Lado steps in, knocks the pistol from the boy’s hand, grabs him by the head, and twists.
Esteban’s neck snaps.
Like kindling.
Lado turns on the camera and aims it at the girl. Then he turns on the computer and types in the address.
Then he picks up the chain saw.
262
Skype.
Ben and Chon see
A rerun
O strapped to the chair
Lado standing with the chain saw.
O’s eyes wide with terror.
Fresh dialogue, though.
“Maybe I fuck her before I kill her,” Lado says. He turns toward O. “You like that, little whore? One last dick?”
263
Elena forces herself to sit down at the computer.
She logs on and sees
264
Magda
With a gun to her head.
Fuck you.
265
Love makes you strong.
Love makes you weak.
Elena asks, “What do you want?”
CUT TO:
266
INT. SPLIT SCREEN – MOTEL ROOM/ELENA’S COMPOUND/DESERT SAFE HOUSE
BEN
You know what we want.
ELENA
Don’t do this. I’m begging you.
BEN
We want the girl back. Unharmed.
ELENA
Do what they say, Lado.
LADO
Of course. (To Ben) Take it easy.
BEN
We will kill her. We’ll do it.
ELENA
I believe you. We can work this out. We’ll set a time and place for the exchange. Please don’t do anything rash.
267
Lado sets the time and place.
268
Because why the fuck not? Lado thinks.
Why the fuck not.
Lado is a cake-and-eat-it-too kind of guy.
So maybe he doesn’t cut the
As for Elena’s stuck-up bitch of a daughter
Who gives a fuck?
269
“You know what’s going to happen,” Chon says.
Ben knows.
They’ll go to exchange their hostages—
—
Elena will show up with an army.
Their chances of getting out alive are
How many ways are there to say zero?
Nothing.
Empty
No
hope, no
faith, no
values, no
future, no
past.
Nothingness.
