Supporting Cast
"Date with the Night"
Previously
[aside][b]Music[/b] Robbers on High Street, "Spanish Teeth"[/aside]
Unfortunately: Frankie, once a daydreaming waitress in a nondescript diner, was transformed into a bloodthirsty creature of the night, then left to die in a ditch.
Fortunately: London, an angry young musician, and [i]also[/i] a monster, found and rescued her.
Unfortunately: They found themselves on the streets of an unfamiliar city with no cash, no friends, and no blood.
Fortunately: They found work and the occasional meal at Rose Red, a nightclub near the edge of town.
Unfortunately: They ran afoul of the local "sheriff", Brimstone, a tough-talking mountain man with a profound dislike for vampires.
Fortunately: Brimstone's willing to deal with them, if for his own purposes.
Unfortunately: Brimstone set them up to kill a local vampire elder. They were followed from the scene, but don't know by whom.
Fortunately: They also know the whereabouts of a large quantity of heroin hidden by one of Brimstone's thugs- and the boy who hid it is now dead.
Unfortunately: Now they have to meet the rest of their "kindred."
Outside
Headlights crest the hill, pause, and slide back down. Sometimes, you can just make out the figures getting out. A few of the cars park around the side of the museum.
London and Frankie watch from a nearby rooftop, between a few convenient gargoyles.
FRANKIE: "It's about time."
LONDON: "I've always hated things like this."
FRANKIE: "Like what?"
LONDON: "Big parties. Used to have to go to a lot of them with the band. Bunch of people in a room, talking about how much they love each other."
He dashes out his cigarette, and nods. They walk down the fire escape, then up the long driveway. They pass a battered metal sign, wet and rusted.
"Vasquez Museum of the Sciences"
Vasquez Museum
A couple of men with shaved heads and biker leathers worn like uniforms are watching the door. They set off every warning signal in London and Frankie's heads, but they manage to pass. Father Joseph meets them inside, and leads them down a hallway.
JOSEPH: "I'm glad you came."
LONDON: "Didn't have the impression we had much of a choice."
JOSEPH: "God always gives us a choice."
He guides them back through a door and into the wings of a small stage.
JOSEPH: "Here, put these on."
The priest holds out two pairs of handcuffs.
FRANKIE: "What happened to having a choice?"
JOSEPH: "It's for your own good."
LONDON: "You'll have to explain that, Father."
Joseph sighs, and gestures out towards the stage.
JOSEPH: "When you met me, you nearly went for my throat."
LONDON: "You dress badly."
JOSEPH: "There's more to it. We... don't get along with each other. Not at first. Maybe not ever. If you freak out out there, someone's going to have to put you down."
He pauses.
JOSEPH: "You can put them on yourselves. I'll just have to check them afterwards."
Reluctantly, London and Frankie cooperate.
After a long period of quiet, Joseph guides them out onto the stage. A short, hawk-nosed man in a suit stands waiting. Two of the biker-types from earlier watch them from the back of the stage.
The man in the suit lifts his microphone.
TIBERIUS: "And now, I would like to--"
Which is where London freaks out. He can't stand the smell, the sight, the number of other monsters in the audience. He growls and bolts.
One of the bikers, a wiry guy with a bunch of earrings, steps forward and swings his fist into London's gut. London falls to the floor, and the biker drags him over and dumps him next to Frankie.
TIBERIUS: "Thank you, Leon."
LEON: (with a smile and a distinct Aussie accent) "Not a problem."
Tiberius introduces himself as the Prince, then plods through a religious ceremony, mostly in Latin. He commends London and Frankie to Joseph's guidance, and then turns to more secular matters.
TIBERIUS: "I notice, once again, that the Monk has not deigned to grace us with his presence tonight."
The creatures in the audience get a good laugh out of that. Frankie sneaks a glance at London.
TIBERIUS: "Leon, would you have someone look in on him? Remind the old fellow that his attendance is [i]not[/i] optional?"
The skinhead nods, then gestures to his larger companion, who exits stage right.
TIBERIUS: "With that taken care of, I invite you all to join me in the hall for refreshments and conversation."
Muttering amongst themselves, the vampires file out of the auditorium. Tiberius draws a small remote control from his breast pocket. He walks over towards Frankie and London.
TIBERIUS: "Welcome to our community. If you are pious and civilized, you will be rewarded. If, however, you are not..."
He hits a button on the remote control. The house lights in the auditorium flare up, blinding white. Reflexively, both London and Frankie flinch. And then the lights cut out entirely.
TIBERIUS: "...then you will find your nights short, and your days [i]very[/i] long."
Tiberius swaggers towards the door. Leon follows, but not before giving London a macho jab in the arm and Frankie a leering wink.
The Party
Joseph unlocks the handcuffs and leads Frankie and London through the deserted museum to a large ballroom.
JOSEPH: "I suppose I'd better help you get the lay of the land."
LONDON: "Because we're just [i]so[/i] eager to socialize."
The priest opens the door and ushers the kids in.
JOSEPH: "You're going to be sharing your city with them for a long time; you might as well let me introduce you."
The hall is filled with the same dressed-up dead who attended the ceremony. Some talk in little knots; a few are playing poker in the corner; most walk the floor purposefully, nodding slightly as they pass each other. To Frankie, this looks sinister and mysterious; London, on the other hand, immediately recognizes the charade of the self-important. The room itself isn't much better; dull and white, with some red and black curtains hung up around the edges.
Joseph walks them through the ballroom, pointing out various important drifters and knots as they go. He grits his teeth as they pass a woman in a white gown (the fringe trailed tastefully in fake blood) talking to a somewhat hunched, owl-eyed man.
FRANKIE: "Who're they?"
Joseph sighs.
JOSEPH: "The woman is Dominique; her... assistant is Boris. I suppose I might as well let you get this out of your systems right now."
JOSEPH: "Dominique is the bride of Dracula."
London laughs.
FRANKIE: "Seriously? Dracula?"
JOSEPH: "So she says."
LONDON: "But... Dracula? He's a real guy?"
JOSEPH: (rolling his eyes just a bit) "I wouldn't presume to argue. And he has quite a following, these days."
LONDON: "Seriously? Dracula?"
Joseph gives him what might be a warning look.
JOSEPH: (pointing at the biker-types) "One more group you ought to know- those are the Ratcatchers. Prince Tiberius's enforcers. You already met their chief thug, Leon."
London scowls, which gets a smile from Frankie.
JOSEPH: "I have some things to attend to. Watch yourselves."
London looks skeptically at the buffet table, which, aside from a wrinkled paper tablecloth, contains a few punchbowls of blood. Animal blood, and with a chemical smell that's probably anti-coagulant or something. He wrinkles his nose.
VANESSA: "Need a drink?"
London looks over to see one of the cellists from the assembly. Her painted lips smile at him, and her eyes actually do, too.
LONDON: "God, yes. But not this stuff."
She nods.
VANESSA: "I have some scotch back in the kitchen, if you'd like to...?"
London looks at Frankie.
FRANKIE: "You two run along. I was going to say hello to Leon, anyhow."
London gives her a hard look, but then Vanessa's tugging on his arm. She leads him into a small, almost sterile kitchen.
LONDON: "I'm London."
VANESSA: "I caught that earlier. Vanessa."
She smooths the crimson velour of her skirt, then ducks down to open a cabinet. She pulls out a bottle and two small glasses.
VANESSA: (pouring the scotch) "I always need a drink after a show. Even if it all comes up later."
LONDON: "Why do you do this?"
VANESSA: "It's a pretty good gig. Say what you will, the Prince pays on time."
LONDON: "No, I mean... [i]this[/i]."
VANESSA: "Right. You're the new dead."
She downs her glass, then leans in a bit.
VANESSA: "Community's a nice thing."
LONDON: "You wouldn't know it looking around out there."
Vanessa smiles and shakes her head, making it obvious just how much plastic it took to make her hair look so soft and flowing.
VANESSA: "Don't let the staring games fool you. After you've been doing this fifty or a hundred years, you realize the only folks who understand are the ones like you."
LONDON: "That's... depressing."
VANESSA: "It's true. After a while, you realize that the human crutches don't get you very far."
LONDON: "What if they aren't crutches? What if I'm not done with life yet?"
She gives him a long, deep look.
VANESSA: "You've got a guitar."
LONDON: (shrugging) "Well, I stole one."
She nods.
VANESSA: "Drink up. Don't worry, you'll get over it."
Vanessa grabs a post-it off one of the refrigerators and writes something on it. She takes London's hand, and pushes the paper into it.
VANESSA: "That's my place. Come see me sometime."
London nods.
LONDON: "You didn't get over it."
She looks back at him for a moment.
VANESSA: "No, but I got over the violin."
They part ways at the staircase, and London goes back to the ballroom to look for Frankie...
...who's been getting along alright on her own, though she looks a little uncomfortable with Leon's arm around her. Or maybe that's just where he's got his hand. They're in a crowd of Ratcatchers, who are laughing raucously, throwing mock punches, and generally having a grand old time.
LEON: "Thought you were gonna go nuts when the Prince called you 'Francine.'"
GLITTERBOY: "You never complain when he does it to you, Leon."
LEON: "You shut it, Glitterboy, or you're going to spend all tomorrow growing that face back."
The other thug grins and steps up to take a swing. Leon gives him a toothy (and slightly yellow) smile... but his cell phone rings.
LEON: "Hold on, mate."
He flips it open and listens.
LEON: "Yeah. Yeah. Oh, he did? Well, that'll be [i]fun[/i]. Secure the fuckin' scene and all that, will ya?"
He puts the phone back in his pocket.
FRANKIE: "What was that?"
LEON: "Just what I live for, sweets. Somebody's done a wrong, and it's up to me to right it."
She looks at him skeptically. He just smiles wider.
LEON: "Got the best job in the world, I do. Prince gives me a fat wad of cash, and to do what? Crack skulls and raise hell. All in the name o' law and order."
FRANKIE: "And whose skull are you cracking this time."
LEON: "This guy Brimstone's, if he's done what I think. An' as much as I like sneakin' looks at your rack, I gotta go do what I do best. Keep in touch, hey?"
Frankie gives him an "are you for real?" look.
FRANKIE: "Yeah, I will."
She walks back over towards the punchbowls, looking around for London. Instead, she's accosted by Boris. His voice is low, just above a hiss, as if his throat is badly scarred.
BORIS: "Welcome, my dear, to our fair city."
FRANKIE: "Uh, thanks."
Boris introduces himself, and makes smalltalk. Frankie can do smalltalk- she was a waitress, after all- but she's used to doing it with people who blink occasionally. By the time Boris has gotten to offering her a free copy of "a remarkable book", London's found her.
LONDON: "It a good book?"
BORIS: "Oh, yes. The Dragon surmounted the weaknesses of our dead flesh, and he can teach you to do the same."
LONDON: (skeptically) "And what has he taught [i]you[/i]?"
Boris draws himself up with pride.
BORIS: "I can walk in the dusk hours, and I can draw sustenance from a drop of rat's blood that would take you an entire convent."
London sighs, but he takes the book.
LONDON: "I'll skim it. I promise."
DOMINIQUE: "Boris, darling, your enthusiasm may be a bit much."
She nods to Frankie, then extends her hand to London. He starts to shake it, but, on her surprised glare, leans down and kisses the lacquered nails.
DOMINIQUE: "I am Dominique, eldest bride of Our Lord Dracula."
LONDON: "I'm a big fan of his movies."
DOMINIQUE: "Remarkable, isn't it, how my husband has charmed the mortal masses as well as us, his kindred?"
FRANKIE: "Uh, yeah."
LONDON: (not quite ready to let it go) "So, uh, when was the last time you [i]saw[/i] Dracula?"
DOMINIQUE: (reminiscing) "Near the end of the war. I'll never forget his last words to me...."
FRANKIE: "What did he say?"
DOMINIQUE: "Come to one of our salons, and I'll be happy to regale you with tales of my husband, as well as share with you his wisdom...."
LONDON: "That sounds great. I'll have my people call your people."
He drags Frankie away.
FRANKIE: "Need another drink?"
LONDON: "Forget alcohol. I need to lose some money."
He guides her over towards the poker game in the corner.
The Streets
After taking a few bucks off of a pretentious anarchist named Karl Grimm and his rather quiet twin brother, they head out into the night.
FRANKIE: "So, what'd you think?"
LONDON: "Shoot me now."
FRANKIE: "You don't want to join them for Sunday Bingo?"
LONDON: "You kidding? The best offer I got all night was to walk around in the evening and munch on tasty animals. These... people are pathetic."
FRANKIE: "They've had a while to work on it."
LONDON: "What about you?"
Frankie looks a little sad.
FRANKIE: "I think I miss the diner."
London lights a cigarette.
LONDON: "Can't go back, Frankie."
FRANKIE: "Yeah, I'm getting that. So what do we do?"
LONDON: "Let's see if we can catch Joseph. I don't like having Brimstone for a landlord. Especially if he figures out we know where his crap is."
Church
At the church, London and Frankie find the front doors locked.
LONDON: "Didn't padre say his door was always open?"
They manage to slip in through a basement door. As they approach the priests' offices and the main hall, they hear voices. From what they can make out, Joseph and Tiberius are arguing. Tiberius wants to hold the kids responsible for some transgression, so that he'll have more time to locate and punish the real perpetrator. Joseph argues that this dramatic reversal will just make it harder to "civilize the barbarians" in the future. The Prince promises more support for Joseph's "evangelical beliefs" if he'll cooperate, but the priest refuses again. Tiberius leaves, saying that they'll talk again after Leon reports.
As Frankie and London approach him, Joseph is rolling up his sleeves to clean the altar.
JOSEPH: (not looking at them) "You heard that?"
LONDON: "Enough of it. What's he want to pin on us?"
JOSEPH: "The Monk's been murdered."
LONDON: "Way he talked at court, I'm surprised the Prince is angry."
Joseph looks at London, if only over his shoulder.
JOSEPH: "Murder is a [i]sin[/i], not to mention a crime. Anyway, however much Tiberius likes to carry on, the two of them are... were friends. They came over from the old country together."
LONDON: "So what do we do?"
JOSEPH: "You make some actual friends, son. So you won't always look like the easiest patsy."
LONDON: "'Bout that..."
FRANKIE: "...we need your help. We need a slightly more secure place to stay."
JOSEPH: "Exactly my point. You'll need some living to help you with that."
LONDON: (raising his voice) "But you won't."
Joseph turns around to face him.
JOSEPH: "Fledglings have to learn to fly sometime."
LONDON: (shouting, now) "Yeah, but mother birds teach their children. They don't just throw them out of the nest."
Joseph growls.
JOSEPH: "I'm not your mother. And whatever my legal responsibilities, I'm not your sire. I've done more than enough already."
London stalks towards the door, dragging Frankie along.
LONDON: "You sure seem to think so."
Outside, London fumes.
FRANKIE: "Breathe."
LONDON: "We expected at work tonight?"
FRANKIE: "No."
LONDON: "Why don't you go hang out there... I'm going to go see somebody."
Vanessa's Apartment
Vanessa lives in an old but quite upscale building near the Cathedral downtown. The doorman doesn't really like London's look, but lets him in on "Miss Misery"'s say-so.
She meets him at the door. Her hair is wet, dampening the low collar of her white dressing gown.
LONDON: "Miss Misery?"
VANESSA: "Stage name du jour. Come on in."
[i][b]Music[/b]: Apocalyptica, [/i]Reflections[i], "Conclusion"[/i]
The apartment is sprawling, with arched ceilings. The living room is filled with sculptures on pedestals. There's what looks like a real fireplace (it also looks disused) and an assortment of paintings and black-and-white photographs on the walls. The balcony doors are open, and a breeze blows through them, stirring curtains about the same color as Vanessa's gown. The whole thing looks a little [i]too[/i] open to London. Glancing around, he sees what was missing: a steel, vault-style bedroom door, with what looks like quite an elaborate locking mechanism.
LONDON: "Can I... smoke in here?"
Vanessa gestures towards the stone balcony, and leads him out onto it. The wall around it is high, and further augmented by a ring of hedges and night-flowering plants.
London lights his cigarette.
LONDON: "You want one?"
Vanessa shakes her head.
VANESSA: "The smell reminds me of things, though."
LONDON: "Sorry, I'm not good at talking to girls."
VANESSA: "You were doing alright earlier."
LONDON: "Well, not to girls that aren't trying to convert me for their Dracula club."
His eyes widen a bit.
LONDON: "God, that's what got me into this in the first place."
VANESSA: "Who was she?"
London shrugs.
LONDON: "She played bass. We met on the road. She seemed to like me."
VANESSA: "That's... about what I figured."
LONDON: "You wouldn't happen to know the girl, would you?"
VANESSA: "I know her type."
LONDON: "So do I. The ones who ignore me. Usually."
VANESSA: "Trust me, I've seen it before. Restless, sad, and every once in a while, they get so infatuated with somebody so special they think he ought to live forever."
LONDON: "Or me."
VANESSA: "You should be flattered."
LONDON: "Sure. I get to live forever. Rule the shadows. Never miss Bingo Night."
VANESSA: "It's really not [i]that[/i] bad."
LONDON: "You ever... turn somebody?"
VANESSA: "I've tried."
LONDON: "What happened?"
She shakes her head.
VANESSA: "Didn't work out."
LONDON: "Why did you do it?"
VANESSA: "Thought I could make things right."
She walks back inside. London starts to follow, remembers to stub his cigarette, then walks in behind her.
Vanessa gets something out of a cabinet. It's a CD in a slightly battered jewel case.
VANESSA: "Here, you might enjoy this."
London takes it. It's a copy of "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols."
LONDON: "Doesn't quite seem your style."
VANESSA: "It belonged to someone else."
LONDON: "Someone special?"
VANESSA: "Once."
Rose Red
[aside][i][b]Music[/b]: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Modern Romance"[/i][/aside]
London sits down next to Frankie at the bar. Cindi shoots him a smile.
FRANKIE: "I think I want to go back. See where I died."
LONDON: "Might be good to get out of town. At least for a few days."
FRANKIE: "Avoid Brimstone, anyway."
Suddenly, Leon is behind her. He sways a bit, clearly intoxicated.
LEON: "I hear you mention Brimstone?"
LONDON: "Yeah, what's it to you?"
Leon puts his arms around both of them.
LEON: "Not surprised he's been giving you trouble. You'll love what me and the boys did, then."
FRANKIE: "Go on?"
LEON: "We picked up this human in a club, right? We got him [i]real[/i] drunk, then we took him for a ride down this way..."
He leans in, getting to the best part.
LEON: "...and then we had him piss all over the inside of ol' Brimstone's car!"
London just looks at him, half-smiling, mouth open.
LONDON: "Quit doing that, Leon, or I'm gonna have to start liking you."
Leon claps him on the back.
LEON: "Told you you'd love it. I'm working right now, though."
FRANKIE: "Oh, really?"
Leon looks around, checking lazily to see if anyone's listening.
LEON: "I'm on a case. That's what us in the biz call it when you're deciding whose ribs to bust. Turns out a fine member of the community's been murdered."
London looks concerned.
LONDON: "Who would that be?"
LEON: "Batso old geezer called the Monk."
FRANKIE: "But why?"
Leon nods sagely, like a movie hotrodder explaining his machine to a cheerleader. But a little more drunk.
LEON: "I figure... it was revenge. The lads got one o' Brimstone's mules thrown in with the monk."
Leon laughs.
LEON: "That was good times. Just a kid, too, tossed away in rehab with that crazy old fucker. Anyway, I figure Brimstone got all ticked off and waxed the Monk. Means he broke the truce, and I'll get to mess him up. Just haven't put all the pieces together yet."
LONDON: "What's missing?"
LEON: "Not sure. Brimstone's sure got balls, and he's got a temper on him, but it seems to me he'd'a needed something else. Just can't put my finger on it."
He shakes his head, as if trying to clear it. Frankie puts on her sweetest expression.
FRANKIE: "You should go home. Get some rest."
LEON: (nodding) "Think you're right about that, sweets. Sure it'll be all crystal clear come sunset."
He stands up, straightens his leather coat, and turns towards the door.
LONDON: "Maybe we can piss in Brimstone's car together, sometime."
LEON: "You haven't tried, have you?"
LONDON: "What?"
LEON: "Pissing." (Off London's blank look) "You can't, anymore. That's why I had to get a human. To be my... what do you call it?"
LONDON: "Patsy?"
LEON: (grinning) "Yeah, that's it. Exactly."
He takes a few steps towards the door, then smacks his forehead theatrically.
LEON: "[i]That[/i]'s the thing. That's what Brimstone would'a needed. A [i]patsy[/i]."
For just a moment, he looks sober and dead serious.
LEON: "Thanks, London."
He gives a once-again-drunken salute, and heads for the door.
LONDON: (slightly in awe) "I think that's what them in the biz call interrogation."
[i]In time, time is gone, Never last stops who he was, Well i was wrong, Never lasts.
This is no, There is no modern romance[/i]