Blue-2 Out

By Tom Kovach

A retired Special Operations helicopter pilot, now living a quiet life in Nashville, must spring back into action in order to stop a global conspiracy. He gets help from his former mechanic, who is now a police detective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781794837461

Book preview

Blue-2 Out

by:

Tom Kovach

NOTE: This is the book version of a movie script by the same title.

Blue-2 Out

Copyright: 2020 and 2021 by:

Tom Kovach and 1SG Productions

(This second edition contains industry-standard formatting revisions and a writer's notes section.)

ISBN: 978-1-7948-3746-1

Imprint: Lulu.com

BLUE-2 OUT

Written by Tom Kovach

ii.

Writer's notes:

Blue-2 Out is a 2020 rework of the 1973 made-for-TV movieBirds of Prey (starring David Janssen), with story by RupertHitzigandscreenplaybyRobertBoris.CurrentstoryderivedwithpermissionfromRupertHitzig.

BirdsofPreywasthefirstscreenproductiontoshowaerialcombatbetweenhelicopters.

Although the story is derived from Birds of Prey, it iscompletely reworked -- new characters, new setting, new timeperiod,newtechnology,etc.--andthusitisanewscreenplayversusaremake.Therefore,ithasadifferenttitle.

Thisversion,completedinNovemberof2021,isarevisionofthe original (WGA-E registration number 1339674, 17 Dec 2020).Mostofthechangeswereonlyforindustry-standardformat,baseduponcommentsbyaprofessionalreviewer.

Inanefforttoraisemoneyforeventualscreenproduction,ane-bookversionofthisscriptisavailableforpurchaseonline.

EXT, NIGHT, SECU1RE FACTORY

20 AUGUST 1981

TOP SECRET EXPERIMENT OPERATION HONEY BADGER DEFENSE MANUFACTURING PLANT UPSTATE NEW YORK

BLACK SCREEN, WITH GREEN TEXT,

SUPRA:

FADE TO:

SHOW THE FACTORY EXTERIOR (WHICH HAS ITS OWN AIRFIELD), WITH A BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER IN THE BACKGROUND, AND THEN ZOOM IN ON TWO MEN WEARING U.S. ARMY FLIGHT SUITS. (THESE ARE YOUNG VERSIONS OF CAPTAIN TOM WALKER AND SGT. ERNESTO CANO.) THEY APPROACH THE HELICOPTER AND BEGIN SLOWLY LOOKING IT OVER.

CLIPPED TO THEIR FLIGHT SUITS ARE I.D. BADGES OF A DEFENSE CONTRACTOR COMPANY (LOCKWELL-PARTON). THE BADGES HAVE BOLD RED BORDERS – AS DO THE BADGES OF ALL OTHER PEOPLE ON-SITE.

WALKER IS A WHITE MALE IN HIS LATE 20s, WITH AN EDUCATED TONE. CANO IS A HISPANIC MALE IN HIS MID 20s, WITH A STRONG BUILD AND FEATURES. BOTH MEN SPEAK WITH THE CONFIDENCE OF BROTHERS-IN-ARMS, AND THEY BOTH HAVE SOUTH TEXAS ACCENTS.

TOM WALKER

Even among the elite, this is an elite assignment. I’m glad that they kept us together.

ERNESTO CANO

Yes, sir, I agree, Captain Walker. Any idea how that happened?

TOM WALKER

(With a sly grin)

I did have a chat with the commander.... You’re a great crew chief, Sergeant Cano. It’s not only that you are a knowledgeable aircraft mechanic, nor even that you also double as a top-notch door gunner, nor merely the fact that you are brave. It’s the combination of the whole package.

You have heart, Ernesto. And yet, despite your passion, you keep your cool -- even in the toughest situations. And, of course ...

(MORE)

TOM WALKER (CONT'D)

it doesn’t hurt that you’re also

from south Texas. (wink)

ERNESTO CANO

Ha! I guess we’re a dangerous combination, Captain: two highly- trained Texans, on a Top Secret mission to test an experimental helicopter in the foreign country of Upstate New York. (sly grin) Don’t worry, sir, if you are captured by the Yankees, then I’ll shoot you before you can divulge our chili recipe.

Sound: Begin low cello music in background, reminiscent of Mission: Impossible

TOM WALKER

I knew that could count on you, Sergeant. (grin) By the way, we have a secondary mission. They have a food here called spiedies. Our secondary mission is to taste- test as many samples as possible -- for intelligence purposes only (wink) -- while also attempting to surreptitiously acquire the recipe. In order to blend in with the population, you’ll need to wash them down with plenty of beer.

ERNESTO CANO

Shiner, of course....

TOM WALKER

You’ll never blend in by drinking Texas beer. Besides, my initial intelligence assessment is that Upstate New York beers aren’t bad.

ERNESTO CANO

I dunno.... (eye roll) Are you becoming a Yankee already?

Sound: Cello music fades out.

TOM WALKER

It sure beats that stuff that they smuggled in for us in Colombia.

ERNESTO CANO

Yeah.... Who ever heard of beer from Paraguay??

TOM WALKER

My point exactly.

ERNESTO CANO

It’s not loaded with any of that Top Secret genetic stuff -- to turn me into a Yankee -- is it?

TOM WALKER

(faux thoughtfully) Hmmmmmmmm....

Should I call the commander and ask if we can get hazardous duty pay?

MIKE PARILLO (late 50s) walks around the corner, dressed in civilian clothing, wearing a lab coat, and carrying a clipboard. It’s subtle, but still there is no doubt that he is of Italian descent. He speaks to the two soldiers.

MIKE PARILLO

Gentlemen, my name is Mike Parillo. I’m the lead engineer on this phase of Operation Honey Badger. I’ve read the file that the Army sent me. Very impressive. And, although my gut tells me that I don’t really need to say this, regulations require that I remind you that this project is Top Secret, SBI, and that absolute secrecy is vital to its success.

Acknowledging that -- even though they are military members on a military assignment -- the engineer is in charge here.... Both men reply smartly, in unison.

WALKER AND CANO

Yes, sir.

MIKE PARILLO

We have been testing this new package of stealth technologies for about a year. But, all of our tests have been inside a sound chamber that is in the next hangar over there. We think that the package is ready for actual flight testing. That is why you are here.

TOM WALKER

I have read the file that your company sent. If this package can do what you say, then it will greatly enhance our Special Operations combat capabilities.

(MORE)

TOM WALKER (CONT'D)

I’m really intrigued by the whisper mode. How does it work?

MIKE PARILLO

I’d love to answer your question, Captain Walker, because we are especially proud of that. But, I can’t. You two are read into what it does, but how it gets done is above your clearance.

TOM WALKER

Understood, sir.

Ernesto Cano nods in silent agreement

MIKE PARILLO

For the first few flight tests, the routes will take you over dairy farms and other remote areas. Keep your speed below 60 knots, so that the sound trucks can keep up with you. And, stay near the roads that are marked on your map. I know that makes flying at night a little more challenging, due to power lines, but it’s important.

During this dialogue, a team of four pickup trucks comes in from the road. The trucks carry special microphones to listen and record the sounds that the helicopter makes.

The sound equipment is inside the bed caps, which have numbers on top that cannot be seen from the road. The numbers light up under night-vision