ACT I: Bargain | Part 3

Sumi swings the teapot back and forth, fidgeting

uncomfortably.

SUMI (CONT'D)

He was never the same after we lost

her. He didn't like being around

me, I reminded him of her too much.

It got to a point where my voice

would trigger him.

FRANKLIN

That's a problem. I can-

As Franklin walks past her, determined to confront Goh, this

time Sumi grabs him by the wrist. He turns around to face

her. Sumi's sleeve slides down her arm revealing a bruise,

Franklin notices it.

SUMI

It's not your problem.

He hesitates but shakes her off and continues to storm back

towards Goh.

SUMI (CONT'D)

Please stop! You don't

understand... You'll upset him, and

I don't like it when he's like

that.

GUARDIAN ANGEL

Listen to the kid Franklin.

Franklin freezes in his tracks at the sound of the angels

voice. He turns around to look at Sumi and sees the angels

arms around her; comforting her as she cries.

He watches in disbelief, unable to understand why the angel

would side with her in this situation.

Franklin reluctantly starts heading back towards Sumi and

kneels in front of her.

FRANKLIN

Okay... stop crying. I won't tell

Goh.

SUMI (still crying)

You promise?

FRANKLIN

Yes... It'll be our little secret.

Sumi wipes her tears away and holds up a pinkie. Franklin

rolls his eyes and interlocks his pinkie with hers to seal

the deal.

CUT TO:

EXT. RURAL HILLSIDE TOWN - DAY

Sumi and Franklin enters the area where Goh has started a

fire. Sumi hands the pot of berries over to Goh and sits

beside him. Goh notices her red eyes and the sting on her

neck. Franklin sits across from them, avoiding Goh's stare.

GOH

What happened out there?

FRANKLIN

Ran into some bees. I got the brute

of it and was so busy running away

that we got separated. By the time

I found Sumi she seemed to have

gotten over her sting.

GOH

You don't look too bad.

FRANKLIN

I've always been mild to their

stings.

Goh nods and starts eating.

GOH

Thank you for the food.

FRANKLIN

We really should have packed some.

GOH

Well we wouldn't have room for the

perfect tea that alleviates bee

venom.

Goh finishes the berries and starts brewing the tea he was

speaking of. Each nervous glance that Franklin throws towards

Sumi does not go unnoticed as Goh studies his behavior.

GOH (CONT'D)

Tell me about your wife.

Franklin flinches, startled by the sudden question.

FRANKLIN

What uhh... what do you want to

know?

The tea finishes brewing and Goh pours out a cup, handing it

to Franklin.

FRANKLIN (CONT'D)

Oh no thanks I didn't get st-

He stops and catches himself, grabs the tea and brings it to

his lips. He glares at Goh while he takes a sip, mad at

himself for letting his guard down.

FRANKLIN (CONT'D)

I didn't swell as much as Sumi did,

you should've given her the first

cup.

Goh chuckles.

GOH

Sumi is a tough child. Her mother

raised her well. You are our guest,

she is patient enough to wait.

Goh pats her head as Sumi and Franklin exchange a nervous

glance.

FRANKLIN

Tell me... about your wife.

Goh's expression changes quickly to a grim one.

GOH

She was just like my daughter.

Quiet. Patient. Loving. It's such a

blessing to have Sumi around. At

times I feel she is a gift left

behind by my wife to remember her

by.

Franklin clenches his fist and begins to rise.

GUARDIAN ANGEL

Shhhhh

The guardian angel appears behind both Goh and Sumi, a finger

pressed against his lips, shaking his head with a look of

danger in his eyes.

Franklin unclenches his fist and hands his empty tea cup to

Goh, asking for another serving.

Goh pours him one with a smile on his face. They hold each

other's gaze, Franklin's with open malice, and Goh's with a

hidden one.

GOH

And your wife?

Franklin sips his tea and takes him time before he answers.

FRANKLIN

She was very... different. Always

wanted to do things another way.

Goh nods.

GOH

It can be difficult... not having a

supportive wife.

FRANKLIN

She wanted me to stay. She never

wanted me to join the war.

Franklin fidgets with his ring.

FRANKLIN (CONT'D)

I never listened. All of her

warnings fell on deaf ears. Her

concerns were mute to me.

Franklin glances at Sumi. Goh leans forward, pouring the last

bit of tea left in the pot into Franklin's cup, filling it up

a third time.

GOH

Was she right?

Franklin shakes his head. He shrugs. He looks away towards

the sky. A tear trickles down his face. He flinches and

reaches up to catch the tear on his cheek.

He lets out a sorrowful chuckle, surprised at his own

reaction to the question.

He looks back at Goh and nods.

FRANKLIN

I think so.

Beat.

The sun is setting. A flare erupts close by, lighting up the

sky. All three of them watch it in horror.

In the distance you can hear marching, and a song being sung

by numerous men.

GOH

What are they doing this far away

from the city?

FRANKLIN

I know that song. It's the SS

battalion. Likely my fleet chasing

deserters. My commander is

notorious for hunting them down.

Franklin starts packing things up frantically.

FRANKLIN (CONT'D)

We need to move. If they find me

here, I'm dead. There should be a

church somewhere deeper into the

mountains where we could find

refuge. It's just over the hill

there-

Franklin's voice trails off. His vision grows dim, his

movements sluggish. He shakes his head, trying to fight it

off, confused by the sudden fatigue that is setting in.

He notices Goh's tea cup is untouched, still full. Sumi never

received one.

He slumps to the ground, growing weaker, and glares up at

Goh.

GOH

My wife and I didn't pay any mind

to the war... until the war came to

us. It took everything away from

us. My legs. My wife. My daughter's

laughter.

Franklin grunts as he tries to crawl away. He throws a

hateful glance at Sumi, she looks away.

Goh stands up from his wheelchair and picks Franklin up over

his shoulder.

GOH (CONT'D)

Don't worry, we're not going to

leave you. We'll find that church,

and talk when you wake up.

Franklin groans as his vision fades rapidly and the voices

start to slur. The last thing he sees is Sumi shoving the

wheelchair into the fire, and Goh grabbing the bag.

FADE TO:

INT. PLANE - DAY

Franklin is inside a fighter jett, piloting it. The sun is

setting on a war torn city with smoke still rising from the

bombs he had just dropped. Two other planes fly beside him on

either side.

We see an establishing shot of all three flying together,

over the view of the demolished city. From a low angle we

hear the cries and screams of the injured. From a high angle

we hear the jets engines.

ARMIN (crackling of the comms)

Another one down boys, what'd I

tell ya? We're crushing it!

FINN

I'm so glad they didn't put us in

the infantry. The view from up here

of us winning the war is just

priceless.

Finn is looking at the clouds and the beautiful sunset.

Franklin looks to the city below. He hangs his head in guilt

but looks to a photo of his wife on the dash of his pilot

controls.

He briefly touches it, shakes his head, and looks straight

ahead into the beautiful view of the sunset.

Beat.

FRANKLIN

I can't wait for the war to be

over...

FINN (Whispering over the comms)

Franklin! You said that over the

main line! The commander heard it!

Franklin panics and anxiously awaits the response.

COMMANDER

You got someone special back home

waiting for you?

FRANKLIN

Yes... A wife.

COMMANDER

Good. That's why you're here.

That's why we're all here. Good

work out there. Now get back safe

and stop spewing your feelings over

the main comms.

Everyone laughs. Franklin still looks uneasy. He glances down

at the city and back up at his wife's photo.

FINN

I got more than a wife waiting for

me. I hope my bar is okay, I heard

we got bombed there a week ago.

FRANKLIN

Wait what! Who told you that?

ARMIN

We all got a letter. My wife

wouldn't stop nagging about having

to take care of the kids on her

own, like damn woman I got a war to

fight and you're really talkin...

FRANKLIN

Hold up, you guys got a letter?

There's laughter over the comms. Franklin doesn't find this

funny, he's confused and nervous.

FINN

Wow the irony of the the mailman

between us not receiving his

letter.

FRANKLIN

Ha ha. Is everyone okay?

ARMIN

Yeah, It sounds like everyone got

underground before it happened.

Franklin looks at his wife's photo and back at the city

again.

Create a visual juxtaposition with a series of shots of the

war torn city, the image of his wife, and the guilt he feels

for taking many civilians lives that could be affected just

like his own.

We see a missile flying behind one of the planes. A loud

explosion erupts as it collides. An alarm sounds in the comms

and we hear cries of Armin. His plane starts to plummet at

rapid speed.

FRANKLIN

Noooo! Armin!

FINN

Franklin focus! We have to find out

where that shot came from. Tell me

what you see...

The sounds fade as Franklin watches the flaming plane descend

below the clouds.

FADE TO:

INT. CHURCH - NIGHT

Close up shot of the corner of Franklin's wife's photo

peaking out of his breast pocket.

Franklin wakes up laying in a pew. Heavenly organ music is

playing. POV shot as he survey's the colored glass windows

around him and the beautiful architecture.

Franklin smiles, drinking in the beauty, blissful in this

serene moment, as the lights reflect off of Jesus on the

glass stains.

His vision lands on the guardian angle, sitting on top of the

pulpit. His smile fades and a frown grows.

GUARDIAN ANGEL

Wakey wakey sleepy head.

FRANKLIN

What happened to being on vacation?

GUARDIAN ANGEL

I am on vacation. You don't see me

working do you?

The angel floats over to Franklin, sits beside him and pats

him on his shoulder.

GUARDIAN ANGEL (CONT'D)

I have faith that you won't leave

these people and kill yourself; and

if you're not going to kill

yourself I'm really just here to

enjoy the show.

FRANKLIN

The show?

GUARDIAN ANGEL

Yeah, last night really was

something. You should've seen what

happened after you went

unconscious.

A realization occurs to Franklin as he studies the area.

FRANKLIN

Where are they?

BACH

Don't you mean who are they?

A middle aged priest with a scruffy beard and long greasy

hair is sitting at the organ, still playing the heavenly

music. When Franklin meets his eyes he notices they are a

faded grey. The man is blind.

BACH (CONT'D)

Typically you try to get to know

someone before you readily trust

them. I think you made the wrong

call on trying to help these people

Franklin.

Franklin gets up from the pew and slowly approaches the blind

priest.

FRANKLIN

How are you doing that?

BACH

Doing what?

FRANKLIN

Playing the organ.

BACH

I can blindly play music because

I've practiced. I'm familiar with

the keys. How can you blindly trust

your new friends when you aren't

familiar with them?

Franklin looks away and back at the pew he came from. The

angel is gone. He shakes his head.

FRANKLIN

They're not my friends. You're

right, I don't know them at all;

but I don't have to. I only need

them to lead me somewhere.

BACH

Ahhh yes... the witch doctor. They

might have betrayed your trust but

they did save you last night.

FRANKLIN

Yeah... They're a peculiar pair.

What do you know about them?

BACH

Only that they are not who they

were. The old man and his wife used

to attend here regularly. When Sumi

came along they were the most

beaming little family.

The heavenly music changes to a minor key, sounding sinister

and bleak.

BACH (CONT'D)

Then the confessions came.

The blind priest manically rocks back and forth as he

ferociously plays a climactic portion of the song.

BACH (CONT'D)

Goh started selling more than tea

at his struggling shop. Japanese

tea was foreign to the area, he was

foreign, and to feed his family he

fed the streets the eastern poison

they craved.

The music settles down and the priest looks up at franklin.

BACH (CONT'D)

When he saw the addicts pile up in

the streets he felt guilty. I was

his therapist.

Franklin nods awkwardly.

FRANKLIN

Well, you don't ever have to worry

about being my therapist father.

Bach shakes his head. Franklin gives a questioning look. The

sound of a pot falling on the ground is heard in the

distance.

Franklin looks in that direction and a dim light is shown in

one of the side rooms.

He rushes towards that direction and Bach follows behind with

his walking stick.