Raven looks down at the locator, which is wedged in the ashtray. It registers 112.8 miles. She looks in her rear-view mirror, where the sun is rising behind her. Outside, the landscape has turned to severe desert. Eyeball sleeps in the passenger seat, and he awakes with a start.
Nuh!…
He looks over at Raven.
I saw him… I saw his face. Over and
over… Jesus… is it going to be like
this every night?
RAVEN
For a while. It probably will be
harder for you. I at least could
convince myself that those men were
evil.
EYEBALL
I studied you, you know. The Organ-
ization has been going through a lot
of turbulence lately. You’re pretty
much what made Big Ed such a power
to be reckoned with.
Raven doesn’t respond.
Did you ever wonder what all the
trouble is about?
Raven slowly looks over at him, then forward again. She takes a deep breath, and let her mouth start moving.
I got a job in an accounting office
in the middle of the banking district.
I was right out of college, ready
to show no mercy and take no prisoners.
That’s where I met Tonya. She was
the one who found out how our company
was really a front. We dug around a
little, then a lot, and when we began
to get some idea of how corrupt the
whole thing was, we decided to lib-
erate a few of those millions we saw
going by every day. She had the com-
puter skills, I knew the books back-
wards and forwards. We made off with
sixty thousand dollars… before we got
caught by Godfrey.
EYEBALL
You stole from Godfrey?
RAVEN
I only remember a few things about
that day. He kept saying how impressed
he was with us, and I remember his
smile. That Cheshire cat grin, as if
he were covering up something terrible.
He never lost that smile… even when
he shot Tonya. He told me he wasn’t
angry about the money, that it was
the principle of the thing. In fact,
he was willing to let me pay it back,
by doing twenty favors for him, at
three thousand dollars apiece. The
favors were people that he wanted
gone. In return, he let me live.
The only thing that kept me going
was the knowledge that I was killing
off parts of the thing that had taken
Tonya. It turned out that I had a
knack for it, and I think that’s
part of what made Tom fall in love
with me. I was a one-woman war against
organized crime. Then, one night,
something happened.
Fragmentary slow-motion flashbacks of that last hit, a man running across the top of a dumpster, a flashing knife, Tom slamming his fists against the steering wheel of her car.
(voice-over)
I woke up in Tom’s apartment the
next day. He had put me to bed, left
me a note that he had gone to his
work and that he’d be back in a few
hours. But I knew that I had an
appointment to keep.
INT. ELEVATOR
Raven stands dead still, watching the floor numbers as they rise to the top. Her face is a complete blank.
(voice-over)
After every hit, I would go up to
Godfrey’s office, and he would mark
off my debt in his ledger. But all
I could think about was the blood,
how thick and hot and bitter it was…
Raven draws her gun from inside her coat, holds it at arm’s length in both hands. She brings her eye, the muzzle of the gun, and the crack between the doors into an EXACT LINE. She waits patiently, completely still. The elevator stops, the bell chimes, and the door opens. Raven fires.
INT. GODFREY’S LOBBY
A security camera high in the far corner of the room explodes as Raven’s bullet skewers it. She swings her arms down, effortlessly shooting the lone guard, protecting a large pair of double doors, before he can react. She strides toward the doors, shooting the lock, then kicking them open.
INT. GODFREY’S OFFICE - DAY
Godfrey’s desk sits in front of a long, plate-glass window that runs from ceiling to floor along one side of the lush office. Godfrey sits behind his desk, stunned at the intrusion. Raven levels her gun at him. He smiles nervously, starts to get up.
Look, Raven--
She opens fire, never stopping walking toward him. Every shot hits him in the chest, pinning him to the chair. Some go right through him and shatter the window behind him. The chair starts rolling backward from the force of the hits, bumps into a low ledge and tips backwards. Both Godfrey and the chair flip right out the window. Raven walks around the desk, right up to the edge, still firing at him as he falls, until her gun clicks. There is still no expression in her eyes.
EXT. RAVEN’S CAR - DESERT - MORNING
Then I just walked out of there the
way I came in.
EYEBALL
Did anyone know it was you?
RAVEN
Only Big Ed. His men stole the
building’s security tapes and tracked
me down. But he didn’t want to kill
me. I had put him in too powerful
a position by killing his enemies
already. He was impressed. He said
he’d keep my secret and waive the
rest of my debt, if I would do this
one last job.
EYEBALL
Kill Kara.
RAVEN
Yes. That’s all. Should have been
easy.
EXT. DESERT - DAY
Tom’s car slowly approaches from the distance. From out of the heat haze, a small, semi-circular strip mall appears. At its locus, just next to the road, a thirty-foot obelisk stands, with the words MIDDLE OF NOWHERE written up all four sides in neon block letters that’s only barely visible in the noon glare.
The building’s architecture is faux Mexican adobe, and along the top of the facade are roman numerals reading from eight, on the left, to three, on the right. To the side of mall is a small gas station. This is where Tom pulls the car in.
INT. TOM’S CAR - DAY
Tom shuts off the car and unfastens his seatbelt. They’re both tired and irritable.
What is this place?
TOM
I don’t know. Are you hungry? It
looks like there’s a restaurant.
KARA
With her on our tail?
TOM
We’ve gotta eat, and I think we’ve
still got a good lead. Time enough
for a quick lunch, anyway.
KARA
Why don’t we just get rid of this
car? We can take one of those.
She motions to the few other cars in the lot.
Well, sure. Why didn’t I think of
that? You know how to hotwire, right?
Kara slowly shakes her head.
Me neither.
He gets out. Kara unfastens her seat belt and mutters under her breath.
Some fugitive you are…
EXT. MIDDLE OF NOWHERE - DAY
Kara follows Tom through the heat vapors to the tiny gas station building. The GAS ATTENDANT, a young man, sits in a plexiglass booth that has no room for more than a cash drawer and an air conditioner. A stack of paperbacks sits on the counter next to him, and he looks up as they approach.
Yeah?
TOM
You guys have a mechanic here?
ATTENDANT
Nope. No room.
TOM
How about full service?
ATTENDANT
That we’ve got.
Tom pushes a twenty through the metal drawer, notices a worn copy of “Something Wicked This Way Comes” on top of the stack of books.
Could you fill it and let me have
the Bradbury?
He points to it.
You got it.
TOM
We’re going to get something to eat,
so there’s no hurry.
ATTENDANT
Around here, there never is.
The attendant shoves the book back through the drawer, gives him a dead smile. Tom takes it and put it in his inside jacket pocket. He turns back to Kara.
Shall we?
He offers his arm, and she takes it. They walk to the door of the restaurant and step inside.
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