f1x08 Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.
[previous | bottom] ACT TWO
FADE IN:
12 INT. CRAWFORD'S MALL. DAY. 12
We pick up Faith and Noa, making their way through the crowds
of shoppers. The mall is much busier than the last time we
saw it, even with last night's murder still fresh in the
news.
Faith keeps alert, glancing all round her and scanning the
avenues, as Noa keeps spotting new places to go shop.
NOA
(points)
Oo, Faith! Look!
Noa points excitedly at a second-hand clothes store, and
Faith shrugs.
FAITH
Look, Noa, I know I shop on a
budget, but I have this thing about
wearing other people's cast offs.
NOA
Huh? Oh, no! Not for you, for me! I
keep finding all these great little
things in there. I swear, it's like
an older version of me just keeps
throwing all her old stuff out in
there, ready for me to swoop in and
grab it.
FAITH
(wry)
Yeah, you're a real fashion victim
alright...
The duo come to a T-junction in the mall, an avenue
stretching off either side of them.
FAITH (cont'd)
(motions to left)
I'll take this way, you head up
there. Remember, we're looking for
maintenance corridors, ways to get
down below without being seen.
NOA
Got it.
FAITH
We can't go the direct way through
the car park, too many cops, so
find a back door and then call me.
NOA
(nods)
Check.
(beat)
Hey, wait - you don't have a phone!
Faith is already walking away, but she turns, and with a grin
holds up a shiny new cell phone from her pocket.
FAITH
And for today, neither does Pryor.
Noa grins back and starts to head off, pausing when faith
shouts back over to her.
FAITH (cont'd)
And no shopping!
Noa SIGHS and carries on walking.
We pan away from her as Quinn walks back down over the ramp
leading into the car park. He waves a goodbye to the cop
standing just at the park entrance, before rubbing a hand
through his hair.
We rejoin Noa, who is standing before a high-rent clothes
store's window display, her eyes greedily devouring the
finely-tailored sights before her.
Quinn joins her, glancing casually at the suits on display
alongside the lavish dresses.
QUINN
Never saw the point in them myself.
NOA
I'm sorry?
QUINN
Suits. Just never seem to find the
right place to wear one, I guess.
Quinn seems down, distracted, but this doesn't stop Noa from
quickly sizing him up, and with a grin she takes a small step
closer to him.
NOA
Well, maybe you haven't been going
to the right places?
QUINN
Yeah, I thought that too. Figured
my friends must be too cheap or
something.
NOA
You don't look too cheap to me!
Quinn finally looks at Noa, and for a moment there's a
flicker of warmth across his face - before he remembers he's
still meant to be feeling down, and he looks back to the
display.
Noa frowns, sensing his mood, and steps closer still.
NOA (cont'd)
You look kinda blue. What's up?
QUINN
Lots of things. Lots of questions,
no answers. Spent all last week
seeing if I could find any in
fortune cookies, but when all they
said was 'that wasn't chicken,' I
figured I'd try something else.
Noa giggles and Quinn manages a smile for her at last,
holding out his hand.
QUINN (cont'd)
I'm Jon.
NOA
(shakes hand)
Noa. What brings you to Crawford's
today, Jon?
QUINN
(shrugs)
Saw some of the boys out front,
figured I'd see what was up.
NOA
(puzzled)
'The boys'?
(gets it)
Oh, you mean cops!
QUINN
Yeah, that's it. I'm a detective.
Well, sort of.
He starts to walk, and she starts to follow.
QUINN (cont'd)
I'm on an involuntary holiday a the
moment. My partner died a few weeks
ago and we only just found out, so
I guess I'm on bereavement leave or
something.
NOA
(sympathetic)
Oh, that's awful! Are you okay?
QUINN
Been better. Just trying to
distract myself, you know?
NOA
Yeah, I know.
(thinks; smiles)
Oh, hey, wait! I know just the
thing.
QUINN
You do?
NOA
Yeah, yeah, totally. I'm on this,
uh... science experiment at the
moment. I work in this lab just
across town, Webb Researching, you
heard of it?
Quinn shakes his head.
NOA (cont'd)
Doesn't matter, we're only small.
Anyway, I'm out here to collect
some, uh, skin samples, from some
of the uh... rodents that are
living here, you know, testing for
disease and stuff? So, uh, if
you're stuck for something to do,
why not come help me out?
Quinn looks her up and down, a little suspicious.
QUINN
You don't look like you're here to
do anything scientific.
Noa grins and reaches into her pocket - pulling out half of a
pair of latex gloves.
NOA
See? All I need!
She SNAPS the gloves back into place, and Quinn grins again,
intrigued by her.
QUINN
Alright, I'm listening. What's the
plan?
NOA
Well, first of all, seeing as you
said you're a detective and all, I
may need a tiny, weeny little
favour from you so we can get
started. I mean, you know, you
totally don't have to if you don't
want to, I know we only just met,
and-
QUINN
(chuckles)
It's fine. Lead on.
Noa beams up at him, and as the two walk on, we cut to:
13 INT. CRAWFORD'S MALL - CAR PARK. DAY. 13
We're looking out across one level of the multistorey car
park, which is filled with many more cars this time, as
another uniform cop strolls past, humming to himself.
He doesn't spot a pair of legs swing down into view from the
next level up, shortly followed by the rest of Faith - she's
clambered down the long way round from the floor above, and
with another swing she lands gracefully inside the level
itself.
Checking all around, she stays low and uses the cars for
cover as she heads towards the yellow door that opens onto
the staircase.
Reaching the door, she makes a final scan round before
opening it and heading down, out of sight.
14 INT. CRAWFORD'S MALL - BASEMENT. DAY. 14
Faith steps out into the same sub level where Fulber rescued
his keys the previous evening, pressing herself against a
wall as two shop assistants walk past, chatting to each
other.
When the coast is clear, she steps out and heads across the
basement, sweeping her head left to right as she looks for
any signs of the demons she's after.
She passes a row of steel dumpsters, pausing as she picks up
on something.
She reaches up and with a heave manages to roll one of the
dumpsters round - and there's a large handprint on the back
of it. Definitely not human, given the size.
Faith grunts with exertion as she pulls the whole dumpster
bodily out of line - it doesn't look like it's been moved for
years, as it's cracked and empty, although it still weighs
quite a bit.
As Faith peers into the space she's created, she sees what
she's after - a hole tunneled into the concrete wall behind,
large enough to let something human-sized pass through.
The edges of the opening are stained with bloody handprints,
and a trail of filth leading in and out of the hole tells us
that it's been in recent use.
Faith grins at her find, and as she steps towards the
opening, we cut back to:
15 INT. CRAWFORD'S MALL - CAR PARK. DAY. 15
Noa and Quinn approach the two cops we saw on duty earlier,
who look up towards us.
COP #1
Back again, Detective?
Quinn nods and motions to Noa.
QUINN
This woman's a witness to the
incident, I'm just going to take
her past the crime scene, see if it
can help her recall anything for
us.
The cops exchange a look, then with a shrug, the first one
steps aside.
COP #1
Knock yourselves out. Not much to
see down there, so if she does pick
anything up, we'd sure love to hear
about it!
QUINN
Thanks.
He walks casually past the two cops, Noa taking a moment
longer to smile at both of them before following Quinn.
She whispers to him, glancing back over her shoulder at the
cops.
NOA
Wasn't that kind of illegal?
QUINN
Like they said, not much to see
down here. I've checked this all
out once already. You said this was
the best way to get to the areas
you need, so... Here we are.
Noa eyes Quinn warily, but as he grins at her, she finds
herself smiling back.
NOA
Okay, okay, I'll buy it. The
detective dupes a couple of his own
guys just to help out some random
girl he just met with her science
project. I guess that could make
sense to some people.
Quinn doesn't answer as they walk on, towards the yellow
doors that lead down to the basement.
NOA (cont'd)
I mean, yeah, this was the only way
to get down here 'cause the police
have blocked off the other exits,
so, you know thanks for getting me
this far, but... Aren't you gonna
get into trouble?
QUINN
(beat)
Maybe I don't feel like being a
detective today.
Still not sure what to make of him, Noa stays with Quinn as
they approach the yellow doors, and we cut to:
16 INT. TUNNEL. DAY. 16
Faith pads slowly through the tunnel she found, taking a
small flashlight from her pocket and using it to try and see
where she's going.
It's small beam doesn't offer much help, but she can at least
make out the rough, almost hand-carved tunnel walls as she
heads onwards.
She freezes as she hears sounds of movement up ahead -
grunts, shuffling sounds, what could be an open fire
crackling away.
As she sees a bend in the tunnel and light coming from the
other side of it, Faith wisely tucks her flashlight away and
replaces it with a trusty stake, edging forwards as we cut
back to:
17 INT. CRAWFORD'S MALL - BASEMENT. DAY. 17
Noa is kneeling down by what looks like a mound of droppings,
waving another of Pryor's small, boxy gadgets over it.
The box BEEPS and a small red light flashes, and Noa grimaces
as she realises that these are the 'samples' she was looking
for.
They're over in a far corner of the basement, the metal
dumpsters Faith found visible in the background.
Arms folded, Quinn stands a few feet away, leaning against a
pillar and watching Noa with a bemused grin.
QUINN
So... You do this sort of thing
often?
Noa glances round as she retrieves her latex gloves.
NOA
What sort through dem- er, rodent
poop in dirty basements? Oh, yeah,
all the time.
She turns back round, muttering under her breath.
NOA (cont'd)
More and more, these days, too...
QUINN
And this 'experiment' you're
helping out with, it's all about
finding where these rodents are,
then working out what to use to
kill 'em, based on the samples you
find, right?
NOA
(hesitant)
Uh... yeah, that's right!
Quinn nods, glancing round the basement. He grins as Noa
snaps on her gloves and reaches a hand gingerly out towards
the pile of droppings.
NOA (cont'd)
I hate this part...
QUINN
Hate to interrupt, but don't you
need something to keep the samples
in? You know, like a bag, or a
dish, or even a tissue?
Noa pauses, then silently curses - busted. She quickly fixes
her best smile in place and turns round.
NOA
Heh, whoops? Silly me. Guess you
can tell why they give me these
jobs, can't you?
(points to hair)
I'm, like, so blonde sometimes...
QUINN
Yeah, I get that.
Quinn grins back at her - Noa isn't sure if he's worked out
that she's making her whole story up or not, but decides to
go with 'not' for now.
NOA
Okay, so, yeah, you got me. I
forgot my little, uh, petri dish
thing. But come on, you got me this
far, you can't let me go back to
the lab empty handed, can you? I
mean, all we'd need would be a-
Quinn reaches over and snatches up a bottle of shampoo from a
trolley next to him - its loaded up with other toiletries and
goods, ready to be stacked on the shelves of one of the shops
above.
He unscrews the lid and pours the contents down into a drain
by his feet, as a surprised Noa watches on.
NOA (cont'd)
You just don't have any morals at
all, do you?
QUINN
I'm helping a damsel in distress.
End justifies the means.
He passes her the now empty plastic bottle, and, still
bemused, she uses it to gather up a healthy dollop of the
droppings before her.
She stands and turns to Quinn, smiling.
NOA
There! All set. Well, guess I've
made you break the law long enough,
how's about you escort me off the
premises and we can call this a
day?
QUINN
Don't mind if I do.
Noa snaps off the gloves and wraps them round the lid of the
bottle, making sure its secure, then heads back towards the
exit, Quinn following after he takes a few more glances round
the basement.
His expression is serious for a moment - as though he knows
there's something down her he should be looking for.
As he follows Noa, we cut back to:
18 INT. TUNNEL - CAVE. DAY. 18
As Faith peeks round the bend in the tunnel, she looks into a
small chamber built into the tunnel.
Inside are four of the insiro demons, tall and dark-skinned,
sitting cross-legged round an open fire.
Faith is hidden by the shadows, but as she takes one step
forward, one of the demons slowly turns its head to face her,
starting to SNARL.
Seeing that her cover is blown, Faith steps boldly into the
chamber, stake raised.
FAITH
Alright, you got me. I never was
much good at hide and seek.
As the four demons stand, showing that they're all taller
than Faith, she tightens her grip on the stake and takes up a
more defensive stance.
FAITH (cont'd)
So let's play a new game.
As the first demon ROARS, baring a mouthful of pure white
teeth inside its otherwise black head, we quickly cut to:
19 INT. CRAWFORD'S MALL. DAY. 19
Noa and Quinn walk on, chatting more easily now. The shampoo
bottle has been securely wrapped in about three plastic bags -
and Noa's even talked Quinn into carrying it for her!
NOA
So, then, I'd been there a few
months and was starting to wonder
what the heck it was all for, when
this new girl shows up, and since
she's been there, things have
been...
Noa trails off, searching for the right word.
QUINN
Different?
NOA
Exciting.
QUINN
(wry)
Funny, the whole 'sneaking round
basements, filling bottles with
poop' side of your work doesn't
sound all that exciting to me.
NOA
It's hard to explain, she's just -
there's a lot of layers to her, you
know? Like she only lets a few
people close enough to know her, to
really know her, and when she's
around, stuff just... happens.
QUINN
Trouble magnet, you mean.
NOA
Oh, it's not all bad. This one
time, we even-
Noa stops as her cell phone starts RINGING.
NOA (cont'd)
Oh, 'scuse me.
(answers it)
Hello?
We intercut with:
20 INT. TUNNEL - CAVE. DAY. 20
Faith stands, panting with exertion, over the bodies of the
four demons. Her hands are caked in the green blood of the
creatures, and she looks like she took a fair few hits in the
process.
FAITH
Noa? Slight change of plan. Get
whatever you've got and get out of
here.
NOA
Oh, it's cool, I found plenty of,
you know, the samples. There was
this nice guy to help me who-
FAITH
(interrupts; winces)
Sounds great - look, just get back
to the lab and I'll meet you there,
okay?
NOA
Okay, got it. See ya.
Faith hangs up, and as she puts the phone away, we see that
she has a nasty gash running down her left arm.
Faith examines the wound, which is clearly causing a fair bit
of pain, and reaches over to it.
With another wince and a quick tug, she pulls out a long,
black spine which was lodged in her arm. Faith peers at the
spine for a moment, then flicks it away.
As she turns and starts to head for the cave's exit, we shift
down to take a look at the discarded spine.
Close up on it - a single drop of green venom hangs on the
tip of the spine for a beat, before dropping to the floor
with a SPLASH, and from that, we:
BLACK OUT:
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
FADE IN:
21 INT. LAB - 'THE SLAB.' EVENING. 21
Back in the exam room of Webb Researching, as Pryor studies a
sample of the droppings Noa found.
In the background, Faith is gingerly flexing her arm, as Noa
finishes wrapping a bandage round the wound.
FAITH
So is that all you need, Pryor?
PRYOR
It's a start, yes. What I could
really do with are some skin
samples and most of all some blood,
that'd really help me fill in the
full picture.
Faith glances round, spots her discarded jacket and scoops it
up, tossing it towards Pryor.
FAITH
Plenty on there.
Pryor studies the jacket - it's spattered with the green
blood of the insiro demons, and a little of Faith's by the
tear in the left arm. He raises an eyebrow.
PRYOR
Are you sure that injury of yours
isn't too bad? From the looks of
it, they got you pretty deep.
FAITH
'S fine. Just a scratch. Found
these little spine things in my
arm, but I picked 'em out, so I
don't think...
Faith trails off as she sees that Pryor has paled visible.
She and Noa exchange a confused look.
FAITH (cont'd)
Pryor?
PRYOR
Did you say 'spines'?
FAITH
Yeah, that's right.
PRYOR
Oh, dear.
Pryor quickly gets up and hurries over to his computer. Noa
starts to look worried too as Faith stands, trying to laugh
it off.
FAITH
No, see, I'd know if they got any
poison or anything into me, 'cause
I'd have started to feel it by now,
right? You know, Slayer blood and
all, works quicker than most, and-
PRYOR
(interrupts; serious)
Faith, if you did get any of their
secretions into your system, then
your enhanced Slayer metabolism is
exactly the worst thing to have.
FAITH
(beat)
Oh.
NOA
(catches up)
It'll get round her system quicker,
won't it?
Pryor nods and turns back to his computer, rapidly typing as
Faith marches over, not looking happy.
FAITH
C'mon, Pryor, leave the doom at the
door for a second! Didn't we get
enough samples to analyse these
things, so you can cook up an
antidote or something?
PRYOR
Faith, I've only just started to
make my notes. Ordinarily, we're
looking at months of hard work here
to isolate and identify the agents
in the demon's blood that causes
the rapid ageing we've observed in
its victims.
NOA
Months?
PRYOR
At best.
Faith sighs and sits back down, well used by now to getting
bad news.
FAITH
Okay, so, if I've got some of that
poison in my system, how long till
I end up like the other victims?
Pryor taps on his computer for a second, double checking
something, before turning back to Faith.
PRYOR
Well, from the autopsy reports I
managed to hack into and download,
the victims seemed to last about
eight hours. Their bodies aged
overnight, the demons leaving them
to ripen, almost, before coming
back to extract the nutrients they
needed. But with your metabolism,
my best guess is-
FAITH
(stern)
How long?
PRYOR
(beat; sighs)
Less than four hours.
Faith closes her eyes, and Noa looks suitably horrified.
FAITH
Chances of you working out an
antidote in that time?
PRYOR
Virtually nil.
NOA
'Virtually' nil is better than,
like, completely nil, though...
Right?
PRYOR
If you were able to get me some
better samples, maybe even a
specimen, live or dead, then I
could get through this a lot
quicker, so-
Faith stands, cutting Pryor off.
FAITH
Bound to be more of those things
back in that mall, I'll just go
find one and drag its ass back
here.
PRYOR
(shakes head)
Out of the question. Physical
exertion on your part will only
make the toxins travel round your
bloodstream more quickly. If you go
running after demons and fighting
them, you're signing your own death
warrant.
Faith falls silent for a beat, then nods, accepting the
situation.
FAITH
Only one thing for it, then.
Faith and Pryor both turn to look at Noa, who double takes
when she finally realises they're staring at her.
NOA
(shocked)
Me?!?
PRYOR
I have to stay here and keep
working, see if I can do anything
to help in the meantime. Faith,
you'd better get back to your
apartment, stay rested up. That
should slow down the toxins.
NOA
Wait, wait, back up a few blocks
here, everybody. Are we forgetting
the part where I'm not exactly cut
out for killing a demon, on my own,
and then bringing it back here?
I'll get killed!
FAITH
Noa, the bodies of the ones I
killed earlier are probably still
there. Just get in there, grab one
and come back. Simple.
(to Pryor)
You got any gadgets she can use?
Pryor scans the tabletop nearby that is covered with his
prototype demon-hunting devices, nodding and picking up a
bandolier of bulky, grapefruit-sized grenades.
PRYOR
These should repel any insiro
demons you encounter, the gas they
release has been designed to be
toxic to them.
NOA
(gulps)
Gas?
PRYOR
It won't hurt you, don't worry.
Plus, it'll make an excellent
smokescreen.
Noa looks from Pryor to Faith, and back.
NOA
You're both serious, aren't you?
FAITH
You're the only shot we've got at
this, Noa.
Faith steps towards Noa, who looks overwhelmed by this new
mission, but Faith manages as close to a comforting smile as
she can for her.
FAITH (cont'd)
You always did want to be a hero,
right? Now's your chance.
And from Noa's less-than-convinced look, we cut to:
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.