E.J. Ra - The Enthusiast! - A Disturbing Development IV

(Inside Trish’s apartment, she put chocolate chip cookies into a paper bag for Billy. Suddenly, there is pounding on the door.)

Todd: Trish! Trish! Let me in!

(Trish hurries to the door, looks through the peephole and then opens the door.)

Todd: Oh my God, Trish, they’re taking away E.J. Ra!

Trish: (confused) Who is taking him away?

Todd: The police! Come, look out my window!

Trish: Just a minute. (Enters hallway with Todd. Shuts door.) Uh, Todd, Billy is in my kitchen. Can you watch him? I’ll head down to the street to see what I can do. (whispers) And don’t mention this to Billy until we know what is going on, OK?

Todd: OK. (opens door, walks in apartment, sniffs) Mmmm, smells like cookies. Hey, Billy! How’s it going, champ?

(Trish shuts door and hurries down the old wooden staircase. As she exits the front door of the building, she sees E.J. being put into the back of a squad car with the two hoods.)

Trish: (yelling) E.J.! What is going on?

(At this point, a police officer comes up to her.)

Officer: Ma’am, they’re being taken in for questioning.

Trish: I’m his attorney, and I intend upon being present for that.

Officer: Then you’ll have to come downtown, ma’am.

(The officer turns and quickly gets into the one squad car in which E.J. and the two hoods are sitting, all handcuffed. The car then speeds off, lights on but siren off, disappearing right around the corner at the end of the street. Trish looks around, noticing the gunshot in the green Nova. Suddenly, another police car comes up the street from the opposite direction. It screeches to a halt, and the two officers get out, guns drawn. They come up to Trish, who holds her hands up briefly to show she is unarmed.)

Officer 1: We’ve heard there’s been a shooting here, ma’am.

Trish: Your partners just took my friend and two other men to the police station!

(Officer 2 notes the bullet hole in the Chevy Nova, looks around the scene.)

Officer 2: Hey, Jeff, take a look at this. (points to gunshot hole).

Officer 1: Holy smokes! What do you mean, our partners just took them to the station?! We are the first responders on the scene, ma’am.

Trish: I know what I saw, officer. One of the policemen told me that they were taking them in for questioning.

Officer 1: Steve, get on the horn and call headquarters and see what’s up. This doesn’t make much sense.

(Transition to shot showing E.J. in back of the police car with the two thugs who tried to attack him. All are quiet and handcuffed. The police car turns into traffic of a busy, 4 lane, one way street. The police officer riding shotgun says to the driver…)

Officer: You can turn off the hologram now, Miss Efeu.

Driver: (also speaks in English accent) Of course, G.

(At this point, the image of the police car and occupants shimmers, then transforms into that of a chartreuse, flower power VW bus. Miss Efeu, the long-blonde-haired, quite thin companion of Gottfried Onar, is driving, while Gottfried Onar is sitting in the passenger seat. Miss Efeu is dressed in a dark green leather jumpsuit and also wearing dark round sunglasses. In back, E.J. Ra and the two thugs are still unconscious, all have hands and feet bound, while the thugs also have duct tape over their mouths.)

Onar: That was a very nice holographic selection, Miss Efeu. Very nice, indeed.

Efeu: I thought it would arouse the least suspicion, G.

Onar: (looking in rear view mirror) It will take the authorities a while to figure out the situation, at which point we will be long gone and safe within our sanctuary. Miss Efeu, please put the pedal to the metal.

Efeu: Right, G.

(The VW bus weaves deftly through traffic, then exits and speeds into a tunnel, disappearing into the darkness.)

(Fade to black.)