6
A SMALL, FEATURELESS, BASEMENT ROOM AT THE EMPEROR CASINO, LIT ONLY BY A SHAFT OF DIM MOONLIGHT FROM A NARROW, HIGH LEVEL WINDOW. AT ONE END OF THE ROOM A SERIES OF PALETTES, STACKED HIGH WITH PACKAGES CAREFULLY SHRINK-WRAPPED. A FIGURE IS SLUMPED ON THE FLOOR AGAINST THEM. THE DOOR OPENS AND WE SEE DEBBIE PUSHED ROUGHLY INSIDE. SHE STAGGERS, BUT MANAGES TO AVOID FALLING. HER HANDS ARE CUFFED BEHIND HER BACK. THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT AND WE HEAR A KEY TURN IN THE LOCK. DEBBIE BLINKS FOR A MOMENT IN THE DARKNESS AND SPIES MARK, LYING AGAINST THE PALETTES, SEMI-CONSCIOUS, BLOOD RUNNING FROM A WOUND ON HIS HEAD. HE, TOO, IS HANDCUFFED. SHE RUNS OVER AND KNEELS DOWN ALONGSIDE HIM.
DEBBIE – Mark! Mark!
MARK MOANS GROGGILY AND OPENS HIS EYES.
MARK – They got you too, huh?
DEBBIE – Are you ok?
MARK (COMING AROUND) – Yeah, I’m ok. Shit, this isn’t good. I’m sorry I got you into this, kid.
DEBBIE – Can you stand up?
MARK GETS SLOWLY TO HIS FEET. DEBBIE LOOKS ANXIOUSLY AT THE WOUND ON HIS HEAD.
MARK – I’m ok, I’m fine. Honestly, I’m sure it looks worse than it is.
DEBBIE (REASSURED)– Listen. I’ve an idea. Turn around so your back is to me. If I stay kneeling…I’ve a head full of hairclips. Could you find one and pull it out?
MARK TURNS AROUND SO HIS HANDS, CUFFED BEHIND HIS BACK, CAN REACH DEBBIE’S HAIR.
MARK – Got one!
DEBBIE STANDS BACK TO BACK WITH MARK – Here, pass it over.
SHE FIDDLES FOR A WHILE AND THEN DRAWS HER HANDS BACK AROUND IN FRONT OF HER, RUBBING HER WRISTS, WHICH ARE NOW FREE OF THE HANDCUFFS.
MARK – Nice one, kid. Where’d you learn to do that?
DEBBIE FORCES A STRAINED SMILE – Remember my old man’s a cop?...
DEBBIE MOVES AROUND TO MARK’S BACK, AND IN A FEW SECONDS HE TOO IS FREE OF HIS HANDCUFFS. MARK MOVES TOWARDS THE PACKAGES, PULLING A SET OF KEYS FROM HIS POCKET AND PLUNGES ONE THROUGH THE PLASTIC WRAPPING. HE INSERTS A FINGER, AND TASTES THE POWDER HE EXTRACTS.
DEBBIE – coke?
MARK NODS.
-
A KEY TURNS IN THE LOCK. DEBBIE AND MARK HURRIEDLY RESUME THEIR PREVIOUS POSITIONS, HANDS BEHIND BACKS. A CASINO SECURITY GUARD ENTERS, HIS ARM OUTSTRETCHED, CARRYING A PISTOL.
GUARD – On your feet. It’s time to go.
MARK AND DEBBIE RISE. DEBBIE STUMBLES, CRYING OUT IN PAIN. THE GUARD STEPS TOWARDS HER. MARK TAKES ADVANTAGE OF HIS DISTRACTION, SWINGING HIS ARM AROUND IN A HUGE LEFT HOOK WHICH CATCHES THE GUARD SQUARELY ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD. HE FALLS TO THE GROUND, UNCONSCIOUS. MARK TAKES HIS GUN.
MARK – Good work. Does he have a phone?
DEBBIE GOES THROUGH HIS POCKETS AND PULLS OUT A MOBILE. SHE HOLDS IT IN FRONT OF THE GUARD AND THE SCREEN UNLOCKS. SHE SMILES.
DEBBIE – God bless facial recognition!
MARK – Call 911. Tell them where we are, and that there’s been some shooting.
THEY MAKE THEIR WAY CAREFULLY OUT OF THE ROOM AND ALONG A CORRIDOR, THEN UP AN ESCAPE STAIR THAT OPENS INTO THE MAIN ROOM OF THE CASINO. THE ROOM IS FULL. MARK STEPS OUT, HOLDING THE GUN IN THE AIR AND EMPTIES THE CHAMBER INTO THE CEILING. PANIC ENSUES. CASINO GUESTS ARE RUNNING IN ALL DIRECTIONS. THE BUILDING’S SPRINKLER SYSTEM COMES ON. SIRENS CAN BE HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND. AMONGST THE CROWD, FRANKIE DI LUCA RUNS PAST, GUN IN HAND. HE SEES DEBBIE, AND STOPS.
FRANKIE – You! You’ve caused trouble around here for the last time!
HE RAISES HIS GUN AND FIRES. AT THE LAST MOMENT MARK STEPS IN FRONT OF DEBBIE AND TAKES THE BULLET, FALLING TO THE FLOOR. DEBBIE SCREAMS. AN ARRIVING POLICE OFFICER CALLS FOR FRANKIE TO DROP HIS WEAPON. FRANKIE FIRES BACK AT HIM, AND THEN RUNS OFF INTO THE MELEE.
-
THE CASINO, AN HOUR LATER. THE MAIN ROOM IS NOW ALMOST EMPTY. THE DETRITUS OF THE EVENING’S GAMBLING LIES SCATTERED ACROSS THE FLOOR – DRINKS, BROKEN GLASSES, PLAYING CARDS, BETTING CHIPS. MARK IS STANDING IN HIS SHIRTSLEEVES, BLOOD STAINING THE FRONT, WITH HIS ARM IN A SLING, TALKING TO A PLAIN CLOTHES OFFICER.
MARK – You got the coke?
OFFICER – Yeah, in the basement room, just as you said. We’ve been trying to get Chenghao for a long time now; that’s great work from you. Both. – HE NODS AT DEBBIE, WHO STANDS ALONGSIDE, HER ARM SUPPORTIVELY AROUND MARK’S WAIST.
MARK – And Frankie?
OFFICER – No sign, I’m afraid. But we’ve an APB out on him – he’ll turn up.
THE POLICE OFFICER LEAVES MARK AND DEBBIE ALONE IN THE NOW DESERTED CASINO.
DEBBIE – I don’t know what to say. Half of me feels like tearing a strip off you for being so stupid jumping in front of me like that and half, well…you’ve just saved my life…
STILL WITH HER ARM AROUND HIS WAIST SHE TWISTS AROUND SO SHE IS FACING HIM AND LOOKS UP INTO HIS EYES, HER OTHER HAND RESTING LIGHTLY ON HIS CHEST.
DEBBIE – Come on, let’s get you off to hospital so they can get that arm sorted out properly.
MARK – Wait. There’s one thing before we go…
MARK LOOKS TENDERLY DOWN AT HER, AND WITH HIS GOOD ARM HE PULLS HER TIGHTLY IN TO HIM. REACHING DOWN, HE KISSES HER, GENTLY AT FIRST AND THEN, AS SHE RESPONDS BY WRAPPING HER ARMS AROUND HIS NECK, MORE PASSIONATELY.
-
“Cut! That’s a wrap guys!”
The studio lights dimmed, the crew drifted away and we stood in our embrace, alone and still, as our eyes adjusted to the darkness. For a moment there was nothing there but the two of us, the sensation of Ryan holding me tightly in his arms, his smell, the lingering taste of his kiss. The feeling of having reached an end was palpable. 10 extraordinary, action-packed, surreal, incredible days of filming were over. Tears ran silently from my face onto Ryan’s already soaked shirt.
“You OK Sue?”
I sniffed and unwrapped myself slowly from his arms. “Yeah…Sorry…Thanks…”
He slipped his arm out of the sling and pulled me into a gentle hug and I looked up at him.
“That was my first screen kiss.”
“Shit! It was that bad I made you cry?”
“No, silly.” I poked him gently in the chest. I sniffed again, wiped my eyes and smiled. “I’m just…it’s been an amazing couple of weeks. I’m just a bit sad it’s come to an end.”
“Look, it’s getting late. Do you need to go back to wardrobe or make up or anything?”
“Yeah, I need to get out of these wet clothes and into a hot shower before I freeze to death.”
“See you at the after shoot party tomorrow?”
“See you there.”
Comments
Love those on-screen kisses
No wonder Hollywood has so many divorces.
Story is going well, what's next? I can hardly wait.
>>> Kay
Thanks Kay,
Thanks Kay,
3 more chapters to go. They're all finished and I'd planned to post one each week, but it looks like I'm going to be away for around a month or so from next week so I might speed things up a bit...
Sue
x
FWIW...
...that should be "pallets", not "pallettes". The latter are art supplies, and I had trouble figuring out what they were doing there. Also, "mobiles" are moving sculptures. "Mobile phones" is OK, but "cellphones" are the more common term.
And here in the U.S., it's generally "to the hospital".
Enjoying the story, anyway...
Eric