She runs off.
INT. SERENITY - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE BOOK'S BERTH - NIGHT
River runs by Zoe. Zoe hears Book inside.
ZOE
Book? What the happened to--
(as she turns, looks
into Book's door)
AAA!
She startles at Book's hair.
INT. CANTON TAVERN - NIGHT
Jayne is hunched over his beer, looking ready to pop a nut. The crowd is lively and drunkish.
MAL
I'd say that's a reasonable request,
given the circumstance.
Jayne's up in a flash, stomping out. The others follow in his wake.
He pushes the front door open with a heave and stops dead:
EXT. CANTON TAVERN - NIGHT
The street in front of the tavern is filled with an affordable sea of MUD-WORKERS At the front is the BOY who Jayne chased off before. On sight of Jayne, they all cry:
Off Jayne and Mal's shocked expression, we BLACK-OUT.
|
Firefly - "Jaynestown" Written by: Ben Edlund
Episode #: 1AGE06
SHOOTING SCRIPT - September 11, 2002 |
| Teaser |
|
INT. SERENITY - COMMON AREA Kaylee and Simon enter from the passenger corridor, walking slowly as they talk. Kaylee is a-glow with warm flirtation. Come on, it's true. Admit it. SIMON KAYLEE SIMON KAYLEE Inara walks toward them, heading for the stairs up to the shuttle catwalk. She's dressed with stunning elegance. Hey there, 'Nara. Heading off for some glamorous romance? Simon turns, momentarily stunned by her elegance. (a little laugh) Let's hope so. SIMON INARA KAYLEE Simon turns to her, abashed. Kaylee is innocent sincerity: What? Then Simon catches sight of something through the infirmary window, shouts, and makes his way around to the door. AAAA! Kaylee follows. Simon stands in shock. The infirmary has been ransacked. The contents of the cabinets cover every surface. Jayne sits on the examination table, quietly taping a SMALL HANDGUN to his bare mid-section with medical tape. Now see, this'd be the perfect time for a swear-word. INT. SERENITY - INFIRMARY Simon enters, shrill with agitation. Jayne doesn't look up. What happened in here?! JAYNE SIMON JAYNE Simon starts putting it all away, fuming. Kaylee helps him. My God, you're like a trained ape! Without the training. No, apes are noble creatures, you're some sort of man-ape-thing that went horribly wrong. JAYNE Jayne pulls a length of tape with a loud rip, biting it off with his teeth. MAL appears at the door, looking at the gun taped to Jayne's middle. Jayne, I told you, we're puttin' down at the Canton factory settlement on Higgins' Moon. JAYNE MAL JAYNE MAL JAYNE SIMON JAYNE MAL MAL stares at him, and leaves as Jayne glumly pulls the tape off, wincing. EXT. SERENITY - NEARING HIGGINS' MOON Higgins' Moon below: small, muddy brown, no place to raise a kid. Serenity rakes back, her belly glowing red as she hits re-entry. She makes a controlled tumble into the atmosphere. INT. SERENITY - BRIDGE - DAY Wash pilots, hits switches in preparation for landing, then hits the ship's comm. OK Inara, we're atmospheric. You're good to go-- INT. INARA'S SHUTTLE - DAY Inara works her controls, heating up the shuttle's engine, disengaging from Serenity. Thanks, Wash. Shuttle disengaging in three, two, one... We hear LOUD METAL CA-THUNKS as Serenity's locks on the shuttle are released. EXT. SERENITY - HIGGINS' MOON ATMOSPHERE - DAY Inara's shuttle disengages, peeling away. EXT. CANTON - ESTABLISHING - DAY ANGLE OVER MUD-BOG - which bubbles and farts in the FG. Beyond it, Serenity comes to rest on a landing field at the edge of a peninsula that stretches out into the bog. Factory structures stand on the peninsula's far side. EXT. SERENITY - CARGO RAMP - LANDING AREA - DAY Mal walks down the ramp. Wash, Zoe, stand at the bottom. Kaylee and Simon stand with Book and River at the top of the ramp, looking around. Well. Canton really-- (breathes in) --really stinks. MAL WASH MAL WASH ZOE SIMON KAYLEE SIMON KAYLEE SIMON KAYLEE JAYNE Jayne stomps down the ramp, joining them. He's tying the flaps of his 'thrilling heroics' hat under his chin. He pulls his goggles over his eyes. Wash sees his new look and raises his eyebrows. Book turns to Simon. You go on, boy. See the sights. I can watch over your sister. I believe we've been developing a rapport. SIMON BOOK Book turns to River, who smiles at him sweetly, nodding. We're not going far, doctor. And you might maybe make yourself useful. JAYNE Mal turns to Jayne, sees his hat/goggles, squints at him for a beat, then continues. The management here don't take so kind to sightseein'. Which is why we'll be posing as buyers. And there isn't a one of us looks more the part than the good Doctor. (looks Simon over) The pretty fits, the soft hands, definitely a moneyed individual rich and lily-white and pasty all over-- SIMON Mal smiles and guides Simon into the lead of their party. You're the boss, boss. JAYNE EXT. CANTON MUDWORKS - DAY Oh, it's muddy all right. Mud encrusts everything; the WORKERS, the pipelines that feed out of the mud-bog, the crappy structures, and THE FOREMAN who oversees it all. He wears hip-high rubberized boots, a MACHETE strapped in its sheath to one leg. Our crew passes through a chain-link fence which surrounds the area. The foreman sees them and turns. At his throat is a thin METAL COLLAR with two flat black discs, mounted over his larynx. He touches it, and his voice projects as if from a BULLHORN, gruff and confrontative. Area's employee-only! You best be headin' back to the Landing, 'less you got business here! SIMON Mal trades a look with Wash over Simon's awkwardness. But the foreman shuts off his bullhorn collar and steps forward, all salesman smiles now. Well, then. 'Came to the right place. He claps Simon on the back, his glove leaving a dusty handprint of dried mud on Simon's jacket. EXT. CANTON MUDWORKS - FURTHER IN - DAY The foreman leads Simon on a tour of the plant. The others follow a distance behind, and by their looks this has been going on a bit long. MUD WORKERS shamble by, bent under heavy loads of mud-bricks; clearly back-breaking work. ...and a' course we can handle any volume here, got over two-thousand workers, mostly indentured, pay 'em next to nothin', so's we can pass them savings directly on to you-the- customer... SIMON Simon struggles to hold his cover, but the foreman isn't listening closely enough to notice. He rambles on: Yup. Best of its kind. We mix it and brick it raw on the premises, but you add the right catalysts, kiln it proper, this stuff is stronger'n steel ten times over, at half the weight. SIMON Now the foreman turns to him, a little quizzical. (to Kaylee) What happened to Simon? Who is this diabolical master of disguise? KAYLEE MAL SIMON The foreman gives him a somewhat confused look. O-Kay... So you'll be wantin' to--? SIMON FOREMAN He walks off. All right, let's head to worker-town. As they pass by Simon, he reads from their looks that he didn't handle things so effectively. But Kaylee falls in step with him, brushing the mud off his jacket, smiling. I thought you did great. EXT. CANTON WORKER-TOWN - DAY The crew walks down a muddy lane between two rows of MUD DWELLINGS. Jayne looks back at Simon. (to Mal) Boy's gonna get us killed. Let's just do the deal and git. MAL WASH MAL, in the lead, stops, seeing something OS. Deadpan: Think it's possible they might. Before them stands a life-size mud-clay STATUE OF JAYNE on a pedestal. It's posed heroically, staring down in proud defiance. Jayne stares, in shock. Son of a bitch... |
| Act One |
|
EXT. CANTON TOWN SQUARE - DAY Jayne, Mal and the others look up at Jayne's statue, still stunned speechless. Mal steps up next to Jayne; both are transfixed by the statue. Jayne? JAYNE MAL JAYNE MAL Jayne shoots furtive glances all around, keenly aware of his current visibility. His voice is an urgent whisper. (interrupting) Look, Mal, I got no ruttin' idea. I was here a few years back, like I said. Pulled a second-story, stole a lotta scratch from the Magistrate up on the hill. But things went way south, and I had to high-tail it. They don't put you on a pedestal in town square for that-- MAL JAYNE The others stare up at the statue. Simon is deeply disturbed. This must be what going mad feels like. WASH KAYLEE WASH A LOUD STEAM WHISTLE blows - Jayne jumps near a mile. (distant, bullhorn) Shift four, on duty. Shift four, on duty. A new shift of mud farmers starts coming out of their homes, trudging toward the factory area. Hey, I got an idea-- 'Stead of hangin' around playin' art critic until I get pinched by The Man, how's about we move the hell away from this eerie-ass piece-a-work and get on with our 'creasingly eerie-ass day? How's that!? Mal stands, staring at the statue. I don't know. This here's a spectacle might warrant a moment's consideration. Kaylee sidesteps by behind him, looking up, unsettled. Wherever I move to, his eyes keep... followin' me. Jayne stomps off, teeth gritted with fury. Come on, gorramn it! We got a job, let's go do it ant get outta here. Jayne stops and turns, a distance away from the statue. But they can barely pull their eyes off it. I crossed the Magistrate of this company-town, understand? An' he's not exactly a forgivin' sorta guy-- EXT. HIGGINS' HACIENDA - DAY Inara escorted by a company man, walks across the lawn of the Magistrate's estate. MAGISTRATE HIGGINS, late fifties, tall, powerfully built under a few decades of doughy excess, stands with his VALET, ready to receive her. She does a graceful curtsey. Magistrate Higgins, I may presume? HIGGINS INARA HIGGINS INARA HIGGINS INARA INT. SERENITY - DINING ROOM - DAY River sits at the dining table. Book's Bible is open in front of her, and she scribbles furiously into it, crossing out words, writing in the margins. Book walks in, speaks from across the room. What are we up to, sweetheart? RIVER BOOK He starts moving over to her. Bible's broken. Contradictions, faulty logistics--it doesn't make sense... Now Book sees what she's doing. His Bible's all fucked up, and there's a small stack of torn out pages next to it.. No, no, you can't... River's still scribbling away as she chatters manically. So we'll integrate non-progressional evolution theory with God's creation of Eden -- eleven inherent metaphoric parallels already there... eleven, important number, prime number, one goes into the house of eleven eleven times but always comes out one-- BOOK RIVER She flips a page back and forth, frowning at it. Really. RIVER She tears the page out of the book. Gimme that! Book snatches the Bible up, somewhat possessively. River! You don't fix the Bible! River looks up at him, sweet, sincere, deadpan: (holds up torn out pages) It's broken. It doesn't make sense. BOOK He smiles, trying to gently take the crumpled, torn-out pages from her hand. She tugs back. They have a short tug-of-war then Book relents. Why don't you, ah, you hang on to those then. INT. CANTON TAVERN - DAY The kind of dirty dive that's actually made of dirt. Rugged, simple furnishings, with a crowd of mud-crusted off-duty WORKERS hunkered over their beers. A LOCAL BUSKER strums a battered GUITAR in one corner. MEADOWS, a young mudder, sweeps up the bar with a dust broom. He looks at Jayne with some interest. Our crew sits around a table. Mal has his back against the wall, taking in the view. There's several clay bottles of beer on the table. Jayne pours himself a drink, as do others. Can't be a statue a' me. No reason for it. Flies in the face of every kinda sense. WASH JAYNE WASH SIMON Jayne downs his glass and exhales, turning to Simon. Whazzat? SIMON KAYLEE JAYNE SIMON JAYNE Jayne shoves a mug of beer at Simon. MAL narrows his eyes at a relatively WELL-DRESSED MAN across the bar, who seems to be watching them. (to himself) Now what's a gussied-up fella like you doin' in a place like this? The man sees he's being seen. A YOUNG BOY (maybe 13) stands a short distance away from the crew's table, staring at Jayne with intense interest. Shake your head, boy. Yer eyes are stuck. (boy still staring) 'GIT! (boy runs off) The well-dressed man walks up to their table. He stops at Mal. You wouldn't be looking for Kessler? MAL The man sits, close. I knew a Kessler. MAL WELL-DRESSED MAN MAL WELL-DRESSED MAN WASH MAL WELL-DRESSED MAN The Busker starts singing. JAAAYNE! The man they call JAAAYNE! Jayne hears his name and sits straight up, horrified. (chinese) < Hay-soose-mother-of-jumped-up-- > [Yeh-soo, ta ma duh...] With lightning reflexes, Kaylee slaps her hand over his mouth; the applause of the mud workers (for the busker) helps cover Jayne's outburst. Thus begins 'The Ballad of Jayne'. The mud-workers erupt into the opening chorus, swinging their mugs in joyful song. He robbed from the rich, and gave to the poor, stood up to The Man, and gave him what for / our love for him now, ain't hard to explain, THE HERO OF CANTON! THE MAN THEY CALL JAYNE! The crowd gives way to the Busker, who sings verse: Our Jayne saw the mudder's backs breaking / and he saw the mudders' laments / and he saw the Magistrate taking / every dollar an' leavin' five cents / so he said, 'can't do this to my people' / 'can't crush them under your heel'/ Jayne strapped on his hat, and in ten seconds flat, stole everything there was fit to steal-- The crowd erupts again, REPEATING THE CHORUS. Over this, Mal and Jayne discuss this unsettling new wrinkle. Umm... Jayne? JAYNE MAL JAYNE Simon, seated by Kaylee, looks even more disturbed. No... This must be what going mad feels like... He lifts up his beer and takes a deep drink. The chorus ends and the Busker goes back to pickin', singing/story-telling another verse. And here's what separates heroes/ from common folk like you an' I / the man they call Jayne, turned 'round his plane / and let that money hit sky / he dropped it onto our houses / he dropped it into our yards / the man called Jayne, stole away our pain / and headed out for the stars The crowd has erupted again, REPEATING THE CHORUS. Jayne seethes, facts dawning on him: I'll be gorramned! That's where the cash went! (to Mal and the rest) I stole that money from Higgins, like the song says. Lifted me one of his hover-planes, but I got tagged by anti-aircraft. Started losin' altitude - had to dump them strongboxes of money to stay airborne. (takes a drink) Sixty-thousand, untraceable, an' I dropped it square in mud-farmer central! The CHORUS ENDS, and the Busker plays a final bit of guitar, crescendoing as the crowd APPLAUDS. Wash looks at them all in disbelief, We gotta go to the crappy town where I'm a hero... INT. SERENITY / BOOK'S BERTH - NIGHT Book steps into his berth and pulls out the sink, starting his pre-dinner ablutions. He starts to his bun of hair... INT. SERENITY - COMMON AREA - EVENING River walks from the common area into the passage leading to Book's berth. SERENITY / BOOK'S BERTH - NIGHT Book splashes his face, bent over the sink. Hello? BOOK River steps into his doorway, looking down at the.. crumpled pages in her hands. I'm--I tore these out of your symbol, and they turned into paper-- but I want to put them back, so-- BOOK His hair is like a corona of grey fire around his head. River looks up, sees him, and drops the pages. RIVER |
| Act Two |
|
EXT. CANTON TAVERN - NIGHT A second after we left. Jayne stands, eyes aflame with alarm, as the crowd chants his name. JAYNE! JAYNE! JAYNE! A beat of this, then Jayne turns, unceremoniously darting back into the bar. Wash turns to the others, mocking tremendous excitement. I can't get enough of this local color! INT. CANTON TAVERN - NIGHT The crowd inside has stopped singing, confused. Meadows, the young man who's been sweeping the place, watches as Jayne pushes through them, bellying up to the bar, slams down his hat and goggles, desperate for drink. Gimme some milk. The BARTENDER splashes a bottle of mudder's milk into a glass and Jayne takes a slug. Meadows puts his broom down, stepping into the middle of the tavern behind Jayne, who's drinking down the mudder's milk. Don't you understand?! He's come back! (crowd still lost) It's Jayne! Jayne's eyes dart like a wounded bull's in the ring. The bartender SLAPS the glass away from his lips. What th-- BARTENDER He pulls a dusty WHISKEY BOTTLE from below the bar and slams it down. He drinks the best whiskey in th' house. Jayne, mystified, watches the Bartender pour. [erupts into a CHEER] They converge on him, slapping his back, shaking his hand. The brute has lost his connection to reality, just stands there as if in a strange dream. MAL and the others push back into the crowded bar. The well- dressed man catches MAL by the sleeve, alarmed. 'Hell is goin' on? This how people lay low where you're from?! MAL WELL-DRESSED MAN MAL pulls the man's grasping hand from his arm, a touch riled by the contact. He's intuitively piecing out a new strategy. Understand your concerns, friend. But this here is all part of our new plan. KAYLEE MAL INT. INARA'S SHUTTLE - NIGHT Inara has laid out a complex array of bowls and china on a low table in the main area of her shuttle. She's preparing for the COMPANION TEA CEREMONY. She lights a candle, then flips open a pretty silver pocketwatch, nodding to herself as she checks the time. There is a knock at her OS door. Magistrate Higgins steps into the doorway. Inara, allow me to introduce my son, Fess Higgins. FESS HIGGINS, the president's twenty-six year-old son, steps into the doorway. He's on the heavy side, but not unattractive, in his way. Inara smiles warmly. Hello, Fess. (to Higgins) Mr. Higgins, this shuttle is a Place Of Union. I'm sure you can appreciate-- HIGGINS FESS Higgins forcefully guides Fess into the shuttle, stopping just short of the tea ceremony table. Get in there, son, make a man of yourself! INARA HIGGINS Inara is polite, but afire with firmness. Sir, the Companion Greeting Ceremony is a ritual with centuries of tradition behind it. There are reasons for the way we do things. HIGGINS Inara takes Higgins by the arm and starts gently but firmly guiding him out of the shuttle. He blusters but goes along. Mr. Higgins, you are not allowed here. HIGGINS INARA HIGGINS She escorts him out the door. There's a WET SHLUP as Higgins shoes hit the muddy ground. Now you go on, and let us begin our work. HIGGINS Inara flashes a sweet smile and closes the door on him. Goodnight, Mr. Higgins. Inara resets an out-of-place hair, smooths her countenance, and turns to Fess, now the portrait of hospitality. Well. That's a bit more peaceful. Will you sit? INT. CANTON TAVERN - NIGHT Jayne leans against the bar, drink in hand, surrounded by adorers. He's starting to get into it. Meadows raises his mug. To Jayne-- CROWD They all drink. Jayne grins, despite himself, and swigs down his drink. The bartender fills it immediately. Jayne smiles wider, lifts his glass. To the Mudders! CROWD They drink again. Wash and Mal stand off to the side. Wash has a glass of whiskey in his hand. A MUDDER ELDER, in his sixties, finishes his drink and turns to Mal. So, you're one of Jayne's men, eh? Wash smiles. Mal's not pleased. What? No-- MUDDER ELDER MAL MUDDER ELDER Wash CHUCKLES, patting Mal on the back. Yup, we're just happy he lets us stay. At a table, Simon and Kaylee sit, drinking. Simon's actually a little plastered, and Kaylee's having the time of her life, nestled next to him. (a little slurred - more reminiscing than bitter) You know, I've saved lives. Dozens. Maybe hundreds. I re-attatched a girl's leg. Her whole leg. She named her hamster after me. I got a hamster. He drops a box of money, he gets a town. KAYLEE SIMON Kaylee laughs and drinks his toast with him. You know, you're pretty funny, even without cussin'... Simon takes another sip and smiles at her, seeing her in the drunken light which makes all things sublime. You know.. you're pretty... pretty. Kaylee's smile drops. She wants to make sure she heard right. What? What did you say? SIMON Mal steps in over them, unintentionally cutting Simon off. It's time to get out of this nuthouse. Got some plannin' to work out. KAYLEE MAL Kaylee gives Mal a fierce look. I said things are goin' well-- MAL Simon raises his glass, oblivious to any sub-text at this point, drunker by the minute. INT. SERENITY - CARGO BAY - NIGHT Book and Zoe are crouched, Book's magnificent hair still out of it's cage. River is inside the bay's secret compartment. (to herself, rapid) They say the snow on the roof is too heavy--they say the ceiling will cave in--his brains are in terrible danger-- BOOK RIVER (O.S.) BOOK He turns to Zoe, who nods. Hell yes, preacher. If I didn't have stuff to get done, I'd be in there with her... Book gives Zoe a lock of mild affront and starts tying up his hair. (to River) It's the rules of my order... Like the book, it symbolizes -- ZOE RIVER (O.S.) WASH (O.S.) Mal and wash walk into the cargo bay. Zoe goes to them. Where you guys been? Mal, Bernoulli's chompin' at the bit. Says he wants his merchandise yesterday-- MAL WASH ZOE MAL ZOE MAL ZOE They stop by Book. Shepherd, everything goin' OK? BOOK RIVER (O.S.) INT. INARA'S SHUTTLE - NIGHT Fess sits next to Inara at the low table, sipping his tea. (looking into his cup) It's just...my father's always been so in control, of everything, of me, of everyone... I could never be like him, no matter who he pays to-- (reddens, looks up) I'm sorry... This whole thing, it is embarrassing. My father's right again, I guess. And to have to bring you here, to-- INARA FESS INARA She turns to him, stroking his cheek, looking into his eyes. The more you accept that, the stronger you'll become... She leans in and kisses him gently on the lips. INT. CANTON TAVERN - NIGHT Jayne now has a WOMAN on one arm, clinging to him. She's somewhere between robust and plain, but with a Janis Joplin carnality that suits him. He speaks to Meadows, who looks at him adoringly. So the Magistrate, he let you folks keep all that cash? MEADOWS JAYNE MEADOWS JAYNE MEADOWS This, the idea of violence in his name, touches our drunken Jayne so deeply, a tear comes to his eye. (drunken emotion) You guys started a riot? On account of me? Oh... I am truly touched, truly, truly touched by that. I mean, all of this has been swell and all, but that, my very own riot... (almost chokes up) ...that's just about the nicest thing I ever heard... MEADOWS He throws a big arm over Meadows, squeezing him warmly How could I stay away? INT. HIGGINS' HACIENDA - NIGHT Higgins paces as the foreman comes in, led by a VALET. Magistrate Higgins-- Higgins is only vaguely listening, lost in his dirty hopes. M'son's out there, I pray to God losin' his cherry... FOREMAN Whatever we can do to subtly imply that ancient, boiling hatred has just snapped a nerve in this Higgins' head... OMITTED EXT. CANTON PRISON FIELD - NIGHT Out on the bog. A catwalk stretches out to an area dotted with rusted steel boxes (not unlike the hotbox from Cool Hand Luke). Airholes poke through doors in their fronts. Higgins and the foreman are at one of the boxes. The foreman carries a beat-up duffel bag. The foreman fumbles through some keys and opens the door. Rank darkness inside. CAMERA PUSHES IN on the small dark doorway. We hear rustling insider the scratch of uncut nails along a wall. Evening, Stitch. STITCH (O.S.) HIGGINS STITCH HESSIAN'S face pushes out of the shadows inside, fast. Half of it is a mass of scar tissue; one eye is missing. He slithers out of the box, dropping heavily to his feet on the catwalk. He's a tall, creepy son-of-Manson, long bedraggled hair and beard, scarred all over his sinewy body. Higgins nods to the foreman, who throws the duffel at Stitch. Here. I believe these were your personal affects... Stitch looks in the duffel, surprised to pull out a SHOTGUN. Higgins turns, starting to walk away, then stops. You keep me in that box four years and then give me a loaded gun? HIGGINS Stitch's body tenses with hideous rage He COCKS his gun. Best of luck in your new life. |
| Act Three |
|
INT. CANTON TAVERN - MORNING The morning after. One or two MUDDERS lie passed out. Camera finds Kaylee and Simon. They're tangled up in each other, asleep. Kaylee has her hand on Simon's chest, under his shirt, which is half-unbuttoned. She wakes groggily, sees Simon next to her, and smiles, soaking him in. Then Mal is above her. She turns and smiles at him, too, still half-asleep. (dreamy) Hiya, Captain... (snaps put of it) Captain!! This wakes up Simon, who gets his bearings quickly. Wha--? Kay--? - Mal! Mal, I-uh... He starts untangling himself roughly from Kaylee's embrace. Captain, nothing happened-- There was some drinking, but-- We certainly didn't-- I mean, I would never-- not with Kaylee, I-- I assure you, nothing inappropriate took place-- KAYLEE Kaylee, getting pissed, helps him untangle with a strong shove. Mal is uninterested. Uh-huh... Where's my hero? JAYNE Jayne descends the stairs into the tavern from the rooms above. His arm around the woman from last night. The living legend needs eggs! (gives it thought) Or another 'milk, maybe. MAL JAYNE MAL JAYNE Kaylee follows them to the door. Simon gets up, to fall in line, but Kaylee turns on him. Where you goin'? SIMON She pokes him in the chest, miffed enough to not want him around for a bit. I don't think so. No, maybe you ought to stay here. It's about the time for a civilized person to have his breakfast. That's the sorta thing would be appropriate, don't you think? Simon turns to Mal, who shrugs. It's clear Simon is only an honorary member of the club; Kaylee outranks him. They turn and go, leaving Simon alone in the tavern. Mal... (as they walk out) Guys? MAL Simon shakes his head, still groggy, and sits down. After a beat, he turns to the bartender. Excuse me... Could I see a menu? BARTENDER INT. INARA'S SHUTTLE - MORNING Fess lies next to Inara in bed. You're very quiet. FESS INARA FESS INARA This seems to sink in with Fess. We hear a loud RAPPING at the shuttle door. Fess! Fess Higgins, get out here! EXT. CANTON BACKSTREET - DAY Mal and Jayne walk along the lane of shanties we used once before. Kaylee walks a distance behind. So that's where the little 'Jayne' celebration we planned comes in... Should give us time to move the goods back onto Serenity... JAYNE Mal stops, turning. You better laugh when you say that. JAYNE MAL JAYNE Mal turns as Wash drives up on the MULE, with Zoe. Morning, kids. ZOE Mal hops on the Mule, as does Kaylee. He turns to Jayne. Hell, I'll pinch ya. MAL They drive off. EXT. CANTON WILDS - DAY Wash drives the mule to a deserted back area of Canton, and they all dismount. They clamber through the reeds, and come upon a steep earth- cut. Down in it we see a pile of CRATES, covered with a mud- colored CAMOUFLAGE TARP. Here we go... INT. INARA'S SHUTTLE - DAY Fess is sitting down in the shuttle. Inara is cleaning up tea stuff. A criminal hearing? FESS INARA FESS INARA FESS You could knock her over with a feather. Jayne? Jayne Cobb? You're talking about Jayne Cobb. FESS INARA FESS INARA INT. CANTON TAVERN - DAY Simon picks through a plate of MUDDER FOOD, nose wrinkling at every greasy item on it. Uh... Ahem, Could I just get the-- the check, please? Then he sees that the bartender is gone. The door SLAMS open. Stitch Hessian stands in the doorway, backlit. Heard tell you run with Jayne Cobb... Simon, squinting into the daylight, with Stitch's shadow falling over him. Excuse me? STITCH Stitch strides toward Simon, who bristles, somewhere between affronted and afraid. Listen, 'sir', I don't know who you think you-- Stitch backhands Simon across the face with vicious force, slapping him to the floor. Sir!? Look at me, ya' pantywaist idjit! He kicks Simon in the guts, hard. I just spent the last four years steamin' in a hotbox and you're sirrin' me? He kicks him again, then reaches down and lifts him up with one hand. Simon reaches desperately for a clay beer bottle off a table as Stitch talks. Folks say you're part a' Jayne's team. So-- Stitch pulls a SWITCHBLADE from his belt and flicks it open alongside Simon's face. Where is that no-good reptile hidin' hisself? You tell me, boy, or I'm a' cut off every last bit a' your good looks. Simon brings the bottle up and smashes it against the side of Stitch's head. Stitch SLASHES THE KNIFE ACROSS THE BACK OF SIMON'S FOREARM! Simon drops the jagged bottle neck. Aaagh! Stitch slams his fist into Simon's face, dropping him. (low chuckle) Not done yet, youngin'... That's gonna cost you an eye. Stitch whips his head around as he hears an OS chanting, down the street: Jayne! Jayne! Jayne! He hauls Simon toward the door. Come on. EXT. CANTON STREET - DAY The mule drives by, as its riders witness the MASS OF MUDDERS thronging in the distance. EXT. CANTON SQUARE - DAY Jayne stands before his statue, arms upraised, amid a throng of MUDDERS, who chant his name. Jayne! Jayne! Jayne! The foreman and his PRODS stand in a tight snarl of hip-boots and truncheons. The Prod turns to the foreman. Come on, sir, let's just get in there and-- FOREMAN The Prod and his ilk are chomping at the bit. INT. SERENITY - CARGO BAY - DAY Mal, Zoe, and Wash haul crates of STOLEN PROP up the ramp (off the mule?) sweating from the honest labor of lifting. Mal slaps the top of the last crate with finality, breathing easy for the first time in a day. Zoe, pack down this cargo. Wash, you heat up Serenity, We're blowin' this mess inside a' half an hour. Wash heads off for the bridge. Already there. MAL He turns and starts heading back out the door. Kaylee follows. EXT. CANTON SQUARE - DAY Meadows finally manages to quiet the townfolk. Meadows cries out. Speech! CROWD A wave of public-speaking anxiety sweeps over Jayne, but he succumbs to will of the people. I'm no good with words. Don't use 'em much, myself... (crowd chuckles) But I want to thank y'all, for bein' here, and for thinking so much of me... Far as I see it, You people have been given the shortest end of a stick ever offered a human soul in this crap-heel 'verse... But you took that end, and you, you know... Well... You took it. And that's... I guess that's somethin'. Jayne nods. The crowd APPLAUDS. Kaylee and Mal have just arrived. Wow... That didn't sound half bad... MAL The applause halts as A SHOTGUN BLAST EXPLODES. Stitch stands there, shotgun pointed skyward and smoking, Simon, bloody, held up by the scruff. He hurls Simon forward, he pitches into the dirt, barely conscious. (moment of disbelief) Stitch Hessian... STITCH Jayne looks down at Simon. He covers for him. Ain't one a mine, Stitch... Stitch looks at Simon, then at Jayne, skeptical. (mirthless chuckle) Where you been hidin'? You gone and got yourself lookin' mighty hideous... STITCH Stitch walks past Simon, squaring off with Jayne, about twenty feet between them. The prods and the foreman look on. The prods are jumpy, but they see that the foreman is smiling. Yep. Now Jayne gets his... Kaylee gets to Simon and gathers him up into her arms. Kaylee--? KAYLEE STITCH Jayne looks around at the crowd, their scared eyes, remembering suddenly he has an audience. Ain't no hero, Stitch. Just a workin' stiff like yourself... STITCH The crowd looks to Jayne, who seems to redden a bit. Mal gets to the front of the crowd, about ten paces from Stitch; he's too tuned in. He swings his shotgun at Mal, covering him. Now you let ol' Stitch speak his piece. Mal raises his hands slightly. Instinctively, Mal knows he's dealing with a cold and deadly son-of-a-bitch. (slight nod) Go on, then. STITCH MEADOWS STITCH JAYNE STITCH JAYNE Meadows turns to Jayne, eyes imploring him. Jayne looks away. Jayne's hand is sliding up his side, reaching for the hilt of his knife. This is the plan. Stitch lifts up the shotgun, cocking it in the same motion, and fires, square at Jayne. Meadows hurls his body in the way, taking the blast full in the chest. |
| Act Four |
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EXT. CANTON SQUARE - DAY Meadows falls, dead. Jayne throws his knife. Knife whizzes through the air and catches Stitch dead center in the chest. He staggers back, and throws the spent gun to the side. He and Jayne charge each other, ROARIN' LIKE BULLS. Jayne catches him, they struggle. Jayne spins Stitch, shoving him (he's beginning to flag from the knife) back. Jayne gets to his statue and starts smashing the back of Stitch's head against it- Over and over. As much as is showable, he Peckinpaws Stitch's sorry ass. The crowd, MAL, our crew, the prods, everyone is silent. Jayne rears up from the OS bloody mess of his ex-partner, and turns to Meadow's body, which lies in the mud near him. He starts to pick him up, but the man flops, lifeless. Get up you stupid piece-a-- Get up! Jayne looks down into Meadow's open, dead eyes. The YOUNG BOY (13, from the end of act 1) stands over Stitch's body. He reaches for the knife... (still to Meadows) What'd you do that for? What's wrong with you? Didn't you hear a word he said? I'm a mean, dumb sommbitch! (drops the body) An' you don't take no bullets for a dumb sommbitch, you dumb sommbitch! Jayne turns back to the crowd. All of you! You think someone's just gonna drop money on ya, money they could use? There ain't people like that! There's just people like me. Jayne turns to the boy, who holds his bloody knife out to him. Jayne takes it, seeing the unabated reverence in his eyes. Jayne's eyes go wild for a beat. He walks past the boy, to his statue. With a MIGHTY HEAVE he pushes it back, toppling it, continuing on out, the others following. INT. SERENITY - CARGO RAMP - DAY They jog up the ramp, Kaylee helping Simon. Jayne stalks in after them, head down, silent. He just keeps walking. Mal hits the ship's comm. Wash, we're in. Get us the hell offa this mud-ball. WASH (O.S.) INT. SERENITY - BRIDGE - DAY Wash's screen all flash: "LAND-LOCK" (to himself) < motherless goats of all motherless goats > [Gao yang jong duh goo yang.] He hits switches all over, trying to override it. Inara walks into the bridge. Hello, Wash. Has there been any problem with take-off--? WASH The 'LAND-LOCK' message changes to "LAND-LOCK RELEASED". Wash sits up, calms down. Uh, no. We're fine. Inara just smiles as we hear the ENGINES START TO WARM UP. OMITTED EXT. HIGGINS' MOON - LANDING AREA - DAY Serenity takes off, leaving this ugly-ass moon behind. INT. HIGGINS' HACIENDA - DAY Fess sits at the dining room table. His red-faced, furious father looms over him, barking. Fess smiles, relaxed. You did WHAT!? FESS HIGGINS FESS OMITTED INT. PASSENGER DORM River sits, reading intently - and ripping a page out, setting it beside her. Book passes, coming from his room with his taped together bible. He moves to speak - (not looking up) Just keep walking, preacher-man. He does. You got to be steely. INT. SIMON'S ROOM It's darkish in here - intimate, as it's near bed time. Simon sits on his bed, a bandage on his cut forehead, a bit of a bloody eye. Kaylee touches his face, gently, as she talks. Can't be letting men stomp on you so much. SIMON KAYLEE SIMON KAYLEE SIMON KAYLEE SIMON A beat as she takes this in. So when we made love last night - SIMON KAYLEE INT. SERENITY - CARGO BAY - NIGHT Jayne stands looking at his knife on the catwalk above the bay. Mal walks in, Jayne sees him, sheathes the knife. Mal rests his hands on the rail by him. Then, after a long beat. Don't make no sense. (beat) Why the hell'd that mudder go an do that, Mal? Jumpin' in front a' that shotgun blast. Weren't a one of them understood what happened out there - hell, they're probably stickin' that statue right back up. MAL JAYNE MAL Beat as Jayne takes this in. Neither man moves. Don't make no sense. OMITTED OMITTED |