8
Clyde and Francine have brought everything into their attic - a TV, some silver and china, bowling trophies. A Coleman lantern lights the room.
Francine asks in a sarcastic way "Well, isn't that just wonderful! Now these bastards are gonna want to kill us, too! Why the hell did you have to come to this house?"
"We thought it was empty." Ianto tried to explain.
"You know what? The house next door is empty. So whaddya say we go back downstairs and you two keep moving?" she demands.
"We are not going to send these people out to the wolves." Clyde argues angrily.
Francine glares at him "Oh, we're not, are we? Then what's your plan, General Schwartzkopf?"
"I - I just don't think –"
"It's okay. I have to go anyway." Jack finally interrupts and They look at him, surprised. "The National Guard'll be at the truck in about fifteen minutes. I'm gonna go wait for them."
"You can't swim that far in fifteen minutes." Francine points out.
"He could take our boat."
"Clyde!"
Clyde says to Jack "I'll go get it ready for you."
"Clyde, he is not taking our boat." Francine splutters with horror. Clyde ignores Francine. He pushes the attic stairs down, heads down them. She grabs the TV snarling to Jack "Here. You want a TV too? How about some china? Maybe our silver? (sets TV down) Clyde! Clyde, you leave the boat where it is!"
Francine heads off down the stairs. Jack starts down the stairs, stops. "Ianto?"
Ianto looks at him as he smiles "I'm Jack."
They shake hands.
"Watch yourself, Jack. I really don't wanna have to save your life again." Ianto smiles as he lets go of Jack's hand reluctantly.
Jack nods and goes down the stairs.
Clyde stands on the roof of the back porch, steadying a small rowboat as Jack gets in. Francine nags from the window.
Francine is shrieking into the wind "You give away our only boat in the
middle of a flood. You are a genius, Clyde. A goddamn genius."
Jack whispers to Clyde "You wanna come with me?"
Clyde looks at Jack, entertaining the notion...
"Jesus, Clyde, what are you waiting for - a kiss goodbye? Get back in here."
Clyde sighs and lets go of the boat. Jack rows off.
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We see Jack in silhouette, crossing the gap between two houses. Meryl and his men are watching, from the shadows on the dark side of the street.
"Why don't we just get him?" Dean asks.
"If our resourceful young friend hears us coming, he'll electrocute us or sink us or one of you'll shoot him. Besides..." Meryl pauses and glances at his watch "...I know where he's going. What I'd like to know is where he came from."
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The Sheriff sits in his boat, moored to the wall of sandbags around the church. Andy's boat is tied up next to it. The floodwater is trickling over the top of the wall. The gas-powered pumps inside the wall are keeping the waters at bay.
Andy and Gwen come out of the front doors of the church. Andy calls out "They're not here."
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EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - WELCOME SIGN
Jack rows up to the truck and "Welcome" sign. His flashlight shows just the top of the truck and sign. Jack looks at his watch, ties the rowboat to the sign, jumps into the water.
A few moments pass, then Jack surfaces, holding a shotgun. Then he senses something behind him and turns to see... a cow floating in the water, tongue out, eyes glassy. He kicks it away, horrified. And then he hears an engine. He looks.
Meryl's ski-boat is coming over the water. The engine cuts out and the ski-boat drifts, a hundred feet from Jack.
Meryl starts yelling "Son, before you go underwater and do something tricky, there's something I'd like you to see!
A flashlight comes on, the beam swivels, illuminating...Clyde and Francine Standing in the ski-boat, blinking in the light.
Jack slumps.
"Now, I know it's your job to protect that money, and maybe you'd even be foolish enough to give your life for it. The question is, are you willing to give their lives for it?" Meryl puts a pistol to Francine's head. "Drop the gun and get into the boat."
Jack thinks for a second, then throws the shotgun away and pulls himself into the rowboat.
"Excellent choice."
As Jack and Meryl call to each other across the water, Francine goes at Clyde.
"I'll take you to the money, but you gotta let them go." Jack s calling out.
Francine snarls at her husband in a low tone "I hope you're proud of yourself, Clyde."
"Shh."
"I think it'd be best if…" Meryl starts to answer Jack.
"I told you not to give him the goddamn boat." She continues to talk.
"Francine, please." Clyde begs as Meryl shoots them a glare.
"I think it'd be best if we all stayed together." Meryl shouts to Jack.
"You say all you want is the money?" Jack demands "Prove it. Let them go."
"I don't know if that's …" Meryl is ready to argue.
Unfortunately Francine likes to argue too "We could be safe in our home instead of out here in a boat with these low-life scumbags!"
After a look at Francine, Meryl nods to Mr. Mehlor "Let 'em go"
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..
The Sheriff, Andy and Gwen motor past the statue. Andy is driving his boat; Gwen is with the Sheriff. The water is up to the General's neck.
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Jack helps Clyde and Francine over into the rowboat. As he does, his face comes close to Clyde's for a second. He whispers to Clyde "Ianto?"
Clyde shakes his head, whispers "In the attic. They never saw him."
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Ianto swims down the centre of the street.
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Jack is in the ski-boat with Meryl. He looks out at...the other boat as Clyde rows them off into the darkness.
Disappearing in dark Francine can be heard still chastising her poor husband "Faster, Clyde! The bastards might change their minds! Stop lily- dipping and move it!"
Clyde starts to turn the boat around.
"What're you doing?" she asks with confusion.
"I'm gonna row back there and see if he'll shoot you. Or me. Fine either way."
"Clyde...?"
"Do you want me to get us out of here?"
"Yes, of course, I …"
"Then shut the fuck up."
Clyde turns the boat around and rows off. Francine is silent.
Meryl shakes his head. Jack looks at Dean, coughing and at Eugene, dead. Jack doesn't know what to say.
"I..."
"The only thing I want to hear from you is where the money is."
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The Sheriff and Andy are motoring fast down a street, the Sheriff leading. The Sheriff sees something in the water in front of him. He curses and throttles down fast.
Ianto is in the water, exhausted and cold.
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Meryl pilots the ski-boat into the cemetery. All are aghast.
Caskets are floating in the water. Half of them have drifted up against the fence; the others are headed that way.
"I wonder where they think they're going." Meryl snorts with amusement.
"What the hell's going on?" Dean demands.
Mr. Mehlor explains "This happened in a flood in Georgia. The ground gets soggy, and the caskets are air-tight - anyone who hasn't been planted too long just pops up."
Dean gapes at him "You teach your students stuff like That? No wonder they kicked you out."
"I didn't teach my students anything at all."
Meryl ignores them, turning to Jack "Where is it?"
"It's hard to tell now with the water so deep." Jack shrugs. Meryl cocks the hammer on his pistol. Jack gets the hint. "It's down there a little further."
Meryl nods, gives the engine some juice and they move on.
Jack takes a quick look at his watch.
Meryl sees Jack looking at his watch. Hs shakes his head.
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..
Ianto is in the Sheriff's boat, wearing Gwen's jacket, trying to warm up.
"Jack went off in their rowboat."
Andy says to Gwen "It's Jack now. Looks like you lost out, pal."
"Where was he going?" the sheriff ignores them.
Back to the armoured truck.
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Meryl throttles down the ski-boat engine. "Here?"
"Uh... no. A little farther …"
"They're not coming, son.
Jack looks over at Meryl, pretending to be confused. "What?"
"The National Guard." Meryl says slowly "They're not coming."
"I don't …"
"I know you've been trying to stall until they show up, but they're not gonna" Meryl seems actually sad about this.
Jack pauses as he realizes "Oh, God. You intercepted Archie's call, then you called them off."
"No, son, I didn't call them off. They never were coming. We didn't 'intercept' Archie's call. He called us direct."
Jack's look of disbelief shows his devastation.
