M. CHUCK
General von Shrecker personally asked me to make sure –
DMITRI
(interrupting)
Excuse me.
Dmitri bolts into the room.
Agatha’s eyes dart, searching for an escape route, as she zooms among the tables, couches, tea trays, officers, waiters, and bellboys.
At the concierge desk: Henckels looks up from signing the guest book. He watches Agatha pass. He watches Dmitri grimly pursuing her. He looks intrigued.
Agatha bee-lines into the elevator. The elevator operator looks to her and waits. She hesitates. She names the top floor:
AGATHA
Six.
Just as the elevator operator starts to shut the gate – a voice commands him:
DMITRI
(out of shot)
Hold it.
The elevator operator pauses. Dmitri enters and stands next to Agatha. He stares ahead into space and repeats:
Six.
The elevator operator slams the door.
Henckels watches from across the lobby. He says to Anatole:
HENCKELS
Get M. Chuck.
Anatole nods and dashes away.
At the front door: M. Gustave and Zero stride into the building holding two tall stacks of pink, cardboard pastry-boxes. They stop. M. Gustave says warmly:
M. GUSTAVE
Compliments of Herr Mendl.
The soldier at the desk blocking the entrance looks up. He is halfway through his Courtesan au chocolat. He has butter-cream on his moustache.
Cut to:
Henckels on his way up the steps followed by M. Chuck. They stop at the next floor, look up and down the corridor, then continue climbing.
Cut to:
Mr. Mosher staring, curious; Herr Becker watching, surprised; and Anatole gaping, mouth open, at: M. Gustave and Zero crossing speedily through the center of the lobby with their stacked boxes, looking around in every direction as they go. They arrive at the closed elevator. A lobby boy stands next to it. He has curly hair and looks to be about sixteen. He is Otto.
M. GUSTAVE
Have you seen a pastry girl with a package under her arm in the last minute and a half?
OTTO
Yep! She just got on the elevator with Mr. Desgoffe und Taxis.
M. GUSTAVE
(irritated)
Thank you.
M. Gustave and Zero look up at the wall. Something is gnawing at them both.
Insert:
The needle above the elevator entrance. It climbs past ‘Four’ toward ‘Five’.
M. Gustave and Zero start to dash away – but Zero stops short and turns back. He says quickly to Otto:
ZERO
I’m sorry. Who are you?
OTTO
(hesitates)
Otto, sir. The new lobby boy.
ZERO
(sharply)
Well, you haven’t been trained properly, Otto. A lobby boy never provides information of that kind. You’re a stone wall. Understood?
OTTO
(anxious)
Yes, sir.
M. Gustave and Zero exchange a quick look: well-handled. They run.
INT. ELEVATOR. DAY
As the lift ascends:
Dmitri casts a sideways look to Agatha. She stares ahead and avoids his eyes. He looks away.
Agatha casts a sideways look to Dmitri. He snaps his head suddenly to look at her. She turns away again immediately, stricken.
Dmitri reaches out toward Agatha. She retreats further into the corner. He touches the package under her arm with his long fingers and peels back the edge of the wrapping-paper – revealing a white hand holding a golden apple. He says quietly:
DMITRI
Pretty picture.
Agatha does not respond. They come to a stop, and the elevator operator opens the gate.
ELEVATOR OPERATOR
Sixth floor.
Neither Agatha nor Dmitri move. Silence. The elevator operator turns around slightly to look at them.
Agatha exits. The elevator operator starts to close the door, but Dmitri holds up a finger. He follows Agatha. The gate closes behind him.
Agatha walks swiftly but calmly down the long corridor. She looks back. Dmitri walks behind her, equally swiftly and significantly more calmly, thirty feet back. Agatha turns a corner.
Dmitri cracks his knuckles as he continues. He clears his throat. He turns the corner now, himself, and sees:
Agatha running as fast as she can, already sixty feet ahead, nearly at the end of the corridor. She looks back again as she disappears around the next corner.
Dmitri breaks into a full sprint. In five seconds, he reaches the end of the hallway. He stops and looks down the next corridor.
It is empty. Pause.
At the far end: a pair of doors labeled SERVICE ELEVATOR slide open. M. Gustave and Zero stand inside it with their stacked boxes. Dmitri’s eyes widen. He shouts:
DMITRI
Where’s ‘Boy with Apple’?
M. GUSTAVE
(pause)
None of your goddamn business!
DMITRI
(hesitates)
I’m going to blast your candy-ass once and for all right now!
Dmitri instantly leans down, lifts up his trouser leg, and draws a small-calibre handgun from a strap under his sock. He fires.
M. Gustave and Zero throw their boxes in every direction and duck to the sides of the elevator. Dmitri fires again. Bullets ricochet.
A door opens halfway down the corridor. An officer wearing his uniform tunic but no trousers looks out at Dmitri, alerted, with a Luger pistol in his hand.
OFFICER
Drop your weapon!
Dmitri fires three more times into the service elevator. The officer fires back at Dmitri. Dmitri ducks behind a room-service cart and quickly reloads. More doors open up and down the corridor, and more armed officers in various states of dress/undress look out.
Dmitri pops up again and resumes his barrage. All the officers open fire at once, shooting, apparently at random, in both directions. Henckels appears suddenly at the top of the stairs with his own firearm drawn. M. Chuck hurries behind him. Henckels ducks down low and screams:
HENCKELS
Cease fire! Cease fire! Stop it!
The gunfire pauses. Everyone remains poised for the next volley. Henckels hollers:
Who’s shooting who?
DMITRI
(behind his barricade)
That’s Gustave H.! The escaped murderer and art thief! I’ve got him cornered!
M. Gustave and Zero remain tucked against the walls on the floor of the service elevator. M. Gustave yells, enraged:
M. GUSTAVE
That’s Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis! He’s responsible for the killings of Deputy Kovacs, Serge X. and his club-footed sister, plus his own mother!
HENCKELS