Dark Quests (Three Screenplays)
Page 5
But Trey doesn’t have time to dwell on this. With Eve in tow, he leads the way back through the fiery obstacle course, ducking and dodging, and they finally leap through the same shattered window just as the entire ceiling crashes down in a hail of debris and smoke.
On the sidewalk, Trey and Eve tumble head over ass. Eve, amazingly, finds her feet first. She scrambles forward and desperately runs off down the sidewalk after the thieves. But they’re long gone. Gasping and hysterical, she stops, bent double at the waist.
CAMERA TIGHT on her smoldering eyes, which are filled with hate and loathing. She turns those eyes back onto Trey, who’s still finding his feet after the tumble through the window. Eve storms furiously back to Trey—and pounds on his chest with misplaced rage.
EVE
Goddamn you, Trey Jordan! Look what
you’ve brought upon me! You’re going to
return that coin to me if it’s the last thing
you do.
Trey can only watch her in shock, absorbing her punishing blows. Behind them the fire smolders under the collapsed ceiling. Trey grabs her elbow and leads her a safe distance away.
TREY
Calm down.
EVE
No, Trey Jordan. I will not calm down.
Everything is ruined, and the thieves
have my coin.
Trey studies her, frowning. She’s irrationally upset over losing the coins, that much is sure. The coin, we suspect, has possessed her on some level.
TREY
I’ll admit, those thieves were good.
(a beat)
But not good enough.
He reaches inside his leather jacket, roots around inside an interior pocket, and finally removes a leather pouch. He opens it, pulling on the drawstring. He opens it wide enough so that even Eve can see inside. We see inside, too. Within, of course, is a gleaming Judas Coin. Trey is careful not to touch it.
TREY
Theirs is a fake. This is the real Judas Coin.
(a beat, self-satisfied)
I swapped it last night.
The look of relief that overcomes Eve is startling, and she breaks down and weeps openly in the street. She swipes the leather pouch from his hand and shoves it deep into a pocket of her own.
EVE
You broke into my shop?
TREY
I was going to tell you about it...
They stand in the middle of the street as Eve’s shop continues to go up in flames. Her big round eyes reflect the fire, her face aglow. She’s silent, numb.
TREY
I came back to buy it from you, Eve. There is
such a thing as an honest thief, you know.
EVE
Now there’s an oxymoron if ever there was one.
TREY
How much do you want for it?
Eve doesn’t answer him immediately. We get the impression that she will never sell the coin, ever, under any circumstances. Next to them, the lapping flames leap out high into the night.
EVE
You’ll get your coin, Trey Jordan, on one condition.
TREY
And what would that be?
EVE
When we find the others.
TREY
We?
EVE
Yes, I’m coming with you.
Sirens approaching. Trey whips his head around. Sirens and thieves do not go hand in hand. He takes her arm.
TREY
Fine, then let’s get the hell of out here.
(cryptically)
I hope you like boats.
The two dash off as the shop goes up in flames and fire trucks arrive...
EXT. OFF THE SOUTHERN COAST OF IRELAND – DAY
Stormy seas; wind and rain. The camera flies low over the choppy, gray swells. A lone research vessel rises and falls on the ominous ocean. The ship, we quickly see, is filled with all the latest oceanographic technologies. Rain drenches the deck.
INT. SHIP’S CONTROL ROOM – DAY
MALLORY DIGGS, a powerfully built man, is hunched before a computer monitor in a cramped control room filled with sonar readings and other electronic gadgetry. Standing behind him is Trey and Eve. Mallory turns and pats Eve’s shoulder.
MALLORY
Your father and I worked on this program together.
To say that he was obsessed with the Lithuania
would be an understatement.
TREY
Or, more accurately, what’s in the Lithuania.
EVE
And what would that be?
TREY
Sir William Frost’s diary.
MALLORY
And at least one silver coin.
EVE
And what’s in the diary?
TREY
The location to eight more coins hidden
beneath his Scottish castle.
EXT. SHIP DECK – DAY
Trey and Mallory prepare for their dive, going through final checks. Both men carefully fold a laminated map of the ship’s interior and tuck it carefully in a knapsack around their waists. Both men are wearing thick neoprene wetsuits.
Trey gives Eve a final crooked grin and he and Mallory drop over the side and into the frigid water. Eve runs up to the railing and peers down into the water. Her eyes wide and beautiful...and troubled.
FROM EVE’S POINT OF VIEW:
We see two glowing lights beneath the black, churning surface. The lights slowly fade away as the divers swim deeper.
EXT. BENEATH THE SURFACE – CONTINUOUS
The two swimmers kick their way 100 feet below the surface and soon come upon the ocean’s floor. Their penetrating flashlights pick out all sorts of sea life: swaying seaweed, crabs, darting silvery creatures, an ominous shark or two. We can hear amplified breathing from both divers. Also, both are equipped with high-tech communication devices. Mallory motions.
MALLORY
This way.
Trey nods and follows, kicking his fins hard.
INT. RESEARCH VESSEL, CONTROL ROOM – DAY
Eve watches the two divers’ movements on a sophisticated sonar screen. They are more than just blips. She sees the shapes of the two divers swimming rapidly towards a massive form resting on the ocean’s floor. The Lithuania.
EVE
Keep southeast, boys.
EXT. OCEAN DEPTHS – CONTINUOUS
Eve’s slightly garbled voice reaches the divers through a communication system built into their full face masks.
EVE (V.O.)
You should be seeing it now.
Both divers swim on through the black void, their lights cutting through the forgotten depths like laser beams. Suddenly a colossal, ghostly presence appears from the silty, murky water. The sight is awe-inspiring. And frightening. The structure rises ominously before them. It looks almost alien. Their powerful floodlights soon illuminate the heavily-damaged ship, a ship sunk in WWI by a German U-boat.
Trey casts his spotlight along the ocean floor, and we see that the sandy bottom is strewn with personal debris: vases, shoes, suitcases, wine bottles, etc. All preserved in a watery tomb.
The divers swim right up to the destroyed hull, and shine their lights down into a massive hole. The decayed metal is surprisingly barnacle-free due to the extreme temperatures in the Irish Sea. Within the gaping maw we can see what they see: heavily damaged massive engines.
MALLORY
This way.
Trey nods again, and both divers swim through an open side hatch.
INT. WITHIN THE LITHUANIA - CONTINUOUS
A dark, water-filled hallway. Luckily, the high-powered flashlights cut through the murkiness with ease. Fish and other creatures dash in and out of doorways. The ship is heavily damaged in some places, and perfectly intact in others. Strange, surreal. Beautiful and horrific.
Trey turns a corner, swimming cautiously. He’s breathing a little heavier now, adrenaline getting the best of the antiquities thief. He suddenly pulls up short, gl
iding in place. Water bubbles surge around him. He holds up a hand. We see what he sees: Before him, the hallway is blocked by a massive pile-up of debris.
MALLORY
Is there a way around?
EVE (V.O.)
What’s wrong, Trey?
TREY
We’re blocked.
INT. CONTROL ROOM – DAY
Eve kicks into gear, using a mouse to click through the different corridors, searching...
INT. LITHUANIA
EVE (V.O.)
There’s a corridor to your right.
Trey looks to his right, and sees an opening to a corridor. He takes out his laminated copy of the ship’s interior and shines his flashlight down on it.
CAMERA TIGHT on the map, as Trey uses his gloved finger to trace a path along the corridor...a path that ends abruptly.
TREY
It’s a dead end, Eve.
INT. CONTROL ROOM – DAY
Eve’s 3-D computer program whips rapidly down the corridor, stops at a computerized image of a doorway. The doorway dissolves and beyond are a flight of stairs leading up and down.
EVE
True, but there’s a stairway.
TREY (V.O.)
And that’s why I keep you around.
EVE
Asshole.
INT. SHIP’S STAIRWELL
Moment’s later, both divers swim up through the ship’s stairway, bypassing the stairs as easily as ghosts.
INT. CONTROL ROOM – DAY
On the screen in front of her, Eve watches the GPS-guided blips of lights rise up through the ship.
EVE
You’re almost there, gentlemen.
INT. LITHUANIA
Trey and Mallory swim past a faded “Level 5” sign, and stop one floor up at a door marked “Level 6”. Trey tries the handle. Sealed tight, of course. He throws a shoulder into it, grunting into his mouthpiece.
EVE (V.O.)
Talk to me.
TREY
The door’s sealed shut.
MALLORY
Over here.
The Irishman motions toward a glass box embedded in the wall near the door.
CAMERA TIGHT on the writing on the glass, which says: “$100 DOLLAR FINE FOR BREAKING GLASS.”
Behind the glass is a perfectly preserved ax.
TREY
(deadpan)
No good; there’s a hundred dollar fine
for breaking the glass.
MALLORY
I won’t tell if you don’t.
Trey promptly kicks the glass in with the heal of his flipper. After removing the ax, he proceeds to hack at the badly corroded door. Each swing is in slow-motion and would look funny if he wasn’t so desperate. Each swing leaves behind deep wedges in the old metal as thunderous, metallic clangs echo all around. Trey pauses, gathers his strength, and swings hard one final time—
Crash! The door swings open violently, then falls off the rusted hinges entirely. And as it does so, an ominous wrenching sound reverberates throughout the entire ship. Both divers look around. Trey tucks the ax in his belt, and motions for the Irishman to follow him. They both kick off down the dark hallway.
INT. CONTROL ROOM – DAY
Eve watches their progress on her computer screen. As the two blinking dots move down the hall, she gives them additional instructions.
EVE
Turn right.
The blinking lights pause, then turn right on her screen.
EVE
Good. Continue to the end of the corridor.
INT. WITHIN THE LITHUANIA
The divers are swimming quickly now, making up for lost time.
EVE (V.O.)
Now turn left.
The divers do so, their flashlights revealing more of the heavily damaged luxury liner. As they swim, we hear more sounds of the ship creaking and rumbling. Their mere presence seems to have awakened the slumbering giant. Trey and Mallory nervously shine their lights around, eyes wide behind their full face masks.
INT. CONTROL ROOM – DAY
On Eve’s monitor we see a bright blinking light at the end of the 3-D hallway. The two blinking dots are rapidly approaching it.
EVE
You’re coming up to Cabin 6F now.
INT. LITHUANIA’S DAMAGED HALLWAYS
Trey shines his flashlight on the faded cabin numbers above each doorway. Most numbers are still readable, but just barely. The first one says: 6D. The next: 6E. He continues on. The next reads 6F.
TREY
Okay, this is it.
The door before them is open and sways slightly in the freshly disturbed currents. A very dark room waits beyond. Trey motions to Mallory.
TREY
C’mon.
The two divers swim into the cabin.
INT. CONTROL ROOM
Eve glances at an electronic counter ticking off numbers in one corner of the monitor.
EVE
Gentleman, you have twenty-two minutes
of oxygen remaining. I strongly suggest you
get to it, and no screwing around.
INT. CABIN 6F
Trey and Mallory both look down at their own dive watches. Mallory looks at Trey.
MALLORY
Is she always this demanding?
TREY
Oh, you noticed it, too?
EVE (V.O.)
Careful, boys. I might just lead you down into
the ship’s brig.
MALLORY
Did old luxury liners even have brigs?
EVE (V.O.)
Just get to work.
Both Trey and Mallory grin and do just that. The master thief shines his light around the small, if not once luxurious, room. Silt rises up, disturbed by their flippers. The room is dark and creepy now. The rusted remains of a bed’s box springs are tucked away in the far corner. A glass light fixture still hangs from the ceiling. There’s little else in the cabin.
EVE (V.O.)
According to all reports, you’re looking
for a closet. The safe should be within.
Trey’s searching light soon settles on a recessed area of wall in the far corner of the room. He immediately swims over to it. Indeed, it’s a closet of some sort, and just as he approaches it, a massive, lumbering grouper appears from the darkness. Trey gasps. Drops his light. The fish flips its tail once, twice, and darts surprisingly quickly out of the room.
EVE (V.O.)
What happened?
TREY
(retrieving his light)
I’m fine.
MALLORY
Your friend had a run-in with something
even more scared than him.
EVE (V.O.)
Knock it off, Mallory. Trey, do you see the safe?
Trey, still breathing hard, sweeps his light around the small closest. There, implanted within the wall, is a small rectangular safe.
TREY
Bingo.
EVE (V.O.)
You’ve got nineteen minutes, boys.
Mallory next moves into position in front of the safe. From a fanny pack, he removes two cylinders and a black box. Mallory quickly and expertly wires the explosives to the safe. Once done, the two divers swim out of the room and down the hallway.
INT. SHIP’S HALLWAY
Mallory, grinning like a true pyromaniac, holds up the detonator. Trey looks worried. As he should be. It’s clear that he’s beginning to think that this isn’t such a great idea. But there’s no stopping Mallory now.
MALLORY
On your mark...
He flips open the black box. We see a series of blinking red lights.
MALLORY
Get set...
He holds his finger over a glowing red button...
MALLORY
Ka-Boom!
He pushes down and an explosion immediately rips through room 6-F. Debris and smoke pour through the doorway and out into the hall.
MALLORY
C’mon!
> The Irishman leads the way back into the room.
INT. CABIN 6F
We see that the safe has clearly been blown open. Indeed, the explosion has caused significant damage to the room and closet. Mallory shines his light through the churning, muck-filled water and into the safe. Within is a heavy-looking lead box.
EVE (V.O.)