Wake up

 

Scene:  (Bill is in bed)

 

-- a hand shakes him awake, then camera pans out to see the back of Martin.

 

MARTIN:

            Wake up, Bill

            Quick

 

BILL (GROGGY)

            Huh?

            What do you want, Martin?

 

MARTIN:

            I need you to wake up

            IT’S IMPORTANT

 

BILL:

            What time is it?

 

MARTIN:

            About 4 o’clock

 

BILL

            IN THE MORNING!!!

 

MARTIN:

            Yeah,

            But don’t worry about it.

            You can go back to sleep in a minute

 

BILL:

            It’s 4 o’clock in the fucking morning.

            Nobody’s supposed to get up this time of day.

            Why don’t you go and talk to the birds or something.

            Let me go back to sleep.

 

MARTIN:

            I need your help

 

BILL:

            Right now?

 

MARTIN:

            It can’t wait

 

BILL:

            Not even until morning.

 

MARTIN:

            This is morning

 

BILL:

            You know what I mean.

            Come back at a more reasonable hour

 

MARTIN:

            I won’t be here.

 

BILL:

            Why?

 

MARTIN:

            The police are looking for me.

 

BILL:

            This must be a dream

            (closes his eyes)

 

MARTIN:

            I mean it, Bill.

            The cops will be here soon

            Looking for me

            And for you.

 

BILL:   (eyes pop open)

            Why me?

 

MARTIN:

            They think you helped me with a jewelry store heist earlier today.

 

BILL:

            Why would they think that?

 

MARTIN:

            I used your name to get an appointment with the store manager.

 

BILL:

            Why my name?

 

 

MARTIN:

            You’re respectable.     

            I didn’t think anybody would suspect you of anything.

 

BILL:

            But now they do?

 

MARTIN:

            The cops’ll be here any minute.

 

BILL:

            Thanks for the warning.

            Now what do you want?

 

MARTIN:

            I need to borrow some cash so I can get out of town

 

BILL:

            But you just robbed a store.

 

MARTIN:

            Tried to.

            The manager didn’t cooperate.

 

BILL:

            Which means what?

 

MARTIN:

            The man’s dead

            They’ll catch me if you don’t give me some money.

 

BILL:

            If I help you, I’ll be an accessory to murder.

 

MARTIN:

            If you don’t help me, I’m a dead man

            They still hang people like me in this state.

 

BILL

            But you killed somebody, Martin.

I help you, the cops will put me in jail, too as an accomplice.

 

MARTIN:

            Not if I put a gun to your head.

            You can tell them I robbed you, too.

 

BILL:

            We’re buddies.

            No one’s going to believe a story like that.

 

MARTIN:

            You’d better hope somebody believes it

(Martin pulls out a gun and put it against Bill’s temple)

            Where’s the money, Bill?

 

BILL:

            Stop kidding, Martin

 

MARTIN:

            I’m not kidding, Bill.

            If you don’t tell me where you keep your cash, you’ll end up like the clerk did, my buddy or not.

 

BILL:

            You’re crazy!

 

MARTIN:

            I’m desperate

 

BILL:

            This isn’t like you at all.

 

MARTIN:

            This is not like the Martin you know.

            But it’s me all right.

            You’ve just never seen this side of me before.

 

BILL:

            You mean you’ve killed and robbed people before?

 

           

MARTIN:

            And worse.

 

 

BILL:

            My God!

            And I call you my friend?

 

MARTIN:

            Just give me the money and you won’t have to see me again.

 

BILL:

            And if I don’t

 

MARTIN:

            Then our friendship comes to a bloody end.

 

(Sirens sound)

            Hurry up and make up your mind.

 

BILL:

            All right, all right.

            I’ll give you whatever I have in my wallet.

 

(Bill rises, crosses over to the closet, pulls out his pants and hands Martin his wallet.)

 

MARTIN (Leaving)

            Thanks for the memories.

 

(Bill closes the door and goes back to the bed, lies down, closes his eyes, and seems to drift off the sleep again – until pounding on the door jerks his eyes open again. He rises, glances out the window – POV shot shows a whole fleet of police cars and an army of police officers at the curb. The pounding comes on the door again and Bill moves to it, and opens it where he finds a pack of police)

 

OFFICER #1:

            William Lane?

 

BILL:  

            He just left here, officer

            If you hurry you can still catch him.

 

OFFICER #2:

            Catch who?

 

BILL:

            Martin Quackenbush, of course.

            He’s the one you’re looking for, isn’t he?

 

OFFICER #1

            We’re here looking for you, Mr. Lane

            To charge you with the murder of Mr. Quackenbush..

 

BILL:

            Murder?

            How can I have murdered him when he was just here.

            He even  held a gun to my head and took my wallet.

 

OFFICER #2

            This wallet?

(the officer olds up Bill’s wallet)

 

OFFICER #1:

            And this gun?

(holds up Martin’s pistol)

 

BILL:

            Yes, thank God!

            Where did you find them?

 

OFFICER #2

            On Mr. Quackenbush’s body.

            Come alone

 

BILL:

            But I’m telling you, he was here, not ten minutes ago.

 

OFFICER: #1

            If you saw Mr. Quackenbush here ten minutes ago, then you saw a ghost.

            He was killed several hours ago, and witnesses say you did it.

            You’re under arrest.