly, in the glare of the headlights a man stumbles out into the middle of the road, a patch over one eye, a hook for a hand and a knife in his gut.
They stop the car and leap out.
The man lurches toward Fraser. As he starts to collapse, Fraser catches him and gently lowers him to the ground.
ANGLE ON: RAY
On the police dispatch, calling in for an ambulance.
RAY This is 117, we have a 10-18, South Speedway, need immediate assistance.
ANGLE ON FRASER
Checking over the man with the knife in his side. The man looks up at him vaguely with his one good eye. Ray hurries up. The man struggles to sit up.
BILLY Treasure chest...
He shudders and sinks back down. Fraser puts his ear to his chest and listens for a moment. Then he looks at Ray and shakes his head.
RAY Alright, we’ll clear up this case then we’re done.
INT. POLICE STATION - MORGUE -- NIGHT
Ray, Fraser and Mort are in the morgue. Billy is laid out face down fully clothed on a table. Mort is taking fingerprints. Ray is trying not to look.
He looks at the body. Mort is using some large shears to cut off the shirt. Ray turns quickly away.
MORT Bismarck rose out of his coma to yell ‘Charge’, then collapsed. Victor Hugo said, “I see a black light”, then died. And now we have a man who says ‘treasure’ and ‘chest’ then breathes his last. Remarkable how one second we are full of words and the next second we speak no more.
FRASER Trust me, not all the dead are so quiet.
Ray and Mort both look at Fraser.
RAY Don’t get creepy here.
Mort has finished snipping away the shirt. Fraser gives Mort a hand rolling the body over onto its back. Mort peels off the shirt. On the chest is a carving. They all stare at it a moment in surprise.
MORT Treasure chest maybe?
RAY Looks like the head of a dog.
MORT Very crude work. As though it was carved into the skin.
Fraser runs his hand over it.
FRASER His hook maybe?
Ray groans. Mort continues to look at the body.
MORT It would seem to be a map.
FRASER (makes a sketch of the map) Could be.
RAY ‘Course it’s a map. The guy’s a pirate.
Fraser and Mort don’t have anything to say.
INT. POLICE STATION - BULLPEN -- NIGHT
Night shift. Ray crosses to Francesca’s desk.
RAY You want to run these prints, Frannie? Check them against any known pirates.
FRANCESCA (brightening) Pirates? You mean, like pieces of eight and sliver me timbers?
RAY Shiver.
FRANCESCA What?
RAY Shiver me timbers.
FRANCESCA Sliver.
RAY Frannie..
FRANCESCA Ray. What can that mean, shiver me timbers. That doesn’t mean anything.
RAY Sure it does. It means... It’s like shake your bootie or something.
FRANCESCA Pirates, they were always sliding down masts, right? Wood masts. Sliver, get it? They got slivers in their timbers.
Ray looks at her for a moment.
RAY I never got that.
He moves off.
FRANCESCA (with contempt) Shiver...
Ray goes over to his desk, joined by Fraser.
FRASER We don’t know he’s a pirate, Ray. For all we know he might be an accident prone accountant.
RAY You ever try to run a calculator with a hook?
FRASER No, but appearances aren’t everything, Ray. I once knew a trapper from Beaver who always wore a three piece suit when he was running his traplines. Looked like a banker. Of course, he kept his bait in the suit pockets, so the smell, well, that was another thing, but...
RAY Fraser, a guy with an eyepatch and a hook dies saying treasure and chest. What do you think he is?
FRASER Ray, if there are any pirates on the Great Lakes these days, which I sincerely doubt, I think it would be highly unlikely that they would look like a character invented by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Francesca pokes her head in.
FRANCESCA Ray, I got an I.D. on the pirate. Name’s Billy Butler and he worked the lake boats most of his life. Three convictions for drug smuggling and one for assault.
Ray takes the file and looks at Fraser with scorn.
RAY Accountant.
EXT. LONELY ALBATROSS WATERFRONT BAR -- NIGHT
Ray pulls his car to the curb in front of a rough looking bar in a tough part of the dock area. Ray, Fraser and Dief step into this evocative atmosphere and make their way to the bar.
INT. THE LONELY ALBATROSS -- NIGHT
The bar is crowded with waterfront types. All heads snap toward Ray and Fraser as they enter. At the back of the bar a man we will come to know as ANDY CALHOUN slips out a door as they enter. They pass by BLIND LEW, a tall, cadaverous man wearing dark glasses and holding a white cane and make their way to the bartender. Ray shows him a picture of Billy Butler.
RAY Recognize this guy?
BARTENDER Moved out about a year ago. Haven’t seen him since.
Ray nods, shows the picture to the guys near him at the bar.
RAY Anyone else seen Butler?
The question is met with stony silence.
RAY (CONT’D) Take your time.
Again they are met with silence. One of the sailors is staring at Diefenbaker who’s sitting at Fraser’s feet.
SAILOR That a wolf?
FRASER Yes.
SAILOR Wolf in a bar is bad luck.
The sailor beside him looks over.
SAILOR 2 That's a woman on a ship.
SAILOR That too.
SAILOR 3 No, it’s whistling on a ship.
SAILOR Yeah, but wolves.. .there’s got to be something about wolves.
FRASER Well, there are a number of nautical superstitions, but I can’t recall any that feature wolves.
SAILOR Can’t be too careful these days.
FRASER Why’s that?
SAILOR Cause there’s bad things stirring on the water. A ghost ship carrying a crew that’s long dead, flying the colours of the Fitzgerald --
SAILOR 2(interrupting)
You had too damn much to drink.
He grabs the other man and hustles him from the bar.
FRASER A ghost ship?
The other sailors all turn away muttering. Most of them head for the door. Ray looks at Fraser.
RAY Good work, Fraser.
FRASER I’m not entirely sure what I said.
RAY Yeah, well next time let me do the talking, okay. We can’t afford to be scaring people away like that.
Ray turns back to the Bartender.
BARTENDER He left some junk in the cellar, if you want to go through it.
INT. THE LONELY ALBATROSS - BASEMENT -- NIGHT
The basement is filthy and cluttered. Ray is digging through an old sea chest in the corner. It seems to contain mostly clothing. Ray pulls out a shirt and wrinkles his nose. Re pitches the shirt to the floor. As he continues to go through stuff, Fraser runs his hands over a battered old trunk.
RAY What are you doing?
As Fraser runs his hands over the lining of the old sea chest.
FRASER Well, my uncle Tiberius had a very similar trunk he stored in the attic of my grandmother’s house. As a child, it fascinated me and eventually I discovered its secret.
He flicks a catch somewhere near the back of the trunk. A small compartment swings open at the side of the trunk. Fraser reaches in and pulls out a thin bar of gold with a serial number stamped prominently on its face. Ray stares at the bar.
A golden, hypnotizing light dances over their faces.
EXT. THE LONELY ALBATROSS -- NIGHT
It’s night and a fog has rolled in. Ray, Fraser and Dief leave the bar and head for their car.
RAY I told you: pirates.
FRASER Possibly.
RAY Possibly? He said treasure. He said chest. We found the chest. And this is treasure.
FRASER One bar?
RAY Where there’s one there’s a whole pile. That's how treasure works.
Fraser holds up his hand for silence. He and Fraser walk a few steps. There’s a distinct sound of footsteps accompanied by rhythmic cane taps behind them. Ray and Fraser stop. [something] Ray and Fraser exchange glances.
They walk on. The steps start again. Fraser looks at Ray. He moves his hand up and down. Ray nods. He and Fraser begin walking in place. Blind Lew slams into Ray’s back.
LEW Hey, whatta you doing? You could get somebody killed.
He lifts his white cane angrily. Fraser reaches up and grabs it gently.
FRASER Terribly sorry.
RAY Who the hell are you and why are you following us?
Lew lowers his cane.
LEW Name’s Lew.
FRASER Blind Lew?
LEW That’s right. And I got information on Billy if you’re wanting it.
RAY Whatta you got?
LEW Seventy bucks.
RAY Seventy bucks?
Lew holds his hand out.
LEW Get an old blind man a decent meal.
Ray scowls at him.
RAY Where you gonna get it, New York. (a beat) I'll give you twenty.
LEW Fifty. (a beat) It's deductible.
Ray looks at him for a moment, then pulls out some bills.
RAY This better be good.
Lew pulls out a yellowed newspaper clipping.
LEW It is.
He hands it to Fraser. Fraser looks it over quickly. There’s a picture of Billy with a headline.
RAY What is it?
FRASER According to this, Billy Butler drowned at sea over a year ago.
Ray stares at him in surprise.
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
INT. POLICE STATION - BULLPEN -- MORNING (DAY TWO)
Ray, Fraser, Dief and Francesca are at Francesca’s desk. She’s typing on the computer. Ray has the clipping in his hand.
FRANCESCA That Whaling Yankee as in Sperm?
Ray looks at her.
FRANCESCA (CONT’D) Sperm... whale. You know.
FRASER No, Francesca, that’s Wailing as in boo hoo hoo banshee.
Francesca nods and types something into the computer.
RAY I don’t believe this. A blind guy on a wharf’s got better information than we do.
FRANCESCA Says who?
Ray waves the clipping at her.
RAY Says this. Billy Butler sunk on the Wailing Yankee over a year ago.
FRASER Here lies the body of John Brown who was lost at sea and never found.
RAY What’s that supposed to mean?
FRANCESCA Means your guy drowned then he what? He swam, he crawled, he stabbed himself just so he could hang out with Mort?
RAY OK, so we got a bit of a mystery.
FRASER Indeed.
Francesca hits a few keys.
FRANCESCA Got it.
FRASER Excellent, Francesca.
FRANCESCA Thank you Fraser.
FRASER (reads) Wailing Yankee. Went down a little more than a year ago, all hands lost.
RAY And now we found one of them.
FRANCESCA Here’s the crew.
A number of small pictures fill the screen. Ray and Fraser look at them.
RAY There’s our friend Billy.
He points to a picture. Then he squints at the screen.
RAY (CONT’D) Wait a minute. Wait a minute. We just found two of them. This guy. I saw this guy at the bar.
FRASER (agrees) He slipped out just as we stepped in.
Ray points to one of the pictures.
RAY Make it bigger will you, Frannie?
Francesca hits a key and all the pictures suddenly enlarge, effectively blowing the picture Ray wants to see off the screen.
FRANCESCA Whoops.
RAY Come on, Frannie, no whoops. Don’t [something]
FRANCESCA Hey, no problem, Ray.
She looks up at Fraser. He gestures surreptitiously at a key. Francesca hits it and the right picture is suddenly centered on the screen.
FRANCESCA (CONT’D) You see.
RAY Yeah. (a beat) Learn fast. Fraser’s not going to be around to help much longer.
Francesca looks shocked. Ray is squinting to read the type under the picture.
RAY (CONT’D) Andy Calhoon. (a beat) Print that out will you, Frannie.
Francesca is staring at Fraser.
FRANCESCA You’re leaving, Fraz?
FRASER Well, I’ve been offered a transfer to Ottawa and...
FRANCESCA (quickly) Oh, that’s great, Fraser, just great.
She suddenly starts rubbing her eyes.
FRANCESCA (CONT’D) I got... something stuck in my eye.
FRASER Ah. Well, pulling the lower eyelid over the upper is very effective.
But Francesca is on her feet and heading away.
FRANCESCA I'll be okay..
And she’s gone. Fraser looks puzzled. Ray has bit the print button on the computer. The picture of Calhoon comes out of the printer. Ray grabs it.
RAY Let’S go.
He starts to head out of the bullpen. Fraser and Dief follow.
RAY (CONT’D) This guy’s the killer.
FRASER How do you know he’s the killer?
RAY Two dead guys show up in more or less the same place and one of them gets a knife in the guts and you think somebody else did it?
Fraser thinks about this a moment.
INT. POLICE STATION - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE BULLPEN -- DAY
Francesca is just coming out of the washroom, daubing her eyes with a wet paper towel. Ray and Fraser approach.
RAY Run this guy Calhoon for me, Frannie, and get me everything you can on the Wailing Yankee.
FRANCESCA (subdued) Okay, Ray.
Fraser slaps his forehead.
FRASER We almost forgot the other evidence.
Ray looks at him blankly for a moment.
RAY Oh... I was gonna hold on to that for a while.
FRASER Francesca can run the serial number.
Ray reluctantly takes the gold bar from his pocket.
RAY Yeah, but it feels kind of in my hand.
Fraser gives him a look. Ray hands the gold bar to Francesca.
FRASER Eyes all right now, Francesca?
FRANCESCA Perfect, Fraser.
Ray and Fraser hurry off. Francesca watches them go, teary eyed.
EXT. DOCK AREA --DAY
Ray’s got the picture of Andy and is showing it to some of the regulars on the docks. He’s getting a lot of negative head shakes. A short distance away. Fraser approaches a group of men watching a ship being loaded. We also notice a tough looking thug keeping an eye on Ray and Fraser throughout this scene.
FRASER Gentlemen.
They all look at him curiously. Dave pipes up.
DAVE What kind of outfit is that?
FRASER My name is Constable Benton Fraser, Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
FRED Oh, yeah? So what brings you here?
FRASER Well, I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father.
DAVE And what? You just stayed?
FRASER (nods) For a variety of reasons, attached as liaison with the Canadian Consulate.
FRED Interesting.
FRASER Indeed. I wonder if I could trouble you gentlemen to tell me about the ghost ship. They all look nervously out toward the water. Another of the men, Fred speaks up.
FRED Don’t pay to talk about ghosts. Those that do are bound to see them.
FRASER To see the Fitzgerald?
DAVE And those that see them are doomed to sleep on the bottom of the sea.
The men all move away. Ray approaches from behind Fraser.
RAY Canadian charm’s really working overtime today.
FRASER These men are afraid, Ray.
RAY Yeah. Nobody saw anything.
FRASER Perhaps he did.
He gestures to Blind Lew who’s moving slowly along the street.
RAY That a joke, Fraser? Because if it is, it’s not all that sensitive and you being a Mountie and all I...
ANGLE ON BLIND LEW
As Fraser approaches. He’s got the picture of Andy Calhoon in his hand. Ray and Dief are coming up behind him.
FRASER Sir, would you mind looking at this?
RAY He’s not blind?
LEW I'm as blind as a bat!
Ray looks at Lew, then raises his fist as if to strike him. Lew flinches away from him.
RAY [something]
LEW Okay. But I don’t see all that good.
RAY (aside to Fraser) How’d you know that?
FRASER (aside to Ray) Involuntary movement of the pupils.
RAY Right, yeah. I knew that. (shows picture) You know this guy?
Lew shakes his head. He seems scared.
RAY (CONT’D) Too bad, because you help us out, I don’t have to arrest you for impersonating a blind guy.
LEW Come on. I don’t hurt nobody.
RAY Yeah, it’s only fraud. What the hell, with a good lawyer you’ll get out in five or six years.
Lew looks at the picture again. He grimaces.
LEW I seen the guy around the Albatross.
FRASER Do you recall anything he said?
LEW (draws them closer) He was talking about the Fitzgerald. That he’d seen the ghost ship with his own eyes prowling the waters near 6 Fathom Shoal. It’s not the kind of talk you want to hear. And his name wasn’t Calhoon, by the way...
INT. THE LONELY ALBATROSS -- DAY
Close on the picture of Andy Calhoon.
BARFLY (V.O.)
He called himself Vic Hester.
We pull back to reveal Ray and Fraser in the bar. The picture is on the bar in front of the Barfly. Ray picks up the picture and shows it to everyone in the bar.
RAY Anybody else? Anybody else remember this guy. Name’s Andy Calhoon or Vic Hester.
There is a sullen silence in the bar. We notice the thug from the docks sitting at a table with three other guys.
RAY (CONT’D) That’s what I figured.
He takes out his card and pins it to the bar.
RAY (CONT’D) Anybody suddenly gets his memory back can call me.
He and Fraser turn and leave.
EXT. THE LONELY ALBATROSS -- DAY
Ray and Fraser come out of the bar. Ray’s cell phone rings and he pulls it out.
RAY Yeah. INT. POLICE STATION - BULLPEN -- DAY
Francesca is on the phone.
FRANCESCA Ray. That guy Andy you’re looking for has got a bigger rap sheet than your guy Billy.
She looks at the paper in her hand.
FRANCESCA (CONT’D) Assault, Attempted murder. Nasty stuff.
RAY (phone) Okay, Thanks, Frannie.
FRANCESCA Oh and I checked out some of the other guys on that Wailing Yankee. Everybody in it had a long sheet.
EXT. THE LONELY ALBATROSS -- DAY
RAY That’s queer. Who owns it?
They are watched by someone in the shadows.
EXT. GREAT LAKES SHIPPING -- DAY
To establish.
RAY (V.O.) What do you mean it’s not unusual?
INT. GREAT LAKES SHIPPING - OFFICE -- DAY
Ray, Fraser and Dief are in the office facing Gilbert Wallace, the owner of the company. He’s a slick looking guy in a perfectly cut three piece suit.
RAY That thing was the Con Air of boats.
WALLACE Look, we hire sailors. We don’t kill ourselves checking their morals.
FRASER Of the thirty person crew, twenty nine had serious criminal records.
RAY And the other one we haven’t been able to check up on yet.
FRASER That would seem to be a higher proportion of criminals than could be accounted for by the law of averages.
Wallace shrugs.
WALLACE You go to the union hall you get what you get.
RAY What can you tell us about Vic Hester?
WALLACE As I said before, nothing. I knew none of these men. Now, if you gentlemen don’t mind, it’s late and...
FRASER We understand. Thank you kindly for your help.
INT. GREAT LAKES SHIPPING - HALLWAY -- DAY
Ray walks along the hallway steaming.
RAY Don’t do that to me Fraser.
FRASER Do what, Ray?
RAY Cut things off like that. I was going on my gut and when your partner’s going on his gut you gotta ride with it, go with the flow.
FRASER So we’re partners again?
RAY On a need to temporary basis. I mean, the problem is we’re stale. Like bread or something. Maybe it is time to make a change.
FRASER So I imagine you’ll be taking that transfer then.
RAY And you’ll probably take yours.
They walk for a moment in silence, unable to continue.
FRASER He said he hired the crew from the union hall.
RAY Yeah, so...
FRASER Vic Hester may be looking for work.
INT. UNION HALL -- NIGHT (NIGHT TWO)
A bored looking clerk glances down at some papers.
CLERK Henry Allen.
RAY Henry Allen? Another alias.
FRASER I believe he’s referring to a ship.
CLERK Yeah. Sailing from Sault Ste. Marie at nine in the morning. Your guy’s on it.
Ray grabs the picture and heads out of the hall.
EXT. UNION HALL -- NIGHT
Ray and Fraser come out of the union hall and walk along the street toward Ray’s car. They haven’t gotten far when the thug steps out of an alley and swings at Fraser from behind with a boat hook. Fraser ducks and throws the thug over his shoulder. Ray starts to pull out his gun, but another thug slams into him knocking the gun from his hand.
THUG Let the Fitzgerald lie where she lies. Don’t go looking for the ghost ship.
RAY How’s this for advice?
He slugs the Thug. Ray and Fraser stand back to back as the thugs go after them with boat hooks and clubs. Fraser drops one with a kick to the stomach, Ray hits one with a powerful right to the jaw. After a short while, the thugs give up and race off into the night. Ray snatches up his gun, but they’re out of sight before he can do anything.
RAY (CONT’D) I think we’re on to something.
FRASER (nods) It would appear so.
RAY So what’s with this Fitzgerald?
FRASER On November 9, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald left Wisconsin carrying 26 thousand long tons of iron ore. She was 729 feet long, 75 feet wide and sailed by 29 brave men captained by Earnest McSorely. Little did they know they were sailing into a gale known as the Witch of November. By 1:00 a.m. on the morning of the 10th the winds were gusting to 60 miles an hour and the seas were running over 10 feet. The Captain decided to head for the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, by way of Whitefish Point. But to do so they would have to pass the 6 Fathom Shoal. At 3:10 McSorely radioed his sister ship, the Anderson, to report that he’d developed a list to starboard. By 4:00 the winds had climbed to 100 miles an hour. By 6:40 the seas were running at forty feet. At 7:10 McSorely radioed the Anderson to say the Fitzgerald was holding its own. That was the last anyone saw of her. Now she lies in two pieces -- bow upright, stern upside down -- on the bottom of Lake Superior.
Ray jumps up and heads toward his car, yanks open the passenger door and pulls out a crumpled road map.
RAY Sault Ste. Marie. Sault Ste. Marie...
Fraser points to the map.
RAY (CONT’D)
If we drive like hell, I mean, put the pedal right down, we could make it before she sails.
They stare at one another.
FRASER Are you saying we’re still partners?
RAY Look, Fraser, this could be our last case together.
FRASER As partners?
RAY We’re not partners. We’re ship pals.
FRASER Mates. Ship mates.
RAY Ship mates. Sorry.
Fraser gets in the car. Ray floors it.
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
EXT. SAULT DOCKS -- MORNING (DAY THREE)
A lengthy montage of things to do with the dockyards --stevedores loading cargo into ships; sailors exchanging a laugh; seagulls ever present; ships preparing to leave.
At some point in the middle of the montage we see Ray’s car pull up and park. Ray and Fraser get out and walk toward one ship in particular -- The Henry Allen. They look up the tall side of the ship toward the bridge.
INT. HENRY ALLEN -- BRIDGE -- DAY
We see the Captain, Ed ‘Iron Bottom’ Smithers, a big, greybearded bombastic seaman.
ED All ahead one third.
ANGLE ON THE SCREWS OF THE HENRY ALLEN
As they begin to churn the water.
BACK TO SCENE
There are a couple of blasts from an air horn, the last lines are cast away and the great ship begins to move from the docks. Smithers gestures for Ray and Fraser to follow him to his cabin.
ANGLE ON: THE GREAT SHIP STEAMING OUT TO OPEN WATER
INT. HENRY ALLEN - CAPTAIN’S CABIN -- DAY
Ray, Fraser and Ed.
ED Good to see you, Benton my boy. Stirs up the memories.
RAY Wait a minute. You know this guy?
FRASER (nods) Captain Smithers was a friend of my father’s. He taught me how to tie my first knot.
Ed picks up two pieces of rope from his desk and tosses them to Fraser. Fraser quickly whips up a complex looking knot. Ed examines it quickly.
ED The double cloven half hitch. Tie it in his tail and it’ll hold down the devil.
RAY Does everybody know everybody in Canada?
FRASER No, it only seems that way.
Ed looks thoughtful.
ED Old Bob Fraser....
Fraser Sr. is suddenly standing beside Fraser.
FRASER SR. Old? Who’s he calling old?
Fraser just shakes his head. Fraser Sr. moves over beside Ed for comparative purposes.
FRASER SR. (CONT’D) I’ve been dead for years and I look twice as good as he does.
ED We went back a long way, me and Bob. Saved his life in a bar fight in Skagway in ‘59.
FRASER SR. That’s a crock.
ED Bart Anderson got liquored up and went after him with a harpoon.
FRASER SR. It was a pocket knife.
ED Luckily I got between him and your dad.
FRASER SR. Sure he did. He was as goggle eyed as old Bart. I had to throw them both in the tank to sleep it off.
ED Those were the days. And now you’re telling me I got a murderer among my crew? Well, son, you show me the maggot and I'll toss him in the brig.
RAY You have a brig?
ED Well no...
FRASER SR. Man couldn’t tell the truth if his life depended on it.
And he’s gone.
ED But we’ll rig up something.
FRASER At the moment he’s only a suspect. Perhaps if we could arrange to observe him for a while...
Ed thinks for a moment.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
The engine room is huge, hot, filthy and very very noisy. Ray and Fraser, dressed as sailors are cleaning out the funnel, shoveling out heaps of filthy grit. Fraser is beaming as he works.
FRASER I have to admit at first I was a bit hesitant about this, Ray, but now that we’re out here away from the city doing good honest work...Well, there’s nothing like it is there?
Ray stops for a moment and wipes his sweaty brow, streaking his face with grease.
RAY Hell maybe?
Fraser just looks at him. Tom, Vic Hestor and Larry, another [something] working nearby.
The other three men stand watching them for a moment.
VIC Bad luck having strange crew on board.
RAY (quietly to Fraser) Is there anything that isn’t bad luck?
VIC Especially on the North Shore Route.
TOM Why’s that?
VIC Pass by 6 Fathom Shoal.
The third Sailor shudders involuntarily.
LARRY Eddie Walters saw her last week. He was on the Bailey Madison and the Fitzgerald cut across her bow. Dead men standing on the deck, crying for help.
VIC I saw her once myself. Came up on us in the night. Nothing showed on the radar and there she was. Never want to see her again.(a beat) I say we get the captain to take the South Route.
Tom laughs.
TOM I’d like to see you tell old Iron Bottom where to sail his ship. (a beat) He’d have your guts for garters in a second.
LARRY He’s got no call to be crossing us with no ghost ship.
Tom shrugs. They move off.
RAY This ghost ship thing. It’s got me kind of spooked.
FRASER No you’re not.
RAY Oh, right. I’m not.
INT. POLICE STATION - WELSH’S OFFICE -- NIGHT (NIGHT THREE)
Thatcher, Turnbull and Dief are facing Welsh.
WELSH Maybe they got caught up in a case, forgot to report in.
THATCHER Constable Fraser failed to fill out his daily 10989B report.
WELSH He didn’t fill out a report? Vecchio hasn’t filled out a report in three months. It’s not cause for general panic.
TURNBULL While there was breath in his body, Constable Fraser would never neglect his paperwork. Never.
Welsh and Thatcher look at Turnbull for a moment.
TURNBULL (CONT’D) No real Mountie would.
THATCHER Thank you, Constable.
WELSH So what do you propose we do, Inspector.
THATCHER I think we should mount a co-ordinated search effort. I’m offering the entire resources of the Consulate.
WELSH And those would be?
THATCHER (proudly) Constable Turnbull and I.
Diefenbaker barks.
THATCHER (CONT’D) And the wolf.
Welsh looks at them thoughtfully.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS - CREW MESS -- NIGHT
Ray, Fraser, Vic, Tom, Larry and a half dozen other crewmen are all sitting at the table. Fraser is eating heartily. Ray is looking at his food with mixed curiosity and distaste.
RAY How can you eat this, Fraser. I don’t even know what it is.
FRASER Good hearty food, Ray. Just the thing after a hard day’s work.
He shovels some more in. Ray looks over at Vic and the rest of the crew. Vic’s still telling ghost stories.
VIC She came out of the fog, draped in seaweed, a foul stench rolling across the water. Never in all my days have I seen anything to chill you to the bone like the sight of her...
Ray makes a gesture to Fraser. Fraser nods and Ray slips out of the mess. Fraser clears his throat...and launches into an enthusiastic rendition of ‘Barrett’s Privateers’ by Stan Rogers.
The crew stares at him without much enthusiasm but Fraser forges ahead bravely.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS -- NIGHT
Ray has picked the lock on Vic Hester's locker. He pulls out a two way radio and a small toolbox filled with sophisticated looking electronic equipment. Ray examines the equipment when he hears a noise in the corridor nearby. He throws everything back into the locker and manages to get the lock partially closed. He moves quickly away from the locker just as LARRY (Vic’s cohort) appears in the corridor. Larry eyes Ray curiously.
RAY I’m all confused down here. Which way to the, to the top, the front, the skull --
LARRY The head?
RAY That’s it, yeah, the head.
Larry looks at him suspiciously. He points. Ray nods a lame thank you and leaves. Larry looks at the lock.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS - CREW MESS - NIGHT
Fraser’s efforts have taken off and the crew is now in full voice with Barrett’s Privateers. Ray slides in next to Fraser and under the cover of the singing:
RAY He’s got all kinds of electronic gizmos, radios, lots of transistors and wires.
FRASER The ghost ship doesn’t show on radar.
Ray looks at him, puzzled.
RAY Is that like code, Fraser?
FRASER Could be, Ray. (a beat) I’d better speak to the captain.
RAY Okay. I'll keep an eye on our friend Vic.
Larry sits next to Vic and whispers something in his ear.
INT. POLICE STATION - BULLPEN -- NIGHT
Francesca is talking excitedly on the phone. Huey, Dewey and Turnbull are also on phones in the background.
FRANCESCA Yes. That’s really great. Thank you. Yes, if we find out anything.
She hangs up the phone, very excited. She jumps up and heads for Welsh’s office. Welsh and Thatcher are just coming out. Francesca is almost too excited to talk.
She has the gold bar in her hand.
FRANCESCA (CONT’D) That gold robbery. That big gold robbery.
THATCHER What gold robbery?
FRANCESCA The big one. (waving the gold bar) This is from there. And Ray had it, it’s from the pirate and so it must be why they disappeared so if we like trace it or something then...
WELSH Francesca!
Francesca stops talking.
THATCHER Take a deep breath.
Francesca nods, inhales deeply.
WELSH Now let it out slowly.
She exhales slowly.
TURNBULL And think of the colour blue.
Francesca nods.
WELSH What is it.
FRANCESCA
Okay. Fraser and Ray found this gold bar in the stuff of the dead pirate.
THATCHER Pirate?
WELSH The guy with the hook and the eyepatch. Billy Butler.
Thatcher nods.
FRANCESCA I called in the serial numbers and they just traced them. (a beat) This was part of that big shipment that got stolen from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank last year.
Welsh whistles. Huey, Dewey and Turnbull have crossed over to join them.
WELSH You’re kidding?
DEWEY That was huge. Like a hundred million in gold bullion.
HUEY One hundred million in gold bullion.
WELSH They were hardcore pros. Killed the six guards working the night shift.
THATCHER This is what Fraser and Ray are investigating?
WELSH Apparently.
TURNBULL And, not to be lost in the shuffle, we have an excellent lead. All we have to do is find the robbers and we’ll find Constable Fraser.
Everyone turns to look at him.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS -- NIGHT
Vic moves along a corridor and pauses outside a door labeled “Communications Room” He looks both ways along the corridor, then opens the door and goes inside. A moment later Ray appears in the corridor and heads for the room.
ANGLE ON RAY
As he edges his head around the door to get a look in the Communications Room. Suddenly, he’s hit from behind and drops to the deck. Larry is standing over him with a club. Vic comes out of the Communications Room.
They grab Ray by the shoulders and drag him toward the room.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - THE ROOM -- NIGHT
Vic and Larry drag Ray into the room. Vic takes out Ray’s handcuffs and handcuff s him to a steampipe. He pulls a roll of tape from his pocket and tapes Ray’s mouth shut.
They leave the room.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BRIDGE -- NIGHT
Fraser runs onto the bridge. Ed is there with a helmsman.
FRASER Captain.
Ed turns to Fraser.
ED Constable Fraser. (he glances at the helmsman) Thought you were undercover.
FRASER (also glances at the helmsman) I was.
ED Oh...sorry about that.
FRASER It doesn’t matter. I have reason to believe your radar may have been tampered with.
ED My radar?
He walks over to the radar display.
ED (CONT’D) Looks all right.
FRASER Nevertheless I think...
His eye is drawn to the video display that charts their position.
FRASER (CONT'D) I think...
He approaches the display, looking at it intently.
FRASER (CONT’D) Looks like the head of a dog...
He pulls the sketch of the map from his pocket.
FRASER (CONT’D) Can you manipulate that display?
ED Sure.
FRASER Can you move out somewhat further?
Ed fiddles with a knob and the map adjusts. Fraser holds up the sketch. It’s an exact match.
FRASER (CONT’D) That’s it.
ED You’re right! It does look like the head of a dog.
FRASER It’s also a motive for murder.
Suddenly there is a shout from the deck below.
VOICE Ship. Ship in the water. Dead ahead.
Ed looks at the radar display.
ED There’s nothing on the radar.
HELMSMAN She’s a ghost. It’s the Fitzgerald. The Fitzgerald!
ED Stop blithering, you idiot.
The helmsman shuts up, but he’s trembling as he clings to the wheel. Fraser and Ed head out to --
EXT HENRY ALLEN - TEXAS DECK -- NIGHT
Below them are cries of panic from the crew. Fraser and Ed stare out into the night. Ahead of them is The Edmund Fitzgerald, a lake freighter dripping seaweed and crewed by ghostly figures.
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
EXT. HENRY ALLEN - TEXAS DECK -- NIGHT
Fraser and Ed are still on the deck. The cries of terror from the crew are louder now as the Wailing Yankee drifts ever closer. The ship lurches slightly. Ed wheels toward the bridge.
ED Helmsman!
But the helmsman has fled. Ed dashes back toward the wheelhouse. Fraser follows.
ED (CONT’D) Lash down that wheel, Benton.
He tosses Fraser a rope.
ED (CONT’D) I'll deal with the crew.
He hurries off.
ED (CONT’D) (over his shoulder) Use a modified half clove hitch.
Fraser whips the rope over the wheel, hooks it through a cleat on the deck, then hesitates.
FRASER (to himself) Modified half clove hitch...
FRASER SR. You know, son. The rabbit comes out of the hole, runs around the tree, ducks back into the hole then comes back out and...Or is it the other way around.
Fraser looks at his father.
FRASER Thanks Dad.
He ties a quick something in the rope then moves back out to the Texas deck.
EXT. HENRY ALLEN - TEXAS DECK -- NIGHT
Fraser looks over at the Wailing Yankee. Fraser Sr. is right behind him. The ship is moving a bit away now.
FRASER SR. Those are the worst looking ghosts I've ever seen. What’s wrong with them?
FRASER Well, theoretically, they’re dead.
FRASER SR. I’m dead, I don’t look like that. Look at them. They’re pale. Look at me. I’m pink.
FRASER Maybe there’s something wrong with you, Dad. Ghosts are supposed to be pale.
Fraser Sr. contemplates this.
FRASER SR. I’m feeling all right. (a beat) I think.
He drifts off. There are angry shouts from behind him. Fraser runs toward the source of the noise.
EXT. HENRY ALLEN - BRIDGE -- NIGHT
Most of the crewmen, led by Vic and Larry, are on the bridge facing Ed, Tom and a couple of other loyal crewmen. Everyone has some kind of impromptu weapon - a wrench, a billy club or even a broom.
ED Off my bridge.
VIC All you got to do is head her south. Stay away from the Fitzgerald’s territory.
ED She’s my ship and I'll head her anywhere I damn well please you mutinous scab sided scum sucking son of a poxy sea witch.
LARRY Do what he says. We aren’t crossing no ghost ship.
There is a supporting murmur from the crewmen standing behind him.
ED I'll hang you all before I'll turn this ship.
VIC (to crew) You going to let him get us killed.
One of the crewmen standing behind Vic speaks up.
CREWMAN Come on Ed. What’s it hurt to turn the ship?
There‘s another murmur of assent from the crew.
Ed You go back to your stations now and do what I tell you you mutinous lumps of slub. I'll gut you like herring, I'll slit you like the whining miserable swine you are and..
VIC Get them.
He and Larry start forward. The night is suddenly split by a blinding flare. They all turn to see Fraser.
FRASER It’s not a ghost ship.
The crewmen hesitate, Vic and Larry, unsupported, stop.
VIC Don’t listen to him.
FRASER It’s the Wailing Yankee dressed to look like the Fitzgerald.
LARRY He’s crazy.
FRASER And the crew are not ghosts, they are criminals.
VIC Why didn’t it show up on radar?
HELMSMAN That’s right. It didn’t.
FRASER Because you tampered with the radar. You also murdered a man in Chicago, a man who was carrying a map that pinpointed a location about thirty miles east of here.
VIC I never murdered anybody.
Everybody is listening to Fraser now.
FRASER He killed him to prevent him from revealing that location -- a location so secret they’re using a phony ghost ship to scare everyone away.
ED (to crew) You going to side with this cowardly murdering scum?
HELMSMAN How do we know this guy’s telling the truth?
ED He's a Mountie.
There is a moment of shocked silence from the crew, then muttered “Why didn’t you say so. “He couldn’t be lying” etc. Larry and Vic try to run, but they are quickly grabbed and held by the crew.
ED (CONT’D) (to Fraser) What now?
FRASER Stay your course.
Ed turns to the crew.
ED All right you miserable sons of jellyfish. Let’s see how hard you can work. (he gestures to Vic and Larry) And tie up that garbage.
The crew grabs the two men and roughly binds their hands behind them. Ed heads up the deck toward the bridge. Fraser moves down to confront Larry and Vic.
FRASER Where’s Ray?
Larry and Vic don’t answer.
VIC Why should we tell you?
FRASER Because it would be the right thing to do.
Vic and Larry laugh. Fraser Sr. speaks in Fraser’s ear.
FRASER SR. Do like the Yank, son. Threaten them with force. Tell them you’ll kick them in the head or you’ll jump Bogart all over them or one of those other colourful expressions he’s so fond of.
FRASER They wouldn’t believe me.
FRASER SR. Can’t hurt to try.
Fraser hesitates a moment. Then he looks at Vic and Larry. They’re staring at him as if he were completely insane.
FRASER (quickly) I'll...probably hit you in the head if you don’t tell me where Ray is.
LARRY Really?
FRASER Yes. Well no, but...
Before he can embarrass himself further there’s a shout from The deck above.
ED Ghost ship dead ahead, Benton.
FRASER Stick to your course. There’s nothing they can do to you.
ED Right.
ANGLE ON THE EDMUND FITZGERALD
As it slides out of the darkness. The crew is working with something on the deck. They whip the cover off a very large gun bolted to the deck. They fire.
ANGLE ON FRASER
As he sees this.
FRASER Oh dear.
There’s a roar as the gun goes off.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS -- NIGHT
MOTAGE:
Crewmen run as water starts to flood in.
EXT. HENRY ALLEN - DECK -- NIGHT
MONTAGE CONTINUES:
As more crewman run about on the deck, heading for cover.
EXT. HENRY ALLEN - BRIDGE -- NIGHT
There are shouts of panic from the crew. There’s a huge rumbling explosion from beneath Fraser’s feet.
ED Abandon ship.
EXT. HENRY ALLEN - DECK -- LATER
The last life boat is loaded. Vic and Larry are in the bow, their hands still bound behind them. Ed moves up beside Fraser.
ED By rights I should be the last off.
FRASER I can’t leave.
ED It’s a big ship. You may not find him.
FRASER I have to try. He’s my partner.
Ed nods. He points to a lifeboat still on the deck.
ED Use that boat when you find him.
He sticks out his hand.
ED (CONT’D) Well, good luck to you Benton.
He climbs aboard the lifeboat. It’s quickly lowered over the side. Fraser watches for a moment.
FRASER SR. Glad to see the back of him.
There’s another explosion from below.
FRASER SR. (CONT’D) We could be in trouble here, son.
Fraser just looks at him. Fraser Sr. vanishes
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS -- NIGHT
Fraser moves along the corridor near the Communications Room. He’s sticking his head in all the rooms that open off the corridor. He opens the one that holds Ray and goes in.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - ROOM -- NIGHT
Fraser kneels beside Ray. Ray’s conscious and struggling to talk through the tape.
FRASER I'll have to remove the tape, Ray.
Ray shakes his head.
FRASER (CONT’D) It’s easier if I do it fast.
Ray shakes his head more violently.
FRASER (CONT’D) You want me to do it slowly?
Ray looks at Fraser again. He shakes his head, resigned. Fraser rips the tape off quickly. Ray screams.
RAY I'll kill ‘em. Where are they, I'll kill them.
Me tries to struggle to his feet, but the handcuffs hold him down.
FRASER They’re on a lifeboat.
RAY A lifeboat.
FRASER Well, yes. The ship is sinking.
RAY The ship is sinking?
There is yet another explosion.
RAY (CONT’D) The ship is sinking!
Ray starts wildly trying to search his pockets as water floods into the room.
RAY (CONT'D) Uh.. Fraser.
FRASER Yes, Ray.
RAY I can’t find the key to the cuffs. Fraser looks at him for a moment.
FRASER Oh dear.
END OF ACT FOUR
TAG
EXT. ON THE WATER -- NIGHT
The Henry Allen is slowly sinking.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS -- NIGHT
The water is much higher in the room now. Ray’s head is just above it. Fraser and Ray are bath frantically searching Ray’s pockets for the handcuff key.
RAY Left jacket pocket. I remember now, I put it in the left jacket pocket.
Fraser quickly reaches in the pocket and pulls out a ring of keys.
RAY (CONT’D) No. That’s the keys to my old car.
FRASER You carry the keys to your old car?
RAY Yeah, well... Right jacket pocket.
Fraser sticks his hand in the other jacket pocket and comes out with some more keys. He shows them to Ray one at a time.
RAY (CONT’D) Apartment. Old apartment. Locker, I don’t know, I don’t know. (a beat) Not there.
FRASER You really need to keep your things more organized, Ray.
Ray’s mouth is starting to slip beneath the water.
RAY This is the wrong time for neatness, Fraser.
FRASER There’s no wrong time for neatness, Ray.
Ray’s sputtering now, spitting water.
RAY The guy... Vic. He.... He must have got my key.
FRASER That seems a likely possibility.
Ray looks down at the rising water.
RAY So...We got a plan, right.
FRASER I could pick the lock.
RAY Pick the lock. That’s good Fraser. That’s very good.
FRASER It will however, take some time.
RAY Not so good...
Fraser is looking around the room. He spots a scrub bucket in the corner, picks it up and crosses to Ray. Ray looks at the bucket in surprise.
Fraser quickly inverts the bucket over Ray’s head and ties it down to his belt.
FRASER That should help.
ANGLE ON RAY’S HEAD IN THE BUBBLE OF AIR IN THE BUCKET
He looks a little scared.
RAY Thanks. (a beat) I guess.
EXT. ON THE WATER -- NIGHT
The Henry Allen is further down now.
INT. HENRY ALLEN - BELOW DECKS -- NIGHT
Ray’s bucket is almost entirely under water now. Fraser is trying to pick the handcuffs with a bent wire. Ray is flailing around with his hands making it an impossible job.
FRASER Ray!
RAY (through bucket) Mnnnnffff.
FRASER Ray!
RAY Frmmmr..
Fraser raps sharply on the bucket.
FRASER Ray!
ANGLE ON RAY’S HEAD IN THE BUBBLE OF AIR IN THE BUCKET
RAY (shouting) Fraser!!!
BACK TO SCENE
Fraser has his ear to the bucket. He still can’t hear. He takes a deep breath and ducks below the water, and comes up with his head in the bucket beside Ray’s.
ANGLE ON RAY AND FRASER'S HEADS IN TEE BUBBLE OF AIR IN THE BUCKET
They’re nose to nose.
RAY (CONT'D) Fraser!
His voice echoes in the bucket. Fraser winces.
RAY (CONT'D) (loudly) Fraser, you got to..
Fraser winces again. He puts his hand over Ray’s mouth.
FRASER Easy, Ray. The echo is really quite disturbing. (a beat) You have to stop moving. It’s difficult to pick a stationary lock, impossible to pick a moving one.
Ray starts to speak, it’s muffled by Fraser’s hand.
FRASER (CONT’D) Sorry, Ray.
He pulls his hand away.
RAY Get my gun.
FRASER You want me to shoot off the handcuffs?
RAY Yeah. Sometime this week if you don’t mind.
FRASER I’m only licensed to use firearms in Canada. Mind you, we might have drifted across the 49th parallel.
RAY Fraser!
FRASER Understood.
He ducks back under the water.
BACK TO SCENE
Fraser surfaces, takes Ray’s gun out of his holster, then ducks below the water again.
ANGLE ON RAY AND FRASER’S HEADS IN THE BUBBLE OF AIR IN THE BUCKET
Nose to nose again.
FRASER (CONT’D) Ready, Ray.
RAY Ready.
Fraser pulls the trigger. Nothing happens.
FRASER
I was afraid of that, there’s a twenty percent chance of a misfire with wet ammunition.
RAY Rack it, Fraser.
Fraser snaps back the slide on the pistol and tires again. This time it fires, severing the chain that holds the two handcuffs together.
BACK TO SCENE
As Ray flounders around and finds his feet, the bucket still on his head. Fraser pops up beside him as he finally manages to fling the bucket away.
RAY (CONT’D) This is why we’re getting stale. Communication. We’re not doing it.
FRASER I thought we did rather well considering you were underwater with a bucket over your head.
RAY Yeah, well... It should be like an instinct. Like breathing.
He looks around the compartment and spots some stairs. They head up them to a watertight door.
Ray yanks it open. They’re greeted with a huge flood of water that knocks them off their feet and back into the room.
EXT. ON THE WATER -- NIGHT
The ship has gone down even further.
“To be continued” is supered over the sinking ship.
END OF SHOW
For part 2 of The Boat Show