Still Valley At 20,000 Feet - Mike Burns (good ebook reader .TXT) 📗

PRESIDENT DAVIS(coming to a decision)
Release her, Paradine! I order you to release her!

Paradine stands motionless, silent for a moment. He suddenly shoves Mary Todd Lincoln over toward her husband, contemptuously.

PARADINE
There you go, Mr. Lincoln. Mainly, I just wanted to show you what I’m capable of. I can go anywhere, do anything. No one is safe from me.

He steps over to the table, and the book closes of its own accord, slips back into its briefcase, and the briefcase jumps back up into Paradine’s hand.

Unexpectedly, the voice of Frazier, the one guard present in the prison courtyard, is heard.

FRAZIER
St. Ricard, servant of God, pray for all of us to the Lord our God, together with the Apostles, all the angels and saints, and Blessed...

Paradine laughs explosively. Frazier, stops momentarily, then resumes. Paradine talks over him, jeeringly.

PARADINE
You mean FATHER Ricard, son? He’s not even dead yet. I don’t think that bunch of fools-on-the-Tiber are ready to canonize him just yet. And they won’t, after I prove that myth about him wrong. After I prove ALL their myths wrong, their followers will be looking long and hard at me, believe me!

Lincoln whispers quietly to his wife.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
I’ve met this man before. He wasn’t nearly so intelligent or articulate before. What we’re seeing is not Sergeant Paradine, the man I knew before. He’s possessed, no doubt about it. Demon-possessed. Pray for us. Pray for his end. He’s dangerous! Stay by me!

MARY LINCOLN
Always, Abe, always. To the end.
(CONTINUED)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


ABRAHAM LINCOLN
To the end, Mary, my love. Which is not yet!

At this moment, unaware of what has been transpiring in the prison courtyard, a black slave comes out, ready to begin toting away all the dirty dishes and glasses. He stops, confused, at the tableau that presents itself to him here.

Catching sight of him, Paradine responds vehemently.

PARADINE
Get him out of here, Davis! Now!

PRESIDENT DAVIS
It’s all right, Atticus. Go back in and wait.

The worried-looking slave goes back inside.

EXT. PRISON COURTYARD, WITH SAME SITUATION AS BEFORE
LATE MORNING


PRESIDENT DAVIS
Mister Frazier, consider yourself on report! You’re still on duty! Stop slouching! Stand at attention!

Frazier goes ramrod straight. Paradine laughs in a voice crackling with flame.

FOCUS on President Davis

PRESIDENT DAVIS
Remember, Mr. Frazier. A good soldier is always ready to meet any exigency. (glances around at no one and nothing in particular) ANY EXIGENCY!

FRAZIER
Yes, Mr. President. Any exigency--at any time! (his eye catches Davis’s, then Lincoln’s)

Paradine is spreading open the book on the table once again. Casually, President Davis steps forward to pour himself another brandy.

PRESIDENT DAVIS
Care for another brandy, Mr. Paradine?

PARADINE (calm & polite for once)
No thank, you, Mr. President. If you want one, by all means, go ahead. I can see where a man of your...temperament might feel himself in need of another drink.

President Davis pours himself one and steps a little closer as Paradine starts to read from the book aloud once more. He makes a final glance at Frazier and Lincoln.

President Davis suddenly reaches long, and throws the brandy onto the book. At the same instant, Lincoln lunges forward and grabs Paradine from behind. Frazier levels his carbine at Paradine and fires. The bullet strikes the bronze cross, and glances off it. President Davis now seizes a silver candle-holder and dumps the lit candle over onto the brandy-soaked book.
PARADINE
You bastards! What have you done! I’ll eat you all alive in hell!

He struggles ferociously, but Lincoln, a long-time wrestler and former bar-tender, hangs on, and tries to throw Paradine bodily to the ground. Paradine starts mumbling the words to a spell.

Frazier, stepping forward, sees them tumble to the ground, and angles his carbine downward and shoots Paradine in the throat. A strangled cry erupts from Paradine’s ruined vocal cords, bringing the spell to a halt. Blood gushes onto the white robe.

At a motion from Paradine’s left hand, the briefcase springs up from the ground and whacks Frazier across the face, knocking him backwards. His right hand, with its flaming cross, whips around and blows fire, even as he wrenches free of Mr. Lincoln. He turns and stands up to aim the full force of the demonic weapon at Abraham and Mary both. The Lincolns are engulfed in flames, screaming in agony, collapsing into a dark, fuming heap, together even in death.

President Davis, taking advantage of Paradine’s turned back, has seized the bottle of brandy, broken its neck off against the table’s edge, and held it up to catch it afire from some of the flames licking backwards from Paradine’s satanic torch. He pours the entire bottle on the book now, then lunges forward to attack Paradine from behind with the jagged bottle end.

A wall of flame leaps forward to meet him, even as Paradine still faces the Lincolns. Davis, aflame himself now, screams but still manages to throw the bottle at Paradine, winging him with it. Paradine turns now and gives President Davis the same end he gave the Lincolns, even as blood flows from the gash in his neck the jagged glass has opened.

Private Frazier, still hanging onto his carbine, has revived and fires now from a prone position. He misses. Paradine leaps over like a fluttering bird and kicks the carbine from his grip. He seizes Frazier by the shirtfront and lifts him up by hands no longer aflame.

Paradine speaks in his now strangled-sounding voice.

PARADINE
I’m willin’ to forget that you shot me once, and tried to shoot me again. You WERE just followin’ what you thought the President’s orders were. But he was gone mad. The fire that killed him was a thing of an escaped prisoner’s makin’. The Lincolns were never here. No one knows where they ever went. You got it, son? I know where your family lives. And I can still go anyplace I please, as quick as I please--I used the spell to give me the flight of a hawk and the fire of a dragon, PERMANENTLY. I still got that, even without the book.

FRAZIER(petrified)
Y-yessir. It’s like you said.

PARADINE
I’ll even give you a break, son. I got