Sound of Metal Page #6

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PROTAGONIST:

I’ve never met your husband. That’sthe reason I’m here. Is there

somewhere we can talk?

KAT:

In London? Not really.

INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT

The Protagonist and Kat sit at a corner table.

PROTAGONIST:

I bought my Goya for cents on the

dollar from an irate Swiss banker.

Traced it to Arepo, and realized

I’d scored a bargain when he toldme who’d paid top dollar foranother one of his pictures. Yourhusband.

30.

KAT:

Where’s the bargain? Your drawing’san obvious fake.

PROTAGONIST:

My drawing’s a very good fake – youknow that better than anyone. Theinformation’s the bargain.

KAT:

The information that I helpeddefraud my own husband?

PROTAGONIST:

He and I are in related businesses,

but he’s a hard man to meet. If youand I were to make an arrangement –

KAT:

Arrangement? You mean blackmail.

Don’t be afraid of the word – myhusband isn’t. And I’m sorry totell you he got there first.

PROTAGONIST:

He knows? And he’s never done

anything about it?

KAT:

Why would he?

PROTAGONIST:

He paid nine million dollars –

KAT:

Which would barely cover theholiday he just forced us on.

PROTAGONIST:

Where’d you go – Mars?

KAT:

Viet Nam. On our yacht. His yacht.

Kat looks the Protagonist up and down...

KAT (CONT'D)

You’ve got the suit. The shoes, thewatch. But I think you’re a littleout of your depth.

PROTAGONIST:

(sharp)

People who’ve amassed fortunes like

your husband’s aren’t generallyokay with being cheated out of anyof it.

31.

Kat sips her wine. Wanting to talk. Knowing she shouldn’t.

KAT:

The drawing is his hold over me. Hethreatened me with the police,

prison, the works. He controls me,

my contact with my son, everything.

Leaving him would never have beeneasy, now it’s impossible. My life,

now... You can’t fight. Just beg.

Or worse. In Viet Nam I tried to

love him again. If there were stilllove, he might give me my son. Wesat on that bloody boat and watchedthe sunsets, imitating an earliertime. He seemed happy, so I asked.

And he made me an offer. To let me

go if I agreed to never see my sonagain. I expressed myself –

INSERT CUT:
a CRYSTAL BOWL of RASPBERRIES SMASHES onto the

polished wood of a yacht’s deck –

KAT (CONT'D)

Then took Max ashore. He called us,

contrite. But when we came back...

INSERT CUT:
Kat and Max on a launch – Kat follows Max’s gazeto see a FEMALE FIGURE SLIDE into the water...

KAT (CONT'D)

I glimpsed some other woman divingoff the boat. And he’d vanished.

I’ve never felt such envy.

PROTAGONIST:

You don’t seem the jealous type.

KAT:

Of her. You know how I dream of

just diving off that boat? Offreedom?

PROTAGONIST:

But you share a son.

KAT:

And that’s my life.

PROTAGONIST:

Did you know the drawing was afake?

KAT:

The authentication took months –

Arepo and I became close, maybe tooclose. Maybe my judgement wasclouded. I failed.

(MORE)

32.

KAT (CONT'D)

But Andrei can’t conceive of

failure, only betrayal. I didn’tbetray my husband. In retrospect,

maybe I missed my chance.

PROTAGONIST:

And he let Arepo walk free?

KAT:

If you’d actually met Arepo, as you

claimed, you’d understand that heno longer walks anywhere.

PROTAGONIST:

We spoke on the phone –

KAT:

He can’t do that, either.

The Protagonist considers this.

PROTAGONIST:

Where’s the drawing?

KAT:

Why?

PROTAGONIST:

Get me the introduction, I’ll take

the drawing out of the equation. Nopicture, no prosecution. No hold

over you.

Kat looks at the Protagonist. Not daring to hope.

PROTAGONIST (CONT'D)

I might just be your second chance

–

KAT:

(snaps)

I don’t need redemption.

PROTAGONIST:

At betrayal.

A LARGE, WELL-DRESSED THUG sits down at the table. He takes a

green bean from the Protagonist’s plate and chews itvacantly. This is VOLKOV. The Protagonist looks at Kat –

PROTAGONIST (CONT'D)

Friend of your husband?

(she nods)

You knew this would happen?

33.

KAT:

They won’t kill you. Andrei

dislikes tangling with local lawenforcement on that level.

PROTAGONIST:

You must really not have liked thelook of me.

KAT:

(rising)

The look of you is fine. It’sbetter to get to the nasty partbefore I care one way or the other.

He takes her hand, pulls her forward to kiss her cheek.

PROTAGONIST:

(whispers)

There’s a number in your left coatpocket. Don’t call from home.

A Thug puts a MEATY HAND on the Protagonist’s shoulder.

KAT:

You won’t be taking my call.

PROTAGONIST:

I might surprise you.

She leaves, BREEZING out through the kitchen... at Volkov’snod, two Thugs escort the Protagonist from his chair, headingtowards the kitchen – a WAITER moves to object – Volkov,

eating the Protagonist’s leftovers, pulls the Waiter upshort, shaking his head.

EXT. ALLEY BEHIND RESTAURANT – MOMENTS LATER

Kat exits the restaurant, DISTRAUGHT, walking past a waitingTHUG, then sliding into the back seat of a MERCEDES.

INT./EXT. MERCEDES – CONTINUOUS

The driver is a GAUNT RUSSIAN.

KAT:

Please, let’s go.

The Gaunt Russian does not react, but watches through therear-view mirror as a THUG enters the kitchen –

KAT (CONT'D)

Can we get going?

34.

INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

The Protagonist enters the kitchen, followed by the twothugs. CHEFS and BUSBOYS retreat as the other thugapproaches...

INT./EXT. ALLEY BEHIND RESTAURANT – CONTINUOUS

Kat turns from the window –

KAT:

Please!

GAUNT RUSSIAN:

He wants you to see...

INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

The Protagonist JACKKNIFES HIS LOWER LEG UP into the crotchof the thug behind him – SPINS him into the Thug next to him– POTS and Pans flying –

INT. RESTAURANT – CONTINUOUS

Volkov wipes sauce with bread, enjoying noises from thekitchen...

INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

The Third Thug SWINGS – the Protagonist DODGES, takes theblow on the shoulder – SLAMS his head into the Third Thug’sneck, leaving him GASPING – the Protagonist GRABS the ThirdThug, RACING for the WINDOW...

INT./EXT. MERCEDES – CONTINUOUS

Kat FLINCHES as, with a CRASH of plates, a body TUMBLES downthe stairs...

GAUNT RUSSIAN:

And he gets what he wants.

Then she sees something else... the Protagonist exits.

KAT:

Not always, apparently.

EXT. ALLEY BEHIND RESTAURANT – CONTINUOUS

The Protagonist brushes himself clean, SPOTS the Mercedes,

starts moving towards it –

35.

INT./EXT. MERCEDES – CONTINUOUS

The Gaunt Russian SCRAMBLES to get the car moving. Kat looksback at the Protagonist as the car ROARS away...

EXT. SCHOOL GATES – DAY

Kat is crouched, talking to her son, MAX. The Nanny hovers –

MAX:

Anna says we’re going to Pompeiiand see lava.

KAT:

We’ll go together. I’ll be there,

too.

Max looks up at the Nanny. Kat hugs him, tight. The NannyTAPS Kat on the shoulder. Kat smiles at her son, tears in her

eyes, as the car pulls away. She pulls out her phone,

dials... hears a RINGTONE behind her –

The Protagonist is there.

PROTAGONIST:

I said I’d surprise you. He’s acute kid.

KAT:

Max. He’s everything.

PROTAGONIST:

Where’s the drawing?

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