Thirteen Ghosts Page #7

BEN:

Arthur, this guy's been callingmy office since your uncle died.

I see it all the time. Some rich

guy passes away, and then all the

nuts come out. Next thing youknow, he'll be claiming Cyrus owedhim money.

RAFKIN:

You're damn right he did. It's

bad enough I had to, um talk yoursecretary into telling me whereyou'd be so I could get paid -oh,

by the way, she genuinelythinks you're a real bucket ofshit -

(to Arthur)

But I don't give a damn about that.

All I care about is getting my assoutta here. I suggest you do the

same.

ARTHUR:

Look, I don't know what's goingon, but -

Rafkin's headache starts in again, hard.

(CONTINUED)

THIRTEEN GHOSTS -Rev. 10/27/00 35.

29 CONTINUED:
(4) 29

RAFKIN:

Sh*t, either one of you got any

aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen,

Midol? Anything, I -

ARTHUR:

What's the matter? You alright?

He finds a bottle of pain relievers in his pocket, triesto get it open, but his fingers are trembling in pain.

RAFKIN:

Goddamn childproof caps...

Rafkin fumbles with the bottle. Arthur reaches out to

give him a hand. When he makes contact, Rafkin receives

a series of flashes:

29A FLASHBACK -ARTHUR'S PREVIOUS DREAM 29A

Jean's in front of the sliding glass doors, with the kidsoutside playing. The images begin to BLUR and poundforward with amazing speed, then -

END OF FLASHBACK.

BACK TO LIBRARY:

ARTHUR:

Hey, buddy. You okay?

Rafkin looks around, registering where he is. On the

floor.

RAFKIN:

Yeah, sh*t, my head...

Arthur reaches out to help him up. Rafkin recoils.

RAFKIN:

Don't. Touch me.

Rafkin sits up and looks around, can't see Ben.

RAFKIN:

Where'd Alley McBeal go?

(cover 'where'd the suit go?")

CUT TO:

THIRTEEN GHOSTS -Rev. 10/27/00 35A.

30 INT. BASEMENT -CONTINUOUS ACTION 30

Ben's heading downstairs, the same way Rafkin just came.

When he gets to the bottom of the stairs he takes out apen light, and flicks it on. Starts to head down the

center corridor.

Now we're thinking to ourselves, what the hell's this guydoing, and where the hell's he going? To make matters

worse, he removes a pair of those ghost glasses from hispocket. Slips them on. Now we're even more curious...

BEN:

(shaking his head)

Power guy... what an idiot...

THROUGH GHOST GLASSES

He passes by the first room. inside is the 1950s RitchieCunningham look-alike. He shoulders his bat, watchingMoss's every move through dead eyes.

BEN:

Hey, Babe Ruth, stop staring...

As Ben passes, the ghost suddenly disappears. He moves

on...

(CONTINUED)

36.

30 CONTINUED:
30

Inside the next is a boy, sevenish, holding a tomahawk,

dressed in a cowboy outfit with a hunting arrow throughhis head.

BEN:

Next time learn to duck...

He turns a corner, following the path known only to him.

It leads the lawyer to a dead end.

Ben feels along the edge of the panel. The glass door

snaps open, lightning fast. Ben grins, then carefully

steps in...

31 INT. CLOCKWORK ROOM -CONTINUOUS ACTION 31

Ben makes his way around the huge gear works, andapproaches the control panel. Smiling, the lawyer spotsa black briefcase sitting on a scale next to themechanism.

BEN:

I gotta hand it to you, Cyrus

Kriticos, you're a man of your

word.

Ben picks up the briefcase; as he does, it sets off atrigger beneath it.

The house begins to make noises. Behind him, GEARS

GRINDING, WHIRRING, CLICKING, CLUNKING. Something has

been turned on.

Ben hardly notices; he's intent on the briefcase. He

opens it. It's filled with bundles of cash. Ben smiles,

still nervous. He closes the briefcase, and leaves the

room with it.

32 EXT. HOUSE 32

From outside the house we witness the unbelievable.

Rooms shift, walls migrate, the whole of the housereconfigures its architecture to accommodate some hiddenagenda within.

33 INT. STUDY -SAME TIME 33

Rafkin and Arthur also witness a change. From their

perspective, they can see from the inside what theoutside was doing. It's obvious by their shared looksthat maybe it's time to take their argument outside.

(CONTINUED)

THIRTEEN GHOSTS -Rev. 10/27/00 37.

33 CONTINUED:
33

RAFKIN:

Look, I don't know what's going onhere, but if you care about thatfamily of yours, get them out ofthis house.

Arthur doesn't need convincing.

ARTHUR:

I'll take your word for it.

They quickly rush out of the study, and over to the

entryway. But the kids and Maggie are not there...

ARTHUR:

Kathy... Maggie... Bobby!!

34 INT. CORRIDOR -CONTINUOUS ACTION 34

No one answers Arthur's cries.

ARTHUR:

I told them not to leave this

spot.

RAFKIN:

They're kids, what do you expect?

ARTHUR:

Alright, fine, you checkdownstairs, I'll check up.

Arthur takes off around the corner.

the basement door.

Rafkin stares at

RAFKIN:

(to himself)

There's no way in hell I'm goingback down there...

(beat)

Time for this psychic to leave...

He takes a few steps towards the front door, as Arthur'sVOICE ECHOES through the house, looking for his kids.

RAFKIN:

(hesitating)

Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t...

Rafkin watches as a set of glass panels close across thefront door, sealing them in.

THIRTEEN GHOSTS -Rev. 10/27/00 38.

35 INT. STAIRCASE -WITH ARTHUR 35

He reaches the top of the stairs leading up to the secondlevel, when he hits glass. The stairs have been sealed

off from the shift in the house.

ARTHUR:

Bobby. Kathy!

Arthur bangs like a madman on the glass.

ARTHUR:

(begins yelling)

Bobby!! Kathy!!

Finally the house relents. The glass barrier slides open.

Arthur bolts down the hallway.

36 INT. BASEMENT -WITH BEN -SAME TIME 36

Ben heads back the way he came, wearing the glasses. He

walks past the rooms again. As he approaches one, anaked female suicide victim with dead eyes, her wristsslashed, her bloodstained hands wielding a knife, comesup to the glass. Ben stops to check her out.

BEN:

What's the matter? Life got you

down?

The Suicide stares at him now with hatred. Her entire

eyes are ink black, her face sallow, sucked in, herrunny mascara stains cascading down her bloodless cheeks.

She launches herself against the glass, clawing andscratching to get to him. Ben shudders, thinking hemight've crossed a line, begins to back away.

As the basement around Ben Moss suddenly begins to shift.

The lawyer turns about, watching with unrest as themechanical gears all around him engage... shiftingrooms... rearranging walls...

37 INT. CLOCKWORK ROOM -CONTINUOUS ACTION 37

On the control panel, the first lever in the row ofsymbols suddenly shifts forward.

38 INT. BASEMENT -CONTINUOUS ACTION 38

Opening doors...

(CONTINUED)

THIRTEEN GHOSTS -Rev. 10/27/00 39.

38 CONTINUED:
38

Ben turns to see the door that held the Suicide back

slides open.

BEN:

Hey, I was only kidding...

The ghost steps into the hallway towards Ben, blockingthe route to the stairs. Ben back-pedals in horror.

Backing right into an open doorway...

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