ACT TWO

FADE IN:

INT. CHEZ DESTINY - CONTINUOUS

where Brooke is staring in disbelief at Clarence.

CLARENCE
Yep—it's me. In the flesh.
Well...not exactly IN the
flesh...but—you know what I mean.

BROOKE
But—but—you're dead.
(gaping)
Oh, God—I'm—?

CLARENCE
Relax. You haven't kicked the
bucket yet. No, you're...in
between.

BROOKE
(confused)
In between...what?

CLARENCE
(shrugging)
Life and death, here and there,
yin and yang... But, come on—we
can talk more over dinner.

He comes around the end of the bar to join her.

BROOKE
But—

CLARENCE
(with a dismissive motion)
Aw, it's a crummy job anyway. And
this—
(looking around)
—this isn't quite your style. Now,
THIS—

CUT TO:

INT. A BURGER JOINT

where they are now standing.

CLARENCE
—is more like it.

He guides her to a booth, and sits across from her.

BROOKE
How do you do that?

CLARENCE
What?

BROOKE
Go...?
(snaps her fingers)

CLARENCE
I admit, it takes a little getting
used to. But look at the money
you save, just on gas.

A waitress appears and sets down two full plates and tall
glasses.

CLARENCE (CONT'D)
(to the waitress)
Thanks.
(pointing to Brooke's plate)
Double cheeseburger deluxe, no
onion, extra pickles, extra
mustard, fries, plenty of ketchup,
and a double-chocolate milkshake.
Your perfect meal.

BROOKE
(grinning)
How'd you know?

CLARENCE
(gesturing up)
I've got...connections.

BROOKE
Oh. Oh, but I couldn't—

CLARENCE
Sure you can. It's one of the
perks—no matter what you eat, you
never gain any weight.

BROOKE
(lighting up)
Really?

Without any more encouragement, she digs into the food.

BROOKE (CONT'D)
(munching)
So...tell me more...about this "in
between" thing...what do I do?

CLARENCE
First, you eat. You are hungry,
aren't you?

BROOKE
Starved.

CLARENCE
Well, that's a common reaction.

BROOKE
So, this kind of thing is common?

CLARENCE
Oh, no. Most people, they're
gone, just like that. But
you...you're right on that line.
You could go either way.
(leaning back)
But, like I said, there's no rush.
This is a seriously important
journey you're on. Better take
the time to do it right.

FADE TO:

INT. EMERGENCY WAITING ROOM

The others are milling around when Mike comes back, ashen
faced. Jane rushes up to him.

JANE
Mike?

MIKE
(choking)
She's so still...

Detective Cavanaugh, who has been talking to the nurse, walks
over to the group, and holds out his hand to Mike

CAVANAUGH
Mr. McQueen? Detective Cavanaugh.
I'll be working your daughter's
case.

Mike shakes his hand numbly.

JANE
Do you know anything?

CAVANAUGH
I know I've got a hit-and-run
driver out there somewhere.
But—the night is young.

He turns to face everyone.

CAVANAUGH (CONT'D)
All right... I'm going to need a
statement from Miss McPherson
sometime, but, ah, we can do that
later. I think I've got all I
need on that front for right now.
(scratching his head)
Look—you all seem like nice
people. So I'm gonna tell you
something. I've worked cases like
this before, and I know, there's
gonna be some recriminations, some
guilt, some "what if I'd done
this", and so on. I want to tell
you—nobody here is to blame for
what happened. There's only one
person who's responsible for Miss
McQueen being in that emergency
room—and I am going to do whatever
it takes to find that person.
(directly to Mike)
You got my word on that.

MIKE
Thanks.

CAVANAUGH
Okay, then.

Cavanaugh heads for the doors, then stops and turns back.

CAVANAUGH (CONT'D)
Oh—Harrison? Mind walking me out?

HARRISON
Ah—sure.

Cavanaugh waits for Harrison to catch up, and together they go
out.

CUT TO:

EXT. HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS

Cavanaugh stops at his car, which is parked just outside the
doors.

HARRISON
So, ah...

CAVANAUGH
Look—technically, I'm supposed to
only keep family members in the
loop. But...I'll give you a heads
up if anything happens.

HARRISON
Thanks.

CAVANAUGH
You know that speech in there—that
was you.

HARRISON
Yeah, I figured that.

CAVANAUGH
It's true. Oh, and, um...good
luck with—
(nods towards the doors)

HARRISON
Yeah. Thanks.

Cavanaugh gets in his car and drives off. A few moments later
Sam appears by his side.

SAM
Harrison?

Harrison doesn't turn to face her.

SAM (CONT'D)
I'm sorry.

HARRISON
(casually)
For—for what?

SAM
Come on.
(pause)
I didn't mean it.

HARRISON
You know, Sam... Sometimes, when
people's defenses are
down...that's when they do things
that they really do mean.

SAM
Not this time.

She takes his arm.

SAM (CONT'D)
Harrison, please. I need you. I
really need you right now. Don't
hold one little flinch against me.
(hopefully)
Okay?

Harrison turns and wraps his arms around her.

CUT TO:

EXT. A DESERTED CITY STREET - DUSK

in the middle of what appears to be an equally deserted city.
Brooke and Clarence are ambling down the middle of the street.

BROOKE
So...I'm on a journey, huh?

CLARENCE
That's the general idea.

BROOKE
Any idea where I'm going?

CLARENCE
Every journey has a destination.

She looks askance at him.

BROOKE
Any idea where I'm SUPPOSED to be
going?

CLARENCE
(shrugs)
The end?

BROOKE
(annoyed)
You're not being much help, here.

Clarence holds up his hands defensively.

CLARENCE
Hey, I'm strictly limited in what
I can do! I can guide—I can't
push.

BROOKE
So, guide already. All I'm doing
is walking around! I don't even
know what the he—

Clarence quickly clears his throat.

BROOKE (CONT'D)
(backtracking)
—what's supposed to happen! For
the last time, what do I do?

CLARENCE
You got it exactly right.

BROOKE
Huh?

CLARENCE
You wait for something to happen.

They walk on for a few moments in silence.

BROOKE
(snaps her fingers)
Oh, wait. I just remembered
something.

CLARENCE
Hmm?

BROOKE
I HAVE to wake up. I have to wake
up, and recover—
(scowling)
—so I can go kill Nicole!

CLARENCE
I gotta warn you—revenge? It
usually doesn't work out that
well.

Brooke stops walking and glares at him, hands on hips.

BROOKE
(steaming)
She ran me down with her car.

CLARENCE
Hey, I'm right with you there. It
was a major no-no. But you gotta
have faith, Brooke. You
know—"what goes around comes
around"? Don't worry—Nicole will
get what she deserves.

BROOKE
(disgruntled)
She's never gotten what she
deserved before.

CLARENCE
She's never done anything this bad
before.

CUT TO:

EXT. A CITY STREET - NIGHT

as Nicole's car goes racing past.

CUT TO:

INT. NICOLE'S CAR

Inside, Nicole is all smiles now.

NICOLE
I did it! I DID IT! I knocked
off the Queen B.! WHAM!
Score one for Nicole!
WHEEEEE!

Absently—and drunkenly—she spins the steering wheel, and the
car goes screeching into an empty parking lot.

NICOLE (CONT'D)
Now I'M on top! Nobody messes
with Nicole Julian! NOBODY!

Unfortunately for Nicole, she doesn't see the chain-link fence
looming in front of her until the last instant, and then—

BLACK OUT.

END OF ACT TWO