7
JERSEY - HIGHWAY - LATER THAT DAY
A perfectly preserved '68 Olds drives cautiously down the highway. Around him we see other cars packed to the gills as they make their escape from New York.
Not the most confident driver, Jerry holds the steering wheel close to his chest. "It's the White House, for crying out loud. You can't just drive up and ring the bell."
"Can't this thing go any faster?"
"You think they don't know what you know?" Jerry snorts "Believe me, they know. She works for the President. They know everything."
"They don't know this."
"And you're going to educate them? Tell me something, you're so smart how come you spent three years at med school and then another two at M.I.T. to become a cable repairman?" Jerry can't help but throw that at him, the waste of such an education.
"Dad..."
"All I'm saying is they've got people who handle these things, Owen. They want HBO, they'll call you."
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Mrs. River Smith is at a house phone as her husband speaks to her "I want you out of there."
"You're staying there to keep people calm." She argues with her husband, almost amused by his pouting voice "It's the right thing to do. I'm not going to let them criticize you for it."
The President sits on his bed, his daughter lays next to him, watching T.V. The signal distortion is getting worse. "Okay, fine but the second your interviews are done, I have a helicopter ready to take you to Nellis Air Force..."
"How's the munchkin?" River sounds so far away.
"She's glued to the T.V., just like the rest of the world. I love you too. Here she is..." He hands Jenny the phone as General Claymore and Frobisher appear in the doorway. The President walks over to them.
"More ships keep arriving, fifteen in total so far." Claymore says with solemnity.
"This is crazy." Frobisher hisses "We're losing our first strike capabilities!"
"We're trying to communicate with them on all frequencies but we're getting nowhere. Atlantic Command is working on a type of visual communication." Claymore speaks to the President and ignores the twit.
"What the hell are they up to?" the President mutters, his fingers at his chin.
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TRAILER PARK - NIGHT
A long crowded highway of people trying to escape from Los Angeles can be seen in the distance. The huge space craft hovering behind them.
Tommy is on the roof of the trailer, adjusting the T.V. antenna trying to get a picture. Suddenly the image clears and we see a group of people in a crowded hallway.
...a local crop duster was arrested today attempting to land at Edwards Air Force Base...
On the T.V. we see Andy being escorted to a police car. Mortified, Tommy can't believe what he's seeing.
"They've got to do something" Andy screams at the camera "I was abducted by space aliens ten years ago. They did all kinds of experiments on me. They've been studying us for years, learning our weakness. We've got to do something before they kill us all!"
Just as Eugene starts to climb up, Tommy changes the channel to Mrs. Smith. Eugene sits down next to Tommy.
...we need to remain calm. As more people decide to leave the cities, safety is key...
"Eugene, you remember Uncle Hector, from Tucson?" Tommy asks.
"He's got that SEGA Saturn CD, 64 bit, right?" Eugene asks with a squint of his eyes. "Weird old man."
"Yeah. What would you think if we went there to live for a while?"
"That'd be cool!" Eugene perks up, nodding.
Tommy thinks for a second, makes a decision. "Pack up, we're going."
Tommy jumps down from the roof. Eugene climbs down the ladder. "What about Dad?"
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Mary and an older boy are Kissing. It's getting hot. Mary laughs, pushes him away.
"This could be our last night on Earth. You don't want to die a virgin, do you?" he asks.
"What makes you think I'm a virgin?" she shoots back with moxie.
The Older Boy is taken off guard. Before he can answer the tarp they were hiding under is ripped away. Tommy stands there. "Come on, we're going."
"I'm not going anywhere..."
Tommy grabs her by the wrist and pulls her away.
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FREEWAY - OUTSIDE WASHINGTON
We see the long highway leading to Washington, the space ship hovering above it. One side of the freeway is packed solid, the other completely empty, save for one car...Jerry looks to the other side of the freeway, jam packed. On his side, they are the only car for miles.
"The whole world is trying to get out of Washington and we're the only schmucks trying to get in." As Jerry complains and drives, Owen distracts him as he unpacks his backpack unloading his laptop. He grabs a CD. "What the hell is that?"
"This, pops, is every phone book in America."
"You think an important person like Toshiko is going to be listed?" Jerry scoffs.
"She always keeps her portable phone listed, for emergencies. Sometimes it's just her first initial, sometime her nickname..."Owen starts to look it up. Suddenly...a wave of vehicles are heading straight at them...in the attempt to get out, hundreds of cars have been re-directed by the military to use the opposite side of the highway.
"Oh my God!" Jerry swerves violently to avoid collision, barely missing the oncoming traffic. Dodging right to left, Jerry hangs on for dear life.
A Military Officer, assisting in diverting the cars turns just in time to see the Olds whiz by.
Owen and Jerry are bounced around the inside of the car as Jerry tries to veer through traffic.
Suddenly A truck blocks off their only escape route.
Jerry turns hard and drives up onto the right shoulder.
The Olds is the only car in headed that direction. Using the shoulder, swerving to miss barricades, they drives off an exit ramp.
"Nice driving, pops!"
Dangerously close to a heart attack, Jerry is, for once, at a loss for words.
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DRAG CLUB - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
Male Voice "...put your hands together for Samantha!"
A Dolly Parton-ish Samantha twirls gracefully on the stage. As she comes to a stop we reveal Samantha is actually Ianto. He looks out into the audience and his expression drops.
Five queens and eight customers. All crowded near the television watching the news.
Helicopter footage of people gathered on the rooftops of downtown Los Angeles holding up drawings of space aliens.
...from the "it could only happen in California" file, hundreds of UFO fanatics have gathered on the rooftops of downtown Los Angeles, welcoming the new arrivals...
Ianto storms into the dressing room. Wiping off his makeup, he sits down next to Gwen who watches the same report on a small b&w.
"I can't believe I even came in tonight. What was I thinking?" Ianto demands as he angrily swipes at his face.
"Isn't this cool? And you thought I was nuts. Oh, look, I brought mine with me." Gwen holds up a drawing of a space alien.
"You're not thinking of joining those idiots?" Ianto gapes at her, one of the regular stripers that worked a He-Lady's Night show.
"I'm going over there soon as I'm off. Wanna come?"
Ianto turns to Gwen, dead serious. "Gwen, I don't want you to go up there. Promise me you won't."
"Promise!" Ianto demands as he pushed at her leg.
"I promise." She finally says sulkily.
"Okay. I'm gone. I'm outta town for a while." Ianto says as his boss Mario enters and walks over to his private office in back. He opens the door and finds Dylan playing with his dog, Myfanwy.
"What the hell's your kid doing here?"
"Ianto rushes past picking up Dylan and carrying him away as he heads for the exit. Myfanwy follows. "You try to find a sitter today."
"Where do you think you're going?" Mario roars "You leave, you're fired."
"Nice working with you, Mario."
