Leaving Las Vegas Page #7

She walks to the table and downs her tequila in one. Then

comes to the bed, where Ben is sitting. She kneels, unzips

his fly and begins sucking him. Ben watches her, looks at her

reflection in the closet mirror, reaches for the bottle and

drinks some, being careful not to disturb Sera. After a while

Sera comes up.

SERA:

Do you want to f*** now?

BEN:

(confused)

Maybe another drink first.

More tequila?

SERA:

OK... whatever.

She takes the bottle and drinks. She goes down again. Ben

stops her.

SERA:

What�s the story? Are you too

drunk to come?

BEN:

(sincere)

I don�t care about that.

There�s time left. You can

have more money. You can

drink all you want. You can

talk or listen. Just stay,

that�s all I want.

She looks at him, confused. She sees a strange look on his

face. It throws her.

This is a turning point. Both of them are momentarily

exposed.

Ben lifts the sheet and moves to one side, indicating that

she should come into the bed. She�s as confused as he is. She

gets in with him and he hands her the bottle.

CUT TO:

62 INT. CASINO - NIGHT

Yuri is losing at one of the tables. He continues to bet

though, putting half of what he has left on one number. He

lose again. He mops his face with a red silk handkerchief and

places another bet.

63 INT. SOMEWHERE IN THE CASINO - NIGHT

The three Russian Mobsters we saw in the desert are walking

through the casino, looking for someone.

CUT TO:

64 INT. BEN�S ROOM - NIGHT

They are both in bed, drinking.

SERA:

So, Ben, what brings you to

Las Vegas? Business

convention?

They both laugh and Ben hands her the bottle.

BEN:

No, I came here to

drink... myself... you know...

SERA:

To death?

BEN:

Yes, that�s right.

He looks at her, she at him, not sure whether to believe him

or not.

BEN:

I cashed in all of my money,

paid my AmEx card, gonna sell

the car tomorrow.

SERA:

How long�s it gonna take, for

you to drink yourself to

death?

BEN:

I think about four weeks, and

I�ve got enough for about two

hundred and fifty to three

hundred dollars a day.

SERA:

Yes... that should do it. What

am I? A luxury?

BEN:

Yeah. And your meter just ran

out.

Ben looks at his watch.

SERA:

It�s OK... nice watch. Go on.

Talk some more.

Ben yawns, suddenly deeply tired.

BEN:

In LA I kept running out of

booze and the store would be

closed because I�d forget to

look at my watch... so I

decided to move here because

nothing ever closes and

because I got tired of

getting funny looks when I

would walk into a bar at six

o�clock... even the bartenders

started preaching.

(yawns again)

Here, everyone�s from out of

town so no one cares, no one

is overtly f***ing up

CUT TO:

LATER.

SIDE ANGLE:

Sera is in focus, Ben is asleep.

SERA (voice-over)

I guess I was intrigued by

him... There was a lot of

stuff that I wanted to ask

him about but didn�t because

I didn�t want to sound too

interested in a trick. But I

felt as if a relationship was

being forged very quickly.

65 INT. DOCTOR�S OFFICE - DAY

Improvised scene. (3)

CUT TO:

65A EXT. SERA�S APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAWN

Sera gets out of a cab and makes her way towards her

apartment, changing out of her high heels as she walks.

66 INT. SERA�S HOUSE - DAWN

Sera lets herself in. Yuri is standing in the shadows. She

gets a fright when she sees him.

YURI:

Where have you been?

SERA:

It was a slow night. I went

to a hotel for a few drinks.

Yuri holds out his hand for her bag. She gives it to him. He

finds the money and counts it.

YURI:

A full night on the street

and this is all?

SERA:

Like I said... it was a slow

night... I�m sorry. It was

hard to score.

Yuri slaps her.

SERA:

Don�t hit me.

YURI:

What do you think... you are

sixteen years old on

Hollywood Boulevard?

Yuri talks in Russian, becoming angrier, and slaps her again.

He spits on the floor.

Sera falls against the kitchen table and picks up a lethal-

looking knife. Yuri stops.

SERA:

Maybe nobody wants to f*** a

chick with a cut on her

cheek.

She throws the knife to Yuri, who catches it. She bends over

the table and pulls up her skirt.

SERA:

There, go ahead!

She mimics him.

A shower of Russian comes out of Yuri, but he doesn�t touch

her. He tries to regain his dignity by putting on a coat.

YURI:

I could kill you. You know

that.

He goes to the door.

YURI:

Work, tonight, bring me

money, no matter the hour.

And he exits. Sera is still on the table.

SERA:

I will Yuri. I will.

CUT TO:

67 INT. PAWN SHOP - DAY

The proprietor is handling over some cash to Yuri, whose

jewelry is on the counter. He pockets it and as he turns to

leave, Ben comes in. They pass without taking much notice of

each other. Ben removes his Rolex and shows it to the man.

CUT TO:

68 EXT. STREET, LAS VEGAS - DAY

Yuri is walking in the hot sun, sweating. We see him through

long-lens heat haze. The camera wanders into the traffic and

we see the black towncar crawling along behind him, three men

inside.

CUT TO:

69 INT. DOCTOR�S OFFICE - DAY

Improvised scene. (4)

CUT TO:

70 INT. MAIN BAR, HOTEL - NIGHT

A lounge singer belts out a fair rendition of a Tony Orlando

number. Sera sits at the bar, an empty seat on either side of

her. She watches a younger hooker in the final moments of

pulling a dangerous-looking man. The girl is aware of Sera

without even looking at her. The guy she is with looks around

and sees Sera. The girl shoots an icy look. A man sits next

to Sera:
a conventioneer.

CONVENTIONEER:

About ready for another

drink?

SERA:

Yes, that would be great. Are

you her for the convention?

CONVENTIONEER:

Do I look that obvious? My

name�s Paul.

They shake hands.

SERA:

No, of course not, just a

wild guess. I�m Sera and

that�s a margarita.

The barman is already pouring. The young hooker leaves with

her dangerous guy. She pauses long enough to give Sera a

nasty smile. The conventioneer pays for the drink and is a

little lost for words. Sera tries to help.

SERA:

So... are you alone, or are

you just using me to make

someone else jealous?

CONVENTIONEER:

(laughs nervously)

Alone. Alone. I�m here alone.

SERA:

(friendly)

Where are you staying?

CONVENTIONEER:

(suspicious)

Right here at the hotel. Why?

SERA:

(moving a little closer)

Well... I thought you might be

looking for a date.

CONVENTIONEER:

(shocked)

A date. What, are you a

hooker?

(voice getting louder)

What do you mean a date?

(and louder)

I�ve got a wife back home. I

just came over to talk for a

few minutes.

SERA:

(quietly)

I�m sorry, I guess I

misunderstood.

She looks around.

SERA:

Please don�t raise your

voice. I won�t bother you

about it again.

CONVENTIONEER:

(calmer)

Sorry. Look... you seem like a

nice girl. I�m just sick of

everyone in this town trying

to get my money.

He gets up.

CONVENTIONEER:

Here, have another drink. I

gotta go.

He leaves. Sera is uncomfortable. People are watching her,

aware that something has been going on. The Barman comes over

to where Sera is sitting.

BARMAN:

Maybe you should give it a

miss for this evening.

He walks away. Sera finishes her drink and leaves.

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