Free Dreamsongs - Volume II by George R. R. Martin

flashlight, everything.
     
    FADE OUT
     
    END OF ACT I
     
    ACT II
     
    FADE IN
     
    INT. - HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - AFTERNOON
     
    Tom strides down the corridor, whistling.
Then he notices something odd: no cop by Cat’s door. He stops whistling, moves
to the door, opens it.
     
    ANGLE INTO ROOM - TOM’S POV
     
    Cat’s room is EMPTY, spotless, the bed
freshly made. No one has been here for hours.
     
    RESUME
     
    People are coming and going: nurses,
patients, a NUTRITIONIST with a food tray, an ORDERLY.
     
    TOM
     
    Pete, what happened
to the girl in this room? Did they move her
    somewhere?
     
    ORDERLY
     
    Room was empty when
I came on shift, man.
     
    NUTRITIONIST
     
    That patient was
discharged last night, Doctor.
     
    TOM
     
    By who? I didn’t
authorize any discharge. Did anyone see the police leave?
     
    Shrugs. No one knows, no one cares. Except
one OLD WOMAN struggling down the hall, leaning on a walker.
     
    OLD WOMAN
     
    They took her. Men
in suits. It was three in the morning. She woke me up,
    the way she was
screaming and kicking.
     
    TOM
     
    God damn it!
     
    He goes striding off angrily.
     
    CUT TO
     
    INT. - ER NURSE’S STATION - MOMENTS LATER
     
    TIGHT ON TOM
     
    He is on the phone, still furious, INTERCUT
with shots of Laura, behind her desk in a legal office.
     
    TOM
     
    What do you mean
she wasn’t arrested?
     
    LAURA
     
    I mean there’s no
arrest report. No paper of any kind. Your little feline
    friend was never
arraigned. The incident was never logged. Officers
    Sanchez and
Chambers are mysteriously unavailable.
     
    TOM
     
    They can’t just
pretend it never happened. There must have been a
    hundred witnesses.
     
    LAURA
     
    You didn’t happen
to get the names of any, did you?
     
    CLOSE ON A HAND
     
    Before Tom can answer, a hand ENTERS FRAME
and depresses the button on the receiver.
     
    ANGLE PAST TOM
     
    Still holding the dead phone, he turns to
face an imposing man in a dark gray suit: TRAGER. About fifty, his suit
impeccable, his hair carefully combed, Trager is a man of ice and iron.
     
    TRAGER
     
    Dr Thomas John
Lake?
     
    Tom just glares at him. Trager flashes a
badge.
     
    TRAGER
     
    Special agent
Trager, federal intelligence unit. Would you come with me,
    please?
     
    Tom makes the connection. He’s suspicious
and angry.
     
    TOM
     
    Why?
     
    (beat)
     
    You removed a
patient of mine from this hospital last night. Illegally. Who
    the hell do you
think you are? What have you done with Cat?
     
    TRAGER
     
    Is that her name?
She’s in good care, Doctor. She’d like to see you.
     
    TOM
     
    I’m not going
anywhere with you until I’ve talked to my lawyer.
     
    Trager has had enough; his patience runs
out.
     
    TRAGER
     
    Fine. You get one
phone call. Tell her you’re under arrest.
     
    TOM
     
    You can’t do that!
     
    TRAGER
     
    You’d be astonished
at what we can do, Doctor,
     
    (beat)
     
    On the other hand,
if you’ll give us your cooperation .. .
     
    TOM
     
    (reconsidering)
     
    I’ll call someone
to fill in for me.
     
    CUT TO
     
    EXT. - HOSPITAL - NIGHT
     
    Trager escorts Tom out of the hospital. A
long black limo with tinted windows waits by the curb. They get in.
     
    INT. - LIMOUSINE - CONTINUOUS
     
    Trager climbs in after Tom and closes the
door. The car moves off without a word. A second man sits across from them:
thirtyish, sandy-haired, muscular.
     
    TRAGER
     
    This is agent
Cameron.
     
    Agent Cameron wears a blue suit and a large
white bandage over his nose that
covers the center of his face. He looks unhappy.
     
    TOM
     
    I see you’ve met
Cat.
     
    Cameron gives him a foul-tempered stare.
Tom turns his head away and fakes a COUGH, covering his mouth to hide the smile
he cannot quite suppress.
     
    DISSOLVE TO
     
    EXT. - DESERT BASE - NIGHT
     
    The high desert of California. A uniformed GUARD
waves the limo through a gate in a high chain link fence. On one side of the
gate a sign says AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY; on the other