The Temple by Louis Nowra

Author:Louis Nowra
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ligature Pty Limited
Published: 2021-11-13T01:31:28+00:00

Scene Four · The Killing Floors

LAURIE’s office. Day. A Monet in the background. A sense of urgency and excitement from LAURIE and NICK. NICK is speaking into two portable phones and is constantly looking at the three Rolexes on one arm. LAURIE is speaking into one and at the same time to MIA on the intercom. Dozens of phones ringing in the distance.

NICK

I said buy! Buy! Buy! If you can’t follow a simple instruction I’ll fire you.

LAURIE

Buy every fucking thing you can.

NICK

Sam—use Nesbit Industries as a cover. Well, then use fucking Langdon Pipe Manufacturers as your parking arrangement.

LAURIE

Tell ‘em is a fucking White Knight come to rescue BHP. [Laughing] The suckers. Yeh, it was us.

INTERCOM

Mr Blake—a journalist from the Financial Review wants to know if it was you who bought the London and New York shares—

LAURIE

[amused, to NICK] Fuck me, dead, if a journalist has figured it out—Saint John must know—[To MIA] Tell him to come and have a talk with me—

INTERCOM

Very good, sir.

LAURIE

[to NICK] I’ll keep the fucker waiting for a few hours until we’ve cleaned up the Australian shares. How close are we?

NICK

Just about there—prices are going up—people are smelling a raid.

LAURIE

Like flies following a blood and bone truck. [To caller on his phone] Use Ward Consolidated to buy up those Melbourne shares. Fuck it! Now!

NICK

Grab them at 8.90. Go ten cents higher if you have to—

LAURIE

[to NICK] Close?

NICK

Apparently during the making of porno movies the crew have to stand around waiting for the guy to get an erection. They call it ‘waiting for wood’… we’re close to getting wood. Just waiting on Thommo to talk Dekel into selling.

LAURIE

[putting down his phone] Great! The perfect dawn raid. No sleep in over twenty-four hours and I feel great.

NICK

No rest for the wicked, Laurie.

[Wearing sunglasses, SAINT JOHN enters]

INTERCOM

Mr Blake! Mr Blake! Mr Saint John pushed his way into your office.

LAURIE

That’s OK, Mia. That’s fine. [Smiling] Ah, Baz, how’s tricks?

ST JOHN

[Attempting to be cheery] Just fine.

LAURIE

Bit of trouble in the market today, Baz?

ST JOHN

How did you hear?

LAURIE

A journo rang me.

ST JOHN

Nothing I can’t handle.

[ST JOHN notices NICK whispering frantically into his two portable phones, then turns back to LAURIE]

There has been a huge push on BHP from a few areas. Can’t put my finger on it on who or why.

LAURIE

[enjoying this] Don’t understand, Baz.

ST JOHN

You know how I said I’d deliver three hundred million BHP shares to match yours? Well, immediately after speaking to you—ah … [ST JOHN notices NICK smirking and pauses and then looks back at LAURIE who is also smirking.]

LAURIE

You gambled that the share price would fall and buy your shares back at a lower price and make a tidy profit at my expense. The share prices have actually risen leaving you—I’d say, half a billion dollars short.

ST JOHN

[Surprised] Yes. I mean—

NICK

[sudden, triumphant yell] Yo, Laurie! We’ve got wood! We’ve got wood!

LAURIE

[LAURIE claps his hands with joy] You’re done like a dinner, Baz. Financially stretched in England, the States and now here.

ST JOHN

[Noticing NICK’s three Rolexes, realising] You did it! [pointing to them] London time.

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