ON THE ROAD

(ROAD NOISE, ENGINE RATTLING, WIND OUTSIDE THE WINDOWS)

MUSIC: TRANSITION MUSIC FADES OUT

JIMMY (V.O.)
I was still shaking after everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Getting roughed up by gangsters. Will getting killed. Getting shot at by… well, some SUV driver with serious anger issues. And then seeing this woman Amber — who I’d just met — taken down by some Secret Service-looking nutcase.

PEEPS
(MANIC)
And then this donk starts with me like we’re old buddies, like that’s gonna throw me off my nut. Please. You’re swimming with a pro here.

JIMMY (V.O.)
Of course, at the moment, all I could think about was how long I’d have to keep listening to Peeps. Means well, but damn, she never shuts up. Actually, I can’t really say she means well. I’d long since given up on trying to decipher her motivations. Better to just think of her as a force of nature.

PEEPS
I mean, he did end up taking it, I mean the whole pot, but that’s not the point. It’s he thought he could put one over on me. Me. I’m a pro, y’know?

JIMMY
Peeps, please. Can I just rest for a bit? I’ve been up for… Jesus, like thirty-six hours now.

PEEPS
(SNIDELY)
Oh, sure, no problem. I just went an’ picked you up at the Limelight just like you asked. Despite all the crap that’s going down, I waited for you and everything, ’cause I’m a pro, like I said. Want me to get your jammies out of your suitcase for you, too?

JIMMY
Don’t push it, Peeps.

PEEPS
I’m doing you a favor here. A big favor, and I don’t think you’re treating me with the proper respect. Coulda been cops all over the hotel, watching for whoever’s hanging around with you. You don’t know. Last thing I need is cops crawling all over my —

JIMMY
Wait, were there?

PEEPS
Were there what?

JIMMY
Cops!

PEEPS
No. Well, not that I could see from my less-than-optimal vantage point down the street. But there coulda been. That’s not the point. Jesus, nobody gets the damn point. The point is I’m going above and beyond for you.

JIMMY
Fine — whatever.

PEEPS
I mean I see you for the first time in like, forever, then boom! I mean, like, Michael Bay movie boom. This is not normal reunion behavior.

JIMMY
Yeah, about that. You remember Will Archer?

PEEPS
Remember? Course I remember. Damn guy looked like he was gonna snap me in half after the whole food-truck fiasco. And that guy is big. I mean, really big. Serious intimidation factor at play.

JIMMY
I get it, he’s big. First thing anyone notices about him…

PEEPS
How was I supposed to know it was for a commercial? I mean, how often do you see a zebra and a damn baton twirler? Freaked the hell out of me.

JIMMY
Yeah, I just about forgot about that.
(BEAT)
Anyway, he was in the car when it…

PEEPS
Boom.

JIMMY
Yeah, boom.

(THEY REMAIN SILENT FOR A MOMENT)

PEEPS
Well damn, that’s just depressing as all hell. I gotta say, you are far from a stellar conversationalist, you know that?

SOUND: RADIO TURNING ON

NEWSCASTER
(FILTERED, OVER THE RADIO)
… sources indicate that facing increased scrutiny, particularly at home from potential challenger Mary Lucas, the senator will withdraw the amendment from consideration, though he may yet reintroduce it at a later date. However, Freeman’s office has declined to make any official comment on the matter.

JIMMY
Come on, put some music on or something.

PEEPS
I like news. What, you got a problem with knowing what’s going on in the world around you?

NEWSCASTER
In financial news, securities regulators have given preliminary approval to the proposed purchase of the Limelight hotel in Las Vegas by a consortium that most experts believe is headed by Abdul “Benny” Hazred, owner of the Royal Oasis hotel.

PEEPS
Well there goes the neighborhood. Five gets you ten he tears the whole place down. Tradition don’t count for nothing with these guys.

NEWSCASTER
(MUTED, UNDERNEATH OTHER CONVERSATION)
Watchdogs had raised concerns that the purchase might run afoul of antitrust regulations, especially if Hazred’s involvement is confirmed. But spokespeople for the hotel assured investigators that the diverse makeup of the investing group diminished any impact that any one individual’s ownership share might afford.

JIMMY
Not a whole lot of people can stop him at this point.

NEWSCASTER
Hazred has remained silent on the issue, but sources have indicated that he has the support of local officials, and is partnering with several prominent personalities on a plan to promote the hotel’s casino business.

PEEPS
Course, I’d probably have to take the under on my own bet. I mean, it wouldn’t surprise me if he tears it down, but I don’t think he’s really gonna.

JIMMY
What the hell are you talking about?

PEEPS
I actually hear old Benny’s gonna make the Limelight into a sort of pro showcase. You know, let ’em hold court, maybe name private game rooms after ’em, build on that celebrity name recognition.

NEWSCASTER
In local sports news, expectations are high for tomorrow night’s Lyon Majestic fight-night confrontation between —

SOUND: RADIO TURNING OFF

JIMMY
Where the hell would a… person like you hear that?

PEEPS
Hey, I hear things. Ear to the ground and all. Got a finance guy in one of my regular ring games. Some kind of regulator out of LA. Total fish, which is fine for me, except he still owes me after our last prop bet.

JIMMY
Is this story going somewhere?

PEEPS
I always figured these guys were supposed to be quiet about this stuff, like a lawyer or a doctor. Priest, maybe. But he won’t stop talking about his theories. Says there’s a whole house of cards waiting to come down, but didn’t give any specifics. Same guy who —

JIMMY
Peeps, what’s your fish’s “theory”?

PEEPS
Well, way he says it, online is where it’s at. Total market disruptor, as they say. Has the traditional casino business scared out of their minds. But the big sites are already established. Early adopters, first-to-market, or whatever you call it. Corporate boys are putting their own sites up, but they don’t have the celebrity cachet of the established sites.

JIMMY
Did you just use the word “cachet”?

PEEPS
Screw you. I know words. Anyways, most of the big sites have locked up the main online players as spokespeople. Or in some cases, like with Big Mike and All-In Poker, as actual stakeholders.

JIMMY
Yeah, I was in that mix for a while. Had a nice endorsement deal on the way with Payout Poker before I got —

PEEPS
Please. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the hell out of you, but nobody gives a rat’s fart about your name.

JIMMY
Hey, they were happy to have me on board.

PEEPS
How’s that working out for you? So anyway, to get back to my story, Benny’s got the Royal Oasis, all classy and stuff. I mean, in a new-money kind of class, if you know what I mean.

JIMMY
I guess.

PEEPS
If he’s going after the Limelight, he wants some old-school recognition. You know, a tie to the whole classic-Vegas scene. The whole Ocean’s Eleven era — and I’m not talking about the remake, I’m talking old-school Rat Pack style.

JIMMY
Assuming he doesn’t just demolish the place, like you just said not twenty seconds ago.

PEEPS
True. But it ain’t like the location’s all that. Strip sure, but not the A-list, big-money part of the strip. My guy figures he’s gonna set it up as a brick-and-mortar storefront to get at the real money online. Celebrity names give him something to build off of. It’s all marketing.

JIMMY
Yeah, but like you said, I can’t imagine he’ll be able to compete. Nobody could get in now. Too far behind.

PEEPS
Please. If Benny Hazred’s got a plan, you know he’s thought it through. Maybe he sees something working with old pros, seeing as how the new guys are a dime a dozen. Could give him an advantage in the online market, he plays it right. Having another hotel’s just a bonus.

JIMMY
That’s pretty damned thin.

PEEPS
Hey, it ain’t my theory. But I figure it’s about as good as any.
(BEAT)
We live in interesting times, man.

JIMMY
What does that mean?

PEEPS
You never heard that? Ancient Chinese curse, or something like that. “May you live in interesting times.” I’m saying we do. We’re cursed, man.

(ANOTHER SILENT MOMENT)

PEEPS
So Will Archer’s dead. You guys were close, right? Didn’t he have a wife?

JIMMY
Emily, yeah. They were putting in a pool.

PEEPS
A pool on what?

JIMMY
A swimming pool, dumbass.

PEEPS
That guy can swim?

JIMMY
Apparently. Or, well… y’know…

PEEPS
Damn, that’s rough. They figure out who did the deed?

JIMMY
They? I don’t know. Wiktoria’s tied up in it, but probably not really behind it. She actually thinks it has something to do with the Limelight hotel deal.

PEEPS
So basically, way above our pay grade.

JIMMY
More or less, yeah. But for some reason Wiktoria thinks I’ll be able to figure something out about it. But I haven’t the foggiest idea how.

PEEPS
Man, you are so doing right by getting out before you get any more wrapped up in it.

JIMMY
Yeah, I guess.

PEEPS
I mean, it’s not like you owe anybody anything. Well, technically you do owe people some things, Wiktoria Sałkiewicz being person numero uno there. But that’s strictly in the monetary sense, right? Not in any larger morality sense. Who’s gonna quibble on that?

JIMMY
Nice try, but this trip is postponing your debt, not eliminating it.

PEEPS
We’re not talking about me now, we’re talking about you. So Will’s dead. Not your fault, nothing you can do about it now, right? What’s done is done. No point in you adding to that by getting yourself killed over a bunch of rich guys’ schemes and plots, am I right?

(A MOMENT OF SILENCE)

JIMMY
(QUIETLY)
Putting in a pool. Damn.

PEEPS
So hey, who was that skinny, badly disguised girl that… y’know… the Matrix-looking agents were so interested in?

JIMMY
Hmm, Amber? I don’t know, exactly. Dancer, knows Will… knew Will. Obviously in some kind of trouble.

PEEPS
Obviously.

JIMMY
Thing is, I think it might be tied up with whatever Wiktoria wanted me to look into. She kept talking about some “money man” holed up at the Lyon Majestic. Wiktoria mentioned that earlier. Used those exact words.

PEEPS
Sounds like a superhero. “Money man.” Have to imagine having his superpowers would be pretty sweet.

JIMMY
Um… yeah. I don’t think he’s a superhero. Before, I thought he had something to do with the Limelight investors. But Amber made it sound like he was more of a prisoner. Though I don’t know why anyone would keep a prisoner in a hotel.

PEEPS
Some weird stuff going on in Vegas, man.

JIMMY
Yeah. And Amber wasn’t even involved. Not really. She was freaked out because of some note one of them… wait, damn, I think I still have it.

PEEPS
What, the note?

JIMMY
Yeah.

SOUND: PAPER RUSTLING

PEEPS
That it?

JIMMY
Yeah. Just a couple of names and numbers. “Roach. Thirty-five point six four one, negative one-fifteen point three five nine.” And then it’s signed Joshua, with some kind of doodle.

PEEPS
Coordinates.

JIMMY
What?

PEEPS
Sounds like coordinates. Latitude and longitude. I don’t know about the names, but the numbers sound like coordinates.

JIMMY
Why the hell would this Joshua guy write this Roach person a note using coordinates?

PEEPS
How the hell should I know? Maybe he’s not near any street signs? Out in the middle of nowhere?

JIMMY
That’s some creepy-ass thinking.

PEEPS
Yeah, well that seems appropriate right about now. Might make sense if you knew who Roach or Joshua were. Probably those secret agent characters. Hey, does your phone have GPS?

JIMMY
What?

PEEPS
GPS. Can you, y’know, program in those coordinates?

JIMMY
Why the hell would I want to do that?

PEEPS
Come on. You can’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious.

JIMMY
Curious, yes. Suicidal, no.

PEEPS
What’s it gonna hurt? There’s people who do these kind of treasure hunt things. Hide things and leave GPS coordinates for people to find them. Could be buried treasure.

JIMMY
Somehow I doubt that. You’re so curious, you do it.

PEEPS
I’m driving, my friend. Driving and smartphone use do not mix. Learned that one the hard way.

(A MOMENT OF SILENCE)

JIMMY
Fine, fine. I’ll look it up.

SOUND: CLOTHES RUSTLING

JIMMY
Don’t know if I’ve got a GPS app…

PEEPS
You might be able to just enter it into the map.

JIMMY
Okay, worth a try.

SOUND: KEY PRESSES AND ASSORTED BEEPS

JIMMY
Yeah, it worked. Looks like the coordinates are… Jesus, right near here.

PEEPS
What, here here?

JIMMY
Yeah. I mean, just off of fifteen, right before the border. No town, but it looks like a railroad track junction. Let me see if I can zoom in here… Place called… oh, damn.

PEEPS
What? What is it?

JIMMY
Roach. Roach, Nevada.

PEEPS
You have got to be kidding me.

JIMMY
No joke. Roach isn’t a person, it’s a place.

PEEPS
Well damn. Things just keep getting creepier. And in a bizarre, Kennedy-assassination conspiracy, wild-ass coincidence kind of way to boot.

JIMMY
That’s for sure.
(BEAT)
Where are we now?

PEEPS
Ah… about ten miles past Jean. You know, where the stunt pilots fly out of. Skydivers and all. Weird name for a town, “Jean.” Drove by a dozen times and never really thought about it. I mean, who is Jean, and why does she have a town named after her? Probably sounds normal once you get used to it, but… Hey, you’re not planning to…

JIMMY
Look, you’re the one who told me to look it up in the first place!

PEEPS
Yeah, but at that point it was strictly an academic exercise. Something to kill time, since we’re still two hours to Barstow. Beats the hell out of I Spy.

JIMMY
Anyway, it’s probably nothing. But…

PEEPS
But what?

JIMMY
Will… Will died trying to protect that girl Amber.

PEEPS
Wait, so she was the one supposed to go boom ’stead of Will?

JIMMY
No, just… Look, he died while trying to protect her. And then they got her anyway.

PEEPS
You don’t know she’s dead. She’s probably not. I mean, you don’t just walk up and kill someone in broad daylight, in public, no less. Vegas is a crazy-ass town, but I don’t think it’s that crazy.

JIMMY
Maybe, maybe not. I’ve seen some pretty out-there stuff this week. And at the very least, they seemed perfectly happy to walk up and grab her.

PEEPS
True enough. I guess the suits, sunglasses, and little earpieces give you a lot of leeway to get away with stuff that would otherwise freak everyone out. Always wondered why those guys made themselves look so obvious, but I guess that’s one good reason.

JIMMY
Besides, maybe if I can find out something more on whatever this “money man” thing is about, even just a little bit, then I can keep Wiktoria at bay a while longer.

PEEPS
That is pretty damn thin. As in anorexic.

JIMMY
Anyway, we’re pretty much there anyway. It’s just east of the highway, past a big dry lake bed.

PEEPS
We are not there.

JIMMY
We are ten miles from there. I’m sure it won’t take us long. Okay… we can’t turn left off the highway. Looks like we’ll have to do a quick turnaround at Primm, then we can get off on… McCullough Pass.

PEEPS
Son of a bitch… This is why I don’t do favors for people. You know, you’re totally gonna have to factor gas money into our little arrangement…

MUSIC: TRANSITION MUSIC FADES IN