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US airdate July 23, 2000
Written by Larry Hertzog
Directed by Alan Smithee
Guest starring: George Buza, Michael Rhoads, Shauna Black, Jayne Eastwood
Transcribed by Jean
DINGMAN’S HOLLOW, TN
The sign reads, “Welcome to Dingman’s Hollow, A Quiet Place: population 117” Quiet streets and neat houses reflect small-town America. Inside Maggie’s Diner, the regulars are gathered, eating.
BIG JIM: Oh, Maggie my love. My sweet precious love of my life. Can't tell me you've been gettin’ tired with that big old husband of yours yet.
MAGGIE: An’ supposin' I was? How do you suppose you'd profit by that?
BIG JIM: All right, all right but you can't hide the light that shines in your eyes every time I walk by.
MAGGIE: That light there Big Jim… that's just so as you can make your way over to the door without trippin' over anything. (the diner erupts in laughter at Big Jim’s expense)
At the end of the counter, Momma fills a small cardboard box with packets of coffee, teabags, creamers and the like. She heads for the door, loot under her arm.
MAGGIE: (protesting) Momma, that…
MOMMA: (pauses to lean over the counter) I know, I know. I wrote it all down. You know, Maggie Simpson; it's not in my nature to rob anyone blind. (she leaves)
MAGGIE: (she talks to the woman’s back, resigned) Nope, just a little bit near sighted.
The diner’s denizens pay more heed to the radio as the music ends.
D.J.: The hollow’s favorite songbird, Patsy Cline. This is Bobby Hays and given that it’s coming up on the seven o’clock hour, I suppose the potato salad at Maggie’s is just about turning ripe, and Big Jim’s hands are finding another ripe object to get a hold of. As for the weather…
A growing rumble drowns the D.J.’s voice out. The vibration and noise escalate; the crockery clatters, some falling and shattering on the floor.
D.J.: Whoa! That was interesting. I guess the damn power company…(the radio fades out with a whine)
Lights flicker on and off. People dash outside to see what is causing the ruckus. A glowing orb, trailing a smoky tail, blazes across the sky.
BIG JIM: Dear sweet lord.
Flash to Section One
OPERATIONS: Mr. Corman, what's going on?
CORMAN: It's gone sir. No tracer pulse, no IR, nothing on the RF emitters. We lost it.
OPERATIONS’ PERCH
Operations speaks on the phone as he leans on the railing that divided the great sheets of glass overlooking Section. Madeline watches him, her back to the view below.
OPERATIONS: Yes. Yes. I understand… Yes I do… I know what it means. Thank you very much. (he closes the phone) That was Center: Mr. Jones. They're considering me to take over George's position at Oversight.
MADELINE: And George?
OPERATIONS: They didn't say.
MADELINE: When do they expect to make a formal decision?
OPERATIONS: Soon. I'm sure they're waiting to see how I handle this downed satellite situation. He did reiterate the importance of handling this quickly and efficiently.
MADELINE: Then you'll send in Michael and Nikita?
OPERATIONS: Yes… if all goes as I expect it will…
MADELINE: Congratulations will be in order.
OPERATIONS: Mm hm.
BRIEFING TABLE
OPERATIONS: This is com-sat Alpha. It is Center's most sophisticated satellite and it also serves as the link for six other orbiting birds. Every byte of data that is up-linked or downlinked passes through Alpha. Yesterday it dropped from its orbit and we lost communications. Mr. Corman.
CORMAN: Orbital decay began about a month ago and all attempts to re-establish were unsuccessful. Now I've extrapolated a curve based on Alpha's trajectory just before we lost contact. Given a plus or minus factor of eighty kilometers we suspect that the satellite impacted in the United States. In a town just north of Chattanooga Tennessee called Dingman's Hollow.
OPERATIONS: Center is highly exposed on this mission. The amount of confidential data and classified information contained in Alpha's central processing unit is critical. Michael and Nikita will go in alone, under U.S. Clearance performing a universal geological survey. This is a small town with a small population; we cannot risk exposure. The details will be on your panels. Mr. Corman will be handling tactical.
They all rise and scatter. Corman approaches Nikita and Michael.
CORMAN: Look, uh, I realize this is new for you, boss; I just want you to know I can handle the job.
NIKITA: I'm sure you'll do just fine.
MICHAEL: We'll need our panels in twenty minutes.
He walks away. Nikita puts her hand on Corman's shoulder in a friendly gesture of confidence, then walks away.
CORMAN: (sighs, nervous) Right.
DINGMAN’S HOLLOW: MAGGIE’S DINER
Michael and Nikita enter to the stares of the regulars.
MAGGIE: Howdy.
MICHAEL: (smiling) Hi
MAGGIE: We've got fried chicken and taters, fried chicken and biscuits, fried chicken and bread and if you're watchin' your weight…(she looks up and down Michael’s lean form) you don't seem to have a problem, we've got fried chicken and nothin' else.
MICHAEL: We're from the Universal Geological survey. We'll be spending a few days here. Can you recommend a place to stay?
PREACHER: You come to check out our rocks?
TINY: You might want to start inside of Big Jim's head. Never could figure out what's makin' that rattling sound in there.
NIKITA: We're going to be studying some land formations. You know, erosion patterns, weather cycles.
BIG JIM: Tell you what; if I was traveling with you…sure wouldn't be rocks I'd be lookin' at.
MAGGIE: Ignore him. All that cholesterol goes right to the brain. Ain't much here in town. Momma's if ya gotta. It ain't much but it's clean and comfortable. About half a block from here.
MICHAEL: Thank you.
PREACHER: Come on back tomorrow. I think we're having fried chicken.
The diner erupts in laughter at the joke.
JASON BIRKOFF’S OFFICE
Jason’s office is well appointed with nice furniture and computer. He’s dressed in a suit; the jacket is on the back of his office chair. He paces around his desk as he speaks with a woman, presumably his personal assistant; randomly toying with various objects as he questions her.
JASON: You sure nobody called?
WOMAN: I checked the phone logs for the last three days. No one named Seymour has called.
JASON: What about voice mail?
WOMAN: We checked everything sir.
JASON: Check it again.
He sits at his desk. A woman enters the room; Jason’s girlfriend, Noelle. She’s wearing a close-fitting red dress and her hair is pulled back in a ponytail.
JASON: Hey, sugar buns.
NAOMI: Hey. Everything okay?
JASON: Yeah, everything's fine. I got some things on my mind.
NAOMI: I would say. You were supposed to meet me at Le Cirque over an hour ago.
She circles the desk and slips into Jason’s lap.
JASON: Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry I lost track of time.
NAOMI: Well as long as you didn't lose track of me.
JASON: No.
He kisses her briefly before he continues typing on his computer, easily working despite the distraction.
NAOMI: Anything wrong? (she fiddles with his hair)
JASON: Uh, I'm a little worried about a friend that's all.
NAOMI: Anyone I know?
JASON: No, it's a business thing. But I was expecting to hear from him over a week ago and…not a word.
NAOMI: Did you try calling him?
JASON: Did I try calling him…? (smiles grimly) It's a little more complicated than that. I just hope that nothing's happened to him.
NAOMI: Well you know what? I always go by what my dad used to say. ‘No news is good news.’ I'm sure if anything bad happened, you’d have heard, right?
JASON: You're right. You're right -- again. Let's go eat.
He finishes with the computer, and follows Naomi out of his office, first grabbing his jacket from the back of his office chair.
MOMMA’S PLACE BED AND BREAKFAST
MOMMA: Well they're pretty much both the same size. One's a little bit more feminine if that matters to ya. That one right there.
Nikita obligingly looks.
NIKITA: Oh thanks. It's fine, thank you.
MOMMA: Oh good. Now I make coffee in the morning but all your meals you'll have to take over at Maggie’s. There's a phone in the living room. Collect and credit card only please. There's plenty of towels, so y'all make yourselves at home.
MICHAEL: Thank you.
MOMMA: Good. (she walks back to the head of the stairs, then turns back) Uh, just what was it you said you was studying here?
MICHAEL: (small polite smile) Rocks.
MOMMA: Uh, rocks… (flashes a plastic smile) Well, goodnight.
MICHAEL: Good night.
NIKITA’S ROOM
Nikita relaxes on her bed while Michael strokes her head.
NIKITA: It's beautiful here.
MICHAEL: You're beautiful.
She looks at him and then away again.
NIKITA: I used to dream that there were places like this. Somewhere. Safe. Warm. (pause) Do you ever think of anything like that?
She looks at him, waiting for an answer.
MICHAEL: Yes. (he kisses her forehead as he caresses the side of her face)
NIKITA: You never talk about it.
MICHAEL: Inside. Nobody can change it. It’ll always be what I need it to be.
He kisses her neck, one after another.
NIKITA: Is it anything like this?
MICHAEL: A little maybe… you're there.
Michael moves next to Nikita as he kissed her on the mouth, drawing her up into his arms. They twine around each other, kissing, until he tucks her into her bed, pulling the quilt up to her chin. Nikita looks up at him, and when he turns to go, thrusts her hand from under the covers. With unerring accuracy, she snatches his hand and pulls him roughly on top of her. They kiss passionately, and Nikita adroitly reverses their positions, all the while kissing. The scene dissolves to the outside of the bed and breakfast.
DINGMAN’S HOLLOW: A FIELD
CORMAN: (via com) I'm picking up a thermal footprint about… two clicks south/southeast of your position.
NIKITA: I see it. Field over there. There's a road up ahead… Affirmative. I can confirm a geographical anomaly. We're on our way.
Michael stops the jeep. They get out and walk to a blackened depression in the dirt.
NIKITA: Well something definitely did land here. It's a crater about six meters in diameter. It's fresh.
OPERATIONS: Just a crater? No sign of the satellite?
NIKITA: Not yet. But from all appearances I'd say we found the point of impact.
CORMAN: What is it?
NIKITA: If the satellite did land here it's been moved. There's a fresh cut of tire tracks -- a truck most likely -- leading toward an old barn. We found some…
Shots zing out of nowhere. Michael and Nikita duck down for cover under one lip of the small hollow. A truck vrooms up and Big Jim gets out, holding a shotgun.
BIG JIM: Hey you guys okay? Hey look, I’m real sorry about that. Maybe next time you can wave a white flag or something so’s I know it’s you.
The Section operatives climb warily to their feet.
MICHAEL: Oh, you mean it's someone else you wanted to kill?
BIG JIM: Well no, I wouldn't say kill exactly. But, uh, we do get our fair share of poachers around here: best to let ‘em know we mean business.
NIKITA: Oh yeah? What are they trying to poach?
BIG JIM: Now you're sure you're okay? Look, I know you folks are gonna be all over the place for the next while. It might be better if you gave us advance warning next time as to just where you'll be.
MICHAEL: Okay, we'll do that.
BIG JIM: Oh look, it…it's coming up on lunchtime and I feel so bad about all this. Why don't you let me buy you a meal?
NIKITA: Well, we're not really…
MICHAEL: Why, actually yes. I'm starting to get hungry. Good idea.
BIG JIM: Alrighty then.
DINGMAN’S HOLLOW: THE BARN
Michael and Nikita search the old barn after night falls, moving quietly as snow falls. Still dressed as field geologists and bearing large flashlights, they find nothing in the barn but an old truck. Michael uses his flashlight to indicate a twisted, burned piece of metal in the back of the truck.
MICHAEL: Nikita. It's a solar panel. It's used to charge the batteries that maintains satellite orbit.
NIKITA: So that means someone had to load the satellite in this truck and drive it across the field and into this barn.
MOMMA’S BED AND BREAKFAST
The repeated creak and bang of a screen door moved by the wind wakes Nikita. She wanders through the bed and breakfast, looking all around for the source of the noise, or perhaps Momma. A cat meows; in the dining room, it crouches on the table, lapping milk from the coffee service. Nikita dons her winder coat and investigates further, securing the screen door behind her and lured across the street by the faint strains of country music. Maggie’s Diner is the source; lit up and blaring music from the radio, but it’s deserted. Nikita wanders through, observing the various meals left on tables. She holds her hand over a coffee cup then picks up a piece of food from a plate, apparently checking for temperature. Soon, she returns to the bed and breakfast, the mystery still unsolved.
As she mounts the stairs, Momma appears, cup of tea in hand.
MOMMA: Couldn't sleep?
NIKITA: Uh… no. I couldn’t.
Momma follows her right into her room.
MOMMA: It's herbal. Chamomile, to help you get to sleep.
NIKITA: Yeah. Thank you. (she sits) Very much.
MOMMA: That will put you right out. It worked on all my children and it always works for me. (hands cup to Nikita)
NIKITA: I'll just let it cool.
MOMMA: Well, not too long now. You don't want it to get cold.
NIKITA: No. Thank you.
MOMMA: Well goodnight.
Nikita takes a sip of the tea as Momma leaves. When the woman is out of sight, she spits the tea back into the cup.
JASON’S OFFICE
JASON: To what do I owe this pleasant surprise? (she dangles a brightly colored envelope in front of him) Plane tickets? (he opens it, reads; surprised) To Aruba? (looks up) Who are you going with?
NAOMI: Very funny. First-class round trip. Four days on the beach and in the sun and you get to apply the sunscreen.
JASON: Darlin' I…
NAOMI: No. No excuses. You've been working way to hard. Now that the merger has been completed… Trust me. (she walks toward the door) It will be good for you. (over her shoulder) You'll like it.
JASON: Have I told you how much I love you?
NAOMI: (she pauses and faces him) Talk is cheap. (walks out the door, pokes her head back in) We leave Friday.
She leaves.
JASON: (looking at the empty doorway) Is it Friday yet?
MAGGIE’S DINER
MICHAEL: So you didn't see anybody?
NIKITA: It was like they all just picked up right in the middle of what they were doing and just left. Did you get anything from Corman?
Maggie approaches before he can answer and refills their coffee.
MAGGIE: Too much of this will keep you up at night. Breakfast is on its way.
NIKITA: Thanks.
MICHAEL: See the postman over there. Watch how he's eating. He didn't change hands.
NIKITA: What?
MICHAEL: After he cut his food he kept the fork in his left hand. Usually Americans put their knives down and switch the fork to the right hand.
NIKITA: Maybe he wasn't born here.
Harry catches Nikita looking at him.
HARRY: Great chow Mags. I better shove, though. Catch you later.
MAGGIE: Later Harry.
He leaves. The scene cuts to the street; Harry delivers mail, going house-to-house and placing letters in the mailboxes. Some time later, Michael and Nikita follow in their jeep and remove the letters. They open the stolen mail while seated in their vehicle; the envelopes contain blank paper. Cut to the same jeep, different location, outside the town’s streets -- and away from prying eyes.
NIKITA: (on phone with Corman) So the owner of Momma's Bed and Breakfast is Selma Hertz. Big Jim…my guess it’s Jim Huntington. 751 Oak St. And then there's Leonard Paul Treacle, 16 Palmer Road.
CORMAN: Are you sure?
NIKITA: Yeah. What's wrong?
CORMAN: Leonard Paul Treacle, Jim Huntington, Selma… Nikita, these people, every name you've given me. They're all dead!
DINGMAN’S HOLLOW: OUTSIDE
NIKITA: It's the same as last night.
MICHAEL: (consults a small electronic device) The church.
They walk to the church and peer inside. The townspeople are watching a documentary movie about the history of baseball in America. Later, after the movie ends and everyone leaves, they enter the church. Nikita sits, while Michael approaches the lone townsperson left: the preacher.
Cut to the old barn.
The preacher is suspended off the ground by his wrists and ankles between the old truck and Section’s jeep with wire cables.
PREACHER: I already told you. My name is Leonard Treacle and I’m the pastor at the First church of… (he moans as Michael increases the tension of the cable)
As he stretches, his sleeve rides up, revealing a black mark on his wrist.
NIKITA: What is that? Have you seen that before Michael?
They send a visual of the mark to Corman in Section.
CORMAN: The insignia is related to a terrorist organization called Chornish Sturm, Black Storm.
NIKITA: In Chechnya. They're on our hit list right below Red Cell.
CORMAN: What's going on there? You located the satellite yet?
NIKITA: Not yet, but it seems as though we stumbled across a Black Storm sleeper base.
CORMAN: Sleeper base?
NIKITA: Yeah. It's where they train their agents to look, act, think and breathe just like the locals. It gives them a base of operations right in the heart of the US. From there, they can dispatch sleepers to anywhere in the country whenever they need to.
CORMAN: That's quite a coincidence. An Oversight satellite to crash right in the middle of a terrorist base?
NIKITA: Yeah. I was thinking the same thing… What information can you give me regarding the satellite's orbital decay and codes that were issued before it crashed?
CORMAN: Coming right up. I'm getting a lockout on it Nikita.
NIKITA: Who issued it?
CORMAN: It's coded. Would Birkoff have done this?
NIKITA: There's no reason why he would.
CORMAN: Give me a few hours. I can crack this. (pause) Hey good luck out there.
NIKITA: (to Corman) Thanks. (to Michael) He's Black Storm. Did he tell you anything?
MICHAEL: They have the satellite. The mailman is their courier to the outside. He's bringing in an unlocked device.
NIKITA: (crouches by the prisoner) You don't want to keep any high tech equipment in your humble little burg is that it? So where is the satellite?
PREACHER: I told you everything that I'm going to.
NIKITA: That truly is a shame.
PREACHER: It doesn't matter. You two will be dead long before me.
MAGGIE’S DINER
MAGGIE: I don't know. They say it was a heart attack. Found just sittin' there right in the pew.
BIG JIM: Poor man probably didn't know what hit him.
TINY: Give's ya pause.
HARRY: (hands a manila envelope to Maggie) Here you go Maggie.
He leaves. Michael follows.
MICHAEL: Excuse me. Do you know if there is a library in town?
HARRY: Ah… sure. You hang a left on Elm Street; it's a stone’s throw from there on the corner. You can't miss it.
Michael asks the man a short question, but not in English. He replies, then realizes his mistake.
SECTION: COMM
CORMAN: Come on… Huh. Yes.
Cut to Operations’ perch.
MADELINE: We have a problem.
CORMAN: Everything I could find suggested that the satellite was crashed on purpose.
MADELINE: Do you know by whom?
CORMAN: I was working on that when you called me. But everything that I could see leads back to Oversight or Center.
OPERATIONS: Can you think of a reason why Oversight would intentionally crash a satellite containing valuable data right into the heart of a terrorist base?
CORMAN: I don't know. Not unless…
MADELINE: Go on.
CORMAN: Well, if the data was useless. Providing the enemy with useless intel would distract them for years.
MADELINE: You're very astute.
CORMAN: Thank you. But Michael and Nikita… (pause) were sent in to make it look convincing. To make every effort to retrieve the data. But Michael won't fail.
MADELINE: You've put the pieces together quite well.
CORMAN: And if Michael dies trying…will make it look all the more convincing.
OPERATIONS: Very good Mr. Corman
MADELINE: (to operatives) Take him to containment.
CORMAN: What for? Why? No!
BRIEFING
OPERATIONS: You'll proceed to Dingman's Hollow. Michaels mission is to make every effort to retrieve the satellite data before the enemy can get their hands on it. It's up to you to make sure that he fails.
ARUBA
Jason reclines on the bed in a well-appointed bungalow. His girlfriend closes the doors to their room, then joins him on the bed.
NAOMI: Everything okay Jay? You seem tired.
The POV is Jason’s; his girlfriend’s face and the room around her are a blur.
JASON: I don't know if it's work catching up to me. Too much wine? I can barely keep my eyes open.
NAOMI: That’s okay. You've got four days to feel a lot better.
JASON: I love you.
Jason’s eyes flutter down; he is unconscious. His girlfriend leaves him on the bed and returns to the doors. She opens them to allow two black-clad men carrying a body bag into the room. They lay it on the floor next to the bed and unzip the opening to reveal Seymour Birkoff’s pale and burned body.
DINGMAN’S HOLLOW
HARRY: Inside the shed.
Michael opens the doors, revealing the satellite.
MICHAEL: I have to remove the data drive.
He begins to work on the equipment. The postman looks past Nikita. Momma, Maggie, Tiny, and Big Jim advance on the Section team, armed and threatening.
MOMMA: Nice and slow now and forget about your guns. You can take it out, you can show it to me, you try and use it, it'll be mashed potatoes and gravy before you pull the trigger.
BIG JIM: Section issue.
MAGGIE: Give me the toy.
Michael punches some numbers into the panel and then removes it from the satellite and surrenders it to Maggie.
MOMMA: Good. Tiny.
TINY: Something's wrong. He's done something to it. Some kind of lock code.
MOMMA: (grabs Nikita) You have a little less than five seconds to give us that unlock code before I repaint this shed in white girl.
MICHAEL: One, two, Z, tilde, one, zero, three, five.
Flash to in town where we see Davenport sitting in a section vehicle.
DAVENPORT: Sir. We are in position.
OPERATIONS: The courier is using the cover of a US postal worker. As soon as they get what they want, they'll send it out with him. I want confirmation when that happens.
DAVENPORT: Yes sir.
Cut back to the shed.
TINY: Got it.
MOMMA: We were always told you were trained to go down for the mission. Ha!
MICHAEL: We haven't finished the mission.
BIG JIM: He's got big ones -- I'll give you that.
TINY: (handing the thing to the postman) She's all yours.
HARRY: All right. See you guys tomorrow.
BIG JIM: So what are we going to do with this geo team over here?
MOMMA: Tiny get your truck.
Momma guards the Section operatives, pointing her gun at Michael and Nikita’s backs. Michael slows his pace, leans back, grabs the barrel of Momma’s gun and jerks it out of her hands. He sprays bullets at the hostiles, killing them all.
Flash to a stretch of highway leading out of town. The mail truck is zipping away, on its way to deliver the satellite’s data. Flash to Davenport, in town.
DAVENPORT: Sir. The mail truck just cleared the outer marker.
OPERATIONS: Michael and Nikita…
DAVENPORT: We're moving to position two.
Cut to the perch.
MADELINE: Congratulations.
OPERATIONS: (on the phone) Yes I'm pleased to report that the mission status went exactly as planned… Well thank you. I'll expect to hear from you then.
DINGMAN’S HOLLOW
While returning to the bed and breakfast, Michael and Nikita discover Davenport and his team.
NIKITA: Davenport?
DAVENPORT: I have word that the mailman is not to be apprehended.
NIKITA: I don't understand Davenport.
MICHAEL: Database was a dummy.
DAVENPORT: I'm not authorized to discuss that.
NIKITA: They wanted us to sell bad intel to Black Storm. They wanted it out.
DAVENPORT: The courier's gone. They believe they have what they want. I have to take you in.
MICHAEL: There's just one problem.
DAVENPORT: What's that?
MICHAEL: We didn't fail. (pause) The new lock code I gave them contains a self-destruct.
Flash to the roadway. The mail truck mounts a hill. Just as it disappears on the other side, it explodes, throwing light, energy, and debris high into the sky.
OPERATIONS' PERCH
VOICE: Sir. Mr. Jones calling for you.
The phone keeps on ringing but Operations does not answer it.
MOMMA’S BED AND BREAKFAST
Several people -- who superficially resemble the members of Black Storm’s sleeper group -- bid Michael and Nikita farewell as they climb into their jeep.
WOMAN ONE: Come back. You're always welcome at Momma's. Come back soon now ya hear?
WOMAN TWO: (to Operations via com) Sir. They're clear. We've secured the town.
OPERATIONS: There's an outside briefing at 1800 hours.
WOMAN ONE: Yes sir. We'll be ready.
Flash to Michael and Nikita in the jeep.
NIKITA: So we've replaced all these people with our own?
MICHAEL: Yes. They had a field trace on the mailman. We hit Black Storm central twelve hours ago.
NIKITA: So Dingman's Hollow…?
MICHAEL: Section Six
The jeep recedes down the road, passing a sign: You are now leaving Dingman's Hollow
ARUBA BUNGALOW
Jason wakes from his unnatural sleep and looks around the room groggily.
JASON: Naomi? Sugar buns?
He spies the phone, picks it up, but it has no dial tone. He gets out of bed, intent on the door.
MUNITIONS
WALTER: You guys were great out there. Not sure if everyone is as happy about that as I am.
Walter and the others look up and watch as Jason strides nonchalantly into the main hub of Section One from the hallway across the way, barefoot and rubbing his neck.
JASON: Man, I'm tired.
Madeline and Operations enter.
WALTER: (stunned) Dear mother of god.
JASON: Damn phone's dead. (still sleepy, annoyed) Anybody know how to get room service in this place?
Two large operatives all in black flank Jason. Jason suddenly
realizes he is no longer in Aruba and looks around the heart of Section
One, confused.
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