Carnival Page #7

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SHIV (V.O.)

I scan the crowd every day,

wondering if the shooters are

already here doing reconnaissance

for the job...

His hand fiddles with a knife - twisting and turning in his

fingers - the blade reflecting RANDOM FACES in the crowd as:

SHIV (V.O.)

Wondering if I just walked past my

sister’s murderer.

As he keeps walking, he turns to see:

BETWEEN TWO TENTS

Tigra oversees the ROUSTABOUTS unloading boxes with STUFFED

ANIMALS from a VAN.

She spots Shiv passing by.

SHIV (V.O.)

I turned myself into bait and her

turf into the fishing pond. She

doesn’t say a thing. Lets her eyes

do the talking.

Her GLARE burns hotter than the tip of the cigarette dangling

from her lips.

INT. SHIV’S TRAILER - NIGHT

Shiv lies on his cot by the window, the moon bleeding silver

into the darkened room.

SHIV (V.O.)

The wait takes away the thrill of

the kill. And my mind bounces back

to the usual places. Dark places.

Cold sweat and hard breathing. Another ANXIETY ATTACK.

He tries to calm down, wishing his sister was here, but all

he’s got are memories that come to him as DISTANT ECHOES:

43.

AYLEEN (V.O.)

Take a good deep breath through

your nose.

He does.

AYLEEN (V.O.)

Nice and deep. Deeper.

He closes his eyes, focusing.

AYLEEN (V.O.)

Now gently blow the air out.

Slowly. Very slowly.

He’s trying. He’s really trying.

AYLEEN (V.O.)

That’s it. Clear your mind. Focus

on the breathing. Nothing else -

Her soothing voice suddenly interrupted by a CHAOTIC string

of other voices:

TIGRA (V.O.)

She’s gone, brat. And there’s

nothing you can do about it -

ZODIAC (V.O.)

You stand up and ask me for a

dance.

His hands CLUTCH the sheets, his breath QUICKENS.

DOUG (V.O.)

Damn, it’s just a kid -

ZODIAC (V.O.)

I ignore you.

His heart now about to explode inside his chest.

AYLEEN (V.O.)

Love takes two.

He CLOSES his eyes, but the voices won’t go away.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

I don’t despise you. You’re just

not my type.

F*** it - he sits on the bed --

44.

SLING! - unsheathes a KNIFE - cuts his arm - a wave of RELIEF

washing over his face as the pain makes the voices slowly

FADE AWAY.

CUT TO:

EXT. COOKHOUSE - DAY

A lone DUST DEVIL sweeps across the carnival grounds.

Shiv and Zodiac sit at a table while she gives him a PALM

READING. Her lips move but we don’t hear what she says.

SHIV (V.O.)

She tells me the hitmen are coming

for me this very night...

She traces a finger across his palm.

SHIV (V.O.)

But all I can think about is the

softness of her touch, and a part

of myself wonders how the hell

could I get this dumb.

(then)

I need to focus.

INT. BIG TOP - PERFORMANCE RING - NIGHT

EMPTY and dark. A SPOTLIGHT casts a circle of light in the

middle of the ring: Shiv sits at a table, playing FIVE-FINGER

FILLET as...

SHIV:

I thought a thought. But the

thought I thought wasn't the

thought I thought I thought -

He keeps repeating his routine as...

IN A FAR CORNER:

A switchblade CUTS AN OPENING into the tent from outside.

Two men crawl in through the gap. The TWIN HITMEN carrying

silenced handguns.

They split and prowl towards...

45.

PERFORMANCE RING

Shiv suddenly STOPS stabbing, as if alerted by a sixth sense.

He HURLS the knife - it FLIES towards the spotlight -CRASH!

- instant DARKNESS.

He readies another knife - can’t see a thing but:

Zodiac joins him, her EYES ROLLED BACK, her finger pointing

somewhere into the surrounding BLACKNESS.

He THROWS in the pointed direction - the knife flies away -

swallowed in shadow - a SCREAM rings out!

One of the hitmen gets STABBED in his leg as:

Shiv and Zodiac stand CLOSE - he uses her pointing finger as

his crosshairs - HURLS another blade - another SCREAM!

The other hitman gets a KNIFE in his shoulder. Both try to

flee while:

Zodiac keeps marking targets. Shiv keeps throwing blades into

the darkness, using her eyes.

Time seems to slow down as they keep close to each other...

Moving and turning together as she points...

As he throws...

SHIV (V.O.)

I get to dance with her after all.

Their choreography is deadly... yet almost sensual...

Her gypsy dress flowing like waves in the breeze...

SHIV (V.O.)

We don’t miss a step.

Flying knives disappear into the surrounding darkness...

drawing out distant screams...

SHIV (V.O.)

She’s the Reaper’s eyes tonight and

I am his Scythe.

His arm around her waist as they turn...

SHIV (V.O.)

I want this dance to last forever.

46.

LATER:

The HITMEN now both lie DEAD on the floor, stabbed with a

DOZEN KNIVES each.

CUT TO:

EXT. THE CARNIVAL - MIDWAY - NIGHT

The CIRCUS CROWD watches as Shiv pushes a WHEELBARROW,

carrying the TWIN HITMEN’S bodies.

Tigra clocks him in silence --

Calculating eyes behind WISPS of cigarette smoke.

EXT. THE CARNIVAL - OUTSKIRTS - NIGHT

Shiv dumps the bodies into an empty grave.

Checks them. Gets their WALLETS.

Then starts shoveling dirt.

One of the graves he dug is still EMPTY...

CUT TO:

EXT. ZODIAC’S TRAILER - NIGHT

Shiv KNOCKS on her door.

It creaks open - Zodiac’s figure outlined against the white

glow coming from inside.

He offers her the hitmen’s WALLETS.

SHIV:

Tell me what you see.

ZODIAC:

I see the hitmen are dead. Don’t

you?

SHIV:

Hitmen were pawns. I need to find

out who’s moving the pieces.

ZODIAC:

And I need a drink.

47.

INT. ZODIAC’S TRAILER - LATER

He sits on her cot, watching as she pours herself a glass of

SCOTCH.

He spots a deck of TAROT CARDS on the bed. Picks one:

It depicts three gleaming swords piercing a human heart. It’s

disturbingly beautiful.

ZODIAC:

(re:
the card)

Three of Swords:
Heartbreak.

Loneliness. Betrayal.

He tries bending the card, but it’s plated and hard - he

accidentally CUTS his thumb with its keen edge.

ZODIAC:

Used that deck in prison. Doing

readings in exchange for favors.

SHIV:

These can kill.

ZODIAC:

They did a few times. Tuned them up

for self defense.

SHIV:

You were allowed to carry these?

ZODIAC:

Had to pay the Chief prison guard.

SHIV:

With readings?

ZODIAC:

(smirks)

She was a dyke.

SHIV:

So you were her b*tch.

ZODIAC:

We’re all someone’s b*tch. Sooner

or later we all have to make a

deal.

SHIV:

That’s why you do everything Tigra

says?

48.

She downs the drink, catches her reflection at the bottom of

the empty glass. Doesn’t like what she sees.

SHIV:

You’re not in prison anymore.

ZODIAC:

Rules are the same.

SHIV:

You can leave.

ZODIAC:

Wouldn’t get far with my rap sheet.

Don’t wanna end up in a brothel

with a black rose painted on my

cheek.

SHIV:

What did you do time for?

ZODIAC:

You ask too many questions.

SHIV:

You invited me in.

ZODIAC:

Not to chit chat.

SHIV:

Then what for?

She puts down the glass, then sits by his side.

ZODIAC:

Take a guess.

SHIV:

To make a deal.

ZODIAC:

You learn fast.

SHIV:

What deal?

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