LAETIZIA

Jopling? CAROLINA No. Did he? Deputy Kovacs waits for the punch-line -- but it does not come. He dashes to the window and looks down at the sidewalk. CUT TO: A pedestrian in a bowler hat far below standing over a sprawled speck on the sidewalk. He looks up. INSERT: Four small hammers tap rapid-fire at four half-scale chisels, chipping away into a cement pot-hole. They are making good progress. INT. LUDWIG’S CELL. NIGHT M. Gustave, Pinky, Günther, and Ludwig work diligently by candle-light under a wooden table. Periodically, Wolf scoops-up the powdery debris with a soup ladle and throws it aside. Ludwig looks up suddenly, alerted. He holds up a finger. LUDWIG Shh! M. Gustave, Pinky, and Günther stop tapping at once. They listen attentively. Feet creak along the thick, wooden floor outside the cell -- and come to a halt directly in front of the door. Silence. There is a loud but muffled sneeze. The feet begin to creak again and fade-away until they are inaudible. Ludwig signals to the others. They resume their tapping. INT. GARETT. NIGHT An attic bedroom the size of a broom-closet. The walls and ceiling are bare planks. Thick beams hold the crooked roof in place. A small skylight window is propped open with a pencil. Zero and Agatha are naked under the rough sheets of her narrow bed. They share a plate of little miniature Courtesansau chocolat.Zero whispers: