Strange Days Page #6

FAITH:

I love your eyes, Lenny.

(she touches our

eyelids)

I love the way they see.

CUT TO LENNY, lost in the swirl of sensation. He touches

his tongue to his fingertip.

IN POV we look down at Faith as we enter her. She gasps

and closes her eyes, grabbing the headboard with both

hands. There is only the sound of gasping breaths, the

creaking bed frame. She rocks with the rhythm of our

thrusts, borne away by the intensity until she cries out.

CUT TO LENNY, reliving the past, under the electrodes. He

reacts to the past orgasm. The tape ends, Lenny slowly

takes off the trodes. There is a tiny tear at the corner

of his eye.

CUT TO:

INT. LENNY'S APARTMENT/SERIES OF SHOTS

2:
14 PM, DECEMBER 30

Lenny cracks an eye as the Sony 35" blinks on in alarm

mode:
news flashes of the day before New Year's Eve...

police preparations for the epic Millennium L.A. shebang

downtown, the National Guard doing riot prep, etc.

Sunlight comes like lasers through holes in the aluminum

foil over the windows. Lenny goes to the kitchen in his

underwear, searches for breakfast in the fridge, which is

empty except for a red-white-and-blue 2-stick popsicle.

Good morning.

The TV screen shows a murder scene with cops milling

around, yellow plastic over three crumpled forms on the

ground. It cuts to a file photo of a severe-featured

black man.

ANCHORWOMAN:

... bodies of two men found early

this morning under the Hollywood

freeway have been identified as rap

star Jeriko One and bandmember James

Polton, known to fans as "Replay".

A third body, that of a woman, has

not yet been identified. With his

band, the Prophets of Rage, Jeriko

One's outspoken political stance

and violent lyrics have stirred

nationwide controversy...

CUT TO:
A little later. Lenny sucks on the popsicle while

he puts the night's wardrobe together. This is a ceremony

he observes carefully. Suit laid out on the bed, shirt

beneath the jacket. Lenny matches a tie to the ensemble

-- well, maybe -- tries another -- that's the one.

CUT TO:

Lenny, behind the wheel of the BMW. He is revved up, his

look dialed-in. He's on the move. Seizing the day.

LENNY:

(on cellular)

You know I can get you anything you

want, anytime you want it, just not

right now. We'll hook up at the

club later. Around eleven. Yeah.

Lenny wheels into a parking lot, finds a space, grabs his

Haliburton and steps out, heading for the front door of

the Coral Lounge.

CUT TO:

INT. CORAL LOUNGE

The decor is sort of Polynesian. Goofy tropical motif

murals on the walls. The place has a mixed bag of

customers, including upwardly mobile low-lifes who have

graduated from the streets and use it as a kind of office.

It is a crossroads for druggies, upscale hookers, junior

entertainment suits slumming after a day in the pressure

cooker.

Lenny cruises through like he owns the place, greeting a

number of the early regulars. We get the impression he

knows everybody, all the time, everywhere he goes. He

leans on the bar.

BARTENDER:

Hey, Lenny.

LENNY:

Anything without an umbrella.

He gets backslapped by a guy in a satin racing jacket:

Fabrizio.

FABRIZIO:

Lenny my man, I think you want to

meet a friend of mine.

Lenny follows Fabrizio's look to a guy, dressed LA power-

casual, sitting at a booth across the room.

LENNY:

Looks like money to me.

Lenny grabs his drink off the bar and follows Fabrizio

across the room.

FABRIZIO:

Don't forget your friends.

LENNY:

10 percent, Fabri, like always.

They slide into the booth with KEITH.

FABRI:

Keith, this is Lenny. Guy I was

telling you about. He can get you

anything you--

LENNY:

(cutting him off)

Just a second. Not to be rude,

Keith, but I got to ask, are you a

cop?

KEITH:

I understand. No, I'm not.

LENNY:

You understand? Attorney! Right?

Am I right?

KEITH:

That's right.

Lenny sizes the guy up, looks around the edge of the

table.

LENNY:

Tassel shoes. Entertainment law,

would be my guess.

(off the guy's scowl)

Relax. I just like to guess, is

all. It's my job to know people and

what they want... what's behind

their eyes.

FABRIZIO:

Lenny gives people their heart's

desire. Ain't that right, Lenny?

LENNY:

That's right. My second question I

gotta ask, so we get our bearings

here... have you ever jacket in?

Have you ever wiretripped?

KEITH:

No.

LENNY:

(a winning grin)

A virgin brain! Well we're going to

start you off right. So what do you

know about this? Save us some

time...

KEITH:

(shrugs)

Just what I've read. That the

technology was developed for the

Feds, to replace the body wire. And

now it's gone black market. So, uh,

do I get the deck from you?

LENNY:

I'll set you up, get you a deck at

my cost... since my thing is the

software.

KEITH:

Clips.

LENNY:

That's right. Clips.

(Lenny leans in,

working the guy)

Look, I want you to know what we're

talking about here. This isn't like

TV only better. This is life. It's

a piece of somebody's life. Pure

and uncut, straight from the

cerebral cortex. You're there.

You're doing it, seeing it, hearing

it... feeling it.

KEITH:

What kind of things exactly?

LENNY:

Exactly anything. Whatever you

want. Whoever you want to be.

(handing Fabrizio a

twenty)

Fabri, get us another round, would

you.

Fabrizio gets the hint and heads for the bar.

LENNY:

You want to go skiing without

leaving your den, you can. But I'm

assuming a guy like you, you wanna

go skiing you fly to Aspen. That's

not what you're interested in here.

It's about the stuff you can't

have... right? The forbidden

fruit.

Keith nods, mesmerized by Lenny.

LENNY:

Like running into a liquor store

with a .357 magnum in your hand,

feeling the adrenalin pumping

through your veins. Or...

(pointing discreetly)

... see that guy, with the drop-dead

Philipino girl friend?

(Keith looks)

Wouldn't you like to be that guy for

twenty minutes? The right twenty

minutes. I can make it happen. And

you won't even tarnish your wedding

ring.

Keith touches his ring self-consciously, then grins.

KEITH:

(hooked like a carp)

Sounds good.

LENNY:

I can get you what you want. You

just have to talk to me. I'm your

priest, your shrink, your main

connection to the switchboard of

souls. I'm the Magic Man, the Santa

Claus of the Subconscious. You say

it, you even think it, you can have

it. You want a girl, you want two

girls? I don't know what your thing

is or what you're curious about...

you want a guy? You want to be a

girl... see what that feels like?

You want a nun to tie you up? It's

all doable.

KEITH:

(flushed, sweating,

ready)

Talk to me about costs, here.

LENNY:

Listen, before we get into numbers,

I want you to try a taste. I got a

deck with me.

KEITH:

What? Right Here?

LENNY:

(grinning)

Step into my office.

CUT TO:

INT. CORAL LOUNGE/MEN'S ROOM

Close on Keith's face, as he sits on the sink counter

reacting to a Squid tape. He jerks... his mouth drops

open... he gasps. His hands start to move over his body,

feeling it wonderingly. He gasps again, tilts his head

down, moans... and Lenny hits Pause on the Playback.

Keith opens his eyes to a grinning Lenny.

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