Copycat Page #14

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HELEN RUNS DOWN THE HALL AND REACHES THE FRONT DOOR. SHE

RUNS RIGHT OUT INTO THE HALL A FEW STEPS BEFORE RECOILING:

HER POV. THE WALLS AND FLOOR WEAVING AND CONTRACTING...

AGORAPHOBIA HAS HIT.

HELEN FALLS. SHE SCRAMBLES IN TERROR BACK TO THE "SAFETY"

OF HER WALL, NOW A CAVE OF DARKNESS.

SHE FALLS ON THE FLOOR OF THE HALL, GASPING FOR BREATH.

LIVING ROOM. THE MAN MOVES ACROSS THE ROOM TOWARD THE

HALL.

CUT TO:

RUBEN:
taking the hills fast.

THE MAN:
STEPS OUT INTO THE HALL.

HELEN:
SHE HAS RUN BACK THE LENGTH OF THE HALL TO HER

OFFICE. SHE IS JUST VANISHING AS THE MAN STEPS TO WHERE HE

CAN SEE HER.

THE MAN STARTS TO FOLLOW, NOT FAST, BUT WITH TERRIFYING

SURENESS...

THE POLICE SCANNER SUDDENLY COMES UP LOUD. HE HESITATES.

HELEN:
HER REMOTE CONTROLS IN HAND SWITCHES ON TV SETS,

LAMPS, ETC.

THE MAN:
HE STARTS TO MOVE AGAIN, TOWARD WHERE HE BELIEVES

SHE IS. HE IS PASSING A WINDOW, WHEN THE CURTAINS SUDDENLY

DRAW, RIGHT BESIDE HIM. HE PAUSES AGAIN, LOOKS DOWN AND WE

AND HE/WE SEE THE STREET SCENE: BURT AND NEIGHBORS TRYING TO

SILENCE THE CAR ALARM. THEN HE STARTS TO MOVE AGAIN.

THE CURTAINS CLOSE.

HIGH ANGLE OVER THE MAZE OF THE APARTMENT WALLS. WE CAN SEE

THE MAN MOVING ALONG THE HALLWAY AGAIN -- TOWARD ANDY'S DEN,

AND DIRECTLY TOWARD WHERE WE LAST SAW HELEN.

SUDDENLY, FOREGROUND, HELEN'S HEAD POPS UP, HUGE! SHE IS

WRESTLING HERSELF UP OVER THE WALL TOWARD CAMERA, INTO

ANOTHER ROOM OUT OF HIS PATH. WE PAN WITH HER AS SHE WIGGLES

HERSELF OVER THE TOP OF THE WALL AND UNTIL SHE FALLS INTO

FURNITURE, MAKING A HUGE NOISE.

MAN STOPS, TRYING TO LOCATE DIRECTION. HE DECIDES. LEAPS

WITH CATLIKE GRACE ONTO A PIECE OF FURNITURE AND FROM THERE

ONTO THE TOP OF THE WALL!

NOW HE STANDS ON THE PARTITION, LOOKING AROUND AT THE

GROUNDPLAN (AS IT WERE) OF THIS APARTMENT MAZE FROM A HIGH

ANGLE POV.

HELEN:
SHE CROUCHES IN HIDING. IN DEEP FOCUS, BEYOND HER,

AND HIGH ABOVE HER, WE SEE THE MAN SILHOUETTED AS HE BEGINS

TO WALK ALONG LIKE A CAT ON A GARDEN WALL, ABLE TO SEE ON

BOTH SIDES INTO WHATEVER ROOMS HE IS PASSING.

HE DROPS OFF THE WALL FOR A MOMENT INTO HER BEDROOM.

INTERCUT MAN AND HELEN. HE LOOKS FOR HER, PRODS THE BED

COVERS.

THEN LEAPS BACK UP TO THE TOP OF THE WALL.

SHE TAKES A VASE AND THROWS IT OVER THE WALL INTO THE

ADJACENT ROOM. THE MAN'S FIGURE DOESN'T EVEN SLOW, HE'S

ALREADY FIGURED IT OUT: HE LEAPS CLEAR ACROSS AN OPENING

ONTO THE WALL THAT LEADS DIRECTLY TO HER.

SHE HITS THE REMOTE: THE CURTAINS SWEEP OPEN, AND MORE LIGHT

COMES IN NOW FROM THE STREET.

CLOSE, THE MAN:
HIS FACE TURNS TO THE LIGHT: FROM THIS HIGH

ANGLE WE AND WE SEE DOWN INTO THE STREET, WHERE

RUBEN'S CAR SCREECHES TO A STOP. RUBEN charges into the

building.

BURT, COMING AWAKE, FOLLOWS RUBEN up the stairs three at a

time.

HALLWAY AND APARTMENT DOOR: THE MAN COMES RACING OUT AND

TURNS TOWARD THE STAIRS, JUST AS RUBEN REACHES HELEN'S

FLOOR. THE MAN TRIES TO DO A 180, BUT RUBEN THROWS A BODY

BLOCK AND THE MAN FALLS BACK INSIDE THE APARTMENT.

LIGHT FROM HALL GIVES US OUR FIRST LOOK AS RUBEN TEARS THE

BALACLAVA OFF HIS FACE. He is a middle-aged Afro-Asian with

a knife-scarred face.

MAN:

I can explain!

RUBEN:

The f*** you can!

(shouts)

Helen! Are you okay? HELEN!

Then he sees her. In shock, she stares down at the MAN.

RUBEN:

Did this animal touch you?

She shakes her head, turns and runs out of the room, as

RUBEN catches sight of BURT.

RUBEN:

Turn on a light and call in the

unit. NOW!

BURT rushes to okay. RUBEN FRISKS THE MAN.

MAN:

No gun!

RUBEN:

Bullshit's gonna get your balls

stomped on! What's your name?

MAN:

Chow. Conrad Chow.

The improbability of this name makes RUBEN deliver an angry

kick to the man's side.

MAN:

Swear to God! Conrad Chow. Never

carry a gun.

BURT:

Backup's here...

RUBEN:

(to Burt)

Then you get your ass outta here, I

don't wanta see you again...

CONRAD:

I brought a present for the lady,

there. I'm looking for her, to give

her the present...

RUBEN:

You break into her apartment to

deliver a gift? Where is it?

CONRAD:

The door was open, swear to God,

I'm just looking for her when you

come charging up the stairs...

RUBEN:

Where is it?

CONRAD:

I'm trying to tell you. It's on the

lady's pillow...

Ruben shoves Conrad into Backup Cop's hands.

INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Ruben comes running in, sees a parcel lying on pillow...

scoops it up, and rips it open. It's a book. He returns

to Conrad, who is now surrounded by police. Ruben holds the

book up like a question.

CONRAD:

Daryll Lee Cullum, he wrote that

book, he wanted the lady to have

it. They won't let him send it to

her, so I'm getting out, he asks me

to deliver it in person, he says,

put it on her pillow. It has all

about how he tried to kill her.

RUBEN:

He told you she was loaded, any-

thing you could steal you could

keep, Conrad? You bought yourself

a return ticket to Quentin,

breaking and entering.

CONRAD:

The door was already open...

RUBEN:

We know...

(to a cop)

Send the book to evidence...

CONRAD:

She's supposed to have it.

RUBEN:

She don't want it.

INT. HELEN'S BATHROOM - NIGHT

HELEN is sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her

chest.

RUBEN (V.O.)

Helen? Open the door. The guy's

nothing. A burglar.

She sits there, says nothing.

RUBEN (V.O.)

Open the door. Please.

HELEN:

Why don't you shoot off the lock?

She starts to laugh. The sound is awful. After a moment,

she gets up on wobbly legs and opens the door. RUBEN takes

her to the sink, sort of sits her down on it. Wets a

washcloth, goes to sponge off her face. She is trembling.

HELEN:

He was in my apartment!

RUBEN:

I know, baby. I know.

Without warning, in some sort of manic phase of a freak-out,

she breaks away from him, ricochets through bedroom, down

the hallway, RUBEN follows, tries to put his arms around

her.

RUBEN:

It's okay... you're safe with me!

He pulls her down into a chair with him, his arms tight

around her, holding her still. He smoothes her hair, rubs

her neck, pets her like a frightened and resistant cat.

RUBEN:

When I was a little kid, and I'd be

in a state, my father would hold me

on his lap, until all the fight

would go out of me...

She breaks free and whacks him across his nose.

HELEN:

You think you're my Daddy?

There is something so perverse about this, so erotic, that

RUBEN kisses her. She goes limp, kisses him back, then

she's suddenly sobbing. His nose is bleeding, but she's

smiling. Something between them has finally connected.

Been agreed upon.

RUBEN:

Helen...honey, you know I gotta go.

He digs out his sneaky gun from whenever he keeps it.

RUBEN:

You know how to use this?

HELEN:

They taught me at the FBI. I was

very good at it. It scared me... I

liked it.

RUBEN:

You take it, hang on to it, it'll

make you feel safer. Stay put.

HELEN:

What else?

He goes.

A SONG BEGINS, PRELAPPING THE FOLLOWING SCENES: "MURDER BY

NUMBERS" BY THE POLICE...

"Once that you've decided on a killing

First you make a stone of your heart

And if you find that your hands are still willing

You can turn murder into an art..."

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