Act 4, SCENE 1 INT: RISE CHURCH – HALLWAY: AFTERNOON
There is a line outside REV MAC’S DOOR. People are standing or sitting on benches patiently waiting to see him. Some are praying furiously and others are crying. On the closed door is REV MAC’S nameplate and his listed office hours.
We hear OS SOBBING as we FOLLOW THROUGH the door.
ACT 4, SCENE 2 INT: REVEREND MACCABEES’ OFFICE – SIMULTANEOUS
VINCENT – an older man of 40-50s, so thin he is almost skin on bones – is sobbing heavily, angrily into his hands.
REV is at his desk watching humbly.
REV:
Breathe brother. God is with us.
VINCENT:
Rev, it’s been a hard day. Everywhere I look, I see reminders of my son. I deserve this punishment. I was never a good person, but not him.
REV:
God does not intend for you to suffer.
VINCENT:
You sure about that? Everyone benefits from suffering: the police; Uptown; the guy that makes the memorial t-shirts, you, me!
REV:
I understand you’re suffering.
VINCENT:
Don’t give me that bullshit.
REV:
Suffering is intangible. It’s hard to touch or put into words, but the weight feels as big as house on your shoulders. It can keep you up at night and steal your every thought.
VINCENT nods.
REV:
I know suffering. It’s hard to fight it sometimes. You could run from it. You could ask it to be beaten out of you. You could drown it in as many vices as you can but it’s there tempting you. I’m proof that the war can be won.
VINCENT:
You can’t stop suffering. To live is to suffer.
REV:
I’m proof that suffering can end.
REV gets up and comes to VINCENT. REV places a hand on his shoulder and continues to try to comfort him.
VINCENT:
I can’t keep going on like this.
REV:
You shouldn’t say such things. If I gave up where would I be? Who would I be? Dead is what. There’s always a way to fight back. To be redeemed. You can be a soldier for Christ, a child of God.
VINCENT:
No I can’t.
REV:
Where’s your strength, Vincent? Where’s your faith in the Lord?
VINCENT:
Gone, right after someone stabbed my son. (beat) Listen Rev, I didn’t come here for a eulogy. There was a lady in my building who used to have Lupus. She doesn’t complain about the pain anymore and runs around the building calling you a prophet. She said you just touched her and her pain was gone.
REV:
Her faith cured her.
VINCENT:
I’m not a good Christian. The only time I ever went into a church was for a funeral. I’ve done some horrible things, but you gotta heal me. Fix me. Please. Do whatever you did to that lady to me. I don’t want to feel this anymore.
REV:
You’re here now and that’s exactly where God needs you to be.
REV flexes his hands, inhales deeply, and rests his HAND on VINCENT’S head. The VEINS of REV’S HAND twitch and slither around, until VINCENT’S SKIN seems to be CRAWLING with something under the surface. VINCENT’S eyes roll to the back of his head and a worm is twitching at his pupil.
REV:
Do you believe in the Lord, the Almighty?
VINCENT grunts.
REV:
Do you reject Satan and all his empty promises?
VINCENT grunts loudly.
REV:
Do you believe that you can be healed?
VINCENT drools.
REV:
Brother Vincent, God has glorious plans for you as he did for me. You won’t ever suffer again.
FOCUS ON the white of VINCENT’S PUPILS and a worm crawling in it.
ACT 4, SCENE 3 INT: MOTEL – NIGHT
CLERK:
This form’s incomplete.
OMAR:
I was wondering if we could do this without the formality.
CLERK:
Then that would defeat the purpose of the form entirely. Who’s to say you’re not a terrorist? I mean your name is Omar.
OMAR:
That’s racist and Islamaphobic.
OMAR flashes some large bills.
OMAR:
Let’s try to do this without the form and without the racial profiling. I don’t want the Misses to know. You know what I mean?
CLERK:
Are you a pimp?
OMAR:
No.
CLERK:
Then don’t try to pimp me.
OMAR:
I just need a room for a couple hours. Tops. I’ll be gone by the morning. Corner room please. Next to the stairs.
OMAR flashes larger bills.
CLERK:
You suits are always cheating on your wives and throwing around your money. You wife’s probably banging the deliveryman.
CLERK snatches the money before OMAR puts it away and gives him a key.
CLERK:
Just clean up after yourselves, and keep your donkey and pingpong ball show to inside voices. I don’t want to have to call the police.
OMAR:
You’re strange and racist. You know that right?
CLERK:
But I ain’t stupid. Your money is green and that’s what I like more. I could take back my key. There’s a perfectly cheap roach motel up the…
OMAR:
No we’re good. Remember. Strictly off the books.
CLERK:
Yeah, yeah.
ACT 4, SCENE 4 EXT: MOTEL – SIMULTANEOUS NIGHT
OMAR strolls along the second floor nonchalantly. OS you are giddy laughter and flirtatious whispers. FOLLOW OMAR until he reaches the end of the walkway. The MAYOR is with a luscious young BLONDE around his arm. She has long hair that the MAYOR’S face is buried in.
OMAR:
Here’s the key.
MAYOR is so intoxicated he swipes blindly for the key. OMAR sighs and opens the door for them.
OMAR:
You’re all set.
MAYOR:
I needed you so bad. Your hair’s perfect.
BLONDE:
You can play with me all you like.
MAYOR grabs and slaps her ass.
MAYOR:
I fucking intend to.
BLONDE:
And my hair won’t fall off.
OMAR (whispers):
You also don’t have cancer.
BLONDE:
When are you gonna join us?
OMAR:
No thanks. I got someone waiting for me at home.
BLONDE has her hand out in front of OMAR. OMAR gives her a wad of cash.
OMAR:
You only have a couple of hours. I don’t want your wife asking questions.
MAYOR:
She’s drugged up by now. She won’t notice I’m missing.
MAYOR has his hand out. OMAR hands him a baggie of cocaine.
BLONDE:
Now we can party. Let’s see how fast we can forget about your wife.
MAYOR and BLONDE trips over the threshold of the hotel room and collapses onto the room floor. MAYOR groans in pain and laughs. OMAR is shaking his head.
LINDA (OS):
That sounds horrible.
ACT 4, SCENE 5 INT: MOHAMED & LINDA’S HOME – BEDROOM: NIGHT
LINDA BUTLER (MOHAMED’S 30s-40s wife, Asian-American) walks out of the adjoining bathroom rubbing lotion up and down her arms. AMED is on the corner of the bed undoing his work clothes.
LINDA:
I can’t imagine listening to someone die.
AMED:
You learn to tune it out.
LINDA:
That’s morbid, Amed. And you turned those kids away? Why?
AMED:
My brother should’ve never sent them to me in the first place. What did he think I could do? I’m not a private detective. I work with a unit, and we work the streets together. If I’m out there going rogue I start to look weird. Weirder anyway.
LINDA:
Baby…
AMED:
I had to tell those kids off. It’s my job to risk my life. If they went off and got killed because I brought them into this, it’ll be my badge. I can’t have death on me. I spent my whole life trying to avoid that. I became a cop to protect people.
LINDA crawls on the bed and massages his back. AMED likes it.
LINDA:
You’re making yourself tense.
AMED:
It’s my brother’s fault.
LINDA:
It’s this town. We should move. I’ve heard good things about Uptown.
AMED:
Uptown only looks better. You should hear the rumors about what you don’t see.
LINDA:
Then we should leave the AC. Leave the State all together. This is no place for children.
AMED pulls away from her.
AMED:
Who said anything about children?
LINDA:
You’re the one talking about teenagers.
AMED:
Then why does it feel like you’re talking about something totally different?
LINDA:
See. Look at what all this is doing to you? Doing to us?
AMED:
I don’t want kids. We’ve talked about this already.
LINDA:
It was more like you declaring your stance the way a caveman swings around his club. I want a future for us, Amed.
AMED:
I do too, but I don’t want what happened to me to happen to any child I bring into this world. Kids die, and adults are the cause of it all the time. Parents not doing their jobs. Mother against mother, brother against brother, and everyone’s numb to it except me.
LINDA:
That’s not the entire story of life. That’s not where it has to end. I’m with you.
AMED:
I know that, but it’s how it always seems to end. Why are you acting like you’re hearing this for the first time?
LINDA pulls him close to her.
AMED:
Are you pregnant?
LINDA:
Amed, please. Do I look pregnant?
AMED:
You kind of avoided the question.
LINDA:
I’m sorry, but you brought up kids and pregnancies. I understand where you’re coming from, and I also know your heart. It’s pure. You’re not your parents. You’re not your mother.
AMED:
I don’t want to talk about her.
LINDA:
Fine. I’ll talk. Your mother hurt you, but it didn’t taint your heart. That’s what I fell in love with. That’s the man I trust to make things better for us all. That’s the man I want to build whatever story with.
AMED:
How did I find you? I shouldn’t be this lucky.
LINDA:
At the Police Department Holiday Party, and no, you shouldn’t be this lucky, but you are, and here I am to stay forever.
AMED:
So you aren’t pregnant?
LINDA:
Amed!
AMED:
I don’t believe you.
AMED and LINDA kiss playfully.
LINDA:
Believe me now?
AMED:
A little bit less actually.
AMED and LINDA kiss passionately.
ACT 4, SCENE 6 INT. HOTEL ROOM – SIMULTANEOUS
MAYOR takes a hit from a pipe and falls slowly into a hypnotic state.
INTERCUT BETWEEN THE MAYOR and BLONDE & AMED and LINDA
BLONDE dances tantalizingly across the room from where the MAYOR is mesmerized by her. She whips her hair back and forth and it seems to glow with light. BLONDE continues to strip clothes and walks towards bed.
AMED and LINDA are pulling off each other’s clothes. LINDA kisses his facial scars. He plunges down between her breasts. She moans.
MAYOR moans in ecstasy. BLONDE is now on top of him. He is caressing her as she dangles her hair over his face.
AMED and LINDA have sex on the corner of the bed (cowgirl). As they rock, LINDA throws her arms around his neck and her breathes are sharp and short and building higher. AMED’s breathing heavily into her chest. LINDA finally throws her head back in exclamation.
CUT BACK to: ACT 4, SCENE 7 INT. HOTEL ROOM – SIMULTANEOUS
MAYOR just finished his orgasm. BLONDE is on top of him still.
MAYOR:
Oh god, I love you so much.
BLONDE:
Do you really?
MAYOR:
I can’t feel my legs. Or my face.
BLONDE:
I’m glad.
MAYOR:
I don’t want to leave this bed. Not unless you’re with me. You’re something amazing.
BLONDE:
Then maybe I should keep the baby?
MAYOR’S eyes widen.
END OF ACT 4