Screddit league week 4

By
Sir_Robert_Muldoon
For r/screenwriting glory
EXT. THEATER FACADE
The Kid and the others are milling about, trying to look
tough and failing. Theyre all munching on junk food,
slushies and cheap theater pizza.
The Kid looks around.
KID
Oh, is that him?
He points his bat at a single car rolling down from a nearby
hill. Holt and Lukas toss their food aside, Sam keeps
eating.
HOLT
Thats his car, looks like.
KID
Well, alright then.
They form up in the street. The few other people out at
night, mostly old timers, shirk away from the growing sense
of danger. Theyre standing like an old west posse, with the
Kid as their leader.
The car pulls up. A DRIVER gets out and opens the door.
GREYMARK steps out, a tall, imperious man. Looking at him,
one is reminded of a predatory animal, perhaps a shark or a
large jungle cat.
His suit is exquisite, his countenance is hard. He
approaches the gang flanked on either side by his driver and
a bodyguard.
GREYMARK
Hello.
KID
Sup.
They have a brief stare down.
GREYMARK
Do you really not remember me?
KID
Should I?
HOLT
Greymark, its over. You give us
back what you took.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
GREYMARK
Be quiet. Ill have words with you
lot later.
His voice is like cold iron, and she cant help but back
down. He turns his attention back to the Kid.
GREYMARK
(cont)
No, I suppose you wouldnt. We only
met briefly. But, oh, we did meet,
I remember that.
KID
Youre not helping me out here. Im
a busy guy, I meet a lot of people.
He swings his bat around in a high arc and clicks his
tongue.
GREYMARK
Would the name Donald Graham mean
anything to you?
The Kid stops, his expression darkens.
KID
Doesnt ring a bell. I mightve met
a Graham. Dont tell he was some
fellow I got in an argument with,
then I really wont remember.
GREYMARK
Liar.
He takes a step forward. The Kid points his bat at him.
KID
Stay right there.
Greymarks bodyguard pulls out a gun. Greymark faces the
rest of the group.
GREYMARK
Listen to me. All of you, I asked
you to do one thing, to get that
bat for me. I didnt care how you
did it, but you have to believe me
when I say I did this for the right
reasons.
He puts a hand on his bodyguards gun.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
GREYMARK
He knows who I am, and he knows
what he did. He just called me out
here to taunt me.
LUKAS
Thats a damn lie.
GREYMARK
Its not. Its what he does. Ive
seen it. You think hes your
friend? You think hes the good guy
here?
HOLT
Shut up! Give me back Jon, thats
all I want.
Lukas, significantly less enthusiastic than Holt.
LUKAS
Yeah, Jon.
GREYMARK
You-
He tries to say something, but its as though he cant say
the words. He grasps at his throat.
SAM
Whats he doing?
KID
Dont know.
He raises his bat as though to strike. The bodyguard raises
his gun in response.
BODYGUARD
Put the bat down.
KID
Are you an idiot? Has you boss not
told you that its a bad idea to
point guns at people like me?
GREYMARK
Put the gun down.
BODYGUARD
Sir-
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
GREYMARK
I said put your damn gun down.
Wont do you any good.
He reaches into his jacket pocket. He pulls out a small
moleskin notebook.
GREYMARK
Hey, Lukas.
He throws the notebook. It arcs through the air. It looks
like its open for Lukas to grab it when the Kid stops it in
place with his bat.
KID
What have we here? A little tricksy
on your part?
He flips open the little journal, licking his thumb for
every page turn.
KID
(cont)
Pfft. of course.
LUKAS
Whats it say?
KID
Nothing important.
HOLT
Hold up-
Before she can finish her sentence, the Kid flicks the
journal into the air and gives is a hard whack, sending it
soaring through the dark and on into the ocean.
HOLT
(cont)
What did the book say?
KID
All the information hes gathered
on me, my brother. I guess as a
kind of blackmail. I wont have it.
Nope. Cannot have that. If theres
one thing I despise its people who
resort to subterfuge to get what
they want.
Greymark is staring the Kid down. The Kid has the most
jovial look on his face, as though someones uttered a joke
that only he knows the punchline to.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
KID
(cont)
Get out of here, Greymark. I
thought youd be more interesting,
but youre just a scummy little
man.
The Kid turns to the others.
KID
(cont)
And he wants the bat. Make no
mistake.
He turns back to Greymark.
KID
(cont)
Except I just cant let you have
it.
Greymark looks up at the Kid. He cant muster up words to
say, so he just glares and then looks away to Lukas, Holt
and Sam.
GREYMARK
So you wont help me? Youre the
only ones that can take that bat
from him.
They look at Greymark impassively.
GREYMARK
(cont)
Fine. You know what, go ahead. I
dont give a damn anymore. You,
Lukas, you want your brother back?
Have him. Hes been holed up in a
hotel in Mexico. Have fun getting
him out. And you, Sam-
Sam has that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look.
GREYMARK
(cont)
Consider your debts paid. Youre
all free. Just listen to me. Get
away from this man. You dont want
to stay with him. Hell just lead
you to ruin.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.
KID
Oh, shut it. Ive let you talk
enough. Go away, and if you ever
come back-
He swings his bat, stops it an inch from Greymarks face and
taps him on the cheek. Greymark nods.
GREYMARK
Clear.
He motions to his bodyguard. He pulls out a scrap of paper.
GREYMARK
Heres the address of that hotel.
Hes got anotehr week on the tab.
You can get him yourself.
He holds out the slip. The Kid grabs it, shoves it into his
pocket.
KID
Good man.
The Kid and the gang watch Greymark get up and get back into
his car. The door slams behind him and a moment later hes
off into the night.
SAM
Just like that?
KID
Seems like.
He stretches.
KID
(cont)
Alright. Wow, Mexico. Never been
down there.
He turns to Lukas and Holt.
KID
Your brother a nice guy.
LUKAS
Yeah, I like him well enough.
KID
Well, what say you we go and pick
him up.
Holt seems to be looking into the distance at nothing.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.
KID
(cont)
You alright?
HOLT
No, I just, this feels so weird. It
was like, I thought things would be
different. Now we know where he is,
its just a matter of getting
there. Its like a dream.
The Kid looks around.
KID
Nope, not a dream. Now cmon.
He points his bat South.
KID
(cont)
Lets have some fun.
EXT. CITY ALLEYWAY - DAY
BURCH, a man in his early 20s, dressed in dingy clothes,
with a large backpack, shuffles through black trash bags.
Bright sunlight streams through the alley entrance, and the
trash is hot enough that we can practically see the rotting
fumes in the air.
He covers his face and picks through the garbage, sorting
through McDonalds wrappers and other fast food refuse.
He slips on slick of rot and tumbles over. His pack opens
and out slips an aluminum baseball bat. He picks it up and
slots it back into his pack.
Looking down the alley, he slowly trudges into the sunlight.
EXT. CITY STREET - DAY
The streets are packed with people. Cyclists, tourists,
police officers, those sign-flipping people. Everywhere
around him there is activity, and he bundles himself up as
he gets pressed into the crowd.
He closes his eyes and the sound of his breathing drowns out
the rest of the world.
8.
INT. TRAIN CAR - NIGHT
When he opens his eyes again, hes on an empty train car,
lights rushing by outside.
He groans and slips off his pack. He reaches in and pulls
out a small map of the United States. Red Xs cover the map.
He draws another one and adds the words "JoJos Diner".
He then draws a line a little ways South, then down to San
Francisco, then further down to Santa Monica.
He closes his eyes and the world fades to black again.
INT. MOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT
Burch is arguing with the OWNER behind the counter of a
grimy looking border motel.
BURCH
Look, I just need one night. I
swear, Im good for it.
OWNER
If I had a fucking dollar for
everytime someone said that to me I
wouldnt be runnign this shithole.
Yo pay or you get your ass back to
Ohio.
BURCH
What makes you think Im from Ohio?
OWNER
Your accent, that pasty look of
yours. You kids are all the same,
you come down, you hop over to
Tijuana to live the Mexico
experience.
She spits into an ashtray.
OWNER
(cont)
Cheap booze, cheap whores, cheap
drugs, the sun. You fuck it all up
and leave your trash on the beach.
You know the lst time I went to the
beach a sea turtle crawled up? We
were all excited, I had my little
grandson with me and you know what
that turtle did? It puked up its
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 9.
OWNER (contd)
guts. It ate a beer, it cut it all
up inside, and it died at our feet.
The little guys in therapy right
now. Thats your fucking fault.
Burch is lost for words. He shakes his head.
BURCH
Is there a park or something
nearby, or a hostel?
His genuine lack of privation seems to move the owner.
OWNER
Look, I can let you stay the night,
but I need you to hand over some
collateral, and you dont look like
youve got jack worth shit.
He sighs.
BURCH
I got...my shoes, some other
clothes. Uh, first aid kit? Nah.
He swings his backpack around ands tarts digging. He moves
his stuff around until he lays hands on something heavy and
metal.
BURCH
I think I got something.
He lifts out his aluminum baseball bat. The owner seems a
little taken aback by this, reaches under her desk as if to
grab a shotgun. Burch lays the bat on the table.
BURCH
(cont)
I know this doesnt look like
anything. Hell, its bent and its
busted in places. But look, this is
the one thing Ive got that matters
to me. You gotta trust me on that.
Ill let you keep if for the night.
If I dont pay, you can keep it.
Dont sell it, just keep it, Ill
come round with the money
eventually. You have my promise.
The owner takes her hand out from the counter. She puts a
hand on the bat. Burch lets go. Quick as a whip the owner
takes the bat and puts it under the table. Her hand
reappears with a set of keys.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 10.
OWNER
Door 15, first one at the top,
cant miss it. You have any
quarters?
BURCH
Why?
OWNER
The tubs got a jacuzzi, but it
needs quarters. 3 minutes per
quarter.
BURCH
Two minutes.
OWNER
Just saying, if youve got a little
extra it might be worth it. All
those jets getting into every pore.
Take some of those bubble pearls,
drop one in, ooh. I feel em all
over.
Burch contemplates this for a moment. He looks at himself in
the mirror. Hes a filthy man, it looks like hes been
walking through the desert all day hes so caked with dust.
He digs into his pockets.
BURCH
How much is a fiver? 20 quarters.
She lays down a roll of quarters on the table, fresh from
the bank. He stares at them for a moment, then lays his five
dollar bill, unwillingly, almost. His stomach rumbles. His
hand claws around the 5 dollars.
BURCH
Is there a place that delivers this
late?
OWNER
No. But we do have room service.
He groans. He takes one last look at the bat, then walks out
the lobby, up the stairs to his room.
11.
END WEEK 4