FIRST DEGREE BURN

TWICE WITH AMY NIGHT

TWICE WITH AMY NIGHT will be the second novel in
the series featuring FDNY Fire Marshal Eddie Burke.
The introductory book, FIRST DEGREE BURN
(published by Berkley) begins when Eddie, a mid-30's
ex-firefighter, hunts a serial arsonist named Superman.

A Dominican psychopath, Superman destroys a historic
Lower East Side row house and escapes, leaving an
infant dead and Eddie Burke addicted to Percodan.

When a lost WPA mural is discovered after decades,
a young art restorer is murdered. It seems that the
mural contains a dark secret that somebody's
willing to kill for.

Eddie, who has a chip on his shoulder the size of a Buick,
calls on Columbia art professor DR. CAROLINE DREXEL
to help break the case. But Dr. Drexel, a beautiful heiress,
is tormented by her own inner demons.

Reluctantly, Burke also seeks out the help of his father,
BIG EDDIE, a legendary ex-NYPD Chief of Detectives
from whom he's been estranged for years.

Eddie had started out as a cop. Top of his class at the
Police Academy, when he intentionally washed out and
joined the FDNY. The rivalry between the Reds & Blues
in New York is historic and Big Eddie seems to hate
his son for the betrayal.

As the mystery over the fire-ravished mural twists and
turns, more people are killed. Father and son are both
drawn to the gorgeous art professor and we discover
that Eddie has never forgiven his father for an infidelity
committed the night that his mother (Big Eddie's wife)
had a stroke.

Though he's a great detective, the old man's weakness
has always been women and he comes to physical blows
with Eddie who suspects that the older, still virile cop,
has designs on Caroline.

When they finally reconcile, Big Eddie confesses that he's
always loved his son. But before they can break the case,
Big Eddie is gunned down by the murderer who burned
the mural.

This sets Eddie off on a ticking-clock race to the finish
as he faces the killer in an abandoned subway station.

When the novel ends, Eddie Burke has been promoted to
Lieutenant in charge of The Bureau of Fire Investigation's
Manhattan Base. As Caroline brings him into her circle,
he loses his off-the-rack suits and starts wearing Armani.

Now redeemed and purged of his own family demons,
Eddie takes his father's place in the top echelons of
New York law enforcement. A veteran firefighter
and son of a legendary cop, working cases for the FDNY.
He's stronger, smarter and more polished now. But in
the night, Eddie Burke is still haunted by the elusive
serial arsonist they call SUPERMAN...

What follows is the open to the screenplay for BOOK TWO.
twice with amy night COMBUSTION
(c) 1997 BY PETER LANCE

FADE IN:

EXT. STATUE OF LIBERTY - MAGIC HOUR

A WESTCAM "God shot" as we move in and go
close on THE TORCH in her hand. The setting sun
blasts behind it in a hot, white light and we:

...........MATCH CUT TO:

THE FLAME OF A BIC LIGHTER AS:

A handsome, Latino lights a Macanudo. Early 30's,
in black leather pants and a tank top, he looks like
Antonio Banderas's evil twin.

EDDIE (V.O.)
His name was Dagoberto Rojas,
but everybody called him Superman...

EXT. 59th & THIRD AVENUE

Rojas exits the IRT station near Bloomingdales.
Tattooed between his fingers it says: FUEGO (fire)
and his shoulders are covered with
TATTOOED FLAMES.

He carries a pair of SHOPPING BAGS as:

The voice of Eddie Burke continues under.

EDDIE (V.O.)
The number one undefeated torch
in the City. The Mozart of first
degree burns. Twenty two fires
and seven deaths...

Superman pushes through the throng of afternoon
rush hour commuters and looks up at:

POV: THE ROOSEVELT ISLAND TRAM.

INT. THE TRAM - MINUTES LATER

EDDIE (V.O.)
For years, he'd wreaked havoc
across Manhattan, hired by
slumlords to burn-out their
rent-controlled buildings...

Rojas looks out the window as he heads toward
Roosevelt Island: Half of it covered in CONDOS;
the other half fenced off with the ruins of:
GOLDWATER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.
An abandoned chronic care hospital from
the days of The New Deal.

EDDIE (V.O.)
Now he was using explosives...
blasting buildings set for
demolition. A cold- blooded,
fire-starting psychopath and
nobody could touch him...
until tonight.

At one point, the Tram rocks as it moves over a
support column. Superman is pushed against the
side of the car and HIS FACE goes white. He turns
away and pulls back the edge of his coat, revealing:

A VIAL OF NITROGLYCERINE taped
to his stomach.
CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY - WELFARE HOTEL -
25TH FLOOR - MAGIC HOUR

Fire Marshal Eddie Burke,
(mid 30's, square jaw, cobalt blue eyes)
is at the head of a flak-jacketed joint
FDNY/NYPD Tactical Unit.
He's LIMPING SLIGHTLY as he moves
down the hall.

EDDIE (V.O.)
That's me with the game leg.
Used to be a pretty fair hockey
player 'til I met Rojas.

Eddie's about to close in on Superman's lair.
Inching along with Fire
Marshals HECTOR CRUZ,
TOMMY CHANG (late 20's) and a Black
man who's flak jacket says BOMB DISPOSAL.
This is TREY WILSON.

TREY
So how'd he get the name
Superman?

TOMMY
(shakes his head)
Christ... you'll love this.

HECTOR
We go to arrest him, right?
(Trey nods)
Top floor of a tenement.

TOMMY
We kick the door in and he
goes out the window. We're
figuring O.K., he dropped to
a lower roof. But unh uh. We
look down and he jumped six
stories into an alley...
Fucker walked away with a
broken ankle.

TREY
Good thing we're on Twenty-Five.

TOMMY
Yeah. See if he flies this time.

EDDIE
Let's do this.
(to the others)
On four, three, two....

BANG...

They kick in the door, rushing the darkened room.
Shades drawn. Screaming. Clearing it with H&K MPG
assault rifles. Mag lights searching:

CLOSETS, UNDER THE BED,
THE TINY BATHROOM, but...

TREY
It's clear. The bastard's gone.

Cruz pulls up THE SHADE. On the window
in shoe polish, it says:

FUCK YOU MARICON.

TOMMY
Goddamn, this prick.

Eddie looks, left then right. Tosses the mattress.
The room is deserted except for:
AN ASHTRAY FULL OF MACANUDO BUTTS.
Next to them on the bed-table is a
Yankees baseball schedule.

TREY
We know he likes stogies
and B-ball.

TOMMY
Show me a Dominican that doesn't.

HECTOR
And I'll show you a maricon.

Just then, Eddie bends down and shines his
MAG LIGHT against:

THE HEATING GRILL on the wall.

EDDIE
Wait a second. Pop the grill.

Trey nods and two BOMB DISPOSAL TECHS
move in and unscrew
the grill. Inside they find: PICTURES & MAPS
of ROOSEVELT ISLAND
along with: A half-empty 50 pound bag
of AMMONIUM NITRATE.

TREY
Jesus. Amy Nitrate.

HECTOR
What's that?

TREY
Explosive they used in
Oklahoma City.

Eddie holds up A PICTURE of
GOLDWATER HOSPITAL. Christ.

CUT TO:

EXT. GOLDWATER HOSPITAL - MINUTES LATER

Superman (Rojas) cuts through the chain link fence
around the old hospital. THE UNITED NATIONS
looms across The River as he moves into:

INT. THE HOSPITAL'S MAIN BLDG.

He rips open the shopping bags, revealing:
FOUR PAINT CANS.
With the care of a surgeon, he cuts away
THE VIAL OF NITRO.
He pours equal portions of the liquid explosive into the
ammonium nitrate-nitromethane slurry in each can as:

INT. RED FDNY SUBURBAN - CONTINUOUS

A convoy of FDNY Suburbans screams across the
59th St. Bridge. Eddie checks his watch. Looks down
at the Hospital. Turns to Trey.

EDDIE
Ammonium nitrate.
Tell me about it.

TREY
Common fertilizer. Mix it
with alcohol, nitromethane
and BOOM. Hiroshima time.
Hezbollah used it in Lebanon
when they couldn't get Semtex.

EDDIE
So what's the blasting radius?

TREY
Half a 50 pound bag? Enough
to break windows in Queens.

He looks down at GOLDWATER as they cross the bridge.

TREY
Only one way to defeat it.

CUT TO:

INT. THE BASEMENT

Superman places ONE CAN under each of the
CONCRETE supports for the building and buries
A BLASTING CAP in each can.

He spools out DET CORD, a fast-burning fuse, and
wires it to each of the blasting caps. He twists the
combined fuses together and pulls them toward the
basement door. He wires the fuses to a battery and
twists the ends into TWO LEADS as:

EXT. THE HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS

The Suburbans screech to a stop by the chain link fence.
Eddie spots THE HOLE in the fence. He HAND SIGNALS
for silence and MOTIONS the Tactical Unit to
surround the perimeter, as:

INT. THE BASEMENT

Superman nails A RAT TRAP to the front door. He
connects ONE LEAD to A NAIL; the other to the
metal arm of the trap. He puts a piece of non-conducting
PVC PIPE under the arm; then ties a wire
through it and screws it to the door jam.

Now, when the door opens, the PVC will pull away.
The trap will slam down, completing the circuit and
the place will blow. Just then, Superman hears a noise as...

EXT. NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE HOSPITAL

NYPD ROOKIE DAVEY KRYCHEK slams a load into
his H&K MPG as:

INT. THE BASEMENT

Rojas takes out A SMALL CELL PHONE.

He powers it on. Pulls a pair of tiny WIRE LEADS
from the back of the phone and: ALLIGATOR CLIPS
them onto the rat trap. The leads are so thin,
they're almost invisible. Given the rat trap detonator,
we're not sure why he does this. He covers the phone
with A PILE OF DEBRIS and moves toward:

A WINDOW EXIT on the opposite side of the old hospital as:

EXT. HOSPITAL

The Bomb Squad's about to go in the front door,
but Eddie stops them.

EDDIE
Wait. This guy pisses ice water.
I don't like how he left all
that shit.

TOMMY
So we'd find him.

HECTOR
Maybe he wants us to blow it...

TREY
So, what's the call?

EDDIE
(looking up)
The roof to the top floor and down.

Trey and his boys take off with RAPELLING RIGS
as Eddie does a quick RADIO CHECK
on the perimeter crew.

EDDIE
Perimeter check. Just tap it.

On the NORTHEAST corner of the old hospital
one FEMALE COP taps her Handie-Talkie (radio).
On the SOUTHWEST corner a MALE COP taps TWICE.
Three taps from the FDNY man on the
SOUTHEAST CORNER,
but when it's DAVEY KRYCHECK's turn.
No answer.

EDDIE
Northwest. KRYCHEK?...
Davey come in.

ANGLE KRYCHECK'S RADIO... lying on the ground
in front of him. We widen to reveal his body and see that:

HIS NECK'S BEEN SNAPPED.

As we tilt up, we see SUPERMAN, who's just killed him,
running to THE SEA WALL on the west shore
of the island as:

EXT. HOSPITAL

Eddie turns to the troops.

EDDIE
Rojas...

He takes off after him, whereupon:

EXT. WEST SIDE OF THE ISLAND

Superman makes it to THE SEA WALL.
He pulls a tarp. Underneath is:

A ZODIAC inflatable boat he's planted for his escape.

Eddie is running all out for him now as:

Rojas drops the boat into the East River. The current's
strong, so he clips the bowline to a ring in the wall;
about to get in when:

Eddie dives forward and kicks him in the spine from behind.

EDDIE
Where the fuck you think
you're going?

Suddenly, Superman whips out THE NITRO. There's still
an ounce left. He shakes off A FEW DROPS and they explode
like CHERRY BOMBS. Eddie pulls his S&W "9" and
Superman pushes back, smiling.

SUPERMAN
(heavy Dominican accent)
Shoot me, you get blown to
dogshit.

EDDIE
Like I give a fuck with this
limp you gave me. I can't play
hockey now. And I love the game...
Hockey, Jameson's and killing
Dominican psychopaths.
(cocks the gun)
The three things I live for.

Rojas starts to back down; begins to lower the vial,
then suddenly, HEAVES IT LIKE A GRENADE.

Eddie dives behind the sea wall as it explodes:

BOOOOM!!! Carving A CAR-SIZED HOLE in the
granite and knocking Eddie unconscious as...

Superman jumps into the Zodiac. He pulls the cord on
the outboard, slashes the bowline and takes off up
the East River while...

EXT. THE HOSPITAL

Trey reacts to the blast. Nods to Cruz & Chang.

TREY
Go see.
(radios his men on the roof)
Alright, do it.

EXT. THE HOSPITAL ROOF

The Bomb Techs rappel down from the sides and
SMASH through:

THE FIRST FLOOR windows into:

INT. THE HOSPITAL

Shining mag lights as they head down the darkened
stairwell and into:

INT. THE BASEMENT

where they discover the four lethal PAINT CANS. Now...

AT THE WATER'S EDGE

Cruz and Chang reach Eddie who's just getting up.

TOMMY
Hey boss. You O.K.?

EDDIE
Where is he?
Cruz spins around left, then right, and points:

UP THE EAST RIVER near THE CENTER PILING of the
59th St. Bridge.

HECTOR
By the bridge. We lost him.

EDDIE
Unh uh. Throw me the H&K.

Cruz tosses him the assault rifle.

TOMMY
You're kiddin' right? Guy's
300 yards up river. It's blowin'
twenty. You've got to site for
windage and elevation.

Eddie drops down, steadying it on the sea wall.

EDDIE
No pain. No Workman's Comp.

And with that, he squeezes off three shots:

BLAM, BLAM, BLAM...

One round nicks THE ZODIAC'S HULL. There's
a hissing sound as air escapes and the
boat takes on water.

TOMMY
Jeeesus. That was the greatest
shot I ever saw.

EDDIE
(smiling)
No it wasn't. I was aiming
for his fuckin' head.

Now, in the swift current of the East River, Superman
pulls the boat against the huge PILING. There's:

A METAL LADDER up the side and he starts to climb
up to the Bridge's LOWER ROADWAY, while:

INT. THE BASEMENT

The Bomb Squad Techs race along the Det Cord
and find: THE RAT TRAP DELAY inside the
front door. They radio to Trey.

BOMB TECH
Burke was right. It was set
to blow when we came inside.

TREY
Any kind of remote detonator?
They check with mag lights but
MISS THE HIDDEN CELL PHONE.

BOMB TECH
Negative.

TREY
Alright. Wait 'til I get inside.

CUT TO:

INT. THE RED SUBURBAN - MOMENTS LATER

As Eddie guns it, roaring off the Island and onto
an Entrance Ramp toward the UPPER ROADWAY
of The Bridge. Chang is at shotgun. Cruz in the back.
Just then, they round a turn and STOP DEAD.

TOMMY
Christ. It's bumper to bumper.
Theater traffic coming in.

So Eddie jumps out and takes off, cutting in and
out of the tangle of cars jamming the bridge while:

ON THE LOWER ROADWAY

Superman pulls his way up the last rung of
the ladder and onto:

THE PEDESTRIAN PATH on the
south side of the Bridge.

UP ABOVE NOW

Eddie is racing along THE UPPER PATH looking
over the railing. He's craning for a sight of Superman,
when he looks down and:

POV: Sees him through the GRATED RUNGS
of the Upper Roadway.

EDDIE
Rojas....

When he sees him up above, he takes off like
a shot as:

Eddie looks around, left, right & spots
A MAINTENANCE LADDER. It's across
the bridge on the north side maybe 100 yards ahead
on the next piling, so he takes off, cutting in and
out of cars while:

DOWN BELOW

Superman races west toward the City. Just then,
he sees:

POV: A HONDA 500 MOTORCYCLE inching
along toward Queens, so he pulls A STILETTO
and drags THE DRIVER off the bike as:

Eddie goes down the ladder now, two rungs at
a time and drops:

ONTO THE LOWER ROADWAY

The traffic heading to Queens is also bumper to
bumper but he draws: THE S&W and THE SIG P 230
at his ankle and jumps over cars as:

Superman hops on the Honda and spins it around,
starting to take off along THE PEDESTRIAN PATH
toward Manhattan. He's maybe 50 yards away, when
Eddie gets to the pedestrian path and looks up. There's:

A GLASS TRAFFIC SIGN above Rojas. It says:
TRAFFIC HEAVY AT 59th.

Eddie drops down, double hands the guns and fires:

BLAM BLAM BLAM.

RAINING GLASS down on Superman who skids to
a stop on the bike.

Now Eddie races forward, running, limping,
double handing the guns, swearing to himself
that Superman's reign of arson will end when:

Rojas climbs up onto THE BRIDGE RAILING
yelling back to him.

SUPERMAN
You can't fucking kill me.
You need Kryptonite bullets.

EDDIE
Yeah. Well Lex Luther's a
personal friend of mine.

Eddie drops down on one knee, about to
double-fire when,

Superman pulls A CELL PHONE. Hits a number.
SPEED DIALS to:

THE PHONE ON THE
HOSPITAL BASEMENT FLOOR.

It rings, completing the circuit and:

BOOOOOOOM!

THE HOSPITAL BUILDING ERUPTS with
twice the force of Oklahoma City. All of the
Bomb Techs inside are eviscerated and:

EXT. THE HOSPITAL

Trey Wilson is blown back into the trees.
He looks at his RIGHT HAND. Two of his fingers
have been sliced off by flying glass, while:

ACROSS THE RIVER

The blast is reflected in the glass towers of
Midtown Manhattan and:

UP ON THE BRIDGE

Eddie is thrown to the deck by the force
of the explosion.

Superman (on the railing) hisses at him.

SUPERMAN
Muerte a los Bomberos guinan
me puede de taner ami.
(subtitle translation:)
Death to the firemen who think
they can stop me.

And with that, he jumps off, plunging

DOWN, DOWN, DOWN into the waters
of the East River where he disappears as:

Eddie rushes to the edge of the railing. He
looks down, then drops to his knees.
He's lost him again.

EDDIE
Mother of fucking Christ.

Off Eddie, agonizing; screaming to God for vengeance, we:

PUNCH OUT TO BLACK:

First Degree Burn and the entire written contents of this website,
© 1997, Peter Lance. All Right Reserved. The contents of this page or website
may not be used or reprinted without the express written consent of Peter Lance.