Late Night at the Crossroads of Causality
Part Two
Slightly later on the same night:
"Look," Renee said in a reasonable tone. "I'm not saying that you're incompetent, I'm saying that you never really tried to catch me."
The look Sandoval gave her should have left her writhing on the floor in agony. Since Sandoval was the only character on the show who had no supernatural powers whatsoever, all it did was amuse her.
(Excerpt from a proposed Season Six script:
Renee: "Look, up in the air! It's a bird it's a shuttle it's
the Ultimate Pariah!"
Liam: "What's that he's wearing? Are those tights?"
Jonathon Doors: (spooky ghost voice) "Noooooooo..")
"Of course I tried to catch you," Sandoval snapped. "It was my mission. It was what Howlyn wanted."
There was a snort from under the table and Street's voice said, "Yeah, right. And you always followed orders."
"I - That's not the point," Sandoval said.
"Right," Renee said. "That's not the point. Let's look at the evidence, shall we? Back in the first four seasons, you were an efficient, ruthless, calculating psychopath."
"Is he blushing?" Street said from under the table. "I bet he's blushing."
"Then let's look at my season," Renee continued. "You have an army of hybrids at your disposal, plus you have the freaking mothership to help you and what do you do to find me?"
Sandoval was silent.
Street's head appeared over the edge of the table as she hauled herself up. She blinked blurrily and laughed. "Oh yeah, he's blushing."
Renee kept going. "You arrange elaborate traps in places with tons of exits. You have tons of weapons and hybrids and yet you constantly come after me armed only with five guys and a rope. You stake out health spas. Health spas! What was your next plan, take over all the podiatrists in the western hemisphere and hope that I developed an ingrown toenail?"
Street giggled in the middle of her yawn. "Fiendish."
Sandoval glared at her. "You don't know what you're talking about, Miss Palmer. " He said icily. "I was under pressures you couldn't possibly understand."
"What, like this?" Renee lifted the tablecloth and pointed to Howlyn, still unconscious and wrapped around her leg like a big black deadly limpet. Occasionally he growled in his sleep.
"Look," Renee continued, letting the tablecloth drop. "Howlyn is a lot of things, but he's a good hunter. He wouldn't have come up with those plots. That had to be you."
"Yes. However - "
"You know what I've always wondered?" Street broke in. "Why didn't you use hybrid-me to capture Renee? I mean there I was, evil as all get out, and you didn't even get me to point out the headquarters on a map or something."
Sandoval took a deep breath. "Perhaps you don't-"
"And then I was just written out of the show!" Street went on, talking right over him. "What the hell was that about? Me and Renee, we were like Cagney and Lacey, Ronnie and Nancy-" She paused to take a drink right from the pitcher.
"Bonnie and Clyde." Renee finished, smiling nostalgically. "We were a great team. Still, you got off lucky. If they hadn't written you out you might be with me on the fricking Mothership of the Damned. Liam spends all his time hanging out in the leather section. And Yulyn has been getting very hungry. He's reminding me more of his father every day."
Street grimaced. "Sounds fun. Still, at least you've got Ra'jel to talk to."
"Don't remind me." Renee shuddered. "'Renee,'" She mimicked in a squeaky voice, "'I feel the combined guilt of all my species for losing the remote.' 'Renee, the entire Taelon collectivity would like you to pick up your socks.' 'Renee, we must not let history repeat itself! Tell Liam that those were my energy cupcakes!'" She shook her head sadly. "I should have gone with Howlyn. At least he shuts up every now and again."
"It's not too late for us," A liquid voice said from the vicinity of Renee's knee. "Be mine, Renee. I am your mate, your destiny, your-"
Renee yelped and jumped away from the table, knocking over her chair and rocking the table dangerously. Street grabbed the two remaining pitchers for safekeeping, hugging them protectively to her chest.
Sandoval cocked an eyebrow. "I hesitate to bring it up, Miss Palmer, but was your skirt always so short?"
Renee made an incoherent noise in her throat. She looked down at her legs. It took a while. There was a lot of them to look at. Almost all of them in fact, except for the few vital parts still covered by shreds of cloth.
There was an ominous rumble and Howlyn emerged from under the table like a shadow moving into the light, muscles rippling under his skin. He straightened to his full height, his burning eyes fixed on Renee.
He dropped like a ton of bricks. His head hit the floor with a sound almost exactly like the sound of someone sitting on a pound cake. He lay still, droplets of whisky beading on his skin.
Street looked sadly at the now half-full pitcher in her hand. "I don't think I did that right."
"Close enough," Renee said gratefully. "Come on, let's get out of here before he wakes up."
"You go ahead," Sandoval said, eying the fallen figure thoughtfully. "I have a few things to discuss with my 'master'." He put a nasty twist on the final word.
"Fine," Renee said, halfway to the door and dragging Street behind her. "But nothing that'll leave a mark or Judah will kill us both."
"Agreed."
As Renee and Street left the room, the last thing they heard was the sound of metal scraping on stone.
"Brr!" Street said. "I don't care how bad he is at catching people, I still wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him."
"I'd take him over Ra'jel any day." Renee said absentmindedly, looking around the hallway with a considering look.
A hand came out of a doorway and grabbed her arm.
Thirty busy seconds later:
"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." Boone said, rubbing his arm and eyeing Renee balefully.
"I already said I'm sorry," Renee said. "What else can I say?" She took off her (leather) coat and draped it over the back of the cushioned movie-theater style seat.
"I told you not to grab her." Liam said, sprawled in an identical seat one row closer to the large screen that dominated the wall.
Boone switched his glare to Liam. "Ow." He said pointedly.
"So, what are we watching?" Street said, coming in with a huge tub of popcorn.
"We don't know," Liam said. "But the sign on the door says it's starting any minute."
"Say," Renee said. "Where do you keep getting popcorn, anyway? This is a bar!"
Street shrugged and sat down next to her. "Does it matter?"
"Not really." Renee said, grabbing a huge handful.
"Ow." Boone put in.
The lights started to dim.
"Shhh!" Liam said. "It's starting!"
The screen flashed bright white and then flickered into sudden life. Words appeared on a white background.
Main Character Interview - Take One
(The rest of the movies will be written in screenplay format, except where I
don't feel like it.)
(SCENE: A quiet living room, tastefully furnished. The camera is being held steadily by a camera man with the focus on Boone, who is sitting in an armchair. Boone's wife is sitting on the sofa next to him.)
(A long pause)
CAMERAMAN: (loudly) We've started now.
BOONE: Oh! Sorry. Uh can we try that again?
(Screen flickers to black.)
(SCENE: A quiet living room, tastefully furnished. The camera is being held steadily by a camera man with the focus on Boone, who is sitting in an armchair. Boone's wife is playing a hand of solitaire on a table by the window.)
BOONE: (looking straight into the camera) I want to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am that you picked me for this prestigious part in your new series.
CAMERAMAN: No problem.
BOONE: I know that you wanted the show to revolve around the Taelons, and I have to admit that I thought I'd lost the part when I decided to stay with the police. I was so surprised to get a call back.
BOONE'S WIFE: (looking out the window) Honey?
BOONE: I promise, you won't regret changing your concept. I think America is ready for a good old-fashioned cop show.
BOONE'S WIFE: (standing up and moving to the window) Dear?
BOONE: (looking embarrassed.) Not right now, darling!
BOONE'S WIFE: But dear
BOONE: What?
BOONE'S WIFE: There's someone under my car. (She points out the window.)
BOONE: (laughs) No, there's not.
BOONE'S WIFE: Yes, there is!
CAMERAMAN: Uh, that must be my driver. He's a car nut.
BOONE: Oh! Well, he's welcome to look at mine too.
CAMERAMAN: Maybe next season.
(FREEZE FRAME: Boone is grinning at the camera. His wife is staring out the window.)
FADE TO BLACK
-----
Up came the lights.
Street patted Boone on the shoulder. "Wow," she said. "That must be hard for you to watch."
He sniffed manfully. "It's torture. I miss her so much. If only there had been some kind of warning sign, some way I could have saved her!"
Street, Liam and Renee stared at Boone.
Liam blinked. "You're kidding, right?"
The lights started to fade.
----
Main Character Interview - Take Two
(Scene: The lab in Rebellion Headquarters. Liam is sitting on the gurney in a hospital gown.)
CAMERAMAN: We're rolling.
LIAM: (looks nervous) Okay. I wanted to say that I understand why you dropped Boone. Dead wife this, dead wife that that's about as dull as it gets. I'll be much more interesting, all right? I've got alien powers, too. Lots of storylines there. Oh, and other aliens can't kill me, okay? I'm uh, invincible.
CAMERAMAN: Right.
LIAM: Did I mention that I don't drive a car?
FADE TO BLACK
----
The lights came up.
Renee was snickering quietly into the popcorn. Boone was still sniffling over the video footage of his wife. Street was trying not to laugh.
"What?" Liam said defensively. "I wanted to make a good impression."
"You sounded desperate." Renee said.
"Totally desperate." Street said.
"Too bad you didn't mention that you were allergic to volcanoes." Renee said with a straight face.
Street cracked up.
The lights started to fade.
---
Main Character Interview - Take Three
(A different style of camerawork this time. When the scene comes up, the camera is looking at the inside of a moving van. The van starts to slow down and the cameraman moves towards a side window, focusing his camera on a figure walking down the sidewalk.)
DRIVER OF THE VAN: (off-camera) Say, you're Renee Palmer, aren't you?
RENEE: (Seen blurrily through the van door window) Not for long.
DRIVER: What do you mean?
RENEE: I'm leaving the country. Changing my name, the whole nine yards. A girl can't be too careful about things like this. I'm the only one left. They'll be coming after me soon.
DRIVER: What do you mean?
RENEE: Never mind. (looks from side to side) Look, I've got to go.
DRIVER: You don't feel any pressing urge to hire an old Soviet Sub and go look for Liam?
RENEE: He was in a volcano when it exploded!
DRIVER: Ah, but he's an alien!
RENEE: So? Volcano!
DRIVER: But he's an ALIEN! Whoooo supernatural!
RENEE: Right I'm going to go now. (turns away)
(The screen explodes into jerky motion. The doors in front of the camera are flung open and black-suited figures pour out and swarm Renee)
RENEE: Hey! No! Stop! POLICE!
(Renee is dragged into the van and the doors are slammed shut.)
CAMERAMAN: Go go GO!
(The van takes off with a screech of tires. The camera focuses in on Renee, who is barely visible among a group of men in combat outfits and masks. Tight focus on a needle being poked into her arm.)
FADE TO BLACK
___
End Part Two
*snicker* You know, there was just so much about E:FC that made no sense. It
was like chaos theory with commercials.
Thanks for all the comments on the first part. Good to know that I'm not the
only one who was confused. *g*