Daylight - First Draft

Act I - Scene 19: The Plan of Attack

SC19 - The Plan of Attack

EXT. ATLA WILDERNESS. MORNING.

Zavier and Eleanor trudge on through the valley behind Kayla. Eventually they pass the mountains and emerge into an open plain. In the distance, by the ocean they can see Axius, the harbour town. Zavier calls for them to stop and he pulls out the map.

KAYLA: What's the plan?

ZAVIER: Looks like the safest way into the harbour is to take the river path.

Zavier points to a nearby river that flows from the mountains and through the town.

ZAVIER: Following that should take us under the wall.

KAYLA: Over there!

The others spin around to see what Kayla is pointing at. A large convoy of military vehicles are just visible in the distance, speeding down the road into town.

ZAVIER: Damn! That'll be for us.

ELEANOR: What are we going to do?

ZAVIER: Stick to the plan I guess.

ELEANOR: We don't have to do this you know. We can find another way.

KAYLA: She's right Zave. I've got a bad feeling about this. That Delia was able to find us and now the military is right on our tail. If this goes wrong, they'll know it was us that broke Eleanor out. If they don't already.

ZAVIER: Look... the longer we wait, the more likely they are to catch us. If we hurry, we can sneak past them before they get the place locked down.

Kayla falls silent for a moment. Then she nods.

KAYLA: Alright. Then we'd better get moving.

They follow the river to Axius. Zavier leads them to a channel that goes under the wall and to their relief is unguarded. After making their way past the wall, they emerge under a bridge in the middle of town. Zavier climbs a ladder to the street to check that the coast is clear before beckoning for the others to follow. As Eleanor reaches the top of the ladder, Kayla hears a patrol of guardsmen coming and she hurries the others into an quiet back street where they will go unnoticed.

ZAVIER: Alright, now we need to get to the harbour and find a boat. Any ideas?

Kayla and Eleanor exchange a glance before staring at Zavier.

ZAVIER: What?

KAYLA: This was your plan.

ZAVIER: Yeah but... Hey I'm not perfect you know.

KAYLA: I noticed.

They hear another patrol on a street up ahead.

KAYLA: Well we can't stay here. (Pauses) Ok, you two find a place to hide. I'll try and get to a vantage point over the harbour. I'll contact you once I know more.

ELEANOR: How are you gonna contact us?

KAYLA: Zave and I have wrist comms.

Kayla raises her hand to show off the device around her wrist.

ELEANOR: (Wide eyed) Cool! Any chance I could get one of those?

ZAVIER: Oh right... I forgot! I grabbed a spare for you before we left.

Zavier reaches into his bag. As he's rummaging through it, Eleanor catches a glimpse of something shiny and purple. She frowns, leaning in for a better look but Zavier quickly withdraws his hand and gestures for Eleanor to hold out her wrist before clipping on her new comm.

ELEANOR: Awesome! I feel so much more prepared. Wait, which one's the talk button?

ZAVIER: I'll show you how it works later. We've gotta move.

KAYLA: Stay together, I'll be back.

ZAVIER: Be careful Kay.

Kayla nods and quietly slips away down another street.

ZAVIER: (Addressing Eleanor) Come on.

The two begin making their way through town. Zavier stops before they walk onto a busy street.

ZAVIER:. We're gonna walk over to the old district, it'll be quiter there. Just try and act natural and we should blend into the crowd. Oh, we'd better cover up our comms. Roll down your sleeves.

Eleanor follows his lead and they walk out into the crowd. They walk for a few minutes before Zavier speaks.

ZAVIER: So... uhh, nice weather we're having.

ELEANOR: What?

ZAVIER: (Lowers his voice) We're too quiet. There's guards all over the place and we're gonna look suspicious. So just... pretend to have a conversation.

ELEANOR: You know, we could actually have a conversation. It would be less awkward.

ZAVIER: Oh right. Well what do you want to talk about?

ELEANOR: Hmm... So tell me more about Kayla.

ZAVIER: Well she's General Greye's daughter but she's never exactly been one for... formality. When she turned sixteen her parents refused to let her join the military so she used to sneak out at night, beating up criminals and getting into all kinds of trouble. That's when we first met, she saved my skin while I was on a job. Ever since then we've been good friends. Anyway, she was found out by her father and he decided it was best to to let her have her way and signed her up for the military. Stuck her in security, which to be frank isn't exactly what she was hoping for. And... that's that I guess.

ELEANOR: She really seems to care about you.

ZAVIER: Well you know... I've got her back, she's got mine.

ELEANOR: And there's nothing more to it than that?

ZAVIER: I don't know what... Hey uhh, look we're almost there. We can drop the act now.

ELEANOR: Right. You two really are hopeless. I'm starting to see why Taryn's the most grown up.

ZAVIER: I have no idea what that even means.