SYZYGY - 8

INT. KARA’S CAR - NIGHT

Tom is driving. He and Kara are both laughing. They are already well into the desert, which passes by starkly in the full moonlight.

TOM

Seriously?

KARA

Of course! It kicked ass!

TOM

Lost In Space, huh? I was always

partial to Hawaii Five-O.

KARA

Really? Why’s that?

TOM

Well, my older brother always told

me that the next week we’d find out

if the guys in the kayak got away

from the tidal wave.

Kara laughs uproariously.

TOM

I kept falling for it. It was import-

ant. I needed to know! That and the

original Alvin and the Chipmunks

theme. Those were the two best.

KARA

(singing)

“This… is… the… Alvin show, the Alvin

show…”

TOM & KARA

“You’re positively gonna love the

Alvin show…”

They both break up laughing.

TOM

Why didn’t we ever talk like this in

high school?

KARA

I don’t know. Because we were in

high school, I guess. We didn’t

understand the value of TV theme

songs.

TOM

Yeah, but seriously… Raven and I don’t

talk like this, even now.

KARA

Well, I’m not Raven.

TOM

(smiling)

No, you’re not. You’re definitely not.

But we haven’t talked this much since

that one night…

KARA

I know. That guy broke up with me.

I don’t even remember what his name

was anymore. And I was crying, and

you came up and just started talking

to me. I remember I kind of poured

my heart out to you.

TOM

(fondly)

Kind of.

KARA

But you listened. You really listened.

Back then I always felt like I spent

more time dealing with other people’s

problems than my own.

TOM

I know. I could see that.

KARA

I never thanked you for that. You…

you kind of had a crush on me back

then, didn’t you?

TOM

Yeah. I did. Most definitely.

KARA

You could have just asked me out.

TOM

I could have. But didn’t. I guess

I figured the wanting would be better

than the having.

KARA

What does that mean?

TOM

Well, I think I was really in love

with you. Not some adolescent prom

night fantasy, maybe if it was I

could have done something about it.

But I had you built up in my mind

as some kind of goddess, everything

I thought a woman could be. I thought

about reading to you, sitting under

trees with you, or fixing candlelight

dinners, anything. Everything you

wanted.

KARA

Good thing you didn’t. I don’t think

I could have lived up to your expect-

ations.

TOM

The ache of not being with you was

better than anyone could ever have

been. Then again, maybe you could have.

He turns to her, but she looks away, embarrassed.

TOM

I get the feeling tonight that maybe

you really are closer to the way I

dreamed.

She doesn’t respond.

TOM

Even after college, it got worse. I

always half-believed that one day I’d

look up from my books and you’d be

standing there. And then tonight,

you finally were.

KARA

So you did what you always dreamed

about doing.

TOM

Yeah. With Raven the way she is now,

I can’t help but feel that I’m waiting

and waiting for something that will

never happen. I lot of the time I

don’t even feel like she’s there. But

it’s just to stop loving someone like

that, and when I think about it I

guess I feel weak for not having the

patience for her to come back…

KARA

Well, I’ve very recently stopped

loving someone. It wasn’t so hard.

TOM

Sorry. I guess I’ve just been talking

about myself.

KARA

It’s okay. You’re entitled. I’m just

glad you’re were there. And that

you’re here now. It makes things a

little easier.

She puts her hand on his arm, and he suddenly seems uncomfortable.

KARA

I wish that just once Jake would

have done any of those things you

always dreamed about.

INT. JAKE’S HOUSE - MORNING

Jake, fully dressed, carrying a mug of coffee, wanders from room to room, staring at the phones. He checks his watch, which reads eight-thirty, and looks out the window nervously. He passes the stairs to the basement, looks down them, checks his watch again.

INT. JAKE’S BASEMENT

The basement has been outfitted as a workshop. Benches and racks of tools line the walls. He reaches underneath one of the larger tables, removes a pistol that was held there by electrical tape. He heads back to the stairs, stops, and looks back.

In the corner, under another workbench, are two aluminum briefcases. He removes them and opens one. Nestled in foam beds inside are four detonators attached to blocks of what must be plastic explosive.

The doorbells rings upstairs. He looks up, startled.

INT. JAKE’S HOUSE - MORNING

As Jake walks into his foyer toward the front door, he glances out the front window. In his driveway, he can clearly see two police cruisers. He grabs a throw pillow off a chair and holds it over his face.

JAKE

(muffled through pillow)

FUCK!!!!

In an instant he is back in control, and opens the door, his face a mask of concerned surprise. He opens the door on three policemen and a plainclothes detective, DETECTIVE MANTLE.

MANTLE

Good morning, Mr. Brennan. I’m

Detective Mantle. I’m sorry to disturb

you so early.

JAKE

It’s all right… I was still in bed.

MANTLE

Sleep in your clothes, did you?

Jake has forgotten that he’s dressed.

JAKE

Yes. Have you heard anything about

Kara?

MANTLE

Well, that’s why we’re here, Mr.

Brennan. May we come in?

JAKE

Certainly.

INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING

The policemen sit on the couch, with Jake and Mantle sit facing each other across the coffee table.

MANTLE

Normally missing person reports

can’t be filed for twenty-four

hours, but we found something

interesting this morning that we

think might pertain to this case.

JAKE

And what was that?

Mantle begins fishing around in his pockets for a rumpled piece of paper, which he begins unfolding and flattening.

MANTLE

Just after one o’clock this morning,

in a hotel just outside of town, a

man was murdered.

JAKE

A man? Do you think he had something

to do with Kara?

MANTLE

We’re not exactly sure. But we were

hoping you could tell us. The named

signed in the guest book for the room

in which the murder occurred… is yours.

Jake freezes. Mantle slides the paper across the table to him. It shows a photocopy of a fax on which, underneath the motel’s letterhead and logo, room 18 clearly shows Raven’s handwriting: Mr. & Mrs. Jake Brennan. Jake knows exactly who wrote it, but manages to conceal his anger.

JAKE

No, it’s not Kara’s writing.

MANTLE

Didn’t think so. The report from the

desk clerk is that a Caucasian male

and a Native American woman, regist-

ered the previous morning. Neither

of which match the description of

your wife, obviously.

Jake looks at the motel’s address, which includes the words “off Highway 46”.

JAKE

Detective, may I keep this?

MANTLE

Sure. Just a copy. We’re having the

place’s phone records checked too.

We should have the results within

the hour. I thought it best that we

have some of the men here wait with

you, in case whoever has her happens

to call.

Jake sneaks a glance at his watch, which is getting dangerously close to nine o’clock.

JAKE

(calmly)

Of course.

MANTLE

And since we’re so close to the state

line, the federal agencies are on

standby, just in case we find Kara

has been taken over. In that case,

the FBI would immediately become

involved.

Mantle’s words are becoming more and more drowned out by a buzzing sound, coming from inside Jake’s head. He’s trying his best to ignore it, but his temples are starting to sweat and the tips of his fingers are twitching.

JAKE

Can I offer… you and your men… some

coffee?

MANTLE

Thank you. That’d be fine. We really

appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Brennan.

Jefferson, would you help Mr. Brennan,

please?

One of the policemen nods, and stands as Jake does.

JAKE

I’ll show you. The kitchen is right

back here.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

Jake, with Jefferson following, moves through the kitchen around the island to the coffee machine. Jake spins on his heel, puts his hand on the back of Jefferson’s head, and punches him in the face. He then grabs the slumping body and gently lowers it to the ground. He drags the body behind the island so it can’t be seen from the doorway, and heads for the basement stairs. As soon as he’s gone, another policeman peeks in.

POLICEMAN

Mr. Brennan? Steve?

INT. STAIRWAY - MORNING

Jake sneaks back up the basement stairs, opens the side door at the top of the landing that leads into the garage.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

The policeman doesn’t see Jefferson’s body lying behind the counter, but notices that the basement door is ajar. The other two policemen enter the kitchen, and he motions for them to be quiet. He slowly opens the basement door, drawing his gun. The stairs are empty, and the outer door is closed, but the basement light is on. He starts descending the stairs.

EXT. DRIVEWAY - MORNING

The garage door opens and as soon as it’s open far enough, Jake’s car, in neutral, glides down toward the street. He has to ride up on the grass to avoid the squad cars.

INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING

Detective Mantle doesn’t see Jake’s car rolling silently across the lawn behind him.

INT. BASEMENT

The policeman looks into the workroom, sees one of the aluminum suitcases lying open on the bench. One of the detonators has a display that switches from 00:00:03 to 00:00:02. He turns and starts running up the stairs in a blind panic.

POLICEMAN

DETECTIVE!!!!

EXT. STREET - MORNING

An explosion nearly pushes the house off its foundation, sending flames shooting out all the windows.

INT. JAKE’S CAR - MORNING

Jake tilts his rear-view mirror to watch the fireball behind him. He body shudders, and the buzzing sound returns. A terrifying half-grin spreads across his face.

JAKE

Beautiful…

He turns on the radio, winces as clear music comes out. He quickly changes the station dial to static, cranks the volume, and smiles.

SYZYGY - 7

INT. MOTEL ROOM 18 - NIGHT

Eyeball is still sitting on the bed. Raven comes out of the bathroom, throws her bag down next to him, and checks her gun as she heads for the door.

RAVEN

Stay here. I have some phone calls

to make. Want anything while I’m

out?

Eyeball shakes his head.

RAVEN

What did you have to eat before we

got to the bar tonight?

EYEBALL

Just a few drinks. I thought I would

need them.

RAVEN

I’ll get you something. I don’t want

you running on nothing but booze.

I’ll be right back.

She winks humorlessly and points her finger at him like a gun. Her thumb comes forward and she “fires”. She blows on her finger as she exits. The door swings closed, but doesn’t quite shut. Eyeball raises his hands to his face, notices they’re shaking. He stares at them as if they’re not his own. After several seconds he reaches for the phone, dialing quickly.

EYEBALL

(into phone, more and more agitated)

Big Ed? Thank God… you’ve gotta help

me! No, we’re at her motel! Her husband

ran off with Kara before Jake could

even get there! I don’t know, how

the fuck should I know? You calm down!

You’re the one who wanted a big show-

down! I hear the other line, that’s

probably her! What am I supposed to

do? Fine! Fine! I’ll just play along.

Okay!

(slams down the phone)

Asshole!

In frustration, he punches the pillows he’s been lying on. When he calms down, he takes a second, pulls out his gun and leans back against the headboard, leveling the muzzle at the door, taking deep breaths to steady himself.

EXT. HOTEL LOBBY - PHONE BOOTH - NIGHT

Raven is talking calmly into the phone.

RAVEN
(into phone)

Yeah, it’s sort of bad news. My

husband took off with her. Oh, just

fine, how am I supposed to feel? Yeah,

well, me too. I don’t know where he

thinks he’s going. You might want to

have Jake file a missing person’s

report as soon as possible, make it

look good. Who, The Eyeball Kid? He’s

fine. I honestly don’t think he has

much of a future in this, though.

INT. ROOM 18 - NIGHT

Eyeball is still watching the door, which is still ajar, gun poised. His eye, the gun, and the door all form an EXACT LINE. A few seconds pass.

EYEBALL

Come on… come on…

There is a soft knock at the door.

EYEBALL

(voice cracking)

Yeah?

The door swings open. Eyeball closes his eyes and turns his head away slightly.

MALE VOICE

(off-screen)

Room ser—

Eyeball fires. The room service man’s tray flips up in front of him, spilling tuna sandwiches and coffee down the front of his shirt. He stands absolutely still for a moment, long enough for us to see the hole in the tray. Then he falls backward, out onto the sidewalk. Seconds later, Raven comes running up.

RAVEN

What the hell did you do?

EYEBALL

Uh… uh… shot him.

RAVEN

Why??

EYEBALL
He just barged in and…

RAVEN

I told you I’d get you something.

Dammit! So you shot him?

EYEBALL

(starting to babble)

I, uh… just got off the phone with

Big Ed.

Raven steps back onto the sidewalk, to make sure that no one has seen.

RAVEN

You did? I just called him from the

pay phone in the lobby!

Eyeball says nothing, just stares at the TV, where someone has just won fabulous prizes.

RAVEN

I called him from the pay phone so

that there would be no record. Now

the police are gonna check the

records… goddammit, do you realize

how complicated you’re making this?

You don’t call your boss from the

hotel phone!

(shakes her head)

That’s it.

Raven grabs the room service man’s feet and drags him inside. She immediately grabs the ice bucket next to the TV. While Eyeball continues to stare at the body on the floor, she fills the bucket with hot water from the tap. She steps over the body and flings it out onto the sidewalk, washing more of the blood from the sidewalk and into the gutter.

RAVEN

If we do this right, no one will find

him for a few hours. That’ll give us time.

EYEBALL

(quietly)

You signed the guest book.

RAVEN

What?

EYEBALL

When you and Tom checked in. They’ll

know.

RAVEN

I didn’t use my real name. You don’t

think I’d be that stupid, do you?

Raven grabs Eyeball’s arm and hauls him to his feet.

RAVEN

Come on. We’re leaving.

Eyeball can’t seem to do anything but stare at the man on the floor. Raven grabs his jaw and makes him look into her eyes.

RAVEN

Hey hey hey. Don’t go vegetable on

me here. Don’t look at him. You can’t

help him now.

Eyeball starts to cry.

EYEBALL

I didn’t mean to do it…

RAVEN

I know, I know. But we’ve got to

leave. Right now. Go on out to the

car, all right?

She hands him the keys.

RAVEN

Here. Go and wait for me. This’ll just

take a minute.

Eyeball takes them and staggers outside. Raven stands over the body, puts her hands on her hips, and sighs.

EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT - NIGHT

Eyeball gets in the passenger side of Raven’s car and puts the keys in the ignition. He sits back, puts his seat belt on. Then he breaks down. His face drops into his hands and he begins sobbing and hiccuping uncontrollably. In the confines of the car, the noise is very close and claustrophobic.

We can see into the room as Raven drags the body into the bathroom, hangs the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and comes out, carrying her bag. She gets into the driver’s seat after throwing her bag in the back.

For a moment she just sits and listens to Eyeball cry and hiccup, and then she draws her gun. Without a glimmer of expression on her face, she holds it to his forehead. His hiccups stop immediately.

RAVEN

Thank you.

She puts the gun away, turns on the ignition.

INT. RAVEN’S CAR - NIGHT

As Raven drives, the two sit in silence. Eyeball just stares out the window, watching the night go by. The landscape is getting more and more barren as they head into the desert.

EYEBALL

(softly)

I’m sorry.

RAVEN

It happens. Try to get some sleep.

Eyeball can’t believe that she’s so calm.

EYEBALL

I just killed somebody!

RAVEN
Welcome to the present, Kid.

EYEBALL

But I’m no killer.

RAVEN

Well, that guy back there certainly

thinks so.

EYEBALL

No. I mean I’ve never…

RAVEN

…never done it before.

EYEBALL

(crying again)

No… I can’t do this.

RAVEN

What do you mean? Can’t do what?

Eyeball throws back his head.

EYEBALL

(sobbing)

I’m just a reporter. I’m undercover

to investigate the Organization.

But now I can’t get out. I thought

you were going to kill me! Or Big

Ed was…

RAVEN

Look, I know you’re upset. Believe

me. But I can’t stop now. Not for

anything. You follow me?

Eyeball nods.

RAVEN

Now, should I worry about you trying

to take me out again?

EYEBALL

No.

RAVEN

Okay. I believe you. And anyway I’ve

got your gun. We can talk about your

choice of careers later. For now,

just consider me your new boss.

Eyeball nods again, and a long pause follows.

EYEBALL

Raven?

RAVEN

Yeah?

EYEBALL

Why am I not dead yet?

RAVEN

Because you don’t seem like much of

a threat to me. Besides… you kind

of remind me of someone.

EYEBALL

Who?

Raven doesn’t answer.

SYZYGY - 6

INT. RESTAURANT

EYEBALL

So where did she go?

RAVEN

Probably the bathroom. Quit looking

over there. You’re going to attract

attention.

EYEBALL

All right, so what’s the plan?

RAVEN

We have the bartender page her, tell

her that her lights are on, and when

she comes outside we take her to the

irrigation ditch on the edge of the

parking lot.

EYEBALL

Isn’t that kind of out in the open?

Won’t someone see us? I thought we

were going to drive her somewhere.

RAVEN

In a case like this, speed it more

important than set-up. Besides, even

if anyone sees something, they won’t

act on it until we’re long gone. I’ve

seen it happen.

INT. WOMEN’S RESTROOM

Kara is leaning against one of the sinks, getting her Walkman out of her bag and hooking it up.

KARA

Why are you in here?

TOM

I’m sorry, but I can’t leave you

alone right now.

As she puts the headphones on, Tom moves over to the door and opens it a crack.

INT. RESTROOM HALL

Tom’s eye is pressed to the crack. He can only a slice of the dining area at the far end of the hall. Suddenly, Eyeball comes around the corner and Tom shuts the door. Eyeball stares at the door for a second, then goes into the men’s room.

INT. MEN’S ROOM

Eyeball enters, looking around. There’s no one there.

EYEBALL

Tom? Raven said you might not be

feeling too—

He ducks down to check for feet under the stalls. Nothing. He dashes out.

INT. WOMEN’S ROOM

Tom stares at himself in the mirror while Kara listen to the tape. She presses the headphones to her ears, bent over, softly crying. Tom walks over to her, puts his hand on her should. She looks up at him, tears running down her face.

TOM

Come on. We’ve got to get out of

here…

KARA

Who… who is she?

TOM

Just come on. There’s no time. She’s

going to figure out where we went.

KARA

(panicking)

She’s here?

TOM

Come on! We’ve got to go!

He starts dragging her toward the door, and she staggers behind him, trying to gather up her purse and Walkman.

INT. RESTROOM HALL

Tom and Kara come out of the women’s room and duck through the Employees Only door. The instant it closes, Raven and Eyeball come around the corner. Raven heads straight for the women’s room.

INT. WOMEN’S ROOM

The door flies open, and Raven swoops in. She checks everywhere. Eyeball doesn’t enter, just stands on the threshold, holding the door open. Raven looks at the mirror, sees her own reflection cut in half by a crack in the glass. She turns back to Eyeball, runs out into the hall and through the Employees Only door.

INT. KITCHEN

As Tom and Kara duck back out the rear exit, Raven and Eyeball enter. A COOK, a large man who Tom and Kara must have brushed past, is annoyed by another interruption.

COOK

All right, everybody out of my

kitchen!

Raven strolls right up him, that hard look never leaving her eyes. She looks at the rear exit, then the swinging doors that lead into the dining area.

RAVEN

Which way did they go?

COOK

Look, Missy, you just better get

yourself out of here right now.

RAVEN

I don’t think you want a broken nose.

COOK

And just how are you gonna do that?

Raven holds up her middle finger.

COOK

Oh, that’s cute. Now why don’t you—

Like a whip, Raven’s arm extends to its full length, gripping the man’s nose between her index and middle fingers. She pulls him down to her, twisting slightly. The cook yelps. Then Raven’s other hand raises, and she prepares to flick his nose. Under this much pressure, it will break if she does.

RAVEN

Now, here’s what’s going to happen.

I’m going to let you go. Then, instead

of being an asshole, you’re going to

answer my question. Sound good?

The cook nods, as much as he is able.

EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT

Tom is driving as he and Kara they peal out across the white gravel parking lot. Raven and Eyeball step out of the back door, and Raven immediately draws her gun. She fires four times at the car, but the shots only spark off the back bumper.

RAVEN

Dammit.

INT. KARA’S CAR - NIGHT

Kara ducks instinctively as Tom watches Raven in the rear-view mirror.

KARA

Oh God… she’s shooting…

EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT

The white gravel creates a smoke-screen behind the car as it tears out of the parking lot and heads out of town, toward the highway overpass.

RAVEN

Come on.

EYEBALL

Wait… wait. We’re not going after

them, are we?

RAVEN

You bet. I need her. You have a

better idea?

EYEBALL

(looking around)

Well… shouldn’t we… uh…

RAVEN

I hope you’re getting paid by the

hour, Kid. Let’s go.

INT. KARA’S CAR - NIGHT

Kara turns around has they drive under the highway.

KARA

Is she coming after us? Oh Jesus…

EXT. KARA’S CAR - NIGHT

Tom wheels hard to the left as soon as they’re out from under the overpass. Kara’s car skids up the grassy slope on the far side of the overpass. Halfway up, he stops the car and turns off the lights.

INT. KARA’S CAR - NIGHT

KARA

What the hell are you doing? Go! Go!

Tom grabs her and pulls her to him. She resists for a second, then stops as Raven’s car roars out from under the highway.

They watch as Raven’s car drives past their hiding place into the open country. The car slows a bit, then starts swerving wildly, sweeping its headlights across the wheat field on either side of the road.

KARA

(whispering)

What’s she doing?

TOM

Looking for our tracks. She thinks

we’ve pulled off into one of the

fields.

Kara stares after her in dread.

KARA

She really wants to kill me…

TOM

Yeah. But I’m not going to let her.

Tom shifts the car into drive and slowly drifts up the hill, around the guardrail and onto the rural highway. He speeds out of sight, not turning on his lights.

EXT. LAMPLIGHTER INN - NIGHT

From out of distance, a car approaches and pulls into the parking lot at a reckless speed. It skids to a halt. Jake jumps out, jamming a gun into his waistband. He dashes back and forth, looking for his wife’s car, but can’t find it.

JAKE

What the hell…?

INT. MOTEL ROOM 18 - NIGHT

Eyeball sits on the bed of Raven and Tom’s hotel room, staring blankly at the TV while Raven digs around, throwing things into her bag. Eyeball checks his watch, then pulls a gun out from his jacket and turns it over carefully, examining it and the silencer screwed into the barrel.

RAVEN

Nice piece, but you better put it

away.

EYEBALL

Why?

RAVEN

This kill is mine.

EYEBALL

Before we go, let’s give Big Ed a call.

RAVEN

All right. But that’s not going to

change what I’m here to do. There’s

no way I’m going to stop until she’s

taken care of.

Eyeball grudgingly puts his gun back in his pocket.

RAVEN

Good. Now hold on to this.

She tosses him a small calculator-like device. A glowing LED readout changes from 46.3 to 46.4.

EYEBALL

What is it?

RAVEN

How far behind we are.

EYEBALL

You bugged her car?

RAVEN

That’s right. That’s why we came

back. Tom left it here.

EYEBALL

So you think he planned this?

RAVEN

I don’t know. Maybe.

EYEBALL

(checking the tracker)

Wait, it’s stopped. Forty-six point

six.

INT. GARAGE - NIGHT

Kara stares at Tom across a table in the grimy waiting room of a mechanic’s garage. She’s pacing back and forth, as if in a cage. He just stares at the floor.

KARA

Do you feel strange?

TOM

Why do you ask?

KARA

Because I do. Wired, kind of. I can’t

really decide how I should feel.

TOM

It’s like everything feels more… real.

KARA

Yeah. It’s not good, but… I don’t know.

TOM

It won’t last.

KARA

Somewhere between high school and

now, Tom, our lives got seriously

screwed up.

He doesn’t seem to be listening. She looks out into the garage through a plate glass window. A MECHANIC is out there, looking at the car’s undercarriage while it’s up on the jack. When she turns back, Tom is leaning forward, his face in his hands.

TOM

We don’t have time for this. Why did

I do this?

KARA

(a little offended)

Well, I don’t know. Could it be that

I was about to get a bullet through

my head?

TOM

That never stopped me before.

Kara is stunned by this, then shakes her head.

KARA

I don’t even want to know.

The mechanic, a greasy, tired man, comes into the waiting area. Tom stands, anxious.

TOM

Did you get it?

MECHANIC

Sir, I don’t even know what I’m

looking for.

TOM

(sitting back down)

You didn’t get it…

MECHANIC

I’m sure that whatever you think is

under there—

TOM

I know it’s there.

MECHANIC

Well, I can’t find it. You can wait

until the day mechanic comes in. He’s

my boss. I’m just not trained for

this sort of thing.

TOM

When does he come in?

MECHANIC

Seven.

TOM

We have to wait six hours before

you can take a little box out of—

MECHANIC

Sir, I don’t see any little box.

You tried to show me and you couldn’t

find it either.

TOM

That doesn’t mean it’s not there!

Look, take it down. We can’t wait.

The mechanic shrugs and leaves. Kara watches Tom intently.

KARA

You’re really scared of her, aren’t

you?

TOM

No more than I should be.

SYZYGY - 5

EXT. LAMPLIGHTER BAR & GRILL PARKING LOT - NIGHT

The Lamplighter, a cheery little place with a flickering neon gaslight and a parking lot of white gravel, sits next to a rural highway overpass. It is the only building across the street from a strip mall on the very edge of town. On the other side of the highway is nothing but wheat fields.

Raven’s car, a dark rental sedan, pulls into the lot and backs into a spot near the street. Tom and Raven get out of the car. They slowly start walking around the parking lot, checking license plates.

TOM

What are we looking for again?

RAVEN

I’ll remember when I see it. Just

let me think.

TOM

Are you sure we should be doing this?

RAVEN

Fine time to be having second thoughts.

I thought you were into this.

TOM

That was different. Those guys were

bastards. The world was better off

for losing them. But this feels like…

like murder.

RAVEN

Far, far too late now.

She walks quickly, turning her head from side to side, looking for the right car. Tom struggles to keep up.

TOM

You tape him, now you’re bugging her

car. You know, she’s never even going

to get this far.

RAVEN

But we’re doing it anyway. I didn’t

get where I am by believing that

every plan is going to go smoothly.

TOM

(under his breath)

But where are you?

RAVEN

Here we go.

Raven steps around to the side of Kara’s car, a large white four-door. Raven takes a small box, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, out of her jacket pocket.

RAVEN

Play lookout for me, would you?

He turns and stands facing the Lamplighter, acting casual. Raven crouches down, attaches the box somewhere on the underside of the car.

RAVEN

(standing)

There. Ready?

Tom nods.

RAVEN

How about a kiss for good luck?

She turns her cheek to him, and he grudgingly gives her a peck. They walk toward the bar, not even holding hands.

INT. LAMPLIGHTER - NIGHT

The interior of the Lamplighter is a cross between a seedy bar and a tex-mex restaurant, full of people. Pool tables and a jukebox dominate a corner by the car, while booths and tables fill the rest of the space.

In a small alcove in the corner, a man in his mid-twenties stands at a pay phone. From the necklace he wears, three glass eyes on a string, we assume that this is THE EYEBALL KID. He’s talking animatedly into the phone.

EYEBALL

Look, I don’t know what he told

you, but you better get down here

before she does!… The woman is a

fucking machine, that’s what she is!…

Right. Well, get your ass down here

right now!

He hangs up. All traces of anxiety fall away as he does. He picks up the phone, plugs in a few coins.

EYEBALL

Hey… it’s the Kid. I just got off the

phone with him… on his way, just like

you wanted… Yeah, I got it, stay out

of the way, let them confront each

other… I understand. All right. I’ll

call you when we have a winner… shit,

there she is.

He sees Raven and Tom enter the bar, puts the phone down quickly, picks up his drink and moves out into the crowd.

Raven turns from side to side like a surveillance camera as she walks in, familiarizing herself with the surroundings. She spies something over in the corner.

RAVEN

(to Tom, behind her)

Get us some drinks. I’ll be over there.

She points to the rear corner. Tom wordlessly head off toward the bar. Raven walks straight over to Eyeball, sitting in a booth by himself.

RAVEN

The Eyeball Kid, I presume.

He looks up at the mention of his name, his face awed and frightened at the same time, extending his hand.

EYEBALL

Correct as usual, King Friday. You’re

Raven?

RAVEN

Come on over here.

She nods toward a booth in the far corner. He picks up his drink and follows her to it. They sit facing the rest of the bar.

RAVEN

Nice necklace.

EYEBALL

Hm? Oh yeah. Cool, huh? Got it for

the job. I read that people are

distracted by stuff like this. Can’t

remember what you look like. And

afterward it’s easy to pitch.

RAVEN

I don’t read much.

EYEBALL

So what was wrong with sitting over

there?

RAVEN

Lesson One. Sit close to an exit. You

should know that.

Eyeball looks around and only now notices that the emergency exit is directly behind him. He smiles at her.

RAVEN

You’re staring.

EYEBALL

Sorry. I just can’t believe I’m sitting

here talking to Raven White.

RAVEN

Raven Airheart. I never changed my

maiden name.

EYEBALL

Really? So that’s your family name.

Navaho, is it?

RAVEN

Good. My grandfather’s, actually. He

was a pilot for the Air Force in World

War Two. Flying was the thing he loved

most, so he came to be called Heart In

The Air. He flew for the same country

that stole his ancestor’s homeland.

EYEBALL

(wincing)

Ooh. It probably doesn’t help to say,

But I’m sorry about that.

RAVEN

Remembering helps. Most people don’t

even do that. But I still think we’re

owed a shitload of rent.

Eyeball isn’t sure how to respond to this. Fortunately, Tom walks up to the table, carrying two drinks. He sets one down in front of Raven as he sits next to her.

RAVEN

Tom, meet The Eyeball Kid.

TOM

Ah, the rookie. Very good.

EYEBALL

So how does it feel being married

to a legend?

TOM

It has its moments.

Raven stands, downing half her glass as she does.

RAVEN

Shucks, guys, I’m getting embarrassed.

I’ll scout around and see if we can

find our game for tonight. Be back

in a second.

She leaves. Tom and Eyeball watch each other warily for a moment, sipping through drinks.

EYEBALL

So… I heard you’re from around here.

TOM

That’s right. Grew up just a few miles

down the road.

Uncomfortable silence. Finally, Tom lets out a large sigh.

EYEBALL

You don’t like this, do you? You don’t

want her doing this.

TOM

No. But I think it’s the only way

she can get through this, to come

out on the other side.

EYEBALL

I was just going to ask about that.

I heard about what happened that

night… she’s not the same, is she?

TOM

No. I think… I think who she used

to be, who she really is, got lost

somewhere. I guess I’m hoping that

after tonight things will go back

to the way they were before.

EYEBALL

So what was she like?

TOM

(remembering, smiling)

She was… incredible. On one of our

first dates, she took me to one of

those camping stores, and she asked

me to help her get a thirteen-foot

canoe down from the wall. I kept

asking her, “What do you need a

canoe for?”. But instead of taking

it to the counter, we walked right

out the door with it.

EYEBALL

You mean, you just left?

TOM

That’s right. Even got one of the

employees to hold the door open for

us.

EYEBALL

They never thought anyone would try to

steal it.

TOM

That’s one of the things that attracted

me to her. She has a way of knowing

exactly what she can get away with.

I think that’s one of the reasons

she does her job so well.

EYEBALL

Sounds like she was an interesting

person to know.

TOM

She was, and still is, sometimes.

But you should have seen her then.

Every so often the armor falls away

for a minute and I can almost see her

there, behind it. But most of the

time I’m just waiting for it to

happen. So you tell me. Does that

make me noble or a hopeless idiot?

EYEBALL

Here she comes.

They stop talking as Raven comes back and leans on the table.

RAVEN

Got her.

She nods toward the far side of the room, at a group of about ten people talking and laughing at a large, round table. Among them is an attractive woman, about the same age as Raven and Tom. She is KARA BRENNAN. Tom does a barely perceptible double-take.

RAVEN

They haven’t gotten their food yet,

so we’ve got time to finish our

drinks.

(she sits)

You boys have time to get acquainted?

EYEBALL

Yeah. Tom was just talking about the

canoe incident.

As they speak, Tom is the only one paying attention to Kara, who is getting up from her table. She walks down a hall with a sign labeled “Restrooms” next to it.

RAVEN

Well, Tom, don’t go giving away all

our secrets. Tom?

TOM

Hm? Oh. Sorry. I was just…

He looks into Raven’s eyes. Just stares for a minute, trying to see if she’s really there. They reveal nothing.

TOM

Would you excuse me for a second?

He abruptly stands and moves away from the table.

EYEBALL

Has he been drinking much tonight?

RAVEN

A little, but don’t worry. Tom’s

mostly just talk. He pretty much

stays out of the way.

Over Raven’s shoulder, we can see Tom moving toward the restrooms. He stops, looks back, as if deciding something. For an instant, he is standing directly between Raven and the doorway, all three forming an EXACT LINE. Then he turns and continues on his way.

INT. RESTROOM HALL

Tom moves down the short hallway, which contains three doors. The one directly ahead is labeled “Women”, the one on the right “Men”, and on the left “Employees Only”. Between the men’s and women’s rooms is a drinking fountain. He looks around and, so as not to appear suspicious, leans down to drink from the fountain.

A woman comes out of the restroom and passes by him. He turns his head and, as just before the door swings shut, can see Kara touching up her lipstick in the long mirror over the sinks. He stands up, wiping his lips. The door opens, and Kara, her purse slung over her shoulder, almost runs into him. She stops and stares at him.

TOM

Kara?

An uncertain moment passes, then Kara smiles.

KARA

Tom? I haven’t seen you in… God!

How are you?

TOM

Great. Great. Can we talk for a

second?

Kara’s a little apprehensive of Tom’s sudden appearance.

KARA

Well, I’m with my friends right now…

TOM

Seriously. It’s important. I’m afraid

I’ve got some… really bad news for

you.

Kara starts trying to skirt around him and get back into the dining area.

KARA

All right. Just come back to the

table with me…

Tom grabs her arm.

TOM

No. We can’t go out that way.

KARA

What are you doing?

TOM

Please, just let me explain…

(he gets an idea)

Do you have a Walkman in your bag?

KARA

Yeah. Why?

Tom digs around in his pockets and pulls out the tape Raven made of her meeting with Jake.

TOM

You’ve got to listen to this. Right now.

SYZYGY - 4

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Raven sits in a bright, comfortable armchair in a white, sparsely-decorated living room, holding a drink in her hand, staring into space. The look in her eyes has changed. Before she seemed invincible, and now she looks hardened, as if she has seen too much.

MALE VOICE

(off-screen)

And then?

RAVEN

(still staring into space)

Hm?

MALE VOICE

(off-screen)

And then what? How did you get out

of it?

Raven returns to the present and looks at the man speaking to her, who has been looking out the window but has turned to talk to her. He’s a little older than he, a strong, well-built man who looks like he works outdoors for a living. He is JAKE BRENNAN, and he seems very troubled.

RAVEN

Oh. The next morning I woke up

in Tom’s apartment. He had carried

me all the way home, cleaned me up

and put me to bed.

JAKE

Romantic. Most men would have bailed

and left you there.

RAVEN

I know, he’s a rare one. He seemed

to get off on what I did as much as

me. Three months later, we got married.

JAKE

Sounds like a strange relationship.

RAVEN

Not really. His life needed excitement,

mine needed stability. A perfect

match, actually.

Raven tilts her head back and empties her glass. Jake turns back to the window. The house they’re in is the first completed model in a developing subdivision. Nearby, a large industrial dumpster reads “Brennan Construction Co.”

JAKE

Does Big Ed know about him?

RAVEN

Hm? Oh, I wasn’t working for Big Ed

then. It was another guy.

(changing the subject)

So now that I’ve told you about mine…

(taps her wedding ring against her glass)

Tell me about yours.

JAKE

Well, what kind of things do you need

to know?

Raven stands and walks over to him. He steps away from the window, and she follows.

RAVEN

Basic stuff. What she looks like,

why she deserves to die, that kind

of thing.

Jake looks at her warily. She smiles a bit, enjoying his reaction, but the expressions looks calculated and doesn’t last very long.

JAKE

She doesn’t deserve it more than anyone

else, but I’m sure Big Ed has told

you the position I’m in.

RAVEN

Mm-hm. So what’s the timetable?

JAKE

I need proof of her death within

twenty-four hours. Along with you,

Big Ed assigned me an insurance lawyer.

He’ll be here at nine o’clock sharp

tomorrow morning to stop Big Ed’s men

from doing anything… unpleasant. It’s

all very efficient. I get the feeling

this kind of thing happens a lot.

RAVEN

No, but Big Ed believes in being

prepared for anything. So what exactly

was your downfall, horses?

JAKE

(getting agitated)

Don’t pretend like you know me, lady.

You don’t know shit about what I’ve

been going through. Last thing I need

is some fucking Indian giving me grief.

RAVEN

It’s Navaho, asshole, and I know enough.

You’re in hock up to your eyeballs,

and if you don’t come through, it’ll

be you in the ditch instead of your

wife. It’s a very big deal in Big Ed’s

eyes. But still business. He knows

I’ll do what’s required.

JAKE

(through gritted teeth)

Does Big Ed know you’re such a soulless

bitch?

RAVEN

Course. That’s why he assigned me.

Have we had enough name-calling for

one afternoon?

Jake reaches into his back pocket. By the time he removes his wallet, Raven has dropped her glass and drawn her pistol, leveling it squarely at his head. The empty glass hits the carpeted floor and rolls away. Jake puts up his hands, showing her the wallet, and she relaxes. Her eyes, however, continue to register no expression.

JAKE

Her picture.

He pulls out a small picture and hands it to Raven.

RAVEN

Hello, Kara. Pretty.

JAKE

Yeah.

RAVEN

But not for long.

(she pockets the picture)

Mr. Brennan, don’t worry. In twenty-

four hours, both your debt and your

wife will be gone, and I’ll be far

away from here. I don’t think you’ll

miss any of us. You can get back to

building homes for happy little

families.

Jake turns to the window, refusing to look her in the eye.

JAKE

Thank you.

RAVEN

You know, a wise old Navaho, my

grandmother, actually, told me that

though bodies may part company, little

bits of the souls of everyone we ever

know stick to us. Maybe you should

think about that when you remember

Kara.

JAKE

And how many dead people are stuck

to you?

Raven leaves without making a sound or expression.

INT. HOTEL ROOM 18 - DAY

Raven enters. Tom is lying across the bed in boxers and a t-shirt, reading. He looks up expectantly.

RAVEN

I thought you’d be taking a nap.

TOM

No. I wanted to wait for you.

Raven removes her jacket, looks in the mirror, then turns away a little too quickly. Tom tries to keep the conversation going.

TOM

So, what’s he like?

RAVEN

Jake? Typical son of a bitch. His

wife looks clueless enough. A fish

in a barrel.

TOM

You saw her?

RAVEN

No. Got her picture.

TOM

Oh.

Raven starts getting undressed. Tom watches her closely. She doesn’t seem to notice.

RAVEN

Plus, we’re meeting up with a witness.

TOM

A what?

RAVEN

I’ve got an audience. There’s a kid

who works for Big Ed that’s going

to tag along. Apparently, he wants to

be like me when he grows up.

TOM

Who is it?

RAVEN

All I got was his call name. The Eyeball

Kid. Sounds like a military dropout

who picked up a sniper rifle once and

thinks it’d be fun. Tonight should

scare him off…

(looks at Tom, humorlessly)

Unless he turns out to be like you.

Tom pretends not to hear and goes back to his reading, hurt. Raven produced a thin recorder from the inside pocket of her jacket. Tom suddenly gets very nervous.

TOM

Raven, you said you weren’t going to

do that…

RAVEN

What? Tape him? I just wanted to make

sure I have an edge if I need it.

I don’t trust him. Or Big Ed, for

that matter. Just covering my ass.

TOM

Do you have any idea what he would

have done to you if he found it?

RAVEN

Yeah, but he didn’t.

Tom grudgingly gives up. After a few moments:

TOM

Raven?

RAVEN

(still undressing, not looking at him)

Hm?

TOM

How do you feel about this? It’s not

like it used to be. She doesn’t work

for the Organization.

RAVEN

I’m ready.

TOM

No, I mean how do you feel?

RAVEN

I’m ready. I’ll pull the trigger,

same as always.

Raven gets into bed, and Tom, defeated, gets under the sheets as well.

RAVEN

Is the alarm set?

TOM

Yeah.

RAVEN

You can leave the light on if you

want.

She turns away from him, and he lies on his back, staring at the ceiling. He hesitates a moment, then gently places one hand on her hip.

RAVEN

(issuing a warning)

Tom…

He removes his hand and turns out the light.

SYZYGY - 3

INT. BOARDROOM

A pie chart. A bar graph. A voice drones. We pull back, noting that the graphics are being projected on a white wall. A BUSINESSMAN is speaking in flat tones, using a laser pointer liberally.

BUSINESSMAN

This secondary trend will continue

through the third quarter, manifesting

our stock up to two cents a share.

Slide… here we have projections in

terms of functionality shown by—

TOM

(offscreen)

Functionality? What the hell kind of

word is that?

Amid quietly shocked reactions, Tom stands.

TOM

You know, the last time I looked

it up, the word was function.

He strides to the front of the room, snatches the speaker’s pointer, and slides a chair directly in front of the screen.

TOM

I’ve got a visual of my own I’d like

to introduce, if it pleases the board…

He turns swiftly toward the back wall, drops his pants, and bends over.

TOM

Here’s a fourth quarter projection

for ya, me hearties!

Tom’s pen, which has been holding his head up while he sleeps through the meeting, snaps. He sits bolt upright, and grunts.

BUSINESSMAN

A comment, Mr. White?

Tom looks around, shakes his head. As the businessman continues to drone on, Tom sighs.

BUSINESSMAN

Now here in the fourth quarter, slide…

this here is the part we’re all excited

about…

INT. OFFICE - CUBICLE ZONE

Tom is hunched in his cubicle, tapping on his keyboard. He sneaks a look back over his shoulder at the man working across the aisle from him, who has just happened to glance over at the same time. Startled, they turn back to their screens.

Tom’s phone rings. He grabs it immediately.

TOM

Accounting, this is Tom. How can I—

RAVEN

(on phone)

You can start with my neck and work

your way down.

TOM

(brightening immeasurably)

Hi! What are you up to?

RAVEN

(on phone)

No good, as usual. When are you going

to get out of there today?

TOM

Say the word and I’m out the door.

RAVEN

(on phone)

“The word”. Listen, I’ve got to talk

to you about tonight.

TOM

Sure! With the exception of the

last two weeks, this is one year I’ll

be glad to see go.

RAVEN

(on phone)

Me too. But there’s… something I

have to do.

Tom’s face suddenly registers a mixture of terror and anticipation.

TOM

What… you mean…

RAVEN

(on phone)

Yes. Just after midnight. Would you…

would you go with me?

TOM

Of course! Do I need to… prepare in

some way?

RAVEN

No. I’d just like you to be there.

It’s already planned. Just leave it

all up to me.

TOM

All right. So what do we do until

midnight?

RAVEN

I suggest we go get ourselves a couple

drinks. I’ll be waiting downstairs.

TOM

Then I’ll see you there.

RAVEN

Bye.

TOM

Bye.

He hangs up the phone, his face still uncertain, and then it breaks into a smile as he gathers up his coat.

INT. PURGATORY NIGHTCLUB - 7:00 PM

Music blares, lights throb, and people crowd the dance floor under the flashing PURGATORY sign. Tonight, instead of showing music videos, the video screens are showing large crowds in Times Square.

Tom stands at the end of the bar, exactly where he was the first time he saw Raven, drinking a beer. Raven is in the same spot too, but now she looks over at him ever few seconds and smiles, pretending not to see him and failing. He raises his glass to her, and she raises hers in return.

He moves over to her, and just as he’s about to speak, she lunges for him, kissing him savagely, almost knocking him off his feet. He returns it, and they stop just short of sinking to the floor. When their lips finally part:

RAVEN

(drunker than we’ve seen her before)

Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not being too

forward, am I?

TOM

Not really. I’m still conscious.

RAVEN

Well… It’s still early.

EXT. CITY STREET - PURAGATORY CLUB - MIDNIGHT

The streets of the financial district are deserted and silent. The doors of the club suddenly burst open, and Tom and Raven emerge, to the final strains of a club remix of “Auld Lang Syne”. Raven staggers a bit. Tom manages to keep her upright.

TOM

Whoa there! You sure you’re still up

to this?

RAVEN

I’m all right, all right? Just let

me get some fresh air on the way to

the car. I’ll be fine.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

A small two-seat sports car skims along the city streets, all alone. Tom drives as Raven leans out the window, trailing her hair behind her. Some kind of industrial noise music is blaring out of the radio. Tom seems nervous about her slightly drunken state.

RAVEN

(slightly slurred)

When are you going to let me drive?

TOM

You just worry about getting prepped.

RAVEN

I am prepped. I’m always prepped.

(yelling out the window)

I was born prepped!

TOM

Look, what if I just took you home

and—

RAVEN

No, we can’t go home! I need to do

this tonight. Will you stop worrying?

God, I hate this music!

She neatly lifts one of her boots and plants it in the stereo. The headlights flicker momentarily and yellow sparks sputter from the dashboard as the music cuts out.

TOM

Hey! Don’t do that!

RAVEN

So what? We’re all going to hell.

Turn here. Cut the lights.

EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT

Tom turns down a blind alley and shuts off the headlights. He eases to a stop along the wall, just inside the alley. At the end is a single metal door and a large black Cadillac. Tom shuts off the engine.

RAVEN

Stay here.

TOM

Are you sure you can do this?

RAVEN

(checking herself in the mirror)

Abso-motherfuckin-lutely. Can you

see all right from here?

TOM

Yeah. Just be careful.

RAVEN

Baby, you worry too much. Kiss for

good luck?

He leans in and gives her a small peck, but she throws her arms around him and drags him down out of sight. They resurface a second later.

RAVEN

Here goes nada.

She hops out of the car.

TOM

Be careful…

She puts a finger to her lips as she walks over and crouches on the near side of the dumpster. She bends down and removes a pistol from her boot. Tom ducks down but watches through the steering wheel, waiting in breathless anticipation.

TOM

Here we go…

Raven presses her back against the dumpster, waiting patiently. At the end of the alley, a door swings open, spilling yellow light into the alley. Raven looks at Tom, winks theatrically, and then swings around, leveling her pistol at the door.

Raven gets off one shot, and the figure that now stands in the doorway ducks. Her second shot hits, and the yellow light is turned orange by an impressive spray of red. The figure falls. Tom gasps, fascinated.

Suddenly, the light bulb inside the door shatters as another shot is heard. An arm with a gun swings into the doorway, starting firing blind. Raven jumps back behind the dumpster as shots spark off it, making it ring like a bell. Raven ducks down, waits a few seconds, and swings out again.

She fires at her target, who has cautiously stepped out into the alley. He dives for a nearby pile of trash bags that bounce as Raven’s shots hit them.

Raven’s gun clicks.

She ducks back behind the dumpster. Tom watches in horror as she sets her gun down on the ground, bends to her boot again. Meanwhile, her target has heard the click. He starts running toward the dumpster, jumping up on some boxes and then onto the top of the dumpster itself.

He jumps down just as Raven stands and turns around. They collide. The two stagger as if performing a ballet leap, then slam down on the hood of the car Tom is in, the man pinning Raven’s head under his midsection. Neither moves.

Tom jumps out of the car and runs around to them. Blood is spreading quickly, running down the hood and grill in sheets, but we can’t tell whose it is. Tom rolls the man off Raven and we can see what has happened. By jumping on her, the man has effectively gutted himself on the switchblade Raven had just pulled from her boot, which skitters away across the pavement.

Raven now lies across the hood, covered in blood, which steams softly in the moonlight. Her eyes flutter open for a second.

RAVEN’S POV

The moon, high above, bloated red and dripping. Her eyes close.

EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT

TOM

Oh, Jesus…

Tom picks up the blade, closes it, and puts it in his pocket. Then he picks up Raven, bends his ear to her mouth. He manages to open the rear door and tries to prop her up there. She only slumps to the side, the back of her head leaving a wide smear of blood across the white upholstery.

Now also covered in blood, Tom gets back in the driver’s seat and sits there for a moment. Bells are chiming in the distance. Although he’s sweating, his breath plumes in front of him, and he shivers.

He looks up, into the rearview mirror, but can’t see Raven. He reaches down, turns the key in the ignition.

The car sputters, the interior light flickers, but it won’t turn over. A thin wisp of smoke starts to rise from the remains of the stereo. He slams one fist against the steering wheel.

TOM

Shit!

Flecks of blood from his hand spray across the inside of the windshield. He sits back, starting to panic, but manages to get a grip on himself.

He turns the key again, and again the car will not start. He repeatedly beats his fists against the steering wheel, flinging more blood.

TOM

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

SYZYGY - 2

EXT. ROOFTOP - NIGHT

The door to the roof of a tall downtown office building opens. Raven strides out, a little off-balance but still steady, followed closely by Tom.

TOM

A meteorologist? An air conditioning

unit repairperson?

She doesn’t respond, just keeps walking toward the edge of the roof. When she gets there, she stops and picks up a large briefcase that is sitting there. She drops to her haunches in front of it and pops open the latches.

Inside, black foam padding holds several long tubes of metal.

TOM

You’re a plumber?

RAVEN

Let’s see how long it takes for

you to figure this out.

She starts taking tubes out from the case and hooks them together. Tom doesn’t realize what she’s doing until she attaches a rifle scope to it.

TOM

Now, hold on a minute.

Raven doesn’t look up from her work, but points at the building across the street.

RAVEN

Fourth floor down, seventh window

from the right.

Tom looks from the building to her and back, unsure, but quickly counts off the windows. He can just barely make out someone seated at a desk in one of the few lit windows left.

TOM

I… I can’t let you do this.

Raven has finished her rifle. She flips the butt of it up to her shoulder in a practiced move, and kneels, taking aim on the window.

RAVEN

You think this is wrong?

TOM

I know it’s wrong. Don’t!

RAVEN

Well, see, here’s where the ethical

dilemma comes in. In fact, Mr.

Crosshairs over there isn’t just

upper management. In his spare time

he runs a prostitution ring.

TOM

A what?

RAVEN

Not just any ring either. They

specialize in young girls. Now

what do you think? I know what I’m

talking about. The reason I’ve been

down here the last few days because

I’ve been setting this up.

TOM

Hold on just a minute, okay?

RAVEN

A minute? Give me a single reason

why I should let this fuck live for

another minute. You can leave, you

know. Just go back down the stairs

and go home to your comfortable

little bed. Just do one thing for

me first.

TOM

(numb)

What?

RAVEN

Tell me to do it.

Tom doesn’t speak.

RAVEN

The world will be a better place

tomorrow, I swear. Just tell me…

please.

Her voice cracks. A tear rolls down her cheek.

TOM

Do it.

Instantly, she pulls the trigger, a brief flash of light, a puffing sound, and a barely audible crack of glass. It’s over. Raven drops the rifle and puts her hands over her face, begins to sob.

INT. ELEVATOR

Tom and Raven ride down in silence, both too stunned to say anything. The suitcase rests on the floor directly between them.

RAVEN

I shouldn’t have done that, Tom.

I’m sorry. Why couldn’t you have

sat down two or three drinks later?

Maybe I could have done it without

your help then.

TOM

Don’t apologize… or maybe you

should. I don’t know.

RAVEN

When we get to the lobby, I’ll give

you a five minute head start. Security

probably won’t stop me. Even though

I didn’t have a briefcase when I

came in…

TOM

What you said about him was true,

wasn’t it?

Raven starts to cry again, silently. Tom looks at her, makes up his mind. He bends down and picks up the suitcase by the handle. She’s genuinely shocked. He looks just like any other businessman with a briefcase. She leans forward and kisses him lightly on the lips.

RAVEN

Thank you.

TOM

Now, can I choose what we do next?

INT. TOM’S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Raven sits on Tom’s couch, clad in flannel pajamas. She’s wiping away the last of her tears and studying the large fluffy slippers she’s wearing, designed to look like bear paws. She can’t help but smile as she looks at them. A distant bell dings.

TOM

(offscreen)

Finally!

A few moments later, Tom comes into the room, also dressed in flannel pajamas, carrying a large bowl of popcorn. He flops down next to her.

TOM

And has the lady made her selection?

Raven hands him a DVD cover.

RAVEN

It took me a while. Do you have

any idea how many movies you own?

TOM

(looking at the cover)

Just over three hundred. Ah,

an excellent choice! Here.

He hands her the popcorn, and sits down next to her. He taps the remote. The studio logo fanfare and dramatic opening theme plays offscreen as they talk.

RAVEN

Tonight’s not the first time I’ve

done this.

TOM

What, watched a movie?

RAVEN

You know what I mean. This is what

I have to do right now. I really

don’t have a choice.

(starting to have difficulty speaking)

There are men… men who… when I used to…

TOM

(gently)

Shh. Shh. Raven, tonight was the

first time in I don’t know how

long that I didn’t come home and

let someone on this screen--

(points to TV)

--have adventures instead of me. I’m

not judging you. You did the right

thing, right?

Raven nods, unsure of what to make of his reaction.

TOM

I think so too. You did what you

had to. Now you can relax. Nothing’s

going to happen to you here.

She doesn’t know what to say, and he doesn’t expect anything from her. Finally they lean forward and their lips meet in a kiss that just gets more and more intense.

SYZYGY - 1

FADE IN:

INT. CAR - ALLEY - NIGHT

A white man in his late twenties sits behind the wheel of an expensive automobile. His name is TOM WHITE. Bells are chiming in the distance. Although he’s sweating, his breath plumes in front of him, and he shivers.

He looks up, into the rearview mirror, and sees into the back seat, where a wide streak of blood has swiped across the upholstery. He reaches down, turns the key in the ignition.

The car sputters, the interior light flickers, but it won’t turn over. A thin wisp of smoke starts to rise from somewhere next to him. He slams one fist against the steering wheel.

TOM

Shit!

Flecks of blood from his hand spray across the inside of the windshield. He sits back, starting to panic, but manages to get a grip on himself.

He turns the key again, and again the car will not start. He repeatedly beats his fists against the steering wheel, flinging more blood.

TOM

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

All at once, he stops. A muffled groan comes from somewhere. Tom’s head whips around to the back seat, looks at something there, then stretches his neck and looks down across the hood of the car, which has a huge blood-splash across it.

EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT

Tom steps out of the car slowly, as if trying not to make too much noise. He inches around to the front of the car.

Lying in front of it is a man in a trenchcoat. He lies absolutely still, facing away from Tom. His chest and stomach, though unseen, are sending steam up into the night air.

After looking at him for a second, Tom turns back to the car, walks to the rear door on the driver’s side. Lying across the back seat is a Native American woman, almost the same age as Tom. She would be very attractive if she weren’t completely covered in blood.

Her long black hair is soaked with it, and it leaves more streaks on the upholstery as Tom gently pulls her out. He gathers her in his arms, his eyes wide with horror. Then he turns and starts walking out of the alley, gaining speed until he is almost running.

INT. OFFICE - EVENING

Subtitle: THREE WEEKS EARLIER

The camera glides down one of many long rows of cubicles. Most of the lights have been switched off, but we can still hear some keyboard tapping somewhere nearby.

Eventually we find Tom in his cubicle, wearily hunched over his computer. He hits a few final keys with a flourish, then shuts down. He rolls his head, and we can hear his neck crack. He stretches, stands, and gathers up his coat.

He looks around, and for the first time notices that he’s alone in the office. He heads for the exit, leaving behind his briefcase on the desk.

INT. OFFICE BUILDING - LOBBY - EVENING

The elevator doors open and Tom steps out. The only person around is the evening SECURITY GUARD, seated behind a desk.

SECURITY GUARD

Good night, Mr. White.

TOM

Thanks. You too. But I’m not going

home just yet.

SECURITY GUARD

Can’t say I blame you. Take it easy.

Instead of going through the main front doors, Tom heads for a plain door just off the lobby. He goes through it and down the flight of stairs beyond.

INT. PURGATORY CLUB

Above a small dance floor that is currently filled with people, most of them in business suits, a neon sign flashes PURGATORY in time with thudding dance beats.

Tom is sitting at the end of the bar, looking across at the Native American woman, who is quite striking when she’s conscious. She doesn’t see him, but sips a drink and stares off into space. He doesn’t know it yet, but her name is RAVEN AIRHEART.

Tom eventually stands and walks over to her.

TOM

Excuse me.

She doesn’t respond.

TOM

I couldn’t figure out from over

there what it was that you’re

drinking.

She sets down the glass, and he sees that in the green liquid two plastic eyeballs are floating.

RAVEN

It’s called Here’s Looking at You.

TOM

May I?

He motions to the stool next to her. She shrugs, and he sits.

TOM

I’ve noticed you here the last

few nights. Are you between work

and the subway like the rest of us?

RAVEN

Not really. You’re one of the ledger-

heads then?

TOM

Not proud of it, but yes. Twenty-

three floors straight up. Do you

work in the building too?

RAVEN

Today I do.

TOM

Then there’s no reason we shouldn’t

get acquainted.

(extends his hand)

Tom White. I know, the name, the job.

I swear I’m not as boring as I sound.

Raven shakes it.

RAVEN

Nothing wrong with that. Raven Airheart.

TOM

Wow… great name.

RAVEN

Thanks. I used to be an accountant

too. It changed my life.

TOM

Really? Hard to imagine…

(trying to elicit an explanation)

So you used to be an accountant but…

RAVEN

Yes. But.

She’s clearly not going to give up information easily. Tom tries another tactic.

TOM

So you know what it’s like then.

RAVEN

There are worse jobs to have.

TOM

This should be good. Like what?

RAVEN

One that would make an otherwise

rational woman get herself half-

drunk before going to.

TOM

Are you saying that you’re on your

way to work now?

RAVEN

Mm-hm. I’m your average damsel in

disgust.

TOM

You’re breaking my heart. So what

is it?

RAVEN

Never mind.

TOM

No no, my curiosity it piqued now.

What is this job from hell that you’re

on your way to?

RAVEN

Exactly.

TOM

You’re not scaring me, you know.

Raven takes a long drink, then a long hard look at him.

RAVEN

I should do it. I should yank you

right out of that comfortable world

you’re in. You don’t even know how

good you have it anyway.

TOM

(leaning in close)

Maybe you should.

SYZYGY - Introduction

I had dreams of being a great filmmaker once. I studied film at the University of Michigan, and saw the beginning of the independent film revolution of the 90's, when it seemed like anyone with a good script and a keen visual sense could become the next Tarantino. Even if it never really worked that way, that's how it felt then.

This script was my first attempt at an original movie. I wrote it mostly while at work at the Borders warehouse on Airport Road from about 1994 to 1996. I was working the evening shift from 3-10 pm, and got into enough of a pattern with my work that I was able to do it while thinking about other things. So I began to write about a Native American hitwoman named Amelia Airheart, whose husband had just run off with her latest potential victim. I didn't really have a story until two other ideas collided with mine and seemed to make something new.

The first was the music of Tom Waits. I had been listening to him for a year or two and was working my way through his back catalog, and had arrived at his 1992 album Bone Machine. I was struck by the nightmarish imagery in his lyrics, especially those of the first track, “Earth Died Screaming”. The song is basically a list of apocalyptic portents… things such as “There was thunder, there was lightning, then the stars went out, and the moon fell from the sky . . . Crows as big as airplanes... The locusts take the sky... And the Earth died screaming while I lay dreaming of you”. I wanted to somehow work each of his word images into the script, turning my script into a bizarre kind of quest story, with the end of the world occurring when the hunter and the hunted both reached the ocean. I had an image of Amelia slowly walking into the sea while it roiled, and a storm with impossible colors sliding over the land like a black ceiling that broke the sky in two. Amelia’s Judgment Day (how she acts when finally able to choose whether or not she is going to kill her quarry) and the Earth’s Judgment Day would arrive at the exact same moment. Maybe a little too ambitious . . . but a lot of the character names are based on Waits' music in one way or another.

The second bit of inspiration came from an attempted short story called "Wreck", about a man who has a terrible near-death accident and becomes gifted with a new kind of sight, seeing the world as a twisted, haunted place. These images became Raven’s past, as well as part of the nightmare she has halfway through the script. Starting from the middle (The Lamplighter scenes) and then inching my way forward and back at the same time, I worked on the script off and on for years, knowing that it had inherent problems in it but still interested in the characters and the story. Over Thanksgiving vacation in 1999, I sat down on a few quiet evenings in Alabama, after everyone had gone to bed, and tried to figure out once and for all what this story really was about. I decided that it really was about the personal redemption of the hitwoman (whose name had changed to Raven Airheart in keeping with the aerial theme) and the force she was fighting against that was something more than human… something like chaos itself coming to get her. The ideas of Chaos and Order became the character of Moloch and the syzygys, respectively. The result is a seemingly typical hit-man story that takes a Lynchian turn into the really bizarre.

I submitted the script into the first Project Greenlight contest for screenwriters in late 2000, which gave me the impetus to "finish" it and register it with both the Copyright Office and the Writer’s Guild. I didn’t get past the first round of cuts, but I got positive reviews from about half the fellow screenwriters who judged it. It's my first really big finished work, and I feel proud of it.

I would assume that, if it were to be produced, the resulting film would have an R rating, for violence and language.

Rook & Raven

In many cultures, birds are thought to have a connection to the worlds beyond this one. They have what we earthbound humans see as ultimate freedom – to cruise through the sky on a whim. It’s lent them a supernatural air that has influenced their place in our mythologies from the beginning of storytelling itself. So with fall starting to darken the sky and cool the wind, I put forth my two favorite examples of birds and what they represent to me: XTC’s song “Rook” and Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Raven”.

The leading myth about birds is their connection to the soul… crows, ravens and rooks (which are different names for the same species of large, black bird) have been specifically named as the carriers of dying souls into the Great Beyond. They have a unique place in our spiritual thoughts… they’re omens of death, but can also be seen as hopeful metaphors for transcending this mortal life.

This is the uneasy perspective from which XTC’s Andy Partridge wrote “Rook” back in 1991. He chose a song arrangement that features a piano backed by an orchestra, which gives the song a haunting, timeless quality. The opening piano chords are methodical, unhurried, like the ticking of a clock. This atmosphere pervades the whole song, only picking up its pace later on by subdividing the beat and increasing the swirling runs of strings during the bridge. He establishes the idea of the song in the first verse:

“Rook, rook, read from your book,
Who murders who and where is the treasure hid?
Crow, crow, spill all you know
Is that my name on the bell?”

He’s a man confronting the inescapability of death, and to deal with this he goes right to the source – literally speaking to the bird who will carry him out of this life. He combines this with another funereal image of a bell tolling someone’s death, and passes through the different stages of mourning (for himself!) in further lines… first, a search for understanding:

“What’s the message that’s written under the veils of clouds?
Plans eternal, I know you know, so don’t blurt out loud”

Then anger:
“Rook, rook, by hook or by crook,
I’ll make you tell me what this whole thing’s about”

Moving on to bargaining:
“If I die and find that I had a soul inside
Promise me that you’ll take it up on its final ride”

And finally to acceptance -- and almost perfectly mirroring the first verse:
“Crow, crow, before I let go,
Is that my name on the bell?”

The song ends with final, not-quite discordant notes on the piano, a great end to what Andy Partridge has called his “most successful” attempt at songwritng – and that’s something coming from a man who has written over 300 unique and witty songs over the last 30 years.

Where “Rook” ends on an ultimately hopeful note of letting go of worldly things, almost the exact opposite happens to the narrator of Poe’s “The Raven”. Here is a man pinned down by his own ponderous thoughts, having a similar confrontation with a bird who holds the answers he’s always longed to know, but the answers are anything but comforting.

His revelation comes on a dark night in December, a “midnight dreary” that he’s spending in his library. To begin with, it’s an oppressive place, full of purple curtains and embers dying in the fireplace. He’s there mourning the loss of a “rare and radiant maiden” named Lenore. It’s clearly her death that’s kept him up so late, poring over “quaint and curious volume[s] of forgotten lore”, presumably looking for some sort of answer to why he‘s been left alone in this world. He hears a knocking at the door, and goes to see who’s there, but finds no one.

He goes back to his reading, and then something taps at the window. He opens the lattice, and a raven flies in, immediately flies to perch on a plaster bust above the door, and then just sits there, looking at him. The man, startled by its appearance and the look in its eye, starts talking to it. He first asks its name, and to his surprise, it actually speaks back, answering “Nevermore”. He’ll soon find out that this is the only word the bird knows how to say.

And so begins a sort of conversation he has with the bird, during which he goes from amused to furious to despairing. He laughs at first, since the bird seems so intent on staying in the room, and tells it that he knows it will leave eventually, since everything -- including Lenore -- does, but the raven again says “Nevermore.” (Meaning: I have no intention of going anywhere.)

I won’t be thorough enough to go through the poem and reiterate every line, but I’ll put my own simple translation of the “conversation” the narrator and the bird have below. Poe says it much more emotionally, but it all boils down to this…

“Well, if you’re not going to give me any straight answers, then help me forget about Lenore!”
“No. You’ll never be able to forget.”

“Is there any cure for my broken heart?”
“No. You‘ll always feel this way.”

“Will I ever see her again?”
“No. There is no hope.”

He finally orders the thing to get out, and its final answer – the only thing it needs to say – is “Nevermore.” And this is where we leave our narrator at the end of the poem, still under the demonic gaze of this bird that is actually himself, the embodiment of his own psyche dragging him down into despair, with no way out.

The ultimate question of this poem, and what makes it so interesting to contemplate, is this: How long does it take before the narrator *knows* that the bird’s answer is always going to be the same? Does he eventually ask his questions knowing what the answer is going to be? If he does, then his agony is of his own devising, his ruin fueled by his own grief and fury. The ability of the human mind to turn on itself is a theme in Poe’s other writings, but is never stated so perfectly and efficiently as he has done here.

So with these two works, we realize we are given a choice. Loss, of both loved ones and one’s own self, is a given. It’s how we deal with this knowledge that determines the state of our souls, soaring high above the world, or pinned in the shadows under its own ponderous weight.

My Top Twenty Movie Songs

*Note: I haven't included traditional movie musicals in this list... although now that I look at the list, there's at least one exception... but what can ya do?

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1. "Llorando" by Rebekah del Rio - from Mulholland Drive

At Club Silencio in the middle of the night, the film's two protagonists -- both women with crises of identity -- watch a strange, slow stage show. A woman quietly walks out into the spotlight, and begins to sing this song, a Spanish-language a cappella version of Roy Orbison's "Crying". I warn you, in no uncertain terms it will *break* *your* *heart*. Even if something completely unexpected didn't happen silently in the middle of the song, it would still be one of the most powerful musical moments ever put on film.

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2. "The Conversation" by John Williams - from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

On the clear, star-filled night when man and alien finally meet for the first time, the common language is music, and this simple/complex, innocent/wise interchange of melodies is a breathtaking example of John Williams at his most powerful. His five-note melody taps directly into the subconscious and holds us mesmerized.

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3. "Willow's Song" - from The Wicker Man

Haunting. Absolutely haunting. In the film, a woman calls this siren song to the pious police chief in the next room, methodically knocking on the wall that separates them as she sings. (It's Britt Ekland in the film, but I seriously doubt it's her singing voice). He manages to resist the temptation, but the song that's left behind is a bit of early-70's Celtic folk that is equal parts alluring and menacing.

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4. "The Hero" by Queen - from Flash Gordon

Thought I was going to pick the title song, didn't you? No way... this closing-credit mashup of Queen's best moments from the film goes full-blast and almost wipes out the memory of that cheesy "The End…?" that closes the film itself. A perfect ending to a movie that turns the entire last half-hour into one continuous Brian May guitar solo.

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5. "Koyaanisqatsi" by Philip Glass - from Koyaanisqatsi

This Hopi chant opens the most ambitious nonfiction film trilogy ever produced. It's a melding of ancient song and modern technology that endlessly revolves in your mind for days after experiencing it.

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6. "The Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog - from The Muppet Movie

A frog, a banjo, and a message. It's just that simple. The lyrics are a little obscure, but that just makes it easier to project your own hopes and dreams onto it. And need I say that the final reprise makes for one of the most emotionally uplifting (and technically impressive) endings to a film ever?

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7. "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio - from Dangerous Minds

Coolio's double-pitched voice in this song makes for one of the creepiest rap songs I've ever heard. Gangsta rap never really had any appeal for me, but this reworking of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" perfectly conveys the bleakness of inner-city life that everyone else at the time was trying to glamorize.

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8. "Knights of the Round Table" by Monty Python - from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Everyone loves "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", but in my opinion, this song's much more hilariously inventive. Where else can you hear "Round Table" rhymed with "impeccable", "unsingable", and "Clark Gable"? Plus a solo played entirely on helmets...

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9. "The Voice of Love" by Angelo Badalmenti - from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

This instrumental piece saves FWWM from becoming the most unrelentingly depressing film ever. Laura Palmer is repeatedly abused, tortured and torn apart by forces she can't control, and when the horror of death finally comes, a pair of angels are there to save her, accompanied by this slow, heavenly ray of hope.

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10. "All Over the World" by ELO - from Xanadu

It's tough to choose only one song from Xanadu... but everything I love about ELO is in this one: the high, close harmonies, the soaring strings, the obligatory vocoder, the 50's rock chord pattern given a fresh sheen of 70's lacquer. Impossible not to feel all the way down to your toes.

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11. "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel - from Say Anything

The image of John Cusack holding a boom box over his head has become an iconic cinema moment, and this song deftly sums up the irresistible pull of love... "In your eyes I see the doorway of a thousand churches /The resolution of all the fruitless urges". It affirms that sometimes risking everything is the best thing you can do.

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12. "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield - from The Exorcist

Nothing about The Exorcist is subtle; that's how it's designed. This clanging, weirdly off-kilter instrumental gives just the right amount of menace to a film that is almost entirely music-free for the rest of its harrowing two-hour length.

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13. "Wise Up" by Aimee Mann - from Magnolia

Midway through Paul Thomas Anderson's confusing three-hour epic, each character reaches their emotional nadir, and they spontaneously (and simultaneously) begin lip-synching this song. It's an audacious move that questions the very authority of the director, but so help me, it worked. Beautiful pain.

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14. "Boom-Shak-a-Lak" by Apache Chief - from Dumb and Dumber/Threesome/etc.

This completely unintelligible ditty found its way into several mid-90's movies. It's silliness taken to the extreme -- Rastafarian dancehall complete with cartoony "boinggg" sounds. Irresistible! After over a hundred listens, all I can discern is that the lyrics have something to do with dancing.

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15. "Gollum's Song" by Emiliana Torrini - from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The unsung hero of the Lord of the Rings songs, from the point of view of Gollum. I've never heard more loneliness infused into a song before... the echoey refrain of "we are lost, we can never go home" throws a familiar character into an entirely different, sympathetic light.

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16. "The Touch" by Mark Wahlberg - from Boogie Nights

A cover of a song from the original animated Transformers movie, this one manages to cram in every bad 80's rock cliché, from the "motivational" subject matter to the cheesy electronic drums. It's as if they distilled the very essence of an overblown, pastel decade and channeled it into four minutes of music. Plus, it's a hilarious reminder of why Mark Wahlberg rapped instead of sang.

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17. "Lose Yourself" by Eminem - from 8 Mile

This was the first time I was absolutely dazzled by the sheer intricacy of wordplay in a rap song. Examine the beautiful double-rhyme scheme of stanzas like "Snap! Back to reality/ Oh! There goes gravity /Oh, there goes Rabbit, he /Choked, he's so mad, but he /Won't give up that easy..." and top that with the sheer frustration of the rapper as he tells a tale that is, in essence, both the character's and his own at the same time. Amazing.

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18. "Stayin' Alive" by Supple - from Hurricane Streets

The original is nothing less than untouchable, but this version of the disco classic is done acoustically, with the snaky bassline replaced by a cello, and the lead sung in hushed, menacing tones. It's rare that a cover version of a song makes me like the original even more, but this one delivers.

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19. "Spybreak!" by the Propellerheads - from The Matrix

In the spring of 1999 American action cinema finally became relevant again over the course of three minutes during this scene of slow-motion, balletic firepower. This song took a great scene and made it a classic for the ages.

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20. "Little Green Bag" by George Baker Selection - from Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs wasn't the first movie to show its protagonists walking together in slow motion like warriors heading into battle, and it certainly wasn't the last, but this is one *fierce* opening to a film.

The first time I heard... Nick Drake

When it comes to music, I'm usually a sucker for big orchestrations. I suppose it's because I was raised not only on musical theater, but also heaping helpings of artists like Barry Manilow and ABBA, who probably caused the untimely deaths of more than several overloaded 48-track recording machines. Suffice it to say that, for me, a complex, enormous arrangement can take a good song and make it a classic. There's a whole roster of these bands that I like: ELO, Jellyfish, XTC, late Beatles, Rufus Wainwright. The more horns, strings, and key changes, the better.

So it came as a surprise, even to me, that I stumbled upon a style of music that was the antithesis of all the orchestral madness I loved, a small cadre of artists who don't need anything more than their instrument of choice and their often-hushed voices. This list includes such people as Iron and Wine, Jose Gonzalez, and Nick Drake...

It was Nick who showed me the way, who led me through a tiny little ivy-covered door in the great Wall of Sound and into a quiet, beautiful garden of music. I'm sure that a significant percentage of his current fans found him the same way I did.... through a Volkswagen commercial. This was back in the late 90's, when using new or mostly-unheard music was a breaking concept in advertising. In the spot, a group of four friends driving their VW beetle at night. They make their way on twisty, moonlit country roads with their windows rolled down, serenely listening to a man with a guitar singing what seems like a nonsense song about a pink moon. They finally reach their goal, a party at a country house full of light and noise and people. They stand there, ready to go in, then just look at each other. Then they're back in their car, the moon roof open, passing by clouds of fireflies, literally forgoing the destination to enjoy the journey. No words, just that simple music. I found out the name of the little-known folk singer who sang the dreamy song, and bought the greatest-hits compilation that had just been released, no doubt because of the curiosity that the commercial had stirred up.

I learned the story of his life later, about how a English country lad from a loving, supportive family started making his own music. He could play riffs with uncanny precision and balance, and he could structure a riff out of chords that would hang suspended, never letting you know if they would resolve to major or minor. Record producers found him, were amazed by his deft, precise guitar playing and hauntingly quiet voice, and led him through the creation of three understated but stunning albums. However, Nick never fit in with the idea of a music star, couldn't play bars and small clubs because his gentle demeanor didn't give him the ability to make a crowd shut up and listen. He grew more and more disillusioned with a world where he was praised for his artistry, but in which he felt, in his own heart, like a failure. He finally faded into himself, his life ending with an overdose of antidepressants, an act that may or may not have been accidental.

There's an excellent documentary called "A Skin Too Few" that was made about ten years ago, which through interviews with his family and collaborators gives us as clear a picture of the artist that we're ever going to get. I think the most telling thing about it is that, although it's less than an hour long, the filmmaker lets Nick's music speak for itself, showing us idyllic images of the English countryside around Nick's boyhood home while letting the music play for up to a full minute. It's brilliant, because that's exactly the kind of imagery Nick's music conjures in my mind anyway.

My thought here is that Nick's music speaks to something in the mind of this child of the caffeinated 80's. Before him, I had taken as fact that soul-stirring music had to be full to brimming with synthesizers, chainsaw guitars, drum machines, and turntables that could take music from the past, chop and spin it into sonic cotton candy. But through all the noise and blur, something was going unserved. It took a car commercial to get me to see how something so small, quiet and pure could be just as rewarding.

Now, even though it doesn't relate directly to me, I'll close with a sidebar, of how my brother told me he first heard Nick Drake. At the time he was living in a communal house in San Diego. He came home one day, and the other members of the household were all just sitting in the main room, listening to what turned out to be that same Nick Drake greatest hits CD that I would later purchase. My brother silently sat and joined them. No one spoke or moved until the CD was over.