Copyright 1989, 2010 by Ronald L. Ecker
All Rights Reserved
"Night of the Dragon's Blood" has been divided into four Web pages, which helps with the downloading time. A "Go to" link at the bottom of each page will take you to the next page.
FADE IN:
EXT. A CENTURIES-OLD CASTLE - NIGHT
Dark and foreboding. SUPERIMPOSE:
NAZI-OCCUPIED TRANSYLVANIA
1944
Black-uniformed Nazi SCHÜTZES (SS privates) guard the castle.
A four-door sedan arrives in the moonlit courtyard.
INT. THE MAIN HALL - NIGHT
Romanian COUNTESS BORCA, 40-ish, in a red satin gown, looks
livid as she paces. She's attractive in a spooky sort of way.
Schützes stand guard about the hall. An OBERFÜHRER (SS
colonel), 45, is in charge, idly admiring the Countess.
The front door opens. Pudgy SS Obergruppenführer (General)
DORSCH, 55, swaggers into the hall, SCHÜTZE #1 holding the
door for him. All the Nazis snap to attention.
The Countess looks coldly at Dorsch as he joins her, a smirk
on his round porcine face. He doffs his peaked cap.
DORSCH
Countess Borca. I am Obergrup-
penführer Dorsch of the Schutz-
staffel.
COUNTESS
May I ask why the S.S. has invaded
my castle?
DORSCH
To protect you, dear lady. You
must come to no harm. Shall we
sit down?
They sit down at a nearby oak table.
DORSCH (cont'd)
I've searched all Transylvania
for someone like you. I had
almost decided that you didn't
exist.
Dorsch takes out a cigarette case. Opening it, he holds it
out to the Countess.
DORSCH (cont'd)
Care for a Lucky Reich?
COUNTESS
No, thank you.
He notes cunningly that she casts no reflection in a mirror
in the case. She pays no attention.
DORSCH
You do not smoke, Countess Borca?
COUNTESS
No.
He draws her attention to the mirror.
DORSCH
No reflection on you.
She slaps the case from his hand with an upward blow.
Cigarettes fly, the case hits Dorsch in the face.
They both rise in a huff. Then the Countess regains her
composure.
COUNTESS
I am sorry.
She casually steps over to a large, leafy plant, which bears
roselike red flowers.
COUNTESS (cont'd)
I do not like mirrors.
DORSCH
Of course not. You are a vampire.
The Countess smells one of the flowers. Dorsch joins her by
the plant, some Schützes gathering his smokes off the floor.
COUNTESS
Who told you such nonsense?
DORSCH
The local peasants. But I had to be
sure. You know how superstitious
they are.
Dorsch feels one of the plant's branches.
DORSCH (cont'd)
A lovely plant. What is it called?
COUNTESS
Dracaena.
DORSCH
Dracaena? I have never heard of
it. Does it grow only here in
Transylvania?
COUNTESS
Are you here to talk about plants?
DORSCH
Of course not. I am here for one
purpose.
The Oberführer steps forward with Dorsch's cigarette case,
open to show it has been refilled.
OBERFÜHRER
Your cigarettes, sir.
Taking the case, Dorsch notes again with amusement how the
Countess is not reflected in its mirror.
DORSCH
Now you see her, now you don't.
COUNTESS
What do you want of me?
Dorsch re-pockets the case.
DORSCH
You must come with me to Berlin.
COUNTESS
To Berlin? But why?
DORSCH
Because those are my orders.
COUNTESS
I will not go.
DORSCH
You will go.
She turns toward the stairway. Schützes block her way. She
turns to glare at Dorsch.
DORSCH (cont'd)
You cannot escape us.
A beat. The Countess smiles evilly, defiantly at Dorsch, as
if she's about to do something clever.
DORSCH (cont'd)
Do not try the bat thing I have
seen in the movies. You cannot
fly away.
The Countess transforms into a BIG BLACK BAT.
DORSCH (cont'd)
She is trying the bat thing.
The bat heads for an open window.
OBERFÜHRER
Close that window!
Schützes slam the shutters shut, the bat veers away.
The bat wings toward two Schützes guarding the top of the
stairway. They raise their weapons.
DORSCH
Do not shoot!
The men obey. The bat turns away.
Dorsch watches the bat fly desperately about the room.
DORSCH (cont'd)
Countess Borca, it is useless.
You cannot get away. You might
as well come to roost.
Some batshit lands in Dorsch's face. Schützes try not to
laugh. Dorsch wipes some of the crap from his face with
a handkerchief.
DORSCH (cont'd)
Another bat thing.
EXT. A GOVERNMENT BUILDING IN LONDON - DAY
A drab building on a gloomy overcast day. SUPERIMPOSE:
LONDON, ENGLAND
1952
INT. A DARKENED OFFICE - DAY
A slide projected on a screen shows an aerial view of the
Amazon rain forest.
MCKAY, 47, British, in a business suit, sits looking at
the image.
INTELLIGENCE AGENT #1, a 40-ish American, operates the
projector. Latino INTELLIGENCE AGENT #2, 45, is also
present.
The next slide shows a handsome North American male, early
30's, walking on a street in Peru.
AGENT #1
This is the subject. Hiram "Hi"
Hickenlooper. German American.
Learned German from his immigrant
parents.
The next slide shows a North American male tourist, 60-ish,
posing with the ruins of Machu Picchu in b.g.
AGENT #1 (cont'd)
Hi's wealthy father Edgar is a
self-made man, founder and C.E.O.
of Hickenlooper Foods.
MCKAY
That looks like Machu Picchu, Lost
City of the Incas.
AGENT #1
It is. Edgar is also an amateur
archeology nut.
The next slide shows Hi and Edgar stiffly posing together,
with Edgar pointing Hi toward rain forest in b.g.
AGENT #1 (cont'd)
Ever since Hi grew up, his father
has sent him, time and again, into
the Amazon rain forest -
The next slide shows Hi and Diego Vara (to be met shortly),
decked out as jungle explorers, rain forest in b.g.
AGENT #1 (cont'd)
- in search of the next Machu
Picchu, or whatever lost city
he find.
AGENT #2
I guess it beats having to stay
home and learn the family food
business.
MCKAY
Who is that with him?
AGENT #2
Hi's friend Diego Vara, a rich
Peruvian playboy.
The next slide shows Hi, in swim trunks, sitting with a drink
by a swimming pool. He is blurred or out of focus.
Walking by behind Hi are two lovely 30-ish WOMEN, with bare
breasts in clear focus, their lower halves hidden by Hi and
his chair.
AGENT #1
Another photo of Hi, surreptitiously
taken at Diego Vara's mansion.
Agent #2 smiles but McKay looks unfazed as if all business.
AGENT #2
I took this photo myself.
The next slide shows Hi, apparently drunk, his eyes half
closed, his mouth open, in a bar with Latinos.
AGENT #1
This photo of Hi was taken in a
night club in -
MCKAY
Excuse me. Let's go back to the
one before this one.
The slide reappears of Hi and the bare-breasted lovelies.
MCKAY (cont'd)
Oh, I see now. Hi is out of focus.
AGENT #2
Well, we know what he looks like.
MCKAY
Then why do we need to see this
photo?
AGENT #2
Because I went to a lot of trouble
to take it.
McKay sighs forbearingly.
MCKAY
So this Hiram Hickenlooper, heir to
his father's food business, knows
the Amazon jungle.
AGENT #1
As well as any man alive.
MCKAY
And you say he knows German. He
sounds like our man. Where can
I find him?
EXT. DIEGO VARA'S MANSION - DAY
Luxurious. A shapely LATINA, 25, in a tight silk dress,
sashays toward the front door.
AGENT #1 (V.O.)
In Lima, Peru.
EXT. SWIMMING POOL - DAY
The Latina, completely nude, prepares to dive from the diving
board.
Handsome Peruvian DIEGO VARA, 32, nude in the water, watches
admiringly.
The Latina makes an awkward dive. She laughs when she
surfaces in the water.
LATINA
I need to improve my form.
DIEGO
Your form, my dear, could not be
improved upon.
INT. A SITTING ROOM - DAY
Diego, in a robe, lies languidly on the couch. The 50-ish
butler ALFREDO brings in McKay, who wears a business suit,
his fedora in hand.
ALFREDO
This is Mister McKay, sir. The man
looking for Hiram.
Alfredo leaves.
DIEGO
Excuse me for not getting up. I
have been up for over twenty-four
hours. Why do you need to see Hi?
MCKAY
I've got a job for him. But I
can't seem to find him in Lima. I
thought perhaps you could help me.
Diego chuckles.
DIEGO
You've got a job for Hi Hickenlooper?
What kind of job?
MCKAY
I will discuss that with him.
DIEGO
Alfredo! . . . Then you will have
to find him. Good luck.
Alfredo returns.
DIEGO (cont'd)
Show this gentleman out.
MCKAY
What if I said the job involves
Adolf Hitler?
DIEGO
(beat)
Never mind, Alfredo.
Diego sits up as Alfredo leaves.
DIEGO (cont'd)
Who do you work for?
McKay strolls over to a piece of Peruvian Indian pottery and
picks it up.
MCKAY
Let's just say I work for Western
intelligence. Can you tell me
where Hi is?
Diego rises and walks over to where McKay stands studying the
pottery piece.
DIEGO
I'm afraid he's in mourning.
Diego looks proudly at the piece that McKay scrutinizes in
his hand. It features two human figures copulating.
MCKAY
Pornographic pottery?
DIEGO
Pre-Columbian. This piece is a
priceless antiquity.
McKay closely regards it in his hand.
MCKAY
Hi is in mourning for whom?
DIEGO
Eva Perón. She just died of cancer
in Argentina.
MCKAY
I know. What does she have to do
with Hi?
DIEGO
Everything. Hi and Eva Duarte were
lovers, before she ditched him for
Juan Perón.
McKay is so stunned that he drops the pottery. It shatters
on the floor. They both look down at it.
MCKAY
I'm sorry, I . . .
McKay bends down as if to pick up the pieces.
DIEGO
Leave it for the butler.
McKay straightens up again.
MCKAY
Tell him to try Elmer's Glue.
(beat; musingly)
Hi and Eva Perón were lovers?
Diego looks crushed about the pottery.
DIEGO
Before she married Juan. Hi never
got over her. He started drinking.
He hasn't stopped. Now he has lost
her forever.
McKay gazes thoughtfully into space.
MCKAY
I'm afraid this could complicate
matters.
DIEGO
Hi's drinking?
MCKAY
No. His relationship with Eva.
Diego looks sadly at the destroyed treasure on the floor.
DIEGO
The finest damn piece in the world.
McKay looks at Diego.
MCKAY
Eva Perón?
DIEGO
No. This pottery.
MCKAY
Oh. I said I was sorry.
Diego looks at McKay.
DIEGO
How does Eva complicate matters?
MCKAY
Do we have to discuss that now?
DIEGO
What does Eva have to do with
Hitler?
MCKAY
Where is Hi Hickenlooper?
DIEGO
Where do you think?
MCKAY
All these questions are getting
us nowhere.
Diego looks again at the pottery, then at McKay.
DIEGO
I ought to smash your face in,
McKay. Alfredo!
Diego moves away from McKay.
DIEGO (cont'd)
Hi is in Buenos Aires, for the
funeral. If they are ever going
to have it.
Alfredo comes in. He sees the disaster on the floor.
ALFREDO
My God. What happened, sir?
DIEGO
Do we have any Elmer's Glue?
INT. ARGENTINE LABOR MINISTRY - AN UPPER LOBBY - NIGHT
Eva's CORPSE lies in a closed coffin, the MOURNERS who file
past viewing her through glass in the lid.
HI HICKENLOOPER, 34, moves in the line. He looks sadly,
lovingly, at Eva for the brief moment that he has.
EXT. A BUENOS AIRES STREET - NIGHT
Hi walks morosely along the street. (He always has a little
spring in his gait, due to a slight clubfoot.) PASSERSBY
look mournful. There are wreaths on the lampposts.
Following Hi, as if for some sinister purpose, is SOTO, 42,
a trim, mustached Latino in a pin-striped suit and fedora.
INT. CUCO'S CABARET - NIGHT
A modest but respectable nightclub. A 30-ish female CABARET
SINGER, accompanied by PIANO PLAYER #1, sings a sad version
of the traditional "Las Mañanitas" for the joyless PATRONS.
Hi sits somberly at the bar. The BARTENDER, 35, brings him
a scotch on the rocks.
HI
The place hasn't changed much.
Except for the singer.
BARTENDER
When were you here last?
HI
Ten years ago.
BARTENDER
You ought to come around more often.
Soto, watching Hi, sits alone at a table. Soto lights a
cigarette as WAITER #1 serves him a drink.
Hi, sipping his scotch, gazes wistfully at the singer in
the large mirror behind the bar.
FLASHBACK - INT. THE CABARET - NIGHT (1942)
Brunette EVA DUARTE, 23, accompanied by PIANO PLAYER #2,sings
a bluesy love ballad, in English and badly off key, for the
PATRONS.
EVA
(sings horribly)
Like a castaway at sea, / I was
drifting aimlessly, / So alone
and so far from any shore . . .
Sharply dressed Hi, 24, sits watching and listening at a
table. He looks like he's fallen in love. Eva eyes him
flirtaciously as she murders the song.
30-ish WAITER #2 brings Hi his drink.
HI
What's her name?
WAITER #2
Eva Duarte. She is an unemployed
actress, filling in for our regular
singer.
HI
She doesn't sing very well.
WAITER #2
We have found that out. She was
hired because the boss likes her
looks.
The waiter moves off.
HI
So do I.
LATER
Eva joins Hi at his table, where a drink is already in place
for her. While they speak, Eva accepts a cigarette, Hi
lights it, then lights his own.
EVA
I'm Eva.
HI
I'm Hi.
EVA
Hi, Hi.
HI
Hi.
EVA
You are North American?
HI
Yeah.
EVA
Why aren't you fighting in the war?
HI
Got a clubfoot. You wouldn't know
it, though.
EVA
I would like to see it sometime.
HI
You show me your feet, I'll show
you mine.
EVA
What do you do, Hi?
HI
I look for lost cities.
EVA
Really? How many have you found?
HI
None so far. I'll explain it all
later. I work out of Peru. Came
down to B.A. for a break. What I
do is no picnic.
EVA
Nothing is. It's a jungle out there.
HI
You know English slang pretty well.
EVA
I know lots of slang words.
HI
Know any real dirty ones?
EVA
Sure. Want to hear one?
HI
Let's talk dirty later. What time
do you get off work?
INT. CABARET - NIGHT
Hi sits remembering at the bar as before.
BARTENDER
Would you like a refill?
HI
Make it a double.
Finishing the drink that he has, Hi notes Soto in the mirror
behind the bar, looking at Hi from his table. Hi notes how
Soto averts his eyes.
A WOMAN enters. She is dressed in black, but for the moment
she is seen only from about the knees down. She walks slowly
forward in black stylish shoes.
Hi studies Soto in the mirror, then turns with a casual air
to look over the room.
Hi now sees the woman. In her black as if in mourning, her
face pale behind a thin veil, she stands near the middle of
the room, looking the place over as if with nostalgia.
She looks a lot like Eva behind the veil.
Hi, staring at her, pays no attention to the man standing
behind her - a large blonde German, pale but muscular, about
40, in a business suit and hat. (He is WOLFGANG.)
When the woman sees Hi, her eyes widen. She turns quickly to
leave. Wolfgang calmly turns to follow.
Hi heads after her. His way is briefly blocked by a group of
patrons, then he makes it to the door.
EXT. CABARET - NIGHT
Hurrying outside, Hi looks around in light fog, as a few
PEOPLE pass. Hi sees no sign of the woman.
Hi thinks, then quickly moves off. Soto comes out of the
cabaret and looks off after Hi. Soto follows him.
INT. LABOR MINISTRY BUILDING - A STAIRWAY - NIGHT
Mourners stand in line on the stairway. Hi comes hurrying
past them up the steps.
INT. UPPER LOBBY - NIGHT
Hi breaks in line at Eva's coffin. Hi hurriedly studies the
corpse he viewed earlier.
POLICEMEN #1 and #2 grab Hi by the arms.
HI
It's not her.
Hi smiles as the policemen tote him away, mourners watching
and listening.
HI (cont'd)
She's alive. It's not her.
EXT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - NIGHT
Dense fog.
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Hi sits thoughtfully finishing off a scotch. There are
knocks at the door. Hi gets up and goes to the door.
HI
Who is it?
DIEGO (O.S.)
(outside)
Diego.
Hi unlocks the door and opens it. He greets Diego and McKay
with handshakes as they come in.
HI
Hello, amigo.
DIEGO
Nice little place.
HI
I had to rent on short notice. Are
you staying here or - ?
DIEGO
We checked in at the Corrientes
Hotel. This is the British agent
I wired you about.
MCKAY
McKay.
HI
You work for M.I. Six?
MCKAY
Let us say there is more than one
nation concerned with the subject
at hand. I am here on the free
world's behalf.
HI
Fair enough. What are you guys
drinking?
DIEGO
A Bloody Mary for me.
MCKAY
Brandy, if you have it.
Hi starts fixing drinks.
HI
Diego, you'll never guess what
happened tonight.
DIEGO
You saw a flying saucer.
HI
Something stranger than that.
DIEGO
What was it?
HI
Let's hear from our English friend
first. I want to know about this
job involving Adolf Hitler.
Reaching into his coat, McKay walks over to Hi. McKay hands
him a photo of Countess Borca.
MCKAY
Countess Borca of Romania.
Transylvania, to be exact.
HI
Not bad. Transylvania, eh? She
looks like a vampire.
MCKAY
She is - or was. She was the talk
of Transylvania.
Hi, clearly skeptical, returns the photo, which McKay hands
to Diego.
HI
And this vampire has something to
do with the Führer?
MCKAY
In nineteen forty-four, she was
taken to Berlin by Hitler's elite
guard, the S.S.
Hi hands McKay his brandy.
HI
I suppose you're going to tell me
that the Führer had this lady put
the bite on him.
MCKAY
Exactly. For the Führer, to
become a vampire was to become
immortal. Losing the war would
be losing one battle. He would
live to fight again.
Diego returns the photo to McKay.
HI
This is all a bit hard to believe.
MCKAY
Truth, as they say, is stranger
than fiction.
HI
On occasion. Where is Hitler now?
Hi hands Diego his drink.
MCKAY
Somewhere in the Amazon jungle.
We know he has already contacted
a few South American leaders.
HI
What did he tell 'em? He'd like
to have their countries?
MCKAY
His aim is to rule first South
America, then the world, through
bribery - by offering world leaders
something far more precious than
power or gold. Immortality.
HI
You've got to be kidding.
Hi takes a sip of his scotch.
MCKAY
His first South American contact
was Juan Perón.
Hi gets scotch down his windpipe and coughs.
HI
Wait a minute. Did this involve
Eva?
DIEGO
You okay?
Hi nods "yes," but coughs wetly. He yanks out a handkerchief
for his running nose.
MCKAY
We know that Eva Perón traveled,
as her husband's emissary, to
Hitler's secret jungle headquarters.
Now Hi can't stop coughing.
MCKAY (cont'd)
She never returned.
Hi acts like he's going to strangle.
MCKAY (cont'd)
According to our Argentine sources . . .
Hi reels into the bathroom.
MCKAY (cont'd)
. . . Perón believes she fell
for the Führer.
Hi (o.s.) throws up. The toilet flushes, McKay and Diego
waiting.
Hi returns, over the coughing, but breathing heavily, wiping
his tearing eyes, trying to clear his throat.
HI
Eva became a vampire?
MCKAY
That would seem likely. And Perón
faked her death, to cover up the
humiliating truth of her absence.
HI
You're right about one thing.
That's not her body in the
ministry. I saw her tonight,
Diego. In downtown B.A.
MCKAY
Who was she with?
HI
One man, I think. I didn't pay
much attention. I was staring at
her. In shock. Then she ran.
DIEGO
Where did this happen?
HI
Cuco's Cabaret.
MCKAY
(beat)
Back to Adolf Hitler. Here's the
proposition. No other man in the
world knows the Amazon jungle as
well as you. You're the logical
choice to help lead a special team.
You also speak German, should we
need it, so you fill that slot
as well. We must destroy him -
destroy, before it starts, his
vampire empire. We must save the
world from Hitler Part Two.
HI
I sure thought we had him at the
end of Part One.
MCKAY
That's why the world must never
know that we didn't. It would
detract from the free world's
hard-fought victory. This mission
is therefore top secret, now and
forever. What do you say?
HI
You want to know if I'll help you
go in and really get Hitler?
MCKAY
Liquidation of him and his vampire
henchmen. We don't know how many.
HI
I'd do it with relish. But what
about Eva?
DIEGO
If Eva is with him, what is she
doing in Buenos Aires? That is,
if it was really her you saw.
HI
I saw her, Diego. I'd like to
think she walked into Cuco's - the
place where we met - just to see
it again.
Hi heads for the bar to refill his emptied glass.
MCKAY
(aside to Diego)
What maudlin crap.
HI
What did you say?
MCKAY
I said, "We mustn't dawdle, old
chap."
HI
Yeah? Don't try to rush me into
a Hitler hunt.
Hi walks over to McKay.
HI (cont'd)
I won't do anything that might
endanger Eva. And you know what?
Neither will you.
A beat as they stare at each other.
MCKAY
I don't wish to rush you, Mister
Hickenlooper. Sleep on what we've
discussed. We'll talk more in the
morning.
HI
Tell me this. How can you be sure
that Eva's been staying in the
jungle with Hitler?
MCKAY
I can't be sure. But that's where
she went to meet with the damnable
creature. By way of Manaus,
Brazil, to a destination unknown
even to her. She never came back.
HI
Well you're wrong about her not
coming back. I've seen her. I
guess she got homesick.
EXT. A BUENOS AIRES STREET - NIGHT
The fog now is thicker. Walking, a well-tailored gentleman
named JORGE, about 50, stops to light a cigarette. Few
PEOPLE are about.
Jorge walks, then stops again. Down the street he sees a
WOMAN IN BLACK, leaning alone against a wall, looking off.
The woman's features are not clear in the darkness and fog,
yet she is obviously the same Eva whom Hi saw earlier, now
minus the veil.
Jorge approaches her. She continues looking off, not giving
him a full view of her features. But what he does see, the
remarkable resemblance to Evita Perón, clearly amazes him.
JORGE
I am Jorge. Who are you?
EVA
María.
JORGE
How much would you cost me, María?
EVA
One thousand pesos.
JORGE
It's a deal.
Eva walks away (in the same black stylish shoes seen at
Cuco's), in a manner clearly inviting Jorge to follow. He
follows.
Wolfgang calmly steps from around a corner and follows too.
INT. A HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
On the bed, nude Eva, advancing from the foot of the bed,
kisses Jorge's nude body till she reaches his neck. She's
holding down his arms.
Eva opens her mouth, exposing sharp canines, out of Jorge's
view. Eva starts biting his neck.
JORGE
It feels like you're biting my neck.
Two streams of blood flow down the side of the bedsheet.
JORGE (cont'd)
You're not actually biting, though,
are you? Of course not. You're
just nibbling, right?
Eva props up on her hands over Jorge. To his horror, there
is blood on her lips. She licks them, and a drop hits his
chest.
JORGE (cont'd)
What have you done?
Eva quickly rises to dress.
JORGE (cont'd)
What are you?
While Eva dresses, Jorge rises and goes to a mirror. He
gasps at the sight of the two bloody holes in his neck.
He doesn't see Eva in the mirror. Turning, he sees her
still dressing.
JORGE (cont'd)
My God.
Jorge quickly gets a handkerchief from his pants on the floor.
EVA
I'm sorry. There should be no
effect. One quickie, as they
say, doesn't do it.
Jorge presses the handkerchief to his wounds.
JORGE
No effect? What about these
holes in my neck?
EVA
I am sorry. They will heal.
Jorge looks in the mirror again at the holes. When he turns
again, Eva is gone.
On a table he sees his one thousand pesos. He goes over and
picks up the money. He looks mad.
JORGE
She wasn't even a whore.
INT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Hi, his two visitors gone, sits drinking on the couch, a bottle
of scotch, about three quarters empty, on the coffee table.
HI
Eva a vampire. With Hitler. Eva,
how could you do it?
Hi swigs, then sadly looks off.
HI (cont'd)
Remember the last time we made
love?
FLASHBACK - INT. A HOTEL SUITE - BEDROOM - NIGHT
Hi and Eva, who is now a blonde, make love in bed.
INT. BUNGALOW - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Hi morosely gazes off.
HI
Remember when we smoked together
afterwards?
OVERLAP SOUND:
HI (V.O.)
What?
FLASHBACK - INT. SUITE - BEDROOM - NIGHT
Hi looks incredulously at Eva as they lie smoking cigarettes
in bed.
HI
You're going to marry Juan Perón?
EVA
He asked me. I said yes.
HI
You've picked a fine time to tell
me.
EVA
I would have told you before, but
I wanted to make love with you one
more time.
HI
I'm really that good, eh? Then
what's this shit about Perón?
Hi crushes out his cigarette in a bedside ashtray.
EVA
Please understand, Hi. It's been
wonderful what we've had together.
But I must think of the future.
Eva takes a long drag on her cigarette.
HI
Don't suck on that thing. Talk
to me.
Eva lets Hi take the cigarette.
HI (cont'd)
What do you mean "think of the
future"? You think I can't provide
for you? I'm filthy rich.
Hi puts the cigarette on the rim of the ashtray, and turns
back to Eva. The cigarette falls on the floor.
EVA
Juan is a colonel. He is also
Minister of War. With luck, or
a coup, he could be the next
president.
Hi and Eva are unaware of the cigarette catching the shag
carpet on fire.
HI
Big deal. So you're going to give
up your acting career?
EVA
Yes.
HI
Eva, I thought you loved me and -
EVA
I do love you, Hi. But you have
your lost cities to look for, and -
HI
Forget the lost cities. I don't
even think there is one. We'll
go live in the states.
The fire spreads on the floor by the bed.
EVA
But this is my home, Hi. My
people. I don't want to leave
Argentina.
Smoke is rising by the bed, Hi and Eva not noticing.
HI
Okay then, we'll stay here.
EVA
I'm sorry, Hi. My future is with
Juan.
INT. BUNGALOW - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Hi sadly remembers as he drinks.
HI
That night we stood together for
the last time . . .
FLASHBACK - EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT
Hi, Eva, and other SPECTATORS stand watching the hotel burn
down. Hi is dressed in a bedsheet, Eva in a blanket.
SPECTATOR
Did everyone get out?
HI
Yes. Luckily I spotted the fire
in time.
Hi looks forlornly at Eva, who watches the fire.
HI (cont'd)
But this is one catastrophic loss.
INT. BUNGALOW - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Hi slugs down some more scotch.
EXT. REAR PATIO - NIGHT
Dark and foggy.
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The bottle on the coffee table is now empty.
Hi lies semiconscious on the couch.
HI
Eva . . . God, if I don't find a
lost city soon, Bates and Crowley
will beat me to it . . .
EXT. PATIO - NIGHT
In the dark and fog, a large BAT lands on the patio.
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Hi lies asleep, still clothed, on the couch.
A shadowy INTRUDER enters from the patio, and approaches
sleeping Hi. The intruder's shadow falls over him.
The intruder reaches down and grabs Hi by the collar with
one hand, Hi awaking.
The intruder powerfully lifts Hi to his feet with one hand.
It is Wolfgang, still in coat and tie. Hi punches Wolfgang
in the gut. Wolfgang just smiles.
Hi grabs the empty bottle from the table and smashes it over
Wolfgang's head. This seems to make Wolfgang mad.
Hi, still held by his collar, draws back a fist as if to
punch the oaf in the face, but then seems to think better
of it.
HI
Okay, you win.
Wolfgang pulls Hi close by the collar, to stare him hard in
the eye. Hi looks defiant.
HI (cont'd)
If you're here to kill me, get it
over with.
WOLFGANG
Someone wishes to see you. Perhaps
I can kill you later. I don't like
being hit with a bottle.
EXT. A SECLUDED MANSION - NIGHT
Darkness and fog. A car arrives in front.
EXT. A WINDOW - NIGHT
It appears to be Eva who peeks out from a curtained window.
EXT. THE CAR - NIGHT
Hi wears a blindfold as he and driver Wolfgang get out.
INT. THE MANSION - A STUDY - NIGHT
Eva, in black, steps to a wall mirror to check her hair, only
to be reminded that she has no reflection.
Adjusting one of her earrings, which have wooden pendants,
Eva moves to an easy chair.
Sitting down, she lights a cigarette, then strikes a calm pose.
Hi, blindfold off, walks in. Wolfgang stays outside, closing
the door.
EVA
Hello, Hi.
Seeing Eva again, Hi seems to hold in his emotion. He sits
down in an easy chair across from hers.
HI
Hello, Eva. What brings you out of
the jungle?
EVA
You know that much already?
HI
Yeah. A little bat told me. Just
visiting?
EVA
Yes. I missed Buenos Aires. It was
such a surprise to run into you.
HI
You were surprised?
Hi watches her lovely lips blow out smoke.
HI (cont'd)
You ought to quit smoking. It'll
shorten your life.
EVA
How did you quit?
HI
I took up drinking instead. Who's
the clown with you?
EVA
His name is Wolfgang. S.S. He is
assigned to protect me.
HI
A vampire too, I take it. Strong
as an ox.
EVA
Everyone out there with Adolf is
a vampire. Hi, what are you doing
in Argentina? So far from lost
cities.
HI
I'm here for the funeral. Haven't
you heard? You're dead. Everybody's
in mourning. That's right, I forgot,
you were in mourning too. At Cuco's.
EVA
You must forget about me. Life
must go on.
HI
They even fooled me with the body.
The first time. But then tonight
I saw it. One mistake.
EVA
What?
HI
They forgot the tiny wart.
Eva touches a little wart below her jaw.
HI (cont'd)
Nobody's perfect. But you were
so close.
Hi rises to pace, getting mad now.
HI (cont'd)
You fell for the Führer?
EVA
Not really. He did the falling.
I was so sick of Juan.
HI
What's wrong with Juan?
EVA
Don't get me started. I don't want
to talk about Juan.
HI
I don't either.
EVA
Then I met the Führer. He offered
me immortal power.
HI
Pretty hard to turn down. Eva,
you're really on a power kick.
EVA
I was. I should have stuck with my
acting career. And you. But I
did do some good for my country.
Till I met him.
HI
What happened to his first Eva?
Braun.
EVA
She didn't want to be a vampire. So
he left her to die in the bunker.
HI
Nice guy. You can't be in love
with him. Can you?
EVA
Of course not. I'm ashamed to be
with him. I can't get far enough
away from him. I've moved my
quarters to the bottom floor of our
building. I told him that I don't
like heights.
HI
You can really pick 'em, Eva.
EVA
I picked you, didn't I? That
proves I can do something right.
HI
Then do something right now. Why
go back to him?
EVA
(loudly)
What choice do I have?
She glances toward the closed door, as if suspecting that
Wolfgang is listening.
Crushing out her cigarette, Eva rises to pace, speaking
quietly again.
EVA (cont'd)
Do you think Adolf would let me
leave and not return? Do you
think he sends Wolfgang only to
protect me? No.
She stops by a wall painting, a portrait of herself as first
lady. She wistfully regards it.
EVA (cont'd)
There is no other place for me.
Not now. I've made the mother of
all mistakes. But I had to see
Argentina again.
HI
Maybe get a little Argentine blood?
(on her look)
Sorry.
EVA
Don't come after us, Hi. Please.
HI
Concerned for my health?
EVA
Yes. I didn't stop loving you
when I married Juan.
HI
You might as well have.
EVA
And you didn't stop loving me.
HI
No, I didn't.
EVA
May I kiss you goodbye?
She walks over to him. They gaze into each other's eyes.
Her lips move toward his.
HI
Just don't go for the neck.
While they kiss, Hi half-opens his eyes, looking for some
reason at Eva's earring with its wooden pendant.
Their lips part. Their eyes lock longingly, then,
EVA
Goodbye.
She moves off toward the door, Hi watching her.
Go to Part 2Return to beginning of script