vonnegut
07-29-07, 08:45 PM
Season 3 - Episode 14 - "Exposé"
Written by: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Directed by: Stephen Williams
[Nikki runs quickly through the jungle. She stops, kneels down, and begins frantically digging in the dirt. She grabs something out of her bag, and buries it in the shallow hole, before getting up shakily to resume running.]
[Flashback]
[in a strip club. Nikki steps down the stairs, wearing a short white trench coat and hat.]
ANNOUNCER: And now! Dancing on stage three, the pride of Saint Paul, Corvette!
[Nikki begins pole dancing, removing her hat and jacket, revealing a skimpy metallic bikini. She notices a man in a suit enter the club and go into a back room.]
[Cut to the back office where Nikki (wearing her coat again) bursts in to find the man opening a case full of money, and another man in a purple hat watching video feeds of the strip club. Cheezy music is playing in the background]
NIKKI: [to the man with the briefcase] No! That's the money for the orphanage!
[The man wearing the purple hat turns around and we see it’s the actor Billy Dee Williams]
NIKKI: [to Billy Dee] That means, Mr. LaShade, you're The Cobra.
BILLY DEE: Sorry, baby. It's just business.
NIKKI: All this time it was you.
BILLY DEE: Pretty and smart. What a shame.
[He looks to the other man, who pulls a gun on Nikki.]
NIKKI: Razzle-dazzle! [She kicks the gun out of his hand and karate chops him in the neck.] Hiyah!
[She bends down and grabs the gun, but "LaShade" pulls out his own gun and shoots her twice. She collapses. "LaShade" stands up and shoots her again. Two other strippers enter and see Nikki's body.]
BILLY DEE: Autumn, Crystal, bad news. Corvette was working for The
Cobra. But fear not: he will pay.
DIRECTOR: And, cut!
[A man with a clipboard signals the scene's end. Production crew rush around. Nikki lifts herself up.]
BILLY DEE: Oh, let me give you a hand. [helps Nikki up]
NIKKI: Oh, thank you. Billy Dee, it was so great working with you.
BILLY DEE: Oh, no, the pleasure's all mine; thank you so much.
NIKKI: You're sweet.
BILLY DEE: Take care.
NIKKI: You too.
[Nikki heads over to meet the director {Howard L. Zukerman}. Grey hair and beard, he’s at least 3 times Nikki’s age.]
DIRECTOR: Alright, that's a series wrap for Corvette! Let's hear it for Nikki!
[Most of the production crew clap and whistle.]
NIKKI: Thank you.
DIRECTOR: Brilliant, Nikki, as always. [Lowering his voice] You know, you don't need to die. We can bring you back next season.
NIKKI: [laughs] How?
DIRECTOR: Well, let's say that, uh… Corvette was wearing a bullet-proof vest?
[Nikki pulls away her jacket to remind him that she is wearing nothing but a bikini underneath.]
DIRECTOR: [joking] Bullet-proof breast!
NIKKI: [covering back up] Look, I'm just a guest star, and we all know what happens to guest stars.
DIRECTOR: Now that your work's done here, I suppose you'll be leaving Sydney and heading back to L.A.
[They step off-set to look at Sydney Harbour.]
NIKKI: No, I'm not leaving Sydney. I love you.
DIRECTOR: I love you too.
[They smile and kiss]
[Cut to real-time on the beach. Hurley and Sawyer are playing table tennis. Hurley wins the point.]
SAWYER: [slamming his paddle against the table] Son of a bitch! [more calmly] Alright, c’mon, let's go one more.
HURLEY: You said best out of five.
SAWYER: Well, now we're going best of seven.
[Hurley is thinking this over, when suddenly someone approaches from the jungle. It's Nikki, who stumbles onto the beach looking dazed.]
SAWYER: Ah.
HURLEY: Uh, you OK?
[Nikki falls on her face, struggling to breathe. Hurley & Sawyer rush over and turn her face-up.]
HURLEY: What happened?
NIKKI: [struggling for breath] Pa... lies...
SAWYER: What the hell's she saying?
HURLEY: I dunno.
SAWYER: Let's get her some water! Get help!
[Sawyer gets up and moves toward the jungle, peering through the trees to see where Nikki came from. As Hurley watches, Nikki stops moving. Sawyer turns around and sees Hurley just sitting there.]
SAWYER: [frantic] What are you doing?! Get moving!
HURLEY: [calmly] Dude.... Nikki's dead.
SAWYER: [confused]... Who the hell's Nikki?
[OPENING CREDITS]
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “84 days ago” in a large airy house. The director and Nikki are eating breakfast in the dining room.]
NIKKI: Mmm. Howie, the frittata is amazing.
DIRECTOR: Hm hm! It’s my new chef; he's fantastic. Paulo, come in here.
PAULO: [wearing chef outfit, walks in with a bread basket] Yes, sir?
DIRECTOR: Paulo, my boy, you have a new fan. I'd like you to meet Nikki.
NIKKI: [To Paulo] The food is amazing.
PAULO: You're too kind. The secret is the… shaved truffles. Luckily for you, they are in season.
NIKKI: [in a mock whisper] You know, you should ask for a raise.
[Paulo chuckles, Nikki bursts into laughter, and the director pretends to be shocked.]
PAULO: Excuse me. [walks away]
DIRECTOR: He just came to Sydney. Heard I was hiring, and showed up at my office every day until I gave him the job. Apparently, back home, he's the, um, "Wolfgang Puck of Brazil".
NIKKI: Wow!
DIRECTOR: [passing the bread basket] Here. Try one of these home-made rolls. [Nikki laughs] Please, please do.
[Nikki takes a slice, revealing a diamond bracelet underneath. The director rubs his upper arm in some discomfort.]
NIKKI: Oh, it's... beautiful. Howie, you shouldn't have!
DIRECTOR: [laughs as Nikki puts the bracelet on] I realize, of course, it's not a ring. Not yet. But, uh, when my wife--
[The director abruptly stops talking and clutches his chest. Nikki stops admiring the bracelet and jumps to his side.]
NIKKI: [urgently] Paulo..! Paulo!
[Paulo hurries in. Both stand over the director as he moans, then stops moving. Paulo checks his pulse.]
PAULO: He's gone.
[Nikki moves as if to touch the director gently, but instead rips open his shirt and grabs a small key on a necklace he's wearing. She yanks the necklace off his neck.]
NIKKI: [scornfully] I would have loved it if you could have figured out a way where I didn't have to eat the same food as him.
[Cut to the pair in a walk-in closet with a safe.]
PAULO: So nobody else knows about this thing?
NIKKI: Everything in here is way off the books.
[Nikki puts the key in the safe and starts to open it. Paulo pulls out a cigarette and prepares to light up, but Nikki grabs it out of his mouth.]
PAULO: What?
NIKKI: Ashes are evidence, Paulo. We poisoned him; let's not poison ourselves.
[Paulo reluctantly snaps his lighter shut. Nikki opens the safe and pulls out a Matryoshka doll. She opens three layers of dolls to get whatever’s at the centre. Nikki and Paulo smile down at the contents.]
NIKKI: Razzle-frickin'-dazzle!
Cur to real time on the beach Nikki's body, (face up, and eyes open), as the survivors assess the situation.]
CHARLIE: What happened?
HURLEY: We dunno. She's got no gunshot wound, no knife wound, no polar bear bite, nothing.
SUN: Maybe it was something she ate.
CHARLIE: Maybe she was poisoned.
SUN: We should check the food supply to see if anyone else is sick.
CHARLIE: [checking Nikki's limp hands] She's got gunk… under her fingernails. [to Sawyer] Where'd you find her?
SAWYER: Right here. She stumbled out of the jungle, face-planted, said something like "plywood", and... and, sayonara.
HURLEY: Actually, I think she said "power lines".
SAWYER: Well, who the hell knows what she said; she was five seconds from dying. Probably seeing a light at the end of the tunnel--
HURLEY: [interrupts Sawyer with a shout] "Paulo lies"! That's what she said! "Paulo lies", not "power lines". "Paulo lies".
SAWYER: Who the hell's Paulo?
HURLEY: Paulo's her... husband, or her... boyfriend, or... whatever. They live down the beach.
SAWYER: Well, where the hell is he? 'Cause if he lies, that might be a good place to start.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “80 days ago”, Paulo is reading the obituary of the director to Nikki]
PAULO: English ex-pat, Howard L. Zuckerman, the creative force behind such hit shows as Exposé, Strike Team Alpha and Dr. Kincaid Esquire, was found dead in his palatial Sydney estate from heart failure.
[Both laugh, and then kiss. We realize they’re in an airport restaurant.]
NIKKI: Are you chewing gum?
[Paulo opens an Exposé bag, inside is the Matryoshka doll. He pulls out a small box and displays it to her.]
PAULO: [proud of himself] Nicotine gum. I quit.
[They pick up champagne glasses]
PAULO: A toast. To our new life together.
NIKKI: Cheers.
[Behind them, two people arrive nearby]
SHANNON: [whining] There's nowhere to sit. No tables, no chairs, nothing. Good call, Boone.
BOONE: [calmly] Do you wanna just grab a chair from the restaurant?
SHANNON: No, forget it, let's just leave. You already screwed us out of seats in first class, why would you be able to find them here.
BOONE: [To Paulo and Nikki, motioning towards the chair] Hey, can I have this chair please?
PAULO: Yeah. Be my guest.
SHANNON: [shouting] Boone! Let's just go!
BOONE: [resigned] Thanks anyway.
[Shannon walks away, with Boone following behind like a Sherpa]
SHANNON: Boone!
BOONE: I'm coming, Shannon.
SHANNON: If you quit flirting with random guys, maybe you could actually get on the plane.
[Shannon and Boone walk out of earshot]
NIKKI: Promise me we'll never end up like them.
PAULO: [smiling] I promise.
[They kiss again]
AIRPORT PA SYSTEM: Paging Captain Stewart, please pick up the courtesy phone. Captain Stewart…
[Cut to the beach, about 12 hours after the scene in the airport. It’s the moments following the crash. Shannon screams at the top of her lungs. Jin shouts for Sun, as Nikki appears in the background]
SHANNON: [shrieking] BOONE!!! BOONE!!! BOONE!!!
[Nikki rushes past, seeing Jack with Claire, Boone with Rose. She then sees Locke helping carry a man. Locke turns to another man near the turbine]
JOHN: [to the man near the turbine] Hey, hey, get away from there! [waving Nikki away] Hey, get back, get down. [Again to the man near the turbine] Get away from there!!!
[The man is pulled into the turbine, causing it to explode. Nikki carries on walking, and sees a man in brown pants lying face down]
NIKKI: [shouting] Paulo! Paulo!
[She rolls him over, to find it is not Paulo. It's Leslie Arzt]
ARZT: Are we alive? Did we survive? Look at me, am I OK? [Nikki walks away ignoring him] Am I OK?
BOONE: [Runs up to Nikki] Hey. Do you have a pen? Do you have a pen? [Nikki looks at Boone as if she’s never heard of a pen. Boone runs off yelling] Hey does anybody have a pen?!
[Nikki finally sees Paulo looking out at sea with shocked eyes. She runs over & through the mangled debris and bodies to reach him.]
NIKKI: [out of breath] Paulo. Paulo, are you OK?
PAULO: [A small amount of blood is on his face. He seems more stunned than usual.] Yeah. I think so.
NIKKI: [forcefully] Baby look at me. Look at me.
[Paulo does so]
NIKKI: Where's the bag?
PAULO: [puzzled] What?
NIKKI: [more forcefully] The bag! Paulo, where is it?
[Paulo looks shocked]
[Cut to in real-time, in the jungle. We see Paulo's body (face-up with eyes open), and hear Sawyer, Hurley and Jin approaching.]
SAWYER: I'm telling ya, this is the trail.
HURLEY: What do you know about tracking?
SAWYER: Well I know what a footprint is.
JIN: Over here.
[They find Paulo’s body]
HURLEY: Whoa.
SAWYER: I'm guessing that's Paulo.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
HURLEY: He's just like Nikki, no wound, nothing.
JIN: [Speaks Korean]
HURLEY: [to Jin] Yeah I know.
[Sawyer sees one of Paulo's shoes, and removes it from a tree]
HURLEY: Why are his pants undone? And why's his shoe in that tree?
SAWYER: Maybe he stepped on something. [Tosses the shoe to Hurley]
[Sawyer looks out into the jungle as Jin opens Paulo's bag]
HURLEY: You see something? Sawyer?
SAWYER: Nothing.
[Jin uncaps Paulo's bottle of water from the bag.]
SAWYER: [shouting and running over] No! Don't.
[He pours all the liquid out]
HURLEY: Dude, what are you doing?
SAWYER: Two people are dead, you ever think they mighta been poisoned?
HURLEY: That's evidence! You're messing up the crime scene.
SAWYER: Crime scene? There a forensics hatch I don't know about?
JIN: [shouting] STOP! Monster.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “75 days ago” on the beach at night among the plane wreckage. Nikki and Paulo look through some of the unclaimed luggage]
NIKKI: How many times do I have to tell you, there's no such thing as monsters.
PAULO: Maybe it was a dinosaur.
NIKKI: Its not Jurassic Park, Paulo, it’s the South Pacific.
PAULO: Then what was it? You saw the trees move.
NIKKI: Would you start focusing? We've been here for six days, OK, the coastguard is gonna get here any second, and I really don't think that they're gonna take “hey, you know what, I'm looking for my script-bag” as an excuse for not getting on the rescue boat.
PAULO: OK, OK, OK.
ETHAN: Hey. You guys lose your luggage? Yeah I lost mine too. I found some other stuff though, so if you need anything, pants or, sweatshirt, I can help you find some that fit. I'm Ethan, by the way.
NIKKI: Hi, I'm Nikki, and this is Paulo.
ETHAN: Nikki.
PAULO: Hi.
ETHAN: Paulo.
NIKKI: And you are so sweet Ethan, but actually we're not looking for clothes. Yeah, see Paulo here lost his nicotine gum.
ETHAN: Ouch. You might have more luck looking inland.
PAULO: In the jungle?
ETHAN: The plane split apart when it was over the Island, so some of the stuff might have rained down in there.
[An argument can be heard, and Arzt runs past]
BOONE: It was just sitting in the tail.
ARZT: Boone! Boone took the water.
[A large number of survivors chatter and run around.]
BOONE: It got out of hand. No one would have understood.
KATE: What is going on?
BOONE: Someone had to take responsibility for it. It would have never have lasted...
[Charlie knocks Boone over, then Sayid holds back Charlie]
JACK: [shouting] Leave him alone! [everyone falls silent] It’s been six days, we're all still waiting for someone to come. We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. Now I found water, fresh water, up in the valley. I'll take in a group at first light. If you don't wanna come, then find another way to contribute. Because every man for himself is not gonna work. But if we can't live together, we're gonna die alone.
[Cut to real-time on the beach, as the group bring Paulo's body back to the beach and lay it beside Nikki]
HURLEY: I'm with Jin. It’s the Monster.
SAWYER: [sarcastically] Yeah, because that makes the most sense.
HURLEY: It does. Locke said when Eko died, his last words were “you're next”. And Nikki and Paulo were with them. He was talking about them.
SAWYER: He wasn't saying “you're next” about them, he was saying “you're next” as in… “you're ALL next”.
HURLEY: Yeah, that's not really better.
SAWYER: Alright, so here's how I see it. We wanna know what happened, we gotta find out whatever we can about these Jabronis.
JIN: Jabronis?
SAWYER: Nina and Pablo.
HURLEY: Dude, show some respect. You know their names, its Nikki and Paulo.
SAWYER: Whatever, Hugo. Where's their tent? [they start to walk off] And we better get some shovels.
[Cut to flashback “57 days ago” where Nikki wanders the beach in her bikini and goes to Arzt's tent, where he is examining bottles with insects inside them.]
NIKKI: [pouring on the charm] Hey Doctor Arzt.
ARZT: Oh hi.
NIKKI: You're a scientist, right?
ARZT: [getting flustered checking out her bikini] And… and an educator, yes.
NIKKI: What are you doing with all this stuff?
ARZT: Oh, uh… well, since we've got here, I've discovered twenty new species, I'm gonna be the next Charles Darwin.
[Nikki picks up a glass jar]
ARZT: [gently taking the jar from Nikki] Uh...ah...ah...um...that is uh... Latrodectus regina. Very dangerous. They call her the Medusa spider. Her pheromones are very strong, one whiff and every male of the species would be here in seconds. [smiling] Not unlike you I guess.
NIKKI: So, you're probably too busy to help me then.
ARZT: Me...no...no...not...not at all. I'm fine, er, I can help you, what can I do ya for?
NIKKI: Well I'm trying to find my luggage, and since the plane broke apart over the jungle, I was wondering if you knew about trajectories and stuff.
ARZT: [Laughs and bragging] Do I? Do I know about trajectories? Allow me to draw you a map, Madam.
[Nikki looks to see Paulo watching her – she nods “yes” at him. Later, they trek through the jungle together carrying the map]
PAULO: Are you sure we should be listening to a High School Science teacher?
NIKKI: Junior High, and yes. What's your problem with Leslie anyway?
PAULO: Leslie?
NIKKI: Oh ho, you're jealous!
PAULO: Of him? Ha, never.
NIKKI: Yeah his spiders turn me on so much, I had to sleep with him to get the map.
PAULO: I wouldn't be surprised. You slept with Zuckerman.
[Nikki stops walking]
NIKKI: I did that for us.
[She continues walking]
PAULO: OK I'm sorry, I just… I don't trust that guy. We should have gone to Ethan, he would have helped.
NIKKI: Paulo, look.
[They both look up to see the smugglers' plane dangling over the cliff edge, caught in the vines]
PAULO: Another plane, looks like it’s been here a while.
NIKKI: Go up there, maybe there's a radio or some...
PAULO: Are you insane? If I go up there that thing's gonna fall.
NIKKI: You're not gonna fall.
PAULO: What? You want me to die? [Pause] Come on. Let's keep going.
[They carry on, walking over an unusual surface.]
NIKKI: What's that?
[Paulo looks to see hatch doors poorly covered in dirt. They uncover it and try the doors.]
PAULO: OK, let's do it.
[They force open the doors, revealing a deep drop and a ladder by the side]
PAULO: Let's check it out.
NIKKI: [pissed off] Whoa… so our carry-on bag fell from the sky, opened a manhole, crawled inside and closed the doors behind itself? You don't wanna climb up to a plane, but now you wanna climb down a ladder into a dark tunnel? I don't think so.
[Nikki slams one of the doors shut and walks off]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where Sawyer rummages through Nikki and Paulo's tent as Hurley watches]
HURLEY: Hey man, be careful.
SAWYER: Why, they don't live here any more.
CHARLIE: [Entering the tent] So Sun checked the food. They were eating the same as us and no-one else is sick. Could be a virus?
HURLEY: Dude, Monster. [Sees something in the tent] Creepy, they collected bugs.
CHARLIE: [Looks at jars containing live bugs] Ah, I think these were Arzt's. Collected all kinds of creepy crawlies before he… exploded.
HURLEY: They must have been friends.
[Charlie pulls out a script-book]
CHARLIE: Exposé.
HURLEY: [reaching for the script-book] Did you just say Exposé?
CHARLIE: Yeah.
SAWYER: What the hell's Exposé?
HURLEY: [Enthusiastically] Only of the most awesome hour of television ever. It's like Baywatch only better. It’s about Autumn and Crystal, two strippers that solve crimes with the help of their suave smooth-talking club owner, Mr. LaShade.
SAWYER: [sarcastically] How'd I miss that one?
HURLEY: Check it out, look at the cast list, Nikki Fernandez. That's gotta be why she was in Australia. This must have been her big break.
CHARLIE: Well it certainly sounds like it.
HURLEY: No way. Mr. LaShade was The Cobra?
CHARLIE: Is that supposed to mean something?
HURLEY: Dude, The Cobra's this big bad guy. His identity's been shrouded in mystery for four seasons.
[Sawyer finds a walkie in Paulo's luggage, and turns it on]
HURLEY: They had a walkie talkie?
SAWYER: Every damn one of those bastards on the other side of the Island had one exactly like this hanging from their belts.
CHARLIE: So how did Nikki and Paulo get one?
SAWYER: I'll tell ya how. They were working with the Others.
[Cut to flashback “48 days ago”. Shannon and Arzt stand arguing with Kate as Paulo and Nikki approach]
SHANNON: What gives you the right?
KATE: You have to understand, we thought it was best for everybody.
ARZT: I'm sorry, are you my mother? Because she knows what's best for me, other than that, I decide.
NIKKI: Hey, what's going on?
SHANNON: Kate and her two boyfriends found a case of guns that fell out of the plane, but they decided they didn't really need to tell the camp.
KATE: Look. The case is locked. The key is around Jack's neck, alright, I promise you they're safe.
ARZT: You're all out of control. The pigs are walking. [Shouting] Huh, the pigs are walking!
[Everyone looks confused, since they didn’t get Artz’s reference to Orwell’s 1984. Both Shannon and Arzt leave.]
NIKKI: [to Kate] So, where did you say you found that case?
[Cut to the waterfall where Nikki and Paulo stand arguing]
NIKKI: Its just water, Paulo, stop being such a wuss, and dive in.
PAULO: Why me?
NIKKI: Well as you had no trouble reminding me, I slept with Howie Zuckerman. So the least you could do is go for a swim, and Kate said they found the case on the bottom.
PAULO: Let me ask you something.
NIKKI: What?
PAULO: If you didn't need me to find that bag, would we still be together?
NIKKI: That bag is worth eight million dollars. Just dive in, Paulo.
[Paulo does so, after swimming past the decomposing bodies still in their seats, he finds the bag between some rocks. He surfaces.]
NIKKI: Well?
PAULO: Nothing.
NIKKI: [Desperately] There's nothing down there?
PAULO: Just dead bodies.
[Nikki leaves, and Paulo goes underwater once more to fetch the bag]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where the survivors stand over Nikki and Paulo's bodies]
HURLEY: OK so they had a walkie talkie. You think they were working with the Others, like how?
SAWYER: Like Michael.
CHARLIE: If that's the case, when why'd they kill Nikki and Paulo?
SAWYER: Who knows why those people do anything. What matters is they could be out there right now waiting to get us.
HURLEY: I dunno, dude. I was with the Others like two weeks ago, they're on a total other side of the Island.
SUN: Then who dragged me into the jungle. [Charlie looks sheepish, glancing at Sawyer] The Others came into our camp, they grabbed me, put a bag over my head. And if I hadn't gotten away, they would have killed me.
SAWYER: Look y'all stay here. [Pulls out a gun] Lemme see if I can see any sign of em. I'll do a perimeter sweep.
HURLEY: Where'd you get the gun?
SAWYER: Got it off one of them.
HURLEY: And when were you gonna let us know?
SAWYER: I guess right now.
[Sawyer leaves]
HURLEY: What exactly is a perimeter sweep?
CHARLIE: [Shakes his head] Hey shouldn't we cover them up?
SUN: Yes, of course.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “32 days ago” on the beach at night, Paulo sits and takes some nicotine gum. He then brings out the Matryoshka doll from his bag and begins digging in the sand.]
JOHN: [walking up silently to Paulo] Nice night.
[Paulo is caught by surprise and hides the doll from John’s view]
JOHN: Whatcha doing?
PAULO: Nothing.
JOHN: It looks like you're digging a hole. Every man's entitled to his secrets Paulo, but can I give you a piece of advice?
PAULO: Please, John.
JOHN: You should put the shovel away and save yourself some trouble.
PAULO: Why is that?
JOHN: Things don't stay buried on this Island. The beach is eroding. Winter's coming, high tide. Whatever it is you're hiding, make sure you pick a spot that won't wash away. See you back at camp.
[John walks away, while Paulo looks at the doll, thinking.]
[Cut to Paulo entering the Pearl station with a flashlight and investigates. He finds a toilet, and hides the Matryoshka doll in the tank. As he finishes he hears voices and hides.]
BEN: [faintly] Who left this open?
JULIET: [faintly] Tom was down here a couple of days ago.
BEN: Have him cover it up with a plank.
[Ben and Juliet enter the main room and turn the monitor to show the Swan station, with Jack visible]
JULIET: That him? Shephard?
BEN: Yes.
JULIET: He's cute. Why are we doing this? Shephard will never agree to do the surgery.
BEN: No, I can convince him to do it.
JULIET: How?
BEN: Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in, and I exploit it.
JULIET: So, what? We just grab all three of them, Ford and Austen too?
BEN: No they need to come to us.
[Paulo is listening intently, while peeking out to glimpse a bit of Ben and Juliet]
JULIET: And how do we make that happen?
BEN: Michael, of course.
JULIET: Are we done here? This place gives me the creeps.
[Ben turns off the monitor and they leave, shutting off the lights. Paulo creeps out the bathroom, and finds their walkie on the table.]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where Hurley rushes over to the food tent as Desmond is eating]
HURLEY: Hey! Desmond! You hear about what happened to Nikki and Paulo?
DESMOND: Aye. Tragic.
HURLEY: So, do you know anything?
DESMOND: How d' you mean?
HURLEY: Can you, you know use your psychic powers?
DESMOND: Doesn't work like that. I only see flashes.
HURLEY: No offence dude but, as far as superpowers go, yours is kinda lame. Thanks anyway.
DESMOND: I do know that she was with your mate this morning.
HURLEY: My mate?
DESMOND: I saw her with your…your boy Sawyer. The dead girl, Nikki.
HURLEY: He said he didn't know her.
DESMOND: Then why was she yelling at him?
HURLEY: Yelling?
DESMOND: Aye.
HURLEY: At Sawyer, this morning?
DESMOND: Right before she died.
[Cut to further down the beach, where Paulo and Nikki bodies are lying. Vincent whimpers and pulls off the blanket covering them]
HURLEY: [stops digging their grave] Vincent! Dude!
CHARLIE: So he saw Sawyer and Nikki fighting. That doesn't prove anything.
HURLEY: Look at the facts, and ask yourself. Why is Sawyer so gung-ho about investigating this? What's in it for him? He pretended he didn't know their names, but then he was fighting with Nikki.
SUN: Sawyer's not a murderer. He went all the way across the Island to help Michael. It is the Others, I know what they can do.
[Charlie looks away]
HURLEY: OK, you know what, I'll go get Desmond, he'll tell you exactly what he saw.
[Hurley leaves]
CHARLIE: Sun. It was me.
SUN: What?
CHARLIE: It was me who took you, not the Others. I wasn't myself, after Locke hit me. [angrily] After he humiliated me. Sawyer told me I could get even by helping him steal the guns, we just made it look like the Others. I didn't mean to hurt you.
[Sun walks away with a tear in her eye]
CHARLIE: [Mutters] I'm sorry.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “9 days ago” on the beach. Locke, Sayid and Desmond approach the food tent and a group of survivors including Nikki and Paulo.]
JOHN: Hey everybody. We're heading out to the Pearl station, there's a computer there that might help us find our people. Anybody wanna come along?
NIKKI: [Raises her hand] I'll go.
JOHN: Great.
PAULO: [to Nikki] What?
JOHN: Anybody else wanna come, meet us at the tree-line in ten minutes, and bring water.
PAULO: You're not serious.
NIKKI: What? You always whine about not being included. Now's our chance.
[Cut to inside the Pearl hatch where the group try to fix the computers. Meanwhile, Paulo sneaks into the bathroom to retrieve the doll]
NIKKI: Hey guys. What are these other TVs for?
JOHN: Sorry?
[Paulo continues fiddling with the toilet tank, retrieving the doll and breaking it open.]
NIKKI: [faintly from the other room] All these TVs. This guy says that there's six stations. Uh, here, check it out.
[We faintly hear portions of The Pearl Orientation video, mentioning multiple projects being monitored]
NIKKI: “Projects”. More than one.
[Paulo retrieves something small from inside the dolls and shoves it down his pants. He then proceeds to hide the debris of the broken dolls.]
NIKKI: [faintly from the other room] So maybe some of these TVs are connected to the other hatches.
JOHN: [faintly] Well, I’m suddenly feeling very stupid.
SAYID: [faintly] Perhaps I could patch in one of the other feeds. See if we can get another picture.
[He flushes the toilet before entering the main room. The rest of them turn towards the sound of the toilet]
PAULO: The, uh… toilet still works.
[The group shrug off the interruption]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where the survivors continue to dig Nikki and Paulo's graves. Sawyer approaches and they all look at him.]
HURLEY: Give me the gun.
SAWYER: The hell you talking about?
HURLEY: [forcefully] Give it to me.
[Sawyer pulls out the gun and removes the clip]
SAWYER: Ain't even loaded.
HURLEY: Then how are you “sweeping the perimeter”. Quit lying dude.
Desmond saw you fighting with Nikki this morning.
SAWYER: [Mockingly] Oh I see what this is. Villagers have got themselves some torches.
HURLEY: Did you kill them?
SAWYER: No. No I didn't kill them. Yeah, me and Nikki went at it this morning. Cause she wanted a gun.
HURLEY: Why didn't you tell us this before?
SAWYER: [sighing] Cause of the dirt under her nails.
HURLEY: What?
SAWYER: She was digging. And when we found him I saw a fresh mound of dirt. She was burying something. And if you take the time to dig a hole right before you die, then what your hiding's probably pretty damn good.
SUN: So what was it? What did she hide?
[Sawyer throws Sun a small black velvet pouch. She pours out the contents onto her hand. Diamonds]
SAWYER: Go ahead, take ‘em. Cause whatever happened to those two I had nothing to do with it.
[Sawyer walks off]
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “12 hours ago”. Nikki sits on the beach, and Paulo joins her]
NIKKI: Did you know Thanksgiving was two weeks ago?
[Paulo shakes his head “no”]
NIKKI: We missed it, Paulo, just like we're gonna miss everything.
PAULO: They're going to find us. We'll get rescued. You'll see.
NIKKI: [Laughs] OK where did this sudden burst of optimism come from?
PAULO: I dunno. I guess… it’s how we look at things. Like the bag. I mean, maybe NOT finding it was good for us.
NIKKI: How do you figure that?
PAULO: Look what it did. It might have torn us apart.
NIKKI: Yeah.
[They both smile]
PAULO: Wait here. I'm gonna get us some breakfast.
NIKKI: [Smiles] OK.
[They kiss briefly. As Paulo leaves, Nikki notices something on the sand - a pack of nicotine. Nikki goes to see Sawyer]
NIKKI: OK, I know you have them. Give me a gun.
SAWYER: I don't have the guns. A-Team took ‘em all.
NIKKI: Right, except for the ones you kept for yourself.
SAWYER: Even if I had a gun I wouldn't give it to you. Judging by the fire you're breathin’, I got a feelin’ no good would come of it.
NIKKI: [desperate] Sawyer, give me a gun.
[Across the beach, Desmond notices the two arguing]
SAWYER: I got a better idea sister. How about you go stick your head in the ocean and cool yourself off.
NIKKI: Thanks for nothing.
[She leaves. Sawyer shouts after her]
SAWYER: And who the hell are you?!
[Cut to real-time on the beach, Sawyer closing Nikki's eyes]
SAWYER: [Whispers] Thanks for nothing.
[Sawyer digs the double grave. Sun approaches him]
SUN: Charlie told me it was your idea... to kidnap me.
SAWYER: [sighs] You gonna tell Jin?
SUN: No.
SAWYER: Why not?
SUN: Because then we'd have to dig another grave.
[Sun takes Sawyer's hand and gives him back the diamonds]
SAWYER: Why are you giving me these?
SUN: Because they're worthless here.
SAWYER: See, and I thought I was going to get out of this without a lecture...
[Sun slaps Sawyer hard across the face, and walks away. Some time later, Nikki and Paulo's bodies have been placed in the grave. A group of survivors have gathered for their funeral, which Hurley leads.]
HURLEY: Nikki and Paulo. I guess we didn't really know you very well. And it appears you killed each other for diamonds. But I know there are good parts to you too. You were always nice to me. And you're a member of the camp. And… I really loved Exposé. OK then, goodbye
[scoops a shovel of sand to start covering the bodies]
SAWYER: Wait.
[Sawyer pours the diamonds into his hand, then sprinkles them over the bodies]
SAWYER: Rest in peace, Nikki and Paulo.
[Cut to flashback “8 hours ago” in the jungle. Nikki leads Paulo down a path.]
PAULO: Come on. Just tell me.
NIKKI: Nuh-uh, it’s a surprise. We're almost there. OK, ready?
PAULO: Yeah.
[They stop at the clearing where Paulo was later found]
NIKKI: [Smugly] I found the diamonds, Paulo.
PAULO: [A look of confusion goes across his face] What? Where?
NIKKI: Right here.
[Paulo looks on the ground as Nikki frowns]
NIKKI: Give ‘em to me.
PAULO: [innocently] What are you talking about?
NIKKI: [accusingly] What am I talking about? [Pulls out the gum] What's this? Your nicotine gum. You wanted to stop looking for the bag cause you'd already found it. [shouting angrily] I know you have them, Paulo, so where are they?
PAULO: Calm down, OK?
[Nikki unscrews a glass jar with a spider inside]
PAULO: What the hell's that?
[Nikki opens the bottle and throws the contents at Paulo. The spider lands on his neck and bites him. He squashes the spider (releasing the pheromone that will attract the males).]
PAULO: Are you out of your mind?
NIKKI: You remember Doctor Arzt's friend. Did it bite you? [throwing the empty bottle far into the jungle] Does it hurt? He told me why they call it the Medusa Spider. Wanna know why?
[Paulo begins to shake and grabs Nikki]
PAULO: What did you do? [his arms aren’t working properly]
NIKKI: Because one look from Medusa would turn anyone into stone, just like one bite from the spider will paralyse you, for…oh…about eight hours. It won't kill you. It'll just slow your heart rate down to the point of where even a doctor would have a hard time... [laughing as Paulo falls to the ground] ...hearing it beat. You won't be able to move a muscle, so I'll be able to do… all sorts of nasty things to you. And since it bit you on your neck, I'd say paralysis will happen fast. [Paulo quivers, lying on his back] I'm guessing that you have the diamonds on you. Huh?
[Nikki searches Paulo]
NIKKI: In a shoe, maybe?
[Finding nothing, she throws the shoe away, and it catches in a tree]
NIKKI: [Looking back at Paulo, she pauses and smiles triumphantly] I think I know where...
[She undoes Paulo's belt and zipper, and pulls the diamond pouch out of his underwear]
NIKKI: Son of a bitch. [she pours the diamonds into her hand]
PAULO: I'm sorry.
NIKKI: [coldly] You're only sorry ‘cause you got caught.
PAULO: [crying] I was… afraid… of losing you. If you found the diamonds, you wouldn't need me any more.
[As Nikki looks at him, the clicking sound of the Monster can be heard. As Nikki looks around, numerous Medusa spiders swarm towards her. One crawls up Nikki’s shoe towards her bare leg (Paulo sees it but says nothing).]
NIKKI: [The spider bites Nikki] Ow, dammit! [She shakes the spider off] Oh no. [runs quickly through the jungle] No! No! No!
[She stops, kneels down, and begins frantically digging in the dirt. She grabs the diamond pouch out of her bag, and buries it in the shallow hole, before getting up shakily to resume running. She then arrives at the beach, finding Hurley and Sawyer playing table tennis]
HURLEY: Er, you OK?
[Nikki collapses face down, and is turned over by Sawyer and Hurley]
HURLEY: Hey, hey, what happened?
NIKKI: [struggling for breath] Pa... lies... [We realize she’s trying to say “paralysed”]
[Cut to real-time on the beach, as Sawyer and Hurley begin to shovel sand over the bodies and the scattered diamonds. The rest of the survivors turn away and begin to leave. Sawyer and Hurley are concentrating on their shovelling, as Nikki's eyes open wide only to have sand bury her alive. Sawyer and Hurley finish burying the pair, and walk away]
[END]
Transcribed by: MaggiePixel
Written by: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Directed by: Stephen Williams
[Nikki runs quickly through the jungle. She stops, kneels down, and begins frantically digging in the dirt. She grabs something out of her bag, and buries it in the shallow hole, before getting up shakily to resume running.]
[Flashback]
[in a strip club. Nikki steps down the stairs, wearing a short white trench coat and hat.]
ANNOUNCER: And now! Dancing on stage three, the pride of Saint Paul, Corvette!
[Nikki begins pole dancing, removing her hat and jacket, revealing a skimpy metallic bikini. She notices a man in a suit enter the club and go into a back room.]
[Cut to the back office where Nikki (wearing her coat again) bursts in to find the man opening a case full of money, and another man in a purple hat watching video feeds of the strip club. Cheezy music is playing in the background]
NIKKI: [to the man with the briefcase] No! That's the money for the orphanage!
[The man wearing the purple hat turns around and we see it’s the actor Billy Dee Williams]
NIKKI: [to Billy Dee] That means, Mr. LaShade, you're The Cobra.
BILLY DEE: Sorry, baby. It's just business.
NIKKI: All this time it was you.
BILLY DEE: Pretty and smart. What a shame.
[He looks to the other man, who pulls a gun on Nikki.]
NIKKI: Razzle-dazzle! [She kicks the gun out of his hand and karate chops him in the neck.] Hiyah!
[She bends down and grabs the gun, but "LaShade" pulls out his own gun and shoots her twice. She collapses. "LaShade" stands up and shoots her again. Two other strippers enter and see Nikki's body.]
BILLY DEE: Autumn, Crystal, bad news. Corvette was working for The
Cobra. But fear not: he will pay.
DIRECTOR: And, cut!
[A man with a clipboard signals the scene's end. Production crew rush around. Nikki lifts herself up.]
BILLY DEE: Oh, let me give you a hand. [helps Nikki up]
NIKKI: Oh, thank you. Billy Dee, it was so great working with you.
BILLY DEE: Oh, no, the pleasure's all mine; thank you so much.
NIKKI: You're sweet.
BILLY DEE: Take care.
NIKKI: You too.
[Nikki heads over to meet the director {Howard L. Zukerman}. Grey hair and beard, he’s at least 3 times Nikki’s age.]
DIRECTOR: Alright, that's a series wrap for Corvette! Let's hear it for Nikki!
[Most of the production crew clap and whistle.]
NIKKI: Thank you.
DIRECTOR: Brilliant, Nikki, as always. [Lowering his voice] You know, you don't need to die. We can bring you back next season.
NIKKI: [laughs] How?
DIRECTOR: Well, let's say that, uh… Corvette was wearing a bullet-proof vest?
[Nikki pulls away her jacket to remind him that she is wearing nothing but a bikini underneath.]
DIRECTOR: [joking] Bullet-proof breast!
NIKKI: [covering back up] Look, I'm just a guest star, and we all know what happens to guest stars.
DIRECTOR: Now that your work's done here, I suppose you'll be leaving Sydney and heading back to L.A.
[They step off-set to look at Sydney Harbour.]
NIKKI: No, I'm not leaving Sydney. I love you.
DIRECTOR: I love you too.
[They smile and kiss]
[Cut to real-time on the beach. Hurley and Sawyer are playing table tennis. Hurley wins the point.]
SAWYER: [slamming his paddle against the table] Son of a bitch! [more calmly] Alright, c’mon, let's go one more.
HURLEY: You said best out of five.
SAWYER: Well, now we're going best of seven.
[Hurley is thinking this over, when suddenly someone approaches from the jungle. It's Nikki, who stumbles onto the beach looking dazed.]
SAWYER: Ah.
HURLEY: Uh, you OK?
[Nikki falls on her face, struggling to breathe. Hurley & Sawyer rush over and turn her face-up.]
HURLEY: What happened?
NIKKI: [struggling for breath] Pa... lies...
SAWYER: What the hell's she saying?
HURLEY: I dunno.
SAWYER: Let's get her some water! Get help!
[Sawyer gets up and moves toward the jungle, peering through the trees to see where Nikki came from. As Hurley watches, Nikki stops moving. Sawyer turns around and sees Hurley just sitting there.]
SAWYER: [frantic] What are you doing?! Get moving!
HURLEY: [calmly] Dude.... Nikki's dead.
SAWYER: [confused]... Who the hell's Nikki?
[OPENING CREDITS]
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “84 days ago” in a large airy house. The director and Nikki are eating breakfast in the dining room.]
NIKKI: Mmm. Howie, the frittata is amazing.
DIRECTOR: Hm hm! It’s my new chef; he's fantastic. Paulo, come in here.
PAULO: [wearing chef outfit, walks in with a bread basket] Yes, sir?
DIRECTOR: Paulo, my boy, you have a new fan. I'd like you to meet Nikki.
NIKKI: [To Paulo] The food is amazing.
PAULO: You're too kind. The secret is the… shaved truffles. Luckily for you, they are in season.
NIKKI: [in a mock whisper] You know, you should ask for a raise.
[Paulo chuckles, Nikki bursts into laughter, and the director pretends to be shocked.]
PAULO: Excuse me. [walks away]
DIRECTOR: He just came to Sydney. Heard I was hiring, and showed up at my office every day until I gave him the job. Apparently, back home, he's the, um, "Wolfgang Puck of Brazil".
NIKKI: Wow!
DIRECTOR: [passing the bread basket] Here. Try one of these home-made rolls. [Nikki laughs] Please, please do.
[Nikki takes a slice, revealing a diamond bracelet underneath. The director rubs his upper arm in some discomfort.]
NIKKI: Oh, it's... beautiful. Howie, you shouldn't have!
DIRECTOR: [laughs as Nikki puts the bracelet on] I realize, of course, it's not a ring. Not yet. But, uh, when my wife--
[The director abruptly stops talking and clutches his chest. Nikki stops admiring the bracelet and jumps to his side.]
NIKKI: [urgently] Paulo..! Paulo!
[Paulo hurries in. Both stand over the director as he moans, then stops moving. Paulo checks his pulse.]
PAULO: He's gone.
[Nikki moves as if to touch the director gently, but instead rips open his shirt and grabs a small key on a necklace he's wearing. She yanks the necklace off his neck.]
NIKKI: [scornfully] I would have loved it if you could have figured out a way where I didn't have to eat the same food as him.
[Cut to the pair in a walk-in closet with a safe.]
PAULO: So nobody else knows about this thing?
NIKKI: Everything in here is way off the books.
[Nikki puts the key in the safe and starts to open it. Paulo pulls out a cigarette and prepares to light up, but Nikki grabs it out of his mouth.]
PAULO: What?
NIKKI: Ashes are evidence, Paulo. We poisoned him; let's not poison ourselves.
[Paulo reluctantly snaps his lighter shut. Nikki opens the safe and pulls out a Matryoshka doll. She opens three layers of dolls to get whatever’s at the centre. Nikki and Paulo smile down at the contents.]
NIKKI: Razzle-frickin'-dazzle!
Cur to real time on the beach Nikki's body, (face up, and eyes open), as the survivors assess the situation.]
CHARLIE: What happened?
HURLEY: We dunno. She's got no gunshot wound, no knife wound, no polar bear bite, nothing.
SUN: Maybe it was something she ate.
CHARLIE: Maybe she was poisoned.
SUN: We should check the food supply to see if anyone else is sick.
CHARLIE: [checking Nikki's limp hands] She's got gunk… under her fingernails. [to Sawyer] Where'd you find her?
SAWYER: Right here. She stumbled out of the jungle, face-planted, said something like "plywood", and... and, sayonara.
HURLEY: Actually, I think she said "power lines".
SAWYER: Well, who the hell knows what she said; she was five seconds from dying. Probably seeing a light at the end of the tunnel--
HURLEY: [interrupts Sawyer with a shout] "Paulo lies"! That's what she said! "Paulo lies", not "power lines". "Paulo lies".
SAWYER: Who the hell's Paulo?
HURLEY: Paulo's her... husband, or her... boyfriend, or... whatever. They live down the beach.
SAWYER: Well, where the hell is he? 'Cause if he lies, that might be a good place to start.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “80 days ago”, Paulo is reading the obituary of the director to Nikki]
PAULO: English ex-pat, Howard L. Zuckerman, the creative force behind such hit shows as Exposé, Strike Team Alpha and Dr. Kincaid Esquire, was found dead in his palatial Sydney estate from heart failure.
[Both laugh, and then kiss. We realize they’re in an airport restaurant.]
NIKKI: Are you chewing gum?
[Paulo opens an Exposé bag, inside is the Matryoshka doll. He pulls out a small box and displays it to her.]
PAULO: [proud of himself] Nicotine gum. I quit.
[They pick up champagne glasses]
PAULO: A toast. To our new life together.
NIKKI: Cheers.
[Behind them, two people arrive nearby]
SHANNON: [whining] There's nowhere to sit. No tables, no chairs, nothing. Good call, Boone.
BOONE: [calmly] Do you wanna just grab a chair from the restaurant?
SHANNON: No, forget it, let's just leave. You already screwed us out of seats in first class, why would you be able to find them here.
BOONE: [To Paulo and Nikki, motioning towards the chair] Hey, can I have this chair please?
PAULO: Yeah. Be my guest.
SHANNON: [shouting] Boone! Let's just go!
BOONE: [resigned] Thanks anyway.
[Shannon walks away, with Boone following behind like a Sherpa]
SHANNON: Boone!
BOONE: I'm coming, Shannon.
SHANNON: If you quit flirting with random guys, maybe you could actually get on the plane.
[Shannon and Boone walk out of earshot]
NIKKI: Promise me we'll never end up like them.
PAULO: [smiling] I promise.
[They kiss again]
AIRPORT PA SYSTEM: Paging Captain Stewart, please pick up the courtesy phone. Captain Stewart…
[Cut to the beach, about 12 hours after the scene in the airport. It’s the moments following the crash. Shannon screams at the top of her lungs. Jin shouts for Sun, as Nikki appears in the background]
SHANNON: [shrieking] BOONE!!! BOONE!!! BOONE!!!
[Nikki rushes past, seeing Jack with Claire, Boone with Rose. She then sees Locke helping carry a man. Locke turns to another man near the turbine]
JOHN: [to the man near the turbine] Hey, hey, get away from there! [waving Nikki away] Hey, get back, get down. [Again to the man near the turbine] Get away from there!!!
[The man is pulled into the turbine, causing it to explode. Nikki carries on walking, and sees a man in brown pants lying face down]
NIKKI: [shouting] Paulo! Paulo!
[She rolls him over, to find it is not Paulo. It's Leslie Arzt]
ARZT: Are we alive? Did we survive? Look at me, am I OK? [Nikki walks away ignoring him] Am I OK?
BOONE: [Runs up to Nikki] Hey. Do you have a pen? Do you have a pen? [Nikki looks at Boone as if she’s never heard of a pen. Boone runs off yelling] Hey does anybody have a pen?!
[Nikki finally sees Paulo looking out at sea with shocked eyes. She runs over & through the mangled debris and bodies to reach him.]
NIKKI: [out of breath] Paulo. Paulo, are you OK?
PAULO: [A small amount of blood is on his face. He seems more stunned than usual.] Yeah. I think so.
NIKKI: [forcefully] Baby look at me. Look at me.
[Paulo does so]
NIKKI: Where's the bag?
PAULO: [puzzled] What?
NIKKI: [more forcefully] The bag! Paulo, where is it?
[Paulo looks shocked]
[Cut to in real-time, in the jungle. We see Paulo's body (face-up with eyes open), and hear Sawyer, Hurley and Jin approaching.]
SAWYER: I'm telling ya, this is the trail.
HURLEY: What do you know about tracking?
SAWYER: Well I know what a footprint is.
JIN: Over here.
[They find Paulo’s body]
HURLEY: Whoa.
SAWYER: I'm guessing that's Paulo.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
HURLEY: He's just like Nikki, no wound, nothing.
JIN: [Speaks Korean]
HURLEY: [to Jin] Yeah I know.
[Sawyer sees one of Paulo's shoes, and removes it from a tree]
HURLEY: Why are his pants undone? And why's his shoe in that tree?
SAWYER: Maybe he stepped on something. [Tosses the shoe to Hurley]
[Sawyer looks out into the jungle as Jin opens Paulo's bag]
HURLEY: You see something? Sawyer?
SAWYER: Nothing.
[Jin uncaps Paulo's bottle of water from the bag.]
SAWYER: [shouting and running over] No! Don't.
[He pours all the liquid out]
HURLEY: Dude, what are you doing?
SAWYER: Two people are dead, you ever think they mighta been poisoned?
HURLEY: That's evidence! You're messing up the crime scene.
SAWYER: Crime scene? There a forensics hatch I don't know about?
JIN: [shouting] STOP! Monster.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “75 days ago” on the beach at night among the plane wreckage. Nikki and Paulo look through some of the unclaimed luggage]
NIKKI: How many times do I have to tell you, there's no such thing as monsters.
PAULO: Maybe it was a dinosaur.
NIKKI: Its not Jurassic Park, Paulo, it’s the South Pacific.
PAULO: Then what was it? You saw the trees move.
NIKKI: Would you start focusing? We've been here for six days, OK, the coastguard is gonna get here any second, and I really don't think that they're gonna take “hey, you know what, I'm looking for my script-bag” as an excuse for not getting on the rescue boat.
PAULO: OK, OK, OK.
ETHAN: Hey. You guys lose your luggage? Yeah I lost mine too. I found some other stuff though, so if you need anything, pants or, sweatshirt, I can help you find some that fit. I'm Ethan, by the way.
NIKKI: Hi, I'm Nikki, and this is Paulo.
ETHAN: Nikki.
PAULO: Hi.
ETHAN: Paulo.
NIKKI: And you are so sweet Ethan, but actually we're not looking for clothes. Yeah, see Paulo here lost his nicotine gum.
ETHAN: Ouch. You might have more luck looking inland.
PAULO: In the jungle?
ETHAN: The plane split apart when it was over the Island, so some of the stuff might have rained down in there.
[An argument can be heard, and Arzt runs past]
BOONE: It was just sitting in the tail.
ARZT: Boone! Boone took the water.
[A large number of survivors chatter and run around.]
BOONE: It got out of hand. No one would have understood.
KATE: What is going on?
BOONE: Someone had to take responsibility for it. It would have never have lasted...
[Charlie knocks Boone over, then Sayid holds back Charlie]
JACK: [shouting] Leave him alone! [everyone falls silent] It’s been six days, we're all still waiting for someone to come. We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. Now I found water, fresh water, up in the valley. I'll take in a group at first light. If you don't wanna come, then find another way to contribute. Because every man for himself is not gonna work. But if we can't live together, we're gonna die alone.
[Cut to real-time on the beach, as the group bring Paulo's body back to the beach and lay it beside Nikki]
HURLEY: I'm with Jin. It’s the Monster.
SAWYER: [sarcastically] Yeah, because that makes the most sense.
HURLEY: It does. Locke said when Eko died, his last words were “you're next”. And Nikki and Paulo were with them. He was talking about them.
SAWYER: He wasn't saying “you're next” about them, he was saying “you're next” as in… “you're ALL next”.
HURLEY: Yeah, that's not really better.
SAWYER: Alright, so here's how I see it. We wanna know what happened, we gotta find out whatever we can about these Jabronis.
JIN: Jabronis?
SAWYER: Nina and Pablo.
HURLEY: Dude, show some respect. You know their names, its Nikki and Paulo.
SAWYER: Whatever, Hugo. Where's their tent? [they start to walk off] And we better get some shovels.
[Cut to flashback “57 days ago” where Nikki wanders the beach in her bikini and goes to Arzt's tent, where he is examining bottles with insects inside them.]
NIKKI: [pouring on the charm] Hey Doctor Arzt.
ARZT: Oh hi.
NIKKI: You're a scientist, right?
ARZT: [getting flustered checking out her bikini] And… and an educator, yes.
NIKKI: What are you doing with all this stuff?
ARZT: Oh, uh… well, since we've got here, I've discovered twenty new species, I'm gonna be the next Charles Darwin.
[Nikki picks up a glass jar]
ARZT: [gently taking the jar from Nikki] Uh...ah...ah...um...that is uh... Latrodectus regina. Very dangerous. They call her the Medusa spider. Her pheromones are very strong, one whiff and every male of the species would be here in seconds. [smiling] Not unlike you I guess.
NIKKI: So, you're probably too busy to help me then.
ARZT: Me...no...no...not...not at all. I'm fine, er, I can help you, what can I do ya for?
NIKKI: Well I'm trying to find my luggage, and since the plane broke apart over the jungle, I was wondering if you knew about trajectories and stuff.
ARZT: [Laughs and bragging] Do I? Do I know about trajectories? Allow me to draw you a map, Madam.
[Nikki looks to see Paulo watching her – she nods “yes” at him. Later, they trek through the jungle together carrying the map]
PAULO: Are you sure we should be listening to a High School Science teacher?
NIKKI: Junior High, and yes. What's your problem with Leslie anyway?
PAULO: Leslie?
NIKKI: Oh ho, you're jealous!
PAULO: Of him? Ha, never.
NIKKI: Yeah his spiders turn me on so much, I had to sleep with him to get the map.
PAULO: I wouldn't be surprised. You slept with Zuckerman.
[Nikki stops walking]
NIKKI: I did that for us.
[She continues walking]
PAULO: OK I'm sorry, I just… I don't trust that guy. We should have gone to Ethan, he would have helped.
NIKKI: Paulo, look.
[They both look up to see the smugglers' plane dangling over the cliff edge, caught in the vines]
PAULO: Another plane, looks like it’s been here a while.
NIKKI: Go up there, maybe there's a radio or some...
PAULO: Are you insane? If I go up there that thing's gonna fall.
NIKKI: You're not gonna fall.
PAULO: What? You want me to die? [Pause] Come on. Let's keep going.
[They carry on, walking over an unusual surface.]
NIKKI: What's that?
[Paulo looks to see hatch doors poorly covered in dirt. They uncover it and try the doors.]
PAULO: OK, let's do it.
[They force open the doors, revealing a deep drop and a ladder by the side]
PAULO: Let's check it out.
NIKKI: [pissed off] Whoa… so our carry-on bag fell from the sky, opened a manhole, crawled inside and closed the doors behind itself? You don't wanna climb up to a plane, but now you wanna climb down a ladder into a dark tunnel? I don't think so.
[Nikki slams one of the doors shut and walks off]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where Sawyer rummages through Nikki and Paulo's tent as Hurley watches]
HURLEY: Hey man, be careful.
SAWYER: Why, they don't live here any more.
CHARLIE: [Entering the tent] So Sun checked the food. They were eating the same as us and no-one else is sick. Could be a virus?
HURLEY: Dude, Monster. [Sees something in the tent] Creepy, they collected bugs.
CHARLIE: [Looks at jars containing live bugs] Ah, I think these were Arzt's. Collected all kinds of creepy crawlies before he… exploded.
HURLEY: They must have been friends.
[Charlie pulls out a script-book]
CHARLIE: Exposé.
HURLEY: [reaching for the script-book] Did you just say Exposé?
CHARLIE: Yeah.
SAWYER: What the hell's Exposé?
HURLEY: [Enthusiastically] Only of the most awesome hour of television ever. It's like Baywatch only better. It’s about Autumn and Crystal, two strippers that solve crimes with the help of their suave smooth-talking club owner, Mr. LaShade.
SAWYER: [sarcastically] How'd I miss that one?
HURLEY: Check it out, look at the cast list, Nikki Fernandez. That's gotta be why she was in Australia. This must have been her big break.
CHARLIE: Well it certainly sounds like it.
HURLEY: No way. Mr. LaShade was The Cobra?
CHARLIE: Is that supposed to mean something?
HURLEY: Dude, The Cobra's this big bad guy. His identity's been shrouded in mystery for four seasons.
[Sawyer finds a walkie in Paulo's luggage, and turns it on]
HURLEY: They had a walkie talkie?
SAWYER: Every damn one of those bastards on the other side of the Island had one exactly like this hanging from their belts.
CHARLIE: So how did Nikki and Paulo get one?
SAWYER: I'll tell ya how. They were working with the Others.
[Cut to flashback “48 days ago”. Shannon and Arzt stand arguing with Kate as Paulo and Nikki approach]
SHANNON: What gives you the right?
KATE: You have to understand, we thought it was best for everybody.
ARZT: I'm sorry, are you my mother? Because she knows what's best for me, other than that, I decide.
NIKKI: Hey, what's going on?
SHANNON: Kate and her two boyfriends found a case of guns that fell out of the plane, but they decided they didn't really need to tell the camp.
KATE: Look. The case is locked. The key is around Jack's neck, alright, I promise you they're safe.
ARZT: You're all out of control. The pigs are walking. [Shouting] Huh, the pigs are walking!
[Everyone looks confused, since they didn’t get Artz’s reference to Orwell’s 1984. Both Shannon and Arzt leave.]
NIKKI: [to Kate] So, where did you say you found that case?
[Cut to the waterfall where Nikki and Paulo stand arguing]
NIKKI: Its just water, Paulo, stop being such a wuss, and dive in.
PAULO: Why me?
NIKKI: Well as you had no trouble reminding me, I slept with Howie Zuckerman. So the least you could do is go for a swim, and Kate said they found the case on the bottom.
PAULO: Let me ask you something.
NIKKI: What?
PAULO: If you didn't need me to find that bag, would we still be together?
NIKKI: That bag is worth eight million dollars. Just dive in, Paulo.
[Paulo does so, after swimming past the decomposing bodies still in their seats, he finds the bag between some rocks. He surfaces.]
NIKKI: Well?
PAULO: Nothing.
NIKKI: [Desperately] There's nothing down there?
PAULO: Just dead bodies.
[Nikki leaves, and Paulo goes underwater once more to fetch the bag]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where the survivors stand over Nikki and Paulo's bodies]
HURLEY: OK so they had a walkie talkie. You think they were working with the Others, like how?
SAWYER: Like Michael.
CHARLIE: If that's the case, when why'd they kill Nikki and Paulo?
SAWYER: Who knows why those people do anything. What matters is they could be out there right now waiting to get us.
HURLEY: I dunno, dude. I was with the Others like two weeks ago, they're on a total other side of the Island.
SUN: Then who dragged me into the jungle. [Charlie looks sheepish, glancing at Sawyer] The Others came into our camp, they grabbed me, put a bag over my head. And if I hadn't gotten away, they would have killed me.
SAWYER: Look y'all stay here. [Pulls out a gun] Lemme see if I can see any sign of em. I'll do a perimeter sweep.
HURLEY: Where'd you get the gun?
SAWYER: Got it off one of them.
HURLEY: And when were you gonna let us know?
SAWYER: I guess right now.
[Sawyer leaves]
HURLEY: What exactly is a perimeter sweep?
CHARLIE: [Shakes his head] Hey shouldn't we cover them up?
SUN: Yes, of course.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “32 days ago” on the beach at night, Paulo sits and takes some nicotine gum. He then brings out the Matryoshka doll from his bag and begins digging in the sand.]
JOHN: [walking up silently to Paulo] Nice night.
[Paulo is caught by surprise and hides the doll from John’s view]
JOHN: Whatcha doing?
PAULO: Nothing.
JOHN: It looks like you're digging a hole. Every man's entitled to his secrets Paulo, but can I give you a piece of advice?
PAULO: Please, John.
JOHN: You should put the shovel away and save yourself some trouble.
PAULO: Why is that?
JOHN: Things don't stay buried on this Island. The beach is eroding. Winter's coming, high tide. Whatever it is you're hiding, make sure you pick a spot that won't wash away. See you back at camp.
[John walks away, while Paulo looks at the doll, thinking.]
[Cut to Paulo entering the Pearl station with a flashlight and investigates. He finds a toilet, and hides the Matryoshka doll in the tank. As he finishes he hears voices and hides.]
BEN: [faintly] Who left this open?
JULIET: [faintly] Tom was down here a couple of days ago.
BEN: Have him cover it up with a plank.
[Ben and Juliet enter the main room and turn the monitor to show the Swan station, with Jack visible]
JULIET: That him? Shephard?
BEN: Yes.
JULIET: He's cute. Why are we doing this? Shephard will never agree to do the surgery.
BEN: No, I can convince him to do it.
JULIET: How?
BEN: Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in, and I exploit it.
JULIET: So, what? We just grab all three of them, Ford and Austen too?
BEN: No they need to come to us.
[Paulo is listening intently, while peeking out to glimpse a bit of Ben and Juliet]
JULIET: And how do we make that happen?
BEN: Michael, of course.
JULIET: Are we done here? This place gives me the creeps.
[Ben turns off the monitor and they leave, shutting off the lights. Paulo creeps out the bathroom, and finds their walkie on the table.]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where Hurley rushes over to the food tent as Desmond is eating]
HURLEY: Hey! Desmond! You hear about what happened to Nikki and Paulo?
DESMOND: Aye. Tragic.
HURLEY: So, do you know anything?
DESMOND: How d' you mean?
HURLEY: Can you, you know use your psychic powers?
DESMOND: Doesn't work like that. I only see flashes.
HURLEY: No offence dude but, as far as superpowers go, yours is kinda lame. Thanks anyway.
DESMOND: I do know that she was with your mate this morning.
HURLEY: My mate?
DESMOND: I saw her with your…your boy Sawyer. The dead girl, Nikki.
HURLEY: He said he didn't know her.
DESMOND: Then why was she yelling at him?
HURLEY: Yelling?
DESMOND: Aye.
HURLEY: At Sawyer, this morning?
DESMOND: Right before she died.
[Cut to further down the beach, where Paulo and Nikki bodies are lying. Vincent whimpers and pulls off the blanket covering them]
HURLEY: [stops digging their grave] Vincent! Dude!
CHARLIE: So he saw Sawyer and Nikki fighting. That doesn't prove anything.
HURLEY: Look at the facts, and ask yourself. Why is Sawyer so gung-ho about investigating this? What's in it for him? He pretended he didn't know their names, but then he was fighting with Nikki.
SUN: Sawyer's not a murderer. He went all the way across the Island to help Michael. It is the Others, I know what they can do.
[Charlie looks away]
HURLEY: OK, you know what, I'll go get Desmond, he'll tell you exactly what he saw.
[Hurley leaves]
CHARLIE: Sun. It was me.
SUN: What?
CHARLIE: It was me who took you, not the Others. I wasn't myself, after Locke hit me. [angrily] After he humiliated me. Sawyer told me I could get even by helping him steal the guns, we just made it look like the Others. I didn't mean to hurt you.
[Sun walks away with a tear in her eye]
CHARLIE: [Mutters] I'm sorry.
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “9 days ago” on the beach. Locke, Sayid and Desmond approach the food tent and a group of survivors including Nikki and Paulo.]
JOHN: Hey everybody. We're heading out to the Pearl station, there's a computer there that might help us find our people. Anybody wanna come along?
NIKKI: [Raises her hand] I'll go.
JOHN: Great.
PAULO: [to Nikki] What?
JOHN: Anybody else wanna come, meet us at the tree-line in ten minutes, and bring water.
PAULO: You're not serious.
NIKKI: What? You always whine about not being included. Now's our chance.
[Cut to inside the Pearl hatch where the group try to fix the computers. Meanwhile, Paulo sneaks into the bathroom to retrieve the doll]
NIKKI: Hey guys. What are these other TVs for?
JOHN: Sorry?
[Paulo continues fiddling with the toilet tank, retrieving the doll and breaking it open.]
NIKKI: [faintly from the other room] All these TVs. This guy says that there's six stations. Uh, here, check it out.
[We faintly hear portions of The Pearl Orientation video, mentioning multiple projects being monitored]
NIKKI: “Projects”. More than one.
[Paulo retrieves something small from inside the dolls and shoves it down his pants. He then proceeds to hide the debris of the broken dolls.]
NIKKI: [faintly from the other room] So maybe some of these TVs are connected to the other hatches.
JOHN: [faintly] Well, I’m suddenly feeling very stupid.
SAYID: [faintly] Perhaps I could patch in one of the other feeds. See if we can get another picture.
[He flushes the toilet before entering the main room. The rest of them turn towards the sound of the toilet]
PAULO: The, uh… toilet still works.
[The group shrug off the interruption]
[Cut to real-time on the beach where the survivors continue to dig Nikki and Paulo's graves. Sawyer approaches and they all look at him.]
HURLEY: Give me the gun.
SAWYER: The hell you talking about?
HURLEY: [forcefully] Give it to me.
[Sawyer pulls out the gun and removes the clip]
SAWYER: Ain't even loaded.
HURLEY: Then how are you “sweeping the perimeter”. Quit lying dude.
Desmond saw you fighting with Nikki this morning.
SAWYER: [Mockingly] Oh I see what this is. Villagers have got themselves some torches.
HURLEY: Did you kill them?
SAWYER: No. No I didn't kill them. Yeah, me and Nikki went at it this morning. Cause she wanted a gun.
HURLEY: Why didn't you tell us this before?
SAWYER: [sighing] Cause of the dirt under her nails.
HURLEY: What?
SAWYER: She was digging. And when we found him I saw a fresh mound of dirt. She was burying something. And if you take the time to dig a hole right before you die, then what your hiding's probably pretty damn good.
SUN: So what was it? What did she hide?
[Sawyer throws Sun a small black velvet pouch. She pours out the contents onto her hand. Diamonds]
SAWYER: Go ahead, take ‘em. Cause whatever happened to those two I had nothing to do with it.
[Sawyer walks off]
[Flashback]
[Cut to flashback “12 hours ago”. Nikki sits on the beach, and Paulo joins her]
NIKKI: Did you know Thanksgiving was two weeks ago?
[Paulo shakes his head “no”]
NIKKI: We missed it, Paulo, just like we're gonna miss everything.
PAULO: They're going to find us. We'll get rescued. You'll see.
NIKKI: [Laughs] OK where did this sudden burst of optimism come from?
PAULO: I dunno. I guess… it’s how we look at things. Like the bag. I mean, maybe NOT finding it was good for us.
NIKKI: How do you figure that?
PAULO: Look what it did. It might have torn us apart.
NIKKI: Yeah.
[They both smile]
PAULO: Wait here. I'm gonna get us some breakfast.
NIKKI: [Smiles] OK.
[They kiss briefly. As Paulo leaves, Nikki notices something on the sand - a pack of nicotine. Nikki goes to see Sawyer]
NIKKI: OK, I know you have them. Give me a gun.
SAWYER: I don't have the guns. A-Team took ‘em all.
NIKKI: Right, except for the ones you kept for yourself.
SAWYER: Even if I had a gun I wouldn't give it to you. Judging by the fire you're breathin’, I got a feelin’ no good would come of it.
NIKKI: [desperate] Sawyer, give me a gun.
[Across the beach, Desmond notices the two arguing]
SAWYER: I got a better idea sister. How about you go stick your head in the ocean and cool yourself off.
NIKKI: Thanks for nothing.
[She leaves. Sawyer shouts after her]
SAWYER: And who the hell are you?!
[Cut to real-time on the beach, Sawyer closing Nikki's eyes]
SAWYER: [Whispers] Thanks for nothing.
[Sawyer digs the double grave. Sun approaches him]
SUN: Charlie told me it was your idea... to kidnap me.
SAWYER: [sighs] You gonna tell Jin?
SUN: No.
SAWYER: Why not?
SUN: Because then we'd have to dig another grave.
[Sun takes Sawyer's hand and gives him back the diamonds]
SAWYER: Why are you giving me these?
SUN: Because they're worthless here.
SAWYER: See, and I thought I was going to get out of this without a lecture...
[Sun slaps Sawyer hard across the face, and walks away. Some time later, Nikki and Paulo's bodies have been placed in the grave. A group of survivors have gathered for their funeral, which Hurley leads.]
HURLEY: Nikki and Paulo. I guess we didn't really know you very well. And it appears you killed each other for diamonds. But I know there are good parts to you too. You were always nice to me. And you're a member of the camp. And… I really loved Exposé. OK then, goodbye
[scoops a shovel of sand to start covering the bodies]
SAWYER: Wait.
[Sawyer pours the diamonds into his hand, then sprinkles them over the bodies]
SAWYER: Rest in peace, Nikki and Paulo.
[Cut to flashback “8 hours ago” in the jungle. Nikki leads Paulo down a path.]
PAULO: Come on. Just tell me.
NIKKI: Nuh-uh, it’s a surprise. We're almost there. OK, ready?
PAULO: Yeah.
[They stop at the clearing where Paulo was later found]
NIKKI: [Smugly] I found the diamonds, Paulo.
PAULO: [A look of confusion goes across his face] What? Where?
NIKKI: Right here.
[Paulo looks on the ground as Nikki frowns]
NIKKI: Give ‘em to me.
PAULO: [innocently] What are you talking about?
NIKKI: [accusingly] What am I talking about? [Pulls out the gum] What's this? Your nicotine gum. You wanted to stop looking for the bag cause you'd already found it. [shouting angrily] I know you have them, Paulo, so where are they?
PAULO: Calm down, OK?
[Nikki unscrews a glass jar with a spider inside]
PAULO: What the hell's that?
[Nikki opens the bottle and throws the contents at Paulo. The spider lands on his neck and bites him. He squashes the spider (releasing the pheromone that will attract the males).]
PAULO: Are you out of your mind?
NIKKI: You remember Doctor Arzt's friend. Did it bite you? [throwing the empty bottle far into the jungle] Does it hurt? He told me why they call it the Medusa Spider. Wanna know why?
[Paulo begins to shake and grabs Nikki]
PAULO: What did you do? [his arms aren’t working properly]
NIKKI: Because one look from Medusa would turn anyone into stone, just like one bite from the spider will paralyse you, for…oh…about eight hours. It won't kill you. It'll just slow your heart rate down to the point of where even a doctor would have a hard time... [laughing as Paulo falls to the ground] ...hearing it beat. You won't be able to move a muscle, so I'll be able to do… all sorts of nasty things to you. And since it bit you on your neck, I'd say paralysis will happen fast. [Paulo quivers, lying on his back] I'm guessing that you have the diamonds on you. Huh?
[Nikki searches Paulo]
NIKKI: In a shoe, maybe?
[Finding nothing, she throws the shoe away, and it catches in a tree]
NIKKI: [Looking back at Paulo, she pauses and smiles triumphantly] I think I know where...
[She undoes Paulo's belt and zipper, and pulls the diamond pouch out of his underwear]
NIKKI: Son of a bitch. [she pours the diamonds into her hand]
PAULO: I'm sorry.
NIKKI: [coldly] You're only sorry ‘cause you got caught.
PAULO: [crying] I was… afraid… of losing you. If you found the diamonds, you wouldn't need me any more.
[As Nikki looks at him, the clicking sound of the Monster can be heard. As Nikki looks around, numerous Medusa spiders swarm towards her. One crawls up Nikki’s shoe towards her bare leg (Paulo sees it but says nothing).]
NIKKI: [The spider bites Nikki] Ow, dammit! [She shakes the spider off] Oh no. [runs quickly through the jungle] No! No! No!
[She stops, kneels down, and begins frantically digging in the dirt. She grabs the diamond pouch out of her bag, and buries it in the shallow hole, before getting up shakily to resume running. She then arrives at the beach, finding Hurley and Sawyer playing table tennis]
HURLEY: Er, you OK?
[Nikki collapses face down, and is turned over by Sawyer and Hurley]
HURLEY: Hey, hey, what happened?
NIKKI: [struggling for breath] Pa... lies... [We realize she’s trying to say “paralysed”]
[Cut to real-time on the beach, as Sawyer and Hurley begin to shovel sand over the bodies and the scattered diamonds. The rest of the survivors turn away and begin to leave. Sawyer and Hurley are concentrating on their shovelling, as Nikki's eyes open wide only to have sand bury her alive. Sawyer and Hurley finish burying the pair, and walk away]
[END]
Transcribed by: MaggiePixel