sib2x05
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                                       ACT TWO

                                                               FADE IN:

        12     INT. MOTEL ROOM - MORNING.                              12

               We're close on Danyael lying in a sleeping bag on the floor
               as he wakes up, hearing the sounds of two voices talking
               quickly somewhere within the room.

               He sits up, ruffling his bed head hair as the voices come
               into focus - and it's Chris and Julie, both of whom look
               pretty worried about something.

                                   DANYAEL
                         What's up?
                             (look round)
                         Where's Twist?

               Julie and Chris exchange a look, then Chris heads away to
               grab his coat and Julie steps over to Danyael.

                                   JULIE
                         Twist isn't here. We think she left
                         not long before the sun came up.

                                   DANYAEL
                         What? Why?

               Chris' dark look says it all, and Danyael groans, rubbing his
               eyes and standing up.

                                   DANYAEL (cont'd)
                         She took off, didn't she.

                                   CHRIS
                         It's my fault. I shouldn't have
                         gone off on one at her the way I
                         did.

                                   JULIE
                         We can talk about blame later,
                         right now we need to concentrate on
                         finding her.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Where would she have gone?

                                   CHRIS
                         She's most likely gone to try and
                         find those books, so I'm going to
                         start at the train station and work
                         out from there.

                                   JULIE
                         What about us?

                                   CHRIS
                         You two stay here for now.

               Chris tosses his cell phone to Danyael.

                                   CHRIS (cont'd)
                         Her phone's switched off, but keep
                         trying it. I'll be in touch via
                         Julie's phone if and when I find
                         anything.

               Chris opens the door and steps outside, hurrying across the
               parking lot to the van.

               Julie sits back down on the bed, running a hand through her
               hair as Danyael types Twist's number into the phone. He
               listens, but gets a 'Your Call Cannot Be Completed' message
               and cuts the call off.

                                   DANYAEL
                             (sighs)
                         Damn it.

                                   JULIE
                         Is this like her? Has she taken off
                         before after those two have had a
                         fight about something?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Not that I know of, but knowing her
                         I'd say it's pretty likely.

               Julie gets up and switches on the small electric kettle as
               Danyael goes back over to his jacket. He takes out his
               cigarettes, then remembers the note from last night. He takes
               it out, glances at Julie, then walks over to her.

                                   DANYAEL (cont'd)
                         Uh, Julie?

                                   JULIE
                         Yeah?

                                   DANYAEL
                         What do you make of this?

               He hands her the note, and she peers at it.

                                   JULIE
                         Where did you get this?

                                   DANYAEL
                         I found it in my jacket after we
                         left the club last night. 

                                   JULIE
                         Why didn't you say anything?

                                   DANYAEL
                         I didn't think it was the right
                         moment. You know?

               Julie nods, looks at the note again and hands it back.

                                   DANYAEL (cont'd)
                         I remember one of the dancers
                         bumping into me just as we were
                         leaving. Struck me as odd, 'cause
                         they normally only come near you
                         when they want to ask you for a
                         dance, you know? So I'm thinking
                         she might have been the one who
                         slipped this to me. Should we go
                         check it out?

                                   JULIE
                         What about Twist?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Twist'll be found when she wants to
                         be found. I think Chris knows that.

                                   JULIE
                         Yeah, but we can't just drop
                         everything and go back to the scene
                         of the crime just because somebody
                         handed you a vague cry for help!
                         What if it's a setup? Or a joke?

                                   DANYAEL
                         I don't think it is.

               Julie stares at him, torn between the two plans of action,
               distracted by the CLICK of the kettle as the water boils.

                                   DANYAEL (cont'd)
                         So?

                                   JULIE
                             (beat)
                         Alright. You're right, wherever
                         Twist is, she's smart enough to
                         stay out of the sun and not get
                         herself caught.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Well, except for this one time when
                         she-

                                   JULIE
                         Not helping.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Sorry.

                                   JULIE
                         We can swing by the club again,
                         take a quick look round, then we're
                         straight back here to wait for
                         Chris. Okay?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Okay.

                                   JULIE
                         Now, how are we going to get back
                         in there? We'd better not try going
                         back in until later, we'd look too
                         obvious going in at this time of
                         the day. Plus, they might have us
                         on camera arriving with Chris and
                         Twist from last night, so we might
                         be recognised.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Well, I did have an idea about
                         that...

               Julie raises an eyebrow at him, and we cut to:

        13     INT. PEPPERMINT RANCH - MAIN FLOOR - EVENING.           13

               We're back inside the club, eager clients starting to fill
               the bar and tables up again, as the swing doors are pushed
               open - and in step Danyael and Julie.

               They're almost unrecogniseable - Danyael has dressed himself
               up in a bright white suit, garish Hawaiian shirt and shades,
               while Julie has curled her hair and is heavily made up,
               looking for all the world like a gangster's moll.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Alright, alright! Check this place
                         out! Time to get things moving,
                         right, toots?

               Danyael's obnoxious high roller act has already attracted the
               attention of some of the dancers, who know an easy mark when
               they see one. Fake smile still in place, Julie whispers into
               his ear.

                                   JULIE
                         What are you doing? We're meant to
                         be undercover!

                                   DANYAEL
                         We are. Have you got any idea how
                         many guys like me these places see
                         every day? It's a lot.

                                   JULIE
                         How would you know?

                                   DANYAEL
                             (beat; grins)
                         It's always the quiet ones.

               Julie rolls her eyes as two blonde, leggy dancers in skimpy
               outfits step over, and he lets them lead him away with a
               filthy chuckle. He turns and nods back to Julie as they take
               him towards one of the tables, and she heads for the nearest
               one of the bars.

               We stay with Danyael as the two girls sit him down, one
               taking a place either side of him as he makes a big show of
               lapping up the attention.

                                   DANCER #1
                         So what can we get you tonight,
                         sir?

                                   DANCER #2
                         A drink? Maybe two?

                                   DANCER #1
                         How about a dance to start off your
                         evening?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Well, you girls are real flattering
                         and all, but I always like to ease
                         myself gently into the evening. I
                         like to pick out just one girl and
                         have a dance with her first, then
                         see how the rest of the evening
                         takes me.

               The two dancers fluff themselves up, beaming at him as they
               try to win his attention, but Danyael is carefully scanning
               the floor for the girl who bumped into him last night.

               He spots her at last, standing over by the bar opposite him,
               and without a word to the other two girls he stands and makes
               his way over to her.

               Julie keeps a watchful eye on him as he steps up to the girl.
               She's the same height as him, with a perfect figure and long,
               bottle blonde hair.

                                   DANYAEL (cont'd)
                         Good evening, miss. Couldn't help
                         but notice you from way over
                         yonder.

                                   DANCER
                         Is that a fact?

                                   DANYAEL
                             (grins)
                         Sure is. Would you do me the
                         pleasure of being my first and
                         possibly only dance of the evening?

                                   DANCER
                         It'd be my pleasure, sir.

               She takes him by the arm and starts to lead him towards a
               staircase, that heads up to a floor above the main dancing
               podium. He glances back at Julie again as he's led away, and
               we stay with her as one of the waitresses steps over to her.

                                   WAITRESS
                         What'll it be, miss?

                                   JULIE
                         Just a small glass of white wine to
                         start with.

               The waitress nods and takes a bottle from one of the row of
               fridges behind the bar, giving Julie a chance to look around.

                                   JULIE (cont'd)
                         So how's business been round here
                         recently?

                                   WAITRESS
                         Oh, you know, can't complain. We're
                         kind of out in the sticks here so
                         things could be a lot busier, but
                         we make enough to cover all our
                         wages so it could be worse.

                                   JULIE
                         I see. Anything new going on?

                                   WAITRESS
                         'New'?

                                   JULIE
                         Well...
                             (leans closer)
                         My boy over there always likes to
                         know of any new arrivals to this
                         place.
                         Prides himself on being one of the
                         pathfinders, if you know what I
                         mean.

                                   WAITRESS
                         Oh, you mean the guy you came in
                         with? I thought I recognised him.

               Julie grins - looks like Danyael's disguise did the trick! We
               cut away from the duo to:

        14     INT. PEPPERMINT RANCH - PRIVATE ROOM - NIGHT.           14

               Danyael is sitting on a curved leather couch in a small,
               intimately lit room. 'Teardrop' by Massive Attack plays over
               the PA as the dancer struts seductively towards him.

                                   DANCER
                         So how would you like me to start,
                         sir? Take it a little slow, maybe?
                         Or do you want it-

                                   DANYAEL
                             (holds up napkin)
                         You could start by telling me why
                         you gave me this last night.

               The dancer stops and takes a cautious step back. Danyael
               takes off his shades and ruffles his hair up, quickly
               returning to his normal appearance.

                                   DANCER
                         It's you!

                                   DANYAEL
                         It's me.

               The dancer looks over her shoulder, then gestures for Danyael
               to shuffle along the couch, so that they're both out of sight
               of the bouncers who patrol the corridor outside.

                                   DANYAEL (cont'd)
                         Are you going to tell me what this
                         is about?

                                   DANCER
                         Look, I'm sorry I dragged you into
                         this, Mr...

                                   DANYAEL
                         Danyael.

                                   DANCER
                             (nods)
                         Karina.

                                   DANYAEL
                         What made you single me out?

                                   KARINA
                             (shrugs)
                         I don't know, I guess... I guess
                         something about your aura just told
                         me I could trust you.

                                   DANYAEL
                         My aura?

                                   KARINA
                         Oh, yeah, my mom was a reader, I
                         picked a bit of it up. Helps me
                         when I'm with a client, you know?
                         Makes it easier to know what
                         they're gonna want me to do.

                                   DANYAEL
                             (awkward)
                         Uh... okay...

                                   KARINA
                         Something bad's going on here,
                         Danyael.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Bad how?

                                   KARINA
                         Vampires.

                                   DANYAEL
                             (beat)
                         Oh.

                                   KARINA
                         About half a dozen of them, they
                         work for Mr. Burke, but he keeps
                         them up in his office suite so no
                         one ever sees 'em.

                                   DANYAEL
                         What for?

               Karina checks over her shoulder again, then sits next to
               Danyael, the confidence now all gone to leave just a scared
               young girl.

                                   KARINA
                         It's the way he runs this place.
                         The vamps, they... they do stuff
                         for him. Take care of his business,
                         you know?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Yeah, I think I know.

                                   KARINA
                         In return, he lets 'em feed on the
                         clients here sometimes, the ones he
                         knows nobody'll miss, and
                         sometimes...

                                   DANYAEL
                         What?

                                   KARINA
                         If one of the girls here starts
                         earning less than he'd like 'em to
                         each week, Burke has this habit of
                         serving the girl up to the vamps to
                         remind the rest of us to work
                         harder.

                                   DANYAEL
                             (shocked)
                         He does what?!?

                                   KARINA
                         Ssh! Quiet, they're always
                         listening along here.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Man... what can I do to help?

                                   KARINA
                         I was hoping you could tell me that
                         part, Danyael. We're all out of
                         ideas here. The last girl who tried
                         to warn somebody ended up as
                         dinner.

               The song comes to an end, and Karina quickly gets back to her
               feet, going through the motions of the end of her dance as a
               bouncer strolls past outside.

                                   DANYAEL
                         I've got some friends here, this is
                         the kind of thing we do.

                                   KARINA
                         You help people out?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Well... yeah, most of the time.

                                   KARINA
                         Even people like me?

                                   DANYAEL
                         What do you mean?

                                   KARINA
                         I know I ain't exactly a high class
                         of citizen, Danyael, so I'd
                         understand if you didn't-

                                   DANYAEL
                             (serious)
                         You're in trouble. Me and my
                         friends help people in trouble. End
                         of story.

               She smiles, relieved, and offers a hand to help him back to
               his feet.

                                   KARINA
                         My shift finishes at two a.m. Any
                         chance you can meet me out in the
                         parking lot? We can go somewhere so
                         you and your friends can figure out
                         what we're gonna do here.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Yeah, no problem.

                                   KARINA
                         You'd better head back, else I'm
                         gonna have to charge you again.

               Danyael blinks - then realises he still has to pay her! He
               grins and takes some crumpled notes out of his suit trouser
               pocket, which she packs into a small black purse.

                                   KARINA (cont'd)
                         Two a.m. in the parking lot. Okay?

                                   DANYAEL
                         I got it.

               He leaves the room, and Karina takes a seat, letting out a
               deep breath as she ties to calm her nerves, and we cut to:

        15     INT. PEPPERMINT RANCH - MAIN FLOOR - NIGHT.             15

               Julie and the Waitress are deep in conversation now.

                                   WAITRESS
                         And then, a few days ago, this new
                         girl shows up. Tall, black hair,
                         kinda pale, waltzes straight past
                         the bouncers and into Mr. Burke's
                         office. I was sure she'd get thrown
                         out on her ass, but she stayed in
                         there for an hour.

                                   JULIE
                         Who was she?

                                   WAITRESS
                         Beats me. All I know is I keep
                         seeing her up in Mr. Burke's suite,
                         so I figure she's pretty important,
                         whoever she is.

               Julie looks up as Danyael walks back into frame.

                                   JULIE
                             (acting up)
                         Oh, hi, honey! How was your dance?

                                   DANYAEL
                         All good, all good. Uh, listen,
                         kiddo, mind if we grab some air?
                             (to Waitress)
                         Kind of on the hot side right now,
                         if y'all know what I mean!

               The Waitress grins as Danyael leads Julie back towards the
               swing doors, and through into the:

        16     INT. PEPPERMINT RANCH - FOYER - CONTINUOUS.             16

               There's a reception desk, a cloakroom, a cashpoint and two
               more doors leading outside. There's no-one around, so the duo
               can speak freely.

                                   JULIE
                         Well? Was that her?

                                   DANYAEL
                         That was her. She said Warwick's
                         got a pack of vampires in his
                         pocket, feeds them clients and some
                         of the girls so they'll do what he
                         wants.

                                   JULIE
                         What are we going to do?

                                   DANYAEL
                         We need to find Chris and let him
                         know, maybe he can-

                                   CHRIS (O.S.)
                         Maybe I can what?

               They turn round to see Chris has stepped inside the foyer. He
               looks their unusual outfits up and down, curious.

                                   CHRIS (cont'd)
                         Dare I ask?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Chris! Man, good timing, we-
                             (beat)
                         Wait, what are you doing here?

               Chris holds up a flyer for the club.

                                   CHRIS
                         Twist left me this back at the
                         motel, along with a note saying to
                         meet her back here because she was
                         on to something.

                                   JULIE
                         Did she say what?

                                   TWIST (O.S.)
                         Give me a second and I will.

               The trio turn round - and Twist has stepped into the foyer,
               but she's also in disguise! She's wearing a wig that gives
               her straight, black hair, and with a pair of thick-lensed
               glasses and a waitresses uniform, you wouldn't even know it
               was her.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                         What's with the outfit, Spook? Did
                         I start off a new fancy dress craze
                         or something?

                                   CHRIS
                         What are you doing here?

                                   TWIST
                         Yeah, good to see you too.

                                   CHRIS
                             (beat)
                         Twist.

                                   TWIST
                         Didn't any of you guys see me? I
                         walked past you, like, three times?

               Danyael and Julie shake their heads, and Twist sighs as she
               walks over to them.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                         Never mind that. We need to get out
                         back and talk. There's this side
                         entrance to the room where they
                         keep all the beer we can use,
                         nobody ever goes in there.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Wait, wait, back up. How'd you know
                         all this? And where'd you get the
                         uniform?

                                   TWIST
                         There's an unconscious waitress out
                         back who'd love to answer that for
                         you.

               Chris and Julie don't look too pleased by this.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                             (shrugs)
                         What? I had to go all Machiavelli,
                         it was the only way to get inside!
                         Come on, before somebody sees us.

                                   CHRIS
                         So why did you want us to meet you
                         here? Have you found something out?

                                   TWIST
                         Oh, I found something all right.
                             (beat)
                         Truh. Buh. Ul.

               The group exchange looks before we:

                                                             BLACK OUT:



                                   END OF ACT TWO
                                      ACT THREE

                                                               FADE IN:

        17     EXT. PEPPERMINT RANCH - BACK ENTRANCE - NIGHT.          17

               Twist pushes open a side door, and checks that the coast is
               clear, then waves for the others to follow her outside.
               They're by the waste bins, stacks of empty beer crates making
               a handy seat as Twist sits down, scratching her scalp beneath
               the wig.

                                   JULIE
                         Are you okay?

                                   TWIST
                         This thing itches worse than Chris'
                         black sweater!

                                   CHRIS
                         What did you do with that, by the
                         way?

                                   TWIST
                         Er... I sold it.

                                   CHRIS
                         You... sold it.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Guys!

                                   CHRIS
                         Right, sorry. So what's this
                         'trouble' you found out about?

               Twist doesn't answer. She stares back at Twist, lips pursed
               and arms folded.

                                   CHRIS (cont'd)
                         Twist?

                                   JULIE
                             (nudges him)
                         She wants you to apologise.

                                   CHRIS
                         Oh, don't be ridiculous. Twist,
                         this is serious! We've still got to
                         find those books, and...

               He trails off as he realises he's getting nothing until he
               apologises. He lowers his head and takes a deep breath.

                                   CHRIS (cont'd)
                         I'm sorry I shouted at you.

                                   TWIST
                             (beat)
                         Nope, don't buy it.

                                   CHRIS
                         Oh, for goodness sake!

                                   TWIST
                         Hey! You were the one who told me I
                         was, quote unquote, 'always making
                         a mess of everything,' and that I
                         'caused mayhem wherever I went,'
                         and that I was 'going to get us all
                         bloody chopped up if we weren't
                         careful.'

                                   JULIE
                             (to Chris)
                         Wow. You really said all that?

                                   CHRIS
                             (darkly)
                         That's not the point. Twist, stop
                         messing about and tell us-

               She turns away from him, and with a sigh Chris nods.

                                   CHRIS (cont'd)
                         Twist, I am truly sorry that I
                         yelled at you the way I did. It
                         just made things worse, and I
                         apologise.

                                   TWIST
                             (beat)
                         Okay, we're good again.

               Chris steps forward - and Twist KICKS him in the shin.

                                   CHRIS
                         Ow! What was that for?

                                   TWIST
                         And now we're even.

               He glares at her, but her cheeky smile tells us she's already
               moved on.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                         I think the books are still here in
                         Texas.

                                   CHRIS
                         Here in the club? How do you know?

                                   TWIST
                         I managed to sneak upstairs and
                         nose around that Warwick guy's
                         offices, heard someone talking to
                         him about making an exchange for
                         them in a few hours time. Said she
                         had one of her 'boys' take 'em off
                         me while we were on the train.
                             (smug)
                         See, I told you I didn't lose them.

                                   JULIE
                         Who was it? Did you see them?

                                   TWIST
                         No, sorry. Woman, though. That's
                         all I could tell. Oh, and there are
                         vampires here too, I think they're
                         working for Warwick.

                                   DANYAEL
                         We know.

                                   JULIE
                         We know.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                         You do? Who told you?

               Danyael glances at his watch, then back up at Twist as we cut
               over to:
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.