Riot (7 page)

Ho there, little blackie! Shall I go call the boys over so you can deliver your pretty speeches to them, eh? Shall I call them over, blackie?

CUT TO:

CLAIRE’s terrified face. She starts to slide down the building away from MAEVE.

MAEVE

Cat got your tongue, blackie? Is that it? Cat got your tongue now that you’re away from your father?

MAEVE moves in front of CLAIRE and smacks her lightly.

MAEVE

(cont’d)

Billy, why don’t you give her a smack?

Full of bravado, BILLY puts the heel of his hand in CLAIRE’s face. Suddenly CLAIRE strikes out blindly, hitting MAEVE, who stumbles backward into the cobblestone street.

MAEVE

You little…

She touches her face as BILLY EVANS starts to kick at CLAIRE. CLAIRE pushes him in the chest, and he falls into MAEVE as she starts to get up.

CUT TO:

MEDIUM SHOT: We see CLAIRE running down the street. MAEVE and BILLY follow for a few steps, then stop. We see CLAIRE fall, get up, and continue running toward the Peacock as the screen darkens.

INT. THE PEACOCK INN—SAME DAY

JOHN is near the door to the kitchen. ELLEN is across from him, holding a towel in her hands.

JOHN

(shouting angrily)

Where is she?

ELLEN

I don’t know! She was here in the dining room when I went upstairs, and when I called—

JOHN

How long has she been out?

ELLEN

(sobbing)

I don’t know. Most of the morning.

JOHN

(sputtering)

Why didn’t you…? Why didn’t you…? What did she say?

ELLEN

She didn’t say anything. I know she was upset and I tried to calm her down. I was trying to think of something for us to do together, to get her mind off of this, and—

There’s a banging on the door, and JOHN runs quickly to it and flings it open. ROBERT VAN VOORST and GRIFFIN (15) enter. GRIFFIN is black, short but sturdily built. His roundish face makes him look somewhat younger than he is.

JOHN

Have either of you seen Claire?

GRIFFIN

No. Ain’t she here?

JOHN

Would I ask where she is if she was here? I’m asking—

ELLEN

John!

JOHN

(calming himself)

Okay. Okay. She went out this morning and—right now we don’t know where she is.

GRIFFIN

Some of the boys are thinking about getting together and facing these gangs, Mr. Johnson. I just come by to see if you want to join us.

ROBERT

I’ve been thinking the same thing.

He produces a gun.

ELLEN

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Are you out of your fool heads?

GRIFFIN

Ma’am, we can’t let these people just run around and beat us up and hang us. They just hanged another black man on the East Side.

JOHN

Robert, put that damned thing away. They got the army and the police out there. We don’t need to give them a reason to be shooting at us.

GRIFFIN

Mr. Johnson, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but—

The door opens, and CLAIRE enters. The front of her dress is covered with dirt, and her hair sticks to her face.

ELLEN

Claire!

JOHN

What happened? Are you okay?

CLAIRE

(tearfully)

Did you notice I wasn’t human anymore? That all I am is black? Did you know that?

JOHN

Baby, you’re young. Right now all you need to be is safe. Then we’ll figure this all out.

ROBERT

Have you seen Priscilla?

CLAIRE

No, they’ve taken the children from the orphanage and hidden them around the city. She’s probably with them.

JOHN

Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?

CLAIRE

Pushed me down. Laughed at me. Nothing that won’t heal.

GRIFFIN

We need to get some revenge, Mr. Johnson. We need to show them we can’t be pushed around so easy.

CLAIRE

Who’s the “them” we going to go get, Griffin? Who’s the “them” we’re going to get revenge on? The same people we were laughing with yesterday? How are they different today?

GRIFFIN

They weren’t beating up black people yesterday, Miss Claire. I think we should go over to Jersey City and get some of those black people just up from down South. I hear there’s a bunch of them just waiting for some action.

ELLEN

(brings CLAIRE to a table and sits her down)

Griffin, if you could carry water the same
way you carry rumors, with not a vessel to carry them in, you’d be a well. (to CLAIRE) Do you need a doctor?

CLAIRE

No.

ROBERT

It’s a dueling pistol, Mr. Johnson. English.

JOHN

Robert, shut up. You need to get your little white butt home.

ROBERT

Sir, I’m looking for Priscilla.

JOHN

Boy, leave the gun here before you hurt yourself with it. I’ll get it back to your father. You get out of here, walk down the middle of the street, and go right home. And don’t leave your house until your father gives you permission.

ELLEN

Until your
mother
gives you permission. Now scoot!

ROBERT looks around the room. When his eyes meet CLAIRE’s, the two smile and CLAIRE throws him a kiss.

CLAIRE

When I see Priscilla, I’ll tell her you were looking for her.

ROBERT takes a deep breath, then leaves.

ELLEN

Claire, do you want tea?

CLAIRE

No. I want to sit here and be very angry. I want to hate everybody and everything.

GRIFFIN

I know how she feels, Mr. Johnson. But if I got to die, I’m dying like a man.

ELLEN

What we have to do—what we have to do is to keep ourselves safe until this thing is over. Then we’ll sit down as a family—

CLAIRE

If it’s my skin that makes me unsafe, can I take it off and put it in a drawer until the
streets are calm again? If it’s my skin that puts me in the sights of murderers, can I change it the way I would change my dress or my apron? Where is this “safe” you’re talking about? And if I’m black and you’re white and that makes me a target, where is this “family” you’re talking about? Where
is
it, Mum? Where is it?

There’s a knock on the door.

JOHN

Griffin, sit over there, and keep your mouth shut.

GRIFFIN sits down and puts the gun under the table. JOHN opens the door and sees CHARLES HICKEY, a tall, beefy patrolman.

HICKEY

Hey, John, glad to find you in. How you doing?

JOHN

Hickey, what you doing out here? I thought you left the force and bought a warehouse?

HICKEY

(sits)

Bought it and working it part-time, John.
I figure to work it like this for a year and then quit the force.

ELLEN

You being careful out there?

HICKEY

I’m trying to be, Mrs. Johnson. Between the soldiers showing up and the gangs running around I’m as nervous as a country rat at a cat party. If John don’t want to come with me, I can understand it.

JOHN

Come for what?

HICKEY

I understand you know a lot of the boatmen down at the piers.

JOHN

Yeah, I know most of them. The black ones, anyway.

HICKEY

We want to get the children from the orphanage out of the city. Take them out to Blackwell’s Island. We have a dozen soldiers and half that many police officers
to guard them, but we need somebody that the boatmen trust. We can’t spare the men to guard them night and day. We’ll try to get some of the kids out today and some later on.

ELLEN

John, you can’t go out there—

JOHN

You’re going to have to find someone else.

I got things I got to…

(looks toward CLAIRE)

You say we’ll have an escort to the waterside?

HICKEY

A dozen good men. We just need someone to deal with the boatmen.

JOHN

Okay, I’ll go.

CUT TO:

CLOSE-UP of ELLEN’s distraught face. We see her mouth a vehement
No!
but no sound is heard. The camera stays on ELLEN’s face.

HICKEY

If we’re going to get the children away, we need to do it now.

ELLEN

No! Hickey, don’t you see what’s going on?

HICKEY

Yes, ma’am. I understand what’s going on. And I know who John is and what he stands for. He doesn’t have to go if he doesn’t want to, but I’m duty bound to ask him.

JOHN

Yeah, I got to go. This is a chance to get the children to safety.

(glances toward Claire)

And we need to take that chance. I know my way around this city.

ELLEN

(breathing deeply)

John…

JOHN

(picking up his vest)

Honey, I’ve got to go. Those children need to be in a safe place. They’ll attack the children just to get the police away from the stores. I’ll be okay. Claire, you come with me.

CLAIRE

No, no, I’ll be all right here.

JOHN

(sternly)

You come with me, girl. Hickey, give us a minute.

HICKEY takes a look around and then steps outside.

CLAIRE

I’m not a child, Father. I’m not a child! You need to help the children. I need to stay here with Mother.

JOHN

(looks toward ELLEN)

Girl, things might go well, and then again they might not. I might need all the help I can to get those children safe on board.

ELLEN

I’ll go with you!

JOHN

No, you stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make sure the doors are locked, and don’t open them for anyone you don’t know. Griffin,
you get your boys down to the waterfront in case there’s any trouble. Don’t do nothing I don’t tell you to do. You got that?

GRIFFIN

I got it, Mr. Johnson.

JOHN, GRIFFIN, and CLAIRE exit
.

We see ELLEN’s hands tremble as she locks the door. She leans against the door and the camera cuts to her face. We see her lips moving and see her making the sign of the cross as she prays.

EXT. ST. MARKS PLACE—SAME DAY

A CROWD of young men and women is standing on the corner and taunting a group of SOLDIERS nearly a block away. The SOLDIERS are setting up a Gatling gun in the middle of the street. The camera switches from one group to another. The SOLDIERS are lean, battle-hardened men and seem particularly grim. The camera moves in on three young people, KELLY, MARY POOLE, and JOHNNY. KELLY is about nineteen, and the other two fifteen.

KELLY

They’re not facing a bunch of barefoot
rebels now, boys. We can show them something to remember.