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SKELETON
ISLAND - Was a pirate secret location, known only to a small number of
captains by that name. But as piracy became unfashionable with mass hangings, the numbers
of those in the know, dwindled. Until, all that remained was a location
carved in wood. Generally hidden somewhere safe by the pirate concerned.
This location was useless without a chart giving the exact position that
each pirate buried their stash. The maps made on parchment, were handed down
to the next generations, by way of inheritance free of taxes.
<<<
SCENE 20
EXT. CARIBBEAN SEA - DAY
A small, battered MOTORBOAT churns through the turquoise water. WILLIAM GRAY (40s, former Navy officer, determined),
BILLY BONES (30s, wiry, shifty), and
BLACK JACK (50s, burly, grinning) scan the horizon nervously.
WILLIAM GRAY
(Yelling over the engine)
Can't we get this bucket to go any faster?! There's a sizeable patrol ship scoping us, for sure!
Billy and Jack jostle for position at a small, outdated RADAR SCREEN. A distinct BLIP is gaining on them.
BILLY BONES
Blimey, he ain't kiddin'. That's a proper warship.
BLACK JACK
And this 'bucket', as our esteemed captain calls her, will be hotter than a stolen
doubloon by now.
WILLIAM GRAY
(Grimly)
Makes us pirates, doesn't it.
BLACK JACK
(Grinning toothily)
Suits me fine!
INT. MOTORBOAT - CONTINUOUS
The WEATHER-FAX BEEPS, displaying a warning.
WILLIAM GRAY
(Reading)
Hurricane force tropical revolving storm… Bermuda Triangle… advise wide berth.
Billy and Jack exchange uneasy glances.
WILLIAM GRAY (CONT'D)
Alter course north-east, gentlemen.
BILLY BONES
(Eyes wide)
Straight into the eye of the storm?! You mad, Gray?
BLACK JACK
(Shrugging)
He's usually right about these things.
They change course. The radar blip continues to track them, but slowly begins to fall behind.
EXT. CARIBBEAN SEA - CONTINUOUS
The Colombian NAVY
WARSHIP, a sleek grey vessel, cuts through the waves.
INT. BRIDGE - COLOMBIAN WARSHIP - CONTINUOUS
OFFICER (30s, focused) studies the radar.
OFFICER
That small vessel… changing course abruptly. Heading northeast.
CAPTAIN (50s, stern)
Let them go. We have bigger fish to fry.
EXT. CARIBBEAN SEA - MOTORBOAT - LATER
The small boat continues northeast, the weather beginning to turn.
BILLY BONES
(Nervously)
"Bigger fish," eh? Drugs, right?
WILLIAM GRAY
Too right. Global drug trafficking… trillions of dollars a year. More than France and Spain’s GDP combined. Can’t happen without… connections.
BLACK JACK
So we’re in the wrong game, then?
WILLIAM GRAY
Without protection? We’d be lambs to the slaughter.
BILLY BONES
(Knowingly)
I was SBS. Saw a lot. Longstride, Jack, me… we looked into it. Thought about a sub we had a share in. But it’s like the old slave trade. Controlled by the top dogs. They control the cops.
WILLIAM GRAY
(Nodding grimly)
Law and order… an illusion. Plain as the nose on your face.
The trio presses on, the sky darkening ominously.
EXT. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - NIGHT
The small boat is tossed violently by growing waves. Wind howls. Rain lashes down.
INT. MOTORBOAT - CONTINUOUS
The mutineers struggle to secure loose items, their faces etched with fear.
WILLIAM GRAY
Batten down the hatches!
The boat is engulfed by a massive wave.
EXT. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - CONTINUOUS
The motorboat disappears beneath the churning water.
EXT. ETHEREAL REALM - NIGHT
A spectral realm of swirling fog and eerie moonlight. GHOST OF BLACKBEARD (ageless, imposing) and GHOST OF
HENRY MORGAN (wily, observant) watch the scene below.
GHOST OF BLACKBEARD
(Booming)
Arr, Henry! Look ye at those wretched dogs! Fleeing into the Devil’s
Triangle! They think they can escape our legacy!
GHOST OF HENRY MORGAN
(Raspy chuckle)
Aye, Blackbeard. The heavens brew a tempest fit to swallow them whole!
EXT. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - WATER - NIGHT (FLASH)
The small boat is tossed violently. Lightning illuminates terrified faces.
GHOST OF BLACKBEARD (V.O.)
They wager their lives against the fury of the deep!
GHOST OF HENRY MORGAN (V.O.)
Should they escape… others will follow. Our honor besmirched!
EXT. ETHEREAL REALM - CONTINUOUS
The ghostly figures watch the swirling vortex of the hurricane.
GHOST OF BLACKBEARD
Let the storm be their reckoning!
GHOST OF HENRY MORGAN
The wrath of the deep shall be our ally! They shall know no escape!
The ghosts nod grimly as the spectral winds howl.
EXT. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - WATER - NIGHT (FLASH)
The small boat is engulfed by towering waves.
GHOST OF BLACKBEARD (V.O.)
’Tis the will of the deep!
The sounds of the hurricane intensify.
EXT. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - OPEN OCEAN - DAY
Calm seas. No sign of the motorboat.
INT. BBC NEWS STUDIO - DAY
JILL BIRD (40s, serious news reporter) speaks to the camera.
JILL BIRD (V.O.)
This is Jill Bird reporting for the BBC World Service. Hurricane Harriet has made landfall in
Bermuda… reaching wind speeds exceeding 105 miles per hour.
Footage of hurricane damage plays on a screen behind her.
JILL BIRD (V.O. CONT'D)
A small boat with three people on board disappeared without trace during the storm. Authorities are asking for any information.
EXT. VARIOUS NEWS SCREENS - WEEKS LATER
Headlines flash: "MISSING BOAT UNACCOUNTED FOR," "HURRICANE HARRIET CLAIMS UNKNOWN VICTIMS," "SEARCH FOR MISSING VESSEL SUSPENDED."
JILL BIRD (V.O.)
In the weeks following, no information came to light. The small boat and its three crew members were never seen or heard from again. Presumed lost at sea with all hands. Just another statistic.
EXT. ETHEREAL REALM - NIGHT
Blackbeard and Morgan stand at the spectral helm, a knowing look in their ghostly eyes.
GHOST OF HENRY MORGAN
(A faint, knowing smile)
Were they, Blackbeard? Were they?
FADE TO BLACK
ROLL
CREDITS
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THE END --
HURRICANE IOTA NOVEMBER 2020
- Providencia (boat dock) and Santa Catalina were ravaged by extreme weather
when heading into 2021.
The small Colombian island of Providencia was hit hard by the powerful Category-5 hurricane Iota,
which caused severe damage to the majority of local’s homes and the already scant public infrastructure.
At that time, Colombia’s President, Ivan Duque, said it is the first Category 5 – the most serious of hurricanes – to hit the Andean nation in its history.
Providencia island had a population of 5,000 people and is part of the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina located in the Caribbean Sea about 775km (481 miles) northwest of mainland Colombia. Geographically, it is closer to the central American country of Nicaragua.
The hurricane was first considered a Category 2 but just before passing Providencia it developed into a Category-5 tropical cyclone which NASA said can have wind speeds of up to 253km/h (157mph) and has the ability to cause catastrophic damage.
Neighbouring larger island San Andres also faced damage to its infrastructure, albeit less intense. Northern Colombian coastal cities, like Cartagena, have flooded and are battling high winds.
According to the United States Office of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020 has had the highest hurricane activity in the Atlantic since official records began in 1851.
PROLOGUE:
ROYAL
AFRICAN COMPANY - King Charles
II, Royal Charter James Stuart II,
transport goods from Africa: Bloody
Triangle.
SCENE
1. THE
BATTLE OF OCRACOKE - Lt Robert Maynard, Blackbeard's
curse, beheading & torturous interrogation on the
Adventure
SCENE
2. EARTHQUAKE
JAMAICA - Present Day - An earthquake hits Port Royal,
disturbing the sunken city & Palisadoes cemetery.
SCENE
3. BLUE SHIELD ENGLAND -
Blue
Shield, Newcastle UK, UNESCO
requests Storm catalogue underwater city UNEP
World
Heritage Site.
SCENE
3.1. SWASHBUCKLING
- John tries out Dan's VR sword fencing program, then duel with real pirate
cutlasses, Hal keeping score.
SCENE
4. HENRY
MORGAN'S DEATH - Henry Morgan has a heart attack; funeral ceremony at Palisadoes
cemetery, old Port Royal.
SCENE
5. SUNKEN
CITY SURVEY - Present Day, Swann's sensors scan the ocean bed, revealing
mausoleum former Governor of Jamaica.
SCENE
6. JUNE
1692 TSUNAMI - Jamaica, June 7th, an earthquake hits
Port Royal, then a tsunami washes the pirate haven
under the sea.
SCENE
6.1. GHOSTS
BLACKBEARD & MORGAN - Spectral figures cheer on John Storm as
he searches Henry's Palisadoes crypt for clues.
SCENE
7. HENRY
MORGAN'S COFFIN - John Storm & ROV,
comes face to face with Henry's skeletal remains. Finds interesting wooden engraving.
SCENE
8. BBC
JILL BIRD - London. John
Storm's finds lost Henry Morgan's pirate remains. "And for those of you wondering,
there was no treasure."
SCENE 9. OPERATION
HISPANIOLA - British Geographical Society,
& Royal Navy fund Lord Huntington's expedition to recover relics in the
Caribbean.
SCENE
10. SHIP'S
COOK - William Gray helps John Long's cut-throats to crew for
Huntington's Hispaniola, Long a dab
hand on the galley.
SCENE
11. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOS - Huntington
(BGS
bigwig) asks John Storm for help with shipwreck survey - meet in the
Caribbean, Haiti.
SCENE
12. SKELETON
ISLAND - Intrigued by map proffered by Lord Huntington, John
agrees to switch attention to location, to coast of Panama. .
SCENE
13. SANTA
CATALINA - Colombian,
Mexican,
Panamanian,
Nicaraguan
patrols re: 'Satisfaction'
& hunt for Aztec
gold, Spanish
Conquistadors.
SCENE
14. TREASURE ISLAND -
Hurricane
Iota erased map clues, Isla Providencia. Longstride believes location of Blackbeard's/Morgan's treasure.
SCENE
15. KIDNAP -
Black Jack
& Billy Bones
kidnap
Dan, Cleopatra
- lock in Hispaniola with Tremaine. Hal alerts John to events via BioCore.
SCENE
16. DOUBLE CROSS - Maynard
pact with Spanish
Navy to blockade Caribbean to capture John & Swann. Longstride deal Aztec
Golden
Skull.
SCENE
17. BLACKBEARD'S CURSE -
John retakes Swann, Hal immobilizes Black Jack and Billy Bones and rescues prisoners on Hispaniola.
SCENE
18. MORGAN'S TREASURE SHIP - John deciphers
carving code helped Dan and Cybercore
Genetica. Dives to find privateer's shipwreck.
SCENE
19. BILLION DOLLAR DEAL - John
negotiates with Panama, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador & Blue
Shield for % salvage based on wreck video.
SCENE
20. BLOCKADE RUNNER -
Swann navigates through Spanish
Armada & Royal Navy
blockade in stealth mode, invisible to radar.
SCENE
21. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - Pirates
head into Bermuda Triangle, Colombian Navy in pursuit:
BBC Sky News. Never to be seen again.
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