Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Page #13

INT. MINT HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT

DUKE sits staring at the TV.

51.

DUKE (V/O)

Strange memories on this nervous

night in Las Vegas.

(he gets up, pours

himself a drink)

Has it been five years? Six? It

seems like a lifetime -- the kind

of peak that never comes again.

San Francisco in the middle sixties

was a very special time and place

to be a part of. But no

explanation, no mix of words or

music or memories can touch that

sense of knowing that you were

there and alive in that corner of

time and the world. Whatever it

meant.

DUKE throws open the curtains. Light streams in.

EXT. 1965 STOCK FOOTAGE

We are in SAN FRANCISCO. IMAGES OF THE TIME FLOOD IN.

DUKE (V/O)

THERE WAS MADNESS IN ANY DIRECTION,

AT ANY HOUR... YOU COULD STRIKE

SPARKS ANYWHERE. THERE WAS A

FANTASTIC UNIVERSAL SENSE THAT

WHATEVER WE WERE DOING WAS RIGHT,

THAT WE WERE WINNING. AND THAT, I

THINK, WAS THE HANDLE -- THAT SENSE

OF INEVITABLE VICTORY OVER THE

FORCES OF OLD AND EVIL. NOT IN ANY

MEAN OR MILITARY SENSE; WE DIDN'T

NEED THAT. OUR ENERGY WOULD SIMPLY

prevail. We had all the momentum;

we were riding the crest of a high

and beautiful wave...

DUKE'S FACE IS SUFFUSED WITH A SADNESS AND SERENITY WE HAVE

NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

DUKE (V/O)

So now, less than five years later,

you can go up on a steep hill in

Las Vegas and look west, and with

the right kind of eyes you can

almost see the high water mark --

that place where the wave finally

broke and rolled back.

52.

The memories dissolve into the night skyline of Vegas.

Suddenly towering over the casinos is a 200 foot high Nazi

shouting "WOODSTOCK ÜBER ALLES!"

INT. MINT HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT

DUKE closes the curtain. The room is in darkness again.

INT. MINT HOTEL SUITE - DAWN

A harsh door buzzer. DUKE jerks awake. Alone. Looking

like sh*t. Around him is the wreckage of their stay.

DUKE (V/O)

The decision to flee came suddenly.

Or maybe not.

DUKE opens the door to a BELL BOY with a trolley load of

fruit, drinks and flowers... and a smile.

BELL BOY:

Room service!

The BELL BOY wheels the trolley across the room -- already

stacked with EVEN MORE BOXES OF GOODIES.

DUKE (V/O)

Maybe I'd planned it all along --

subconsciously waiting for the

right moment. The bill was a

factor, I think. Because I had no

money to pay for it.

DUKE slams the door -- starts FRANTICALLY PACKING.

DUKE (V/O)

Our room service tabs had been

running somewhere between $29 and

$36 per hour, for forty-eight

consecutive hours. Incredible.

How could it happen?

DUKE sees the DISCARDED WRAPPINGS OF EXPENSIVE, HAND TOOLED

LUGGAGE. A sudden thought. He rushes to GONZO's room --

empty. His plastic briefcase remains on the bed...

DUKE (V/O)

But by the time I asked this

question, there was no one around

to answer.

DUKE opens the briefcase -- finds the .357 MAGNUM inside.

53.

DUKE (V/O)

My attorney was gone. He must have

sensed trouble.

QUICK CUT TO:

EXT. LAS VEGAS AIRPORT - DAY

GONZO WAVES GOODBYE as he boards an airplane with a set of

brand-new fine cowhide luggage.

DUKE (V/O)

Panic.

INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE HOTEL SUITE - DAY

DUKE emerges with his bag and Gonzo's plastic briefcase --

leaves the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door -- checks both

ways, then hurries away down the corridor.

DUKE (V/O)

It crept up my spine like first

rising vibes of an acid frenzy.

All these horrible realities began

to dawn on me.

INT. MINT HOTEL ELEVATOR - DAY

An anxiety ridden DUKE watches the floor numbers as the

elevator descends. He searches his pockets...

DUKE (V/O)

Here I was, alone in Las Vegas,

with this goddamned incredibly

expensive car, completely twisted

on drugs, no cash, no story for the

magazine. And on top of everything

else I had a gigantic goddamn hotel

bill to deal with.

DUKE finds a last crumpled $5 bill.

The door opens. A SECURITY GUARD enters with an OLD LADY IN

HANDCUFFS.

DUKE hides the bill -- crams back into the corner. Doors

close.

DUKE (V/O)

I didn't even know who had won the

race. Maybe nobody.

54.

INT. MINT HOTEL LOBBY - DAY

DUKE hurries out of the elevator -- eyes on a hovering

MANAGER. Past the curious look of the reception CLERK.

DUKE:

(muttering to himself)

How would Horatio Alger have

handled this situation?

EXT. MINT HOTEL - DAY

Motoring, DUKE gives his $5 bill to the HOTEL FRONT DOORMAN

with a smile. The DOORMAN blows a frantic whistle and waves

at the CAR BOY.

DUKE (V/O)

Stay calm. Stay calm. I'm a

relatively respectable citizen -- a

multiple felon, perhaps, but

certainly not dangerous.

The CAR BOY pulls up with a screech. DUKE jumps in. The

back seat is stacked with bars of Neutrogena, piles of Mint

400 t-shirts, boxes of grapefruit.

DUKE (V/O CONT'D)

Luckily, I had taken the soap and

grapefruit and other luggage out to

the car a few hours earlier. Now

it was only a matter of slipping

the noose...

DUKE shifts into drive. Deliverance!

CLERK'S VOICE

MR. DUKE!

DUKE freezes.

CLERK'S VOICE

Mr. Duke! We've been looking for

you!

DUKE (V/O)

The game was up! They had me.

DUKE:

(to himself)

Well, why not? Many fine books

have been written in prison.

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