Nadine Page #4

Vernon Hightower's famous

Blue Bonnet Bar and Lounge.

And then...

Mr. Hightower, sir?

I ought to tell you the

Lone Star people called.

They said if you don't

pay 'em what you owe 'em,

they're gonna stop

any more deliveries.

Why ain't nothin' ever easy?

Give me a nickel.

(SIGHS)

I was born

in a small town

Mama was a farmer's wife

We knew everyone for

miles around

We lived here

all our lives

Renee? It's me, Vernon.

Listen, the way it works out,

I'm not gonna be able to see

you tonight, hon.

No, nothing's the matter.

It's just that,

I'm in the middle of this

big financial transaction,

and I got these details

I gotta take care of.

You know how it is.

Listen, I'll tell you,

you could do me

a little favor.

Remember how you said that

you could get your boss to do

just about anything

you wanted?

Well, if you could get

him to fix it so these

Lone Star people

quit pesterin' me for the next

couple of weeks, I'd sure

appreciate it.

(STUTTERING) I mean,

I'm good for it and

everything,

it's just that,

all my money's

tied up in,

you know, assets,

that kind of stuff.

Yeah?

Sug, I knew

I could count on you.

Yeah. Sug?

Sug, I gotta go now.

I'll miss you, too.

Me, too.

Toodle-oo, now.

(SIGHS)

Tell me somethin', Boyd.

When was the last time

you had a raise, hmm?

A raise?

Mr. Hightower,

I ain't even been paid

in the last two months.

Oh, hell, boy.

(CAR APPROACHING)

I'm sorry about that.

(BRAKES SQUEALING)

Hey, I'll tell you what.

Startin' next week,

I'm gonna double

your salary.

Evenin', friends.

Came to the right place.

First drink's on me,

Vernon Hightower,

soon to be one of the

richest sons of b*tches

you ever set your eyes on.

(NADINE SCREAMING)

(CRASHING)

What did you

do to him? Oh!

Don't worry, honey.

I fought like a tiger.

Mr. Hightower,

my name is Pope.

I've got good reason

to believe that you have

in your possession somethin'

I want a whole lot.

I might have, I might not.

(SCREAMS)

BUFORD:

Do yourself a favor, son.

Don't get smart with me.

Listen to the man.

He's real serious

about this.

I paid a whole bunch of

money for some information,

and the son of a b*tch I was

dealin' with tried to

double-cross me.

And the short of it is that

you've got somethin' that

belongs to me.

Now then,

I'm asking you nicely.

Hand it over.

I can't do that.

I'll tell you

what I will do...

Mr. Hightower, if you think

you can deal yourself into

this, forget it.

You're a two-bit loser, son,

and you haven't got

the brains or balls for this.

First off, I won't have you

talkin' like that in front

of my wife.

Stop! Stop it!

Look, can I talk to

my husband in private?

Floyd,

the woman wants to

talk to her husband.

(GRUNTS)

(GROANING)

Now, hon, this is

not the time to start

one of your stubborn streaks.

Don't worry, darlin'.

I'm on a roll.

(GROANING)

Now, then,

whenever you're

ready to get serious,

I'm ready to do business.

You want to get serious?

All right, I'll get serious.

Unless you hand

over the goddamn map,

I'll kill the both of you.

(BUFORD CHUCKLING)

(CHUCKLES)

Well, if you was to kill us,

I expect you'd never

get your hands on that map.

That's a fact.

But I think I can fix it so

you'll be real anxious

to talk,

unless, of course, you've

got a fondness for

rattlesnakes.

Hon, he's not

kiddin' around.

Where'd he get

a bunch of rattlesnakes?

Well, by a strange

coincidence,

I happen to have

about five or six rattlers

right inside this box here.

He's tellin' the truth.

I swear.

(RATTLING)

You gonna

hand over that map?

Uh-uh.

No, sir, I'm afraid not.

Well, you sure you're not

goin' to change your mind?

(SIGHS)

Uh-uh.

Mountain?

(NADINE SCREAMING)

Oh, God! I'm snake bit!

I'm dead!

All right! Let me see.

All right! Let's see.

Let me see.

That's it there. Right there.

Oh, hell, you ain't snake bit.

That's a splinter!

Hold that box right there.

Floyd?

Come here and put somethin' on

top of these sons of b*tches

so they don't get out.

Uh-uh! First one comes close

gonna get a face full of

rattlesnake.

Oh, goddamn it, man.

You lost your mind?

You let them snakes

out of there, they'll

go after you as well as us.

All right, you.

Get your car keys out, put 'em

on the desk and get against

the wall.

Floyd, you do that, boy,

you'll be

wrestling duckshit

come Thursday night.

Floyd, you don't get

those car keys out here,

you're gonna be wrestling

a diamondback in about

one minute.

(SNAKES RATTLING)

(KEYS JANGLING)

You're gonna pay for this.

Darlin', find the car,

start the motor and

honk the horn.

I'll be right along.

Okay.

(DOOR SLAMMING)

Well, Mr. Hightower,

let's us have

a little talk here.

I know you're in what

they call financial straits.

So, why don't you let my boys

here set fire to that dump

of yours?

That way, at least you'll

collect on the fire insurance.

All you

have to do in return

is hand over the map.

I appreciate that, Mr. Pope,

but that won't do me

no good now.

See, I let the

insurance lapse

about a month ago.

(LAUGHS)

All right, boys,

if I was you,

I'd head for high ground.

Get... Yikes!

FLOYD:

Let me out of here!

(MEN CLAMORING)

(MEN SCREAMING)

(SNAKES RATTLING)

(FROGS CROAKING)

VERNON:
You know what

my problem has been

all this time?

I've been under-capitalized,

that's all.

You wait and see. We pull

this deal off, I'm home free.

Vernon, I don't know.

Buford Pope seems like the

real determined type to me.

Don't you worry about

Pope now.

I'm on top of that

whole situation.

Hey, wait a minute.

You don't believe what that

son of a b*tch said, do you?

You don't think

I'm some sort of

a two-bit loser, do you?

No, hon.

I've known you

a real long time.

You can pretty much

do anything you want

once you set

your mind on it.

You mean that?

I'll always love you

You know, it's funny

how you forget things.

NADINE:

Like what?

Well, like,

sittin' in the kitchen,

drinkin' beer,

shootin' the sh*t with you.

Forgot how much I loved that.

I'll lay her down

Like this

Vernon, I think there's

something you should know.

Sure.

I'm...

You know, with your looks,

you could've married just

about anybody.

Hmm?

That's why I've been

bustin' my butt over

at the Blue Bonnet,

so you wouldn't feel

you made a mistake.

And also you'd feel that

you had something

to be proud about.

People like you and me,

we never get the breaks.

This time,

it's gonna be different.

This is the one chance

that I'm ever gonna get,

and I swear, I'm lettin'

nothin' get in my way.

There we go, runnin' off

at the mouth again.

What was it

you was gonna say?

Hmm, nothin'.

Wasn't important.

You fixin' your hair

different these days?

Uh, yeah, I copied it from

a picture in Modern Screen.

You like it?

Yeah,

it looks real nice.

What's that perfume

you're wearin'?

Evenin' in Paris. Why?

No reason.

Your life is

no longer my home

Without no news from home

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes