Feets (4)
JACQUES Possess this! Jacques throws the bottle at the slavecatchers. Gates and Willie dive for cover. The Bottles CRASHES against the wall. Leo steps between the combatants. LEO Not in here! Jacques knocks over tables and chairs. Rushes toward the back of the Sty. Gates and Willie start to follow. Leo blocks their path. GATES Outta my way! Gates pushes Leo aside. EXT. THE CHASE - NEXT MOMENTS. Jacques sprints down the alley. The slavecatchers burst out of the Sty's backdoor. Ahead by forty feet, Jacques bolts down the street. Gates and Willie are steady getting up. Jacques disappears around a corner. GATES (to Willie) He's heading for the market. Jacques darts up a long sloping staircase. Gates and Willie begin to gain on him. Jacques runs across a street-spanning footbridge. At the end of the bridge is a narrow staircase. Down the tight spiral, Jacques drops two stairs at a time. Approaching the bottom, he leaps, landing in a crouch. POUNDING down the stairway, he slavecatchers scramble after him. Ahead, nine steps lead up to an elevated footbridge. Jacques takes them in three bounds. The bridge roof is low, flat and heavy. At the end of the bridge, is a low hanging crossbeam. Approaching the beam, Jacques chops his stride and ducks under. Willie and Gates continue to close. Jacques heads toward a staircase that drops to a sunken plaza. Gates spies a catwalk over the plaza. Jacques looks back over his shoulder. Sees Willie falling off the pace. Ahead, Jacques confronts a three-way split, two stairways go up and one down. Jacques climbs the left spiral. Glances back at Willie. Charging hard, Gates is at two o'clock and closing fast. Jacques leans into a left stride. Gates lunges. Jacques shifts right. Gates flies past. Jacques bounds down the right spiral. Gates careens down the left. Narrowly avoids his on-rushing partner. Reaching the bottom, Jacques grabs the banister. Pivoting in a tight one-eighty, he returns to his original direction. He speeds past a row of market stalls. The slavecatchers are falling back. Jacques swings right and enters a circular ramp. Gates, breaking off the pursuit, runs straight ahead. Reaching the bottom, Jacques sprints through a tunnel toward an open field. Descending an outside stairway, Gates sees Jacques. He vaults the stairway banister. Diving for his quarry. Gates grabs a handful of coattail. Jacques slashes at the grip, one twice. HUFFING and PUFFING, Willie chugs toward them. Jacques breaks Gates' grip. Dashes across the field. Disappears into the woods. EXT. FIELD - SAME. Sweaty and exhausted, Gates and Willie stand in the field. WILLIE If it hadn't been for that, damn Leo. We'd have caught him. GATES Let us pay Mister Leo another visit. Gates pounds his right fist, against his left palm. WILLIE Something short and sharp? GATES Better, blunt and brutal. INT. PARLOR OF PAIN - DAY. Instruments of bondage and torture hang neatly on the gray stone walls. An "X" shaped rack, takes up one side of the room. Wearing a Native Americanized dominatrix outfit - a buckskin corset, thigh-high brown leather boots, white lace fingerless gloves, and a beaded choker, the Princess enters. The Colonel follows. He goes over to the wall. THE COLONEL There they are. Aren't they wonderful? My darlings, my pets. The bullwhip, the chains, the paddles. And what's this I see? A new slave set. The Colonel takes the slave set (a black leather harness with a jock, a collar, a blindfold, a gag, and wrist and ankle cuffs), down from the wall. The Colonel admires himself in the mirror on the closet door. INSERT Anne peers at the Colonel through the one-way mirror door. THE COLONEL (O.S.) Can I wear this? It's exquisite. BACK TO SCENE. The Princess walks over. PRINCESS More exquisite than I? THE COLONEL Oh, no Princess. The Princess holds her hand against the Colonel lips. He licks her fingers. PRINCESS Ready to submit? THE COLONEL Yes, Princess. PRINCESS Today's word will be -- "Anne." THE COLONEL But Princess. PRINCESS Ready to submit! THE COLONEL Yes, Princess. PRINCESS Strip! The Colonel strips down to his shorts. PRINCESS Leash! The Colonel takes a leash and collar down from the wall. Fastens the collar around his neck. Drops to his hands and knees. PRINCESS Eyes down! Holding the leash, the Princess strolls around the parlor. The Colonel crawls after her. She picks up a riding crop. Strokes his cheek with the crop. PRINCESS You've been very naughty. THE COLONEL Oh, yes. That I have. That I have. The Princess whacks his backside with the crop. PRINCESS Yes, Princess! Have you forgotten slave? THE COLONEL No, Princess. PRINCESS You know what happens to disobedient slaves. THE COLONEL Yes, Princess. The Princess SNAPS her fingers. Points at a chair. The Colonel crawls over. Carries the chair to the Princess. She sits. The Colonel assumes the traditional spanking position. {THWACK} INT. IN THE CLOSET - SAME. Anne struggles to suppress laughter. {THWACK}, {THWACK} PRINCESS (O.S.) You love this. Don't you? You little pain pig. {THWACK} THE COLONEL (O.S.) Aaaah. Yes, Princess. Yes. Yes. {THWACK} PRINCESS (O.S.) I think it's time for some serious discipline. EXT. STREET - DAY. Jacques emerges from the woods, and onto the streets of Emancipation City. Passes a street sign stating, "Airport." Checks his ticket. JACQUES (to himself) Air Canada -- flight number 701 -- now boarding for Toronto. Jacques passes a street sign, Shawnee. INT. STY - DAY. The Sty is empty. Behind the bar, Leo restocks the liquor. Gates and Willie enter. LEO No luck, gentlemen? Smiling, Gates approaches Leo. Willie locks the front door. Flips the door sign to "CLOSED." GATES Well, you win some, and you lose some. Then, there are those you wish you'd never played at all. Gates extends his hand for a shake. Their hands clasp. Gates takes hold of Leo's arm. LEO What are you doing? Let go of me! Willie grabs Leo's other arm. The slavecatchers pull him, over the bar. Leo struggles to free himself. The slavecatchers push him, face down on the floor. Pin his arms behind him. LEO Enough already. Stop this! With a length of rope, Gates binds Leo's wrists. LEO What do you want? Willie binds Leo's ankles. Gates pulls a chair onto the middle of the floor. The slavecatchers deposit Leo in the chair. Willie ties the ankle bindings to the wrists. LEO Come on. You've had your fun. Now, untie me. Simultaneously, Gates and Willie jab Leo on the shoulder. Gates leans over Leo. GATES Where'd he go? LEO Where did who go? Gates slaps Leo. GATES Don't you play with me. Now, where did he go? LEO I don't know! GATES One last time, where'd he go? LEO If I knew, I'd tell you. What do you want from me? GATES What we want, is for you to shut your lying trap -- and out of the graciousness of my good heart, I shall assist you in achieving that goal. Gates takes a handkerchief, out of his pocket. Pinches Leo's nose. Stuffs the rag into the man's mouth. GATES (to Willie) At this point, I think a taste or two would be most appropriate. WILLIE Sounds good to me. EXT. STREET - DAY. Jacques quickly passes street signs - Onondaga and Cayuga. Slowing, he passes the signs - Seneca, Massasoit and Seminole. INT. PARLOR OF PAIN - DAY. Attired in the slave set, the Colonel is chained to the rack. The Princess taps his jock with the tip of her whip. PRINCESS Who's got you by the short hairs now? THE COLONEL (in a pinched tone) You, Princess. The Princess blindfolds the Colonel. PRINCESS Today, one hundred lashes. Before it's over, you'll be begging for mercy. The Colonel cringes. THE COLONEL Oh, no, no. The Princess picks up a whip. PRINCESS I'm going to begin with this little whip. The Princess places the whip against the Colonel's lips. He kisses it. PRINCESS You're never getting out of here. The Princess starts the lash. THE COLONEL {THWACK} One. {THWACK} Two. {THWACK} Three ... EXT. STREET - DAY. Slowly, Jacques passes the signs - MOJAVE and NAVAJO. Jacques reaches the sign - COLUMBUS. Stops. Gazes at the sign. INT. PARLOR OF PAIN - DAY. The Princess swings a large whip. THE COLONEL ... {THWACK} fifty-one. {THWACK} fifty-two. {THWACK} fifty-three ... JACQUES (V.O.) ... forced to watch the whippings -- salt and pepper in the cuts ... The Princess outfit MORPHS to a buckskin dress and moccasins. With all of her might, Sacheen cracks the whip. {THWACK!} THE COLONEL ... {THWACK!} sixty-four. {THWACK!} sixty-five. {THWACK!} sixty-six ... JACQUES (V.O.) ... next to the fire 'till his back blistered ... THE COLONEL ... {THWACK!} seventy. JACQUES (V.O.) ... claw the blisters till they burst -- calls 'em frolics ... THE COLONEL ... {THWACK!} seventy-seven. {THWACK!} seventy-eight. {THWACK!} seventy-nine -- I can't -- oh -- {THWACK!} eighty. {THWACK!} eighty-one. {THWACK!} eighty-two -- {THWACK!} -- ah, {THWACK!}, ah -- {THWACK!}, I can't -- oh -- Anne! Anne. Sacheen stops. Her clothes MORPH back to the Princess. The closet door opens. Sacheen motions to Anne - remove the blindfold. Anne yanks off the blindfold. The Colonel blinks, and blinks again. ANNE You called? THE COLONEL Oh. Oh, what are you doing here? ANNE Did you think I was a little too "ditzy-witzy" to figure it all out? THE COLONEL Sacheen, how could you? Sacheen shrugs. Hands her whip to Anne. ANNE So, this is the man I married. What a fine figure of a husband, you turned out to be. THE COLONEL What do you want? ANNE There are a few items we need to discuss. I am your lawfully wedded wife - a position that, not only includes the daily humiliation of your infidelities with that - Jemima, but now, embraces this distasteful spectacle. THE COLONEL So, you want me to sell the slave girls? Is that it? Should I put the wenches and their little suckers on the block, or just the wenches? ANNE Don't try to change the subject. You're not worming your way out of this one. INT. STY - DAY. Seated at the table, Willie and Gates face a half-empty bottle of Southern Comfort. GATES It's showtime. Gates stands. Puts on a pair of black gloves. Cracks his knuckles. Yanks the gag out of Leo's mouth. GATES Now, where did he go? Leo struggles for breath. LEO Ah -- I -- I don't know. Gates puts his foot on the seat of the chair. Smashes Leo in the mouth. Gates paces in front of the captive figure. Leo's face begins to redden. GATES You think we're stupid, don't you? Don't you! Gates smacks Leo with another right. Leo's head slumps to the side. Momentarily, he lifts his head. LEO What -- wha ... Leo's head slumps again. GATES (to Willie) See if you can knock some sense into this man. Willie walks over. WILLIE Now, tell Mister Gates, what he's a wantin' ta know. Leo tries to lift his head. LEO Wha -- wha ... Grabs Leo's hair with his left hand and hits him with the right. WILLIE You done messed with our money. Hits Leo with a right. LEO Uhh -- uhh -- you want money -- take it. GATES (to Willie) You heard what the man said. He said; "take it." WILLIE That's what he said. Willie hits Leo with a left. Leo loses consciousness. Gates opens the cash register. Scoops out the bills. Stuffs them into his pocket. WILLIE Hey! Half of that's me. GATES Don't worry partner -- I've got'cha covered. INT. PARLOR OF PAIN - DAY. Unnoticed, Jacques stands silently in the doorway. Anne and Sacheen confront the Colonel. ANNE That's not the point ... THE COLONEL The point is I've provided you with a nice life. But somehow, this isn't good enough for you. You want to be independent, like Sacheen. Isn't that what all this whining is about? ANNE No! THE COLONEL Let's see -- the Princess of Pain is already taken -- so let's make you the Shrew of Shreveport. No -- I got it, the Bitch of the Bayou! ANNE What! You -- you're the Pig of the Plantation -- always rooting around to see what you can stick your snout into. THE COLONEL It's a small compensation, for the boredom of living with you. ANNE Boredom! If in all your ruttin', you had picked up even one new trick, I wouldn't have to watch so damn many soap operas. The Colonel notices Jacques. THE COLONEL Well, wonders will never cease. If it isn't my boy, Jacques. Anne and Sacheen, see Jacques. Anne recoils from him. ANNE (to Sacheen) What's he doing here? JACQUES Sach, to hell with all this. Come to Canada with me. THE COLONEL Go on Sacheen. Go on with him. Jacques walks over to Sacheen. JACQUES (to Sacheen) Canada's going to be absolutely beautiful. THE COLONEL Tell me Sacheen -- how will your slave hero support you? Before you know it, he'll have you turning tricks on the corner. Jacques walks over to the Colonel. JACQUES Stuff it. Colonel, you -- you don't even belong to the human race. THE COLONEL And who are you to pass judgement? I'm the one who pays taxes. If civilized men like me hadn't imported you, you savages would still be back in the jungle slaughtering each other. JACQUES Savage is it. And I suppose your whips and chain are civilized? THE COLONEL Power determines who's the civilized and who's the savage. Right now, I'm running things. JACQUES You don't look so powerful to me. At the moment, the only thing you're running is your mouth. Jacques pinches the Colonel's cheek. JACQUES (to Sacheen) Let's get out of here. SACHEEN Just a sec. Sacheen pops the videotape out of the camera. Hands it to Jacques. The Colonel's jaw hits the floor. SACHEEN (to Jacques) Keep an eye on him while I change. JACQUES This'll make for interesting viewing on those cold Canadian nights. THE COLONEL Jack, my boy, do you think it'll be any different in Canada? Americans own Canada. We humor the Canucks by allowing them to operate the place. JACQUES But you've forgotten the one big difference - there are no slaves in Canada. THE COLONEL You must not have heard they've already got a mess of ya -- there have been incidents. JACQUES That's enough out of you, flesh peddler. Sacheen reappears in a fringed jacket, buckskin dress, and moccasins. Taking the tape from Jacques she puts it in her pocket. SACHEEN (to Anne) I'll mail a duplicate directly to your lawyers. The Colonel glares at Anne. Jacques takes Sacheen's hand. Leads her out of the parlor. THE COLONEL (calling out) Hey, Sacheen, you know it's hard to tell what you are. The Canadians will take you for a Negress of uncertain origin. The front door SLAMS. Anne is motionless. THE COLONEL Don't just stand there. Get me out of this! Anne unties the right side restraints. The Colonel unties his left. Anne unties the ankles. The Colonel grabs his jacket. Pulls out a cell phone. Dials Gates. THE COLONEL Gates, I've seen him. He's heading for Canada with a squaw. She got a tape. Get it and I'll pay you double -- the tunnel's your best bet. I'll get some locals to cover the airport -- and remember, I paid good money for that shine. I want him back in one piece. No bullet holes or no reward. INT. STY - NEXT MOMENT. Gates hangs up. GATES (to Willie) The Colonel's seen him. He's with a squaw. Figures they're headin' for the border tunnels. WILLIE Let's go get paid. GATES Lemme just close our tab. Gates walks toward the unconscious Leo. Clarissa enters. CLARISSA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! She rushes over to Leo. Cradles his head. Gates dismisses the scene with a wave of his hand. EXT. STILLMAN STREET - NEXT MOMENT. Jacques and Sacheen approach the Sty. SACHEEN I owe Leo a lot. The least I can do is say goodbye. JACQUES All right then, but be quick about it. Gates and Willie walk out the door. Jacques and Sacheen halt. The slavecatchers sight their prey. JACQUES Bloody hell! Sacheen grabs Jacques' hand. SACHEEN This way! EXT. ALLEY WAY - NEXT MOMENTS. Leads him into an alleyway. The slavecatchers give chase. Jacques and Sacheen vault a waist high fence. Jacques pulls ahead. SACHEEN Keep going. He slows slightly. They leap a second fence in unison. Jacques and Sacheen reach the next street. Head toward some thick bushes. The slavecatchers reach the street. Jacques and Sacheen disappear into the thicket. The slavecatchers lose sight of them. EXT. THICKET - SAME. The slavecatchers proceed slowly into the thicket. Willie searches the tree branches. Squatting, Gates peers through the undergrowth. Hidden from view, Jacques and Sacheen crouch among the bushes. Using her hands, Sacheen indicates that she'll crawl back to the street, and Jacques should follow thereafter. Slowly, she creeps away. GATES Damn. WILLIE Hold on. Let's lay for 'em at the tunnels, If the Colonel's right, they'll be comin' to us. Jacques HEARS the conversation. GATES No, I'll go. You track 'em from here. If you catch 'em, the squaw's got a tape get it and haul his butt to me. If you don't find 'em, come anyway. I'll have 'em all trussed up and ready ta greet ya. WILLIE Will do. Gates starts back toward the street. Jacques signals to Sacheen - RETURN! Sacheen motions for him to follow. Shaking his head, Jacques vigorously signals - RETURN! As Sacheen hops into the bushes, Gates steps onto the street. Gates sees nothing. Jacques and Sacheen crawl toward each other. SACHEEN Well, we've only got one of 'em to contend with. JACQUES Get him to chase you, and I'll hit him with something. SACHEEN No, you lure him back down the alley. I'll have a surprise waiting. Jacques stares at her. Sacheen opens her jacket. Reveals her tomahawk, tucked into her belt. SACHEEN Trust me. She crawls back toward the street. Jacques picks up a twig. SNAPS it. Willie searches for the source of the sound. Jacques stands up. JACQUES (to Willie) Hey, filth! Over here! Willie spots him. Jacques runs through the bushes. Willie gives chase. EXT. STREET - NEXT MOMENT. Jacques bursts out of the thicket. Runs toward the alley. Willie trails behind. JACQUES Come on porker! EXT. ALLEY WAY - NEXT MOMENT. HEARING Jacques' taunt, Sacheen prepares. Jacques runs past. JACQUES Now! Sacheen steps into Willie's path. Swings the tomahawk at his head. Avoiding the blow, Willie loses his balance. Crashes into some trashcans. Falls flat on his face. Sacheen rushes over. Kicks him in the head. Knocks him cold. JACQUES Let's tie him up. Using Willie's own clothing and restraints, they tie him up. Sacheen shoves Willie's handkerchief into his mouth. JACQUES One down. SACHEEN One to go. EXT. WAREHOUSE DISTRICT - DAY. Jacques and Sacheen head down a deserted street. JACQUES Glad you came?
Copyright © 1999 David Trotman |