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Treachery

Page 22

by Richard Alexander Hall

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

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