Lord of Illusions Page #12

DOROTHEA:

(nervous)

What was that?

HARRY:

It's okay.

Harry slips out of bed.

INT. SWANN'S MANSION - STAIRS - LOBBY - NIGHT

Harry descends the stairs, buttoning up his trousers (which

is all he wears). He has his gun.

HARRY:

Valentin?

Dorothea appears behind him.

DOROTHEA:

Harry? Wait!

Harry's at the bottom of the stairs now. Across the hall, in

a passageway, an eerie SILHOUETTE. We can make out no detail

of clothing or face.

HARRY:

What the hell-?

Suddenly, the shadowy FIGURE comes at Harry. A BLAST of

ENERGY bursts against Harry's face. As it breaks against his

skin, we see (for three frames or so) a glimpse of Harry's

skull.

HARRY:

(in pain)

Aah!

Harry FIRES at the figure. The shadows fold up around the

Stranger like an origami puzzle. He's gone.

DOROTHEA:

It's him! It's Nix!

Harry goes out into the passageway.

HARRY:

Valentin! Get some lights on!

As if in reply to the command, a burst of vivid white FIRE

erupts behind Harry. He swings round to see the Stranger

"unfolding" out of the shadows again, defying physics and

physiology to do so. The FIRE is at his feet, like a serpent

writhing on the ground. It comes at Harry. Harry FIRES at

it, but it comes at him faster still, rising to burn Harry's

leg. He retreats, the FIRE racing after him. He makes for a

door, and flings it open. He's in --

INT. SWANN'S MANSION - CASKET ROOM - NIGHT

The FIRE follows him across the ground and STRIKES his hand.

Harry drops the GUN. Looks up to see the Stranger in the

doorway, arm raised to will the fire-serpent on. But then,

he hesitates. Harry glances round, and sees that the

Stranger - whose face is still a dark smear - is staring at

the CASKET.

HARRY:

Somebody you know?

Dorothea appears behind the Stranger. Sees Harry, burned and

sweating, cornered against the casket.

DOROTHEA:

Oh my God!

The Stranger looks round. Harry snatches up the GUN,

supporting his burned hand with -his good hand. Levels the

gun at the Stranger. The FIRE raises its head, like a cobra.

HARRY:

Which goes first? My face or

your heart?

The Stranger draws a deep breath. The Fire-Serpent withers

and dies.

DOROTHEA:

Who in God's name are you?

She reaches for the Stranger, who simply folds up again; gone

into darkness. The WIND blows through the house, masking his

exit.

DOROTHEA:

Are you all right?

HARRY:

Find Valentin! Find him! Get him

in here!

Dorothea disappears. Harry takes one of the candle-holders

and jams it under the casket lid. Wood splinters. He starts

to force off the lid.

Valentin and Dorothea enter.

VALENTIN:

What are you doing? This is

sacrilege.

He starts towards Harry. Dorothea goes after him and catches

hold of his arm. Her expression is a mingling of fascination

and dread, as Harry gets his fingers under the casket lid and

pulls.

Inside, Swann's corpse.

VALENTIN:

Are you satisfied now?

HARRY:

No.

Harry holds Valentin back with one hand, and puts his finger

into the corpse's mouth.

DOROTHEA:

Harry?

HARRY:

It's all right. It's not

hurting...

He now has four fingers in Swann's mouth and seizes hold of

his lower jaw. It cracks --

-- and comes away in a little rain of plaster and latex.

HARRY:

...plaster doesn't bleed.

He tosses the jaw to Valentin.

HARRY:

(to Dorothea)

It looks like you're not a widow

after all.

INT. SWANN'S MANSION - STUDY - NIGHT

Harry interrogates Valentin in a white fury, while Dorothea

binds Harry's hand.

HARRY:

You rigged the illusion to fail,

right?

VALENTIN:

Yes.

HARRY:

You paid off the doctor. You set

up the fake body. Yes?

VALENTIN:

Yes.

HARRY:

And then... because I was

getting too close to something --

(at Dorothea)

--or someone, you called Swann

VALENTIN:

I tried to pay you off.

HARRY:

Was that Swann's idea?

VALENTIN:

No. It was mine. I didn't want

any more bloodshed. That's why we

went to all this trouble, so

there'd be no one for Nix to come

after.

HARRY:

Nix is dead and buried, for

f***'s sake.

VALENTIN:

Haven't you seen enough to know

that doesn't matter?

ON HARRY. He looks as though he's beginning to think maybe

Nix's resurrection is plausible.

HARRY:

I want to see Swann face to face.

VALENTIN:

Why don't you leave this alone? Let

everybody think it's over?

DOROTHEA:

What about me?

VALENTIN:

Nix was never interested in you.

It was always Swann.

A beat.

HARRY:

(to Dorothea)

Maybe Valentin's right. We should

let it alone.

A BELL starts to TOLL-

HARRY:

(con't.)

He went to all that trouble to be

dead. Maybe we should let him stay

that way.

The TOLLING carries over into

EXT. HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY - DAY

WE CRANE DOWN from a high angle on a GRAVE, surrounded by

MOURNERS. The graveside service has just ended, and the

Mourners are beginning to disperse. Dorothea is there

amongst them, of course. So are several faces we recognize:

Vinovich, Wilder, Billy Who, Swann's Stage Manager, his

Dancers, his Technicians. There are also several members of

the PRESS, and thirty or fourty other Mourners, some of whom,

to judge by their dress and manner, are also illusionists.

Harry stands some distance from the crowd, watching (hidden)

from the doorway of a mausoleum. His eyes are on Dorothea as

she goes amongst the Mourners, receiving unheard words of

condolesence.

EXT. WILTERN THEATRE - DAY

The standee of Swann is being demolished by two WORKERS. They

are taking hammers to it, smashing it to pieces.

INT. WILTERN THEATRE - STAGE - DAY

The stage is starkly lit with working lights, the auditorium

in darkness. Swann's equipment - including the partially

dismantled Dragon's head - is heaped on the stage.

Valentin wanders through the boxes to the place where Swann

"died." He stares down at the BLOOD on the stage.

EXT. WILTERN THEATRE - DAY

THE 1st WORKER throws the cut-out head of Swann's standee

down into the street.

1ST WORKER

Watch out!

On the HEAD, as it strikes the sidewalk at somebody's feet.

We don't see who.

EXT. HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY - DAY

Harry catches sight of somebody close to the gates of the

cemetery. Dark glasses, a beard, an anonymous black suit.

Harry smiles slightly, and slips off between the mausoleums.

EXT. HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY - PARKING LOT - DAY

The BLACK-COATED MOURNER gets into his car.

On Harry, as he gets into his.

INT. WILTERN THEATRE - STAGE - DAY

Valentin hears something in the auditorium. Looks up.

VALENTIN:

Who's there?

He reaches into his jacket to draw a GUN. There's a NOISE.

He swings round. Too late.

Butterfield has a scalpel at his throat. He kicks Valentin

to the ground.

BUTTERFIELD:

(conversationally)

I've sometimes thought, if I'd had

another profession, I would have

been a surgeon.

On Valentin, staring up in terror.

Valentin's P.O.V.- of Butterfield, upside down, above him,

the scalpel glittering.

BUTTERFIELD:

To be able to heal with one little

cut.

On Valentin again, as Butterfield's blade touches his cheek,

just beneath his eye.

VALEMTIN:

No. . .

BUTTERFIELD:

Let's say those eyes of yours were

giving you trouble.

VALENTIN:

Please.

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