Assassins

Electra looks at the International Bank across the way. It's a beautiful old building, the ornate black iron bars on the windows in great contrast to the white-washed concrete walls.

ELECTRA
Is that the bank? Is that where our sixteen mil is?

Rath isn't listening. He's somewhere else. She follows his gaze to a hotel third-story window. It's spooky.

ELECTRA

What's up there?

RATH

He'll be.

INT. HOTEL PARAISO – ATRIUM COURTYARD – LATE DAY

A ruins. Spooky even in the daylight. Rath and Electra enter.

She looks around, taking the place in. Rath gestures her toward a rickety stairwell. Up they go.

INT. HOTEL PARAISO – THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY – LATE DAY

TIMBERS CREAK as they make their way down. Rath takes Electra's arm, guides her 'round a hole in the floor. They're going to a bad place.

INT. HOTEL PARAISO – ROOM 302 – LATE DAY

They enter. Electra looks about as Rath goes to the window. Pulling back on a decrepit shutter he looks across the plaza and remembers.

FLASHBACK – EXT. PLAZA COLON – DAY (1980)

The black and white of the prelude. The plaza. A sniper's rifle in the window. A figure steps out from the bank. We see more detail than before, but it seems to strobe AWAY FROM us. The gunman is a younger Rath. The Mark seems familiar. He looks up to the blank, is shot down.

As pigeons take wing.

CUT BACK TO:

INT. HOTEL PARAISO – ROOM 302 – LATE DAY (PRESENT)

Rath is snapped from his reverie as real pigeons flap by the window. Electra studies him.

ELECTRA

Are you okay?

Rath gestures her over. He points to strategic spots below as he talks.

RATH

At ten o'clock tomorrow I'll enter the bank. He'll be in the plaza somewhere. In the crowd. When he sees me go in, he'll move up here.

ELECTRA

You're sure?

RATH

(nods)

You'll be at the cafe. You'll see him when he goes inside. We'll have two-way mics so we can talk.

ELECTRA

What do we do after he goes inside?

RATH

We wait.

Rath describes the rest not the way he planned it, but the way he remembers it.

RATH

It'll take all day, but he'll begin to doubt himself. He'll start to think he missed me. He'll have to see with his own eyes whether I'm still in the bank. It'll be sunset, closing time. He'll have to leave the rifle here when he goes to the bank. There are metal detectors at the door. When he's out of sight, you'll come in here and take the rifle.

Electra looks back at the bank.

ELECTRA

What if he tries to shoot you before you go into the bank?

Rath speaks like it was all written in stone.

RATH

He'll wait for the prime shot. When I come out.

ELECTRA

How can you be so sure?

RATH

Because he likes history...

(a beat)

Fifteen years ago I was at this same window.

ELECTRA

Fifteen years...

And as they stand side by side, suddenly everything is clear to Electra.

ELECTRA

Oh my God.

Rath finally looks at her.

ELECTRA

Your friend Nicolai. You said he was taken.

Rath nods.

ELECTRA

(a whisper)

You killed him...

Rath doesn't answer. And suddenly Electra is scared again. She looks at him a beat longer then does the only thing she can to protect herself: she puts on her sunglasses.

We MOVE IN ON the lenses, see Rath reflected in them.

EXT. NEW HOTEL – MAGIC HOUR

The cab pulls away.

INT. NEW HOTEL – LOBBY – NIGHT

Rath and Electra walk through an archway and start upstairs. In front of them walks a newlywed couple – kissing and giggling – very much in love – Rath pays no attention while Electra can't take her eyes off them.

INT. NEW HOTEL HALLWAY – NIGHT

They reach a landing. To make things worse, they have adjoining rooms. Rath opens their door, enters. Electra lingers, watches the other couple as he fumbles for his keys. Watches as she runs her hand over him. He finally gets the door open. He pushes her inside.

INT. NEW HOTEL – ROOM – NIGHT

Electra listens to the sounds coming from the other side of the wall. LAUGHTER quickly turning into PASSION.

ELECTRA

(sarcastic)

You should check them out. Maybe they're Interpol.

RATH

(in no mood)

Not even professionals could pull that act off.

As the sounds become MORE MUFFLED, Electra grabs a glass, holds it to the wall. Rath watches with distaste.

RATH

You're a voyeur.

Electra looks at him, hears the disgust in his words. But she has some in her own.

ELECTRA

There are worse things.

Rath looks away. There are. Electra is possessed of knowledge she can't understand, let alone forget.

RATH

Look, Nicolai and me... It's none of your business.

ELECTRA

(fierce)

It is my business. I'm with you!

Rath isn't going to say anymore. Electra turns back to the wall as the sounds of PASSION BUILD.

ELECTRA

(a beat)

I can't trust you. You can't trust me. How can we possibly help each other-

RATH

I trust you.

ELECTRA

Why? Why do you trust me?

He doesn't have an answer. She picks up Pearl, walks into the bathroom. As the door locks behind her.

EXT. PLAZA COLON

Almost deserted, a different story after sundown. As the last fruit VENDOR shuts up his cart.

BAIN (O.S.)

Un momento. Por favor.

The Vendor sighs, waits as Bain, carrying a nylon bag, steps over. He nods politely, scans the fruit, picks out two apricots. He hands the Vendor a twenty, walks on without waiting for his change.

VENDOR

Gracias, Senor.

MOVE WITH Bain as he strolls across the plaza. Biting into the apricot, savoring the taste, he looks at the bank, at the big iron gates barring the front entrance, but also at the modern metal detectors just beyond.

Taking another bite, he turns, scans the opposite side. The Hotel Paraiso is even gloomier than the first time we saw it. By instinct, Bain settles on the same window that Rath did.

He walks to the bank entrance, imagines the sight line back to the hotel. Doing his homework.

Finishing the first apricot, Bain sets the second on a column ledge just to the right of the entrance.

Bain crosses the plaza to the hotel. Pulling free a 24 nailed to the entrance, he steps inside.

INT. HOTEL PARAISO – LOBBY – NIGHT

An atrium courtyard. The burnt-out interior hall balconies stare down from four sides. The ceiling is gone.

Bain stares up at the moon. It casts broken patterns of light across the walls and floor. Bain seems almost reverent. Like he was in a holy place.

Moving cautiously, Bain starts up the staircase, headed for the third floor.

INT. HOTEL PARAISO – ROOM 302 – NIGHT

Bain enters. We jump as a FLOOR BOARD gives way with a SNAP. Taking it in stride, Bain pulls his leg free, steps carefully over to a...

THIRD FLOOR WINDOW

Bain stares across at the entrance to the bank. A good clear view, the vertical angle not too EXTREME.

He unzips his bag. Quickly, expertly, he puts together a sniper's rifle complete with a two-foot silencer.

Holding up the rifle, he closes one eye, sights. A CLICK as Bain squeezes the TRIGGER on an empty chamber. He looks up from the sight, across the plaza. This is good.

EXT. NEW HOTEL – BALCONY – NIGHT

Holding Pearl, Electra stands looking out at the city. What holds her attention is the procession moving down the cobblestoned street, following a trail of marigold petals to a nearby cemetery. It includes children made up as skeletons.

INT. NEW HOTEL – HALLWAY – NIGHT

A WAITER pushes a room service cart. We don't see his face, but we suspect the worst. As he reaches the door to Rath and Electra's room...

INT. NEW HOTEL – ROOM – NIGHT

Rath looks up at a KNOCK on the door. Drawing his .22, he steps over, stays to the side of the door.
 

RATH

Who is it

MUFFLED VOICE (O.S.)

Room service.

Rath places the end of the silencer against the door – head level.

RATH

I didn't order room service.

As he cocks back the trigger, Electra steps in from the Balcony.

ELECTRA

I did.

Rath pulls the gun away, pauses a moment to collect himself. He holsters it, opens the door. The Waiter smiles, rolls the cart in.

As he sets up the plates, Electra steps over.

ELECTRA
Excuse me.

(points out balcony)

What's happening out there?

WAITER

The Day of the Dead, Senora.

ELECTRA

What are the flowers for?

WAITER

Families make a path from their homes to the cemetery. So the souls of the dead loved ones can find their way back home.

Electra is fascinated. As the Waiter finishes, Rath tips him and he exits.

ELECTRA

Can we go?

RATH

He'll be here by now. This room and the bank. That's it.

Disappointed, she sets Pearl down and steps back out on the balcony to watch.

Rath pours himself a drink. As he does, he notices something. There's a slight tremble in his hand. He sets the drink down, looks to the balcony. After a moment, he steps over, stops to the side of it.

RATH
I wish I could explain why I killed Nicolai. I may have been manipulated. I don't know.

(a beat)

For what it's worth, I'm sorry did it.

A beat. He waits for her to say something, can't really blame her when she doesn't.

RATH

I used to hope the same thing would happen to me. A least it's a way out.

It may. Finally, Rath steps out to be with her.

RATH

Electra...

EXT. BALCONY – NIGHT

Rath steps out. Electra's gone! Not on the ground a floor below. Nowhere in sight. Rath looks to the cemetery and the fire escape leading from the balcony down to the cobblestone street below.