Reds Page #9

Well, that's right, too.

It's good to see you.

Jesus Christ. It's good to see you.

Goddamn, how's Louise?

Not so good.

- She's good.

- Tell her from me that I said

that John Wheeler wouldn't know

a story if it fell right on top of him.

I'll tell you.

Hey, Jack, what are you doing?

What the hell are you doing?

You're driving them crazy.

You realize that?

They think you're some kind

of goddamn German!

I love it! Goddamn, I love it!

Give them hell, Jack. Give them hell.

- Is that a sarsaparilla with ice?

- Yeah, thanks.

You bet your sweet patoosie,

that's sarsaparilla with ice.

Why wouldn't John Wheeler

know a story if it fell on him?

John Wheeler's a dumbbell, that's why.

No, he's all right.

I just hate to see Louise get hurt.

That's all.

What are you talking about?

Jesus Christ.

Don't tell her that I told you. All right?

Told me what?

Well, Ben Parsons told me

that Wheeler had to let her go

because she hadn't turned anything in

that he could use,

other than some story about a cop

that went over there to drive

a police department ambulance.

- He let her go?

- Fired her.

- When did you hear that?

- A couple of weeks ago.

No, it was a month.

More than a month and a half ago.

Oh, look, Jack,

Wheeler's a goddamn moron.

Tell her she shouldn't feel ashamed

about being fired.

- I'm gonna see you later, huh?

- Jack, what's the matter?

Hell, we've all been fired.

I've been fired.

Hell, I'll drink to it.

Imagine, 65 million

go to war. Right?

or wounded.

You had catastrophe in Europe.

You had a holocaust in Europe.

You had a desire for change.

Who can stop them

when there was

such a revolutionary sentiment? Huh?

Who could stop them?

You know, I think I'm gonna have to get

a new typewriter...

- What are you...

- What?

You look fine. Are you all right now?

Oh, God, yes.

Nobody needs two kidneys.

The second one's just for show.

Sorry, this isn't a very good time.

They're moving me

to another communications center.

So, I'm just not going to be able to

talk to you right now, Jack.

Could we just go out here a second?

Just for a second?

- Look, I'm on my way to Russia.

- Oh, really? Have you enlisted?

Very funny.

I know you're doing work here

that's good,

'cause I read the ambulance piece

and I thought that was good.

- Thank you.

- And I know you're working on your book

and I know how important that is to you.

But you got to have enough sense

if you're trying to build up

your reputation as a journalist,

to be in the right place at the right time.

- I appreciate your advice.

- Well, the place to be now is Russia.

- Thank you. I'll remember that.

- Louise, it's chaos. They can't last.

They're in their third

provisional government in six months.

You know what that means? It means

there might be another revolution.

The workers are deserting the factories,

the army's deserting the battlefronts.

The exiles are all coming back.

The Jews, the anarchists, the socialists.

All of them are going back,

only this time

it might be the real thing.

And if they have

a real workers' revolution in Russia,

they'd have one in Germany,

and if they had one in Germany,

- it could happen all over the world.

- Got a match?

Louise, that'd be the end of the war.

You don't have to tell me

what's happening in Russia.

- I read the papers.

- Well, come with me.

As a colleague,

I'm not talking about anything else.

Come with me as a colleague.

You ought to be in Petrograd.

Oh, yeah? Well, that's what you said

about New York!

- I was right about New York.

- No, I have work I'm doing here.

And I happen to think my work is...

It is important. But it's not important as

what you could be doing in Russia.

I wanna work together. As partners.

I don't want a partner. And if

I wanted to go to Russia, I'd go alone.

- I wouldn't need you to take me.

- Louise.

Russia is not the safest place

in the world for a woman to be alone.

You may be a hell of a journalist.

But that doesn't mean...

Louise, we'd better hurry along.

So, moving you out of here, huh?

Yes. I've been promised an interview

with General Plumer.

Well, I've got to run along myself.

- Sorry I don't have any time.

- No. I don't want to keep you.

I just...

Look, the seat's already reserved.

You've wasted your money, Jack.

I don't want it.

Change the date. Go by yourself.

You can use it whenever you want to.

Keep up the good work.

Jack.

Good luck.

Yeah, you, too.

I got a taxi waiting.

Jack! Jack Reed!

- Joe, Joe Volski.

- How are you?

Oh, fine, fine.

Are you going to Petrograd, too?

- Yes. Yeah.

- Fine. Wonderful!

Great things are happening.

Are you traveling by yourself?

- I think I am.

- Well, then I'll switch.

We met in Chicago.

Boy, oh, boy. Were you a speaker!

You don't remember me, eh?

Well, it's not that.

- Maybe I just... Maybe it's the hat.

- My hat?

Yeah. Maybe I just don't recognize you

in this particular hat.

Oh, then I'm a revolutionary

returning in disguise.

Well, comes the revolution,

I'll buy you a new hat.

- I see you're studying Russian.

- Yeah. I'm trying to.

Know what?

- What?

- I mean,

ask me anything you want in Russian.

Thank you. I'll keep that in mind.

Let's see...

Excuse me.

Excuse me, now here's the thing.

I'd be a goddamned fool not to take you

up on this offer. So, here's what I want.

I want to sign my own name

to my own stories

and I don't want to use a double byline.

I want to be responsible

for my own time and my own actions.

I want to be referred to as Miss Bryant,

and not as Mrs. Reed,

and I want to keep an account

of every cent we spend

so that I can pay you back.

Now, I assume you know that

I'm not going to sleep with you,

so just don't confuse the issue

by bringing it up.

That's it.

- Fine.

- Good.

You like salami?

He says,

"Wait a minute, I have to go back.

"I forgot my teeth on the table."

He says, "Hell with your teeth!

"What do you think,

they're bombarding with sandwiches?"

After the revolution,

you'll buy me a new hat.

Thank you very much.

I'll keep you by your word.

By the way, did you hear this one?

A man...

Lenin asks,

"Why do you let your beard grow?"

I says, "I want to remember

what I ate yesterday."

This is a hard word,

but it means "I don't smoke."

Okay.

"Are you one of the family?"

He said, "No. That's why I'm crying."

There's a foreman of a logging camp,

he's trying to hire a crew.

You know, and he goes down

a long line of very big men

and he gets to a little man in the back

and he says, "Who the hell are you?

What're you doing here?

"Don't you know that I need men who

can chop down dozens of trees a day?

"Where the hell

have you ever worked before?"

And the little man says,

"Well, I worked in the Sahara forest."

And the foreman says,

"You mean the Sahara Desert."

And the little man says,

"Yes, sure, now!"

A woman knocks at the door

of her neighbor.

I didn't tell you that?

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