The Salton Sea Page #12

A LONE WAITRESS AND COOK mull behind the counter.

Colette's mascara is running. Danny hands her a napkin.

COLETTE:

Thanks.

She dabs at her eyes.

COLETTE (cont'd)

I'm so embarrassed.

DANNY:

Don't be.

She looks at herself in a compact mirror.

COLETTE:

Jesus, I look like a raccoon.

DANNY:

I was thinking Alice Cooper.

She puts her head in her hands. Sighs.

COLETTE:

Oh God.

DANNY:

Come on, cheer up. It could be worse.

She looks up.

COLETTE:

How?

DANNY:

I don't know .... you could be staking

your financial future on stealing Bob

Hope's stool specimen.

She laughs

DANNY (cont'd)

See. No matter how bad things are,

there's always someone a little worse off.

COLETTE:

What about the guy on the very bottom?

DANNY:

Leave me out of this.

COLETTE:

That bad, huh?

Danny holds up his water glass.

DANNY:

Nevertheless, I still try to see

the glass as half-full.

He takes a sip.

DANNY (cont'd)

Problem is, it's usually half-full of

something that tastes a lot like urine.

He pulls a face. Sets the glass down.

COLETTE:

Could be worse.

(beat)

Oh sorry, forgot who I was talking to.

DANNY:

Ouch.

Colette sips her coffee. Danny looks around nervously.

DANNY (cont'd)

Hey, did I mention that I was a coward?

Colette frowns, not sure what he means.

DANNY (cont'd)

Quincey. You sure he isn't gonna

come looking for you?

COLETTE:

Don't worry, he's probably passed out

with his head in the toilet by now.

DANNY:

This man sounds like a real catch.

COLETTE:

Oh, he's a keeper all right.

DANNY:

Colette ...

He stops.

COLETTE:

What?

DANNY:

Nothing.

COLETTE:

Go ahead.

DANNY:

Look, it's really none of my business

but why don't you just dump this guy?

COLETTE:

It's not that easy.

DANNY:

Don't tell me, down deep he's really

not a bad person and you don't want

to see him get hurt.

COLETTE:

Who the f*** are you, Dr. Joyce

Brothers?

(beat)

I hate the son-of-a-b*tch.

DANNY:

Then leave.

COLETTE:

I can't.

DANNY:

Why not?

COLETTE:

You don't understand.

DANNY:

There's nothing to understand.

The guy is a pig.

COLETTE:

I can't leave.

DANNY:

You get off on abuse or

something?

COLETTE:

F*** you.

DANNY:

Then why don't you leave?

(beat)

Just give me one good reason.

COLETTE:

Because he'll kill me.

The waitress and cook look up.

COLETTE (cont'd)

Is that simple enough for you?

DANNY:

Why don't you call the cops?

COLETTE:

Why? They don't hold him for more

than a day or two.

DANNY:

That's long enough to get out of town.

COLETTE:

I can't. I've got a kid. She lives

with my parents. Quincey knows where

they live.

Danny chews it over for a second then ...

DANNY:

Then make sure he gets put away for longer.

COLETTE:

How?

Danny hesitates, not sure of how much he wants to get involved.

COLETTE (cont'd)

Tell me how.

DANNY:

I don't know.

(beat)

Let me think about it.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

Urban blight abounds

INT. BURNED OUT BUILDING - NIGHT

The grafitti-filled, cluttered shell of what used to be some sort of

offices.

BUBBA THE ASIAN COWBOY sitting on a desk. Danny pacing back and forth

in front of him.

BUBBA:

(Texas drawl)

I wanna do a small buy first. Ten

thousand. We'll see how it goes.

DANNY:

Why? The guys is ready to deal now.

BUBBA:

Because I don't know him and I don't

really know you, partner.

DANNY:

Now that's down-right insulting.

BUBBA:

I'll have to live with that. My money

my risk, my rules.

Bubba takes a plastic-wrapped bundle of money from his pocket. Tosses

it on the table.

EXT. ALLEY - SAME

Tanner and Garcetti ensconced in an alley diagonally across the street.

Garcetti pointing a LONG-RANGE PARABOLIC MICROPHONE at the burned out

building. He and Tanner wear earpieces, which are attached to the

mike.

DANNY (O.S.)

(filtered, broken)

I guess I don't have a hell of a lot

of choice.

BUBBA (O.S.)

(filtered)

Get used to it. You're in a very

tenuous position on the food chain, hoss.

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