Anger
Caller: You know what? I think somebody is missing from this conversation…
Noor: What…? How… How did you know…?
Caller: Know what…?
Noor: (Looks around the room in alarm) Mo just stepped out to check on the situation in other office… He'll be back in a minute…
Caller: No, not Mo! I was thinking of someone else…
Noor: There's no one else here. I told you… I haven't called anyone…
Caller: No one…? Shouldn't you call head office or something…?
Noor: Mo will be back any minute, but… he doesn't need to be here does he…? Do you want the money or not…?
Caller: Izak Hussein.
Noor: What…? Who's he…?
Caller: He's the lawyer you hired to make me look like a complete loser when I went to the cops… I think he's missing from the conversation…
Noor: Why do we need him…?
Caller: Well he was there last time we came to agreement, maybe he can help us out now…? After all, he did save you a lot of money last time, didn't he…?
Noor: Look, is this necessary…?
Caller: Yes, it is necessary. Make sure it's him on the phone when you call back… (Phone goes dead just as the door opens and Mo enters the room, followed by Zack)
Mo: Noor… Zack here…
Noor: So, I noticed…
Zack: What this all about, Noor? I've got three more locations to visit this afternoon…
Noor: (Places note on desk in front of him) There's a bomb in the bathroom… He's been to every location within cooee of here… Including yours…
Zack: But… How do you know that…? What if he's bluffing…?
Noor: He's not bluffing… Here's the receipts to prove it…
Zack: What does he want…?
Noor: Money… Lots of it…
Zack: How much money are we talking about here…?
Noor: I haven't managed to get that information out of him yet… He wants us to bring in some lawyer… He's an ex-employee… He stole from us two years ago…
Zack: Who…? The lawyer…?
Noor: No! The freak making the bomb-threat…! He wants the lawyer we hired to make agreement against him so that he would talk… He wants him to be here next time we call him…
Zack: How many times have you called him…?
Noor: Two… Maybe three times… He's serious Zack… We have to make this go away…
Zack: Yes, but what about the Boss…?
Noor: That's exactly what he wants us to do… He doesn't care about the money… He just wants to close us down… And that bomb is set to go off at midnight tonight, as far as I can tell…
Zack: But you said he wanted money…
Noor: We all want money Zack, all of us… It's what he wanted two years ago when we beat him to a bloody pulp… And he didn't get it… And it's the only leverage we must make him tell us where the other devices are hidden… I don't think we can afford to involve the Boss until we know exactly where the bombs are… We're going to need all the cash from every store on the South side… That's why I called you…
Zack: Me…?! But I can't just go and take the cash at every location…! How am I supposed to explain that…?!!! And how do you know who he is…?
Noor: He told me… Remember that guy that tried to steal form us and we beat him but not kill him…? He's come back to haunt us…
Zack: (Pause) But… But that was years ago…!
Noor: Well he remembers Zack… And he's had a few years in hiding to think about it…
Zack: Hiding…? When…? Way was he hiding…?
Noor: He threw a dead body in somebody's swimming pool…
Zack: (Panic) What…?! But… We must call the Boss…! Now…! (Reaches for the phone but his eyes stop on the receipts)
Noor: (Places his hand on ZACK's) Not until we know where the bombs are hidden… Then we can notify the Boss and they'll find him… Along with whatever money we give him… Then he can go back to the nasty little hole he crawled out of for good… I fucking remember this guy… He run after he got caught playing with the money, he stole… We'll give him what he wants… Then we'll get what we want…
Zack: (Pause) How are you going to do it…?
Noor: I think we need to contact our lawyer friend, Abdi Hussein…
Zack: Hussein…? Abdi Hussein…? I think I played golf with him last year…
Noor: Got his number…?
Zack: No, but he's a lawyer… He won't be too hard to find…
Abdi Hussein's bedroom. Phone rings beside bed. Abdi reaches for phone and answers it, sitting up straight to continue muffled
conversation. Hangs up phone, then reaches for pills and glass
of water. Fade out. Return to office scene.
(Abdi opens office door and enters wearing glasses and
clothes befitting an accountant/Star Trek geek)