Copyright 1989, 2009 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 TRANSYLVANIAN CASTLE - NIGHT
ESTABLISHING SHOT. Dark and foreboding. SUPERIMPOSE:
NAZI-OCCUPIED TRANSYLVANIA
1944
Black-uniformed Nazi SCHÜTZES (SS privates) guard the castle.
INT. THE CASTLE - 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. The Countess stops
pacing to glare impatiently at the officer in charge, an
OBERFÜHRER (SS colonel), 45, who is idly admiring her.
COUNTESS
Where is this Obergruppenführer
you speak of?
OBERFÜHRER
He is on his way, Countess.
EXT. THE CASTLE - NIGHT
A four-door sedan pulls up in the courtyard, the driver
unseen in the darkness.
From the back seat emerges pudgy SS Obergruppenführer
(General) DORSCH, 55, whose peaked cap is knocked from
his head by the door sill.
INT. MAIN HALL - NIGHT
General Dorsch swaggers into the hall, SCHÜTZE #1 holding
the massive front door for him, the other Nazis coming
smartly to attention.
The Countess looks coldly at Dorsch as he joins her, a
smirk on his round porcine face. He doffs his 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.
He takes out a cigarette case. Opening it, he holds it out
to her.
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's paying 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.
DORSCH (cont'd)
You cannot escape us.
She looks defiantly at Dorsch.
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 the 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.
A BLACK & WHITE NEWSREEL (1952)
SHOTS of lovely blonde EVA PERÓN of Argentina, including
shots with her husband, President JUAN PERÓN; MOURNERS lined
up to enter the Ministry of Labor building. During this:
NEWSREEL NARRATOR (V.O.)
Argentina mourns its first lady, the
beloved Eva Duarte de Perón, dead of
cancer at the age of thirty-three.
INT. MINISTRY OF LABOR BUILDING - AN UPPER LOBBY - NIGHT
Eva's CORPSE lies in a closed coffin, the mourners who file
past viewing her through glass in the lid. SUPERIMPOSE:
BUENOS AIRES
1952
LADY MOURNER #1 kisses the glass, crosses herself, moves off.
LADY MOURNER #2 starts to kiss the glass but sees slobber on
it, wipes it off first with her handkerchief.
HI HICKENLOOPER, 34, a handsome, well-dressed North American,
is next in line. Hi looks sadly, lovingly, at Eva for the
brief moment that he has.
EXT. THE MINISTRY BUILDING - NIGHT
Hi exits the building. Mourners are lined up down the street.
Hi starts walking away. (He always has a little spring in
his gait, due to a slight clubfoot.)
SOTO, 42, a trim, mustached LATINO in a pin-striped suit and
felt hat, sinisterly watches Hi. He starts following him.
EXT. CUCO'S CABARET - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT
ESTABLISHING SHOT of a modest but respectable nightclub.
INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT
A 30-ish female CABARET SINGER, accompanied by PIANO PLAYER
#1, is performing a sad love ballad for the PATRONS.
Hi sits somberly at the bar. The BARTENDER, 25, brings him
his drink.
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.
The bartender moves off.
Soto, watching Hi, sits alone at a table. Soto lights a
cigarette as WAITER #1 serves him a drink.
Hi, sipping his drink, gazes wistfully at the singer in the
large mirror behind the bar.
BEGIN FLASHBACK
INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT (1942)
Brunette EVA DUARTE, 23, accompanied by PIANO PLAYER #2, is
singing a love ballad, badly off key, for the PATRONS.
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's murdering 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.
Minutes 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, 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?
END FLASHBACK
INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT
Hi sits remembering at the bar as before.
BARTENDER
Would you like a refill?
HI
Make it a double.
INT. A DARKENED OFFICE - DAY
A slide of Hi walking on a Lima street is projected on a
screen. MCKAY, 47, British, in a business suit, sits
looking at the image.
INTELLIGENCE AGENT #1, a 40-ish American, operates the
projector. INTELLIGENCE AGENT #2 is also present.
AGENT #1
Hiram Hickenlooper. Learned German
from his German-born mother. His
father is second generation. His
father owns Hickenlooper Foods,
which began as a hamburger stand
in Florida.
Agent #1 now shows a slide of the ruins of Machu Picchu.
AGENT #1 (cont'd)
His father as a teenager was with
Hiram Bingham. They discovered
Machu Picchu in Peru.
MCKAY
Lost City of the Incas.
A slide appears of Hi and Diego Vara (to be met shortly),
both decked out as jungle explorers, rain forest in b.g.
AGENT #1
And ever since Hi grew up, his
wealthy father has sent him, time
and again, into the Amazon rain
forest, in search of El Dorado, or
whatever lost city he can find -
when Hi should be home learning
the food business.
MCKAY
Who is that with him?
AMERICAN
His friend Diego Vara, a rich
Peruvian playboy.
MCKAY
So Hickenlooper knows the Amazon
jungle.
AMERICAN
As well as any man alive.
MCKAY
And he understands German. He sounds
like our man. Where can I find him?
EXT. DIEGO VARA'S MANSION - LIMA - DAY
ESTABLISHING SHOT of a luxurious mansion.
AGENT #1 (V.O.)
In Lima, Peru.
INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR - DAY
McKay, in suit and fedora, is about to knock on the front
door when it opens.
Handsome Peruvian DIEGO VARA, 32, in a nice silk robe,
appears in the doorway with pretty LATINA #1, 25, wearing
a tight red dress. Diego glances at McKay.
Embracing, Diego and the Latina share a long goodbye kiss.
McKay puts his hands in his pockets and waits.
The Latina goes sashaying off.
MCKAY
Diego Vara?
DIEGO
One moment, please.
Pretty LATINA #2, mid-20's, sexily dressed, appears in the
doorway, and Diego kisses her goodbye in the same fashion,
while McKay folds his arms and waits.
Latina #2 goes strutting off.
DIEGO (cont'd)
You were saying?
MCKAY
Well, I asked you your name. But
it's clear that you are Diego Vara.
DIEGO
Who are you?
MCKAY
My name is McKay. I've been
looking for Hi. High and low.
DIEGO
Who is Lowe?
MCKAY
I've been looking for Hi high and
low.
DIEGO
Why do you need to see Hi?
MCKAY
I've got a job for him. You must
know where Hi is. I've looked all
over Lima.
DIEGO
He is in tristeza.
MCKAY
Tristeza? Is that far from here?
DIEGO
I mean he is in mourning. He has
lost her again.
MCKAY
Lost who?
DIEGO
His Evita. Perón.
McKay looks stunned.
DIEGO (cont'd)
She and Hi were lovers, till she
ditched him for Juan Perón.
MCKAY
The dossier on Hickenlooper was
not quite complete.
DIEGO
And this job - what is it?
MCKAY
I will discuss that with him.
DIEGO
Then you will have to find him.
Good luck.
Diego turns to go back inside.
MCKAY
What if I told you it involves
Adolf Hitler?
DIEGO
Are you saying that Hitler's alive?
MCKAY
No, I wouldn't say that.
DIEGO
Then what? Who do you work for?
MCKAY
Let's just say I work for Western
intelligence. Can you tell me
where Hi is?
EXT. CUCO'S CABARET - REESTABLISHING - NIGHT
INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT
Hi sits drinking again at the bar. Soto again sits at a
table watching him. Other patrons in b.g.
BARTENDER
Refill?
HI
Make it a triple.
Hi begins remembering again. OVERLAP SOUND:
HI (V.O.)
I don't believe what you're saying.
EVA (V.O.)
He asked me. I said yes.
BEGIN FLASHBACK
EXT. A SIDEWALK CAFE - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT (1944)
Hi and Eva, who is now a blonde, are having drinks at a
table, other PATRONS and WAITERS in b.g.
HI
You're going to marry Juan Perón?
EVA
Please understand, Hi. It's been
wonderful what we've had together.
But I must think of the future.
Juan is a colonel. He is also
Minister of War -
HI
I thought he was the Secretary of
Labor.
EVA
He is Minister of War in the
morning and Secretary of Labor
in the afternoon. With luck,
or a coup, he could be the next
president.
HI
Big deal. So you're going to give
up your acting career?
EVA
Yes.
HI
Eva, I thought you loved me and -
EVA
(interrupting)
I do love you, Hi. But you have your
lost cities to look for, and -
HI
(interrupting)
Forget the lost cities. I don't
even think there is one. We'll
go live in the states.
EVA
But this is my home, Hi. My
people. I don't want to leave
Argentina.
HI
Okay then, we'll stay here.
EVA
I'm sorry, Hi. My future is with
Juan.
END FLASHBACK
INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT
Hi sits remembering as before, gazing into the mirror behind
the bar. The bartender serves him his triple.
Taking a sip, Hi notes Soto in the mirror, looking at him
from a table. Hi notes how Soto averts his eyes.
A WOMAN has entered. 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.
Studying Soto, Hi turns with a casual air to look over his
other shoulder.
Hi now sees the woman. Soto looks at her too.
The woman wears black as if in mourning, her face pale behind
a thin veil. She stands there, as if looking the place over
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. (His name is WOLFGANG.)
When the woman sees Hi, her eyes widen. She turns quickly to
leave. Wolfgang calmly turns to follow.
Jumping from his bar stool, Hi heads after her. His way is
briefly blocked by a group of patrons, then he makes it to
the door.
EXT. CUCO'S - NIGHT
Hurrying outside, Hi looks around in light fog, as a few
PEOPLE pass. Hi sees no sign of the woman.
INT. MINISTRY OF LABOR BUILDING - A STAIRWAY - NIGHT
Mourners stand in line on the stairway. Hi comes hurrying
past them up the steps.
MALE MOURNER #1
Hey, where do you think you're
going?
POLICEMAN #1 looks up from the lower lobby as more people
complain.
INT. THE UPPER LOBBY - NIGHT
Hi breaks in line at Eva's coffin, yanking his arm free from
MALE MOURNER #2 who tries to stop him. Hi hurriedly studies
the corpse he viewed earlier.
Policeman #1 grabs him by one arm, POLICEMAN #2 by the other.
HI
It's not her.
Hi smiles as the policemen are toting him away, the mourners
watching and listening.
HI (cont'd)
She's alive. It's not her.
EXT. A STREET - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT
PEOPLE are leaving a theater. The fog now is thicker.
A well-tailored gentleman named JORGE, about 50, leaving by
himself, notes nearby 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 begins walking 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 start flowing down the sheet.
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 start dressing.
JORGE (cont'd)
What are you?
While Eva is dressing, 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.
JORGE
Damn, she wasn't even a whore.
(pressing his wounds)
How am I going to explain these
holes in my story?
EXT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT
A taxi stops in front in dense fog.
INT. THE BUNGALOW - NIGHT
Hi lets in Diego and McKay with handshakes.
HI
Hello, Diego. It was good to hear
from you, pal.
DIEGO
Amigo. This is the British agent
I told 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'll you guys have?
DIEGO
A Bloody Mary.
MCKAY
Some brandy for me.
Hi starts fixing drinks.
HI
So what's this thing about Hitler?
Walking 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
What has she got 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
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
Where is he now?
MCKAY
Somewhere in the Amazon jungle.
We know he has already contacted
several South American leaders.
Hi hands Diego his drink.
MCKAY (cont'd)
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 drink.
MCKAY
His first South American contact
was Juan Perón.
Hi gets liquor down his windpipe.
HI
(coughing)
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
(croackingly)
She became a vampire?
MCKAY
What?
DIEGO
Eva became a vampire?
MCKAY
That would seem likely. The
deserted Perón had little choice
but to fake Eva's untimely death.
How else to explain her absence?
HI
That's not her body in the ministry.
You're right about that. I saw her
tonight. 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. But
there was a second man watching me.
DIEGO
(to McKay)
If what you say is true, there must
now be bad blood between Perón and
Hitler.
MCKAY
True. The jilted Perón has good
reason now to rid the world of
Hitler. But then don't we all.
HI
That's where I come in?
MCKAY
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. In Cuco's
Cabaret. I'd like to think she
came in - 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. I
won't do anything that might hurt
Eva. And you know what? Neither
will you.
DIEGO
(to McKay)
With Eva involved, he needs time
to think about this.
HI
You're right, pal. It's been an
eventful day.
MCKAY
Very well, Hi. Sleep on what we've
discussed. We'll talk more in the
morning.
(to Diego)
Let's go.
HI
Where are you guys staying?
MCKAY
The Corrientes Hotel.
DIEGO
(to McKay)
Let's go see what we can find
in the bar.
EXT. AMAZON JUNGLE - NIGHT
Moonlit view of the vast jungle canopy.
SUPERIMPOSE:
AMAZON RAIN FOREST
EXT. A JUNGLE BASE - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT
There are four thatch-roofed wooden buildings, large and well
spaced, in a large clearing fenced only by jungle. One building
is two-story with a balcony.
There are few windows, some lit. In the moonlight, large
BATS fly around the perimeter as if on guard duty.
EXT. BUILDING #4 - NIGHT
Obergruppenführer KEGEL, 50-ish, lean, in uniform, pauses as
he approaches the building. He looks up at the Amazon moon,
then he glances around at the base. He looks sick of it all.
SS SCHÜTZE #2, standing guard at the door, raises his arm in
salute and clicks his heels as Kegel enters the building.
SCHÜTZE #2
Heil Hitler!
KEGEL
Sieg Heil.
INT. A CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Kerosene wall lamps light the corridor. SS OBERSCHÜTZE #1
(private first class), 30, comes out of a door labeled WATER
CONTROL ROOM, and snaps to attention as Kegel comes by.
KEGEL
Is the generator gassed up?
OBERSCHÜTZE #1
Yes, Obergruppenführer.
Kegel looks at his watch. He proceeds on his way.
KEGEL
Crank it up in fifteen minutes.
All lights burning.
INT. THE CORRIDOR - NIGHT (MOMENTS LATER)
Kegel opens and enters a door labeled BLOOD FACTORY.
INT. THE BLOOD FACTORY - NIGHT
Oberführer (Colonel) FRANKEL, 45, and his aide, Oberschütze
SPITZ, 30, are doing paperwork at their desks. Their small
lamp-lit office area leads to a shadowy cell block.
Frankel and Spitz both rise as Kegel steps to Frankel's desk.
FRANKEL
Obergruppenführer Kegel.
KEGEL
Oberführer, how is production?
FRANKEL
Very good, Obergruppenführer. All
except for . . .
(checks a document)
. . . the American Bates. A bad
case of anemia.
KEGEL
Another stingy one, eh? Then the
choice is easy. He is the one for
tonight. Go and get him.
FRANKEL
Very well, sir.
Frankel and Spitz head for the cell block.
Kegel follows, strolling along the row of barred cells as if
on inspection.
There is an assortment of CAPTIVES - explorers, tourists,
Amazon natives - in individual cells. Some are having blood
extracted by remote control; others lie languishing,
apparently between donations.
Frankel and Spitz take 30-ish American explorer BATES from
his cell near the end of the row. They pass by Kegel on
their way out.
BATES
Where are you taking me?
FRANKEL
Wouldn't you like to know.
Kegel comes to the cell of American explorer CROWLEY, about
50, who is lying on his bunk.
CROWLEY
Hey, what are they going to do to
my partner Bates?
KEGEL
Worry about yourself, Mister
Crowley. You and the others have
to keep giving. You must keep
eating well.
CROWLEY
Eating well?
KEGEL
Keep that blood pressure up. Keep
producing fresh blood. How is my
English?
CROWLEY
It stinks.
KEGEL
How would you like a dip in our
pool, like Bates, Mister Crowley?
CROWLEY
A dip in your pool? What does that
mean?
INT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - NIGHT
Hi, his two visitors gone, sits drinking on the couch, a
bottle of liquor on the coffee table.
HI
How could you do it, Eva?
Hi pours more liquor as he thinks.
HI (cont'd)
Go kill Hitler and his vampires?
Hi sits back and sighs.
HI (cont'd)
If I don't find a lost city soon,
Bates and Crowley will beat me
to it.
INT. BUILDING #4 - AN INDOOR POOL - NIGHT
Underwater lights come on in the pool, as terrified Bates
stands, hands bound, at the edge of a platform over the
water. SCHÜTZE #3 is binding Bates's feet.
On a bank of seats, vampiric-looking SS MEN, in black shirts,
breeches, and jackboots, sit watching and waiting in the
darkness beyond the lighted pool.
Standing off to himself to watch the show is Obergruppenführer
Dorsch - a bit paler than he was at the Countess's castle.
Kegel, a mean smile on his face, steps to Bates's side at the
platform's edge.
At the rear of the platform is the door to the water control
room. Kegel signals to Oberschütze #1, who is watching from
the open door.
INT. WATER CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT
Oberschütze #1 begins pulling down a lever.
INT. POOL - UNDERWATER - NIGHT
A tunnel in the side of the pool opens by remote control.
From an adjacent holding tank, a large school of fish
PIRANHAS, with razor-sharp teeth - streams into the
pool.
INT. POOL - NIGHT
For show, Schütze #3 throws a little raw meat into the pool.
The piranhas attack it with clattering teeth.
Kegel studies Bates's reaction, Bates looking down at the
piranhas with terror.
Schütze #3 hands Kegel a wired microphone.
KEGEL
(to Bates, into mike)
Piranhas. Such fascinating little
creatures. They can devour a man
in seconds, leaving nothing but
blood and bones. They are even
lethal to vampires. As we found
when Schütze Vogel fell in. As far
as we know he has never come back.
Am I boring you, Mister Bates?
Kegel holds the mike to Bates's mouth.
BATES
No, no, I'm here to listen. Keep
talking. Please.
INT. WATER CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT
Oberschütze #1 presses a button and there is the sound of
PEOPLE (V.O.) laughing.
INT. POOL - NIGHT
Bates looks around, Kegel watching him.
BATES
Who is that laughing?
KEGEL
It's a laugh track.
Kegel continues to use the mike for both himself and Bates.
KEGEL (cont'd)
We call this our conversion pool.
BATES
I'm converted! Really I am. I
believe in the Reich and all that.
There is more canned laughter.
KEGEL
I don't mean converting the mind,
you fool. We convert your body,
into blood. What do you think we
live on out here? First, the
piranhas do their work. Then we
drain the pool, through a special
osmotic process, separating the
impure fluid.
BATES
Impure fluid?
KEGEL
The water. Leaving nothing but
blood.
BATES
Why so much trouble? Why not just
draw out some blood when you need
it? I got plenty.
KEGEL
Oh, we do. With some people. But
others - special ones - go into our
pool.
BATES
Why be choosy? Why not just extract?
It's easier.
KEGEL
Easier, yes. But no fun.
Kegel chortles and slaps Bates chummily on the back. The
blow topples Bates screaming into the water.
The SS men watch from their seats as the piranhas, with their
clattering teeth, begin converting Bates to blood and bones.
Dorsch watches the show from his vantage point with a
jaded look.
INT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - NIGHT
Hi lies asleep, still clothed, on the couch, the empty bottle
and glass on the coffee table. The room is dimly lit.
EXT. THE PATIO - NIGHT
Dark. It's still foggy.
A large BAT lands on the patio.
INT. BUNGALOW - NIGHT
A shadowy INTRUDER enters from the patio, approaches sleeping
Hi. The intruder's shadow falls over him.
The intruder is Wolfgang, still in coat and tie. He reaches
down and grabs Hi by the collar, Hi awaking.
Wolfgang lifts Hi to his feet. Hi punches Wolfgang in the
gut. Wolfgang just smiles.
Hi grabs the bottle from the table and smashes it over
Wolfgang's head. This seems to make Wolfgang mad.
Gripping Hi by the collar and belt, Wolfgang tosses him
effortlessly over the couch. Hi crashes into breaking
furniture.
Wolfgang continues to tear the place up, using Hi's vainly
resisting body to do it.
Hi grabs up a fireplace poker, but Wolfgang wrests it from
him. Wolfgang throws Hi down and pins him to the floor.
Hi waits, exhausted, Wolfgang holding the poker like a spear
as if set to plunge it into Hi's neck.
HI
Well? What's holding you back?
WOLFGANG
Señora Perón. I am here to take
you to her.
HI
You had to wreck this place first?
WOLFGANG
I don't like being hit with a bottle.
EXT. A SECLUDED MANSION - NIGHT
Dark and foggy. 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 got homesick. It was such
a surprise to run into you.
HI
You were surprised?
He 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's
assigned to protect me. I hope he
didn't hurt you.
Hi shifts painfully in his chair.
HI
Nah. We just worked out together.
EVA
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. 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
He left her in the bunker in Berlin.
HI
Nice guy.
EVA
She didn't want to be a vampire.
Smart move.
HI
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
Then 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, looks 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