THE RUNNER SCREENPLAY by BRIAN R. LUNDIN (ebook reader wifi .txt) đź“–
- Author: BRIAN R. LUNDIN
Book online «THE RUNNER SCREENPLAY by BRIAN R. LUNDIN (ebook reader wifi .txt) 📖». Author BRIAN R. LUNDIN
JEROME
Is it possible for a shift-changer to be here, in these times?
MARIETTA
Time is of no matter to a shift-changer because they are immortal. They will leave only after their purpose for being here is over.
JEROME
What kind of animal form would they take?
MARIETTA
Their usual form is a large black panther or what some call a Phantom Cat or Alien Big Cat because they are never really seen, but the wounds inflected on their prey indicates a large animal. Why do you think a shift-changer is here?
JEROME
There had been some strange going-ons that can’t be explained and men have died terrible deaths by what appears to be an animal.
MARIETTA
You Mr. McLemore, like your mother, have a good heart and is trying to help your people. If a shift-changer is here, it is here to help you, do not be afraid.
Slowly the old woman got up, helped by the two men and disappeared behind the drapes. Jerome wanted to ask her how she knew his name or his mother, but she was gone.
BACKSTORY:
It was a warm afternoon and people were on the street, some walking and talking with friends while others sat on the porches. Ringo had just completed his route after picking up the AM writings from Jerome McLemore two policy stations in the area. One was down the street from Juanita’s and another was located at 4322 South Calumet Avenue, one block east of the lounge.
INT. JUANITA’S LOUNGE-AFTERNOON
Fred, Juanita’s brother and daytime bartender-drew a draft beer from the tap and put it in from of Tyson a retired police officer who was sitting in a booth and setting up the chess pieces. A couple in an out-of–the way booth was kissing. Ringo, Raymond Westbrook and Mark Burke were standing at the end of the bar. Raymond Westbrook and Mark Burke were partners that worked in the 2nd District Vice Unit and worked the Ist Watch or the midnight shift. Their watch started at 2:00 am and ended at 10:30 am. Westbrook was the veteran and Burke two years out of the academy were telling Ringo about the prostitution arrest they had made.
BURKE
I started to get some of that ass from that “Hoe,”
WESTBROOK
Yeah, she was a fine black bitch, big ass and tits and a hell of a shape, but you fuck her and your dick will be dripping for a week.
TYSON
Where are the skins? Fred!
FRED
Hold your horses, damn it, I’ll get some after I beat your ass in this game.
TYSON
You wish, you know you can’t do shit with, “The Bobby.”
FRED
The Bobby my ass, you ain’t no fuckin Bobby Fischer! I taught that damn Jew everything he knows about the “Royal Game.”
REGGIE
Hi guys, I heard there were some chess players in here!
Everyone in the bar turned to look at Commander Hollis and Sergeant Reggie coming through the door.
TYSON
Are you ready to meet, “The Bobby?”
HOLLIS
(sitting down in the booth)
Bring on the “Bobby.”
Reggie sat on a barstool and watched his commander get a royal ass-whipping from Tyson and Fred after an hour they left.
REGGIE
(jokingly)
You better read some more of those thousand of chess book you have.
Two hours after the commander and Reggie left John Ringo casually looked out the bar window and saw an old brown Oldsmobile going slowly heading south on Prairie. In the fading daylight Ringo went to the front door window for a better view. Ringo saw the vehicle stop in front of the policy station at 4340 South Prairie, one of his stops. Ringo watched as two white men; one tall and one short and fat got out the car and hurried over to the basement policy station and throw something into it. The men hurried back to the Oldsmobile and it sped south on Prairie. In a few minutes, there was a loud explosion. Flying glass and debris hurled out the building as flames leaped into the air and thick black smoke further clouded the already gray sky. When the smoke cleared, Ringo saw a woman and a young child lying in the streets; a baby stroller over-turned and burning. The woman was bleeding from head and faces wounds, and lay unconscious on the ground. Her baby girl, about two or three months old had been thrown from the stroller and was lying on the street. Blood was gushing from the baby’s body and she was not moving. Immediately Raymond Westbrook and Mark Burke were on the street, guns drawn, but the car was gone. Ringo followed the police officers as they hurried to where the woman and child were laying. One of the officers placed his jacket over the baby while the other officer started CPR. Tyson and Fred attended to the bleeding woman. Ringo could hear the fire and police sirens rushing north on Prairie Avenue. People had started running out of their houses with wet towels and throwing buckets of water on the raging fire.
OLD WOMAN
There are a woman and child in the basement!
The old woman cried as she applied a towel to the young woman who was slowly awakening. The bleeding woman crawled over to her bleeding and still baby and began to wail.
RINGO
There is a woman and child in the basement, I’m going in!
INT. SMOKE FULL ROOM-AFTERNOON
Policy drawing, scratch paper, chairs old newspaper and trash filled the dark basement a washing machine and dryer in a rear room were running and small flames were breaking out on the trash. We see Ringo jump down the four steps to the basement apartment and shouldered open the wooden door and entered the smoke filled apartment.
RINGO
(yelling)
Anybody here?
Thick black smoke rushed out the apartment fanned by the wind of the opened door and assaulted Ringo’s lungs and temporarily blurred his vision, but he kept running into the room.
A WEAK SCARED VOICE
Help, help.
Ringo felt sick, his stomach churned as he choked on a thick gust of smoke, he felt like he was going to throw up. His lung ached as he coughed and gasped. All around him, flames curled at shadows throwing off violent flicks of light and heat.
RINGO
(yelling)
Where are you?
VOICE
We’re here, help us please!
Ringo used his hat to waive away the smoke as he made his way further into the room. He felt a hand on his pants leg. Waiving his hat furiously he looked down into the blacken face of a little boy; sitting beside him was the policy writer. Ringo lifted the child and cradle him into his arms and helped the elderly writer to her feet.
RINGO
You’re ok now
(Ringo said as he led them out the basement)
When Ringo, the child and the woman reached the sidewalk, the paramedics had started CPR on the baby while the fire department started to fight the fire in the basement. The other paramedic began working on the young woman who was hysterical. Other paramedic began working on the child, the old woman and Ringo. Shortly after removing the oxygen mask from Ringo, he and the three police officers watched as the paramedic carefully placed the child and the woman into one of the ambulances and placed the baby and its mother into another ambulance and they both sped off sirens blasting. When they returned to the lounge, Ringo overheard one of the police officer who had tears in his eyes says,” That baby is gone.”The Field Lieutenant contacted District Commander Hollis and Sergeant Lundgrin and they shortly arrived at the scene. When the sergeant and the commander arrived, a uniformed sergeant who was in charge of protecting the crime scene met and briefed them.
SERGEANT
According to the fire departments the explosion was caused by a homemade Molotov Cocktail thrown into the basement apartment. Jerome McLemore owns the building and had a policy stations in the basement. In addition to the destroyed basement, there was extensive damage to the first floor and some damage to the second floor. An elderly couple lived on the first floor, the woman, a Mrs. Johnson was killed and her husband is in bad shape, don’t know if he’s going to make it. A single mother lived on the second floor with her eight-year-old son, who fortunately was not home, but she got a lot of smoke. A young woman and her baby were walking past when the explosion occurred and she received third-degree burns, but the baby did not make it. All the injured are at Provident Hospital and the medical examiner is on his way here. One of McLemore’s men, John Ringo was in Juanita’s and saw the perks that did it, there were also some off duty cops in there also, the dicks are questioning them now.
INT. COMMANDER HOLLIS OFFICE-LATE AFTERNOON
COMMANDER HOLLIS
What the fuck is wrong with these assholes, this ain’t the roaring twenties when they were throwing bombs and machine-gunning people on the streets and killing a baby, that’s some cold shit.
REGGIE
Yep, sure is and the word on the street is Vito Paligreno is making a move on Policy and he’s starting with Jerome McLemore’s first. He supposedly kidnapped Jerome, demanded a ransom and took him to a warehouse in Gary, but somehow Jerome escaped. I guess Vito figured if he could get Jerome in line, the other wheels will be a pushover.
COMMANDER HOLLIS
Any word about how Jerome got away from the kidnappers?
REGGIE
Not really, a lot of rumors. One of my informers told me that he has a cousin who works for the Gary Fire Department and was told that they found three men dead, one was gutted and another beheaded.
COMMANDER HOLLIS Damn, somebody got really pissed off.
REGGIE
I’m going to call up their later today and see if I can find out anything else, you think Vito can take Jerome’s wheel?
COMMANDER HOLLIS
Not without a hell of a fight, Jerome ain’t a poop butt and Ted Bunche ain’t someone to fuck with, he’ll fight and he has enough money and clout to put up a good one Vito might have bitten off more than he can chew, Vito has big balls but a little brain keep me informed. By the way what have you and Irene got planned for Sunday?
REGGIE
Nothing really, after she comes from church, probably just hangs around the house, why?
COMMANDER HOLLIS
Joan told
Comments (0)