Narration: "The Case of the Silent Baker"

(The scene: "Rich Cash - Solutions", a hardware store. Shelves are filled with tools and dust. RICH CASH is cleaning an old hammer. SUE POOR sits at an immaculate desk, painting her nails a sharp red.)

(The bell on the door jingles. TIMOTHY WHISPER enters, a small, terrified man clutching a cake box.)

Sue Poor: (Without looking up) "If you're looking for screws, they're in aisle three. If you're looking for miracles, the church is two blocks down. And if you're here to complain, the door is where you found it."

Timothy Whisper: (His voice trembling) "I... I'm looking for 'Cash'."

Rich Cash: (Puts the hammer down.) "Depends who's asking."

Timothy Whisper: "My name is Timothy Whisper. I'm... I'm a baker. And I need help."

Sue Poor: (Sighs, blowing on her nails.) "Honey, if your problem is that your dough won't rise, you're in the wrong place."

Timothy Whisper: "It's not that! It's... Silas Puddlestone."

(Rich and Sue exchange a look. The name changes everything.)

Rich Cash: "My office is in the back."

(The "office" is a small back room with a metal table and two chairs. Rich sits. Sue leans against the door.)

Rich Cash: "Talk, Mr. Whisper."

Timothy Whisper: "Puddlestone wants my bakery. He says it's a 'contribution' to his organization. He's given me 24 hours to sign over the deed... or my oven will have a new ingredient."

Sue Poor: "Violence. How unoriginal."

Rich Cash: "Have you been to the police?"

Timothy Whisper: "Detective Coffeestain told me it was a 'civil matter'. And that I should consider selling."

Rich Cash: "Of course he did. What do you want from me, Mr. Whisper? I'm not a thug."

Timothy Whisper: "They say you... find the loose screws in people's plans."

Rich Cash: "Sometimes. Can you pay me?"

Timothy Whisper: (Opens the cake box. There are no cakes. It's filled with his life savings.) "It's everything I have."

Sue Poor: (Looks at the money, then at Rich.) "The rent is paid. The rest is for expenses."

Rich Cash: "Sue, investigate the bakery. Licenses, permits, inspections. Everything."

Rich Cash: (To Whisper) "And you... go back to your bakery. Bake bread. And don't tell anyone you spoke to me."

(Hours later. Sue enters the office with a folder.)

Sue Poor: "I've got it. Mr. Whisper's bakery is immaculate. A saint of sanitation. But the building next door, the one Puddlestone uses as his 'office'..."

Rich Cash: "Tell me."

Sue Poor: "According to a 1923 municipal ordinance regarding the 'preservation of historical facades', it's illegal to have a bright red awning if the adjacent building has a blue one. It's a 'violation of the neighborhood's chromatic harmony'."

Rich Cash: (A slow smile spreads across his face.) "And what color is Mr. Whisper's awning?"

Sue Poor: "Sky blue, darling. Sky blue."

(The next day. Puddlestone and his thugs enter the bakery.)

Silas Puddlestone: "Time's up, baker."

(Two city inspectors enter right behind him, with Rich Cash.)

Inspector: "Silas Puddlestone, you are hereby notified. You have 24 hours to remove your illegal awning or you will face a fine of 500 dollars... per day."

Silas Puddlestone: (Stares at Rich, furious.) "An awning? You're coming at me with an awning?"

Rich Cash: "I haven't done anything. I'm just a hardware store owner who's concerned about the neighborhood's chromatic harmony."

Rich Cash: (Leans in towards Puddlestone.) "And if anything happens to this baker, I'll make sure every single one of your businesses gets a surprise inspection. Imagine how many illegal awnings you have in this city."

(Silas Puddlestone looks at the baker, then at Rich, and storms out. The baker is safe.)

Narration: "The Morning at the Hardware Store"

(The scene: The hardware store. Rich Cash is reading the newspaper. Sue Poor is filing her nails. Cain is in a corner, trying to oil the wheel of Sue's chair without her noticing.)

Sue Poor: (Sighs, looking at her nails.) "Another day, another parade of desperate souls looking for a screw for their broken lives. How poetic."

(Cain, hearing the sigh, thinks it's because of the chair. He applies too much oil, and a drop falls to the floor with a plop.)

Abel Silence: (Appears, immaculate. He looks at the oil drop and then at Sue.) "Miss Poor. I see entropy continues to win the battle at your workstation. A metaphor, perhaps."

Sue Poor: (Without looking at him.) "And I see you're still wearing suits that cost less than my shoes, Abel. A reality, not a metaphor. Do you need something or did you just come to practice your vocabulary?"

(At that moment, Cain approaches Sue's desk and, with an almost tender clumsiness, leaves a small, slightly crushed daisy next to her keyboard. He then retreats to his corner in silence.)

Sue Poor: (Looks at the flower, then at Cain. For a second, her cynical facade cracks. She rolls her eyes, but doesn't throw it away.) "Thanks, big guy. It's... yellow."

Abel Silence: "Touching. A primate offering flora to a Venus flytrap."

Rich Cash: (Lowers his newspaper, interrupting the cold war.) "Abel. Cain. We have a job. A loan shark named Silas Puddlestone is 'convincing' the merchants at the pier to accept his loans."

Rich Cash: "Abel, you're going to have a conversation with him about the regulations of the commerce code. And Cain... you just make sure he sees you."

Guion: "El Caso del Contrato Impecable"

Personajes:

Rich Cash

Sue Poor & Amy Steal

Abel y Cain Silence

Soi Guilty (El Cliente)

(La escena: La ferretería "Rich Cash - Soluciones". AMY STEAL está organizando un inventario en una tableta. SUE POOR está probando diferentes tonos de esmalte de uñas en una hoja de papel. La campanilla de la puerta suena y entra un hombre con un traje demasiado brillante y una sonrisa aceitosa. Es SOI GUILTY.)

Soi Guilty: "Busco al famoso Rich Cash. Me han dicho que es el mejor... solucionador de problemas de la ciudad."

Sue Poor: (Sin levantar la vista) "Depende, cariño. Si tu problema es la moralidad, vendemos candados para el alma en el pasillo dos. Si es legal, estás en el lugar correcto."

Amy Steal: (Mira a Soi Guilty, su rostro es una máscara de eficiencia neutral.) "El señor Cash está en su oficina. ¿Tiene una cita?"

Soi Guilty: "Mi nombre es Soi Guilty. Y mi problema... es la oportunidad."

(En la oficina. Rich Cash escucha mientras Soi Guilty explica su situación con una arrogancia apenas disimulada.)

Soi Guilty: "El contrato es impecable, se lo aseguro. Soy el dueño de los Apartamentos 'El Atardecer'. Un edificio viejo. He usado una cláusula de 'renovación estructural' para rescindir los contratos de los inquilinos. Todo perfectamente legal. El problema son ellos."

Rich Cash: "¿Los inquilinos?"

Soi Guilty: "Un montón de ancianos sentimentales. Se niegan a irse. Están organizando protestas, llamando a la prensa. Están... retrasando mi demolición. Y el tiempo, señor Cash, es dinero."

Amy Steal: (Desde la puerta, leyendo su tableta.) "Los Apartamentos 'El Atardecer'. Una de las últimas viviendas de bajo alquiler para jubilados en el distrito."

Rich Cash: "Y usted quiere que yo... ¿acelere el desalojo de un grupo de ancianos de sus casas?"

Soi Guilty: "Quiero que 'solucione' el problema de las protestas. Que encuentre una forma de silenciarlos. Legalmente, por supuesto."

(Rich Cash se recuesta en su silla. Un silencio largo y pesado llena la habitación.)

Rich Cash: "De acuerdo. Acepto el caso."

(Soi Guilty sonríe, triunfante. Sue y Amy miran a Rich, desconcertadas.)

Rich Cash: (A Amy) "Señorita Steal, necesito un informe completo sobre la historia de ese edificio. No la propiedad. La tierra."

(Al día siguiente. Soi Guilty está en su lujosa oficina. La puerta se abre y entran ABEL y CAIN SILENCE.)

Abel Silence: "Señor Guilty. Le traemos la solución del señor Cash."

Soi Guilty: "¡Excelente! ¿Qué es? ¿Una orden de alejamiento contra las pancartas?"

Abel Silence: (Le entrega una carpeta.) "No exactamente. El señor Cash, en su investigación, ha descubierto un hecho fascinante. Según un estatuto de la ciudad de 1898, la tierra sobre la que se construyeron sus apartamentos fue designada como un 'Santuario para los Veteranos Ancianos de la Guerra'."

(La sonrisa de Soi Guilty se desvanece.)

Abel Silence: "Ese estatuto nunca fue revocado. Lo que significa que, aunque el edificio es suyo, la tierra solo puede ser utilizada para albergar a veteranos jubilados. Y casualmente, la mayoría de sus inquilinos... son veteranos."

Soi Guilty: (Pálido) "¡Eso es... ridículo!"

Abel Silence: "La ley a menudo lo es. El señor Cash ha presentado una moción para declarar su edificio como 'Patrimonio Histórico Protegido'. No solo no puede demolerlo, sino que ahora está legalmente obligado a mantenerlo como una vivienda de bajo costo para veteranos... para siempre."

(Cain Silence, que ha estado en silencio, se acerca y coloca una pequeña bandera de juguete en el escritorio de Soi Guilty. Luego, retrocede.)

Abel Silence: "El señor Cash le envía un mensaje. A veces, la mejor forma de proteger a la gente... es asegurarse de que los contratos se cumplan al pie de la letra. Que tenga un buen día."

(Los hermanos se van. Soi Guilty se queda mirando la pequeña bandera, atrapado en su propio contrato impecable.)

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