Catgirl

by Kyle Castorena

A young woman is found unconscious in the gutter. When she awakens she acts like a cat, and the man who found her searches for answers.

9. 09 Identity

EXT. OUTSIDE MANSION'S WALLS – DAY

The house can only be called a mansion. Surrounding the large home and the large yard, was a brick wall standing about ten feet tall. TNT and Aida are walking past the guard shack like a casual couple. A guard dressed in his companies uniform is stationed in a shack at the front gate. He gives them a nod. They give him a friendly wave and continue walking.

TNT
I thought you were joking.

AIDA
You're not from around here so you wouldn't know. But Dimitri is a well-known gangster.

TNT
And obviously well paranoid too.

AIDA
So what do you think?

TNT
Front gate, only way.

TNT points to devices on the wall.

TNT
Infer-red sensors. Try to hop the wall and they go off.

TNT points to the main building.

TNT
I spotted six cameras on the house, none on the wall, but one at the front gate. Can't tell about the yard, though. Sneaking in is gonna be hard. Getting Felicia and breaking out, next to impossible.

AIDA
I see. What should we do?

TNT
I don't know.

EXT. HOUSE – DAY

Elk is standing in front of a house. It's a good sized two-story with a clean-cut lawn. The boy pulls the piece of paper out of his pocket and looks it over.

ELK
This is it.

He takes his sunglasses off and rubs his eyes. He puts them back on and KNOCKS at the door. A few moments later a MIDDLE AGED MAN (52) and MIDDLE AGED WOMAN (56) answer.

MIDDLE AGED WOMAN
Hello?

ELK
Is this the Stalker household?

MRS. STALKER/MIDDLE AGED WOMAN
Yes.

ELK
I would like to ask you a few questions about your late daughter.

Mr. Stalker stepped in front of his wife.

MR. STALKER/MIDDLE AGED MAN
What for?

ELK
Well, you see...

MRS. STALKER
Are you...an investigator?

The woman looks over what he is wearing. Slacks, boots, button-up shirt, a coat, and sunglasses. Elk smiles.

ELK
Yes I am.

The woman fully opens the door.

MRS. STALKER
Then please come in.

INT. STALKER'S LIVING ROOM – DAY

Elk is sitting on the sofa with a cup of coffee in front of him. The couple is sitting on the opposite side of the table.

MRS. STALKER
Are they going to reopen the case?

ELK
That depends. If you would please, start at the beginning.

MR. STALKER
We've already told you guys everything all those years ago.

ELK
Some new evidence has surfaced and I would like to hear everything from the start.

MRS. STALKER
I understand. We had Morrigan when we were pretty young.

INSERT – PHOTOGRAPH

There is a picture of when Morrigan was a little girl. Her and her parents are standing in front of a run-down house.

MRS. STALKER (O.S.)
We were always poor, and getting by was hard for her. In high school she got mixed up with the wrong crowd and dropped out. She would sneak out at night and sell her body on the streets. Some times she would leave for days at a time. One day she came home and told us she was pregnant.

INSERT – PHOTOGRAPH

This picture is of Morrigan in her late teens. She is playing with a very young Aida. Her mother is standing to the side.

MRS. STALKER (O.S.)
She wanted to start over for her child, so she tried her best to clean herself up. Old friends from high school and even her pimp tried to help her out. Along the way she found out that she was going to have twin girls. But one of them died during birth.

INSERT – PHOTOGRAPH

It was the same picture that was in Aida's home, Morrigan holding her baby with Aida's mom to the side.

MRS. STALKER (O.S.)
She couldn't see how fortunate she was having at least one healthy baby. Eventually she fell back into drugs and prostitution. One night she disappeared with her child, Felicia.

BACK TO STALKER'S LIVING ROOM

MRS. STALKER
A few weeks later they found Morrigan's body, but the baby was still missing. The police believed that she sold her child for drug money and they called off the investigation.

Elk was resting his chin on his fist. He stared at the grandparents intensely.

ELK
And the name of the pimp?

MRS. STALKER
Dimitri Mauser.

Elk stood up from his seat and began walking around the living room.

ELK
I knew it. I didn't want to believe it, but I always knew it was that way.

The couple got out of their seats.

MR. STALKER
Is something wrong?

Elk turned rapidly. His face was stern and his eyes were narrow.

ELK
I need to use your phone.

MR. STALKER
Y, yes.

Elk located the phone and dialed a number. Someone answered.

ELK
Aida, I'm at the Stalker residence.
Wait, your where?
I see, good. Meet up at the base. We need to prepare for the worst.
TNT should understand. Bye.

Elk hung up the phone. The couple slowly approached the young man.

MR. STALKER
You said you had new evidence.

Elk faced them with a grin and a cocked eye.

ELK
Your granddaughter, we found her.

INT. BASEMENT – DAY

The room is dark. The sound of a whip CRACKING followed by a woman's SCREAM fills the air. Reno is watching the event, face illuminated only by the light from his cigarette. Every CRACK, his face wrenches and his fists tighten. Mew wrists are tied together, hanging from an overhead water pipe. The whip lashes at her, leaving a deep red mark behind. She SCREAMS, but the man standing by does nothing. Dimitri fans the weapon on the floor. The long tail slithers around like a snake.

DIMITRI
Why did you run away?

He SNAPS his whip.

DIMITRI
Why did you speak?!

He SNAPS again.

DIMITRI
Why?!

Mew is stricken with the weapon and she SCREAMS. Reno looks away. After the pain subsides, all that could be heard is the girl's PANTING. Reno's hand begins to shake. He leaves the room.

INT. APARTMENT LIVING ROOM – DAY

Elk, Aida, and TNT have gathered. There is a piece of paper laying on the table. The three are circled around it.

ELK
You did a good job. This is very detailed.

INSERT – PAPER

It's a map of the outside of Dimitri's mansion. It includes detailed information on the security layout and each camera's field of vision.

TNT (O.S.)
You said to be prepared for the worst.

BACK TO LIVING ROOM

TNT
Does that mean that Felicia is Dimitri's...

ELK
Aye.

Aida's eyebrows were arched, she was confused.

AIDA
Felicia is Dimitri's what?

TNT and Elk looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to say it.

ELK
Mew is Dimitri's pet.

Aida covered her mouth with her hand.

AIDA
What?!

ELK
Mew was taken away as a baby by Dimitri. Ever since she was an infant, she was brought up to act like a cat.

AIDA
Why?

ELK
Do you really want to know?

AIDA
Eh, no.

Elk draws some lines on the map.

ELK
This is the most direct path to avoid the cameras. Now here's what I want you to do...