American Outlaws Page #11

JESSE:

(groggy)

Mmmm.

Zee gently pushes his hair off his face. Then her

expression changes.

ZEE:

Jesse, is that your hand?

JESSE:

Nuh-huh ...

Jesse smiles in his sleep. Zee jumps out of the bed and

wraps a dressing gown around herself. Doc Mimms enters.

DOC MIMMS:

They're gone. What are you --

ZEE:

I fooled them into thinking I was

alone.

DOC MIMMS:

Well, I hope the boy pulls through.

We should know in the morning.

ZEE:

(with a little smile)

I think he's already feeling better.

A puzzled Doc Mimms follows her out.

EXT. LIBERTY MAIN STREET - AFTERNOON - TWO WEEKS LATER

A lavishly appointed carriage rolls up to the front of the

nicest hotel in town. Rollin Parker and his retinue of

Pinkerton detectives scurry to the door.

The DOOR OPENS. Out steps THADDEUS RAINS, wearing an

elegant suit he bought in London last year and a scowl he

picked up in Boston three decades ago. The scowl fits him

better.

PARKER:

Mr. Thaddeus Rains, sir, it is a

pleasure to have you join us in the

field.

RAINS:

And it is my pleasure to be here.

PARKER:

Really!

RAINS:

NO! It is NOT my pleasure to have

to leave my board room to come to

this godforsaken piece of dirt to

discover why in the name of all that

is holy you cannot seem to evict a

few simple farmers from their

PATHETIC LITTLE MUDHOLES so that I

may build the GREATEST railroad that

this country has ever seen!

PARKER:

I can completely understand your

distress, sir.

Rains sighs. As he speaks, he checks a heavy, gold, ornate

and ever-present POCKETWATCH on a GOLD CHAIN.

RAINS:

Parker, tell me what's going on so

I can return as quickly as possible

to Boston and my whores and cigars,

not necessarily in that order.

PARKER:

Two weeks ago, we managed to

arrange to have the Army hang one of

the local farmers.

RAINS:

Good.

PARKER:

Unfortunately not, sir. A gang of

local thugs managed to rescue him

from the gallows. Not only has this

inspired resistance from the other

farmers, the redoubtable Mr. Alan

Pinkerton was seriously injured

during the incident.

RAINS:

Leaving you in charge of operations

until he recovers.

PARKER:

(puffing with pride)

Yes sir.

RAINS:

Just perfect.

PARKER:

A further impediment is that the

Army garrison has been ordered to

move on from Liberty. We will no

longer have that particular stick

with which to threaten the farmers.

RAINS:

You see the Army leaving and you

see the loss of a tool. I see a

power void to be filled. As we have

the most power, we may move with

impunity.

PARKER:

I see. I'll get together four

patrols of our detectives for action

tonight.

RAINS:

I'll teach these podunks what

happens when they challenge the

righteousness of progress.

EXT. MIMMS HOME - AFTERNOON - THAT SAME DAY

Zee is on the porch. Jesse COMES THROUGH the door, moving

gingerly. Zee immediately moves to support him.

ZEE:

You shouldn't be up.

JESSE:

I've been on my back two weeks. I'm

sick of it.

ZEE:

You're sick of my company?

JESSE:

No! I mean, of course not. No.

ZEE:

Teasing you is completely unfair.

JESSE:

What you do to me is unfair. The

teasing, I mean.

ZEE:

I shouldn't tease a hero.

JESSE:

What?

ZEE:

Everybody in the county knows it

was you who rescued Cole. We're all

so proud of you, Jesse. And not a

single farm's been sold to the

railroad since. You're everybody's

hero.

JESSE:

I wasn't the only one risking my

neck that day.

ZEE:

So you're saying I should leave you

alone and go spend time with Jimmy

Younger?

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