…following
on…
15 EXT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NIGHT
STAIR
and BALIN MEAS walk into the tropical garden. BALIN MEAS slides the glass door
closed behind him.
BALIN MEAS
I
arrived at a difficult moment, no?
STAIR
We all
grieve in our own way.
BALIN MEAS (smiles)
My
friend, I do not want to hurt the feelings of Miss Angela, but I think Mr
Nicholas, he owns a gun.
STAIR
nods, but is disinterested; pre-occupied with the contents of the text message.
BALIN MEAS
If for
his safety he feared, as Miss Angela says, if he was scared, I have to ask
myself - of what or who is he scared? For his life?
STAIR
He’s
dead, Meas. That’s all...(that matters.)
BALIN MEAS
All?
STAIR
I don’t
mean that. (BEAT) I mean, Nick is my brother...was... but...let’s just say he
was murdered...
BALIN MEAS
So you
think it is possible?
STAIR
No. I
mean...He’s just as dead if he was murdered as if...
BALIN MEAS
It is my
job to...ask questions.
STAIR
Yes, I
understand, but...
STAIR
speaks fast; in something of a panic.
STAIR
Meas,
have you ever been...in a situation that...where you’re trapped...you can’t
escape. There is no way out and you panic and... then a way out appears...a light
at the end of the tunnel and you have no choice but to run as fast as you can
towards that light and hope... there is a chance...a slim chance that you
can...save yourself?
BALIN
MEAS nods; he understands.
STAIR
That’s
me. Now. It would be too complicated to explain but...I have to get back to
Hawaii. If I don’t...
He makes
an explosive gesture with his hands.
BALIN MEAS
I
understand some...a little...of what you say. You’re on the edge of a deep hole
and if you do not make the move careful you will fall into it. (A BEAT) I know
this feeling. “At the end of your tether” I think you Barang call it.
BALIN
MEAS pats STAIR’S shoulder reassuringly.
BALIN MEAS
You need
say no more, Mr Stair. I understand.
STAIR
nods his thanks, composes himself.
16 INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT
FRANCOISE
removes ANGELA’S sarong, takes her hand, leads her into the shower recess.
ANGELA allows her to take control.
The
distinctive ringing sound of Angela’s mobile phone (the opening bars of
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony can be heard in the background.) ANGELA registers it
but pays no attention.
Water
pours down on ANGELA’S head and shoulders, drowning out the sound of her phone.
17 EXT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NICK’S
APARTMENT. NIGHT
STAIR
sits, head in hands. BALIN MEAS sits closeby.
STAIR
I owe a
lot of money, Meas. A lot. And the person I owe it to wants it back. Now. And I
don’t have the money. Now. In a week, I should...have it, but I might not!
(BALIN
MEAS nods.)
And if I
don’t, I lose... everything. More than everything.
BALIN MEAS
I
understand what it is like to lose everything.
STAIR
I am
this close...this close...
(He
holds his thumb and index finger close)
...but I
have to be in Hawaii to...make it happen.
BALIN MEAS
If you
worry about this problem tonight, will this change anything?
STAIR
stares at BALIN MEAS for a moment; shakes his head.
18 INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT
ANGELA,
in a daze, emotionally fraught, stands under the shower. FRANCOISE, close by,
reaches for a bar of soap.
19 EXT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NIGHT
CLOSE
ON:
Skeletal
hands clutching the steering wheel.
STAIR (V.O.)
Nick’s
hands are holding the steering wheel...
STAIR,
holding his iPhone, on which the photo is displayed, looks at BALIN MEAS to see
if any pennies drop for him.
STAIR
...as if
he had no warning that he was about to be burned to death.
BALIN
MEAS thinks about this, nods, but is clearly confused as to where STAIR is
going with this.
STAIR
Let’s
just say the fire started in the engine.
(Balin
Meas nods)
There
would have been a few seconds, at least, from when the fire broke out and the
gas tank exploded, right?
The
penny drops for BALIN MEAS. He gestures his understanding of what STAIR is
suggesting.
STAIR
And a
few seconds again before the petrol containers caught fire.
BALIN
MEAS nods, would like to interrupt.
STAIR
Nick
would have had a few seconds, at least, to get out of the car...
BALIN MEAS
...in
which case his hands would not be clutching the steering wheel.
STAIR
Precisely.
BALIN MEAS
Your
theory is an interesting one, Mr Stair, but...perhaps the fire started inside
the car...If Mr Nick lit a cigarette and...
BALIN
MEAS makes an explosive gesture with his hands. STAIR shakes his head.
STAIR
No, that
doesn’t work, Meas. His hands wouldn’t be clutching the steering wheel if he’d
just lit a cigarette. (A BEAT) And Nick didn’t smoke.
BALIN MEAS
You have
the makings of a good detective, my friend.
STAIR
I
trained as a lawyer.
BALIN MEAS
I know.
“The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.”
STAIR (laughs)
You read
Shakespeare?
BALIN MEAS
In a
past life.
STAIR
I must
say, Meas, I never expected to meet a Cambodian policeman who could quote
Shakespeare!
BALIN MEAS
Do not
expect anything in my beautiful country, my friend. And expect anything.
STAIR
How do
you know I am...was...a lawyer?
BALIN MEAS
It is my
job to know things.
(Stair
nods, smiles)
So you
agree with Miss Angela that your brother’s death may not have been an accident?
STAIR
No. But
I don’t disagree. (A BEAT) But...I have a few doubts.
BALIN MEAS
Without doubt
we have no reason to look behind the appearance of things. We must keep the
mind open.
STAIR
A
policeman’s job.
BALIN MEAS
And a
lawyer’s. (A BEAT) You are right, my friend, to doubt. In Cambodia nothing is
ever quite as it seems to be.
STAIR (smiles)
In life.
BALIN MEAS (nods)
Indeed.
My own doubts have to do with this.
(He
holds the Glock pistol up; points to the base of the grip)
You see,
here, the serial number? I have checked online...it was part of a batch of 200
guns bought by one buyer...
STAIR
Checked
online?
BALIN MEAS
I seem
to you a simple policeman, no?
STAIR
Not
simple, Meas, in any sense of the word.
BALIN MEAS
You are
too kind! (A BEAT)...but the name of the buyer has been...how do you
say...re-d...
STAIR
Redacted.
BALIN MEAS
Redacted,
yes. What is interesting is the address of the supplier. Virginia, United
States of America.
STAIR
doesn’t understand.
BALIN MEAS
Langley,
Virginia. (A BEAT) Where the CIA has its headquarters.
STAIR
holds his hands up in a familiar gesture.
STAIR
I can
assure you, Meas, that there is no way, no way on earth, that my brother worked
for the CIA.
STAIR’S
attention is caught by ANGELA, inside, her hair wet, dressed in shorts and a
t-shirt; standing in front of Nick’s Nest of Vipers collage with FRANCOISE.
ANGELA
points, talks fast, traces coloured threads with her index finger. FRANCOISE
nods; takes it all in.
20 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S
APARTMENT. NIGHT
FRANCOISE
looks closely at the photo of:
The severed head of Lindsay
Henderson lying in the rubbish; mouth taped shut with gaffer tape.
And then
at the photo of:
Lindsay Henderson’s severed head,
mouth open, resting on a metal tray, beside a shriveled penis.
FRANCOISE
I know
ziz man.
She
points to the photo of Lindsay Henderson, connected by a black thread to a
photo of Terry Swinton.
ANGELA
You knew
him?
FRANCOISE
I give
‘im massage one time. I talk to ‘im.
ANGELA
About?
FRANCOISE
waves the question away, (”I can’t remember”; surveys the Nest of Vipers
montage.
FRANCOISE
Is tres
intéressant zis vipers nest of Neekolas!
(She
nods her head.)
Tres
intéressant.
ANGELA
makes eye contact with STAIR through the sliding glass door as FRANCOISE takes
out her smart phone.
21 EXT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NICK’S
APARTMENT. NIGHT
STAIR
turns back to BALIN MEAS. ANGELA and FRANCOISE can be seen in the background.
FRANCOISE holds up her smart phone up to the Nest of Vipers collage.
BALIN MEAS
My
friend, I am not saying your brother worked for the CIA, but...I have for you a
question. If you were the CIA and recruiting spies what sort of people would
you recruit?
STAIR
(smiles)
The
kinds of people whose friends... brothers...would say...’there’s no way my
brother worked for the CIA.’
BALIN
MEAS smiles; nods.
As STAIR
processes this thought he looks inside; sees FRANCOISE taking photos of Nick’s
Nest of Vipers montage.
BALIN
MEAS opens the concertina manila file; takes a Chinese coin from one of the
slots, along with a plastic bag with a fire-blackened object in it. He hands
the coin to STAIR.
BALIN MEAS
I found
this. Your brother’s, I think.
STAIR
nods his thanks, looks at the coin briefly, but is more interested in the
contents of the plastic bag.
STAIR
And?
BALIN
MEAS hands to plastic bag to STAIR. Inside:
The
blackened remnants of a mobile phone.
BALIN MEAS
Mr
Nicholas’ smart phone.
Most of
the mobile has melted; burnt black. The small part that has not been burnt is
red.
As
ANGELA makes her way to the door leading to the garden, STAIR gestures to the
burnt mobile phone:
STAIR
Don’t
say anything about this to Angela.
He
stuffs the plastic bag in his pocket.
BALIN
MEAS, puzzled, nods. ANGELA slides open the door, walks up; sober and focused
now. FRANCOISE lingers inside; her eyes
on the Nest of Vipers collage.
ANGELA
OK, so
Nick told me that he did not own a gun, but let’s say he lied, right? Let’s say
he didn’t want me to worry about him - which I would have if I knew he had a
gun, because I would have asked him why he had a gun and he would not have....
STAIR,
pre-occupied with his own problems, is only half listening, which annoys
ANGELA.
ANGELA
So Nick
was scared...of something... when he left that morning. Really scared. Doesn’t
the fact that he was scared, that he had a gun, if the gun was his, at least
raise some doubt in your mind about his death being ‘accidental’?
BALIN MEAS
I have
an open mind, Miss Angela. If there is a truth to be found, I will find it.
ANGELA
looks to STAIR for a response.
STAIR
I’m sure
Meas knows what he’s doing.
ANGELA
I’m sure
you do, Meas. It’s just... my brain is...exploding now and...
(She
turns to Stair)
When was
the last time you spoke to Nick?
STAIR
A couple
of days ago. Very Brief. Like...60 seconds. Less.
ANGELA
Why? (A
BEAT) Did you call him or did he call you?
STAIR
He
called me.
ANGELA
Why?
STAIR
I don’t
know.
ANGELA
What did
you talk about?
STAIR
Nothing.
ANGELA
And the
time before that?
STAIR
Four
years.
ANGELA
Did you
call him or did he call you?
STAIR
glances at BALIN MEAS, whose face gives nothing away.
STAIR
Neither.
We spoke.
ANGELA
‘We
spoke’! About what? Why?
STAIR
doesn’t want to answer; glances at BALIN MEAS again.
ANGELA
You
don’t speak for four years, then the day before he... dies...he calls you out
of the blue and you talk about... nothing! (A BEAT) Stair?
STAIR
maintains his silence. ANGELA turns to BALIN MEAS.
ANGELA
Excuse
us.
She
indicates to STAIR to follow her. It is a demand; not a request. She walks back
into the Living Room. STAIR follows.
22 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S
APARTMENT. NIGHT
ANGELA signals
with her eyes to FRANCOISE that she wants to talk alone with STAIR. FRANCOISE
nods, walks out into the tropical garden; joins BALIN MEAS; closes the sliding
door.
ANGELA
Was Nick
in some kind of trouble? Four years ago? With the police? (A BEAT) He was,
wasn’t he?
STAIR
If he
told you he was, I guess he was.
In the
background BALIN MEAS can be seen answering his mobile; nodding as he listens.
ANGELA
You are
so fucking infuriating, Stair! No, he didn’t tell me. He wouldn’t tell me. I
picked up clues, asked him about... whatever it was. The police were involved.
And a girl, I think. Underage. He said it was ‘nothing’. Now I am asking you.
Was Nick’s ‘nothing’ the same as your ‘nothing’?
STAIR
Some
sleeping dogs are best left to lie.
ANGELA
Lie! That’s
what he did. He lied. He wasn’t a good liar, Nick. He was a fucking hopeless
liar!
STAIR
Or so
good you never picked it!?
ANGELA
Cunt.
STAIR
Groundhog
Day.
ANGELA
Groundhog
Day.
STAIR
The
family dog. (A BEAT) Jasper. That’s what he wanted to talk about.
ANGELA
is gobsmacked; doesn’t know what to say. The sliding door opens and BALIN MEAS
appears; very apologetic. He walks in, closely followed by FRANCOISE.
BALIN MEAS
Please
excuse me for intruding, but I must leave. I have some matters to attend to.
ANGELA (nods)
One last
thing, Meas. Nick’s mobile phone? He had it with him. Maybe...!
BALIN MEAS
There
was no mobile phone, Miss Angela. Not that we found. The heat...gasoline burns
at more than 800 degrees centigrade...Now, if you will excuse me...
ANGELA
The
house where the young girl Nick and I saw being led into...did you...find out
anything.
BALIN MEAS
Yes, I
am sorry, I forgot to tell you. It is owned by a company that is owned by a
company that...it is not possible for find who owns the company in Cambodia.
STAIR
Is it
possible to find where the company that owns the company that owns the company
is registered?
BALIN MEAS
In the
British Virgin Islands.
ANGELA’S
sharp intake of breath catches the attention of
BALIN MEAS, STAIR and FRANCOISE.
STAIR
looks at her questioningly. ANGELA steps closer to the Nest of Vipers collage;
points at the colour photo of the British Virgin Islands with the banner
headline:
“British Virgin
Islands growing rich as a global tax haven.”
STAIR
steps closer, looks at the photo of the Virgin Islands, traces a coloured
thread back to a photo of Gerard.
STAIR
Who is
this man?
ANGELA
A
multi-award-winning humanitarian...
BALIN MEAS
A very
good man.
A
momentary grimace crosses ANGELA’S face. STAIR notices it.
BALIN MEAS
Do you
mind if I take a photo of...
He
indicates Nick’s Nest of Vipers montage. ANGELA shakes her head. BALIN MEAS
takes a few photos of the N O V montage.
A LITTLE
LATER
BALIN
MEAS stands by the open front door.
NICK
Thank
you, Meas.
BALIN MEAS
It is my
job. (A BEAT) We will talk in the morning before you leave.
STAIR
nods.
BALIN MEAS
Now, if
you will excuse me.
He
smiles, nods his farewell to ANGELA and FRANCOISE; walks out. STAIR turns to
ANGELA
STAIR
Back in
a moment.
He moves
fast towards the front door.
…to be
continued…
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