WRITE A SCENE IN DIALOGUE BASED ON CHARACTER SKETCH
Teddy Cosenza, head of a criminal organization, he is 52 years old.
Teddy's father died and his mother raised her three sons on her own. Teddy's older brother, Lorenzo, became involved in organized crime and was killed as a result of dealings between crime families. Teddy was an underweight, shy and bullied youngster. He has grown up with an inferiority complex as a result. He becomes easily enraged and makes up for his scarred personality by brutally threatening others. He has become a powerful figure in crime, creating competition for the mafia family that is responsible for his brother's death, his success in creating competition for the other crime family is his vendetta for Lorenzo's death.
The other character in the scene is
Julio Esquivel, he is 45. Julio is
married and has two children. He is from
Venezuela, his family is not poor, they are middle class, his wife is a
teacher. He has lost a successful family
business to corrupt business associates and is now being targeted for drug
running because his middle class profile provides an excellent cover. He is trapped and does not want to have
anything to do with drugs but he has been promised that he only has to do this
one job and then he will have no more obligations.
Teddy wants to know what happened to
some missing 'goods' belonging to him and demands explanation or restitution of
the drugs from Julio. Julio has been set up by vicious thugs and and is just
piecing it together, he must find a way to convince Teddy of this.
Teddy has had Julio brought to his
penthouse office and they are sitting on the divan in front of a spectacular
view of the city from very high up. The
office is full of windows, immaculate white sofas and valuable Persian rugs.
Teddy
and Julio are seated together on a sofa in Teddy's penthouse.
TEDDY
(Pouring
two glasses of water and bringing them to the table in front of the sofa. Teddy stays standing.)
Do
you know who I am?
JULIO
(Respectfully
and trying not to appear nervous.)
Yes,
of course. Mr. Cosenza.
TEDDY
(Taking
a seat next to Julio.)
Very
good, that makes it easy for me. Do you
know why I have asked you to come here?
JULIO
(Slightly
indignant but respectful, a hint of prided.)
I
was not asked here, Sir. You had me
brought here.
TEDDY
That
is beside the point. The point is I am
missing something that belongs to me rightfully and I want to know where it is
or who has it. I want you to tell me
that. Am I being clear?
JULIO
Yes,
Sir. But I do not know what you want
from me.
TEDDY
The
truth Julio. Just the truth. Tell me my goods are and you can leave with
no strings attached, just tell me so I can get them back. I don't need to add that this is important to
me and my business.
JULIO
I
don't have anything.
TEDDY
(As
his anger mounts, he gets tense in the face and enunciates his words speaking
with forced control. He is waving his
finger in the air as he speaks like he is checking a list.)
I
can see that. And I think that you did
something with the suitcase you were given.
I think you found another buyer
and you thought you would make some money and you took the chance that you
could get away with it and maybe I wouldn't notice.
JULIO
I
do not need money, Sir. My family is
perfectly comfortable. I only need to
carry out one brief task for someone that has obligated me not cooperate and
then I hope to back on a plane home.
TEDDY
(Temper
flaring. Raising his voice.)
Is
that the truth, or did you make the mistake of giving my goods to the wrong
person? Maybe you just got confused, huh?
JULIO
(Nervous
and stressed)
I assure you, Sir, I want to have nothing to
do with all of this. If I had what you
are missing I would be happy to give it to you and be out of here.
TEDDY
(He
stands and strolls across the room to lean on his desk)
I
just can't believe you Julio. When you
got on the airplane you were given a suitcase that you had to bring with you
and deposit at the airport when you landed in New York. What happened to the suitcase?
JULIO
(Patiently
and nervously)
I
was told I would be given the suitcase when I got through customs and security
but when I got through there was no one there.
I waited, I waited until I nearly missed the flight. The police stopped
to ask me why I was standing around and why I didn't proceed to my gate. They called my name over the loud speaker,
not being too discreet, is it? That is when I called the number they had given
me. The person who answered-I don't know
who these people are- when they answered they told me there was a 'un problema'
that I should take the flight and I would receive instructions when I landed in
New York. I swear.
TEDDY
The
suitcase was full of high grade cocaine.
You know that don't you Julio?
JULIO
(Startled.)
How
was I supposed to get that through airport security, do they think I am a
magician?
TEDDY
Let's
not get off track here, Julio. I am asking the questions. Do you know the
market value of that suitcase full of cocaine?
I would normally just cut your throat, Julio. But today I am being
patient because I really want to know where my goods are. How do I know that you are not lying to me?
Because let's face it, that is a lot of cocaine and it is translates into a lot
of money. I also know who else is interested in that suitcase that you were
carrying.
JULIO
Supposed
to be carrying.
TEDDY
Ok
Julio, that you were supposed to be carrying. If you don't help me I can't
promise I will restrain myself.
(In
a flash Teddy takes a knife out of his desk and plunges at Julio, blocking his
hand on the table, blade just above the third and fourth finger of his right
hand. Julio is in shock,, sweating
visibly-he looks at his wedding ring.
JULIO
My
wife said she is sorry for Lorenzo. My
wife, Angelica, said she knew Lorenzo and that she ws very sorry to hear about
his untimely death. She said to give her
condolences to your family.
TEDDY
(Sweating
and furious. Hearing his brother's name infuriates him all the more. But he looks at Julio spewing out his words.)
What
do you or your wife know about Lorenzo?
JULIO
He
died.
TEDDY
He
was killed.
JULIO
Yes,
I am sorry. He was killed. About 6 months ago. It was in the papers.
TEDDY
It
was 8 months ago but who's counting?
JULIO
My
wife is a teacher. She taught in the
United States before we were married.
Lorenzo's son Gianni was in her class.
She said Lorenzo was a good father.
Always came to teacher meetings, picked up his son after school, wanted
to know how his son was doing.
TEDDY
(Lowering
his voice)
Gianni
is a good boy. He is just like his father.
He studies good and has lots of friends.
His father wanted to keep him out of the business.
JULIO
I
know, my wife told me that. She said she hoped the little one, Nikki, was
better.
TEDDY
(Staring
intensely at Julio)
What
do you know about Nikki?
JULIO
Just
that he was sick. He had leukemia. He was being treated and was getting
better. She said that Lorenzo worried a
lot about both of his sons and wanted the best for them. His wife was so worried about the little one
that she stopped working to stay day and night in the hospital with him. It was
hard on everyone. It must have been
awful for his wife when Lorenzo died, her with no job and Nikki so sick.
TEDDY
The
chemotherapy destroyed his liver. He's waiting for a donor. A compatible donor
for a child. That is what was in the suitcase, Julio. A liver.
A compatible liver for Nikki.
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