Carnival Page #11

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70.

SHIV:

Then what’s this, pity sex?

ZODIAC:

Take it or leave it sex.

He TAKES it. They ROLL on the bed, tearing at each other’s

clothes as...

SHIV (V.O.)

This is wrong. This is sad.

LATER:

Moonlight spills over bodies in motion.

SHIV (V.O.)

This is shameful and pathetic.

Her head tilts back in ecstasy as he kisses her neck.

SHIV (V.O.)

This is my happiest moment in

years.

INT. SHIV’S TRAILER - DAY

A shaft of SUNLIGHT spills over Shiv as he wakes up. He turns

to face the empty spot where Zodiac should be.

SHIV (V.O.)

I wake up to see her gone and start

to feel like she was never even

there. Probably she never was.

Probably it was one of those stupid

dreams again.

CUT TO:

EXT. MENAGERIE - DAY

Shiv approaches Tigra, who’s INSIDE one of the cages, petting

a PANTHER like it was just a kitty.

SHIV:

Where’s Ace?

TIGRA:

Wanna know what I’m thinking?

71.

SHIV:

Money and dick. That’s all you ever

think about.

TIGRA:

I think you’re stretching out this

quest for revenge because you’re

afraid of grieving. I think that

behind those deadly knives there’s

a pathetic little brat who’s too

scared to face the fact that his

sister is gone.

SHIV:

Correct.

(then)

Where’s Ace?

Tigra sighs, hating this brat more and more.

TIGRA:

Tried to set up a meet but no dice.

His men told me to talk to the

Black Rose accountant instead.

SHIV:

And you think he knows where Ace

might be?

TIGRA:

Don’t know. But I’d shake that tree

if I were you. He’s a regular at a

crappy bar downtown owned by Ace.

She hands him a written piece of paper through the bars.

TIGRA:

You didn’t get this from me.

Shiv walks away.

TIGRA:

I want my stash back.

SHIV:

(re:
paper)

Then this better be solid.

CUT TO:

72.

EXT. BABYLON STREET - NIGHT

The CARNIE TRUCK weaves through traffic. Fast. The driving

style of an impatient driver:

TRUCK’S CABIN

Shiv drives. Hands clutching the wheel. Eyes beaming intense

focus.

Dante rides shotgun, looking at Shiv. Wondering:

DANTE:

When does this end, boy?

SHIV:

When I fill the last grave.

DANTE:

Will you ever run out of graves to

fill?

SHIV:

Sadly, yes.

DANTE:

You need to bury this.

SHIV:

I will, along with the a**hole that

hired the hit.

DANTE:

You did the shooters already. Why

not call it a day? Why keep going?

Shiv takes a beat to think about it.

SHIV:

Why did you decide to become a fire

breather?

DANTE:

You’re changing the subject.

SHIV:

I’m not.

Dante looks away, remembering painful thoughts.

DANTE:

The accident scarred both my body

and my mind.

(MORE)

73.

DANTE (CONT'D)

I left my job and my fiancee left

me. I had hit rock bottom. But one

night, as irony would have it, I

fell for a fire breather while

watching her perform. So I decided

to join the circus, to follow

Marion, and to leave my previous

life behind. At first I was just a

roustabout, but soon I realized

that to feel whole again, I needed

to conquer what I feared the most.

Fire.

SHIV:

So basically, it was a big “suck

it” to that fateful night when you

lost everything.

DANTE:

Pretty much.

SHIV:

My sister was everything to me. And

this is my big “suck it”.

CUT TO:

A DART BOARD ON A WALL

CLACK! - a DART hits close to the center -

CLACK! - then another - and then:

CLACK! - a KNIFE stabs into the bulls-eye - FRACTURING the

board - sending splinters and pieces of broken darts FLYING -

INT. SHADY BAR - NIGHT

DART PLAYERS turn --

Their hostile stares scan the poorly lit shithole, looking

for the a**hole responsible.

They spot Shiv at the entrance. Dante, Goliath and Zodiac

standing right behind him.

Shiv’s eyes scan the place, setting on THE ACCOUNTANT (30s),

a scum in a cheap suit, getting hammered at the bar.

SHIV:

I’m looking for Ace.

74.

The Accountant smiles a f*** you smile.

ACCOUNTANT:

He’s not here. May I take a

message?

SHIV:

You may.

He gets rid of his cloak to SHOW OFF the insane amount of

KNIVES he’s carrying.

SHIV:

But I don’t want to trouble you.

SHADY PATRONS grab bottles.

Chairs.

More bottles.

And more chairs.

ACCOUNTANT:

No trouble at all.

A tense beat... and then...

PANDEMONIUM! - bottles, knives and chairs FLY!

Goliath SWINGS his chain - Dante BLOWS plumes of FIRE -

Zodiac SLASHES throats open with her TAROT FAN -

Shiv HURLS knives lightning fast - we STAY with him as:

A chair HITS a rusty HANGING LIGHT - it SQUEAKS as it SWINGS

back and forth -BACK

- it leaves the battlefield in DARKNESS -AND

FORTH:
Shiv revealed hurling KNIVES -BACK

-AND

FORTH:
Shiv slides across the floor - his knife SLASHING

two Achilles’ tendons with ONE SWIPE as patrons go down -BACK

-AND

FORTH:
Shiv THROWS - three patrons left -BACK

-AND

FORTH:
Shiv STABS - one patron left -

75.

BACK -AND

FORTH:
the accountant makes a RUN for the exit.

But finds himself CUT OFF by Goliath, Dante and Zodiac.

LATER:

The accountant now sits at a table, a BABYLON MAP spread in

front of him.

SHIV:

Where is he?

ACCOUNTANT:

I don’t know.

SHIV:

Zodiac.

Zodiac takes the accountant’s hand for a palm reading. But he

closes it in a TIGHT FIST.

SLING! - Shiv unsheathes a knife.

SHIV:

Does the hand need to be attached

to the rest of the body?

ZODIAC:

No.

SHIV:

Good.

He brings the knife close to the accountant’s wrist -But

the accountant opens his hand in defeat.

Zodiac’s eyes go WHITE as she reads his palm.

ZODIAC:

I see Kayne’s funeral...

EXT. CEMETERY - DAY (VISION)

Crosses and tombstones under a foreboding overcast sky. The

Accountant and a crowd of THUGS throw black roses at a COFFIN

being lowered into the ground.

76.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

I see pain. Anger. A thirst for

retribution.

Knotted jaws. Clenched fists.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

Rippling all the way up to the top

of the syndicate.

The crowd splits as a newcomer makes his way through the

mourners:
THE THORN (60s). Gaunt and pale. Eyes glassy like a

cat’s. We recognize the Black Rose engraved on his gold tie

clip.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

The Thorn is in town.

No one dares to look at him in the eye as he lays a BLACK

ROSE into the grave.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

He’s come to say goodbye to Kayne.

LATER:

Funeral over, The Thorn’s BLACK CHOPPER sits on the cemetery

lawn, surrounded by The Accountant and SIX Black Rose

LIEUTENANTS.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

And to anoint Ace to replace him.

Inside the chopper’s OPEN BAY, Ace gives The Thorn a WOODEN

BOX with a Black Rose painted on its lid.

He opens it, finding a SEVERED FINGER inside along with some

ROSE CLIPPERS.

Ace is now missing a pinky just like Kayne.

INSIDE ACE’S NEW HEADQUARTERS (VISION)

A heated discussion takes place between Ace, SIX Black Rose

LIEUTENANTS and The Accountant.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

Many lieutenants are thirsty for

blood. But Ace needs to remain in

business with Tigra and find the

missing stash. So he’s holding

them off.

77.

Enough chit chat - Ace whips out a GLOCK and blows a

lieutenant’s brains out - discussion over.

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