The Thief

SCENE 1. INT. BANK. DAY ALAN, early 40s, is inside a bank. He looks a bit anxious. The bank manager, ROBERT early 50,s lets him sign the documents for his bank loan. Camera zooms in the documents. It is a mortgage on Alans home. The bank manager hands Alan the money that he places inside a duffel bag. They shake hands. ALAN Thanks ROBERT I hope it will turn out fine. Alan leaves the bank. We see the inside of the bank with people doing their usual business as Alan leaves hurriedly. SCENE 2. EXT. OUTSIDE THE BANK. DAY (continuing) Alan stands outside the bank and starts to walk in the direction of the parking lot. PETER, early 20s, snatches the duffel bag from Alan. Zoom in Alans surprise expression. MONTAGE 1 Inside a hospital room, Alan is telling bedtime story to Mike, his son, nine years old, who dozes off. Alan switches off the table lamp and the screen is black. CUT TO SCENE 3. INT. DOCTORS OFFICE. DAY Dr. Klein, middle 40s, is sitting in his office and talking to Alan. Dr. Turner. Around 60 years old, a cardiologist, is also inside listening to the conversation. ALAN I dont know. Mike was playing in a baseball game. All of a sudden he just collapsed. I saw him running fast and the next thing I saw

was that my son was fainting. DR. KLEIN Has anything like this ever happened to him before? Fainting spells? Fatigue? ALAN Never. That was the first time something like that happened to him. Hes going to be alright, isnt he? DR. KLEIN Wed like his blood pressure to stay above ninety. Its hovering between eighty-five and ninety. It is acceptable for now but anything less than eighty is dangerous. If his blood pressure drops again drastically, were going to have to do something. We cant have him going below seventy. ALAN What would that mean? DR. KLEIN Seventy and below means his heart is failing. (Dr. Klein takes out two X-ray results from his desk)

DR. KLEIN Look here. This is a heart X-ray of a normal nine year old boy. This one is your sons. (ALAN stares nervously at the fleshy fist-sized organs on the translucent glass.) DR. KLEIN (pointing at the X ray result) There are septal defects here, here, and here. These have induced a myopathy resulting in Pulmonary Edema and malignant Ventricular Ectopy. As you can see, Mikes heart is approximately three times the normal size. (He points to an X ray result of Mikes heart, it is huge in comparison to the other X ray result.) ALAN Im sorry. I dont understand what you are saying. Could you say that in laymans terms, please? DR. KLEIN Of course, basically because his heart is enlarged, its not pumping enough blood. What happens is that the blood goes back to the lungs, which then acts like a sponge absorbing the blood. Mikes heart is trying, but Im afraid its working too hard to supply blood to his whole body system.

ALAN So what does he need? An operation? Dr. Turner who has not uttered a word till now gathers himself. He takes off his glasses and looks at Alan sympathetically. DR. KLEIN Im afraid were now considerably beyond the point of corrective surgery. He is going to need a full transplant and he needs it real soon.. (The room is silent for a minute or so.) ALAN (emphatically) My son is only nine years old! Are there no other options aside from a heart transplant? DR. KLEIN We can continue giving him medicine. Keep him as comfortable as possible but you have to start thinking about making the quality of his life better now. ALAN I dont understand, we were just with him this morning. He seemed fine. This is all unbelievable! DR. KLEIN He may seem like he is fine now. But as his heart strains itself every minute, he

will become increasingly fatigued. He would sleep more often. What I am scared of is that the day will come when hell go to sleep and wont be able to wake up. ALAN (burying his face in his hands) Oh my God! DR. KLEIN I know its difficult, but you must face the fact that your son may not have much time left. And a heart transplant is a high risk operation. You could lose your son on the operating table too. You may not want to take that chance. ALAN What do you think I should do, Doctor? DR. KLEIN It is not for me to decide. ALAN I know that. I want your medical advice. If he will not have that surgery, how long does he have?

DR. KLEIN Im sorry to say this but it maybe months, weeks, or maybe just days. We cannot exactly tell.

ALAN Tell me Dr. Klein, what would you do if Mike was your son? DR. KLEIN I would decide on a heart transplant, absolutely. ALAN Okay. Lets do it then. DR. TURNER (He talks for the first time and he looks stern now.) The first step is to get Mikes name on an organ recipient list. Once its there, his chances will be very good. Your son has an extremely rare blood type so theres less demand. With his B-positive blood type, Mike could go to the top of the list right away. And I have to warn you that a heart transplant operation is expensive. A lot of people cannot afford it.

ALAN I have a full coverage medical insurance. Dont worry, Doctor, Im covered. DR. TURNER Actually, weve already checked with your medical insurance company. Theres no provision in your policy for a medical procedure of this magnitude. ALAN (he is now visibly agitated) Did you hear what I said? Im telling you, Im insured. DR. TURNER That may very well be, but youll have to make sure with your medical insurance company about that. In the meantime, we have no choice but to treat your son as a cash account. ALAN How much does a transplant cost? DR. TURNER Transplant surgery, doctor fees, post-operative treatment and immunosuppressant drugs, youre looking at a medical bill of two-hundred and

fifty-thousand dollars minimum here. We have treated him and we will continue to treat him. I understand how upset you are, sir, but there are other options available. You should know that we have no obligation to cover a medical procedure this expensive. If you opt for replacement surgery, thats your choice. But the hospital maintains a very strict policy with respect to cash patients. We require a down payment even before the patients name can be placed on the list of recipients. ALAN How much down payment do you need? DR. KLEIN Thirty percent. That should be around seventy-five thousand dollars. ALAN Seventy-five thousand dollars just to put my kids name on a list? (He paces the room, trying to control himself) My son is upstairs dying and all

you can talk about is money? DR. TURNER Yes, it takes money to provide health service. Its expensive for you and also for us. It is my obligation to keep this program alive for everyone. Now, Im sorry, but we need you to guarantee payment before we can place your sons name on the list. ALAN (He goes back to his seat) You dont want to treat my kid? Fine. Ill take him over to County Memorial. DR. KLEIN Trust me. You would not want to do that. ALAN I dont, huh? You can watch me then. Its a County hospital so they have to treat him. (Alan stands up to leave the room) DR. KLEIN No they dont. You should be aware that a transplant is

considered an elective medical procedure. We know that some hospital policies can be really frustrating, but your kid is in the right place right now. Believe me, you would want Dr. Turner to operate on Mike. His bed side manner is maybe terrible, but hes one of the foremost heart surgeons in the country. ALAN What do you want me to do? You heard Dr. Turner. Were a cash account. DR. TURNER I know its outrageous, but dont give up. Try to talk to your insurance company. Check with our Human Resources Department for medical Assistance like the State Childrens Services and Medicaid. Just dont take no for an answer. SCENE 4. INT. HEALTH INSURANCE OFFICE. DAY Alan is talking to his insurance agent, JANE, around 40 years old, in her office. JANE You coverage has changed in the last years. Im sorry.

ALAN What do you mean changed? JANE Weve recently switched carriers from a PPO to an HMO. Its a less expensive policy, but unfortunately it has some restrictions. I will explain to you how it works. You see, non-management or part-time employees like you only qualify for second tier catastrophic coverage. ALAN But Im not part-time. Im considered a full time employee. Its just slow right now. JANE Sure. But your coverage is based on the number of houses worked on. Like I said, you only qualify for second tier and that has a maximum payout limit of twenty-thousand dollars. ALAN Wait a minute. Ive been paying for my medical coverage for years. You take it out of my paycheck every week!

JANE And thats why were going to cover you for the full twenty. We are also trying our best here. ALAN Let me get this straight. You drop me from full-time to part-time. You switch carriers without informing me, and now youre telling me, Im not fully covered! I have a policy that says I have a full coverage. Look, my son needs a heart transplant It is very urgent and if Im not covered, Ive got a serious problem! JANE I understand your situation but theres nothing I can do. You might want to try State Services. Either that, or you can file an appeal. (Jane pushes a stack of papers towards Alan) Here are the forms. Itll take about seven working days. Its the best thing I can do right now. (Janes mobile phone rings, it is her son Peter) JANE (on the mobile phone) How many times am I telling you, Peter, that Im not giving you that huge amount of money just to go to a concert. You have to find that money yourself. (Jane switches off her mobile phone.)

JANE I am sorry about that. My teen aged son is making such a big deal about some concert! ALAN (smiles bitterly) I hope I have the same problem like yours with your son. JANE Im truly sorry. I hope I could do something more but there is nothing I can really do. ALAN Its okay. Thanks anyway. (Alan leaves the office feeling more frustrated) MONTAGE 2 Outside the church, the Sunday service is just finished, the pastor hands Alan an envelope of collection money and some members of the congregation wishes him luck. SCENE 5. INT. ALANS HOUSE. DAY (Alan is in the act of selling everything inside his house. His television, washer, dryer, sofa have prices on them. Strangers walk through the house and make offers. Jimmy Palumbo, early forties, Alans friend shakes his head. The two are entertaining the buyers. Jimmy goes to Alan to give him some money from the proceeds.) JIMMY I wish I can help you Alan. First he lost his mother and now this. Poor Mike. ALAN I appreciate what you are doing now, Jim. Thanks! (We see people carrying out household appliances outside Alans house.) MONTAGE 3

Alan steps off a city bus carrying a gym bag. Windbreaker buttoned, baseball cap pulled down tight, he moves with a purpose toward the hospital.

SCENE 6. INT. HOSPITAL. NIGHT Alan is talking to Dr Klein in the hospitals corridor ALAN Frankly, Dr. Klein, I really have enough of this runaround. I need my sons name on that list! DR, KLEIN Your hospital bill is now in excess of thirty thousand dollars. So far, we havent received any kind of payment yet. We have already disregarded some hospital policies to help you. There is a limit to this hospitals generosity. I have to remind you again that you do not have full medical insurance. The hospital needs a guarantee that you can pay. ALAN You want money? Alright, Ill get you that money. Im putting my house on mortgage and the bank manager promised to give me the money tomorrow.

DR KLEIN Im really sorry but my hands are also tied. Bring that down payment to the hospital tomorrow and we will immediately put Mike on that list. CUT TO SCENE 7. EXT. OUTSIDE THE BANK. DAY (This scene is actually a continuation of SCENE 2) Peter is running, clutching Alans duffel bag and Alan is too shocked to react. Alan reacts late and runs after Peter but he lost him in the crowd. ALAN: Hey, give that back to me! Alan gives up the chase and sits in a bench on a park. He sits there in shock. SCENE 8. INT. PETERS HOUSE. DAY The camera follows Peter. He gets inside his house. Inside his room, we see a huge poster of a coming concert. Peter opens the duffel bag and finds a lot of money inside. He looks shocked. Inside the bag, he also found the hospital bills and a picture of Alans son smiling in his hospital bed. He found a letter from Mike to Alan. It has a drawing of father and son holding hands with a big red heart on top. Peter starts reading. V.O. Dear Dad, I wrote this letter in case I dont wake up anymore. I want you to know that I love you very much and that you are the best Dad in the whole world. Your son, Mike Peter looks at the concert poster on the wall and he takes it off his bed room wall, crumples it and throws it in the waste basket. He puts everything back in the duffel bag and goes out of the house. He walks in the direction back to the bank.

SCENE 9. EXT. PARK. DAY Alan, face buried in both his hands, is still sitting at the bench in the park. Peter sees him and sits beside him. PETER I guess you are looking for this bag? (Alan is too surprised to talk. He looks at Peter and at his duffel bag. Peter hands it to him.) PETER I stole your bag because I desperately wanted to go to a concert. It is not that important to me now. Peter walks away before Alan can say something. Alan secures his bag and looks on as Peter walks away. THE END