EPISODE 46

SCENE 1

EXT. A SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY (THE DAY AFTER EPISODE 45)

JACK and JENNIFER are having breakfast at a cafe the morning after the coronation. JACK has his laptop set up on the table, next to stacks of paper and several micro recorders. He is typing on the laptop while talking on the phone with VERN. JENNIFER is watching him.

JACK: (animated) Vern, are you even listening to me?! Are you?

WAITER: (arriving with the food, serving JENNIFER) Your omelet, Madame. (to JACK, who is ignoring him) Your fruit plate, Monsieur.

JACK: (ignoring him) What do you think we're running here, a high school newspaper? I don't care if Hogan is ticked off that we're pushing his story to the B section, we've got a real news story to put on the front page!

The WAITER gives JENNIFER sympathetic smile. JENNIFER returns the smile and goes back to watching JACK, then sighs.

JACK: Look, I need to know that I can count on you, all right? Can I count on you?

JENNIFER: Jack-

JACK: Good, good, I'm glad to hear that...

JENNIFER: Jack-

JACK: All right, I'll check back in a few hours. Remember, I'm counting on you, Vern. (hangs up the phone, goes back to typing on the laptop) I tell you, Jennifer, I don't want to give the man another heart attack, but he's this close to giving me a heart attack...

JENNIFER: (sighs) Were you planning on eating that, or were you going to just let it go to waste?

JACK: (without looking up from the laptop) You're more than welcome to it-

JENNIFER closes the laptop.

JACK: Hey, wha-

JENNIFER: All right, Jack, enough of this.

JACK: I beg your pardon?

JENNIFER: Why don't you stop hiding behind this computer and tell me what's really going on.

OUT on JACK.

SCENE 2

IN PROGRESS

JENNIFER knows something is bothering JACK, and is trying to get him to tell her what it is.

JACK: You want me to tell you what's going on.

JENNIFER: That's right.

JACK: Forgive me, but I'm going to have to buy a vowel here, Jennifer. What do you mean, what's going on?

JENNIFER gives him a look.

JACK: Oh, I get it... You're angry with me, right? That's it, that must be it--I promised the lady a romantic getaway, and I'm not living up to my word. I blew it again-

JENNIFER: (reaches across the table to take his hand) Jack, you know that's not what I meant.

JACK: (feigns ignorance) You know something? I just got hungry all of the sudden. Must be all that arguing with Vern. Going mano-a-mano with that man really works up one's appetite-

JENNIFER: If you think that's going to deter me, you're sadly mistaken.

JACK looks back at her.

JENNIFER: I'm stubborn, remember? Stubborn and pig-headed, you've said so yourself-

JACK: I'm not going to win this round, am I?

JENNIFER: (shaking her head) 'Fraid not, Deveraux.

JACK: Why does that not surprise me.

JENNIFER: Jack... (softly) Maybe it would help to talk about it.

JACK gives her a look. He is still uncomfortable with the idea of laying out his feelings on the table.

JENNIFER: Come on... it's me. It's me, not Whitney Baker, not Marlena... (beat) Just talk to me.

JACK: Look, I really appreciate the sentiment, Jennifer, I do. But with all due respect, I've had enough therapy to last me an entire lifetime. And please, no comments on my mental state-

JENNIFER: All right, fine. I won't push you if you really don't want to talk about it.

JACK: (happy she is dropping the subject) Thank you...

JENNIFER: But for what it's worth, last night really got to me too.

JACK does not say anything. JENNIFER knows she got through to him.

JENNIFER: Last night was probably the scariest moment of my reporting career. And you can't tell me you didn't feel the same way, Jack.

JACK: (trying to play it off) Jennifer, we are reporters. This kind of thing comes with the territory, you know that. It's par for the course-

JENNIFER: I don't care how nonchalant you're pretending to be, Jack Deveraux, I'm not buying it. You can't fool me. I know you. (beat) So why don't you just talk to me?

JACK: All right, you want me to talk? I'll talk.

JENNIFER: Good-

JACK: (overlapping) You want me to talk about how I had this feeling something was going to go down last night and I didn't do a damn thing about it, and because I didn't, one man is dead, several others are wounded, and the princess's life now hangs in the balance?

JENNIFER is taken aback by what JACK has just said.

JACK: Would that about cover it?

OUT on a surprised JENNIFER.

SCENE 3

INT. LAWRENCE AND CARLY'S STUDY - SAME

LAWRENCE is sitting at the desk, reading a newspaper article about GRETA having gone into surgery after she was shot. CARLY walks in the room.

LAWRENCE: (without emotion) She survived.

CARLY does not answer, but LAWRENCE is too angry to notice.

LAWRENCE: Damn it! (puts down the paper, gets up) Karl assured me nothing would go wrong with this... He told me he would go with his best sharpshooter, but obviously his definition of the best needs refining-

CARLY still has not said anything. Instead, she is fixing a drink, and LAWRENCE finally notices that she is not listening and seems worried about something.

LAWRENCE: Katarina? (walks over to her and lifts her chin up to look at him) What is it?

CARLY: (slips away from him) Nothing... (picks the newspaper up, tries to steer the conversation away from herself) It says here she’s in critical condition.

LAWRENCE: (watching her) Yes, she is.

CARLY: Then it’s simple, Lawrence. All we have to do is find a doctor to-

LAWRENCE: (firmly) No.

CARLY: I thought you wanted this taken care of.

LAWRENCE: Of course I do! But she’s far too heavily guarded at this point. They’re not about to let a newly-crowned princess be put in danger again, so if a doctor suddenly appears out of nowhere to treat her, that will stand out, don’t you think?

CARLY: I’m sure one of her current doctors could be persuaded to help us out... for the right price, of course.

LAWRENCE: (coldly) I’m past such clumsy tactics, Katarina.

CARLY: It doesn’t need to be clumsy, Lawrence. I could go there myself-

LAWRENCE: I said no, Katarina! I don’t want to hear about this again, do you understand?

CARLY: (hurt) Perfectly.

LAWRENCE: (knowing he was too harsh, goes over to smooth things over, but she slips out of his embrace) Karl’s prize sharpshooter should have gotten the job done while he had the chance. Now we’ll have to start from scratch. (to himself) If he weren’t so damn valuable to me, I would have gotten rid of him a long time ago...

He looks over at CARLY who seems very distracted.

LAWRENCE: I’m sorry. (she does not answer) Are you certain nothing’s wrong?

CARLY: I told you-

LAWRENCE: I know what you told me, Katarina. I also know you seem troubled. (goes to where she is standing) Now, why don't you tell me what this is all about?

OUT on CARLY'S worry.

SCENE 4

CUT TO: JACK AND JENNIFER

JACK has told JENNIFER that he feels guilty about not having done something to prevent the shooting, but now he regrets saying anything and wishes he had just kept quiet about it.

JENNIFER: (gently) Jack...

JACK: No, no... please don't say it... Outburst over, see? Now we really must be getting back to work-

JENNIFER: We need to talk about this-

JACK: On the contrary, we don't need to talk about it. What we need to do is file this story so Vern does not blow a gasket-

JENNIFER: Is that what you really think? That you somehow failed everybody last night?

JACK sighs.

JENNIFER: Jack, what happened last night was not your fault. Nobody could have known what would happen last night.

JACK: (somberly) That's precisely the point, Jennifer--we did. We knew something was wrong. I mean, all that time, I had this gut feeling that something was going to happen and I knew, I just knew--even though we didn't have any proof--that Kate was up to something. I should have done something-

JENNIFER: Now you listen to me, Jack Deveraux. Don't you dare start second guessing yourself, do you understand?

JACK tries to say something, but JENNIFER interrupts him.

JENNIFER: What could you have done? Gone to the police? We already did that, remember? Bo and Hope already knew about it, and at that point it was out of our hands.

JACK does not answer.

JENNIFER: Did you hear me?

JACK: (quietly) Justin was devastated... And I had to be the one to tell him. I, of all people, had to be the one to tell him about Victor Kiriakis. (shakes his head) Now that's the kind of irony you find only in Greek tragedies.

JENNIFER: I know that can't have been easy telling him and Adrienne. But you have to know you didn't do anything wrong last night.

JACK: (clears throat) Thank you... for letting me unburden myself, but... we really do need to get back to work.

JENNIFER: (sensing she shouldn't push anymore) You're right. You're right, this is a big story. All eyes are going to be on The Spectator, and we can't drop the ball.

JACK: That's right.

JENNIFER: Okay, so what do we do first?

JACK: Yes, well, uh... that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about.

JENNIFER: What do you mean?

JACK: I think we should split up today.

OUT on JENNIFER'S curiosity.

SCENE 5

CUT TO: LAWRENCE AND CARLY

CARLY is worried about something, and LAWRENCE is trying to get her to tell him what it is.

LAWRENCE: Katarina, you know you can tell me anything.

CARLY: I know that.

LAWRENCE: Then, please, tell me what's troubling you.

CARLY: (reluctantly) There's something I have to tell you about last night.

LAWRENCE: What is it?

CARLY: Someone... saw me.

LAWRENCE: What do you mean someone saw you?

CARLY: I mean, I was careful, but apparently not careful enough. I had snuck into the ladies room just as the coronation was about to start--I was sure everyone would be in the ballroom at that time, so I thought-

LAWRENCE: Damn it, Katarina!

CARLY: I got away as fast as I could! But I think... she still saw me...

LAWRENCE: (suddenly realizing who it must have been) Jennifer Deveraux.

CARLY nods slowly.

LAWRENCE turns away from her. He is visibly upset.

CARLY: Look, Lawrence, I never should have mentioned it. It's not a big deal, really-

LAWRENCE: Katarina, we can not risk her connecting you and me to this. You know that!

CARLY: She only saw me for a split second. If I know her, she’s probably decided it wasn’t me she saw at all--just someone who happened looked like me. (turns LAWRENCE around to face her) She won’t find out, I promise you.

LAWRENCE: Never make promises you can’t keep.

CARLY: Even if she did think it was me, she’d never suspect me, Lawrence. We were friends, remember?

LAWRENCE: (dryly) Yes. Best friends.

CARLY: That’s right. Her dear friend, Dr. Carly Manning, who she put on a pedestal. She’d never for a minute think that her best friend Carly could ever be in on this.

LAWRENCE looks at her incredulously.

CARLY: (taking his hand) She won't ever learn about this. (kisses him) I'll make sure of that.

SCENE 6

CUT TO: JACK AND JENNIFER

JACK has just told JENNIFER that they will be splitting up today to investigate the shooting.

JACK: Something's been troubling me about this ever since we got back from the hospital.

JENNIFER: What?

JACK: Do you recall where Victor was last night, when he was shot?

JENNIFER: Yeah, he was... in the back of the room. Watching Kate, as I recall.

JACK: (nods) And where was Greta?

JENNIFER: She was on the stage, being crowned.

JACK: What about the others who were shot?

JENNIFER: Near the stage too... (beat) Where are you going with this, Jack?

JACK: Don't you find it odd that Victor was on the opposite side of the room where the others were hit?

JENNIFER: (seeing his logic) Oh my gosh, you mean...

JACK: It makes absolutely no sense for Kate to try and hurt the princess--or anybody else for that matter. Victor is the one she wanted to target, but not anyone else...

JENNIFER: And Victor was too far apart from the rest of the ones shot for it to have been errant bullets that got them...

JACK nods.

JENNIFER: Are you saying what I think you're saying?

JACK: There had to have been more than one assassin last night, Jennifer. (beat) The question is, who hired the second one?

OUT on JACK.

SCENE 7

IN PROGRESS

JACK has just shared his theory regarding the shooting with JENNIFER.

JENNIFER: So, you want me to go to the hospital and talk to one of the witnesses while you go to the police station?

JACK: They're going to be questioning Kate, and one of us should to be there. I can do that, while you try to get some information from one of the victims. Besides, the hospital is much safer. They've got police guarding Greta around the clock- (notices JENNIFER is smiling at him) What?

JENNIFER: You're worried about me.

JACK: (embarrassed) Well, I... I guess I am...

JENNIFER gets up and goes to his side of the table, then sits on his lap.

JENNIFER: (taking his chin and lifts his face so he is looking at her) Nothing is going to happen to me, Jack. I promise. I can take care of myself.

JACK: That's good. Because Abigail would be lost without her mother.

JENNIFER: (smiles, knows this is JACK'S way of telling her she's important to him) We wouldn't want that, would we?

JACK: (sincerely) And... I would be lost without her too.

JENNIFER leans over and gives him a kiss, then gets up.

JENNIFER: All right, I guess I should head on over to the hospital.

JACK: (as she starts to leave) Oh, wait, Jennifer...

JENNIFER: Yeah, Jack?

JACK: Last night... there was something you were going to tell me--before all hell broke loose. After all the craziness of last night, I never got a chance to ask you what it was.

JENNIFER: (feeling silly thinking she ever saw CARLY) Oh, it’s really not that important... I mean, after everything that’s happened, it’s really trivial, in fact.

JACK: (unconvinced) You’re sure about that.

JENNIFER: (hesitating, then finally tells him) All right... Remember when I told you earlier that night that I thought I had seen someone from my boarding school?

JACK nods.

JENNIFER: Well, I just thought I saw her again in the ladies room. But then I thought, this person has no reason to be here, so it couldn’t have been her. I’m sure my radar was just on full alert last night after all the Kate and Victor intrigue, so I convinced myself that I saw who I thought I saw.

JACK: Uh huh... Now you’ve piqued my curiosity. Just who was this mystery classmate of yours that apparently had a doppelganger at the ball?

JENNIFER: (embarrassed laugh) You’re going to think this is silly, but... I thought I saw Carly last night.

JACK: (surprised) As in... Dr. Manning?

JENNIFER: As in my best friend Carly, who I haven’t seen in years. Yes.

JACK: I see.

JENNIFER: There, I told you, and I feel sufficiently embarrassed now, so I am going to get to work. (kisses him) I’ll see you later.

JACK: (as she’s leaving) Yes... later...

OUT on JACK as he leaves for the police station, with a strange feeling about JENNIFER’S encounter.