INT. SENATE OFFICE - DAY
Blanton Sellwood’s office phone rings. He answers.
BLANTON SELLWOOD
(campaign spiel)
Senator Sellwood. Make a donation
to the Sellwood Presidential
campaign, Washington D.C. owes you
voter. What can I do for you?
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR’S OFFICE - SAME
DALLAS LATHRUM
Cut the speech Sellwood—your P.I.
man has a location for you in that
matter we discussed. The number
came from an area around the
Russian embassy. It’s a secured
Soviet government location. Take
some heavy politics to find the
exact line who dialed you in. I
don’t want messed up in Russian
vodka wars, Sellwood.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. SENATE OFFICE - SAME
BLANTON SELLWOOD
The hell you say, D.L. Russia has
gone to hell.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR’S OFFICE - SAME
DALLAS LATHRUM
Far as I go, Sellwood. I’ll send
you a bill. Good luck on the
campaign senator.
_____________________________________
INT. REBEL ARMY COMPOUND - SAME
KUCHENGO
(outraged)
Kill him!
(Swahili
translation for
kill)
Umbua!
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. OFFICE - SAME
JACKAL
(through a speech
synthesizer)
The American politician will have
a choice. Sellwood will fund a
black market diamond pipeline to
us with the World Jewelry
Confederation. Or—I will kill him.
Goodbye Kuchengo!
___________________________________
JACKAL
Go upstairs in the diamond cutters
building. Sell the diamonds in the
case. Arrange for a long-term
business relationship. Tell them
you have access to many Angolan
diamonds. Come back out of the
building. Give the briefcase with
the money in it back to the man in
the Nixon party mask.
BLANTON SELLWOOD
(argumentive)
Angola! Goddammit I knew it! My
presidential campaign is in full
swing and this fucking timely
kidnapping of my daughter. Fuck
your blood diamonds!
_____________________________________
INT. SENATE OFFICE - DAY
Sellwood is at his desk on the phone.
BLANTON SELLWOOD
I’ll be down there tomorrow to
dedicate the church. What’s that?
No, my daughter won’t be
attending. She sends her apologies
to the Christian coalition—singing
engagement, she knows you’ll
understand. Good then, we’ll see
you tomorrow afternoon. Bye now.
______________________________________
EXT. OILFIELD SERVICE AND DRILLING COMPANY – DAY
Insert: St. Louis, Missouri
Blanton Sellwood’s black stretch limo pulls up. The driver gets
out and opens the rear door for Sellwood to exit. Sellwood is wearing sunglasses with briefcase in hand. He walks up to the building. LAZARO, wearing a hardhat, CEO of the oilfield service and drilling company meets Sellwood and hands him a hardhat. Sellwood puts on the hardhat. They walk around the building through the heavy equipment area on out away from the equipment yard where old oil pumping trucks are parked. Lazaro pulls open a square steel lid. He and Sellwood climb down a steel ladder into a secret underground bunker.
BLANTON SELLWOOD
Here’s what I want you to do. I
want you to infiltrate a public
auction. I want you to bid on
100,000 acres. I’ll front the
money.
Sellwood opens up his briefcase on a SILVER STEEL table with a BOTTLE OF SCOTCH and TWO GLASSES. He takes out LAND MAPS and PHOTOS. The small bunker is dim and stripped of any furnishings other than the table, TWO EXPENSIVE BLACK LEATHER SWIVEL CHAIRS and a GREEN NEON LIGHT BAR hanging on the wall. Sellwood writes Lazaro a check. Lazaro opens up the bottle of scotch and pours
them a drink.
BLANTON SELLWOOD (CON’T.)
(takes a drink)
The presidential administration is
moving to auction off oil and gas
exploitation rights in this area
of federal land.
(points on the map)
Lazaro takes a drink and looks at the land maps and photos.
LAZARO
Privatizing the profits could
interest me Sellwood. I put into
your campaign, make a public
contribution and you see to it I
get a contract for hydraulic
fracturing for extracting natural
gas and a permit for oil drilling.
BLANTON SELLWOOD
It’s as good as done. Here’s a
check from a confidential company
I set up so it can’t be traced
back to me. Transfer these funds
into your account and you’re a
stockholder in the holding
company. It’s a paper game. Now
don’t forget to make that public
donation LZERO. I need it on
camera down at the TV studio. I’ll
meet you at the studio for the
handshake.
LAZARO
You control the cotton fields. You
control the oil fields. You
control the gas fields. You belong
to the earth, senator.
(chuckles)
BLANTON SELLWOOD
Damn right I do. Strip mines and
power plants next. Walk me back up
LZERO. I’m catching a round of
golf this afternoon.
Ron