"REINDEER GAMES" Screenplay by Ehren Kruger FADE IN: FIGURE IN A SANTA CLAUS SUIT lies face-down in a nighttime expanse of snow. One of the body's red-sleeved arms is twisted at a sickening angle. The white snow beneath the figure is spreading with red. REVEAL EXT. SNOWY ROAD - NIGHT The figure in the suit lies motionless. Snowflakes drift. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Dark, rustic wood, an office with broken windows and whistling winter beyond. A second BODY in a Santa Claus suit lies dead in the doorway. It's a man with a large build. The suit is riddled with holes. His face is missing. EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT More snow falling. A handful of cars in the lot. A third BODY in the same red-and-white outfit lies atop the hood of an old Pontiac. His head is not visible, having smashed through the windshield. His suit is charred and blackened. A halo of broken glass outlines him. His black boots hang off the front bumper. The parking lot is silent. INT. ROOM - NIGHT A floor scattered with shiny silver quarters. Reflections of neon. There's a fourth SANTA here, face-down in a red pool. The suit is far too big for him. Not that it matters now. EXT. SNOW-FILLED RAVINE - NIGHT where the fifth and final Santa lies at the edge of a ravine, which plummets a hundred feet down. The man rests precariously atop the slope, upside-down, eyes closed. His burned suit is smoldering. He has a sly but tired face, late-20's, sandy hair, cold and scarred. This is RUDY DUNCAN. He opens his eyes. RUDY (V.O.) I never was much for the holidays. CUT TO BLACK: THE SOUND OF A WINTER WIND rises, as a TITLE appears: "SEVEN DAYS BEFORE..." And then, to complete the sentence: "...XMAS." FADE IN: EXT. IRON MOUNTAIN STATE PRISON - DAY Snow drifts down onto the stone walls and wire fences of the Iron Mountain, Michigan S.I.C. Winter's been here awhile. INT. PRISON CELL - DAY Rudy Duncan lies in his top bunk, staring at his ceiling -- where a handful of paper-cut snowflakes have been pasted. The sounds of YELLING INMATES and GATES slamming shut echo through the fortress. Rudy watches a spider scurry across the paper snow. It's his excitement for the day. He turns to the wall, where there's a photo of his teenage self with some co-workers at an auto body shop. And a family photo, cheery Midwesterners, with Rudy a scowling Artful Dodger. A WALL CALENDAR Shows the dates have been crossed off up to December 18th. December 22nd is circled again and again. Rudy muses at the calendar, then hops out of his bunk. Drops to the floor, crosses to a desk, finds a chewed-on pen. Turning back to the beds we reveal -- THE LOWER BUNK where Rudy's cellmate, NICK MASON (32), rugged, mustached and well-built, sleeps soundly. In contrast, his bed-wall is a COLLAGE OF PHOTOGRAPHS, twenty, maybe thirty of them. Almost a mural. All of them photos of A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRL, mid-twenties, smiling out from beaches, parties and snowy scenes. Gorgeous brown hair, heartbreaking smile. Effortlessly sexy. RUDY stares at the pictures for a moment, wistful. Nick snores, turns over. Rudy climbs atop his bunk again, with the pen this time. And crosses December 18th off the calendar. CUT TO: EXT. PRISON YARD - DAY The two of them, Nick and Rudy, shivering by the fence. Nick absently whistles some "Silver Bells," then digs for a smoke. NICK What's the first thing, man? What's the first thing you're gonna do? RUDY Haven't thought about it. NICK Hell you haven't. RUDY Get to thinking about it, it won't happen. NICK We walk outta here, we hit that road, what's the first thing you're gonna do. RUDY Ain't there yet. NICK Three days, man. RUDY Not yet. NICK Fuckin' Christmas, man. Fuckin, Christmas on the outs. Dozens of uniformed INMATES wander the yard, stamping feet, hands tucked away, breath frosting. Nick tries to light his cig, but the wind plays havoc. Nick curses, tosses it. RUDY Hot chocolate. NICK What? RUDY Get a hot mug of chocolate. (nods) First thing I'm gonna do. NICK (smiles) And a slice of pecan pie, right? RUDY And some pecan pie. Nick laughs, stares through the fence at the gates of the prison's entrance road. Longingly. NICK She's gonna be out there, man. Right there. Right there waiting. RUDY Yeah. NICK Gonna walk out of this shitstorm and right into her arms. RUDY Yeah. NICK Got us a motel out Highway 5, bringing her own damn sheets, you read that part? Silk damn sheets. Lock ourselves in the whole week, drinking wine, taking baths, man, see if they got those room service steaks... anything I want to do. Remember when she wrote that? Anything I want... RUDY Yeah. Fuckin' Christmas. Nick grins. They stand there, shivering. It's freezing, but the time they get outside is too precious to give up. RUDY All those pictures she's sent... y'know... you sure they're all of her, Nick? You hear sometimes they don't send their real pictures. Could be her cousin or something. Nick studies him. NICK Why you gotta say a thing like that. RUDY I'm just saying. NICK Why you gotta. We were gonna give you a ride someplace, man. Now I just don't know. RUDY I'm just talking. NICK Fuck your hot chocolate, Rudy. They trail off in silence. Nick looks out at the prison road again. A snowy wasteland. NICK I'm gonna marry this girl. INT. PRISON CELL - DAY Rudy lies in his bunk, staring at the same paper snowflakes. NICK (O.S.) Hey, hey, listen here. "I've made my list and I've checked it twice, and as long as you're naughty, it's gonna be nice. These cold winter weeks have been killing me, Nick, as I lie here alone. It's not enough to have your warmth in my heart anymore; I need your warmth next to me. Work at Penney's has been busy because it's Christmas and that's when we do almost half of our business for the whole year -- ", okay, whatever, whatever -- (skipping on) " -- my manager's still mad at me for asking for the whole week off," whatever, whatever -- (smiles) Here we go. "And all that gets me through the day is to close my eyes and imagine holding you, and kissing you, and touching you, and tasting you everywhere because I know at that moment, I'll feel I've found the reason for my whole entire life." Rudy still stares at the stone ceiling. RUDY For twenty-five, she sounds pretty mature. NICK Yeah. You grow up in Detroit, you get matured real quick. Nick's doing pushups on the floor below, smoking a cig, reading sheets of pink stationery. With a new photo: of the same GIRL, in a bikini by a lake. Vamping a childish pose. NICK Sure as hell don't make me miss Millie Bobek. Guess I owe Millie, though. If I hadn't been rollin, her, I woulda never ended up here. And I woulda never met Ashley. (studies photo) That's the world for ya. Nick climbs off the floor, paces back to the bunks, marvelling at the latest letter. RUDY What if she sees you, man, sees what you look like... and it's not there. You just don't do it for her. NICK Me and her got a connection. (hands page to him) Read this part. Read the part about stuffing her stocking. Nick drops the page on his stomach. Rudy sighs, picks it up, brings it to his nose. RUDY She's using a new perfume. NICK No, I think that's just oranges. She writes here she's eating oranges. RUDY Oh. NICK Shoulda written to that magazine, Rudy. I'm gonna walk outta here, walk right into a relationship. Not some one-nighter, man... a relationship. You? You're gonna walk outta here with bus fare. Searching for the drunkest skirt in the room. RUDY Mornin', gorgeous. More egg nog? NICK Shoulda written, Rudy... Nick drops back to his bunk, pasting the new lakeside photo among his collage of pictures. Admiring his pen pal: NICK Shoulda got yourself a girl. Above, Rudy peruses the page Nick gave him. Some lipstick marks pressed to the paper. He passes it back, closes his eyes. RUDY All I want... is to make it to Sidnaw, and sit down for Christmas dinner. Watch some ball with my old man, sleep in my old bed, and have leftovers for bout six months. NICK Thought you hated Sidnaw. RUDY Just taste that Christmas turkey. NICK Thought you hate your old man. RUDY Five years, Nicky. Five years. (shrugs) I just want to go home. There's the echo of CRASHING metal gates. Prisoners YELLING. Nick smiles, still staring at his girl. NICK Well, man. Me and Ashley. We'll be thinking about you. INT. MAIN PRISON FLOOR - DAY GUARDS monitor PRISONERS as they file out of their cells for the afternoon meal. Rudy and Nick are motioned out by a MEAN GUARD, his bitter world etched in his face. They join the line. RUDY Shit. Alamo's back. Across Broadway, a parallel line is forming. A tall, tattooed Native American, THE ALAMO, steps out of his cell. His hands are the size of a man's skull. NICK Don't look like he missed the sunlight. RUDY Pinscher told me Alamo thinks I'm the one ratted on him beating up Cree. Since I was there, I saw it, he thinks I got him sent to solitary. NICK Aw, Rudy. At that moment, Alamo glances over. Finds Rudy's eyes. Rudy swiftly looks away -- RUDY Count me outta mealtime -- He slaps Nick an the back, heads back for their cell -- MEAN GUARD GET BACK IN LINE! RUDY I'm not hungry, I'm gonna -- MEAN GUARD SHOULDA STAYED IN YOUR HOLE! GET BACK IN FUCKING LINE! The mean guard pulls his blackjack. Another guard's ready behind him. They want Rudy to give them trouble. Rudy stops. Slides back into the line of prisoners. Looks across Broadway. The Alamo's walked on up ahead. Rudy swallows, heads toward the mess hall. INT. MESS HALL - DAY A GLOOPY SPOON of CHUNKY RED AND GREEN JELLO gets splooshed on Rudy's plate. Same with Nick. It's the cafeteria line. NICK What the fuck is this? UGLY STAFFER Holiday jello. NICK What's this shit in it? UGLY STAFFER Swallow and see. The ugly staffer grins from under his plastic hairnet. Nick looks to Rudy, then turns back to the help: NICK Just so you know, this man and I are outta here in two days. So while we're inhaling London broil and lobster bisque, you're gonna still be standing here smelling up the mystery creamfuck. (nods) Who's in prison now? The ugly staffer curls his lip. Nick smiles. Rudy moves on, taking his tray off the rail and turning -- -- right into the chest of The Alamo. He looks up -- into the most scarred and vengeful face a man could ever dread to see. The Alamo's a lifer. Many times over. THE ALAMO When you don't expect it. RUDY It wasn't me, Alamo -- THE ALAMO That's when. The Alamo strides into the cafeteria line. Rudy finally takes a breath, as if he's dodged death. Nick's at his shoulder. They share a grave and worried look. Trying to help: NICK Two days. INT. MESS HALL - TABLES - DAY Rudy and Nick sit at a cafeteria table. Beside Rudy is a frail, nervous, fiftyish inmate, ZOOK. Zook sits alone, talks to no one, always has the shakes. NICK So maybe after our week beneath the sheets, we'll head down to Motor City for New Year's. She says her roommate's skipping town for a few days, have the place to ourselves. Remember how her brother's a truck driver down there? I'm thinking he might be able to help get me some work. RUDY What, working security? NICK No, I'm through with that shit. Ashley's right. Gotta start doing something I got a stake in. Get a business going. RUDY I don't know, I've seen the business world. NICK Hotwiring cars, Rudy, does not qualify as a small business. Chop shop consultant; doesn't work on a resume. Rudy shrugs. He checks across the room, on the whereabouts of The Alamo. The big Indian has his back turned. NICK Ashley's talking about maybe we can start something up together... Next to Rudy, Zook has stopped eating. He is still as stone, staring at his tray. NICK Whatsa matter, Zook? They both watch Zook put down his utensils and reach into his red-and-green jello with his bare hand. RUDY The hell you doing, Zookerman? Gloppy gelatin drips from his hand, as the frail man lifts a large black cockroach out. Zook's shaking. NICK Just a roach, Zook. RUDY Good for you. Protein. ZOOK Monsters in the gelatin... NICK It's a roach, guy -- ZOOK There are monsters... (voice rising) ...in the gelatin... NICK Oh, man -- Zook stands up, holding jello aloft: ZOOK THERE ARE MONSTERS IN THE GELATIN! NICK (shakes his head) Fuckin, Zookerman -- ZOOK THERE ARE MONSTERS! IN THE GELATIN! THERE ARE MONSTERS! IN THE GELATIN! A GRUMBLING MURMUR sweeps through the cafeteria as inmates sift through their jello, searching for -- DISTANT INMATE Sonofabitch! He pulls something bug-like out of his dessert, holds it aloft, and then HURLS it at the cafeteria line. A STAFFER ducks away. The inmates LAUGH and suddenly they're all on their feet -- ZOOK THERE ARE MONSTERS! IN THE GELATIN! -- grabbing handfuls of jello and throwing it at the cafeteria line. Inmates get errantly SPLASHED, and respond by wheeling on their fellow inmates -- red and green globs flying to and fro! GUARDS SIT DOWN! SIT THE FUCK BACK DOWN! As GUARDS immediately rush in to restore order -- NICK Rudy, don't move -- RUDY Two days, we got two days! Don't do nothing. Don't touch nothing -- An INMATE at the end of their table picks up their table and overturns it, sending food flying. Rudy and Nick stand back, hands raised in surrender. Jello HITS Rudy in the face. NICK Don't move, Rudy! RUDY Standing right here, man! Zook is still SHOUTING until a GUARD clubs him senseless with a blackjack. WHISTLES are blowing. Guards SCREAM for order. NICK (as a GUARD eyes them) Ate the jello, jello was fine! The guard leaves them alone, runs on. The melee's still out of control. As Rudy turns -- -- and suddenly sees The Alamo charging across the room, with murderous eyes, a metal shank in his hand! Five feet away! NICK RUDY, LOOK OUT! Nick grabs him, trying to push him out of the way -- -- and The Alamo's shank plunges deep into Nick's stomach burying between his ribs. Blood splashes. Nick slumps. RUDY NICK! The Alamo pulls the blade out with a ferocious YELL, pushes Nick to the floor and spins on Rudy! Rudy blocks with a chair, stumbling back, cartwheeling over a table as The Alamo roars over him for the kill -- -- and two GUARDS tackle the big Indian out of nowhere! Knocking the knife away, hammering him with blackjacks. It takes another three guards to keep The Alamo down. Rudy scrambles across the floor. Nick's on his back, blood pumping freely from his gut -- RUDY GUARD! GUARD! NICK (in shock) Alamo... RUDY GUARD!!! No one's helping, the guards nearby all subduing The Alamo. Nick grabs Rudy's shirt, gasping to speak -- NICK Jesus, Rudy -- RUDY Take it, man! You're all right! Hold it in! GUARD! NICK Oh, fuck, Rudy... oh Jesus... RUDY GUARD!!! NICK Ash... Ashley... RUDY No, man! No, no, no! NICK (choking) Tell her... I'll be there ... RUDY You're GONNA be there! We're getting outta here! TAKE IT! NICK Tell Ashley... I... RUDY YOU TELL HER! NICK ...be with her... Blood spills out Nick's mouth. His eyes go vacant. RUDY NO!!! NICK ...for Christmas... RUDY NICK!!! And Rudy's suddenly hauled backwards. A trio of GUARDS descend, grabbing Nick's body as his life fades away. Dragging his figure out of the melee. WHISTLES are blowing. GUARDS GET HIM OUT OF HERE! LOCK DOWN! RUDY NICK!!! Rudy struggles, enraged, and gets blackjacked across the skull for his trouble. He hits the jello-covered floor. And the world goes dark. INT. PRISON CELL - NIGHT Darkness and shadows. Rudy sits in a corner, holding his head. The cell block silent for the first time. Bootsteps from down the row. A SHADOW falls across Rudy's somber figure. It's the Mean Guard. He stares at Rudy with distinct pleasure. RUDY The man had two days... MEAN GUARD Well. Least he won't be coming back. The guard grins a gold tooth. Rudy looks at him -- -- and then springs to his feet, charges the room, grabbing through the bars. The guard takes a calm step back. Keeps the cruel smile. MEAN GUARD You need company tonight, Rudy... you just give a holler. He puckers a kiss and walks on. Starts whistling "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Several shadowed VOICES request that he shut the fuck up. The bootsteps and melody drift down the row. RUDY turns back, starts toward his bunk. And stops. His eyes on Nick's empty bed. And the wall behind. THE PICTURES OF ASHLEY Smiling, laughing, playing kissy-face. Hearts drawn on the photos. All colors of stationery taped to the wall. RUDY takes a seat on Nick's bed. There's a shoebox at the foot of it. Rudy opens it. It's filled with Ashley's letters. He trails a finger along them, must be over a hundred pages. He selects the one nearest the front. Surveys it. NICK (V.O.) Rudy, man, here we go, here, what she wrote here: "The car's waiting. The motel's waiting. And I'm waiting. I've waited for so long. I'm burning for you, Nick. My whole body. My whole heart. I'm burning for you..." Rudy turns to the wall. To the lakeside picture of Ashley, a swimsuit siren. Rudy stares sadly. RUDY He was burning for you too... And puts the letter away. CLOSE ON RUDY'S CALENDAR - NIGHT As his hand slashes through December 21st. Prison's over. CUT TO: EXT. IRON MOUNTAIN PRISON - DAY Snow swirls. Near blizzard conditions. A heavy steel door BANGS open, held by an EXIT GUARD. And FIFTEEN CONVICTS, make that EX-CONVICTS, trudge onto a fenced drive, covered in snow. EXIT GUARD Your world and welcome to it, dumbfucks! Don't be a stranger now! We'll keep the lights on for ya! Rudy stumbles out with the group, shivering in a Goodwill hand-me-down coat. Thin canvas, wouldn't keep him warm in summer. Secondhand shoes. No possessions. He clutches his sides with his hands, hunched over. All fifteen huddle and herd toward the gate at the end of the fenceway. BEYOND THE GATE There are a dozen FRIENDS and RELATIVES waiting. A few MEN, several WOMEN, a couple KIDS. Bundled in winter coats, hats and hoods. A prison shuttle bus is parked behind them. The released cons reach the gate, where a GATE GUARD unlocks the fence to the outside world. Fifteen men are free. The ex-cons and relatives scan each other's faces. Wives rush over to embrace their men. Pals nod to ex-cons and trade slaps on backs. Reunion time. The snow batters them, wind whipping. Rudy keeps his head down, leaning forward, keeps walking. Toward the bus. But he can't help himself -- he glances up -- TO SEE A YOUNG WOMAN bundled in a silver ski jacket, pink wool hat with a poofball on top, scarf and mittens. Scanning the released prisoners. RUDY drops his head, looks away. Climbs onto the shuttle bus. INT. BUS - CONTINUOUS Rudy shakes his arms, basking in the vehicle's warmth. Takes a seat at the back. A couple other lone ex-cons climb aboard. Then the cons with relatives start to pile in. Rudy's window is steamed against the cold. He stares into his lap, then reaches for his coat pocket. Takes out the picture of Ashley, in her bikini by the lake. Stares at it. He rubs his window with his sleeve. Outside, the woman in the silver coat turns this way and that, troubled. She's watching the other ex-cons climbing onto the bus with their loved ones. The woman looks back to the prison. The guard closing the gate. The steel door has been shut. No one else is coming. Rudy watches her sadly. Aboard the bus, the seats fill up. Ex-cons are feeling up their wives, kids are climbing on their absent daddies, buddies are jawing loudly 'bout how the neighborhood's changed. The woman outside is now alone. Silver coat, pink poofball. Rudy looks at the bikini picture again. Then at the shivering bundle. RUDY Don't do it, Rudy... The bus ENGINE starts up. In the seat beside Rudy, an EX-CON makes out with his WIFE while his bratty KID punches his leg. Out the window, the young woman is scanning the bus windows. Then the prison again. She turns in a worried circle. Rudy looks swiftly away. Closes his eyes. RUDY Don't do it ... The bus door closes. It REVS and starts forward. Rudy sighs with relief. The photo of Ashley falls to the floor. EXT. PRISON RELEASE GATE - CONTINUOUS The young woman watches the bus pull away, down the snowy road. But it doesn't get fifty feet before it suddenly stops. The door opens. And Rudy steps out. The bus REVS up again and GROANS OFF into the winter. The young woman pushes her poofball hat out of her eyes. We get a look at her face for the first time. Skin pale, lips turning blue, but it's the girl from the pictures. It's Ashley. She watches Rudy's figure trudge back toward her. Snow obscuring him until he's right in front of her. Both of them shivering. Both of them standing there. And finally: RUDY You Ashley? Ashley nods. And Rudy sadly smiles. RUDY I'm Nick. CUT TO: INT. TRUCK STOP - DAY Rudy and Ashley sit at a coffee shop booth. Coats still on. Big rigs bluster by on the highway outside. Two untouched cups of coffee sit before them. She's watching him in silence. RUDY I like your coat. Ashley says nothing. Rudy looks at his own: RUDY This -- this is just something they gave me at the door. Wasn't snowing when we signed up, y'know? Ashley nods. RUDY How's your coffee? Ashley looks at it, like she's just realizing it's there. She lifts the cup, takes a sip. Puts it down. ASHLEY Good. Rudy nods. Silence again. RUDY Gotta be ten degrees out there. ASHLEY Radio said negative five. RUDY Negative five? ASHLEY Yeah. RUDY I don't think it's negative five. ASHLEY Radio said. Beat. RUDY Wind chill. That's probably what they meant. Ashley nods. Rudy bites his lip. RUDY I was scared. Scared you were gonna take one look at me and change your mind. Scared I was walking into heartache. All those words... you put a picture in your mind of where they come from and when you see where maybe it's not the same as your picture. He trails off. ASHLEY I figured you walked outta there and saw me and walked right the other way -- RUDY No, no -- ASHLEY Saw my outfit or something, my coat -- RUDY No, hey, I like your coat -- ASHLEY Saw me -- RUDY Ashley, no. That was me, that's what I was scared of. I mean, be serious... I ain't exactly looking like Mr. Universe here. ASHLEY You are to me. Rudy goes silent. Whoa. Ashley considers. ASHLEY Thought you wrote you had a mustache. RUDY I can get another one going. Y'know, hey, whatever you want me to -- ASHLEY No, no, no. Be like you want to be. Another awkward pause. Rudy picks up a milk dispenser beside the coffee, puts it to his lips. It gives him a wide white mustache. He stares straight-faced. Ashley gives a bashful smile, covers it. RUDY Do that again. ASHLEY What. RUDY Smile. Ashley smiles again, blushing now. ASHLEY No -- RUDY One more. Smile. One more. ASHLEY (trying not to) No, c'mon -- RUDY I've been dreaming about that smile, Ashley Mercer. For a long time. They stare across the table, drifting into one another's eyes. ASHLEY You're better than the picture in my mind, Nick... (softly) You're real. Outside, another truck rumbles by, whipping up snow. SMASH CUT TO: INT. INTERSTATE MOTEL ROOM - DAY And Rudy and Ashley SLAM inside, kissing passionately, limbs intertwined, pawing at each other's coats. Rudy kicks the door closed. Mouths devouring, hands lost in snowy hair. They collide with a side table, knocking over a lamp, tumbling onto the lumpy bed. Rudy tears at her silver coat and sweater and turtleneck and capilene and whatever else's she got on, as Ashley's lips explore his neck and body. Writhing and wrestling and rolling off the bed. Bang. INT. MOTEL ROOM - LATER Rudy and Ashley fuck like lovers in R-rated movies. INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY - LATER The bed sheets lie tangled on the floor. Rudy and Ashley rest naked amidst them. Her pretty young head on his chest, all their inhibitions gone. Rudy strokes her arms. RUDY Tell me something. This the first time you've ever done this? ASHLEY Go to hell, Nick Mason, what's that supposed to mean -- RUDY No, not that, no... (laughs, kisses her) I mean this, the whole thing. Start writing to a guy, guy in the bricks. Get a boyfriend like this. Tell me the truth. ASHLEY Well. You're not the first guy I wrote to. But you're the only one I kept writing to. RUDY Yeah. Me too. (considers) Why? I mean I know why for me, why I paid for the ad. But you... why start writing to some guy -- some con -- you don't even know? Ashley studies his face, smiles in reflection. ASHLEY I told you, Nick. Remember? RUDY Tell me again. ASHLEY All the guys I've ever been with... they never want to know me. Who I am on the inside. They just want to qet inside. When they do, they think that means they know who I am. That I trust them. That they know me. That there's nothing left to learn. (beat) A guy like you, Nick -- six months before you can even touch my face. I figure a guy in that kind of bind, he's gonna hafta work to get to know me some other way. RUDY Had some bad relationships, didn't you. ASHLEY Not bad. Just regular. (smiles) You wrote me wonderful things, Nick. Personal things. She turns to him, kisses his chest -- RUDY Well, wasn't all me, y'know. ASHLEY Yes it was all you -- RUDY Guy I was in with... he helped sometimes... some of the romantic stuff, actually... you'd like him -- ASHLEY I'm talking about the heart, Nick. I'm not talking about the words. RUDY Y'know, some of the heart mighta been his too... ASHLEY Then he shoulda signed his name. She turns over playfully, eases herself back atop him. Ready to make up for lost time. With a kiss: ASHLEY And he'd be here right now. INT. SHOPPING MALL - DAY Ashley runs through an Xmas-decorated megamall, dragging Rudy behind her. Both of them laughing, as she hauls him over to some cookie bakery company: RUDY Where the hell are you going? ASHLEY Provisions! We are not leaving that motel room again till after New Year's: we need ten days worth of provisions! (to cookie matron) What's good?! COOKIE MATRON Oh my, we've got a special on our chocolate crunchie elves, they're shaped like little helpers -- ASHLEY THIS MAN... has not had a cookie in two goddamn years! Get him two of everything! RUDY Ashley, Jesus -- ASHLEY Can't survive on our bodies alone, Nick. (to cookie matron) Hurry up! RUDY Ash... didn't you write me that you don't eat chocolate? ASHLEY Yeah, well you wrote me you were six- foot-four, baby. (teasing smile) So don't talk to me about little white lies. INT. J.C. PENNEY'S DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY Teddy bears with nightcaps, green bows, red ribbons. Ashley's tearing through men's clothing racks, all love and confidence. Rudy's got a bunch of purchase bags weighing him down: ASHLEY You need a COAT! RUDY Ash, you've gotten me enough -- ASHLEY No boyfriend of mine is going to walk around in negative-five degree wind chill without a goddamn good- looking coat! She pulls out a hellacious black leather fringe number. RUDY Baby, c'mon, all this stuff... I haven't gotten you anything -- ASHLEY You got out, Nick. You're here. You're my Christmas. She puts the jacket against his chest, smiling. Rudy sighs. RUDY It's two hundred dollars, Ash -- She whips a Penney's card from her purse, grins wickedly: ASHLEY You forget where I work? RUDY (beat) Beauty and fragrances. ASHLEY Fifty percent off, motherfucker. Ho ho ho. She runs off with the jacket. Rudy turns to a dressing mirror, left to stare at his reflection. An ex-con in rags, with a half-dozen holiday shopping bags. To himself: RUDY Just for the holidays, Nick. Then we'll tell her. We'll let her... have her holidays... Rudy nods till he convinces himself. Can't help but smile. INT. TOY STORE - DAY Puzzles, Barbies and dinosaurs. KIDS scurrying, PARENTS chasing. Rudy and Ashley with a scared TEEN CLERK: TEEN CLERK You can't find... what? ASHLEY Toys for adults. Where are your toys for adults? TEEN CLERK Toys for... adults? ASHLEY C'mon. How old are you, sixteen? C'mon. TEEN CLERK We sell children's toys -- ASHLEY (slams money down) I got fifty dollars to spend in your store, Jesus of Nazareth. Can you help me or not? The clerk glances around, then, low: TEEN CLERK Slinky's in aisle five, Twister's in aisle one, Moon Mud's in aisle four. ASHLEY Thank you. INT. SUPERMARKET - DAY CLOSE ON CONVEYOR As bottles of wine, vodka and rum, cartons of egg nog and orange juice, and countless prepackaged sandwiches come scrolling past. ASHLEY (O.S.) You know what I was thinking, after our holiday hideaway? Instead of going back to Detroit, maybe we could go gambling. Y'know? Drive up to that Indian place you worked at. Wouldn't that be fun? I haven't gone gambling in forever! EXT. SUPERMARKET PARKING LOT - DUSK Light snow falls. Rudy, in his new black fringe eyesore, and Ashley carry grocery bags across the icy asphalt: RUDY Well, I don't know about that -- ASHLEY Blackjack, Nick, blackjack I am good at. I mean, they'd give us some free games or something, wouldn't they? Since you worked there? RUDY Security, Ash, I just worked security. They wouldn't be rolling out the red carpet -- ASHLEY And the slots, slots I'm good at too. Wouldn't that be fun? RUDY We'll have more fun in Detroit. ASHLEY We could live it up and -- RUDY Ashley. We're not going anywhere I used to work. It comes out too harsh. Ashley stops, a little hurt. ASHLEY I just... I thought you'd have friends there... Rudy softens, touches her arms: RUDY Hey. I been in prison for two years, Ash. Believe me. Those guys wouldn't want to see me. He kisses her. She nods, dismisses it, kisses back. ASHLEY Well, they don't know what the hell they're missing. EXT. MOTEL - NIGHT Ashley's Chevy Nova pulls back into the lot of the roadside joint. There's an artificial (silver) Christmas tree tied to the roof. She and Rudy climb out; she heads for the office: ASHLEY Baby, I'm gonna go tell 'em not to disturb us for the rest of the year. I get back in that room, you better be wearing nothing but a candy cane. RUDY I'll see what I can do. ASHLEY No, lover. I'll see what you can do. She smiles, sashays sexily away. Rudy watches her go, admiring his good fortune. Then pops the trunk, collects some of their shopping score. Gifts and goodies. RUDY (sings, sotto) I have no gifts to bring, parum-pum- pum-pum. No treasures for the king, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum... Loaded down, he struggles to the motel room, balances bags on his knee, gets the key in the door, and heads inside. INT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Pitch dark. Rudy fumbles his way in: RUDY ...but I got a girl to be with, rum- pum-pum-pum... MERLIN (O.S.) Hi, Nick. Rudy drops the shopping bags, whirls around, as a stocky black shadow, MERLIN, all 280 pounds of him, KICKS the door shut -- RUDY What the fuck -- -- and SWINGS a baseball bat toward Rudy's chest. Rudy gets an arm down to deflect the blow, but it still stings like a mother. Rudy HOWLS. Merlin comes at him again -- -- and this time Rudy slips by. Merlin's bat SHATTERS a dresser. Rudy grabs him by the neck, kicks out his knees and wrests him to the ground. Grabs the bat -- -- and gets DECKED from behind by another shadow, PUG, a little white guy with a snarl. They go CRASHING onto the bed, grappling for leverage, and then to the floor -- -- where Rudy grabs a champagne bottle from the groceries and BASHES it backwards, shattering it over Pug's head! Pug lets go, as Rudy scrambles up, and Merlin's got him again in a bear hug. Rudy's struggling, whirling with him, crashing into one wall, then another, YELLING for help -- RUDY HEYYY!!! IN HERE!!! HEYYY!!! -- until he hears the PUMP-LOAD SNAP of a shotgun. Rudy stops still. A lamp clicks on. Standing in silhouette, a figure in a leather duster holds a sawed-off on him. GABRIEL Welcome home, Nick. Another lamp comes on. Rudy, still in Merlin's choke-hold, gets a look at the gunman, GABRIEL. Weathered face, stringy hair, early 30's. Handsome in a scuzzy way. He's seen a lot of road. Rudy stares, totally thrown. Pug, the little guy, bad teeth, bad hair, bad skin, gets up spitting blood and champagne. PUG I owe ya a drink, ya fuck -- -- and slugs Rudy in the gut. Merlin yanks him back up. Merlin's a black widebody, wears a goatee and brass knuckles. Behind Merlin stands a fourth intruder, a stone-faced Indian in a Grateful Dead longsleeve. JUMPY. Guarding the door. Gabriel's studying Rudy, up and down. Nods. Merlin relaxes his choke-hold so Rudy can breathe. RUDY You... you don't know me -- GABRIEL Oh, I know you, Nick. I know you real well. RUDY No, you can't -- GABRIEL The hell I can't. As the room's door gets kicked open -- ASHLEY Watch out, baby! I'm bringing in the fucking tree! and the silver fake evergreen fills the doorway, getting forced through with Ashley's grunts and groans -- RUDY ASHLEY! Merlin traps his jaw shut. The tree comes squeezing through, followed by Ashley, face in branches -- ASHLEY I'm telling you, we got the best one in the store... I don't know why people want their houses smelling like the stupid woods... She's GRABBED from behind by Jumpy. Ashley screams, but he slams her against the wall. The tree hits the ground. RUDY NO! ASHLEY NICK! Rudy fights to help her, but Merlin's got him. Pug locks Ashley's arms. She fights, muffled cries, but Jumpy and Pug have her held firmly. Her face to the wall -- GABRIEL (re: the silver tree) Hope her taste in men's better than her taste in Christmas. Ashley's turned to face him. Her eyes widen. Gabriel nods. GABRIEL Hey, sis. Happy holidays. Rudy's jaw drops. He looks to Ashley. Then to Gabriel. Ashley YELLS, enraged, kicking and clawing. Jumpy slams her back against the wall for her trouble -- GABRIEL Jumpy, don't hurt her, now. Gabriel steps to Rudy. Studies him. GABRIEL So. This is the guy you been waiting for. Man of your dreams. ASHLEY Gabriel -- ! GABRIEL (unimpressed) Must have a way with stationery. ASHLEY Gabriel, what are you doing! Gabriel raises the sawed-off to Rudy's chest. Rudy flinches, but Merlin's got him. ASHLEY GABRIEL!!! Gabriel fixes her with a stare. She shuts up. To Rudy: GABRIEL You better be here to be good to her, loverboy. 'Cause she's been good to you. ASHLEY Gabriel, let him go -- GABRIEL Read a lot about you, Nick. ASHLEY What are you doing here?! GABRIEL Read you're a man of some knowledge. ASHLEY Gabriel! GABRIEL A man of some travels. ASHLEY GABRIEL, I LOVE HIM! Rudy's trying to speak, voice CHOKED. Gabriel nods to Merlin, who again eases his hold. Rudy coughs. RUDY I'm... not... Nick... Gabriel frowns. Rudy turns to Ashley. RUDY I'm not him. I... (then to Gabriel) You want something from Nick, you got the wrong guy. ASHLEY (hurt) Nick... Gabriel looks from her to him, then lowers his sawed-off, and SWINGS it into Rudy's stomach. Rudy buckles. Panicked. GABRIEL Who are you now. RUDY You got the wrong guy! She thinks I'm Nick, I'm not! GABRIEL (to Merlin) Put him in the truck. RUDY I was in the joint with him! I knew about him and her, okay!? I took his place! GABRIEL You what... RUDY I got out, Nick didn't! I pretended I was him! I knew about her letters! Jesus Christ, whatever you want from him -- I'm not Nick! (to Ashley) I -- I just wanted to be -- A glance of regret amidst his desperation. Ashley stares back, confused, searching his eyes. GABRIEL You're not Nick Mason... RUDY I shared his cell! GABRIEL But you were saying you were... RUDY Yes! GABRIEL So you could get with my sister. RUDY Yes! GABRIEL So you could get down her chimney. RUDY Yes! GABRIEL And you think telling me that's gonna help your cause. Gabriel RATCHETS him across the chin with the gun butt. Rudy hits the floor. Gabriel spins on Ashley, enraged: GABRIEL Is this him!? ASHLEY (reaches for Rudy) Don't hurt him... GABRIEL Is this the fucker you been writing all year!? ASHLEY (reaches for Rudy) Please, Gabriel, don't... Gabriel puts the gun to Rudy's head. GABRIEL IS THIS NICK MASON!!?? ASHLEY YES!!! Gabriel doesn't shoot. Studies Rudy. GABRIEL Well, he's gonna have to learn to give you some respect. Gabriel KICKS Rudy in the jaw. Ashley screams. Gabriel motions to his boys: Jumpy and Pug drag her outside. Gabriel KICKS Rudy again. Rudy lies there and takes it. Merlin lights a cig, examines Rudy and Ashley's grocery bags: MERLIN Hey. They got a shitload of cookies. GABRIEL Take 'em. MERLIN How 'bout the tree? You want the tree? GABRIEL Leave the tree. Merlin nods, tucks the bags under his arms, leaves the room. Gabriel drops beside Rudy, with a sick smile: GABRIEL I've read your letters, motherfucker. Don't play no reindeer games with me. EXT. INTERSTATE - NIGHT As we SWOOP DOWN onto a four-lane stretch of winter highway, arcing into the blackness. CLOSING ON an 18-wheel tractor trailer, RUMBLING onward, emblazoned with "Great Lakes Trucking." There's an airbrush painting on the door to the cab, of a skeleton looking thru a flaming radial tire, and the legend "Motor City Monster." INT. GABRIEL'S RIG - CAB - NIGHT Gabriel at the wheel, Merlin smoking, Jumpy eating cookies. A TRUCK passes; Gabriel waves. A moment later, the CB crackles: PASSING DRIVER (OVER CB) Hey there, Monster! What're you hauling this far north? GABRIEL Hell, Bugeye. How you doin'? Ain't hauling, man, I'm up for the holidays. Gonna have myself a holiday... for a goddamn change... INT. GABRIEL'S RIG - TRAILER - NIGHT CLOSE ON RUDY eyes closed, dried blood, head rocking side to side. He winces, waking, with the headache to end all headaches. ASHLEY (O.S.) Shh, Nick, shh. They won't hurt you now. You're okay... Her hand strokes his face. Rudy's eyes struggle open. ON FULL SCENE They're in the back of the truck. There's some packing mats, rope, two tall storage lockers, and Ashley's Chevy Nova. Rudy's head is in her lap. He struggles to sit up, finds his wrists tied with cord. He looks at Ashley, follows her gaze. In a corner, Pug sits guard in a beanbag chair. He's dipping chewing tobacco, reading Road & Track, headphones on. Gives Rudy a bored glance, then back to his magazine. ASHLEY I won't let 'em, Nick. They won't hurt you anymore. RUDY Your brother... Ashley nods. Rudy looks around, remembering. RUDY ...the truck driver... ASHLEY He's not a bad person, Nick... he's not... From the corner, Pug spits some chaw. Ashley wheels. ASHLEY You're not gonna hurt him anymore! Pug doesn't even look up. Still stroking Rudy's face: ASHLEY Since Janey moved in... Gabriel... he's come over more and more. To the apartment. Janey's the divorced one, 'member, with the tit job -- RUDY What the fuck is going on. ASHLEY He read the letters, Nick. Some day I wasn't there. He went through my room. He found your letters. RUDY What's going ON!!! The truck shakes. ASHLEY He knows you worked in that casino. Rudy stares at her. She's scared RUDY You motherfucker. ASHLEY Nick, no -- RUDY You sold him out. ASHLEY Nick -- RUDY When'd you decide to do it, Ash? After which of his letters, huh? The fortieth? The fiftieth? The first?! ASHLEY Nick, what are you -- She reaches out for him; Rudy scrambles to his knees, tumbles against the opposite wall of the trailer. RUDY I'M NOT NICK! (raging) You thought you'd fuck him over?! Well he's fucked you! I've never worked at some casino! I can't help you! Because he's not me! ASHLEY Nick, I love you -- RUDY JESUS CHRIST! PUG Watch your mouth, man. It's Christmas. RUDY I'M NOT NICK! Ashley runs at him, wraps her arms around him tightly. He tries to fight her off. She won't let go. RUDY Get the hell off of me! ASHLEY (hard whisper) Nick, it won't work. It won't work! Rudy stops fighting. She has a terrified look in her eye. Checks to Pug: he's watching them now, chewing slower. Ashley turns them away from the little guy's view ASHLEY He'll kill you. RUDY You're not hearing me here -- ASHLEY My brother's killed people, I know he has. Truckers. If you talk him into thinking you're not you, you'll only get yourself dead. RUDY He didn't "find" Nick's letters, did he. ASHLEY Nick, please, it's me -- RUDY You told him about Nick's letters. ASHLEY No, Nick, no -- RUDY You're in on this. ASHLEY I love you! Rudy stares at her coldly. RUDY Y'know, in a way, I'm glad it's me. 'Cause you woulda broken his heart. Ashley stares, panicked. Pug's still watching them. RUDY Your pen palls dead, lady. ASHLEY If you say that, if you keep saying that, they will kill you. If they think you're not you, they will kill you. Don't you see? I know what you're doing, but it won't work! RUDY Nick died for me.... ASHLEY I won't let him hurt you! He just wants what you know! RUDY (ruefully) ...maybe I die for Nick... ASHLEY Just tell him what you know, Nick! That's all they want! And we'll get out of this! Rudy gives her a stone cold stare. Ashley crumbles, touching his face, shaking her head, tears. Devastated. ASHLEY He found them... I swear, Nick... (helpless) ...he found them... The truck shudders through downshifts, to a groaning stop. Ashley embraces Rudy fiercely, holding on for the last. The trailer gate RATTLES open into the truck's roof. Ashley shuts her eyes. EXT. REST STOP/INT. GABRIEL'S RIG - CONTINUOUS The rig all alone at a snowy rest area. Gabriel, Merlin and Jumpy climb inside as silhouette sentries. Gabriel surveys, then lifts a piece of paper: GABRIEL "My sweet, sexy Ashy-lashy, I have been dreaming of you constantly, and knowing you are out there makes these walls not seem so close or so strong or so cold..." (to Merlin/Jumpy) Women live for this stuff. (reads on) Dreaming 'bout your this, dreaming 'bout your those, gettin' X-rated on me here, Nicky... where are we... oh, right, other side... (turns paper over) "Someday I'm gonna take you up by Lake S. Before I went in, before goddamn Millie, 'fore I had my situation, I used to work up at this casino, working security. Used to watch for people stealing chips, counting cards, getting piss-drunk, that kinda shit. Indian place, they hired this reject outta Vegas to run it, got about as much business sense as a buffalo patty. Anyways, it's a fun place to run some numbers and play." Gabriel puts the letter down. GABRIEL You're a good writer, Nick. I give this writing an A-plus. RUDY I never worked at no casino. ASHLEY (hopeless) Nick... Rudy steps out of her hold and stalks forward: RUDY That's the guy I was in with, I did my last ten months with him. He rode a two-year bit for manslaughter -- split a guy's skull open at a bar for harassing his girl. That's Nick Mason. He worked at that casino. He's the one who wrote her letters. Me, I'm a damn mechanic, my last job was a Quickie Lube, I did five for lifting cars. I don't know shit about blackjack, I don't know shit about Indians. I'm not him. Gabriel stares at him. Then crumples the letter. GABRIEL Bury this guy. Merlin and Jumpy grab Rudy and THROW him from the truck. He HITS the snowy parking lot on his side, hands bound. ASHLEY Gabriel, you promised! GABRIEL I promised that when he helped us, we'd be gone! When he helped us! Loverboy don't want to play! Merlin and Jumpy drop to the snow, picking Rudy up. ASHLEY You promised me! GABRIEL And you promised me you'd get your sweetheart to help! Rudy meets eyes with Ashley. She's caught. GABRIEL He'd rather die than be with you, he'd make a fucked-up boyfriend anyway. (to Merlin/Jumpy) Bury him all over the place. ASHLEY NO! She charges at her brother. Gabriel grabs her, spins her into control and PUNCHES her in the jaw. She goes flying out of the truck. HITS the ground hard. In shock. Merlin and Jumpy march Rudy across the lot. A stand of dark and snowy woods ahead... MERLIN Beats prison, I guess. ASHLEY (O.S.) NICK!!! NICK!!! NOOOOO!!! Rudy struggles, desperate but held firm. Jumpy loads a handgun, as he muses for the very first time: JUMPY The problem with prison... is that it is founded on the fundamentally flawed perception of rehabilitation through punishment. A society can't hope to create a "changed man" by surrounding him with the worst in his fellow man; what it "rehabilitates" is solely a conviction that if he can survive the inhumanity of prison, what then, can he not withstand? He has seen man's darkest soul and kept his sight: what is left for such a man? What faith? What fear? At the woods' edge, Jumpy gives the gun to Merlin -- JUMPY Don't get no blood on my boots -- The gun goes to Rudy's head. A bullet fills the chamber. Ashley SCREAMS. Rudy shuts his eyes tight and -- RUDY WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW! Merlin and Jumpy stop. Ashley stops screaming. Gabriel turns. RUDY About the Tomahawk! What the hell do you want to know! His guards look to Gabriel. Rudy nods, sweating. RUDY I spend six months writing poetry and my goddamn pen pal fucks me over. Thanks for the stamps, Ash. You want me, you got me. Whaddya want to know. Ashley gasps relief. Gabriel smiles. GABRIEL Everything. Merlin and Jumpy march Rudy back. Still on the ground: ASHLEY I love you... Nick, I love you... Rudy won't meet her eyes. GABRIEL Hey. She says she loves you, Nick. RUDY She says a lot of things. GABRIEL She's getting you to help us... 'cause she knows if you don't, you're dead. You just tell us what we need to know, you two live happily ever after. My sister loves you, motherfucker, and I ain't gonna have you break her heart. RUDY Wish I had a brother like you. GABRIEL A girl says she loves you, you say something. Rudy looks at Ashley. Her eyes plead forgiveness. RUDY I had better sex in prison. GABRIEL Heyyy. Be nice, convict. We're gonna be working together here. (to his boys) Get him back in the rig. Merlin and Jumpy wrench Rudy backward. Ashley reaches out to him, starts to speak. He looks right through her. She goes silent, casts her eyes to the snow. PUG (O.S.) He's not the guy, Monster. Everyone looks to the truck. Weasel-faced Pug has sidled next to Gabriel. Spits some chaw. It hits Merlin's boots. Merlin growls. PUG Whole time you were driving, he was telling her he's not the guy, he's not the guy. I know why he'd tell us he's not the guy. why's he telling her he's not the guy? What if he's not the guy? Gabriel considers, jumps off the truck. Walks to Rudy: GABRIEL The man who wrote those letters loved Ashley, boys. He lived for her love. (nods) Let's see him live for love. Gabriel puts a gun under Rudy's chin. Rudy flinches. GABRIEL Where's she work? RUDY What? GABRIEL (forces gun harder) Wrote you a hundred letters, didn't she? Where's she work? RUDY J.C. Penney. Beauty and fragrances. GABRIEL What's her middle name? RUDY (thinking hard) Samantha. GABRIEL What'd they call her in high school? RUDY Bam Bam. GABRIEL What'd they call her in college? RUDY What college. GABRIEL Where'd she drop her cherry? ASHLEY Gabriel! RUDY Canada. GABRIEL Be more specific. RUDY A station wagon in Canada. GABRIEL What's her greatest fear? RUDY Her brother. GABRIEL Wrong, Nick. It's drowning. RUDY No. It's her brother. Rudy stares him down. Gabriel shrugs. GABRIEL That's love. He puts the gun away. Ashley regains her breath. GABRIEL Let's get back on the road. It's time to start talking, Nick. Time to start telling tales -- RUDY Nick don't talk till Nick gets something. Gabriel gives a challenging stare. Rudy stares right back. It's a showdown. RUDY Hot. Chocolate. The trucker slowly smiles. His crew chuckles. MERLIN You want that for here or to go? RUDY I been in Iron Mountain for two years, truck driver. I do one more crime, I'm back there for good, so fuck you and fuck your sister and fuck your trucker friends. You want to hear about some goddamn job of mine? I want some hot-goddamn-chocolate. They've stopped laughing. RUDY And some pecan-fucking-pie. INT. TRUCK STOP - NIGHT CLOSE ON HOT CHOCOLATE AND PECAN PIE The six of them sit in a booth, Ashley leaning on Rudy's shoulder apologetically. The four truckers watch him scarf his pie. "White Christmas" plays over the speakers. GABRIEL So when you worked there -- Rudy raises a finger sharply. Silence. He continues eating. Scrapes the last of his pie crumbs. GABRIEL You knew the place -- RUDY Hey. Rudy stares hard. Gobbles the crumbs, washes it down with his hot chocolate. Savors it. Sets the mug down. RUDY Y'know, I could really go for some onion rings. Gabriel nods to Jumpy, who snaps his arm up, SMASHING his knuckles into Rudy's face. ASHLEY Gabriel! You said talk to him. That's all you ever said... GABRIEL We're talking, aren't we? Rudy holds his nose. Blood trickles. GABRIEL How much money's in that casino? Day-to-day. RUDY I don't know. GABRIEL The hell you don't. RUDY (sighs, a guess) Five million? GABRIEL You wrote Ash that letter, you told her that story 'bout working Christmas Eve, bout how they'd send half the security guys home, nobody comin, in that night. And the rest of you got shit-faced drinking hot buttered rum. That a true story now? RUDY Christmas... Eve... GABRIEL You know where the guards are. You know how to get in and out. You know where the money is. (nods) We're taking down that casino, convict. You're the guy gonna tell us how. Rudy turns slightly pale. RUDY Hey, it's... been two years -- GABRIEL We got faith in you, Nick Mason. (smiles) You're our inside man. INT. TRUCK STOP BATHROOM - NIGHT Rudy slams in, letting the door smack shut behind him. It's a tiny windowless closet. Rudy kicks a stall door, pacing. RUDY ...goddamn it, Rudy... goddamn it... goddamn girl, goddamn Nick... you're so smart, so fucking smart... He stalks a circle, grabs a sink, and stares at his reflection in the mirror. He looks a wreck. He settles down. RUDY Where's your Christmas dinner now... INT. TRUCK STOP - MOMENTS LATER A COUPLE leaves the booth behind Gabriel's crew. Pug and Merlin reach over, steal their leftovers and dig in. Ashley fidgets. Jumpy regards the garlands painted on the windows beside: JUMPY I've read where the retail industry does fifty percent of its business between December 1st and December 25th. Half the year's business, in one month's time. It seems to me an intelligent society would legislate a second such gift-giving holiday, create, say, a Christmas Two -- late May, early June -- to further stimulate growth and prosperity. For who would protest such a holiday? Taking the fifty percent model, a Christmas Two would grow this country's annual per capita income by close to one-third. Everyone stares at Jumpy. GABRIEL Christmas Two. The Indian nods. Gabriel shakes his head. GABRIEL Ever since you started night school, you been givin, me headaches, Jumpy. Headaches. (to Merlin/Pug) Go see what's taking him. INT. BATHROOM - SAME Rudy crouches behind the door, a piece of iron pipe in his grip, ready to strike. Listening... listening... AS the door SLAMS open, swinging fast and BASHING him in the head. Rudy tags the floor, drops the pipe, knocked out. Merlin and Pug gaze down on him, shaking their heads. Pug spits tobacco. Hits Merlin's boots again. INT. TRUCK STOP - MOMENTS LATER Rudy's back, with a new facial bruise. Ashley reaches for his hand; he pulls it away. Gabriel unfolds a piece of paper -- it's a crude map. GABRIEL Here ya go, convict. We cased the place in the fall, got the layout down. What you're gonna do is show us where each of these doors go, what the upstairs level looks like, where they got the alarms, all of it. MERLIN And where they hide the real money. Merlin exhales some smoke in Pug's face. Pug hacks, shoves him. GABRIEL And Nick? If you even think about setting us up, giving us some bad information? We go down... you go down... (lets it settle) Now. Christmas Eve. How many guards are there gonna be? Rudy surveys the table. All five waiting for him. Sighs. RUDY Hell. Ten? GABRIEL And which of these doors here lead up to the security level? Gabriel passes the map across the table. Rudy stares at it. MERLIN Start talking, Nick. Rudy's still staring. PUG Start talkin RUDY Who the hell made this map. GABRIEL What? RUDY I said, who the hell made the map? GABRIEL I did. RUDY This isn't the Tomahawk. GABRIEL What the fuck are you talking about. RUDY This is the front entrance, right? You get through the slots, you hit craps here, not blackjack. Blackjack's here to here -- lined up. What's this, the cage? Cage is over there, hard to get to, you got it all mixed around -- PUG That's what it looks like! RUDY Since when? What the hell is this room? MERLIN Buffet. Whaddya think it is? RUDY Buffet is by the goddamn bar! What the hell kind of map is this?! Gabriel reaches across the booth, grabs Rudy's shirt, pulls his face to table level: GABRIEL We walked the place for a week. RUDY And I worked there. For a year. Neither man blinks. PUG Map is kinda dirty, Monster... RUDY They changed the layout. GABRIEL What? Rudy nods, pretending to be dawned upon. RUDY They changed the layout -- whadda they call you? Mr. Monster? They remodeled the place. When I worked there -- listen to me -- guy that managed the joint, guy who ran it-- ASHLEY Jack. Jack Bangs. RUDY Right, Jack Bangs. Uh... guy was always talking bout fixing the place up. Maybe get a better crowd. Musta gone and done it while I was in the Mountain. (pushes map away) I don't know this map, man. How the hell am I supposed to tell you what door goes where? GABRIEL They wouldn't have changed the security setup. RUDY When I worked there, this was Bangs, office. Back here. He kept a little safe in the... uh, the wall, money held take for himself, skim from the Indians. Called it the... uh... (stumbling) ...the Powwow Safe. JUMPY The Powwow Safe? RUDY His personal safe, he gave it a name. Now you're telling me they've taken his office, put the buffet there? Then who knows what else they changed. Gabriel stares at him, suspicious. GABRIEL So what the hell good are you... RUDY You'd have to get me inside. (carefully) Get inside, watch where the money's moving, see where the guards are going. Then I could work with your map. GABRIEL Wrong, convict. You walk in there, they recognize you. PUG So what? GABRIEL They recognize him, they'll remember him after the job goes down. RUDY They won't recognize me. GABRIEL Why not. RUDY Trust me. They won't recognize me. GABRIEL We'll trust you when we're rich. Why not. RUDY 'Cause you're gonna get me a disguise. Rudy locks eyes with Gabriel. RUDY I give you the wrong information, you're gonna shoot me. Well, I don't know your damn map. So you can either find a way to get me in there... or you can shoot me right now. A WAITRESS comes over, drops their check on the table. It rests near Rudy. Rudy locks eyes with Gabriel. And pushes the check his way. EXT. SNOWY HIGHWAY - NIGHT The "Motor City Monster" RUMBLES along a two-lane blacktop. Across barren Michigan tundra. A sign reads "You Are Now Entering Powahachee Indian Lands. No Littering." INT. GABRIEL'S RIG - CAB - NIGHT Gabriel drives, with Ashley beside him. Rudy sits in the sleeper, Jumpy sitting guard. OUT THE WINDOW they pass a brightly neon-lit building, with a parking lot full of cars. The Tomahawk Casino, with a red neon axe pointing the way. And a marquee which reads: "10X ODDS ON CRAPS. $5.95 PRIME RIB. PERFORMING TONIGHT: DAKOTA!" The truck motors on by. Gabriel nods to Rudy: GABRIEL Bring back some memories, Nick? RUDY More than you know. EXT. KNIGHTS INN - NIGHT A Midwestern castles-and-Camelot-themed chain hotel, amidst an outcrop of roadside exit civilization: fast food and gas. The Great Lakes Trucking rig parked in the hotel's lot. INT. KNIGHTS INN - HALLWAY - NIGHT Faux stonemasonry and torches. "Regal" purple carpets. Gabriel and his crew escort Rudy into -- INT. HOTEL ROOM -- his quarters. Jumpy marches Rudy to the bed, snaps a handcuff around his ankle -- RUDY What the hell is this? What happened to working together? -- and snaps the other cuff to the bedframe. GABRIEL Rather be back in the Mountain? RUDY Might as well be. GABRIEL Don't have Weather Channel in the Mountain, Nick. Gabriel tosses him a TV remote. Merlin rips the room's phone out of the wall, takes it. They return to the hallway. GABRIEL Sleep good, loverboy. Tomorrow you got singing for your supper to do. The truckers leave. Rudy tugs at his ankle cuff, sighs, collapses back on the bed. Ashley has remained. Rudy sits up, sees her. RUDY Get your own room. She approaches instead. Sits beside. Gently: ASHLEY He said he wanted to talk to you. When he found the letters... he said "when your boyfriend gets out, I wanna talk to him." I thought he meant back in Detroit. I thought he meant -- RUDY But you knew why. Knew why, didn't ya. Ashley stands her ground, guilty. ASHLEY I thought we'd have a few more days. RUDY For what? You to talk me into "helping"? What, he promise you a share of the winnings? ASHLEY No! RUDY Well, shit, Judas, you shoulda at least gotten that -- ASHLEY Nick! He wants to know how to rob it, and he'll leave you alone! That's all he wants! (breaking down) I hate him, Nick... you know how... RUDY So get him outta your life. Get out of Michigan. They got perfume counters in Chicago, don't they? ASHLEY Not without you. She reaches to touch him. Rudy turns his back on her. RUDY Since when do some trucker pals start thinking big, anyway? ASHLEY They run routes mostly east, retail stuff, warehouses. But Gabriel knows some guys in New York, Miami, guys he helps get guns to Detroit. Hides 'em with his regular loads. RUDY He working for them on this one? ASHLEY No. He wants to be working for himself someday. RUDY And I'm his ticket. (considers) What's the last place they took down? ASHLEY What? RUDY Gabriel and his guys. What's the last place they robbed? Ashley frowns. ASHLEY I don't think they've ever robbed anything before. I think they've just driven guns. Rudy looks at her with new interest. RUDY They've never done a robbery? ASHLEY (shrugs) They're truck drivers. For the first time in a long time... Rudy smiles. RUDY Then they do need me, don't they. They really need me... ASHLEY We're gonna get out of here, Nick. We're gonna get out of this... RUDY We? What "we"... Rudy stares at her. The smile gone. RUDY Get your own room, Ashley. ASHLEY Nick... RUDY Get your own room. Ashley pulls away, walks to the door. Turns back, wanting to say something, but Rudy's not even looking her way. ASHLEY If I'd told you what he wanted, you'd have been gone. You'd have gotten on that bus and stayed on it. And if that's selfish, I am. If that's lying, I'm a liar. But I been dealing with fucked-up brother and his fucked-up friends for a long time, and I was stronger than him then and I'm stronger than him now. 'Cause he showed up for money. I showed up for love. (hard) And if you're so ready to make me your enemy... then what did you show up for, Nick. What did you really want... with me... With a fiery look, she strides from the room. Rudy stands, can't get far cuffed to the bed. Checks the end table, finds a Bible and a deck of cards. Out his second-floor window is a view of the rear parking lot. Rudy watches as a Chevy Blazer parks and two drunk FISHERMEN get out. The truck's bumper sticker reads "Ice Fishermen Do It All Year Long." Rudy watches the good ol' boys stumble toward the hotel. He turns back, surveys his new prison cell RUDY They've never done a robbery... (nods) Christmas is looking up. INT. RUDY'S ROOM - MORNING The bed has been dragged to the door to the bathroom, the comforter and pillow are on the floor, "Miracle on 34th St." is on the TV, and Rudy lies asleep on the ground, ankle still cuffed. Two SHADOWS fall across him. INT. HALLWAY - MORNING Rudy is brusquely dragged out by Jumpy and Merlin, passing Ashley, who lies asleep in the hall, head on a pillow. MERLIN Having romance problems, Romeo? RUDY Not with you. They march him onward. Rudy glances over his shoulder at Ashley. Who spent the night at his door. INT. GAME ROOM - MORNING A wood-panelled room adjacent to a small indoor pool, with arcade games and a dart board. Gabriel's with Pug, tossing darts, as Jumpy and a chain-smoking Merlin haul Rudy in. PUG Goddamn, Merlin. There any part of the day you don't smoke? MERLIN There anytime you don't got a mouthful of shit? PUG Cancer-sucker. MERLIN Acid-chewer. Gabriel THWAPS a dart into the board, to shut them up. GABRIEL Take a look what Pug's bought for ya. Pug empties a shopping bag on a pinball machine. Cowboy boots, spurs, a black cowboy hat, a black rhinestone jacket and a longhaired wig tumbles out. RUDY A cowboy. You're going to send me into an Indian casino disguised as a cowboy. Have you thought this entirely through? GABRIEL Put it on. Merlin and Jumpy shove Rudy toward the merchandise. Gabriel slams another dart into the board, then turns: GABRIEL You're a country-western singer up from Nashville for the the holidays. Visiting your Grandma on the lake, driving into the Tomahawk for some scotch and slots. You only play the slots, you got that? Don't want no dealer friend of yours recognizing you, you sidle up to shoot some craps. RUDY What kind of half-ass cowboy plays the slots? GABRIEL You do. RUDY At least gimme video poker. GABRIEL Shut the fuck up. You play what your girlfriend plays. Ashley's going in with you. You talk to her, otherwise you don't talk to nobody. You walk the room as many times as you want, but the second you come out, I want to know the run of the place. Rudy examines his new hair and cowboy gear. RUDY Do I get a country-western name? GABRIEL You get recognized, convict, You get a country-western funeral. EXT. TOMAHAWK CASINO - DAY The Chevy Nova crunches into the parking lot in the shadow of the gaudy neon axe. INT. NOVA - DAY Rudy's in "disguise": paste-on goatee, tinted shades and black cowboy gear. Very Nashville Network. He's wedged between Jumpy and Merlin, wearing handcuffs. Gabriel, Ashley and Pug in the back. RUDY Y'know what, guys? I woke up this morning, I got a really lucky feeling going on. I mean it, I'm feeling that good. I wouldn't be surprised if I walk in there, pull a handle and hit jackpot. Hell, we wouldn't even have to -- GABRIEL Get out. EXT. PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS Rudy stamps feet, shivering in the cold, as Merlin unlocks his cuffs. Gabriel reaches to help Ashley out -- ASHLEY Get your goddamn hands off me -- She edges toward Rudy, then stops. A chill still there. GABRIEL You got one hour. RUDY I'm gonna need some money. Gabriel hands a bill. RUDY Ten dollars? What do I do with ten dollars? GABRIEL Don't tip. RUDY Monster. If we're working together here, we gotta be working together. I can't walk in there looking like the Lone Fucking Ranger with ten bucks to throw down. You don't want me getting noticed, right? Not getting noticed costs a guy at least a couple hundred. Gabriel glares, turns to his crew. Mutters, rubs his fingers together. Merlin, Pug and Jumpy reach for their wallets, grumbling. Gabriel takes a few twenties from each. Rudy nods thanks as Gabriel hands him the cash -- GABRIEL (threateningly) Don't. Lose. Rudy pockets the wad, hooks his elbow for Ashley to slip her arm through. Grins with a drawl: RUDY You ready to gamble, darlin'? She regards him warily, but puts her arm in his. RUDY (to the boys) Y'all take care of my guitar. He tips his hat, and strides for the casino entrance. Gabriel and his truckers watch them go. MERLIN (grumbles) Who's robbin' who here, Gabriel... GABRIEL Get in there and watch 'em. Watch their every fuckin' move. INT. TOMAHAWK CASINO - DAY The cascade of JINGLING and JANGLING COINS fills the brightly lit, horrendously-carpeted space. Wooden-beamed ceilings suggest a rustic theme, but the neon slots, lush green tables and red wheels of fortune are pure Midwest Vegas. The Tomahawk is tiny by Nevada standards, about the size of a large bingo hall. This morning, about FIFTY GAMBLERS mill about. Skimpily-dressed COCKTAIL WAITRESSES, most of them Powahachee Indians, pimp drinks. Bored DEALERS deal. As the sound of slot machine payoffs suddenly go silent -- INT. JACK BANGS' OFFICE - DAY CLOSE ON STEREO SYSTEM And some scattered cassettes, labeled "Big Winners," "Little Winners," and "Medium Cash." A HAND pops the tape currently in the system -- "Big, BIG Winners" and flips it over. Presses play. The sounds of JINGLING and JANGLING return. ON FULL SCENE An office overlooking the casino floor through smoked glass. JACK BANGS, late 50's, silver-hair, capped teeth, shark suit and high blood pressure, paces his office. He's got the air of a washed-up gameshow host, Wink Martindale, Peter Tommarkin, one of those hacks. Right now he's all caffeine. JACK BANGS There's an S-word I'd really like to throw in the discussion here, guys, cause it's a big part of what's going on. Big element, 'kay? S-word. It's a serious issue, serious factor, so I'm just gonna get it out there, throw it an out there, so we can know it, we can talk about it, we can get things done... (big pause) Snow. Are you with me, guys? Snow. Big time, fucking, grade-A, God- quality, S-N-O-W-snow. Two INDIAN GOVERNORS sit before him. Business-dressed, with overcoats, ponytails. One gray-haired, one jet-black. JACK BANGS There's no snow in Vegas, 'kay? They don't know it, they don't want it, they got laws against the stuff. They got Egypt down there, right, they got Monte Carlo, Hawaii, they got ancient Rome, but where's the Winter Castle, right? Where's the Swiss miss Chalet? Where's the Big Fucking Igloo? YOUNG GOVERNOR We understand you, Mr. Bangs. JACK BANGS Capades? They don't do it. Mittens? Outlawed. Why? YOUNG GOVERNOR We're aware of your position. JACK BANGS (picks up a chip) Because down there this is money. Up here this is heat. (pleads) You wanted Vegas quality, I brought it to you. You wanted Vegas press, I gave it to you. But guys, please, guys... I can't get you Vegas profits... till one of ya does some spirit dance and does something about this snow. The tribal governors stare him down. OLD GOVERNOR We understand the Paiutes' casino saw a net profit of twelve million dollars last year. JACK BANGS The Paiutes, they cook their books. OLD GOVERNOR The Waitela reservation made seventeen million. JACK BANGS (sobers) Seventeen? OLD GOVERNOR Perhaps you have researched this, Mr. Bangs. Is the snowfall on our side of the lake that much greater than the snowfall on theirs? Jack Bangs stares at them both. Considers his next move -- JACK BANGS I'm bringing in this great showroom act next week; these three Russian girls, they look like Meryl Streep, they can juggle anything. YOUNG GOVERNOR Mr. Bangs. JACK BANGS Guys. We're doing it right, here. $5.99 prime rib? Nobody does that in Michigan. Nobody. YOUNG GOVERNOR The tribe is concerned that many of your... new ideas are not resulting in any new venues. JACK BANGS I'm putting liquor in the drinks, I'm giving 10-times odds on craps, I got the girls showing sixteen-percent more skin! Show me another buffet's gonna offer you Coke and Pepsi! Whaddya want me to do?! YOUNG GOVERNOR We want to see our casino making money again, Mr. Bangs. Making money for our community. OLD GOVERNOR Like the Paiutes and the Waitela. The young man stands, stares Jack Bangs in the eye. YOUNG GOVERNOR We want you doing the job... that we brought you here to do. INT. TOMAHAWK - DAY Rudy and Ashley move away from a change booth, with a bucket of quarters. Rudy messes with his cowboy getup, noting two SECURITY GUARDS punch a code in a private door, step inside: ASHLEY So does it look a lot different? RUDY Here and there. Restaurant, uh, that's the main expansion. Tables've been moved around; the big man's office, I dunno, might be upstairs now. They settle at a slot machine. Another SECURITY GUARD walks past them. Rudy turns his back. Ashley notices. ASHLEY That guy knows you? RUDY Yeah, uh. Mike. That's Mike. At the door, Merlin and Jumpy enter, wandering through the slots. Rudy sees them. RUDY You start spending your brother's money. I'm gonna take a circuit around the joint, check for any new ins and outs. I'll snag us some drinks. As he strides away -- ASHLEY (sotto) Be careful, Nick... MOVING THROUGH THE CASINO with Rudy, ambling among the tables, making a show of checking out the layout. In reality, he's surveying the GAMBLERS. Passing the cage, he walks right by Jack Bangs and the Indian governors. Jack Bangs is all smiles, while the governors turn their backs an him and storm out. ARRIVING AT THE BAR RUDY Couple rum and Cokes, please. INDIAN BARTENDER You want that rum and Coke or rum and Pepsi? Rudy gives him a strange look. The bartender shrugs. Rudy still scans the tables, settling on -- A BLACKJACK TABLE where a trio of COLLEGE KIDS are forking over chips. One of them's dark-haired with a goatee, a sweatshirt and jeans. Rudy studies this kid for moment. JACK BANGS (O.S.) Gimme a goddamn bottle of anything. BACK AT THE BAR Jack Bangs sidles up, distraught. The barkeep hands him a bottle. Bangs takes a swig. JACK BANGS I can't go back to Vegas, Bear. They'll fuckin' kill me, 'kay? I can't go back... BARTENDER What does the tribe want? JACK BANGS They want gold-paved roads is what they want. Talking 'bout the fuckin' Paiutes. Fuckin' Paiutes are on the interstate. Nothing I can do about that, man, I didn't pick the spot for your reservation. BARTENDER Neither did we. JACK BANGS Yeah, yeah, whatever. Rudy ge