Hold 'em High

Written By

Hunter Harrison

Based on the short story of the same name by Hunter Harrison

Address
Phone Number
 1

INT. BATHROOM
The restroom is completely silent. Only one person inhabits
the room.
SOPHIE MCCALLUM (25), black-haired, sharp-eyed, and dressed
comfortably, stands at the sink. Her shoulders are hunched
and gaze burning holes in the mirror.
She appears deep in thought as she gazes intensely into her
own eyes. A look of intense trepidation, anger, and
determination flash across her face.
Giving herself a shake, she steadily exits the room.
INT. BACK ROOM - EARLY EVENING
It is a dimly lit room back room; in the center sits a
single poker table. Two chairs have massive piles of
brightly colored poker chips in front of them.
The walls are lined and the air is rife with excited talk.
PERSON 1
Are you kidding me? McCallum's
going to blow Kirk out of the
water.
PERSON 2
As if! He TOTALLY bluffed her on
the river yesterday.
(Beat)
Stupid plays like that will cost
her.
PERSON 3
I still don't get that. She had two
pair, how did McCallum lose again?
PERSON 2
Kirk bluffed her; see, she was
counting on another Jack on the
river for the full house, but
missed.
(Beat)
She thought Kirk had a Deuce pair
on the table, but he flush drew on
the flop. All he had to do was keep
a straight face and jack up the
pot.
PERSON 3
Jesus! Why didn't she fold---?
 2

Suddenly the whole room falls silent. Two people enter from
opposing sides of the room.
Sophie enters silently and wearing a foul expression.
Across from her comes ALISTAIR KIRK (43), dressed in a crisp
suit, a cigar in his hand, and a wide, arrogant smile across
his face.
Each of them sits at opposite sides of the table.
He smiles widely at the sight of her.
KIRK
Good afternoon Ms. McCallum.
MCCALLUM
(Tartly)
Spare me the pleasantries Alistair.
He chuckles at her rudeness.
KIRK
Now, now Ms. McCallum, let's play
nice, shall we?
Sophie crosses her arms stubbornly but firmly ignores him.
Just then, a bearded man wearing a tie and blazer enters
into the room.
DRYDAN (early-30's) sits at the table and begins to shuffle
the deck.
DRYDAN
(Cordially)
Ms. McCallum...Mr. Kirk.
(Beat)
Are you both ready to resume play?
Sophie and Alistair both nod. Drydan deals each of them two
cards and hands Alistair a single black poker chip.
Sophie looks at her hand, revealing a: Jack of Spades, and
Three of Clubs. She taps her finger twice on the table.
KIRK
Check.
Drydan nods in acknowledgement. He discards the top card of
the deck, and then lays out the flop: Deuce of Clubs, Deuce
of Hearts, & Jack of Diamonds.
 3

MCCALLUM
Check.
Alistair surveys her with a studious look. He lays a handful
of chips onto the table.
DRYDAN
Raise, one million dollars.
Both men glance at Sophie.
She stares down at her measly hand; looking on at the two
pair she has on the table, she too chucks in a handful of
chips.
DRYDAN
Call.
He overturns the turn card: the Nine of Diamonds.
KIRK
Check.
Sensing weakness, Sophie adds another stack of chips into
the pot. Chuckling, Alistair calls.
Drydan reveals the river card: the Ten of Diamonds.
Both players check.
Sophie flips her Jack and Three.
DRYDAN
Two Pair. Jacks and Deuces.
Alistair smiles, sips from his bourbon and over turns his
own cards. Sophie's face falls at the sight of the Seven and
Eight of Diamonds.
DRYDAN (CONT'D)
Straight Flush. Seven to the Jack
in Diamonds. The hand goes to Mr.
Kirk.
The onlookers burst into a polite applause, as Drydan
collects the cards to shuffle again.
KIRK
(Chuckles)
Well played young lady. But you
know:
(Beat)
My offer still stands.
 4

Sophie's eyes fall down to the table, becoming unfocused

with recollection.
-FLASHBACK-
EXT. VERANDA - EVENING
Alistair sits, lounging in a chair, while Sophie stands
looking down on him.
KIRK
I placed a $50,000 bet that you
would that you would lose that last
hand.
MCCALLUM
(Sardonically)
How nice of you.
KIRK
50-to-1 odds against you.
He hands her an envelope.
She takes and opens it to find a roll of bills.
KIRK (CONT'D)
That's more than you would win from
second place.
(Beat)
You have no reason to continue
Sophie.
-END FLASHBACK-
INT. BACK ROOM
Sophie glances back at his grin with an evil look. She nods
as Drydan hands her the dealer chip.
They each glance at their hands: Sophie finding a Six and
Seven of Clubs; Alistair a Six of Diamonds and Seven of
Spades.
Both players tap the table.
Burying the top card, Drydan reveals the Flop: Deuce of
Clubs, Eight of Diamonds, and Jack of Clubs.
Alistair pushes a stack of chips into the pot.
DRYDAN
Raise, two million dollars.
 5

Sophie looks at her small pile of chips and then to

Alistair's which is easily five times her own. Consulting
her hand again, she sighs.
MCCALLUM
All in.
The audience gasps as she pushes the remainder of her chips
into the pot.
DRYDAN
Raise-all in, three million
dollars. Mr Kirk, call or fold?
Again, Alistair laughs genially and pushes a large pile of
chips into the pot.
DRYDAN (CONT'D)
Raise, six million dollars.
He buries a second top card and reveals the turn: the Ten of
Clubs.
The room awaits in silent awe as he buries the final card
and overturns the river: the Nine of Hearts.
DRYDAN
Mr. Kirk, show 'em.
Smiling, he overturns his six and seven.
DRYDAN (CONT'D)
Straight. Six to the Ten.
KIRK
It was a well played game Ms.
McCallum.
He extends a hand to her.
Sophie glares from it to him.
-Flashback-
INT. APARTMENT - DAY
Sophie stands in the doorway to an apartment with a
horrified expression on her face.
FATHER (V.O.)
He...he took everything.
The camera tracks across the cushions of the sofa, where a
hand lays limp beside of a crumpled piece of paper.
 6

FATHER (V.O.)
It's all gone.
The camera tracks right, a jug of bleach lays still in a
pool of clear liquid on the floor.
FATHER (V.O.)
I'm so sorry, my beloved Sophie...
-End Flashback-
INT. BACK ROOM
For the first time, Sophie smiles as she over turns her own
six and seven.
DRYDAN
Flush. Deuce, Six, Seven, Ten, Jack
of Clubs. The hand goes to Ms.
McCallum.
The room bursts into another round of polite applause.
Alistair's face contorts into a mask of rage as Sophie
collects her winning pot.
MCCALLUM
Don't look so surprised Alistair,
this has been personal since day
one. The look on your face right
now...
(Beat)
...I can't wait to see it when I
snatch that $20 million prize from
under your greedy nose.
Alistair sits back down, still glowering, hardly noticing
Drydan handing him back the dealer chip.
He and Sophie look down on their hands; Alistair smiles at
the pair of Kings looking up at him.
KIRK
Check.
MCCALLUM
Check.
The room is electric with silent tension; all eyes are
watching as the dealer lays out the Flop: the King of Clubs,
the Ace of Spades, and Six of Diamonds.
 7

DRYDAN
It's your bet, Ms. McCallum.
Sophie pushes a stack of chips onto the table.
DRYDAN (CONT'D)
Bet, one million dollars. Mr. Kirk?
Kirk too pushes out a stack of chips. Several more than
Sophie.
DRYDAN (CONT'D)
Raise, three million dollars.
Sophie nods to Drydan and pushes two more stacks into the
pot.
Drydan buries the top card and unveils the turn card: the
Ten of Hearts.
Both players tap the table and Drydan reveals the river: the
Ace of Diamonds.
Sophie pushes another stack of chips into the center.
DRYDAN
Bet, two million dollars.
Alistair consults his hand again and smiles.
KIRK
All in.
He pushes the remainder of his enormous pile of chips
noisily onto the table.
DRYDAN
Raise-all in, eleven million
dollars. Ms. McCallum, call or
fold?
Sophie stares quizzically at Alistair looking, almost
searching, for any kind of tell.
Alistair sips at his bourbon, smiling confidently.
Sophie looks at her own hand again and sighs.
MCCALLUM
Call.
The room gasps in surprise as she too pushes her chip pile
noisily into the remainder of the pot.
 8

DRYDAN
Call-all in, nine million dollars.
(Beat)
Show me.
Alistair overturns his Kings with an arrogant laugh.
DRYDAN (CONT'D)
Full House. Kings full of Aces.
Sophie turns over her own hand; the room gasps, and Alistair
gags on his drink.
The Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Clubs.
DRYDAN
Four-of-a-Kind. Quad Aces. The high
hand.
(Beat)
Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner:
Sophie McCallum.
The spectators burst into another round of enthusiastic
applause, laughter, and congratulatory shouts.
Alistair storms from the room with a disgusted growl.
From the corner of her eye, Sophie watches him.
EXT. ALLEY - LATER
Alistair bursts from out of the building, pulling at his tie
and moving down the street, grumbling.
However, he stops dead in his tracks at the sight of the
person in front of him.
KIRK
Who are you? What do you want?
The person chuckles darkly.
MCCALLUM
It's me, Alistair...
Sophie steps into the light. She holds up a gun.
MCCALLUM (CONT'D)
...And you know what I want.
He stares at her confused.
KIRK
(Nonplussed)
(MORE)
 9

KIRK (CONT'D)
I'm sorry, I don't...
MCCALLUM
Donald McCallum! Do you remember
him?
(Beat)
From an underground casino in
Chicago.
A look of realization dawns across his face.
KIRK
Oh yes! He was a ballsy baccarat
player.
MCCALLUM
(Coldly)
You took him for EVERYTHING he had.
I went to check on him and he had
chugged a bottle of bleach!
KIRK
(Unconcerned)
I'm sorry to---
A loud bang rings across the alley as Sophie fires a shot.
MCCALLUM
Don't pretend you're sorry!
(Beat)
Life insurance doesn't cover
suicide. I couldn't even bury him
next to my mother! He's sitting in
a coffee can in my motel room!
For the first time, Alistair looks genuinely shocked.
KIRK
(Aghast)
A motel room?! Why, Ms. McCallum,
I'd have thought...
He flinches as another shot is fired.
MCCALLUM
When you killed my father, I gave
up everything! My home, my
belongings, my job...
(Beat)
...You took everything from me! And
now, I'm going to return the favor.
Sophie points the gun directly at his chest.
 10

KIRK
(Laughing)
So you take my life in exchange for
your father's then? A bold gambit.
(Beat)
But I wonder, if you've got your
father's b---
The gun roars two more times and Alistair falls to the
ground.
Sophie walks over and stares down at him with a look of
disgust. Blood is blossoming over his shirt like flowers.
He looks up at her and smiles wide, his teeth covered in
blood.
KIRK (CONT'D)
Well played, Ms. McCallum.
Sophie points her gun at his head and pulls the trigger.
A gunshot rings out against the darkness.
CUT TO: BLACK