The Sting Page #5

Hooker, still getting no answer, slams the phone down and

blasts out of the booth.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

Eirie chases him frantically, calling him to come back, but

he's giving away too many years and there's no stopping

Hooker at this point.

CUT TO:

EXT. STREET - NIGHT - SHOTS OF HOOKER

Pumping down the street.

EXT. LUTHER'S BROWNSTONE - NIGHT

Hooker races into Luther's brownstone, charges up to the

third floor.

INT. LUTHER'S BROWNSTONE - NIGHT

Hooker runs up through a small group of people on the stairs.

He bursts into Luther's room, the door of which is already

open. The room shows signs of a struggle, a turned-over

chair, a broken lamp, but there is no Coleman. Hooker goes

slowly to the window. He looks down into the courtyard and

then suddenly sprints back out the door. As we hear him

scrambling down the stairs, the camera dollies to the window

and looks out.

EXT. COURTYARD - NIGHT

There on the concrete below, face down, is the body of

Luther Coleman. Hooker races out to it and kneels down.

HOOKER:

(shaking the body)

C'mon Luther, get up. You gotta

get up, Luther.

In the distance, sirens are heard. Heads are out of the

windows and some people are starting to gather in the

courtyard.

HOOKER (CONT'D)

Goddamn you, Luther, will you get

up?

(pounding on the body)

I'm not waitin' for you, Luther.

I'm not waitin' anymore. Get up,

you son of a b*tch. Goddamn you,

Luther, goddamn.

The sirens are close now, and Hooker tears himself away from

Luther and runs. The others gather to look at the body.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

THE SET-UP

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

INT. THE TRAIN STATION - DAY

We open on Hooker sleeping in some remote corner of the

station, covered with newspapers for warmth, and barely

distinguishable from the clutter of junk surrounding him. A

station security officer, on his morning sweep, wanders by

and delivers a terrific blow to the soles of Hooker's feet

with a nightstick. Hooker jolts awake with a cry of pain,

as the officer diffidently moves on toward another sleeping

victim.

Tired and sore from his night in the station, Hooker

struggles to his feet and attempts to take stock of the

situation. He tries to smooth the wrinkles out of his suit,

but it's futile. A quick check of his wallet finds it as

empty as he'd remembered it.

CUT TO:

THE STATION - GIFT SHOP - DAY

Hooker walks in and goes to the toy section. He looks

through several small novelties, till he finds what he's

looking for -- a little tin replica of a policeman's badge.

He looks around for station detectives, and seeing none,

slips the badge into his pocket.

CUT TO:

THE STATION - WASHROOM - DAY

Hooker rinses out his mouth, towels off his face and slicks

his hair back with water. It's a drop in the bucket, but it

seems to revitalize him a little.

CUT TO:

STATION - HALLWAY - DAY

We see Hooker removing a sign from a door, but the angle

prohibits us from reading it.

INT. STATION - DAY

He drops the sign in a waste can and walks out into the

crowded passenger lobby. After scanning the area carefully

for a minute, he goes up to a conservative young business

man, who's busy reading the schedule board.

HOOKER:

(flashing open his

wallet to reveal the

little tin badge and

then closing it again quickly)

Excuse me, sir. Treasury Dept...

I'd like to ask you a few questions.

MAN:

(flustered)

What for? I haven't done anything.

HOOKER:

We don't doubt that, but there's a

counterfeiting operation passing

bad money in the station. Have you

made any purchases here today?

MAN:

(reluctantly)

Yes, a ticket to Chicago.

HOOKER:

Then I'm afraid we'll have to

impound your money until we're sure

that it's all good. Can I see your

wallet and your ticket, please?

MAN:

(handing them over)

But I got a train to make.

HOOKER:

(taking out the money

and returning the wallet)

It'll only take 20 minutes or so.

You can pick it up at the window

down the hall.

MAN:

But what about all these other

people?

HOOKER:

(blowing up)

We'll get 'em! Give us a chance.

I'm not the only agent in here, ya

know. We go around advertising

ourselves, how many counterfeiters

do you think we'd catch, huh?

(pointing to his suit)

You think I'm wearin' this rag here

'cause I like it? Christ, everybody

thinks life's a holiday or somethin'

when you got a badge.

(pouring it on)

I been here since three this

morning, Charlie, and I never knew

there was so much ugliness in

people. You try to help 'em and

they spit on you. I shoulda let ya

go and gotten yourself arrested for

passin' false notes.

The Businessman is totally shamed.

MAN:

I'm sorry, really I am, but my

train leaves in ten minutes.

HOOKER:

All right, I'll give ya a break.

(pointing to a hall)

Down that hall there, there's an

unmarked door on the left. Go on

in there and wait at the window.

I'll take this...

(he holds up the money)

...in the back and run it through

right away. We'll have you outta

there in a couple minutes.

MAN:

Thank you. You don't know how much

I appreciate this.

HOOKER:

(with a little wave)

Think nothin' of it.

The man goes off down the hall, more than grateful to be

given a break like this. Hooker heads for the "back". We

follow the Man down the hall to the unmarked door. He

strides on through to find himself face to face with a wall

of busily flushing urinals.

CUT TO:

EXT. STATION - DAY - HOOKER

Boarding the 8:
10 for Chicago.

CUT TO:

INT. STATION - DAY

The Man wandering up and down the hall, wondering how he

could have missed that room.

EXT. CHICAGO STREET - DAY

The street runs along side an elevated train track. We pick

up Hooker coming down the street, eating a hot dog he bought

with the money he just earned in the train station.

He appears to be looking for an address, referring every now

and then to the piece of paper Luther gave him the night

before. Finally he stops in front of an old three-story

building which contains a carousel on the bottom 2 floors

and what appear to be apartments on the third floor. He

peers inside the big, sliding glass doors and seeing no sign

of life, goes around to the side to look for a way in.

A 35 year-old woman, Billie, appears in her bathrobe on the

second floor landing and descends the stairs to get the

morning paper. She's eating an apple. Although she has

just gotten up and looks it, she has the presence of one who

is probably quite striking at other hours. The sight of

Hooker fazes her not at all.

HOOKER:

Excuse me, I'm looking for a guy

named Henry Gondorff. You know him?

BILLIE:

(starting back up the stairs)

No.

HOOKER:

Luther Coleman sent me.

Billie stops and comes back down the stairs. It's the first

time she's stopped chewing.

BILLIE:

(checking him out)

You Hooker?

HOOKER:

Yeh.

BILLIE:

Why didn't you say so. I thought

maybe you was a copper or somethin'.

She goes to a side door and unlocks it.

BILLIE:

It's the room in the back. He

wasn't expecting you so soon though.

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