Sunday, December 7, 2008

As close to Tarantino as I want to get.

TN1919 Autumn:

FADE IN: A well lit office interior. There are people milling about, doing whatever office workers do on a daily basis. This office, however, is the provisional city hall of New Baja, buried deep underground in a submerged MacAllen cave. There is no ambient light, and there is an oppressive feeling in the air. There are secretaries sitting at a central desk/counter area, wearing headsets and working at computer terminals. A security guard in grey coveralls and a pistol at his belt stands lazily nearby. The entirety of New Baja has been put on full alert and lockdown, but he doesn't expect any problems here.

CUT TO: An elevator door. There's a sense of impending crisis. The elevator stops with a soft ring tone, and the doors open slowly. Two determined faces greet us: the Gunfighter, and the Doctor. They quickly step out of the elevator car and into the hubub of the city hall office, doing their best to cut through the foot traffic whilst blending in to the best of their abilities. In the elevator, a grey coverall-wearing guard is slumped in the corner, blood trickling down his nose.

CUT TO: The Doctor's fist, sporting slightly bloodied brass knuckles. From just under his knuckles, you can see a couple of people reacting to the sight of the guard in the elevator. Or maybe they recognize the Doctor and the Gunslinger. They're not new to Baja, after all. The security guard hasn't clued in.

CUT TO: The Gunslinger and the Doctor approaching the central desk/counter. They give the receptionist a withering look.

The Doctor: Excuse me, which way to Mayor Dunn's office?

Receptionist (A little stunned): Er...may I ask who is...

The Doctor (only slightly annoyed): Doctor Chambers, of the New Baja Development Company.

Receptionist (relieved): Oh, yes, down the hall, make a left, all the way to the end. Who is this? (He has noticed the Gunslinger, who, as always, is not operating as though he's completely present and accounted for)

The Doctor (feigning ennui): My bodyguard.

The pair walk off quickly as a cry comes out from near the elevator. The security guard does his job and jogs over to the car, just as the Doctor and the Gunslinger round the corner and quicken their pace. They get down to the end of the hallway. There is a solid-looking door with a simple plaque attached to it at about eye level: MAYOR L. DUNN. The pair take a breath and then open the door.

CUT TO: The office of New Baja mayor Lloyd Dunn. There are three people in this spartan, utilitarian office with a thick glass window on one side (no real view, as it's too dark in the MacAllen cave). In the center of the room is a large conference desk. There is a trideo projector in the middle of the desk, currently shut off, and a couple of chairs for guests of the mayor in front of it. The ceiling is roughly 2.2m tall, and the concrete walls are thick, as is the floor. At the desk sits Lloyd Dunn, a tired-looking, greying man whose face reflects the plight of all of New Baja: compromises to maintain as much independence as possible. No one understands Dunn anymore, a hero of the anti-CEF resistance during the occupation of Baja. He still believes in doing the best for New Baja's citizens, but he has comprimised himself into a corner: the SRID have their hooks in him, the MILICIA do their best to control the city, and while he and the rest of the New Bajans have retreated into their underwater, underground refuge, Dunn knows that it's only a matter of time before New Baja must capitulate. He's desperate, he's cornered, and two of his old nemeses, The Doctor and The Gunslinger, have just walked into the room. Dunn is flanked by two bodyguards. They've just been warned of the pair's arrival.

Dunn (unreadable): Gentleman, what can I do for you.

The Doctor (equally unreadable. The Gunslinger has his eye on the two bodyguards, his hands ready to go for his guns. The two bodyguards are nervous. They're competent, but the Gunslinger's reputation has preceded him): Lloyd. Good to see you. I have something for you. I'm willing to trade it in order to get me and my associates out of New Baja.

Dunn: You have something for me?

The Doctor (removing a datadisk from his duster, places it on the desk and pushes it towards Dunn with a single finger): Plans for a next-generation submarine gear.

Dunn: Is that so? And why would you think I'd help you, Doctor?

The Doctor: Because if we make your life easier, then you can make our lives easier.

Dunn (unreadable, pauses. Then after a moment, he grins): Well Doctor, it's about to get a whole lot easier for you.

CUT TO: The door to the office opens. Four guards in grey coveralls armed with meaty submachineguns are about to pour in.

CUT TO: The Gunslinger's gone for his twin 11mm magnum revolvers.

CUT TO: The Doctor has gone for his heavy pistol.

CUT TO: The two bodyguards have gone for their pistols.

CUT TO: Dunn has gone for his pistol.

The ensuing firefight is brutal, short and chaotic. The Doctor's loud pistol fires, and one of the new arrivals spins towards the corner, shot through the shoulder. The Gunslinger's pistols fire, and one of the bodyguards falls backwards, dead, blood spattering the wall behind him. The other bullet grazes Lloyd Dunn's shoulder. The other bodyguard puts a few rounds into the Gunslinger, but his duster and his flak suit prevent major injury. He remains standing. Dunn fires as he recovers from the attack. The bodyguards rush the room, and open fire with submachineguns at close range. Fortunately, the action is too close, the noise and the flashes too blinding, for any accurate fire. One of the guards begins wrestling with the Gunslinger. The other two take positions in the corners of the room, unsure as to how to proceed. The Doctor rounds the table and is about to shoot Lloyd Dunn when one of the bodyguards sprays the corner down with fire. The Doctor slumps to the ground, badly wounded. Dunn has been hit too, and his shot accidentally hits the bodyguard who just shot him, rather than the Doctor. Meanwhile, the Gunslinger struggles against the guard, and finally breaks free of his grapple. The Doctor and Dunn fumble for their pistols, struggling and grappling, slipping in blood, both wheezing and wincing from their wounds. The Doctor is out of bullets: the heavy pistol does not have a large magazine. Lloyd smirks, aims, and then is shot by the Gunslinger, whose revolvers deal out hot lead death. The remaining guards go down in a flurry of gunfire. The Gunslinger fires at Dunn's sprawled body. Then he walks over to the Doctor, who is barely conscious, and failing to staunch the blood pouring from his body. The Gunslinger helps the Doctor up and they make their way out of the office, leaving a haze of smoke, blood and a ringing echo of gunfire left in the room...

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30 Autumn, TN1919


Dear Sir,

We have received your manuscript, and we must reject it. Not only is some of the content (allegations of SRID involvement in New Baja indeed!) verging on the seditious, but we here at Republican Films also strive for realistic depictions of violence in all our work. You might be better served sending this manuscript to a particularly wealthy and bloodthirsty nobleman in the Eastern Sun Emirates.

Good day,

J. Y. Jungers
Submissions editor-in-chief
Republican Films.

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Somewhere else:

"I found the tape. It looks like it's been hacked already."

"That's fine. Who's on it?"

"The businessman and the gunhand."

"Delacroix?"

"No, but he can't be too far. At least he's back on our radar."

"He's in New Baja. He's still off our radar."

"Yeah, but he and his crew will have to come up for air eventually. Keep your eyes open. We need to know how he found out about Mishka."

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