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At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | drunk | How many times the word 'drunk' appears in the text? | 2 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | autumn | How many times the word 'autumn' appears in the text? | 1 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | distillery | How many times the word 'distillery' appears in the text? | 3 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | incumbent | How many times the word 'incumbent' appears in the text? | 0 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | steam | How many times the word 'steam' appears in the text? | 3 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | czarina | How many times the word 'czarina' appears in the text? | 1 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | late | How many times the word 'late' appears in the text? | 3 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | shadow | How many times the word 'shadow' appears in the text? | 1 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | raised | How many times the word 'raised' appears in the text? | 0 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | seat | How many times the word 'seat' appears in the text? | 3 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | continuer | How many times the word 'continuer' appears in the text? | 0 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | mouth | How many times the word 'mouth' appears in the text? | 3 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | xiv | How many times the word 'xiv' appears in the text? | 0 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | distilleries | How many times the word 'distilleries' appears in the text? | 3 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | honyman | How many times the word 'honyman' appears in the text? | 0 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | already | How many times the word 'already' appears in the text? | 2 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | wildly | How many times the word 'wildly' appears in the text? | 0 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | road | How many times the word 'road' appears in the text? | 2 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | resting | How many times the word 'resting' appears in the text? | 1 |
At the upper end of the table, in the place of honour, sat the guest--a short, stout man with small, merry eyes. He smoked his short pipe with obvious satisfaction, spitting every moment and constantly pushing the tobacco down in the bowl. The clouds of smoke collected over his head, and veiled him in a bluish mist. It seemed as though the broad chimney of a distillery, which was bored at always being perched up on the roof, had hit upon the idea of taking a little recreation, and had now settled itself comfortably at the headman's table. Close under his nose bristled his short, thick moustache, which in the dim, smoky atmosphere resembled a mouse which the distiller had caught and held in his mouth, usurping the functions of a dining-room cat. The headman sat there, as master of the house, wearing only his shirt and linen breeches. His eagle eye began to grow dim like the setting sun, and to half close. At the lower end of the table sat, smoking his pipe, one of the village council, of which the headman was superintendent. Out of respect for the latter he had not removed his caftan. "How soon do you think," asked the headman, turning to the distiller and putting his hand before his gaping mouth, "will you have the distillery put up?" "With God's help we shall be distilling brandy this autumn. On Conception Day I bet the headman will be tracing the figure eight with his feet on his way home." So saying, the distiller laughed so heartily that his small eyes disappeared altogether, his body was convulsed, and his twitching lips actually let go of the reeking pipe for a moment. "God grant it!" said the headman, on whose face the shadow of a smile was visible. "Now, thank heaven, the number of distilleries is increasing a little; but in the old days, when I accompanied the Czarina on the Perejlaslov Road, and the late Besborodko----" "Yes, my friend, those were bad times. Then from Krementchuk to Romen there were hardly two distilleries. And now--but have you heard what the infernal Germans have invented? They say they will no longer use wood for fuel in the distilleries, but devilish steam." At these words the distiller stared at the table reflectively, and at his arms resting on it. "But how they can use steam--by heavens! I don't know." "What fools these Germans are!" said the headman. "I should like to give these sons of dogs a good thrashing. Whoever heard of cooking with steam? At this rate one will not be able to get a spoonful of porridge or a bit of bacon into one's mouth." "And you, friend," broke in the headman's sister-in-law, who was sitting by the stove; "will you be with us the whole time without your wife?" "Do I want her then? If she were only passably good-looking----" "She is not pretty, then?" asked the headman with a questioning glance. "How should she be; as old as Satan, and with a face as full of wrinkles as an empty purse," said the distiller, shaking again with laughter. Then a noise was heard at the door, which opened and a Cossack stepped over the threshold without removing his cap, and remained standing in an absent-minded way in the middle of the room, with open mouth and gazing at the ceiling. It was Kalenik, whose acquaintance we have already made. "Now I am at home," he said, taking his seat by the door, without taking any notice of those present. "Ah! to what a length Satan made the road stretch. I went on and on, and there was no end. My legs are quite broken. Woman, bring me my fur blanket to lie down on. There it is in the corner; but mind you don't upset the little pot of snuff. But no; better not touch it! Leave it alone! You are really quite drunk--I had better get it myself." Kalenik tried to rise, but an invincible power fettered him to his seat. "That's a nice business!" said the headman. "He comes into a strange house, and behaves as though he were at home! Push him out, in heaven's name!" "Let him rest a bit, friend!" said the distiller, seizing the headman's arm. "The man is very useful; if we had only plenty of this kind, our distillery would get on grandly...." For the rest, it was not good-nature which inspired these words. The distiller was full of superstition, and to turn out a man who had already sat down, seemed to him to be tantamount to invoking the devil. "That comes of being old," grumbled Kalenik, stretching himself out along the seat. "People might say I was drunk, but no, I am not! Why should I lie? I am ready to tell the headman to his face! Who is the headman anyway? May he break his neck, the son of a dog! I spit at him! May he be run over by a cart, the one-eyed devil!" "Ah! the drunken sot has crawled into the house, and now he lays his paws on the table," said the headman, rising angrily; but at that moment a heavy stone, breaking a window-pane to pieces, fell at his feet. The headman remained standing. "If I knew," he said, "what jail-bird has thrown it, I would give him something. What devil's trick is this?" he continued, looking at the stone, which he held in his hand, with burning eyes. "I wish I could choke him with it!" "Stop! Stop! God preserve you, friend!" broke in the distiller, looking pale. "God keep you in this world and the next, but don't curse anyone so." "Ah! now we have his defender! May he be ruined!" "Listen, friend! You don't know what happened to my late mother-in-law." "Your mother-in-law?" "Yes, my mother-in-law. One evening, perhaps rather earlier than this, they were sitting at supper, my late mother-in-law, my father-in-law, their two servants, and five children. My mother-in-law emptied some dumplings from the cooking-pot into a dish in order to cool them. But the others, being hungry after the day's work, did not wait till they were quite cooled, but stuck their long wooden forks into them and ate them at once. All at once a stranger entered--heaven knows whence!--and asked to be allowed to share their meal. They could not refuse to feed a hungry man, and gave him also a wooden fork. But the guest made as short work with the dumplings as a cow with hay. Before the family had each of them finished his or her dumpling and reached out their forks again for another, the dish had been swept as clean as the floor of a nobleman's drawing-room. My mother-in-law emptied out some more dumplings; she thought to herself, 'Now the guest is satisfied, and will not be so greedy.' But on the contrary, he began to swallow them faster than ever, and emptied the second dish also. 'May one of them choke you!' said my mother-in-law under her breath. Suddenly the guest seemed to try to clear his throat, and fell back. They rushed to his help, but his breath had stopped and he was dead." "Served him right, the cursed glutton!" "But it turned out quite otherwise; since that time my mother-in-law has no rest. No sooner is it dark than the dead man approaches the house. He then sits astride the chimney, the scoundrel, holding a dumpling between his teeth. During the day it is quite quiet--one hears and sees nothing; but as soon as it begins to grow dark, and one casts a look at the roof, there he is comfortably perched on the chimney!" "A wonderful story, friend! I heard something similar from my late----" Then the headman suddenly stopped. Outside there were noises, and the stamping of dancers' feet. The strings of a guitar were being struck gently, to the accompaniment of a voice. Then the guitar was played more loudly, many voices joined in, and the whole chorus struck up a song in ridicule of the headman. When it was over, the distiller said, with his head bent a little on one side, to the headman who was almost petrified by the audacity of the serenaders, "A fine song, my friend!" "Very fine! Only it is a pity that they insult the headman." He folded his arms with a certain measure of composure on the table, and prepared to listen further, for the singing and noise outside continued. A sharp observer, however, would have seen that it was not mere torpidity which made the headman sit so quietly. In the same way a crafty cat often allows an inexperienced mouse to play about her tail, while she is quickly devising a plan to cut it off from the mouse-hole. The headman's one eye was still fastened on the window, and his hand, after he had given the village councillor a sign, was reaching for the door-handle, when suddenly a loud noise and shouts were heard from the street. The distiller, who beside many other characteristics possessed a keen curiosity, laid down his pipe quickly and ran into the street; but the ne'er-do-wells had all dispersed. "No, you don't escape me!" cried the headman, dragging someone muffled up in a sheepskin coat with the hair turned outwards, by the arm. The distiller rapidly seized a favourable moment to look at the face of this disturber of the peace; but he started back when he saw a long beard and a grim, painted face. "No, you don't escape me!" exclaimed the headman again as he dragged his prisoner into the vestibule. The latter offered no resistance, and followed him as quietly as though it had been his own house. "Karpo, open the store-room!" the headman called to the village councillor. "We will throw him in there! Then we will awake the clerk, call the village council together, catch this impudent rabble, and pass our sentence on them at once." The village councillor unlocked the store-room; then in the darkness of the vestibule, the prisoner made a desperate effort to break loose from the headman's arms. "Ah! you would, would you?" exclaimed the headman, holding him more firmly by the collar. "Let me go! It is I!" a half-stifled voice was heard saying. "It is no good, brother! You may squeal if you choose, like the devil, instead of imitating a woman, but you won't get round me." So saying, he thrust the prisoner with such violence into the dark room that he fell on the ground and groaned aloud. The victorious headman, accompanied by the village councillor, now betook himself to the clerk's; they were followed by the distiller, who was veiled in clouds of tobacco-smoke, and resembled a steamer. They were all three walking reflectively with bent heads, when suddenly, turning into a dark side-alley, they uttered a cry and started back in consequence of coming into collision with three other men, who on their side shouted with equal loudness. The headman saw with his one eye, to his no small astonishment, the clerk with two village councillors. "I was just coming to you, Mr Notary." "And I was on my way to your honour." "These are strange goings-on, Mr Notary." "Indeed they are, your honour." "Have you seen them then?" asked the headman, surprised. "The young fellows are roaming about the streets using vile language. They are abusing your honour in a way--in a word, it is a scandal. A drunken Russian would be ashamed to use such words." The lean notary, in his gaily striped breeches and yeast-coloured waistcoat, kept on stretching forward and drawing back his neck while he talked. "Hardly had I gone to sleep," he continued, "than the cursed loafers woke me up with their shameful songs and their noise. I meant to give them a sound rating, but while I was putting on my breeches and vest, they all ran away. But the ringleader has not escaped; for the present he is shut up in the hut which we use as a prison. I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners." "What clothes does he wear, Mr Notary?" "The son of a dog wears a black sheepskin coat turned inside out, your honour." "Aren't you telling me a lie, Mr Notary? The same good-for-nothing is now shut up in my store-room under lock and key." "No, your honour! You have drawn the long bow a little yourself, and should not be vexed at what I say." "Bring a light! We will take a look at him at once!" They returned to the headman's house; the store-room door was opened, and the headman groaned for sheer amazement as he saw his sister-in-law standing before him. "Tell me then," she said, stepping forward, "have you quite lost your senses? Had you a single particle of brains in your one-eyed fish-head when you locked me up in the dark room? It is a mercy I did not break my head against the iron door hinge. Didn't I shout out that it was I? Then he seized me, the cursed bear, with his iron claws, and pushed me in. May Satan hereafter so push you into hell!" The last words she spoke from the street, having wisely gone out of his reach. "Yes, now I see that it is you!" said the headman, who had slowly recovered his composure. "Is he not a scamp and a scoundrel, Mr Clerk?" he continued. "Yes, certainly, your honour." "Isn't it high time to give all these loose fellows a lesson, that they may at last betake themselves to their work?" "Yes, it is high time, your honour." "The fools have combined in a gang. What the deuce is that? It sounded like my sister-in-law's voice. The blockheads think that I am like her, an ordinary Cossack." Here he coughed and cleared his throat, and a gleam in his eyes showed that he was about to say something very important. "In the year one thousand--I cannot keep these cursed dates in my memory, if I was to be killed for it. Well, never mind when it was, the Commissary Ledatcho was commanded to choose out a Cossack who was cleverer than the rest. Yes," he added, raising his forefinger, "cleverer than the rest, to accompany the Czar. Then I was----" "Yes, yes," the notary interrupted him, "we all know, headman, that you well deserved the imperial favour. But confess now that I was right: you made a mistake when you declared that you had caught the vagabond in the reversed sheepskin." "This disguised devil I will have imprisoned to serve as a warning to the rest. They will have to learn what authority means. Who has appointed the headman, if not the Czar? Then we will tackle the other fellows. I don't forget how the scamps drove a whole herd of swine into my garden, which ate up all the cabbages and cucumbers; I don't forget how those sons of devils refused to thrash my rye for me. I don't forget--to the deuce with them! We must first find out who this scoundrel in the sheepskin really is." "He is a sly dog anyway," said the distiller, whose cheeks during the whole conversation had been as full of smoke as a siege-cannon, and whose lips, when he took his pipe out of his mouth, seemed to emit sparks. Meanwhile they had approached a small ruined hut. Their curiosity had mounted to the highest pitch, and they pressed round the door. The notary produced a key and tried to turn the lock, but it did not fit; it was the key of his trunk. The impatience of the onlookers increased. He plunged his hand into the wide pocket of his gaily striped breeches, bent his back, scraped with his feet, uttered imprecations, and at last cried triumphantly, "I have it!" At these words the hearts of our heroes beat so loud, that the turning of the key in the lock was almost inaudible. At last the door opened, and the headman turned as white as a sheet. The distiller felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. Terror and apprehension were stamped on the notary's face; the village councillors almost sank into the ground and could not shut their wide-open mouths. Before them stood the headman's sister-in-law! She was not less startled than they, but recovered herself somewhat, and made a movement as if to approach them. "Stop!" cried the headman in an excited voice, and slammed the door again. "Sirs, Satan is behind this!" he continued. "Bring fire quickly! Never mind the hut! Set it alight and burn it up so that not even the witch's bones remain." "Wait a minute, brother!" exclaimed the distiller. "Your hair is grey, but you are not very intelligent; no ordinary fire will burn a witch. Only the fire of a pipe can do it. I will manage it all right." So saying, he shook some glowing ashes from his pipe on to a bundle of straw, and began to fan the flame. Despair gave the unfortunate woman courage; she began to implore them in a loud voice. "Stop a moment, brother! Perhaps we are incurring guilt needlessly. Perhaps she is really no witch!" said the notary. "If the person sitting in there declares herself ready to make the sign of the cross, then she is not a child of the devil." The proposal was accepted. "Look out, Satan!" continued the notary, speaking at a chink in the door. "If you promise not to move, we will open the door." The door was opened. "Cross yourself!" exclaimed the headman, looking round him for a safe place of retreat in case of necessity. His sister-in-law crossed herself. "The deuce! It is really you, sister-in-law!" "What evil spirit dragged you into this hole, friend?" asked the notary. The headman's sister related amid sobs how the rioters had seized her on the street, and in spite of her resistance, pushed her through a large window into the hut, on which they had closed the shutters. The notary looked and found that the bolt of the shutter had been wrenched off, and that it was held in its place by a wooden bar placed across it outside. "You are a nice fellow, you one-eyed Satan!" she now exclaimed, advancing towards the headman, who stepped backwards and continued to contemplate her from head to foot. "I know your thoughts; you were glad of an opportunity to get me shut up in order to run after that petticoat, so that no one could see the grey-haired sinner making a fool of himself. You think I don't know how you talked this evening with Hanna. Oh, I know everything. You must get up earlier if you want to make a fool of me, you great stupid! I have endured for a long time, but at last don't take it ill if----" She made a threatening gesture with her fist, and ran away swiftly, leaving the headman quite taken aback. "The devil really has something to do with it!" he thought, rubbing his bald head. "We have him!" now exclaimed the two village councillors as they approached. "Whom have you?" asked the headman. "The devil in the sheepskin." "Bring him here!" cried the headman, seizing the prisoner by the arm. "Are you mad? This is the drunken Kalenik!" "It is witchcraft! He was in our hands, your honour!" replied the village councillors. "The rascals were rushing about in the narrow side-streets, dancing and behaving like idiots--the devil take them! How it was we got hold of this fellow instead of him, heaven only knows!" "In virtue of my authority, and that of the village assembly," said the headman, "I issue the order to seize these robbers and other young vagabonds which may be met with in the streets, and to bring them before me to be dealt with." "Excuse us, your honour," answered the village councillors, bowing low. "If you could only see the hideous faces they had; may heaven punish us if ever anyone has seen such miscreations since he was born and baptised. These devils might frighten one into an illness." "I'll teach you to be afraid! You won't obey then? You are certainly in the conspiracy with them! You mutineers! What is the meaning of that? What? You abet robbery and murder! You!--I will inform the Commissary. Go at once, do you hear; fly like birds. I shall--you will----" They all dispersed in different directions. V THE DROWNED GIRL Without troubling himself in the least about those who had been sent to pursue him, the originator of all this confusion slowly walked towards the old house and the pool. We hardly need to say it was Levko. His black fur coat was buttoned up; he carried his cap in his hand, and the perspiration was pouring down his face. The moon poured her light on the gloomy majesty of the dark maple-wood. The coolness of the air round the motionless pool enticed the weary wanderer to rest by it a while. Universal silence prevailed, only that in the forest thickets the nightingales' songs were heard. An overpowering drowsiness closed his eyes; his tired limbs relaxed, and his head nodded. "Ah! am I going to sleep?" he said, rising and rubbing his eyes. He looked round; the night seemed to him still more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to have an intoxicating quality about it, a glamour which he had never perceived before. The landscape was veiled in a silver mist. The air was redolent with the perfume of the apple-blossoms and the night-flowers. Entranced, he gazed on the motionless pool. The old, half-ruined house was clearly reflected without a quiver in the water. But instead of dark shutters, he saw light streaming from brilliantly lit windows. Presently one of them opened. Holding his breath, and without moving a muscle, he fastened his eyes on the pool and seemed to penetrate its depths. What did he see? First he saw at the window a graceful, curly head with shining eyes, propped on a white arm; the head moved and smiled. His heart suddenly began to beat. The water began to break into ripples, and the window closed. Quietly he withdrew from the pool, and looked towards the house. The dark shutters were flung back; the window-panes gleamed in the moonlight. "How little one can believe what people say!" he thought to himself. "The house is brand-new, and looks as though it had only just been painted. It is certainly inhabited." He stepped nearer cautiously, but the house was quite silent. The clear song of the nightingales rose powerfully and distinctly on the air, and as they died away one heard the chirping and rustling of the grasshoppers, and the marshbird clapping his slippery beak in the water. Levko felt enraptured with the sweetness and stillness of the night. He struck the strings of his guitar and sang: "Oh lovely moon Thou steepst in light The house where my darling Sleeps all night." A window opened gently, and the same girl whose image he had seen in the pool looked out and listened attentively to the song. Her long-lashed eyelids were partly drooping over her eyes; she was as pale as the moonlight, but wonderfully beautiful. She smiled, and a shiver ran through Levko. "Sing me a song, young Cossack!" she said gently, bending her head sideways and quite closing her eyes. "What song shall I sing you, dear girl?" Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "Cossack," she said, and there was something inexpressibly touching in her tone, "Cossack, find my stepmother for me. I will do everything for you; I will reward you; I will give you abundant riches. I have armlets embroidered with silk and coral necklaces; I will give you a girdle set with pearls. I have gold. Cossack, seek my stepmother for me. She is a terrible witch; she allowed me no peace in the beautiful world. She tortured me; she made me work like a common maid-servant. Look at my face; she has banished the redness from my cheeks with her unholy magic. Look at my white neck; they cannot be washed away, they cannot be washed away--the blue marks of her iron claws. Look at my white feet; they did not walk on carpets, but on hot sand, on damp ground, on piercing thorns. And my eyes--look at them; they are almost blind with weeping. Seek my stepmother!" Her voice, which had gradually become louder, stopped, and she wept. The Cossack felt overpowered by sympathy and grief. "I am ready to do everything to please you, dear lady," he cried with deep emotion; "but where and how can I find her?" "Look, look!" she said quickly, "she is here! She dances on the lake-shore with my maidens, and warms herself in the moonlight. Yet she is cunning and sly. She has assumed the shape of one who is drowned, yet I know and hear that she is present. I am so afraid of her. Because of her I cannot swim free and light as a fish. I sink and fall to the bottom like a piece of iron. Look for her, Cossack!" Levko cast a glance at the lake-shore. In a silvery mist there moved, like shadows, girls in white dresses decked with May flowers; gold necklaces and coins gleamed on their necks; but they were very pale, as though formed of transparent clouds. They danced nearer him, and he could hear their voices, somewhat like the sound of reeds stirred in the quiet evening by the breeze. "Let us play the raven-game! Let us play the raven-game!" "Who will be the raven?" Lots were cast, and a girl stepped out of the line of the dancers. Levko observed her attentively. Her face and clothing resembled those of the others; but she was evidently unwilling to play the part assigned her. The dancers revolved rapidly round her, without her being able to catch one of them. "No, I won't be the raven any more," she said, quite exhausted. "I do not like to rob the poor mother-hen of her chickens." "You are not a witch," thought Levko. The girls again gathered together in order to cast lots who should be the raven. "I will be the raven!" called one from the midst. Levko watched her closely. Boldly and rapidly she ran after the dancers, and made every effort to catch her prey. Levko began to notice that her body was not transparent like the others; there was something black in the midst of it. Suddenly there was a cry; the "raven" had rushed on a girl, embraced her, and it seemed to Levko as though she had stretched out claws, and as though her face shone with malicious joy. "Witch!" he cried out, pointing at her suddenly with his finger, and turning towards the house. The girl at the window laughed, and the other girls dragged the "raven" screaming along with them. "How shall I reward you, Cossack?" said the maiden. "I know you do not need gold; you love Hanna, but her harsh father will not allow you to marry. But give him this note, and he will cease to hinder it." She stretched out her white hand, and her face shone wonderfully. With strange shudders and a beating heart, he grasped the paper and--awoke. VI THE AWAKENING "Have I then been really asleep?" Levko asked himself as he stood up. "Everything seemed so real, as though I were awake. Wonderful! Wonderful!" he repeated, looking round him. The position of the moon vertical overhead showed that it was midnight; a waft of coolness came from the pool. The ruined house with the closed shutters stood there with a melancholy aspect; the moss and weeds which grew thickly upon it showed that it had not been entered by any human foot for a long time. Then he suddenly opened his hand, which had been convulsively clenched during his sleep, and cried aloud with astonishment when he saw the note in it. "Ah! if I could only read," he thought, turning it this way and that. At that moment he heard a noise behind him. "Fear nothing! Lay hold of him! What are you afraid of? There are ten of us. I wager that he is a man, and not the devil." It was the headman encouraging his companions. Levko felt himself seized by several arms, many of which were trembling with fear. "Throw off your mask, friend! Cease trying to fool us," said the headman, taking him by the collar. But he started back when he saw him closely. "Levko! My son!" he exclaimed, letting his arms sink. "It is you, miserable boy! I thought some rascal, or disguised devil, was playing these tricks; but now it seems you have cooked this mess for your own father--placed yourself at the head of a band of robbers, and composed songs to ridicule him. Eh, Levko! What is the meaning of that? It seems your back is itching. Tie him fast!" "Stop, father! I have been ordered to give you this note," said Levko. "Let me see it then! But bind him all the same." "Wait, headman," said the notary, unfolding the note; "it is the Commissary's handwriting!" "The Commissary's?" "The Commissary's?" echoed the village councillors mechanically. "The Commissary's? Wonderful! Still more incomprehensible!" thought Levko. "Read! Read!" said the headman. "What does the Commissary write?" "Let us hear!" exclaimed the distiller, holding his pipe between his teeth, and lighting it. The notary cleared his throat and began to read. "'Order to the headman, Javtuk Makohonenko. "'It has been | tracing | How many times the word 'tracing' appears in the text? | 1 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | imsdb | How many times the word 'imsdb' appears in the text? | 3 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | remote | How many times the word 'remote' appears in the text? | 1 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | unusually | How many times the word 'unusually' appears in the text? | 1 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | l | How many times the word 'l' appears in the text? | 1 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | emerges | How many times the word 'emerges' appears in the text? | 2 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | parchment | How many times the word 'parchment' appears in the text? | 0 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | throne | How many times the word 'throne' appears in the text? | 2 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | poem | How many times the word 'poem' appears in the text? | 0 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | safe | How many times the word 'safe' appears in the text? | 1 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | chitauri | How many times the word 'chitauri' appears in the text? | 3 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | cut | How many times the word 'cut' appears in the text? | 3 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | q | How many times the word 'q' appears in the text? | 1 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | introduce | How many times the word 'introduce' appears in the text? | 0 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | s | How many times the word 's' appears in the text? | 3 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | evac | How many times the word 'evac' appears in the text? | 1 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | fed | How many times the word 'fed' appears in the text? | 1 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | until | How many times the word 'until' appears in the text? | 2 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | devoirs | How many times the word 'devoirs' appears in the text? | 0 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | wars | How many times the word 'wars' appears in the text? | 2 |
Avengers, The (2012) Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE AVENGERS Written by Joss Whedon "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born--to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then--for now, the Avengers Assemble!" BURNING BLUE FLAMES. A smoky cube shape emerges - THE TESSERACT. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. CUT TO: EXT. THRONE ROOM, SPACE NIGHT Kneeling behind a THRONE, a CLOTHED, ARMORED FIGURE known as THE OTHER, bows. THE OTHER (V.O.) The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power,... CUT TO: THE OTHER faces a HORNED SHAPED SHADOW. LOKI. Loki is handed the CHITAURI SCEPTER, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. THE OTHER (V.O.) But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. HIGH WIDE ON: TENS OF THOUSANDS of CHITAURI stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns....the ground simply QUAKES. THE OTHER (V.O.) The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn? CUT TO: EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S FACILITY NIGHT Out in the NEW MEXICO desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It's an evacuation. A SWOOPING helicopter flies in. CHAOS. Men in suits run around like in the typical `we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there. A VOICE bellows from hidden loudspeakers. EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Standing a few yards from the landing pad, A Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD AGENT PHIL COULSON. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD AGENT MARIA HILL, SEXY, FIERCE AND DETERMINED. Following her, SHIELD DIRECTOR NICK FURY climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson. NICK FURY How bad is it? AGENT PHIL COULSON That's the problem, sir. We don't know. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. AGENT PHIL COULSON Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. NICK FURY NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase. AGENT PHIL COULSON He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement. AGENT MARIA HILL It just turned itself on? NICK FURY What are the energy levels now? AGENT PHIL COULSON Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac. NICK FURY How long to get everyone out? AGENT PHIL COULSON Campus should be clear in the next half hour. NICK FURY Do better. CONTINUOUSLY HEADING DOWN TO RADIATION FACILITY FLOOR AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, evacuation may be futile. NICK FURY We should tell them to go back to sleep? AGENT MARIA HILL If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. NICK FURY I need you to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are shipped out. AGENT MARIA HILL Sir, is that really a priority right now? NICK FURY Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone. AGENT MARIA HILL Yes, sir. (to standing agents) With me. INT. NASA SPACE RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER CONTINUOUS Fury enters the lab facility where the Tesseract is being held by a COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COIL CHAMBER. NICK FURY Talk to me, doctor. DR. ERIK SELVIG emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. SELVIG Director. NICK FURY Is there anything we know for certain? SELVIG Tesseract is misbehaving. NICK FURY Is that supposed to be funny? SELVIG No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. NICK FURY How soon until you pull the plug? SELVIG She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level... NICK FURY We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space. SELVIG We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation. NICK FURY That can be harmful. Where's Barton? SELVIG The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual. We see CLINT BARTON, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. NICK FURY Agent Barton, report. BARTON rappels down from the catwalk. Walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner. NICK FURY I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. CLINT BARTON Well, I see better from a distance. NICK FURY Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off? NASA SCIENTIST (TO SELVIG) Doctor, it's spiking again. CLINT BARTON No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end. NICK FURY At this end? CLINT BARTON Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides. DR. SELVIG clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly- the Tesseract THUNDERS and SHAKES the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they're at different ends of the facility. The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract's energy builds up into a BEAM much like the Bifrost Bridge, which HITS at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam FIRES the TESSERACT energy. The beam then forms a VORTEX, which then opens up a PORTAL. A BLACK HOLE IS CREATED. From the portal, the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a GUST of BLUE ENERGY CLOUDS fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract's energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility's vacuum chamber ceiling. It's abnormally quiet. Then... HEAVY BREATHING is heard from the platform. SHIELD GUARDS slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It's LOKI. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig. He stands up, holing the scepter. NICK FURY Sir, please put down the spear! Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and SHOOTS OUT A BLUE EXPLODING LIGHT TOWARDS THEM. BARTON TACKLES Fury and they both barely miss Loki's fired shot. ALL HELL BREAKS. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and ATTACKS those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his KNIVES and ENERGY BLASTS from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next. Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. LOKI You have heart. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's head. Barton's eyes suddenly glow BLACK. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki's hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight. As Loki is busy using his abilities to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.Then... LOKI Please don't. I still need that. NICK FURY (TURNING) This doesn't have to get any messier. LOKI Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. SELVIG Loki? Brother of Thor? NICK FURY We have no quarrel with your people. LOKI An ant has no quarrel with a boot. NICK FURY You planning to step on us? LOKI I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. NICK FURY Free from what? LOKI Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standingbehind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glow BLACK. LOKI You will know peace. NICK FURY Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract's energy cloud RAPIDLY builds into what may be an implosion. CLINT BARTON Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us. NICK FURY Like The Pharaohs of Odin. SELVIG He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical. LOKI Well, then... Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn't even hesitate, SHOOTS FURY WHO FALLS TO THE GROUND. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER, ENTRANCE OF EXITING TUNNEL NIGHT Loki, Barton, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. CLINT BARTON (pointing to the Loki team) Need these vehicles. AGENT MARIA HILL Who's that? CLINT BARTON He didn't tell me. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave, as she's walking away... NICK FURY (through the walkie talkie) Hill, do you copy?! Loki and Barton SHARPLY look at Agent Hill. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet, breathing heavily. NICK FURY Barton is... INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER NIGHT Suddenly, Hill turns to SHOOT AT BARTON, but Barton is already POINTING HIS GUN at her and starts SHOOTING, he moves the driver's seat of the truck and DRIVES OFF as Hill keeps shooting. BACK AT THE LAB Fury is holding his side, running. NICK FURY He's got the Tesseract! Track it down! The energy is really brewing a fucking shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S BUNKER/TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill SLIPS into a JEEP and follows after Barton's truck.Loki's trucks SCREECH across the tunnel. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues. Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and EMITS energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. They get in, the cars roar out after them. Agent Hill puts herself at a distance. INT. FACILITY FLOOR NIGHT Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. INT. FACILITY FLOOR, ELSEWHERE CONTINUOUS Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping SILVER CASES of information. They attempt to grab them, but... AGENT PHIL COULSON No! Leave it! They run out of there like a bat from hell. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill's JEEP ROARS out of a side of Barton's truck and pulls up alongside them on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton's truck and driving in reverse. Barton's ARMS reach out the open window and OPENS FIRE. Agent Hill figures `fuck it' and SHOOTS her windshield OPENING FIRE on Barton. EXT. VAN NIGHT Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD VAN. On his walkie: AGENT PHIL COULSON You're clear, sir! You need to go! EXT. HELICOPTER PAD CONTINUOUS Fury BOLTS out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, PLUNGING the helicopter through the surface. But Fury's chopper BARELY makes it out. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton's pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill's JEEP to WOBBLE out and put her back behind. INT. RADIATION FACILITY, VACUUM CHAMBER NIGHT The Tesseract's energy cloud now SHRINKS into a SMALL BALL OF WHITE LIGHT. Then... A CLOUD OF BLUE LIGHT CONSUMES THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND PARTS OF THE DESERT. Fury watches from below, a RAPID build-up into what may be an implosion. Several miles away, Agent Coulson's van feels a JOLT of the Tesseract's BLASTWAVE. THE ENTIRE FACILITY SWALLOWS INTO ITSELF-- A TERRIFYING, UNIMAGINABLE IMPLOSION. INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT The BLASTWAVE of the Tesseract causes the tunnel to cave it. Like an ocean wave, blinding crumbles of falling rock, fall onto Agent Hill's JEEP, leaving her NEARLY trapped under this blanket of rock. On the Barton's truck, they escape the tunnel and drive into the desert landscape. Fury's helicopter ROARS over Barton's truck. Loki looks up. From the chopper's door, it slides open and Fury stands there, holding a gun, SHOOTING at Barton's, giving an honoring image of JULES WINNFIELD. Loki looks at Fury and in a fit of RAGE, points his scepter SHOOTS OUT THE BLUE LIGHT. The chopper CATCHES on fire, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL. Fury, like the boss he is, JUMPS OUT and touches down onto the desert floor. The chopper BARRELS along the ground. Fury, coming back to his senses, FIRES at Loki, but they're toofar and too late. Loki looks back, smiling. Fury stands there, MIND REELING. Then... AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) Director? Director Fury, do you copy? NICK FURY The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill? INT. P.E.G.A.S.U.S TUNNEL NIGHT Agent Hill climbs out her JEEP, which is sandwiched in, but luckily, not her. AGENT MARIA HILL A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors. EXT. DESERT NIGHT NICK FURY Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case. AGENT MARIA HILL (WALKIE TALKIE) Roger that. NICK FURY Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war. A beat. AGENT PHIL COULSON (WALKIE TALKIE) What do we do? Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope. THE AVENGERS EXT. RUSSIA, SOLENSKI PLAZA, 3RD FLOOR NIGHT Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still in construction building is being occupied by GEORGI LUCHKOV, a LARGE, RUSSIAN GENERAL along with his THUGS. TALL THUG is in the middle of a brutal beating on NATASHA ROMANOFF, a SLEWING, FOXY, UNBELIEVABLY SEXY SPY. He BACKHANDS NATASHA'S face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown. LUCHKOV, smiling, walks up to her. Dialogue is in RUSSIAN. LUCHKOV This is not how I wanted the evening to go. NATASHA I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better. LUCHKOV I'd like to know why they sent you to carry out a carrier, a stained glass and other random items. TALL THUG rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. NATASHA I thought General Soholob was in charge of the export business. LUCHKOV Soholob? Your reputation is quite a progression. THE FAMOUS BLACK WIDOW. Nothing but a pretty face. NATASHA You really think I'm pretty? LUCHKOV slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. TALL THUG opens up her mouth wide open. LUCHKOV We do not need the Lermontov to transfer the tanks. Tell him, well,... (IN ENGLISH) You may have to write it down. Suddenly, WEASELLY THUG'S cell rings. Confused, he answers. WEASELLY THUG Ya? (looks at LUCHKOV) It's for you. LUCHKOV takes the phone, pissed. LUCHKOV Who the hell is... AGENT PHIL COULSON You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby. HOLY SHIT. LUCHKOV places the cell phone against Natasha's ear seeing how she's tied to a chair with her hands tied behind her back. AGENT PHIL COULSON We need you to come in. NATASHA Are you kidding? I'm working! AGENT PHIL COULSON This takes precedence. NATASHA I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything. LUCHKOV I don't give everything. Natasha gives him a look. NATASHA Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. AGENT PHIL COULSON Natasha. Barton's been compromised. A beat. NATASHA Let me put you on hold. She nods to LUCHKOV. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha HITS him with her leg and HEADBUUTS him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts ATTACKING TALL THUG by KICKBOXING him in the face. Still tied, she ROLLS over WEASELLY THUG after she trips him. She then STOMPS on TALL THUG foot with peg of the chair, then KNOCKS HIM OUT WITH HER HEAD. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then FLIPS over and FALLS down hard on WEASELLY THUG, BREAKING THE CHAIR. She sees TALL THUG stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him DROP KICKING him, FALLS DOWN and FLIPS right back up and WRAPS HER LEGS AROUND HIS NECK AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. She grabs LUCHKOV, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss. NATASHA Where's Barton now? AGENT PHIL COULSON We don't know. NATASHA But he's alive. AGENT PHIL COULSON We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy. NATASHA Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me. AGENT PHIL COULSON No, I've got Stark. You get the big guy. NATASHA Bozhe moi. EXT. INDIAN SLUM NIGHT A LITTLE GIRL runs through the crowd, trying to force a way through. INT. SHACK NIGHT A tiny shack. The LITTLE GIRL runs up the steps, only to be stopped by an attending woman. Then, the LITTLE GIRL spots him. BRUCE BANNER, their LOCAL doctor. ATTENDING WOMAN What are doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here! LITTLE GIRL I have to see the doctor! It's my father! BANNER Calm down. What's wrong? LITTLE GIRL My father... Banner looks behind him seeing how the girl is staring at a few people, lying down, looking very sick. BANNER Is he like them? The LITTLE GIRL holds out all the money she has in the world. LITTLE GIRL Please. EXT. SLUMS CONTINUOUS Banner and the LITTLE GIRL hastily run nearly to the edge of town. The LITTLE GIRL gets ahead of herself. Banner spots local government car, he turns around, blocking any view of him. EXT/INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner quickly follows the LITTLE GIRL inside her house. As he walks in, the LITTLE GIRL ESCAPES THROUGH THE WINDOW. Banner is left standing there like a dumbass. BANNER Should have got paid up front, Banner. Natasha then appears from behind the curtains. Banner turns around, quietly. NATASHA You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle. BANNER Avoiding stress isn't the secret. NATASHA Then, what is it? Yoga? BANNER You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded? NATASHA Just you and me. BANNER And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young? NATASHA I did. BANNER Who are you? NATASHA Natasha Romanoff. BANNER Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone. NATASHA No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. BANNER SHIELD. How did they find me? NATASHA We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. BANNER Why? NATASHA Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in. BANNER What if I said no? NATASHA I'll persuade you. BANNER And what if the... other guy says no? NATASHA You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak. BANNER I don't always get what I want. NATASHA Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe. BANNER Well, those I actively try to avoid. NATASHA This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet. She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look. BANNER What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? NATASHA Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be. BANNER So Fury isn't after the monster? NATASHA Not that he's told me. BANNER And he tells you everything? NATASHA Talk to Fury, he needs you on this. BANNER He needs me in a cage? NATASHA No one's gonna put you in a... BANNER STOP LYING TO ME! The THUNDEROUS TONE in is voice makes Natasha QUICKLY grab her gun and point it at him, but something is now OFF in the atmosphere. Banner stands straight up, smiling. BANNER I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha... Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece. NATASHA Stand down. We're good here. EXT. OUTSIDE THE LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Amazingly, DOZENS OF SHIELD AGENTS are surrounding the shack outside. INT. LITTLE GIRL'S SHACK NIGHT Banner looks at Natasha, charming a smile at her. BANNER Just you and me? Natasha fidgets now that she exposed her guard down. INT. SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM NIGHT Fury is facing several LARGE MONITORS as he as a conference with members of the WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control. NICK FURY You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet? NICK FURY Not Asgard. Loki. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother. NICK FURY Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly... NICK FURY PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 The Avengers Initiative was shut down. NICK FURY This isn't about The Avengers. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks. NICK FURY I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #2 You believe? WORLD SECURITY COUNCIL #1 War isn't won by sentiment, Director. NICK FURY No, it's won by soldiers. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Somewhere in an old, almost WWII-esque boxing gym, STEVE ROGERS, a man out of time, THE FIRST AVENGER, FUCKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA is PUMMELING a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. EXT. HYDRA BASE DAY (FLASHBACK) Captain America is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the Tesseract's energy firearms. STEVE (V.O.) There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve's rage keeps building as he punches the bag. It gets harder... INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) Steve places his COMPASS with an image of PEGGY CARTER. The time is here for him to crash the plane. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve closes his eyes. Goes at the bag harder. PEGGY (V.O.) You won't be alone. INT. HORTEN H.XVIII, RED SKULL'S SHIP DAY (FLASHBACK) The RED SKULL picks up the TESSERACT. INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve opens his eyes and fuckin' tears the bag as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop... SHIELD SCIENTIST (V.O.) Oh my god! INT. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S, ANTARCTICA DAY (FLASHBACK) A half frozen Steve Roger is lying down on a medical slab. Two SHIELD SCIENTISTS run over hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. And it seems... SHIELD SCIENTIST This guy is still alive! INT. BROOKLYN GYM NIGHT Steve FUCKING tears the bag open, off its chain, spilling out the sand. He stands, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next another DOZEN BAGS. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. Fury walks in. NICK FURY Trouble sleeping? STEVE I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill. NICK FURY Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down. STEVE I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost. NICK FURY We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently. STEVE You here with a mission, sir? NICK FURY I am. STEVE Trying to get me back in the world? NICK FURY Trying to save it. Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. STEVE Hydra's secret weapon. NICK FURY Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs. STEVE Who took it from you? NICK FURY He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know. STEVE At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me. NICK FURY Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Starts walking out of the gym. NICK FURY Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now? STEVE You should have left it in the ocean. INT. OCEAN NIGHT Out in the Atlantic Ocean, TONY STARK, in his IRON MAN suit, is cutting a PIPELINE TRANSPORT with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a STARK ENERGY REACTOR. It lights up. IRON MAN rockets out of the water and flies towards STARK TOWER. TONY You're good on this end. The rest is up to you. PEPPER POTTS (on the other line) You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid? INSIDE THE SUIT -- PEPPER APPEARS ON HIS HUD MONITOR. TONY Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. PEPPER Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works? TONY I assume. Light her up. As IRON MAN flies to the STARK TOWER BUILDING, the power is switched on and the STARK sign LIGHTS UP. PEPPER How does it look? TONY Like Christmas, but with more... me. PEPPER Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards. TONY Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Enjoy the moment. PEPPER Then get in here and I will. TONY arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his IRON MAN suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets. JARVIS Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line. TONY I'm not in. I'm actually out. JARVIS Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting. TONY Close the line Jarvis. I got a date. INT. TONY'S PENTHOUSE NIGHT PEPPER POTTS stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. PEPPER Levels are holding steady... I think. TONY Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius? PEPPER Well, ha, I really | spontaneous | How many times the word 'spontaneous' appears in the text? | 1 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | flags | How many times the word 'flags' appears in the text? | 1 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | retourne | How many times the word 'retourne' appears in the text? | 0 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | jejune | How many times the word 'jejune' appears in the text? | 3 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | absolute | How many times the word 'absolute' appears in the text? | 0 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | paints | How many times the word 'paints' appears in the text? | 3 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | bit | How many times the word 'bit' appears in the text? | 2 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | eve | How many times the word 'eve' appears in the text? | 3 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | older | How many times the word 'older' appears in the text? | 1 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | old | How many times the word 'old' appears in the text? | 2 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | cadmium | How many times the word 'cadmium' appears in the text? | 1 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | prix | How many times the word 'prix' appears in the text? | 0 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | forget | How many times the word 'forget' appears in the text? | 3 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | instant | How many times the word 'instant' appears in the text? | 0 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | hesitated | How many times the word 'hesitated' appears in the text? | 0 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | knocks | How many times the word 'knocks' appears in the text? | 2 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | georges | How many times the word 'georges' appears in the text? | 0 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | spite | How many times the word 'spite' appears in the text? | 1 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | waits | How many times the word 'waits' appears in the text? | 2 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | magnons | How many times the word 'magnons' appears in the text? | 2 |
BART The fianc . Bart rolls his eyes, indicating what he thinks of good old Miner. Kelly nods, doesn't say anything. BART Listen, I'm going to the flea market on Saturday. I have a line on a couple dealers. You could get a backpack there. Kelly glances at the door Tabby left from. KELLY Oh yeah? Flea market, land of bargains. BART Especially if you know who to talk to. Kelly looks at Bart with suspicion -- and respect. EXT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - MORNING Kelly hops out of his Jeep and walks towards the front of the school. Lance is there, hanging out with Bridget and some of his Cro- Magnon FRIENDS. He wears a WW II CAP, overseas airborne style, obviously Kelly's. LANCE Hey fuckface. Like my new hat? I just joined the Boy Scouts. The Cro-Magnons grunt approvingly at this witty repartee. KELLY If you stay in it long enough, maybe you'll get your fudgepacker badge. Ooh. The Cro-Magnons laugh at Lance and EGG him on - "You gonna take that?"/"He just called you a fag", etc. Lance frowns and grabs Kelly. LANCE You're a regular Howie Mandel. Still holding on to him with one arm, he SLAPS Kelly hard across the face with the other. Kelly's knees give a bit. Lance holds him up. BRIDGET Lance! Lance looks over at her and releases Kelly. LANCE Okay babe. (to Kelly) One day you and me will be alone. And won't that be nice? Kelly is hurt but covering. KELLY Too bad my mom won't let me date yet. Kelly frowns and adjusts his clothes. Tries to re-wet the dry inside of his mouth with his tongue. He turns slowly and trudges up the stairs. Sarah has been watching the whole thing from the door. SARAH Why do you mess with him? KELLY You're right. I should give him a break. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly watches TV in the living room. His cheek has a nice bruise on it. Eve enters. EVE Oh, Kelly, you're home. Good. I need you to go to the art supply store for me. Kelly looks at the TV. KELLY Get Abe to do it. Eve goes to her purse and rifles through it to find her wallet. EVE He was going to but he had to go lead a meeting at Care House. KELLY What a surprise. EVE I'll make it up to you. KELLY Where have I heard that before? Eve sighs. EVE When are you going to give me a break? Kelly jabs at the remote. KELLY Let me think - maybe when I finally forget every single word of The Little Mermaid soundtrack I'd listen to in the car waiting for him to score. No, probably when I don't prepare myself before I go into the bathroom, expecting to find him passed out on the floor. Eve waits through this. KELLY Actually, you know what? I know I'll be able to put it all behind me when I go away to college. (slaps his forehead, pretend remembering) Only, I can't go because someone spent my college fund on Mexican Black Tar. So looks like I'll have to try to forget at Shop Rite, where I'll be working for the rest of my life. EVE You're right. You have every reason to crawl into the corner and give up. But please just get me some paints first. Eve comes over to Kelly. He sighs and puts his hand out. KELLY What do you need? She gives him the money. EVE We need burnt sienna, cadmium red, and midnight blue. Two tubes of blue. (looks at him) What happened to your face? She puts her hand up but he moves away from it. KELLY Forget it. INT. ART SUPPLY STORE - DAY Kelly looks through the paints, picking out tubes. He looks up and sees Tabby browsing the paintbrushes. He's suddenly nervous. He knocks over a few cans of thinner. Almost leaves. Instead, he gathers his courage, goes to the display opposite hers and waits to catch her eye. KELLY They're having a sale on glitter. It takes Tabby a second to recognize him. TABBY Oh, hello. What happened to you? KELLY (shrugs) Tennis injury. Tabby looks at him suspiciously like she's not sure whether to believe him. Tabby finishes with the mediums and moves onto the paints. Kelly follows her, staying in the opposite aisle. TABBY You paint? KELLY Well, you see... That's a difficult question. TABBY How so? KELLY I don't really feel comfortable calling anything done since the Renaissance "painting." We might have a more experimental interaction with the picture plane, but our skills have suffered from it. In spite of herself, Tabby laughs at this. This gives Kelly more confidence. He leans over the aisle to see what she's looking at. KELLY You're working with acrylic. Why? Oil's much - richer. TABBY Oh you're not one of those oil snobs are you? KELLY Of course not. Kelly comes around and leans nonchalantly against the shelves, knocks more things over and fumbles to replace them. KELLY It's just - isn't acrylic a bit - jejune? TABBY Jejune? You're jejune. How old are you anyway? KELLY Older than my years. Tabby walks to the counter with her brushes. TABBY And you paint? Kelly looks down and partially confesses. KELLY Well, you know, my mother's kind of an artist, so - TABBY That explains it. Tabby signs the slip and takes the bag. She walks out, Kelly with her, matches her pace, talking. KELLY That explains nothing. Doesn't anyone believe in innate knowledge anymore? Michelangelo was fifteen when he painted the Infanta. TABBY Infantas are Spanish. Michelangelo was Italian. Tabby gets into her car. Kelly leans into her window. KELLY Exactly. One world, one people. Just like Jesse Jackson envisioned. Tabby tries to conceal her smile and starts her car. TABBY Well - Kelly. Nice talking to you. She drives away. Kelly stands there watching. Then he winces. KELLY What the hell did you just say? EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE - DAY Kelly pulls up in his Jeep. He turns off the engine but doesn't get out. Just sits there. He doesn't want to go in. EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Colored plastic flags droop in the sun. MILITARY STALL Bart sweeps his eye over everything. A SKINNY GUY wearing a wife beater has some not half-bad stuff. Kelly, bruise faded to yellow and green, examines a glass mason jar of what seems to be dirt. SKINNY GUY (to Kelly) That there's actual sand from Iwo Jima. BART Or your sister's sandbox. The guy shrugs. SKINNY GUY Well, it don't come with no certificate of authenticity. (considers) I could write one up for you, I suppose. Get it notarized. BART No, that's quite all right. Actually, I'm in the market for medals. SKINNY GUY Sure. I got a couple purple hearts. A Silver Star. DSC. Can't sell them to you though. They were gramp's. (wink) Bart acts casual, hands clasped behind his back. BART Are you sure? SKINNY They have a lot of sentimental value - BART Yeah. How much? SKINNY GUY A lot. Bart pulls out a paper bag and offers it to the skinny guy, who looks inside. SKINNY GUY What's this? BART General Ulysses S. Grant's field flask, my friend. Kelly is shocked. The skinny guy looks at his suspiciously. BART Throw in one of those backpacks and we'll call it even. The skinny guy looks at Bart, and in the bag again. He goes to get the backpack. Kelly's impressed by this smooth exchange. FLEA MARKET - BETWEEN ROWS Kelly and Bart weave through the maze of stands. Kelly now holds the backpack. KELLY Buying and selling US service medals is illegal. BART Exactly. That's why the resale value is so high. KELLY Is that what they teach you at Langely? BART Don't be so na ve. We all have our skeletons. Some of them just pay more than others. KELLY And I'm not even going to ask about the flask. BART Don't ask, don't tell. The army gets everything right, don't they? CAMPAIGN PIN STALL A frowsy WOMAN in a muumuu sits fanning herself in front of an extensive display of pins and buttons. WOMAN You boys look like Goldwater fans. KELLY I've never been accused of that before. WOMAN Well jeez, you don't have to be insulted. BART Anything military? The woman considers this, her fan working back and forth lazily. WOMAN Fish around in that cigar box. Bart paws through the box. Acts casual. BART What do you want for the box? WOMAN Twenty dollars. BART Fifteen. WOMAN Don't be so hasty. (fanning) I got a few Geraldine Ferraro pins I'm looking to unload. FLEA MARKET FOOD COURT Kelly and Bart, now wearing the smiling black & white face of Geraldine Ferraro, eat disgusting yet delicious flea market food and watch a slow-motion bingo game. KELLY Goldwater fan. I think that's some kind of insult. BART Not at Dartmouth. Where are you going to go to school? KELLY I'm not. BART Ah, you have that luxury. KELLY You don't? BART (shrugs) I didn't have much say in the matter. Everything has been decided for me since birth. I'm not whining about it. Play the hand you're dealt, right? KELLY Easy for you to say. You got a royal flush. BART Are you crazy? My life sucks. Everyone's always telling me what to do. You can't fight it. Go with the flow. They eat for a minute to the soothing sounds of the BINGO CALLER: TWENTY-ONE, THIRTEEN, FOUR, SEVENTY-EIGHT. KELLY What about Tabby? BART She got to go where she wanted. Sarah Lawrence. Six years. She's almost done with grad school. Yale. KELLY I didn't think people actually went to Yale. BART (thinking) I don't know. I mean, she drives off in her car in September. For all we know, she could just pull her car over in Albany and sleep there until May. KELLY What do you mean? BART It was a joke. Joke? Bart does some fake sign language to help Kelly out. KELLY Oh. Is that what one of those sounds like? Somehow, I always imagined they would be funnier. Bart pushes Kelly, who grabs his arm like it got hurt. KELLY Sarah Lawrence? Isn't that for lesbians? Bart shrugs. BART What happened to your face? KELLY Remember the backpack incident? BART Same guy? KELLY The one with mad cow-diseased hamburger meat for brains? That would be the one. Interested, Bart leans forward. BART What are you going to do about it? KELLY I'm not going to lower myself to his level. BART Of course not. But there are alternatives KELLY Alternatives? BART Haven't you ever heard of the 193rd Special Operations Wing? Kelly shakes his head. BART Well do you want to get this guy or what? KELLY Yes. BART All right. Let's get the fuck out of here, then. Bart tosses his wrapper at the trashcan. Kelly watches it hit the rim and go in. BART (on the move) I have some things to show you. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Bart and Kelly sit amidst a spread of books, papers, and electronic equipment. BART Once we've gathered the intelligence, the plan will reveal itself. KELLY We don't plan first? Bart opens a pad. BART No, it limits our scope - what's the objective? KELLY Humiliation. Rage. Despair. BART Easy enough. 'Nam's probably our go- to war for that sort of thing. I have the declassified briefs from the Phoenix Project around here somewhere. Bart grabs a book and starts flipping through pages. Tabby enters with an armful of art supplies. TABBY Hey. I have some stretcher bars out in the car. Can somebody help me bring them in? BART Of course we'll drop what we're doing because what you're doing must be more important. Bart doesn't look up. He grabs another book. KELLY Sure. I mean, I'll help. Bart raises his eyebrow. Kelly shrugs off the look. BART I'll find those reports. INT. TABBY'S STUDIO - NIGHT Tabby drops the canvas and points at the table. Kelly dumps the bars and stands there looking around. At the wood floors and skylights. Couch covered with a sheet. Painting, serious ones, with layers of paint and mysterious objects stuck to them lay against the walls. They all seem faded, like a vacation photo that's been through the wash. Kelly moves to the PAINTING on the easel. Very yellow and pink. Kind of looks like castles. KELLY Gold. The color of the sun. Tabby wrestles with the bolt of canvas. TABBY That's the Cleveland waterfront. KELLY As the viewer, I get to decide what it is, I'm afraid. And it doesn't look a thing like it. TABBY It's the light. I was playing with diffusion. KELLY Well make sure you put it away when you're done with it. TABBY Very funny, wiseass. Kelly resumes his tour of the room. KELLY It must be nice to have a place like this to get away to. TABBY It is. KELLY What about Farmer? TABBY Farmer? Tabby unrolls the canvas and measures lengths. KELLY The boyfriend. TABBY (laughs) Miner? What about him? KELLY Is he an artist, too? TABBY No. Definitely not. Thank god. Kelly is silent for a while, fiddling with a clamp light. TABBY You said your mom was a painter? KELLY She was, well - is I guess. Tabby cuts the canvas. TABBY What do you mean? KELLY She used to be. But then my dad - wasn't working anymore so she turned it into a business. She has a family of Chinese immigrants in the garage making them for her. TABBY Like Andy Warhol's Factory. KELLY More like Andy Warhol's tool shed. It was nice before, though. My playpen used to be in her studio. TABBY Wow. So you really grew up with it. What does, did, your dad do? KELLY He's a VH-1 documentary without the music. TABBY "Tragedy struck?" Kelly nods. KELLY "And then, things took a turn for the worse." TABBY Well, just wait. Those burnout types always have a triumphant comeback tour. KELLY I already changed the channel. Tabby sits back on her heels and looks at him. Bart's head appears in the open door. BART Christ Kelly, I let you go out on a little supply line assist and you're gone for days. Come on. TABBY Have fun, boys. KELLY If only it were fun. War's deadly serious, ma'am. TABBY (to Bart) And I used to think you were the only crazy one. BART Enough with the mind pollution, Hanoi Hannah. Bart leaves. Kelly stands by the door. This is his only chance. KELLY I'm worried about you playing with diffusion unsupervised. TABBY Are you? KELLY Yes. I might have to come by and show you the proper safety procedures. Some time in the presence of an art prodigy would do you good. TABBY I don't think I have room for a playpen in here. KELLY Ouch. Tabby smiles. Kelly leaves. EXT. BOWLAND YARD - NIGHT Bart and Kelly walk across the yard. BART So, you have a thing for my sister? KELLY What? No, no. BART Everybody does. They skirt around the pool. KELLY We just have a few things in common. BART Oh really, like what? KELLY I can't tell you. It's my feminine side. BART You don't wear women's clothes when you're alone, do you? INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kelly comes out of the kitchen with a glass of water in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. The TV's on static. He sees a FIGURE sleeping on the couch and starts to walk through the room. Then he stops, sighs, and backtracks. He turns off the TV. Then he sees the empty bottle of wine next to the couch. KELLY Dad. The figure doesn't move. Kelly doesn't know what to do. KELLY (louder) Dad? Kelly looks around, worried. In this house an unresponsive dad isn't necessarily sleeping. Should he wake up his mom? He shakes the figure slightly. It rolls over, only it's not his dad. It's some scabby ADDICT. Kelly yanks his hand away. ADDICT Wha? A moment. KELLY Sorry. EXT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, BACK YARD - NIGHT Abe sits on a lawn chair. Kelly comes out, unfolds another chair and sits next to his dad - a good distance away. They both look up at the sky. ABE Keller. There's a meteor shower. Kelly frowns. KELLY A funny thing just happened. A little trip down memory lane. I thought you were on our couch, dead. Abe laughs. ABE Oh, you mean Emmett? They didn't have an empty bed for him at Care House. Kelly nods, considering this. KELLY Well that's one of your more brilliant ideas. (anger rising) Have you thought about the fact that it might be dangerous? That he might steal something, or go into cardiac arrest? Drink all our cooking wine? Which he seems to have done. ABE He just needs a place to sleep for the night. KELLY You're right. Besides, having him here makes it feel like home. Abe slams his hands down on the arms of his chair. ABE I've been straight for four years, almost five. A third of your life. Kelly claps slowly. KELLY Big whoop. I've been straight the whole time. Abe closes his eyes. ABE I hate to tell you this, but I'm not your problem anymore. Kelly gets up. KELLY No. That's the one thing I get to decide. Abe looks at Kelly. ABE Let me know. I can wait. They look at each other. Kelly shakes his head and goes inside. Abe looks up at the sky. ABE (to himself) Keller, there's a meteor shower. EXT. LANCE'S HOUSE - DAY In a backyard tree house next door sit Kelly and Bart, Kelly looking through a pair of M3 field glasses. KELLY I have the target in sight. BINOCULAR MATTE Through the twin circles Lance gets into his car in front of his house. KELLY I think he's leaving. BART Let me see. Don't be a farb, give them up. Kelly hands the glasses over. Bart looks through them. Then he puts them down. BART The coast is clear. The boys looks at each other. BART Let me prepare to deploy. Bart opens up a duffel bag and pulls out a yellow jumpsuit which he puts on. Kelly looks through the binoculars. KELLY Is this going to work? BART We've planned for every contingency using the tried and true techniques of the last great world power. KELLY Save it for the press conference. THE LAWN The boys climb down out of the tree house. Bart is dressed in an official-looking yellow jumpsuit with telephone repairmen's tool hanging from his belt and a hard hat on. Kelly carries a toolbox. BART Stay low. On my signal. He looks at Kelly. Then he holds up one finger and gestures "go." They sneak hunched over towards the fence. A LITTLE GIRL comes out of the house and stops when she sees them. Bart and Kelly look at each other. Bart takes the toolbox and gestures to Kelly by pointing at the girl and covering his mouth. Kelly peels off towards the girl while Bart continues across the lawn. The girl starts to SCREAM. Kelly swoops up and covers her mouth with his hand. He tucks her under his arm and runs towards the opposite side of the house. He puts the girl down, still covering her mouth. KELLY We're the good guys. If you scream, the bad guys are going to come and burn down your house. Okay? So stay here and be quiet. The girl nods. Kelly takes his hand off her mouth and starts to sneak away. GIRL My dad has a gun. Kelly runs across the street to get a view of the front door. IN FRONT OF LANCE'S HOUSE Bart turns up the driveway and RINGS the doorbell. LANCE'S MOTHER opens the door. Bart confers with her briefly and steps inside. The door closes behind him. Kelly stares so hard at the door he doesn't see the NEIGHBOR come up behind him. NEIGHBOR Can I help you, young man? Kelly starts and turns. KELLY I was just inspecting your lawn. Kelly grabs a few blades of grass. KELLY Have you thought about Astroturf? It takes a lot less water to keep green. I mean, no water, technically. NEIGHBOR I'm not interested. KELLY Oh. I see. Okay then. Kelly gets up and starts to walk down the street, only - Lance PULLS UP in his SUV. Kelly darts behind a parked car and watches Lance go into the house. KELLY Oh, shit. Lance comes right back out. He forgot something in his car. KELLY Oh, shit. Kelly moves around the car, trying to keep it between him and Lance. Bart comes down the front walk whistling and eating a cookie. He smiles at Lance, now coming back up the walk. LANCE Smile worker bee. I'll be your boss some day. Bart nods and tips his HARD HAT. Kelly follows him on the other side of the row of cars until Lance's house is out of sight. Then he gets in step beside Bart. BART What an asshole. His mom gave me cookies, though. KELLY Did you get it done? BART Don't ask stupid questions. Let's go home and listen. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - DAY The boys sit around an FM receiver/recorder. BART It was a five-watt FM bug, so we should be in range - Bart FLIPS the ON switch and Lance's Mom's voice fills the room. The boys smile with delight. LANCE'S MOM (O.S.) So then I told her, "Harriet, with potato salad like that it's no wonder Ray-Ray's cheating on you." WOMAN (O.S.) You didn't. LANCE'S MOM You're right. But I was thinking it. Instead I just told her to add more vinegar next time, and - Kelly shakes his head as the women natter away. KELLY I don't think we can use any of this. BART Be patient. It's voice activated, so we'll get everything. Trust me. It's going to be great. KELLY All right, then. Kelly gets up to leave while Bart fiddles with the knobs. BART We reconnoiter tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours. INT. ERNSWILER HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Abe and Eve have dinner together. EVE -- And if we don't sell them there, we'll set up on the corner of Stevens and Lane, by the gas station. That's a good location. Eve looks at her husband and sees he's not paying attention. He seems a little out of it. He's pushing his food around on his plate. EVE Are you listening to me? ABE Did you make this with more chili pepper than usual? EVE The same as always. Kelly comes in, walks through the kitchen and up the stairs. EVE Kelly. Want dinner? KELLY (O.S.) I ate. His parents eat for a minute in silence. Abe winces and puts down his fork. Eve smiles tenderly at him. EVE One day, we're all going to be happy. Abe puts his hand over hers. ABE That sounds nice. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S ROOM - NIGHT Bart moves around the room excitedly. BART It's really too perfect, actually. KELLY What? What? BART I can't describe. Just hit play. It's all cued up. Kelly hits a button. The tape clicks ON. From the speakers comes: BRIDGET (recorded) I told you, that makes me nervous. Me no likey. LANCE But baby, my birthday's coming up. BRIDGET Still. That's not a good enough reason. LANCE Come on. A little action. A little prime time action. BRIDGET But people might see us. LANCE That's the point. That's what makes it sexxxy. Dangerous. Kelly stops the tape. KELLY Dangerous. BART Exactly. Bart and Kelly share a look. Kelly grins. KELLY Let's draw up the plans. BART I have a few notes jotted down. All we have to do is fill in the details and let Operation Deadmeat begin. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Bridget primps at her locker while Kelly watches nervously from his. When she starts to close the locker door, Kelly rushes towards her and BUMPS into her. Her books and papers spill to the floor. KELLY Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry - He starts picking them up. BRIDGET Oh, it's okay - She looks around. If Lance showed up it wouldn't be good for either of them. Kelly hands her the rest of her stuff. They part ways. Kelly shoves a piece of paper into his pocket. Principal Holmstead CLICKS down the hall in her heels and Kelly DUCKS into a doorway just in time. He turns and pretends to look at a posted announcement as she passes. INT. BOWLAND HOUSE, BART'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Bart inspects Bridget's book report with a jeweler's loop. He swings over to a piece of stationary Kelly's working on. BART She dots her I's with hearts. And her L's are loopier. The L is very important. KELLY I'm working on it. They both crouch over the paper. KELLY I feel kind of bad for her. She's a nice girl. BART Sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided. KELLY Stop it. He pushes back from the table. KELLY How does that look? BART (inspecting) Pretty good. I think we're ready to manufacture a document. Kelly takes out a fresh sheet of paper. BART (clears his throat) Begin. "Hey Daddy. It's your birthday and you've been a very bad boy. But so has the baby. Both baby and Daddy have to get punished, only this time - INT. LANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Lance, shirtless, reads aloud from the letter. LANCE (Cont.) - baby makes the rules. Await further instructions at school tomorrow -- EXT. STREET - DAY Bart wears his school uniform and sits in the passenger seat next to Kelly. LANCE (V.O. cont'd) -- Baby will be waiting where Daddy least expects her. Love, Bridgie." Yes! BART Do you have everything? Kelly just looks at him. Bart's already asked this question. BART We can't afford any errors. KELLY You don't need to tell me. It's my ass on the line. Kelly pulls up in front of Bart's school. Bart turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. BART I wish I could be there to see it. KELLY You'll get the de-brief. BART It's a day that will live in infamy. KELLY You couldn't do any better than that? BART I don't hear you coming up with anything. Bart hops out and salutes Kelly, who give him the thumbs up in response and pulls away. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH - DAY Lance can't keep his hands off Bridget. BRIDGET What's gotten into you? LANCE Nothing, you bad girl. Lance cackles. BRIDGET Did you drink a bottle of Robitussin before school again? The bell RINGS. LANCE See you soon, my naughty baby. Bridget looks a little scared. INT. HISTORY CLASS Lance slouches into a seat next to Kelly, who drops another STATIONARY NOTE into Lance's open backpack. Kelly watches as Lance grabs his book, sees the note, opens it, and leers. LANCE It's my birthday! I'm going to get a present. Kelly looks down at his desk and smiles. LANCE Damn it, fuckface. What're you smiling about? You wish you were me. Lance raises his hand. LANCE Mr. Palmer? May I be excused? Lance leaves like a house afire. KELLY (to himself) Eine maus findet den kase. INT. HALL Lance sneaks down the hall towards the STORAGE CLOSET and whispers into the door. LANCE Daddy's here for the Easter egg hunt. He pulls open the door. Nothing. INT. STORAGE CLOSET Lance turns on the light. No one there. But propped up on the shelf next to a vase with a rose in it is another note. LANCE Ooh, push my buttons. He snatches the note. His eyes widen as he reads. LANCE Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You little minx. INT. LANGELY PREP, BATHROOM - DAY Bart crouches in the stall, looking at his watch. When the second hand sweeps past the twelve, he opens his cell phone and punches in a number. BART (serious grownup voice) Yes, I need to get a message to Bridget Shumann. This is MENSA. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, CAFETERIA/GYM - DAY Lunchtime. Typical bedlam. KIDS mill around. At one end of the cafeteria/gym is a small stage, the kind pep rallies are held on. Lance edges his way through the crowd, making a beeline for the STAGE DOOR. INT. SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH, MAIN OFFICE A confused Bridget stands at the SECRETARY'S desk. BRIDGET But I just got this note last period. SECRETARY Well I don't have anything here for you - let me look again. Oh yes, the MENSA called. The secretary hands Bridget the message. She looks at it. BRIDGET Cool. They want me to be an honorary member. (pause) Is that like a sorority or something? INT. BACKSTAGE Lance looks around eagerly. He peeks through the curtains at all the kids and can barely contain his excitement. LANCE Bridgie? Come on, daddy's sick. He needs his medicine. He spots a WOMAN in the shadows. It must be Bridget. He unbuckles his pants and lets them drop to him knees. LANCE I brought our friend along. He's happy to see you. He rips off his shirt and shuffles across the dark stage toward her. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly looks at his watch. INT. LANGELY PREP CLASSROOM Bart looks at his watch in anticipation. INT. LIGHTING BOOTH Kelly flicks a switch and presses a button. INT. CAFETERIA The crowd falls silent and turns towards the mechanical sound of the STAGE CURTAIN OPENING. They squint from the BRIGHT STAGE LIGHTS. SHOCK ripples through the crowd as they take in the tableau revealed to them: A frozen half-naked Lance on his knees before | able | How many times the word 'able' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | case | How many times the word 'case' appears in the text? | 3 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | set | How many times the word 'set' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | calm | How many times the word 'calm' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | deep | How many times the word 'deep' appears in the text? | 0 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | property | How many times the word 'property' appears in the text? | 2 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | possibly | How many times the word 'possibly' appears in the text? | 3 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | outside | How many times the word 'outside' appears in the text? | 2 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | hearts | How many times the word 'hearts' appears in the text? | 2 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | county | How many times the word 'county' appears in the text? | 3 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | congratulate | How many times the word 'congratulate' appears in the text? | 0 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | dumped | How many times the word 'dumped' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | sheet | How many times the word 'sheet' appears in the text? | 2 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | somehow | How many times the word 'somehow' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | examining | How many times the word 'examining' appears in the text? | 2 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | fond | How many times the word 'fond' appears in the text? | 0 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | became | How many times the word 'became' appears in the text? | 0 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | outburst | How many times the word 'outburst' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | light | How many times the word 'light' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | response | How many times the word 'response' appears in the text? | 1 |
BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON (gently correcting him) Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES (out the window) Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then... JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low- cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of "Newcomer housing". SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. (beat) Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON (checks file) There was no wallet... but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini-mart last night made a half-assed stab at the money in the till -- but I don't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George... JETSON The murder at the mini-mart is not our case. The Captain said-- Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules don't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? (Jetson nods) Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then-- JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in "Park." Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES (very calm) Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well... yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that... possibly... by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes... no, it is not unreasonable. Although I-- SYKES Great. (a relieved sigh) Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, aren't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George -- hmmm? Jetson doesn't know what to think -- he just holds on. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner (human), is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning... SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables (some occupied, some not) during: WINTER Yeah, right. Don't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car-- SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah... he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty-seven. Let's see... wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and -- well, you know, no fingerprints -- so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but couldn't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk couldn't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER (referring to Raincoat alien) You took this gut out, too, didn't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his... well, what we loosely refer to as... hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You don't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over -- sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby -- BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. (hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face) We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods -- as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES (really suspicious now) Nothing? JETSON (looking away) Shouldn't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering. CUT TO: INT. PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES (looks, then) A rubber. A condom. You know... Coney Island whitefish? (Jetson doesn't know what one is) Men, human men, put them on their, uh -- penises -- to protect against having babies. (Jetson still doesn't get it; Sykes turns to Ortiz) You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys don't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON (frowning) And that fits? SYKES Well... Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he can't stop himself -- he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well-worn heavy work boots. He grimaces... the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it... and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, doesn't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him... surprised that he knows. JETSON (continuing) Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. (beat) I'd say that "possible" connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. (beat) Okay, next step -- I gotta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell--?! (realizes it's because of his lack of "bedside manner") Great, fine. You talk to the wife. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language. CUT TO: EXT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery. CUT TO: INT. REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL (yelling over the roar) Mr. Hubley was an all right guy -- and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gonna have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men didn't like him so much... They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration-type door leading to the "METHANE SECTION". Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during: O'NEAL (looking at photo) You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could'a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but -- they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES (impatient) Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL (looking at photo again) Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh... James Anderson. He isn't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gonna find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. (some alien workers come through the door) Thirty-five percent pure Methane gas in there. I don't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. CUT TO: HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level. CUT TO: INT. METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. CUT TO: ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section... past the alien workers in lab whites... past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures... ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid. CUT TO: INT./ EXT. SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug-mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet... He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this... and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it... even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we-- CUT TO: INT. RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face... sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows... and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit... CUT TO: INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES (impatient) Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw-right. What about the other guy? JETSON She didn't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods. CUT TO: INT. MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR ... Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and don't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR (continuing) As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home... and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur... handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. (pauses, smiles) I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes: "Thank you all for that very warm reception". Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it hadn't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor. CUT TO: INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before... but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes doesn't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes... SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT (nodding greeting) Sergeant... Detective. I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES (throw away) Rudyard Kipling? No shit? (to Harcourt) Listen, we just need a minute of your time... JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag -- uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can -- unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S.: MAYOR (O.S.) William... Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor... MAYOR William, I was wondering if you wouldn't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers... Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR (shaking their hands, dismissively) A pleasure. (to Harcourt) We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT (continuing) Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. (to Jetson) Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember... you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating... telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off... leaving Sykes steaming. CUT TO: EXT. BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during: KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He didn't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about. CUT TO: INT. POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. (to Maffet, low) What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find... Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull .454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of .44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES (flips open cylinder) Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you don't need but one. SYKES (sighting) No... two. EXT. SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear-protectors, is taking careful aim with his .38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gimme six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES (continuing) How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gonna do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at 'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb-sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You don't like me... you don't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner... SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him -- then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry, 'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing... Sykes grabs a bullet-proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES (continuing) But he didn't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son-of-a- bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen don't like it, screw them... and if the Captain doesn't like it, screw him... and if all the Slags down in Slagtown don't like it... well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA-BOOM!!! The shell rockets clean through the bullet-proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA- BOOM!!! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down... sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we-- CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon "X" FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough-trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer-types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES (to Jetson) Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn... INT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all-Newcomer place. A few near-infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I can't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES (calling into the dark silence) Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE (from the back of the bar) Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then-- SYKES (aside to Jetson) Who said that? JETSON (tilts his head to indicate) At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm-- ALIEN VOICE Ss'ai k'ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER (merely a voice in the dark) Careful, ss'loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops... his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Doesn't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer (PORTER) has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face... and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name wouldn't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew... SYKES (over his shoulder to Jetson) Back off, George. JETSON But I-- (know this man). SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES (to Porter) Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again-- (slowly) Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss'kya'ta'. SYKES (to Jetson) What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES (back to Porter) Screw me? That can't be right. PORTER Ss'kya ta' ss'loka'. Ss'trokya' ss'lato na'! JETSON (to Sykes, low) You don't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES (to Porter) That's very colorful. But see -- now I've got a problem. I don't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gonna have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls... along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you don't have to-- (do this). SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again -- smiling. PORTER Don't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss'loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER (eyeing Jetson) Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. (with some contempt) It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON (nods) From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight-arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends... or families... And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go. CUT TO: EXT. "X" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You don't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you -- I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah... I seen him around. High- roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion... We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that... CUT TO: EXT. BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall-mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID (serving them) Six forty-two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I don't think I could ever learn to read that shit. (beat) How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. (off Sykes' look) We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength... what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON (continuing) Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk: SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already... They climb into the car. INT. SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson doesn't respond... some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here... He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES (continuing) Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON (eating a strip) This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. (winces, watching him chew) Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're | throbbings | How many times the word 'throbbings' appears in the text? | 0 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | wet | How many times the word 'wet' appears in the text? | 0 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | friend | How many times the word 'friend' appears in the text? | 1 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | dollar | How many times the word 'dollar' appears in the text? | 3 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | minds | How many times the word 'minds' appears in the text? | 1 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | lucarne | How many times the word 'lucarne' appears in the text? | 0 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | woody | How many times the word 'woody' appears in the text? | 3 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | recanting | How many times the word 'recanting' appears in the text? | 0 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | adventure | How many times the word 'adventure' appears in the text? | 1 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | pay | How many times the word 'pay' appears in the text? | 1 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | magazine | How many times the word 'magazine' appears in the text? | 1 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | trash | How many times the word 'trash' appears in the text? | 2 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | tried | How many times the word 'tried' appears in the text? | 2 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | watch | How many times the word 'watch' appears in the text? | 2 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | twirls | How many times the word 'twirls' appears in the text? | 1 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | te | How many times the word 'te' appears in the text? | 0 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | heroine | How many times the word 'heroine' appears in the text? | 1 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | persuade | How many times the word 'persuade' appears in the text? | 0 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | am | How many times the word 'am' appears in the text? | 2 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | nah | How many times the word 'nah' appears in the text? | 3 |
Badlands Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BADLANDS by Terence Malick Final Version Dialogue and Continuity FADE IN INT. BEDROOM The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER. HOLLY (v.o.) My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day, hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota. HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom. DISSOLVE TO EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS - SERIES OF ANGLES - DAWN The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the truck. NEW ANGLE KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his forties. KIT I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie. Cato inspects the dog. CATO I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog. They drive off. KIT Watch your heads. NEW ANGLE The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door. KIT Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette. WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato. KIT Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette. (pause) Ever notice he don't talk much? Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard for the sleep of the neighbors. EXT. STREET Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the middle of an empty street. HOLLY (v.o.) Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana. EXT. ALLEY Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes. BUM Nah. they wouldn't fit. KIT How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet. BUM Nah. KIT Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new. The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato. KIT Why don't you see if they fit you? Cato picks them up and looks at them. CLOSE ON TRASH CAN Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading other people's mail, etc. KIT (o.c.) This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out. Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron. KIT I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see you In the morning. He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back. CATO Catch! KIT What do you mean? He throws the loaf back at Cato. EXT. ALLEYS Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself. EXT. FRONT LAWN KIT Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? HOLLY No. KIT Well, I was just messing around over there, thought I'd come over and say hello to you. (smiling) I'll try anything once. (pause) What's your name? I said mine. HOLLY Holly. KIT Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me? HOLLY What for? KIT Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they? Holly eyes him suspiciously. EXT. STREET They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer. KIT Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a little too much like druthers, doesn't it? HOLLY It's okay. KIT Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung it on me. Holly breaks the silence that follows. HOLLY You still in school? KIT Nah, I got me a job. HOLLY (o.c.) Doing what? KIT Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay. In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off. HOLLY That's my father. I got to run. KIT Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again? Holly isn't sure how to reply. HOLLY Well, I know what my daddy's going to say. KIT (o.c.) What? HOLLY Can I be honest? KIT Sure. HOLLY Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage. KIT (o.c.) He'll say that? HOLLY Yeah. KIT (o.c.) Now what's he know about garbage, huh? HOLLY Nothing. KIT (o.c.) There you go. HOLLY Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about it... I've got to run. She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage. FATHER Who was that? HOLLY Just some boy. He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground. HOLLY Is that going to kill the grass? He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling. HOLLY You got some on my feet. FATHER What'd he want? HOLLY Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done... I said no, and for him not to bother us. INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency. CLERK (o.c.) You ever held another job before? KIT I used to throw trash for the City. CLERK You lost that one? KIT Wouldn't be here if I hadn't. CLERK What kind of work do you think you would be qualified for? KIT I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here. The Clerk leafs through his papers. CLERK Well, I think we could find you something... working cattle over at the pens. Kit sighs. KIT Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze. The Clerk gives him a slip of paper. EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE Holly sees Kit approaching the house. HOLLY (v.o.) He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean. She walks out the front door. KIT Hi. HOLLY Well, stop the world. KIT Quit my job. HOLLY Great. KIT Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing? HOLLY Spanish. KIT (o.c.) How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish? HOLLY Something mi trabajo. Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines. KIT Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think? HOLLY I don't know. He pulls himself up onto the bannister beside her. KIT Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing these boots any more. She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable. KIT You want to go for a ride? HOLLY Well, I got homework. KIT (o.c.) Bring it along. His forwardness surprises her. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk. KIT Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk. She appears nervous about being seen alone with him. KIT Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess ... Hi. He greets a passing stranger. KIT You're a redhead. HOLLY I know. KIT Anybody ever call you "Red"? HOLLY Yeah, but I don't like it. KIT Why not? HOLLY Just don't... I've got a headache. KIT Yeah? He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her KIT (o.c.) Can I come around and see you tomorrow? HOLLY (startled) Okay. EXT. FEEDLOT - SERIES OF ANGLES We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try. The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous. HOLLY (v.o.) He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay, too. EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area. HOLLY What a nice place. KIT (absorbed in game) Yeah, the tree makes it nice. HOLLY And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so nice. KIT It's your play. SERIES OF ANGLES Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds. TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching football practice. HOLLY (v.o.) Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away from all the cares of the world. EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice. HOLLY My stomach's growling. KIT There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it? HOLLY No. Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too. KIT Somebody else is going to get it. HOLLY I don't care. KIT Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea. At this her expression turns serious. SERIES OF ANGLES Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face. VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose. TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit. HOLLY (v.o.) In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms. EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl. CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the melons. HOLLY (v.o.) The whole time, the only thing I did wrong was throwing out my fish when he got sick. Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me and I turned to Kit. EXT. STREET Kit and Holly walk down a sidewalk in the residential part of town. Kit is consoling her about the fish. HOLLY (v.o.) I didn't mind telling Kit about stuff like this, cause strange things happened in his life, too, and some of the stuff he did was strange. EXT. FEEDLOT Kit steps on top of a dead cow, as though to convince himself that it is dead. HOLLY (v.o.) For instance,. he faked his signature whenever he used it, to keep other people from forging important papers with his name... INT. HOLLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK to reveal Kit lying in bed. His attitude suggests that this is a scene of her fantasy. HOLLY (v.o.) And as he lay in bed, in the middle of the night, he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear. And sometimes he'd see me coming toward him in beautiful white robes, and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead. EXT. RIVERBANK Kit puts on his jacket and heads down a riverbank to the edge of the water. Holly comes into view, buttoning her blouse. HOLLY Did it go the way it 'uz supposed to? KIT Yeah. HOLLY Is that all there is to it? KIT Yeah. Her questions make him uncomfortable. HOLLY Gosh, what was everybody talking about? KIT Don't ask me. Silence. HOLLY Well. I'm glad it's over... For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened... Had a wreck, some deal like that. Kit points to an uprooted tree lying in the water a hundred feet away. KIT You see where that tree fell in the water? He climbs back up the bank. HOLLY Yeah... The river must've washed the roots away... You don't care about anything I say, though. DISSOLVE TO EXT. NEIGHBORING AREA Holly walks down the bank of the river. Kit falls in behind her, carrying a large stone. The CAMERA DOLLIES with them. KIT You know what I think? HOLLY What? KIT That we should crunch our hands with this stone. That way we'd never forget what happened today. HOLLY But it would hurt. KIT Well, that's the point, stupid. She gives him a cold look. HOLLY Don't call me stupid. KIT Okay, but I'm going to keep it for a souvenir... He throws it awav and picks up a smaller one. KIT Or maybe one that's lighter. He walks over to the car. A bridge is visible in the distance. EXT. FIELD Kit releases a large red balloon into the evening sky. A small basket is fixed to the bottom of the balloon. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made a solemn vow that he would always stand beside me and let nothing come between us. He wrote this out in writing, put the paper in a box with some of our little tokens and things, then sent it off in a balloon he'd found while on the garbage route. (pause) His heart was filled with longing as he watched it drift off. Something must've told him that we'd never live these days of happiness again, that they were gone forever. DISSOLVE TO EXT. CATTAILS Holly's dog bounds through a stand of cattails. Holly speaks angrily to her father, who walks toward the dog with a gun. We do not hear their voices, only music. He shoots the dog and Holly runs off in horror. HOLLY (v.o.) Then, sure enough, Dad found out I'd been running around behind his back. He was madder than I'd ever seen him. As punishment for deceiving him, he went and shot my dog. EXT. BRIDGE Holly's father drags a duffel bag out of his truck and dumps it over the side of a bridge, into a river. It goes under briefly, then bobs to the surface. The current takes it off. DISSOLVE TO EXT. MUSIC SCHOOL Holly sits in the second-story window of a music school. HOLLY (v.o.) He made me take extra music lessons every day after school and wait there till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn't keep me off the streets. maybe the clarinet would. DISSOLVE TO EXT. BILLBOARD Kit approaches Holly's father, who is hard at work, painting a billboard along a deserted stretch of road. Kit is eating a peach. KIT Sure is pretty. FATHER What'd you come out here for? KIT I wasn't aware there was any law against it. Kit sees that this kind of talk will not do. He is silent for a moment, then throws the peach away. KIT You know Holly... well. she means a lot to me, sir. Holly's father goes solemnly about his business. KIT You know, before I met her, nobody could ask me how I was doing with my girl. Matter of fact, I didn't really have one. FATHER Is that right? KIT Yeah. Kit walks off a few paces and leans against the father's truck. KIT It okay me leaning on your Willys here? Holly's father does not answer. KIT Listen. I got a lot of respect for her, sir. (pause) That's about as good a one as I know to tell you. FATHER Well, it's not good enough. (pause) Just what do you think would happen to her if she stuck around with you, Kit? Guy like you. KIT She'd get along okay. And if she didn't, well, she could take off, just take off, (and) I wouldn't mind... I'd always tell people I deserved it. Holly's father comes to his feet and fixes Kit in the eye. FATHER You get out of here. I don't want you hanging around any more. You understand? He lets these words sink in, then returns to his seat. FATHER (shaking his head) You're something. Kit waves goodbye. KIT Takes all kinds, sir. He walks to his car, looking back once. SERIES OF ANGLES LONG SHOT of father at work at billboard. Kit approaches Holly's house, collects the evening newspaper from the sidewalk, and knocks on the front door. Holly's father picks her up from a park outside the music school. Kit, when he gets no answer, enters the house. The jeep, with Holly and her father, rumbles down a residential street. INT. HOLLY'S HOUSE Kit is going through Holly's dresser, throwing her things into a suitcase. A pistol is visible in his back pocket. Suddenly, Holly's father appears in the dresser mirror, standing at the end of the hall outside the bedroom. Kit walks forward to greet him. The CAMERA DOLLIES with him. KIT Hi. FATHER What're you doing? KIT I've got a gun here, sir. It's always a good idea to have one around. Kit draws the pistol. He is shaken, though he must have seen this coming. FATHER What do you think you're doing? Go on, get out of here. KIT Well, I got it all planned... and I'm taking Holly off with me. He looks at Holly, who has appeared on the landing, uncertain what her reaction to all this will be. FATHER Okay, boy, I'm turning you over to the authorities. Kit steps forward as Holly's father starts down the stairs. KIT What for? FATHER For coming onto my property... With a gun. KIT No, you're not either. FATHER (o.c.) Yeah? Why not? KIT Cause I can't allow it. Holly's father stares at him for a moment, then continues down the stairs. Kit starts forward. KIT Hey... Hey, wait a minute. His shout arrests Holly's father at the bottom of the stairs. KIT Suppose I shot you. How'd that be? Huh? Holly's father does not move. KIT You want to hear what it sounds like? He fires a shot into the stairs. The report is deafening in the enclosure of the stairwell. They exchange looks. Kit's breathing is heavy. INT. LIVING ROOM Holly's father turns and walks into the living room. Kit rushes down the stairs. Holly shouts his name. KIT Hey, where you going? He fires two shots into Holly's father, who slowly sinks to the floor. Kit unlimbers his shoulder. Holly rushes down the stairs to her father's side. HOLLY Daddy... This is Holly... Are you going to be okay? Her father does not respond. She looks back at Kit, who avoids her gaze. She gets to her feet and walks nto the kitchen. Kit follows her. INT. KITCHEN Kit closes the back door to the house. KIT I came in the front. HOLLY How bad off is he? KIT (o.c.) I can look and see. HOLLY We better call the doctor... Listen. I'll say how it happened, part I saw. KIT (sighs) Well... I don't think that'd work. This startles Holly. INT. LIVING ROOM Kit touches the father's heart. KIT He don't need a doctor. He walks back into the kitchen. HOLLY Are you sure? KIT You don't believe me, see for yourself. Holly stares at her father. DISSOLVE TO EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - DUSK LOW ANGLE of Holly's house silhouetted against the evening sky. On sound the NOISE of CICADAS. INT. CELLAR Kit drags Holly's father into the cellar. sets him down gently, then eases out of the room, taking a discarded toaster with him. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Kit comes up the steps from the cellar. Holly stands at the drainboard. KIT I found a toaster. He sets down the toaster and walks over to Holly's side. KIT Listen, honey. I don't want to... She slaps him across the forehead. He walks into the now darkened living room, and sits down at the piano. After a moment Holly follows him. INT. LIVING ROOM ~ NIGHT Holly sits down on the sofa across from Kit. HOLLY Listen, maybe we ought to tell somebody about this. KIT You said that once already... Too late now. HOLLY Why? KIT They're not going to listen to me. You either. Are you kidding? A silence follows. HOLLY Suppose the neighbors heard the noise? KIT Wouldn't be funny... Listen, I'll be back in a while. He gets up and heads for the front door. KIT Oh... You want to call the police, that's fine. Just won't be so hot for me. There are tears in Holly's eyes now. They exchange looks as Kit opens the front door. Then he leaves. Holly settles back on the couch. EXT. HOLLY'S HOUSE - NIGHT The house by night. INT. HALLWAY AND BEDROOM - NIGHT Holly comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. She walks to her bedroom window. The CAMERA DOLLIES with her. Outside, under the street lamp, she can see two boys trading secrets. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Kit puts fifty cents into a gramophone booth. He clears his voice as the machine whirs Into operation. KIT My girl Holly and I have decided to kill ourselves, same way I did her dad. Big decision huh? Well, the reasons are obvious, and I don't have time to go into them right now... One thing, though... He was provoking me when I popped him. That's what it was like, a POP. Inserts of the booth's mechanism a light panel measuring off the seconds and the needle on the record. KIT Course nobody's coming out of this thing happy, especially not us. You can't deny we've had fun, though. Which is more than I can say for some.... Mmmm. that's the end of the message. I run out of things to say... Thank you. He gets these last words in just as his time is up. He gets the record and steps outside the booth, into the lobby of a train station. DISSOLVE TO INT. HOLLY'S LIVING ROOM - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Kit slams a ten-gallon can of gasoline down on the piano bench, opens it and begins pouring it out over the interior of the house, kicking aside everything that comes in his way. EXT. REAR OF HOUSE - NIGHT Holly comes out the screen door at the back of the house, carrying a suitcase and a painting. Kit appears with a lamp on an extension cord. He sets it down beside a victrola he has set up on a table outdoors. He puts the needle on the record he recorded earlier. Holly watches him as she retreats to the car. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit left a record playing over and over for the District Attorney to find. He was gambling for time. Kit unplugs the lamp, lights a book of matches and pitches them into a puddle of gas. The back porch of the house explodes into flame. Kit runs to the car with the lamp, caught off guard by the force of the flames. They drive off. INT./EXT HOUSE ON FIRE - SERIES OF ANGLES - NIGHT Various objects around the house burst into flames a picture we saw on the stairs. some peacock feathers, a cantaloupe and a pomegranate left on the kitchen table, the living room, Holly's bedroom, the bed itself, a doll on the bed, an A&W Root Beer sign outside the house, a water can, flames swirling out the front of the house. Holly's father in CLOSEUP in the cellar, sheet music lifting off the piano. etc. At length the CAMERA PANS over the charred frame of Holly's bed. Outside a fireman moves with a flashlight through the embers of the house. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR Holly collects her books from a locker at her school and walks anxiously down a corridor towards the exit. HOLLY (v.o.) Kit made me get my books from school, so I wouldn't fall behind. We'd be starting a new life, he said. and we'd have to change our names. His would be James. Mine would be Priscilla. We'd hide out like spies, somewhere in the North, where people didn't ask a lot of questions. EXT. SCHOOL - DAWN Holly breaks into a run as she comes through the front door of the high school. Kit waits for her at the car. There is nobody else in sight. HOLLY (v.o.) I could of snuck out the back or hid in the boiler room, I suppose, but I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and that it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness. She gets into the car and they drive off. INT. MERCURY - DAWN Kit studies Holly for signs of her mood. KIT How you doing? HOLLY (neutrally) I'm fine. Kind of tired. KIT Yeah, me too. The car sails down a quiet street. DISSOLVE TO EXT. RIVER The CAMERA DOLLIES with a tree floating down a swollen river. Cottonwood trees cover the far bank. HOLLY (v.o.) We hid out In the wilderness,down by a river in a grove of cottonwoods. It being the flood season we built our house in the trees, with tamarisk walls and willows laid side by side to make a floor. There wasn't a plant in the forest that didn't come in handy. CLOSEUPS OF PLAIQTS - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of the cottonwoods, willow and tamarisk. Music continues under. EXT. TREEHOUSE - SERIES OF ANGLES Details of Kit and Holly building the treehouse. Kit pounds a log into place wi h a tomahawk; Holly scrapes the bark off a log with a piece of flint; Kit weaves tamarisk branches through the frame of the house. This MONTAGE ends with a PAN DOWN the four stories of the completed treehouse. HOLLY (v.o.) We planned a huge network of tunnels under the forest floor, and our first order of business every morning was to decide on a new password for the day. ow and then weld sneak out at night and steal a chicken or a bunch of corn or some melons from a melon patch... Mostly. though, we just lay on our backs and stared at the clouds and sometimes it was like being in a big marble hall. the way we talked in low voices and heard the tiniest sound. INT. TREEHOUSE The CAMERA PANS off Holly's painting, a Maxwell Parrish, onto Kit asleep with his pistol beside him. then onto Holly under a quilt with a box of shells beside her. Her hand quivers once. EXT. TREE TOPS Kit lifts an egg out of a bird's nest at the top of a tree. He drops it down to Holly, fifty feet below. HOLLY (v.o.) They hadn't found but one set of bones in the ashes of the house. so we knew they'd be looking for us. Kit made sure we'd be prepared. EXT. TRAIL - SERIES OF ANGLES Kit cuts a piece of twine that lies across a trail, whereupon a ball full of spikes comes swinging down out of the trees. with lethal force. Kit ducks out of the way. We next see Kit with a dew ag around his forehead, running laps through the woods as part of his training. He exhorts himself to greater effort. HOLLY (v.o.) He gave me lectures on how a gun works, how to take it apart and put it back together again. in case 1 had to carry on without him. He said that if the Devil came at me, I could shoot him with a gun. EXT. TAMARISK Holly struggles through the undergrowth witha yoke over | imsdb | How many times the word 'imsdb' appears in the text? | 3 |
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