THE RUNNER/SCREENPLAY, BRIAN R. LUNDIN [best classic books to read .txt] 📗

PhD’s like you and they are leading experts in computer technology. The people working in the lab are preparing the cocoa leaves for processing and the masks are to protect them from inhaling the addictive dust coming from the leaves. As we speak, another setup very similar to this one is being set up for you to make our heroin. the other mountain should be ready in about a month, so until then, enjoy yourself with Juanita.

“Yes sir,” Roberto answered, sounding like the young man he really was.

In a month Roberto’s state of the art lab was ready. It was similar in construction as the cocaine lab, computer was installed and the workers were assembled. Phillippe accompanied Roberto to his newly constructed lab.

PHILLIPPE
Is everything to your satisfaction, doctor?

ROBERTO
Yes sir, I believe so.

PHILLIPPE
For my own edification doctor how are you going to convert the raw opium into heroin?


ROBERTO
Refining raw opium into heroin is a tedious, multi-step process. Once the raw opium gum is transported here, I will have to first convert it into morphine, an intermediate product that perhaps you can also sell to pharmaceutical companies. The computers will regulate the proper amount of the opium gum with the proper amount of water. The opium gum will eventually dissolve in the 55-gallon drums of boiling water. After it is dissolved it is then filtered through burlap sacks. When dried, the morphine resulting from this initial process is pressed into bricks. The conversion of morphine into heroin is basically, a chemical process, which also will be controlled by the computers. The morphine bricks are mixed with acetic anhydride, along with sodium carbonate and other chemical and heroin is extracted from the bricks of morphine, the purity level of your heroin will be about ninety percent.

Phillippe
Very good doctor, get to work.

Doctor Roberto Brewer was very good at his job, after constantly refining the conversion techniques his lab was producing over 500 kilos of ninety percent heroin a month and the State Street Boys were their best customers, the only problem Roberto had was he never saw Juanita. The engineers had constructed a roomy comfortable apartment for him that contained a well stock library and installed a satellite television. Phillippe told him that the female workers were at his disposal and would do anything he wanted. Every evening he was given a food menu for the following day by one of the Mexican women and whatever he ordered was delivered to him; he very seldom left the mountain. One late afternoon while standing outside the mountain watching the beautiful colors as the sun was setting Felix visited him. The two men sat on a big rock and drunk tequila.

ROBERTO
How is Juanita?

FELIX
She’s gone, you didn’t know?

ROBERTO
No, I’ve been stuck here; I very seldom leave, gone, where?

FELIX
I don’t know.

Before long, Felix left, but Roberto was determined to find out where Juanita had gone. Roberto spent all of his time in the mountain lab and he developed innovative procedures to make the processing of the raw opium into heroin. One evening Phillippe invited Roberto to dinner. After dinner, Roberto and Phillippe sat on the veranda drinking Hennessy VSOP cognac and gazing at the blue sky and smelling the wild flowers. Without warning Phillippe stared at Roberto.

PHILLIPPE
Was she a good fuck?


Roberto did not answer.

ROBERTO
Where is Juanita?

Phillippe did not answer right away.

PHILLIPPE
Juanita had to leave, she has returned to Mexico City.

ROBERTO
Why did she leave?

PHILLIPPE
Juanita has a sexual problem; she has what we call a “White Liver.”

ROBERTO
What is that?

Phillippe lowered his eyes.

PHILLIPPE
She is a nymphomaniac, she can’t get enough sex. I have indulged this condition for years and I finally convinced her to seek help, that why she went to the city.
Roberto finished his drink and returned to his lab. The following evening Roberto sat on the veranda of his mountain apartment and watched the beautiful sunset over the high mountains of Cali, Columbia with Felix Lehder.

FELIX
Did you hear about Juanita?

ROBERTO
No, what happened to her?

FELIX
They found her body in some cheap hotel in the city. She had been raped and sodomized with a broom handle.

ROBERTO
(visibly shaken)
Jesus! Any word on who did it?


FELIX
The word is that some of Al Hernandez people were involved, Phillippe is offering two million dollar for information.

Roberto slowly went into his lab picked up a kilo package of heroin and injected a large dose into his veins; he was dead before he hit the floor.

INT. VITO’S OFFICE- EVENING

Jimmy and Lieutenant Delany sat quietly and watched Vito as he poured a half of liter of Smirnoff Vodka and a half bottle of Vermouth into a large pitcher, after covering the pitcher and giving it a good shake he poured himself and the two other men a drink. He proposed a toast and sat in his chair behind the desk.
After taking a long sip of his drink and lighting a cigar he looked at the two and asked


VITO
What youse find out?

Jimmy told his boss about the warehouse and the two men, who were now dead and what Pedro had told them about the opium plant in Bangladesh.

VITO
Guess you had to kick the shit out of that tamale eater to get him to talk, huh?

JIMMY
We tried that, but that was a tough wetback, he never would have talked no matter how many times we kicked his ass.

VITO
Ok, since we going to play these fuckin’ mind games, how in the fuck did you get him to talk.

DELANY
Bruno got him to talk.

VITO
How?

JIMMY
I’ll let Bruno tell you because I don’t know, he sent me and the lieutenant out to the car and he was alone with this big wetback, let me get Bruno.

Bruno was ushered into Vito’s office by Jimmy. Bruno slowly limped over to a chair and sat down with the help of the lieutenant, opposite Vito, Jimmy had reclined on his favorite couch.

VITO
Want a drink, Bruno?

BRUNO
(wheezing)
No thanks, just a glass of water please.

Vito waited as the little man, took a sip of water, pulled an inhaler out of his pocket and took two deep puffs.

BRUNO
(When he caught his breath),

Excuse me sir, my asthma has been acting up lately, I’m sorry but I’m fine now.

VITO
Good. Now tell me how did you get that tamale eater to talk?

Bruno took two more puffs on his inhaler.

BRUNO
All men, even the strongest men have fears, some men are afraid of the dark, heights, closed places, etc. A long time ago in my homeland I learned that often time physical abuse and violence don’t work, there are men who would rather die than betray a comrade or a cause, that’s the kind of man Pedro was. Excessive beatings would have only resulted in his death and you wouldn’t have the information you wanted. The secret is to find out a man’s innermost fears and exploit them. As I’m sure you can tell I am not a physically threatening person and I am sure Pedro thought about how easily he could overpower me and maybe use me to escape, why he didn’t do that only he knows and has taken it to the grave with him. A little kindness and general conversation was all that was needed for me to find out his innermost fear, which was being raped, once I found that out the rest was easy.

JIMMY
He’s sure is right boss, once my guys started bustin’ his asshole he told everything he knew.

VITO
(Vito slid Bruno an envelope)
I’m in you debt Bruno.

Bruno took the envelope but dropped it as coughing racked his body and yellowish phlegm came into his throat. He took out from his coat pocket an already soiled handkerchief and spat into it. As he used the inhaler, the lieutenant picked up the envelope and securely placed it into his coat pocket. In a few minutes, the medication kicked in and Bruno was able to breathe. As Jimmy and the lieutenant helped Bruno out the office, Vito told Jimmy to have his driver take Bruno anywhere he wanted to go.

VITO

Where in the hell is Bangladesh?”

JIMMY
I’ll get a map and show you boss.

INT. VITO’S OFFICE-NIGHT

Seated across from Vito was Al Hernadez, his foul body odor lit up the entire office.

AL
Did you find out anything, my friend?

Vito wanted to end this meeting at quickly as possible.

VITO
Yeah, we found out that the heroin was coming in from a place called Chalna, Bangladesh. The Colombian purchases the raw opium from some farmers and they process it into the heroin which they sell to the State Street Boys, they are the exclusive dealers in the city.

Al was quiet for a moment and rubbed his unshaven face.

AL
If we take out where the opium is grown maybe we can eliminate our problem, huh?

Jimmy getting off the couch and opened a window.

JIMMY
How you plan on doing that?

Al
It is no problem my friends, my compadres and me will eliminate the farmers.

VITO
Can you do that?

AL

No problem, this situation is not only affecting our business but many of my other friends is hurting and I’m sure if we combine our resources we can handle this situation without any problems.

JIMMY
What do you want us to do?

AL
Merely help finance the operation, it will probably be expensive. Men have to be hired, arms purchased and transportation.

VITO
How much?

AL
I would think an investment of one million dollars would be sufficient.

VITO

Done!

Vito was glad to see that Roberto was preparing to leave. A week later, Roberto Hernandez assembled the five members of the Combine in Barcelona, Spain. The members represented the major drug suppliers in the world; Carols Valleros, Cuba, Bing Won, Bangkok, William St. James, England, Thien Mow, Cambodia and Herman Hilliard, Jamaica. Vito Pellegrino and Jimmy Tortoreno joined the others in a private room at the exclusive Barcelona Hotel and listened to Al outline his plans for the raid.

INT: PRIVATE ROOM- DAY

AL
Thank you all for coming. Gentlemen we have a common problem that is costing us a lot of money. Each of you has donated $1 million dollars for our venture, a small sum compared to the money we are losing. Additionally, each member is required to select twenty of his or her best men to participate in the raid. My plan is very simple. We will carter a private cargo plane to fly us to Chalna and a bus to take us to the village. I have already sent two men to spy on the village and they have reported that the village contained about fifty people, mainly old men and women, a few children and no security. The mountain where the raw opium is processed consisted of about fifteen workers, again no security. Twenty of my men will be positioned along the dirt road leading to the village to block any escape,