TRICK or TREAT - Todd & Carlo & Blair
This takes place on Halloween and is one of the few extensive scenes Todd has with Carlo, which is a shame, as two adversaries the writers dropped the ball by not pairing them more often. RH & Thom Christopher were a great team going toe to toe. Todd has some great quips and jokes in this with Carlo’s “baby.” Carlo comes over to get Todd to back off him in the Sun. The opening of the scene Blair and Starr are dressed in matching adorable good witch outfits. Todd is not dressed but sitting on the sofa stuffing his face with candy. Starr is sitting next to him on the couch.
BLAIR: Todd, you know, I really do wish you were in costume cause then maybe we could have us a little fun!
TODD: (deadpan) I am in costume, I’m Todd Manning, the dead guy. (hands Starr to Blair)
BLAIR: That’s not funny. Ooh, you are my little princess. I bet ya there’s not going to be any more ghouls out tonight cause it’s getting late, huh?
TODD: Good, more candy for me. (Blair laughs, doorbell rings) Less candy for me. Don’t worry I’ll get rid of em.
BLAIR: Alright.
TODD: (Opens the door to Carlo and lets out an exaggerated gasp) That is the ugliest costume I have ever seen.
CARLO: I want to have a word with you and your wife.
TODD: Forget about it. Go haunt somebody else. (he starts to close the door, Carlo stops it with his hand)
CARLO: I plan on doing that exactly after I’ve had my say here.
Scene break
TODD: (pointing back to Starr) Look here you’re going to scare her. You’re going to traumatize her for life.
BLAIR: (coming to the door, thru her teeth) Don’t let him in. How dare you show your face after you take my little girl. I’m glad Alex fooled you with her pregnancy, give you a little taste of everything you put me through. (with venom) I wish she done worse.
CARLO: I know you blame me for little Starr’s kidnaping but I swear on the memory of my dead son Johnny, I am not the man who put you through those harrowing days.
TODD: Well there you go, Carlo Hesser’s word is gold you know that.
CARLO: I’m sure you know that if I wanted to send a message Mrs. Manning, I would leave no doubt as to the author. When I want to send a message I believe in delivering it myself. That’s exactly why I’m here. Please, may I come in?
BLAIR: No... Todd...no.
TODD: (overlapping her) Take the kid upstairs. Blair go, come on. (pause, forcefully) Now. (she starts to go) Bring the bug spray when you come back down.
CARLO: (enters the room following Todd) You have a way with words Mr. Manning.
TODD: (turns to him) What are you doing here, Carlo? What do you want?
CARLO: Those who know when to fight and when not to fight Todd, are victorious. Don’t waste your venom.
TODD: It’s my venom, I’ll do what I want with it. Now I asked you a question, what do you want.
CARLO: (quickly) For you to change, your manner, your tone and your editorial policies.
TODD: (chuckle) Oh, is that all.
CARLO: Yes. Unless of course you want to count yourselves among the unfortunates who have ever made me angry. (Carlo smiles wickedly, Todd smirks back at him)
Scene break
TODD: (Blair comes down and stands on the stairs listening) (sarcastic) Isn’t it getting a little late for you Carlo? I mean you know how unreliable baby-sitters are these days. Wouldn’t want your pillow to be in unsafe hands. I...I hate to hear about some six dollar an hour psycho teenager suffocating your pillow with say.....a baby. (laughs and then deadpans) Ah come on, you know I respect you.
TODD: I do, I do, I mean not every guy would adopt an illegitimate pillow and love it and raise it like it was his own. (chuckling)
CARLO: Are you finished?
TODD: (having fun with him, can't stop) No, no I’m not finished. Look Carlo, you’re gonna walk around town with this fuzzy little bundle of joy strapped to your chest, people are going to tease you. Never mind that Alex is the kid’s mother. I mean you may think Alex is a fit parent for a pillow but I always felt she was an evil little cheese head.
CARLO: Now?
TODD: Yeah, yeah I’m done now, enough with the pillow talk (huge smile)
BLAIR: Just say...say whatever you have to say Carlo and leave.
CARLO: Thank you. Laugh as much as you’d like about my misfortune and trusting Alex. But despite my minor setback, I am closer than ever to achieving my lifetime goals. And in light of that I am here to make you an offer to back a winner and benefit from all that it yields.
TODD: Carlo, it’s...it’s getting late.
CARLO: I have world wide connections and if you have ambitions to blossom into a media empire and I am certain that you have those very ambitions, I can give you a leg up. Oh Mrs. Manning, I’m sure you remember how well the Sun and I faired during our previous association.
BLAIR: Oh that was before I realized that everything everyone said about you was true that you are Poseidon. You shot Todd and left him as dead in Ireland (Carlo laughs) And for a whole year I went through torture believing that he really was dead.
CARLO: No... No....No (stuttering) Poseidon again? Now think about this Mrs. Manning, if I were this Poseidon fellow why be angry at me? Poseidon did not have any intent to shoot Todd. From everything I gather he was after this Patrick Thornhart. Why vilify me just because Poseidon’s men were fooled by Todd’s appearance. And aside from all of that, the trivial fact that I am not Poseidon. (he laughs)
BLAIR: It really is getting late. (looks at Todd)
CARLO: Why be enemies when we could be such formidable partners. No one has ever suffered from such association with me and you would not be the exception. (Todd’s eyebrow goes up)
Scene break
TODD: (crosses up to him) You’re bringing me some kind of invitation, that’s what you’d call it, right? To be your formidable partner, is that it?
CARLO: I enjoy a great deal of power.
TODD: Oh yeah, I bet you do. It’s not every guy who can sire a pillow. (smirk) So what do I have to do to be your partner? Pull a sword out of a rock?
CARLO: No, rethink the Sun’s editorial position on me.
BLAIR: (coming at him) You got a lot of nerve Carlo. First you steal my little girl, our little girl, you come over to our home and....
CARLO: (overlapping her, yelling) Now look I told you time and time again I had nothing to do with your baby’s kidnaping.
TODD: (interrupting their yelling match, refereeing) Fine, that’s your story and you stick with that, for now, let’s just go over this offer. Now you want me to make a deal with a guy who had me shot in the back, stuffed into a truck of a car and pushed off a really, really, REALLY high cliff. You want to help me so that I can help you. Well forget about it. I wouldn’t help you lift your dog’s leg over a fire hydrant.
BLAIR: (warning him he’s going to far) Todd just...
TODD: (crosses behind Carlo) No...no, I got him on the ropes now, must be if he’s come here to....to pay me off, to take the press off his back. You know what, I just thought of tomorrow’s headline, (seeing it in his head) Pillow’s Papa Cries Uncle! (Carlo slowly turns to face him, long pause) You got a problem with that?
Scene break
CARLO: You’ve made a grave error. (Todd sighs in frustration) And you Mrs. Manning, are you of the same mind as your husband?
BLAIR: Yes I am. (Todd looks at her with a little surprise) We’re in complete agreement. (through her teeth) And I swear to god Carlo, if you ever try anything like that again....
CARLO: (cutting her off, menacingly) If I were to try anything I assure you, you wouldn’t even hear it coming. I neither forgive nor forget!
TODD: Yeah well I don’t forgive or forget either. And far as I’m concerned you’re Poseidon, you already killed me once, so what are you going to do now that’s going to scare me. (Carlo laughs) You know what, I think you’d better go. (takes his arm, Carlo jerks it away) (Todd gestures with his hand for him to leave) Just go. (Carlo walks to the door, Todd follows) And do me a favor will you...will you explain to me what in the hell kind of name is Poseidon? I mean if you’re going to name yourself after some kind of Greek or Roman freak show why not something more appropriate like a....a Pluto, or better yet (pointedly) Uranus! (they stare each other down nose to nose and then Carlo turns and leaves and Todd shuts the door on him) (Todd lets out a huge sigh, Blair comes up to him, puts her hand on his shoulder, he flinches, glances at her and walks away)
