LONDON SPY Page #8

Episode #5

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Excited, Danny raps on the glass. The silhouette

disappears into the darkness.

INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. KITCHEN. NIGHT

Danny still hasn’t slept. Sara and Pavel are opposite

him. Concerned, Sara places a pill in front of him.

PAVEL:

You need to sleep.

Sara reaches out, touches Danny’s arm. He looks up,

putting on a weak imitation of his usual self.

DANNY:

You never sleep.

PAVEL:

(kind)

No. But you used to.

To appease them, Danny accepts the pill.

INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT

Danny drops the pill down the sink. Washes it away. Takes

out his cigarettes instead.

He sits at the window. About to smoke.

We see the view -

EXT. DANNY’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COURTYARD. NIGHT

The room that previously belonged to the old man. A

fleeting glimpse of a figure, and then the shutters

slam shut, leaving only cigarette smoke.

EXT. DANNY’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COURTYARD. NIGHT

A ragged-sleep-deprived Danny, uncertain as to what he

is doing, or why, enters the courtyard.

He lights his cigarette, smoking outside, eyes on the

apartment with the shutters.

On the ground:
a great many discarded cigarette butts.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

He moves forward, without a rational explanation of why,

about to tap on the window of the shuttered apartment,

but he stops, ready to knock, but not doing so --

EXT. SCOTTIE’S HOUSE. HAMPSTEAD. DAY

Danny’s hand knocking on Scottie’s front door.

It opens.

A bedraggled Danny outside Scottie’s home. Scottie

looks him up and down.

There’s concern. But also weariness.

INT. SCOTTIE’S HOUSE. LIVING ROOM. DAY

Scottie’s home is filled with antiques, books, art - a

collector but the feel is never stuffy. Danny’s pacing.

SCOTTIE:

How long?

DANNY:

Eleven days.

SCOTTIE:

What happened?

DANNY:

I told him.

With delicate cruelty.

SCOTTIE:

That you loved him?

DANNY:

How you and I became friends.

Scottie considers. He gets it.

SCOTTIE:

That was a mistake.

Danny’s winded by the verification of his fears.

DANNY:

Why didn’t I shut my mouth?

SCOTTIE:

Because you needed to know - could

he still love you?

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

DANNY:

I’ve f***ed it up. I’d f***ed it

up before I’d even met him.

SCOTTIE:

You’ve tried everything?

Danny nods.

SCOTTIE:

There’s only one thing left to do.

Accept that it’s over.

DANNY:

I can’t.

SCOTTIE:

What other choice do you have?

Danny sits, head in his hands.

SCOTTIE:

You’ll get over it, Danny. Not

quickly. Not completely. But

enough to carry on. Trust me on

that. Now, I’m afraid you’ll have

to excuse me. I have work to do.

DANNY:

You want me to leave?

SCOTTIE:

I’d never ask you to leave. Rest

here. Sleep, eat. But today I

cannot play assistant to your

personal life.

Scottie moves to the door. But he pauses, looks back:

SCOTTIE:

Out of curiosity, did you ever

wonder... what I might want...

Danny processes this information. Puzzled at first.

DANNY:

What you want?

(beat)

What do you want?

Scottie regrets saying anything.

DANNY:

You want this?

Danny starts taking off his clothes.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

DANNY:

Is this what you want?

He continues to strip. Not erotic. Pitiful. His shirt

gets stuck over his head. He rips it free.

He stands, top off, jeans unbuttoned, in the middle of

the flat. He’s angry.

DANNY:

What do I owe you? Five nights?

Ten nights? Tell me!

The reference to escorts hurts. As it was intended. A

flash of shame. Danny sees that he’s upset his friend.

DANNY:

I’m sorry.

Scottie slowly picks up the dropped clothes.

DANNY:

Scottie, I’m sorry.

Scottie folds them neatly and hands them to Danny.

His pain is clear. Not unrequited sexual desire. But of

unrequited love. Danny’s ashamed.

INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COMMUNAL HALLWAY. DAY

In his ripped shirt Danny climbs the stairs towards the

front door, taking out his key --

Only to see it’s been smashed open.

INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. HALLYWAY. DAY

The flat is in disarray.

INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. DAY

Danny enters his room to find it turned over. The

mattress ripped open.

He stands - numb, believing it to be misfortune.

INT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. KITCHEN. DAY

Danny, Pavel and Sara are seated around the table. We

play this scene on Danny, barely listening. His friends

chat and banter in the background. He’s not part.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

PAVEL:

We should call the police.

SARA:

Nothing was taken. We couldn’t

give our stuff away.

INT. WAREHOUSE. ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE. DAY

Danny seated opposite his boss. Danny looks dreadful.

His boss eyes him with genuine concern.

DANNY:

I’m fine. You know me: I’m always

fine.

EXT. WAREHOUSE. YARD. NIGHT

Very few people around.

Danny sips an energy drink. And smokes.

INT. WAREHOUSE. NIGHT

A graveyard shift.

Danny is leadenly following instructions on his

handheld computer. Collecting orders.

On screen we see a route mapped through the maze.

Suddenly the computer screen goes blank. It reboots.

Danny stops walking. Waits.

On screen we see a different route mapped to a

different location on the warehouse floor.

Danny changes direction, heading towards the gloomy far

corner of the warehouse.

He arrives at the only aisle in shadow.

On screen the computer tells him to walk forward.

Danny steps into the darkness, nearing his destination.

Straining his eyes in the gloom.

On screen the computer bleeps loudly. He’s at the

destination. He stops.

He looks about, unsure. Until he spots a small package.

Incongruous with the normal items.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

Puzzled, Danny reaches forward. He takes the small box

and examines it. Checks around. No one about.

He opens the box --

Inside are a set of four unmarked keys.

EXT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. NIGHT

Danny stands, unsure, keys in hands. He looks at the

camera - the black eyeball staring at him.

He tries the first lock. The key doesn’t fit. He

switches. Second doesn’t fit. Switches again --

It fits. The key turns.

INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. COMMUNAL HALLWAY. NIGHT

Danny enters. And examines the tray that collects the

post. His letter to Alex isn’t there.

Danny turns to the dark stairs leading up.

INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT BUILDING. STAIRWAY. NIGHT

Danny climbs the stairs, tentative, passing the doors

to several apartments on the way up to -The

top floor. He knocks. No answer. He waits.

Danny uses the final key. And opens the door.

INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT

Danny enters. The apartment is dark. And spotlessly

clean. Nothing seems disturbed.

DANNY:

Hello?

Silence.

Danny tries the lights. They don’t work. The room is in

shadow. No laptop on the table.

Danny walks to the bedroom. Door shut.

He reaches for the handle --

INT. ALEX’S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT

Danny enters. The bed is made. Untouched. Clean.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

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