User:Masem/DHPlot

NYPD detective John McClane travels to Los Angeles to join his estranged wife, Holly, at her office's Christmas Eve party. Nakatomi, her company, arranges a limo for McClane, and he is taken to Nakatomi Plaze by Argyle. As he is introduce at the party, McClane is disappointed to see Holly has taken her maiden name.

As McClane is freshening up, a group of terrorists led by Hans Gruber seize the building and take the partygoers as hostages. McClane sneaks into the air ducts, and follows Gruber around, discovering they are mercenaries only poising as terrorists to get access to $650 million in bearer bonds stored in the Nakatomi vault. Gruber kills executive Joseph Takagi when he fails to give over the vault code, and instructs his technician Theo to start drilling through the vault doors. Theo warns him that the last timed lock cannot be physically damaged.

Gruber discovers someone watching them from the vents and sends his right-hand man Karl and the other mercenaries to kill the "cowboy". McClane manages to stay ahead of the mercenaries, killing several of them and acquiring guns, a bag full of C4 explosives and detonators, and a radio set to an open channel. McClane tries to contact the LAPD but Gruber intercedes and tells the LAPD it was a false alarm. Sgt. Powell is dispatched to investigate but initially finds nothing amiss. To attract his attention, McClane drops a corpse of one of Gruber's men onto Powell's car. The plaza is soon surrounded by LAPD. McClane tries to warn the LAPD of the situation via radio using the alias "Roy Rogers", but despite Powell's belief that "Roy" is a police officer, his superiors consider him a rogue agent. The LAPD attempt to send in a SWAT vehicle, but Gruber's men use anti-tank weapons against it. McClane destroys the floor Gruber's men are on using the explosives dropped down the elevator shaft. McClane continues to elude Gruber's men, while Powell helps to keep his morale up.

Gruber kills Ellis, one of Holly's co-workers, over the open radio channel when McClane refuses to reveal himself, furthering the LAPD's distrust of him. Later, McClane encounters Gruber near the building's roof while Gruber is inspecting explosives. Gruber passes himself off as an escaped hostage, and McClane introduces himself. Suddenly, Karl and other men arrive, and McClane is forced to drop the bag of detonators to escape. Gruber orders Karl to set the detonators while he contacts the police demanding the release of several terrorists around the world, along with a helicopter for them to escape. This draws the attention of the FBI, who take command, and per process, sever power to the building. This is what Gruber expected as the timed lock on the vault is disarmed without power, allowing Theo to collect the bonds.

Meanwhile, the press have been drawn to the event, and investigative reporter Richard Thornburg seeks out Holly's family. Gruber sees Thornburg's report that connects Holly to McClane, and as he has the other hostages taken to the roof while the helicopter approaches, he seizes Holly under gunpoint. McClane, knowing Gruber plans to destroy the roof, intercepts and kills Karl and the last of Gruber's men, and scares the rest of the hostages back inside in time. Gruber goads McClane into coming empty-handed to keep Holly alive, but McClane tricks Gruber by taping a gun to his back and mortally wounding Gruber when he thinks he is unarmed. Gruber falls out a window and hangs by the strap of Holly's watch, pulling her out. McClane undoes the strap, letting Gruber to fall to his death. Meanwhile, Argyle catches Theo trying to escape and knocks him out.

As police swarm the building, McClane and Holly unite with Powell. Suddenly Karl, who was thought dead, attempts to fire on McClane but Powell fires first, overcoming his fear of shooting an innocent from years earlier. Holly punches out Thornburg when he tries to get an exclusive interview, and Argyle arrives to drive McClane and Holly away.