Pet Tamers, Episode 11

I should stop saying “The payoff is coming! The payoff is coming!” First, this story does not seem headed towards the payoff I promised; second, this story has a way of changing itself…

PET TAMERS

Episode 11: Ice Cream Sundaes

EXT. of an OUTHOUSE. The sky is a torpid gray stew of wind howling through the snake-like grass. Two figures, clothed in the darkness of the night, approach the rusty, beaten door of the outhouse. The taller one knocks loudly.

CLOSE-UP of the OUTHOUSE DOOR. A slit opens up. Lightning briefly reveals the two eyes staring out.

DOORMAN: This seat is occupied.

TALL FIGURE: And we will follow.

The slit closes again, and the door opens. The two figures walk in.

INSIDE. It is dark; only the dim grayness of the night seeps through the cracks in the walls. A motor starts up, and a black mass moves downward.

DOORMAN: You’re a day late.

SHORT FIGURE: We would have come here sooner, if Benkley hadn’t lost our luggage.

The lights turn on. The DOORMAN operates an elevator as the CEO and BENKLEY address each other.

BENKLEY: I did not lose the luggage, sir. It was likely misplaced by the airport.

CEO: Don’t try your blame game! You’re my valet, you should have foreseen that and prevented it!

BENKLEY: It was a grave error on my part, sir. I gladly take responsibility. I can replace everything, sir.

CEO: You can’t replace money, Benkley! People take it! And people like us have to either take it back, or find someone else to take it from!

BENKLEY: If I may supply my own opinions, sir, I only take what you give me.

CEO: And that’s why you’re not a CEO.

The elevator comes to a stop.

OUTSIDE the elevator, a man is waiting for the two comrades.

MAN: Greetings to you, Mr. Julius Swaggert. How was your trip?

CEO: You must be Il Rubino.

RUBINO: The one and same. I am glad to see that you two are safe, especially after… your tragic loss.

CEO: I’m not here to discuss past business, don. Tell me about this deal of yours.

RUBINO (turning aside): And this must be Benkley. How do you do, sir?

BENKLEY: Quite well, sir.

RUBINO: Curt little worm. Careful with him; a servant like him gets stale early.

CEO: I am an important businessman, don, and I have investments to monitor back home. Tell us what this business of yours is, so that we can be on our way.

RUBINO: Maurice!

Young, cleanly-dressed man rushes up.

MAURICE: Yes, sir?

RUBINO: Show these two to our guest quarters. Have we heard from our three absentee guests?

MAURICE: Yes, sir. One has a date, another has a bad case of conjunctivitis, and the other had an unexpected delivery of fresh salmon to her company’s doorstep.

RUBINO: The ungratefulness. Come, I’ll deal with those three privately. Start the preparations, Maurice, we’re havin’ the meeting after dinner.

MAURICE: And the children?

RUBINO: Yes, feed them, too. You know what I said about them.

BENKLEY: Children?

RUBINO: Maurice, please show the two to their rooms, while I don my evening wear.

MAURICE: Come right this way, gentlemen.

MEANWHILE, in a STONE BASEMENT (note: tell the art department to stop making their stone basements look like dungeons), MAGGIE, SHANA, and PETE lay shackled to the wall.

PETE: I’m scared.

MAGGIE: Don’t worry.

PETE: Without my Gameberry, I feel alone.

MAGGIE: We’ll get out of this.

PETE: All my saved games were on it! What if it’s gone forever? All that work for nothing…

MAGGIE: Suppose Jason and Chris are coming to save us.

SHANA: After that fight we saw, I think it is more likely Jason is coming alone.

MAGGIE: Come on. Chris wouldn’t just abandon us. Would he?

The DOOR above creaks opens.

MAGGIE (whispering): Remember, say nothing. Tell them nothing about the whistles.

MAURICE appears in the doorway, though the kids do not know his name.

MAURICE (tossing some vegetables at the kids): Here, dinner.

MAURICE leaves. The door above shuts loudly.

PETE: They’re not too interested in us, are they?

MAGGIE: Well, let’s hope it stays that way.

PETE: I just want my Gameberry back.

CLOSE-UP of a WINE GLASS. A fork clangs against the rim.

RUBINO: Gentlemen! Ladies! Your attention!

THE DINNER PARTY. Most of the guests ignore Rubino, too busy drinking, eating, and conversing amongst themselves to notice him.

RUBINO (howling): YOUR ATTENTION!!

The guests quiet themselves and turn to Rubino.

RUBINO: My friends. My soon-to-be friends. Thank you all for attending. It is a privilege and an honor to have such esteemed guests in my halls.

Rubino gestures to a well-built man with red hair.

RUBINO: First, I would like to thank Mr. Casa here for the construction of this hideout. He has exceeded my expectations, and I have high hopes for this place. Everyone, Mr. Edward Casa.

Mr. EDWARD CASA stands courteously and nods politely while the guests politely applaud.

RUBINO: Remember, gentlemen, this home is not only my home, but yours. If at any time you need some place to settle or hide, please feel free at any time to drop by. My two colleagues will see to your satisfaction.

THE STONE BASEMENT.

RUBINO (muffled, distant): Now then, for the main order of business…

MAGGIE (whispering): Is there a party upstairs?

PETE: Shh!

RUBINO: …has acquired some very interesting pieces. Ms. Van Dell, would you care to present your wares?

A HAND slaps down on the dinner table.

MS. AVA VAN DELL, a wiry woman with streaks in her curled red hair, stands at attention, her hand firm against the table.

MS. VAN DELL: Certainly. Paris!

PARIS, an even thinner woman with jet-black hair, rises from her seat and hands MS. VAN DELL a device that looks vaguely like a radar gun. Ms. Van Dell firmly raises it above the table and, with a flourish, flicks the switch on the gun’s side. A holographic display spews outward, bathing the dinner party in bluish light.

MS. VAN DELL (firmly): See this, everyone?

The hologram is displaying some news footage – specifically, the same news footage that was seen in episode 3.

MS. VAN DELL: THIS is the news footage of the monster that destroyed Swaggert Tower.

MR. SWAGGERT puts his hand to his face and turns away from the hologram.

MS. VAN DELL (con’t): Footage that was made immediately after the attack, and mysteriously disappeared from the news studio just minutes from being aired.

Ms. Van Dell turns to Rubino.

MS. VAN DELL: Our host, Mr. Rubino, took their videotape of the intended broadcast, keeping it as a personal trinket. I do hope he does not mind if I share my OWN copy with you all.

Rubino maintains a dignified air.

MS. VAN DELL: The disappearance of the phyiscal media was, of course, all Mr. Rubino’s, but the virtual media’s disappearance was all my doing. I am the only person in the world with a copy of this – monster!

Rubino, still dignified, bears but the slightest mark of impatience.

MS. VAN DELL: Gentlemen! This monster is a threat to us all! If it could destroy a skyscraper, what else could it do? Destroy a city? Surely an army can take it down, you say. Gentlemen…

(MS. VAN DELL pushes a button on her gun)

MS. VAN DELL (con’t): … he’s already taken down an army!

The hologram now displays surveillance footage of a parking lot. The dinosaur’s foot kicks several gangsters. Other gangsters run away, but a panther leaps from offscreen onto them.

MS. VAN DELL: Three days after the first attack, the monster was seen attacking in the parking lot of a local office. Taken straight from the surveillance cameras, not even Rubino has this footage.

Rubino’s dignified stance is increasingly degrading into irritation.

MS. VAN DELL: First, notice that the dinosaur is not the only monster at the scene. You can see the vicious wild cat plainly enough. But right HERE…

Ms. Van Dell pauses the video and zooms in towards a blurry figure, who despite being unrecognizable, is clearly directing the panther with his hands.

MS. VAN DELL: Somebody is LEADING these monsters.

CUT to a distant shot of the outhouse. Rain and wind pour down against the earth.

MS. VAN DELL (V.O.): Someone is behind this. Someone has a great power in their hands, leading us down a winding path, waiting for the right time to pull the rug out from underneath us.

A car pulls up. Chee lands on the hood. A car door opens and slams shut.

JASON: This is it. We’re here.