based on the novel by Ronald L. Ecker
(writing as William Pridgen)
Copyright 2005, 2008 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
Dark and foreboding. SUPERIMPOSE:
NAZI-OCCUPIED TRANSYLVANIA
1944
Black-uniformed Nazi SS MEN guard the castle.
INT. MAIN HALL - CASTLE - NIGHT
Romanian COUNTESS BORCA, 40-ish, in a red satin gown,
looks livid as she paces.
SS MEN stand guard, admiring her. She's attractive in
a spooky sort of way.
She stops to glare impatiently at the officer in charge,
an OBERFUEHRER (SS colonel), 45, giving some instructions
to several SCHUTZES (SS privates).
COUNTESS
Where is this Obergruppenfuehrer
you speak of?
OBERFUEHRER
He is on his way, Countess.
EXT. CASTLE - NIGHT
A four-door sedan pulls up in the courtyard, the driver
unseen in the darkness.
From the back seat emerges pudgy SS Obergruppenfuehrer
(General) DORSCH, 55, whose peaked cap is knocked from
his head by the door sill.
INT. MAIN HALL - CASTLE - NIGHT
General Dorsch swaggers into the hall, SCHUTZE #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. As he doffs his cap:
DORSCH
Countess Borca. I am Obergruppen-
fuehrer Dorsch of the Schutzstaffel.
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. As he opens it, 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.
As 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 Schutzes 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 touches one of the flowers.
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
(beat)
Are you here to talk about plants?
DORSCH
Of course not. I am here for one
purpose.
The Oberfuehrer steps forward with Dorsch's cigarette case,
open to show it has been refilled.
OBERFUEHRER
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.
As Dorsch closes and re-pockets the case:
COUNTESS
What do you want of me?
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 defiantly and heads toward the stairway. SS Men
block her way.
DORSCH (cont'd)
You cannot escape us.
She turns and glares back 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 doing the bat thing.
The Bat heads for the window.
OBERFUEHRER
Close that window!
SS Men slam the shutters shut, the Bat veers away.
The Bat wings toward two SS Men guarding the top of the
stairway. As 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. SS Men try not to
laugh.
The angry, humiliated Dorsch wipes some of the crap from his
face with a handkerchief.
DORSCH (cont'd)
Another bat thing.
CUT TO:
A BLACK & WHITE NEWSREEL
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 - DAY
MOURNERS are lined up in two columns, up one stairway - leading
to an upper lobby - and down another.
SUPERIMPOSE:
BUENOS AIRES
1952
INT. UPPER LOBBY - DAY
Eva's CORPSE lies in a closed coffin, the Mourners, as they file
past, viewing her through glass in the lid.
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. MINISTRY - DAY
Hi exits the building. Mourners are lined up for blocks.
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, gets out
of a parked car in which he has apparently been waiting. The
person behind the wheel remains obscured.
Soto starts surreptitiously following Hi.
EXT. CUCO'S CABARET - NIGHT (LATER)
Hi gets out of a taxi, which pulls away. As a few PEOPLE pass, Hi
stands for a moment looking over the modest but respectable cabaret
with nostalgia. He goes in.
A second taxi pulls up, and Soto gets out. As the taxi pulls away,
Soto looks over the place with curiosity. He shrugs and goes in.
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 morosely at the bar as the BARTENDER, 25, brings him his
drink.
HI
The place hasn't changed much.
BARTENDER
When were you here last?
HI
(beat)
Ten years ago.
BARTENDER
Before my time.
The Bartender moves off.
Hi sips his drink. He gazes wistfully at the Singer in the large
mirror behind the bar. After a moment, the Singer becomes -
FLASHBACK: INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT (1942)
- brunette EVA DUARTE, 23, accompanied by PIANO PLAYER #2,
singing a love ballad, badly off key, for the PATRONS.
Sharply dressed Hi, 24, sits listening at a table. He looks like
he's fallen in love. Eva eyes him flirtaciously as she's murdering
the song. Hi seems oblivious to all the bad notes.
As a 30-ish WAITER brings Hi his drink:
HI
What's her name?
WAITER
Eva Duarte. She is an unemployed
actress, filling in for our regular
singer.
HI
She doesn't sing very well.
WAITER
We have found that out. She was
hired because the boss liked 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?
INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT (BACK TO THE PRESENT)
Depressed Hi, remembering, drinks at the bar as before.
An attractive Latin HOOKER, 25, sits down beside him and smiles.
HOOKER
Would you like a date?
Hi regards her for a moment.
HI
I had two wild and wonderful
years with Eva Duarte, and you
want to know if I want a "date"?
Her smiles vanishes. As she starts to get up in a huff, Hi
gently puts a hand on her arm.
HI (cont'd)
Hey. Sorry. I'm having a pretty
bad time. Tell you what . . .
As Hi takes some bills from his wallet and gives them to her:
HI (cont'd)
I know you have to make a living.
If it's okay with you, let's just
skip the service rendered.
The Hooker is thrilled by the amount of money. She looks at Hi
with gratitude and wonder.
HI (cont'd)
No hard feelings.
HOOKER
You know, too much drinking can
do that.
HI
No, that's not what I meant.
HOOKER
You are so generous with your money!
HI
It's my dad's money, really. He's
got plenty of it.
HOOKER
Where is your dad?
HI
Apalachicola. That's in Florida.
HOOKER
The United States? Your father
is too far away.
The Hooker gives him a kiss on the cheek, gets up and leaves.
HI
No, he's not far enough.
The Bartender steps over.
HI (cont'd)
A whore who knows geography. I
ought to go around the world with
her.
BARTENDER
Would you like a refill?
HI
Make it a double.
Soto is sitting alone at a table on the other side of
the room, keeping Hi in his sight.
Bored, Soto lights a cigarette from the butt of the last
one. He idly takes a couple of photos from his inside
coat pocket to study them.
One photo is of Hi. The other is of a 50-ish gentleman
whom we soon will meet. Handwritten on the back of the photo,
as Soto looks, is "McKay"; under the name is "MI6?".
HOOKER
Would you like a date?
Soto looks up at the smiling Hooker who has stopped by
his table.
SOTO
No, thank you.
As Soto returns the photos to his coat pocket:
HOOKER
Would you like to pay me anyway?
Soto looks at her quizzically.
SOTO
What kind of idiot would do that?
EXT. DIEGA VARA'S MANSION - LIMA, PERU - NEXT DAY
A luxurious mansion. SUPERIMPOSE:
LIMA, PERU
OVERLAP SOUND of an early '50s R&B rocker like Hank Ballard's
"Sexy Ways" or "Annie Had A Baby."
INT. A SITTING ROOM - DAY
Handsome Peruvian playboy DIEGO VARA, 32, is jitterbugging
with a pretty LATINA, 25, shapely in a tight red dress.
The 78-rpm record playing on the hi-fi is the naughty R&B
rocker. The Latina is thrilled.
LATINA
Oh Diego! Where did you get this
recording?
DIEGO
Hi smuggled it in from the states.
LATINA
What do the gringos call it?
DIEGO
Rhythm and blues.
LATINA
Rrrrrrhythm and blues! What will
they think of next?
EXT. THE MANSION - DAY
The front door opens, and Diego's mestizo BUTLER, 60, looks
out at a dignified Britisher, 47, in a suit and fedora. He
is MCKAY, the man in the photo seen earlier.
BUTLER
Si?
McKAY
My name is McKay. I want to
speak with Diego Vara.
BUTLER
And why would Diego Vara want
to speak with you?
McKAY
I'm looking for Hi Hickenlooper.
Mister Vara should know where
he is.
INT. THE SITTING ROOM - DAY
Diego and the Latina are dancing to the R&B rocker as before.
The Butler steps in and shouts above the music:
BUTLER
Excuse me! A Mister McKay here
to see you!
DIEGO
(dancing)
McKay? . . .
(the name apparently
rings no bell)
What does he want?
BUTLER
To find Hi Hickenlooper.
After a moment, the record ends, with Diego's arm around the
Latina's waist. Diego smiles at her, then,
DIEGO
(to Butler)
I'll see him in the Pornography
Room.
As the Butler leaves:
LATINA
The Pornography Room?
DIEGO
I want to make sure it's ready
to show you.
Diego gives her a little squeeze and heads for the door.
LATINA
I'm not sure I want to see it.
(going to the hi-fi)
I'm going to play this record again.
Diego stops and turns at the door, to watch as the Latina,
with her back to him, bends forward over the hi-fi.
LATINA (cont'd)
How's the flip side, Diego?
Diego admires her flip side.
DIEGO
Spin it until I get back.
INT. THE PORNOGRAPHY ROOM - DAY
A sitting room with an extensive collection of 12th-century
pornographic Indian pottery, arranged in rows on a long table
on one side of the room.
McKay, standing at the table, has one of the pieces in hand,
examining the two lovers depicted on top, as Diego walks in.
DIEGO
Mister McKay?
MCKAY
Yes.
McKay returns the piece to the table. As they shake hands:
DIEGO
I am Diego Vara.
McKAY
I was admiring your, uh -
DIEGO
Pre-Columbian pornographic pottery.
Priceless antiquities. Please handle
with care. What can I do for you?
McKAY
Well, I've been looking for Hi. High
and low.
DIEGO
Who is Lowe?
McKAY
I've been looking for Hi high and
low.
DIEGO
Are you a friend of Hi's?
McKAY
We have never met. I've got a job
for him.
Diego smiles with amusement. He starts rearranging some pieces
of the pottery.
DIEGO
You don't know much about Hi.
McKAY
What do you mean?
DIEGO
He is hardly in need of a job. He
is the sole heir of Hickenlooper
Foods.
McKAY
Which began with a hamburger stand.
As McKay strolls along the table, looking at and carefully
handling pieces of the pottery:
McKAY (cont'd)
I know all there is to know about
Hi. He is a man who must labor
for his father's obsession. His
father, as a teenager, was with
Hiram Bingham. They discovered
Machu Picchu.
As McKay continues, Diego goes to a couch facing the table and
strategically arranges the pillows.
MCKAY (cont'd)
And ever since Hi grew up, his
father has sent him, time and
again, into the Amazon jungle, in
search of El Dorado, or whatever
lost city he can find. When he
ought to be learning the food
business.
McKay looks closely at another piece he is holding. As he starts
to set it down, Diego politely takes it from him:
DIEGO
Wait. I want that one right here.
Diego sets it down directly across from the center of the couch.
MCKAY (cont'd)
Hi's Peruvian mentor in exploration
and archeology was your father,
the late Francisco Vara. And
you . . .
Diego sits down on the couch and picks up a pair of binoculars
from a coffee table in front of it.
MCKAY (cont'd)
. . . when you have nothing better
to do - have accompanied Hi on a
number of his fruitless expeditions.
Diego looks through the binoculars at the piece that he set
front and center on the pottery table.
DIEGO
We're not looking for fruit.
McKAY
You must know where Hi is.
Diego, still seated, sets the binoculars down ready for use
on the coffee table.
McKAY (cont'd)
I've looked everywhere I can think
of. Where is he?
McKay again picks up the piece that Diego centrally placed,
for another close look at its two copulating lovers.
DIEGO
He's in mourning. He has lost her
again.
Diego casually rises from the couch.
McKAY
Lost who?
DIEGO
His Evita. Perón.
McKay is so stunned that he drops the piece of pottery. It
shatters on the tile floor.
Diego, stunned too, walks over from the couch to look down
at the shattered piece.
DIEGO (cont'd)
They were lovers, years ago.
Diego shakes his head, staring down at the now lost little
treasure.
DIEGO (cont'd)
The finest damn piece in the world.
McKAY
Sorry. I'll pick up what's left
of it.
DIEGO
I'll have the butler do it.
McKAY
Tell him to try Elmer's Glue. You
were saying about Eva?
As Diego rearranges some pieces, to compensate for the one
now lost:
DIEGO
She left Hi for an ambitious army
colonel named Juan Perón. Who, as
fate would have it, became president
of Argentina. Eva was the love of
Hi's life. He never got over her.
And now she has died of cancer.
Perón's first wife died of cancer too.
MCKAY
Do you think Perón is some kind of
carcinogen?
DIEGO
Who knows.
McKAY
(beat)
Well, no doubt Hi's in mourning, but
where is he physically?
DIEGO
And this job - what is it?
McKAY
I will discuss that with him.
DIEGO
(beat)
Then you will have to find him.
Good luck.
Diego turns as if to leave.
McKAY
What if I said the job involves
Adolf Hitler?
Diego stops, looks back at McKay.
DIEGO
Are you saying Hitler's alive?
McKay evasively looks again at some pottery on the table,
though keeping his hands off.
McKAY
No, I wouldn't say he's - alive.
DIEGO
Then what? Who do you work for?
McKAY
I can't tell you that.
Diego turns to leave. McKay turns anxiously from the pottery.
MCKAY (cont'd)
On second thought -
In turning, McKay knocks a piece of pottery from the table to
the floor with his cuff.
Hearing it shatter, Diego stops, but doesn't look back.
MCKAY (cont'd)
Let's just say I work for Western
intelligence.
Diego turns and walks slowly over to the second shattered piece.
McKAY (cont'd)
Sorry. Can you tell me where Hi is?
Diego stands looking down at the two destroyed treasures.
DIEGO
If this really involves Adolf
Hitler, I will take you to Hi.
McKAY
Do we have far to go?
DIEGO
Buenos Aires. Right now let's
get out of this room.
INT. CUCO'S - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT
REESTABLISHING SHOT.
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.
INT. A BOXING ARENA - NIGHT
Hi and Eva among SPECTATORS at a boxing match.
INTERCUT a ridiculous brawl: BOXER #1 pummels BOXER #2 all the
way across the ring, then Boxer #2 pummels Boxer #1 all the way
back, etc. During this:
HI
You're going to marry Juan Perón?
Eva, now a blonde, is stuffing her face with popcorn.
EVA
Please understand, Hi. It's been
wonderful, what we've had together.
But I must think of the future.
Juan is the 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
You're going to give up your
acting career?
EVA
With Juan I'll be politically
involved. There are things more
important than radio soap operas.
HI
I agree. So give your career up
for me, not Perón.
EVA
If I married you, Hi - you with
your lost cities, so far from
Argentina -
HI
Forget the lost cities. We'll go
live in the states. We'll get
politically involved.
EVA
But your father, he -
HI
(interrupting)
Don't worry about Dad. We'll go
back to the old hometown. You'll
love it in Apalachicola.
EVA
But don't you see, Hi? I don't
want to go to -
(can't pronounce it)
HI
Apalachicola? Then you name it.
New York? We'll go to Chicago.
EVA
I don't want to go to New York
or Chicago.
HI
Why not?
EVA
Because Chicago is -
(searches for words)
HI
- not your kind of town?
EVA
I am Argentine. This is my home,
my people.
HI
No problem. We'll stay here.
EVA
I'm sorry, Hi. My future is
with Juan.
Boxer #2 catches a haymaker. He falls like a tree.
CUT TO:
INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT (BACK TO THE PRESENT)
Hi sits remembering as before, gazing at the mirror behind
the bar, as the Bartender serves him his triple.
A WOMAN has entered. She's dressed in black, but for the moment
we see her only from about the knees down, as she walks slowly
forward in black stylish shoes.
Hi hasn't seen her. As he's sipping, his eyes move to the
reflection of Soto, looking at Hi from a table behind him.
Hi notes how Soto self-consciously averts his eyes.
Hi studies Soto for a moment, then turns with a casual air
to look over his other shoulder.
Hi's attention is immediately drawn to the Woman. Soto notes
this, and 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.
Hi looks incredulous, straining his eyes. The Woman looks a
lot like Eva behind the veil. What can be seen of her hair
is brunette, like Eva Duarte's.
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.)
With surprise the Woman sees Hi, whose eyes widen now as if
in sure recognition.
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 who cross in front of
him, then he makes it to the door.
EXT. CUCO'S - NIGHT
Hurrying outside, Hi looks anxiously around in light fog, as
a few PEOPLE pass. Hi sees no sign of the Woman.
EXT. MINISTRY OF LABOR - NIGHT (LATER)
Light fog. MOURNERS lined up as before. Hi arrives, and
heads straight for the entrance.
INT. MINISTRY OF LABOR - NIGHT
Mourners stand in line on the stairway. Hi hurries right
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.
Hi breaks in line at the coffin, yanking his arm free from
MALE MOURNER #2 who would stop him. Hi looks anxiously at
the Corpse he viewed earlier.
Policeman #1 is hurrying up the steps.
Hi is studying the Corpse. Policeman #1 grabs him by one
arm, POLICEMAN #2 by the other.
HI
It's not her.
EXT. MINISTRY - NIGHT
Policemen #1 and #2 roughly drag Hi out of the building.
At the foggy curb they turn loose of him.
POLICEMAN #1
Do not come back.
The Policemen turn and head back inside. As Hi smiles and
straightens his coat:
HI
Why should I?
Hi looks around at the Mourners staring at him.
HI (cont'd)
It's not her.
Hi begins walking away into the fog, the Mourners watching.
HI
(to himself)
It's not her. She's alive.
Soto is watching. He again follows Hi.
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 it is obviously the same Eva whom Hi chased 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.
A pause. Eva begins walking away (in the same black stylish
shoes seen at Cuco's), in a manner clearly inviting Jorge to
follow. He follows.
After a moment, 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.
As Eva starts biting his neck:
JORGE
It feels like you're biting my
neck.
Two streams of blood start flowing down the side of 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?
Jorge starts to touch his neck, but seems scared to.
While Eva is dressing, Jorge rises and goes to a mirror. He
gasps at the sight of 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 hurries to get 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.
As 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.
EXT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT
A taxi pulls up at the curb, behind a parked sedan, in the
fog.
INTERCUT: INT. THE TAXI - NIGHT
Hi, in back, and the 40-ish TAXI DRIVER both both look warily
ahead.
They can see the dark images of two men sitting in the parked
sedan.
HI
Get set. You may have to get me
out of here fast.
The two mystery men get unhurriedly out of the car. They wear
suits, but their faces are obscured in the fog. They stand
facing the taxi.
TAXI DRIVER
(scared)
Do you know who they are?
HI
No.
TAXI DRIVER
Are you a gangster?
HI
No.
TAXI DRIVER
Do you know any gangsters?
One of the men steps forward, and Hi sees his face.
HI
It's Diego. False alarm.
INT. THE BUNGALOW - NIGHT
As Hi, Diego, and McKay enter, Hi heading for the bar:
HI
You were "brought here by Hitler"?
This ought to be interesting.
DIEGO
Nice little place.
HI
I had to rent on short notice.
What'll you have?
DIEGO
A Bloody Mary.
HI
McCrory?
McKAY
McKay. Some brandy perhaps.
HI
(fixing drinks)
McKay. Sorry. I was thinking of
the dime store. What do you do,
McKay?
McKAY
I work for Western intelligence.
HI
Fair enough. So what's this thing
about Hitler?
McKay walks over to Hi, still fixing drinks, and hands him
a photo of Countess Borca. Hi looks at it.
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
Fuehrer?
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 Fuehrer had this lady put the
bite on him.
McKAY
Exactly. For the Fuehrer, 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, then stirs the swizzle stick in
his own.
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.
As Hi takes a sip:
McKAY
His first South American contact
was Juan Perón.
Reacting too quickly, Hi gets liquor down his windpipe. As
he's coughing:
HI
Wait a minute. Did this involve
Eva?
DIEGO
You okay?
Hi nods "yes," but coughs wetly, 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 seems 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 Fuehrer.
We hear Hi (o.s.) throw up, then flush the toilet. While Diego
and McKay wait, they speak quietly to each other:
MCKAY (cont'd)
I couldn't believe it when you
told me Hi was involved with Eva.
I don't like this complication.
DIEGO
(calmly accusatory)
You'd just as soon kill Eva too,
right? Why have to worry about it.
McKay glares at Diego.
MCKAY
Still sore about your broken
pornographic pottery? I said
I was sorry. Now I take it back.
Hi returns, over the coughing, but breathing heavily, wiping
his tearing eyes, trying to clear his throat.
HI
(croakingly)
She became a vampire?
McKAY
What?
DIEGO
Eva became a vampire?
McKAY
That would seem likely.
(then)
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.
(Diego looks at Hi
quizzically)
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. But there was a second man
watching me.
DIEGO
Does it mean she has left Hitler?
Can she go back to Perón?
(to McKay)
If what you say is true, then
between Perón and Hitler there
must now be - how else to say it?
Bad blood.
MCKAY
True. 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.
(beat)
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
(beat; rhetorically)
Do I want to 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.
(beat; wistfully)
I'd like to think she came in -
the place where we met - just to
see it again.
A beat. Hi looks at his almost empty glass. He heads for
the bar to refill it.
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.
Hi and McKay stare at each other, then,
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. We shall be on our way.
HI
Where are you guys staying?
MCKAY
The Corrientes Hotel.
DIEGO
(to McKay)
Let's go see what we can find in
the bar.
McKay gives Diego a dismissive glance.
MCKAY
(to Hi)
Sleep on what we've discussed.
We'll talk more in the morning.
EXT. THE BUNGALOW - NIGHT
As Diego and McKay approach their rented sedan, someone
suddenly walks by out of the fog. It's Soto, with an
unlit cigarette. He looks glad to see them.
SOTO
(to McKay)
Excuse me. Would you have a light?
McKay looks at him with a hint of suspicion, then takes
out a lighter. As McKay lights the cigarette for him,
Soto studies McKay's face. Then he gives McKay a big smile.
SOTO (cont'd)
Thank you very much.
McKay and Diego watch Soto walk off into the fog.
MCKAY
Ever seen him before?
DIEGO
Not that I know of.
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.
There are few windows, some lit. In the moonlight, large
BATS fly around the perimeter as if on guard duty.
EXT. GEBAuDE VIER (BUILDING FOUR) - NIGHT
Obergruppenfuehrer 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 SCHUTZE #2, standing guard at the door, raises his arm
in salute and clicks his heels as Kegel enters the building.
SCHUTZE #2
Heil Hitler!
KEGEL
Sieg Heil.
INT. A CORRIDOR - GEBAUDE VIER - NIGHT
Kerosene wall lamps light the corridor. SS OBERSCHUTZE #1
(private first class), 33, comes out of a door labeled WATER
CONTROL ROOM, and snaps to attention as Kegel comes by.
KEGEL
Is the generator gassed up?
OBERSCHUTZE #1
Yes, Obergruppenfuehrer.
Kegel looks at his watch. As he proceeds on his way:
KEGEL
Crank it up in fifteen minutes.
All lights burning.
INT. THE CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Kegel opens and enters a door labeled BLOOD FACTORY.
INT. THE BLOOD FACTORY - NIGHT
Oberfuehrer (Colonel) FRANKEL, 45, and his aide, Oberschutze SPITZ,
30, are doing paperwork at their desks. Their small office area
leads to a shadowy cell block.
Frankel and Spitz both rise as Kegel steps to Frankel's desk.
FRANKEL
Obergruppenfuehrer Kegel.
KEGEL
Oberfuehrer, how is production?
FRANKEL
Very good, Obergruppenfuehrer. 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.
After a moment, Kegel follows, strolling along the row of 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 have taken 30-ish American explorer BATES from
his cell near the end of the row. They pass by Kegel.
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 smiles through the bars at Crowley.
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's smile turns to a sneer.
KEGEL
How would you like a dip in our pool,
like Bates?
CROWLEY
A dip in your pool? What does that mean?
INT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - NIGHT
Hi, his two visitors gone, sits on the couch thinking and getting
drunk, pouring liquor from a bottle on the coffee table.
HI
How could you do it, Eva?
Hi pours more liquor. He wipes his brow with a hand.
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. AN INDOOR POOL - NIGHT
Lights come on in the pool, as terrified Bates stands, hands
bound, at the edge of a platform over the water. SS SCHUTZE #3
is binding his feet.
At the rear of the platform are the door and window of the
water control room.
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 Obergruppenfuehrer
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.
Kegel signals to Oberschutze #1 behind the control room window.
INT. WATER CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT
Oberschutze #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 - begins streaming into the pool.
INT. POOL - NIGHT
For show, Schutze #3 throws a little raw meat into the pool.
The Piranhas attack it with clattering teeth.
Kegel smiles at Bates, who is looking down at the frenzied
Piranhas with terror.
Schutze #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 Schutze 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
(terrified of dying)
No, no, I'm here to listen. Keep
talking. Please.
INT. WATER CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT
Oberschutze #1 presses a button and there is the sound of
PEOPLE (V.O.) laughing.
INT. POOL - NIGHT
Bates looks around as Kegel smiles at 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?
(beat, then)
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 is watching 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 - BUNGALOW - NIGHT
Dark. It's still foggy.
A large BAT lands on the patio.
Go to Part 2
Return to beginning of script
