DISCLAIMER: The Sentinel and its characters are the property of Paramount Studios and Pet Fly Productions. These stories are offered for the enjoyment of the fans. No money has exchanged hands.
Pacific Spirit by Ryf Van Rij and Lois Balzer
.
Ellison's eyes open suddenly.
ZOOM IN on Ellison's ear as he hears the following:
13. INT. BLACKSTONE'S HOME -- BACK BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
14. EXT. OCEAN VIEW FROM BLACKSTONE'S HOME - CONTINUOUS
Ellison sits up and listens again but hears nothing.
16. EXT. TRANSFORMER ROCK - MORNING
17. EXT. CASCADE AIRPORT - HANGAR - MORNING
18. INT. CESSNA PLANE - MORNING
19. EXT. CASCADE P.D. - MORNING -- ESTABLISHING SHOT
20. INT. BANK'S OFFICE - MORNING
Act II
FADE IN:
11. INT. BLACKSTONE'S HOME -- BACK BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT
Room has two twin beds with a small nightstand between them. A CLOCK
on the
nightstand shows the time as 1:45 a.m. There is enough light to see
that the furniture
is simple; this is obviously a spare room. Ellison is sleeping on his
side, his back to
Sandburg on the other bed, who is listening to the storm.
Sandburg thinks he hears something outside and leans over to poke Ellison.
Hey, Jim? You awake?SANDBURG
No. Go to sleep.ELLISON
(groans)
Can you hear that sound?SANDBURG
What sound?ELLISON
There's a funny noise outside.SANDBURG
Ellison lifts his head to listen and THUNDER roars.
Go to sleep.ELLISON
(wincing)
It's a few minutes later. Ellison is sleeping, same position. Sandburg
is still listening.
Every little noise sets him off. There's enough light to see a CARVING
on the wall
of a Haida wolf and this holds his attention for a moment, before he
thinks he hears
something else. He's straining to listen to something, just beyond
his hearing.
Jim?SANDBURG
(leans over to poke Ellison again)
Go to sleep!ELLISON
You sure you can't hear anything?
SANDBURG
Go. To. Sleep.ELLISON
(becoming irritated)
Some time later. Sandburg is peacefully sleeping. Now it's Ellison
who can't get to
sleep and he glares at Sandburg. He turns over and punches his pillow,
then tries
to sleep again.
We'll have a courier at the airport hangar at
MALE VOICE (V.O.)
9:45. A trial run. If everything goes smoothly,
I say we make a proper drop the same afternoon
before they have second thoughts. Over.
So, you trust these guys? My plane will be ready
SECOND MALE VOICE (V.O.)
(over radio)
by tomorrow afternoon. Over.
We'll give them a try. We're pulling out after this,
MALE VOICE (V.O.)
so I need you anyway. Just arrange for the courier
to be at the airport instead of the harbor --
THUNDER roars and Ellison loses his concentration. He gets out of bed
and goes to
the door of the bedroom.
12. INT. BLACKSTONE'S HOME, MAIN ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Pan across living area. The lights are out. Rafe is asleep on the couch.
Ellison closes the door and goes over to the window.
Vista of ocean, waves crashing on the rocks. No one in sight. Storm
still there.
15. INT. BLACKSTONE'S HOME -- BACK BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
Ellison scratches his head but doesn't really have any options, so
he goes back to bed.
Can't sleep though, and stares at the ceiling, thinking about what
he's heard.
He stares at the Wolf mask. Then closes his eyes.
Sentinel...THIRD MALE VOICE (V.O.)
(barely heard over the wind)
Ellison opens his eyes and looks around. The voice is that of an old
man calling him.
He listens, shakes his head, then settles back down to sleep. Thunder
crashes.
Sentinel!THIRD MALE VOICE (CONT'D)
(still barely heard)
Wolf mask is lit up by the lightning.
CUT TO:
Ellison and Sandburg are climbing up the side of a short hill toward
a large rock. It's
very early in the morning, probably just after dawn. The rain has stopped.
Sandburg
looks over his shoulder, down the hill, as though checking to make
sure they won't be
overheard. The conversation, in progress, continues.
So that's it? That's all you heard? Who
SANDBURG
do you think it was?
Foley and another man on the telephone,
ELLISON
probably the other pilot he mentioned.
They arrive at the rock and Sandburg circles it, excited by something
or other.
Rafe said Foley was waiting by the Cessna
ELLISON (CONT'D)
when he got up and had already loaded two
boxes in the plane for him to deliver to someone
at Cascade airport. Paid him cash.
So what's in the boxes?
SANDBURG
(stops again)
Not drugs. Not unless they were wrapped so
ELLISON
well that I couldn't smell them.
Weapons? Computer chips? Artifacts?
SANDBURG
No idea. Maybe they're just empty boxes.
ELLISON
(shrugs)
They said it was a trial run.
Ellison turns finally to stare at the rock in front of him.
Empty boxes? Why would they pay us a grand
SANDBURG
to transport nothing?
Maybe they just want to check us out.
ELLISON
Ellison shrugs, then moves a foot or two and closes his eyes.
So why did you drag me up here?
ELLISON (CONT'D)
Now, I know we don't have much time,
SANDBURG
(excited again)
but put your hands on this rock.
Why?
ELLISON
Jim, this is what is called a 'transformer rock'.
SANDBURG
There's quite a few of them up and down the coast.
This rock in particular has been studied. Local
legend says that two tribal chiefs were turned into
stone for refusing to help another tribe. I've read
that people who have heightened senses feel vibes,
feel energy, from these rocks, so I figured you should
try it and see if you sense anything. Put your hands
on it.
So what am I supposed to feel?
ELLISON
(reluctantly puts his hands on the rock)
Anything?
SANDBURG
(staring at him expectantly)
Ellison suddenly opens his eyes as he's aware of someone else there. TWO
AMERICAN
Anything?
SANDBURG (CONT'D)
(anxiously)
INDIAN MEN step out from behind the rock. Thomas Williams, a solemn
man in his late
50's, addresses Ellison.
The other man, Daniel Peters, is older yet, in his 70's or 80's. The shaman
is leaning on
You have come.
T. WILLIAMS
Thomas Williams arm, yet stands proudly. He inclines his head to Ellison.
Sentinel.PETERS
Pan from Ellison's cold look to Sandburg's open-mouthed stunned surprise.
They say nothing.
We need your help.T. WILLIAMS
They are interrupted by Bruce Foley appearing over the edge of the
hill.
Ellison turns and looks. The two native men have disappeared. Sandburg
meets his
The plane's ready to leave. I need those
FOLEY
boxes delivered.
We'll be right there. Give us five minutes--
ELLISON
Uh, Jim...
SANDBURG
(interrupting)
eyes and shrugs, not willing to speak in front of Foley.
DISSOLVE TO:
As the plane approaches the front of the hangar, there is a courier
car waiting with a young driver in uniform leaning up against it.
Plane is taxiing toward hangar area.
Looks like the delivery boy is here.
ELLISON
So how do we play this?
RAFE
Just give him the boxes.ELLISON
Rafe glances over to Ellison, then to Sandburg.
Without checking them?
RAFE
I suspect these boxes are empty. And we
ELLISON
need time to set up a sting to get the entire
operation.
Besides, that's an ordinary courier waiting for
SANDBURG
it. If this was an important delivery, you'd think
they'd have more muscle around.
Rafe obviously doesn't like the idea of not checking the boxes, but
goes along with Ellison.
BANKS is at his desk, Ellison is sitting on edge of conference table,
cradling a mug of
coffee.
Ellison looks distracted. Banks studies him for a moment, guessing what
has the
That was Rafe. The sting is set up. He's
BANKS
(hanging up the phone)
arranged covers for you both as insurance
salesmen at a new local firm. He's with
Brown at the airport.
(a beat)
Where's Sandburg?
He'll be here in a minute. He's just checking
ELLISON
on something.
other man's attention.
Ellison doesn't want to talk about it any more so changes the subject.
He hands Banks
You haven't said much about the two older
BANKS
men you encountered. Any I.D. on them?
Thomas Williams is the hereditary chief of the
ELLISON
(nods)
village. John Williams, the guy that Rafe knew,
is his son. The other man is Daniel Peters.
And he's what? A medicine man?
BANKS
Sandburg said he was a shaman or something
ELLISON
like that.
And someone is intimidating them?
BANKS
That's just it. I don't know. We had no time to talk.
ELLISON
They were standing in front of me one minute, then
I turned, they were gone. But there was something
else, too -- They referred to me as 'sentinel'.
How did they know about that?
BANKS
(surprised)
I have no idea. It's got Sandburg all excited though.
ELLISON
the file he's carrying.
As for the others, Bruce Foley is a redneck from
ELLISON (CONT'D)
Alabama who's a known arms dealer servicing
mostly militia groups. We pulled part of his file from
the FBI and I spoke with a friend in the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who said they have
been after this guy for a while.
What's he doing on the reserve? He's not Native
BANKS
Indian.
That brings me to George Blackstone.
ELLISON
(puts a second file in Bank's hands)
Blackstone is from one of the New Mexico Indian
Bands, and has a degree in History and a teaching
certificate from the University of Southern California.
He taught at a reserve school in California until he
was accused of murdering one of the townspeople.
Charges were dropped for lack of evidence and he
moved to Northern California where the same thing
happened again.
Charges dropped once more for lack of evidence.
BANKS
(going through file)(looks up at Ellison)
So what's he doing at the Pacific Spirit Reserve?
He's not a member of the local band.
Ellison starts to answer, but Sandburg breezes into the office and
scoops up Ellison's
mug of coffee resting on the long conference table.
Sandburtg leaves, muttering to himself.
Did you find out about Blackstone?
ELLISON
Yeah. Remember all those artifacts? A few were
SANDBURG
(takes a sip then talks quickly)
genuine, but I'm pretty sure some were fakes --
good fakes, but fakes -- and if Blackstone had
them on display, I bet he didn't know. He was
probably just in it for the money. Anyway, I spoke
with a few people who had heard of him and they
said he exported native artifacts to collectors overseas.
No record of anything in the last year and a half, so
their speculation was that he had found a new interest.
That would be when he hooked up with Foley.
ELLISON
So what do you think they're doing at the reserve?
BANKS
(closing file and looking at Ellison)
Smuggling goods in from Canada on the reserve
ELLISON
fishing boats, bypassing the authorities.
How?
BANKS
Many native people on reserves along the border
SANDBURG
are granted dual citizenship, based on their ancestral
history. There are recognized traditional fishing
waters for the different tribes, and while the fishing
boats are monitored, there is a certain amount of
freedom given these particular fishermen to pass from
one country's waters to the other. It's conceivable
that a few illegal shipments could slip by unnoticed.
So... Foley is bringing the goods into the U.S., taking
BANKS
them to the reserve, then flying them into Cascade,
and from there shipping them to his buyers.
That's what we're working with right now. The initial
ELLISON
delivery was a dummy run just to see if we would go
through with it. I say we set it up to get whoever is
buying this stuff here in Cascade.
How many men will you need?
BANKS
(nods, considering)
Brown's at the airport already. Say two or three to
ELLISON
tail the transport vehicle once the goods have been
picked up.
What time is this set for?
BANKS
We got the call to return to Pacific Spirit Reserve
ELLISON
(glances to watch)
by 1:00 p.m. That gives us at least an hour and a
half before we need to leave Cascade airport.
Jim, any chance I'll have time to talk to Daniel
SANDBURG
Peters? Even a few minutes?
We'll go back another time, Chief. Not in the
ELLISON
middle of an assignment.
The man's a real shaman, Jim. Maybe there's
SANDBURG
(excited)
something he can tell me. This kind of opportunity
doesn't present itself often. I mean, there's hundreds
of wannabe shamans out there, new age gurus into
crystals and mumble-jumble, but that old man is the
real thing. And he knew you were a sentinel, too.
(before he can be turned down)
What's a few minutes when we get there? Just to set
something up for later? I already told them I had taken
some anthropology classes.
I don't know, Chief. I suspect we're going to be on a
ELLISON
tight schedule. Go there, pick up the cargo and come
back.
Come on, Jim. Just for five or ten minutes. -- Besides,
SANDBURG
he seemed to want to say something to you before,
didn't he? What if there's a problem and he needs your
help?
We'll play it by ear. Don't count on it, though.
ELLISON
(shrugs)
Great! I'll go put some notes together.
SANDBURG
(as though he's won his case)
I'd suggest you leave him here, but I suppose
BANKS
that's out of the question.
He knows a lot about the local customs and
ELLISON
(shrugs)
American Indian traditions. I might need his
help on this one. I'm not sure what the chief
and the old man wanted, but they left as soon
as Foley showed up. I'll just make sure he stays
close by. How much trouble could he get into
just interviewing an old man?
(starts to get up, then pauses)
Don't answer that.
FADE OUT:
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