the billionaire list treatment

8/14/2019 The Billionaire List Treatment

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"The Billionaire List" by Matt Lamb

There are over 400 Billionaires in America. What would you do to makethe list?

Act 1

The sun favored avenues of Beverly Hills are the playground and hunting ground of

self made Movie Mogul and multi-millionaire Jack Spelding. His cars are the finest and

lined in a row, his Real Estate is in no state of crisis and his women are cherished among

men. But it is a simple list pinned on the wall of his extravagant high-rise office that is his

most prized possession. Every week he updates the list and reprints it before shredding

the old one and replacing it with the new one, hanging it in an almost ceremonial fashion.

The list is a list of all of the hundreds of billionaires in the United States and written at the

bottom with a thick red marker is the name Jack Spelding, bold and clear.

Jack is recently making much of his money in the Film and Television Industry as a

Producer with his own company called Ankor-Films-Group. His company produced 3 of

the Top 5 grossing movies in the past 5 years and he is currently negotiating a merger

that will put him into the upper ranks of the Hollywood Deal-Makers. It has been said of

Jack that, He did not get where he is at from being nice. Jack Spelding is prepared to do

what whatever it may take to get on the Billionaire List; He makes no excuses for that

what he is or for that what he wants and it is this unwavering desire that will lead him

directly into the precise murderous sites of a Crack-Shot psychopath named Taz.

Taz McNealy is an accountant, or at least he was until recently when laid off in cut

backs at the Summit Corporation where he had worked for several years. Before that he

was a soldier in the United States Marine Core where he learned to shoot a rifle so well

that they made him a sniper and he even one a few medals for his incredible long range


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shooting skills. Taz is a whiz with math and was able to calculate complicated algorithms

and figure speed, velocity, wind and other important factors in making very long range rifle

shots. It is the skills and patriotism he learned in the military combined with the malignant

greed he was encouraged to ignore in his corporate job that create the extremely

dangerous killer he is about to transform into.

His wife is a homely but cute Elementary School teacher named Sarah. She works for

the Los Angeles Unified School district and is also in danger of losing her job. They have

two young children, a seven year old boy named Troy and a four year old daughter named

Chloe. Tensions in his home are explosive as he and Sarah fight constantly over the lack

of money and the inability of Taz to find a job. Taz spends a lot of time locked alone in his

basement subterfuge staring at his own list of billionaires.

Taz has been crunching some numbers lately and it is his distinct belief that he can

effectively balance the Nations books with a few hundred strategically located rifle shots. It

is with no moral judgment that he has made his decision; it is strictly mathematics that

leads him to believe that the stimulus needed in Americas economy could be achieved by

him alone with a plan and a rifle. He relishes in removing the scope from, disassembling

and cleaning his high powered rifle. He cuts an article out of the Lifestyles section of the

current Los Angeles Newspaper about the Golf Course surrounded Mansion of a

billionaire from Texas with a vacation home in a Hollywood country club. He takes a red

marker and makes a haggard X across the name of the first billionaire on the list.

Act 2

When Billionaire Gary Abner is shot on the golf course near his home while on a

business trip in Los Angeles no one had any reason to suspect that it could be the work of


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a serial killer. And although the Los Angeles police did not release that the weapons were

the same, some suspicions still arose when Justin Pontius, a real estate tycoon, was

gunned down by the pool on his rooftop penthouse in downtown Los Angeles. But by the

time the third billionaire and youngest so far is killed, all within the Los Angeles area, it is

obvious that even more murders may be in store. Ron Fahid, a Cyber Geek make good in

Software, is gunned down before boarding his plane on a private air field in the San

Fernando Valley just North of Los Angeles.

Karen Donahue is an extremely beautiful and somewhat famous Investigative Reporter

for one of the top News Stations in Los Angeles. Karen may or may not have been the

one to start the rumor that the first two murders were linked by a common murder weapon

and hearing the news of the third murder, takes the story and runs with it. Despite the

urging of the Police in Los Angeles to leave the story alone, she persists in reporting every

detail she can find or even assume on the murders in full disclosure and purposefully fuels

a Media Frenzy. This is extremely infuriating to the authorities who must now deal with the

media maelstrom as well as the murders. Karen is pleased however as now it leaves her

with more cover as she snoops deep with her strong ties within the community of the

wealthiest people in the world. She is well connected and resolute in getting to the bottom

of the story. She uses her familiarity and fame to garner a table side rapport with the elite

of the West Coast. This sudden increased presence on the scene soon brings her to the

attention of Jack Spelding who finds her very alluring. After meeting at a formal fund-

raising event Karen accepts Jacks invitation to accompany him to a celebration party for

the closing of his Billion Dollar deal.


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Not everyone is as fond of Karen as Jack Spelding seems to be. Many of the

billionaires are furious with the media attention and are becoming desperately afraid of

being murdered themselves. They are putting pressure on the FBI, who finds Karen and

all of the press coverage very annoying when they arrive on the scene with some startling

news of their own. It seems that a San Diego man worth 2.7 Billion dollars was gunned

down on the deck of his yacht with a high powered rifle while preparing to leave on a

voyage from the harbor in San Diego.

Now that the murders have spread out of the Los Angeles area, the case is taken over

from Los Angeles Police Department who has so far done little more than fumble the

operation and spoon feed the media. Heading the investigation is Special Agent in Charge

Leroy Stiggs. He is a seasoned Agent with a particular knack for protecting Persons of

Status. Agent Stiggs is a man of strong dedication to his job, his family and his faith. He

has a huge task in calming the increasingly disturbed billionaires, keeping the

sensationalism of the press at bay and stopping an incredibly deceptive and apparently

well funded killer.

There is very little evidence to go on. Most of the murders have occurred when the

victim was in a secluded place and from a long distance rifle shot from the same gun. No

one has witnessed the person pulling the trigger, nor have any shell casings or physical

evidence of any kind been found. With the recent double murder of brother and sister

heirs to a family retail store fortune in Palm Springs, the number of dead has grown to 5

men and 1 woman, all billionaires.

In order to fund his potentially expensive rampage, Taz set up false expense accounts

with his former boss at the Summit Corporation. He knows that it will only be a matter of


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time before the fraud will be found out and traced back to him. He has withdrawn and

stashed a million dollars in cash beneath the stairwell of his basement. He has an escape

strategy once the theft has been detected he will move his operation on the road. He has

set up multiple identification credentials and has a disguise for each identity. Taz also has

compiled a detailed file of information on each of his targets all filed neatly inside a file

cabinet at his desk. He even has printed maps of multi-million dollar estates and hundreds

of photographs.

Taz wife, Sarah, has grown suspicious of his constant trips to job interviews that never

seem to actually materialize into a job. One day when he is supposed to be on an

interview in Palm Springs, she enters his locked basement room and finds his enormous

stash of money. She continues searching and also finds his Billionaire List and other

incriminating evidence. When Taz returns late that evening she confronts him about the

money and his obvious insanity. Sarah threatens to turn him in to the police unless he

does what she wants with the money. She wants him to buy them a nice new home and

get them out of the poverty that they live in now. Taz reacts violently to this forced

proposition and overpowers her, pinning her into a chair. He binds her to the chair and

closes her mouth with duct tape all the while preaching at her calmly. He tells her that she

is just as evil as those he is killing and that if he did what she wanted he would be no

better either. He keeps her locked in the basement bound and gagged inside of a crude

steel cage. He then sends his kids off, under the rouse that Sarah is sick with the Flu.

Sarahs bother Ronnie drives out to take them to stay with him and his lover. Ronnie finds

it strange that Sarah was at the doctor when he arrived and that Taz was being very nice

for a change. He takes the kids however, who are a bit confused.


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Taz is now in complete psychosis and begins to get even bolder with his plans. He

begins packing his equipment and necessary clothing as he obviously prepares to take his

operation mobile very soon.

After a couple of very comfortable evenings together Karen and Jack a relationship

begins to develop based as much on a mutual respect of personal ambitions as on the

fact that Jack has made the deal that puts him, barely, but officially on the ever shrinking

list of billionaires in the United States. His recent merger deal puts him in the public eye

even more and having Karen on his arm at a few key events is definitely buzz-worthy talk

in the tabloids. It is not long before the press asks, What is the opinion of the Billionaire

Killer from Americas Newest Billionaire? Jacks response is simple and frank; Well, here

I am!

Karen needs to be close to those elite few in his circle to further her career ambitions

but she is also truly fascinated by Jack Spelding. She admires his unapologetic approach

to life and is urged toward him by a deeper longing that speaks generations. Having an all

access pass to the wealthiest of the wealthy is however proving very beneficial to her

coverage of the Billionaire Killer story. She is careful not to endanger her position but

hearing the casual discussions of those in jeopardy is enlightening to say the least. Some

of the billionaires are talking of taking matters into their own hands if the authorities do not

do something fast.

The relationship between Jack Spelding and Karen Donahue is of particular interest to

Agent Stiggs who feels that the publicity of them together along with Jacks new Billionaire

status could be putting them both in a position of exaggerated risk. Stiggs fears that the

killer may be targeting high profile victims because of the latest murder. This one occurred


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in Malibu, when another Hollywood Producer, William Snodgrass, is shot while surfing on

the beach near his home. Agent Stiggs is dedicated to his job but as the killers body

count has grown to 9 Billionaires the attitude of the unharmed but very nervous billionaires

is putting enormous strain on him. He is even being threatened by them with lawsuits,

injunctions, subtle financial allusions to ruination and not so subtle allusions to physical

ruination if special needs for their security are not maintained.

The pressure is also straining Agent Stiggs relationship with his wife, Angela, who has

a strong emotional connection with him. He is suffering a loss of faith in his oath to protect

the potential victims and developing a dangerous empathy for the ever more brazen serial

killer still on the loose. It is Angela who first jokingly suggests to Agent Stiggs as she tries

to lift his spirits, that Jack would be good Bait to use to trap the killer.

When Susan McNealy has been missing for a couple of days, Katie Darvis, one of her

co-workers from the school comes to her house and finds it in disgusting condition. The

dishes are stacked, the garbage and cat box unattended and smelly. She is concerned

and a bit nosy and calls out for Susan. There is no answer so she moves further into the

house and finds that the disgusting conditions continue through out the smelly abode.

Susan finally hears Katie upstairs and is able to garner the strength to rattle around and

make a noise. Katie hears it and finds her way downstairs to find Susan locked up in a

steel cage and gagged. She tries to release the door but is unable; also her cell phone

has no signal in the basement. Susan is barely able to open her eyes and in desperate

need of escape. Katie tells her she is going for help but on her way out she is surprised at

the top of the stairs by Taz. Taz has a frightening look on his face and she screams

immediately realizing that he is to blame for what is happening at the home. He suddenly


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over his shoulder. Taz drives further away from the city into the mountains on narrow,

windy and secluded roads before coming to a pull off where he parks and walks into the

woods with his two cases.

Karen is skeptical and hardly dressed to follow Taz into the woods but her better

judgment falls prey to her ambition and she does. She enters the woods a couple hundred

yards away from Taz is able to see him after a moment further ahead. He is kneeling

beside his case and pulls out a rifle, scope and tripod. After a moment she sees his target

across a hill side. It is an enormous house with huge glass windows overlooking the lake

and mountains. She becomes very nervous now knowing that she is following a killer in

the middle of nowhere and calls Jack. She is overwhelmed by anxiety and having trouble

communicating with Jack when the rifle fire and scares her. She jumps and slides down

dropping her phone which releases a slew of rocks sliding noisily down the hill. Taz hears

the commotion and sees his witness as Karen realizes she has been seen and runs back

to her car. He chases her down, and runs her off of the road on the windy roads in a tense

chase. The accident wrecks her car down an embankment and Taz takes her unconscious

from the car and back to the hotel.

ACT 3

Jack has maintained a somewhat brazen and arrogant attitude towards the Billionaire

Killer even taunting him in the media but now that he has presumably taken Karen he

comes out with guns blazing. He hires some private mercenaries to find and return Karen

with some very explicit instructions on exterminating Taz. He also flies to Seattle with a

couple of hired men for Protection. He arrives at about the same time that the FBI find


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Karens car near the murder site of another billionaire of Computer Technologies Empire

inside his home through a window.

Agent Stiggs is angered by Jacks arrival with his thugs but his haze of apathy

concerning Taz is lifted now the he has a hostage. He also now knows that the need to

catch Taz is ever more necessary before he is able to escape out of the country to

Canada, just across the Puget Sound. Agent Stiggs waste no time in securing the

Canadian Borders and restricting and checking traffic heading towards the border. He

realizes now that his man is on the run and he wants him caught. Jack and his cronies will

just have to be tolerated while he focuses on his duty.

Taz has a few hours jump on the authorities and rather than try to escape across to

Canada, Taz takes Karen to the Midwest. He rents a small isolated house and leaves her

alone with a video feed rigged via a laptop computer in order to prove she is alive. He then

continues with his plan and travels to New York City where he then murders two more

billionaires in one day. He is awarded a free shot when the unexpected lunch guest of

Wall Street Tycoon Buddy Wallace is fellow billionaire Winston Chambers both of who end

up swimming in their Lobster Bisque on the terrace diner high above Wall Street itself

Stiggs is furious and Jack is desperate not knowing the condition of Karen. He persists

with his hired men while strife with him and Stiggs increases to the point of hindering their

intentions to find Taz and Karen. Also complicating matters are more hired thugs from

other billionaires who have had enough of the limp wristed tactics of the FBI. Also, Taz is

on the move every two weeks and constantly shifting the base of operations is stressing

the agents and investigations even further.


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Taz is also stressed to the point of breaking. He is severely delusional and Karens life is

holding on by a thread. She is however able to tip Agent Stiggs and Jack that Taz is taking

them to New York. Realizing the gravity of the situation and the fact that their

disagreements are causing only delays and more stress, Jack and Agent Stiggs decide to

use Jack as bait to lure the killer into view with a well publicized business trip in New York.

Their plan to trap the killer works but not until Jack takes a bullet through the chest. Taz

releases Karen and flees but is cornered by Agent Stiggs who urges him to surrender. He

does not but rather hurls himself into the river with Stiggs firing at him on his way down

into the mist. His body is not recovered.

Agent Stiggs takes his retirement early and settles down with a boat and house on the

ocean with his wife. Jack recovers from his gun shot with Karen assisting his recovery

back to health. They continue their relationship enjoying the wealth and prosperity, but not

too much, because Jacks heart cant take very much excitement anymore.

Copyright 2009 Matthew Lamb. All Rights Reserved

RuffHouse Studiosc/o Matthew Lamb6340 Coldwater Cny Ave #206North Hollywood, CA 91606Ph. (818) 679-1639

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