"The End of The Beginning" — a screenplay, excerpt 1 THE BUILDING - SIXTH FLOOR HALLWAY - DAY Geoff gives the door a look before leaving. But at the stairs, something makes him slow. Halt. Turn. And lean against the wall, looking down the hall at apartment #66. We hear a slight CHUCKLE as one... two... three LOCKS turn. Geoff lights up. The door opens. A HEAD peeks out. A female head, hair wrapped in a towel. Early 20s, short, pretty. And surprised to see Geoff. GEOFF Hi. He moves off the wall and raises his hands to show his non-threatening intentions. GEOFF Can I talk to you? The woman surveys Geoff and the hallway so fast it's barely noticeable. She makes a quick decision. Nods. Geoff stops at the door and notices the bathrobe she wears. He straightens up and stands tall for this short jewel. He's about to speak but -- He seems unsure about something... Meanwhile, in the splittest of seconds, she looks him up and down. He smiles as he extends his hand. She gives him one of hers, but with a start, jerks it back. GEOFF Sorry. It's cold. Outside. He waits for her to speak. She doesn't. So he does. GEOFF Can I call you Lena? LENA ... Yes. GEOFF I'm sorry. I see I got you out of the shower. She says nothing. Okay... GEOFF Like I said, my name is Geoff. Wyman. I left you a couple of messages? Did you get them? She makes a gesture that could be a "Yes" or "No". GEOFF They were about a friend of yours. Annie Danilov. Lena just stares at him. GEOFF Do you know where she is? Or how I could reach her? She makes no movement, no sound. Geoff smells something inside and looks beyond her, catching just a slice of the apartment. He opens his mouth to speak but -- Lena pulls the door open and steps aside... "The End of The Beginning" — a screenplay, excerpt 2 GEOFF'S APARTMENT - DAY Geoff SLAMS down the phone. GEOFF Stupid phone company! He'd love to toss the phone out the window, but checks himself and puts it down. We see there are "0" messages. THE PHONE/ANSWERING MACHINE now blinks with "6" messages. WIDER - NIGHT The apartment is dark. A SCRAPING sound. A LOCK turns. The door opens. Geoff enters, drunk and in uniform. He wobbles. And drops out of sight. GEOFF'S FACE - TIGHT PROFILE - MORNING Asleep. Bathed in bright light. An ALARM on his cell phone goes off. He blinks awake. But something's wrong. WIDER His face, along with a little drool, lies on top of the mess on the floor. He's cooked. Wild hair, bleary eyes. He turns off the ALARM and rolls up. He looks around. The joint's a disaster. It's gotten so a path has been worn through all the stuff on the floor. Even his bike is a mess. Its handlebars are now clothing hangers. GEOFF Crap... On his way to the bathroom, he sees the answering machine. He hits play and shuffles away. We hear the TINKLE of pee. RUPERT'S VOICE I. End of message. Next message. RUPERT'S VOICE Know. Next. RUPERT'S VOICE Where. Next. RUPERT'S VOICE You. Next. RUPERT'S VOICE Live. The PEEING halts. Next message. RUPERT'S VOICE Geoffrey. Geoff slowly exits the bathroom. And just stands there. Immobile. Staring at the phone...
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