diff --git "a/unformated_scripts/Script_Constantine.txt" "b/unformated_scripts/Script_Constantine.txt" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/unformated_scripts/Script_Constantine.txt" @@ -0,0 +1 @@ + CONSTANTINE by Kevin Brodbin based on the characters appearing inmagazines published by DC Comics, Inc. previous revisions by Mark Bomback current revisions by Frank Cappello EARLY PRODUCTION DRAFT November 14, 2002FADE IN:EXT. ISTANBUL - DUSKGlimpses of an ancient city. Almost motionless againstthe tide of time.Sea swelled along an endless wall. Billowing silk frozenagainst the sky. Birds lighting on Byzantine columns.FINAL IMAGE is of an imposing STRUCTURE beyond the trees.INT. PRISON FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANECorridor of ancient stone and steel extends into infinitedarkness. Stale air hangs in the dim half-light likeatomized ether.There is WHISPERING. And tangled VOICES.DRIFT IN PAST prison cells the size of closets. Briefflashes of carved faces, insanity -- COMING TO REST ON the --FINAL CELLA gaunt PRISONER kneels on the granite, head bowed to awall hung tapestry of Christ. But he's not just praying.He's digging. With his arm under the tapestry, hescratches at the stone with a SPOON. After only a year,the spoon finally breaks through.INT. NARROW CHANNELPrisoner claws his way between ancient walls, comes to adead end against a thick wooden door. He nudges ashoulder against it, digs in and pushes. DOOR GROANSopen, sucking air into the pitch black CHAMBER.INT. PRISONER'S CELLThe tapestry covering the HOLE is pulled against thewall, then billows outward like a sail.INT. CHAMBER - PRISONERpulls himself inside, chokes in the heavy air. He scansthe musty room. Antique furniture. A few empty crates.And the remains of several deteriorating skeletons. (CONTINUED) 2.CONTINUED:He looks to the far wall, sees a hint of light abovethrough the crumbling limestone. A way out. Too high toreach, Prisoner pulls an old CHEST out of a cobwebbedcorner and slides it under the light.He steps up onto the chest, grabs the edges of the holeand starts to shove off when the top of the chest givesway and his foot crunches through.Prisoner reaches down to free his foot when he seessomething inside -- wrapped in a red cloth. He pulls itout and as he unwraps it, he discovers the cloth is aNazi flag.At the center is a crudely-shaped IRON RELIC. Eight incheslong. Stains on the edges. Could be the petrified tooth ofsome prehistoric animal. Or maybe an ancient arrowhead.As he holds it, feverish sweat starts to form on his face.MYSTERIOUS POVFrom BEHIND. As if he's being watched by someone else.Prisoner spins, looks back AT us. Nothing.PRISONERstarts toward the way out.INT. PRISONER CORRIDORThe Guard's flashlight beam probes the cell -- one by one-- falls on the tapestry. Christ billows out from thewall, revealing the hole.INT. PRISON - VARIOUS SHOTSALARMS SOUND. Lights BLAST ON. Guards with weapons rushthrough.INT. NARROW CHANNELPrisoner squeezes toward light, grips the relic tight.EXT. PRISON - NIGHTSIRENS BLARE as SPOTLIGHTS sweep across the ominousstructure. Prisoner breaks from the darkness, runs forthe trees on the other side of the wall. (CONTINUED) 3.CONTINUED: GUARDS (in Turkish) Stop! Stop!Prisoner spins, griping the relic tight. GUNSHOTS RINGOUT. Bullets streak toward him but never hit theirtarget. Guards check their weapons on the run.EXT. NEAR A ROAD - NIGHTPrisoner breaks from the trees, runs into a road.Headlights wash over him and TIRES SCREECH. Prisonerspins, is right in the path of a car.BRAKES SQUEAL -- car locks up but too late -- IMPACTSPrisoner who is violently thrown and lands in a heap.CAR slides to a stop. DRIVER jumps out, sees the frontend sheet metal has accordioned all the way to the tires.He scans the area for a body, spots the Prisoner and isstunned to see him getting to his feet. Uninjured.Prisoner is just as amazed. He glances at the RELIC inhis hand, notes the wrist has reddened and an odd SYMBOLhas appeared as if embossed in the flesh.Driver calls out but the Prisoner is spooked, runs off.OVER this we hear -- A CHILD'S SCREAM.INT. APARTMENT - DAYFATHER HENNESSEY (50), stands over a young teen (13),JEANIE, splashes holy water on her body. She screamsagain. HENNESSEY Et separatur a plasmate tuo, Ut num quam laedatur amorsu antiqui serpentes!Her body convulses, pulls against the bandages tying herhands and feet to the bed frame. Notice her fingernails.Drained of color. Almost black.Her MOTHER is off to one side, completely hysterical.On the other side is a crowd of bewildered TENANTS, allcrammed into the hallway outside the opened door. (CONTINUED) 4.CONTINUED:Nothing can compare with an exorcism. Especially onethat's gone bad.The rather obese Priest tries to steady his hands and hisheart. It's obvious he's totally out of his league here.GIRL lets out another SCREAM that ECHOES OVER --EXT. AGING APARTMENT BUILDINGNot in a third world country but smack center in one ofAmerica's richest cities. Sparkling high-rises tower inthe distance while flashy billboards tout the sexiestfashions, the hottest automobiles and the smoothest maltliquor.SUPERIMPOSE: LOS ANGELES - TODAYEXT. ALLEY BY THE APARTMENTA faded yellow taxi PULLS UP and stops. Someone stepsout, grinds a cigarette butt into the asphalt.INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - FOYERDoors open, flood the musty darkness with a brief reliefof sunlight. A MAN -- whose face we don't see -- stepsinside, his trench coat hanging like the folded wings ofa raven.He pauses, pulls an ORNATE LIGHTER and lights acigarette. Takes a puff and pushes on inside.INT. NARROW STAIRCASE HALL WALLLined with tenants trying to get a glimpse of theunexplainable.The Stranger pushes through. Suspicious faces step outof his path. The ones that don't he pushes aside -- eventhe gangbangers.The man has no patience for politeness, no time for tact,no fear of anything.This man is JOHN CONSTANTINE.He arrives at his destination, barges into -- 5.INT. APARTMENT 7BOne scan of the situation is all it takes. The bed --the child -- the panicked priest -- who rushes to John. HENNESSEY (whispering) Thank God you're here...John shoots him a disgusted look. Hennessey gives him awide berth.John walks past the panic-stricken MOTHER without aglance, sets his cigarette on the nightstand, the glowingtip drooped over the edge. He puts a gloved hand to thechild's face and it burns on contact. His demeanorinstantly changes as he leans right next to the ear ofthe little girl and whispers -- JOHN This is Constantine. John Constantine, asshole.The girl JOLTS, bandages on her arms cut into her skin.Eyes snap open -- glare right through him. JOHN How ya doing? JEANIE Vamos juntos a matarla.John whips out a key chain crammed with medallions. JOHN Let's see who we got here...He holds them up so they cast shadows across Jeanie'sface. He flips through each of these sculptured SAINTSuntil the child suddenly reacts to one -- tries to lookaway.John stares at the Saint responsible, seems genuinelypuzzled. He turns to the Mother -- very serious. JOHN I need a mirror. Now.Shaken, the Mother produces a small compact. John pushesit away, turns to the doorway crowd. JOHN A large mirror. At least -- (sizes up the child) -- three feet high. (CONTINUED) 6.CONTINUED:The hallway crowd discusses possibilities. JOHN MOVE.Tenants run to retrieve a mirror. Hennessey looksworried.John grabs the bed -- shoves Hennessey aside as he swingsthe bed around, legs gouging hardwood all the way. Facesit toward the window.INTERCUT - APARTMENT 5G BELOWSeveral of the MEN from the hallway crowd storm throughan OLD WOMAN'S stuffy apartment, locate a huge iron-framed mirror and rip it and half the plaster from thewall.JOHNcenters on a drapery ROPE, pulls hard. Drapery HOOKSEXPLODE off the curtain rod as he swings open the window,looks down into the alley where that yellow taxi isparked. JOHN Chaz?CHAZ (20s) looks up from his cab. Cool. Frustrated.You just know he'd love to be up there, not down here. JOHN Move the car. CHAZ Why? JOHN MOVE THE DAMN CAR.John frees the drapery rope, ducks back into the room. CHAZ Park the car -- Move the car...Chaz shifts into reverse, moves the car three feet. CHAZ There, I moved the damn car. 7.INT. HALLWAYFour men struggle to carry up that enormous mirror. TheOld Woman follows, begs them to be gentle. They swingthe mirror around, take out a chunk of banister. Shefreaks.INT. APARTMENT 7BHennessey can only watch as John threads the drapery ropethrough the fire escape railing, drapes it back throughthe window and loops it over the ceiling fan.He climbs onto the bed, leans over the child whose eyeshave closed and she's shaking badly. Her body seems tobe going into shock. Isn't strong enough for this.John has no choice -- slaps her. Eyes pop back open.Dark and dilated. He yells down at her in Aramaic andEnglish. JOHN Amar natash bow basar! -- Rescind from the flesh I command thee --The girl chokes as if ready to spit. JOHN That's it -- time to go home.Jeanie SCREAMS -- JEANIE Tiempo para morir!Her body suddenly PULSES half again larger. John recoilsfor a beat. Odd. He continues in Aramaic -- JOHN Amar natash bow basar --Another PULSE and this time a SHAPE is clearly seenexpanding under the child's skin -- as if the demoninside were trying to burst right through.John backs off -- watches as the shape ripples her flesh,like fingers caressing from the other side. John glancesto Hennessey. What the hell?MIRROR arrives at the doorway, BANGS against the JAM.John waves them in. The four men heft it into the room. JOHN Lift it. Over the bed. Up. (CONTINUED) 8.CONTINUED:John ducks, settles on the girl as they raise it overhim. JOHN Hennessey, tie it off --Hennessey is glad to be called into service -- quicklyties one end of rope to the mirror. John straddles thegirl, positions his head between her and the mirror abovehim. JOHN Now close your eyes -- all of you -- and whatever happens -- do not look into the mirror.The men close their eyes. Muscles tense under theweight. JOHN Amar natash bow basar! -- rescind from the flesh I command thee!Jeanie reacts -- that SHAPE reappears, contorts the youngbody all out of proportion.John unblocks the mirror for a second and Jeanie isreflected inside. It's not just the image of a younggirl in there, but something else. The surface of themirror FLEXES in the hands of the men. One starts tolook -- JOHN No!Jeanie SCREAMS -- breaks free of the straps. She risesup, grabs John tight around the throat. Nails dig deep. HENNESSEY John?! JOHN (looking into mirror) Not yet!John struggles, puts his hands over her mouth -- cuttingoff her air supply. Question is, who's going to pass outfirst?Jeanie's body is racked by whatever's inside her. Shegoes into shock, body collapsing -- shaking -- close todeath. (CONTINUED) 9.CONTINUED: JOHN Look! Look at me!But she's passing out first. John quickly takes themedallion that caused the earlier reaction -- JOHN Goddamit -- look!-- and presses it against her forehead. Eyes snap wideand John unblocks the mirror. Jeanie locks on herreflection and the image in the mirror changesdrastically. JOHN Smile pretty you vain prick.The child's reflection has now changed to a pissed offDEMON. One that knows it just got suckered in.MIRROR VIBRATES wildly in the men's grip. Demonreflection ripples the glass -- bending it outward intothree-D space as the girl takes her last breaths -- JOHN Now, Hennessey. Now!Hennessey PULLS the rope with all three-hundred-pluspounds as John gives the demon face a full extendedFINGER. JOHN For your boss.Demon pushes for him but mirror is jerked into motion.Swings right out the window but catches on a sliver ofwood -- JOHN No you don't.John jumps up and helps push the mirror free.EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HUGE MIRRORFalls SLOW MOTION from the 7th story -- tumbling end overend, sunlight beams glancing off the glass, PROJECTINGthe image of the Demon into the LA cityscape. ONTObuildings, sidewalks, a passing truck -- until all threehundred pounds of IRON AND GLASS come CRASHING down ONthe taxi's hood. (CONTINUED) 10.CONTINUED: CHAZ SHIT!Demon's image SHATTERS on impact -- GLASS SPLINTERINGinto a million diamond-like fragments that choke the air.The GROAN of something evil reverberates into the citybeyond.Chaz looks up, sees he missed dying by three feet.INT. APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS ACTIONJeanie GASPS -- takes her first breath as a child again.And CRIES. Mother pulls her in, hugs her tight. Notethe girl's fingernails. No longer black.John's beat, reclaims that stub of a cigarette, stillburning. Takes a drag. He pushes past Hennessey who isapproaching the mother. HENNESSEY Now about the fee...John slips FROM VIEW into the kitchenette, hides the factthat he has to lean against the door to keep his balance.He catches his breath, looks up and is staring right at achild's crayon drawing magneted to the fridge. A drawingof a figure poking another in the side with a long stick.This image is repeated over and over.John tugs it off the fridge, tucks it away.INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - STAIRWELL - LATERHennessey follows John down the spiraling stairs, passingthe gathered tenants. A few are freaked, crossthemselves. Others horrified. But many want to touchthem, shake their hands.A shadowy FIGURE several floors up stares over the railat the heroes below. Note the slick suit, the polishedveneer.This is BALTHAZAR and he definitely does not rent here.He flicks an ancient COIN between his fingers.JOHN pauses, gazes up through the stairwell as if sensingsomething. No one there. Balthazar is gone. (CONTINUED) 11.CONTINUED:JOHN shakes off the feeling, continues down the stepswhere Hennessey is shoving his HAT in front of thetenants. They're gladly giving to the cause. HENNESSEY Thank you. Yes... Gracias... JOHN Hennessey.Hennessey stops his panhandling, continues toward theexit.INT. FOYERJohn and Hennessey stop near the front entrance. Johnrips the white collar from Hennessey's neck. HENNESSEY I know, I know, but I didn't think she was really possessed, not like that. JOHN I'm not back an hour and you drag me into -- HENNESSEY -- Don't be mad, John, don't be --John rummages through his coat pockets -- HENNESSEY On the left side.John keeps searching. HENNESSEY Vest pocket.John rips his smokes from the left vest pocket -- JOHN Don't do that shit on me -- HENNESSEY Sorry, sorry. Here, you can have half.Hennessey starts to divvy the cash but John snatches thehat. (CONTINUED) 12.CONTINUED: JOHN I should take it all, save you from yourself.He gestures that bagged BOTTLE in Hennessey's jacket. HENNESSEY It keeps them out, so I can sleep. Please, John, I need to sleep.John stares at his pathetic friend, sighs, finally slipsa few bills from the wad and hands them over.Hennessey is bubbling with appreciation, starts tofollow. John simply holds up a hand. Hennessey stops,watches John walk out. Alone.EXT. ALLEY BY THE APARTMENTJohn turns the corner, spots Chaz punching a dent fromthe taxi's hood. JOHN I told you to move it. CHAZ Well maybe if you had told me you were dropping a three-hundred pound mirror with a pissed-off demon in it I would have moved it further.Chaz slams the hood. They slide into the car. CHAZ Well? JOHN Well what?Chaz reaches back into John's front coat pocket -- pullsout Hennessey's wad of cash -- slips off a few bills. CHAZ Shouldn't have cut your stay in the land of enlightenment. You were so close to growing a conscience.John grins, pulls his special lighter, lights a smoke andsits back. (CONTINUED) 13.CONTINUED: JOHN Los Angeles...He looks back up at the apartment, still puzzled. JOHN Never ceases to entertain.Chaz crams the car in gear as John takes a drag, coughs.EXT. THE SKYOne of those perfect days. With perfect clouds. Soclear you feel you could reach out and touch Heaven.Two young girls rise INTO FRAME on side-by-side swings.For a moment they're suspended against that incrediblesky. Then gravity takes hold and they fall back toEarth. MAN (V.O.) You still with me?INT. SUBWAY - DAYANGELA'S (30) weary eyes open. She's on her belly hiddenbetween track ties and shadows even deeper. Grips apolice-issue revolver tight. She's pinned down, unableto move. ANGELA Yeah...The MAN is thirty feet down the same track. Their VOICESECHO off the curved walls, come from everywhere.How either of these two got here isn't important. Whowill get out is. MAN (O.S.) So what's next, Detective? We gonna do a full marathon?Intermittent RADIO CHATTER buzzes from Angela's WALKIE-TALKIE. You get the sense Angela is not alone in here. ANGELA Put your weapon on the tracks and step out with your hands above your head. (CONTINUED) 14.CONTINUED: MAN (O.S.) Or how 'bout you show yourself and I put a bullet in your skull just like I did hers! ANGELA That's just not going to happen. MAN (O.S.) You sure about that?!Angela checks the chamber -- sees she has one bulletleft. ANGELA (almost pleading) Now put down your weapon on the tracks and --GROUND BEGINS to VIBRATE. Tunnel starts to GLOW. MAN (O.S.) Well ain't this a peach?!Angela looks back, sees several SHADOWS of figures wavingfar off. Her RADIO is flooded with futzed CHATTER. DETECTIVE WEISS (V.O.) (over radio) Get off the tracks! Blueline is coming! Clear the tracks!Angela peeks over the track. Still no sign of her perp.The TRAIN is coming INTO VIEW and its BEAM shoots throughthe tunnel, turning every particle of dust into a supernova.The SOUND is DEAFENING. MAN (O.S.) C'mon, Detective, step into the light and be saved!!Angela looks back, squints into the brilliant LIGHT.She grips her GUN and in one burst of flat-out bravado --rises as she AIMS.And there he is -- the Man rising with his own gun.Angela FIRES as both dive off the track. His BULLETRICOCHETS behind her. Hers finds its mark. Man goesdown right in the train's path. (CONTINUED) 15.CONTINUED:Angela rolls over on the side of the tracks, catches herbreath. She closes her eyes and crosses herself as thetrain roars past in a staccato blur.EXT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEY - DAYChaz's taxi pulls up, parks.TAXI TRUNKOPENS, REVEALS suitcases stamped with AIR INDIA. Johnstarts inside, pauses as Chaz yells -- CHAZ There are four bags. I have two hands. This give you any ideas? JOHN Make two trips?John walks in. Chaz curses under his breath.INT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEYEvening leagues are going strong. John walks in, lookstotally out of place. He moves down the BALL RACK area,runs his fingers across the various leftovers, finallystops at a pearl-white dazzler.He lifts it from the rack, steps out into the preparea -- in front of one of the few lanes not in use.Number 13.John snatches a grease pencil from the overhead,scribbles right on the ball -- "PROVISIONS DEPLETED."He fluffs his trench coat back, steps onto the polishedwood with his well-traveled Oxfords.Young bowlers on both sides stop to look at this oddity.An attractive brunette is rather curious. John gives hera wink. Her boyfriend doesn't appreciate it.John bowls. Perfect hook ball. Strike! Brunette grins.John returns the smile, heads into the hallway by thepool tables. 16.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENTSeems small until you walk in and realize it's as long asa bowling lane. Makes that cage enclosed bed at one endseem like it's a mile away.Chaz throws the suitcases on it as John arrives. CHAZ (yells across room) Simple question. How much longer do I have to be your slave?John pulls a chain and a wall of window shutters open. JOHN You're not my slave, Chaz. You're my very appreciated assistant. Like Tonto and Robin and that skinny fellow with the fat friend.Along the floor, encircling the entire room, are 5 gallonSparkletts bottles. Each is adorned by a small hand-marked CROSS. John takes a moment to adjust one out ofplace. CHAZ How much longer?John doesn't like his tone. JOHN Well I don't know, what's the going rate for saving a taxi driver hanging from his fingernails about to be swallowed into the jaws of Hell? CHAZ So what time you want me back?John gives him a knowing look, goes back to emptying hispockets. JOHN I need to make an appearance at Midnite's. Say ten-ish?Chaz sighs, starts out -- JOHN Chaz...?Chaz turns back, catches an object John throws him. (CONTINUED) 17.CONTINUED: JOHN A little something from Delphi.It's a dashboard air freshener shaped like a cow.Chaz tips it. Moooooo. John finds it rather amusing. CHAZ Gee, thanks.Chaz leaves. John removes a small BLACK BOX from hisjacket. He sets it carefully on its own shelf by thewindow -- stares out. BEEMAN (O.S.) 'Provisions depleted?'John turns to see BEEMAN waddle in. BEEMAN I gave you three months worth. You were gone only one.This diminutive occult version of Bond's "Q" carries acustom bowling bag and squints in the light like a mole. JOHN What can I say, Beeman, India was a real drain.They shake hands. Beeman sets his bowling bag onto thetable, unzips it. BEEMAN So what do you need? JOHN Everything you got. BEEMAN (pausing) You smell something, John? JOHN Maybe. Incubus in this girl I just exorcized seemed a bit more spirited than usual.Beeman starts pulling things out. First is a frayed RAG.Then glass containers... (CONTINUED) 18.CONTINUED: BEEMAN Well, I've got your stone fragments from the Road to Damascus, dust from the Dead Sea Scrolls -- oh, you'll love this --Out comes a little MATCHBOX with a smiling bug graphic. BEEMAN Screech beetle from Mount Sinai.He shakes the matchbox and the BEETLE flutters inside.It's WINGS create an eerie HIGH-PITCHED WHIRL. Johnshrugs. So? BEEMAN Yeah, to you it's nothing but to the Fallen -- like fingernails on a chalkboard. JOHN What is it with you and bugs?Beeman pulls out a set of sculptured BRASS KNUCKLES.Actually solid gold and engraved with religious markings.John takes them, tries them on. Nice fit. BEEMAN Gold was blessed by the Bishop Anicott during the Crusades.John spots a foot-long COPPER TUBE in the bag, pulls itout, grips the bicycle handle on one end. BEEMAN Watch it there.With this puny little thing? John gives the handle asqueeze and WHOOOOSH -- ten-foot FLAME BELCHES out. BEEMAN Dragon's breath. JOHN I thought you couldn't get it anymore.Beeman shrugs, modesty. John starts to put it down onthe table and Beeman quickly pulls the frayed rag away. (CONTINUED) 19.CONTINUED: BEEMAN Whoa, don't want to get a flame near this. (off John's look) Piece of the shroud Moses wore to the mountain.John picks it up -- You're shitting me, right? Nope. JOHN Got any callinicus? BEEMAN (intrigued) How spirited was this incubus? JOHN (coughs) Like it was trying to come right out through the girlBeeman just stares at him -- is this a joke? JOHN I know how it sounds... BEEMAN We're finger puppets to them, John, elaborate costumes -- they can work us but don't come through us. They can't. You know that. JOHN Check the scrolls anyway. Corinthians. See if there are any precedents. BEEMAN Sure, John. Anything else? JOHN (coughs again) Wouldn't happen to have anything for --Beeman sets down a bottle from the bag -- Vick's 44. BEEMAN On the house.EXT. LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAYLots of blue on blue in this parking lot. 20.INT. LOCKER ROOMLocker door opens and Angela is there, covered in thegrime of the subway. She's pained as she pulls off hershoulder holster. Looks at herself in the door mirror.Tired, aging eyes stare back. WEISS (O.S.) Gutsy move out there, Dodson.Angela glances at DETECTIVE WEISS as he opens his locker. ANGELA Gutsy? Well that's a new one.The two exchange a look. WEISS You're alive. Bad guy's dead. No point in using the other words. ANGELA Thanks. WEISS (shuts his locker) Even though it was reckless -- irresponsible -- stupid... ANGELA I knew you still cared. WEISS You're good, Angela, real good but one of these days... ANGELA (heard it before) I know, nobody's luck lasts forever.He meets her eyes. Exactly. He really does care.Weiss breaks it off, leaves. Angela turns to close herlocker door, notices her reflection does not turn.She grabs the door, looks back in. Reflection is as itshould be. She shudders, slams the locker door.EXT. CLUB MIDNITE - 10 PMSo exclusive there's not even a line out front. Just apair of bouncers waiting to roll someone just for fun. (CONTINUED) 21.CONTINUED:Chaz follows John from the cab to the entrance. ABouncer selects a PICTURE CARD from a deck. On the frontare TWO FLYING DOLPHINS. Only we can see the back, whichis -- JOHN Two frogs on a bench.Yep. They let him pass. Chaz steps up and lucky him --he gets the same TWO FLYING DOLPHINS. CHAZ Two frogs on a bench.But Chaz is stiff-armed because the back of this cardshows a BEAR in a dress. CHAZ What? But I'm with him! Right, John? John?John glances back -- gives him an impassive look. Chazbacks away, stares after him. Someday.INT. CLUB MIDNITEMUSIC FLOODS this exclusive establishment. It's a clashof cultures and influences not easily dated. A retrospeakeasy for the new millennium.John walks through a maze of passages while the fantasiesof a twisted city play out in the shadows. He pauses,sees a clan of suited businessmen in a corner, showingoff for several ladies.One fills a line of shot glasses from a pitcher of water.Another waves his hand over them, turns the water intoRED WINE. The ladies are very impressed, drink up.NICO, a young black man, walks past John. NICO Neighborhood's going to Hell.John offers a half smile. He likes this kid, walks on.One of the men in the group turns, watches John.Balthazar. He grins and pockets that odd COIN.INT. HALLWAYJohn starts up a long flight of stairs, stops in front oftwo very large doors. (CONTINUED) 22.CONTINUED:Their surface is ancient, the wood petrified overcountless centuries. John places his fingers into thegnarled folds, closes his eyes -- JOHN Numquam leadatur a morsu.A living GROAN BELLOWS from the rigid seams but the doorsdon't budge. JOHN Bastard changed the code again. (bangs the doors) Midnite! Come on, do I have to huff and puff here?!The doors unlatch.INT. MIDNITE'S OFFICESWEEP ACROSS a meticulously-crafted ORRERY, a scientificsculpture that normally displays our solar system inrelative motion. But the planets here are ancient RELICSwith symbols and names -- MATERIAL, ASTRAL, SPIRITUAL,ICONIC, etc. And the globe at the center -- "CREATOR."This is an orrery of the forces of the Universe. Andit's not moving. MIDNITE (O.S.) Et separatur a plasmate tuo, Ut num quam laedatur amorsu antiqui serpentes...John steps in through the doors behind. JOHN Deciding which color to paint this place again?PAPPA MIDNITE stands in the jungle he calls an office.Part African witch doctor, part savvy businessman. Afull six and half feet of solid contradictions. MIDNITE You're back early. JOHN I got tired of spending your money. (CONTINUED) 23.CONTINUED: MIDNITE But I'm sure you spent enough. JOHN Well I do have a certain standard of living. MIDNITE Tell me you found it. JOHN I found the vault. MIDNITE That's not what I asked. JOHN Hey, can I help it if Buddhist monks don't take bribes?Midnite strides toward him when John calmly pulls fromhis pocket a small ebony and gold RELIC. It stopsMidnite cold. JOHN Gotcha.A reluctant grin cracks Midnite's stern features. Hetakes the relic in his thick fingers -- staresbreathlessly at a gaunt figure bracing itself against acosmic wind. MIDNITE Second century depiction of a sephiroth in the 4th realm... JOHN Right. So we good here?Midnite ignores his outstretched palm, slides the relicprecisely onto one of the many rods jutting from theUniversal orrery. MIDNITE It should counter the iconic plane -- JOHN That damn thing's never going to balance.Midnite lets go and the complex machine actually startsto move. To turn. (CONTINUED) 24.CONTINUED:John is somewhat intrigued until the newest reliccollides with another and the orrery jams to a halt.Midnite deflates, stares at John, suspiciously. MIDNITE Must I remind you of what selling fake relics will do to your health? JOHN It's authentic, Midnite, you just have the wrong piece. Jesus...The two have a mini stare-down. John's rigid poker faceis only broken by a cough. Midnite sighs, breaks it off. JOHN What? -- I didn't blink -- that was a cough. You never cough?Midnite reaches into his tuxedo jacket and hands over athick stack of HUNDREDS. JOHN Better not be any Washingtons in here this time. MIDNITE Why did you cut your trip short?John stops the counting, actually thinks about it. JOHN I don't know... Just a feeling --John suddenly spins toward the entrance doors, is stunnedto see -- JOHN Balthazar.Balthazar is behind him. Utterly confident. Chillinglyso. BALTHAZAR We're not still whining about Manhattan, are we?John's attempt to disguise his anger fails. BALTHAZAR That expression alone has made my entire night. (CONTINUED) 25.CONTINUED:John takes several steps toward him. Grins. Malevolent.There's history here. JOHN I'll make your night -- I'll deport your sorry ass right where you stand -- MIDNITE JOHN.John stops in his tracks. JOHN It's bad enough that you let these half-breeds in at all but this piece of shit -- BALTHAZAR Perks of becoming a primary investor. JOHN What?!Midnite's eyes say it all -- not here, not now. BALTHAZAR Things change, balances shift. Get used to it, Constantine. JOHN Not while I'm still breathing --John starts to cough again. BALTHAZAR I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.John tries to catch his breath, can't. And that scareshim a bit. He tries to hide it, pushes out.EXT. CLUB MIDNITEJohn SLAMS out the exit -- coughing. He pulls the Vicks44 from his jacket, struggles with the child protectorcap. HENNESSEY Hey, John. (CONTINUED) 26.CONTINUED:John is surprised to see Hennessey waiting. He chokes,is about to bust the Vicks 44 bottle. Hennessey grabshold, twists off the cap with one flick. John guzzlesthe syrup. HENNESSEY I'm real sorry about this morning, John, real sorry. Please don't hate me for draggin' you into that. Please don't...John can finally breathe. JOHN I don't hate you. HENNESSEY That's good to hear. Real good... JOHN But could you at least wait until I call for you before you show up? HENNESSEY You didn't call? JOHN Not yet. Jesus, Hennessey, you freak me out sometimes. HENNESSEY So you want me to go away and come back? JOHN No. I've got an assignment for you. HENNESSEY Really? What kind of assignment? JOHN The kind you'll have to be sober for. HENNESSEY Oh God, you want me to surf the ether.He instinctively touches an AMULET around his neck. Fourintersecting crosses. JOHN Come on, you know that exorcism wasn't right. (CONTINUED) 27.CONTINUED: HENNESSEY I... I don't have the Sight anymore. JOHN Don't have it or don't want to use it?Hennessey vacillates. This is obviously tough for him. JOHN Just look around. A few days. You spot anything unusual, anything -- you let me know. Okay?John wraps an arm around his shoulder like a good buddy,then reaches behind his neck -- JOHN It'll be like old times.-- and unclips the amulet from Hennessey's neck. Thatunnerves the big guy. John drops it in Hennessey'spocket. JOHN Just for a few days. HENNESSEY Okay, okay... for you, John. Like old times. Right.Hennessey takes one last sip from his drink, hands thebottle over. John downs the rest. Nods.INT. ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH - CONFESSION BOOTH - NIGHTAngela sits inside. ANGELA I killed a man today. Another one.FATHER GARRET sits on the other side of the mesh window. FATHER GARRET I'm sorry, Angela. ANGELA Most cops go twenty years without firing their gun. Not me. I always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 28.INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - SERIES OF SHOTS - NIGHTAngela arrives home. Pours milk for a cat. Lets herhair down. Slips off her shoes. ANGELA (V.O.) I didn't even see his face. I just pulled the trigger and he went away. Just like all the others...Angela in the SHOWER -- trying to wash off the guilt. FATHER GARRET (V.O.) These feelings are natural in your line of work, Angela. I'd be worried if you didn't have them.Angela now in a recliner, cat in her lap. She's tired.Eyes are heavy. FATHER GARRET (V.O.) But you have to be strong. You can't allow your faith to be overshadowed by guilt. ANGELA (V.O.) I'm trying.Her eyes close. ANGELA (V.O.) I'm trying real hard.INT. RAVENSCAR - NIGHTAngela's eyes open. An Angela whose frightened featuresare dripping with a fever sweat.She's in a hospital gown, stares around a corner.Janitor polishes the floor in the distance. A nursechecks off charts in the f.g. And right between the twodarts Angela, unseen by anyone.EXT. ROOFTOP - NIGHTA metal fire door swings open and Angela bursts out --breathing deep. She runs across the tar roof, almostafraid to look back.She gets to the ledge, steps up. A BOTTLE in the wayfall -- FOLLOW IT DOWN TO the -- 29.COURTYARD-- where it SHATTERS --INT. GROUND FLOOR HOSPITAL ROOMThe sound has drawn the attention of BARRY (10) lying inbed. He moves up and stares out the window -- sees thebroken glass in the courtyard. He scans up the buildingand spots a FIGURE standing on the roof.ROOFTOP - WIDERChilling April air flutters Angela's gown, vaporizes herbreath. Tears stream down her cheeks as she contemplatesthe unthinkable.Cityscape of lights are spread out below but Angela isseeing something else.REFLECTED IN HER EYES --is a city engulfed in RED FLAMES. Follow that tear withthe same reflection of fire inside as it traces her cheekand slips into her mouth.ANGELA shudders, rubs her wrist where we see the skin hasswelled and reddened just like the Prisoner's. Andthere's that same circular symbol in the flesh.She wipes her tears -- tries to be strong. Takes a fewbreaths for courage, them simply steps off.INT. BARRY'S ROOMBARRY'S WIDE EYES follow her down.EXT. COURTYARD - LATERBarry approaches across the barren courtyard, leans downto Angela's contorted body. But she's still alive.Barry stares into eyes that are fading fast. He reachesout, touches her face. Eyes close. She's gone.INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENTAngela stirs awake. Disturbed.OVER this we hear INCESSANT COUGHING -- 30.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - BATHROOMJohn switches on the light, leans up from the sink andwipes his mouth with a towel. It's covered with blood.More runs down the drain. He stares at himself in themirror. ON John's worried eyes -- MATCH CUT TO:ANGLE - ANGELA'S EYESlooking equally distraught. WEISS (V.O.) It's her, Angela...EXT. RAVENSCAR HOSPITAL - WIDER - CONTINUOUS ACTION -DAYAngela is led by Detective Weiss past several officersand medical personnel. WEISS It's Isabel.They arrive at the covered body in the courtyard.Coroner sees Angela approach and lifts the sheet from theface.Angela comes to a dead stop, emotions coming fast andfurious.She leans close and we see a mirror of Angela. That'swhen you realize that wasn't a dream. This is her twin.But that circular symbol is nowhere on her wrist now.Angela's eyes well with tears. It takes everything shehas to stay in control. Helps to wrap herself in thejob. She steps back, looks up at the tall building. ANGELA She... she fell from the roof? WEISS No. She jumped.Angela gives him an incredulous glare. Shakes her head. WEISS I know it's hard to accept but -- (CONTINUED) 31.CONTINUED: ANGELA Isabel would never in a million years take her own life. Never. WEISS Angela... there was a surveillance camera on the roof.INT. HOSPITAL - DAYJohn marches down a hallway, his trench coat a stepbehind. He unconsciously rubs his left wrist, coughs.Flicks an unlit smoke between his fingers.John stops at a doctor's office door -- hesitates.INT. RAVENSCAR - SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGEView of the rooftop. There's Isabel in her nightgown,stepping up -- pausing just a second. Then one step andshe's gone. So clear. So unrefutable.WIDERAngela shudders as a comforting HAND rests on hershoulder. WEISS (O.S.) Take some time...Angela brushes off his hand, then spots Weiss and theothers on the other side of the room. Whose hand wasthat?INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICEA LINE OF LIGHT BOXES illuminate several CHEST X-RAYS. ADARK sinister splotch snakes through both LUNGS. Johnstands there, stares at this wall of death with disbelief. JOHN No -- I've beaten things, insurmountable things, things most people have never even heard of and after all that you think I'm going to be done in by THIS?He raises a puny little cigarette. DR. LES ARCHER (50)sighs. A delicate bedside manner is not his specialty. (CONTINUED) 32.CONTINUED: DR. ARCHER You wouldn't be the first, John. JOHN It can't be that simple. I mean come on, Les, you saved me before. You can do it again, right. DR. ARCHER This is different. This is aggressive.John tries to stay cool -- fails. He TRASHES the X-rayboxes. Diseased lungs disappear. Doc shakes his head. DR. ARCHER Twenty years ago you didn't want to be here. Now you don't want to leave. JOHN That's because I know exactly where I'm going this time.INT. HALLWAYJohn steps outside of the Doctor's office, pauses togather himself. He starts walking. Wants out of herefast.INT. RAVENSCAR - HALLWAYAngela is on the move. Emotions are coming in strong.She can't get out of here fast enough.She aims for the elevators, sees a MAN has just enteredone. ANGELA (rushing toward it) Wait, hold the door!Angela, gets to the elevator, looks in. John standsinside alone. This should be the first time we realizethey were in the same hospital. ANGELA Going down?John pauses as the doors start to close. (CONTINUED) 33.CONTINUED: JOHN Not if I can help it.The doors close right on Angela.EXT. SOMEWHERE IN ISTANBUL - DAYA PICKUP TRUCK crosses a barren landscape.In the back bed are several goats and one Prisoner.He grips the relic tight in one hand. That anxious feverhas returned.Glazed eyes dart to the side and lock on a risingjetliner in the distance -- dart back to the road they'reon -- heading the opposite way.Prisoner clamps his eyes tight, grips to the relictighter.Eyes snap open and he turns, thrusts his elbow throughthe center window, leans in and grabs the Driver -- jerkshis head back against the bulkhead -- cracking it in theprocess.Prisoner latches onto the wheel, takes control. Heswerves the car off the pavement, gets out and takes overas driver.Truck continues on, bouncing through a shallow ditch andinto the field beyond, aiming straight for the risingairliners in the distance.EXT. L.A. APARTMENT - DAYClose to condemned status. SCAN UP floor after floor,COMING TO REST ON a window covered with aluminum foil.INT. HENNESSEY'S APARTMENTEvery wall of this tiny shithole is covered in aluminumfoil. A sober Hennessey stands surrounded by decades ofnewspapers and periodicals -- tries to get his breathingin check.He instinctively reaches to his neck to touch the amuletbut it's not there. Oh yeah -- in the pocket. Decisionmade, he reaches up, starts tearing the foil from thewalls and the window. 34.EXT. ECHO PARK (DOWNTOWN L.A.) - DAYJohn sits at a park bench. Motionless. Taking in theworld. Clouds passing the sun. Shadows drifting acrossthe city. Leaves swirling after passing cars.John just sits there, HEARING every breath he takes,wondering which one will be his last. ELLIE (O.S.) Lung cancer? Lung cancer?!John turns to see ELLIE (23) strutting up the sidewalk.Uninhibited. Oozing sex appeal. But dangerous. In moreways than you think. ELLIE That's funny as shit, John. JOHN As if you guys didn't have something to do with it... ELLIE Hey, I think you brought this one on yourself.John stares at her, tries to get a read. ELLIE Now why wouldn't you trust me? JOHN I don't know, something in the air --She sits right on his lap, playfully. ELLIE Don't worry, John, you'll beat this. You beat everything. JOHN Not this time, Ellie.John lifts her off of him, sets her aside. ELLIE Oh wow, you're serious... No wonder the Boss is in such a good mood. JOHN Yeah, I thought maybe you could talk to him for me. You know...? (CONTINUED) 35.CONTINUED:Ellie jumps off the bench, creates an odd SOUND as shedoes. ELLIE What?! Dammit, John, I know I owe you but to even ASK that? All those saints and martyrs slipping through his grasp -- his own foot soldiers sent back to him in chunks. He's going to take all that out on you, John, and he's going to enjoy ripping your soul to shreds until the end of time. JOHN So I take that as a 'no?' ELLIE You're the one soul the man himself would actually come up here to collect. And you know how much he despises this place. JOHN I'm starting to see his point.Ellie sits back down, strokes his arm. ELLIE Have you gone to see the Snob?Like scratching fingers across a blackboard. No way. ELLIE Look, don't let your ego get in the way on this. I'd miss having someone up here I can... relate to.She gives him a kiss. And for a second John's leg isbrushed by a tail. John doesn't react. Just turns andwalks away.INT./EXT. CHAZ'S TAXI - DAYSeen through a mild rain is the Theological Societybuilding, a foreboding structure that looks out of placefor this city. John stares out the back seat window,takes a swig from a bottle of hard liquor. He turns toChaz -- (CONTINUED) 36.CONTINUED: JOHN I'm sure I can get you in here.Chaz gives the building another glance, shoves the meterflag back down. Tick... tick... tick... CHAZ Pass.INT. THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY - LATERA few bishops talk quietly. A cardinal studiesScriptures. Definitely not the place for atheists.John walks through the vaulted chamber room to the --LIBRARYJohn stops, fixes on the two gentlemen standing in frontof a fireplace. One is a young man of pure class wrappedin Armani's best. The other is Father Garret.John stands to the side and waits for their conversationto end. An ATTENDANT makes the rounds. ATTENDANT Can I take your coat, Mr. Constantine? JOHN No thanks, I'm not staying long. ATTENDANT How about you, ma'am?Attendant turns to Angela standing just a few feet away,her gaze fixed on the same two men. ANGELA I'm not staying long either.John glances over and for the second time they makecontact. Something about her eyes. John stares a bittoo long. Angela looks back toward the fireplace. ANGELA My business with him is urgent. JOHN First come, first served. (CONTINUED) 37.CONTINUED: ANGELA So you're rude no matter where you are.John gives her a look. The two men shake hands and startto part. John and Angela make their move toward the men.Both are surprised when Angela goes for Father Garret andJohn goes for ---- the SNOB, officially known as GABRIEL. Yes, that one.FATHER GARRETand Angela have retreated to another area for privacy. ANGELA Why is he stalling on this? My sister needs a Catholic funeral. FATHER GARRET Angela, it's still considered a mortal sin -- ANGELA She didn't commit suicide. FATHER GARRET The Bishop has read otherwise. ANGELA Father... David -- this is Isabel. (meeting his eyes) Please...Father Garret stares at her, tries to be compassionate. FATHER GARRET I'll talk to him again.But Angela has just lost a load of faith.BY THE FIREPLACEGabriel sits in his chair, watches the fire withunblinking eyes. John approaches from behind and againstthe backdrop of flame, sees the nebulous shape of wings.The ghostly image is visible for only a heartbeat. GABRIEL (without looking back) I know what you want, son. (CONTINUED) 38.CONTINUED:John sits across from him. JOHN Been keeping your all-seeing eye on me, have you? GABRIEL I could offer how a shepherd leads even the most wayward of his flock but it might sound disingenuous. JOHN So you're going to make me beg?Angela pauses on her way out, looks over. GABRIEL It wouldn't help. You've already wasted your chance at redemption. JOHN What about the minions I've sent back, the souls that I've saved -- that should guarantee my passage across -- GABRIEL (keeping it private) -- No -- passage requires faith and faith by definition is belief without proof. You have proof. And that means you're not playing by the same rules as everyone else. Your work has mostly been for selfish reasons. I'm sorry. JOHN This is bullshit -- bullshit!Now he's really got Angela's attention. JOHN It's like you've got some cosmic scale weighing everything we do -- help an old lady across the street -- put in a nickel, kick a dog, take out a dime -- you're fucking nickel and diming us to death down here! GABRIEL Keep your voice down. (CONTINUED) 39.CONTINUED:John jumps up, leans into his face. JOHN And you know what, you're the ones with the problem, not us -- You make these impossible rules to decide who goes up, who goes down and you don't even understand us --This more than anything gets under Gabriel's skin. GABRIEL Each of you is born with the promise of salvation preordained. The cost of your redemption is simple belief. And yet you whine about impossible rules. Sometimes I imagine you hardly deserve the gift you have been given. JOHN Gift?! More like a curse the way you manage things.Gabriel stands and towers over John. GABRIEL I am taking your situation into account, John, but don't push me. JOHN Why me, Gabriel? It's personal, isn't it? I didn't go to church enough? I didn't pray enough? I was five bucks short in the collection plate? Why?Gabriel moves right up to him, makes this very personal. GABRIEL You're going to die because you smoked 30 cigarettes a day since you were 15. And you're going to Hell because of the life you took. Or to put it in a way that your kind would understand. You're fucked.EXT. THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY - MINUTES LATERAngela stands on the porch at the edge of a downpour.She hears a cough, looks over to see John standing on theother side, looking equally frayed. They share anotherglance. (CONTINUED) 40.CONTINUED:John fishes a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Empty. JOHN He has a rotten sense of humor. (steps past) And his punch lines are killers.John tosses the cigarette pack, walks right into theRAIN, away from Chaz's taxi pulling up. CHAZ (shouting out) John? It's raining! Hey!Angela watches John disappear in the rain, looks down atthe empty cigarette pack. DISSOLVE TO:INT. HENNESSEY'S APARTMENT - A CIGARETTE PACKlies on the floor next to food wrappers, Coke bottles andstacks of newspapers. Hennessey sits amongst thegarbage, slumped over. But he's not sleeping.He's surfing the ether. Allowing his sixth sense toguide him. His hands move down and across the stacks ofnewer periodicals, fingers probing the layers ofinformation.Left hand suddenly stops.Hennessey's eyes open. He removes the layers of periodicalson top of his left hand, leans close. Edges his fingersaway and sees an OBITUARY. A name -- Isabel Dodson.EXT. L.A. STREETS - EVENINGJohn walks the streets, numb to the world. A ratscurries past near the curb. Then another. Severalcrows fly by.Above him is a BILLBOARD - "YOUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT."Doesn't matter that below it is -- "TO BUY A NEW CHEVY."The point is crystal clear. John shakes his head, breaksout laughing which quickly turns into a coughing fit.He leans to a gutter. Another rat scoots past. Johnbarely notices. Then a frog jumps past. But it's thecrab crawling by that finally catches John's gaze. (CONTINUED) 41.CONTINUED: VOICE OF MAN (O.S.) Hey, buddy, you got a light?John turns, settles on a silhouetted figure standingbehind him, unlit cigarette butt in its mouth. OLD MAN (coughs) We gotta stick together, right?John gathers himself. As he walks over to this OLD MAN,he rummages through his coat pocket, retrieves amatchbox.The box shudders as a high-pitch FLUTTERING filters frominside. Old Man winces as his entire body VIBRATES.John realizes -- this is Beeman's matchbox, the one withthe screech beetle inside. And now he knows -- a beattoo late.Old Man attacks.John is knocked onto his haunches. As the Old Man closesin, he's revealed in more detail. Body and face areactually an intricate puzzle, an assemblage of cityvermin. Rats, insects, crows, frogs, crabs -- all heldtogether in the shape of a man.John scampers backwards, just inches from this being'soutstretched grasp. He shakes the matchbox and thescreech beetle inside flutters again.Old Man/Demon cringes as his entire body vibrates apartfor a second, then snaps back together. He GRABS ontoJohn with fingers of squirming vermin. Snake wrapsaround his wrist. Crab snaps at his skin.John shakes the beetle box harder -- causing the parts tovibrate even further. Old Man grabs John's head andvermin of various leg count crawl right onto John's face.John's had enough -- shakes the matchbox violently, thensmashes it against the sidewalk.BEETLE lets out a death SHRIEK and the Old Manstutters -- his parts vibrating so wildly you canactually see the b.g. through the seams.John scampers loose, grabs a road barricade and swings itwith all his might. Old Man form shatters on impact. (CONTINUED) 42.CONTINUED:The entire mess collapses to the ground in a flood ofscattering critters. John starts stomping on them asthey scatter into the city.John stands there, shocked and concerned. What the hellis going on?INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENT - DAYThat surveillance VIDEO FOOTAGE from Ravenscar playsagain. There's Isabel in her nightgown walking acrossthe roof.Spread out on a cluttered coffee table is Isabel's casefile. CORONER'S REPORT is opened. Let's see "NO DRUGSIN SYSTEM" and the biggie -- "Cause of Death -- SUICIDE."Angela sits on the couch in her robe. Disheveled anddistraught. She's taking this hard. ANGELA I'm sorry, Isabel...She lowers her head. And in that brief moment ofsilence -- ISABEL (V.O.) (on TV) Constantine.Angela snaps back to the TV, freezes in shock.There's Isabel ready to jump but this time she's lookingright back AT us -- at Angela. Then she's gone.Angela quickly rewinds the tape and watches the sequenceagain. This time Isabel doesn't look back. This timethere is no name. But Angela did see it. Did hear it.She sits for a second. Stunned.INT. MIDNITE'S OFFICEJohn paces as Midnite works on that Universal orrery,adjusting components but balance continues to elude him. JOHN A few months, maybe a year. That's it. End of story. Game over. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 43.CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) (as Midnite doesn't react) Well, don't break down on my account. MIDNITE What do you want from me? A shoulder to cry on? JOHN This bastard attacked me right out in the open -- on Sepulveda no less. MIDNITE They don't like you, John. You've deported how many back to Hell? JOHN That's just it -- this wasn't some possession or wayward half breed, it was a full-fledged demon. Here. On our plane. MIDNITE Right. JOHN I know what I saw. MIDNITE You must have just crossed over and didn't even realize it -- JOHN I didn't cross over -- It was on this side. Here. MIDNITE -- it's wet out, you're wandering around aimlessly, not to mention completely emotional -- JOHN Emotional?!John slams a fist against the counter. The orrery almosttopples but Midnite saves it. Decades of work almostlost.Midnite glares at a desperate John. (CONTINUED) 44.CONTINUED: MIDNITE Okay, so you saw something. We've seen a few small ones slip through now and then. JOHN It's more than that... first the girl, then this. MIDNITE John, you know my connections. Any shifts or tremors in the planes and I'd hear about it.John just shakes his head, looks up -- convinced. JOHN Something's coming.Midnite sighs, gives up with him.INT. LAPD OFFICE - LATERThe name JOHN CONSTANTINE is center screen on amonitor -- typed into the police station's SEARCH ENGINE.Angela sits alone in the squad room, rain streakingacross the windows.Interpol comes back with results and a list of priorsscroll under John's name.Must be a hundred PARKING VIOLATIONS. Several SPEEDINGtickets and a few RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT. In fact John'slicense has been REVOKED.But it's the other incidents that draw Angela in.BRIEF CLOSEUPSOf specific words in a few HEADLINES -- "Occult activityon the rise..." "Claimed possession is refuted byBishop..." "Satanic cult dissolved..."Accompanies with an assortment of unusual case photos.-- BLOOD PATTERNS on a WALL -- Odd SYMBOLS burned into aceiling. A cross burnt to a crisp.-- JOHN in handcuffs looking back at a mother holding herson in her arms. A younger and more noble FatherHennessey stands beside them, looking grateful. (CONTINUED) 45.CONTINUED:Another line -- "INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE to PROSECUTE."Angela scrolls, sees cities listed where John has madewaves -- LONDON -- PARIS -- ROME -- BUDAPEST -- MOSCOW.Stops on the one that matters -- LOS ANGELES. Andthere's an address.Angela hits PRINT and the HP HUMS away.A desk PHONE RINGS. Angela quickly looks around, seesshe's the only one here. She gets up, answers it. ANGELA L.A.P.D. This is Dodson, hello?Dead air. The next PHONE RINGS. Angela reaches for itwhen the NEXT ONE RINGS, and the NEXT, the NEXT.The RINGS HOP phone to phone in intimidating mockery.Angela freezes, forces herself to stay calm. Sureenough, the RINGS abruptly CEASE.Angela reaches over, rips the page from the printer,leaves.INT. ISTANBUL AIRPORT - DAYA police guard scans passengers and a printout of thePrisoner. He walks past a man standing in the metaldetector line.This is actually the Prisoner wearing the clothes andglasses of the Driver. Is that a blood stain on thelapel?Sweat drops from his forehead and he nervously places theiron relic in a bag he took from the truck driver. Hehas no choice but to place it on the conveyer belt.MYSTERIOUS POVWatching the Prisoner. He looks back AT us, suspicious.Nothing there.PRISONERlooks back nervously, as his bag goes through thedetector. 46.DETECTOR SCREENshows the folds of the bag, a wallet, a passport andnothing else. The iron relic doesn't even produce anoutline.Bag slides out, untouched. Prisoner can't believe hisluck, grabs the bag and walks on toward the gates.EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHTVARIOUS of the city -- the contrasts between the brightand cheerful and the dark and mysterious. That abandonedmission behind Bob's Big Boy, the Islamic Temple wedgedbetween competing banks.COME TO REST ON --The towering statue of The Good Shepherd. His hands arewelcoming us into the "HOLY CROSS CEMETERY."Right across the street is the 20 Lanes Bowling Alley.INT. 20 LANES - THE BARJohn drinks alone. Pissed at life. At death.That small black box of his lies on the table unopened.Spider runs across the table. John flips an empty glass,traps it underneath. He takes a drag on his cigarette,tips the glass and blows smoke inside. Spider can'tescape the poison air, bumps the glass. Trapped. Dying. JOHN Welcome to my life. ANGELA (O.S.) Mr. Constantine?John looks up, spots Angela. Those eyes again. ANGELA I saw you at -- JOHN -- I remember. ANGELA And -- JOHN Yeah. (CONTINUED) 47.CONTINUED:She did make an impression. ANGELA I'd like to ask you a few questions. JOHN I'm not really in the talking mood right now. ANGELA Could you just listen then?Angela sets her LAPD detective badge on the table. ANGELA Please? JOHN Always a catch...Angela sits across from him, puts the badge away. ANGELA My sister was murdered last week. JOHN Sorry to hear... ANGELA Her name was Isabel. Isabel Dodson?She looks for a reaction. None. ANGELA You don't remember her? JOHN Never met her. ANGELA You sure? JOHN She look anything like you? (as Angela nods) I would've remembered.Another beat as their eyes meet. John looks away. (CONTINUED) 48.CONTINUED: ANGELA She was a patient at Ravenscar. Then last Tuesday she just decided to step off the roof. JOHN I thought you said she was murdered? ANGELA Isabel would never take her own life. JOHN You'd be surprised at what people will do. ANGELA Look, I know I'm not making much sense -- hell I'm not really sure what I'm doing here... I just feel -- the circles you travel in -- the occult, demonology, exorcisms...John just stares at that spider in the glass. Trapped. ANGELA I believe someone got to her, Mr. Constantine, brainwashed her into stepping off that roof. Some kind of legion or cult. JOHN Sounds like a theory. Good luck. ANGELA Well I thought with your background and experience, you could at least point me in the right direction. JOHN Yeah, okay. Sure.John points -- toward the exit. Angela is not amused.But she's not giving up. ANGELA My sister always talked about a world better than this. Heaven as some call it. She wasn't afraid of dying because she knew it was waiting for her. What everyone fails to grasp is that if she had really taken her own life -- (CONTINUED) 49.CONTINUED: JOHN -- she would have committed a mortal sin and her soul would have gone straight to Hell where it would never feel love or compassion or anything but pain again as the master himself rips her apart over and over for the rest of eternity. (beat) That about right?The words have hit so hard that Angela is speechless.John sees the hurt in her eyes, would like to take itback -- but it's too late.She turns and starts out, slows -- ANGELA You're not the only one afraid of Hell.John tries not to let that get to him. She leaves. Heglances out the window, watches her pass by. So long.Good riddance.But something's not right. Those deep shadows on thebuildings seem to be moving. John watches, confused,realizes they're heading in Angela's direction. JOHN Oh shit...He stands, gains his bearings. As he walks out he flicksthe glass over. Spider runs free.EXT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEY - NIGHTCars are lined all the way down the street. Angela walksalong the sidewalk unaware of the shadow following her.It's joined by another in the trees -- both closing inwith each step. JOHN (O.S.) Detective!Angela looks back, sees John in the street. JOHN How open is your mind? (CONTINUED) 50.CONTINUED:She doesn't answer, continues walking. What she doesn'tsee are the shadows seeping back into the fringes. ButJohn does. He starts walking toward her. JOHN Do you believe in Heaven and Hell? (off no answer) How about what comes out of each?Angela keeps walking. He catches up with her. JOHN Hey! ANGELA You mean like angels? JOHN And demons.Angela stares at him, continues walking. He keeps up. JOHN See, you don't have the mindset for this kind of work.They walk together down the lonely street. ANGELA Look, I see terrible things every day. A mother drowns her baby. A ten-year-old shoots his father. But it's not demons, it's the evil that men do.Behind them, a streetlight BLINKS OUT. Then another.They're not looking back so they don't see it. JOHN You're right, we're capable of terrible things but we usually justify it with motives like money and power and jealousy.Another LIGHT FIZZES, blinks out. JOHN Then sometimes, something comes along and gives us just the right nudge and we do truly evil things just for the kick of it. (CONTINUED) 51.CONTINUED: ANGELA I don't believe in demons. JOHN You should. They believe in us.They pass another streetlamp as it goes bright, thenblacks out. Both look up.The next LAMP FLARES then FIZZES OUT.Angela turns and sees that there are no lights behindthem. She looks to John. But he's staring straightahead. Because now the light in front of them is FLARINGBRIGHT. JOHN We should go...Second later it BLINKS OFF. John grabs her hand -- JOHN Fast.Angela's confusion turns to tension as a raspy gutturalWIND races toward them.John jerks her into action. They run towards the nextlight. It blinks out right when they reach it.They race to stay in the light, aiming toward the safetyof the brightly-lit statue of the Good Shepherd.EXT. HOLY CROSS CEMETERYThey make it through the gate, pass through an alley ofoverhanging trees. Something RIPPLES through thebranches -- flitters right past Angela's face. She swatsat it, manages to get a branch across the cheek.They near the Good Shepherd and the floodlights FLICKER,fade out. Statues of saints become dark monoliths.John stops in an OPEN AREA between trees and a mausoleum.A lit CROSS on the wall provides the only illumination.Angela feels the scratch on her cheek, sees a trickle ofblood. Now she hears SOUNDS in the darkness. LikeLEATHER RUBBING. Surrounding them. ANGELA What is that? (CONTINUED) 52.CONTINUED:John is just as surprised he's saying this -- JOHN Wings. ANGELA Wings?John rummages through his trench coat -- fishes out thatcloth Beeman gave him. The one supposedly wrapped aroundMoses. JOHN And maybe talons.The cross is getting dimmer and dimmer... ANGELA Are you kidding? Of what? JOHN Something that's not supposed to be here.John quickly wraps the cloth tight around his hand.Angela spins, eyes seeing only darkness as the sounds getCLOSER -- ghastly sound of MOVEMENT in the fringes oflight.The cross now resembles a dying wire filament and withevery second the circle of light gets smaller and thoseSOUNDS GET CLOSER. John takes out his special lighter. JOHN Close your eyes.They are now standing in pitch darkness. ANGELA Why? JOHN Suit yourself.John flicks the lighter and in one powerful motion --sweeps his arm up as he lights his hand.Sacred cloth catches fire -- then IGNITES with abrilliant retina-searing FLASH -- blinding Angela andilluminating a ---- CIRCLE OF WINGED DEMONS -- a roiling broth ofreptilian death -- right there -- ready to pounce. (CONTINUED) 53.CONTINUED:RED FLAME radiates from the cloth and DEMONS SHRIEK asthey are instantly vaporized.John tucks his burning hand into a coat pocket,extinguishes the flame. He leans down to a rubbery stainleft from one of the burnt demon carcasses. Shakes hishead in disbelief. JOHN (to himself) 'I accidentally crossed over?' I don't think so. ANGELA (coming up behind) What was that? I saw wings -- and teeth -- they were flying. What the hell were those things?! JOHN They weren't angels.John scans the area, trying to think this through. JOHN Seplavites, actually. Scavengers for the damned. (off her lost look) Demons? ANGELA What? You can't be serious... this is impossible... JOHN Yeah... (to himself) And I don't think they were after me...John looks at her with renewed interest. JOHN You really believe she wouldn't commit suicide? ANGELA (a bit thrown) My sister? (a beat) Never in a million years.John makes the decision. (CONTINUED) 54.CONTINUED: JOHN Let's be sure.He starts walking. Angela is now compelled to follow. ANGELA How? JOHN Simple. See if she's in Hell.EXT. L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - NIGHTNot exactly an inviting place.Hennessey steps off the curb, looks up at hisdestination.INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENT - NIGHTJohn stares at a photo of Angela and her father in policeuniform. Obviously happier times.Angela walks out of her bedroom holding a cardboard box.That gray cat follows close to her heels. ANGELA These are all Isabel's things. JOHN The cat too? ANGELA Yeah, why...?John ignores the box of items, picks up the cat. Hestudies it a bit, then sits back in a chair with it. ANGELA Don't you need candles and a pentagram for this to work? JOHN (deadpan) Why, do you have any?John puts his feet, shoes and all into a BUCKET OF WATER. JOHN I need you to step outside now. (CONTINUED) 55.CONTINUED:Angela wants to stay. JOHN Angela? Please.Angela reluctantly moves toward the exit. John holds thecat, stares into its huge, unblinking eyes. There's amoment where animal and man seem to connect.The water around John's feet begins to BOIL.ANGELA pushes the door closed behind her but it slows onits way to latch.Bulbs pulsate as current ramps down. The room flickers,is suddenly caught in a ghostly dim half-light and Johnhas now crossed over into --APARTMENT IN HELLSame layout, different decorator. John takes a deep,raspy breath, slowly stands. He turns to the wall behindhim which is torn away, looking like some half-bombedstructure in Beirut.Beyond the wall is no longer the blackness of anightscape but a sickly sepia glow. Not quite day, notquite night.John steps over the crumbling wall into --EXT. HELL LOS ANGELESJohn walks out onto the top overpass of a crumbling mazeof intersecting freeways. Burnt-out husks of long-forgotten vehicles sit in rows of gridlock. A low DRONEpenetrates the silence. JOHN Is she here?On the horizon is a dying RED SUN. It strains to cutthrough the putrid brown haze. JOHN Is she here?!His VOICE REVERBERATES to infinity. (CONTINUED) 56.CONTINUED:John cautiously steps closer to the railing, looks downto the ribbons of twisting streets below. They'recrammed with teeming masses of the damned. All walkingdown in silence, faces numb with sorrow and grief. JOHN IS SHE HERE?!That low DRONE RISES IN PITCH and John now spots a hugeblanket-like BLACKNESS crawling over the cityscape,rapidly closing in on him. You get the feeling thisisn't a safe place for the living. JOHN It's a simple question! Is she here or not?!!John suddenly locks on something far off.On top of a distant skyscraper is a FEMALE FIGURE in asheer white gown. John can't make out her face but knowsshe's looking right at him. JOHN Isabel?She lifts something and tosses it. John watches as asmall object tumbles toward him just ahead of closingdarkness.INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENT - HALLWAYIn that same motion we left her in -- Angela finishespushing the door closed. As it LATCHES -- JOHN (O.S.) (weakly) Angela... come back in...Confused, Angela pushes the door back open. Cat BOLTSout. Angela catches her breath, moves inside.INT. LIVING ROOMJohn sits slumped in the chair, drained. Steam rises offhis skin. Angela sees the water in the bucket has almostall boiled out. She walks in, kneels down to him. ANGELA John? What happened? (CONTINUED) 57.CONTINUED:Sweat drips off as he looks up. He opens his palm --reveals to Angela a simple HOSPITAL BAND. The name"ISABEL DODSON" is typed on it.Even as a semi-convert, this news completely floorsAngela. She takes the plastic band -- grips it tight --tries to hold herself together. The adrenaline and painoverwhelm. Her knee buckle and she drops to the floor.John watches, isn't sure how to help. He finally reachesout a single hand -- slowly rests it on her shoulder.The contact seems to open a floodgate of emotion andAngela falls right into his arms. John hasn't been thisclose to anyone in a long time. Angela finally composesherself. ANGELA How? How did you do this...?John tries not to stare into those eyes too long. Fails.INT. L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - NIGHTBody drawer slides open -- reveals Isabel. Lying in acold, sterile room of death. A Hell of a different type.Hennessey stares down at her, looks around the roomagain, makes sure he's still alone.He reaches in, rips open the protective plastic andlowers his hand inside. Places it first on her forehead.Nothing. Then on her chest. Nothing. Wrist is last.Hennessey shudders. This is it.He closes his eyes and opens himself to the void -- JOHN (V.O.) When I was a kid, I saw things...FLASHBACK - EXT. STREET - DAYA TEN-YEAR-OLD John comes out of a corner store with milkin a bag. He slows, eyes a MAN at a mailbox. JOHN (V.O.) Things I wasn't supposed to.The man looks right at young John as he passes. His faceis distorted and his feet have sprouted roots which aredug into the ground. (CONTINUED) 58.CONTINUED: WAITRESS (O.S.) Coffee?Young John looks up toward the voice --INT. DINER - NIGHT (PRESENT)John looks up at the Waitress. JOHN Tea.She leaves. Angela sits across from him. They're at thetable by the window. JOHN My parents sent me to a doctor, a shrink, a priest. I was in four different institutions by the time I was eighteen.Angela notes him rubbing his wrist. JOHN The last place they put me was run by a church...A DOCTOR rushes past their table. PAN WITH him INTO...FLASHBACK - INT. MENTAL INSTITUTION - HALLWAYThe Doctor rushes toward distant SCREAMING. JOHN (V.O.) The revered Father made the brilliant deduction that I was possessed, said I needed to be exorcised...INT. ROOM - HIGH ANGLEThe Doctor runs in. Sees the revered Father below,leaning over a bed where an 18-year-old John is held downby three interns and that Doctor. John angrily screamsat them all. JOHN (V.O.) It was like someone trying to pull teeth that weren't there.Young John clamps his eyes shut tight. 59.INT. DINER - JOHN (PRESENT)Present-day John does the same, remembering the pain. JOHN So I took things into my own hands and I found a way out. ANGELA You attempted suicide.John sees she's looking at his wrist. The hint of ajagged scar can now be seen under the sleeve. JOHN I never attempt anything.John's reflection in the window becomes --FLASHBACK - TEENAGE JOHNkneeling with a pair off scissors. He's inside a...INT. CLASSROOMTeenage John looks up at a room filled with people fromall walks of life. Teachers, doctors, lawyers, garbagemen. All somewhat different than normal. They sit inschool chairs and wait for John to do the deed.He puts the blade to his wrist -- one swipe and the worldaround him accelerates away in a STREAKED BLUR --INT. DINER (PRESENT) ANGELA But you're still here. Alive. JOHN Not my doing.His chest suddenly HEAVES forward -- and we're on...FLASHBACK - TEENAGE JOHNas he's jolted by DEFIB PADS. He's in the back of a...INT. AMBULANCE - MOVINGParamedics are soaked in sweat. One looks a bit like ayoung Dr. Archer. Heart monitor is FLAT LINE. There'slittle hope. 60.EXT. LOS ANGELESThe ambulance moves through a city that is transforming.From this world's Los Angeles to a barren Hell version. JOHN (V.O.) Officially I was dead for seven minutes. But believe me, seven minutes in Hell is a lifetime.Ambulance heads toward that dying RED SUN.INT. AMBULANCEFLAT LINE on the monitor suddenly SPIKES with a pulse --INT. MORGUE (PRESENT)Hennessey's hand jerks back from the plastic. His eyesfix on Isabel's wrist. That odd circular SYMBOL is back.Hennessey's unsettled, quickly shoves the drawer closed.He rushes out, slams right into a SECURITY GUARD comingin. SECURITY GUARD Hey, what're you doing in here?Guard looks back into the body room, sees a drawerpartially open. He walks over, pulls it out further --sees the plastic cut away. Jesus.The symbol has already faded from Isabel's wrist. JOHN (V.O.) When I returned I didn't just see demons anymore, I could do the one thing they couldn't -- come and go as I please.EXT. MORGUE - HENNESSEYruns as fast as a very obese man can -- aiming for thatPHONE BOOTH on the corner. He grabs the receiver,punches numbers as fast as he can. RING -- RING --RING -- HENNESSEY Be there, John... please...Something shivers up Hennessey's leg and into his body.Eyes glaze over and Hennessey settles on a RESTAURANT. (CONTINUED) 61.CONTINUED: JOHN (V.O.) Heaven and Hell are right here, behind every wall, every face -- the world behind the world. It's crossing over that's the real trick. That's why most demons can only whisper in our ears. But even a whisper can turn your favorite pleasure into your worst nightmare.INT. LATE NIGHT RESTAURANTHENNESSEY barges in, squeezes past the MAITRE D'. MAITRE D' Sir, you need a reservation!But Hennessey is on a quest. For food. And it'severywhere.He starts grabbing meals right off of plates. Fish,pasta, prime rib. Shovels it all in. Patrons areyelling -- screaming. He's eating as if his lifedepended on it. And even though he's devouring anythingin sight, this huge man is wasting away before our eyes.In the middle of all this chaos is one customer calmlyeating his meal. Balthazar.Hennessey hijacks a food cart -- consumes everything onit yet his skin is getting looser and the body insidegets thinner.He grabs a steak from a woman's plate but she jerks itback so he bites into his arm. She screams as herhusband pulls her away.Hennessey's strength is withering away. Desperate, hegrabs a FORK, digs it into his own hand.A Hispanic BUSBOY rushes into the room, grabs ontoHennessey. JOHN (V.O.) But the worst demons are the ones that are allowed to be here -- the ones that are half-human so they blend in...Balthazar stands, throws a few bills on the table andstarts toward the back EXIT. (CONTINUED) 62.CONTINUED: JOHN (V.O.) ... just like those with the angel's touch living alongside of us. The half-breeds.That Busboy lowers Hennessey to the floor. For a momentwe see him framed against the front doorway. And in thatinstant we get a brief glimpse of --ALTERNATE LOS ANGELESAn incredible pristine lake reflecting a city of light.BACK TO SCENEBUSBOY looks up, meets Balthazar's eyes. Bitter enemies.Balthazar grins, flips that coin between his fingers. Heleaves out the back exit. JOHN (V.O.) They call it 'the Balance.' I call it hypocritical bullshit.INT. DINER JOHN So when one of them gets a little cocky, peddles their influence or hijacks a soul -- I deport their scaly ass right back to Hell. (takes a sip of tea) I don't get them all but maybe enough to insure my retirement. ANGELA Sounds like you're trying to buy your way into Heaven. JOHN Well, what would you do if you were sentenced to a prison where half the inmates were put there by you?Not a serene image at all. Angela studies him. ANGELA Why you? I mean many go to Hell, why were you able to escape? (CONTINUED) 63.CONTINUED: JOHN (sips tea) I don't know. ANGELA God has a plan for all of us. JOHN Not for me.John's bitterness is obvious. Angela just stares athim -- finally -- ANGELA Isabel saw things too.John looks up. Moment is lost when her CELLULAR RINGS.The cop in her reacts, flips it open. ANGELA Detective Dodson here.EXT. RESTAURANT - LATERThe morgue is seen across the street. The Guard thatchased Hennessey is just outside. WEISS (O.S.) Security Guard spotted him near the body, chased him out.We MOVE PAST Angela standing with Weiss. Around them isa complete shambles of fine dining -- WEISS He comes over here, makes a run at the entire menu and pow -- deflates like a fricken Macy's day balloon.-- COME TO REST ON John's shattered face. He stares downat Hennessey. Now yards of loose flesh sunken over anassemblage of bones. Only that ragged black tie he woreis familiar now.John leans down to the remains of his friend. A copstarts to intervene but Angela blocks him. Let him be.John has trouble taking this in, reluctantly reaches intoHennessey's coat pocket -- finds the protective amulet hehimself removed from his friend. That's even morecrushing. (CONTINUED) 64.CONTINUED: JOHN Shit... (sympathetic) Why didn't you call me, you fat sonna bitch...John lowers his head, then spots blood stains on one ofHennessey's hands. He opens the fingers, studies thefork wound. The blood is already drying over it.John reaches over to the mess of dishes on the floor andgrabs a melting ice cube.He pushes it into Hennessey's hand, wiping away the driedblood. It quickly becomes apparent -- this isn't randomstabbings. This is a shape.John takes a napkin, lays it on the palm and presses.Residual blood creates a symbol onto the napkin.It's the same circular symbol we saw on Isabel's wrist.John doesn't know what it is, but he knows it's important. JOHN (to Hennessey) Rest in peace, Father.INT. 20 LANES - BEHIND THE LANESWith a loud crowd and 20 huge PIN MACHINES GRINDING AWAYthe noise back here is DEAFENING. But this is Beeman'shome. See the desk, the TV. The fold-away bed.Beeman is on the phone. There's a conversation but it'sway too noisy to hear. All we see are the emotions onBeeman's face. No doubt news of Hennessey's death is oneof the biggies.Beeman quickly reaches for a marker, puts it to paper andstarts drawing -- listening and drawing --He's finished, hangs up. Stares at the Symbol. Thatcabinet with the ancient books now gets his attention. JOHN (V.O.) I need to see where Isabel died.EXT. EAST LA - NIGHTGraffiti-adorned walls give way to a tall iron fence,heavily-shadowed grounds and finally the six-storyhospital complex of RAVENSCAR. (CONTINUED) 65.CONTINUED:A rim-lit figure stands on the roof. But this one isn'twearing a hospital gown, he's wearing a trench coat. ANGELA (V.O.) Seances, crystals -- channeling... Our father thought she was just trying to get attention. She certainly did that.EXT. ROOFTOPAngela stands behind John. A large water tank isanchored to the roof next to her. Note the FLAME logo. ANGELA She'd tell everyone about things she said she saw. Crazy things. Things that hadn't happened yet. She'd scare my mother to death, talking on and on about Revelations and the end of the world. Then one day she just stopped... never said another word. JOHN So you put her in here.Angela doesn't need to be reminded. It hurts even more now. JOHN Show me her room.INT. CORRIDORJohn and Angela head toward Isabel's room. A NURSEappears from around the corner walking with a boy. It'sBarry, the boy in the courtyard.He locks on Angela and when she makes eye contact hebreaks away from the Nurse, runs toward her with armsoutstretched. NURSE Barry!He runs right into Angela's arms, hugs her tight. Angelais totally baffled. John is thoroughly intrigued. NURSE Oh God... (CONTINUED) 66.CONTINUED:She rushes in, gently tugs the boy away. NURSE No, Barry, that's not Isabel.Barry stares at Angela. He reaches out, touches herface, confused. Nurse pulls him back even further. NURSE I'm sorry. They were friends. He kind of had a crush on your sister.Angela nods, understanding. The Nurse leads Barry away.He doesn't take his eyes off Angela the entire time.Neither does John. JOHN You were twins.Angela nods, steps inside. John pauses, thinking.INT. ISABEL'S ROOMJohn steps inside, gives the sterile room a thoroughscan. JOHN So how long? ANGELA Two months. (beat) This time.He pulls out a drawer, looks at the bottom. ANGELA I already did all that.John runs his hands under the steel bed frame. ANGELA Now you're insulting me. JOHN You don't walk off a building without leaving something behind. ANGELA You saw everything she left behind. In that box. (CONTINUED) 67.CONTINUED: JOHN Maybe she left something else. Something more personal. Just for you.Angela doesn't like that look he's giving her. JOHN You were her twin, Angela. Twins tend to think alike. ANGELA I'm not like my sister. JOHN But you were at once time. When you were kids. When you'd spend every waking hour with each other. You'd start a sentence, she'd finish it. You'd get hurt, she'd cry. ANGELA That was a long time ago... JOHN That kind of bond doesn't just disappear. ANGELA There's nothing here.Angela seems unbalanced. John gets more aggressive. JOHN She planned her death in this room, she thought it up right where you're standing --Angela backs away. John advances. JOHN She knew you'd come -- She counted on you to see what she saw, to feel what she felt -- to do what she did. What did she do, Angela? ANGELA How should I know? JOHN What did she do, Angela? (CONTINUED) 68.CONTINUED: ANGELA I don't know! JOHN What would you do?Angela backs into a wall. Nowhere else to go now. JOHN What would you leave her? What would it be? Where would it be?! Where would it be?Angela lashes out, shoves John hard, pushing him out ofher way. She turns to the window, almost hyperventilating.John stays back, watches. Angela opens her eyes. Thetension seems to flow right out of her when she sees -- ANGELA The tree.EXT. COURTYARD - NIGHTA lone tree stands in the center of the lit courtyard.John and Angela approach it. Examine it. Nothing. Johndrops lower on the tree, to a child's height. Finallysees something near the ground, gestures to Angela.She kneels down next to him, sees what he sees.That same SYMBOL. The one Hennessey carved into hishand. But this time there's more. ANGELA (trying to rationalize) There must have been a tree in our backyard... when we were kids...John may not be buying it but he's not saying anything.His fingers trace these words carved below the symbol -- JOHN 'COR 14:01.' ANGELA Cor? JOHN Corinthians. (CONTINUED) 69.CONTINUED: ANGELA (shaking her head) There is no 14h act in Corinthians.John's face goes pale -- JOHN I need a church.INT. HOSPITAL CHAPEL - MINUTES LATERSeveral families sit in solemn prayer. The pastorcomforts a man and wife. John and Angela slip through,head for the shelves of reference books on the back wall.They whisper. JOHN Corinthians goes to 21 acts in the book of Ethenius. It's like a dark mirror of the Bible. It paints a different view of Revelations, says that the world will not come to an end at the hand of God but be reborn in the embrace of the damned. ANGELA There's a difference? JOHN Depends on which side of the fence you're standing.John stops, casually sticks his hand in the pastor's bowlof holy water near the altar. ANGELA So why haven't I seen this book before? JOHN Because it doesn't exist here on this side.John closes his eyes and the water in the bowl begins toBOIL -- ANGELA (O.S.) What do you mean --Flickering candlelight slows to a stop, catching Angelamid-question and the room in that dim half-light.John turns and is inside -- 70.SAME CHAPEL - HELLThe epitome of blasphemy -- A church in Hell. Only theydon't worship God in here. And that's not Christ on thecross. And those stained glass windows are now slateblack.John is now facing books with completely differentmarkings. He searches as a DRONE rises in pitch and anINKY BLACKNESS begins to flow down the walls, gettingcloser to John with each heartbeat.He finds the book, steps back as he closes his eyes --REGULAR CHAPEL ANGELA -- not here on this side?John turns, covered in sweat. He's holding a book she'snever seen, is already flipping through it. ANGELA Where did that come from? JOHN (stopping to read) 13:29. 13:30 -- Here... Corinthians 14:01... (skimming to this) 'The sins of the father would only be exceeded by the ego of the son.' ANGELA Whose son?John stands, his brain going into overdrive. JOHN Symbol isn't a demon's... that's why I couldn't place it... not a normal possession... ANGELA John, what are you talking about? JOHN But he can't cross over -- impossible for the son to cross over... ANGELA Whose son? God's? (CONTINUED) 71.CONTINUED: JOHN No. The other one. (off her look) Lucifer had a son too.INT. 20 LANES - BEHIND THE LANESBeeman sits under the glow of a desk lamp. The narrowalley of machines stretches out behind him. He staresinto the scrolls -- an ancient book with a single pagefolded a thousand times. Turns another page.BOWLING AREAAmazing how disturbing a bowling alley is when it'sclosed. Rows of empty lanes stretching into darkness,the unlit pin areas looking like the jaws of an army ofbeasts. BEEMAN (O.S.) Oh my...BEHIND THE LANESBeeman has stopped turning pages. That's because he'snow staring at an etching of the same symbol. Below areink drawings of a ghastly beast rising up through a body.But it's what's above the beast that is most troubling.A figure on a cross -- his arms outstretched -- seeminglywelcoming the beast into this world. BEEMAN This is not good...BOWLING BALL hits a lane. Beeman spins to the sound.BALL ROLLS round and round, closer and closer until itCLANGS dead against the back wall of one of the lanes.Beeman gets up, starts down the corridor of dormant pinmachines.He stops at lane 13, leans way way down, past themachinery and peeks out the pin hole. BEEMAN John? 72.EXT. LA STREETS - NIGHTAngela's SUV races quickly through traffic while Johngets her up to speed. JOHN (V.O.) The myth says Mammon was conceived before his father's fall from grace but was born after.INT. SUV JOHN But unlike his old man, he's never been in the presence of the Creator so he has no fear of him, no respect either. That goes double for us -- God's most prized creations. Mammon would be the last demon we'd ever want crossing over. ANGELA But demons can't come and go, that's what you said. JOHN Unless they found a bridge. (off her look) Some psychic with the chops to reach all the way to Hell and the grit to withstand whatever shit she'd pull out. ANGELA Isabel... JOHN But even a bridge wouldn't help Mammon. Because to cross over, the myth says he'd still need the one thing he could never get. Divine assistance. The help of God.Angela sits back, letting that sink in. ANGELA So it's impossible. JOHN Impossible? Sure it's impossible. That's what makes it so dangerous. These things exist to break the rules, to find the loopholes. If the past is any indication, then the future isn't on our side. (CONTINUED) 73.CONTINUED:John sits back, gut churning. Angela's in detective mode. ANGELA She knew. That's why she killed herself. But it doesn't make sense... JOHN Makes sense to me. ANGELA John, she sacrificed herself to beat him.John nods. Your point? ANGELA Why is she in Hell?One of those rare moments where John has no answer.INT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEYSomething small and SHINY is rolling down the alley. Itlands in the trough, spins round and round --Beeman leans out to try and see what it is. The silverobject keeps spinning.He waits for it to stop, swats a fly near his face. Thenanother.Book on his desk ignites in flame.EXT. 20 LANES - NIGHTSUV pulls into the empty parking lot. John is out beforeAngela gets it in park, unlocks the side door. A fewflies escape to freedom as he opens the door. Johnrushes in.INT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEYOnly a LOW HUM pervades the dead stillness of the alley. JOHN Beeman?John grabs the door that leads behind the pin area. It'slocked from the other side. (CONTINUED) 74.CONTINUED: JOHN (pounds on door) Hey, Beeman? Beeman?!The LOW HUM fluctuates -- sounds like a BUZZING. ANGELA Maybe he's not here. JOHN He's always here.Several more flies flit by him. This time John notices,turns and spots the source of the HUM -- a cloud of FLIESnear the center aisles. Angela follows his gaze, spotsthem as well. ANGELA What?John heads across the lanes. Swarm gets thicker andthicker. Angela keeps up with him, covers her mouth.They approach the pin area of the center lane. Thesource of the swarm is slowly revealed. In the catchtrough is a solid mound of flies.John leans closer, spots a HAND protruding from themound. JOHN Oh Jesus, no --He rips his coat off, flings it at the mound and millionflies scatter -- revealing the body of Beeman. Ravaged.Flies pouring out of his mouth, his ears -- ANGELA (stepping back) Oh God --John goes ballistic, screams to the walls -- JOHN Who are you?! Answer me!! Goddamit -- reveal yourself! I summon you!He angrily rips his sleeves up -- revealing two distinctTATTOOS on his forearms. Slams them together with allhis might -- clenching his eyes tight -- concentrating --Veins in his arms and neck bulge, look ready to explode -- (CONTINUED) 75.CONTINUED:Angela steps back in awe as the air around hisoutstretched arms begins to WARP -- to tear a faint holefrom the bowling alley right into another world righthere -- darker -- Hellish -- JOHN Into the light I command thee!! Into the light I --John is choked by a cough -- can't finish -- armsseparate and he buckles to his knees, reveals to Angelajust how ill he really is.She leans down to him, sees hints of blood on the floor. JOHN ... this is my fault... I sent them in... I sent them right to their deaths... a damn one-man plague. ANGELA John, you need a doctor. JOHN I've seen a goddamn doctor!!Angela glares at him -- understands now. He's dying.John stands, almost stumbles. Angela tries to help. JOHN Get away from me!! ANGELA John? JOHN Stay the hell away -- (tortured look to her) Please --He uses the handrail to walk away. Angela stands there,confused by her own emotions. She turns back to thecarnage, hears the distant SIRENS.INT./EXT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - NIGHTJohn sits in his opened window, simmering. He holds alit cigarette but doesn't dare put it to his lips.Outside the city goes about its unending churn. (CONTINUED) 76.CONTINUED:Down on the street are several police vehicles. ENGINESSTART and they drive away. Swirl of blue and red lightsflash across John's moist eyes. ANGELA (O.S.) There were no trees in our back yard.John finds Angela across the room in his doorway. ANGELA But you knew that already, didn't you?John meets her eyes. Sees the questions piling up. ANGELA (walking towards him) You see something in me... Something Isabel had. JOHN Go home, Angela. ANGELA I need to understand --John just shakes his head. ANGELA Why not? JOHN Because you open up to that world, you're inviting whatever's out there back in. That's what happened to Isabel. ANGELA I'm not Isabel. JOHN No, she embraced her gift while you denied yours and that denial is exactly why you're still alive. Stick with me, that'll change.John gets off the window, starts walking away. JOHN And I don't need another ghost following me around. (CONTINUED) 77.CONTINUED: ANGELA Dammit, John -- they killed my sister!That stops him cold. ANGELA I can't let them get away with that. Even if it means going down the same path she did. Now if you won't help me get there, I'll find my own way. But I won't run. Never.The two stand there -- locked in this moment. ANGELA Please...John can't believe this day -- looks her dead in the eye. JOHN You do this, there's no turning back. You see them -- they see you. Understand?Angela never blinks as she nods in agreement.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - LATERPushing slowly through a lifeless apartment -- drawingcloser to the opened bathroom door. WATER is pouring. ANGELA (O.S.) Do I take off my clothes or leave them on? (a beat) John? JOHN (O.S.) I'm thinking. ANGELA (O.S.) John. JOHN (O.S.) On is fine.INT. BATHROOMJohn fills a 70-year-old porcelain BATHTUB. Angelastands in the center. (CONTINUED) 78.CONTINUED: ANGELA Why water? JOHN It's the universal conduit. Lubricates the transition from one plane to another. Now ask me if there's water in Hell.John turns off the faucet. JOHN Sit.Angela grabs his shoulder for balance, lowers herself.When she's sitting, the water is all the way to her neck. JOHN Normally only a portion of the body has to be suspended but you wanted the crash course... ANGELA (teeth chattering) What will I see?His eyes say it all. Enough. JOHN Lie down. ANGELA (gesturing the depth) Lie down? JOHN You have to be fully submerged. ANGELA For how long? JOHN As long as it takes. Here --John cups the back of her neck, holds her face just abovethe water as she lowers down. Her breathing is pickingup. John leans over the tub, looks straight down at her. JOHN Last chance... (off her look) Take a deep one. (CONTINUED) 79.CONTINUED:Angela takes a deep breath, holds it. John pulls hishand away and she settles to the bottom, her eyes rivetedon his the entire time.ANGELA'S POVA silent John ripples above. His hand grips her arm,skin to skin.BACK TO SCENEAngela lies there and panic sets in. She starts tosurface but John pushes her head back to the bottom,holds it firm. Her eyes dart about. Air is running out.She can't hold her breath much longer. It's notworking --But the room's lighting begins to pulsate -- as if thecurrent were ramping down. It slows to that dim half-light as --JOHN'S EYES -- CLOSE. A single blink.ANGELA is lying in now BOILING WATER, screaming for allof her life. Water muffles the sound but not the fury.Huge TUB SHUDDERS hard -- snapping out of the hold downbolts. John is stunned -- how powerful is this woman?Another SCREAM and the inch-thick TUB CRACKS. Waterstarts streaming onto the tile.John lunges, grabs Angela and PULLS her up from thewater -- her muffled SCREAMS SHATTERING the air as hermouth breaks the surface. She SLAMS hard against hischest -- arms wrapping tight -- fingers digging into hisback -- leaving marks that might just scar.TUB GIVES WAY and the damn breaks. John and Angela godown -- hit the tile as one -- water washing over themboth.ANGELA lies there on top of John. Trembling. She looksup him, eyes filled with revelation. ANGELA All those people... so sad...John nods, helping her understand. (CONTINUED) 80.CONTINUED: ANGELA ... I've always known... where the bad guys are... where to aim, when to duck... it's not luck... I've always known...Tears stream down her cheeks. John reaches out to touchher when her eyes CLAMP TIGHT in pain -- JOHN Angela?Eyes snap open and she's off him in a second, runs out.John pries himself from the tile, goes after her.INT. BEHIND THE ALLEYAngela runs behind the vertebrae of machines, drippingwater the entire way. John tries to keep up. ANGELA It was rolling toward him -- not a ball -- something smaller. Shiny.She stops, kneels to the floor. John walks up to join her.Something glints in the catch trough. She reaches down,plucks it up and brings an odd COIN INTO VIEW --John's face contorts with rage as he takes the familiarcoin. JOHN Balthazar.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - LATERBeeman's bowling bag is flipped and the contents aredumped onto a table. Powder, bugs and bullets goeverywhere. John retrieves the odd-tipped bullets.Those brass knuckles and that copper pipe are taken also.CHRISTIAN RELICSare removed from a display cabinet.There's the pure platinum Flask of Divinity, thepetrified husk from the River of Life -- the hollow shaftof an iron cross -- all striking pieces individually butwhen twisted and locked together form a very imposing -- (CONTINUED) 81.CONTINUED:-- HOLY SHOTGUN.He swings the cross down, pours a pound of blastingpowder into the husk -- chambers a special bullet intoone of the ten barrels, snaps it shut -- turns and FIRES.BULLET leaves a trail of flame as it streaks across hisendless apartment, blasts the center out of --A carton of Lucky Strikes.SETTLE ON the Surgeon General's warning -- burning away. ANGELA (V.O.) Can you kill him? What about the Balance?INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - LATERJohn is stuffing the bowling bag while Angela watches,now dressed in dry clothes. That shirt is John's. JOHN That half-breed tipped my scales when he started killing my friends. I'm just adding a little counterweight.John lifts that holy shotgun -- KA CHICK -- ANGELA What about me? I can't stay here forever.John turns to her -- locks on those eyes. He reachesinto his coat pocket as he walks up to her. She shuddersas his arms wrap around her face and for a beat they'recheek to cheek. When he pulls back she sees he hasclipped Hennessey's AMULET around her neck. JOHN Think of it as a bulletproof vest. ANGELA So I'm going. JOHN (knows he can't win) You're staying in the car. 82.INT./EXT. 20 LANES - DAWNFAT-ASS TIRES BURN under the full torque of a 426 HEMI.A jet-black '70s BARRACUDA BLASTS from the basementgarage of 20 Lanes -- slides onto the streets of L.A.Angela hangs on as John grabs the SKULL shifter knob --slams into 2nd -- leaves another layer of tread behind.EXT. OCEANFLYING OVER the ocean, a 747 ROARS RIGHT OVER US.Dipping out of cloud cover, it reveals the coast of asprawling metropolis stretched out miles below.L.A. LANDMARKS - DAWNstreak PAST. The Big Donut, the occult bookstores, the'57 Chevy sign, that Mission in the park.This is actually the POV FROM John's Barracuda.He downshifts -- DRIFTS PAST a building with a facade ofpre-stressed concrete and huge gold letters -- "BZRFINANCE AND BROKERAGE." JOHN (O.S.) This shouldn't take long.INT. BZR BROKERAGEElevator opens and John steps out into a lobby ofconcrete and glass. Pretentious design screams money.Lots of it.Since trading is still a half hour away, the place ispractically empty.Across the room a stainless steal DOOR HISSES open. Johnlooks the other way as a Security Guard exits. ThickDOOR glides closed, seals with another HISS. No way in.John notices the janitor down one hallway. It's Nicofrom Midnite's. He and John lock stares. Nico opens a"Security Only" door, steps inside -- leaves the dooropen.INT. TRADING ROOMMonitors are powering up around the room. A few of thoseYoung Businessmen we last saw at Midnite's are here. (CONTINUED) 83.CONTINUED: YOUNG TURK (into phone) Hey, early bird is a fat bird, know what I'm sayin'?Balthazar walks through, looking every bit like the smugand successful businessman he is. He stops at a LONGMIRROR on one wall. Adjusts his collar, his hair. His"look." PRETTY BOY What are we pushing today, sir? BALTHAZAR Phillip Morris.As Balthazar admires himself, his reflection distortsslightly. The demon in him? He touches his face, does avowel stretch. His face distorts even further.That's got him moving closer to the mirror.Balthazar's concerned because now his skin appearsin motion, rippling as if liquefied. And just when hesees the surface of the mirror BLISTERING and starts tomove --BOOOM --One way GLASS EXPLODES outward on the front edge of aFIREBALL -- sending Balthazar flying with glass andflame.John stands on the other side in an ACCESS CHANNEL --that Dragon's breath flamethrower now duct-taped to hisholy shotgun. JOHN How's he doing it?John steps into the trading room, eyes Balthazar risingfrom the floor. Suit's in shreds, half his face isburned off, but now he's pissed. BALTHAZAR This is in direct violation of the Balance! JOHN Screw the Balance.John hits him with another BLAST of FLAME -- pins himhard against the wall. (CONTINUED) 84.CONTINUED:Balthazar's young turks attack. One leaps over thetrading station. John swings around -- aims the SHOTGUN-- BOOM -- half-breed is blasted midair.The other turk seems to defy gravity as he scampersacross the ceiling. John aims up -- PUMPS SEVERAL ROUNDS-- steps out of the way as a body falls, smashes into adesk. BOOM -- BOOM -- that'll keep it down.INT. BARRACUDAAngela hears the GUNSHOTS. Cop instinct takes over andshe gets out of the car. Checks the amulet. Intact.INT. BZR TRADING ROOMJohn turns his attention back to Balthazar, doesn'thesitate and hits him with a continuous tide of flame.Suit and skin is peeling off, revealing something elseunderneath. The true form. JOHN How's he doing it, you half-breed shit?!John swings the flame aside so he can KICK Balthazaragainst the wall. But now his WEAPON SPUTTERS. Shit.Charcoal hand thrusts out, bats away the shotgun andgrabs John by the throat.Balthazar rises from the ashes. He may be burned, buthe's one tough son of a bitch.Balthazar slides John up a wall by his neck. John can'tbreak his hold. He's choking, frantically rummagesthrough his coat pockets. Comes out with those sacredGOLD KNUCKLES on his right hand.Balthazar tightens his grip and John swings, clocks himacross the face. The enhanced punch sends a dizzyingripple throughout Balthazar's body.But he doesn't let go. John is choking, starts whalingon him. Again and again -- each punch weakening thisdemon more.John finally gets him against the wall. Right arm'stired so he slips the gold knuckles onto his left hand,and with extreme pleasure -- continues punching away.Drives Balthazar to the floor, right to the brink ofdeath. (CONTINUED) 85.CONTINUED:He leans up, winded. Watches in delight as Balthazarstrains to take his final breaths. BALTHAZAR I will see you very soon... JOHN Not really, no. BALTHAZAR You can't cheat it this time... you're going back to Hell. JOHN True. But you're not.John removes that small BLACK BOX from his coat.Balthazar tries not to be concerned until John unlatchesit and removes the one weapon he hardly ever uses --A Bible. BALTHAZAR What are you doing? JOHN I'm reading you your last rites.Balthazar reacts. This isn't good. BALTHAZAR Your remedial incantations have no relevance to my kind. JOHN Aren't you half human?Balthazar doesn't have to answer. JOHN You see, that makes you eligible to be forgiven. You do know what it is to truly be forgiven? To be welcomed into the kingdom of God?Balthazar's worst nightmare. JOHN A demon in heaven -- love to be a fly on that wall... BALTHAZAR You're not a priest, you have no power... (CONTINUED) 86.CONTINUED: JOHN -- I escaped hell, who else do you know that has the power to do that?!Balthazar is now doubting his own beliefs. JOHN Just tell me how Mammon is crossing over and you can go back to your shithole.Balthazar isn't convinced.John stands -- raises the Bible and starts to read -- JOHN 'May the merciful God have mercy on you and grant you the pardon of all your sins...'He places a hand on Balthazar's forehead. Balthazarglares at it as John's voice rises with commandingauthority. JOHN 'Whosoever sins you remit on earth they are remitted unto them in heaven. I absolve you from -- ' BALTHAZAR -- It may not even work... JOHN How? How's he doing it?!Balthazar looks scared as shit to tell him. JOHN (bellowing out) 'Grant your child entry into thy kingdom in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Gh -- ' BALTHAZAR ... Sangre de dio.John is stunned -- did he hear right? Balthazar nods. JOHN How? (CONTINUED) 87.CONTINUED: BALTHAZAR What killed the Son of God will give birth to the son of the devil.John's mind races and he finally puts it together. JOHN He's found the Spear.Balthazar's expression confirms it.CLOSE ON THE PRISONER'S RELICIt's tucked between the folds of an AIRLINES blanket. FLIGHT ATTENDANT (V.O.) (over com) Ladies and gentlemen, we've been cleared for landing. Please make sure your seats are in their upright and locked position.Hand COMES IN, grips the relic. WIDEN to see...INT. 747 - MID-FLIGHTPrisoner in an aisle seat, trying to keep calm. He looksbehind him as if being watched. Just nerves again. FLIGHT ATTENDANT (V.O.) (over com) We should be on the ground in Los Angeles within ten minutes.EXT. BZR BROKERAGE - FRONT AREAANGELA moves through the gathered crowd looking up at thebuilding. As she makes her way through, the amuletbrushes against bodies -- swinging from side to side.Angela suddenly stops in the center of the street,turns... ANGELA Something's coming...She stares at her surroundings with an increasing senseof dread. Then hears the RUMBLE and TIRES SCREECHING. (CONTINUED) 88.CONTINUED:Angela spins, spots John's BARRACUDA exploding around thecorner. It barrels up the street and slides to aSQUEALING stop in front of her. Passenger door swingsopen. JOHN What happened to staying in the car? ANGELA You were in danger. JOHN Well now there's a premonition.SIRENS crack the air. Angela jumps in and John PEELSOUT.INT. BZRBalthazar is taking his last breaths when the sound ofWIND filters through the room. He looks up as a shadowdrapes across him. Eyes widen. BALTHAZAR One more chance...Shadow darkens and his decimated form shudders. JOHN (V.O.) Jesus didn't die from being nailed to a cross.EXT./INT. BARRACUDA - MOVINGJohn takes a turn at 70 as Angela stares into John'sBible. JOHN He was finished off by a soldier's spear.He points in the Bible at a detailed painting of theevent -- Jesus hanging on the cross -- being pierced by asoldier's spear. It matches that child's drawing Johnremoved from the fridge -- now lying on his seat. ANGELA I'm Catholic, John -- I know the crucifixion story. (CONTINUED) 89.CONTINUED: JOHN Then you know what this spear would mean to a demon trying to cross over.She doesn't. JOHN The stains on its edges?Angela looks back at the painting, notes the liquidflowing from Jesus' wound. Angela can't believe it -- JOHN Mammon needed divine assistance -- how's the blood of God's only son?Angela sits stunned for a moment. ANGELA So that's it -- he's got everything he needs to escape... JOHN Not quite. (glances at her) Twins.Angela gives him a look. Something in the rearviewmirror catches his gaze. JOHN Here we go --John floors it and Angela glances out the back window,spots something in the traffic -- bounding over vehicles,hitting the pavement on all fours -- ANGELA What is that? JOHN A hound on the hunt.A blur of muscle and bone leaps over cars at incrediblespeed -- denting in roofs, CRACKING a WINDSHIELD --causing general chaos. Cars brake -- SLIDE into eachother. And still this thing keeps coming. JOHN Hang on --BARRACUDA slides into an alley, races toward the otherend. (CONTINUED) 90.CONTINUED:Angela looks back, sees their pursuer enter the alley.It makes huge strides along the walls, defying all mannerof physics. ANGELA Impossible.The beast goes right up the wall and disappears above thebuilding. ANGELA I lost it.BAM, something lands hard on the roof, denting it a goodfoot.A huge clawed TALON punches into the sheet metal, startsshredding it right over Angela. Talon thrusts in.Angela dodges it -- her amulet swinging wildly.John HITS the BRAKES and the beast flips off the roof andonto the hood -- right INTO VIEW.A muscular anomaly with eyes that are unmistakablyBalthazar's. He lashes against the windshield with anextra appendage. Thank God for safety glass.He jerks back his embedded talon, pulls the entirewindshield out with it, smashing it on the hood. GLASSPARTICLES EXPLODE into the car.John throws the car into a spin, slamming the Barracudainto several parked cars. Balthazar is uprooted, isthrown from the car.Angela looks back, sees Balthazar rolling into traffic. ANGELA He's down -- JOHN He's not down. Gimme your phone.Angela pulls out her cellular.EXT. DOWNTOWNA BRITISH COUPLE sit in the back of Chaz's taxi, staringout at the seedy side of town as if it were "WildKingdom." (CONTINUED) 91.CONTINUED: BRITISH MAN They mark their territory with graffiti instead of urine but they're still very much animals.British woman takes documentary photos.Chaz's CELLULAR RINGS over the BUZZ of a dispatch SCANNER. CHAZ This is a private line -- John?!INTERCUT JOHN. JOHN Chaz -- where are you?! CHAZ Ah... 3rd and Figueroa. JOHN You still got that Sedrallus? CHAZ (glancing to couple) Yeah, but I'm kind of busy right now, John. JOHN Dammit, Chaz, I'm trying to save my ass here! CHAZ (under his breath) What else is new... JOHN Remember the Chalic of Enook incident? CHAZ (remembering) Oh no, no, no, not that, I just paid off this car! JOHN West side of the 3rd Street Bridge, say...He checks the speedometer -- 90 mph. JOHN ... 2 minutes. (CONTINUED) 92.CONTINUED: CHAZ I'm five blocks away! (as John CLICKS off) John? John?! Ah... shit.Chaz downshifts, stops in cloud of dust -- CHAZ Sorry, tour's over.The British start to argue. CHAZ OUT YA WANKERS!!! NOW!!EXT. LA STREETS - CONTINUOUS ACTIONJohn heads toward the skyline now -- at 90 mph -- to the3rd Street Bridge on the horizon.Angela scans behind them, can't believe her eyes. ANGELA He's back.Here comes Balthazar through traffic on all fours -- ANGELA John, he's back and he's gaining! JOHN Of course he's gaining.John PUNCHES the GAS to the floor.EXT. 3RD STREET BRIDGEChaz swerves onto the other side of the narrow bridge.He SCREECHES TO A STOP across the roadway -- opens theglove box, grabs a velvet-wrapped object and pulls aglass vial out of it.Inside flows a phosphorescent green liquid. Chaz jumpsout, runs to the back of the car, pauses when he hearsthe sound of a STRAINING ENGINE.Here comes the topless Barracuda over the bridge's archedroadway. And what the hell is that running behind it? CHAZ Shit -- shit -- shit -- (CONTINUED) 93.CONTINUED:Chaz twists off the gas cap, drops the vial into the tank.He pulls out his BEEPER, rips the cover off, exposing theelectronics.He wedges the beeper into the tank inlet, then startssprinting off the bridge while --INT. BARRACUDAJohn gives Angela the number. JOHN 9... 5... 4...Taxi in view. Angela punches in the number -- ANGELA 9-5-4...They RIP past the taxi -- JOHN 6... 6... 6Here comes Balthazar up the bridge. Like a superchargedcheetah, running full stride. And not even winded. ANGELA 6... 6... 6Balthazar is almost to the taxi -- John waits -- then -- JOHN 6.Angela punches the last digit as ---- Balthazar LEAPS to jump the taxi --INT. GAS TANKBEEPER CONTACTS BUZZ -- spark -- GAS IGNITES --TAXIEXPLODES right under Balthazar in a tremendous FIREBALL.Initial impact only kicks him higher. It's when theSedrallus in the tank truly ignites that the realFIREWORKS begin. (CONTINUED) 94.CONTINUED:Balthazar is caught in a haze of brilliant red particlesthat tear his body apart in midair. His final SHRIEK ischilling.EXT./INT. BARRACUDAJohn smacks the wheel, victoriously -- looks over toAngela who sighs with relief. His expression changes ashe centers on the empty necklace dangling around herneck. JOHN Where's the amulet?WHAM -- something reaches through the roof hole and JERKSHER right out of the car. JOHN ANGELA!!John SLAMS the BRAKES home -- car spins and John isalready jumping out before it comes to a stop. He runsto the rail. CHAZ (running up) What the hell was that?!Both leap onto the concrete rail, lean over and spot aHUGE WINGED SHADOW just as it disappears below thebridge.Chaz is speechless as he turns to John. This is toomuch. John gives him the out he's been waiting for -- JOHN We're even.Chaz nods and John leaves him at the rail. He jumps backin the BARRACUDA and PEELS OUT.Chaz watches him race away, looks back at his burningtaxi. CHAZ Even?EXT. LAX - DAYPrisoner walks out of the terminal, here at last. Hestares at all the vehicles at his disposal. A familycrowds around the back of a minivan. Wife hugs the dad. 95.MYSTERIOUS POVWatches him from behind. Prisoner turns, looks back,suspiciously. Nothing.PRISONERwalks out to the street, slides into the minivan, tearsaway. Kids' toys tumble across the seats.INT. CLUB MIDNITE - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTIONJohn bursts through a door -- Midnite right on his heels. MIDNITE Mammon has been trying to climb out of his father's shadow for eons. JOHN And this time he might just make it. MIDNITE (unconvinced) Because he's got the Spear? JOHN And the bridge. MIDNITE You're giving this girl way too much credit. JOHN You don't know her. MIDNITE And you do? That would be a first.John swings open a STORAGE ROOM DOOR -- looks in atlarge-scale relics -- statues, props, etc. JOHN Where's the chair? MIDNITE The chair? JOHN The delicate little number from Sing Sing? (CONTINUED) 96.CONTINUED:Midnite just stares at him. MIDNITE It's a fine line that separates a hero from a fool. JOHN I'll take my chances. MIDNITE And taint my establishment with your blood? I don't think so. JOHN Midnite -- MIDNITE You know what that device can do to the ill-equipped -- JOHN Midnite -- MIDNITE -- and even in your most glorious days your brain was never your most powerful attribute -- JOHN Where the hell is the chair, you dumb shit?!Midnite just stands there -- his body inflating past it'sseven feet. John knows he went too far. JOHN That was the cancer talking, you know that, right? MIDNITE (holds up his finger) Once.John nods.INT. STORAGE AREAFluorescents flicker, REVEAL boxes of toilet tissue,cooking supplies, etc. And sitting in one corner by thehuge power transformer is -- (CONTINUED) 97.CONTINUED:-- the chair. Heavy wooden monstrosity with straps andcuffs and the wear of many who sat in it for the lasttime. Yeah, it's an electric chair right out of SingSing. JOHN What's in your bathroom, a Renoir? MIDNITE I have insurance issues.John clears off the seat, starts to sit. Midnite blockshim. MIDNITE You haven't surfed in decades. JOHN Like riding a bike...He tries again. Midnite blocks him again. MIDNITE You'll be lucky to reach an elemental plane. JOHN Then just increase the juice.John tries again. Again Midnite stops him. MIDNITE In your condition your body won't take much. JOHN I just need enough rope to find her. MIDNITE And if you do -- what then? JOHN One goddamn problem at a time --John shoves past him, plops his ass in the huge chair.His feet dangle off the ground. Midnite stands by, won'thelp. So John starts strapping himself in the chair.His chest, his ankles. One wrist. He obviously can'tstrap the other. He looks to the big man. JOHN You want me to sign a waiver? (CONTINUED) 98.CONTINUED:Midnite sighs -- finally straps the other wrist in --pulls it TIGHT. Ouch. JOHN Hang on, Angela.EXT. SKY - CLOSE ON ANGELAmoving in a surreal fashion across an evening sky. Belowher the City of Angels sweep past. Her eyes drift openand widen in horror as she sees beyond reality --REFLECTION IN HER EYESThe city is ON FIRE. It's a repeat of Isabel's propheticvision before she jumped. MIDNITE (V.O.) Listen to my voice inside...INT. MIDNITE'S - STORAGE ROOMMidnite kneels in front of John who is now handcuffed tothe chair, cables draped from every limb. MIDNITE I'll try and guide you out. JOHN Try? MIDNITE Mammon was forced out of that girl when she jumped so unless he found a holding vessel to wait in, he would have fallen back to Hell. JOHN No, he's still here. I'm sure of it. MIDNITE Then watch yourself. He could be in anyone out there.John nods. Midnite lifts a palm of INSECT WINGS in frontof his face. JOHN Roach wings? What happened to using lilac pedals -- ? (CONTINUED) 99.CONTINUED:Midnite cranks the JUICE on the panel as he BLOWS and Johnreacts as if being hit by a blast of wind. His head slamsback against the slats. His skin ripples from the force.STAY ON his face as the sound of POWER courses through John. MIDNITE Peter do caelis, Deus, misere nobis. Fili Redemptor mundi, Deus, Miserere nobis...A FLASH turns into a streak behind John's face --stretching to infinity. MIDNITE (V.O.) Find the possessor and the Spear will be revealed... find them... find them and follow...The flash whips back TOWARD us and John is suddenlysomewhere else. He looks O.S.INT. PRISON CHAMBER FROM THE OPENFROM that MYSTERIOUS POV, we watch the Prisoner hold theSpear for the first time. Like before, he turns andlooks behind him where --John now stands. Watching. John centers on the Spear inthe Prisoner's hand.FLASH AHEAD - INT. ISTANBUL AIRPORTThat same MYSTERIOUS POV of the Prisoner in line. Heturns as he did before and it's ---- John behind him. Watching. Prisoner turns away.FLASH AHEAD - EXT. LAX TERMINAL - EVENINGMYSTERIOUS POV is ON the Prisoner at the exit doors. Helooks back, suspiciously, and there's -John. Watching. Prisoner turns, heads to the minivan.FLASH AHEAD - EXT. EAST L.A. - MYSTERIOUS POV - NIGHTof a minivan still smoking from a recent impact against alarge iron ENTRANCE GATE. Prisoner is running from it,glances back -- (CONTINUED) 100.CONTINUED:John is there. Watches as the Prisoner enters theabandoned wing of -- Ravenscar. John reacts. How did hemiss this?FLASH AHEAD - INT. SLEEP ROOMFifty beds with fifty patients. Asleep. The Prisonerkneels next to one of the beds. John walks over, toucheshim and he rocks to the floor. Dead. Body reveals theSpear on the blanket of the bed.John reaches out to touch it when the boy BARRY suddenlySITS UP from under the blanket and grabs him by thethroat. NOTE the boy's BLACKENED FINGERNAILS.John struggles to pull him off but the boy's grip islocked tight. John grabs at his hands -- chokes out thename -- JOHN MIDNITE!!John's hands suddenly become MIDNITE'S as his ally pullshim back into --INT. MIDNITE'S - STORAGE ROOMJohn's face is held tight in the life-saving fingers ofMidnite's grip. John gasps as he comes back -- nods toMidnite and finally -- JOHN Ravenscar. The abandoned wing. He's in the boy.EXT. OVER HILLSIDE - FLYING - EVENINGWINGED SHADOW glides across the landscape, sweeps acrossmanicured grounds and rises to reveal Ravenscar Hospital.INT. MIDNITE'S OFFICE - LATERMidnite piles ASSAULT RIFLES, SHOTGUNS, GLOCKS onto atable. MIDNITE You know these won't kill them.John adjusts the flames of a butane heater under a pan. (CONTINUED) 101.CONTINUED: MIDNITE You probably won't even get close enough to use them.In the pan is that RELIGIOUS RELIC he brought from India.It's now MELTING. Midnite has trouble watching itdissolve. MIDNITE And it's not just the boy.John coughs, pours the melted gold into several smallcasting blocks. MIDNITE You better worry about whoever's helping him.John gives the big guy a glance, dips one of the castingsinto a pot of water -- HISSSSSS. MIDNITE As much as I admire your blind faith even in the most dire situations -- expecting to just waltz into a facility that is about to become the floodgate of Hell is reaching a bit, even for you.John stops the work, centers on him and Midnite justknows what he's thinking. Midnite sighs, heavily. MIDNITE Well I suppose two fools can die just as easily as one.John almost smiles. MIDNITE Hey, you think I'm trusting you to save the world?John taps the casting and out falls a GOLD-TIPPED BULLET. MIDNITE But we're going to need more than a few magic bullets to get inside.John centers on the Sparkletts bottles positioned aroundthe room. Just like John's. Hmmmm... (CONTINUED) 102.CONTINUED: JOHN That ritual you do with the water, can you do more than one bottle at a time?Midnite raises an eyebrow.EXT. RAVENSCAR - NIGHTThe motorized MAIN GATE is jammed -- opening and closingon a crashed VAN. The van the Prisoner carjacked. Theabandoned hospital wing stands ominous against a moonlitnight. Vague figures move about near the emergencyentrance.John's BARRACUDA IDLES up with its headlights off. Johnstares out, points up to the WATER TANK -- on the roof. MIDNITE (sighs) Figures.INT. RAVENSCAR - PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMTherapy machines look like medieval torture devices inthe dimly-lit room. BARRY stands waist deep in a largehydrotherapy tank inset into the tile floor. His skin ispale, sickly looking. Obviously containing Mammon takesits toll. Especially on a child.His hands are below his waist and now we see they'relowering a still-unconscious Angela into the water. Herface floats just above the surface as he bucklesrestraining straps around her wrists.INT. RAVENSCAR - ABANDONED WINGFront glass doors swing open and John and Midnite calmlystrut inside. Stop.HEAR the O.S. MURMURS of an unseen crowd.This EMERGENCY ROOM is crammed with people. Lawyers.Brokers. Soccer moms. Truck drivers. Etc... Most arecrowded in front of a set of double doors.Room goes dead silent as all eyes lock on our guys.John steps from Midnite, raises his hands like a riotcop. (CONTINUED) 103.CONTINUED: JOHN Okay -- let's cut the scratch and call it a night. Meeting's over.That's got their attention. As entertainment. A fewchuckle. John is surprised to see Ellie stepping fromthe crowd. Still that bundle of sexual energy. JOHN Ellie? ELLIE Oh, John, you know how much I love it on this side. This was just an opportunity to make it permanent. JOHN You think his son will be any different? He'll just turn this place into his own Hell and then where will you to party, Heaven? ELLIE No need to get nasty. JOHN Never bothered you before. ELLIE I am so going to miss our little trysts.Ellie steps closer. The crowd starts to close in withher. JOHN I'm sure you will.John pulls out his lighter, holds it up -- flicks it on. JOHN Now turn around and take your friends with you.Can he look more ridiculous? JOHN I will deport you. All of you. You know I can.John steps back up onto a chair, thrusts the lighterhigher -- (CONTINUED) 104.CONTINUED: ELLIE Oh, John, this is embarrassing. Where is your pride?-- right under a SPRINKLER HEAD. JOHN Go to Hell.Ellie looks up just as the sprinklers trigger.SERIES OF SHOTSEllie and a room of half-humans -- all looking up aswater sprays from every nozzle. John and Midnite tensebecause the first drops have no effect. A beat -- aSPURT in the waterlines and suddenly -- SHRIEKS fill theroom as half human skin begins to FRY. ELLIE Holy water!Emergency lighting has snapped on -- throwing the roominto a strobing nightmare of action. Flashes of humanskin melting, revealing snippets of the true demonsunderneath. It's total pandemonium as their rage isdirected toward the only real humans in the room.John and Midnite fling their coats open -- draw theirWEAPONS and starts FIRING away at the attacking horde.Sacred bullets cause major damage -- wounds that rippleout through demon bodies.John and Midnite slam back to back -- spinning under theprotective shield of a showering sprinkler head --shooting at all manner of distorted forms that ventureinto the COLUMN OF SPRAY.One reloads while the other FIRES. It's a hellish formof a turkey shoot. Nothing sacred, nothing spared.John goes for the double doors. Midnite covers him --blows away another two disintegrating demons. Two comeup behind and he spins, takes them down.JOHN gets to the doors, starts to open them when Elliejumps onto his back -- nails digging in. ELLIE I'm not going back there! (CONTINUED) 105.CONTINUED: JOHN We are what we are, Ellie --John FIRES over his back, loosens her grip. He grabshold, shoves her face up into the spray of an overheadsprinkler head. Legs flail about.Midnite comes out of the rain -- grabs John. MIDNITE Let's go.John drops Ellie to the floor. No more pretty face -- noface at all -- yet the screams still come.John and Midnite get to the doors -- shove through.INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMAngela's body and face are completely submerged now. Shecomes to, sees Barry above her -- tries to rise but theboy pushes her head to the bottom, holds it there. Lastbubbles are floating up from her mouth. Barry places hisother hand on her arm, closes his eyes.INT. CORRIDORHoly rain has stopped in here. A fine mist floats in theair. John and Midnite make their way through. Onlytheir footsteps on the tile break the stark silence.Another set of doors is ahead. Before they reach it afaint shadow crosses in the mist. Both pause, expectingsomething to reveal itself. But it doesn't.INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMFaint waves undulate Barry's skin -- ripple from hischest, down his arms and into a submerged Angela. Everymuscle in her body tenses in stark relief.ANGELA'S POVBarry's image ripples above her in silence. Roomlighting starts to pulse -- slower and slower and whenit's caught in that dim half-light -- Angela JOLTS andthis time we CROSS OVER INTO -- 106.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM HELLAngela is lying in a bone-dry tank, lifts her head up tosee a room not much different than the one she just left.Except for the SOUND. That low DRONE RISING IN PITCH --those DEMONIC SCREECHES scratching at the walls.And now those INKY splotches begin consuming the colorand light from the walls. Moving in on Angela. Closerand closer -- whatever's coming is just about on her. MAMMON (O.S.) Angela.Angela SPINS and for a split second comes face to facewith the hideous form of MAMMON. She SCREAMS.INT. NORMAL PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - REAL TIMEJohn and Midnite burst into the room, spot Barry standingin the tank. His hands in the water. On Angela. JOHN (rushing toward him) Barry!Barry looks up, sees the two men rushing toward him.Guns aimed. JOHN Let her up!! Let her up!!A beat as John meets Barry's eyes -- realizes he'sstaring at a frightened child. Barry backs away as ---- Angela sits up behind John. Water rippling off,straps dangling free.John turns -- locks on her BLACK EYES. JOHN Shit --John thinks fast -- scans the area and sees every mirrorin the room has been shattered. So much for the quickfix.He jumps into the water with her, grabs her face andpushes her against the tank walls. This is an exorcismon the fly. JOHN Amar natash bow basar! Rescind from the flesh I command thee -- (CONTINUED) 107.CONTINUED:Angela's eyes snap open -- dark and dilated. John seesit -- clasps a hand over her mouth -- cutting off her airsupply. JOHN Back to Hell, asshole --Her body undulates as Mammon's shape tries to come through.Pulsating through her arms, her chest -- her face.Angela BITES into his palm. John recoils. She shoveshim off and John hits the tile hard. Angela jumps fromthe tank, pushes past in a blur. John spins to seeMidnite standing right there -- Angela now firmly in hissize-twelve grasp. MIDNITE (to John) Finish it.INTERCUT WITH:MYSTERIOUS HIGH POVJohn coughs, struggles to stand. He tries to cover butit's obvious his end is nearing. Midnite positionsAngela to face him, braces her arms out from her sides --crucifixion-style. She tries but can't break free. Johnputs a hand to her forehead -- JOHN Et separatur a plasmate tuo, Ut num quam laedatur amorsu antiqui serpentes. JOHN/MIDNITE Rescind from the flesh I command thee -- Amar natash bow basar!Angela's body stops fighting. The darkness in her eyesand fingernails begins to fade. It's working...Midnite is suddenly JERKED backwards with an agonizingYELL. Angela is dropped, slips into unconsciousness.John watches in horror as Midnite's 300-pound frame islifted right off the floor by an INVISIBLE GRASP, slammedinto the ceiling, then twisted and thrown with incredibleforce against the floor.Midnite glares at John, tries to speak. But the wordsdie on his lips. (CONTINUED) 108.CONTINUED:Enraged, John scans the empty room, sees a large SHADOWon the ceiling that doesn't belong to any object.He holds back a cough long enough to rip up his sleevesand slams those tattoos together -- JOHN Into the light I command thee! Into the light I command thee!It takes every ounce of John's life force to keep thisspell alive and when he's about to drop from exhaustionthe shadow is brought fully into the light -- becomesthat familiar shape of WINGS. VOICE OF MAN (O.S.) Your ego is astounding.John strains to see the shadow become the real thing --the majestic wings of an angel. JOHN Gabriel?John is too weak to even be surprised anymore. JOHN Figures...Gabriel touches down in front of him. Spear in his hand. JOHN And the wicked shall inherit the Earth. GABRIEL You presume to judge me, John. JOHN Betrayal, murder, genocide? Call me provincial. GABRIEL I am seeking to inspire humankind to be all that was intended. JOHN By unleashing Hell on Earth? Good thinking...Gabriel's wings fold behind as he walks around John. (CONTINUED) 109.CONTINUED: GABRIEL You've had it too easy for too long. JOHN So what's a few thousand years of pain, right? GABRIEL You never deserved to be blessed. You've all been born with a silver spoon in your mouth, never really appreciating the gift you were given so freely -- unconditional love from your creator. JOHN And that just bugs the shit out of you. GABRIEL It's not your fault. Like the animals you are, you never learn unless sufficiently prodded. Pleasure has no lasting effect. But subject you to pain, unpleasantness -- suffering -- and you will take notice, you will fight to overcome, to earn your redemption. That is when you're at your best.Angela's fingernails are starting to darken once again. JOHN You're trying to teach us a lesson? GABRIEL No, I'm giving you the chance to rise above the suffering and truly earn the love of God. (a beat) The road to salvation begins tonight. Right now.John just stares at this rogue angel, centers on theSpear in his hand. He makes a break for it. Gabriel'swings beat once.The GUST BLOWS John through the double doors, back intothe -- 110.CORRIDOR-- where he smashes against a mesh-screened window, dropsto the floor in a heap with the other dying carcasses.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMGabriel turns back to Angela. He approaches her -- hisrippling wings sliding up around her, enveloping her --pulling her in. Those eyes of his could melt Dracula.CORRIDOR - JOHNcan't even stand, let alone save the girl. Or humanity.It would be so easy to give up. To roll over and die.But instead, he tries something he hasn't done in a longtime. JOHN (whispering) ... I know I'm not one of your favorites... I'm not even allowed in your house these days... but I could use a little attention...John waits for nothing. His body crumples, his cheeklanding flat against the tile.Glistening shards of mirror glass lie around him. As hestares at his reflection in one, he gets the idea.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - ANGELA'S EYESbegin to quiver. The color drains. Blackness is waiting.CORRIDOR - JOHNslides his back up the wall as he reels in that shard ofmirror.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - ANGELA'Sposture begins to change. Mammon's form ripples throughher -- starts to push out through her skin. Gabrielstands behind her, his wings cocooned around her waist. GABRIEL (whispering to her) Cross the bridge to your destiny... 111.CORRIDOR - JOHNpulls up his sleeve, exposes his old scar. He pauses abeat, closes his eyes. STAY ON his face as he makes oneswift SLICE movement.But he's in a rush here -- makes that same motion acrosshis other wrist as well.With both wrists purging his life away, John settles backinto the corner and waits for the inevitable. JOHN Hurry...PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - GABRIELreveals the Spear.CORRIDOR - JOHNis dying. Eyes are starting to close as...PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - GABRIELRaises the Spear over Angela's chest.HEAR the SOUNDS of a million DEMONS inside of her readyto break free --He holds the Spear high above her chest -- readies forthe final thrust as --CORRIDORBulbs flicker as current ramps down and TIME COMES TO ACOMPLETE STOP.All we're left with is a distant METALLIC DRONE, like thereverberation of a gong struck a thousand years ago.John lies in that dim half-light. Motionless.Something starts to swirl near him and just like that,John is no longer alone. Shadow falls over his patheticform. SATAN (O.S.) The time has come at last to collect your soul. (CONTINUED) 112.CONTINUED:John pries his eyes open... SATAN Hello, John. JOHN You're early. SATAN You're the one show I wouldn't miss. JOHN So I've heard.Satan sees John's slit wrists. SATAN I didn't think you'd make the same mistake twice.John looks up at him. SATAN You didn't, did you? JOHN ... so how's your son? SATAN And why would that matter to you? JOHN ... he's topside... SATAN I know. JOHN With Gabriel. SATAN Your point? JOHN He's helping your son create his own Hell on Earth... SATAN Well, boys will be boys... JOHN He has the Spear of Destiny. (CONTINUED) 113.CONTINUED:Satan didn't know that. Now he's concerned. He studiesthis dying man. SATAN This is another one of your cons. JOHN Go look for yourself...Satan is still suspicious. JOHN You've waited twenty years for me, what's another twenty seconds?Satan contemplates his remark. Metallic reverberation isovertaken as SOUND and MOTION ramp back to real time --PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - THE SPEARis about to be thrust into Angela's chest. SATAN (O.S.) Gabriel?Gabriel looks up -- spots him in the room. Gabrielreacts -- pulls the spear toward her with all hismight -- but Satan is faster -- Angela vanishes andGabriel has now pierced dead air.Satan holds Angela tight -- covering her mouth like Johndid. She struggles and the demon inside appears --reflected in the huge chunks of tank glass scattered onthe floor. Hideous. The real MAMMON. SATAN Say goodbye to the sun -- both of you.Mammon SHRIEKS and Gabriel's beautiful wings ignite inFLAME -- GABRIEL No!!!!!!!!CORRIDOR - JOHNis rocked by a major jolt that shakes the entire buildingto its foundation. A moment later -- (CONTINUED) 114.CONTINUED:Satan is back. John looks up, gives him that look -- youowe me. Satan hates admitting it but knows it's true. SATAN So... what do you want? An extension?John shakes his head, can barely utter a sound... JOHN Isabel... SATAN What about her? JOHN ... let her... go home... SATAN You would give up your life so she could go to Heaven?John manages a nod... SATAN Fine. (closes, opens eyes) It's done.INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMANGELA gasps -- her first real breath's a strain.Adrenaline rushes through her and she quickly closes hereyes --EXT. THAT GORGEOUS SKYStretches out BEFORE us. And here come those two swings,penduluming up in SLOW MOTION.Young Angela and Isabel share that moment again. Butthis time Isabel lets go and jumps out of her swing.Her body sails up and away, her fingers reaching out forwhat seems so close... so close...Isabel keeps going until she fades into the sky. SATAN (V.O.) Time to go. 115.INT. CORRIDORJohn relaxes, stops fighting the inevitable. Satan takeshis hand, starts to pull him home but suddenly findshimself pulling on what seems to be infinite mass. Tryas he might, he can't budge John an inch.And now John's other hand leaves his side, and as ifweightless, begins to rise toward something above.No sense in beating around the bush here, John is in theembrace of God.Satan sees this and recoils in absolute RAGE -- SATAN The sacrifice!! No!!!! THIS ONE BELONGS TO ME!!John's rising hand drifts back down in front of Satan,the middle finger fully extended. Final straw.Satan goes rabid -- turns to PURE ENERGY for a splitsecond. His hands remain on fire. SATAN You will live, John Constantine, you will live so you'll have the chance to prove that your soul truly belongs in Hell. You will live!Satan eagerly plunges his blazing hands into John'sbody --John screams in agony. Satan tears through his tissue --collecting the cancer, then ripping out a mass ofdiseased tissue with one vengeful pull. John's finalblood-curdling SCREAM ECHOES over --INT./EXT. RAVENSCAR-- through every room. Every corridor. Rippling outacross the ground and finally dissipating in the hillsbeyond.INT. CORRIDOROn his hands and knees, John takes that first breath.New lungs fill for the first time. No cough. Not even awheeze. Face has renewed color. Wrists have sealedtight. (CONTINUED) 116.CONTINUED:John is healed.He stands, steps back inside the --PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMJohn stops over the body of one seven-foot Africanwarrior. He stands immobilized, wrecked with emotion. ASOUND draws his attention to the one thing that couldcause him even greater rage --GABRIEL --is hunched over near a wall. Jagged cartilage stumpsprotrude from his back. A pattern of sinew and bone isburned into the floor behind him. It's all that remainsof his once majestic wings.John approaches, spots blood dripping from the former angel.He realizes what this means. Gets a kick out of it. JOHN Human...Gabriel looks up as John retrieves a gun from the wetfloor. JOHN You don't deserve to be human. GABRIEL Then pass judgment on me now.John raises the gun -- puts it to Gabriel's forehead. GABRIEL Do it. Seek revenge. End my life.John's finger nudges the trigger. GABRIEL Kill me! Pull the trigger! Be the hand of God!John pauses, realizes what's happening here... JOHN ... and I'll be condemned again... GABRIEL Do it! (CONTINUED) 117.CONTINUED:It takes everything John has not to pull that trigger.He lowers the gun, shaking his head. JOHN You're even worthless as bait.John starts to turn away -- GABRIEL Deny your true nature today, but what of tomorrow, of the tomorrow after that? It is only a matter of time before you end up right back where you belong. It is who you are, Constantine. Damned.John's fist starts behind his back, gains momentum theentire arc until it ends abruptly against Gabriel's face.The ex-angel is propelled all the way to the wall --SLAMS HARD against the concrete. Body crumples onimpact, slides down to the muck. You know this hurt likeabsolute hell. JOHN That's called pain. Get used to it.John turns toward the double doors -- stops cold.Huddled in the doorway, covered in grime is Angela andBarry. The experience has obviously left them bothdrained.John walks across the room, kneels down to them. ANGELA Thank you, John.He nods, beat. Wipes a trace of blood off her brow, putsa hand on Barry's shoulder. HOLD a beat ON this grittyfamily tableau.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - MIDNITE'S UNIVERSAL ORRERYMOVING SLOWLY PAST the inoperative device. PASTstrangely-shaped objects of platinum and gold, with namesand symbols that make a bit more sense now.EXT. AFRICA - DAYHuge sun beats down on a lone FIGURE walking across astretch of the most barren landscape on Earth. He stops,kneels to the heavily-cracked soil. Starts digging. 118.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - THE ORRERYA HAND comes in, affixes an unseen object to a protrudingrod. Its weight causes it to drop OUT OF FRAME but amoment later it rises back INTO VIEW and finds a balance.EXT. AFRICAJOHN pulls back the protective hood from his face.Healthy and tan with a new lease on life. He pops aNICORETTE TABLET, then unwraps rolls of cloth from aroundthe Spear of Destiny. He drops it in the hole, stares atit a long beat.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - THE ORRERYThe entire mechanism shudders. And now miraculously,every globe, every moon, every obscure object in thisminiature occult universe begins to rotate in completesync.As it does, the defining object finally slides INTO VIEW.John's lighter. ANGELA watches it rotate past, nods inapproval.EXT. AFRICAJohn sighs, finally sweeps mounds of soil over the sacredrelic. He stands, nods. Job done.A breeze blows past and John senses being watched. Hespins and finds -- nothing. For a hundred miles. Hestarts walking. JOHN (V.O.) Some people are born to make a difference. I had to die. Twice. MATCH CUT TO:EXT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEY - ANGELAwalking right in step. Something is closing in on her.A new TAXI pulls up. Chaz is driving. Angela gets in. JOHN (V.O.) God does work in mysterious ways. 119.EXT. AFRICAJohn continues walking as something closes in on him atincredible speed. JOHN (V.O.) Some people like it...Our view RISES OVER him and gliding across the barrenlandscape are the SHADOW of WINGS. JOHN (V.O.) Some people don't. FADE OUT. THE END \ No newline at end of file