| The Peter
Leroy Television Series Pilot
Chapter 15, “Mr. Fillmore” Does a Little Recon, in which Curtis appears in disguise to check the place out |
by Eric
Kraft
|
In Babbington, the series will run exclusively on
WCLM-TV.
|
EXT. THE DOCK ON SMALL’S ISLAND. LATER IN THE
MORNING. Albertine and Peter wait for Jeffrey and a prospective buyer,
“MR. FILLMORE.” Fillmore is Curt Small, thinly disguised, dressed
in a camouflage jumpsuit. (Curt considers himself a master of disguise
and will reappear in various disguises from time to time.) They approach
in Fillmore’s boat, which looks like a duck blind with an outboard motor.
The hull is olive drab with splotches of black, brown, and beige, in the
style of army camouflage.
Fillmore brings the boat to the dock, and Peter helps him make it fast. Jeffrey and Fillmore disembark.Why are we doing this?PETER(knitting his brow)Jeffrey seems to think this Fillmore is a hot prospect.ALBERTINEOur boat’s better than his boat.PETER(giving the launch a pat, bragging like a kid)Not by much.ALBERTINE Shaking of hands all around.Good morning! . . . Peter, Albertine, I want you to meet Mr. Fillmore.JEFFREY(a realtor’s fake cheer) Raising himself on his toes, Jeffrey winks at Albertine and Peter over Fillmore’s buzz-cut head. His wink might mean that Fillmore is a wealthy eccentric or a poor deluded sucker.Mr. Fillmore is very interested in acquiring a property like yours.JEFFREY (CONT’D.) Fillmore glares at Peter.Thinking of going into the hotel business, are you, Mr. Fillmore?PETER(one sucker to another) Fillmore ignores him. He begins striding off the dock and onto the island, waving his hands and sketching his plans in the air. The others hurry to follow.Mr. Fillmore is thinking of turning the island into a training facility.JEFFREY(brightly)Oh?ALBERTINEDo you know that ninety-nine percent of Americans are untrained?“FILLMORE”I didn’t, but I guess I could have guessed . . .ALBERTINEWe’re sitting on a time bomb.“FILLMORE”(cracking his knuckles)I see what you mean.PETER(to be ingratiating) He stops and stands with his hands on his hips, looking up at the hotel. Judging from his satisfied expression, no targeted personnel have been left standing.This could work. We drop you here by night. Parachute.“FILLMORE”Parachute. Of course.PETERYour mission: penetrate the redoubt.“FILLMORE”The redoubt?PETERThe hotel.JEFFREY(with a smile)And terminate all targeted personnel.“FILLMORE” I take it you won’t be training people to flip burgers.ALBERTINEOr you have your alternate scenario.“FILLMORE”(going right on)Can’t wait.PETERYou’re chained to the wall of the dungeon below the redoubt.“FILLMORE”Whoops. I’m afraid the old redoubt hasn’t got a dungeon.PETERThat will be taken care of.“FILLMORE”(confidently)Sure. Of course. Why not?PETERYour mission: escape from the dungeon, then terminate all targeted personnel.“FILLMORE”Ah! I detect a pattern.PETERI want to do a little recon. Any problem with that?“FILLMORE”(abruptly, snappishly)No, no. You go right ahead and do all the recon you want.ALBERTINEAre there any special features you’d like me to point out to Mr. Fillmore?JEFFREY(enthusiastically)Let’s see . . . there’s the old minefield out in that area somewhere.PETER(pointing vaguely)But you’ll probably find it on your own, an old hand like you.Let’s move out.“FILLMORE”Oh! One more thing. Did Jeffrey mention that the boiler might blow up at any time?ALBERTINE(with a conspiratorial smile for Peter)Well, no.JEFFREYThat’s a plus.“FILLMORE”(mostly to himself) CUT TO:
EXT. SMALL’S ISLAND. VARIOUS LOCATIONS. Fillmore’s
recon. He crashes through underbrush . . .
wades through wetland . . . scans the horizon with binoculars. Surreptitiously snaps pictures with a Minox camera. Jeffrey gamely struggles along behind him . . . ruining a nice pair of shoes. In the hotel, Fillmore inspects a guest room . . . and the kitchen . . . with no one around, he slips behind the front desk, flips through the reservation book and photographs pages . . . inspects the boiler, photographs it . . . CUT TO:
EXT. SMALL’S ISLAND DOCK. “FILLMORE” AND JEFFREY
DEPART. Fillmore’s at the wheel, hell-bent for Babbington.
Jeffrey, in the stern, waves goodbye, and shrugs to say “who knows?”
Peter hauls the mail bag from the bay.We’re not interested in selling, right?PETERNot to him.ALBERTINE CUT TO:
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 Here
are a couple of swell ideas from Eric Kraft's vivacious publicist, Candi
Lee Manning.
You'll find more swell ideas from Candi Lee here. |
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Copyright © 2002 by Eric
Kraft
The scripts for The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy Television Series are works of fiction. The characters, incidents, dialogues, settings, and businesses portrayed in it are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this teleplay may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. The illustration at the top of the page is an adaptation of an illustration by Stewart Rouse that first appeared on the cover of the August 1931 issue of Modern Mechanics and Inventions. The boy at the controls of the aerocycle doesn’t particularly resemble Peter Leroy—except, perhaps, for the smile. |
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