(NARRATOR READING)
(HELICOPTER WHIRRING)
(POLICE SIREN BLARING)
POLICE RADIO: Chopper One to Command.
No sign of hostages released.
RITTER : We have three minutes, repeat, three minutes to his deadline.
-All buildings and civilians are evacuated. -LT. LEONE : Sniper, Chief.
He's got a gun pointed at the head of a hostage. We're taking position.
GENTRY : Attention. Tear gas ready. Bomb squad has arrived.
We're in position and awaiting orders.
SOLDIER 1: Clear to the left! Let's go. GENTRY: We're going in.
GENTRY: We've got access to the roof.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
Command to Air One. Hostage. Suspect. Bystanders. Anyone. Over!
No, sir. Negative. No movement.
-Negotiations? -Broken off, sir. He refuses to answer the phone.
-Leone. -No hostages released.
He's walking up and down the aisle of the bus.
I see nine of the sixteen hostages.
GENTRY: Snipers report ready, sir.
Assault teams are ready, and all bystanders have been evacuated.
We have to meet his demands in three minutes, or he starts killing hostages.
Sir, he's bluffed before. We have five children on there.
(BLEEP)
All teams, this is Ritter. We're out of time.
Negotiations have broken off. I believe the hostages are in imminent danger.
Snipers, if you get a clear shot, take him out.
Assault team... Go.
(TEAR GAS LAUNCHER FIRES)
Everybody off, now!
Well, the hostage taker's down.
-Five balloons popped. -Casualty report.
Hijacker is dead.
Five hostages killed or injured. One child, sir.
Oh, not acceptable.
Maybe we should have waited.
RITTER: Okay, we'll try this again next week.
Okay, gentlemen, let's go home.
POLICE RADIO: Hotel 598, Hotel 598, what is your status?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER FROM POLICE RADIO)
(CLOCK BEEPS)
(GRUNTS)
-School day. -Oh, that's okay. I'll write you a note.
(GIGGLES)
-School day. -(INDISTINCT MUTTERING)
You raised two great girls there.
It'll be wonderful having them home for the holidays.
They're both in college. It's incredible.
So, why are you sad? You miss them?
You're on the phone with them about ten times a day.
Every day when I take those children to their school, I get sad.
They have their problems, you know, and they work so hard.
But maybe they will never be able to go to college.
Yeah, but you've never been sad about them before.
I mean, you talk about them all the time. About how Benito's going to the moon
and how Katie's always smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress,
and how Fernando is always rating everything, how...
-I don't think you're sad about them. -You don't, huh?
I think, I think you want a baby.
I know you would be a great father.
And I know that we can't have a baby. That's why I'm sad.
Well, maybe we could look into adoption.
Let's talk about it later, okay?
I don't want to be late. Okay.
Nice car. It's sexy, it's sensible. You look great in this car.
Yeah?
Well, that's what some sweet-talking salesman told me once.
-And you know why? -Why?
-I ended up marrying him. -(SARCASTICALLY) Ah-ha.
Look, I'm, I'm substituting in a gym class across from Jackson today.
We could have lunch there. It would be thirty minutes of kids running and screaming
and yelling and throwing food and totally misbehaving. What do you think?
I think you are very clever, trying to cheer me up.
Mmm.
I'll see you later.
Bye.
-What? -You're sure you're okay?
I'm okay. You okay?
Yeah, I'm okay.
-I love you. -I love you.
-What's the matter? You don't like my buses, Angel? -(SIGHS)
Well, the last time I drove this bus, you know, the radio
went nada after about an hour and I had to write it up.
It's all fixed, Angel. We can talk to your heart's content.
Yeah, we'll just see about that, won't we?
Good morning. No more nada, okay?
If those kids aren't picked up precisely on time, it upsets them and their parents.
Have I ever been late? What's he talking "late"?
-Not once have we ever... -Just go, ladies.
Ohh-kay!
-Goodbye. -Goodbye.
Brakes!
(ENGINE RUMBLES)
Left signal.
Right. Flashers.
Okay.
Hmph.
Ooh. What's the matter, hon?
Moving a little bit little bit slow today?
Well, last night, Joe and the kids wanted Cuban food, and I'm still tasting it.
Oh. That's because you have to eat the right Cuban food.
How do you think I get my muscles to drive this, huh?
Ah, someday I'm gonna cook you the good stuff.
Oh. Well, you just use those muscles to avoid these potholes, okay?
-Okay. -BOTH: (LAUGHING)
Bus CX-17, radio check.
DISPATCHER: (OVER RADIO) CX-17, loud and clear, as promised.
CX-17 leaving the yard on time.
-As promised. -Roger, CX-17.
Have a safe trip.
Nice and easy.
(CHUCKLING)
-Oops. -(SLOWLY) This is gonna be one long day.
There. You like the ribbon?
Sweetie, the dress doesn't have any more wrinkles.
You got them all.
(BUS HORN HONKS)
Okay. Here we go.
-Good morning, Mrs. Caldwell. -Good morning, Mrs. Stebbins.
Good morning, Katie. Oh, you look so beautiful in that dress. Hm?
Just like a princess.
Bye, sweetie. Have fun.
Hey, sweetie, can Mommy get a hug?
Okay, how about a wave?
-A wave is progress. -Yup. Bye.
-You know what? I'm gonna be a seal. -You can't. You're a person.
A person cannot be a seal. I rate that a zero.
GLENDA: Katie's here. Good morning, Katie.
-CHILDREN: Good morning, Katie. -Clean, and still
no wrinkles.
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
Adios.
Where are we going, Senora ?
-Same place as every day. -Where? Where are we going?
(LAUGHING) To the moon, Benito.
-How's everybody? -ALL: Hello, Mrs. Caldwell.
Hey, Roberto. Did you know that I used to be a hair stylist?
And let me tell you, baby, you have the most beautiful hair.
-I know. -How do you know?
-Because every day you tell me. -(LAUGHING)
Ricky? Another record?
Yes. New world record. Twenty-seven days in a row with a new world record.
-This one's never gonna be broken. -Oh, yeah, until tomorrow.
Every day, you get better.
He's got the world record for new world records.
Okay, one more stop before school.
-Josefina, then the moon. -Yes. Then the moon, Benito.
CELENA: I know a song. It's called "The Wheels on the Bus".
(SNORTS)
We sing that every day. I rate that a zero point one.
Fernando, I rate wiggling out of your harness a zero point zero.
You must stay in, okay?
JIMMY: Me. Me. I know a song. "The Fernando on the Bus"!
ALL: * The Fernando on the bus goes up and down
* up and down, up and down
* The Fernando on the bus goes up and down *
(READING SOFTLY FROM BOOK)
Oh, I didn't mean to startle you, Harry.
You know, if the Lord rewards fervor in praying, he'll look well upon you.
Oh, this is a poem, actually, Pastor.
"What is Success"? You could write your own book on that.
He's spoken to me, Pastor. He has shown me a way out.
-A way out of what, Harry? -Everything. He's watching over me.
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
Okay?
-Buenos dias, Senora. -Buenos dias.
Josefina, what a pretty hairdo.
-I hate it. I don't want to go. -Go.
* The Josefina on the bus goes up and down
* all over the town
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
Mama, I know already!
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
-Gracias. Bye. -Bye.
Get back on.
I said get back on.
Okay. Now wave goodbye to Mom and Dad...
Who are you?
Sit down with your child.
-Where's the bus driver? -I'm the driver, and you can't ride.
-You? -Yes. I'm in charge.
No. I am in charge now.
-Listen, I don't know who you are... -You don't need to know
who I am.
What you do need to know is if you don't follow my instructions to the letter,
I will detonate the explosives in this bag
and you and all these children will die.
-Okay? -(INHALES)
Hmm?
Okay.
Good. We understand each other.
(VIDEO GAME BLEEPING)
Sit!
You see this bag? Anyone who touches it dies.
-What? -I said, anyone!
-He can't hear very well. -(HOARSLEY) Celena!
What's with these kids?
They're special. Okay? They're special children.
MARTA: And you're scaring them.
Please, get off the bus.
-Where are we going, Senora? -Where?
To the Federal Building. Right up to the front door of the Internal Revenue Service.
And if they don't do exactly as I say,
and your bus driver doesn't do exactly as I say,
I will detonate the explosives in that bag back there,
and this bus and that building will blow so high,
it will make Oklahoma City look like a dud.
Okay? Are we all clear?
Yes. But please, I'll do whatever you ask me to.
Just don't hurt the children.
Let them off the bus, and we'll just...
Oh, you see, I need these kids.
Why? Why are you doing this?
Okay, I'll do whatever you tell me to.
Drive.
That's perfect. They're special.
She's the driver.
He is watching over me.
(YELLING) Drive!
FERNANDO: Excuse me. Excuse me.
You must sit in your seat with your seatbelt fastened while the bus is in motion.
Fernando, we must be silent.
What are you doing? You planning something?
No.
She's sick. She told me before we started.
You got a phone in here? You gonna use it when my back is turned?
No.
Drug addict? You're not setting a good example for the kids.
It's insulin. I'm a diabetic.
Come here. Come here.
What are you doing?
-I stop... -No.
-Railroad tracks. -Not today, you don't.
Oh, well, you want them to stop us?
They will, if I don't do this.
Okay, okay, okay.
That was good. Do as I tell you to do, don't attract attention,
-and no one gets hurt. -Okay.
-All right. -You just tell me what to do.
(RADIO ALERTS)
Would whoever has his mic open kindly hang it up?
You're blowing every other bus off the air.
Come on. This is Driver Training Day One.
What if I had an emergency here, huh?
-MARTA: Mister? -HARRY: What?
I need directions.
Take a right on the side street.
MARTA: Okay, I took a right. Now what?
Angel, is that you? Angel, is your radio broken again?
Over.
Hurry it up.
(NERVOUSLY) Well, I can't. There's a dead end.
Hey! Hey, everybody, quiet.
-HARRY: Turn there! -MARTA: Which way?
That way! There!
Well, I don't have eyes in the back of my head!
You gotta tell me right or left!
Don't yell at me.
(NERVOUSLY) I'm sorry. It's just that I don't what to do.
And besides, look, there's a car behind us.
(STUTTERS) It's just a car.
I know what's in your bag.
Jimmy.
-What? -It's C-4. Plastic explosives.
-Isn't it? -(HUSHES)
You're a smart boy, Jimmy.
Keep moving. Turn left.
You're gonna talk. Say only what I tell you.
And do not identify yourself.
Pay attention. This is an emergency.
I am in charge of the bus now.
And I will kill the children...
I will kill the children...
And I will kill the children...
If my demands are not met.
My name is Harry Kee.
Police. This is Dade County School Bus dispatch.
We have a Code Red. Hijacking in progress.
Barney? We're providing security for an imaginary purple dinosaur?
There may be thousands of kids pushing for autographs and hugs.
Including mine. I know it sounds tough, Gentry, but I think we can handle it.
Kath? SRT just got a report of a hostage situation.
It's a bus. A school bus.
Captain Ritter's on vacation.
Activate the SRT. Have them stand by for orders.
His name is Harry Kee. He's got no record. He says he's got a bomb on the bus,
and he'll blow up himself and the children on board if we don't meet his demands.
We don't know the location of the bus.
But the dispatcher thinks he knows the driver.
Her name is Marta Caldwell.
She drives to Jackson Elementary and never got there.
-That anybody's kid's school? -How many children on board?
Well, not sure. Eight usually ride.
Some may have stayed home sick.
Well, let's contact the parents, find out exactly how many we're dealing with.
-What are the demands? -He's got a problem with the IRS.
That's all we know right now.
He says he's gonna blow up the bus in front of the IRS offices
of the South Miami Federal Building, with the children on board,
if they don't do as he says.
And he won't negotiate. He's not answering the bus radio.
Find out what the IRS knows. Of all the times for the captain to go fishing.
-Does dispatch think it's for real? -Very.
He told us a couple of other things.
Marta Caldwell has been a bus driver all of two months.
And the bus number, get this, is CX-17.
The "X" means the kids on board are special.
Emotionally disturbed, learning disabled.
One of them's partially deaf. Those are his hostages.
What a world.
(CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM RADIO)
Lieutenant Caroselli will coordinate all communications and negotiations.
-I'll brief the team on board. Let's go! -The line in the SRT
truck is secure and direct to all vehicles as well as dispatch here at HQ.
GENTRY: Move it out! Let's move!
(ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM RADIO)
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
HQ Dispatch, this is Leone. We're gonna need patrol units and federal support for
evacuation of the South Miami Federal Building.
I want detectives to interview relatives of the hijacker
and the bus driver immediately.
We need to know what we're dealing with.
Caroselli will coordinate.
Also get a chopper in the air. Alert every patrol unit, every school bus in the city.
We need to find school bus CX-17 now. Leone out.
What we've got here is a guy who's hijacked a school bus, carrying kids
with special needs, who he's threatening to kill.
He says he's got a bomb on board, and he wants to blow up the IRS.
Basically, he wants to do an Oklahoma City in Miami, and it's up to us to stop him.
Look, I've trained with you, but never as your commander.
It'll be my privilege to lead you today.
If I make a mistake, or I overlook something, let me know.
That's what I expect of professionals, and that's what you are.
-Am I clear? -ALL: Yes, Ma'am.
LT. CAROSELLI: Bus CX-17, if you can hear this, please respond, Mr. Kee.
Mr. Harry Kee, this is Lieutenant Dominick Caroselli of the Metro-Dade Police.
I would like to discuss your demands and resolve this without any harm to you,
or the passengers.
Maybe he could have helped you!
-Excuse me. Excuse me! -What?
This isn't the right way.
Fernando... Children, please, no talking.
You and Jimmy are so observant.
Why don't you guys look out the window, see if you see any police.
Maybe they can show us the right way.
But I already know the right way.
After we pick up Josefina, we go straight for six lights.
Then we make a left turn. Five blocks.
Then we make a right turn. Three blocks.
Then we make a right turn into the bus lane at Jackson Elementary School.
At the sign that says "Buses Only".
That's the right way. This is the wrong way.
We have to go back to Josefina's, so we can find the right way.
WOMAN DRIVER: Your flashers are on.
-What'd she say? -She said my flashers were on.
I forgot to turn them off after the railroad crossing, okay?
-Forgot? -Yes. I'm nervous. I'm trying to do the best I can!
Turn left off the highway, then pull over and stop.
-What's your name? -Marta.
You're a liar, Marta.
You've been lying to me all along, huh, Marta?
Listen, the problem with the IRS is not the children's fault.
Let her go, please.
-Katie... -Katie's fine.
But if I find out you've been lying to me again, Katie will be first.
And then the others.
And you will be responsible.
So we'll just wait right here. And if anybody shows up...
We'll just do it right here.
Benito, we'll get to the moon. Okay?
It's gonna be all right.
There you go! Don't hog the ball.
Come on, what are you doing? Come on, come on. Pass it. Pass it. Let's go!
-Mr. Caldwell? -Yeah?
We're Detective Sims and Grantham, Metro-Dade.
-Can we talk to you for a moment? -Sure. What's up?
Sir, there's an incident in progress aboard your wife's school bus.
An incident? What are you talking about?
Apparently, there's a hostage situation.
That's all we know.
(NERVOUSLY) Well, is she okay? Is anybody hurt?
We just got it over the radio.
Are you in contact with the bus? Can I talk to her?
Mr. Caldwell, we don't know. Right now, we just need to ask you some things.
We're bringing the kids' parents to the Jackson School to wait this out.
Um, why don't we walk over there while we talk?
-The principal's already okayed it. -Yeah, all right. All right.
All right. Would you take over, please?
-GIRL: Sure. -Sir, uh, going to work this morning, uh,
how'd your wife act?
Uh, normal? Was she upset?
Well, I wouldn't say she was upset. I...
What? Maybe depressed?
What the hell kind of question is this?
Are you saying she's a suspect in this thing?
No, no, no. Sir, we don't know.
But we have to ask. Was she depressed?
Yeah, she was depressed, okay?
-Why? -Why? Why?
Because the doctors have said that the odds of us ever having
a child together are slim.
Which we would like to do, because we've been married five years,
after lousy first marriages, and we love each other so much,
you wouldn't believe it. That's why.
Any chance that might make her want to do, well, you know, something crazy?
You know why she's driving that bus?
Because the other drivers with more seniority won't, that's why.
These kids have problems, all right? But she loves these kids.
And she tells me about their problems.
She tells me about Benito and Fernando and Katie. She loves them.
And she would never, ever do anything to hurt one of them, or any other child.
So you just rule her out as a suspect. You rule her out.
If that bus is in trouble, Marta Caldwell is the best friend
that you or those kids could possibly have.
No police cars.
Come on, play your game. Come on!
(GRUNTS)
What's with him?
Ricky,
let's sing, okay? Hm?
* The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round
* round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round
* -all over town -Enough! *
Take the back roads to the Federal Building. Don't get on the expressway.
If the problem with the IRS is money, I have some saved. I can give it to you and...
The problem is, everything I have achieved over a lifetime of working,
not seeing my kids, two, three, four jobs, they are trying to take it away.
Will you just drive?
Come on!
* The wipers on the bus go swish swish, swish
* swish, swish, swish
* -swish, swish, swish -ALL: The wipers on the bus go
* swish, swish, swish all over town
* The windows on the bus go up and down
* up and down, up and down
* all over town
OFFICER 1:(OVER RADIO) The entire building must be evacuated.
Quickly but safely.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
(INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM RADIO)
OFFICER 2: Go, go!
Ah!
OFFICER 1 : The entire building must be evacuated.
OFFICER 3: Go with me, you'll be okay.
(INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM RADIO)
LT. CAROSELLI: His name is Kee. Harry, first name.
Okay, we've blocked everything except the main entry.
He'll come in through the front courtyard.
We've got snipers behind vehicles all the way.
-Have we found the bus? -Negative.
But we've spoken to Mr. Bus Driver.
He says Marta Caldwell is the best friend you and those kids could have.
We can use all the help we can get.
Lieutenant, this is Mr. Danielson of the IRS. He's familiar with Mr. Kee's case.
What's Mr. Kee's problem with the IRS, Mr. Danielson?
Forgive me, but there are certain sticky privacy issues here.
There are certain sticky life and death issues here.
And we're a little too busy trying to make sure he doesn't
blow up your building to call Washington.
Okay?
It's the IRS's position that Mr. Kee has underpaid his taxes
by sixteen thousand dollars. Now, he disputes that. Obviously.
We'd be happy to work out a payment plan, anything else that could help,
short of forgiving the debt.
Now, that would only encourage others.
Here, take this phone, all right?
And go over to the evacuation location.
So he hijacks a bus over sixteen thousand dollars.
Couldn't he hire a lawyer and appeal?
My hunch is we're dealing with a perfectionist.
Someone with huge ego and pride, who now feels unjustly persecuted
and he can't cope with that, so he plans this suicidal statement.
He wants to go out with a great big bang. It's so wildly irrational,
and so out of proportion to the sixteen thousand dollars.
Dom, you're the best negotiator in this business.
You could talk anyone out of anything.
If he's suffered a psychotic break, he may not give me a chance.
This is big trouble, Kath.
We've got CX-17 going northbound, near the off ramp...
-Take the expressway. Do it! -I thought you wanted to...
(CHILDREN SCREAMING)
(HEAVY BREATHING)
-What are you doing? -I'm sorry. It was all I could do to stop it on time.
We've been spotted. Plan B. To the IRS, fast.
GENTRY : Okay, he is now on the 826 expressway.
LT. LEONE : Close the road. Escort him in slow and easy.
GENTRY: The Chief is gonna love it. This is only one of the busiest
highways in the state.
LT. LEONE : Dom, we've got to talk to him.
LT. CAROSELLI: He may have turned off or broken the bus radio.
GENTRY: Okay, we need to issue tactical orders, Lieutenant.
He'll be on us in a few minutes.
We need to talk to him first, Sergeant. All teams stand by. And close down that road.
All right, we need to shut down the 826.
All sniper and assault teams stand by for orders. Over.
-All right, Marta, go faster. -I'm trying. It's a school bus.
ALL: (SCREAMING)
OFFICER: (ON RADIO) Bus CX-17 northbound on the eight twenty-six a mile
of post twenty-three. I'm in pursuit.
Check with the watch commander.
(POLICE SIREN BLARING)
Police car! Police car!
Where are we going, Senora?
To the moon, Benito. It's going to be all right.
Get 'em away, Marta.
How without the radio?
(CHILDREN SOBBING)
(CAR HORN HONKS)
Open the door!
-Don't do it! -Please, please let him help you.
Tell him to get away or the bus explodes.
Move away!
Pull over for a phone. We want to talk.
No! Just go or he'll blow us up!
That was good.
Go faster.
Whatever they have done to you, I, I know it must be terrible.
But this is not the way to fix it.
You know, Mr. Kee? I mean, I know you don't want to talk to them, but at least
talk to me. May... Maybe I could help you.
Yeah, right.
Please, Mr. Kee, I beg you, before anyone gets hurt.
Drive faster.
REPORTER : Channel Seven News has just learned that the Metro-Dade
police have closed the northbound lanes of highway 826,
-and ask the public to please stay away -Come on, they've got it on.
-and use alternate routes until further notice.
Right now, the only information we have is that
there is a hijacking in progress aboard this bus.
And police are telling the public that the South Miami Federal Building
is temporarily closed. Back to you in the studio, Greg.
(INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM TV)
-You are the driver's husband? -Yeah. I'm Frank Caldwell.
-Hey, hey... -No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Sanchez, Mrs. Caldwell, the driver, is a hostage, just like your son.
That's not what the radio says. I heard it coming over.
The radio doesn't know. I know Marta. There's no way.
Mr. Sanchez, we know.
Mrs. Caldwell is just following the hijacker's orders.
(NERVOUSLY) I'm sorry. I'm getting crazy.
No, believe me, me, too. Umm, it's okay.
My son, he plays a game with your wife.
He calls the school the moon.
-Oh, is this Benito? -Yeah.
He loves to ride the bus to the moon
with Senora Caldwell.
He tries so hard...
LT. CAROSELLI: Four minutes. REYNOLDS: When the bus gets here,
do we let it drive up, or do we stop it?
No, if we want to stop it, we can't just shoot out the tires.
He might start killing hostages. We're gonna have to stop him.
The problem is, we may stop several children.
-Well, we need orders, Lieutenant. -All right.
I wish he'd talk to us.
Maybe he won't talk 'cause there's nothing to talk about.
His demands are a smokescreen.
All he wants to do is make his statement.
By blowing up the building in a suicide bombing.
And killing all the hostages with him.
And we're escorting him right to the front door.
Get a car. How fast can we redeploy?
Fast. But uh, that's really fast.
Then buy us some time.
We're in the wrong place. It's time we made our own statement.
REYNOLDS: Let's go!
Let's go! Load 'em up.
Move it out! Now!
Come one! Come on! Come on!
HARRY: 15 years I've been a waiter, saving to build my own restaurant.
My two girls, they didn't have the fancy jackets and shoes.
I saved to give them something important.
A good life, a future.
I mean, that's the American dream.
And now, they want to take it all away.
Like I'm a criminal. See, it's they who are the criminals
taking away my success. Planning to destroy me.
I'm sorry.
My English is not as good as my Spanish.
(POLICE SIREN BLARES)
(CHILDREN SOBBING)
Why are you slowing down?
The police car in front of me did.
Honk the horn.
(HORN HONKS)
Bump him. Bump him!
If we have an accident, you won't get to the IRS, so how will that help you?
He showed me. This is my exit.
(CHILDREN CONTINUE SOBBING)
(POLICE SIREN BLARES)
Mr. Harry Kee, this is Lieutenant Kathy Leone with the Metro-Dade Police.
I have a phone for you. We are ready, willing and able to discuss your demands
when you release your hostages.
We will bring you this phone, while at the same time,
you let the children go, before any of them are harmed.
Please respond, Mr. Kee. Can we do that?
Mr. Kee, we need a signal from you that we can approach the bus and get you the phone.
Go. Go!
The snipers are ready, Lieutenant.
No! Hold your fire.
She's got no place to go.
Where now?
Go down there.
But I can't! It's too steep!
Go down there to the federal building!
Or we all die here.
Kids, hold on.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(CHILDREN SCREAMING)
It's gonna explode.
Take cover!
(ALL SCREAMING)
(CHILDREN CONTINUE SCREAMING)
(SCREAMING) No!
No! Stop!
(CHILDREN CRYING)
Plan B is dead.
Plan C...
The airport.
Miami International.
You see that back there?
That cop was a woman.
I've got a woman driver.
These kids.
Oh, it's all so perfect.
(POLICE SIREN WAILING)
Mrs. Caldwell, we need to go to school.
(STAMMERS) I need to go to school right now, please.
Yes, Ricky, I know. We'll get to school.
You know, it's gonna be all right.
It's gonna be okay.
These children can't go on.
Then sing.
* The wheels on the bus go round and round
* round and round
(ALL SINGING) * The wheels on the bus go round and round
* all over town
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
(REYNOLDS ON RADIO) All units, this is SRT Command in a blue unmarked
with lights and sirens.
Move aside and let us through now.
Leone.
Yes, sir, I understand.
LEONE ON PHONE: We thought we had him stopped.
We'd establish communications and control of the situation. But the driver got through us.
Yes, sir, but she is driving and I can't change that right now.
Yes, sir, I will. Thank you, sir.
The Chief. He's worried the driver may crack.
Aren't you?
NEWS REPORTER: Continuing to bring you these dramatic pictures...
Lt. Leone's on the phone. She'd like to ask you a few questions.
This is Frank Caldwell speaking.
This is Lieutenant Leone, Mr. Caldwell.
I want to ask you about Mrs. Caldwell.
Before we do that, I got all the parents here. Is everyone all right?
So far as we know.
Our spotters can see all the hostages through the windows.
(ALL SIGH IN RELIEF)
Now, you told the detective that your wife was our best friend on that bus.
You tell me why?
Let me tell you a little story about Marta.
When she was 16, she hid with her family for five days,
without any food or water, in a Cuban sugarcane field,
with soldiers patrolling all around them,
till they could find a boat to escape to America.
FRANK ON PHONE: And when they finally sailed, her father
saw a patrol boat, and he armed Marta with hand grenades.
And she would have used them.
But fortunately for us, fortunately for me
the boat never stopped them, and Marta became an American.
FRANK ON PHONE: And my point is that she will not panic.
Thank you, Mr. Caldwell. You answered my question.
Carlotta?
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
(HALTS MID-SENTENCE)
What were you saying?
Josefina, her breathing is bad,
and I think she has to get off the bus.
So does Ricky.
(SPANISH), Marta.
You told her to look in my jacket to see if I really had a detonator.
And then you lied.
I speak Spanish.
Stop the bus!
They're slowing down.
Slow down.
All units, stop with the bus.
Give them plenty of room.
We can't stop here.
We have to go to school!
(SHOUTING) We have to!
I need to go to Ricky. Please.
You get off. You're all lying to me.
I want to stay with these children.
If you care about these children, don't disobey me.
Come on.
OFFICER: Hold your position!
Hostage coming out!
Hold it.
GENTRY ON RADIO: All right, we have one adult.
Right here. Come on. Let's go. Right here.
Give us kids, Harry.
You, take your kid off the bus and bring me a phone.
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH) A phone!
Si, Si . I get the phone.
OFFICER: More coming out!
Come on, sweetheart. This way. Right over here.
Please, let them all go. What's the point of harming them?
I don't trust you anymore.
You lie to me one more time, I have to kill one.
(RICKY CRYING)
Listen to Ricky. Let him go. You don't need him.
Hey, lucky boy, don't you want to get off the bus?
-Come on! -Stop it!
Come on. Look at me. Look at me, Ricky.
Ricky, it's gonna be okay, huh? Now, we have to get out.
Let's get off the bus right now.
It's gonna be all right. Here.
You have to take me to school.
Well, the people outside are gonna take you to school.
I'll see you there afterwards, okay?
ROBERTO: Bye, Ricky.
OFFICER: One more coming out!
Come on, let's go.
What about the phone?
Forget it! Let's go!
OFFICER: It'll be all right. I got you. You're okay now.
Now, nothing goes on behind my back.
It's just you and me.
(BANGS BUS) The phone!
He didn't get the phone.
Even if we meet all his demands, we got no way to tell him.
Gentry,
we need background on this guy. Something I can use to reach him.
GENTRY ON RADIO: Look, Lieutenant, we've been trying.
Now, we got, we got two adults and two children
in fair to good condition.
And uh, get this
he's on his way to the airport.
Like hell.
Alert airport police.
All SRT units, get ahead of this convoy.
The bus destination is now Miami International.
Lieutenant, the bus aide says that Kee placed a bag behind a seat.
Said that it contained explosives
and that he had a detonator in his jacket. Over.
Let's go. Let's move.
(ENGINE STARTING)
TV REPORTER: Greg, the police frequencies say the bus's destination
is now Miami Airport.
ANCHOR: Marcia , we're getting the same thing here in the studio.
The freed hostages are
Carlotta and Josefina Arguello,
Glenda Sikes
and Ricky Guerrez.
Yeah, thanks.
Uh, they appear to be unhurt. But they will be taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Okay, so just come with me.
We hope all the children are gonna be okay.
All right, look, look, listen, folks,
I know that Marta will protect each one of your kids as if they were her own.
Like you said,
she's their best friend.
Yeah. Listen, the kids that he released are probably
the ones that were crying or acting up.
But the others, I'm sure they're okay.
Mr. Caldwell, with, with our kids,
kids with special needs, sometimes
we don't even know if they're okay.
HARRY: I have two daughters.
One's about your age.
You keep rubbing that dress and you're gonna make it dirty.
Katie, sweetie,
look at me.
Up here in the mirror. Katie...
Katie, open your eyes and...
There.
Oh, I can see that beautiful dress, absolutely clean.
And so few wrinkles.
Isn't it clean, Mr. Kee?
It's clean. Super clean.
You leave her alone. You are a bad man.
No, I'm not.
I'm just trying to protect my girls.
Girls like you.
There are two police cars coming fast on our right.
And the airport exit is next.
Take the phone! Take it!
We want to help you!
Please, let them help you. Take the phone!
Just throw the phone!
(PHONE RINGING)
Close the door!
(PHONE CONTINUES RINGING)
What?
Take it.
I'll decide when to talk.
He hung up.
REYNOLDS ON RADIO: All units, we're on the 826, less than five minutes
to the airport exit. We need a status report.
GENTRY ON RADIO: All SRT units positioned and awaiting orders.
Stand by.
(PHONE RINGING)
-Phone! -Answer the phone!
You won't be able to get away with this. You must know that.
You won't speak to these people who can help you,
just because you don't want any help, do you?
It's suicide.
You're suicidal
and you'll take with you these children who have done nothing to you or your family,
just to make your point.
Any harm they suffer is up to you and that lieutenant.
Oh, no, no.
You are harming them now,
at this moment, more than anyone ever harmed you.
Are you so blind to these children
to think that you are the only one with problems here?
Yet they live.
They try.
They never give up.
Good for them. Good for them.
I would like to have children with my husband, but I can't.
While you, you're blessed with a wife, two daughters.
So, this is the way you want them to remember you?
I mean, if you can't stop for the sake of these children,
at least stop for the sake of your own.
You thought you could play a mind game on me, using my family.
You can't. They're why I'm doing this.
My family.
(ALL SCREAMING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Turn it off!
Please, please, let them help you, before it's too late!
Please! Take the phone.
(PHONE CONTINUES RINGING)
OFFICER: I've got a shot.
OFFICER 2: Move a little closer.
We're in position. Go, go!
LEONE ON RADIO: Sniper team, do not I repeat, do not fire on that bus.
We have had communications.
All teams stand by.
-Gentry, have we got the bomb squad? -On the way.
Our friend must also have a beef with the phone company. He won't...
If anyone moves, or approaches this bus, I'll blow it up.
Is that clear? And get that helicopter away, now!
What do you see in there?
OFFICER: He's on the phone.
CAROSELLI ON PHONE: We won't do that, Mr. Kee. You have our word.
We don't want anyone to get hurt. And I do mean anyone.
Now, Mr. Kee,
I'm in contact with the IRS regarding your situation.
It's not a situation. They're trying to destroy me.
I know you feel they're persecuting you.
Mr. Kee, you've accomplished so much.
Your restaurants, your job at Rick's Crab House,
which is one of the best restaurants in Miami.
And I know that we can help you solve your problem,
if you just give us a chance.
But first, we want to make sure the children are safe.
OFFICER: Closer!
Go. Go.
OFFICER: Move it. Move it.
SNIPER: I've got a clear shot, Lieutenant. I can take him out.
Negative. Negative. Let him go.
Lieutenant, we may not get many clear shots.
There are still six children and one adult still on that bus.
-Look, I did not... -Meaning there are no clear shots, Sergeant.
I did not mean to criticize.
Only to point out that we don't know how much time we've got with this guy,
or what might set him off.
OFFICER: SRT Command, come in.
Leone here.
OFFICER: Lieutenant, about four miles east of your position,
there was a pileup as we were closing the roadway.
It's blocked bad. We need the bus held there.
Negative. The bus is en route to you. Unblock that road.
(POLICE SIREN BLARING)
OFFICER: We've got some serious injuries here.
Several wrecked cars.
It's gonna take some time to clear this.
We don't have any time. Clear it.
Pull right in front and slow it down.
Dom, we need to talk to that bus.
(PHONE RINGING)
It's too slow. They're trying something.
Then answer the phone and tell them to go faster.
And tell me where to go.
Rick's Crab House.
And drive faster.
Mr. Kee, it might be a while before we can get to Rick's.
There's been an accident on eight...
Come on!
He hung up before I could tell him.
Accident scene, are we clear yet?
OFFICER: Negative. We got big problems here, Lieutenant. We need more time.
Slower.
(PHONE RINGING)
-Ram 'em. -We won't get to Rick's if I crash.
Do it!
(PHONE CONTINUES RINGING)
-What's he doing? -I don't know.
(GASPS)
Senora , the moon is at school! We have to go to school!
Ram 'em, Marta!
Benito, just hold on tight.
Everyone, hold on.
Hold on!
Senora !
Do it again,
or Benito goes off the bus without slowing down.
He's gonna hit us again.
-We need time. -We're almost there. We're running out of time.
(SHOUTS) Look out!
Don't stop! Keep going!
Keep going!
-Kids, hold on! -Now!
-(CHILDREN SCREAMING) -(HORN BLARING)
OFFICER: Look out! Come on! Geez!
Not bad, Marta.
Not bad.
Everybody okay?
TV REPORTER: We're told that's the regular driver of bus CX-17 behind the wheel.
How she made it through that...
You said she might not be the greatest driver, but...
I think she is the greatest.
She really is. She's the greatest.
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Caroselli here.
What do you got, Phil?
Oh, that's excellent. Excellent.
Hang onto him right there. I'm putting you on hold.
We got his pastor.
(PHONE RINGING)
Lieutenant Caroselli here.
CAROSELLI: Mr. Kee, let me make sure I understand.
You want the manager of Rick's outside when we get there.
You want to make a deal with him.
Got it. Now, Harry,
I have your pastor on the other line.
(DIAL TONE)
If it's problem's with the IRS,
how does he make a deal to resolve it with the manager at Rick's?
In his mind right now, it makes perfect sense.
I think he's suffered a serious psychotic break
and he's suicidal.
Now,
if we could safely get this under control,
so that I can really talk to him,
or find his family,
or get him to talk to his pastor,
then maybe, just maybe,
we'd have a chance here.
But we are racing all over Miami,
we're talking in quick bursts on the phone,
and this guy's wound tighter than a piano string!
Dominick, I need you.
If you can't talk him off that bus, somebody's gonna get hurt.
(DIALING PHONE)
Mr. Kee...
(DIAL TONE)
He says it's over. Discussion terminated.
TV REPORTER: Charles, it's Greg back in the studio.
Do we know why his new destination is Rick's Crab House?
CHARLES: I know. It just keeps getting more and more bizarre.
Round and round Miami he goes.
Where he stops, nobody knows.
I'm going there.
If they drive a thousand miles, what difference does it make
if they come home safely?
Then tell me how I can help him just standing here?
Mr. Sanchez, it's in the hands of the police.
I know that they're gonna do everything that they possibly can
to end this thing without anyone's child being hurt.
They're very well trained. They have kids of their own.
Look, I'm sorry. I know that every moment your child is on that bus, he's being hurt.
But we cannot make a bad situation worse.
Just to get Katie to ride the bus took weeks of riding beside her.
Encouraging her, promising her it was safe.
She was right all along. It's not safe.
Mommie lied.
Oh, we were making real progress.
And this morning, she waved goodbye to me.
It's so difficult for her to wave.
Or to hug, or say "Bye, Mom".
For Benito, if he gets off that bus,
no more going to the moon.
The bus and school will be too dangerous.
I still believe in miracles.
Right now, all I can think about is having Katie back.
That'll be my miracle.
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
Stop!
-What? -Where are you going?
To Rick's, like you said.
-It's a trap! -What do you mean?
I always take a right here to go to Rick's, I swear.
Listen, if you want to go another way, just tell me which way.
But please, don't hurt the children.
Let the boy up.
(SCREAMS) Let him up!
What's happening?
Where's Benito Sanchez?
Anybody got a view of Kee inside the bus? Anybody?
-There's still no answer. OFFICER ON RADIO: He's in a choke hold
but he's getting up now.
Benito's back.
Where's he going?
Rick's is right. He's taking the long way.
All patrol units, stay with the bus.
All SRT units, turn right to Rick's and deploy.
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
MANAGER: He was a perfect employee until a few days ago.
Then all of a sudden, after all these years here, he quits.
Then he comes back, wants his job back. Said he made a big mistake.
Last night, he walks out in the middle of his shift, talking gibberish,
with his tables full of customers.
Like he suddenly just snapped.
Lieutenant, he's ten blocks away.
-Get in with the others. Hurry. -Okay. Come on, let's go.
OFFICER: Let's go. Let's go. Out back. Let's go. Move it out.
Anybody in his family.
OFFICER: Yes, sir!
Gentlemen, the hijacker has terminated all communication with us.
I believe he has harmed his hostages,
and to let this continue would result in further harm or death.
We've all trained for this situation.
Assault team will go on my order.
Sniper team, if you have a clear shot at the hijacker,
take it.
OFFICERS: Affirmative. Let's go.
At first, I trusted you.
But you're the same as the tax men,
the manager at Rick's...
Everybody.
Sometimes this country is a hard place.
I know.
But it is a good place, and there are people here who will help you.
No one's ever helped me.
Oh, Mr. Kee, your, your dreams are not dead.
What about the dreams of these children?
Of your own children?
They have dreams, too.
Will you stop pretending to be my friend.
Well, I just want you to live!
I want us all to live!
Then shut up, or everyone dies.
There's nobody in his house, no family, nothing.
And he refuses to talk to us.
Pray there is such a thing as a clear shot.
Go.
Where's the manager?
Get me out of here!
Put it in reverse, and back up!
Come on, back up!
(CHILDREN CRYING)
Go, go! Forward, forward, forward! Go, go, go, go!
Back! Back! Go back! Back, back!
Put it in reverse and step on it! Come on! Come on! Get me out of here!
Benito is dying!
You killed him, Marta!
-I'm trying! -You killed him!
I'm trying!
(GUNSHOT)
Benito!
Benito? Benito, you're all right.
Okay, let's go. Let's go. Come on.
-Let's get off the bus. -No!
Get him out of here.
It's okay.
(GUNSHOT)
It's okay. Katie. Katie, baby, it's all right. It's all right.
It's all right. Let's go. Let's go.
-OFFICER: All right, one, two. -Got it!
Come on, baby. I'm gonna buy you a new dress.
I'm gonna buy you a new dress, baby, okay?
Mrs. Caldwell, we need to get everyone off the bus.
We're gonna get a new dress with no wrinkles in it.
All right, come on.
Come on. Let's go.
It's all right. Come on. Put him on here.
Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. You're all right.
Let's go. Keep moving.
-Need some help. -OFFICER: You're OK.
-LEONE: Come on. -It's gonna be okay. Oh! Oh!
-You okay? -Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay.
OFFICER: Got a kid with an eye injury over here.
Bomb squad's on board.
TV REPORTER: After the shots, it's just been chaos.
There are injuries.
To whom, we just don't know.
There's blood on Katie's dress.
The hostages are all accounted for. They're alive.
-(ALL SIGH) -Are any hurt?
We don't know anything yet.
(INDISTINCT)
Roberto, you have a small piece of glass in your eye,
so they're gonna take you to the hospital.
But you're gonna be okay.
You know, you're a brave little man.
Lieutenant. Lieutenant, we need you out back.
You take care of yourself, okay?
The bomb squad's gone over the bus and Kee.
Here's his explosives.
His waiter's uniform.
There were no explosives.
There were no detonators and no weapon.
He told the hostages repeatedly that he had explosives and a detonator.
"What is Success?
"To win the affection of children.
"To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
"This is to have succeeded."
Where's Marta?
She's with the children.
Yeah.
There. That's better.
Katie,
you know that you were not hit, don't you?
I mean, this blood on your dress is not yours.
Do you understand?
Katie, would you like some ice cream?
How's Roberto?
When the first shot shattered the window,
he got a small sliver of glass in his eye, but he's gonna be okay.
And how's Glenda, my aide?
She's fine. She received her insulin at the hospital, and she's fine.
Everyone's fine, except you.
We'd like him to look at your foot.
Oh, no. I'm okay.
We've been through all of this together and I don't even know your name.
Kathy Leone.
Lieutenant in charge of the Special Response Team.
At least, for today.
He could have killed someone.
You saved us, Lieutenant.
What you did on that bus saved everyone, Mrs. Caldwell.
And please, call me Kathy.
I'm Marta.
Marta.
I don't know how you held it together.
I don't either.
Marta, there's something that I need to tell you.
We searched for explosives and weapons on the bus and on Kee's body.
There weren't any.
He was bluffing the entire time.
You had no way of knowing.
None of us did. We had to assume that he meant what he said.
That he would kill those children and he would blow up the bus.
Everything, everything they went through was for nothing.
Whether Kee was mentally ill, whatever his problem was.
It was not your job to save him.
It was to save the children.
Now, you put your life on the line to do it,
and no one could have done it any better.
You're a hero, Marta.
A real hero.
Now, I have one last thing to ask of you.
Another school bus is coming to take the children back to their school.
Their parents are waiting for them there.
Their parents believe it's vital we show them
the school bus and the school are safe.
And the sooner, the better.
No. I know these children, and they won't go into another bus.
Maybe they will if you ride with them.
(SIGHS)
MARTA: Well, we've had some morning, huh, Fernando?
Yeah.
Yeah. A bad man rode on our bus today.
A very bad man.
He scared us all. Even me.
And you, Jimmy, Celena. Hmm...
But now he's gone forever.
So you guys will never be hurt again riding the bus.
So, now that we've finished with our field trip,
how about if we go to school, hmm?
But we're gonna need another bus.
Don't you think? Another bus?
No. I, I can't. I don't want to go.
He's gone, Benito. But just to make sure,
could put some very important officers on that bus to check.
Would that be a great idea?
Okay.
Katie, what?
What, baby?
Oh, talk to me.
Hmm?
It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay.
Listen, I'm gonna sit next to you in the bus,
and we'll have all the time in the world to talk.
Okay?
All right, babe?
It's okay. It's okay. Come on.
It's gonna be all right.
I'm coming behind you.
Okay, guys. No bad man here.
No bad man.
It's all clear.
Good luck.
Thank you.
There is so much I want to say to you.
Goodbye, Marta.
Goodbye, Kathy.
Thank you.
Okay, kids.
Okay.
You gave him every possible chance, and then some.
I saw an officer made today.
Let's go home.
GRANTHAM: Listen up! Listen up!
The parents want privacy for the kids. Please respect that.
Come on, move. Thank you. Thank you.
If she never speaks again, it's okay.
I just want to hold her.
Here they are.
Hey! How you doin', son?
Hi!
He was a bad man. A very bad man.
Let's go now. You're safe.
Mommie! Mommie! Mommie!
Mommy's here.
Oh, Mommy's here.
Well...
I love you.
(INDISTINCT)
PARENTS: Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Caldwell. Thank you.
Oh, my baby.
I told you it was gonna be one long day.
You're okay, huh? Good.
Oh, Josefina.
Well, you wanted another child.
CHARLOTTE: And now you have eight more.
Thanks, Marta.
Okay, children of bus CX-17,
straighten your line.
Where are we going, Senora ?
To the moon, Benito.
As always.
To the moon. Let's go.
PARENTS: Bye!