The Green Mile Page #13

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DEL:

You fellas comin'?

HARRY:

We got other fish to fry just now,

Del, but you knock 'em for a loop.

Del nods, beaming happily, looks to Coffey in his cell.

COFFEY:

You knock 'em for a loop like Mr.

Harry says, Del.

Brutal leads Del up the Mile, Paul and the others at their

heels. Percy's at the duty desk. He smirks and rolls his eyes

as Del goes by. The moment Brutal and Del are out the door...

...Toot emerges from Paul's office where he's been hiding.

PAUL:

Let's move along briskly, folks.

There's not much time.

Toot hurries down to take his place in Del's cell.

TOOT:

I'm sittin' down, I'm sittin'

down, I'm sittin' down.

INT. OFFICE/ADMINISTRATION BUILDING - DAY

A HALF DOZEN GUARDS are waiting. We find Bill Dodge fixing

the tie of a fat good ol' boy named EARL.

EARL:

Been sweepin' floors here ten

years, never had to wear no damn

tie before.

BILL:

You're a V.I.P. today, Earl, so

just shut up.

A KNOCK at the door. Everybody takes a seat. Del is ushered

in by Brutal. Del faces his audience, puts his hands to his

chest in a "thank you" gesture worthy of Lillie Langtry

before her adoring public, then announces grandly:

DEL:

Messieurs et mesdames! Bienvenue

au cirque de mousie!

INT. EXECUTION CHAMBER - DAY

The steel cap is lowered over Toot's head, the straps

tightened. TILT UP to Percy as:

PERCY:

Roll on two.

Behind his partition, Van Hay mimes flipping the switch.

VAN HAY:

That's that.

A pause. Percy looks anxiously to Paul, who's trading glances

with the other guards. Finally:

PAUL:

Very good. Very professional.

Percy smiles. Harry and Dean step up, slapping his back and

shaking his hand...

INT. E BLOCK - DAY

...and they're still chatting a short time later, waiting for

Del's return. Percy actually looks happy for a change,

feeling genuinely accepted for the first time...

Billy is watching from his cell. Just watching.

The door opens. Del returns with Mr. Jingles on his shoulder,

escorted by Brutal. Brutal is toting the cigar box and spool

like a magician's assistant carrying the boss' props.

PAUL:

Well?

DEL:

They love Mr. Jingles! They laugh

and cheer and clap they hands!

PERCY:

Well, that's just aces. Pop back

in your cell, old-timer.

The generosity of Percy's tone catches Del completely off

guard. Del gives him a look of almost comical mistrust...

...and the old Percy comes back. He bares his teeth in a mock

snarl and curls his fingers as if to grab Del. It's a joke,

but Del doesn't know that--he jerks back in fear and trips

over Brutal's big feet. Del goes down hard, hitting the

linoleum with the back of his head. Mr. Jingles jumps clear,

goes squeaking down the Mile. Del sits up, painfully

clutching his head. Brutal helps him up...

BRUTAL:

Percy, you sh*t.

...and moves him toward his cell. Percy is actually moved to

apologize--he starts after them with a half-laugh, drifting

much too close to Wild Bill's side of the Mile...

PERCY:

Del! Hey, you numb wit, I didn't

mean nothin' by it! You all ri--

...and Wild Bill's arms thrust out, grabbing Percy and

slamming him back against the bars with an arm around his

throat. Percy squeals like a pig in a slaughter-chute,

thinking he's gonna die. The guards scramble, drawing their

clubs--as Billy strokes Percy's hair and whispers in his ear:

BILLY:

Ain't you sweet. Soft. Like a

girl. I druther f*** your a**hole

than your sister's p*ssy, I think.

Billy kisses Percy's ear--and his hand drops down to squeeze

Percy's crotch. Paul pulls his sidearm, taking aim...

PAUL:

Wharton!

...and Billy lets go, stepping back with his hands raised,

laughing. Percy darts across the Mile in terror and cringes

against the cell opposite, breathing so loud and fast it

almost sounds like sobbing.

BILLY:

I let 'im go, I'us just playin'

and I let 'im go! Never hurt a

hair on his purty head!

(grins at Percy)

Your noodle ain't limp at all,

loverboy! I think you sweet on ol'

Billy the Kid...

(sniffs his fingers)

...oooh, but smell you.

Down at his cell, Del starts laughing shrilly. Everybody else

starts to realize it, including Percy himself...he looks

down, sees the huge dark stain spreading at his crotch.

DEL:

Lookit, he done piss his pants!

Look what the big man done! He

bus' other people wid 'is stick,

mais oui some mauvais homme, but

someone touch him, he make water

in his pants jus' like a baby!

Percy just stares. Brutal shoves Delacroix into his cell.

BRUTAL:

Shut up, Del.

Paul steps to Percy, puts a hand on his shoulder. Percy

shakes his hand off, looks around at their faces, whispers:

PERCY:

You talk about this to anyone,

I'll get you all fired. I swear

that to God.

PAUL:

What happens on the Mile, stays on

the Mile. Always has.

The men nod solemnly. Nobody's going to talk about this.

Percy looks at Delacroix still snorting in his cell, points

at him.

PERCY:

You keep laughing, you French-

fried f*ggot. You just keep

laughing.

Del falls silent. Percy turns and storms away as we

FADE TO BLACK:

IN BLACKNESS, A TITLE CARD APPEARS:

"The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix"

CUT TO:

INT. DEL'S CELL - DAY

Paul is sitting with Delacroix. Brutal is leaning against the

bars. Del is throwing the spool. Mr. Jingles is fetching it.

The silence is thick. Just the clack-clatter of the spool,

and the skitter skitter of tiny mouse paws on concrete. It's

getting on Paul's nerves in a big way. Softly:

PAUL:

What about Dean? He's got a little

boy would love a pet mouse, I bet.

Del looks horrified at the thought.

DEL:

How could a boy be trust wid Mr.

Jingles? Maybe forget to feed him.

And how he keep up wid his

trainin', just a boy, n'est-ce pas?

Del tosses the spool again--clack-clatter, skitter-skitter.

PAUL:

All right, I'll take him.

DEL:

T'ank you kindly, merci beaucoup,

but you live out in the woods, and

Mr. Jingles, he be scared to live

out dans la foret.

PAUL:

He whisper that in your ear?

Del nods, tosses the spool again--clack-clatter, skitter

skitter. Paul is completely out of ideas. But then:

BRUTAL:

How about Mouseville?

DEL:

Mouseville?

BRUTAL:

Tourist attraction down in

Florida. Tallahassee, I think. Is

that right, Paul? Tallahassee?

PAUL:

(level)

Yeah, that's right. Tallahassee.

Just down the road apiece from the

dog university.

Brutal's mouth twitches, but he manages to keep a straight

face. He gives Paul a look--don't blow this.

BRUTAL:

You think they'd take Mr. Jingles?

You think he's got the stuff?

PAUL:

Might. He's pretty smart.

DEL:

Hey! What dis Mouseville?

BRUTAL:

Tourist attraction, I said. They

got this big tent you go into--

DEL:

Like a cirque? You have to pay?

BRUTAL:

You shittin' me? Course you pay.

Dime a piece, two cents for the

kids. And inside the tent there's

this mouse city made out of boxes

and toilet paper rolls...

Percy is drifting up the block, listening too, but nobody's

really paying him much mind.

BRUTAL:

...plus they got the Mouseville

All-Star Circus. There's mice that

swing on trapeze, mice that roll

barrels, mice that stack coins...

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