fingers against her neck to check her pulse. He crosses to the armchair, picks back up his phone and resumes the call conversation.
JAKE
I'm sorry, what was that last?...Oh, right, thank you. Funny thing. My wife just fainted. She's okay, all life signs normal.
She regains consciousness and looks at Jake.
VICKI
Was that a? I just had a, I just had a--
JAKE
(to Vicki)
Breathe deeply and slowly. It wasn't a dream.
(to Mr. Thoreau)
What? No, she just woke up again. She's fine. I think.
He looks down.
JAKE
Oh, no, she's out again.
He rushes to her, and checks her breath and pulse again.
JAKE
Her signs are still fine, I'm sure she will be...yes, thank you, I also think I'd better. Thank you so much again. Okay. Bye-bye.
He hangs up, fills a glass of water from the kitchen tap, and splashes it in her face. She wakes with a start.
VICKI
I had an, I, where am I? Oh! I had a, was that a--
JAKE
You've gone out twice. You need to stay awake. I'll keep you awake.
He kisses her. She kisses back.
VICKI
Did I have a dream? What was it?
JAKE
They gave me three percent of everything.
He points to the laptop PC.
JAKE
It wasn't a dream.
VICKI
Oh my--
JAKE
Not again, stay awake.
He kisses her.
VICKI
Mmm...babies! More babies!
EXT. BEACH--DAY
A tidal wave crashes ashore. Dominick and Heidi, in swimwear, chase its wake as it recedes down the shore. They stand and wait as another wave approaches. It nears, and they run up the shore from it. It crashes ashore, the wake lunges them forward, and they laugh and run up-shore in the shallow wake.
Jake and Vicki sit on a beach towel further up shore, both in modest swimwear, and watch their kids.
VICKI
The. Best.
JAKE
I always hear and feel God in the ocean. Say that I'm religious.
VICKI
You're religious.
JAKE
Ha ha.
VICKI
And prescient.
JAKE
Huh?
VICKI
Prescient to get away as quickly as possible and without announcement when the funding campaign went mind-blowingly crazy. How much did you pay the nice couple to guard our house again?
JAKE
Too much. It'll be fine. They might not be. Harassed by money-and-fame worshipers, the media etc. This is a tangent, but for your safety, do you promise to absolutely obey what I am about to say?
VICKI
Uh, for my safety? Okay. What's up?
JAKE
Keep looking at the waves crashing on the shore right in front of us--
VICKI
Oh no. Somoene's following us.
JAKE
Correct. Look ahead like that, and don't look anywhere else. They are not paying the man enough who is following us. He's the raunchy jerk in a suit pretending to have nothing to do other than whistle at women in bikinis as they pass on the sidewalk past our hotel. I called a brothel--
She laughs hard.
VICKI
That must have been exciting. You hired prostitutes to distract him? When?
He checks his watch.
JAKE
They'll be distracting him right now. They'll tell him his backup is on watch, and the boss sent them as a reward for his excellent work.
VICKI
Oh my gosh! I'm guessing they won't say it in those words.
JAKE
Ha! No, probably not.
He glances down at his cell phone, which rests conspicuously face-up on the towel, in front of him.
JAKE
Okay, they just texted me the signal that he's out of the way.
VICKI
How do you know he won't see that it's your number? And I hope the signal doesn't give anything away?
JAKE
They sent to an aliased number that forwarded to me. And it's a code phrase unrelated to anything.
VICKI
Oh, sheesh. But how do you know he won't take revenge on them after he knows we're gone?
JAKE
You've thought this through as well as they have--good job. He won't be able to take revenge on them because they are from an elite but completely invisible business-to-business only establishment, in another country--but nobody knows which country. Whatever country you find them in, they'll lead you away to their headquarters "in another country."
VICKI
Holy cow! How do you know that?
JAKE
Because I contacted them from aliased numbers in Germany and Norway--
VICKI
What? How?
JAKE
New-found wealth, new-found means of secret superpowers--anyway I called them from two different countries and asked to speak to the boss, and they each referred to him as being in some different country, the last they heard, they said. I put the lie to them and they demurred--but where was I? Oh yeah, our distractors. I paid for their travel. They will make sure he's distracted for at least half an hour--they'll even drug him if they have to--
VICKI
I didn't hear that--
JAKE
No, you didn't--and then they will vanish out-of-state, and he will have no way to find them.
He glances at his cell phone.
JAKE
Oh, crud.
VICKI
What?
JAKE
They have to take out his backup guy, too--the backup guy made a false trail to somewhere else, but he's here too. Wow, duh, why didn't I think of that?
He conspicuously taps a text out on the cell phone and sends it.
JAKE
They brought backup just in case, and told me that's their standard procedure--
VICKI
Wow, they are good!
JAKE
The best. I think I actually embarrassed them when I pointed out the inconsistent aliases. It gave me leverage to ask a lower price. Absolute buy, though. They're responsible for a few targeted political scandals, at least.
Vicki laughs.
VICKI
Holy cow!
JAKE
And they just told me it'll cost double. I told them okay. It'll be a minute.
They watch the kids chase another receded wave and dodge another newly crashed wave. Jake glances at his cell phone.
JAKE
Okay, his backup is also neutralized.
VICKI
You mean inebriated with lust.
JAKE
Same diff. Ah, the humanity!
They laugh.
JAKE
We've got half an hour to leave the hotel and get good lead time on an escape. We won't even check out of the hotel.
VICKI
Uh, what? Who will take care of the bill? And can we please pack our belongings first?
JAKE
"We" will pay the bill after another week of "staying" here, by way of some of our spy friends who will play as us. Yes, they look nearly exactly like us. Trickery and the best stage craft. They're packing our belongings now. They'll bring them to that hotel over there in a blue car, within minutes.
He points along the beach to another beach-front hotel a hundred yards away.
VICKI
Wow!
JAKE
So, for what we're about to do, we have to make as if everything is ordinary, and not look anywhere other than right in front of us. We'll get the kids, and walk along the shore to that other hotel.
VICKI
Where will we escape to?
JAKE
We'll catch a fligh
t, under aliases, to another luxury hotel in Cali, back in the States.
VICKI
Ooh, fun!
JAKE
I know, right? Okay, let's roll. I'll go get the kids, and after a minute, you follow after us. We'll leave the beach towel and everything else here.
VICKI
Aw, but--
JAKE
I know. One-of-a-kind and your favorite. A spy friend will deliver it to us at our new destination. But for now, we have to leave it here. I'll get the kids now. As I said, please wait a minute, then follow us.
VICKI
Okee-dokee! Do you want another baby?
He looks at her in surprise, as if to say: "But I thought you already knew."
JAKE
Yes. Heck yes. Lots more babies. I'll settle for one new baby right now, in the next year or so, please, and God willing.
VICKI
Woohoo! But you realize you just asked for twins, triplets, or other-tuplets.
JAKE
Fabulous. Send them down, O Lord, send them down. As the sands of the sea.
VICKI
Amen.
He stands and walks to the kids. Vicki watches him talk to Dominick, take Heidi by the hand, and walk along the shore. He stops, turns, and looks up-shore at VALENTI LAMBARDO, male, Spanish-Italian, thirty-five, cosmopolitan and thuggish, but bright-eyed and amiable, in a slick suit. Jake gives Vicki a hard glare that warns her, and slowly shakes his head. He makes a call on his cell phone. He talks to someone, then hangs up, walks the kids to Vicki, and sits with her.
JAKE
Please sit with us for a minute, kids.
They sit on the towel and look at the surf.
JAKE
(to Vicki)
Second backup, up the shore.
DOMINICK
Huh? Backup what? Oh! Sheesh. I third guy?
JAKE
Yes. Kids, stay here with Mother. All of you--actually, Kids, you just keep playing at the shore but be ready to leave with Mother and I at any second. All of you, look only at the ocean and waves straight ahead, do not look at me, and do not look at the Hotels or city. I'm going to go take out that second backup.
DOMINICK
"Take out?" What do you--
HEIDI
He's
Treachery Page 22