DANNY
I did.
SCOTTIE
And yet Danny stayed with him, believing love meant sticking by your man even when they split your lip. And bruise your eye. He’s an insufferable romantic. One of the last. When I asked him, once, what he wanted to do with his life...
SCOTTIE (CONT’D)
(To Danny)
Do you mind?
Danny does mind.
DANNY
Go ahead.
SCOTTIE
He said: ‘I always dreamed of being a better dad than my dad’.
DANNY
That wouldn’t be hard.
SCOTTIE
So what are my duties tonight? Does it fall upon me to say - ‘Don’t break his heart’.
ALEX
I could never hurt Danny.
SCOTTIE
May I ask, as someone who has witnessed the breaking of many a heart, how you can be so sure?
ALEX
Because he’s the only friend I have.
An exceptionally open remark. The force of it takes Danny by surprise as it does Scottie, who is struck full of wonder at this statement.
The wind goes out of Scottie’s rhetorical sails.
Scottie raises his glass. His tone changes. His toast is affectionate. Melancholy. And genuine.
SCOTTIE
I’m pleased for you. I’m pleased for both of you.
EXT. BALLROOM GAY CLUB. NIGHT
Danny and Alex exit into a bitter winter night.
DANNY
Had you two met before?
ALEX
No.
Danny’s about to say something but Alex moves off. Danny, troubled, lights up a cigarette.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT
Danny smoking, still troubled. Looks out of window --
EXT. DANNY’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COURTYARD. NIGHT
We see all the flats as before. Except one change:
The old man’s flat is empty. All furniture gone. On the floor is a polystyrene cup of steaming coffee, beside a glass ash-tray, smoke rising from a cigarette.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT
Danny stares for a moment, thinking nothing of it.
At the sink he uses mouthwash. Looks at his reflection - clearly weighing something up.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT
Danny enters. The room has been transformed. Organized. Cleaner, less student-like.
Alex is already in bed, his body language communicates that he wants to sleep.
Danny shuts the door. He sits on the bed. Alex’s back is turned to him. Danny puts a hand on him.
DANNY
Scottie asked if you knew how I became his friend.
Alex turns and sits up. He judges Danny’s expression.
ALEX
Danny, you don’t need to tell me anything --
DANNY
I need to tell you this.
ALEX
I love you.
The words strike Danny. His reaction suggests it’s the first time Alex has said them.
ALEX
And I don’t need to know.
DANNY
I love you. And I need you to know.
Danny takes a moment. Then speaks calmly, softly, his control faltering only slightly.
DANNY
I was nineteen, like he said. A bad time. I’d left home. I was doing a lot of drugs. One night I was wired. Not happy, not high - numb. I posted an ad online saying anyone could come round. I mean - anyone. I’d be waiting. My only condition was that they didn’t speak.
(beat)
And people showed up... I don’t remember much about them... there were two older guys. They arrived together. I didn’t turn them away. I didn’t ask anything of them. I just reminded them of my rule. Not to speak. And they must have thought their luck was in... Because they didn’t make a sound.
(beat)
The next day I couldn’t stop crying. I went to see Scottie. I’d only met him a few times. But he was the only person I could trust. He took me straight to the hospital. They put me on a course of PEP --
Danny checks to see if Alex knows what PEP is.
DANNY
Emergency medication. In case you might have been exposed to HIV. I was on the drugs for twenty eight days. There were... side effects.
Terrible ones, we sense, but no detail.
DANNY
I took so much time off work they fired me. Because I couldn’t explain why... Scottie looked after me. Sixteen weeks later I had an HIV test. I was clear.
(beat)
And we were friends.
(beat)
I’ve never done anything like that again. I swear. I was out of my mind. I’m always safe. Always. I don’t know what happened to me that night. I look back and I don’t recognise that person.
DANNY (CONT’D)
(new thought)
And I’ve never cheated on you. Never. I don’t want to have any secrets from you. I never want to have any secrets ever again.
A brief moment of relief for Danny, a burden being lifted. An echo of Alex’s relief.
But then Danny becomes apprehensive he’s said too much.
Alex is inscrutable. Indecipherable silence.
And then, slowly, he raises his hand - outstretched, in a gesture that seems new and exploratory.
Danny, mirroring the new movement, raises his own hand, placing it against Alex’s, palms touching.
As if Alex has said something profound, Danny, nods. Their fingers inter-lock.
ALEX
That’s all we need to know.
That line lands awkwardly, like we sense it’s just an idea, an idea that can’t hold. And they sense it too.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. KITCHEN. MORNING
Danny bustling. Alex is seated. Danny serves breakfast.
DANNY
Let’s go away for the weekend.
Alex considers. Danny’s nervous. It’s a test.
ALEX
Sure.
Danny’s relieved. About to say more when --
Alex turns the radio on, turning it up loud.
ALEX
I have to buy a battery for my laptop.
The observation seems strangely irrelevant.
ALEX
I can’t go without replacing it.
DANNY
If you need to work that’s fine.
ALEX
As long as you understand.
Oddly emphatic. Oddly mundane. Oddly unnecessary.
DANNY
I understand.
INT. WAREHOUSE. DAY
Danny’s working. But his eye is on the clock. As soon as it hits six he hurries out.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. EVENING
Danny packs his bag. For long walks. We see that he’s bought proper hiking shoes.
EXT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. EVENING
Bag by his side, Danny rings the doorbell. The security camera a bulbous black spot. No reply. He waits.
Danny rings the bell again. Checks his watch. He takes out his phone. Dials Alex. Goes straight to voicemail.
Mild anxiety creeps over Danny. He dials again --
EXT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. NIGHT
Danny seated on the steps. Grim-faced. The house is dark. He looks at his phone. No calls.
Leaving his bag on the steps he walks into the street and looks up at the flat window.
The terrace. The bedroom. No lights. No sign of life.
EXT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. NIGHT
Danny still seated. Upset. Cold. He dials again. But a sense of futility prevails. No reply.
Suddenly it beeps - it’s painful how excited Danny is. But the phone has a low battery. There are no messages.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Danny enters. Sara and Pavel and a group of friends are wasted, drunk, high, seated in a circle, chatting.
DANNY
Has anyone called for me?
But his voice is lost among the noise. No one hears him. There’s laughter. Danny raises his voice:
DANNY
Has anyone called!
Shocked silence.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. DAWN
Danny seated on the bed. His phone beside him. He hasn’t undressed. He hasn’t slept.
EXT. CHELSEA. NIGHT
Heavy rain, Danny walking towards Alex’s apartment.
EXT/INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING / HALLWAY. NIGHT
Dripping wet, Danny posts a letter written to ‘Alex’. As he’s posting he sees a silhouette in the hallway.
Excited, Danny raps on the glass. The silhouette disappears into the darkness.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. KITCHEN. NIGHT
Danny still hasn’t slept. Sara and Pavel are opposite him. Concerned, Sara places a pill in front of him.
PAVEL
You need to sleep.
Sara reaches out, touches Danny’s arm. He looks up, putting on a weak imitation of his usual self.
DANNY
You never sleep.
PAVEL
(kind)
No. But you used to.
To appease them, Danny accepts the pill.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT
Danny drops the pill down the sink. Washes it away. Takes out his cigarettes instead.
He sits at the window. About to smoke.
We see the view --
EXT. DANNY’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COURTYARD. NIGHT
The room that previously belonged to the old man. A fleeting glimpse of a figure, and then the shutters slam shut, leaving only cigarette smoke.
EXT. DANNY’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COURTYARD. NIGHT
A ragged-sleep-deprived Danny, uncertain as to what he is doing, or why, enters the courtyard.
He lights his cigarette, smoking outside, eyes on the apartment with the shutters.
On the ground: a great many discarded cigarette butts.
He moves forward, without a rational explanation of why, about to tap on the window of the shuttered apartment, but he stops, ready to knock, but not doing so --
EXT. SCOTTIE’S HOUSE. HAMPSTEAD. DAY
Danny’s hand knocking on Scottie’s front door.
It opens.
A bedraggled Danny outside Scottie’s home. Scottie looks him up and down.
There’s concern. But also weariness.
INT. SCOTTIE’S HOUSE. LIVING ROOM. DAY
Scottie’s home is filled with antiques, books, art - a collector but the feel is never stuffy. Danny’s pacing.
SCOTTIE
How long?
DANNY
Eleven days.
SCOTTIE
What happened?
DANNY
I told him.
With delicate cruelty.
SCOTTIE
That you loved him?
DANNY
How you and I became friends.
Scottie considers. He gets it.
SCOTTIE
That was a mistake.
Danny’s winded by the verification of his fears.
DANNY
Why didn’t I shut my mouth?
SCOTTIE
Because you needed to know - could he still love you?
DANNY
I’ve fucked it up. I’d fucked it up before I’d even met him.
SCOTTIE
You’ve tried everything?
Danny nods.
SCOTTIE
There’s only one thing left to do. Accept that it’s over.
DANNY
I can’t.
SCOTTIE
What other choice do you have?
Danny sits, head in his hands.
SCOTTIE
You’ll get over it, Danny. Not quickly. Not completely. But enough to carry on. Trust me on that. Now, I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse me. I have work to do.
DANNY
You want me to leave?
SCOTTIE
I’d never ask you to leave. Rest here. Sleep, eat. But today I cannot play assistant to your personal life.
Scottie moves to the door. But he pauses, looks back:
SCOTTIE
Out of curiosity, did you ever wonder... what I might want...
Danny processes this information. Puzzled at first.
DANNY
What you want?
(beat)
What do you want?
Scottie regrets saying anything.
DANNY
You want this?
Danny starts taking off his clothes.
DANNY
Is this what you want?
He continues to strip. Not erotic. Pitiful. His shirt gets stuck over his head. He rips it free.
He stands, top off, jeans unbuttoned, in the middle of the flat. He’s angry.
DANNY
What do I owe you? Five nights? Ten nights? Tell me!
The reference to escorts hurts. As it was intended. A flash of shame. Danny sees that he’s upset his friend.
DANNY
I’m sorry.
Scottie slowly picks up the dropped clothes.
DANNY
Scottie, I’m sorry.
Scottie folds them neatly and hands them to Danny.
His pain is clear. Not unrequited sexual desire. But of unrequited love. Danny’s ashamed.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COMMUNAL HALLWAY. DAY
In his ripped shirt Danny climbs the stairs towards the front door, taking out his key --
Only to see it’s been smashed open.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. HALLYWAY. DAY
The flat is in disarray.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. DAY
Danny enters his room to find it turned over. The mattress ripped open.
He stands - numb, believing it to be misfortune.
INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. KITCHEN. DAY
Danny, Pavel and Sara are seated around the table. We play this scene on Danny, barely listening. His friends chat and banter in the background. He’s not part.
PAVEL
We should call the police.
SARA
Nothing was taken. We couldn’t give our stuff away.
INT. WAREHOUSE. ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE. DAY
Danny seated opposite his boss. Danny looks dreadful. His boss eyes him with genuine concern.
DANNY
I’m fine. You know me: I’m always fine.
EXT. WAREHOUSE. YARD. NIGHT
Very few people around.
Danny sips an energy drink. And smokes.
INT. WAREHOUSE. NIGHT
A graveyard shift.
Danny is leadenly following instructions on his handheld computer. Collecting orders.
On screen we see a route mapped through the maze.
Suddenly the computer screen goes blank. It reboots.
Danny stops walking. Waits.
On screen we see a different route mapped to a different location on the warehouse floor.
Danny changes direction, heading towards the gloomy far corner of the warehouse.
He arrives at the only aisle in shadow.
On screen the computer tells him to walk forward.
Danny steps into the darkness, nearing his destination. Straining his eyes in the gloom.
On screen the computer bleeps loudly. He’s at the destination. He stops.
He looks about, unsure. Until he spots a small package. Incongruous with the normal items.
Gift wrapped, perhaps.
Puzzled, Danny reaches forward. He takes the small box and examines it. Checks around. No one about.
He opens the box --
Inside are a set of four unmarked keys.
EXT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. NIGHT
Danny stands, unsure, keys in hands. He looks at the camera - the black eyeball staring at him.
He tries the first lock. The key doesn’t fi
t. He switches. Second doesn’t fit. Switches again --
It fits. The key turns.
INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COMMUNAL HALLWAY. NIGHT
Danny enters. And examines the tray that collects the post. His letter to Alex isn’t there.
Danny turns to the dark stairs leading up.
INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. STAIRWAY. NIGHT
Danny climbs the stairs, tentative, passing the doors to several apartments on the way up to --
The top floor. He knocks. No answer. He waits.
Danny uses the final key. And opens the door.
INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Danny enters. The apartment is dark. And spotlessly clean. Nothing seems disturbed.
DANNY
Hello?
Silence.
Danny tries the lights. They don’t work. The room is in shadow. No laptop on the table.
Danny walks to the bedroom. Door shut.
He reaches for the handle --
INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT
Danny enters. The bed is made. Untouched. Clean.
Danny notices the cupboard door is ajar. He opens it --
All Alex’s clothes are there. Perfectly organized. Nothing has been taken. No bags packed.
INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Danny stares at the bathroom door. It’s closed. He takes the handle.
He opens the door --
INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT
Danny enters. The bathroom is spotless.
The bath is empty.
Danny opens the vanity closet. Everything there. Toothbrush included.
Confused, Danny perches on the edge of the bath. Staring at the keys which are in his hand.
Then he notices on the glistening white tiles: his shoe has left damp footprints.
London Spy Page 4