Michael James Heartly

THE HONEY TRAP SAMPLE TEXT by: Michael Heartly Washington D.C. HeartlyArts@aol.com SAMPLE PAGES Cast: 6 - 4 females 2 males. FLO - Mid to late 20’s, African American female. A showgirl for the hotel-casino. MK - Late 20’s early 30’s, Japanese Female. F.B.I. Agent. MORT - Mid to late 20’s, Latino male. A bell boy for the hotel-casino. COLONEL BROOKS - Late 40’s or mid 50’s, male. A recently retired Air Force Colonel. LANA - Mid to late 20’s, female. Colonel Brooks’ Secretary. BEATRICE - Late 40’s to mid 50’s, female. The Colonel’s wife. The Honey Trap By: Michael George Heartly (Halfway through ACT I Scene Two) COLONEL BROOKS Submit to me. That is an order. Don’t I outrank you? I want to feel the soft, sweet, flesh of my Judge, jury, and executioner. My little oriental dish? (MK pushes COLONEL BROOKS and breaks free, leaping to her feet.) MK (Authoritatively.) Colonel Brooks. You are under arrest. COLONEL BROOKS Are you going to arrest me, or protect me? (COLONEL BROOKS grabs MK by the shoulders.) Make up your mathematical mind. MK Colonel Brooks release me now. COLONEL BROOKS Call me Brooksey. (MK slaps COLONEL BROOKS hard and breaks free.) MK Colonel Brooks you are married! (COLONEL BROOKS grabs his cheek. MK immediately heads for the door.) COLONEL BROOKS Just having a bit of fun. Easy sunshine! Got some fire in you there, Miss Mary Katherine. (MK gathers herself. She considers giving up. She approaches the door as if to leave) MK I was warned… (MK turns to retrieve her purse. She then returns to the door.) COLONEL BROOKS Warned? By who? Oh, I bet the boys over at the Reno office were betting that collar would get busted. (MK goes to the coffee table and gets her glasses.) COLONEL BROOKS (Continuing.) What odds they give ya’? MK Five to one. COLONEL BROOKS Five to one that you … (MK walks back to the door. She opens it and puts a foot outside.) MK That I bring you in. Your case worker had to leave the country on assignment. COLONEL BROOKS MY case worker? I was wondering how a gal like you got sent to the wolves. A little Fourth of July fun aye? (MK regains her strength. slams the door, and re-enters.) MK The Bureau didn’t see fit to send me into the den alone. There are three other agents on the premises. COLONEL BROOKS Three? MK (finding her bearing) Two next door. One in the casino keeping an eye on your secretary. Actually, I was assigned Miss Svetlana, but with the holiday… COLONEL BROOKS They threw you a bone. (MORT enters pushing the cart. He is out of breath. He has a large box of chocolates.) (COLONEL BROOKS to MORT) Great! Put them over there my man. (MORT places the chocolates on the coffee table. He then moves towards COLONEL BROOKS with his hand out for a tip.) COLONEL BROOKS (continues.) (To MK.) They bugging this place too? (Shouting) Hello! J. Edger…you there? Maybe the flowers? (The Colonel begins tearing through the flowers, looking for a microphone. He tosses them onto the bar. MORT panics and begins catching the tossed flowers. He attempts to replace them.) COLONEL BROOKS (continues.) Come on you Jockey-loving joker…you listening in? Where is it? The stereo? MK Sir, If you would get your things. COLONEL BROOKS The Phone. MK I have a car waiting. COLONEL BROOKS MAD! MAD! MK Sir? COLONEL BROOKS Three little words…mutually assured destruction, my little warrior. Mutually assured destruction. That’s what keeps the honey flowing. (COLONEL BROOKS continues looking for microphones in the room. MORT dejectedly props the destroyed flowers back in the vase. MORT again moves towards COLONEL BROOKS with his hand out for a tip.) MK MAD… Yes sir. (MK pulls out a dollar from her purse and puts it in MORT’s hand.) MORT Thank you seniorita. (MORT exits, pushing the cart.) COLONEL BROOKS (To MORT.) Great. And don’t spend it all in one place amigo! (To MK.) Millions…I say millions… are being made by companies all over this great land of the free, and home of the brave. Millions on MY say-so. I just want a little off the top…and I am not talking about a crew cut. I want my little piece of the pie. MK According to our investigation, you have several pies, in several accounts. COLONEL BROOKS (Angrily.) Honey, cherries, peaches, take a bite of the god damn apple! The fruit shall ROT on the vine. Ok, I reach, and I pluck the fruit. Are you telling me because I partake…because I consume the fruit. You are slamming the beehive door on me? MK Sir...? COLONEL BROOKS Fruit will continue to grow counselor. Harvests will be taken. Whether by me or by somebody else. You are swinging your Samurai sword at a five-thousand-year-old orchard. Is it really so bad? Don’t you want to savor the fruit? Won’t you just once give in to that juicy temptation and snatch it. (COLONEL BROOKS pulls out his compass.) Go ahead…stray. Wander from the path. I’d give odds that behind that creamy, porcelain exterior of yours, smolders an empty heart. (No reaction from MK.) A simple curiosity? I suppose not. (COLONEL BROOKS puts back his compass.) Well, that is too bad little lady. Because you should. Reach for the fruit. You really should. (Pause. COLONEL BROOKS gathers his thoughts.) I am leaving you in charge of the party. Look, everything you need is here. The short-wave radio will count down the blast. It is due at oh-six-thirty. Got it? MK Colonel Brooks sir. It would be much easier if you and Mrs. Brooks would just come with me now. COLONEL BROOKS Just a few more hours… (FLO enters from the hall. She is wearing her costume.) FLO (Shouting to an unseen person in the hall.) Go check with the manager…this is Frank’s room. And I have my own key. That is all the identification you need. Frank will NOT be happy! (FLO slams the door and enters.) I left my bag up here somewhere. (FLO notices the destroyed flowers.) Having a little gardening problem, are we? COLONEL BROOKS Frank? Where the hell IS Frank? FLO They went to Entradas’s. That two-bit floor managing bastard said I had no business being up here. But I intend on seeing that atomic bomb go off. Just like all those fools’ downstairs. COLONEL BROOKS I would have pegged you to be more of a Sammy Davis Junior girl. FLO Sammy? Don’t make me laugh. Wrong color Babbling. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything…uh...(To MK.) Your slip is showing. (MK realizes her top buttons are undone. She hurriedly buttons them.) MK The Colonel was just leaving. FLO I bet he was. The old kiss and run huh? Don’t worry about me. You had better keep that broad of yours away from Sammy…that is more his style. Mister ‘S’ and I are just good friends. You think it’s easy for a girl like me can work here in Vegas? Huh! Us colord’s can work…in the kitchen. But I am a dancer. All the whiteys loving Flo. It’s ok I’m a darkey…as long as I got good legs. I don’t mind them staring…and shouting. Hoping my tit will fall out mostly. hey always askin’ for a peek. Wantin’ to know if I’m black all over…can you believe it? COLONEL BROOKS Well, are ya? Black all over? Give us a show, Flo. FLO Ha. Even you can’t afford me. COLONEL BROOKS Still like to see. FLO Making good money…thanks to Frank. But guess what? You go check that big golden register book at the front desk and you will never…NEVER see…even the talented mister Sammy Davis Junior’s name scrawled in them guest pages. No way pally. MK That is true. FLO We can work here… long as we don’t LIVE here. (To MK.) I recon a yellow girl like you ain’t no better off here in Vegas. (To COLONEL BROOKS.) You ordering Oriental take-out fer yerself Colonel? COLONEL BROOKS Had a hankerin’ for some. But the cupboard was locked. FLO You all chained up under there miss FBI lady? Oh…maybe the bathroom. (FLO enters the bathroom to look for her purse.) MK (Dejected.) I think I will be going. I’ll relay your decision. It’s a long ride back to the office. COLONEL BROOKS Oh…don’t be like that? Tell you what. Stick around. Hell… once the blast is over I will be happy to…well, what we agreed on. I Insist. MK Dentistry. CB What? MK I would rather endure a week at the dentist, than celebrate your latest thermo-nuclear weapon. (The hall door flies open as LANA enters) LANA You better fetch that wife of yours. BEATRICE (From the hallway) Wyyyy Leee! LANA Operation Alpha-nickels is ovah sir. (FLO enters from the bathroom and heads into the bedroom.) COLONEL BROOKS (To MK) Look. Miss. MK. I need you to keep an eye on things while my secretary and me attend the blast. MK I am not comfortable waiting. COLONEL BROOKS You can wait…with the other members of your party. Look. This is important to me. Stick around and make sure everything here is…ship shape. (MK takes out a small notebook and begins to write in it.) MK Yes sir. I shall expect you… BEATRICE (From the hallway) Wyyyyyyy! (The door opens, and BEATRICE enters.) BEATRICE It was my jackpot. These people! (FLO enters from the bedroom.) FLO Damn! COLONEL BROOKS To BEATRICE.) Welcome back my pet. Candy? MK (To COLONEL BROOKS.) One hour after the blast. BEATRICE That shriveled up corpse of a woman must have known…THAT was MY slot machine. I’ve been playing it all night. LANA The test sight gate is fifty miles sir. BEATRICE I need to rest. I was playing THREE machines… COLONEL BROOKS And you vacated one? BEATRICE No more than ten seconds. (MK puts her notebook away.) MK Happens all the time. FLO Finder’s keepers. BEATRICE There was a bear there. A dirty, mangy, hulking bear. Right over MY slot machine. LANA Easy come, easy go. MK Well, Colonel Brooks, I shall return in time to oversee the test from this room. BEATRICE You mean she is going to be here? COLONEL BROOKS (To BEATRICE.) Official business my sweet. Here, have some candy. BEATRICE I don’t want any candy. want that jackpot. LANA How much? BEATRICE Thirty-seven dollars. What on earth happened to these flowers? FLO Earthquake. COLONEL BROOKS Miss Padelka and I are heading out to the site. LANA My first atomic bomb. I am very excited MK Unfortunately, it won’t be the last. BEATRICE You do not approve? MK It matters little. I am sure the mushroom clouds will continue unabated, until the planet is one big, molten, cinder. COLONEL BROOKS No, no, no. You don’t understand. Imagine, man’s ability to split the atom. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? Why, man used to worship the moon…the stars… LANA Clark Gable… COLONEL BROOKS And now, in a few hours you will all witness the greatest power in the universe. Why, we have harnessed the very power of the gods … right here in the desert. BEATRICE Now, if you could just harness the power to get back my thirty-seven dollars. MK Thirty-seven dollars is insignificant to those who have paid the final price for the nuclear one-upmanship we are all witnessing. Right here in the desert! FLO What she said! BEATRICE (To MK.) You nosey little...insect. Do you have any idea how much work and money goes into this one-upmanship as you call it? FLO It’s all a game if you ask me. BEATRICE Nobody cares what a two-bit hooker has to say. FLO I ain’t no two bit nothing. Especially no hooker. You...you…You don’t see no animal headdress on me. I play the galaxy room. I am a dancer! Classically trained. BEATRICE In what? The hoochie –coochie? FLO Ballet. You know the ballet Mrs. Brooks? BEATRICE Of course. We regularly attend the ballet. FLO Well, that could have been Florence Stillwater, ballerina, you were peekin’ at through your Tiffany bye-noculars. I’d like to see you try a week at the barre in a dingy storefront studio. MK (To FLO.) Unfortunately, Miss Stillwater, it is always armaments before ballet. Right Colonel? One has to wonder…? FLO Yeah. Bombs. Ugh. COLONEL BROOKS Shrapnel! It’s not just bombs. It is business. It’s Research! It’s the economy! Just look around you. (To LANA) Grab my jacket. LANA Right away sir. (LANA exits to the bedroom) MK I have heard all the arguments before. A car in every garage… a television in every living room… FLO (Sarcastically) A chicken in every pot. BEATRICE It’s the American dream… MK (Angrily To BEATRICE.) Turning an entire populace to dust is not a dream. BEATRICE Oh, you’re a fine one. If you could have, you and your slanty-eyed nips would have blown us ALL to kingdom come. MK Over two hundred thousand of my distant, slanty-eyed countrymen, woman and …children (pause) Bushido. My Father. (Pause.) In an instant they were mere shadows on the pavement. But the backroom bargaining continues. Isn’t that correct Colonel? LANA Here you are, sir. (LANA hands COLONEL BROOKS the jacket) COLONEL BROOKS Lots of sweet tasting honey, right MK? Well. All that honey flows downhill. You may not see it. But it is there… MK When seeking the honey, one must use caution, so as to not get stung. FLO And how. Bees buzzing around us. All of ya’ all are making my feathers molt. Love to stay and chew the atomic fat, but there is a party out there with my name on it. (FLO lifts up her purse from behind the bar.) FLO (Continuing.) Gotchya. Well, I gotta’ beat it outa’ here. COLONEL BROOKS Sparkles you are dynamite baby! Let’s review. There will be a little rendezvous back here. Best view in Vegas at oh-six- hundred or so. Right? Great. FLO (To MK.) Elliot, see you at the blast. Oh, if Morty shows up…tell him I wanna’ see the proof! (To BEATRICE.) And don’t forget Miss Cart-tee-ay. I got me a key… and a short fuse. (FLO exits.) BEATRICE My head is killing me. Wylie do something. COLONEL BROOKS (To BEATRICE.) We are going to give you the room all to yourself darling. (Taking the destroyed flowers to the coffee table in front of BEATRICE.) Why don’t you go put your feet up. I’ll have the hotel wake you for the big event. We are off to the site. Be right back just as soon as the dust settles. Come Miss Padelka. (To MK.) Miss? (COLONEL BROOKS opens the door. LANA stands next to COLONEL BROOKS) MK I wish you both God’s speed. COLONEL BROOKS What ever happened to the china rose chap? MK I returned to the states. COLONEL BROOKS Too bad for him. Let’s shove off. It’s going to be one sweet honey of a blast. (COLONEL BROOKS holds the door open as MK exits, LANA follows. COLONEL BROOKS then exits and closes the door behind him. BEATRICE picks up pieces of the destroyed flowers and looks at them in disgust.) (Fade to Black.) End of scene.