Hey there, crime kids. Happy Monday. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where your most violent fantasies become sins of the flesh, right here, where the hardboiled action is non-stop, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.
In Chapter 11 of BABY HEISTER, teenage wannabe bank robber Kelsey Hazard is on cloud nine when she gets to sit in on the planning of an armored car heist and rub elbows with professional heisters ...
INT. DOC’S FARMHOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The gang sits around the living room
on couches and chairs drinking bottles of beer.
Except for Jo, having coffee.
Kelsey looks around the room.
Trying to hide her excitement.
DOC
So tell me about the job.
DUSTY
Armored car heist. Palm Springs.
RENO
Real sweet.
SIMON
Fat and juicy.
DOC
Who’s the point person?
DUSTY
You remember Freddie Fingers?
DOC
Yeah, unfortunately.
I thought he retired
after that dust-up in Reno.
DUSTY
So did he. But he recently
shacked up with this waitress --
DOC
Don’t tell me.
Some roadside diner?
DUSTY
Yeah. The job is her idea.
But it’s a good one.
It can work.
DOC
I don’t like it.
(looks at Kelsey)
Freddie’s not the sharpest knife
in the drawer.
And fucking the inside man
tends to cloud your judgment.
(looks at Dusty)
Tell me about the hash-slinger.
DUSTY
What’s there to tell?
She’s a waitress.
Tired of serving tuna melts
to truckers for chump change.
DOC
Tell me about the can.
What’s the gag?
DUSTY
It comes by once a week,
same time exactly.
Always parks in the same place.
Three guards take turns
going to the head.
Last one grabs coffees to go.
Then they split.
DOC
How long are they there?
DUSTY
Fifteen minutes, give or take.
And they always park
in the same spot. Always.
Like fucking clockwork.
DOC
How much dough?
DUSTY
This is the beauty part.
Every Friday, they transfer cash
to all the local branches
from the main bank --
RENO
You know, payday.
DOC
So it’s alot of cabbage.
RENO
Waitress says it’s gotta be
at least a million.
DOC
What time?
DUSTY
Seven-AM.
DOC
Still not sure I like it.
I wanna meet the soup jockey.
DUSTY
We’re one step ahead of you.
Already set it up.
DOC
Okay.
(looks at Kelsey)
You never meet the people
setting up a job WHERE the job is.
You don’t want the locals
to remember seeing you.
KELSEY
Got it.
DOC
(to Dusty)
Escape route or hole up?
DUSTY
Not sure.
We’ll defer to your expertise.
Outlying area is kinda open.
The desert interstate
kinda narrows your options.
DOC
Gotcha.
(to Kelsey)
There are three ways to finish a job.
First is you grab the loot
and take a pre-arranged
escape route that’s cool.
(beat)
Second is you hole up somewhere
until the heat dies down,
then split up the loot
and go your separate ways.
KELSEY
What’s the third?
DOC
Hide the loot, split,
then come back for it later.
Kinda tricky, but it’s good when
there’s not a good escape route
and no place to hole up.
Doc sips his beer. Eyes the men.
DOC
Who’s financing?
DUSTY
I am.
DOC
YOU are.
DUSTY
I need the job, Doc.
Had a bad run in Atlantic City.
DOC
(to Kelsey)
Every job has expenses. Transportation.
Weapons. Food and lodging.
And sometimes you need tech stuff,
explosives, whatnot.
(beat)
Usually you get an outside financier
to put up the dough.
They either get double it back,
or a percentage.
That’s the way I like to do it.
That way, nobody has
more at stake than the others.
(looks at Dusty)
But some people aren’t good
at managing their money between jobs.
(to Dusty)
You asking ace shares?
DUSTY
Nah. Even split all around.
Four shares.
DOC
You ARE desperate.
KELSEY
Ace shares means more money --
DOC
Yeah.
(to Reno)
What’s your situation?
RENO
I’m cool. Gone through about
half the scratch from my last job.
Don’t like my reserves to get below that --
(shrugs)
It’s a good job, Doc. You’ll see.
DOC
(nods at Simon)
And you two vouch for Jason Statham here?
DUSTY
Yeah. We’ve both worked with him.
Best wheelman I’ve ever seen.
RENO
Precision driver.
DOC
(to Simon)
Where’d you learn to drive so well?
DUSTY
Don’t you follow NASCAR?
Kid’s been in the country six months.
Already won five races.
SIMON
You make me blush.
Doc nods slowly.
Sips his beer.
Eyes them.
DOC
When do we meet Freddie Fingers
and Truck Stop Sally?
DUSTY
In a couple hours.
Told ‘em to meet us
at the Dairy Shack.
We can sit outside.
Have some privacy.
PUSH IN ON Kelsey’s face. Excited.
KELSEY
And ice cream --
You know... you ever want to take a break from screenwriting and directing... do a little heist... let me know. You do seem to know an awful lot about the game! :) Hehe!
ReplyDeleteGreat chapter... I love reading about the set up and all the terminology... 'Truck Stop Sally'... that's a good one! LOL!
That last line cracks me up... they're all planning the heist and Kelsey's excited about ice cream... Dairy Shack must have some pretty amazing ice cream! Hahaha!
Be interesting to see which way they finish up the job... I'm kinda thinkin' the third option for this job. Of course, if someone needs their cut right away.
You know, I had an awful thought. What if when that armoured truck shows up, it's at the end of its route and is empty? 'Course, I'm sure Doc has already thought about that... oh wait, I just went and re-read. If the truck is showing up at 'Sally's' at 7am, must not be too far in their deliveries, huh?
Very cool! :)
xoxoxoxoxo <3 <3 <3
Ronni
One of the reasons I love heist stories so much is I've read all 26 of Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake) 'Parker' books. In them, Parker, a master heister, plans a robbery, which usually goes wrong. If you haven't read them, you're in for a real treat. The first one, THE SCORE, was made into two movies, POINT BREAK in the 60's staring Lee Marvin (really good), and PAYBACK, starring Mel Gibson (not so good). The books are dark and merciless -- and were the inspiration for the Kelsey Hazard stories.
ReplyDeleteSo THAT'S how I know all the terminology and shit.
HA.
xoxoxo