DISSOLVE TO: Brain’s cage in the Lab. He’s taking a solemn walk in the exercise wheel, ruminating.) BRAIN: Mmmm... ‘Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering?’ ‘I think so, Brain, but something-completely-irrelevant-and-nonsensical. Narf!.’ (sigh) I miss him, and there’s no substitute for the real Pinky... (Catching himself, Brain firmly shuts his mouth.) BRAIN: (thinking) I’d better not talk that way out loud- it could throw suspicion on my loyalties. My ploy with the faked hypnosis may reassure my captors to the point they’ll relax their vigilance- but I’m not dealing with fools! It will undoubtedly require all the mental resources I have, to outwit them. (Brain steps from the wheel, goes to the water-bottle and has a drink.) BRAIN: (still thinking) First, I need data about The Circle’s operation- their technologies, their security systems, and whatever World Domination plots they’re currently pursuing. If Big Guy’s office is not monitored, that’s the most promising location from which to try to log into their computer records. Getting to that room without being missed is problematic, the way I’m watched. Getting away altogether is even more problematic, while this accursed tracking-collar is functioning. (Brain gives the collar an inconspicuous but angry squeeze.) Information on *that* technology is a Top Priority target. (Abandoning the water bottle, Brain paces to the opposite end of his cage.) BRAIN: (thinking) I can plan all this better if I have it written down. Encrypted into code, of course, so no one will recognize it. (Brain reaches between his cage bars to snag a nearby pencil, and commences scrawling an unfathomable mathematical formula on his cage liner.) WIPE TO: Mel’s sedan, headed down a roadway toward the immistakable D.C. skyline.) PINKY’S VO: Are we there yet? BILLIE’S VO: No, but we’re gettin’ close. (Interior view. Godfather, in the passenger seat, frowns at the skyline.) GODFATHER: I admit to some concern, we could be gettin’ over our heads here. It was precarious enough going up against just The Circle, with help from The Triangle. But taking on both organizations, all by ourselves... MEL: (just a bit sheepish) One organization, actually. The Triangle was a front- it’s just a division of The Circle. The better to confuse their enemies. And to carry out preemptive strikes, like the one you just evaded. GODFATHER: (feeling better) Oh! Well, that certainly simplifies things. MEL: But I’m afraid The Circle alone is formidable enough. They knew you were on the way to D.C., to rescue your friend Brain. It may take them some time to determine you escaped their limo-sabotage trap, but not much. We’d better take advantage of that uncertainty while we can. BILLIE: And just what makes *you* so knowledgeable about this, Melissa Lamsen? PINKY: (picking up Billie’s suspicions) Yeah, Ms. Woman-with-a-sedan-and-a... Oh, wait; you don’t have a tan. Poit! MEL: I’ve been in The Circle’s employ for some weeks now- as a double agent. But I found it necessary to blow my cover today, to save your lives. So, that part of my effort against them is done- it’s time for Open Battle. GODFATHER: Forgive my prying, Melissa - but what is your stake in this? MEL: Well, here’s the brief summary. My mother is a genetics researcher, my father a physicist and former military officer. Several months ago, they had a visit from an individual, whom I’ve since identified as Circle ‘recruiting agent’ Wally Faust. Neither Mom nor Dad wanted to talk about it in detail afterwards- but I gather Mr. Faust extended a rather forceful ‘opportunity’ to them, to sell their services to his unnamed organization. They both refused- they ‘didn’t like the smell of the thing’, as Dad put it. But apparently Wally left a strong impression he wouldn’t take No for an answer. Mom and Dad were on edge for days afterwards, and then, they... PINKY: (gasping apprehensively) Your parents weren’t....? MEL: No, not killed. They disappeared! And I... I’m a kind of professional investigator in training. When the police came up dry, I took on the hunt myself. I eventually discovered the existence of The Circle, and that they were the ones who abducted my parents- presumably to force them to assist their World Conquest efforts, just as they’ve done to your friend Brain. I managed to infiltrate The Circle’s servicing ranks, and was attempting to locate where my parents are being held. But, this was as far as I got, prior to receiving this morning’s chauffeuring assignment. (Mel reaches into a pocket and pulls forth a somewhat tattered business card, for "Capital Confections- Sweet Shop And Bakery.") GODFATHER: I know this place! I go there whenever I’m in D.C. *Great* fudge cake... BILLIE: (checking the address) I’ve heard of it too- in connection with my previous encounter with Wally Faust! I’ll bet dollars to dandruff, it’s a front for The Circle’s headquarters! PINKY: Ooh, just like one o’ those Bond movies, with the secret hideout in the deli basement... BILLIE: Okay, Melly; your story’s plausible. Me an’ Pinky are on our way to rescue Brain- we’ll help rescue your parents too! GODFATHER: I shall also assist this effort. The Godpigeon will *pay* for what he attempted to do to my person! Oooh, I see punctured tires in *his* future, I do... (Mel and Billie give the Godfather odd looks.) PINKY: On To The Bakery, then! BILLIE: Yes! On To The Circle’s Lair! MEL: Gotcha! (She floors it) (Outside shot of the sedan speeding towards a much-closer Washington D.C.) CUT TO: The Circle’s laboratory, where Brain still writes on the floor of his cage- now virtually covered with formula. Without warning, Big Guy comes in.) BIG GUY: Time for you to earn your day’s pay, my ingenious rodent. (Big Guy carefully blocks the cage’s combination lock from Brain’s view, as he opens it- not that Brain makes any special effort to look. As he lifts Brain out, Big Guy notices the scrawled equations and frowns suspiciously.) BIG GUY: Would you mind explaining these to me, Brain? BRAIN: (regarding the writing casually) A calculus exercise, to keep my mathematical ‘muscles’ toned. Astronomer-mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss was known to have used similar... BIG GUY: On second thought, never mind that now! I’m already late for an important meeting. (Big Guy hastily takes Brain to the Work Room, hands him over to the General, and leaves. The General deposits Brain on another counter, piled with intricate components and a very small soldering tool.) GENERAL: This time, Brain, we want you to use your natural talent for micro-welding to assemble this unit for us. (Refers him to an intricate plan sheet clipped to the wall. Brain studies it carefully.) BRAIN: (thinking) This looks familiar. (aloud) It will take a fair amount of time. GENERAL: In acknowledgement of your previous good behavior, we shall forgo the containment field, for now. But keep in mind, you’re being watched. (points out a swiveling video camera.) (Brain arranges the components, using the chart as a reference. The General sits at a nearby table, and starts to type into a word processor.) BRAIN: (glancing over) Is that another project for me? GENERAL: No, a report I’ve got to do for some Pentagon brass. I have a day job with the Defense Department. (aside) For now. BRAIN: (with his old scheming smile) You mean, until we take over the world? GENERAL: (similar smile) Exactly. So get to it, Mouse. (As the General turns attention to his report, Brain notes the machine just down the counter- a Holograph Recorder-Projector, complete with a remote. A box of lab tissue papers is beside it. Brain, completing his preliminary arranging, walks over to the Holoprojector.) GENERAL: (looking up sharply, gripping the control-box) And just where are you going? BRAIN: (unconcerned) Just making a cushion for myself- I’m going to be sitting for a while. (With seeming nonchalance, Brain pulls out several tissue papers, incidentally dropping them on top of the remote. He folds these into a rectangle, the remote concealed inside. He carries the bundle over to the arranged components, sits comfortably, and gets to work with the soldering tool. Satisfied, the General looks back to his typing. Brain inconspicuously reaches down to press the remote’s ‘record’ button; a fortuitously-small ‘recording’ light comes on on the Holoprojector.) BRAIN: (thinking) In fact, I believe this is a part of a gene-splicer. Like the one in Acme Labs, but with differences. As if it’s meant to... Why would The Circle want to make their own DNA codes? This is another device I’ll have to find out about! (checks the wall clock) That should be sufficient recording time. (On the pretense of stretching a bit, Brain pushes the remote’s ‘Stop’ and ‘Rewind’ buttons. Then, looking for the one moment when his guard is occupied and the camera pointing in another direction, he punches ‘Play’ and ‘Loop’. For an instant there appears to be two Brains sitting there, before the real one swiftly darts to the counter edge and down to the floor. Careful to stay out of sight, of both the human and the camera, he makes his way to the door and squeezes under it, staying flat to avoid the electric eye.) (The General glances over again, sees the holograph Brain seemingly hard at work, resumes typing.) (Brain hurries down the hallway, hears footsteps approaching and ducks behind a water cooler. Wally and Fahrenheit walk into view.) FAHRENHEIT: So you don’t know where the female mouse originated? WALLY: I can only assume she’s the product of an unauthorized gene-splicing experiment at Acme Labs. It may be the same mouse I encountered once before; she resembles Pinky enough to be the same breed, but is far more intelligent. (The two Circle members pause at the cooler to get drinks. Behind it, Brain listens intently.) BRAIN: (thinking) They have to be talking about Billie! FAHRENHEIT: And they’ve both been taken care of? WALLY: That was the early report. But subsequent ones indicate they escaped our trap- if so, they could even be within city limits by now. Big Guy has gone to meet our ‘partner’, to find out just what did happen. (frowns) In retrospect, I should have crisply done away with Pinky when I had the chance. (The humans walk away down the hall) But, even if those mice and their allies are still alive, it’s highly unlikely they’ll locate this place in time. Or manage to get past our security systems if they do. (exeunt) BRAIN: (thinking hopefully) Pinky and Billie have found each other somehow- and they’re looking for me! I have to find a way to signal my location! (Brain resumes his sprint down the Hall, pondering all the while) BRAIN: What did Wally mean, they won’t locate this place ‘in time’? Is The Circle getting ready to execute some operation? Involving that splicing machine? (Brain reaches a magnificent polished-mahogany door) This has to be Big Guy’s office! (Brain enters the usual way. The office is conspicuously posh; thick-wool Persian carpeting, exotic-wood paneling, a collection of geometric wire toys, gilt-bound reference library. Dominating it all is a splendid antique desk, topped with a state-of-the-art computer monitor. Brain climbs onto the desk, finding several sheets of paper covered with text, diagrams, and a sketch of the completed unit. He studies them, his eyes widening with alarm.) BRAIN: (thinking) Can they really be intending to create...the ultimate biological weapon...? (shaking off the horror) In any case, escape is more imperative then ever! I have got to discover some way to defeat this collar’s tracking function! (Brain jumps onto the computer keyboard, depressing keys as fast as he can hop. Titles flash past on the screen; ‘Security Devices’...’Mobile Monitoring’... ‘Control Collar’... ‘List of Functions.’ Brain pauses to read this page, looks disconcerted to see one item on the list is ‘Kill Function’, then relieved to read the ‘Range Limit.’ Next he clicks onto ‘Transmission Mechanism’, uses the computer ‘mouse’ to scroll down the data, and peruses it as it flows past. Finally spotting the one item he seeks, he releases the ‘mouse’ button, and eagerly studies the complicated graph.) BRAIN: (thinking) YEESS! CUT TO: Melissa and the Godfather, standing on a D.C. sidewalk beside the sedan, with Pinky and Billie seated on Mel’s shoulder. All four of them stare in dismay at the boarded-up storefront before them. Advertisements painted on the windows indicate this was formerly ‘Capital Confections’. But the large poster across the door announces THIS PROPERTY FOR SALE - CALL RECTANGLE REALITY. MEL: Looks like The Circle relocated their headquarters. Maybe to prevent somebody from catching up with them. BILLIE: D’ya have any idea at all, Mel, where they mighta gone? GODFATHER: To another confectionery, I would suppose. Word is, they’re consistent that way- their leader has a sweet tooth, or sumpthin’. PINKY: Then we’ll just have to check out all the other bakeries in town. (brightening) Troz! That might be fun! (double take) Or it would be, if Brain wasn’t in danger. (Way ahead of him, Mel steps to a near-by phone booth, opens the directory to ‘C’, scrutinizes the ‘Confections’ column.) MEL: This city has no great of shortage of sweet shops. If we’re going to get to all these before nightfall, we’ll have to split up. (Mel produces paper slips and pencil, jots down three lists of bakery names and addresses. Meanwhile, the Godfather enters the booth and makes a quick call.) GODFATHER: (emerging from booth) I’ve summoned a couple of cabs. One for me, the other for you two. (to Pinky and Billie) I’d advise you to stick together, little friends. You’re so small, the both of you don’t make up even one whole person. BILLIE: Yeah, well, it’s the quality that matters, not the volume! (she reaches to take Pinky’s hand) We’re gonna be the ones who find Eggy, Pinks- I have a feeling! MEL: (handing out the lists) Whatever happens, we all try to meet up, in front of the Lincoln Memorial, at about... (checks her watch) Five o’clock! Everyone got that? GODFATHER: I’ll make a note of it. (Two taxis pull up; the mice get into one, the Godfather into the other. Melissa steps into her sedan. Overhead view of the three vehicles driving off in different directions.) CUT TO: Big Guy’s office. Having just finished perusing his most sought-after data, Brain steps over to the desk chair to have a quick feel of the upholstery.) BRAIN: (thinking) Leather! I guess it’s predictable, that Big Guy wouldn’t stoop to using synthetic fabrics in his interior decorating. Let alone the gaudier ones. (glancing with concern at the ‘gene splicer’ plan sheets) If I can believe Wally’s account, Pinky and Billie are very possibly in the city now, searching. This is a Desperate Situation, for the World as well as myself. Desperate Measures are the only ones left. (Brain goes to the corner of the desk, where the telephone and directory are. He knocks the receiver off, opens the directory to Radio Stations, picks the ‘Most Popular Talk Station In Town!’ number, and punches it in.) RADIO ANNOUNCER: (overly enthusiastic tones) Hello! This is WDCYRD, Capital Talk for the Capital City! Set that radio dial for... BRAIN: Listen! I have an announcement you must make over the air, immediately! It’s vitally important! R A: Of course it’s important! This is the Most Important City in the World, and the Home of Radio’s most... BRAIN: The message is: ‘P and B, find B R behind Cookies and Fudge.’ Do you have that? R A: ‘P and B, find B R behind Cookies and Fudge!’ Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense at all, but what does in this crazy town? BRAIN: Just read it over the air, exactly as I gave it to you. P and B will know what it means. (aside) At least there’s a reasonable chance B will. R A: Sure thing, buddy! And don’t forget: Leave your Radio Dial set on... (Brain hangs up, breathing a sigh of relief. But even as he does, the office door quietly opens behind him, and a hand holding a collar control-box takes aim and fires.) BRAIN: (staggering) Yee-aahh! (Brain collapses onto his side. The door opens wider and Dr. Shale enters, goes to the desk and lifts Brain.) SHALE: (mock sympathetic) All computer activity going on in this building is monitored by Security, Brain. And you’ve just done some unauthorized accessing. How sad for you, with your ‘parole time’ almost up. (Brain just shuts his eyes, gathering his inner resources for the coming ordeal. Shale closes his hand over him and walks from the room.) SHALE: I just hope you found some interesting reading in there. Not that it matters; you won’t be remembering it... WIPE TO: Pinky and Billie’s cab, pulled up to the drive-through window of ‘Sam’s Sweets Shack.’ The cabbie’s radio is tuned to a talk-station, presently broadcasting some kind of incoherent jabbering. Billie stands on the window ledge, talking with the attendant.) ATTENDANT: Nope, I don’t know anything about a secret ‘Circle, *very* little lady. But would either of you like a free sample of our new Mega Chocolate Chunk brownies? PINKY: (from inside the cab, salivating) Yes, PLEASE! (The attendant hands Billie a small bag, she jumps back into the cab and it pulls away. The two mice nibble appreciatively on their brownies.) PINKY: And probably no artificial preservatives! Poit! (His brownie gone, he eyes Billie’s.) Billie, would you mind sharing your free sample with me? BILLIE: (dreamily) I’d be glad to share anything with *you*, Pinky! (She hands it over, he makes short work of it.) CABBIE: Hey, watch the crumbs, bud! I’m already commitin’ a breach of the regs, lettin’ yuz sit on the seat backs! RADIO: And we’re back with our WDCYRD Call In Service, with this message we’ve just received from an FTC- that’s First Time Caller! The message is; ‘P and B, find B R behind Cookies and Fudge’! I don’t know what that means- but somebody out there in our listening area does! BILLIE: (muttering) That’s a weirdo station. What’s all that stuff with the initials supposed ta...? (suddenly realizing) ‘P and B’- Pinky and Billie?! Pinky, that was for us! Do you know what that means??! PINKY: (not quite getting it) Ah, somebody else is offering us some yummy snacks? BILLIE: Nooo, Pinks! Brain is tellin’ us what ta look for, to find him!! (Even as she speaks, the cab comes abreast of The Circle’s ‘Cookies and Fudge’ storefront, which Billie immediately spots.) BILLIE: THERE IT IS! LET US OUT! LET US OUT!! (CLOSE IN on Store Front, Dissolve to the Memory Erasure room, where Dr. Shale is strapping Brain down to the Machine.) SHALE: Ah, Mr. Brain, if only you’d complied as we nicely asked... but, now you’ll have to pay for your misjudgment. BRAIN: (thinking) If Pinky and Billie are in town, it’s possible they heard the radio announcement and are on their way! It’s my one hope- all I can do is try to delay the ‘processing.’ Even seconds could make a difference... (Brain grimaces as the straps are tightened. Satisfied his ‘patient’ is secure, Shale steps over to set the controls.) BRAIN: Before you send my memories into oblivion, would you mind telling me; what is the purpose of that unit you were having me assemble? SHALE: I can tell you’re trying to stall, Brain. It won’t do you any good; there’s no cavalry coming over the hill to save you. BRAIN: Then there’s no reason not to tell me! It’s another device of *your* design, isn’t it? SHALE: (obviously proud) As a matter of fact, yes. Very well; I *will* tell you. As you’ve probably deduced, the unit is similar to a gene-splicer, but not quite. It’s actually a prionic-sequencer- a device which encodes prions. Prions, as I’m sure you know, are segments of genetic proteins which can infect a victim, and replace a predetermined DNA segment. BRAIN: A self-splicing gene... And how do you intend to use these prions? SHALE: We are in the process of designing a prion to which only members of our Circle are immune. This prion, when completed, will render it’s victims incapable of processing amino acids in their food. All infected individuals shall suffer a slow, painful death- unless they surrender to us- within 48 hours... BRAIN: (aghast) And you call yourself a *doctor*?! You’re SICK, Shale! All of you! SHALE: We do what we must, to achieve our purpose. As you yourself should know, World Domination is not achieved without a certain amount of ... assertiveness. (he steps over to the memory eraser’s ‘On’ switch) And now, Mr. Brain; say good-bye to all you’ve ever known! (Shale moves the switch; the machine revs to life. Lights whirl inside the ‘cat scan’ arch and Brain is slowly drawn beneath it. Shale grins with demonic glee. Brain shuts his eyes tight against that sight, his hands tightening into fists, as though trying to overcome the eraser’s effect through sheer will....) (... The machine, and all the lights in the room, go off.) SHALE: (surprised) Huuuhh?! (Brain dares to open his eyes, but can only see what the few battery-powered ‘indicator dials’ highlight- an angry Shale, fumbling for his cell phone.) SHALE: (into the phone) This is Dr. Shale in the Medical Section, to Security. All the power just went off in here! Would you mind telling me what’s happened?! SECURITY: Doctor, my board indicates all our electrical lines have been severed. And, that somebody may have just infiltrated this building. BRAIN: (thinking) I guess somebody *was* listening... CUT TO: Pinky and Billie, barely visible as they make their way up an unlighted stairway. Billie carefully pauses as they reach the landing, to sniff around the corner.) BILLIE: (whispering) I think that’s Eggy’s scent! We’re getting closer! (She hurries Pinky down the hallway.) PINKY: Do you think...? BILLIE: Shhh! PINKY: (whispering) Do you think we could get just a few of those cookies and fudge on our way out? BILLIE: One and a half brownies and you’re *still* hungry? Besides, Pinky, I already told you, that was just Eggy’s description of the storefront! Ya know, we’re lucky that cabbie likes talk radio! PINKY: (worried) That cabbie looked angry, when I told him to go to the Lincoln Memorial at Five, to collect his fare... BILLIE: Because he thinks you’re gonna stiff him- but this isn’t the time to fret about it! (She halts them beside a closed door, with an electric eye set in the jamb. Billie is careful to stay out of it’s line, as she leans over to sniff.) BILLIE: Brainy’s in there, Pinky- an’ he’s not alone. Are you ready to provide another distraction? PINKY: You mean, acting all silly-willy to get the security guard’s attention, while you get to the power lines? BILLIE: Yeah, like what we just did- except, concentrate on audio instead of visual antics. PINKY: Poit...? BILLIE: Make lots of noise to draw that man’s attention away from Brain- start doing that when I say ‘Natch!’ I’ll get to Eggy, wherever he is. An’ as soon as I’ve got him, we make tracks. Ah, that means we get outta there fast. You understand? PINKY: I think so... BILLIE: Then let’s go- an’ remember what I said about keepin’ your tail down! (Pinky removes his knapsack and leaves it beside the wall. Holding their tails low, the two mice manage to squeeze under the door. Inside the dark room, they can barely make out the silhouette of Brain on the machine.) SHALE: (speaking loudly into his cell phone) Get the power lines reconnected first, intensify search for the intruder second! Not all our security systems have back-up generators! And didn’t I recommend long ago, that we should rectify that situation?! (At Billie’s gesture, Pinky moves to the right wall, ending up beneath a solid lab table.) BILLIE: (sotto) Natch! PINKY: (promptly responding) HA HA! NARF! ZORT! TROZ! (Brain quickly raises his head. The startled Shale whirls toward the source of the outcry.) SHALE: I know that voice by reputation! You’re PINKY! (Shale makes a lunge in Pinky’s direction- and, in the dark, conks his head hard against he table edge.) SHALE: Ohhhoo... (passes out) BILLIE: Well! That was easier then expected! (Billie swiftly shimmies up the memory-eraser and unstraps Brain.) BRAIN: (vastly relieved) You found me! BILLIE: Yep! In the proverbial "Time of Nick", or however you say it. (She lifts Brain and lightly tosses him over the edge, into Pinky’s waiting arms.) PINKY: (hugging Brain close) Oh, Brain! (Overwhelmed, all Brain can do is return the embrace.) BRAIN: Pinky... BILLIE: (sliding down to the floor) Hey, guys, save yer touching reunion for later! We gotta get outta here! (She sprints for the entrance. Pinky follows, still cradling Brain. The three of them push their way under the door, Brain having the hardest time due to his big head. Pinky grasps Brain’s wrists and yanks him through- unfortunately causing Brain’s tail to cross the line of the electric eye. An alarm begins to sound.) BRAIN: Oh, great- now they’ll know where we are! Quick, this way! (Pinky snatches up his knapsack, and the three mice race away down the corridor.) CUT TO: Outside shot of ‘Dan’s Baked Goods’, the Godfather’s cab parked nearby. Cut To inside shot, of the Godfather talking to the adolescent clerk.) GODFATHER: This isn’t a game, my dermatologically-flawed friend. I strongly suggest you tell me, whether or not you have any knowledge of... The Circle. CLERK: (obviously not the brightest sort) The Circle? Mister, I already *have* a long-distance phone plan. Do you want to buy something or not? GODFATHER: (satisfied of the clerk’s ignorance) Hmmmph. It would seem this is not the establishment I seek; I shall have to try another. (glances into display case) But first... I would like to purchase a half-dozen of those glazed doughnuts. (The clerk rings up his order in a bag. The Godfather carries it out to the cab, where he sets it down in the back seat, beside a pile of earlier bakery purchases.) CUT TO: A stairway landing in Circle HQ- not quite so dark because there’s a window nearby. The eye-triggered alarm can be heard some ways below, along with a growing clamor of voices and pounding feet. A scurrying of much smaller feet comes up to the top of the stairs, and the three mice climb into view, breathing hard from the run. They lean against the wall under the window to catch their breath.) BILLIE: *pant* Eggy, are you... *pant* ... sure you know... *pant* ... know the way outta here? BRAIN: I... *pant* ... know it’s not... *pant* ...downstairs, anyway, that’s... *pant* ...the way they’ll expect us to go... *pant* (In the better light, Pinky notices Brain’s collar for the first time.) PINKY: Say, Brain! *pant* Nice necklace! (Brain clutches the collar in horror, remembering.) BRAIN: It isn’t a necklace, Pinky, it’s a tracking device! We’ve got to get away from this place fast! PINKY: (indicating the window) That looks like the fastest way. (Brain and Billie eye it dubiously.) BRAIN: We’re three stories up... (There’s a sudden clamor of footsteps coming up the stairs.) BILLIE: But we’ve run out of options! (The mice scramble up the stairway trim to the windowsill, collectively grab the sash and tug it open, and step out onto the ledge. They nervously contemplate the long drop to the sidewalk... Then Pinky happily points out a large shaggy dog, approaching the spot directly below their window. The mice join hands.) BILLIE: One, two... (they jump, plummet) Oh, sshhoooootttt....! (They land directly on the shaggy dog’s back, knocking him flat.) DOG: Ooofff! You’ve gotta lighten up on those landings, Rita! (The mice leap off; Billie and Brain hurry down the street.) PINKY: (to the surprised dog) Thank you so much! (He runs to catch up with his friends.) (Overhead view of the fleeing rodents, and the heads of two men looking down from the window after them. Side View to show it’s Shale and Wally- the former with a bandage on his forehead. Both men appear quite irate. Without a word, Wally hefts a hand-held ‘Transmission Locator’ device-shaped something like a Dust Buster- upon which a little red light blinks. Shale lifts the collar control-box. The two glance meaningfully at each other, then start downstairs.) (Billie, Brain and Pinky reach the end of the block, where an escalator and a large blue ‘M’ sign identify a Metro Station.) BILLIE: The subway! Let’s go down there! Maybe it’ll block the tracking signal! (The three mice leap onto the escalator railing and slide down.) BRAIN: (while sliding) I’m afraid that won’t do it, Billie. From the schematics I’ve seen on this thing... BILLIE: Then what will stop it? (They reach the end of the railing, jump to the floor and hurry through the turnstile and down the station platform. The waiting D.C. commuters-mostly bureaucratic types- take no notice of them.) BRAIN: Polypropylene will- a plastic used in the manufacture of inexpensive decorative objects. But I haven’t been able to locate any, and this doesn’t look like a probable place to find it! (They reach the platform’s end, pause to look back. Wally and Shale, wearing grimly determined expressions, emerge from the turnstile, following the tracking device’s signal.) PINKY: (tugging Brain’s arm) How about in there, Brain? (Pinky points down the subway tunnel. But Brain sags, discouraged.) BRAIN: That won’t hide me from the tracker- nothing will! You two go on without me; you’ll have a much better chance... PINKY: (gripping Brain’s arm) Nonsense, Brain! BILLIE: (gripping his other arm) D’ya think we came all the way to D.C. to find ya, just ta leave ya behind? PINKY: We all go together! (They leap off the platform onto the subway tracks, hurry down the tunnel... and are suddenly confronted with the headlight of an on-coming train. They gasp in unison, make a fast left turn, and squeeze beneath a door marked ‘Municipal Storage’ just before the train comes on.) (On the platform, Wally and Shale wait until the train comes to a full stop, then jump down, walk around the end of the train, and follow the tracker signal to the Storage door. Wally gleefully notes the stationary red dot.) WALLY: They’ve stopped moving. It’s a dead end.) (The grinning Shale produces a pouch from his pocket, opens it to display a set of lock-picking tools. Wally selects one and gets to work.) (On the other side of the door, the dismayed mice contemplate a dusty 8’/ 8’/ 4’ space, devoid of anything but a bare light fixture. Brain takes note, as scratching sounds start to issue from the door knob.) BRAIN: They’re picking the lock. They’ll be in here in a few minutes. (Completely disheartened, Brain sits, letting his head hang.) BILLIE: (sitting down next to him) Well, we gave ‘em a good run for their money, didn’t we? We can at least go out feeling proud of that. PINKY: (sitting on Brain’s other side) That’s right! We sure gave ‘em something to remember, didn’t we, Brain? BRAIN: But there’s a lot more lives at stake here, then just ours. And in a few minutes there won’t be anybody left who even knows about it... (Outside, Wally irritably regards the still-closed door, and ineffective pick.) WALLY: This lock must have been installed during one of this city’s ‘Spend more on Security’ administrations. Hand me the #18 pick. (Shale does, Wally resumes his efforts.) (Inside, no one says anything for a long moment, as the scratching resumes. Pinky finally stirs, sliding his knapsack off.) PINKY: Well, Brain, I guess this is the last chance I’ll have, to give this to you. (Reaching into the knapsack, Pinky brings out the floral-paper and pink-ribbon wrapped package.) A delayed Happy Birthday To You! BRAIN: (looking stunned) You’ve had *that* with you the whole time?! PINKY: Well, Wally switched it for the one with the knock-out gas, and I found it on the lawn afterwards, and I really wanted you to have it! BRAIN: So you brought it all this way for me. (with affection) Nobody but you, Pinky! PINKY: (coaxing) Come on, Brain- open it! (Billie also watches as Brain unfastens the ribbon and paper, and lifts the lid from the box.) BRAIN: Oh... Pinky, you shouldn’t have! (Brain lifts out a purple gumdrop, stuck full of small multi-colored feathers. Despite herself, Billie smiles.) BILLIE: That’s my Pinks! PINKY: I collected the feathers from beneath Elmyra’s bird cage, and used them to make a paperweight for you. It’s just to bad, you won’t get to try it out... BRAIN: (choking up) It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! Thank you, Pinky! (Pinky and Brain share another hug, tears squeezing from their eyes. Billie, self-conscious, lets her gaze drop to the crumpled wrappings... and suddenly stares intently.) BILLIE: Eggy... What did you say is the one material that’ll block the transmitter signal? BRAIN: (distracted) Polypropylene. I figured it out from the computer schematics... BILLIE: (lifting the pink ribbon triumphantly overhead) And what is *this* made out of?! (Brain’s eyes open wide, a huge smile lighting his face.) BILLIE AND BRAIN: POLYPROPYLENE!!! BRAIN: (breaking from Pinky and lifting the front of his collar) Quick! Wrap it around the protrusion- that’s where the transmitter is! (Billie does so) Pinky, I shall never again criticize your taste in gift wrappings. (Gratified, Pinky carefully repacks the gumdrop in his knapsack.) BILLIE: (giving the ribbon a last tug) There, all done! PINKY: Oh, Brain! You look so cute in a bow! You should wear one more often... BRAIN: (just slightly annoyed) We’ll discuss that at another time. Now; our best chance is to make a run for it, the instant the door... BILLIE: (cocking her ear towards the floor) Hold on, Brainy! I think those sleezebags are gonna have ta move back from that door *real* soon. (sound of a train whistle) (Cut To outside view of Wally and Shale hastily scrambling back to the platform, as another subway train comes down the tunnel. When this train comes alongside the Storage door, Pinky, Billie and Brain squeeze out from beneath it, and hurry alongside the train as it continues to the platform and halts.) (View of the platform, as Wally and Shale once more jump to the tracks and vanish down the tunnel. Seconds later, the three mice scramble onto the platform [managing to dodge the exiting commuters], quickly cross to the platform’s other side and get aboard the train parked there. They barely make it in before the doors close, and it pulls out of the station. Just before the train vanishes into it’s own tunnel, we can read the destination card on the last coach: ‘Lincoln Memorial.’) (Cut To interior of the train. The mice are making their way among a maze of briefcases and feet, when Brain is suddenly confronted by a disturbingly familiar pair of large black shoes. He looks up to confirm: it’s Big Guy.) BIG GUY: (to himself) That moronic Godpigeon. He’ll pay for not living up to his part of the deal. The bumbling fool! I can’t even understand what he says half the time... BRAIN: (sotto) Pinky, Billie! That man in the dark suit is Big Guy- the head of The Circle! We’ve got to get away from here before he notices us! (The mice proceed to sneak quickly away... but a commuter suddenly slides an umbrella-tip into Pinky’s path, and he trips, falling full length.) PINKY: Owie! (Pinky clamps a hand over his own mouth- too late; Big Guy glances over and catches sight of all three of them.) BIG GUY: (hardly believing it) Brain...!?? BRAIN: RUN!! (The mice take off. Big Guy pursues, slowed by near-collisions with the various odd-ball people one encounters in city subways- punks, street musicians, derelicts, lawyers. At one point, we have a gratuitous run-thru by Yakko, Wakko & Dot, followed by Ralph with his usual net. Mice and Big Guy stare for just a second, then resume their own chase. Big Guy runs up against a Mime- who, a tad annoyed, begins pretending to build a brick wall in front of Big Guy.) BIG GUY: Stop that, you bargain-basement Marceau! Out of my way! (Big Guy finally manages to push his way past- but the mice are now a whole car ahead, and the train is slowing for it’s next stop. Big Guy catches up, just in time to see all three of then dart out through the opening doors.) BIG GUY: (red-faced with fury) BRAIN!!!! WIPE TO: Sidewalk in front of the Lincoln Memorial, where Mel and the Godfather stand, a short distance from her sedan.) MEL: (impatiently eyeing the traffic) They’re late! What could have happened to them? GODFATHER: (snacking on the contents of his bakery bags) I *can* think of several possibilities... MEL: And *I’m* trying not to! What is the matter with these people? GODFATHER: What people? MEL: (taking out her anxiety on him) People like The Circle- and you! People who live by violence, who are willing to kill for what they want! GODFATHER: (patronizing) Let me tell you sumpthin', my dear girl. In the end, it all comes down to money, guns, and cheese balls! (Mel stares in incomprehension... then dismisses it, checking her watch.) MEL: I’ll wait another ten minutes- no longer! WIPE TO: The second subway platform, where the usual crowd of rush-hour commuters get on and off the just-arrived train. They all make a point of keeping clear of the obviously angry Big Guy, who stands where he can look down the whole length of the loading area, searching for any sign of the mice.) BIG GUY: (to himself) They got off this train, I know they haven’t gotten back on. And they’re not going to get aboard it, or any other, without my seeing it... (He’s so intent on watching the floor that he misses what’s happening above ground-level. The three mice, having gone underneath the train and climbed the further side, are now on top of it and are settling onto one of the accordion-couplings between the cars.) BRAIN: (sotto) Everybody hang on! This is going to be a lot windier then it was inside! (Brain, Pinky and Billie grab onto the coupling ridges. The doors close and the train pulls out of the station.) (Close Up of the mice, getting windblown as predicted, but staying in place.) PINKY: (gleeful) Narf! This is as much fun as being tumbled by an air-hose nozzle! BRAIN: Now when did you get a chance to find out...? (cuts himself off) I can’t be squandering my mental energies on that! I have planning to do! BILLIE: (mischievously) You can tell me, then, Pinky. When *did* you get a chance to find out how it feels to be tumbled by an air-hose nozzle? PINKY: Well, it was that time Brain and I tried to... BRAIN: (interrupting) I can think of a possibly more productive subject of conversation. Suppose you two explain to me, how you both managed to get to Washington D.C.? PINKY: Zort! That’s a long story! BILLIE: Well, we *did* have help, from some new friends... WIPE TO: Mel and the Godfather at the Memorial, now going through their wallets and handing bills to the impatient cab driver parked beside their curb.) MEL: (handing him the last of it) All right; that’s the fare plus standard tip! But are you *quite* sure you don’t remember where you dropped of this, ‘Short pale couple’? CABBIE: I don’t keep track of nothin’ but the fares, Lady. GODFATHER: (reaching into the cab to grab the driver by the jacket-front) I suggest you tell us all you can remember... or things could get really ugly! CABBIE: (unnerved) Okay, okay, fine! It was... we was drivin’ to all kinds of bakeries an’ stuff, an’ they was gettin’ crumbs in my cab... Anyway, this wacked-out announcement comes over my radio, about bees an’ cookies or sumpthin, and the dame gets all excited an’ says ‘That’s for Us!’ An’ somethin’ about finding a brain, an’ I don’t know what else, an’ the guy, he gets excited too... MEL: Well, go on! CABBIE: An’ suddenly the dame gets even more hyper an’ yells ‘There it is! Let us out!’ So I do, an’ *that’s* when the little hairy guy tells me ta come *here* at five for my fare! I’d’a chased him down right there, if I’d dared ta leave my cab in that neighborhood! So that’s all I know- will ya let go of the jacket? (The Godfather releases the cabbie, who immediately drives off, tires squealing.) GODFATHER: Well, at least we know Billie and Pinky might of found the place. MEL: But what happened after that? It was a mistake for us to split up! (checking her watch again) I am going to wait another *five minutes*, and *then* I’m off to... PINKY’S VOICE: (from a distance) Yoo-hoo! Melissa! Mr. Corleone! (Mel and the Godfather turn eagerly, to see the three mice coming down the walk, from the direction of the Lincoln Memorial Metro station. Mel runs to meet them, gathering them up in her hands.) MEL: (much relieved) Here you finally are! I’m glad you’re all right! (looking to Brain) And from the description they gave me, you must be The Brain! Oh, Pinky, I’m so happy you found him! (double take) Cute bow, Brain! (Brain frowns) GODFATHER: (stepping closer to meet the new mouse) Greetings, Mr. Brain. Ooh, that necklace of yours looks like a chocolate doughnut. BRAIN: (impatiently) You’re welcome to try to bite it off, if you can. But not now! We’ve got a lot to do, and not very much time to do it. Let’s go someplace where we can catch our breath, and I’ll explain. MEL: (moving toward her car) I see you were right, Pinky- he *is* a take-over sort. BRAIN: Also; we need to acquire a hacksaw as soon as possible! (Mel, with the mice, gets into the driver’s side of her sedan, the Godfather into the passenger side.) CUT TO: Big Guy, elbowing his way past commuters coming up a subway escalator.) BIG GUY: Out of my way, imbeciles! Move! (Having gained the sidewalk, Big Guy moves purposefully toward a nearby taxi stand.) BIG GUY: (to himself) Those rodents managed to escape this station somehow- but at least I know which way they were heading! (Without preamble, he gets into a cab [with a driver who looks like he’s related to Ralph], pulls out a gun, and points it at the driver’s head.) BIG GUY: Lincoln Memorial! Now! DRIVER: (grinning nervously) Su-sure thing, Boss! Whatever you want! (The taxi careens away.) Go To Chapter 3 |
