Carole A. Parker

EXT. SANTA MONICA - BAY STREET - NIGHT A leafy side-street off the main drag. Quiet. Bucolic. Small homes. Some nice, some shitty. The cheap seats. But safe. A WOMAN (40) comes walking toward us down the sidewalk. Toughlooking, but very hot. Cigarette dangling off blood-red lips. Curves galore. Legs for days. Lips for nights. Meet KELSEY HAZARD, a tight, taught bundle of swagger. Long chestnut hair tied tight in a ponytail. Eyes flashing with that world-weary air of someone who’s seen it all. Several times. She gets to the corner. Starts walking across the street. KELSEY (V.O.) The job had gone well. We’d made off with a little over a million bucks. All in all, not a bad haul. Kelsey gets to the front door of a small MARKET. Goes in. INT. MARKET - NIGHT Kelsey walks over the beer cooler. Grabs a couple six-packs. Takes them up to the register. KELSEY (V.O.) I’d been holed up for two days with a lowlevel errand boy for a local crew, and needed supplies. (beat) All that fucking makes a gal thirsty. KELSEY (CONT'D) (to the clerk) Can I get a carton of Marlboro onehundreds? The AWKWARD CLERK (20) nods. Reaches up above for the smokes. KELSEY (V.O.) (CONT'D) We’d all been laying low for a few days after the score until the heat died down. Awkward rings up the total. Looks at the register. AWKWARD CLERK That’ll be seventy-two dollars and thirtyeight cents. KELSEY (gives him some cash) Fucking cancer sticks are gonna break the bank one of these days -AWKWARD CLERK (takes it) You should smoke generics, like I do. Much cheaper. (CONTINUED) 2. CONTINUED: She looks at him more closely. Appraising. KELSEY You live around here? AWKWARD CLERK Uh -- yeah. On t-tenth street. KELSEY (arches an eyebrow) Maybe sometime we could -- work out a trade. AWKWARD CLERK Uh -- yeah. Sure -KELSEY (nods, big smile) Later. He stares. She grabs her bag. Starts for the door. AWKWARD CLERK Hey. You forgot your change -KELSEY (over her shoulder) Keep it. Get yourself something nice. Splurge. Live a little. And she’s gone. Awkward watches her go. Shakes his head. Wow. EXT. BAY STREET - NIGHT We watch from the across the street as Kelsey walks down the sidewalk with her bag. Heels CLICK-CLICKING on the cement. KELSEY (V.O.) The name’s Hazard. Kelsey Hazard. I’m a heister. (beat) I steal for a living. Big jobs, mostly. Armored cars. Stadium jobs. Race tracks. Even jacked a coin convention once. But no banks. That shit’ll get you killed. And besides, it’s a federal offense. I’ll stick with the local heat, thank you. She turns onto a driveway. Starts walking up to a Craftsman bungalow. Once nice, now crumbling in disrepair. KELSEY (V.O.) (CONT'D) I do one or two jobs a year. Then live off the take the rest of the time. I plan my jobs meticulously -- and I’ve never been caught. Kelsey opens the front door, goes in. 3. INT. BUNGALOW - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Dimly lit. Decor, ‘early dorm room.’ She walks through into -KELSEY (V.O.) I’m completely off the grid. Have never paid taxes. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT The kitchen, where she puts the smokes on the counter. The beers into the fridge. KELSEY (V.O.) As far as Uncle Sam goes, I don’t exist -She pulls off two cans, walks into -INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Dark, with light spilling out from an doorway at the end. She walks toward the bedroom. KELSEY I’m back -(beat) Miss me? Gets to the door. Starts to walk in -KELSEY (CONT’D) Rested up for the next round? She looks, sees a YOUNG STUD (25) propped up in bed. A long SAMURAI SWORD stuck in his neck. Pinning him to the head board. Blood everywhere. Must have been SOME geyser. KELSEY (CONT’D) NO! Kelsey RACES over to the closet. Opens it. Looks. She WHEELS AROUND. Head whipping back and forth. In a RAGE. KELSEY (CONT’D) The MONEY -She stops. Closes her eyes. Takes a deep breath. Opens them. Now blazing. Full of FIRE. KELSEY (CONT’D) (under her breath) Somebody’s gonna DIE. MALE VOICE (O.C.) Police. DON’T MOVE. Kelsey turns, sees -- (CONTINUED) 4. CONTINUED: TWO POLICE OFFICERS Standing in the doorway. A GRIZZLED VET and a YOUNG ROOKIE. Weapons drawn. Kelsey expresses blank-faced surprise. Rookie stares at the body. Looks like he’s gonna puke. KELSEY You got here fast -RED-FACED ROOKIE COP What? GRIZZLED VET COP You called us? KELSEY Hell, yeah. I go down to the corner to get beer and smokes and I come back and my fuck-buddy’s been skewered like a shish-ka-bob. So I called. She reaches for her pocket. Red-Faced shakes his weapon. RED-FACED ROOKIE COP Don’t MOVE. KELSEY I was -(gestures at her pocket) Getting a cigarette? GRIZZLED VET COP (to Red-Faced) Put your weapon down, Dunn. It might go off. He does, but still looks pissed. Kelsey nods. Pulls out a smoke. Lights it. KELSEY You think I’d kill someone and then stick around until you got here? (off their silence) The bag with the receipt is on the kitchen counter. Two six-packs of beer, and a carton of Marlboros. Seventy-two bucks and change. GRIZZLED VET COP (to Dunn) Go check. Dunn nod. Goes off to the kitchen to look. GRIZZLED VET COP (CONT’D) Sorry about that. He’s new on the force. KELSEY Don’t worry about it. I’d be suspicious, too. (CONTINUED) 5. CONTINUED: (2) GRIZZLED VET COP So what was your relationship with the victim? KELSEY Jackie Tempel? Like I said. He was a fuckbuddy. Met him in a bar a couple of nights ago. We’ve been shacked up ever since. GRIZZLED VET COP You live around here? KELSEY From New York. Here on vacation. Dunn comes back in. Looks sheepish. But still pissy. DUNN It checks out, chief. Receipt says the purchase was made five minutes ago. Grizzled Vet nods. Stares at Kelsey carefully. GRIZZLED VET You check the closet? Perp could be hiding in there. KELSEY I checked. No one there. GRIZZLED VET COP (to Dunn) Go take a look. Dunn nods. Goes to the closet. KELSEY You’re wasting your time -The rookie opens the door. Looks down. Eyes go wide. DUNN Well, look at what we have HERE. Machine guns, handguns -- a regular ARSENAL. (turns and looks) Cuff her, partner. We got us a real -Kelsey GRABS a book off the dresser. HURLS it at Dunn’s head, CRACK. He WHEELS BACKWARDS into the closet, THWUMP. She WHIRLS around. KNEES Grizzled Vet in the groin. He doubles over in pain. She PUNCHES him in the throat. Grizzled HITS the floor, GASPING for breath. Dunn starts to get up, but Kelsey’s too fast. She DASHES over to the closet and KICKS him in the head. He goes back down. Out like a light. (CONTINUED) 6. CONTINUED: (3) Grizzled starts to get up, still wheezing. Reaches for his piece -- but Kelsey GRABS it and CRACKS him on the head with it. THWUMP. He goes down for the count. She races over to the closet. Grabs the pistols. Stuffs them in her pockets. Goes to the bed table. Grabs the kid’s cell phone. Heads for the door. KELSEY (V.O.) I hate fucking up cops, but sometimes a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do -EXT. BEACH PARKING LOT - DAWN - FLASHBACK Titles read ‘A FEW DAYS EARLIER.’ A handful of junky cars sit parked overnight. Kelsey walks up to a beat-up old Toyota sedan. Looks around. No one. She pulls out a long, thin metal strip from her pocket. Works in into the window. POPS the door open. Slides in. IN THE CAR She deftly pulls a pair of wires from the steering column. Strips them with her teeth. Presses the ends together. The engine ROARS to life. She hits the gas. Drives away. EXT. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY - DAWN - FLASHBACK A heart-stopping gorgeous view of the ocean. Grey and blue waves crest into white like knives in the bright blue sky. The famed thoroughfare twists and turns around the coastline. Weaves through giant rock formations as if on a dare. ANGLE ON -The crappy Toyota rumbles along in the sparse traffic. INT. TOYOTA SEDAN - DAWN - FLASHBACK Kelsey sits behind the wheel. Cigarette dangling on her lip. Rakish in Ray Ban shades. KELSEY (V.O.) I’d been holed up in Santa Barbara the last few months taking it easy. Enjoying the local color. Shellfish, surfing and sex. (beat) Not necessarily in that order. (beat) When I saw that I’d blown through half the dough from the last job, I knew it was time to rustle up some more scratch. And it was time to pay the bill at my kid’s assisted care facility again. Place is fucking expensive. But it’s the best in the country. What’s a mother to do? (beat) (MORE) (CONTINUED) 7. CONTINUED: KELSEY (V.O.) (CONT'D) So I spread the word through the grapevine that I was looking for some action. Things were pretty quiet for a while, but then I caught a break. I got a call from one of my go-betweens that my old pal in LA Ronan Kenny was putting together a sweet little stadium job. (beat) So here I was, on my way to the City of Angels, the land of celluloid dreams. Except this was no dream. This was the real deal -(beat) Little did I know it would soon become a nightmare. EXT. BAY STREET - NIGHT Kelsey walks briskly to her stolen car of the moment. A beatup old Dodge Dart Swinger. Gets in. Turns on the engine. INT. DODGE DART SWINGER - MOVING - NIGHT Kelsey pulls away from the curb. Drives south on Bay Street. Pulls out her cell phone. KELSEY (V.O.) We all use disposable cell phones during a job. That way there’s nothing to trace. None of us knew where we were holed up, but we COULD call each other. She fingers a number. Listens. KELSEY (CONT’D) Ronan, it’s me -(listens) Some fucked up shit just went down. I need to see you. (listens) Not on the phone -(listens) I don’t want to take that chance. (listens) The Venice Motor Court. On Speedway. (listens) I’ll be there in ten. She clicks the phone shut. Turns left at the next intersection. Heads south. We see flashes of the beach between the buildings as she drive. KELSEY (V.O.) (CONT'D) The plan was, after the job all six us would hole up somewhere separately for a week or two until the heat was off. Problem was, we did the job two days ago, so the heat was definitely still ON. INT. VENICE MOTOR COURT HOTEL - CORRIDOR - NIGHT Kelsey walks up to a door. Knocks softly three times. Then stops. Then once again. The door opens. She goes in. 8. INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Your standard, bland touristy-tacky room brought to you by the color beige. Big painting of a ship at sea. Cliche much? Standing in the room is RONAN KENNY (40’s), a big, burly block of Irish Spring. Jet-black hair frames a face that only a boxer could love. Crude prison tattoos dot faded grey skin. He CRUSHES a can of beer. Tosses it the trash can. Stares at her meaningfully. RONAN I’d say it was great to see ya, but since you’re gonna give me bad news, I dunno. KELSEY Tell me about it. Kelsey sees a YOUNG BLONDE CHICK (20) sitting on the bed. KELSEY (CONT’D) Who’s the frill? RONAN This is Becky. BECKY (gives a little wave) Hey. Meet BECKY FINE, party girl deluxe. Your standard former cheerleader now on a one-way bender to hitting the skids. Puffy, red-rimmed eyes belie a soft expanse of creamy skin. BECKY (CONT'D) Well, aren’t you going to introduce us? Ronan pulls out his wallet. Goes over. Hands her some cash. RONAN Why don’t you go to the supermarket and get us some more beer. And get some chips. Beef jerky. That kinda shit. BECKY (pouts) But the supermarket’s fifteen minutes away -He stares at her. She stares back. Then crumples. Gets up. Grabs her bag. Goes out the door. Slams it. BANG. KELSEY Don’t tell me. You met her on a job. RONAN Nah. Believe it or not, we’ve been dating a few weeks. Got some fucked-up daddy fixation. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 9. CONTINUED: RONAN (CONT'D) (motions to the table) Enough chit-chat. What happened? They both sit. Kelsey pulls out her smokes. Lights one up. Studies him carefully. He stares at her stone-faced. KELSEY I went out for ten minutes to get supplies, come back, boy-toy is DEAD, and the money’s GONE. RONAN Fuck. KELSEY Yeah. RONAN FUCK. KELSEY Uh, YEAH. RONAN Whaddaya think? Was it someone on the crew, or an outside job? KELSEY Smells like a civilian. The kid was fucking STABBED with a samurai sword in the neck. He was fucking HARPOONED to the bed. RONAN Shit -KELSEY Why would a burglar do that? They just want to get in and out. Must have been someone that knew him, had a grudge. Like an ex-lover. Maybe it was a crime of passion. And then they called the cops so I would take the fall. So they must have been watching us -RONAN Makes sense. But just to make sure, we should check out the rest of the crew, don’tcha think? Someone could be trying to make it LOOK like a crime of passion. KELSEY Nah. This smells like amateur hour all the way. If one of our crew did it, they wouldn’t have killed the kid. No percentage in it -- it would have turned the heat up to ‘high.’ We need to gather everybody up and work on this as a team. (thinks) DeLuca and Aber are shacked up together. I’ll get them first. You track down Garza and Jones. (CONTINUED) 10. CONTINUED: (2) RONAN Okay. KELSEY Good -They stare at each other. Something passes between them. RONAN Hey. I just realized. You counted it. How much did we get? KELSEY A little over a million. RONAN NICE. So we each get -He frowns. Trying to do the math in his head. KELSEY About a hundred and seventy-K each. RONAN Shit. I could sure use a hundred and seventy-K. KELSEY You and me both, doll. (beat) But first we have to get it back --