American Outlaws Page #16

COLE:

You stay out of this, Bob.

JIM:

I think Jesse's got a good idea --

COLE:

You stay out of this too, Jim.

(to Jesse)

Who put you in charge of this gang,

anyway, Jesse? I did mighty fine

leading us during the War.

JESSE:

And I planned getting you off the

hangman's deck --

FRANK:

And that's why you both lead the

gang. Two of you went into that bank

together, right?

Jesse and Cole nod, still watching each other.

FRANK (CONT'D)

Two heads are better than one. All

Jesse was doing was making a

suggestion.

Jesse nods, his face giving nothing up.

FRANK (CONT'D)

So we're waiting to hear what you

think of the suggestion. As the

other leader of the gang.

Cole considers this.

COLE:

I reckon it's the smart thing to do.

The other Gang members grumble. Cole whirls on them.

COLE (CONT'D)

Hey! We decide something, that's

it! We're in this for the long haul,

and this idea of me and Jesse's will

help give us more places to hide out

without worrying about some farmer

with a shotgun sneakin' up on us in

our sleep. We've got to think --

FRANK:

Strategically.

COLE:

-- Exactly. Because this is a war.

CLELL:

This ain't no war.

The Gang is taken aback by this blatant contradiction. Then

a smile spreads across Clell's face.

CLELL (CONT'D)

Nobody paid me no thousand dollars

to fight in the War!

The Gang LAUGHS, and the tension is broken. Jesse and Cole

slap each other's shoulders, and everyone starts counting

their money and talking all at once.

INT. SALOON - DAY

The crowded saloon is alive with music, card-playing, and

dancing girls. Various James Gang members are playing cards

and drinking. Jesse, Cole, and Frank are at the bar.

COLE:

It's not a bank.

JESSE:

It's better. It's a construction

depot. They'll have the strongbox

and some ammo and explosives for us

to take. That way we can take on a

bigger job.

FRANK:

And it's guarded by Pinkerton

detectives.

JESSE:

And I do so want to shoot some

Pinkerton detectives.

Jesse and Cole grin and slap each other on the back. Jim

BURSTS in waving a newspaper. He quickly runs to the bar.

JIM:

(stage whispering)

We're famous!

Jesse takes the paper.

JESSE:

I'll be damned!

The other Gang members drift over to the bar.

JESSE (CONT'D)

(reading)

"The Fidelity Bank and Trust was

robbed on Tuesday by a gang of

twenty heavily armed men."

COLE:

Twenty?!

LONI:

What are the odds, another gang

robbing the same place right after

we did.

BOB:

Yeah, Loni, that's exactly what

happened.

JESSE:

"The outlaws calling themselves the

James-Younger Gang shot their way

out of town, wounding the Sherriff

and three other townsfolk."

BOB:

Hey!

JESSE:

"Bank officials estimate the loss

at fifty thousand dollars."

CLELL:

We only got ten thousand.

COMANCHE TOM:

This happens all the time when you

let the white man count the money.

JESSE:

"The U.S. District Marshal at St.

Louis called this the first daylight

bank robbery in American history."

Jim whistles.

JIM:

We made history. That's something

to be proud of.

COLE:

The rest of this is all lies.

JESSE:

That just means the next time,

we'll have to set the record

straight ourselves.

The Gang looks at him.

EXT. THAXTON SWITCH DEPOT - NIGHT

Half finished railroad tracks run alongside a few sheds and

an office building.

ANGLE ON:

The TRAIN TRACKS as the James-Younger Gang rides at full

gallop. A rapid series of SEQUENTIAL EXPLOSIONS follows

them, destroying the track for hundreds of yards.

EXT. THAXTON SWITCH DEPOT - MORNING

The entire work camp is DESTROYED. SMOKE still hangs over

the twisted wreckage, a few wagons smolder, it looks like

Omaha Beach at D-DAY plus 20. Thaddeus Rains is surveying

the damage with Parker.

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