Hardcore (1979)

FADE IN:

CREDITS

Credits are played over Currier and Ives-like winter scenes 
from life in Grand Rapids. It's Christmas morning.

-- Two well-bundled youths shovel out a suburban driveway 
while their father scrapes ice off the family car.

-- Youths pelter a passing car with snowballs. Others, more 
daring companions, grab onto the car's rear bumper and hitch 
a free ride across the icy roads and past a sign which reads 
"Grand Rapids City Limits."

-- Christmas decorations hang from the lamp posts on Monroe 
Avenue.

-- Children, dressed in bright parkas, and breathing steam, 
compare their Christmas presents: sleds, skis and a toboggan. 
In the b.g., other children speed down Richmond Park Hill.

-- A woman's distant voice sings an old hymn:

"Precious memories, unseen angels, 
Sent from somewhere to my soul, 
How they linger ever near me, 
And the sacred past unfolds. 
Precious memories, how they linger, 
How they ever flood my soul, 
In the stillness of the midnight, 
Precious sacred scenes unfold. 
Precious father, loving mother, 
Fly across the lonely years, 
And old home scenes of my childhood 
In fond memories appear."

END CREDITS.

INT. VAN DORN HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY

Four generations of the Van Dorn family have gathered at the 
family home.

A long kitchen leads to the dining area, then to the spacious 
living room.

The house is perhaps one hundred years old; deeply varnished 
woodwork and patterned yellow wallpaper section off the walls.

Apart from several recent tasteless acquisitions (an E-Z Boy 
lounge chair to replace the old Queen Anne which broke two 
Easters ago), the house remains furnished in the style of 
the previous century. The old dining room table, which 
Grandfather Van Dorn built because he was too cheap to buy 
one, has now become a priceless antique.

The rooms are littered with religious calendars, Bibles and 
plaster-of-Paris plaques bearing such sentiments as "As For 
Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord." The oak buffet is 
laden with similar religious knickknacks and chintz. Framed, 
tinted photographs of the family patriarchs are 
indiscriminately mixed with newer snapshots of proud fathers 
and high school graduates.

The house radiates a sense of continuity. Generations come 
and go; the family remains. All of life's "old home scenes" 
have been played out here: births, deaths, romances, 
blasphemies, betrayals. And now the air is again alive with 
the sounds of playing children, busy housewives and bickering 
uncles.

The kitchen is crowded with mothers, daughters and aunts. 
Each has brought a special dish. ANNE DE JONG (nee Van Dorn), 
thirty-five, supervises the final preparations. One aunt 
shows another snapshots of her new grandchild.

JAKE VAN DORN, forty, and his brother JOE, fifty, sit at the 
table watching the kitchen activity.

The house echoes with small talk:

		AUNT
	...He got accepted at Grand Valley, 
	but he'd rather go to Michigan...

		NEPHEW #1
	...Get that pink rot...

		NEPHEW #2
	...No way Uncle Joe talk me into 
	cutting celery again this summer. 
	Rather work in the car wash.

As the CAMERA TRACKS THROUGH the dining room, it passes a 
cluster of men standing near the buffet. WES DE JONG and 
JOHN VAN DORN, both about forty, casually discuss a 
theological point with GRANDFATHER VAN DORN. Across the table, 
a young boy, about eleven, listens with rapt awe.

These are men of the soil. Their faces are sun-blotched and 
weather-beaten. Wes has rolled up the sleeves of his white 
shirt; John has switched to a more comfortable plaid.

		JOHN
	...I still say that if a man has 
	committed the unpardonable sin, he 
	knows he has.

Grandfather nods head approvingly.

		WES
	I don't know about that, John. It 
	don't seem to account much for God's 
	grace.

		JOHN
	What kind of grace do you mean, 
	universal or specific...?

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

A long line of folding tables have been set up in the 
basement. A mixed assortment of chairs can accommodate thirty 
or more persons. A pre-teen daughter helps her mother place 
dishes and silverware on the tablecloths. Evergreen branches 
and red candles decorate the tables.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. DEN - DAY

Most of the teenagers have crowded into what was once called 
the study, but is now the "television room." KRISTEN VAN 
DORN, fourteen, and MARSHA DE JONG, fifteen, are scrunched 
onto the sofa. Kristen has long blonde hair, a clean Dutch 
complexion and an unaffected beauty. The girls' legs are 
innocently wrapped around each other's.

JOE, forty-five, another of the Van Dorn brothers, and a 
male cousin about nineteen, are also squeezed on the sofa. 
Young children squat on the floor in front of them. All are 
watching some inane Christmas variety show.

Joe, bored of this tripe, gets up and turns off the set. The 
children wail in unison. "Aw, c'mon, Uncle Joe."

		JOE
	I'm sick of watching this television 
	stuff. You know who makes it? All 
	the kids who couldn't get along here. 
	They go out to California and make 
	television. I didn't like 'em when 
	they were here, and I don't like 'em 
	out there.

One of the youngsters reaches over and snaps the set back on 
as Joe leaves the room.

							CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

As Joe leaves the den, he passes Jake Van Dorn and Wes De 
Jong. Unlike his older brother, Jake is not a man of the 
soil. He has been to college and runs his own business. He 
looks well-groomed and comfortable in his navy suit, white 
shirt and striped tie. Wes is Jake's brother-in-law and 
friend. They get along well enough.

		JOE
		(to Jake and Wes)
	Television. If you don't buy one 
	yourself, the kids go someplace else 
	and watch. And what do they sell on 
	television? More televisions.

		JAKE
		(light)
	They got to make their money, too, 
	Joe. Give the kids a break. It's 
	Christmas.

Joe shrugs and walks into the dining room.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

Anne listens as NADINE, her sister-in-law, about forty, and 
RUTH, her niece, about twenty, help her set out celery and 
carrot stalks.

		RUTH
	...and they hadn't heard a word from 
	him before he died.

Three children, BILL, LENARD and JANE, ages six to ten, walk 
over to the three mothers. Lenard, six years old, wears a 
blanket over his head in mock Biblical dress.

		BILL
	Aunt Ruth, can we use Timmy for the 
	Nativity play? We need him to play 
	the Christ-child.

		RUTH
	But Timmy's only six months old.

		BILL
	We won't hurt him. I'm going to be 
	Joseph, Jane's Mary and Lenard will 
	be one of the shepherds.

Bill looks at blanket-headed Lenard, who has no idea of what's 
going on.

		RUTH
	I don't think so...

		NADINE
	You can't do that. That's blasphemy. 
	If anybody pretends to be Christ, 
	it's blasphemy.

		BILL
	But he's only a baby.

Anne nods in agreement. Bill seems disappointed.

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Jake and West stand with their arms around their respective 
daughters, Kristen and Marsha. The girls squirm and giggle 
politely.

		JAKE
		(teasing Marsha)
	Your dad and I aren't sure you and 
	Kristen should go on the YC Convention 
	tomorrow.

		KRISTEN
	Oh, Dad.

Wes plays along:

		WES
	I don't know, Kristen, that's a long 
	trip to be on a bus with all those 
	boys.

		MARSHA
	You mean those creeps.

		KRISTEN
	There are more chaperones than boys 
	anyway.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

Every family is in place. The social order is complete: 
grandfather, parents, children, grandchildren. The long table 
is stacked high with salads, casseroles, and vegetables.

The diners turn their heads toward Jake who stands at the 
far end of the table, his closed fists pressed against the 
tabletop. He lowers his head in prayer.

One of the mothers, looking at her son, Lenard, quickly pulls 
the blanket off his head.

The CAMERA TRACKS ACROSS the table toward Jake.

		JAKE
	We thank the Lord for bringing this 
	family together at graduation time. 
	We ask Thee to watch over this family 
	and keep us together in the coming 
	year.

							CUT TO:

EXT. JAKE'S HOUSE - MORNING

Two cars are parked in the driveway of Van Dorn's suburban 
ranch-style home.

							CUT TO:

INT. KRISTEN'S ROOM - MORNING

Marsha sits on the bed as Kristen finishes packing her 
suitcase.

The items include: a bright red sweater, jeans, underclothes, 
Tampax, and a Bible.

							CUT TO:

INT. DINING AREA - MORNING

Jake, Wes and Anne wait in the spotless dining area. Harold 
Jay looks in the refrigerator.

		JAKE
		(to Anne)
	Sis, would you check if Kristen has 
	everything packed?

Anne nods and walks into the bedroom.

		WES
	You want to go for coffee after we 
	send the girls off?

		JAKE
	No. Thanks anyway. I've got to get 
	over to the office.

		WES
	Anne wants to make sure you come 
	over for dinner Sunday. With Kristen 
	gone you'll be all alone.

Jake nods.

Kristen, wearing a light blue sweater and skirt, emerges 
from the bedroom. She smiles demurely.

Her suitcase is in her hand. Jake, for a moment, feels a 
sharp twinge of loss. A foreboding of the day when Kristen, 
fully grown, will leave his house for good.

							CUT TO:

EXT. TWELFTH ST. CHURCH - DAY

Parents watch their children board a snow-covered bus outside 
Twelfth St. Church. A banner across the side of the bus reads:

			YOUNG CALVINIST CONVENTION

			GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. -- BELLFLOWER, CALIF.

Most of the parents, working folk long accustomed to the 
brutal Michigan winters, wear heavy overcoats, bearskin caps, 
fur-lined gloves and galoshes.

Jake, bare-headed and wearing a thin topcoat over his suit, 
waits with Kristen, Marsha, Wes and Anne. Harold Jay pelts 
the side of the bus with a snowball.

MRS. STEENSMA, one of the trip counselors, reads off the 
youngsters' names as they board the bus:

		MRS. STEENSMA
	...Daverman, DeBeer, DeBoer, DeJong, 
	DeVries...

Marsha kisses her parents goodbye and heads toward the bus.

		MRS. STEENSMA
		(continuing)
	...Vander Ark, Vander Hoven, Vander 
	Keen, Van Dorn, Van Dyke, E., Van 
	Dyke, S...

When Kristen hears her name she starts toward the bus, then 
stops, comes back and gives her father a farewell kiss.

		JAKE
	Take care of yourself, Kristen. I 
	love you.

		KRISTEN
	I will, Daddy.

		JAKE
	If you need anything, just call.

Later, amid horn-honking and farewells, the bus pulls away 
from the curb and heads down the snowy street.

INT. BUS - DAY

A sigh of relief goes up from the adolescent conventioneers: 
wheew! There are a few isolated cries of "We're on our way!"

A teenager instantly flips on his transistor RADIO to metal 
ROCK. Once away from home, these kids, like all kids, are 
the children of 1976. The old family glue doesn't hold. They 
live in the world of rock and television.

							CUT TO:

INT. FACTORY - DAY

Workmen fashion table legs on a wood lathe. In another part 
of the factory, laborers assemble chair frames.

Jake walks along the assembly line with MARY, a well-dressed, 
attractive employee about twenty-five. They turn a corner 
and step into a display area where a set features the Van 
Dorn Co.'s new modular office designs.

Mary shows Jake the set for his approval.

		JAKE
	Is this all the display space we can 
	get?

		MARY
	I tried to get more, but this is the 
	limit. The De Vries line has the 
	same area.

Mary is a cool, efficient display designer. Jake studies a 
patch of bright blue on the right wall.

		JAKE
	What do you think of this... ah, 
	shade of blue, Mary.

		MARY
	I like it, Mr. Van Dorn.

		JAKE
	Don't you think it's a little too... 
	bright?

		MARY
	Not really. But if you want me to 
	tone it down...

		JAKE
	No, no. I wouldn't hire a display 
	designer if I didn't trust her taste. 
	Maybe we should bring in more of 
	that shade. Perhaps a stripe across 
	the back wall.

He gestures.

Gently, relentlessly, Jake manipulates Mary. He does not 
wish to impose his taste on her but, through calculated 
argument, will get her to accept his views. It's only a matter 
of time before he wears her down.

		MARY
	No, that would be much too 
	overpowering.

		JAKE
	Yeah, overpowering. That was the 
	word I was looking for.

		MARY
		(sensing his ploy)
	Mr. Van Dorn, I've worked on the 
	color scheme for weeks. I think it's 
	just right.

		JAKE
	What's that shade of blue called?

		MARY
	Pavonine. It's the same tint as the 
	stripe in the fabric.

Jake bends down and examines the chair.

		JAKE
	Are you still going with that fella 
	that teaches at Grand Valley?

		MARY
	Sam?

		JAKE
	Yeah. He's a nice guy. Don't lose 
	him. Maybe we could tone down this 
	stripe a bit. It's a little...

		MARY
		(catching on)
	Overpowering?

		JAKE
	Yeah.

		MARY
		(gives in)
	Okay, Mr. Van Dorn, I think we could 
	knock that Pavonine blue a bit.

		JAKE
	Are you sure it's all right?

		MARY
	Yes. I think it'll look better.

		JAKE
	If you say so.

Mary watches him a moment and thinks.

		MARY
	Kristen went on that convention today, 
	didn't she?

		JAKE
		(mildly surprised)
	Yeah. How did you know?

							CUT TO:

INT. JAKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Jake lies in bed, sleeping. Blue light falls across his face. 
He is dreaming.

							CUT TO:

EXT. BELLFLOWER CHURCH - DAY

A row of church buses are parked in the lot of First Christian 
Reformed Church, Bellflower, California.

They have come from the various other Christian Reformed 
communities around the country: Zeeland, Michigan, Midland 
Park, New Jersey, Sioux Center, Iowa, Ripon, California.

Clusters of youths sit on the church steps and spacious lawns.

							CUT TO:

INT. MEETING ROOM - DAY

A hand-lettered poster on an easel reads: "Today's Topic: 
Doctrine -- Relevant or Old-Fashioned?"

A slight, pretty GIRL about fifteen stands up before the 
discussion group. She wears an Elton John T-shirt and name 
tag. She holds her Bible with both hands.

		GIRL
	Even though the doctrinal standards 
	were written a long time ago, I think 
	they are more relevant than ever. 
	Especially in this age of 
	permissiveness and "anything goes..."

							CUT TO:

EXT. BELLFLOWER CHURCH - DAY

Kristen and Marsha stand near a tree. Kristen is wearing her 
red sweater and jeans.

Nearby, a group of boys sit in a circle on the grass telling 
jokes and listening to metal rock on a transistor radio.

		KRISTEN
	You going to Knott's Berry Farm with 
	him?

		MARSHA
	He asked me. You going with anybody?

		KRISTEN
		(shrugs)
	I don't know.

		MARSHA
	You ever play Chicken?

		KRISTEN
	What's that?

		MARSHA
		(teasing)
	You never heard of that?

		KRISTEN
	Com'on, tell me.

		MARSHA
	Well, a boy goes like this, see.

Using her finger, Marsha traces a looping oval around 
Kristen's right breast, starting at the neck, working down 
to the midriff, and back up her left side.

		KRISTEN
	What does that do?

		MARSHA
	Well, each time he comes in closer, 
	like this.

Marsha traces another circle inside the first one. She draws 
a narrowing spiral around Kristen's breast.

		MARSHA
		(continuing)
	He keeps coming closer until you say 
	"Chicken." Then he stops.

The girls giggle.

		KRISTEN
	You and Jerry do that?

Mrs. Steensma steps out onto the lawn and calls to Kristen 
and Marsha:

		MRS. STEENSMA
	Kristen, Marsha! Time for your 
	discussion group.

		MARSHA
		(grudgingly)
	Oh, all right.

		MRS. STEENSMA
	And put your name tags back on.

The girls pull their name tags out of their jeans and clip 
them on as they walk back toward the church.

							CUT TO:

INT. TWELFTH STREET CHURCH

REVEREND VANTIL, a stately man about fifty, stands at the 
pulpit. The front of the church is plain and stark, adorned 
only by a large wooden cross.

The Christian Reformed Church is not one which believes in 
emotional appeals or confessions. It is a religion of 
scripture, creed and doctrine. Reverend Vantil, dressed in 
black, addresses the congregation as if he were a businessman. 
And his business is sin, guilt and redemption.

He speaks calmly and powerfully. The church echoes with the 
weight of his words:

		REV. VANTIL
	...our study of the Heidelberg 
	Catechism, reading today Lords Day 
	number one, question and answer one 
	and two:
		(reads)
	Q: What is your only comfort in life 
	and death? A: That I, body and soul, 
	both in life and death, am not my 
	own but belong unto my faithful Savior 
	Jesus Christ. Q: How many things are 
	necessary to know to live and die 
	happily? A: Three: the first, how 
	great my sin and misery are; the 
	second, how I am delivered from all 
	my sin and misery; the third, how I 
	am to be thankful to God for such 
	deliverance.

Later. The CAMERA TRACKS UP the aisle as the congregation 
rises to sing the doxology. Jake stands with his sister and 
brother-in-law.

							CUT TO:

EXT. TWELFTH STREET CHURCH - DAY

The parishioners, fighting off the winter cold, work their 
way to their cars.

							CUT TO:

INT. DE JONG HOME - DAY

Jake, Wes, Anne and Harold Jay pass dishes around the De 
Jong's dining room.

		ANNE
	...as soon as the service starts, 
	the ushers all go off to Big Boy's 
	and have coffee...

The PHONE RINGS.

		ANNE
		(continuing)
	I'll get it.
		(gets up)
	So that when someone like Mrs. Van 
	Dorn in a wheelchair needs some help 
	there's nobody there.

She walks into the living room. After a moment, Anne walks 
back into the room.

		ANNE
		(continuing)
	It's for you, Jake.

Van Dorn excuses himself, walks into the living room and 
answers the phone. His VOICE can be HEARD in the background

		ANNE
		(continuing)
	Well, I just hope I don't get old 
	and in a wheelchair and have to depend 
	on the ushers to help me out of 
	church.
		(to Harold Jay)
	You would never let that happen to 
	your mother, would you?

Harold Jay nods and keeps eating. He's used to this.

A moment later, Jake, his face drained of color, walks back 
into the room.

		WES
	What is it, Jake?

		JAKE
	Wes, Anne, come here a moment.

Wes and Anne step into the living room.

		JAKE
	That was Mrs. Steensma calling from 
	California.
		(a beat)
	Kristen's disappeared.

		ANNE
	Kristen?

		WES
	What happened?

		JAKE
	They don't know. They were having 
	some recreation deal out at Knott's 
	Berry Farm and Kristen wasn't there 
	when they got back to the bus and 
	they couldn't find her.

		ANNE
	Have they called the police?

		JAKE
	Yeah.

		WES
	Is Marsha there?

		JAKE
	Yeah. She's quite upset. I'm going 
	to fly out today. They want me to 
	bring some pictures.

		WES
	I'll come with you. Let me pack some 
	things.

He starts to walk away.

							CUT TO:

EXT. L.A. INTERNATIONAL - DAY

A United Jet lands. Marsha's VOICE is HEARD from the following 
scene.

							CUT TO:

INT. BELLFLOWER HOME - DAY

Jake and Wes sit near Marsha. Mrs. Steensma stands nearby.

		MARSHA
	...They have a ride called "The Great 
	White Knuckler", a roller coaster. 
	Last time I saw Kristen was standing 
	over there...

		WES
	Why was she alone?

He looks at Mrs. Steensma. Marsha is hiding something: She 
was off necking when Kristen disappeared.

		JAKE
	Was she alone?

		MARSHA
	I told this to the policeman.

		MRS. STEENSMA
	They had met an older boy earlier.

		MARSHA
	But she wasn't with him when I saw 
	her last.

		MRS. STEENSMA
	She tried to give the officers a 
	description. It was nothing out of 
	the ordinary.

							CUT TO:

INT. L.A. POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAY

DETECTIVE BURROWS, of Missing Persons, carries Kristen's 
picture and a form Jake has filled out into the "Runaway 
Room". Jake and Wes follow.

One long wall is covered with tacked-up snapshots of persons 
(mostly young) the police are looking for. Each snapshot is 
attached to a small form listing the missing person's name, 
age, home and so forth. A sign above the photo montage reads: 
"Have you seen this person?"

Burrows tacks up Kristen's picture on the Missing Persons 
wall.

		BURROWS
	The boy your daughter was talking to 
	didn't work at the park. We've 
	interviewed everybody there.

		JAKE
	But is she, has...

		BURROWS
	There's no evidence of any foul play 
	at present. I hope she's just a 
	runaway.

		JAKE
	There's something wrong here. Kristen 
	is not the type of girl to just up 
	and leave.

		BURROWS
	I said I hope she's a runaway. Better 
	that than she just disappears like 
	so many others do. Sometimes they 
	turn up years later, sometimes not. 
	A lot of crimes go unreported, 
	unknown. These are realities.

		JAKE
	What are you doing?

		BURROWS
	Two officers have been assigned to 
	the case. I can't keep them on 
	indefinitely, but we'll go through 
	every lead.

							CUT TO:

EXT. DOWNTOWN - DAY

Another day, Jake and Wes, wearing different clothes, walk 
with ANDY MAST, a private investigator, down an L.A. street.

They walk silently, Mast, forty, a stocky man in a wrinkled 
suit, looks like he's been up all night. He probably has.

Mast motions to a coffee shop and they enter.

							CUT TO:

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

Mast, slouching in the booth, sips his coffee.

		MAST
	Those cops, like all cops, are 
	intelligent enough, but they are 
	masters of de-ductive reason. That 
	is, you ask them what three and two 
	are they'll tell you five, but if 
	you ask them what five is, they go 
	blank. That's spec-u-lative reasoning, 
	and that's where I come in.

		JAKE
	Well, what do they know?

		MAST
	Dogshit. Worse yet, they don't care.

		JAKE
	So then, Mr. Mast...

		MAST
	Andy.

		JAKE
	...What do you have to offer?

		MAST
	Let me ask you a personal question, 
	a painful one. The first of many. 
	Tell me, was your daughter the kind 
	of girl to run around, to, ah, play 
	practical jokes, maybe?

Van Dorn answers him with a cold stare.

		MAST
		(continuing)
	No, I didn't think she was. Let me 
	get the picture here. Let me guess. 
	She was an absolutely clean girl, a 
	model daughter, she never had 
	rebellious or impure thoughts, she 
	didn't fuck around...

		JAKE
	If I was you, Mr. Mast, I'd watch my 
	language.

		MAST
	Hey, I'm a private detective, Van 
	Dorn, you want to hire a choir boy 
	you can go back to Grand Rapids. 
	I've been to that scumbag town. It's 
	full of them.

		JAKE
		(cold)
	Who's paying you?

		MAST
	You are.

		JAKE
	That's right.

		MAST
		(backtracks)
	As I was saying, I'll pick up the 
	thread. There's a number of ways I 
	can go. There's not much you can do 
	here. Stay if you want. Maybe it'd 
	be better if you went back home. Go 
	through Kristen's personal stuff. 
	Ask around, maybe she knew somebody 
	out here.
		(a beat)
	Look, I do this a lot. I work at a 
	minimum rate of $750.00 a week. It 
	may seem like a lot of money to you, 
	but it ain't. You could hire cheaper.

		JAKE
	And better?

		MAST
	I suppose. But I'll tell you, Jake, 
	I'm like a little animal. When I get 
	my teeth into something I never let 
	go. If your daughter's here, I'll 
	track her down.

							CUT TO:

MONTAGE

-- Jake sits at his desk, staring into empty space.

-- Jake looks through his wife's personal effects in the 
bureau. The room is unchanged.

-- Jake, his arms folded, stands outside church. A fellow 
parishioner is speaking to him; Jake doesn't seem to be 
listening.

Mast's VOICE comes over a long distance connection:

		MAST (V.O.)
	Pilgrim, this is Andy. I'm in Phoenix.
		(a beat)
	Yeah, it looks that way. I don't 
	know why. I'm going south, then maybe 
	fly over to Nogales.
		(a beat)
	I think so.
		(a beat)
	Yeah, I picked up your check at 
	Western Union.

-- Jake gets out of his car and looks down the street of a 
strange town. A nearby sign reads: Minneapolis National Trust.

-- Jake walks into a greasy spoon. Ahead of him, her back 
turned, sits a girl who looks like Kristen. She turns as he 
approaches; it is another girl, another runaway. He apologizes 
and walks away.

OVER this SCENE, we HEAR Van Dorn's telephoned VOICE:

		JAKE (V.O.)
	No, I was up in Minneapolis. Somebody 
	responded to my ad. Said there was a 
	girl who looked like Kristen there. 
	But it wasn't her. The police haven't 
	found anything?
		(a beat)
	It don't look good. I don't know. 
	Maybe she's dead already.

							CUT TO:

EXT. DE JONG HOME - DAY

Spring has returned to Grand Rapids. The maples are in bloom 
and the chairs have been set out on the long porch of Wes De 
Jong's house.

We HEAR Mast's telephone VOICE as Jake gets out of his car 
and enters the house.

		MAST (V.O.)
	I took a side trip to Mexico City. 
	It was just a long shot, but it didn't 
	pay off. So I'm back in L.A.
		(a beat)
	Yeah, the money came on time.

							CUT TO:

INT. DE JONG HOME - DAY

Jake, carrying a wrapped present, walks into the kitchen. 
Anne, Joe and John, sitting around the table, greet him as 
he enters. A large birthday cake sits in the center of the 
table.

Jake says, "Hi, Sis," and nods to the others.

		JAKE
	Where's Marsha?

		ANNE
		(calling)
	Marsha!

Marsha walks in, smiling when she sees her uncle:

		MARSHA
	Uncle Jake.

		JAKE
		(gives her present)
	Happy birthday, Marsha.

							CUT TO:

EXT. DE JONG FRONT PORCH - DAY

Jake and Joe sit on chairs on the porch. Wes and Willem rest 
on the rickety swing. All are drinking coffee, finishing 
pieces of birthday cake and enjoying a fine spring Sunday.

Harold Jay watches quietly from the railing.

		JOE
		(sets down plate)
	Spring's early. Without a frost we'll 
	have a good year.

		WES
	Not as good as last.

		JOHN
	Lord's been good to us.

Across the street, two junior high boys, pushing their bikes, 
follow two female classmates. The girls dressed in tight 
halters and shorts try to ignore them.

		JOE
	Never had to make a dishonest dollar 
	in my life. Never cheated an employee.

		WES
	How could you? They're all your 
	relatives.

He laughs.

		JOE
	The Lord got his share, too.

Joe gets up to refill his coffee cup. Wes turns to Jake, who 
is watching the couples across the street.

		WES
	How's your business, Jake?

		JAKE
		(absentminded)
	Pretty good.

		WES
	You should come around more often. 
	You haven't been around for weeks. 
	Anne complains she doesn't see you 
	anymore.

Jake, looking away, doesn't answer. Wes contemplates something 
he's been planning to say.

		WES
		(continuing)
	You can't dwell on Kristen all the 
	time, Jake. Sometimes we can't 
	understand the Lord's ways. He is 
	testing you. You have to have faith.

Jake turns and looks back at Wes:

		JAKE
	Would you?
		(a beat)
	Could you?

He looks away again.

							CUT TO:

INT. JAKE'S OFFICE - DAY

Jake is at his desk when the PHONE RINGS. He picks up the 
receiver.

		JAKE
	Hello?

		MAST (O.S.)
	Mr. Van Dorn?

		JAKE
	Mast?

		MAST (O.S.)
	Yeah.

		JAKE
	Where are you? The connection sounds 
	very good.

		MAST (O.S.)
	I'm back in Grand Rapids.

		JAKE
	In G.R.? Why?

		MAST (O.S.)
	Can you meet me in about an hour? At 
	the Pantlind Hotel?

		JAKE
	I've got a meeting...

		MAST (O.S.)
	What are you paying me for?

		JAKE
	I'll be there.

							CUT TO:

EXT. DOWNTOWN GRAND RAPIDS - DAY

Jake and Mast walk out of the Pantlind and walk up Monroe 
Avenue. The heart of Grand Rapids, like that of many Mid-
western cities, is a ghost town. The major businesses have 
one by one gone broke or moved out to the suburban malls, 
leaving the core of the city to cut-rate stores, parking 
lots and federally-subsidized government buildings.

		MAST
	This used to be a real city. I was 
	here about fifteen years ago. 
	Embezzlement case. It was always a 
	little religious for my taste, but 
	at least it was a city. With a 
	downtown and all.

		JAKE
	What have you found out?

		MAST
	I've got some news. Your daughter's 
	all right. At least I think she is.

		JAKE
	Where is she?

		MAST
	I don't know.

		JAKE
	What do you mean?

		MAST
	Have you ever seen any, ah, 
	pornographic movies, Jake?

		JAKE
	No.

		MAST
	Do you know what a "hardcore" movie 
	is?

		JAKE
	That's like a stag film.

		MAST
	Yeah. You ever seen any of those?

		JAKE
	No.

		MAST
	They're legal now.

		JAKE
	They are?

		MAST
	Yeah.
		(a beat)
	All over. Even here in Grand Rapids.

		JAKE
	Hmm.

		MAST
	There's a little stall theatre up 
	here.
		(gestures)
	It's closed now, but I'm borrowing 
	it for an hour. I think there's 
	something you'd better see.

INT. THEATRE - DAY

Jake is uncomfortably seated in the dingy thirty-seat theatre. 
Mast walks back from the projection booth as the film starts.

He sits next to Van Dorn. We slowly TRACK INTO Jake's face 
as the color drains from it. O.S. We HEAR groans and the 
sounds of flesh on flesh.

We TRACK SLOWLY INTO the film itself:

A 16mm hardcore short on a simple, but classic theme -- rape. 
Two young men force a young, unwilling girl to submit to 
their desires. The girl -- Kristen -- nude, tries to get out 
of a wrinkled bed but is restrained by the long arm of a 
languid, long-haired nude youth. Another young man, wearing 
only pink elastic shorts, steps into the frame and takes 
Kristen into his arms.

The quality of the action is quite low; the young men posture 
and overact in the manner of high school dramatics. 
Occasionally, the action stops while the actors receive cues 
from an off-screen director. Grunts and groans are dubbed 
into the screen action.

Only Kristen's performance lends a note of credibility to 
the proceedings. She is genuinely disoriented or frightened -- 
or both. She's not play acting.

For one frightening moment, Kristen, regaining full 
consciousness, fights back, but the youth in pink shorts 
slaps her into submission. Her eyes turn pleadingly toward 
the camera.

The first youth laughs and takes Kristen into his arms. The 
youth in the pink shorts kneels on the edge of the bed and 
instructs Kristen to remove his shorts. As she begins to do 
this, the first youth fucks her from the rear.

As the film ends, Jake sinks his head into his hands, speaking 
to himself. It's almost as if we're hearing his thoughts:

		JAKE
	It can't be. Why me? What have I 
	done?

Looking up, he says softly, then louder:

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	Turn it off.
		(a beat)
	Turn it off.
		(a beat)
	Turn it off!
		(a beat)
	Turn it off!

Only then does Jake realize that the film has already been 
shut off and he's sitting alone in the quiet theatre.

Mast stands by the exit. Jake gets up and walks toward him.

							CUT TO:

INT. LOBBY

Jake catches up with Mast in the small lobby.

		JAKE
		(aggressively)
	Where is she?

		MAST
	I don't know.

		JAKE
	Where did you get that film?

Jake backs Mast from one side of the lobby to the other.

		MAST
	I bought it at a store in L.A.

		JAKE
	Who made it?

		MAST
	I don't know.

		JAKE
	What do you mean?

Mast calms him down.

		MAST
	Wait. Slow down. A film like this, 
	16mm, cost two three hundred dollars, 
	sold outright, shown in peep machines, 
	maybe theatres, maybe not, is almost 
	impossible to track. 'Nobody' makes 
	it; 'nobody' shows it; 'nobody' sees 
	it. It's like it doesn't even exist.

		JAKE
	What's it called?

		MAST
	It was called 'Slave of Love' when I 
	bought it. Next time it's sold, it'll 
	be called something else.

		JAKE
	But the police...

		MAST
	The police? They know less than you 
	do.

		JAKE
	Do you think she's safe?

		MAST
	Yeah. Probably.

		JAKE
	You like this, don't you. Showing 
	me... this.

		MAST
	I hate it. But you gotta know, buddy.
		(thinks)
	A lot of strange things happen in 
	this world. Things you don't know 
	about in Grand Rapids. Things you 
	don't want to know about. Doors that 
	should never be opened. I've known 
	more about this sort of thing than a 
	man should. Don't ask me why.

Jake turns away.

		MAST
		(continuing)
	I'm going back to L.A. today. I'll 
	track this film down, if I can. I'll 
	find her. But I can't make any 
	promises. I don't know what she'll 
	be like when I find her.

Jake, pale, looks away. Mast attempts to give him a comforting 
embrace. Jake pushes him away.

							CUT TO:

INT. JAKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Van Dorn sleeps fitfully. Blue light falls across his 
contorted body. He's dreaming again.

							CUT TO:

EXT. HOLLYWOOD MOTEL - DAY

A sleazy Santa Monica Boulevard motel.

							CUT TO:

INT. HOLLYWOOD MOTEL - DAY

A porn film is being shot in a tacky motel room furnished 
with a pink circular water bed, a lime-brown shag rug, and 
peeling red felt wallpaper. An oil painting of a seagull in 
flight adds a touch of class.

The small set is crowded with technicians and onlookers. The 
harried collegiate filmmakers wear scruffy jeans and T-shirts. 
The onlookers, more refined, sport double knit suits.

Two girls and a middle-aged man lie on the pink satin sheets. 
Beach towels protect them from the unheated water bed. One 
of the girls, NIKI, has a long blonde wig and looks about 
nineteen.

The makeup girl hurriedly dabs some last minute cosmetic on 
the second girl's breast. A young man in a UCLA T-shirt pastes 
up the peeling wallpaper above the bed.

Random VOICES ECHO around the set. The DIRECTOR, a student 
filmmaker, tries to bring the set to order.

BILL RAMADA, 40, the Producer, watches silently from the 
b.g. He's in charge here. He wears gabardine slacks and a 
Gucci shirt.

His Assistant, KURT, 25, stands by his side.

		RAMADA
		(clapping hands)
	All right, kids, let's get back to 
	it.

		DIRECTOR
	Actors, to your positions, please.

Niki, the SECOND GIRL and the Actor remove their towels and 
form a contorted triangular position.

		NIKI
	Can't you get this bed any warmer?

		CAMERAMAN
	Bring another light over here.

		NIKI
	My ass is freezing.

		ACTOR
	Your ass is always freezing.

		NIKI
	Up yours.

The Second Girl coaxes her male partner into tumescence.

		SECOND GIRL
	He's got it up.

		NIKI
	Thank God.

		DIRECTOR
	Action. Rolling.

		CAMERAMAN
	The wallpaper's peeling again.

		DIRECTOR
	Forget it. Keep shooting.

Crouching, the Director approaches his actors.

		DIRECTOR
		(continuing)
	All right, Niki, you come around 
	this way and swing your legs around 
	his back.

The Director pleads with outstretched hands. His acting 
workshop courses have not been in vain. Lowering his voice, 
he coaxes Niki into the proper mood:

		DIRECTOR
		(continuing)
	All right, Niki, you're lying back 
	now, yes, just taking it easy, just 
	enjoying your body, yes, you're 
	thinking about your father, your 
	mind is open and free...

Mast walks into the rear of the room and looks around until 
he spots Ramada.

		DIRECTOR
		(continuing)
	Okay, now Bennie, you turn over and 
	lick her belly...

Ramada recognizes Mast as he walks toward him and motions 
for him to follow.

They step into an adjoining room. The Director's instructions 
drone in the distance.

		RAMADA
		(friendly)
	Hey, piss-head, what brings you 
	around?

		MAST
	You don't have to get uppity with 
	me, Bill. I remember when you was 
	running that car wash and couldn't 
	make it go. And what was that other 
	thing you tried? A Dairy Queen? Went 
	busted too.

		RAMADA
	At least I improved myself. What's 
	up?

Mast takes out a snapshot of Kristen. In the background the 
Director yells, "Cut."

		MAST
	I want you to take a look at this 
	girl here. She's been in some porn 
	stuff.

		RAMADA
		(looks at photo)
	No, Andy. Don't know the kid.

		MAST
	Look again, Billy-boy. This is jail 
	bait. Could get you in a lotta 
	trouble.

		RAMADA
		(shakes head)
	Nope never saw her before.
		(calls to assistant)
	Kurt, come over here. Don't use 
	underage kids. Wouldn't touch 'em 
	for all the cow shit in Mexico.
		(as Kurt steps over)
	You recognize this piece of wool, 
	Kurt?

		KURT
		(shakes head)
	No.

		RAMADA
	Sorry couldn't help you, Andy.
		(to Kurt)
	How'd the shot go? They about ready 
	to start again?
		(to Mast)
	You can come watch if you want, Andy. 
	Just don't hassle anybody.

Mast shrugs, tucks the photo in his pocket and follows Ramada 
and Kurt back onto the set.

							CUT TO:

EXT. FACTORY - DAY

Jake leaves the factory in the middle of the afternoon, gets 
in his car and drives off.

							CUT TO:

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

Jake walks into his bedroom, pulls a suitcase out of the 
closet and throws it on the bed.

He is motivated now. A decision has been made.

He throws in his shirts and socks. A travel clock. Pictures 
of Kristen.

							CUT TO:

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

Jake is on the phone. His voice is hard and determined.

		JAKE
	This is Jake. I'm going out of town 
	for a while.
		(a beat)
	No, I don't know when I'll be back. 
	No, there's nothing wrong. Can you 
	keep things running?
		(a beat)
	Don't ask.

							CUT TO:

EXT. L.A. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - NIGHT

United jet lands.

							CUT TO:

EXT. HOLIDAY INN - DAY

Van Dorn, dressed and ready to go, walks out of the Hollywood 
Holiday Inn and over to the parking lot.

Checking a city map one final time, he gets into his late 
model rented green Pontiac and drives off.

							CUT TO:

INT. CAR - DAY

Jake seems a new man; he's in charge now. To a man like Jake 
Van Dorn, a man from the Midwest, a self-made man, all is 
possible once you're in control. There are no ambiguities, 
no conundrums, no labyrinths; only problems. And problems, 
once understood, lead only to solutions.

All one needs is the will and the intellect to pursue those 
solutions.

Jake looks at the note pad on the seat. It reads:

Andy Mast 
Apt. #3-A 
14316 Chandler Blvd., 
Van Nuys, Calif. 
(213) 474-8759

He drives up Highland, past the freeway and over the hills.

							CUT TO:

EXT. MAST'S APARTMENT - DAY

Van Dorn parks in front of the Elite V Apartments.

Jake stops in front of the room, re-checks the number, and 
knocks.

There's no immediate answer. Hearing some commotion in the 
room, Jake stops, listens. He peeks through the partially-
curtained window.

Inside, he sees Mast banging away with a TEENAGE GIRL on the 
sofa.

Jake is curious, then outraged. He tries the door. It opens.

Inside, Mast and his teenage companion scramble for their 
clothes. The girl calls out.

		TEENAGE GIRL (O.S.)
	It's the cops, man.

		MAST (O.S.)
	Fuck.

INT. MAST'S APARTMENT - DAY

Jake strides into Mast's apartment.

Mast, his belt unbuckled, puts on his shirt. The Teenage 
Girl, pulling a Grateful Dead T-shirt over her head, looks 
at Jake and says:

		TEENAGE GIRL
	Who the fuck is this?

Not pausing to speak, Jake pushes Mast against the sofa. 
Reaching down, he pulls the detective up by the collar.

		JAKE
	What are you doing? You son-of-a-
	bitch! I've been paying you every 
	week for three months and you've 
	been out here...

		TEENAGE GIRL
	I'm splitting.

Jake turns as the girl vanishes.

		MAST
	I ain't cheated you, Pilgrim. This 
	is research, damn it! That girl could 
	have told us something.

		JAKE
	Research, my ass. I suppose these 
	are the 'extra expenses' I've been 
	paying for? And in the middle of the 
	morning, too.

Mast pulls himself away.

		MAST
	Oh, fuck off. You should stay where 
	you belong.

		JAKE
	Get out. Get out of here, Goddammit.

Mast picks up his shoes and says half-apologetically:

		MAST
	I'm only human, you know.

		JAKE
	Get out.

		MAST
	But this is my apartment.

		JAKE
	Get out!

Mast shrugs. There's no reasoning with Van Dorn. He pauses 
at the door and looks back.

		MAST
	You prick. You ass-hole prick. You 
	can find your own Goddamn daughter 
	now.
		(stops; looks at door)
	I'm not even smart enough to lock my 
	own fucking door.

Mast closes the door behind him. Van Dorn looks around the 
apartment. It's calm now.

On the desk are Mast's briefcase and papers.

Looking through Mast's files, Jake finds pages and pages of 
notes and information about his daughter's disappearance. 
Names, places, dates. Lists of massage parlors, sex shops, 
porn bookshops. The names of owners, managers, filmmakers, 
Interviews with street girls, cops, landlords.

Plus snapshots of Kristen as she once was and 8x10 frame 
enlargements from "Slave of Love," her hardcore film.

							CUT TO:

INT. HOLIDAY INN ROOM - DAY

Jake has spread Mast's papers and photographs across the 
floor of his Holiday Inn motel room.

His collar open, his tie loosened, Van Dorn squats over the 
notes and interviews. He studies his find. It includes:

-- sex ads from various local papers. Some are crossed out, 
others circled, others checked.

-- a list of massage parlors and sex shops under the heading 
"possible K was here."

-- An L.A. Times newspaper clipping about "Bill Ramada, L.A. 
Porn Movie Mogul." It features a photo of Ramada on his way 
out of court.

-- a sleazy porn mag article about "Parlor Girls: Hustling 
and Loving."

							CUT TO:

EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHT

Van Dorn drives through the crowded streets of Los Angeles' 
tenderloin. He cruises down Santa Monica, up Western, along 
Hollywood and back down to Santa Monica.

He passes row upon row of garish adult bookstores, massage 
parlors and porn theatres. He passes model shops, topless 
bars, "erotic motels," and peep shows.

Teenage girls stand in the red neon shadows, calling out to 
passing strangers. Drag queens and leather boys cruise the 
sidewalks. Jet black pimps, sporting high heels and make 
coats, stroll from one massage parlor to another. The sound 
of Latin jazz comes from one doorway; soul disco from another. 
L.A.P.D. black and whites patrol the streets. Occasionally, 
a uniformed officer leans out to hassle a passing pimp or 
hooker.

He drives on. The sex shops have names like "The Sexual 
Catharthis Center," "Pandora's Box," "The Institute of Oral 
Love," "69 Club," "The Church of Spiritual Sexuality," "The 
Participating Center of Sexual Experience," "Mother's Fun 
Palace," "The Hot Box."

A zoo of lusts.

Jake looks at the seat beside him, checking Mast's list of 
massage parlors and sex stores with the notation, "possible 
K was here."

							CUT TO:

EXT. ADONIS BOOKSHOP - NIGHT

Van Dorn pulls to the curb and parks his car. Ahead is the 
plexiglass lettered sign of the Adonis bookstore.

Jake locks his car, buttons his suit coat and walks toward 
the bookstore. He hesitates a moment, then enters.

							CUT TO:

INT. ADONIS BOOKSHOP - NIGHT

Jake steps into the bookstore and looks cautiously from side 
to side.

His expression is stern, withdrawn, as if suppressing some 
physical pain. He finds nothing titillating about this world; 
for him it is simply evil. Neither is he shocked. Has he not 
been taught: "For every imagination of man's heart is only 
evil continually"?

An improbable assortment of men peruse the long racks of 
pornographic books and magazines. A young MALE TELLER sits 
next to a cash register atop a high counter. Below him, a 
display case features sexual paraphernalia and films. A small 
radio softly plays Muzak.

		TELLER
	Fifty cents admission.

		JAKE
	What?

		TELLER
	It's fifty cents admission. It's 
	applicable to a purchase.

Jake fishes in his pocket, comes up with a couple quarters 
and places them on the counter. The Teller gives him a token 
in return.

Van Dorn walks down one row and up another. The explicit 
titles and magazine covers leap out at him: "Cropped 
Crotches," "Teenage Obedience Lesson," "Mouthful of Cock," 
"Hogtie." Many of the magazine covers feature obviously 
underage girls. He eases his way past a butch young man 
looking at magazines in the gay section.

Screwing up his courage, Jake steps back to the counter.

He tries but cannot avert his eyes from the grotesque sexual 
novelties in the case. Dildos, some small, some huge and 
gross, looking more like instruments of torture than pleasure. 
Stimulators, vibrators, spiked ticklers. Penis enlargers. 
Leather paddles, whips, masks, rubber vaginas, fuck faces, 
masturbators.

		JAKE
	Do you have a, ah, film called 'Slave 
	of Love?'

		TELLER
	What we got is just these here.
		(gestures)
	What you see.

		JAKE
	It's a short film.

		TELLER
	They're all about the same. You want 
	something?

Jake looks momentarily at the boxes of 16mm film. A couple 
titles read "Office Party," and "Butt Banger."

		JAKE
	Well...

Van Dorn pulls a folded 8x10 out of his vest pocket. It's a 
glossy frame enlargement from "Slave of Love" folded to reveal 
only Kristen.

		JAKE
	This is from the movie I was talking 
	about.

		TELLER
	I don't know what you're talking 
	about.

		JAKE
	I wondered if you had ever seen this 
	film or this woman...
		(points)
	...right here.

		TELLER
	That girl? No, never saw her. I don't 
	know anybody.

		JAKE
	I'm just trying to find...
		(getting testy)
	Who owns this store?

		TELLER
	I don't know. Look, man, if you're 
	looking for somebody maybe you ought 
	to see the cops.

		JAKE
	But I...

		TELLER
	I don't know nothing, man.

Jake, realizing he's getting nowhere, pockets his photograph 
and turns to leave.

		TELLER
		(continuing)
	You don't want anything for your 
	fifty cents?

		JAKE
	No.

The Teller places two quarters on the counter.

		TELLER
	Here. Take your fifty cents back.

		JAKE
	That's all right.

		TELLER
	No, take it. I don't want your Goddamn 
	fifty cents.

Jake places the token on the counter, takes his quarters and 
walks back out into the neon night. The Teller turns to no 
one in particular and says:

		TELLER
		(continuing)
	It's one of those Legion of Decency 
	guys.

							CUT TO:

EXT. WILD MARY'S - NIGHT

Van Dorn walks west on Santa Monica Boulevard. The entrance 
to Wild Mary's is formed by the larger-than-life painted 
rear view of a bent over woman. Her long legs flank either 
side of the open passageway.

A young man in a cowboy shirt repeats monotoned litany to 
passersby:

		CALIFORNIA COWBOY
	Free information. Free information 
	inside. Come in and get free 
	information. Free information. Free 
	information inside.

Jake pauses in front of the California Cowboy, then enters, 
passing through Wild Mary's muscled thighs.

							CUT TO:

INT. WILD MARY'S - NIGHT

Jake walks into Wild Mary's and is greeted by a young woman 
in a shift and bikini pants. Her name is BEATRICE.

		BEATRICE
	Hello. My name is Beatrice. Have you 
	been here before?

		JAKE
	No.

		BEATRICE
	What we offer here is nude body to 
	body contact on a bed in a private 
	room. It's twenty dollars a half 
	hour, thirty dollars an hour. Anything 
	else you desire may be discussed in 
	the privacy of your room. Tips are 
	allowed. We accept Bank Americard, 
	Master Charge and American Express.

		JAKE
	I don't really want... 'body to body 
	contact.'

		BEATRICE
	That you may discuss with the girl 
	of your choice in the privacy of 
	your room.

A SECOND TEENAGE HOSTESS steps through a beaded curtain and 
joins Beatrice and Jake.

		SECOND HOSTESS
	Hi.

		JAKE
	I'm looking for a girl. Have you 
	ever been in a porno film?

Jake reaches for this folded photo but the Second Hostess 
takes him by the hand.

		SECOND HOSTESS
	Come back with me. I'm sure you'll 
	find what you want.

A THIN MAN walks into the room. He looks about 35 and carries 
a small bag.

		THIN MAN
	I called on the phone. You have a 
	Domination Room?

		BEATRICE
	Yeah. Did you bring your own 
	domination equipment?

		THIN MAN
	Yes, but I've never been here before.

		BEATRICE
	I'm sure everything will be just the 
	way you want it. Twenty dollars half 
	hour, thirty dollars hour. Tips are 
	allowed.

		THIN MAN
	Let's start with a half hour.

The Thin Man gives Beatrice a twenty and walks off with her. 
Jake, curious, follows.

Beatrice and the Thin Man step into the Domination Room: a 
simulation of a Medieval dungeon. A large wood X-shaped cross 
is bolted to one wall. There are straps for the client's 
hands and feet. Instruments of torture hang from another 
wall. A bare-breasted girl, wearing bikini pants and leather 
chaps, sits lethargically on a folding chair. A mask of black 
leather and buckles completely cover her face.

Beatrice notices Jake is following them.

		BEATRICE
	You want to take a session?

Jake is dazed by what he sees. He wasn't even aware such 
perversions existed.

		JAKE
	No. I don't think so.

		BEATRICE
	You sure? We have regular sessions, 
	too. Only twenty dollars?

Jake turns and (like Lot from Sodom) walks away without 
looking back. As he leaves, he passes the Second Hostess 
attempting to communicate with two teenage MEXICANS.

		TEENAGE MEXICAN
	Sexo?

The Second Hostess forms an oval with the index finger and 
thumb of her left hand and passes the index finger of her 
other hand through it in an obvious gesture:

		SECOND HOSTESS
	Si. Sexo. Sexo.

EXT. STAIRWAY TO LOVE - NIGHT

Later that night. Jake locks his car and walks south on 
Western toward Santa Monica Boulevard. Ahead, a continuous 
row of massage parlors blend into neon.

Girls call out as he walks: "Come on in and get free 
information," and "Want to have a good time?" and "Lonely?"

He stops by the Stairway to Love. Three girls stand just 
inside the door. A sign in the window reads: "Come in -- 
Satisfaction Here." He enters.

							CUT TO:

INT. STAIRWAY TO LOVE - NIGHT

The First Hostess, FELICE, greets Jake as he enters:

		FELICE
	Hi, you been here before?

The two other Hostesses gather round.

		JAKE
	No.

		FELICE
	We offer Female Wrestling, that is, 
	nude body to body contact, with a 
	girl of your choice in a private 
	room. Twenty dollars a half hour, 
	thirty dollars hour. Any other 
	arrangements may be discussed in the 
	privacy of your room. Tipping is 
	permitted. We accept Bank Americard, 
	Master Charge and American Express.

		JAKE
	Yeah.

		FELICE
	Do you want to take a session?

		JAKE
	I just want to ask some questions.

		FELICE
	You may do that in the privacy of 
	your room.

		JAKE
	Okay. I'll take a half hour.

		FELICE
	Do you have any particular choice of 
	girl?

		JAKE
	You'll be fine.

Jake gives Felice a couple tens. She in turn passes them to 
the MANAGER, a 225 pound, blond-haired Malibu surfer. He 
puts the money in a cash box and fills out a time sheet.

Jake eyes the Manager uneasily as Felice escorts him up the 
"Stairway to Love."

							CUT TO:

INT. ROOMS - NIGHT

Felice shows Jake into a ten-by-ten cubicle. The walls are 
barren; a bed-sized slab of foam rubber lies on the floor.

		FELICE
	Wait a second. I've got to get a 
	sheet.

He looks around the small room. Through the makeshift 
pasteboard walls he can hear the SOUNDS OF OTHER COUPLES 
"making love."

Felice quickly returns with a sheet and spreads it across 
the foam. She slides the door shut behind her.

		FELICE
	You're still dressed?

		JAKE
	Well, I want to...

		FELICE
		(sitting)
	Sit down. Make yourself comfortable. 
	My name's Felice.

Jake squats down on the foam, crossing his legs under him.

		JAKE
	There's a girl I want to ask you 
	about.

		FELICE
	You're not Vice, are you?
		(rote)
	Do you work for the Los Angeles Police 
	Department, or do you have any other 
	affiliation with any law enforcement 
	agency?

		JAKE
	No, I don't.

		FELICE
	I have to ask you that. If you were 
	Vice you couldn't deny it. You ought 
	to dress less square. You wouldn't 
	get hassled so much. Here, let me 
	help you get that tie off.

Felice reaches over to loosen his tie. Jake, self-conscious, 
removes his tie.

		JAKE
	Well, actually I wanted to ask about 
	this girl. I have her picture here.

		FELICE
	Pull out your cock.

		JAKE
	What?

		FELICE
	Cops aren't allowed to do that either. 
	A judge ruled that that was 
	entrapment. Don't ask me why. I guess 
	he figured the sight of a Vice 
	Officer's dong would make a girl 
	unable to stop herself.

She laughs.

		JAKE
	No, Felice, I'm not a cop. In fact, 
	right now I've got as little respect 
	for the police as you do.
		(pulls out folded 
		glossy)
	I'm looking for a girl. A runaway. I 
	need someone to help me.

		FELICE
	Are you going to stiff me?

		JAKE
	What do you mean?

		FELICE
	Look, that twenty dollars you just 
	paid, I don't get any of that. That 
	goes to the guys that own this place. 
	I get two bucks an hour, minus ten 
	percent for a bail fund. I make all 
	my money on tips.

		JAKE
	You want a tip?

		FELICE
	Sure. What do you want? Tips can be 
	anywhere from thirty dollars to 
	seventy dollars.

		JAKE
	What do you mean?

		FELICE
	What do you want to tip me for? Look, 
	you got to spell it out. Whatever 
	you want, just say it.

		JAKE
	I'll give you a tip. Here's forty 
	dollars.

Jake digs out a couple twenties and gives them to her. Felice 
tucks the bills into her bikini crotch and pulls off her 
shirt top. Her breasts seem surprisingly pale and small.

		FELICE
	Now, what do you want?

		JAKE
	I said I just wanted to talk to you...

		FELICE
	That's cool.

		JAKE
	...about this woman.
		(showing glossy)
	I'm trying to find her. Do you know 
	her?

		FELICE
		(uptight)
	Look, I don't know anybody. I never 
	seen her before.

Jake, previously upset, is now angered. Nobody tells him 
anything, he gets nowhere.

		JAKE
	I'm getting angry.

		FELICE
	Wait a minute, that's going to cost 
	you more than forty bucks.

		JAKE
	I'm getting angry. I want some 
	answers.
		(stands)
	Where's the guy who runs this place?

He slides open the door and walks out. Felice pulls on her 
shift and follows him.

		JAKE
	Who is it? That blond guy? Where is 
	he? I'm going to talk to someone.

		FELICE
	Wait?

		JAKE
	Where is he? Where's the bastard 
	that runs this shit hole?

The Manager, as if on request, steps to the top of the stairs. 
His huge frame fills the hallway.

		MANAGER
	What do you want?

		FELICE
	He's causing trouble.

		JAKE
		(contentious)
	I got a picture here. I want you to 
	tell me where to find this woman. I 
	been asking everybody. Nobody knows 
	anything.

		MANAGER
	Calm down, mister. You don't want to 
	get the cops in here do you? You got 
	a family?

		JAKE
		(shows picture)
	I don't suppose you've ever seen 
	this girl before either? Her name's 
	Kristen, but I suppose you've never 
	seen her?

		MANAGER
	Why don't you just go outdoors, 
	mister? Cool off.

		JAKE
	Cool off, huh? How's this for cooling 
	off?

He knocks a cheap print of a naked woman off the wall. The 
frame crashes to the floor.

		MANAGER
	Hold it, mister.

		JAKE
	What do you think of that? Or this?

Jake knocks over a small table. The Manager has had enough. 
He grabs Jake's arm, wrenches it tight behind his back and 
rams Jake's face into the wall. He forces Jake down the 
stairway of love.

Jake struggles and kicks, but is no match for the larger 
man. At the foot of the stairs, the Manager ejects Jake, 
thrusting him across the sidewalk.

Jake rams face-first into a parked car. He staggers on the 
sidewalk. His mouth and nose bloody.

He looks back. A black and white slows down. There's nothing 
to be done. He moves on.

							CUT TO:

INT. HOLIDAY INN ROOM - DAY

Van Dorn, thinking, lies face up on the bed in his motel 
room. He wears slacks and a white undershirt.

His face is bruised, his lip is swollen. An open First Aid 
Kit sits on the lamp stand.

LATER. Jake slouches in a chair watching "Day of Discovery," 
a Sunday evening religious program. The chorus of wholesome 
young people look like they've come from another planet.

A soothing, innocuous hymn. In the distance church bells 
RING, as if signalling a call to action.

							CUT TO:

EXT. BEVERLY HILLS - DAY

The next day. Jake, now wearing a print sport shirt under 
his navy jacket, strides down Camden. He has a plan.

He checks an office building address and enters.

							CUT TO:

INT. OUTER OFFICE - DAY

Jake stands as a SECRETARY says to him:

		SECRETARY
	Mr. Ramada can see you now.

He thanks her and walks into Ramada's office.

							CUT TO:

INT. RAMADA'S OFFICE - DAY

Bill Ramada stands to greet Jake as he enters. His office is 
expensively decorated in chrome and glass. A framed poster 
from the New York Film Festival hangs on one wall.

Kurt sits on a plush white sofa.

		RAMADA
	Hello, Mr. Holcum. You look out of 
	breath. What's the matter? The 
	elevator broke?
		(to Kurt)
	Is the elevator broke?

Kurt shrugs.

		JAKE
	No. I walked up. Don't ride elevators.

		RAMADA
	My secretary said you wanted to 
	discuss a business proposition.

		JAKE
	Yes.
		(as Ramada sits)
	I'm interested in financing an adult 
	feature film. I was told you were 
	the man to come to.

		RAMADA
	Film making can be pretty expensive...

Jake has slipped into his business shoes. He's cool, 
confident.

		JAKE
	I've got fifty thousand dollars to 
	invest.

		RAMADA
	Oh.
		(a beat)
	Why is it that you want to get into 
	film financing?

		JAKE
	Well, Bill -- mind if I call you 
	Bill?
		(as Ramada nods)
	Let me be frank. I've made a lot of 
	money. I've got my own business in 
	Detroit. Rivets. I make rivets and 
	sell them to Fisher Body.
		(a beat)
	Well, rivets, you know, can get pretty 
	boring after a while. When my business 
	manager told me I should shelter 
	some money, I thought I'd try this.

		RAMADA
	What exactly do you have in mind?

		JAKE
	I thought I'd invest in a film. I 
	want to sort of become involved in 
	the process of making a film, meet 
	the people who make films, learn how 
	it's done...

		RAMADA
	In other words, you want to get laid?

		JAKE
	Not exactly...

		RAMADA
	It's cool. Why do you think I got in 
	the movies? How much poon do you 
	think you get in the car wash 
	business?
		(a beat)
	Look, fifty thousand dollars buys a 
	lot of pussy. You can get your joint 
	pulled by beautiful girls every night 
	for the rest of your life for fifty 
	thousand dollars. So why fuck with 
	the movie business?

		JAKE
		(smiles knowingly)
	It's an investment.

		RAMADA
	If you want to watch when we shoot a 
	film, for fifty bucks, I let guys 
	stand around and watch. It's a lot 
	cheaper.

		JAKE
	I thought you were a businessman.

		RAMADA
	Don't get me wrong. A couple years 
	ago, I woulda jumped at fifty thousand 
	dollars possible financing. But the 
	Lord's been good to me. I can now 
	finance any films I choose. Big ones, 
	small ones. Right now we're setting 
	up a two hundred thousand dollar 
	feature film. Live sound. I like to 
	keep my own money in my films. That 
	way you don't have to share the 
	profits. There's plenty of guys in 
	town that'll take it, though. But if 
	I was you, Mr... what was your name 
	again?

		JAKE
	Jake.

		RAMADA
	...I'd just start my own business. 
	That's what I did. Get into kid porn. 
	That's big now. Why don't you come 
	around the set? Meet some people. If 
	you still want to invest, I'll ask 
	around.

		JAKE
	Sounds all right.

		RAMADA
	Okay. Keep in touch with my secretary.

Jake nods and turns to exit.

		RAMADA
	So long, Mr. Jake.

							CUT TO:

INT. L.A. FREE PRESS

The next day, Van Dorn waits in line to place a "Personals" 
ad in the Los Angeles Free Press.

He wears an open sport shirt, slacks and loafers. Bit by bit 
he's been going native. He realizes he isn't going to 
infiltrate the pornography underworld looking like a furniture 
dealer from Grand Rapids.

Even so, Jake's conventional dress sets him apart from his 
fellow advertisers. The long line winds back and forth and 
represents just about every possible deviation from the 
American heterosexual norm: studs, butches, hookers, freaks, 
cultists: misfits all.

The CAMERA studies the line: an attractive boy wears a studded 
collar, a low-rider sports his colors, a diminutive girl 
waits silently in her hari-krishna robe.

The line inches forward. Behind Jake, one woman tells another 
about this great swinging party. Van Dorn takes some comfort 
in the fact that the MAN in front of him, dressed in a 
seersucker suit, looks pretty straight.

The GIRL AT THE WINDOW takes his ad:

		MAN IN SEERSUCKER SUIT
		(reading ad)
	'W/M, 35, 140 fastest tongue in west, 
	will demonstrate proficiency in all 
	dialects to females under 50. Looks 
	not imp.' That's all in caps, 'LOOKS 
	NOT IMP.' 'George Harper. P.O. Box 
	102, Alhambra, Ca., 91801.'

		GIRL AT THE WINDOW
	That's 'dial-a' what?

		MAN IN SEERSUCKER SUIT
	Di-a-lects. D-I-A-L-E-C-T-S. Like 
	talking.

The Man in the Seersucker Suit pays his fee and Jake steps 
up to the window.

		JAKE
	I'd like to place a 'Personals' ad 
	in the Free Press.

		GIRL AT THE WINDOW
	How many weeks?

		JAKE
	Just one.

		GIRL AT THE WINDOW
	The rate is a dollar per line, a 
	dollar and a half bold face.

Jake takes out a slip of paper and hands it to the Girl.

		JAKE
	I have it here. Can you take this 
	down?

The Girl takes the slip of paper and reads it back to him as 
she fills in the advertising form:

		GIRL AT THE WINDOW
	'Film Producer' -- that should be in 
	caps, bold face.

		JAKE
	Okay.

		GIRL AT THE WINDOW
	'Film Producer seeks young men, 18 
	to 25, for hardcore film. Prior film 
	experience a must. Call Jake at 
	Players Motel. 777 Vine. 463-5671.

Jake nods.

							CUT TO:

EXT. DARK ROAD - NIGHT

A small film crew sets up a shot. Ramada, Kurt, Van Dorn and 
others, standing by a trailer, watch from the b.g. Jake's 
floral rayon shirt is open to the third button.

The script evidently calls for "Dark Road -- Night" because 
that's where the gaffer is arranging lights around a parked 
red Mustang. A YOUNG ACTOR in a soldier's uniform waits in 
the car. Niki and another actress, dressed as a stewardess, 
stand on their marks near the front of the car.

Ramada and Kurt walk over to talk to the YOUNG DIRECTOR. 
Niki, finished for the moment, walks back toward the trailer.

Niki picks a heavy coat out of the trailer, and wrapping it 
around her, stands next to Jake. They watch as Ramada gives 
the Director some last minute advice.

		JAKE
	Are you the star of this picture?

		NIKI
	You kidding? Three days work. I finish 
	tonight.

		JAKE
	The other girl is the star?

		NIKI
	She thinks so.
		(a beat)
	What do you do?

		JAKE
	I work with Ramada. We're doing some 
	pictures together.

		NIKI
	Well, next time you talk to him, 
	tell him to pay his actresses more.

		DIRECTOR
		(calling)
	All right, girls, Niki! To your 
	places.

		NIKI
		(to Jake)
	Nice meeting you.

Niki throws off her coat and runs to the set. The Actor backs 
the Mustang out of CAMERA range.

There is a pause, the Director calls: "ACTION!" and the 
Mustang drives to where the two stewardesses, stranded, are 
waving for help. The cameraman pans with the Mustang. The 
Soldier opens his door, looks at the girls' car and offers 
to help.

Kurt steps over to Jake.

The Soldier, looking at the stranded stewardesses, rubs his 
inner thigh.

		KURT
		(to Jake)
	We'll come in for a closeup here.

Niki unfastens the Soldier's belt and pulls down his zipper. 
The Soldier leans against the car as Niki sinks to her knees 
and opens his trousers.

							CUT TO:

EXT. PLAYERS MOTEL - NIGHT

The Players Motel is a "specialty motel." It offers "X-rated 
movies, Closed Circuit Color TV, Water Beds." Rates are $10 
a night, or $8 for two hours.

Most clients prefer the two hour rate.

Van Dorn pulls his rented Pontiac into the lot and parks in 
the first available space.

Weary, he gets out of the car and heads for his room. He 
passes a colored whore with a towering synthetic wig.

Further down the line of rooms, Wes De Jong sits slouched in 
the front seat of his rental car, watching, waiting.

A prostitute wearing jeans and a shoulder bag, enters a 
lighted room with her trick, a construction worker. He 
unbuttons his shirt as she closes the curtains.

Wes sits up when he sees his brother-in-law shuffle past the 
rooms, take out his key and open a door.

							CUT TO:

INT. PLAYERS MOTEL - NIGHT

Jake, not bothering to fully shut the door, steps into the 
room, throws his key on the bed and plops down beside it. 
He's emotionally and physically exhausted.

The decor is Vegas sleaze: tinted mirrors, red shag carpets, 
felt wallpaper, pseudo-Louis Seize chairs and a plexiglass 
chandelier. The large room has, at one end, a sitting area 
with a sofa and chairs, and at the other, a water bed covered 
with a black satin sheet. A large ceiling mirror is bolted 
above the bed.

Jake, hearing a NOISE, looks up.

Wes, wearing a suit and tie, steps tentatively in. He surveys 
the tawdry room. Jake just looks away.

		WES
	What's going on, Jake?

Jake says nothing for the moment.

		WES
		(continuing)
	Jake?

		JAKE
	How did you find me?

		WES
	I called every L.A. hotel. The Holiday 
	Inn gave this as a referral number. 
	Your office said you had no business 
	in New York, so I figured you had 
	come out here.
		(looks around)
	What's happening, Jake? What are you 
	doing? Nobody's heard from you. Anne's 
	worried sick. We didn't know if you 
	were dead or alive.

Jake stands and steps over to Wes:

		JAKE
	Wes, do me a favor.

		WES
	What?

		JAKE
	Leave me alone. Go home. Go away.

Wes starts to protest.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	Just do what I say. Don't ask.

		WES
		(insistent)
	What is going on?

		JAKE
	I think I've found a way to find 
	Kristen. I have a plan. But I have 
	to be alone.

		WES
	What plan?

		JAKE
	You don't want to know.
		(a beat; softer)
	Now, Wes, leave, please. For me.

		WES
	What will I tell the others? They 
	care about you.

		JAKE
	Tell them anything you want. Tell 
	them I'm on a vacation, a business 
	trip. Tell them I needed a rest. 
	Tell them anything, just don't tell 
	them...

Jake looks about the whorey room. His voice cracks a little.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	...just don't tell them about this.
		(A beat)
	Now go.

Jake escorts his brother-in-law to the door. Wes turns and 
embraces him. Jake breaks the embrace and firmly pushes Wes 
out of the room.

Jake closes and chains the door.

							CUT TO:

INT. PLAYERS MOTEL - DAY

The next morning. Jake has rearranged the furniture so that 
the sofa directly faces the door. Van Dorn, wearing a blue 
tie-dyed shirt with a sunburst on the front, sits in the 
middle of the sofa. On either side of the sofa tall thin 
lamps stand on end tables. A telephone, legal pad and travel 
clock have been placed on the coffee table. Beside Jake rests 
Mast's sheaf of notes and pictures. Behind him hangs an 
iridescent poster featuring the sex signs of the zodiac.

He waits. There is a knock at the door.

		JAKE
	Come in.

A handsome STUD, about 22, wearing tight jeans, steps 
cautiously into the room.

		STUD #1
	Jake? Mr. Holcum?

Jake checks the appointment schedule on his legal pad:

		JAKE
	Pete? Come in.

		STUD #1
		(enters)
	Yeah. Peter Long. That's the name I 
	use.

		JAKE
	We're casting male roles in an 
	explicit sex action feature. The pay 
	is $100 a day. There'll be up to two 
	weeks work. You say you've had 
	experience?

		STUD #1
	I was in the Mitchell Brothers' film, 
	'Sodom and Gomorrah.' I don't know 
	if you saw that. I played Damon, the 
	slave of the Queen of Gomorrah.

Van Dorn's pretty good at this. He's given many job interviews 
before. The phone rings and he answers.

		JAKE
	Yes, this is Jake.
		(a beat)
	We're casting right now. Have you 
	had experience in hardcore films?
		(a beat)
	I can fit you in from 4:00 - 4:15 
	today.
		(a beat)
	At the Players Motel, 777 Vine, Room 
	106.
		(a beat)
	We'll see you then.

Van Dorn hangs up and looks through his sheaf of papers. 
Pulling back a page of notes, he reveals the unfolded 8x10 
glossy from "Slave of Love." He looks at the two young men 
violating his daughter, then back up at Peter Long. Long is 
neither of the men.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	All right, Pete. I have your exchange 
	here. If we decide to use you, we'll 
	give you a call.

Long turns and exits. Jake checks his appointment schedule 
then puts his hand to his temples. He has become the thing 
he hates most: the procurer. Self-contempt fills his face.

TIMECUT: The next interviewee stands in front of Van Dorn. 
He's a tall black man about 25. An ex-athlete.

		JAKE
	You're not exactly the type we're 
	looking for.

		BLACK STUD
		(hostile)
	You mean I'm black?

		JAKE
	No, just not the type.

		BLACK STUD
	What do you mean, not the type? Don't 
	you know who I am? I'm Big Dick Brown! 
	I've been in more porno movies than 
	you ever saw. I've worked with Harry 
	Reems. I've worked with Johnny Wad. 
	Not the type! I can come ten times a 
	day. I can keep it hard two hours at 
	a time. My cock is nine inches long.

		JAKE
	I'm sorry, Mr. Brown. I'm sure you're 
	very good, but at the moment, I've 
	got nothing for you. If something 
	comes up, we'll give you a call.

		BLACK STUD
	Shit! You just don't want to hire a 
	nigger, that's all. I knew this was 
	a scam. I shouldn'ta come.

The Black Stud turns and storms out.

TIMECUT: An angelic, muscular boy about 19 stands in front 
of Van Dorn. Jake looks weary.

		JAKE
		(tired)
	I'm sorry, but you're just not the 
	type we are looking for. We had 
	something else in mind.

		STUD #2
	Don't you want to see my stuff, man?

		JAKE
	What stuff?

		STUD #2
		(pointing to crotch)
	You know, my stuff!

Jake nods with resignation.

The boy drops his jeans. Framed by firm, smooth, naked thighs, 
Van Dorn looks at the angelic boy's "stuff." He nods.

TIMECUT: It's the end of the day. The last orange rays of 
sun come through the window.

Jake, weary, looks up. A young man steps in from the fading 
sunlight.

The young man looks about 21. His sun-bleached hair falls 
just to his shoulders. A hippie who's hit the streets.

Jake looks at his 8x10 glossy, then back at the young man. 
This is him. This is the young man in the pink bikini shorts.

This is the YOUTH from Kristen's hardcore movie, the one who 
slapped her, the one who forced her face into his crotch.

		JISM JIM
	Hey man.

		JAKE
	We're casting for an explicit sex 
	action feature...

		JISM JIM
		(initially hostile)
	I know. Word's out on the street -- 
	word's also out you ain't really 
	hiring anyone.

		JAKE
	That's not true, Mr...?

		JISM JIM
	Jim Sullivan. Sometimes they call me 
	Jism Jim.

		JAKE
	That's not true, Jim. In fact, I 
	think you're very close to the type 
	we're looking for.

Jim immediately becomes more compliant.

		JISM JIM
	Oh yeah? I've done a lot of good 
	stuff. Shorts, features. No major 
	roles it's true. But good stuff.

		JAKE
	That's what I wanted to talk to you 
	about.

Jake reaches over and picks up the glossy.

		JAKE
	I've seen you in some stuff. I like 
	your looks. I particularly liked you 
	in this film.

Jake shows him the glossy.

		JISM JIM
	Oh yeah? I remember that. It was 
	made by some college kids.

		JAKE
	It was called 'Slave of Love.'

		JISM JIM
	God, I don't know what it was called. 
	I never saw it. I only got twenty-
	five bucks for the whole Goddamned 
	thing.

		JAKE
	I thought you were quite good in it. 
	I also like the girl in it. Really 
	thought she was good.
		(points out Kristen)
	I wondered if she was still around. 
	If she was still working.

Jim examines Kristen's picture. His expression sours.

		JISM JIM
	Wait.
		(a beat)
	Wait a minute. Look, I need the work 
	and I want to be in your picture, 
	but that is one bitch I will never 
	work with again.

Jim, nervous, paces around. He tries to explain.

		JISM JIM
		(continuing)
	Look, that was one freaky bitch, one 
	very, very freaky bitch. I don't 
	know what she was into, I don't know 
	what she was on, but I don't want to 
	have anything to do with her again.

Jake's face grows cold and mean as he listens to Jim's 
description of his daughter's defilement.

		JISM JIM
		(cups genitals with 
		right hand)
	Do you know what she did to me? Do 
	you know what she did to me, man? 
	That fucking cunt! I couldn't walk 
	for a week. My prick was sore and 
	red and chewed out. She was cra-zy. 
	I don't want to work with her again.

All the while Jim speaks, Van Dorn's long arm reaches slowly 
for the lamp on his right.

His right hand locks around the base of the lamp. Still 
listening, watching Jim intensely, Jake grips the balls of 
his feet into the carpet.

Jake is beyond logic, beyond restraint.

He rises, lamp in hand. The cord pops out of the wall; the 
bulb flashes out.

Reaching across the table, Van Dorn smashes the youth across 
the face. The plaster lamp shatters; the shade flies off. 
Jim reels backward.

Knocking over the coffee table, Van Dorn advances on the 
dazed, bleeding youth.

Van Dorn pounds him again with the plaster stump of the lamp.

Van Dorn stops. He looks down at Jism Jim. The youth is barely 
conscious.

Realizing what he's done, Jake pulls Jim up by his collar 
and drags him into the bathroom.

He hauls the youth into the large "erotic" shower. He pulls 
the shower douche off the wall, and sprays Jim's face.

The battered youth opens his eyes. He's terrified. He's been 
in kinky scenes before. He pleads:

		JISM JIM
	Hey, stop, stop. I'll do anything 
	you want. It's okay. I can dig it. 
	You can do anything you want to me.

		JAKE
		(full of rage)
	Where is she? Where is the girl?

		JISM JIM
	She's got a man. A white guy. Tod 
	something or other.

		JAKE
	Where does he hang out?

		JISM JIM
	I don't know.

		JAKE
	Where!

		JISM JIM
	Look, I know this chick Niki. She 
	works at Les Girls. She would know. 
	Honest.

Van Dorn lets him go and starts to walk away. Looking back, 
he sees Jism Jim struggling to his feet. Jake spins around 
and punches him once more. Jism Jim tumbles back into his 
shower. Jake walks off rubbing his red knuckles.

							CUT TO:

EXT. PLAYERS MOTEL - NIGHT

Jake throws his luggage into the trunk of his car and drives 
off.

							CUT TO:

EXT. LES GIRLS - NIGHT

Les Girls, a garish sexual supermarket, covers several 
storefronts. Its fluorescent exterior stands open to drifters 
and browsers alike.

Jake straightens his tie-dye shirt, and enters.

							CUT TO:

INT. LES GIRLS - NIGHT

Inside Les Girls is a glow of yellow and orange plexiglass. 
The bright fluorescents bounce off the white linoleum.

Jake passes an arcade of peep shows and turns the corner.

On one side is a rotunda around which men stand in pay stalls 
watching a pair of naked female dancers.

On the other side is a row of curtained "phone booths."

Jake walks up to a WOMAN with a coin changer around her waist. 
A lifer.

		JAKE
	I was told to meet a girl named Niki 
	here.

		LES GIRLS WOMAN
	In one of the booths. Any of the 
	first three.

Jake starts over.

		LES GIRLS WOMAN
		(continuing)
	It's five dollars for two minutes.

		JAKE
	Huh?

		LES GIRLS WOMAN
	Five dollars a token.

Jake fishes in his pocket and pulls out a ten-dollar bill. 
He hands it to the woman.

		JAKE
	Here. I'll take two.

The Les Girls Woman punches out two tokens.

Jake cautiously pulls the curtain aside and steps into the 
first booth.

The booth is divided by a floor-to-top glass partition. On 
Jake's side of the partition is a pay wall phone. On the 
other is an orange folding chair.

The sign on the phone reads "One token -- two minutes." Jake 
puts a token in the phone.

Niki, the girl from Ramada's set, naked, steps into the other 
half of the booth and plops down on the chair.

		NIKI
	Hello.

Jake picks up the receiver in his half.

		JAKE
	Are you Niki?

		NIKI
	Sure. Like in Mikey and Niki. Did 
	you see that picture?

		JAKE
	No.

		NIKI
	Too bad. I wasn't in it.

Jake's eyes flash downward for a moment. No longer shocked, 
he is saddened by the demeaning vulgarity of it all.

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	It's your money. You talk.

		JAKE
	I'm making a film. Jim Sullivan's 
	going to be in it. He said you might 
	know where Tod is.

		NIKI
	Do I know you? Weren't you on the 
	set the other night? With Ramada.

		JAKE
	Yeah.

		NIKI
	You making a feature?

		JAKE
	Um-hm. Live sound.

		NIKI
	Got any parts? I'm free. Not free-
	free, but, you know, free. I don't 
	really do this.

Gestures vaguely.

		JAKE
	Jim and I have been trying to run 
	down a girl.
		(takes out glossy)
	Do you know her?

He presses the picture against the stained glass partition.

		NIKI
	Joanne?

		JAKE
	You know her?

		NIKI
	No. I saw her with Tod.

		JAKE
	Do you know where she lives?

		NIKI
	Nah.

		JAKE
	Do you know where she would be?

There is a CLICK and the phone goes dead. Niki says something 
but Jake cannot hear her. She motions to the phone as she 
gets up to leave.

Jake puts his second token in the phone and Niki sits back 
down.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	Where is she?

		NIKI
	Tod might know.

		JAKE
	Where's he?

		NIKI
	Last I heard he went to San Diego.

		JAKE
	If we went there, would you be able 
	to find him?

		NIKI
		(eyeing him)
	You're not a film producer, are you?

		JAKE
	How much do you make a week, Niki?

Jake uses his manipulative voice, the one he might use when 
discussing a shade of blue in a convention display.

		NIKI
		(catching on)
	Are you a private detective?

		JAKE
	Something like that. How much do you 
	make?

		NIKI
	Here? What a joke. There was some 
	detective asking about that girl.

		JAKE
	Three hundred?

		NIKI
	This is just temporary. I once made 
	nine hundred in outcall.

		JAKE
	I'll give you $700 a week, cash, if 
	you help me find this girl.

		NIKI
	Up front?

		JAKE
	Half now, half later.

		NIKI
	Make it nine hundred. That was my 
	best week.

		JAKE
	Okay. My client pays for it anyway.

		NIKI
	When do we start?

		JAKE
	Tonight. When you get out, we'll go.
		(a beat)
	Why didn't you tell the other 
	detective?

		NIKI
		(shrugs)
	This is different. This is nine 
	hundred dollars.

							CUT TO:

EXT. VAN NUYS DELL - NIGHT

Wes parks in front of a Van Nuys delicatessen and walks in.

							CUT TO:

INT. VAN NUYS DELI - NIGHT

Wes walks into the well-lit deli and spots Andy Mast sitting 
alone with a glass and a bottle of beer.

A cross section of California types are scattered around the 
room. A JUKEBOX plays country and western.

		WES
	Mr. Mast? My name's Wes DeJong. I'm 
	Jake Van Dorn's brother-in-law. We 
	met out here a couple months ago 
	when he hired you. Your agency said 
	you might be here.

Mast motions for him to sit.

		MAST
	Ssh. I'm on a stakeout.

		WES
		(looks around)
	Oh.

Mast looks down at the beer bottle.

		MAST
	I'm staking out this beer bottle. 
	Trying to find out if I'll finish it 
	or it'll finish me.

		WES
	I'm worried about Jake.

		MAST
	I'm off that case. He fired me.

		WES
	He didn't look good at all. Something 
	strange is going on. He's got himself 
	into some trouble. He wouldn't say 
	what.

		MAST
		(lights cigarette)
	I'll tell you, that was an interesting 
	case. The Van Dorn girl. I've handled 
	runaway cases like it before. Usually 
	when you put the pressure on the 
	porn underworld for an underage kid, 
	she pops up in about a week. Everybody 
	denies ever seeing her, but there 
	she is at the airport with a prepaid 
	ticket home. Well, I put pressure on 
	all over town for this girl and it 
	stayed cold as ice. In fact, certain 
	people for this girl and -- nothing.
		(thinks)
	I guess I gave your brother-in-law 
	sort of a raw deal.

Mast spots a long-haired youth walking toward the juke box 
and calls to him:

		MAST
		(continuing)
	Hey, buddy, E-fifteen.

The kid ignores him and makes his selection: a rock song.

		WES
	I want to rehire you. To find out 
	what's happening to my brother-in-
	law.

		MAST
	I've been on another case. All day.
		(a beat)
	I suppose I can move it over. Seven 
	fifty a week, plus travel expenses.

		WES
	Do you really think Kristen is just 
	a runaway?

Mast thinks. A shadow crosses his face.

		MAST
	Maybe. Maybe not.

		WES
	I also want you to protect my brother-
	in-law.

		MAST
	Huh?

		WES
	You have to understand. He can be 
	mean, self-righteous. He had a Vishund 
	once. Loved that dog. He came home 
	one day and the dog bit him. He took 
	that dog and staked him out in the 
	back yard. It was winter. Every day 
	he came home and watched that dog 
	until he froze. He's capable of doing 
	anything.

		MAST
	To his own daughter?

		WES
	To anybody.

							CUT TO:

EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT

Van Dorn's car speeds through the California night. The 
Pacific, moon-lit, stretches like a sinister plain.

							CUT TO:

EXT. SAN DIEGO MOTEL - NIGHT

Jake pulls into a freeway exit motel and parks at the office.

							CUT TO:

INT. JAKE'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

Jake's suitcase lies open on the luggage rack. He pulls off 
his tie-dyed shirt, folds it up neatly, and places it in the 
suitcase.

He sits on the edge of the bed and undoes his shoestrings. 
He removes each shoe as if it were an individual effort.

There's a KNOCK.

Jake looks through the blinds, unhooks the chain and opens 
the door.

Niki, tugging up her jeans, scuffles in.

		NIKI
	You actually paid for both these 
	rooms? I thought you were just going 
	to get a receipt for two, and kickback 
	the desk man.

Jake, awkward, puts a shirt on.

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	I thought you were going to bed?

		JAKE
	I am.

Niki is street-wise. She can instantly interpret situations 
which would stymie the average person; but, as if to balance 
this perceptivity, she is often stymied by the ordinary.

In brief: she assumes Jake is paying her $900 a week not 
only to help him but also to be his personal playmate.

		NIKI
	Do you have any pills? Any Valium, 
	Librium? You know, pimps will sell 
	Valium at fifty cents a piece. Can 
	you believe that?

Niki sits on his bed, her legs folded under her.

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	You know Valiums pick me right up? 
	Take four or five and I'm wide awake. 
	Isn't that strange? Know what puts 
	me to sleep? Coke. I think I'm really 
	fucked up.

Niki removes her sweater and starts to pull off her Rorer T-
shirt. Jake motions for her to stop.

		JAKE
	No.

		NIKI
	Huh?

		JAKE
	Niki. Calm down. Relax. Let's just 
	talk for a while. Then, later, you'll 
	go back to your room and we'll get 
	some sleep.

He sits on the bed beside her.

		NIKI
	You have anything to drink? You want 
	to go out and get something?

		JAKE
	I don't drink, but you can go out.

		NIKI
	You don't drink?

		JAKE
		(points to stomach)
	Ulcers.

Niki studies him for a moment, then says:

		NIKI
	You're not a private detective either, 
	are you?

		JAKE
	No.

		NIKI
	I didn't think so. I've fucked 
	detectives. Who are you?

		JAKE
	A friend.

		NIKI
	Of Joanne's?

		JAKE
	Yeah.
		(looks away)
	I'm her father.

		NIKI
		(more disappointment 
		than shock)
	Jesus.

		JAKE
	Her name is Kristen. She disappeared 
	a couple of months ago.

		NIKI
	And your wife? Where's she?

		JAKE
	She's dead.

		NIKI
	Hey, don't worry about it. Your 
	daughter's around. We'll find her in 
	a couple days.

							CUT TO:

EXT. SAN DIEGO - DOWNTOWN - DAY

Jake's car drives through San Diego's "downtown," four square 
blocks of adult bookstores, peep show and flop houses south 
of San Diego's center. Uniformed soldiers from Camp Pendleton 
and the Miramar Naval Station occasionally cross the wide 
streets.

The Singapore Club, Lux Adult Movies, the Princess Rap Parlor, 
Curious Books Shop, Sexciting Movies...

							CUT TO:

EXT. THE OKINAWA BAR - DAY

Jake and Niki walk toward the Okinawa, a hangout for working 
girls, players and street people.

Niki, tugging up her jeans, walks next to Jake. She wears 
her Rorer T-shirt; Jake a blue dress shirt.

		NIKI
		(putting her arm on 
		Jake)
	Jim Rucker runs this place. He knows 
	where everybody is. It's a nice place. 
	Hires a lot of girls, but they don't 
	pay shit.

							CUT TO:

INT. OKINAWA BAR - DAY

Jake holds the door open for Niki as they enter.

The Okinawa is a credit to its namesake. A BLACK PLAYER, 
sitting at the bar, stares absently at two girls playing 
pool.

Niki, in her element, steps up to the bar.

		NIKI
		(to Counter Girl)
	Is Rucker here?

		BAR MAID
	He'll be back in a couple hours.

		NIKI
	Tell him Louise was here. I'll come 
	back later.

They turn to exit.

EXT. SAN DIEGO BEACH - DAY

Jake and Niki sit at a ramshackle picnic table at a park 
overlooking the ocean. Several children play in the distance.

Niki finishes her Big Mac, crumbles the bag and throws it 
away. She unwraps a Milky Way and she finishes her fries.

Jake watches with astonishment as she chomps her way through 
a second candy bar.

		JAKE
	You really shouldn't eat like that. 
	All that sugar. It's not good for 
	you.

		NIKI
	At least I'm a growing person.

		JAKE
	You won't keep growing at this rate.

		NIKI
	What rate?

		JAKE
	You know what I'm talking about.

		NIKI
		(snotty)
	You never met a working girl before, 
	have you? You think I like sucking 
	off guys all night? Maybe I do. So 
	what?
		(a beat)
	You can't even say it, can you?

		JAKE
	Say what?

		NIKI
	'Sucking off.'

		JAKE
	Okay. Sucking off. Now does that 
	make me as good as you?

		NIKI
	You don't understand shit.

		JAKE
	Okay, tell me. Why do you live like 
	you do?

		NIKI
	Did you ever live in a room with six 
	people and you didn't have any money, 
	any food, any furniture? Have your 
	brother come out, his car break down, 
	he can't get a job? Your friends 
	stealing food, going through trash 
	behind a supermarket?

		JAKE
		(sympathetic)
	Is that the way it was with you?

		NIKI
	No. But does it make any difference?
		(a beat)
	How did you get to be the way you 
	are?

Jake doesn't answer.

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	Don't knock it. A girl can save up a 
	lot money doing this -- big money. 
	Then you're free. You can go off to 
	Europe, meet somebody, get married. 
	My girlfriend's going to buy her own 
	beauty parlor. Not me. I'm gonna 
	travel. 'Keep movin' that's my motto.
		(a beat)
	Would you rather work at Copper Penny 
	at a dollar-eighty an hour, having 
	every two-bit cocksucker able to 
	yell at you? I can make more money 
	suc... doing what I do for five 
	minutes than I can all week at another 
	job.

		JAKE
	You used to work at Copper Penny?

		NIKI
	No.

		JAKE
		(pause)
	You and I, Niki, have very different 
	ideas about sex.

		NIKI
	Why? Are you a sex fiend?

		JAKE
		(smiles)
	No.

		NIKI
	Neither am I.

		JAKE
	But it's all you do.

		NIKI
	How important do you think sex is?

		JAKE
	Not very.

		NIKI
	We're just alike. You think sex is 
	so unimportant you don't do it. I 
	think sex is so unimportant I don't 
	care who I do it with.

Jake thinks. That sounds right. But it can't be right. He 
looks away, then back at her.

		JAKE
	You can never understand a person 
	like me. I am a mystery to you. A 
	middle class person, a Mid-westerner. 
	A man who doesn't pursue women. A 
	man who believes in social order. A 
	man who goes to church, believes in 
	God, and a man who, at the end of 
	his life, believes he will be 
	redeemed.
		(a beat)
	This is all unfathomable to you.

Fifty years ago, in art, the prostitute sought to justify 
her life to the bourgeoisie. Now it is the bourgeoisie who 
must justify himself to the whore.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	I don't see why I must justify myself 
	to you. I don't care about the things 
	you do. I don't care what's happening 
	in New York or Los Angeles. I don't 
	care about movies or TV. I don't 
	care who's on Johnny Carson.

		NIKI
		(incredulous)
	What do you care about?

		JAKE
		(cold)
	I care about my daughter.

INT. OKINAWA BAR - DAY

Niki and Jake stand at the counter talking with JIM RUCKER, 
an entrepreneurial type about 40.

		NIKI
	You remember me. Louise? Rhymes with 
	squeeze.

		RUCKER
		(looks, then nods)
	You working in San Diego now?

		NIKI
	I'm still in L.A., but I'm looking 
	for Tod. I heard he was around.

		RUCKER
	'Was.' He and that shitheel Ratan 
	went down to T-J. Maybe I shouldn't 
	say that. Anyway, I hear he's back 
	in Frisco now.

		NIKI
	Was he with a girl?

		RUCKER
	No.

		NIKI
	Thanks.

Niki starts to leave.

		RUCKER
	Keep in touch, baby. Got some good 
	stuff comin' up. Need you back, baby.
		(as they exit)
	And take good care of your friend 
	for me.

Jake turns back as Niki gives him a tug.

							CUT TO:

EXT. OKINAWA BAR - DAY

They walk toward the car.

		JAKE
	What's T-J?

		NIKI
	Tijuana.

		JAKE
	They were here?

		NIKI
	Tod was.
		(her voice chills)
	He was with Ratan.

		JAKE
	What does that mean?
		(no answer)
	What does he do?

		NIKI
	He deals in pain.

		JAKE
	Is Kristen safe?

She doesn't answer.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	Let's get a plane for San Francisco.

							CUT TO:

INT. L.A. POLICE MISSING PERSONS - DAY

DETECTIVE BURROWS walks back into his office. Mast, sitting 
on the edge of the desk, is waiting for him.

		BURROWS
	Apparently your friend has gone into 
	Mexico. A Border Guard responded to 
	the APB. How does it feel to have 
	the L.A.P.D. doing your work for 
	you?

		MAST
	You're going to thank me for this. 
	You know what the media's like. They 
	love this kinda shit. If that guy 
	goes off half-cocked and gets himself 
	hurt, you're going to have so much 
	bad publicity, you...

		BURROWS
		(interrupting)
	I heard you the first time. We had 
	nothing to go on with this kid. Just 
	a runaway.
		(a beat)
	Do you really think he's in danger?

		MAST
	If he has anything to say about it, 
	yeah. I've been asking a lot of 
	questions and I don't like the answers 
	I'm getting. He's made a lot of people 
	nervous, including some poor faggot 
	who thought he was going to be a 
	movie star.

		BURROWS
	We aren't gonna arrest him for that...

		MAST
		(interrupting)
	Big threat. TV would ream you.

		BURROWS
	Keep me informed of what he's up to. 
	You help me, I'll help you.

Mast nods.

		BURROWS
		(continuing)
	Why don't people stay where they 
	belong?

							CUT TO:

INT. SAN DIEGO AIRPORT - DAY

Jake and Niki sit in a line of multi-colored plexi-glass 
chairs in the Western Terminal of the airport. Niki munches 
a pack of Chuckles while Jake, his elbows on his knees, looks 
at the floor. Niki prattles on.

		NIKI
	You know what your problem is? You're 
	a very negative person. You think 
	negatively.

Jake tries to ignore her.

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	You have to believe in something. 
	What do they believe in -- the 
	Whatjamacillit church?

		JAKE
	Christian Reformed. It's a Dutch 
	Calvinist denomination.

		NIKI
	Do they believe in reincarnation? I 
	believe in reincarnation.

		JAKE
	They believe in the 'TULIP.'

		NIKI
	What the crap?

		JAKE
		(smiles)
	It's an anagram. It comes from the 
	Canons of Dort. Every letter stands 
	for a different belief. T-U-L-I-P. 
	Like -- are you sure you're interested 
	in this?

		NIKI
	Yeah, yeah, go on.

		JAKE
	T stands for Total depravity, that 
	is, all men, through original sin, 
	are totally evil and incapable of 
	good. 'All my works are like filthy 
	rags in the sight of the Lord.'

		NIKI
	Shit.

Jake is charmed. He's never been called upon to explain his 
beliefs to someone so totally ignorant of them.

		JAKE
	Be that as it may. U is for 
	Unconditional Election. God has chosen 
	a certain number of people to be 
	saved, The Elect, and He has chosen 
	them from the beginning of time. L 
	is for Limited Atonement. Only a 
	limited number will be atoned, will 
	go to Heaven.

		NIKI
	Fuck.

		JAKE
	I can stop if you want.

		NIKI
	No, please go on.

The INTERCOM ANNOUNCES a flight: Jake listens for a moment. 
It's a flight to Mexico City.

		JAKE
	I is for Irresistible Grace. God's 
	grace cannot be resisted or denied. 
	And P is for the Perseverance of the 
	Saints. Once you are in Grace you 
	cannot fall from the number of the 
	elect. And that's the 'TULIP.'

		NIKI
	Wait, wait. I'm trying to figure 
	this out. This is like Rona Barrett. 
	Before you become saved, God already 
	knows who you are?

		JAKE
	He has to. That's Predestination. If 
	God is omniscient, if He knows 
	everything -- and He wouldn't be God 
	if He didn't -- then He must have 
	known, even before the creation of 
	the world, the names of those who 
	would be saved.

		NIKI
	So it's already worked out. The fix 
	is in?

		JAKE
	More or less.

		NIKI
	Wow. Then why be good? Either you're 
	saved or you ain't.

		JAKE
	Out of gratitude for being chosen. 
	That's where Grace comes in. God 
	first chooses you, then allows you, 
	by Grace, to choose Him of your own 
	free will.

		NIKI
		(amazed)
	You really believe all that?

		JAKE
	Yeah.
		(shrugs)
	Well, mostly.

		NIKI
	I thought I was fucked up.

		JAKE
	I'll admit it's confusing from the 
	outside. You've got to see it from 
	the inside.

		NIKI
	If you see anything from the inside 
	it makes sense. You ought to hear 
	perverts talk. A guy once almost had 
	me convinced to let his dachshund 
	fuck me.

		JAKE
	It's not quite the same thing.

		NIKI
	It doesn't make any sense to me.

The INTERCOM ANNOUNCES Western Flight #601 to San Francisco. 
They rise.

							CUT TO:

EXT. TRAVEL LODGE - DAY

Jake's rental car pulls into a San Francisco Travel Lodge.

							CUT TO:

EXT. NORTH BEACH - AFTERNOON

Niki places a call from a phone booth. Jake watches the 
passing denizens of North Beach.

The familiar sordid tableau is played out before his eyes: 
massage parlors, peep shows, strip joints, sex shops.

		NIKI
		(hangs up phone)
	Tod'll meet you at the bookstore at 
	Eddy and O'Farrell tomorrow noon. I 
	told him you were a 'specialty' 
	customer.

		JAKE
	Why can't I meet him now?

Niki, cocky, walks next to Jake. She is in her element. She 
calls out to a pimp:

		NIKI
	I hope your prick falls off.

Jake, surprised, turns away from the pimp's cold stare.

		JAKE
	Why can't I meet him now?

Niki brazenly calls out to a strutting hooker:

		NIKI
	Rot in hell, honey.
		(to Jake)
	He's busy now.

		JAKE
	Where does he live.

		NIKI
	Just a second. It's my ass I'm 
	risking. You better do it my way. 
	These fuckers don't mess around.

Niki walks off. Jake follows.

							CUT TO:

EXT. TRAVEL LODGE - DUSK

Jake's rental car is parked outside his motel room.

							CUT TO:

INT. JAKE'S ROOM - NIGHT

Jake sits on the edge of his bed, studying the crease in his 
trousers.

His shirt is partiallly open.

Niki, swigging a Coke sits squatted atop the built in desk.

		JAKE
	I must have been in more motel rooms 
	this week than in the rest of my 
	life. At least it feels that way.

		NIKI
	I know what you mean. After a while 
	they all look the same.

		JAKE
	They are the same.

		NIKI
	Do you live in a house back in 
	wherever.

		JAKE
	Grand Rapids? Of course.

		NIKI
	On your own land?

Jake nods.

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	Just you and your daughter?

Jake nods.

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	Look, I really don't know your 
	daughter but...

		JAKE
	But what?

		NIKI
	I wouldn't expect too much. I mean 
	about her coming back. Once a girl 
	gets into the life.

		JAKE
	What makes you so sure?

		NIKI
		(changing the subject)
	You wife isn't dead is she?

Van Dorn surprised, turns around.

		JAKE
	Why do you say that?

		NIKI
	Just a guess. She ain't dead though 
	is she?

Jake shakes his head "no."

		NIKI
		(continuing)
	She left you right?

		JAKE
	Yeah.
		(a beat)
	She was the one called Joanne. How'd 
	you find that out?

		NIKI
	Just a guess. Did you have it good 
	with your wife? You know, sex.

Jake resents Niki's forwardness: what business of hers is 
this?

		JAKE
	I don't blame you, Niki. Really I 
	don't. It's this culture, where 
	everything's based on sex, sold on 
	sex...
		(starts to get angry)
	...magazines, music, TV. It's 
	destroying everything. Buy this 'cause 
	of sex, use this 'cause of sex. Kids 
	think it's normal. They think they're 
	supposed to talk dirty, wear scanty 
	clothes...

		NIKI
		(interrupting)
	Don't get upset. I lied too. I don't 
	make no five hundred dollars a week. 
	Everything I make goes to Granville.

		JAKE
	Granville?

		NIKI
	My man. 'Pimp.' I split 'cause he 
	don't treat me for shit. Thinks he's 
	so cool 'cause he's black. I once 
	tried to take my clothes but he says, 
	'You can't take 'em 'cause they're 
	my clothes -- I bought 'em.' Yeah, 
	with my fucking money...

Jake doesn't want to get involved with Niki's problems:

		JAKE
	Look, Niki, this really isn't my 
	business. I don't know anything 
	about...

		NIKI
	So I guess we're both fucked, huh? 
	But at least you get to go to heaven. 
	I don't get shit.

The DOORBELL RINGS. Jake, suspicious, walks over to the window 
and peeks out. Seeing someone he recognizes, he opens the 
door.

Andy Mast, woebegone and wrinkled as usual, stands at the 
door.

		MAST
		(looking at Niki 
		knowingly)
	This is just how you found me once.

Jake slips outside.

							CUT TO:

EXT. TRAVEL LODGE - DUSK

		JAKE
	What are you doing here?

		MAST
	I felt like such a shit, pilgrim, 
	after what I did to you -- not that 
	I did anything wrong -- that I kept 
	investigating, poking around. There's 
	some poor s.o.b. in L.A. with his 
	face all bent out of shape who you've 
	damaged his movie career. Lucky for 
	him, people don't look at his face.

		JAKE
	Do the police want to arrest me?

		MAST
	Nah. They don't care about some faggot 
	hustler. They're more interested in 
	your daughter's health -- and yours. 
	Like I am.

		JAKE
		(disbelieving)
	Yeah, sure.

		MAST
	Listen, pilgrim, you're way out on a 
	limb here. You don't know what you're 
	into.

		JAKE
	You sure as hell haven't been any 
	help.

		MAST
	I'm sorry about that. Have you found 
	anything out? You've got to tell me.

		JAKE
	Why don't you tell me something for 
	a change?

		MAST
	Like what?

		JAKE
	Who is Ratan?

Mast pales.

		MAST
	Where'd you hear that name?

		JAKE
	I just heard. Who is he?

Mast walks toward the swimming pool.

Mast looks at the still, blue surface of the pool. Jake steps 
beside him. A tourist passes by with his two sons. Mast 
thinks, then speaks:

		MAST
	You know, it's possible to buy 
	anything on this earth. You can buy 
	child whores, slaves. You can have 
	people raped, killed...
		(a beat)
	One of the men who supposedly arranges 
	such things is named Ratan. He usually 
	isn't in this country.
		(a beat)
	How'd you hear about him?

		JAKE
	It's just a name.

		MAST
	Don't do anything more. I'll find 
	out what I can.

		JAKE
		(nodding toward motel)
	Does she know anything about this?

		MAST
	Who? The whore? No. She's just a 
	victim. A dime a dozen.

							CUT TO:

INT. JAKE'S ROOM - NIGHT

Jake sleeps in his Travel Lodge bed.

A jagged shard of blue light plays across his face.

							CUT TO:

EXT. EDDY AND O'FARRELL STREETS - DAY

Jake stands at the corner, then turns and enters the porn 
bookstore.

							CUT TO:

INT. PANDORA'S BOOKS - DAY

Jake looks around.

Seeing no one he recognizes, he pays his admission fee walks 
down a rack, picks up a copy of "Hot Twat," pages through 
it.

It's been over a week since Jake first stepped into a porno 
bookstore. The change in his manner is striking. He now seems 
at ease in the endless night-world of pandering and 
pornography.

A few moments later, a long-haired man steps up behind him. 
The young man is wearing red alligator boots and a silver 
and turquoise belt -- like the man in "Slave of Love." Tod 
scrutinizes Jake a moment before speaking.

		TOD
		(under his breath)
	Hey, Jake.

Jake turns. Tod gives him some skin. Tod seems unattractive 
at first, but the longer one looks at him, the more oddly 
sensual he appears.

		TOD
		(continuing)
	I hear you got money to spend.
		(as Jake nods)
	I hear you're interested in... 
	interesting things.

		JAKE
	Yeah.

		TOD
	Do you work for the San Francisco 
	Police Department, or do you have 
	any other affiliation with any law 
	enforcement agency?

		JAKE
	No.

		TOD
	What you got in mind?

		JAKE
	I want to meet Ratan.

		TOD
		(backs off)
	What is that? A kind of chair? I 
	never heard of no Ratan.

		JAKE
		(studying Tod)
	I was told that there were certain 
	things that only Ratan could provide.

		TOD
	You're talking about real excitement?

		JAKE
	Yeah. I heard you and Ratan just 
	came from Mexico. And that you had a 
	film of a girl being, ah you know...

		TOD
	Who told you about this?

		JAKE
	Rucker.

		TOD
	I don't know no Ratan, but I may be 
	able to help you out. It's not me, 
	of course. Just helping out a friend. 
	It'll cost you five hundred bucks 
	for a single screening.

		JAKE
	Is this with a girl named Kristen?

		TOD
		(nods)
	Um-hm. You got the five hundred?

		JAKE
	Well...

		TOD
	Take it or leave it.

		JAKE
	Okay.

		TOD
	Meet me here today at seven o'clock. 
	With the money. Then we'll go see 
	the film.

		JAKE
	Good.

Tod puts his hand on Jake's shoulder and smiles.

		TOD
	You ain't gonna ever have no thrill 
	like this.

							CUT TO:

INT. TRAVEL LODGE - DUSK

Niki sits on a bed watching a syndicated sitcom and munching 
a Taco Bell enchilada.

She hears a CAR pull up and a man's FOOTSTEPS walks to the 
door.

She cautiously gets up to see who it is.

EXT. EDDY AND O'FARRELL STREETS - DUSK

Jake walks out of Pandora's Books behind Tod. They turn the 
corner and walk out of sight.

							CUT TO:

EXT. JONES STREET - DUSK

Jake and Tod enter the "Hot Pink" massage parlor. A sign on 
the front door reads: "Sex/Intercourse/Here."

							CUT TO:

INT. HOT PINK - NIGHT

Tod leads Jake past two girls into the back of the parlor. 
Tod smiles to one of the parlor girls and touches the other.

INT. MASSAGE PARLOR - NIGHT

Tod ushers Jake into a barren "office" in the rear of the 
parlor.

A sheet has been tacked up at one end of the office. Across 
the room, the projectionist, a boy about 15, stands next to 
a battered old 16mm silent projector.

Two other men sit in the darkened room. One looks middle-
aged and decadent; the other, about 26, wears jeans, a western 
shirt, and a beat up flight jacket. He's saved up several 
years for this.

Jake sits in an empty office chair next to the other men.

Tod nods to the boy and he starts up the projector. A grainy 
black and white image appears on the screen.

The projectionist punches a cheap cassette player which echoes 
scratchy Mexican fiesta music through the room.

It's clear why the projectionist has chosen a Latin sound 
track: the film is set up in a Tijuana flophouse.

On screen, a girl with long blonde hair and Kristen's build 
sits on the edge of a barren double bed. She wears jeans and 
a shirt. Her face is covered by a black leather mask. The 
eye slits are taped shut.

A Cerveza poster of a half-naked Mexican girl hangs on the 
wall behind her.

A young Mexican, stripped to the waist, walks over to the 
girl. Taking instructions from someone off camera, he starts 
to undress her.

The girl, unable to see her seducer, nevertheless submits to 
his desires.

Jake watches the screen from the shadows. The pale images 
flicker across a metal filing cabinet behind him. Tod slips 
out of the room.

On screen, the young Mexican has finished the girl. He turns 
to the director for further instructions.

A man wearing a white suit walks into the frame. He flashes 
a stiletto from his sleeve and stabs the young Mexican. The 
girl, not able to see what is happening, turns her head 
quizzically.

Jake watches in unbelieving horror. The young man in the 
flight jacket is calm and dispassionate.

The young Mexican falls to the floor bleeding. The man in 
the white suit bends down and wipes the stiletto on the 
Mexican's pant leg.

The man in the white suit steps over to the girl and puts 
one hand under her mask. He lifts his stiletto again. He 
rips off the mask from the girl's face; it is not Kristen.

Jake is relieved. The faces of the others are full of 
anticipation.

Jake's relief turns to horror at what he now sees. Blurred 
images reflect against the metal cabinet behind him.

							CUT TO:

INT. TRAVEL LODGE - NIGHT

Mast, waiting for Jake, talks to Niki. The TV still plays in 
the background.

		MAST
	You know Granville's looking for 
	you, Niki?

		NIKI
	My name ain't Niki. It's Pattica, 
	like in Attica.

		MAST
	Granville's looking for you anyway.

		NIKI
		(arrogant)
	Who's that?

		MAST
	The guy who bought you that ring.

		NIKI
	Well, he can just fuck himself.

She pulls off her ring and starts to hand it to Mast.

		MAST
	Keep it, honey. You're gonna need 
	it. I know that boy. He can make 
	life real tough for a working girl. 
	He'll string you out again.

Gestures to his veins.

		NIKI
	You can fuck off, too.

		MAST
	You're taking a big chance.

		NIKI
	I ain't ever gonna see him again 
	anyway.

		MAST
	Oh no? What you gonna do? Get a job?

Niki, sullen, looks away. Then, defensive, she says what 
she's been thinking.

		NIKI
	Jake'll take care of me.

		MAST
	Who? Van Dorn? You must be kidding 
	yourself, honey. You think once that 
	guy finds his daughter he'll care 
	about you?

Niki looks away again.

A car pulls in front of the motel room. They both turn toward 
the door.

Jake, weary and angry, walks in out of the night. Ignoring 
Mast, he takes Niki by the arm and leads her out of earshot.

		JAKE
	Niki...

When Mast moves to overhear them, Jake turns and edges him 
toward the door.

		MAST
	What happened, pilgrim?

		JAKE
		(forceful)
	Just leave me alone.

		MAST
	But I'm here to help you...

Jake ushers Mast out the door and chains it. Mast waits 
outside as Jake returns to Niki.

		NIKI
	Did you find out where she was?

		JAKE
	Tod gave me the slip. I have to find 
	him again. Where does he live?

		NIKI
		(sensing something is 
		wrong)
	What happened?

		JAKE
		(cold)
	Where is he?

		NIKI
	I can't tell you that.

Taking Niki gently by the shoulder, Jake sits her on the 
edge of the bed. He speaks in a calm, forceful, parental 
tone:

		JAKE
	Listen, Niki. My daughter's been 
	missing five months. I've gone through 
	a lot to find out what's happened to 
	her. I just saw a girl killed. I 
	will not let Tod slip out of my hands. 
	You have to tell me where he is.

		NIKI
	But then you'll forget about me.

		JAKE
		(insistent)
	Where is he, Niki?

Jake starts to raise his hand.

		NIKI
		(relents)
	Try a place called the House of 
	Bondage. It's a plain black storefront 
	next to Jane's. There are some 
	apartments in back.

Jake stands up and, taking Niki's head in his hands, kisses 
her on the forehead.

		JAKE
	I won't forget you.

Jake turns and exits.

							CUT TO:

EXT. TRAVEL LODGE - NIGHT

Jake passes Mast and heads for his car. Mast restrains him.

		MAST
	What are you doing, pilgrim? Where 
	are you going?

Jake tries to push his way past Mast.

		MAST
		(continuing)
	Let me take care of this. I don't 
	want you to get hurt.

Jake pushes Mast aside. Mast continues to talk as Jake opens 
his car door and gets in.

		MAST
		(continuing)
	Don't do anything until the police 
	get there. Don't hurt that girl.

Jake turns his car and takes off. Mast hurries back into the 
motel room.

							CUT TO:

INT. TRAVEL LODGE - NIGHT

Mast heads immediately for the phone, talking to Niki as he 
goes:

		MAST
	You've got to tell me where he's 
	going.

Mast sits down and dials.

		MAST
		(continuing)
	Hello, police? My name's Mast. Get 
	me Joe Klein in Vice.

Mast turns to Niki:

		MAST
		(continuing; tough)
	You don't know that man. He'll hurt 
	his own fucking daughter. I've got 
	to stop him.
		(a beat)
	You know about Ratan, don't you?

Niki looks on in fear and confusion.

							CUT TO:

EXT. EDDY STREET - NIGHT

Van Dorn walks down the garish neon strip past "Jane's 
Pleasure House" to an unmarked black storefront. The door is 
open.

A light shines on a sign reading: "387 OPEN."

He walks in.

							CUT TO:

INT. HOUSE OF BONDAGE - NIGHT

As Jake steps through the barred black door, he is hit with 
a wave of familiar smells: Human sweat, blood and sexual 
fluids.

The House of Bondage specializes in the three "disciplines:" 
bondage, dominance and humiliation. It has four domination 
rooms, each decorated in a different decor -- Babylonian, 
Medieval, Louis Quatorze, prison motifs -- to satisfy a 
variety of tastes.

Two dominants, dressed in black satin pants and shirts, sit 
on the sofa. HOPE, wearing a black silver-studded collar, 
walks over to Jake. Her voice is hard:

		HOPE
	Hello. You want some information?

		JAKE
	Yeah.

		HOPE
	We offer...

		JAKE
	Yeah, yeah...

		HOPE
	...the disciplines: bondage, 
	domination and humiliation.

		JAKE
	I'm looking for Tod. Is he in?

		HOPE
	I don't know no Tod.

		JAKE
	What girls you got here?

		HOPE
	My name is Hope. This is Faith.
		(gestures to girl on 
		sofa)
	Charity's in back.

		JAKE
	That's all you got, three girls?

		HOPE
	Man, how many girls do you need?

		JAKE
	I was told there was a real nice 
	girl here named Joanne. Quite young.

		HOPE
	That's Charity. She's out back. She'll 
	be free in half hour.

Jake pushes her aside.

The girls watch with surprise as Jake marches through the 
curtain toward the rear of the parlor.

							CUT TO:

INT. HOUSE OF BONDAGE - REAR - NIGHT

Jake steps down the corridor. A customer emerges from a room 
and passes him.

He slides open one door: the Medieval Dungeon is empty. He 
continues on.

He passes the Louis Quatorze Room. It, too, is empty.

Hope calls from behind Jake:

		HOPE (O.S.)
	Tod!

Tod steps into the corridor in front of Jake. Tod squints to 
recognize the intruder.

		TOD
		(suspicious)
	What do you want?
		(scrutinizes him)
	Do I know you from somewhere?

		JAKE
	I want to know where my daughter is. 
	Her name is Kristen, or Joanne. She's 
	with you.

		TOD
	I don't know what you're talking 
	about.

He starts to leave.

		JAKE
	The police know about Ratan. They 
	know he's here with you. They know 
	everything.

Tod is taken aback, but tries not to show it.

		TOD
	Oh, yeah? Goody for them.

Tod starts past Jake, but Jake stretches out his hand.

		TOD
		(continuing)
	Get the fuck out of here.

Tod tries to push past Van Dorn but Jake grabs his arms and 
tries to twist them. Tod breaks free and Jake smacks him 
across his forehead with his open hand.

		TOD
		(continuing)
	You wait here. I'll find out where 
	she is.

		JAKE
	You ain't goin' nowhere alone.

Jake is beyond reasoning. Tod looks around for an alternate 
route of escape.

Tod ducks into the Prison Room. Jake follows.

Vertical bars cover the grey walls. Handcuffs and chains 
hang from the bars. In the center of the room, a Harley 
Davidson "Hog" is incongruously mounted, its front wheel 
pointed skyward. Leather straps are attached to the 
handlebars.

Tod skirts the Harley and pushes it toward Jake as he enters. 
The huge 1200-pound machine crashes toward Van Dorn.

Jake jumps back as the bike bounces in front of him, then 
starts for Tod.

Lowering his shoulder, Tod smashes through the thin pasteboard 
wall. Jake, steeping over the motorcycle, pursues.

In the Louis Quatorze Room, Jake grabs Tod by the shoulders 
and spins him around. Tod swings as he turns, hitting Jake. 
Jake grabs Tod's legs as he falls.

They both crash through the next pasteboard wall into the 
Medieval Dungeon.

Tod breaks free, runs through the dungeon and bursts through 
the last pasteboard wall. Jake pulls himself to his feet and 
follows.

		JAKE
	Where is she?

Hope and Faith, standing against the wall, watch as Tod and 
Jake burst through the wall and dash out the front door.

							CUT TO:

EXT. O'FARRELL - NIGHT

Jake chases Tod out of the House of Bondage.

Van Dorn pushes one girl, knocks over another and catches up 
with Tod at the corner.

He tackles Tod around the waist, rams him into a building 
and turns him around.

		JAKE
	Where's Ratan?

		TOD
	Who?

Jake grabs the young man by his hair and pulls him down the 
street. Tod yelps.

		JAKE
	Ratan!

Passing a parking meter, Jake smashes Tod's head into it. 
Tod's forehead cracks into the glass.

Tod, bleeding, protests:

		TOD
	That film was a fake! Everything's 
	phony...

		JAKE
	Ratan!

When Tod doesn't immediately answer, Jake rams his skull 
into the next parking meter. Tod, bleeding, dazed, struggles 
to stay on his feet. Jake pulls him forward.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	I know he's here!

Gripping his hair more tightly, Van Dorn drags him to the 
next parking meter and smashes his head into it.

		JAKE
		(continuing)
	Ratan!

Curious bystanders watch Jake smash the youth's bleeding 
head into the next parking meter.

		TOD
		(terrified)
	Who the fuck knows? The Four Aces. 
	He goes there.

		JAKE
	Let's go.

Van Dorn pulls Tod down the sidewalk toward the Four Aces.

							CUT TO:

INT. FOUR ACES - NIGHT

Van Dorn pulls the bleeding Tod into the Four Aces, a low-
life strip club.

A dozen solo patrons are scattered around the dimly lit bar. 
On stage, a couple performs a routine sex simulation act to 
a scratchy Barry White record.

							CUT TO:

EXT. HOUSE OF BONDAGE - NIGHT

Two police cars, dome lights flashing, pull up in front of 
the House of Bondage. Mast's car pulls up behind them.

							CUT TO:

INT. FOUR ACES - NIGHT

A man wearing a white suit sits at a table with several girls. 
He immediately recognizes Tod. This is RATAN. The man who 
killed the young Mexican and girl in the film.

Ratan starts to rise. Jake drops Tod and heads toward Ratan.

A girl wearing a skimpy halter stands up between Ratan and 
Jake. She turns and looks back at Jake: it is Kristen.

She is terrified. Kristen turns and runs away, stumbling 
over a chair.

Ratan rushes toward the front door.

In the same instant Jake sees Kristen falling, Ratan fleeing.

Trying to get around Jake, Ratan flashes his stiletto forward.

A gash razors across Jake's upper chest.

Ratan's stiletto flashes forward: Jake's arm is cut. Jake 
clasps Ratan and thrusts him backward.

							CUT TO:

EXT. FOUR ACES - NIGHT

The street fills with SIRENS, flashing light and police.

Mast rushes toward The Four Aces. Niki follows.

							CUT TO:

INT. FOUR ACES - NIGHT

Jake rams Ratan backward into the smoke-colored front window.

Ratan's back smashes through the plate glass. Ratan's feet 
lift off the floor as he falls backward.

Sinking backward against the broken glass, Ratan swings his 
stiletto at Jake.

Jake, protecting himself from the knife, flips Ratan over.

Ratan's chest and stomach rasp across the jagged glass.

Jake grabs Ratan's head in both his hands and forces it 
downward onto the bottom edge of the jagged window frame.

He rubs Ratan's neck across the glass: every artery, vein 
and capillary rip out of Ratan's neck.

Ratan collapses against the window frame.

TWO OFFICERS, guns drawn, rush toward Ratan's body. The Second 
Officer pulls out his handcuffs, then realizes it will not 
be needed.

Jake turns and heads toward where he last saw Kristen.

The First Officer aims his gun at Jake and calls out:

		FIRST OFFICER
	Halt!

Mast and plainclothes officer (Joe Klein), rush over and 
instruct the Officers to ease off.

Jake walks across the now empty bar. Several tables are 
overturned.

Jake walks to the table where Kristen tripped. Following her 
logical path, Jake walks into the women's rest room.

							CUT TO:

INT. REST ROOM - NIGHT

Kristen squeezes herself against the yellow rest room wall.

Trembling, she holds her twisted ankle and looks at her father 
in fear.

Jake takes off his torn coat and drapes it over his daughter's 
shoulders. She tries not to look at him.

		KRISTEN
	Don't hurt me.

		JAKE
	Come on, Kristen. Let's go home.

He helps her up.

							CUT TO:

EXT. O'FARRELL - NIGHT

Flashing red and yellow lights illuminate the chaos:

-- Curious mobs press against police lines.

-- Ambulance attendants lift Ratan's body onto a stretcher.

-- The two officers handcuff a bloodied and confused Tod.

-- Police officers interview Hope, Faith and other by- 
standers.

Mast walks over to Jake and Kristen. Niki watches from a 
distance.

		JAKE
	There's another one. Tod. In the 
	club.

Mast watches the ambulance attendants cover Ratan's body. 
Jake leads Kristen to a police car and places her in the 
rear seat.

Jake sees Niki in the crowd. She is watching Jake and Kristen. 
She knows she no longer has a place in his life.

He walks over to her.

		JAKE
	Niki, maybe I can... There's probably 
	some way to...

Niki does what Jake cannot: she breaks the connection.

		NIKI
		(ice cold)
	You got your daughter. I got my money. 
	So now fuck off.

Niki turns on her heel and walks into the neon darkness.

Jake walks back to Mast.

		JAKE
	Andy, can you do something for her? 
	Maybe money...

		MAST
	Go home, pilgrim. There's nothing 
	you can do. Forget this place. Start 
	over.

Jake walks back to where his daughter waits for him.

The MUSIC turns into an orchestrated version of "Precious 
Memories."

							DISSOLVE TO:

MONTAGE

As the MUSIC RISES we DISSOLVE BETWEEN:

-- Wes, Anne and Marsha welcome Kristen back in their home. 
Anne embraces her tearfully.

-- Jake, back at work, talks to Mary near the lathes.

-- Niki, wearing white vinyl boots and a blonde wig, walks 
the streets of Los Angeles.

-- Kristen lies sleeping peacefully in her bedroom.

-- Jake sleeps. Blue light falls across his face.

Slowly, burning through his face, the grainy black and white 
image of a girl wearing a black mask appears. A hand reaches 
down to pull off the mask.

Jake wakes suddenly from his dream, his screaming face double-
exposed with the terrified young girl's.

							FADE OUT:
				THE END