Riot Read online

  SECOND SOLDIER

  That’s something, all right.

  FIRST SOLDIER

  You hear what Beck said the other day? He said he clean forgot what this war was about. Except for the killing, of course.

  SECOND SOLDIER

  (eyeing rioters down the street)

  They forming up down there?

  FIRST SOLDIER

  I guess. They ain’t seen enough dying to back off from it. They will by and by. They will by and by.

  OFFICER

  Lock and load!

  CUT TO:

  A group of Irish YOUNGSTERS. Some are teenagers, but they are mostly boys, with a few girls among them. They are boisterous, excited, young. They mock the SOLDIERS and begin to throw small rocks. We see one of the rocks bounce along the street and land at the foot of a SOLDIER. The camera pans up on the face of the SOLDIER. We recognize him as JOSHUA LANCASTER.

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP: The face of a YOUNG MAN among the rioters. He is anxious.

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP: Another face. This one is even younger.

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP: Another face. We recognize BILLY EVANS.

  CUT TO:

  MEDIUM SHOT: We see the RIOTERS as a group. They are looking down the street at the SOLDIERS, wondering what is going to happen. We see MAEVE join the crowd. She is looking around for LIAM.

  YOUNG MAN

  (to someone off-camera)

  Hey, you. Take some boys and get in front of the soldiers so they don’t see what’s going on.

  LIAM

  (as he is joined by MAEVE)

  Get in front of the soldiers yourself!

  YOUNG MAN

  Go on! We’ll see that you’re taken care of. Go on!

  CUT TO:

  A MAN whom LIAM knows gives him the thumbs-up sign.

  CUT TO:

  LIAM takes a hesitant half-step forward, then inhales deeply. WE HEAR the sound of a low note from a cello that begins to rise in volume.

  CUT TO:

  The older YOUNGSTERS push the CHILDREN forward. The SOLDIERS stand and form a loose line.

  STREET TOUGH

  They won’t shoot. What do they care about Goodman’s?

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP: JOSH LANCASTER, biting his lip anxiously. The camera moves from face to face, and we see that the RIOTERS are clearly apprehensive about the SOLDIERS.

  CUT TO:

  TOMMY ENRIGHT and DENNIS RILEY among the crowd.

  TOMMY ENRIGHT

  (getting up his nerve)

  We get in and we get out quick! Bam! Bam! Bam! Nothing to it.

  DENNIS RILEY

  You sure we can trust the kid? If he takes the goods down to bleedin’ Mulberry Street…

  TOMMY ENRIGHT

  (glancing toward the soldiers)

  You losing your backbone? You going yellow?

  DENNIS RILEY

  (nervously)

  No. No. I don’t think they’ll open up on us.

  TOMMY ENRIGHT

  I ain’t scared none.

  CUT TO:

  LONG SHOT of the opposing groups. The RIOTERS are beginning to start toward the SOLDIERS. The SOLDIERS almost nonchalantly raise their weapons. Among the RIOTERS, we recognize the signature ribbons of the Dead Rabbits. They stop in front of Goodman’s but point toward the SOLDIERS.

  Suddenly a brick is produced and thrown through the window of the store. We hear shattering glass, punctuated by the shouts of bravado from the onrushing RIOTERS as the camera assumes their POV. Then there is the deafening noise of a volley from the SOLDIERS.

  CUT TO:

  A YOUNG MAN has fallen. He looks down at his bloody chest and, childishly, tries to wipe away the hurt. There is a spreading stain on his chest and a look of incredulity on his face as he realizes he is dying.

  CUT TO:

  The distraught face of an OLD WOMAN. She shakes her head and clutches her rosary beads tightly.

  TOMMY ENRIGHT

  Hold it! Move to the sidewalks! Look out for the wounded!

  We hear a second deafening volley from the army.

  More of the RIOTERS fall, including at least one woman. People are running, bumping into each other. A woman reaches down for the outstretched arm of a child.

  We hear very heavy breathing and the sound of a person in pain. The sound is almost a whimper that grows in volume and then fades. Finally we hear the sound of the heavy breathing again, and then that, too, subsides.

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP of MAEVE kneeling on the ground next to the lying figure of LIAM.

  MAEVE

  (screaming)

  Liam! Liam!

  LIAM

  (his mouth open, frantically sucking in air)

  Oh! Oh!

  MAEVE

  Oh, please! Speak to me, Liam. Speak to me!

  The camera looks over MAEVE’s shoulder to LIAM. He is searching MAEVE’s face, but he is holding his chest. He moves his hand away, and we see an angry red splotch on his shirt and vest.

  LIAM

  Am I all right, love?

  MAEVE

  (looking at her blood-splattered hands)

  Yes. Yes. You’re going to be just fine, darling. Just fine.

  CUT TO:

  MEDIUM SHOT from a rooftop: Several people lay wounded in the streets. Those who are not wounded are trying to care for them. We hear the sound of an Irish folk tune. It is far too gay for the grim scene we are visiting.

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP of an OLD MAN’s face as he looks at the wounded. He is shocked and somewhat dazed.

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP of a SOLDIER’s face. The camera moves in, and we see that the SOLDIER is younger than we first thought. His eyes are wide, his breathing shallow. He has not expected to be shooting civilians.

  FADE TO BLACK.

  INT. THE PEACOCK INN—SAME EVENING

  CLAIRE and PRISCILLA are sitting at a table, both clearly tired and distressed. JOHN is standing, and ELLEN sits and rocks on another chair.

  JOHN

  Where were you? I was looking…I put you on the boat myself!

  CLAIRE

  I got off the boat. I am not a child.

  JOHN

  (sputtering somewhat)

  You disobeyed me! I am your father!

  ELLEN

  Don’t yell at her! I’m here! You’re here! We’re a family!

  JOHN

  Ellen, it’s my place to see to the safety of my family.

  CLAIRE

  Aren’t we all just learning our places here? Aren’t we finding them like that poet said? They’re finding them in the fires we’re setting, and we’re finding them, too. I didn’t choose to be black.

  ELLEN

  Claire!

  CLAIRE

  I didn’t! I just wanted to be a human being. I just wanted to be whoever I saw in the mirror, without a race or a place in life. What is so wrong with that? What is so wrong with it?

  JOHN

  Claire, there’s nothing wrong with you being you. I love who you are and will until I die. But first, first we need to get through these hard days.

  CLAIRE

  I know. I know. But what will we be when we come out of them?

  ELLEN

  Priscilla, are you all right, child?

  PRISCILLA

  We went to my aunt’s house. She’s dead. I don’t know what happened.

  ELLEN

  Oh, my God! I’m so sorry.

  JOHN

  How are you, Priscilla?

  PRISCILLA

  As well as I can be, I guess.

  JOHN

  Your father sent a message by a salesman coming into New York. He asks me to let you stay with us if I can find you. Of course you can stay here.

  ELLEN

  Things will get better. They’re saying that the streets are calming down now.

  JOHN

  After three days, maybe they’ve done all the damage they
can.

  CLAIRE

  I’m sorry you were worried. But I couldn’t just run away with the little children. I have to find myself. Face up to who I am.

  ELLEN

  And who can that be, Claire? And who is doing the telling? Is it you or is it those people screaming down the streets?

  CLAIRE

  It’s me, Mum. It’s me looking at myself and finding a black woman where there was only a girl before.

  ELLEN

  (goes to CLAIRE)

  And who am I, darling? Where have you found me?

  CLAIRE

  You’re still my own sweet mum. I just have more parts to fit in than I thought.

  (the two embrace)

  ELLEN

  More parts than I ever thought.

  CLAIRE

  Maybe, when this is all over, when the streets are quiet again, we’ll be able to sit down and sort it all out. Maybe one day we can even forget about the ugliness and not worry about what color we are. We can just be the Johnson family, proud owners of the Peacock, the best place in New York City. And anyone who walks through our front door can just be a human being. Just a human being.

  ELLEN

  And we’ll steal Priscilla from her parents to supervise the cleaning staff. Which will probably mean me and Claire.

  CLAIRE

  (as we slowly fade out)

  It’ll be a grand place. And I can go back to being Claire again. Is that possible? That I can just be myself again?

  FADE OUT

  INT. THE PEACOCK INN—LATE THAT NIGHT

  We open on a darkened screen with some light bleeding in from the left. The camera moves slowly to the left, and we see a small votive candle on a corner table.

  We hear the sounds of heavy breathing as if someone is carrying a heavy burden. Along with the burden there are sounds of distress as well in the breathing pattern.

  We see, dimly, a mouse moving along the floor. It is tentative, stopping now and again, lifting its little snout into the air as if finding its way by scent. The camera moves with the mouse slowly, then quickly as it climbs the leg of a table.

  We see the crouching figure of a cat. It moves, its body low to the ground, almost imperceptible in the darkened Peacock.

  We hear, again, the sound of labored breathing, then banging against the door.

  We see the mouse, alert, scurrying down from the table. We see the cat freeze, one paw in the air, then move silently into the shadows.

  We hear more banging against the door, this time more urgent.

  CUT TO:

  CLAIRE’s bedroom. We see fingers over a dampened oil lamp. The fingers turn up the lamp, and we see CLAIRE’s face, half lit by the lamp. Her eyes are wide. Dressed in her nightclothes, she moves quickly from the bed and to the door. At the door, she stops and turns, and we see PRISCILLA still lying on the bed.

  CLAIRE enters her parents’ bedroom. JOHN is already up and is pulling up his trousers.

  JOHN

  Late-night drunks. I’ll tell them we’re closed.

  CLAIRE

  It could be black people, looking for shelter.

  JOHN

  I’ll them we’re closed, honey. The rioting has died down for now. They’ll be safe until morning.

  JOHN and CLAIRE go down the stairs to the main floor of the Peacock.

  ELLEN

  (from the bedroom)

  What are you doing?

  JOHN

  (over his shoulder)

  Go back to bed.

  ELLEN

  (pulling her robe closed as she joins JOHN and CLAIRE on the stairs)

  Oh, yes, of course.

  JOHN, CLAIRE, and then ELLEN reach the first floor. They all look toward the front door, and again we hear the banging. JOHN crosses to the window and looks out. The camera looks out with him, but we can’t see anything significant. JOHN picks up a poker and hefts it to feel its weight. CLAIRE looks around and picks up a candle.

  JOHN

  (at the door)

  The Peacock is closed. Go home.

  MAEVE

  (from outside)

  It’s Maeve. And Liam. Oh, he’s hurt so bad. We need help.

  JOHN

  I’m sorry, but…

  MAEVE

  Please.

  ELLEN goes to the door. She starts to unlatch it when JOHN puts a hand on her shoulder and shakes his head no.

  MAEVE

  Please, he just needs a little water.

  ELLEN turns to JOHN, her eyes pleading. JOHN steps back, his muscles taut in case it’s a trick. ELLEN lifts the latch and unlocks the door. MAEVE and JOSEPH, a gang member, half drag, half carry LIAM into the Peacock.

  MAEVE

  Oh, thank God. The soldiers are rounding everybody up, even the wounded ones. People are dying in the streets, and in the houses, and everywhere you have a mind to look. Oh, my sweet Jesus. Did you say you worked for a doctor? Do you think you could get him to come and look at my Liam?

  They bring LIAM, who looks terribly wounded, into the Peacock and lay him down on a table. The camera pans his body, and we see an incredibly large bloodstain on his shirt which also covers the upper half of his pants. We go to his face for an instant and quickly away, as if even the camera cannot stand to see what it must see.

  Then the camera moves back to LIAM’s face, and we see a young man minutes from the dying.

  JOSEPH

  (nervously)

  I’ll be on me way.

  MAEVE

  (to JOSEPH)

  Thank you.

  (then to JOHN as JOSEPH leaves)

  Do you think the doctor will come?

  JOHN

  Let me get his shirt open.

  MAEVE

  He’s bleeding so…

  CUT TO:

  CLOSE-UP of ELLEN’s face as she stares wide-eyed past JOHN.

  ELLEN

  He needs a doctor.

  CUT TO:

  MEDIUM SHOT: LIAM is on table, CLAIRE is getting water.

  JOHN

  No doctor will come out in this madness.

  CLAIRE

  He’ll die without a doctor.

  MAEVE

  He’s really an all-right sort. He is. Really. And strong. If we can bring him around, he’s strong enough to pull through. I know he’s strong enough to pull through!

  ELLEN

  John? John?

  JOHN

  I’ll go look for a doctor. Maybe Dr. Smith, if they haven’t hanged him or beaten him to death.

  MAEVE

  (to CLAIRE)

  Do you think he’ll be all right?

  CLAIRE

  Yes, I’m sure.

  MAEVE watches as JOHN goes to the door. It has started to rain.

  MAEVE

  (looking anxiously about)

  We weren’t meaning what we said before.

  About coloreds and that sort of thing. It was just…a bit of a lark.

  (voice trailing as she realizes the position she is in)

  Not a very good lark. We didn’t mean any harm.

  (begins to pray for LIAM)

  Oh, God, he’s not a bad sort. He’s not a bad sort. He likes people. Oh, won’t you people say something. Please, he’s not a bad sort. Really.

  CLAIRE puts her hand on MAEVE’s and bows her head.

  MAEVE

  (continues praying)

  Oh, God, please don’t let him go.

  Everything he’s ever done wrong, he’s sorry for, and everything he’s done right, he meant to do well.

  We hear MAEVE still praying for LIAM.

  We see LIAM absolutely still.

  We see LIAM move slightly, make a very feeble sign of the cross, then lift one arm as if he is reaching for something high above him. We see the arm come down slowly. We see LIAM’s face blanch and then his head turn slowly to one side.

  MAEVE

  Liam? Oh, Liam.

  We hear the sound of music rising in pitch until it is indistinguishable from the hig
h wailing of a scream.

  DISSOLVE

  EXT. WASHINGTON SQUARE—JULY 15, 1863—MORNING

  MEDIUM SHOT: A NEWSBOY is selling papers. Two GENTLEMEN take papers, and one tosses a coin toward the boy.

  FIRST GENTLEMAN

  Well, it’s over at last. None the worse for the city, if you ask me. Gives us an air of neutrality.

  SECOND GENTLEMAN

  I heard the federal government is going to pay for all the damages.

  FIRST GENTLEMAN

  I wasn’t damaged. And with the government handing out money, there won’t be too many hurting.

  EXT. A CATHOLIC CHURCH—SAME DAY

  A solemn procession of MOURNERS leaves the church. They carry two caskets. The first is full size, the second, in the arms of a beefy IRISHMAN, much smaller.

  EXT. A CEMETERY—SAME DAY

  Small GROUPS OF PEOPLE are gathered around several grave sites.

  CUT TO:

  The craggy face of a black UNDERTAKER wearing a top hat. He looks straight ahead as we hear the voice of a black MINISTER.