Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Page #17

DUKE (V/O)

I desperately needed peace, rest,

sanctuary. I hadn't counted on

this. Finding my attorney on acid

and locked into some kind of

preternatural courtship.

DUKE:

Well, I guess they brought the car

round by now. LET'S GET THE STUFF

OUT OF THE TRUNK.

DUKE fixes GONZO hard.

GONZO:

Absolutely, LET'S GET THE STUFF.

(to LUCY)

Now, we'll be right back. Don't

answer the phone if it rings.

LUCY:

(makes one-fingered

Jesus freak sign)

God bless.

INT. FLAMINGO HOTEL - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE SUITE - DAY

DUKE collars GONZO -- serious.

DUKE:

WELL? What are your plans?

GONZO:

Plans?

DUKE:

Lucy.

68.

GONZO:

(struggling to focus)

Sh*t. I met her on the plane and I

had all that acid.

(he shrugs)

You know, those little blue barrels.

I gave her a cap before I realized...

she's a religious freak... Jesus,

she's never even had a drink.

DUKE:

Well... It'll probably work out.

We can keep her loaded and peddle

her ass at the drug convention.

GONZO stares uneasily at DUKE.

GONZO:

Listen, she's running away from

home for something like the fifth

time in six months. It's terrible.

DUKE:

She's perfect for this gig. These

cops will go fifty bucks a head to

beat her into submission and then

gang f*** her. We can set her up

in one of these back street motels,

hang pictures of Jesus all over the

room, then turn these pigs loose on

her... Hell she's strong; she'll

hold her own.

GONZO's face twitches badly.

GONZO:

Jesus Christ. I knew you were sick

but I never expected to hear you

actually say that kind of stuff.

DUKE:

It's straight economics. This girl

is a god-send. Sh*t, she can make

us a grand a day.

GONZO:

NO! Stop talking like that.

DUKE:

I figure she can do about four at a

time. Christ, if we keep her full

of acid that's more like two grand

a day. Maybe three.

69.

GONZO:

You filthy bastard. I should cave

your f***ing head in.

DUKE:

In a few hours, she'll probably be

sane enough to work herself into a

towering Jesus-based rage at the

hazy recollection of being seduced

by some kind of cruel Samoan who

fed her liquor and LSD, dragged her

to a Vegas hotel room and savagely

penetrated every orifice in her

body with his throbbing,

uncircumcised member.

GONZO starts crying.

GONZO:

NO! I felt sorry for the girl, I

wanted to help her!

DUKE:

You'll go straight to the gas

chamber. And even if you manage to

beat that, they'll send you back to

Nevada for Rape and Consensual

Sodomy. She's got to go.

Pause.

GONZO:

Sh*t, it doesn't pay to try to help

somebody these days.

A silence.

DUKE (V/O)

The only alternative was to take

her out to the desert and feed her

remains to the lizards. But, it

seemed a bit heavy for the thing we

were trying to protect: My attorney.

GONZO:

We have to cut her loose. She's

got two hundred dollars. And we

can always call the cops up there

in Montana, where she lives, and

turn her in.

DUKE:

What?... What kind of goddamn

monster are you?

70.

GONZO:

It just occurred to me, that she

has no witnesses. Anything that

she says about us is completely

worthless.

DUKE:

Us?

INT. HOTEL FLAMINGO SUITE - SUNSET

DUKE is speaking into the phone in hushed tones.

DUKE:

Hotel Americana? I need a

reservation. For my niece. Listen,

I need her treated very gently.

She's an artist, and might seem a

trifle highstrung...

In the background GONZO helps LUCY and her paintings out the

door.

GONZO:

Okay, Lucy, it's time to go meet

Barbra...

DUKE (V/O)

I felt like a Nazi, but it had to

be done.

EXT. ON THE STREETS - A CAB STAND - DUSK

The WHITE WHALE pulls up -- DUKE at the wheel. GONZO helps

LUCY and her paintings from the car.

DUKE (V/O)

Lucy was a potentially fatal

millstone on both our necks. There

was absolutely no choice but to cut

her adrift and hope her memory was

f***ed.

GONZO unrolls a couple of bills -- pays off a CAB DRIVER --

waves to LUCY in the back with her paintings. She's starting

to come down...

GONZO gets back in the WHITE WHALE and slaps his hands

together as if washing his hands of the situation.

GONZO:

Well that's that. Take off slowly.

Don't attract attention.

71.

They pull out into traffic.

EXT. LAS VEGAS STREETS - DUSK

GONZO:

I gave the cabbie an extra ten

bucks to make sure she gets there

safe. Also, I told him I'd be

there myself in an hour, and if she

wasn't, I'd come back out here and

rip his lungs out.

DUKE:

That's good. You can't be subtle

in this town.

GONZO:

As your attorney, I advise you to

tell me where you put the goddamn

mescaline.

DUKE:

Maybe we should take it easy tonight.

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