SITNIKOV No. No, I won't do that.
Fomin and Bryukhanov stare at him. Did he just say "no"?
BRYUKHANOV Of course you will.
Bryukhanov looks to the remaining guard. Gives him a "make sure he does it" nod.
Sitnikov turns pale. No way out of this.
FOMIN
You'll be fine. You'll see...
No he won't. Sitnikov turns, looks at the guard... then walks out. Like a man going to the gallows.
The guard follows him.
143 INT. REACTOR #4 BUILDING - 4:30 AM 143
AKIMOV and TOPTUNOV, sloshing through water and debris up to their knees. They stop and see:
REVEAL - STANDPIPES - dozens of them in a convoluted array, with more VALVES than we could ever count.
AKIMOV Okay. Let's begin.
He moves ahead. Toptunov doesn't.
AKIMOV
Leonid.
Toptunov nods. Right. He joins Akimov at the standpipes. Each takes a valve. Begins turning.
The valves are TIGHT. They're straining to make them move at all.
AKIMOV
All the way, okay? All the way open.
No sound but that awful, distant hissing, and the sharp metal squeal of the valves. Then:
TOPTUNOV
I'm sorry.
AKIMOV
There's nothing to be sorry for. I told you— we did nothing wrong.
TOPTUNOV
But we did.
Akimov stops turning his valve. Doesn't answer. Doesn't look at Toptunov.
Just stands quietly for a second.
Then puts his hands back on the valve and resumes turning.
144 EXT. VENT BLOCK ROOF - EARLY DAWN 144
A metal utility door opens. Sitnikov steps out on to the tar paper and gravel roof. Takes a few steps, then looks back at:
THE GUARD - who waits back - no expression. Just a blank face and an AK-47 slung by a strap over his shoulder.
Sitnikov turns away - looks out at the sky. The horizon is just starting to lighten.
From up here, he can see the flashing of emergency vehicles below. And ahead of him:
THE EDGE OF THE ROOF - and beyond it, coming up from underneath... SMOKE and the glow of FLAMES.
Beyond the edge of that roof is the viewpoint down into Reactor Building 4.
And either it is or is not open to the air. And either he is or is not about to die. He looks at his watch. 6 AM.
He starts walking. Slowly. Forcing each step. The crunch of his shoes in gravel. The feeling of his heart in his chest.
THE EDGE - looms closer
Fifteen feet away. Ten feet. Five feet.
He stops.
Closes his eyes. A prayer— or a memory— or a goodbye. Then he opens his eyes, and--
BEHIND SITNIKOV - we watch as he walks to the edge. He looks over. Just for a second.
Then lifts his head, turns, and starts walking back.
The guard is watching.
Sitnikov has begun to cry.
And the sound of the world fades away...
145 INT./EXT. VARIOUS - MONTAGE - SLOW MOTION 145
DYATLOV is helped out of the building, stumbling, his arm around an emergency worker. He looks and sees:
Firefighters on the ground. Their friends screaming for help. A female SECURITY GUARD is on her hands and knees. Dazed. Blood streaming from her nose. The left side of her face is red and blistered.
Dyatlov sees VASILY and Titenok carrying Pravik on a stretcher. But Vasily passes out and FALLS... vomiting... Pravik is dumped to the ground... crying out in pain...
Dyatlov looks out toward the damaged end of the plant, the cascade of rubble...
It doesn't make sense. What happened?
SITNIKOV, nuclear tan on his face from that brief moment of exposure, sits in the bunker command room. Bryukhanov and Fomin are yelling at him. Threatening him. Gesturing in disbelief and contempt.
Sitnikov isn't listening. Doesn't care if they believe him or not. He's thinking about what he's lost. Who he's lost.
ZINCHENKO, the young doctor, is ASLEEP in a small exam room by the reception lobby. Nurses are RUNNING in the hallway in the foreground.
Zinchenko wakens, and walks out into the lobby— toward the main entrance-- and sees through the open doors:
FLASHING LIGHTS - ambulances and fire engines streaming toward the hospital. More than she ever wanted to see heading her way...
And now, the sound of: A PHONE RINGING
146 INT. LEGASOV'S APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING 146
The cat lifts its head. Awakened by the sound.
LEGASOV wakes up. It's two years before we first met him, but he looks much younger. Full head of hair. More weight in his face. Healthy color.
He gets out of bed, crosses out of his room, makes his way into the kitchen, and answers the phone.
LEGASOV
Hello?
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) Valery Legasov?
LEGASOV
Yes?
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) You are the Legasov who is the First Deputy Director of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy?
Legasov feels his pajama shirt pocket for his glasses. But left them back in the bedroom.
LEGASOV Yes. That's—
He picks up the table clock to get it closer to his eyes.
It's 7:00.
LEGASOV Who am I spea— ?
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) This is Boris Shcherbina, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and head of the Bureau for Fuel and Energy. There's been an accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Legasov is immediately alert.
LEGASOV How bad is it?
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) No need to panic. There was a fire. It's mostly put out. The system control tank exploded.
LEGASOV
Control system tank. Is the core— ?
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) We've ordered them to continuously pump water.
LEGASOV I see. And contamination?
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) Mild. The plant manager, Bryukhanov, is reporting 3.6 roentgen per hour.
LEGASOV
Well, no, that's-- that's actually quite significant. The surrounding areas should be evacuated--
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) (cuts him off) You're an expert on RBMK reactors, correct?
LEGASOV Yes, I've studied--
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) General Secretary Gorbachev has appointed a committee to manage the accident. You're on it. We'll convene at two this afternoon.
LEGASOV (concerned) That late? I'm sorry, but I think given the radiation you're reporting, it might be best to--
SHCHERBINA (PHONE) Legasov. You're on this committee to answer direct questions about the function of an RBMK reactor if they should happen to arise. Nothing else. Certainly not policy. Do you understand?
LEGASOV
Yes. Of course. I didn't mean to—
Click. Shcherbina has hung up. Legasov hangs up as well and rises. Gears already spinning. 3.6 roentgen... ? A strange number. The control system tank? It makes no sense.
He moves to his window. Opens the curtains to the SUNRISE.
MATCH TO:
147 EXT. CHERNOBYL POWER PLANT - 7 AM 147
The SUN, brightening to a glare. BOOM DOWN to find:
The torn-open reactor building, even more horrifying in the daylight.
148 INT. REACTOR #4 BUILDING - CONTINUOUS 148
We move low and slow through a strange MIST - water vapour hovering thick - flooding and debris have almost turned the facility into a swamp...
We turn a corner and as the mist dissipates, we see:
AKIMOV AND TOPTUNOV, still by the valves. Both weak from radiation sickness. Faces swelling. Hands trembling and reddened.
They've been here for hours. Each of them barely conscious. Hardly enough strength to turn the valves.
But still, they try.
We FOLLOW the maze of standpipes, bending around and climbing up damaged concrete walls until at last:
THE END of the pipes. Torn open.
Water gurgling out of them in small spurts. Not cooling a reactor core. Not doing anything at all.
Just puddling into broken concrete, and then spilling down a METAL DRAIN GRATE.
149 EXT. CHERNOBYL - MONTAGE - CONTINUOUS 149