Rebel Treasure forty second post

INT THE AIRLINER – ELECTRONICS BAY

PILOT (O.S.)
Coming up on New Mexico.

Agent Sadusky ushers the boys into the plane’s nerve center.

BEN
Communications or intelligence?

SADUSKY
Both. Actually it’s on loan from the Dept. Of Homeland Security.

BEN
You mean we’re dealing with some terrorist organization?

SADUSKY
A home grown one. Thanks to you, you’ve alerted us to a clear and present danger.

BEN
The new KGC isn’t stopping with a little gold or the state of New Mexico.

SADUSKY
No. They’ve got bigger plans.

Riley hovers behind the TECHNICIAN seated in a cockpit of monitors, keyboards, joysticks, etc.

RILEY
Can I play?

The technician looks up in confusion, and over to Sadusky. Sadusky gives him the nod of approval. The technician slides out of his seat and cedes it to Riley. Riley seizes a joystick and commences rotating the column, and soon the image on the display overhead begins to spiral.

TECHNICIAN
Do you even know what you’re doing?

RILEY
Sure. I’m redirecting this spy satellite.

BEN
Look for signs of an old railroad roadbed crossing this desert up from Mexico.

Riley scrolls the satellite image slowly across the viewer.

RILEY
Here’s a likely candidate.

He enlarges the image and a short north/south dash appears.

BEN
It’s headed in the right direction at least. Zoom back out.

The image expands to show more area.

RILEY
These series of smudges seem to line up.

BEN
And the top one lines up on a creek. Let’s follow this canyon.

Riley focuses in on the narrow valley and scrolls slowly upward. A Hummer emerges from a rock wall, its headlights switch from high to low beam.

RILEY
Eureka!

Riley dials up an infra-red image of the area and superimposes the results.

BEN
(his finger on a glowing blotch)
That’s got to be a generator.

Behind the duo, Sandusky signals to his squad who silently slip out of the communications center.

RILEY
All these other sources add up to a ring around what just may well be the vault we’re looking for.

BEN
Which means they haven’t gotten in yet.

Ben enters data from the readout into his GPS.

SADUSKY
Excellent work boys. And now it’s time we parted.

BEN
What do you mean?

SADUSKY
Simply. It’s time for the professionals to step in and do what they do.

Sadusky turns to go, and the boys are quick to follow down the

SPIRAL STAIRCASE

SADUSKY
Listen, if you promise to behave, I’ll let you see us off.

BEN
No, you listen. I have every reason to believe that my wife is down there. I’m going!

They sweep through:

FIRST CLASS

SADUSKY
I’m sorry, Ben. You’re a civilian.

BEN
So, deputize me!

RILEY
Yeah! Deputize us!

SADUSKY
Not possible!

He parts the curtain and enters into

COACH

Now a pre-jump area, bathed in an eerie red light. Two GUARDS seize Ben and Riley as they walk through.

SADUSKY
Remember, best behavior.

PILOT (O.S.)
We’re at altitude.

Sadusky’s team of agents are all suited up for a parachute drop. Sadusky strips off his three piece suit, revealing his jump uniform and straps on his chute.

A section of the tail cracks open and a straight corridor defined by the aisle yaws open to the night time sky.

A green light flashes and one by one they troop down the ramp and out into space. Before joining them Sadusky tosses Ben and Riley a salute.

BEN
(to the guards)
Can we at least watch the show upstairs?

As the ramp closes, the guards step aside and allow them to pass back into first class.

[next pt 43]

Advertisement

Rebel Treasure thirty ninth post

EXT NEW MEXICAN DESERT – DAY
Riding above the haze of heat waves, a train with a dozen cars steams along the razor straight tracks, the only objects in the flat as a tortilla expanse. Two engines, one pulling the other pushing, propel the cars forward towards a distant mountain range.

AN ENCAMPMENT
Straddles the tracks, tents and piles of boxes laid out in neat rows, and to one side a newly constructed water tower. OVERSEERS, armed with bullwhips, watch over work parties of MEXICAN INDIANS that are unloading another train parked on a siding. With a BLAST from its steam whistle the two engine train slides to a stop near the water tower.

Louis emerges from a tent chewing on a cheroot. Seeing the train he reaches back in for his gun-belt, from which dangles his Bowie knife. He sees Lon in the cab of the first engine and waves.

LOUIS
Lon!

Lon dismounts from the cab as Louis walks up. He remains mute and unresponsive. Louis picks up on his attitude.

LOUIS (CONT’D)
Oh, so it’s that way, is it, Commander?

He salutes and Lon returns it.

LON
Tell me lieutenant, is everything shipshape here?

LOUIS
Aye, sir. As soon as you’ve passed we’re sending that train –
(points to the one on the siding)
back down the line and take up the tracks.

LON
Excellent.

LOUIS
And sir, may I see your manifest?

Lon hesitates briefly, then fishes the document from his inside coat pocket and passes it to Louis.

LOUIS (CONT’D)
(scanning the paper)
The last of the Mexican silver?

LON
Aye. See for yourself.

LOUIS
All right, I will. I’ll ride in the back.

CANYONS OF NEW MEXICO – DAY
Sunlight dapples the hilltops but does not penetrate down into the arroyo where the treasure train rolls alongside of a river that snakes its way at the bottom of the canyon.

POV OF THE ENGINEER
Ahead the twilight of the canyon gives way to sunshine. The sand under the tracks sparkles golden as it curves into a massive opening in a rock wall.

E/I ANTE-CHAMBER TO A CAVERN
The treasure train slows as it enters the cavern. Fanning out from the mainline are many branch tracks, and on them rest hundreds upon hundreds of boxcars, giving the whole area the appearance of a busy big city railyard. Work parties of blacks and Indians march along the side of the tracks under the watchful gaze of whip bearing overseers.

The track runs forward and hugs the wall passing by massive stalactites and stalagmites.

A STATION MASTER runs out of his depot, waving a lantern to flag them down. Lon steps down from the cab before it comes to a stop.

LON
What’s the problem, Carl?

STATION MASTER
The new circuit is finished, Commander. You won’t have to back out from the “bank” this time. Give us a moment to switch the tracks.

The station master seizes the rail switch and signals for his ASSISTANT to trip the other down the way. Jesse James appears from nowhere.

JESSE
Mind if I join you, Lon?

LON
Come on ahead, you can help me check off the list.

The treasure train veers off onto the branch line and puffs up a gentle grade and into the mouth of another cave whose lower stalagmites have been broken out, but whose “upper teeth” have been left intact, lending the whole the appearance of the maw of a vicious beast.

UNLOADING AREA
A fire brigade of WORKERS pass along box after box of Mexican silver from the parked treasure train. We follow the last of the boxes to the head of the line and find Lon checking the list under the vigilant gaze of Jesse. Two workers pry open the boxes with crow bars, then MOSES GRANT, a giant black man pours the contents of each one down a chute in the floor.

One of the workers lingers to peer down the shaft after the contents of the last box are committed to it.

JESSE
Don’t even think about it.

Their work done, Jesse and the OVERSEERS begin to collect the workers together and march them out. Lon lingers behind with Moses.

LON
How are Sissy and the twins?

MOSES
(grinning)
They be fine, mighty fine.

LON
Up to a little journey?

MOSES
Is it now? Tonight?

LON
Moses you are leading your people out of here. Tonight we execute the plan. Meanwhile, I’ve got one more thing to do.

[next pt 40]