BRIMSTONE VS Episode #201 Written by Derek Saul "HELLBENT" TEASER FADE IN: INT. CONDEMNED CHURCH - NIGHT The church has long been abandoned. Victim of fire. The majority of the structure is black with SOOT and ASH. Large sections entirely GUTTED by flame. Some HOLY STATUES still stand, stained and blackened by soot. Tainted by darkness. HORUS (30s) suddenly BURSTS THROUGH the entrance doors, shattering the calm. Slams the door closed behind him. Backs away from it slowly, down the center aisle of the auditorium, toward the altar, keeping two frightened eyes on the door. He stops. Listens. It's too quiet. Suddenly the stained glass windows SHATTER. TWO DAMNED SOULS come CRASHING through the glass, one on either side of Horus, leaving trails of BLUE FLAME behind them. Horus bolts for the door he came in from. One of the Damned Souls, ENOK, leaps in front of the door, blocking Horus's escape. Horus spins around. Finds himself face to face with DRAKU, the second Damned Soul. Draku swings his arm. Strikes Horus across the jaw. Horus is catapulted into the air. Flies backward thirty feet. Lands on a section of smoldered pews. He gets up quickly, but Enok is on him before he has a chance to compose himself. He grabs Horus by the throat. Slams him against the entrance door. Holds him steady. HORUS'S POV We see a WOMAN approaching us down the center aisle, flanked by Draku. Shrouded in darkness. Tall. RAVEN-BLACK HAIR. Statuesque. Clad in TIGHT BLACK LEATHER. Beautiful in a timeless way. She strolls right up to Horus, into a beam of moonlight, revealing her pristine face. We see the woman is ASH (ASHUR BADAKTU). Her GREEN EYES glow. ASH Don't mind the two bullies here. They're just old acquaintances of mine, servants of the Temple of Tyr. She stares into Horus's eyes for a long moment, noticing his fear. Her expression goes soft. ASH Oh, Horus... Horus... (strokes his face gently) Why do you run from me? I'm not your enemy. HORUS (nervously) Don't touch me. Ash reacts to his words, slightly stunned. She takes her hand away from his face. ASH I'm only trying to help you, Horus. To give you your life back. HORUS What do you want? ASH Want? Who says I want anything? I'm going to GIVE you something instead. We both know you're a good man, Horus. All you did was murder some drug pusher who introduced your only son to narcotics, turned him into an addict. You only did what any good father would have done. You were protecting your child. Believe me, I know what that's like. I had a child too. A little girl. I tried to protect her from darkness, just like you. You didn't deserve to be punished for that. (inches closer) I'm giving you a chance to make things right. To punish the one who did this to you... the one who left you to suffer, needlessly... (beat) I'm giving you a second chance at life. HORUS Please, just... leave me alone... ASH Horus... She strokes his face again. Traces imaginary circles around his eyes with her finger. ASH You would not be standing here now if it weren't for me. Horus is sweating profusely. Breathing fast. HORUS I don't want to join you. I don't want to be part of some war against God. I just want to find my son, make up for my mistakes. (beat) I want to be a father again. Ash smiles, eyes beaming with pride. ASH Oh, Horus... you have a good heart. You remind me so much of a man I once knew... She kisses him. Passionately. Horus reacts. Then closes his eyes. Gives in. CLOSE ON ASH'S HAND snaking its way above Horus's head. Latches onto a pair of long sharp SPLINTERS hanging limply from the damaged door. She breaks away from their kiss. ASH I really wish it could have been different. But I respect your decision. For a moment we see hope in Horus's eyes. Suddenly Ash's arm lashes out like a viper. She drives the splinters clean into HORUS'S WIDE-OPEN EYES. The flaming bluish light of his soul comes shooting out of his punctured eye sockets, lighting up the church with a glare as potent as sunlight. Enok and Draku back away, shielding their eyes. Ash, however, remains still, looks on with callous indifference as Horus's soul is sucked underground and sent screaming back to Hell. When the supernatural dust settles -- dead silence. Ash looks upon the spot where Horus was standing moments ago, her demeanor cold, vicious. ASH Goodbye, Horus. She turns. Walks off. Her two minions follow. FADE OUT. END OF TEASER ACT I FADE IN: INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Stylish room. Antique furnishings. Illuminated solely by candlelight. STONE is sitting up in the queen-size bed. His arms are crossed. Silly grin etched on his face. He calls out O.S. STONE Come on, Roz. I can't wait all night here. I gotta get up early tomorrow. ROSALYN (O.S.) Will you relax, silly. I'm almost done. Stone looks toward the door. ROSALYN is standing there. Dressed in a white see-through silk nightgown. Drop dead gorgeous. Stone's jaw drops. Stares as if laying eyes on her for the first time. She slithers toward the bed. Slowly. Seductively. Stone is anxious. Can't wipe that grin off his face. She crawls toward him on the bed. Gets on top. ROSALYN Hey, handsome. The tone is sexual. Playful. STONE Hey. ROSALYN How are you doing? STONE I'm doing okay. You? ROSALYN Doing good. (kisses him) So what was that about getting up early tomorrow? STONE Who? Me? I didn't say anything. You must've been hearing things again. She laughs. Kisses him again. Then slides her hand down her bra and produces two slips of paper. She waves them in his face. STONE What are those? ROSALYN Remember the Sam Brubeck concert at the Rialto next Saturday night, that you said you couldn't afford? STONE (stunned) WHAT?! (snatches tickets) How'd you get these? ROSALYN I called up my old college friend, Becky Carter. Remember her? I happened to recall her once mentioning something about her sister being an employee at the Rialto. She was able to hook me up with two tickets. Third row. Special "discount". Stone looks at the tickets, still in awe. Then looks at Rosalyn with pure admiration. STONE You didn't have to do this. ROSALYN I know I didn't have to. I wanted to. STONE But the price... ROSALYN Forget the price. They're just tickets. You know I'd do anything for you. STONE (smiles) Now I remember why I married you. He puts the tickets aside. Wraps his arms around her. They embrace. Begin to kiss passionately. Their hands exploring each other. Slowly we PAN AWAY from the bed, toward the dresser mirror. It's a complete reflection of the room, but we can't see the bed. We still hear the SOUNDS of lovemaking. STONE (O.S.) I love you. Then we see Rosalyn's reflection enter the mirror, rising over Stone. But it's NOT Rosalyn! Her hair is shorter. DARKER. She turns her head, and we see it's ASH looking at herself in the mirror. Green eyes glowing. Wicked. Malicious. ASH I love you too, Zeke. WHITE FLASH CUT TO: AN EXTREME CLOSEUP OF STONE'S CLOSED EYES, as they suddenly SNAP OPEN. He bolts up, takes in his surroundings, notices he is in a INT. SUBWAY CAR (MOVING) - NIGHT He is the only occupant of the car. He sits up, pulls back his hood. He's wearing his grey trenchcoat and combat boots. VOICE (O.S.) Having nightmares, Mr. Stone? Stone spins around, notices THE DEVIL sitting on the seat across from him, dressed in prim and proper corporate attire. STONE You've got quite a flair for timing. DEVIL Well, I didn't want to interrupt the heart-tugging movie playing in your head. (looks Stone over) You look like hell. STONE Why am I waking up in a subway car? I thought I fell asleep in my bed. DEVIL You DID fall asleep in your bed... which is where you stayed for the past ten days, wallowing in your misery and self-pity. Frankly, it's quite pathetic. STONE You must be enjoying this, though. DEVIL Your constant misery and inner turmoil? Absolutely. Quite thoroughly, actually. But your incessant delays in rounding up the damned souls on the other hand? That hasn't been sitting well with me. STONE (re: the subway) So what's with the rude awakening? DEVIL It's exactly that -- an awakening. Consider this your splash of cold water in the face. You've had enough time cuddling your pillow and pining over your lastest escapade with Rosalyn. Now it's time to get back to work. They stare at each other quietly for a long moment, a smug look on the Devil's face. Stone notices. STONE All right, just say it. DEVIL Excuse me? STONE Come on. Out with it. You know it's eating you up inside. DEVIL What ever are you talking about, Mr. Stone? STONE Revealing myself to Roz, letting her know I'm back. It was a huge mistake to try. I was wrong, you were right, you told me so, blah blah blah. Come on, you've been dying to tell me. DEVIL I couldn't have put it any better myself. Stone rubs his head, exasperated. The Devil is clearly reveling in another's suffering. DEVIL (sighs wearily) Oh all right, tell you what. Since you've been on the DL for quite a while now, I'm going to give you a break, just this first time. His name is Kyle Carver. He's been conducting business somewhere in the upper east side, dabbling in the white powder trade. And it hasn't worked out well for most of his "clients". (leans in close) Now go hunt. Suddenly the subway tires SCREECH. Stone whips around, suspicious. Shrugs it off as nothing. He turns back to the Devil. But he's gone. Vanished. EXT. STREET - WAREHOUSE DISTRICT - NIGHT A dark, chilly night. The pavement is wet. The air is damp. Misty. KYLE CARVER (19) and a STREET PUNK are standing in a dark corner of the street, dealing. Carver is holding a tiny plastic bag of powdered substance. Street Punk is fidgety, shivering, shooting paranoid glances around him from time to time. CARVER (off his bag) This is the stuff Teddy was telling you about. None of that imported crap from the south. STREET PUNK Look, I got screwed twice already by Teddy's guys. If he ain't playin' straight with me, I don't want nuthin' to do with him. CARVER He ain't ever dealt with me. You ain't ever dealt with me. This is guaranteed choice. If Teddy got a problem with his product, let his boys wrestle with it. I don't cut corners. STREET PUNK I'm just sick of gettin' the corkscrew -- CARVER Look, cut the chatter. You want this or -- STONE (O.S.) Kyle Carver? Carver and Street Punk spin around. STONE emerges from the shadows. CARVER Who the hell are you? Stone pulls out his badge and flashes it quickly. STONE You wanna come with me please. STREET PUNK (panicking) Oh Jesus, I knew it. CARVER (cool) Yeah, no problem. Suddenly Carver reaches into his leather jacket, whips out a GUN and SHOOTS Stone three times, all with lightning speed. But Stone stands motionless as his body absorbs the bullets, impervious. Carver's eyes go wide as the revelation hits home -- Stone is a Damned Soul! Stone looks down at the three smoking bulletholes in his chest. STONE This was my favorite shirt. STREET PUNK (even greater panic) Oh God, he's one of 'em super cops! Carver takes off quickly, knocking Street Punk to the ground. Stone takes off after him. Street Punk is left lying on the ground. He sits up, looks around him. The street is deserted. Then he looks down at his lap -- notices CARVER'S PLASTIC BAG. His face lights up. STREET PUNK Ol' Jimmy's gonna have a sweet night tonight! EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT Carver is racing fast and hard down the street. He looks scared. Stone is giving chase a few yards behind Carver, running at almost inhuman speed, his longcoat billowing behind him like a cape. His face shows no signs of wearing down. Carver fast approaches an intersection, disappears around the corner toward the next street. EXT. CROSS-STREET Carver turns the corner. A few yards ahead, a CROWD of people are milling around outside a nightclub, waiting to gain entrance. A neon sign that reads "HEAVEN" flashes above the door. Carver races toward the throng of clubgoers, immersing himself among them. Stone rounds the street corner seconds later, jogs to a halt. He sees the crowd up ahead. No sign of Carver. EXT. BACK ALLEY A long, dark alleyway between two tenements. A high chain-link fence bars the other end of the alley. Carver comes running in from the street. He glances over his shoulder. Slows down his pace. He comes to a complete stop and scans the area. Satisfied that he's lost his pursuer, he continues calmly down the alley toward the chain-link fence. A GUNSHOT suddenly rings out. CARVER IS HIT square in the left eye. The flaming ether-light bursts out from his pierced eye. Carver goes down, tumbles into a pile of trash cans. Rats scurry away. He's clutching his left eye tightly, shrieking in agony. STONE suddenly steps out from the shadows nearby, smoking gun held out and aimed squarely at Carver's only good eye. Carver futilely pulls out his gun again, but Stone KICKS it out of his hand effortlessly. Carver is terrified, pushing himself up against the wall with his legs. CARVER Get the hell away from me! STONE I'm getting the "Hell" as close to you as possible. (beat) Kyle Carver. Tried to steal a TV from a neighboring apartment building just so you wouldn't be evicted from your own building. But the old woman you were stealing the TV from, she came home. She saw you, so you shot her. For a lousy TV. You died soon after. Drug related murder. Age nineteen. CARVER Look, please... don't shoot me! Don't send me back! I ain't dealing anymore man! I'm trying! Please... (off his eye) God, it hurts... STONE Word on the street is you've been handing out hefty paydays to the junkheads on the east side. Trying to round up an army or something. CARVER Look, man, you best back off. Something's goin' down you ain't got no idea how to deal with. STONE Then why don't you fill me in. Stone leans over, grips Carver by the collar of his jacket, hoists him up from the ground, slams him against the wall. He raises his gun to Carver's right eye. STONE Any more dead guys on your payroll? CARVER Man, I don't know what the hell you're talking about -- Stone elbows him in the jaw. STONE (calmly; slowly) Any more dead guys on your payroll? CARVER Pig... (spits in Stone's face) I don't know where they all at! I ain't their daddy. (off Stone's stare) I swear, that's all I know. I ain't lying! Stone wipes the spit from his face with his sleeve. Keeps his gun trained on Carver. CARVER (whispering) The Devil is among you, man... A trash can lid suddenly falls to the ground. Lands with a loud CRASH. Stone whips his head around, startled. Carver sees his opening. He drives his knee up into Stone's groin area. Stone doubles over, momentarily shaken. Carver breaks loose from Stone's grip and dashes off rapidly back up the alley toward the street, still clutching his perforated left eye. STONE Dammit... Stone bolts after him. EXT. STREET - CLUB - NIGHT Carver rounds the street corner. Races toward "HEAVEN", the nightclub he passed earlier. A crowded LINEUP of people are waiting outside the club. The doorman, HARVEY (black, heavy-set), is standing by the entrance, wearing a headset. He's in a dispute with four obviously underage, scantily-clad GIRLS. HARVEY Look, ladies, I'm sorry, there's just no way you're getting in here. GIRL #1 But Lenny told us you can get us in tonight. HARVEY Well, Lenny was wrong. GIRL #2 Oh come on. We already paid him. GIRL #3 Yeah. We gotta meet him inside. HARVEY I'm sorry, ladies. You can take it up with him tomorrow. CARVER suddenly slams his way through Harvey and the girls, almost knocking down the enormous doorman. The girls get rowdy. GIRL #2 Hey, watch it, jerk! GIRL #4 (to Harvey) Come on, that guy just got in! GIRL #1 Yeah, he couldn't have been any older than us. Harvey composes himself, taps his headset. HARVEY (into headset) Bruce, you there? INT. CLUB - NIGHT Dark. Jam packed. Strobe lights flash incessantly. Carver bullies his way through the packed-in crowd, charging toward the back of the club, still clutching his left eye. INT. CLUB - BATHROOM The door bursts open. Carver plows through, throws his face up against the mirror. He removes his hand from his left eye, examines it closely in the mirror. IT'S HEALED! He stretches his eye out, moves it around in the socket, making sure it's still in working order. He moves away from the mirror, glares viciously at his reflection. INT. CLUB Carver exits the bathroom. Moves casually through the crowd, confidently toward the front door. Then he notices something up ahead. CARVER'S POV STONE is near the front entrance, speaking with Harvey. Harvey points toward the bathrooms. Panic registers on Carver's face. He moves back into the crowd, merging with the sea of bodies. Stone begins moving through the crowd now, closely surveying the faces around him. He begins to catch on to the "heavenly" theme of the club -- PUFFY COTTON CLOUDS hanging from the ceiling, the waitresses and bartenders wearing tiny ANGEL WINGS on their shoulders, or PLASTIC HALOES over their heads. "SEND ME AN ANGEL" by Real Life is pounding through the speakers. Then his eyes lock with someone -- a girl on the dance floor. Young. Pretty. Straight black hair with purple streaks. Pierced eyebrow. This is CASSANDRA. She looks away timidly when Stone sees her. Stone pauses a moment. Smirks. Moves on toward the bar. CARVER suddenly emerges from behind a group of dancers, lunges at Stone with ferocious velocity, tackling him to the ground. Carver is on top of him. Stone pulls out his gun, but Carver reacts with lightning reflexes, knocking it away. He fights with renewed vigor. The gun FIRES OFF accidentally as it clatters away across the floor. The crowd ERUPTS into a chaotic frenzy, screaming and panicking, scurrying off in all directions. Stone and Carver continue to struggle on the ground among the melee ensuing. Carver is still on top of Stone, pinning him to the floor. Stone, pissed and fed up, grabs Carver by the collar. STONE I owe you one. He drives his knee up into Carver's midsection. Carver groans in pain. Stone follows up with a hammering elbow across Carver's jaw. Carver recovers quickly, maintains his stranglehold on Stone. They roll end over end across the floor, struggling for dominance, threatening to crush the fleeing people under the weight of their battle. Stone manages to throw Carver off of him, crawling his way through the frantic crowd, trying to get to his feet. Carver slides across the floor. He spots STONE'S GUN lying on the ground nearby. He dives for it. Stone notices and races for cover. Carver grabs the gun, rolls to a crouching position, and FIRES off several rounds. More SCREAMS arise from the crowd, still rushing madly toward any exit. Stone flips over a row of tables, hoping to find cover anywhere. The bullets chip off chunks of wood and plaster. Stone makes a wild rush for the bar. Carver blindly lets off more shots. A crowd of escaping clubgoers plunge their way into Stone's direction, CASSANDRA among them. STONE GET DOWN!! Several of them trip and tumble. Carver FIRES off a volley again. Stone is desperately pushing the crowd in front of him to the floor. But one shot makes it through -- HITS CASSANDRA. She collapses into Stone's arms. They look into each other's eyes for a long moment. Hers dim and losing consciousness. His wide in appallment. Carver notices Stone's distraction, takes aim again. But a FLEEING CLUBGOER falls over him, knocking the gun from his hand. Stone lowers Cassandra gently onto the floor. Carver decides not to press his luck. He forcefully shoves the clubgoer off him, gets to his feet, makes a dash for the exits, immersing himself into the terrified crowd. Stone rises from the ground, watches the crowd shuffle and manhandle their way out the door, Carver lost among them. Contemplates the pursuit. Then he looks at Cassandra, lying at his feet. Passed out. Wounded. Alone. Stone crouches down, slides his arms under her, hoists her up from the ground. STONE Come on... let's get you to a hospital. EXT. ALLEY BEHIND CLUB Carver plows through the exit door, races out into the alley. He sprints a good distance, then jogs to a halt. Looks behind him. Deserted. Quiet. He stands there a moment, looking up the alley, assuring himself that he's escaped unseen. He turns back around to continue down the alley, but stumbles straight into ENOK who wraps his massive arm around Carver's throat, locks him into a stranglehold. Carver struggles against his restraint, but he's no match for the much physically larger Enok. Enok presses his mouth close to Carver's ear. ENOK (whispering) You screwed up again, Kyle. CARVER (gasping) Enok, I... wait... don't... ENOK You're bringing needless attention to us. You're jeopardizing our plans... our existence... Carver struggles, gasping for air, barely capable of uttering a word. ENOK ...and Ashur does not suffer fools well. He pulls out a DOUBLE-BLADED DAGGER, obviously custom-made, the blades positioned exactly as far apart as the eyes. He PLUNGES it deep and fiercely into Carver's astonished eyes. Carver unleashes a deafening CRY as the life force hemorrhages from his eyes and he's sucked back to Hell. Enok smoothly tucks the dagger back into his coat and extracts a CELL PHONE instead. He quickly dials a number. ENOK (into phone) Ashur... we've got another problem... FADE OUT. END OF ACT I ACT II FADE IN: INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM - DAWN Stone is standing by a window in the waiting room, watching the morning sun creak up behind a cluster of buildings. DR. NEDBERG (O.S.) Excuse me, Detective Stone? Stone turns, sees DOCTOR NEDBERG (late 30s) approaching, hand extended. DR. NEDBERG I'm Doctor Nedberg. I've been looking after the young girl you brought in earlier tonight. STONE (shakes his hand) Hi. So how is she? DR. NEDBERG She's in stable condition. She was lucky though. The bullet penetrated her back, just under her left shoulder blade. Maybe half an inch or so to the right, and her spine could have been ruptured. The damage would have been irreversible. It was pretty lodged in there, but we managed to extract the bullet. STONE Is she conscious? DR. NEDBERG Not yet, but you can go see her if you like. STONE No, that's alright. I've gotta get back to the precinct. I just wanted to make sure she's okay. She has my number if she needs to reach me. (shakes his hand again) Thanks, doc. Stone starts to leave. DR. NEDBERG Just one second, detective... Stone stops, turns around. DR. NEDBERG We couldn't find one piece of identification on her. We have no parents or loved ones to notify of her condition. STONE (hesitating) Uh... I pulled out her I.D. when I brought her in, and called the precinct... for verification. They notified her folks. Stone walks off. Nedberg watches him go, suspicious. INT. HOTEL IRONDELL - LOBBY - DAY Stone walks in from the street and heads straight for the elevator, throwing a casual glance toward the front desk as he whisks by. STONE Hey, Max. Suddenly he stops in his tracks. Backs up again toward the front desk. Notices that the desk clerk is NOT Maxine. Instead, the young woman now sitting behind the desk has shoulder-length hair, dirty blonde with purplish streaks. A white "MISFITS" T-shirt with the skull logo draped on the front. Wearing headphones, shaking her head along to some rockin' beat. Chewing gum. 25 years old. We'll call her SAMANTHA. Stone looks at her strangely. She notices. Removes her headphones. Stone offers a polite smile. STONE You're not Max. SAMANTHA And you're not Lou Diamond Phillips but hey, close enough. STONE Where's Max? SAMANTHA Maxine? She's in Tibet. STONE TIBET?! Why? SAMANTHA Writer's block. Couple of days ago she realized that her well of inspiration had run dry in the city. She's hoping she can accumulate enough life experiences in Tibet to fill up her next novel. STONE Geez... SAMANTHA I'm Samantha, by the way. You can call me "Sam". I'm a friend of Maxine's. She got me this gig just before she split. Told her I was in dire need of income. STONE I'm Zeke. SAMANTHA Zeke? As in "Zeke Stone"? STONE (mildly suspicious) Yeah... SAMANTHA Hang on a sec... She ducks under the counter, starts shuffling through some papers. SAMANTHA Maxine left something here for you... She finds a small note and hands it to Stone. SAMANTHA ...in case you missed her before she left. Stone reads the note: "HEY, STONE, WHOEVER YOU'RE DUCKING, MAKE SURE THEY DON'T GET YOU. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR WIFE. I'LL MISS YOU. LOVE, MAX." Stone can't help a contented smirk. STONE (to himself) I'll miss you too, Max. Samantha hesitates, unsure whether she should disrupt Stone's private moment. Finally... SAMANTHA She really cared about you. STONE (proudly) I know. (beat; changing subject) So she never told me she had any friends. SAMANTHA (slight resentment) Yeah, wasn't she funny that way? We hung out once in a while at Babylon, this rock club up west where I part-time with my band. STONE So you're a waitress there? SAMANTHA Huh? No. Like I just said... where I part-time with my BAND. I'm a singer. STONE (impressed) Hey, that's great. Your band have a name? SAMANTHA Lost Souls. STONE (smiles) Sounds... cool. SAMANTHA You should come check us out sometime. I think you'll like it. STONE That sounds great. He starts moving toward the elevator. STONE Nice meeting you... Sam. Samantha nods in response, then slips her headphones back on. As Stone waits for the elevator, we hear Sam's PHONE start ringing. Stone looks toward the front desk. Sam can't hear a thing, grooving her head to the beat in her ears, her eyes locked on a magazine. The RINGING persists as Sam remains oblivious. Stone shakes his head and chuckles to himself as he steps into the elevator. EXT. STREET - CLUB HEAVEN - DAY Stone, hands in his coat pockets, strolls along the street, toward the club entrance. He stops in front, sees the door is wide open. He goes in. INT. CLUB HEAVEN The club doesn't look half as surreal or trance-like in the light of day. It is, however, in a disheveled and shambled state. Overturned chairs and tables, broken glass, shards of wood, sections of wall littered with bulletholes. Most of the club employees -- WAITRESSES, BARTENDERS, SECURITY -- are helping clean the mess. Stone spots HARVEY by the bullet-riddled bar, speaking with a BARTENDER. He approaches. Harvey sees him coming. HARVEY Hey, detective. STONE Harvey. (re: the damage) Sorry about... everything. HARVEY Hey, as long as you guys cover the expenses, it's all water under the bridge. STONE Just wanted to ask you a few questions about the guy who did this last night. HARVEY (confused) Don't you and your buddies talk to each other? STONE What buddies? HARVEY Your fellow coppers, man. (points O.S.) I thought that guy was with you. Stone follows Harvey's gaze to the other end of the club. STONE'S POV We see a MAN (30s, BUZZCUT, GOATEE), wearing a DARK OVERCOAT, talking with one of the waitresses. HARVEY Says his name's Detective Lukas. He got here a little after the first wave of coppers took off. STONE How long's he been here? HARVEY I don't know. Fifteen, twenty minutes. STONE Alright, Harvey. Thanks. Stone leaves the bar, makes a beeline straight for DETECTIVE LUKAS. STONE Excuse me. Lukas spins his head, notices Stone standing there. He turns back to the WAITRESS. LUKAS Alright, thank you for your help. The waitress struts off, leaving the two men on their own. LUKAS Yes? STONE Detective Lukas? LUKAS Yes? STONE (badges him) I'm Detective... Gonner. I'm investigating what happened here last night. I was just wondering if you knew anything about the guy that did this -- Kyle Carver. LUKAS Yeah. Carver. We've been investigating him for a few months now. He's established quite a reputation around these parts. We've tried pinning him to several homicide cases in the area, mostly drug deals gone wrong, but nothing's stuck yet. He doesn't leave much of a paper trail. STONE Do you know if this club is a regular hangout of his? LUKAS He's been seen here a few times. I'm not sure I'd call him a regular though. STONE You haven't got an established pattern on him? LUKAS His schedule is rather sporadic, but we're trying to determine a routine. Have you got anything? STONE Not much. But I think it might be a good idea to get some protection for the girl at St. Michael's, just in case. LUKAS (snaps to attention) What girl? STONE The girl he shot here last night. (beat) You didn't hear? LUKAS (remembering) Oh, yeah, right, that one. Have you spoken to her? STONE No. She was still sedated when I left. But if Carver doesn't leave any paper trails, like you said, maybe we should get a guy up there, at least till she's released. LUKAS That's a good idea. St. Michael's was it? STONE Yeah. LUKAS Alright. (extends hand) It was good meeting you, Detective Gonner. Maybe we'll see each other again. STONE (shakes his hand) Yeah. Lukas moves past Stone, toward the exit. Stone watches him go. Something about him... EXT. CLUB HEAVEN - STREET - MINUTES LATER Stone exits the club, starts walking down the street, till he hears someone call out behind him. FEMALE VOICE (O.S.) Detective Stone! Stone turns around. His eyes go wide when he sees it's CASSANDRA running up to him, looking none the worse for wear. CASSANDRA Hi. (holds out her hand) I'm Cassandra. Stone can only stare at her. Shocked. INT. FOUR-STAR RESTAURANT - DAY Very chic. Very trendy. Classical music plays softly in the background. Obviously a major player for the power lunch crowd. ASH sits at one of the tables, wearing her BLONDE look now, dressed in formal business wear, legs crossed, looking stunningly elegant and professional. DRAKU is seated next to her, also in sharp business attire. There is another empty chair at their table. ENOK enters the restaurant, also in suit and tie, and approaches their table. He takes the empty chair, settles in. DRAKU Took you long enough. ENOK (unapologetic) Traffic. (grabs a menu) What's their special of the day? Ash watches the other patrons in the restaurant, paying her two associates no heed. ASH (passive) Do you know where he is now? ENOK No. ASH Well, there's no time to worry about that now. DRAKU I don't get it. Why is this guy still walking the streets? He should have been taken care of long ago. ENOK (looking at his menu) And how did he find us? ASH You don't understand. Stone doesn't operate at the same level we do. He's on a mission. Guided by unseen forces. "Conventional" tactics won't work with him. And we can't wait around till he tracks us all down. ENOK Then how do we dispatch of him? ASH We don't. She looks into Enok's eyes. Grim. Cold. ASH We bring him to *us*. FADE OUT. END OF ACT II ACT III FADE IN: INT. RAWSHANK'S DINER - EVENING Stone and Cassandra are sitting in a booth. CASSANDRA So I take it you come here often. STONE What makes you say that? CASSANDRA Well, judging from the way you rushed over here. Seemed like you knew where you were going. STONE Well, considering we're in L.A., I never thought I'd find a place with food as good as this. CASSANDRA Are you originally from here? STONE No, I'm from New York, but -- TERESITA (O.S.) What the hell is this?! Stone and Cassandra spin their heads, see the waitress TERESITA standing at a nearby booth, spouting off at the TWO BIG GUYS seated in the booth. She holds up some change in Big Guy's face. TERESITA You call this a tip? A quarter and a nickel? What am I, playing the flute for you here? I'm giving you a real meal here. Give me some real money. The Big Guys, easily twice her size, look frightened to death. They look at each other for a beat, then start frantically fishing in their pockets for change -- ANY change. They dump it on the table and RUN OUT of the diner. Teresita shouts after them. TERESITA Yeah, that's right! You better give me some money! Next time tell your mama to lend you some change before you go out! (to herself) Stupid gringos. She looks over to Stone and Cassandra, who are still watching her. They IMMEDIATELY grab their menus. She strolls over to their booth. Her demeanor hasn't changed much. TERESITA What can I get you folks? CASSANDRA (looking at her menu) Just a salad, please. Thank you. TERESITA (to Stone) And you? STONE How about we start off with the grilled steak -- well done -- and fries, the chicken burger combo, and some cole slaw. (thinks) Oh, and a glass of coke. TERESITA (sarcastic) You sure you don't want the double extra large pizza special with that? STONE Maybe later. TERESITA (snatches away their menus) Wise guy. She heads off to the kitchen. STONE (smiling) I like her more everytime I come here. (to Cassandra) So... how'd you end up finding me? CASSANDRA Well, the doctor told me you were a cop -- a detective actually. I don't know, I kind of figured you'd head back to the crime scene, try and gather some more information. Isn't that what cops do? STONE (impressed) Yeah... yeah, that's what they -- WE do. CASSANDRA So I took a shot, hoping I'd find you there. I just wanted to thank you, that's all. It's not every day someone saves your life. And I prefer putting a face to a name. I didn't want it to end up being like, "Who was that masked man?", you know? STONE I understand. I'm just surprised that you're out of the hospital so quickly. I was under the impression that they'd be keeping you there for a little while longer... at least overnight. CASSANDRA There was no reason to, I think. That's what the doctor told me anyway. Said not to strain my shoulder too much and if I felt good enough, I could leave. So I did. STONE What about your parents? You weren't carrying any I.D. Did you get in touch with them yet? CASSANDRA (distraught) My father's dead. STONE (taken aback) I'm sorry. CASSANDRA That's okay. It was a long time ago. My mom and I are really not that tight. She doesn't care much about what's happening. She's kind of zoned out. I've been staying with my sister at her apartment for the last three months. I forgot my purse on the dresser again, with all my stuff inside. (chuckles) I'm such a klutz sometimes. STONE (smiles) So is your sister up to date on things? CASSANDRA She's in Chicago right now, on business. She's gone for a week. STONE Oh. CASSANDRA She doesn't need the burden right now. STONE (changing subject) So... do you go often to that "Heaven" club? CASSANDRA Sometimes. Mostly on weekends. STONE Does the name "Kyle Carver" mean anything to you? CASSANDRA No. Should it? STONE He's the guy that shot you. CASSANDRA Never heard of him. STONE (despaired) Okay. CASSANDRA Did they catch him? STONE Not yet. (beat) So do you always go alone? CASSANDRA Where? STONE To the club. CASSANDRA (laughs) Does that seem weird? STONE I don't know. Maybe it's not so weird nowadays. I'm a little behind with the times. CASSANDRA Yeah, I think it's still weird. (beat) I don't know. I'm not really looking for companionship. I'm just looking for a place to... escape. STONE I know what you mean. INT. HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY WARD - NIGHT DR. NEDBERG is sitting on the examination table, looking ruffled and beaten. A NURSE is applying a cast to his arm. The room is in utter disorder -- shelves and surgical equipment scattered everywhere, lab tools shattered on the floor. LUKAS (O.S.) Doctor Nedberg? Nedberg and the nurse look toward the door, see DETECTIVE LUKAS standing there. LUKAS May I come in? Nedberg nods. Lukas enters. LUKAS I'm Detective Lukas, with the 18th Precinct. Can you tell me what happened here? DR. NEDBERG That's what I'd like to know. (beat) A patient was brought in early this morning. Young woman, no more than nineteen, twenty. No identification of any kind. She'd been shot in the back of her shoulder. She was passed out. The wound was serious. Could've been more so if she hadn't been tended to as quickly as she had. When she came to later in the day, she'd undergone a complete transformation. She became moody, aggressive. She got up from her bed, struggled with the nurses. When I came in to calm her down, she grabbed me and flung me across the room like a rag doll. I landed in that shelf. (pointing) The shelf fell on top of me. Broke my arm. (grimaces in pain) I've never seen such strength. It's abnormal enough for an average healthy person, but she'd just been shot! LUKAS Do you know where she is now? DR. NEDBERG No. She just fled. We couldn't stop her. She just mentioned something about finding the cop who brought her in. LUKAS A police officer brought her here? DR. NEDBERG Yes. Detective Stone. He informed some other officers at his precinct about the girl. Two of them came here, took her fingerprint while she was still sedated. They looked her up in their system, found a name and address. Apparently, she's got a file. He reaches into his chest pocket, pulls out a slip of paper and hands it to Lukas. Lukas looks at the paper, sees the name scrawled on it: "CASSANDRA RENOLDS" EXT. STREET - APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Stone and Cassandra are walking down the street. They stop in front of the tenement. CASSANDRA This is my building. Stone nods. CASSANDRA Thanks for everything. You've been really nice. STONE No problem. (beat; awkwardly) You have a good night. CASSANDRA (timidly) Would you, maybe, like to come up? STONE (dismissive) Look, I should really get going. I've got a lot of work to do back at the precinct. CASSANDRA Just for a short while. My sister's out of town. (beat) I could really use some company. Stone stares off into the distance. He shouldn't, but he's feeling something for another person that he hasn't felt in a long time -- empathy. His gentlemanly nature wins out. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HALLWAY - NIGHT Cassandra leads Stone down the hallway toward her apartment. CASSANDRA I hope you don't mind, it's a bit of a mess. I haven't had time to clean up. STONE That's okay. I'm not much of a neat freak. They come to the door. She pulls out her key, opens it. INT. CASSANDRA'S APARTMENT She enters, followed by Stone, whose eyes go wide when he sees ASH in her natural DARK HAIR, sitting on the couch at the other end of the room, dressed again in BLACK LEATHER. She stands as they enter. Stone immediately goes for his GUN, pulls it out. But before he can take aim, ENOK BURSTS OUT from behind the door on Stone's right side, KICKS the gun out of Stone's hand. DRAKU appears then from Stone's left side, grabbing his arm and slamming him up against the wall. Enok grabs hold of his other arm. They both got a firm grip on Stone, holding him steady. Cassandra shuts the door. Locks it. STONE (to Cassandra) You're a damned soul. ASH Don't be so surprised, Zeke. It might have been obvious, but it's understandable that you couldn't see it. I think your last meeting with Rosalyn has left your senses a little off... out of tune. (steps closer) I missed you, Zeke. I thought you'd gone, try and keep your wife out of harm's way, especially after what happened in her cozy little home. But I guess I was wrong. She moves toward Cassandra, strokes her hair. ASH Fortunately, I have little Cassandra here, eager to show me how much she cares about me... unlike you... Ash pulls out ENOK'S DOUBLE-BLADED DAGGER, and hands it to Cassandra. Cassandra takes it, slithers right up to Stone. Stone struggles. Enok and Draku hold him down. STONE (to Cassandra) You lied to me. CASSANDRA What kind of a girl am I to pass up a free meal? Ash steps back, smiling. ASH I really wish it could've been different with us, Zeke. But we're all just victims of circumstance. All we can do is go along. Cassandra raises the dagger to Stone's eyes. ASH Goodbye, Zeke. Stone glares at the blades. Seeing Hell in its glint. FADE OUT. END OF ACT III ACT IV FADE IN: INT. CASSANDRA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (RESUMING) CASSANDRA I'm sorry, Detective Stone. You're a nice guy and all, but... STONE (shouting) Cassandra... NO! WAIT!! Cassandra is about to bring the blade down on Stone's eyes, when suddenly TWO GUNSHOTS are fired -- both shots taking out DRAKU'S EYES. They all spin their heads toward the door and see DETECTIVE LUKAS holding a smoking gun. Draku clutches his eyes in agony as his soul blazes out from his sockets. Stone quickly seizes the opportunity, lunging a hard FIST into Enok's nose with his free arm. Enok tumbles back. Draku descends to Hell in a blinding light. Ash and Cassandra back away, disturbed by the sudden turn of events. Stone spots his GUN on the floor by the far wall, runs over to get it. But Enok regains his composure, notices Stone's move, and barrels toward him. Lukas charges at Enok, hoping to intercept him. The combined force of Enok's and Lukas's charge is powerful, colliding straight into Stone and HURTLING ALL THREE OF THEM THROUGH THE WALL! EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - SIDE ALLEY The side of the building BLOWS OUT in a shower of bricks and plaster as all three bodies SMASH THROUGH the wall and PLUMMET SEVEN STOREYS toward the ground. Stone and Enok land heavily on the concrete, still locked in a vicious struggle. Lukas lands a few yards away, dazed. Enok rolls himself on top of Stone, wraps his large hands around Stone's throat and starts squeezing tightly. ENOK (enraged) I don't care what Ashur wants! I don't care if she likes you or not! I'm gonna crush your throat till your eyes explode from their sockets! Enok squeezes tighter... tighter... suffocating the life out of him. Stone's face is going blue. His air is dying out. Stone struggles, musters up his remaining strength... He DRIVES HIS KNEE UP into Enok's groin, with enough force to kill a normal man. Enok rages in pain -- loosens his stranglehold on Stone a bit. Still reeling from the kick, Stone follows up quickly with a devastating ELBOW to the jaw. Enok loses his grip completely, falls over Stone. LUKAS shakes his head off, begins rising from the ground, notices Stone's struggle. Stone shoves Enok off of him, starts crawling toward his GUN. But Lukas is closer to the pistol. He makes a dive for it. Enok gets to his feet, stretches his arms, HOWLS in complete fury. He races toward Stone. Stone rolls himself over, sees him coming. Lukas raises the gun. LUKAS STONE!!! Stone turns his head. LUKAS LOBS THE GUN OFF TO HIM. Stone SNATCHES THE GUN from the air, lowers to a crouching position. Enok makes a final impossible superhuman LEAP into the air, blue flame trailing his body. Stone lets off TWO QUICK SHOTS. Enok's eyes are BLASTED OUT -- IN MID AIR! His soul is seizured out through his punctured sockets and sent shrieking back to Hell in an animal ROAR. Then, in the accompanying silence, Stone grips his arm in pain, rolls up his sleeve. One of the many TATTOOS there SCORCHES ITSELF OFF HIS SKIN, leaving no trace of a scar. Lukas comes over, helps Stone up from the ground. LUKAS You okay? STONE (gasping) I think so... LUKAS Come on... let's go... INT. CONDEMNED CHURCH - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT The same church from the TEASER. Stone and Lukas trudge their way inside, lean against the nearest wall, catching their breath. STONE (matter-of-factly) You're not a cop, are you. LUKAS Not really. STONE How'd you know who I was? LUKAS I've known for a long time. We all know. STONE "We"? LUKAS Heavenly servants of God. Stone looks at him, disbelief etched on his brow. STONE You're an angel? LUKAS A Grigori, to be exact. One of the lower choirs of angels. STONE So are you my guardian angel or something? LUKAS Not exactly. STONE Then why are you here? LUKAS I'm here for Cassandra. STONE I thought the damned souls were MY job. LUKAS Cassandra is not a damned soul. Stone's attention is caught. STONE What is she? LUKAS An angel... or at least she WAS an angel. Now she bears the mark of the damned, just like all the others you're hunting. STONE You're saying demons are NOT the only supernatural creatures loose on Earth? Suddenly the double entrance doors are BLOWN OFF THEIR HINGES by a powerful GUST OF WIND, howling with hurricane force, sweeping street debris into the church. CASSANDRA LEAPS THROUGH the open doorway, propelled by a preternatural rage, her aura ablaze with savagery. She PLOWS into Stone and Lukas like a speeding bowling ball, knocking them both down like helpless pins. They react quickly, their senses adjusting as rapidly as possible, stumbling to regain their foothold. Cassandra strikes at Lukas, leaping at him like a blood-crazy tiger. Stone throws himself into the fray, tries to subdue her, but Cassandra's strength is overwhelming. SHE BACKHANDS STONE viciously across the jaw, sending him soaring into the air, practically covering the entire length of the auditorium before landing hard INSIDE THE CONFESSIONAL BOOTH AT THE OTHER END OF THE CHURCH. Cassandra diverts her attention back to her struggle with Lukas. STONE lays back in the confessional, dazed. He squints, tries to focus on the battle at the other end of the auditorium. STONE'S POV Blurry. Fuzzy. From a great distance, we see Lukas and Cassandra locked in combat. Stone starts to heave himself out of the booth, but suddenly a VICIOUS FORCE blows him back in -- we catch a glimpse of BLUE FLAME shooting into the booth. The confessional door CLOSES SHUT, trapping Stone inside. INT. CONFESSIONAL Stone finds himself squeezed into the dark booth with ASH who is seated over him, on his lap. She touches Stone's face with both hands. Gently. Lustful. Stone sits there, cramped. Paralyzed by her closeness. ASH Oh, Zeke... I was hoping you'd come back to me. STONE I didn't come back for you. I came back to finish a job. ASH Let's stop this game, Zeke. It doesn't have to be like this. We both know what we want. Why fight it? INT. AUDITORIUM Lukas and Cassandra circle each other, like predatory gladiators in a ring. Evidence of their epic battle lies all around them -- shattered glass, destroyed pillars, chharred and smoking pews. Their clothes are torn, their flesh covered with soot. CASSANDRA I knew He'd send someone after me, sooner or later. LUKAS Did you actually think you could escape from Him forever? CASSANDRA It doesn't matter now. I don't care how many assassins He sends for me. When Ashur enters the kingdom after we're done with this miserable planet, Yahweh will be charred to cinders by OUR hands. And you and all your fellow servants of "God" will be bowing to me! LUKAS You'll be bowing to Lucifer in the flames of Hell. Cassandra unleashes a shrieking YELL and bolts into the air toward Lukas. Lukas leaps straight up and OVER Cassandra, flipping back onto his feet. Then, he notices something GLIMMERING among the ruins nearby -- ENOK'S DAGGER. He races for it. Cassandra catapults herself once more into the air, defying gravity as she ROCKETS toward Lukas for the final blow. Lukas ducks and rolls as she flies overhead, SNATCHING THE DAGGER UP and crouching into a defensive stance. Cassandra strikes from BEHIND, swinging a large SHARD OF WOOD. Lukas ducks again and THROWS THE DAGGER. Before Cassandra can ever register what it is, THE BLADES PLUNGE THEMSELVES DEEP INTO HER EYES. She's thrust back by the force of the throw. She cries out as a BLINDING WHITE LIGHT drifts from her eyes, and she's pulled down into Hell in a manner we've never seen before. Lukas dusts himself off, looks toward the confessional across the church where Stone had been flung. He walks toward it. INT. CONFESSIONAL Ash is still in the booth with Stone. ASH Why are you so idly defending this wretched, disillusioned planet? Their eyes are closed. They can't see the truth. I can make it just. I can make it a better world. STONE Yeah? A world where we're allowed to burn down places of worship? Where mothers kill their babies as a sacrifice? Ash stares longingly into Stone's eyes, finally voicing the sad truth they both know. ASH You'll never understand the world I come from. STONE (hardened) And you'll never understand the world I come from. Ash takes a deep breath, tries to compose herself. INT. AUDITORIUM Lukas nears the confessional. INT. CONFESSIONAL ASH One day we'll end up in this same situation again, but maybe then I won't be strong enough to stop myself from destroying your eyes. Slowly, ever slowly, she leans in to kiss Stone, but before their lips meet... EXT. CONFESSIONAL Lukas places his hand on the doorknob, and swings the confessional door wide open! Stone is ALONE in the booth. LUKAS Is it over? STONE For now... INT. CONDEMNED CHURCH - MOMENTS LATER Stone is seated in one of the only pews left undamaged, exhausted beyond sleep. Lukas collapses on the seat next to him, leans back. Sighs. LUKAS How're you feeling? STONE Like I'd just been run over by a steamroller. You? LUKAS Pretty much the same. I never realized the limits of human endurance... how tiring it is to be human. STONE You should try the rush hour commute. If that doesn't test your endurance... He lets the sentence trail off, too tired to complete it. STONE Kyle Carver is dead, isn't he. LUKAS (nods) Killed by one of Ashur's guys. STONE (beat) So how many renegade angels are out there? LUKAS Not many. Maybe a handful. Nothing like the damned souls. But we still have to claim what's ours. God does not tolerate insubordination among His troops. STONE So why you? Why did He send YOU down to get her? Why not one of the higher angels? LUKAS (shakes his head) I don't know. Maybe He wanted me to prove myself as His servant... as His soldier. STONE (smiles) I think you have... Stone pauses. Thinks about something. STONE I still can't understand why an angel would want to escape Heaven. LUKAS You should ask your boss that same question. Not only the damned souls of Hell seek to escape, Mr. Stone. For the past few centuries, several denizens of Heaven have become restless as well, refuting the ways of God. There are a few -- like Cassandra -- who slip through the cracks, from time to time. But now their numbers are expanding, and with a renewed sense of motivation, because now they share a common goal with someone as powerful as them -- maybe even more. Heaven is constantly at the brink of war, and if someone up there with lofty ambitions and a Luciferian complex decides to take charge and allows Ashur to enter our gates, we might have another angelic uprising on our hands, and Ashur may acquire unimaginable power that could prove catastrophic not only for humanity, but for the entire spiritual plane. STONE Are you telling me -- Ash might have the power to kill God Himself? LUKAS No one is truly immortal, Ezekiel. Not even God. Lukas stands, holds his hand out to Stone. LUKAS Good luck, detective. We've all got our fingers crossed up there. Stone shakes his hand. LUKAS Maybe we'll meet again. STONE Yeah... maybe... Lukas walks off toward the doors. Into the night. Stone sits there. Alone. Head buried in his hands. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. ROOFTOP - NIGHT A clear, calm night. Stone stands at the edge of a building, looking out over the city below. DEVIL (O.S.) Why is she still alive? Stone doesn't turn around. He knows who it is. STONE I can't do it. DEVIL (pissed) Can't do what? STONE I can't defeat her. She's too powerful. The Devil steps closer to Stone, yet keeps his distance. DEVIL (as if mulling it over) Too powerful... STONE You said it yourself: "The longer you're in Hell, the more it becomes a part of you." I've been in Hell for fifteen years. Ash has been there for over FOUR THOUSAND. Her powers are beyond anything I can overcome. DEVIL Are you trying to get out of this, detective? Trying to avoid the inevitable? Trying to end your nightmares? (steps closer) I don't think physical power is the issue here, Mr. Stone. I think it's emotional weakness. You're not sure you'll be able to pull the trigger when the time comes. You're wondering if there's a chance for the both of you, if maybe she'll come around to her senses at the last possible moment and forget her silly crusade against God. Are you willing to jeopardize your second chance at life with your beloved wife Rosalyn over a fleeting crush on a four-thousand-year-old pagan priestess? (beat) Now who's being silly, Ezekiel? There will be no end to your nightmares. Not if you let her get away. The Devil gets close, says in a cold whisper: DEVIL Hunt her down. Send her back home to me. And your nightmares will end. Stone feels a light breeze at the nape of his neck. Finally, he turns his head -- The Devil has vanished. Stone is alone again. He digs into his coat pocket, extracts his only PHOTO of ROSALYN. Wallet-size. Black and white. Creased at the edges. We get the sense he's been looking at it quite often recently. He ponders something. Then looks up at the night sky. STONE God help me. FADE OUT. THE END