THE RUNNER SCREENPLAY by BRIAN R. LUNDIN (ebook reader below 3000 .txt) 📕

and get lost.

The man and the black woman got out the car and started walking east on Foster.

BACKSTORY:

Bruno Pacoli was a little man in his early fifties who moved with a stooped-over shuffle and was asthmatic. He was born in Palermo, Italy in 1905 and was the son of Don Pacoli, a Bastone, or under boss of the Venzo Family. The Venzo family controlled all of the criminal activities in the city and was strictly anti-fascist. Bruno became a “Soldati,” a Made Man in 1930 and helped his father in his criminal activities. When Benito Mussolini became dictator of Italy in the late 1920’s, he waged war on the mafia, he had his Black Shirts, or secret police arrest the mafia leaders and Don Pacoli was arrested along with his son Bruno. Both men were placed in a room in the basement of the Black Shirt Headquarters. Every day they were beaten, tortured and questioned about other Mafioso, but neither would talk. Bruno watched as the guards attached electrical wires to his father genitals and applied other methods to get his father to inform, but he never did, one early morning they took his father out and he never saw him again.

The guards now turned their attention to Bruno. He was beaten daily and tortured, but he never violated the code of Omerta. He would rather die than inform on his comrades. After days of torture and beatings, they suddenly stopped and Bruno was forced to sit in a chair, stripped to his undershorts, with his hands tied behind its back directly under a bright light. He was not fed or given any water and not allowed to sleep. Whenever he started to dose, one of the guards would throw cold water over him. Bruno often soiled himself and after many days of this treatment, a little man wearing horn-rimmed glasses came into the room and introduced himself as Hans Brunnel. Hans immediately ordered that Bruno be untied and taken for a shower. When Bruno returned to the room there was a basket containing fruits, Stilton and Brie cheeses and bread on a small table, clean clothes and a pitcher of ice water. Hans watched as Bruno ravished the food and water, during his absence a cot had been placed in the room and Hans left while Bruno slept. Hans Brunnel was a Nazi and a member of the Gestapo and had received advanced degrees in psychology from the Berlin University. He was an in descript little man with an ashen complexion and big eyes whose irises were a deep blue and never touched his eyelids, they were hypnotic. Bruno slept for ten hours when he awakens his wounds had been treated and Hans was sitting at the table that contained toasted hard bread, cheese and coffee. Hans invited Bruno to join him and the two men ate and drank the coffee. Hans had a soft voice, which sounded somewhat effeminate. He talked about the Spanish Civil War and told Bruno that he did not agree with Mussolini aggressive policy against the mafia. Hans slowly gained Bruno’s trust. Bruno told Hans of his upbringing in Palermo and how his father would often take him hunting. Hans never pressed Bruno or referred, to the mafia. Bruno related a story of how one evening when he was about ten years old, he and his father was tracking a deer. They had tracked the deer into a rocky side of a mountain when Bruno turned over a rock and a large black snake bit him on his ankle, the snake wasn’t poisonous but the bite caused his leg to swell and it was very painful, from that time until now he was deathly afraid of snakes. That night Bruno awakened, by something crawling up his legs and for the first time the bright light was out. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a big black snake crawling up his leg, he jumped from the cot and the lights suddenly came back on, in the room were ten large black snakes, Bruno screamed in terror. Hans and two of the Black Shirts came into the room and tied Bruno to the chair; the snakes were everywhere, when Hans began to question Bruno about the Mafia he told everything he knew. As Bruno was being led to the execution post, he heard Hans telling one of the guards.

HANS
Some men cannot be broken by threats, beatings or torture. The best way to get information is to find out their deepest fear and exploit that fear.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion that demolished the building where he had been held and where Hans was, Bruno was able to escape in the confusion and worked as a contractor for Vito.

Jimmy sent one of his men to keep watch on the warehouse and waited. After a short wait Lieutenant Delaney and eight other police officers arrived in two vehicles, one was a police marked squad car. The lieutenant got into Jimmy’s car with Bruno Jimmy told the lieutenant about the plan.

JIMMY
Delany you take two of my guys and identify yourself as police officers and bang on the garage door. I’ll have two other men at the front, if they don’t open the door, one of your guys will have a sledge hammer and knock the fuckin’ door down. What we want to find out is where they’re getting their drugs, plus we might find some drugs and we know that those tamale eater from Colombia just made a big sale to them young Nigras, so we might get a little extra, any questions?

Lieutenant Delany shook his head.

JIMMY
OK, let’s go!
Jimmy got out the car and motioning for the other men as the lieutenant banged on the door.

DELANY
Police, open up!
A Hispanic man looked out the window and saw the lieutenants .45 automatic pointing at him, raised his hands. In a moment the overhead door of the garage slowly opened.

INT. WAREHOUSE-NIGHT

The garage contained a table, two chairs, old vehicle on blocks and a black and white television that was showing the “I love Lucy show,” the canned laughter was loud and annoying. The lieutenant and the two men entered; there were three old Hispanic men in the garage sweeping the floor. Lieutenant Delaney sent one of his men to get Jimmy. Jimmy and Bruno entered the garage.

JIMMY
Where’s that young tamale eater?

HISPANIC MAN
One of the Hispanic men waved his hands and said in broken English,

No speake English.

Jimmy smacked him hard upside the head and said in a slow voice pronouncing ever word.

JIMMY
Where is that young motherfucker?

The man shook his head again.

HISPANIC MAN
No speake English, senor.


Jimmy was getting ready to hit the man again when the other man said in English.


OTHER HISPANIC MAN
He don’t speak English.

JIMMY
What your fuckin’ name?

PEDRO AMERTO
(defiantly)

JIMMY
Where’s that little tamale eater which drove in here a while ago?

PEDRO AMERTO
He’s gone.

DELANY
What’s his name?

PEDRO AMERTO
Felik, that all I know.

DELANY
Where are the drugs?

PEDRO AMERTO
No drugs here, Felix rent the garage; park his car and leaves in another car.

DELANY
Let’s see some identification!

Pedro gave the lieutenant a Mexican driver’s license, after reading it Delaney gave the license to Jimmy.


JIMMY
What you doing in our country, you motherfucka’ wetback?

PEDRO
(smirking)
Visiting my sick cousin.

JIMMY
You a smart ass wetback.

Jimmy hit the man in the mouth with a blackjack. Blood shot from his mouth. Pedro staggered, but did not fall, his face showed his anger but no fear. Jimmy drew back the blackjack to hit Pedro again when Bruno stopped him.

BRUNO
No need, for further violence my friend.

Bruno gives Pedro a handkerchief.

BRUNO
Let me talk to him. Why don’t you wait in the car Jimmy and cool off. We passed by a Burger king, why not go and get everyone some coffee. You don’t mind, I can’t stand that red haired bitch.

Bruno turned off the television. Shortly, one of Jimmy’s men brought in two plastic containers of coffee and placed it on a table.


BRUNO
Let me talk with Pedro alone, lieutenant.

DELANY
Ok, I’ll be out in the car, but I’ll leave two of my police officers outside, just in case.

Pedro Amero was a big man over six feet tall and weighted over 200 pounds, all muscle. He looked at the little man who was seated across from him at the table quietly drinking his coffee and seemed to be having trouble breathing. Pedro was a member of the Cali drug Cartel and he had killed many men with knives, guns and his bare hands. He knew it would not take much to snap this little man neck, but first he would see what he had to say. Pedro took a sip of his coffee and waited. For the next two hours, the men talked and Pedro relaxed, for some reason he liked the little man and felt sorry for him. Pedro noticed that Bruno took deep breaths from an inhaler before he could catch his breath and continue their conversation. Bruno talked about his childhood and his family. It was a normal conversation seemingly between two old friends. Eventually Pedro begin to tell his life story of growing up poor on a non-producing farm in Cali, Colombia until his family started growing the cocoa plant and selling it to the cocaine cartel. He spoke of how the cartels were always fair with the cocoa farmers and because of the cartel his family and many other farmers were able to feed their families. Bruno told about his fear of heights and snakes and Pedro told him about when he was a little boy one of his friends had been abducted by the town freak. The little boy was raped and killed and he remembered overhearing his parents talk about how the young boy’s anus had been stretched, the big man shuddered. Bruno knew he had the edge, now he knew the big man’s worse fear. Bruno politely excused himself and as he was walking out the garage, he looked at Pedro for the last time. Bruno told Jimmy that he was sure that Pedro knew where the heroin was coming from and he told Jimmy how to get that information.

Most of Jimmy’s men were big, burly and hairy Italians, a few of them were so dark they could pass for blacks. Jimmy carefully selected three of the biggest men. Pedro was still sitting at the table waiting for his new friend, Bruno, when the three men entered with the lieutenant who was pointing his weapon at Pedro.

DELANY
Strip motherfucka!

Confused, Pedro began taking off his clothes and he watched the three men began unzipping their pants and rubbing their penises. When Pedro had gotten stripped to his underwear he was bent over the table, his hands tied and his legs were spread open and tied. Jimmy came into the garage and bent down to face Pedro and with a sadistic smile.

JIMMY
Where you getting the heroin, wetback?

Pedro face turned hard and his eyes glistened with hate as he spit in Jimmy face. Jimmy smile broaden as he looked at one of the men and nodded his head. The big man inserted his equally big penis into Pedro rectum and Pedro let out a loud blood-curling cry.


JIMMY
Where are you getting the drugs?

Pedro didn’t answer, but