The Relic Page #6

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No answer. Larry puts his first foot on the stair.

LARRY:

Henry! Come up! Please!

With no other option but staying alone in the dark, Larry follows

Henry down.

INT. SPIRAL STAIRCASE - DAY

Larry clutches the banister, whispers...

LARRY:

Henry? Where are you? Henry?

Larry takes another step. Another. And another. He stops. Below him he

hears SNUFFLING, rather like a large dog. Larry freezes, starts to

cry.

LARRY:

Henry! Henry! It smells awful.

Answer me! Are you all right?

Larry can barely see a dim hallway stretching out in two directions.

He pauses near the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide, holding his

breath. There appears to be a darker area of SHADOW at the end of the

hall. It's gliding TOWARDS THEM!

Suddenly something CLOSES on Larry's leg and he YELPS. It's HENRY.

Henry pulls Larry the rest of the way down the stairs. They stand

alone together in the darkness. Henry hisses.

HENRY:

Quiet!

LARRY:

What is it?

HENRY:

I don't know. But I think it's bad.

They keep their eyes locked on the shape at the end of the hall as

they back up, step by step. Move in as their faces suddenly TWIST WITH

FEAR. THE BOYS... SCREAM BLOODY MURDER... The sound echoes in the

darkness as we...

CUT TO:

INT. MARGO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Margo sits up in the darkness, gasping. Moonlight cuts across the bed.

It takes a moment for her to realize that she's had a nightmare. She

reaches for her light. As she switches it on, we see a photo on her

bedside table. It shows a group on a mountain in TIBET. There are

several people with their arms slung around each other. At the end is

a younger MARGO holding hands with JOHN WHITTLESLEY. They appear to be

more than friends.

ON MARGO... she looks at the photo a moment, then turns off the light

and lies back, alone in her bed.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. CENTRAL PARK WEST - DAY

Yellow crime tape encircles the museum. Dead leaves swirl in clusters

and the sky is overcast. Overnight, fall turned to winter. The front

of the museum is ringed with police cars. Margo rides up on her bike

and pauses, startled at the sight. We watch as she crosses, has a few

words with one of the officers who motions her to a side entrance. She

wheels her bike under a stone tunnel as we pick up...

A TAXI CAB arriving at the front entrance. Out steps SPECIAL AGENT

PENDERGAST.

INT. LOWER ROTUNDA - DAY

Margo enters. The huge hall is taken up by an enormous boat carved

from the trunk of a single tree. Inside it are mannequins of Northwest

Coast Indians. Milling around are at least twenty COPS. One

approaches.

COP:

ID.

Worried, Margo hands it over.

MARGO:

What's going on?

COP:

All employees are to go to the IMAX

room for a briefing, Dr. Green.

INT. SIDE HALL - MUSEUM - DAY

Several cops go by with tracking dogs. Margo looks back at the dogs,

increasingly uneasy, almost bumps into...

HENRY AND LARRY. Surprisingly, they are alive and well and seated with

MRS. BEASLEY outside an office. Margo exchanges a look with both boys,

remembering them from yesterday. A tentative smile starts but Henry

and Larry don't return it. Serious and chastened, they drop their

eyes. Margo continues on.

TWO COPS stand outside the door to the rest room, their backs turned

to Margo as she approaches.

COP ONE:

What was that? Six?

COP TWO:

Lost count.

Margo glances past them to see an OLDER MAN wearing the badge of a

NIGHT WATCHMAN, leaning over a sink. He wipes his mouth. Margo's eyes

move down to see... THE MAN'S SNEAKERS are soaked in blood.

INT. HALL OF ADVANCED FOSSIL MAMMALS - DAY

More cops gather, surrounded by skeletons of primates... humans,

monkeys, gorillas. It's an odd sight. They all look up with interest

as in walks the imposing figure of...

SPECIAL AGENT PENDERGAST. He turns to a young eager beaver, OFFICER

BAILEY, flashes his badge. Bailey straightens to attention.

PENDERGAST:

Could you please take me to the

officer in charge?

INT. CIRCULAR STAIRWELL - DAY

Pendergast follows Bailey as they descend the rickety old metal

staircase that goes into the bowels of the museum. The hall below them

is narrowand lit by an occasional bare bulb. The stairway opens onto a

maze-like set of rooms in the basement. Everything around them is

STREAKED and SPATTERED in BLOOD. There are trails of it on the floor,

the walls, the overhead light.

Several COPS stand guard as DETECTIVE VINCE D'AGOSTA goes over the

area. He is a round, balding, man with an unmistakable air of

authority. A modern knight in shining armor in disguise... deep

disguise. He has on a cheap polyester short sleeved shirt. His t-shirt

is plainly visible underneath. On his worn plastic belt is a badge.

D'AGOSTA

Don't touch anything until the

S.O.C. has finished with those

stairs. Keep everyone clear of the

perimeter. I don't want any

contamination. There's an incredible

amount of blood evidence down here.

We need more light. Where's the

photographer? Tell him to quit

eating donuts, I need him.

As Pendergast enters, D'Agosta looks up at this serious African-

American in simple black suit, white shirt and dark tie.

D'AGOSTA

Who are you? The undertaker?

PENDERGAST:

Special Agent Pendergast. FBI.

D'AGOSTA

Vince D'Agosta. Am I out?

PENDERGAST:

Not at all. I think we may be

working on the same case. If so, I

could use your help.

The two men shake hands. They couldn't be more different. Pendergast

is an elegant intellectual... D'Agosta a working class spark plug who

operates from the gut. Pendergast gestures to the form on the ground.

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