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ACT 1
FADE IN:
CLUB
101 BASEMENT W/
HALLWAY EXT - NIGHT
CARLY IS PACING, GUN IN HAND,
BRANDISHING
HER WEAPON LIKE
A BADGE OF HONOR. SHE IS DRESSED
LIKE A TRASHY CAT BURGLAR: BLACK
STILETTOS;
TIGHT BLACK PANTS AND
A LOW-CUT BLACK SHIRT TO MATCH.
HER HAIR IS DOWN, GREASY AND SOAKED
FROM
SWEAT. HER EYE MAKEUP IS
STARTING TO RUN AND THERE ARE
TRACES OF MASCARA AT THE CORNERS
OF HER
EYES. HER EYES DART AND
FLICKER ABOUT. SHE HAS A PLAN,
BUT WILL SHE GO THROUGH WITH IT?
THE
CAMERA SLIDES OVER TO AN
AWAKENING ALEXIS. SHE IS STILL IN
THE PALE PINK (BUT DECIDEDLY
UN-GIRLISH)
TWO-PIECE OUTFIT
THAT SHE WAS WEARING THE DAY
BEFORE, AT HER BABY SHOWER.
SHE IS TIED TO A CHAIR,
STOMACH
PROTRUDING BETWEEN THE ROPES.
SHE LOOKS TIRED, A LITTLE SCARED,
BUT SURPRISINGLY CALM
AND
COLLECTED, GIVEN WHAT SHE HAS
BEEN PUT THROUGH OVER THE
LAST SEVERAL HOURS. HER HEAD
LOLLS
TO ONE SIDE, SHE BECOMES
FULLY AWAKENED, AWARE OF HER
SITUATION, AND READY TO REASON
WITH CARLY
AGAIN.
CARLY
About time you woke up. I have been waiting
for
hours. I can not imagine you expect me to
make this easy for you or your illegitimate child.
ALEXIS
Carly, for the very last time, this child is
mine, and mine alone. Sonny no longer
has
any place in my life, and I would go to the
ends of the earth and back before
I let him
near my child in the supermarket, let alone
have any part in raising it.
CARLY
Why would I believe your lies? You have
done
nothing but chase my husband since
you became his attorney four years ago.
You waited
until he was vulnerable, you
saw your chance and you pounced: on my
husband, in my bed,
no less. How could
you be stupid enough to think I would let you
get away with that?
(ON
CARLY. SHE MEANS IT.)
ALEXIS
I will ask yet again: what are we doing
here?
You still have not said what you hope to
accomplish by abducting me from my own
baby
shower and holding me here, against
my will. How will this help you win Sonny
back?
CARLY
You do not seem to understand. Not only do
I *not* want Sonny back: I want to ruin him.
I
want to ensure that I make his life as
miserable as he has made mine. At this point
Sonny has
no idea that you are carrying his
child. Not only am I going to make sure he
finds out, I am going
to take away yet another
chance that he had at fatherhood.
What you are doing here is
preparing
to meet your maker. Both
you and your child are not gonna make
it out of this room alive. And
once
I have taken care of both of you, I will
make sure that Sonny knows it was me
who
did it.
ALEXIS
(A BIT PANICKED AT THIS POINT,
SHE KNOWS OF HER PAST
MENTAL INSTABILITY, BUT CANNOT
FATHOM CARLY ACTUALLY GOING
THROUGH WITH A PLAN THIS SICK.
HER VOICE REMAINS
CALM
THROUGHOUT, YET A NOTE OF TERROR
CREEPS IN, EVEN AS SHE TRIES TO
STIFLE IT)
Could
you possibly, for one moment, think of
someone other than yourself? What about your
son? What
about Michael? If you kill me, do
you think that Sonny will protect you, even out
of loyalty to
Michael? When Sonny finds out
he will be the first person to tell Taggert to lock
you away at
Ferncliff to live out the rest of your
natural life. Which will not be long, after Ned and
Jax
get their hands on you.
CARLY SEEMS TO CONTEMPLATE
THIS MOMENTARILY. WHAT
ALEXIS
SAYS IS LOGICAL, YET
SHE STILL CAN NOT LET GO OF THE
NOTION THAT NO MATTER HOW
ANGRY SONNY BECOMES WITH
HER, THAT HE WOULD NEVER
ALLOW ANYONE TO TAKE HER
AWAY FROM HER SON. SHE STILL
PLANS TO GO THROUGH WITH
THINGS, BUT ALEXIS
OBSERVATIONS HAVE GIVEN HER
PAUSE. CARLY IS STRUGGLING
TO CONVINCE HERSELF THAT
SONNY
WILL REMAIN ON HER
SIDE WHEN SHE HEARS A NOISE
IN THE HALL. SHE TURNS TO
ALEXIS, GUN POINTED.
FADE
OUT:
COMMERCIAL #1
ACT 2
FADE IN: TAKE CARLY AND
ALEXIS IN A STAND-OFF AS
SEEN
IN ACT 1. CARLY HAS
JUST HEARD A NOISE AND
IS ABOUT TO TAKE CARE
OF IT.
CARLY
Not
a word. I mean it, if you say
*anything*, you will regret it.
CARLY TURNS THE LIGHTS
OFF
AND CROUCHES IN THE DARK.
THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS
HAPPEN QUICKLY. THERE IS
MUCH OVERLAP
AND
ASTONISHMENT. THE MOOD IS
ONE WHICH SPELLS
UTTER CONFUSION. WE
DO NOT KNOW QUITE WHAT
IS GOING
ON AND IT WILL
BE OVER BY THE TIME MOST
PEOPLE FIGURE IT OUT.
WE HEAR THE SOUND OF A KEY
BEING
JAMMED INTO A LOCK
AND SUDDENLY THE LIGHTS
FLICKER ON. JASPER JAX
ENTERS THE ROOM, SEES
ALEXIS TIED UP AND
IMMEDIATELY SPRINGS TO HER
DEFENSE. BEFORE HE CAN
UTTER A WORD OR BEGIN TO
UNTIE ROPES, CARLY HAS
APPROACHED
HIM FROM
BEHIND AND CRACKED HIM ON
THE BASE OF THE SKULL WITH
THE BARREL OF HER GUN.
JAX
FALLS ABOUT A FOOT
FROM WHERE ALEXIS CHAIR
IS. NOTE TO PRODUCTION:
THE PLACEMENT OF JAX
AFTER THE FALL
IS
IMPORTANT FOR ACT 4.
ALEXIS IS STUNNED THAT
JAX HAS COME TO HER RESCUE,
AND EVEN MORE
SO THAT CARLY
HAS DONE SOMETHING TO
HURT HIM THIS WAY. SHE IS
WORRIED HE MIGHT BE
SERIOUSLY HURT, OR EVEN
DEAD. PLAY THE MOMENT.
ALEXIS
Oh my God Carly, what have you done?
Jax?
Is he dead? Does he have a pulse?
Carly, you have to help him. Please.
CARLY
Your
concern for your ex-husband is
admirable, but hardly appropriate,
given your current circumstances.
Jax ought to be the least of your
worries. Do you not realize that
in a few
short moments you are
going to be dead?
FADE OUT:
COMMERCIAL #2
ACT
3
FADE IN:
CARLY HAS JUST RE-CONFIRMED
HER INTENTIONS TO KILL BOTH
ALEXIS AND THE BABY. ALEXIS
IS
TRYING TO REMAIN CALM,
FOR THE SAKE OF THE BABY, BUT HER
PATIENCE IS TAXED AND SHE IS
WANTING TO PUT AN END TO
THIS ENTIRE SITUATION.
ALEXIS
Obviously if that is something you
feel
that you will be able to do, I can
do nothing to stop you. Have you
ever fired a gun at a real
person,
Carly? Jason taught you how to
fire a pistol at a driving range and
you
drove out to the country and
shot bottles off fenceposts before.
But it was never real. There
was
never a person who was not going
to wake up after you fire that shot.
Will you
be able to live with
yourself after this? Do you even
have a conscience? Is your
hatred
for me so overpowering
that you would rather have me
dead than be a mother to your
own
child?
CARLY
Do not talk to me about Michael.
You have no right
to use him
as leverage to save your own
miserable life and that of your
illegitimate
child. I will not
allow Sonny to achieve happiness
with anyone else, and if I have to
commit
murder to do it, so be it.
In fact, I wish you were already
dead.
CARLY
POINTS THE GUN AT
ALEXIS, TAKES A DEEP
BREATH, AND PREPARES TO
GO THROUGH WITH IT. SHE
KNOWS SHE CAN
DO IT IF
SHE JUST PRETENDS ALEXIS
IS JUST LIKE ONE OF THOSE
BOTTLES ON THE FENCEPOST.
CARLY
Any
last words?
ALEXIS IS CRYING AT THIS
POINT. SHE THEN STARTS
LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY,
HALFWAY
BETWEEN
HYPERVENTILATING AND
PURE, RAUCOUS LAUGHTER.
CARLY
You *are* going to
die. You know that,
right? What could you possibly think
is so funny?
ALEXIS
Oh, I absolutely believe that you have
every intention of killing me. I just find
it
funny, because throughout my
entire pregnancy I kept the news
from Sonny because I did not
want
my child exposed to the
dangers necessitated by the life
he leads. The violence, the
volatile
temperaments of his
associates, and his ability
to make more enemies than
friends.
And now, my greatest
fear -- that of my child being
hurt because of the people
Sonny
knows -- is happening.
Only it is not some guy that
looks like he just stepped out
of
a mafia trilogy that
I have to protect my child
from. Instead, it is a jealous,
bitter,
hypocritical harpy of an
ex-wife whose actions never
have consequences, and who
gets
away with every scheme
she has ever tried to pull. It
just figures, that is all. Carly,
I
think you are insane. You will
in no way get away with this,
and Sonny will never forgive you.
CARLY
Enough. Shut up. Prepare to meet
your maker.
ALEXIS
BOWS HER HEAD,
TEARS STREAMING DOWN HER
FACE AT THIS POINT. SHE IS
PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE.
SUDDENLY A
VOICE FROM
AFAR APPROACHES.
SONNY
Alexis? Are you in here? Alexis?
Carly?
FADE OUT
COMMERCIAL #3
ACT 4
FADE IN:
BEFORE CARLY CAN FIRE
A SINGLE SHOT SONNY IS
IN THE ROOM WITH BOTH
OF THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFE.
HE QUICKLY TAKES STOCK
OF THE SITUATION.
HE
IMMEDIATELY NOTICES THE
GRAVE NATURE OF THE
SITUATION, THE CAMERA
PANNING THE ROPES, THE
CHAIR,
AN UNCONSCIOUS
JAX, ALEXIS TEAR-STAINED
FACE AND THE GUN.
ON SONNY, FLASHCUT IN BLACK
AND
WHITE TO: LILY WALKING
TOWARDS THE CAR; THE BOMB
GOING OFF; SONNY WITNESS
TO IT ALL. HE SEES THE
SIMILARITIES
IN THESE
SITUATIONS ALL-TOO-QUICKLY,
ALEXIS PINK DRESS, KNOWING
HOW SITUATIONS CAN GET OUT
OF CONTROL
QUICKLY, AND
SCARED FOR THE LIFE OF
ALEXIS AND HIS UNBORN CHILD.
HE TAKES STOCK OF THE
SITUATION AND SURREPTITIOUSLY
DECIDES ON A COURSE OF ACTION.
HE MANAGES TO MANEUVER
THE SITUATION SO THAT JAX IS
BEHIND CARLY, OUT OF HER
EYELINE. HE IS HOPING ALEXIS
WILL TAKE THIS CUE AND TRY
TO WAKE UP JAX FOR HELP.
HE LOOKS AT CARLY,
MUSTERING UP AS MUCH
BELIEVABILITY AS HE CAN
AS HE SAYS WHAT HE IS
ABOUT TO SAY.
SONNY
Hey Carly. (CAUTIOUS, TESTING THE
WATERS. HE IS SEEING JUST HOW
MUCH
SHE HAS CRACKED, WHILE
AT THE SAME TIME TRYING TO
FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH DANGER
ALEXIS
AND THE BABY ARE IN).
What is going on?
PEELS OF LAUGHTER ERUPT
AS CARLY ONCE
AGAIN
BRANDISHES THE GUN AND
LOOKS AT ALEXIS MENACINGLY.
SONNY IS TRYING TO KEEP HER
ATTENTION FOCUSED ON
HIM
SO THAT ALEXIS MIGHT HAVE
TIME TO WAKE UP JAX. THE
CAMERA IS ON ALEXIS
GINGERLY SLIDING DOWN
IN
HER CHAIR TO NUDGE JAX
IN THE SIDE WITH HER FOOT.
SONNY IS TRYING TO KEEP
CARLY OCCUPIED, YET HIS
MIND IS RACING, AGAIN
THINKING OF LILY.
CARLY
So, how did you find out?
You
must know by now that you are
the father of Alexis baby. Who
spilled the
proverbial beans
after all this time?
SONNY
What does it
matter who told me?
What matters is you. You and I,
no one else. Alexis has already
stated
repeatedly that she wants
nothing to do with me, and that I
have no place in her life or the life
of
her child. Which is just fine
by me because you are the
person I want to spend
the
rest of my life with, making
babies and just being together.
HE
IS LYING THROUGH HIS
TEETH -- WHO WOULD
ACTUALLY WANT TO
SPEND THEIR LIFE WITH
A PSYCHOTIC AS
FAR
GONE AS CARLY? BUT
HE HOPES SHE BELIEVES
HIM, FOR THE SAKE OF
ALEXIS AND THE BABY.
CARLY
How can you say that? You
have never chosen me. You
always pick her over me. Why
should I believe this time is
any different? You are putting
on an act, the best
performance
of your life, just to save her life.
ON SONNY, BUSTED. HE
DECIDES TO LEAP.
SONNY
Carly, I love you.
HE LEANS
INTO HER AND
KISSES HER
AS TENDERLY AS HE CAN
MANAGE, AS SHE HAS
HER GUN POINTED IN
HIS CHEST DURING THE KISS.
AS
WELL, HE IS VERY
FRIGHTENED FOR ALEXIS
AND THE BABY.
CARLY
Oh my god.
SONNY
Yes?
CARLY
Wow. The truth comes out.
SONNY
IS HOPEFUL. DID
SHE BUY IT? DO THEY
STILL HAVE A CHANCE?
CARLY
You are
in love with her. I
could tell by the way you
kissed me just now. The way
you used
to taste; the way you
used to brush your lips
against mine with such
tenderness.
That is all gone.
You are lying to me to
protect her and save her
miserable
life. Well, now
you are both going to die.
FADE OUT
COMMERCIAL #4
ACT
5
FADE IN:
CARLY HAS JUST BUSTED
SONNY FOR LYING TO
HER. HIS KISS SAYS HE
IS NOT IN LOVE
WITH HER
AND WILL NEVER BE AGAIN.
SHE IS PREPARING TO
KILL ALL THREE OF THEM:
SONNY, ALEXIS AND THE
BABY. SHE WILL TAKE THE
SUITCASE OF MONEY
SHE HAS STOLEN FROM THE
CLUB, GRAB MICHAEL AND
HEAD
TO SOUTH AMERICA
AS SOON AS THIS IS OVER.
JAX IS WAKING UP.
CARLY IS FACING SONNY,
NOT JAX AND ALEXIS,
A TEAR
ROLLS DOWN HER CHEEK AND
SHE SPEAKS WITH SUCH
SURETY IT SEEMS AS
THOUGH SHE HAS BEEN
PLANNING
THIS WHOLE
SCENARIO FOR MONTHS ON
END.
CARLY
You have made your choice.
And
I have made mine. Do
you wish to kiss the mother
of your child one last time?
ALTHOUGH
HE DOES NOT
WANT TO ADMIT DEFEAT
HE JUST CANNOT FATHOM
A WAY OUT OF THE
SITUATION. HE MAKES
EYE CONTACT
WITH JAX
WHO HAS RISEN FROM THE
FLOOR. THEY REALIZE THEY
MUST WORK TOGETHER TO
TAKE
CARLY DOWN. SONNY
ACQUIESCES TO CARLY
ASKING IF HE WANTS TO KISS
ALEXIS ONE LAST TIME. HE
APPROACHES
HER FROM AN
ANGLE SO AS TO ENTICE
CARLY TO TAKE A FEW
STEPS TOWARDS ALEXIS,
WITH HIM. THIS WILL
ALLOW
JAX TO END UP
BEHIND CARLY, HER BACK
TO HIM, HER ATTENTION
FOCUSED SOLELY ON
SONNY AND ALEXIS.
SONNY
BRUSHES A
STRAND OF HAIR AWAY FROM
ALEXIS FACE. HE SMILES
AT HER. THE THREE OF THEM
HAVE WORDLESSLY FORMULATED
A PLAN.
SONNY
I am sorry things had to turn out this way.
ALEXIS
I am sorry too.
SONNY LEANS IN TO HER. HE KISSES
HER PASSIONATELY, THE EMBRACE
SPARKING
FULL ATTENTION FROM
CARLY. MOMENTARILY SHE STOPS
POINTING THE GUN AT THE COUPLE
TO STOP AND OBSERVE THEIR
PHYSICAL
CONTACT. THIS
ALLOWS JAX TO GET UP OFF
THE FLOOR QUICKLY, KNOCK
THE GUN AWAY FROM CARLY
AND WRESTLE
HER TO
THE GROUND. THERE IS A
STRUGGLE FOR THE GUN AND
IT IS KICKED OVER TOWARDS
THE CHAIR. ALEXIS STOPS
IT
WITH HER FOOT, SONNY PICKS
IT UP AND POINTS IT AT CARLY.
SFX: SIRENS WHICH WERE FAINTLY
HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND
DURING THE STRUGGLE COME
TO PROMINENCE. SEVERAL
SECONDS AFTER SONNY PICKS UP
THE GUN, TAGGERT BURSTS INTO
THE ROOM, GUN DRAWN.
TAGGERT
Sonny, drop the gun. We can take it from
here.
WHEN SONNY DOES NOT DROP THE
WEAPON TAGGERT REPEATS HIMSELF.
SONNY SEEMS TO FINALLY HEAR
HIM
AND DISCARDS THE GUN LIKE A DAY-
OLD DONUT ON THE FLOOR. HE
IMMEDIATELY JUMPS INTO PROTECTIVE
MODE
WITH ALEXIS. HE UNTIES ONE
SET OF HER ROPES WHILE JAX UNTIES
THE OTHER. TAGGERT REMOVES CARLY
FROM
THE ROOM, KICKING & SCREAMING.
JAX GOES ALONG TO ENSURE SHE
DOES NOT GET AWAY.
SONNY
Hi.
ALEXIS
Hi.
THEIR GAZE FALLS PERPENDICULAR
TO
THE FLOOR AS THEY THINK ABOUT
WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED...
SUDDENLY THEIR ARMS ARE WRAPPED
AROUND EACH OTHER, BOTH
CRYING.
SONNY
This child you are carrying ... It *is* my baby,
right?
IN THAT MOMENT ALEXIS DECIDES
THAT ANY ENEMY THEY MIGHT FACE
IN THE FUTURE COULD NOT BE
AS
DIFFICULT AS THE ONE THEY JUST
FACED TOGETHER. AND IN THAT
MOMENT SHE DECIDES TO BE
HONEST.
ALEXIS
I am pregnant with your child. I never
slept with Ned, not for two years. Please
do
not be angry with me for not telling you.
I knew you were in love with Carly, and I
wanted to
give you the chance, for once,
to be happy. I also wanted to protect my
child from the constant
danger that seems
to follow you around. But now I realize,
I fully understand and comprehend that
after what you did for us just now,
risking your life to save ours, well that
deserves
the utmost gratitude. Yes
this is your baby. You can be as much
a part of its life as you wish.
This little
one is something that we did not plan,
but possibly the most important task
I
have ever undertaken in my life.
Obviously you do not love me, and
that is something
with which I am
perfectly at ease. I will not let my
feelings for you cloud the issue.
Consider
your custody rights as
fully-cooperational and open-ended.
I will not stand in your way of being
a father.
SONNY IS CAREFUL WITH HIS
CHOICE OF WORDS. THEY ARE
CAREFULLY CHOSEN,
WELL-THOUGHT OUT AND VERY
DEFINITE.
SONNY
Alexis, I appreciate your willingness
to
meet me halfway on this. I know that
in a perfect world you would never
have
chosen me to be the father of your
baby. However, you are wrong
about one thing.
ALEXIS
And what, pray tell, would that be?
SONNY
That I do not
love you. Because I do.
I could not admit it to myself until
Kristina told me what she thought
might have happened to you. And it
hit me. My life is better because of
you. My
life is better when you are
in it. This kind of certainty comes
but once in a lifetime. Alexis,
I
always said that I only cared
about you, but that Carly was
the one I loved. I
now realize
I had that backwards. I
cared about Carly; we shared
such a history
that I had to.
But you -- you are the one I
love. Truly. And for the rest
of my
life. I know it is going
to take you some time to
believe what I am saying, and I want
you
to understand that I know that.
I want to spend the rest of my life
making up for the three-ring
circus
I made of our lives over the last
few months. Are you with me?
Can you forgive
me? Can we
figure this out together?
FADE OUT
COMMERCIAL #5
ACT 6
FADE
IN:
ALEXIS TAKES HIS HAND
AND GINGERLY RISES
FROM THE CHAIR. SHE
LEANS INTO HIM. HE
PUTS HIS
ARM AROUND
HER. THEY SLOWLY STAND
UP AND EXIT THE ROOM
TOGETHER. THE CAMERA
PANS THE ROOM, AND
THE SCENE ENDS WITH
THEM IN THE HALLWAY,
ARMS WRAPPED
AROUND ONE ANOTHER,
THE LONG NIGHTMARE
FINALLY
OVER.
FADE OUT
COMMERCIAL #6
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