Blade Runner Page #14

Rachael appears on the telephone vid-screen.

RACHAEL:

Hello.

DECKARD:

People have walked out on me

before... but never when I was

being charming.

Rachael freezes when she see who it is. Says nothing.

DECKARD:

Ya missed out on the drink I

poured ya.

Rachael still says nothing.

DECKARD:

Wanna try again ?

For a long moment it seems Rachael isn't going to say

anything.

Rachael is bitter.

RACHAEL:

(on Vid-screen)

Hunting... "skin jobs "?

DECKARD:

Didn't find any.All I found was a bar.

Why waste it ?

RACHAEL:

(on vid-screen)

Not my kind of place I'm afraid.

DECKARD:

Meet me here. We'll go someplace

else. It's in the Fourth Sector....

Something on the stage catches Deckard's eye. He frowns.

On stage, a snake has emerged from the second egg.

Deckard is suddenly pre-occupied with the stage show as

he absently gives the address over the phone.

DECKARD:

...... the Fourth Sector, on the line.

Taffey Lewis' Snake Pit.

RACHAEL:

I don't think so Mr. Deckard.

As I said......

Deckard is staring at the stage show.

DECKARD:

(absently)

See ya in a half hour.

He hangs up.

On stage, the snake and Salome are into sexy stuff.

CUT TO:

INT. BACKSTAGE A LITTLE LATER

You can hear applause and catcalls from the audience

as Salome flounces backstage. She starts toward the

dressing room.

Deckard emerges from the shadow.

DECKARD:

Excuse me, Miss Salome....

She turns. Deckard's posture and attitude suggest humble,

sleazy persistence. He comes closer with his sh*t-eating

grin.

DECKARD:

I'd like to have a word with you

if I could.

Salome stands almost six feet tall in her high heels and

looks down on him with haughty suspicion... a girl who

knows how to handle cheap hits.

SALOME:

Yeah ?

DECKARD:

I'm with the American Federation of

Variety Artists....

He holds up a hand as if to stop her from protesting.

DECKARD:

Don't worry, I'm not here to

make you join... that's not my department.

He glances around like a guy who's not supposed to be

there.

DECKARD:

I'm an investigator for the Confidential

Committee on Moral Abuses.

She nods, taking it a little more seriously.

DECKARD:

There's been reports of the

management taking liberties with

the artists in this place.

SALOME:

I don't know nothing about it.

DECKARD:

You haven't felt yourself to be

exploited by the management in

any way?

She's definitely puzzled.

SALOME:

How do you mean 'exploited'?

DECKARD:

Like to get this job... did you

or were you asked to do anything

lewd or unsavory or otherwise

repulsive to your person?

SALOME:

Are you for real?

DECKARD:

Oh, yeah. You'd be surprised

what goes on around here. I'd

like to check the dressing room

if I could.

SALOME:

What the f*** for?

DECKARD:

For holes.

This guy might be an a**hole, but he's funny.

SALOME:

I don't believe this.

She shrugs and they go in.

INT. DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT

Musty, cramped. A portable shower, a dressing table

and not much else. On the dressing table lies a snake.

Deckard watches it undulate into the warmth of the

lights.

DECKARD:

Is that mother for real ?

SALOME:

Of course he's not real. You think

I'd be working here if I could afford

a real snake ?

Deckard reaches out to touch it. As his fingers make

contact, there's an electric "snap". he jerks his hand

back from the shock.

Salome is taking off her costume. There's not much to

take off.

Deckard gets a glimpse of nakedness as she slips behind

the screen and turns on the shower.

DECKARD:

How long you been doing a snake act ?

SALOME:

What is it with you... you looking for

holes or what ?

He starts pacing the room like's he's inspecting the walls.

DECKARD:

You'd be surprised - they have their ways

of doing their dirty work without the victim

even knowing what's going on.

His fingers are moving over her gowns. There's about six of

them, on hangers, but nothing quite like the one in Leon's

closet.

DECKARD:

You'd be surprised what a guy'll go through

to get a glimpse of a beautiful body.

SALOME:

No, I wouldn't.

DECKARD:

Little dirty holes they drill in the wall

so they can watch a lady undress.

And to his amazement, low on the wall, behind the dresses,

he actually spots one. He moves down for a peek.

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