Scene XlV

Mick ambles over to Tommy to shake his hand and introduce
Roxanne.

TOMMY
How ya doin’ Mick? I ain’t seen
you since you were a kid at the
Pool Palace in Pasadena. How ya
playin’?

MICK
I’m playing pretty good. I
improved a lot since you last saw
me.

ROXANNE
That’s some dog you’ve got there.

TOMMY
Yeah, Duke and me have been
together a long time. Wherever I
go he goes. Twenty-four hours a
day. Listen -- there’s money to be
made here and you don’t have to
play too good to make it. See that
old man there, in the back?

Tommy nods to an old man in filthy white bib overalls with
long white hair and a white beard in the back of the pool
room.

TOMMY
That there is "Del the Iron Man."
World’s champion "stay up" guy.
Takes pills and can play for two
weeks straight. Been up for five
days playing pool.
Wore out one opponent already, and
it looks like this other guy is
ready to throw in the towel.
Nobody can stay with him. He’ll be
spotting you five days no-sleep,
you should be okay. He’ll play
you. He'll play anybody when he's
on those pills. Might make
yourself a little score here.

Roxanne and Mick mosey on to the back to observe the action.

DEL'S opponent looks like he’s almost out on his feet.

DEL’S OPPONENT
Can't go no further, Del. Seventy two
hours. I'm starting to
hallucinate. I can't last like
you. Nobody can.

DEL
Sheet. You’re just a pissy-assed
weakling. You wouldn't a been
worth a fuck when we was fighting
on the Anzio beach head.

Del waves disgustedly at his opponent.

DEL
Go ahead and quit. I gotta take
care of this tooth that's been
bothering me anyway. Hey! You
with the tool belt... Lemme borry
them pliers for a minute.

CONSTRUCTION GUY with a tool belt and construction hat hands
Del the pliers. Del inserts the pliers in his mouth and
performs an extraction of one of his back teeth.

Del rips out the tooth, looks at it for a moment, and then
spits out a mouthful of blood into an open garbage can. He
wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, picks up his cuestick
and goes back to the table.

Horrified, Roxanne gags and almost throws up.

DEL
Well, who's next, goddamn it!

Mick meekly raises his hand and offers to play.

MICK
I’ll try you a few games of One-
Pocket, mister. But I couldn’t
play for more than a day or two.

DEL
Yeah, I guess that figures too.
None a you young punks got any kind
of stamina. Only good to smoke
that loco weed. By the way, what
the hell does that shit do fer ya
anyway?

Del is referring to two young men near the table that are
sharing a joint, a POT SMOKER and a YOUNG COKE DEALER.

POT SMOKER
It relaxes you, slows you down and
makes everything all mellow.

DEL
Sheet! I take pills to keep from
feeling like that.

YOUNG COKE DEALER
(produces a vial of cocaine)
This is what you're looking for,
Del. A few snorts of this will
straighten you right out. This
stuff picks you up.

DEL
Yeah, I heared about that stuff.
How much you want for it?

YOUNG COKE DEALER
This is one gram, but I’m only
gonna charge you a hundred dollars.

DEL
Goddamn! It better be good. I
heared it was pretty pricey though.
How in hell do you do the goddamn
shit?

YOUNG COKE DEALER
Pour some out on the table, make
two lines, and snort it up in each
nostril with this straw.

Del pours out the whole gram on the table, divides it in two,
and honks up the whole gram in two monster snorts before the
young coke dealer can stop him.

YOUNG COKE DEALER
Wait! Hold it! You don't do the
whole goddamn gram at once.

Del looks up sheepishly and his beard is loaded with at least
a 1/2 gram of droppings that fell out of his nose.

INVENTIVE COKE-HEAD
Hey Del, let me snort up your
beard, man. I got my own straw --
Can’t be wasting that shit.

Inventive coke-head proceeds to try and snort the leftover
coke out of Del's beard with a long straw.

DEL
Boy, you better get up off me,
‘fore I crack your head with this
cue-stick.

MONTAGE OF THE GAME BETWEEN DEL AND MICK

-- Due to the overdose of cocaine, Del becomes addled out of
his mind and begins shooting wild shots, missing often.
-- With eyes bulging, and a wild man look, Del attempts a
shot and hits it so hard the cue ball jumps the table.
-- The side-line Sweators put their hands over their mouths
and giggle under their breath.
-- Mick, methodically and professionally continues to pocket
balls.
-- Mick displays an arsenal of One-Pocket trick shots.
-- Del falls easy prey to Mick, and goes broke.
-- After the last game, an elated Roxanne gives Mick his
cut.

ROXANNE
Going to the bathroom. Out in a
minute.

The Pawnboy who was sweeping up at the pawnshop slips over
next to Mick.

PAWNBOY
Hey!

Mick turns.

PAWNBOY
That your girl?

MICK
My partner.

PAWNBOY
Must believe in you. She pawned
her necklace down where I work
today. Left the store in tears.

MICK
What?

EXT. CAR - NIGHT

Roxanne drives to the pawnshop.

EXT. PAWNSHOP - NIGHT

Roxanne gets out of the car.

MICK
What’s up?

ROXANNE
Something I gotta do.

She goes up to the door of the now closed pawnshop. Slips
money into an envelope, writes "Thanks" and "Zeit gesunt,"
and drops the envelope through the mail slot in the door.

INT. CAR (MOVING) - DAY

They drive to a rooming house.

INT. ROOMING HOUSE - SAME

THE DOOR TO THEIR ROOM

Roxanne is so groggy, she drops the key on the ground. They
both reach down for it. Mick looks at her lovingly.

She looks confused. His hand touches her face, he kisses her,
and carries her in his arms into the room.

INSIDE THEIR ROOM

Mick drops her on the bed and begins caressing her.

MICK
You pawned your necklace so I could
play pool? Nobody has ever
believed in me like that.
I didn't really trust you before,
now I think you’re the most
wonderful thing in my life.

ROXANNE
I’ll be with you all the way.

They proceed to make mad, passionate love.

continued...