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SERGEI:

Da?

MR. ARKADY

Sergei, what are you, a Neanderthal? How

many times do I have to tell you? You

answer a phone "hello," not "da."

SERGEI (nods yes)

Sorry, Mr. Arkady.(into phone)"Hello?"

OPERATOR(V.O.)

I have a collect call from Bobby Cooper.

Will you accept the charges?

SERGEI:

Mr. Arkady, deadbeat Cooper's calling.

Mr. Arkady doesn't acknowledge him.

SERGEI:

He's calling collect.

At this Mr. Arkady's head springs up. He snatches the phone

from Sergei.

MR. ARKADY (overly sweet)

Bobby, what a surprise. I expected to be

seeing you, not talking to you over the

phone.

INTERCUTS TO:

EXT. PHONE BOOTH - STREET

BOBBY on the phone.

BOBBY:

I know, Mr. Arkadin. I know. I was on my

way to you, it's just ... what a day I've

had. I know I'm coming up with a highly

improbable story, and I know you're not

going to believe this, but this ...is...

what happened. I had the money, I swear I

had it. I was on my way to Vegas when my

car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.

Mr. Arkady cleans his nails completely disinterested in what

Bobby is saying.

MR. ARKADY

That's a shame, Bobby. A real shame.

BOBBY:

And that's not the half of it, Mr.

Arkadin...

MR. ARKADY

"Arkady"

BOBBY:

Right, Mr. Arkady. And that's not the half

of it. I got your money, and I go into this

little grocery store in this hicktown to

get something to eat and then... well, it

gets robbed!

MR. ARKADY

...And let me guess. This robber -- he

gets your money.

BOBBY:

No. Two of them. Two robbers. And they both

get nailed... get shot by the old lady.

MR. ARKADY

The old lady?

BOBBY:

With a shotgun! She kills both of 'em,

and... and the money in my bag gets all

shredded to bloody pieces. Not one bill is

left alive. I mean, what are the odds?

MR. ARKADY (beat, dry)

Pretty long, Bobby.

BOBBY:

Mr. Arkady, honest, I ad to beat it outta

there before the cops showed. So now I

don't have a cent to my name. I can't even

get my car out of the garage. I tell you,

Mister... (pause) if it weren't for bad

luck I wouldn't have nay f***in' luck at

all, you know? (beat, waits) So, I was

wondering if you could wire me a hundred

fifty-dollars so I could get my car out of

this garage, see? The bus depot here has a

Western Union thing. And of course I'll

pay it back with the rest of the money.

MR. ARKADY(V.O.)

Which you don't have.

BOBBY:

But which I can get. No problem. Look, I

can sell my car in Vegas. Blue book it's

worth 16 at least. I just need the 150,

uh...

Sergei looks like he's ready to pound heads.

MR. ARKADY (pause)

Where are you?

BOBBY (hopeful)

Uh...a little shithole in Arizona called

Superior. About 200 miles east of Phoenix.

MR. ARKADY (pausing, V.O.)

Superior, hunh?

Bobby suddenly feeling suspicious.

BOBBY(V.O.)

Yeah, if you could send it care of...

MR. ARKADY

...Now, let me get this straight. Two years

you give me problems with your f***in'

payoffs. Now you owe me thirteen-thousand

dollars, you call me - collect - then ask

me to wire you one-hundred-fifty dollars

just so you can get your car fixed.

BOBBY(V.O.)

A hundred-forty-five would probably cover it.

MR. ARKADY

A hundred and ... Now you listen to me

you deadbeat little punk: I don't care if

you got hit by a truck and run over by a

steamroller. You owe me thirteen-thousand

dollars and I want it. I don't care how

you get it, or where from, but I want it on

my desk tomorrow, or I'll show you what

real bad luck is.

Sergei snaps a pencil he's holding in his hand, which goes

flying by Arkady's head, forcing him to duck.

MR. ARKADY

Do you understand me you little f***?

BOBBY (snaps)

Oh, f*** you too!

MR. ARKADY

What'd you say to me!

BOBBY:

Sh*t I'm sorry!...you can't believe the

strain I'm under. I'm just under a lot of

strain here.

There is a sharp silence at the other end. Bobby waits.

MR. ARKADY

Bobby, you owed me that 'bread' 4 weeks

ago. Now you tell me you want another week.

That's 5 weeks, Bobby. That's also 5

fingers, cause you and I know it's a finger

a week Bobby. So you got balls. Good--now

you come here tomorrow and you talk to me

real nice and maybe I don't take the other

3 fingers you owe me, you see? Tomorrow --

and Bobby, don't make me come look for you,

okay...have nice day.

He hands the phone back to Sergei.

SERGEI (into phone)

You got that? -- have nice day (hangs up).

MR. ARKADY

The nerva that piece of sh*t! And look at

you, you Neanderthal -- don't you f***in'

break pencils, you goombah!

SOFIA:

Finger? What are you, a f*ggot? In my

country a man don't pay we cut off his

head.

Arkady motions Sergei to come close.

MR. ARKADY

Get your ass down to this Superior,

Arizona. Bring me this Bobby Cooper. I

don't think he got the lesson. This is your

last chance, Sergei.

SERGEI:

Da.

EXT. STREET - DAY

BOBBY, desperate, stares at the bandage of his wounded hand. It

throbs, holding the hand to his ear.

We hear an OPERATOR'S VOICE:

OPERATOR(V.O.)

Hello?

BOBBY:

Hello?

OPERATOR(V.O.)

Are you finished with your call?

BOBBY:

Yeah.

OPERATOR(V.O.)

Please deposit an additional seventy-five

cents.

Bobby slams the phone against the hook.

BOBBY:

Goddamn rat's ass f***! Sh*t! Damn! Damn!

Damn!

He marches from the phone booth, past an old HARDWARE STORE. The

phone falls from the hook and we hear a recorded voice:

VOICE(V.O.)

Thank you for using AT&T.

In the store window, Bobby notices a set of garden shears for

sale.

EXT. EMPTY STREET - LATER DAY

BOBBY walks a bit going nowhere in particular. Looking at his

watch thinking of Mr. Arkady, he shields himself with one hand

from the sun. At the side of an old building, in the bit of

shade it throws, he twists at the beer cap which sticks and

won't turn. Bobby tries again twisting harder -- too hard -- as

the cap jerkily twists off, cutting into his hand as it rotates.

Bobby yells in pain. At the same time the beer comes foaming

from the bottle and spills onto his sleeve. The bottle slips

from his wet fingers and crashes on the ground, emptying. He

clutches his bleeding hand, pissed.

BOBBY:

F***! F***! F***! I hate this f***in' town!

I hate it! Do you hear me?

(no answer)

Get me outta here, please. I gotta get out

of this place.

As if in answer, a JEEP drives by on the main street. GRACE

looks pretty hot up there in the driver's seat, her eyes, behind

sunglasses, flicking over him but not acknowledging him as she

keeps going.

Bobby's eyes throw back his own hostility at her, but

unfortunately she misses it, as he now notices -- across the

street -- a well-kept building with the most modern decor and

signage, reading "McKenna's Realty Co."

He thinks about it, in a quandary.

EXT. HIGHWAY/CAR - DAY

In a rented convertible, we now see SERGEI racing across the

desert. His jacket off, a man with a mission. He glances at his

watch, eager to get to this "f***ing hole in the wall" which is

somewhere on this incomprehensible American map he holds in one

hand.

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