FADE IN:

EXT. OVERPASS – DAY

The overpass is brimming with traffic, sounds of honking cars and screeching tires echo throughout under the bridge. The low hum of the city can be heard as well. Right past the overpass is the skyline of New York City. Under the bridge is full of trash, dumpsters are overflowing and mice scurry around where people can`t see. A few homemade shacks are constructed of cardboard and various pieces of garbage. These homes are long abandoned but still emit a feeling of complete despair, as if the very bowels of these huts are sorrowful.

ARTHOR, a man in his late twenties, brown disheveled hair, blue eyes, and a raspy voice, he has become homeless after a series of unfortunate events starting with his failure to be accepted into college caused him to decline into poverty

ARTHOR turns the corner and begins walking under the overpass, kicking a crumpled up piece of paper along the way.

ARTHOR picks up a can on the ground and inspects it. After discovering a few unsavory bulges he scowls and tosses the can away.

ARTHOR peers at a dumpster that isn`t nearly as full as the others.

ARTHOR swings the dumpster open and winces at the smell. Investigating the contents, he finds a few favorable cans. Mostly processed foods that haven`t expired yet. When he does come across a few cans, he is initially suspicious, trying to find signs of why the item was thrown out in the first place. After a few seconds of detailed inspection, the cans seem fine.

ARTHOR pulls a smudged photograph out of his jacket pocket. It is a younger photograph of him, with his arm around a girl. He thumbs it for a few seconds and then folds it up and shoves it back deep into his pocket.

CUT TO:

EXT. PIER – DAY

The pier clearly isn’t visited that often. The sky is grey and heavily overcast. Thunder grumbles in the distance. Trash is washing up on the shore. At the end of the pier is a small building that is beginning to fall apart. The beach is right aside a small road on the outskirts of the city. Arthur is sitting on a broken down chair fashioned out of a shopping cart, and he is cooking the contents of a can over a small flame. He is sitting next to his friend, Markus.

MARKUS, an older man in his forties, red hair, grey eyes, he is a veteran who couldn`t find work and eventually descended into a life of poverty, despite having a family; they don`t care to help him in his situation

MARKUS
(Coughs)
Hey. I was scavenging around the Grand Parkway Station, and I found this.

MARKUS reaches into his jacket and unveils a few small objects wrapped in a paper bag. After he carefully unwraps the bag, he places three unused cigarettes in his palm. He pokes them around gently and casually offers them to ARTHOR. ARTHOR nods enthusiastically and grabs a cigarette. He ignites the end with the flame that he is cooking with and puts the cigarette in his mouth. ARTHOR takes a big drag of his cigarette before looking back at his friend.

ARTHOR
(Coughing out smoke)
Thanks. I appreciate it.

MARKUS
Don`t mention it. Hey have been up by the Warrens yet? Word has it some shady business is going down up there.

ARTHOR
I don`t hang around there anymore. Too many junkies. Did it get worse?

MARKUS
(Chuckling)
I`d say so. I know a guy who used to scavenge by there and he wound up getting shot. Scary business.

ARTHOR
That`s messed up.
ARTHOR takes another drag of his cigarette.

ARTHOR
What is there to even scavenge in the Warrens anyway? People can barely even afford to live up there.

MARKUS
Well there`s a rumor going around that when a crime family is about to get busted, that`s where they hide their drug money.

MARKUS leans in.

MARKUS
(Whispering)
I`m talking millions of dollars just sitting there in the dumpster. Just need a guy like you and me to take it.

ARTHOR
What are you trying to say?

MARKUS
I`m saying that we need to go up there. Find some money and get back on our feet, you and me. Are you in?

ARTHOR
Sounds dangerous. Who told you we`d find cash?

MARKUS
Don`t worry about it. I just want to know. Are you in?

ARTHOR
(Jokingly)
Okay. But I`m gonna kill you if I get shot.

MARKUS
Won`t happen. Let`s get there before it gets dark.

ARTHOR puts out the fire, shovels the rest of the food in his mouth, and extinguishes the cigarette in the sand. MARKUS and ARTHOR both make their way back to the street near the beach.

CUT TO:

EXT. WARRENS – DAY

This area is very run down. It is a giant street covered by a bridge. Crime is very prevalent in this part of town and the occasional patrol car comes driving through the dark alleys. A few hooded men sit on the curbs with a paper bag in their hands, discretely sipping alcohol. The train occasionally passes over the bridge above the street, making it rumble and echoing the street below with loud noise. MARKUS and ARTHOR quickly dart in between alleys, checking all the dumpsters.

ARTHOR
I can`t find nothing.

MARKUS
Gotta be patient. There has to be something here.

ARTHOR
Whatever you say.

ARTHOR and MARKUS enter another alley that has a few dumpsters. They check each one diligently but still find nothing. A few shady looking men in suits give them dirty looks but this is all that happens.

MARKUS
We`ve got to find something.

MARKUS digs around in a trash can after a few seconds and pulls out a trash bag. It is heavy and sturdy looking but it doesn`t look that out of place.

ARTHOR
Is that supposed to be it?

MARKUS
Don`t know. Let`s find out.

MARKUS uses his fingernail to tear open the side of the bag and examines the contents. A few grease-stained boxes fall out.

MARKUS
Just some more garbage.

ARTHOR
What about that box?

ARTHOR points to a rather suspicious looking box tucked near the corner of the dumpster. It is taped up and labeled as “Fragile”. Upon further examination, MARKUS removes the box from the dumpster and tears it open. Inside the box are stacks and stacks of one hundred dollar bills. MARKUS`S jaw drops.

ARTHOR
Oh my god. Are those real?

MARKUS picks up a handful of one hundred dollar bills.

MARKUS
I think they are. Do you know what this means?

ARTHOR
It`s our way out!

MARKUS
Fifty fifty?

ARTHOR
Yeah. I can`t believe this is happening. What are you going to do with your half anyway?

MARKUS
Me and my buddy Fred are going to be roommates for a while. I can`t wait until he gets a load of this.

Both of the men begin filling their pockets full of cash until they have split the money evenly. Still high off of excitement, they both hug and share a few laughs. Once the excitement dies down they begin to say their last goodbyes.

MARKUS
I`ve got to get going now.

ARTHOR
Yeah. Me too.

MARKUS
It`s been great kid. I hope to see you again someday.

ARTHOR
Don`t worry. You will.

They both nod and head in their separate directions. A couple suited men standing near the entrance to the alley take notice and approach the spot where MARKUS and ARTHOR had been standing only a few moments before.

CUT TO:

INT. FANCY HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT

This place has some real class. Silk drapes over the windows, perfectly polished wood floors, and elegantly painted walls, a shade of tan. In the center of the wall is a flat screen television hooked up to the cable service. The bed is queen sized and has several furnishings fit for a king. ARTHOR is lying in the bed, watching some television for the first time in years. MARKUS flips through some channels. He passes through cartoons, sitcoms, movies, and reality television. He stops when he reaches the local news.

TELEVISON
Tragedy has struck today when the body of a homeless man was discovered today in the nearby river. He was shot point blank by an unknown assailant. The man can be identified as a Fred Truman. Staff at a nearby apartment complex noted that he and another homeless man were trying to purchase a room. When a group of armed men entered the building, they killed Fred and kidnapped his companion. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

ARTHOR
Markus?

ARTHOR puts on his jacket to go see where Markus could`ve gone. Suddenly there is a heavy knocking on the door. It fills his heart full of fear.

UNKNOWN VOICE
Hello? Are you in there? I believe you have something that belongs to us.

ARTHOR stops in his tracks. The money was theirs and now they`re coming back to get it.

ARTHOR
What do you want?

The door is kicked open and swings violently against its hinges. A bald man in his forties walks in and points a silenced pistol at ARTHOR.

BALD MAN
Give me the money.

ARTHOR
(Shaking)
What money are you talking about?

BALD MAN
Don`t lie to me. Let`s go.

CUT TO:
EXT. Rooftop – Night

The rooftop is cold and isolated in a weird way, as if everything that happened up amongst the clouds was completely isolated. The sound of cars echo from below as angry drivers scream at one another despite all the heavy traffic. Lights are shining through the windows of each apartment and business building and the city still reflects a feeling of calmness that can only be described as purely peaceful. Every now and then the sound of an airplane will come bursting through the air as it shines up the night sky. Below on the streets, people are still making their way to various shopping centers or just taking a midnight stroll. Occasionally, a few police officers will go running after a suspect but other than that, this was a scene full of peace. On a few other rooftops, young adults are partying the night away. Drinking, laughing, talking, and having fun. Not that many people chose that certain lifestyle. ARTHOR admired someone who felt perfectly fine by just reading on their roof; The BALD MAN has a blindfold over ARTHOR`S head and is threatening to shoot him. He is talking on the phone and his attitude completely changes.

BALD MAN
What do you mean, “don`t shoot him”?

END OF ACT 1