10 Days in September

10 DAYS IN SEPTEMBER is a screenplay that explores themes of ‘truth’ through the eyes of Detective Francesca Salucci. Step inside the writing room for a sneak peek of the draft copy.

This is the story before the movie.

Please respect my intellectual property and copyright ownership.

10 DAYS IN SEPTEMBER

A screenplay by Toni Grant

DATE: 2 September 2023

TITLE SEQUENCE IN SILENCE

1 EXT. BIRDS EYE VIEW SYDNEY CBD – 2012 – DARK

Over shoulder view. Sydney’s iconic sights through open window of Police helicopter. Circle over Opera House and follow the Parramatta River upstream. Rotor blades beat steady like a heart.

Chopper peels to stage right and disappears into the night.

2 EXT. WOOL SHED, PARRAMATTA RIVER, SYDNEY – CONTINUOUS- DARK

Abandoned wool shed dockside speaks of another time on an eerie, crescent moonlit night.

Armed ARES OMCG spotters patrol building entry / exit points.

3 EXT. WOOL SHED – DARK

TACTICAL COMMANDER (45 yo. code TANGO CHARLIE) of NSW POLICE SWAT watches team peel from the darkness and form perimeter. Wait. View to light blue lantern, soft glow, hung from iron hook.

4 INT. WOOL SHED, MEZZANINE FLOOR – DARK

Over shoulder of Detective Sergeants FRANCESCA SALUCCI (29 y.o) and JONATHAN MCCRAE (39 y.o) emerge from shadows. Creep forward.

Salucci proceeds stage right. McCrae takes stage left overhead bridge.

5 INT. WOOL SHED TOWARDS GROUND FLOOR – CONTINUING – DIMLY LIT

Birds eye view. Lights focused on the activity in right side, to rear of shed. Light blue lantern shines at small office space. Sealed cardboard boxes and 20kg bags of coffee beans carried from a small shipping container.

Open boxes contents spill onto the floor … stainless steel cooking equipment … hand guns … boxes of ammo are at stages of re-packing.

CHI YOU CHINESE TRIAD operatives stand aside, at attention and following subtle cues from their DRAGON HEAD, LI WEI (63), who watches, listens and scans the surrounds. Ever alert and unnervingly calm.

FRANCESCA (OVER CLOSED COMMS)

ZULU ONE. Eyes on COLE THE MOLE (45) and BILLY KIDD (56). Ares by 5. Two vans. Black doors.

Eyes on Li Wei and ….
4 white. 3 black doors.

Copy.

TACTICAL COMMANDER (OVER CLOSED COMMS)

Copy that.

FRANCESCA (OVER CLOSED COMMS)

Standby.

TACTICAL COMMANDER (OVER CLOSED COMMS)

Standing by.

6 INT. WOOL SHED, CONTINUING – DIMLY LIT

COLE THE MOLE
(clearly unsettled by the presence of Li Wei)

Come on ya cunts. Hurry up.
Stack them legit ones ‘round ‘em.
Make sure ya chock up the back.

7 INT. WOOL SHED, SMALL OFFICE WITH WINDOWS INTO THE SHED – LAMP LIT

(Wide interior shot) Billy Kidd, ARES SERGEANT AT ARMS and Chi You COUNTERPART seated opposite each other at a small table in office.

Only sound of boxes being loaded into the vans.

8 INT. WOOL SHED MEZZANINE FLOOR – CONTINUING – DARK

Salucci crouches on the upper deck. nervous and sweating. glances in the direction of McCrae … pauses to gather herself. We hear her breathing. opposite van.

Enormous hook and pulley system with dusty steel chain hanging from lofted ceiling to concrete ground floor. The walkway is narrow here … treacherous with metal bars protruding from the wall at shin, hip and forehead height.

(Over her shoulder view and follows her line of sight) Salucci eyes her options. To move forward means stepping close to the edge. She eyes the rat poo covered handrail. Dislodged rat poo will attract attention.

A glimpse of something in a second room above the office catches her attention. She stills, peering into the room’s dark interior.

9 INT. WOOL SHED, SMALL OFFICE WITH WINDOWS INTO THE SHED – LAMP LIT

Hear a metal chair scrape noisily across the concrete floor. It cracks through the rhythmic noise of the boxes being loaded into the van.

Salucci still. Through the internal office window she sees the two deputies rise. OMCG Sergeant at Arms and Chi you shake hands in agreement.

They walk out to the vans.

FRANCESCA (OVER CLOSED COMMS)

Tango Charlie this is Zulu 1, commit. commit. Surry Hills down.

10 EXT. WOOL SHED – DARK

TACTICAL COMMANDER (OVER CLOSED COMMS)
(motioning forward)

Copy that. This is Tango Charlie. Surry Hills down. Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!

11 INT. WOOL SHED AT VANS ON GROUND FLOOR – DIMLY LIT

SERGEANT AT ARMS

(silently head inflection at Cole)

COLE THE MOLE

Yea boss. All good. Nice and tight like a virgin’s …

12 EXT/INT. WOOL SHED CONTINUING

SWAT units pour into the building. shouting and chaos.

TACTICAL COMMANDER

Police! Don’t move!

13 INT. WOOL SHED, GROUND FLOOR

Li Wei makes eye contact with Salucci on mezzanine level.

14 INT. WOOL SHED, MEZZANINE LEVEL – DARK

Salucci runs towards stairs to head him off. Attention caught by a MALE OMCG OPERATIVE BODY slumped in a corner of upstairs room.

BOY (12 yo) stands in dark doorway. He has a mysterious smile and death in his eyes.

FRANCESCA

(over comms)

Police! Don’t move! What the fuck?

JOHNNO (VOICE OVER FRANCESCA ACTION)

Zulu 1 status?

(Beat)

15 INT. WOOLSHED, MEZZANINE LEVEL, SMALL ROOM – DARK

Boy flicks a prayer card towards her. Slow motion. The card falling from the ceiling. Lands at her feet. Muffled exterior noise as outside chaos noise dims. Boy dissolves in haze.

JOHNNO (VOICE OVER FRANCESCA ACTION)

Tango Lina do you copy?

(Beat)

Chopper hovers overhead. Spotlight beam shines through small holes in roof into dusty small room. Empty room with Salucci and dead body.

JOHNNO (VOICE OVER FRANCESCA ACTION)

Fuck!

FRANCESCA

(picks up card. slow recognition. Italian mafia calling card. turns it over in hands. looks around the room. shoves card in her pocket. rejoins operation)

Zulu 2. In pursuit. Black stairwell.

JOHNNO

Hold for support.

FRANCESCA

Fuck no! I’m there.

JOHNNO

Wait for backup Salucci!

FRANCESCA
(runs through open door into the back yard of warehouse)

Fuck! He’s fucking disappeared! Where the fuck is my perimeter?

*** END OF SAMPLE ***