Seeking Justice 2012

In the midst of New Orleans’ vibrant energy, Will Gerard (English teacher at Rampart High School) and his best friend Jimmy (the principal) navigate the complexities of their daily lives. Will’s world is turned upside down when his musician wife Laura is brutally assaulted by a stranger named Hodge. As Will anxiously awaits news of Laura’s condition at the hospital, Jimmy provides reassurance that justice will prevail, while an enigmatic figure known as Simon emerges, claiming to represent a group of individuals seeking to rectify crimes that have gone unpunished.

Simon reveals that Hodge was recently paroled and had a history of violent offenses, including previous rapes. He proposes a peculiar offer: in exchange for Will’s cooperation on a future task, Simon promises to orchestrate Hodge’s downfall, effectively sparing Laura the trauma of a lengthy trial and its accompanying emotional toll. Overwhelmed by grief and desperation, Will agrees to the arrangement, which ultimately leads to Hodge’s demise. As proof of his organization’s involvement, Simon sends Will a gruesome photograph of Hodge’s body, accompanied by a necklace that had been stolen from Laura during the assault. The group’s cryptic code phrase becomes a haunting refrain: “The hungry white rabbit jumps.”

Six months pass before Simon reappears, seeking Will’s assistance in monitoring a woman and her two children as they visit the local zoo. His task is to identify a specific individual and contact him via a predetermined phone number should he be spotted. Will agrees, hoping to settle his debt to Simon’s mysterious organization. However, the enigmatic figure continues to make demands, insisting that the man in question is a sex offender and requiring Will to take matters into his own hands. With no choice but to comply, Will is instructed to “accidentally” push the man to his death from a pedestrian walkway beneath a high overpass, making it appear as though he had taken his own life.

As Will navigates this treacherous landscape of violence and moral ambiguity, the lines between right and wrong become increasingly blurred.

As the man’s life hangs in the balance, Will’s moral compass prompts him to spare Alan Marsh’s life, opting instead to uncover any potential knowledge he may possess regarding Simon. The move proves a wise one, as it allows Will to gain valuable insight into Alan’s motivations and connections. However, this decision does not go unnoticed, as Alan’s growing unease and paranoia lead him to mistakenly believe that Will is there to end his life. In a desperate bid to deflect potential danger, Alan hurls his bicycle at Will, sparking a struggle that ultimately results in his fatal fall from the walkway. Despite Will’s efforts to break his fall, Alan lands with a thud, only to be struck by an oncoming truck.

As news of Alan’s demise spreads, Will finds himself arrested by Detectives Rudeski and Green, who accuse him of committing the heinous crime. However, back at the station, Will’s attempts to convey the truth are met with skepticism and dismissal by the detectives. It is not until Lieutenant Durgan, their superior, takes a personal interest in the case that Will is granted an opportunity to share his side of the story.

Durgan’s unorthodox approach involves a game-like scenario, where he challenges Will to complete sentences. As they playfully banter back and forth, Durgan’s true intentions become clear: he is searching for signs of Will’s connection to Simon’s organization. When Will correctly completes the sentence “A hungry rabbit…”, Durgan is satisfied that his suspicions have been confirmed. With this revelation, he decides to release Will from custody, but not before issuing a stern warning: Will has 24 hours to leave the city before Simon and his deadly henchmen, Scar and Cancer, come looking for him.

As Will navigates the complex web of deceit and corruption, he finds himself at a memorial service honoring Alan Marsh’s life. It is here that he uncovers a shocking truth: Alan was not a sex offender, as he had initially been believed, but rather an award-winning investigative reporter for the New Orleans Post. His work had focused on exposing the vigilante organization that Simon controls, and it is this very investigation that had made him a target for elimination.

Simon’s appearance at the memorial, accompanied by his henchmen Scar and Cancer, serves as a stark reminder of the danger that Will now faces. In a desperate bid to escape their clutches, Will finds himself chased down the busy street by Scar, only to watch in horror as Scar meets his untimely demise at the hands of an oncoming SUV.

Seeking answers and guidance, Will turns to a storage facility Alan had used, where he discovers a revealing disc containing information about Simon’s organization and its members. As he absorbs this knowledge, Will confides in Laura, who shares her understanding and empathy for his situation. Together, they devise a plan to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, with Will cautioning Laura to remain vigilant against the corrupt forces that now seek to destroy him.

As Will delves deeper into the truth about Simon’s true identity as Eugene Cook, he uncovers a dark past for Jimmy, whose brother was brutally murdered and the authorities failed to bring the perpetrator to justice. This traumatic event led Jimmy to join the organization, fueled by a desire for vengeance. Will seizes an opportunity to negotiate with Cook, sending him a snippet of incriminating video footage via phone. In exchange for the disc containing evidence of his innocence in Alan’s death, Will demands the security camera footage that would exonerate him. The two agree to meet at the Louisiana Superdome during a monster truck show, where Will is met with an unexpected twist: Laura has been kidnapped, and Cook reveals her location with a gruesome photo of her gagged and bound.

As Will is taken to an abandoned mall in New Orleans, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina’s devastating aftermath, he finds himself face-to-face with Jimmy, Cancer, and Sideburns, who are holding Laura at gunpoint. The situation becomes increasingly dire as Cook reneges on his deal, revealing his intention to eliminate both Will and Laura to ensure the organization’s secrets remain intact. Just as all hope seems lost, Will brands Cook a hypocrite for his actions, prompting Jimmy to fatally shoot Cancer before turning his attention to Will.

The scene erupts into chaos as Sideburns meets a gruesome end at the bottom of an escalator, impaled by a shard of glass. Amidst the mayhem, Jimmy confronts Cook about their organization’s true nature, leading to a violent exchange of gunfire. In a shocking turn of events, Cook emerges victorious, killing Jimmy with two precision shots to the chest.

As the dust settles, Laura breaks free from her restraints and flees with a gun in hand. However, she is quickly apprehended by Cook, who forces her into a glass display case, causing her to drop the firearm. Will arrives on the scene, intent on taking down Cook, but their struggle sends them tumbling down another escalator. Laura, now armed with the dropped gun, confronts Cook and delivers a deadly six-shot barrage that proves fatal.

With Cook lying motionless at her feet, Laura emerges victorious, having reclaimed her freedom and exacted justice for the wrongs done to her.

As Will and Laura emerge from the depths of their ordeal, their relief is palpable as they ascend the escalator once more. The atmosphere is thick with tension as Durgan appears on the scene, seeking answers to a question that has haunted them all: who was responsible for Cook’s demise? With a sense of grim conviction, Will takes ownership of his actions, confessing to the crime. However, Durgan’s response is anything but straightforward, instead positing that the two individuals essentially killed each other in a twisted game of moral arithmetic, with no external forces at play. This philosophical twist leaves Will and Laura reeling as Durgan departs to meticulously manipulate the evidence to support his peculiar theory.

Meanwhile, still clutching the incriminating disc, Will is finally exonerated from any wrongdoing. His newfound freedom prompts him to follow in the footsteps of Alan, honoring his friend’s legacy by sharing the disc with Gibbs, a seasoned reporter he had met at Alan’s memorial service. As Will hands over the evidence, Gibbs’ gratitude is tinged with an air of enigmatic curiosity, as he cryptically remarks, “The hungry white rabbit jumps, eh?” This unexpected remark sends a shiver down Will’s spine, as it dawns on him that Gibbs may be more deeply entrenched in the mysterious organization than initially suspected.