by James Cage
PARTMENT - GUADALAJARA - NIGHT
It is Saturday evening. Jaime sits at his desk. He writes some notes. He stops writing, takes a swig of Coca Cola and looks at his DESK CLOCK. There is a large CALENDAR on the wall.
INSERT
Days are marked off the CALENDAR up to SABADO, 9 DE OCTUBRE 1976. The DESK CLOCK shows 10:00 PM.
EXT. STREET - GUADALAJARA - NIGHT
Jaime enters his car a red and white Chevy Malibu.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Jaime turns on the radio. Disco Music plays.
EXT. STREET - GUADALAJARA - NIGHT
Traffic is light.
MOVING
The Chevy drives down Avenida Vallarta, which turns into Avenida Juarez. The car goes through the center of the city. Then it continues onto Avenida Javiar Mina to the RED LIGHT DISTRICT.
EXT. STREET - RED LIGHT DISTRICT - NIGHT
Jaime parks his car and walks a block. He knocks at a house door with a red light hanging from above. A small window opens. A MAN peers through the window. He unlocks the door and Jaime walks into the whorehouse.
INT. WHOREHOUSE - NIGHT
Jaime gives the Man a twenty-peso bill. Jaime walks up one flight of stairs and enters the main room. There are WAITERS, BOUNCERS, GIRLS and CUSTOMERS standing and sitting. A radio plays MUSIC in English. Olivia Newton John sings, "Come on over, put a smile on my face."
The house is busy. There are no medical students in the place. There are only Mexican men, young and old. Jaime is the only American in the room. There is a large bar. One of the Waiters comes up to Jaime.
The dialogue is in Spanish with translation.
HOUSE WAITER
Que paso? (What's happening?)
JAIME
ESTER esta aqui? (Is Ester here?)
HOUSE WAITER
Si. (Yes.)
The House Waiter calls a GIRL over. The Girl leaves the room.
HOUSE WAITER (CONT'D)
Una toma? (Do you want a drink?)
JAIME
Una cerveza. (A beer.)
The House Waiter brings Jaime a SUPERIOR beer. Jaime pays ten pesos and gives him ten pesos tip.
ANOTHER ANGLE
ESTER walks behind Jaime and taps him on his back. She is about twenty-six years old. Five-feet-two inches tall, dark hair, dark eyes, very pretty, well built. Ester understands and speaks some English with a heavy Mexican accent.
JAIME (CONT'D)
Por toda la noche, Ester. (All night, Ester.)
ESTER
Un mil-pesos. (One thousand pesos.)
Jaime hands her two five hundred peso bills. Note: One thousand pesos is the equivalent of eighty dollars in 1976.
ESTER (CONT'D)
Un momento Jaime. Ya me voy a conseguir mi chaqueta. (One moment Jaime. I am going to get my jacket.)
Jaime waits a second. Ester returns with her jacket. MUSIC, Linda Ronstadt sings in English. "You're no good, you're no good, you're no good, baby you're no good."
EXT. STREET - RED LIGHT DISTRICT - NIGHT
Jaime and Ester are about to enter his car. He opens the door for her.
ESTER
Donde vas Jaime? (Where are you going Jaime?)
JAIME
El motel. (The motel.)
MOVING - CAR POV
They drive through the streets of the red light district.
EXT. MOTEL - RED LIGHT DISTRICT - NIGHT
Jaime pulls the car into the motel driveway. A PARKING ATTENDANT signals him to park the car beneath a motel room.
Jaime parks the car in the garage space below the room. The Parking Attendant closes a curtain so the car cannot be seen.
Jaime and Ester exit the car. The PARKING ATTENDANT hands Jaime a key to the motel room. As Jaime and Ester walk up the stairs to the room, Jaime turns and speaks to the Attendant.
JAIME
Dos cervezas. (Two beers.)
PARKING ATTENDANT
Si, como no. (Yes, of course.)
INT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
The room has a bed, chair, small dresser table. The window is covered with cloth. There is a radio on the table. Ester turns on the radio. She sets the sound very low. The MUSIC is in Spanish, "Ya no me cantes cigarra, Que acabe tu sonsonete."
SOUND. KNOCK at the door.
Jaime goes to the door and opens it. The Parking Attendant hands Jaime two Superior beers. Jaime turns and places the beer on the dresser table. He pays the Parking Attendant some money. The Parking Attendant closes the door as he exits.
The beers are already opened, Jaime hands Ester a beer and keeps one for himself.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Ester kicks off her shoes and sits on the bed. She sips the beer. She lights a BARONET cigarette and gives it to Jaime. She lights another cigarette for herself. They smoke and drink for a moment.
ESTER
Perdias peso, Jaime? (Have you lost weight, Jaime?)
JAIME
Si, un poco. Come estas Ester? (Yes, a little. How are you Ester?)
ESTER
Mas o menos bien. Porque no me llama Jaime? (More or less well. Why haven't you called me Jaime?)
JAIME
Tengo estudios muchos. (I had a lot to study.)
(Pause)
JAIME (CON’T)
Ester, te conoci mas que tres anos verdad? (Ester, you have known me for more than three years, right?)
ESTER
Si, casi cuatro anos. (Yes, almost four years.)
JAIME
Necesito salir Mexico y esta vez, yo no puedo regresar.
(Pause-He speaks in English)
I am leaving Mexico, Ester and I am not coming back to Guadalajara. Ever.
ESTER
Tu regresas siempre.
(Pause-She speaks in English)
You always come back.
JAIME
Esta vez, no.
(Pause)
This time no.
Ester looks at Jaime and touches him. They go to bed.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - GUADALAJARA - DAY
TITLE CARD: TUESDAY OCTOBER 12, 1976
Jaime stands in front of Servicio Jose Vallarta which is located across the street from his apartment building. His red and white Chevy Malibu is shown being serviced in one of the bays.
There is a large SIGN: SERVICIO JOSE VALLARTA.
Jaime walks one block down Avenida Vallarta to a taxicab stand. He wears a khaki army backpack.
INT. TAXI - DAY
JAIME
Tlaquepaque por favor.
TAXI DRIVER
Ok.
EXT. STREET - GUADALAJARA - DAY
MOVING
The taxi drives up Avenida Vallarta, around Minerva Circle to Avenida Las Americas, to the highway Mariano Otero, to Avenida Lazaro Cardenas into the town of Tlaquepaque. There is plenty of traffic.
EXT. STREET - TLAQUEPAQUE, MEXICO - DAY
The town of Tlaquepaque caters to tourists and Mexicans. There are many small shops that make goods to order. There are leather goods stores, jewelry shops, silversmiths, and arts and crafts shops.
Jaime walks a few blocks then enters a store.
INT. COPPER PLATES STORE - TLAQUEPAQUE, MEXICO - DAY
This store sells brass and copper plates, pots and pans. Goods are displayed in the windows and throughout the shop.
There are a couple of AMERICAN WOMEN TOURISTS buying copper kettles from a SALES-GIRL.
A MEXICAN CRAFTSMAN, mid thirties, large and dark, greets Jaime as he enters the shop. They walk into a back room.
INT. BACK ROOM COPPER PLATES STORE - DAY
Jaime removes a revolver and silencer from inside the backpack and hands it to the craftsman.
JAIME
Test the gun and silencer for me. Adjust the silencer if the sound is too loud.
CRAFTSMAN
(Heavy Mexican Accent)
Come back in two hours Jaime.
Jaime shakes the Craftsman's hand and leaves the shop.<
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EXT. STREET - TLAQUEPAQUE, MEXICO - DAY
Jaime walks the streets of Tlaquepaque. He peers into the different shop windows.
He enters a Sweater Store.
INT. SWEATER STORE - TLAQUEPAQUE, MEXICO - MOMENTS LATER
Jaime purchases three different colored sweaters.
At the cash register, The FEMALE SALESPERSON places the sweaters in a shopping bag.
Jaime pays cash. She gives him the shopping bag. Jaime exits the sweater shop.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTDOOR RESTAURANT - TLAQUEPAQUE, MEXICO - SAME DAY
Jaime eats tacos and drinks a CORONA beer. His backpack and a shopping bag lay at his feet.
He watches the PRETTY MEXICAN GIRLS walk by. They have blue-green eyes and dark hair.
Note: The town of Tlaquepaque was a French outpost when Maximilian was Emperor of Mexico. Thus the inhabitants have blue-green eyes.
Jaime checks his watch.
EXT. COPPER PLATES STORE - DAY
Jaime wears his backpack and carries the shopping bag. He enters the copper crafts shop to retrieve the gun and silencer.
ANOTHER ANGLE - MOMENTS LATER
Jaime exits the shop with the Craftsman. They shake hands. The Craftsman waves goodbye as Jaime enters a taxi.
CUT TO:
INT. JAIME'S BEDROOM - GUADALAJARA - THAT EVENING
MUSIC by SANTANA plays in the background.
Sergio's briefcase is on the bed. Jaime opens the briefcase. He takes the paper with Rob's phone number and studies it for a second. Then he rips the paper and drops it into a waste basket.
Jaime removes money from the briefcase. He places five stacks of bills wrapped in rubber bands on the bed. He quickly flips through thirty, one hundred dollar bills. He does this five times. There are five short stacks of money. He throws the money into an open suitcase. He goes into a closet and retrieves one of the large sweaters he recently purchased in Tlaquepaque. He covers the money with the sweater and shuts the suitcase.
INT. JAIME'S KITCHEN - GUADALAJARA - THAT EVENING
Background MUSIC is Disco.
The two bricks of cocaine are on the table. Jaime takes a brick and chops it with a hammer and screwdriver. He gets a blast of cocaine powder directly in his face. He breathes the coke in and is stunned for a second.
Jaime
