Bare Knuckle Page #9

---

EMILY:

Honey, Bad Jack’s the hardest man

alive, you don’t want to fight him.

Emily looks at all the gashes on his head.

EMILY (CONT’D)

Somebody did a number on you.

She puts a wet washcloth on his head. Kieran goes

unconscious.

45.

INT. THE POLITICIAN’S OFFICE - DAY

SMACK! Bad Jack slams his fists down on The Politician’s

desk. The Politician and Lester stand close.

BAD JACK:

That cock loving sissy! Calling me

a dandy in the f***ing Herald!

THE POLITICIAN:

Con Orem is no sissy. He’s

mastered.

BAD JACK:

I will bash that minnow’s face in

and feed him to the fishes.

THE POLITICIAN:

I want insurances, Jack. We can’t

have the champion of the west

coming into my city and winning.

Only thing worse would be a filthy

Irishman. Can you imagine every red

bearded leach thinking he could

rise up and join our ranks of

power? This is no game.

BAD JACK:

Do not forget, the last man I faced

now lies in the dirt.

THE POLITICIAN:

He was well past his prime and your

bottom is not what it used to be.

Jack raises his finger, walking aggressively towards The

Politician. Lester steps in.

LESTER:

Settle it down now, Jack.

BAD JACK:

My bottom will not be tested in the

least! I’ll mash him up in less

than ten.

THE POLITICIAN:

I do not care what you think! I

will have my insurance! When Orem

arrives, have your slimy friend

round him up.

Jack stares at The Politician, hinting at something sinister

to come.

46.

INT. EMILY’S ROOM - DAY

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG! Kieran wakes to the sounds of a

headboard slamming against the wall from the next room.

Moaning from the man and woman penetrate his ears. He gets

out of bed with new vigor. His energy is back and he doesn’t

intend to spend it listening to that. He rushes out.

HALLWAY:

Kieran walks past corset wearing busty women scattered about

drinking and smoking, who all perk up at Kieran’s presence.

Kieran pays no attention as he heads for the door. Emily,

sweaty and out of breath, pops out into the hall.

EMILY:

Hey!

Emily runs up to him, tieing up her dress, walking alongside

him as they exit the brothel.

EXT. BROTHEL - CONTINUOUS

EMILY:

Where are you going?

KIERAN:

I told ya, to fight bare knuckle.

EMILY:

You were serious? I’ll go with you.

KIERAN:

These clubs are for the lowly scum.

Not a place for a lady.

EMILY:

I’ve laid with all those fellas. I

know just where to go and I can

even steer you with the fightin’.

KIERAN:

You don’t owe me anything.

Emily grabs his arm and stops him.

EMILY:

I want to. I feel safe around you.

KIERAN:

Fine. Lead the way.

47.

Emily smiles.

INT. SONNY’S TAVERN - NIGHT

The fancy is out and yearning for blood at this large

Philadelphia tavern. The people create the ring as they group

around two fighters in a bare knuckle match.

Kieran and Emily hug the edges of the mob, sitting on the

window near the front door. Emily holds onto Kieran’s arm to

keep the drunkards at bay. The TAVERN OWNER approaches.

TAVERN OWNER:

You’ve got the next fight. Against

Jim Burke.

EMILY:

The giant?! Can’t he start with a

normal size man?

KIERAN:

It’s fine.

TAVERN OWNER:

What’s the name?

Kieran thinks for a moment.

KIERAN:

The lumberman.

Emily looks curiously.

TAVERN OWNER:

Alright lumberman. If you win I’ll

get you another fight. Now get

moving.

The owner looks to the ring where the huge, six foot five,

Burke stands, waiting to fight. Kieran and Emily move through

the crowd towards him.

EMILY:

Burke talks in bed more than any

other man. Always bragging about

how no man can take his left.

Kieran takes off his shirt and enters the circle.

KIERAN:

Time to test the mettle.

48.

EMILY:

Stay away from his left!

Kieran walks to the chalk line drawn on the wood floor. His

toe touches it and Burke throws a lightning fast left to

Kieran’s jaw, dropping him. Emily winces.

Burke smiles watching Kieran shake off the punch and get up.

Kieran toes the line and they engage.

Burke’s height makes it hard for Kieran to land anything, but

easy for Burke to pummel Kieran’s head from above. The

lumberman goes down again.

EMILY (CONT’D)

His head is too high! Go for the

body!

Kieran rises to the start the new round.

BURKE:

No shame in staying down, mate.

Kieran wobbles to the line. He covers his face with his arms

as Burke goes to work again, punching fiercely.

EMILY:

Fight back, lumberman! Hit him!

Finally Kieran takes a quick step back causing Burke to take

a huge swing and a miss leaving him nearly turned around.

Kieran winds up as if he was going to take a chop at a

sycamore and heaves a left hook into Burke’s liver.

Burke winces in pain. Kieran digs in another shot and

continues to attack the body as if he were chopping down a

tree until Burke goes down hard.

Kieran waits for him with his foot on the scratch. Burke

takes a few seconds to stand, his insides all mashed up.

Burke steps on the line and Kieran quickly goes back to

working the body. Burke can’t put anything on his punches.

Kieran dismantles him, moving from body shots to uppercuts to

the face. The beast in Kieran is unleashed, growling as he

turns Burke into a bloody mess, putting him down for good.

The referee raises Kieran’s hand in victory. Emily

celebrates.

VARIOUS SHOTS - KIERAN FIGHTING

49.

--Kieran faces various opponents, giving it as good as he

gets it, carried through by his hard head.

--Kieran takes out each opponent with vicious body shots.

Everyone focuses on the head while he crushes the organs.

--His hand is raised half a dozen times in victory, but each

paying a price of more cuts and wounds.

--Kieran fighting a man twice as thick as he. Twice as slow

too. Kieran finds a groove, smashing his bare knuckles into

the wide man’s nose, sternum, kidneys.

The tavern owner walks to Emily.

TAVERN OWNER:

I’ve never seen a man with such a

bottom, as if he will never get

tired.

EMILY:

Think about him fighting Mike

McCoole.

TAVERN OWNER:

That would be a blood bath. A damn

money brewing blood bath.

They smile at each other and both look to Kieran who knocks

the thick man on his ass and has his hand raised yet again.

INT. EMILY’S ROOM - NIGHT

Emily and Kieran sit on her bed, sharing a bottle of whiskey.

EMILY:

That’s why you have to fight Bad

Jack in the ring.

KIERAN:

Only way to get to him without his

bowery boys and coppers.

EMILY:

If he knew you were alive he’d...

KIERAN:

Likely send a war party after me.

EMILY:

Destine is a lucky woman.

50.

KIERAN:

How do you mean?

EMILY:

She’s got a man willing to fight

the nastiest, hard-nosed brawlers

to get back to her.

Kieran hands Emily the whiskey bottle. And crawls to a quilt

and pillow on the floor.

KIERAN:

She’s my reason for breathing. I’m

going to bed.

Emily stares wanting, jealous of such a love.

INT. SALOON BASEMENT - NIGHT

Lester and one of his goons drag a man down the basement

stairs of Jack’s saloon. He has a potato sack on his head,

and something in his mouth preventing him from talking.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote