Love Will Tear Us Apart

Happy Tuesday, crime slicksters. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where the girls are hot, the drinks are cold, and the hardboiled-pulp-noir action is non-stop, right here, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 32 of FULL BODY, Croatian mobster Yuri Vlaovic and his ex-wife, assassin Mavra, have a stand-off at gun point which ends in a surprising reversal of hormones. Meanwhile, Israeli homicide dick Ben Fleck and Palestinian federal agent Ali Nassour close in on murderous security guard/wannabe pornographer Rod Katz, and then find an unusual way to reach detente.


INT. THE INTERNATIONAL - OFFICE - NIGHT
A stand-off. Etya, gun at Silke.
Silke, gun at Etya.

Yuri, weapons on both.
Love, Croatian style.

YURI
Unhand my daughter.

MAVRA
(arms around Etya)
She’s my daughter, too.

ETYA
Is okay, Poppa. Don’t shoot.
She not want to harm us.

SILKE
What the fuck is this?
The Family feud?

Husband and wife
look at each other strangely.

MAVRA
Been a long time -- Yuri.

YURI
Since -- funeral.

MAVRA
Was good turn-out --

YURI
Why are you here -- now?

MAVRA
I’ve come for my daughter.

YURI
Over my dead body.

SILKE
That can be arranged.

MAVRA
Silke, stay out of this.

SILKE
Oh, yeah?

YURI
You heard the woman,
stay out of this.

SILKE
(points gun at YURI)
But she’s mine.
(to Mavra)
You’re MINE.

Yuri SHOOTS Silke in the chest.
BANG! BANG! BANG!

YURI
I told you to SHUT UP! Idiot.
She doesn’t BELONG to anyone.
She is free spirit.
Beautiful, brilliant
independent businesswoman.

He looks at Mavra shyly.
A glimmer of a smile.

MAVRA
Yuri?

ETYA
Poppa?

MAVRA
You mean all of that?

A BULGE slowly rises
in Yuri’s trousers.

YURI
I’ve been -- doing some reading.

MAVRA
Yuri. Is miracle.
You have -- woody.

YURI
(with wonder)
I have -- fucking hard-on.

He RACES to her. They embrace.
ATTACK each other like animals.

Yuri SWEEPS off the desk
with his arm. Turns --

YURI
(to Etya)
Get rid of body, give us some --
(looks at Mavra)
Privacy.

He lays her down on the desk.
Straddles her.

YURI
(to Etya)
Now!

ETYA
(in shock)
Yes, Poppa.

She goes to Silke’s limp body,
starts dragging him away.

MAVRA
(to Yuri, in Croatian, with subtitles)
Come to me, my Dalmatian doggie.

YURI
(in Croatian, subtitles)
My little pussycat. Meooow --

And they go at it.
Brutal. Tender.
Like never before.

EXT. THE INTERNATIONAL - ACROSS THE STREET - AT THAT MOMENT
The pitch-black, slit your wrist,
stabbed in the heart doom-pop
of Joy Division’s LOVE WILL TEAR US APART over --

Rod, sitting on the passenger side
of Hiroku’s Hummer.

Hiroku grips the wheel tightly.
Face clenched with rage.

ROD
(sips coffee)
Nice wheels, Henry.
What’s the mileage on this fucker,
six miles to the gallon?

HIROKU
(pulls gun on him)
It’s Hiroku, shit-head.

ROD
Okay, okay, put the gat away,
Hi-ro-ku. We be cool.
(weird smile)
Hi-ro-ku. We be cool. Ha.

HIROKU
We not be cool.
Let me do the talking,
you ignorant fuck.
Do the cops know anything?
Do they have any suspects?

INT. VAN - AT THAT MOMENT
ALI NASSOUR and BEN FLECK
sit in the back listening on headphones.

Staring at a chessboard.
Deep in thought.

NASSOUR
That’s it, baby. Sing to mamma.
(moves a piece)
I’ve got you now, Mossad wannabe.

FLECK
Pure genius.
Bugging his fucking Starbucks.
I gotta hand it -- to me.
(looks at the board)
That’s your move?
You play like Golda Meyer
strapped with dynamite
at a pre-school.

IN THE HUMMER
Rod fiddles with his coffee lid.

ROD
No, I told you. We’re cool.
I’m clean. They let me go.

HIROKU
I find it hard to believe
that a complete idiot could
get over on them so easily.

ROD
Excuse me?

HIROKU
You heard me.
How do you know
they’re not following you?

ROD
Following me?
Why would they follow me?

HIROKU
Because you KILLED THE FUCKING GIRL.

ROD
But they DON’T KNOW
I killed the fucking girl.

IN THE VAN
Nassour’s and Fleck’s eyes LIGHT UP.

They JUMP OUT of the van.
RACE toward the Hummer.

IN THE HUMMER

ROD
Hey, c’mon, now.
Put the gun down.
It might go off.

HIROKU
(screws on a silencer)
Oh, it’s gonna go off.
(CLICK)
I’ve decided you’re a
liability to my operation.
Get ready to go down
on cold, blue steel.

ROD
Wait! Let’s talk about this --
c’mon, Hi-ro-ku, I’m beggin’ you --

Hiroku flips open his cell phone.
Points it.

HIROKU
Smile for the camera, asshole --
time to meet your maker.
Think they’ll like it on YouTube?

Rod LUNGES for the gun --

ROD
NOOOOOOO --

BANG. Hiroku shoots him
between the eyes.

Blood SMEARS the window.
Rod slumps. Gone.

Hiroku smiles.
CLICKS the phone shut.

Nassour and Fleck
POUND on the windows.

NASSOUR
FEDERAL AGENTS.
OUT THE CAR.

FLECK
YOU'RE UNDER ARREST.

Hiroku rolls down his window. Smiles.

HIROKU
Hey, Ali. Scary.
Almost wet my panties.

NASSOUR
Hey. We gotta make it look good.

HIROKU
You get it all?

NASSOUR
Like Tricky Dick.
Good job, kid.
We manipulate the guard
into killing the bitch,
and then faster than
you can say ‘rogue operation,’
get his confession on tape.
God, I love this country.

Smiles all around.

HIROKU
What do you say we get a pitcher
and watch the Patriots game?

NASSOUR
Thanks, but we have -- our own game.

FLECK
First annual Israeli-Palestinian
grand master.

HIROKU
Huh?

NASSOUR
The sport of KINGS.

HIROKU
What?

(at the same time)
NASSOUR
CHESS.

FLECK
CHESS.

Hiroku rubs his chin. Thinks.

HIROKU
A little heavy-handed --
but still, an effective metaphor.