Lone Star Page #13

YOUNG CHUCHO:

Los demas son tan espantados que

prefieran mojar sus pantalones.

[The other guys are so scared

they'd rather wet their pants.]

CHUCHO tightens as he sees something, ducks down--

YOUNG CHUCHO:

Mira, Eladio [Look!]

We PAN to see the Sheriff's car approaching in a cloud of

DUST--

ELADIO:

(Calling from where

he lies changing the

tire)

Muchachos! Escondases! [Boys!

Hide yourselves!]

INT. REAR OF TRUCK

Eight illegal WORKERS hear this and lie down, pulling a canvas

tarp over themselves. We hear the CAR STOP behind them--

EXT. ARROYO -- CU CHUCHO

He makes the sign of the cross as he presses his back against

the dirt of the arroyo--

ROAD:

Sheriff Wade and Deputy Hollis get out of their car and start

toward Eladio--

ELADIO:

He stands, takes a deep breath -- Wade steps up to him with

his hard-eyed smile--

WADE:

Hola, amgio. Problemas de llanta?

[Hey, friend. Tire problems?]

ELADIO:

No hay de que. Tengo otra. [No

problem, I've got another.]

WADE:

What's in the back?

EXT. TRUCK

Young Hollis strolls around the truck as if he's considering

buying it. He reaches in and flicks the RADIO OFF--

ELADIO:

Not much, jefe. Some watermelons.

WADE:

I heard somebody been haulin'

wets on this road.

ELADIO:

I haven't seen anybody doing that.

WADE:

This same person been bragging

all over the county how he don't

have to cut that big gringo Sheriff

in on it--he can run his own

operation 'thout any help. Como

se llama, amigo?

ELADIO:

Eladio Cruz.

WADE:

You know this road got a bad

reputation, Eladio--

ARROYO -- CHUCHO

Young CHUCHO pecks over the edge to see what's happening

ELADIO:

Reputation?

WADE:

Bandidos, Injuns--

CLOSER -- MEN

Hollis wanders over to stand by Wade --

WADE:

There's many an unfortunate soul

been ambushed out on this stretch.

Hope you're carrying some

protection.

ELADIO:

Protection?

WADE:

You carryin' a firearm, son?

Don't lie to me now.

ELADIO:

Si--tengo escopeto--just a shotgun--

WADE:

Just a shotgun, huh? Better let

me take a look at that.

ELADIO opens the truck door and digs under the seat. Wade

winks to Hollis, then turns and BLAM! shoots ELADIO through

the head. Hollis jumps back startled and horrified--

YOUNG HOLLIS:

Oh no--oh Jesus--oh my Lord--

WADE:

Little greaser sonofabitch been

running a goddarn bus service.

Think he can make a fool out of

Charley Wade! Get them wets outta

the back, Hollis, see what we've

got--

CU CHUCHO:

Squatting in a ball to make himself as small as possible,

eyes covered with his hands

YOUNG HOLLIS (O.S.)

You killed him--

WADE (O.S.)

You got a talent for statin' the

obvious, son Muchachos! Venga

afuera! Brazos arribas! [Come

on out! Hands up!]

Young CHUCHO hears FOOTSTEPS approaching. We PAN as he looks --

a man's BOOTS appear at the top of the arroyo. We TILT UP

to see a Sheriff, BACKLIT, then CRANE to see it is Sam, back

in the PRESENT looking over the site, troubled. His car

sits on the empty road behind him.

He frowns, turns to go--

EXT. PARK -- DAY -- PLAQUE

Somebody has spray-painted "PERDIDO!" over the plaque of

Buddy and the little boy--

HOLLIS (O.S.)

Hooligans--

WIDER:

Hollis and a couple of MEN from the Public Work Department

look at the damage.

HOLLIS:

It happens again, we build a fence

around it.

INT. CAFE -- DAY

Enrique steels himself, trying to cover his nerves. We CROSS

with him to a booth.

ZACK:

Podemos ganar muchas batallas

pero la guerra ya es perdido--

[We can win a lot of battles but

the war's already been lost--]

Zack and another BORDER PATROLMAN look up at him--

CU ENRIQUE:

Eyes glued to his notepad--

ENRIQUE:

You wan' something to drink?

EXT. ROADSIDE STAND -- DAY -- CU CATTLE SKULL

A Georgia O'Keefe-looking cattle skull sits on a pedestal

against the Western sky--

WESLEY (O.S.)

The longhorns go for ten times

the price--

We WIDEN as the skull is lifted by WESLEY BIRDSONG, a Native

American man in his 70s who wears extremely thick glasses.

Sam tags along as the old man rearranges the display of Texas

curios laid out in front of his trailer. Empty scrubland

surrounds them

WESLEY:

--but longhorns are hard to come

by these days.

SAM:

You sell much out here?

WESLEY:

How am I gonna sell things if

nobody comes by? This stretch of

road runs between Nowheres and

Nothin' Much.

SAM:

Hell of a spot to put a business.

WESLEY:

But you don't see much competition,

do you?

He winks at Sam, picks up a wooden radio carved to resemble

the Alamo--

WESLEY:

These things used to sell like

hotcakes. Now, if it can't play

those discs, they won't look at

it.

He puts The radio do", looks out at the emptiness around--

WESLEY:

I like it here. Once I tried

going onto that reservation to

live. Couldn't take the politics.

Damn Indian'll drive you crazy

with that, Now your father--this

wasn't what he had in mind at

all. lie come out of Korea, he

had this Chevy with too much engine

in it. He'd come roarin' up and

down this road all hours of the

day and night, looking for somebody

to race.

He lifts ajar with a leathery brown thing in it--

WESLEY:

Buffalo chips. Fella in Santa Fe

told me he sells these as fast as

the buffalo can squeeze 'em out.

SAM:

So when did Buddy leave?

WESLEY:

For Frontera? Hell, I can't

remember dates no more. I do

recall it was after an affair of

the heart had gone sour on him.

He almost took some poor fella's

head off at the Legion in Arroyo

Grande, and figured it was time

to move on.

SAM:

You think he killed anybody in

Korea?

WESLEY:

They don't hand those medals out

for hidin' in your foxhole. Would

you buy this?

SAM:

No--

WESLEY:

Me neither.

He searches for something among the curios--

WESLEY:

If he hadn't found that Deputy

job, I believe Buddy might've

gone down the other path, got

into some serious trouble. Settled

him right down. That and your

mother. 'Course he had that other

one later.

SAM:

Another woman?

WESLEY:

Your mother wasn't one to get

chased off her patch. Half the

damn county knew and nobody thought

the worse of her for seein' it

through.

SAM:

You know who it was?

WESLEY:

The other one? Hell, at my age,

every time you learn a new name

you got to forget an old one.

Your head's all crowded up--here

it is--

Wesley stretches out a four-foot rattlesnake skin, rattles

still attached--

WESLEY:

This big fella was sleepin' in a

crate at Cisco's junkyard right

when I looked to see what was in

it. Jumped up at my face--scared

me so bad I killed him without

thinkin'.

He shakes the rattles at Sam--

WESLEY:

Gotta be careful where you're

pokin'---who knows what you'll

find.

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY -- DAY

PILAR talks with Molly as they near the administration office--

PILAR:

I don't think you can take it

personally--

MOLLY:

I'd like to see them spend a day

pulling 14-year-olds off of each

other--I should get combat pay--

PILAR:

I have new respect for some of my

kids, meeting the parents they've

been dealt--

Molly keeps going as Pilar ducks into the office--

PILAR:

See you, Molly.

INT. OFFICE

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