Thursday, April 28, 2016

NEST OF VIPERS - Ep # 1 (A) - of 10 x 1 hour TV series

Stair, 40’ish, travels to Cambodia to retrieve the body of younger journalist brother, Nick – killed in a fiery car accident leaving only skeletal remains. Nick’s girlfriend, Angela, is convinced he was murdered by one of the ‘victims’ of his journalistic exposes. Stair does not want to get involved. He needs to get back to Australia fast to seal a lucrative business deal ASAP to avoid bankruptcy. Nothing goes according to plan for Stair as evidence mounts that Nick was murdered.

Stair and Angela fall into an intense relationship as they investigate Nick’s death. It turns out the skeletal remains in the car were not Nicks. Whose are they? Is Nick  alive and responsible for a spate of unsolved murders.

Was he working for the CIA? Which brother is Angela pregnant to? Who is trying to kill Nick, Stair and Angela? And why?

Alistair (‘Stair’) Morecombe’s younger investigative journalist brother, Nick, (late 30s) has died in a fiery car accident in Cambodia.   Stair, a successful corporate lawyer-turned businessman,  travels to Cambodia to retrieve Nick’s body.  

The timing is bad. Stair, (40’ish), is just days away from securing a lucrative business deal. There are some last minute complications. If the deal falls through, Stair will be bankrupt. His presence and total attention in Sydney is required. His trip to Cambodia must be brief if he is to keep the deal alive. Three days, maximum.

Nick’s death was caused, it seems, when a fire in the engine of his 4WD ignited fumes in the gas tank which in turn ignited plastic containers full of petrol in the back seat.  The consequent explosion and inferno left little but skeletal remains from the waist up. 

Nick’s photographer girlfriend, Angela (30ish), does not believe that his death was accidental. She is convinced, despite evidence to the contrary, that he was murdered by one of the many enemies Nick had made as an investigative journalist - exposing corruption and criminality within the upper echelons of the “Cambodian kleptocracy” and the “cowboy capitalists” making easy money in ‘Scambodia’ – a country in which there is no effective rule of law.

On his arrival in Cambodia Angela takes an instant dislike to Stair, who shows no signs of grieving for his dead brother. His business interests seem to be of much more interest to him than the possibility that Nick was murdered.  There was no love lost between Stair and Nick. They had not seen each other for years, though Nick had, out of the blue, called Stair just hours before his death to talk about the family dog!  Why? Stair resists asking this or any other questions than might raise doubts about Nick’s fiery ‘accident’. He does not want to get involved. His business deal is on the brink of falling through. He needs to return to Sydney fast.

Stair and Angela have no choice but to spend a couple of days together as they make arrangements to ship what is left of Nick’s body to Australia and sort through Nick’s personal effects. They fall quickly into a love-hate relationship in which there is clearly a strong and mutual sexual attraction. 

The differences between Stair and Nick – in personality, character, life-ambitions and moral codes – emerge in Angela’s dramatized private recollections of her brief but passionate relationship with Nick – revealed in the memories she shares with young filmmakers Katie and Todd.  

Katie and Todd are making a pilot for a  TV crime ‘reality’ series  - “…and nothing but the truth” -  exploring the circumstances surrounding Nick’s death. They hope, as investigative reporters, to connect Nick’s death with the rape-murders of several young Khmer girls and the growing list of foreign pedophiles, criminals, NGOs and diplomats who have been tortured to death recently.

Stair, with a weakness for high stakes poker, has some serious gambling debts in Australia that require immediate repayment. He desperately needs the business deal he is working on to go through. It is close, but there are mounting complications to be ironed out and a large bank interest payment that needs to be made in a few days. Stair needs to find the money, fast! Without it, he will be bankrupt right on the eve of the biggest deal of his life.

If bankrupted Stair’s high-maintenance wife, Tilda, (whom he adores ) may leave him and he will be unable any longer to provide his young daughters Grace and Tina (whom he loves to death) with the wealthy private schooled lifestyle he believes they are entitled to.  For Stair, an Alpha male on steroids, the humiliation of bankruptsy, the break-up of his family, would be too much for him to bear.

It is essential to Stair’s survival (financial and emotional) that he get in and out of Cambodia as fast as he can; that he resist any temptation to get involved in an investigation into Nick’s death; that he resist any temptation he might have to get involved sexually with beautiful young Chantou (working as a ‘hostess’ in a casino) or with Angela. Stair’s tendency to ‘stray’ from the marital bed is one that Tilda is tired of. She has delivered an ultimatum: one more girlfriend and she will leave him.

Stair’s determination to get out of Cambodia as quickly as possible is complicated by mounting evidence that Nick was murdered. Against his will, contrary to his best laid plans, Stair can’t help but do a little investigating; meeting with a few of the laundry list of suspects who had good reasons to silence Nick; to wish him dead. In doing so he opens up a Pandora’s Box of further questions which, if he explores them, will take him deep into the complicated and labyrinthine world of Nick’s ‘Nest of Vipers’.

Stair is not 100% convinced that the skeletal remains in the burnt out 4WD are Nick’s. His decision to compare Nick’s dental records with those of the skeleton and to have an autopsy performed back in Sydney are complicated  by the disappearance of Nick’s body At Phnom Penh airport.  There is now no way, it seems, to confirm whether Nick is dead or alive.


The plot thickens and continues to do so as Stair is drawn deeper and deeper into the world of the ‘Nest of Vipers’ – made up of powerful men who had good reason to wish Nick dead and who now have good reason to prevent Stair (along with Angela) from discovering what it was that led to Nick’s murder. If, that is, he is in fact dead!


Alas, the ban placed on me by Screen Australia makes it impossible for the series to be made in Australia. It is now being developed for an American market – the key Australian characters, Australian co-writers and crew to be non-Australian, with the exception of myself!

1 VARIOUS CAMBODIAN LOCATIONS

Opening credit sequence. Music over.

A montage of images of Cambodia - the geography, the people, the poverty, the political instability; that reflect the milieu that the story is set in.

- Vast expanses of emerald green rice paddies, lined with coconut trees. Rice farmers at work - planting, harvesting.

- Rural villages. Basic thatched roof homes. Poverty abounds. Pigs, chickens and scrawny dogs scavenge for food.

- Saffron robed monks stand outside homes, shops, begging bowls held at their waists, chanting to men and women who kneel in front of them; put rice and money in their bowls.

- Chaotic traffic. No rules. Cars and motor bikes drive on whichever side of the road suits them best.

- Political turmoil. Demonstrations. Black helmeted thugs beat up protestors with batons. Police use tear gas, cattle prods and gun fire to disperse protestors.

- Victims of police and army brutality lies bleeding and dead in the street.
- Scavenging families - men, women, children - sift through rubbish disgorged by trucks in the Phnom Penh rubbish dump.

- Beggar women with babies on their hips; emaciated old men and women in crowded markets - their hands extended; a blind musician led, with a rope, by a child holding a begging bowl.

- Tourists explore Angkor Wat; the Royal palace.

2 EXT. TRAT. THAILAND. FISHING PORT. DAY

A busy fish market on the coast of Thailand. Lean fishermen, darkly tanned, sweat profusely in the hot sun; carry baskets of fish from boats lining a jetty that juts out into the sea.

NICK MORECOMBE, late 30s, dressed in floral shirt and shorts, looking very much like tourist, stands with other TOURISTS alongside a tour bus; small digital camera in hand. He and the other TOURISTS, clustered around their TOUR GUIDE take photos and film with their smart phones and digital cameras.

TOUR GUIDE
Trat is one of Thailand’s biggest and busiest fishing ports, bringing in King mackerel, barracuda...

NICK, wanders a short distance away from the tour group, filming, tourist style with his small digital camera - in the direction of a Caucasian saffron-robed and bald MONK. 

TOUR GUIDE 
...trevallies, snappers, gropers, African pompano and fishmeal, made from dried fish, ground into a brown powder to feed to farm animals...The TOUR GUILDE calls out.)
Mr Morecombe, Mr Morecombe...(NICK turns.) Do not walk too far. And be very careful with your camera. There are many thieves here.

NICK nods, waves acknowledgment with one hand; holds his camera tightly as he films.

TOUR GUIDE 
Using fish byproducts to feed animals was observed...

NICK makes eye contact with the saffron-robed Caucasian MONK.

TOUR GUIDE 
...by Marco Polo around 600 years ago and today is a huge industry...

3 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. CAMBODIA. NIGHT

A large loft-like living area. It is a hot night in Phnom Penh and the ceiling fans are turned on full.  

ANGELA, early 30s, in a loose fitting sarong, with shoulder length blonde hair, takes a bottle of wine from the refrigerator at one end of the room.

NICK, bare chested, unshaven, hair a mess, wearing a sarong, sits on an old sofa in front of a TV perched on the edge of his cluttered journalist’s work desk. ANGELA, in the background, rinses wine glasses in the sink.

The entire wall in front of Nick’s laptop computer, alongside the TV, is covered in covered with photos, press clippings and notes - connected to each other by a spider web of different coloured threads. Close to the centre of the ‘spider’s web’ is a colour photo of a tropical island – lush forest, white sandy beaches, crystal clear water.

NICK turns up the volume with the remote control device as ANGELA walks up with the bottle of wine and two glasses.

On the TV screen:

The the last moment of the opening credit sequence of a current affairs show - ASIAN ADEVENTURES.

The final credit, over a shot of lean, deeply tanned fishermen unloading baskets of fish:

SLAVERY

NICK, in the Trat fish market, wearing his floral tourist’s shirt, talks to the camera - held in his own outstretched arm. Behind him the fishermen can be seen unloading baskets.

NICK (TV)
Slavery is not an inhumane practice of the past. 

ANGELA sits, snuggles close to NICK on the couch.

NICK (TV)
It is alive and well and a thriving industry in Cambodia.

ANGELA starts to pour wine into the glasses.

4 INT. PALATIAL HARBOURSIDE HOME. TURTLE BAY. HONOLULU. NIGHT

STAIR MORECOMBE, 40ish, along with his beautiful wife TILDA, early to mid 30’s, watches TV in a plush room in an upmarket house. NICK, onscreen, in fish market, talks to camera:

NICK (TV)
Here’s how it works. Most of us want to buy...

Shots of packaged meat in a supermarket; some of it labelled ‘Special’.

NICK (V.O.) 
... the cheapest beef, lamb, chicken and bacon we can, right? 

GRACE (aged 8) and TINA (aged 10) peek out through a partly open door on the other side of the room; watching the TV.

NICK (V.O.)
So the supermarkets compete with each other to supply us - you and me - with cheap meat. 

GRACE and TINA watch, wide-eyed, STAIR and TILDA unaware of their presence behind them.

5 INT. STUDY. WING CHOU’S PALATIAL CAMBODIAN HOME. NIGHT

WING CHOU, Chinese, mid 60s, impeccably dressed in a white suit, watches the TV in a study lined with hundreds of books and filled with chunky shiny wooden furniture. On the TV:

NICK
So the supermarkets compete with each other to supply us - you and me - with cheap meat. 

Also watching the TV is TERRY SWINTON, late 40’s - a pudgy red-haired man whose florid face suggests ‘heavy drinker’. 

Over shots of free range cows, sheep, pigs and chickens.

NICK (V.O.)
And this puts pressure on the farmers who grow the cows, sheep, pigs and chickens...

6 INT. PALATIAL HARBOURSIDE HOME. TURTLE BAY. HONOLULU. NIGHT

TILDA’S attention is split between the TV and STAIR. His face betrays no emotion. GRACE and TINA can be seen in the background, peeking through the partly opened door.

NICK (V.O.)
...to keep costs of production down. And the cheapest meat is produced through factory farming...

Shots of 1st world factory farming of cows, sheep, pigs and chickens.

NICK (V.O.)
And this puts pressure on the farmers who grow the cows, sheep, pigs and chickens to... 

Close on GRACE and TINA, watching on with mounting horror.

NICK (V.O.)
... keep costs of production down.  

7 INT. CONFERENCE ROOM. NIGHT

A Cambodian government SENATOR and his WIFE, along with OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, seated around a large chunky wooden conference table, watch the TV: 

Disturbing images of factory farming.

NICK (to camera, on TV)
...cramming a lot of animals into small spaces and feeding them with high protein food like fishmeal...

A brief montage of the process whereby fish are turned into fishmeal.

The SENATOR makes eye contact with a uniformed policeman, VICHET, wiping his hot sweaty face with a handkerchief.

NICK (V.O.)
...made from ground up fish, dried and pulverized into a powder and fed to the animals we eat. 

8 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. CAMBODIA. NIGHT

NICK and ANGELA, sip wine as the watch the TV. ANGELA strokes NICK’S thigh playfully; erotically. NICK smiles, pretends not to notice as her hand travels north under his sarong.

NICK (V.O.)
Now, because the producers of fishmeal are also competing with each other to produce the lowest cost animal feed.

9 INT. PALATIAL HOME. TURTLE BAY. HONOLULU. NIGHT

STAIR watches the TV, seemingly oblivious to the fact that TILDA is looking intently at him; trying to gauge his response to what he is viewing. His face gives nothing away.

NICK (V.O.)
Just like supermarkets, they want to pay the lowest possible amount for the fish they buy. 

TINA’S eyes have welled with tears. She turns to GRACE:

TINA
We don’t eat animals do we?

GRACE rolls her eyes, raises a finger to her mouth: “Shhh!”

STAIR and TINA turn to look at them.

STAIR
Bed

GRACE & TINA
Please...

STAIR
No. I’ll come and tuck you in in a minute. OK?

GRACE
But...

STAIR (firm)
Now.

GRACE and TINA scamper off. STAIR and TILDA exchange looks.

Over shots of fishing boats in Trat port:

NICK (V.O.)
And the same applies for the owners of the fishing boats.

10 INT. STUDY. WING CHOU’S HOME. NIGHT

WING CHOU and TERRY SWINTON watch the TV:

Over more shots of fishing boats and fishermen.

NICK (V.O.)
In order to keep their costs down, because they, and the boat captains, are also competing with each other, they need to pay their fishermen as little as possible. Or not at all.

TERRY SWINTON, glances nervously at WING CHOU, whose face betrays no emotion. 

11 INT. GRACE AND TINA’S BEDROOM. NIGHT

STAIR sits on the edge of a bed with GRACE and TINA in it.

GRACE
Why can’t we watch uncle Nick?

STAIR
Because he’s telling a very sad story. 

GRACE
Will you tell us a happy story?

STAIR
Which one?

TINA
The one with the giraffe.

STAIR
Jerry the giraffe?

GRACE and TINA smile, nod.  

12 INT. CONFERENCE ROOM. NIGHT

The SENATOR, his WIFE, VICHET, and others look at the TV. Nick can be seen talking to camera in Trat fishing port.

NICK (TV)
Most of the fishermen you can see behind me are impoverished Cambodian rice farmers...

The SENATOR’S WIFE glances nervously at the SENATOR.

NICK (TV)
...recruited by unscrupulous Cambodian employment agents...

Over a still photo of Munny, his wife and his 16 year old son, Vibrol, in their village:

NICK (VO) 
...who trick men like Munny and his son, Vibrol...

VICHET sweats profusely as the SENATOR’S WIFE glares at him.

NICK (VO) 
...into believing that there is a well-paid job for them in Thailand, picking fruit...

13 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

As NICK and ANGELA watch the TV, ANGELA strokes NICK’S thigh. 

A FISH MERCHANT, in the Trat fish market in Thailand, talks to camera in Thai, his voice dubbed into English.

FISH MERCHANT 
If these fishermen do not get paid for their work...it’s not my problem. You must talk with the captains of the boats.

NICK pretends not to notice as ANGELA’S hand travels north under his sarong. 

ANGELA speaks with a British accent.

ANGELA
Hello, what’s this then? A gun?

NICK laughs, turns and kisses ANGELA on the lips.

14 INT. PALATIAL HOME. TURTLE BAY. HONOLULU. NIGHT

TILDA watches the TV:

A FISHING BOAT CAPTAIN speaks in Thai, his words dubbed into English:

FISHING BOAT CAPTAIN 
If I stopped using this labour, my fish would be more expensive ...
than his...

He gestures to other fishing boats
TILDA turns, notices STAIR standing behind her watching the TV; jiggling his car keys impatiently in his hands.

FISHING BOAT CAPTAIN 
...or his. I must sell for the same price. Or less. This is just the way it is!

15 INT. CONFERENCE ROOM. NIGHT

A Cambodian government SENATOR, his WIFE, VICHET and OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS watch the TV:

The CURRENT AFFAIRS HOST sitting at a table in a studio talking with NICK - whose face appears on a large screen.

NICK
A large sector of the fishing and fishmeal industry is run, and ruthlessly controlled by, amongst others, the wife of a Cambodian Senator’s...  

The SENATOR’S WIFE’S hackles rise!

16 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

NICK and ANGELA watch the TV; their attention split between the TV and erotic foreplay.

NICK
...and a former Australian Federal Police officer.

ANGELA sits bolt upright, angry; turns to NICK.

ANGELA
No, you idiot! What The...

17 INT. STUDY. WING CHOU’S HOME. NIGHT

WING CHOU and TERRY SWINTON watch the TV.

TERRY SWINTON, at a crowded reception, filmed with a hidden camera, his face distorted by the wide angle lens:

TERRY’S jaw is clenched tight. 

NICK (VOICE OFF)
Are you aware that ‘Khmer Plus’, your company, is engaged in providing Cambodian slaves to the Thai fishing...’

TERRY
Willing workers. Workers who sign contracts...

NICK (VOICE OFF)
Workers who can’t read, can’t write, who will place their thumb print on any document...

TERRY’S face turns bright red with rage. WING CHOU’S face, gives nothing away. He holds up a hand to calm TERRY.

TERRY
Not my problem, Morecombe...  

TERRY raises his hand, index finger extended (a ‘gun’).

NICK (VOICE OFF)
...any document they think will get them work so they can feed their family...

TERRY
Fuck off, cunt. 

TERRY points it at the camera, pulls the ‘trigger’.

NICK (VOICE OFF)
...Workers who are killed by fishing captains who...

18 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

ANGELA leaps to her feet; her eyes flitting between the TV and NICK in angry disbelief:

NICK
Terry Swinton used to work for the Australian Federal Police...

NICK 
It’s the truth.

NICK 
...before they found our he was setting up drug stings...

ANGELA
Yes, but...

NICK
...stealing the money and drugs...

NICK stands, reaches out to her. ANGELA backs away.

19 INT. PALATIAL  HOME. TURTLE BAY. HONOLULU. NIGHT

On the TV the end credits of ASIAN ADVENTURES roll. TILDA, standing, hands on hips, looks daggers at STAIR; jiggling the car keys in his hand.

STAIR
I won’t be late.

TILDA holds out her hand. STAIR takes out his wallet, reluctantly, hands it to her. 

TILDA
No comment? About...

She gestures to the rolling credits on the TV.

STAIR holds up his hands: “I don’t want to talk about it”.

TILDA opens the wallet, removes credit cards and cash.

20 INT. CONFERENCE ROOM. NIGHT

The SENATOR’S WIFE, apoplectic, screams at the SENATOR.

SENATOR’S WIFE
Arrest him.

The SENATOR, scared of his wife, nods meekly; looks at VICHET, who shakes his head.  

VICHET (subtitled)
I will deal with it.

21 INT. STUDY. WING CHOU’S HOME. NIGHT

TERRY SWINTON paces; agitated.

WING CHOU
You must take three deep breaths, Mr Swinton.

22 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

NICK and ANGELA, both standing, face each other.

ANGELA
Are you out of your fucking mind? You poke a stick into a nest of vipers and...

NICK laughs, leans forward, kisses her on the lips. 

ANGELA 
Jesus, Nick, a little discretion wouldn't hurt!

NICK (laughs)
You are definitely the most gorgeous angry woman I've ever known.

ANGELA
Fuck you.

NICK
OK. (A BEAT) If you must.

ANGELA tries not to smile; shakes her head; her brow creased with worry. NICK runs a finger playfully over it.

NICK 
If the wind changes...

23 INT. PALATIAL HOME. TURTLE BAY. HONOLULU. NIGHT

TILDA counts out $200, puts it back in the wallet, shakes her head, kisses him on the cheek. STAIR smiles, kisses her on the cheek, turns and begins to walk off.

TILDA
Darling...

STAIR turns.

TILDA
You’ve got to stop.

STAIR nods.

24 INT. BEDROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

ANGELA, naked, sits astride NICK, lying on his back on the bed; moving up and down on him. They look at each others as they make love; moving in rhythm to the music playing.

ANGELA
Can you feel it?

NICK nods.

ANGELA 
I could take it out?

They look at each other for a long moment. Nick’s mobile rings in the Living Room.

ANGELA 
I wish you’d turn that fucking thing off.

NICK (smiles)
I’ll add that to my list.

ANGELA
List!?

NICK puts a finger to his lips, “Shhh”, takes her head in his hands pulls it down to meet his own; kisses her passionately. The phone stops ringing. 
They make love with increasing intensity. The phone starts to ring again. They both try, but fail, to ignore it.

NICK (grins)
What if it’s your mother. (A BEAT) ‘Daaaaarling...’

ANGELA laughs, collapses onto his chest. 

ANGELA
I hate your phone.

The phone stops ringing.

NICK smiles, strokes her gently. She lifts her head, looks into his eyes.

ANGELA 
You didn’t answer my question? (A BEAT) If I took Miss Milex out...? If I forgot to put her in...?

NICK (laughs)
Reproductive Russian roulette?

ANGELA nods. They look at each other for a long moment as the implications of this sink in. Nick’s phone rings again.

ANGELA
Don’t even think about it.

NICK
I’m going to ‘turn the fucking thing off’.

ANGELA sighs, swings her body off his. NICK gets off the bed, walks into the Living Room. ANGELA sits up, knees tucked up to her chest, watches NICK through the open doorway:

25 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

NICK locates his mobile phone on the couch, picks it up, looks at the screen. 

ANGELA can be seen in the bedroom the background, watching him as he tries to decide whether to take the call or not. She calls out:

ANGELA 
No.

NICK  seems not to have heard her.

26 INT. BEDROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

ANGELA looks out at NICK, staring at the yellow mobile phone in his hands; a worried expression on his face.

He presses the appropriate icon, lifts the phone to his ear.

NICK
Hello

ANGELA stands, wraps a sarong around herself, walks to the  doorway; looks out at:

NICK nodding his head as he listens on the phone. He has turned quite pale. He becomes aware that ANGELA is watching him; glances at her; indicates that he needs to have this conversation in private.

ANGELA, not happy, turns, walks back to the bed; sits.

After a long moment she stands, walks back to the doorway.

27 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

NICK sees ANGELA walking towards him, holds up his hand; frowns; mouths the word “Please.”

ANGELA shakes her head. NICK walks across the room and out through a sliding door to a small tropical garden.

NICK, seen from behind, nods as he listens on his phone.

ANGELA watches him; worried.

28 EXT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

NICK listens on the phone; nods. ANGELA can be seen in the Living Room in the background; watching him with concern. 

NICK hangs up; looks at his yellow mobile phone - caught between wanting and not wanting to make a phone call. 

29 INT. CASINO. PRIVATE ROOM. NIGHT

STAIR sits at a poker table. A PLAYER pushes a small pile of chips onto the table. The OTHER PLAYERS have dropped out of this hand. They wait to see if STAIR is going to ‘meet’ him or not. STAIR looks at his cards, his face giving nothing away.  

Stair’s mobile phone, resting on the table beside him, rings. He ignores it, pushes a pile of chips onto the table. 

The PLAYER lays his cards on the table:

Two 9s, two Kings.

STAIR, smiles, turns his cards face down on the table.

The PLAYER pulls Stair’s chips towards him. Stair’s mobile rings again. He looks at the LCD screen:

UNKNOWN CALLER

He places the mobile by his ear.

STAIR
Hello.

NICK’S VOICE
Hi.

STAIR is shocked. He hesitates.

STAIR
Hi.

STAIR stands, walks towards the door.

30 EXT. NICK’S APARTMENT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NIGHT

NICK, mobile at his ear, waits for long moment.

NICK
Are you still there?

31 INT. FOYER OF CASINO. NIGHT

STAIR walks into the foyer of the casino.

STAIR
Yes.

A long silence.

NICK’S VOICE
How are you?

STAIR
OK.

NICK’S VOICE
And Tilda? And The girls?

STAIR
Why are you calling me?

32 EXT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

NICK has tears in his eyes. His breathing is heavy. He pauses before replying.

NICK
You remember the name of our dog? The one that ran away?

NICK waits for a response.  It is a long wait.

33 INT. FOYER OF CASINO. NIGHT

STAIR, mobile to his ear, stands frozen; his face set hard.

STAIR
I’m hanging up.

NICK’S VOICE
OK

34 INT. NICK’S APARTMENT. LIVING ROOM. EVENING

ANGELA looks out, through the sliding glass door, to where NICK stands in the garden, yellow mobile held to his ear. He lowers the phone, shoulders slumped - defeated; emotionally drained. He wipes tears from his eyes.

ANGELA moves towards the glass door and is about to open it when NICK turns, registers her intentions, shakes his head. 

ANGELA asks ‘why’ with her eyes. NICK stares back at her.

They look at each other through the glass for a long moment before NICK walks back into the Living Room.

ANGELA
What?

NICK shakes his head.

NICK
Nothing.

ANGELA
Please don’t lie to me.  

NICK holds his hand up.  

ANGELA (angry) 
Don’t...

She mimics his dismissive gesture.


….to be continued…

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