THE STAGE 32 LOGLINES

Post your loglines. Get and give feedback.

BETRAYAL (WITH BELLA AND DUKE)
By Charles Crawford

GENRE: Comedy, Crime
LOGLINE:

When a female DEA agent, in charge of a task force, suspects there’s a mole in her organization warning others of impending drug busts, she faces a dilemma – is the mole in her trusted inner circle of agents or is it someone else close to her? All the while a talking house cat and a drug detection dog express their animosity for each other and critique the humans involved in very critical, comical and vulgar terms. (Note: PG version also available.)
 

SYNOPSIS:

ACT ONE - LINDA STEVENS, smart, experienced but naïvely trusting of those around her including the agents she leads, watches in horror via monitor as ten of her agents are ambushed. Eight dead and two gravely wounded as a cartel lures them into an unsuspected trap in what was to be a routine drug bust. She now has come to the realization that there is a mole within her organization or elsewhere warning a cartel of impending actions by her team and is determined to find the mole if it’s the last thing she does.

With the death of drug detection dog, DUKE’s handler in the ambush, Linda brings him home where he meets her female housecat BELLA. As would be expected the meeting does not go well with Bella commenting “Oh shit, now something else to fuck up this place” and Duke “Christ a cat. Just my luck. Shit.” Upon Linda’s cute comment about Duke, Bella responds “Cute? Did she say cute? Hell there goes the neighborhood.” From there comical animosity and vulgarity reigns supreme throughout with both cat and dog interacting, both critical of each other and the human actions they witness present and future.

ACT TWO - Linda now faces several dilemmas. Who is the mole? Is it the Steel gang led by RUIZ STEEL, a suspected drug boss and civic leader? But he’s too smart to do something like this or is he? Is there a new cartel trying to take over? If so, who are they? How is this going to affect any future DEA action or are they stymied in future operation? What then must she do to have totally secret operations?

She arranges a meeting with Ruiz and Duke is, of course, present with his comments. She learns there is a new gang, the Rogues. But again this meeting is tipped off and they are attacked by a small group of gang members out to kill them. They are saved only because Linda had made special preparations out of distrust of the Ruiz meeting. She was wired and had a DEA helicopter on standby which comes to the rescue. Ruiz, however, is no longer a suspect.

Linda’s agent RALPH learns the name of two Rogue leaders from an informant before the informant is killed. One of whose name is VIC. In the meantime Linda, concerned by agent TERESA’s suspicious actions or inactions, meets with her to learn she has boyfriend problems, he is of Mid-Eastern descent and his name is Vic. Linda wants Teresa to iron out the problems so she can concentrate on her work as an agent. Teresa goes home only to find Vic, her boyfriend, has a secret. She finds a large sum of money and a gun hidden but Vic catches her, ties her up, leaves to contemplate what to do with her. She has to disappear.

Ralph meets with Linda and divulges the name Vic as a leader of the Rogues. Could he be one and the same as Teresa’s boyfriend? At this point with humans sitting staring in silence, Bella comments “Hey mange, do you have any idea why these humans are always sitting looking at each other or the floor or ceiling. It’s driving me crazy.” Duke, “You’re looney to begin with but no I haven’t a clue. And I’m Duke, not mange.” Bella, “Maybe if you had a bath I could call you something else.” Duke, “Like what, fur ball? Bella, “Asshole, isn’t that what all you dogs do? Go around smelling asses.” Duke, “Cute, real cute.”

Snapping out of silence Ralph and Linda along with agent GORDON rush to Teresa’s apartment to find her facing death. They set a trap and capture Vic. He’s placed in a holding cell but that night is killed by an assailant posing as a DEA agent.

Also during the night Ruiz’s men are attacked and killed by the Rogue gang and the house burned. All

designed to put the Steel gang on notice. Ruiz arranges a meeting with Linda. At the meeting he proposes Linda and the DEA work with him. He will inform from the streets while the DEA allows him to handle problems himself outside the city. A deal with the devil as she calls it but reluctantly agrees to prevent an all-out gang war that Ruiz is adamant about starting.

That next night a truck carrying Ruiz goods is attacked but the attackers are ambushed by his men. State Police later determine the dead attacker’s bodies left behind contain a number of Mid-Eastern descent thought to be ISIS members. Linda is informed of this giving her a clue as to the makeup of the new cartel, a mixture of Hispanic and Islamic terrorists. But who is the boss?

Plans for another drug bust are arranged but Linda, still suspecting the mole could well be one of her inner circle doesn’t let them out of her sight. Was it Teresa unknowingly giving information to Vic?

The secretly planned drug bust goes on only to find that it was expected too. A bomb is found at the last minute. While the bomb squad is disarming it, a drive by shooting is attempted on Linda and her team waiting in their car. Once back inside the building they discover murdered female workers. This new cartel kills just for sport. But how did the cartel know of a secretly planned bust? Her team never left her sight. At the office Linda finally decides to check her office and conference room for bugs which are found in both areas. The question is who put them there? Someone inside or a visitor?

She goes home to find her son JASON is home on leave from Iraq. He’s in counterintelligence there. He objects to Linda’s naivety in allowing husband TODD to run their joint corporation unsupervised. He suggests to Linda that she take a look at the books. But Linda has pressing business at the DEA.

ACT THREE - The pressing business? Linda and her team are busting a walled ranch house, an active drug center. Using an armored vehicle they burst through the outer walls and into the house. Once inside suddenly a horde of Islamic men attack them from outside. Outmanned, Linda places a cell call. An RPG sets the vehicle on fire and fire soon consumes the building forcing her and her team to the chem lab for a final stand. Outside more gunfire is heard. It’s the Steel gang come to the rescue. Ruiz was whom Linda had called. Meanwhile Teresa discovers an escape tunnel through which they exit. Outside Ruiz has prisoners waiting for them, the battle over, bodies everywhere.

At Linda’s home Jason answers the door to find MARTINEZ, the heretofore suspected leader of the Rogues and two thugs facing him. They take him prisoner and wait for Linda to return. Unsuspecting she arrives and is taken prisoner. Martinez is going to kill both but first, attracted to Linda’s comely figure, he decides to assault her. At that instant Todd enters the front door. Linda screams for him to run. Instead he walks in, stopping the assault. At that moment Linda shockingly knows who the mole has been and who the leader of the Rogues is. It’s her husband, unknown to her born in Syria and an avowed Islamic radical. He orders Martinez to take them elsewhere and kill both Jason and Linda.

As they exit with both Jason and Linda in tow and Todd staying behind, shots ring out. Both thugs fall, Linda turns on Martinez, grabbing her gun off the hall table, she kills him. Todd has retreated to his office, so it seems. Ralph and Gordon enter and they all approach the office door. Opening it they see the room empty. Todd is standing behind them with an automatic rifle about to kill them. Todd tells Linda and her agents to drop their weapons and move into the office. He plans to kill them and blame it on the Rogues. Much to Ralph’s and Gordon’s chagrin she drops her weapon, telling them to do the same, seemingly giving up to her and their fate. Then she tells Todd he’s about to die. “You forgot something, Todd. Not us. Her.” Todd spins around to see standing in the outer doorway, Teresa with, a hand gun. One shot to the head and one to the chest. Todd falls dead.

Charles Crawford

Rated this logline

register for stage 32 Register / Log In