Secrets & Lies

Hey there, crime kids. Happy Hump Day. 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 2 of EXIT, we meet pro baseball player Easy Washington and indie movie hunk Sky Masters, who are also drowning their sorrows in top-shelf liquor at the after hours club ... and soon reveal their deep, dark secrets to each other. Meanwhile, Angel, the bouncer, reveals to Mia that he's late paying the vig to a loan shark, and that he's waiting for his dealer to arrive to give him more coke to sell ...


INT. THE EXIT ROOM - BACK BOOTH - NIGHT
A pair of GOOD-LOOKING GUYS drink glasses
of top shelf single malt scotch,
deep in conversation.

SKY MASTERS (30’s) indie hipster movie hunk,
smallish, thin, carefully ratty-looking
takes a sip. Eyes bleary.

SKY
Nah. I was a drama nerd.
Couldn’t play worth shit.

EASY WASHINGTON (30’s),
African-American pro baseball player,
big, even better-looking,
swirls his glass.

EASY
Lucky for you --
(takes a sip)
You get injured,
you can still act.
I get injured,
I get fucking traded.

SKY
There’s other ways
you can fuck up your career.

EASY
Please.
You’re the golden boy.
Critics and audiences love you.

SKY
Yeah, well --
(sips)
They don’t know.

EASY
Know what?
(off his stare)
C’mon, man.
Out with it.
What’s the big secret?

Sky stares at him.
Raises his glass.
Drains it in one gulp.

SKY
Found out I’m HIV-positive.

EASY
Damn.
(beat)
Hey. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re --
I mean, look at Magic Johnson.

SKY
I didn’t get it from fucking.

EASY
You shooting SMACK?

SKY
You wanna say that a little louder?

EASY
Sorry.

SKY
And you wanna know the REAL clincher?
(pours more)
I’m getting married tomorrow.

EASY
Does she know?

SKY
No.

EASY
(raises his glass)
The truth will set you free.

He downs it.

SKY
Now you know what I’m
doing here at five in the morning
instead of being with my fiance.

EASY
Bet that’s a big load off your mind.
(off his look)
Sharing your deepest, darkest secret.

SKY
I guess. Sorta.

Easy grabs the bottle.
Pours them another.

EASY
The media’s gonna break a big story
about me today. Major scandal.

SKY
What.
You cheated on your wife?
There’s no way it can be as bad as --

EASY
Wanna bet?
(off his look)
It wasn’t with another woman.

SKY
You’re sleeping with another dude?
Big fucking deal.
Welcome to Hollywood.

EASY
The dude’s another player.

PUSH IN ON Easy’s face.
Resigned to his fate.

AT THE BAR
Sitting at the far end is ANGEL DIAZ (20’s),
the bouncer, big and burly.

Also great-looking, like a model.
But looks a bit frayed around the edges.
He chats up Mia.

ANGEL
I’m so fucked.
They’re gonna break my knees
if I don’t make another payment
like yesterday.
(low, to himself)
Where the fuck IS he?

MIA
Who are you waiting for?

ANGEL
Mickey, my dealer.
He’s gonna give me a little more credit.

MIA
But I thought you already had coke.

ANGEL
I did, but it was stolen last night.
Now I need more to sell to make the vig.

MIA
And you want to sell it here?
Are you crazy? You’re lucky
Klaus didn’t fire your ass
after you got caught last time.

ANGEL
I got no choice, Mia.
I’m outta options.
I need to make the vig.

MIA
(nods at the customers)
What makes you sure
they’re gonna buy it?

ANGEL
Please. Wasted celebrities
in an after-hours joint?
We should have a fucking vending machine.

The buzzer RINGS.

ANGEL
He's here.
Thank fucking god.