S1E6 – “Country Road”

How to Read/Listen? This is an “emergent script” (a script written after a sandbox TTRPG Session) that is “Musically Scored” with a Spotify playlist available at the very bottom of this post. So, you do you. My suggestion is that you start the Playlist at the very bottom and just come back up here and read. Then stop reading and listen when appropriate. Or pause the music and then catch to up the “score” if it starts getting ahead of the scenes.

Name Key Below – Green is for Player Characters, Orange is for Party Companions (regular NPCs).

Scene 1: “Flashback 1 (Before Dawn, November 26, 1943)”

The scene opens with an extreme close-up of a blonde man in his mid-20s. He is staring intently ahead of him. The camera pans out to reveal he is a US Soldier in a WW2 uniform. He is lanky and lean, about 5’11”. He has Corporal’s stripes on and a patch that is a green rectangle with a red arrow pointing up in the rectangle. Another soldier is next to him looking at his watch intently. They are prone. The camera pans to reveal more soldiers to the left and right of them. They are near the edge of a jungle and a clearing seems to be in front of them. The light is pre-dawn twilight. We hear birds, insects, baboon-like calls.

The Corporal looks at the man next to him and asks, “How much time, Sergeant?” He has a country twang in his voice, a thick southern accent. “The Artillery should begin soon, then 30 seconds after that”, the Sergeant responds. He has a flat midwestern accent. “How is this going to be different than last week, I just don’t get that, Sergeant?”, the Corporal responds. “The LT says the Aussies promised some 25 Pounders this time, so more arty support. That and the airstrikes should fuck the Japs up. He says that is what Battalion says. It might do something”, the Sergeant answers. “It sounds worse than bullshit”, the Corporal scoffs, “more like Kangaroo shit.” The Sergeant snorts a laugh, “Keep an eye for the LT on right, Andy. He’ll have his arm up for the ‘Go’ after ‘Steady.’ Should be 30 more seconds for the arty, then they’ll creep it back so we can advance”, the Sergeant says looking at his watch. Andy turns to his left, “30 more seconds ’til the arty. Then be ready for the ‘Steady’ order.” “OK, Corporal”, “Roger”, “Got it” and various other affirmative replies are heard. Time passes. We hear a whine and a whir and then explosions. Again and again. A cacophony of noise. We see Andy’s POV, he can’t even see into the clearing now.

The Sergeant looks at Andy, “Now!” he shouts in his face, barely heard. He and Andy get whistles and blow into them, shouting “Now! Now!” They all get up and are in a crouching position. They and the other soldiers move a few meters out of the safety of cover into a more open area ate he edge of the treeline, rifles ready. there is no cover in front of them. The Sergeant punches Andy in the shoulder and points ahead. The shell fire is drifting backward away from them. The Sergeant points to the right and 30 meters off we see a figure stand up and raise its arm. “Go!” the Sergeant shouts and and blows his whistle. Andy raises his arm, looks to his left and screams, “Go!” We see the men to his left get up and men 30 meters further along get up and one raises his arm. Andy proceeds to begin to run.

Music (below, Track One, below) begins. It will play in the foreground and dominate the sound. Any sounds we “hear” from this point will be faint, almost imperceptible. We see Andy’s POV. He is moving in slow motion. There is a coconut log low structure, about 2-3 Meters tall 30 meters in the distance. The shellfire, a creeping barrage, has moved behind the bunker. Andy sees flashes from inside the bunker. We hear the faint sound of something like a typewriter. Andy looks to his left. Right next to him we see a man running and his leg disappears from his body and he is flipped sideways. Andy seems to zig to his right. He looks to his right and the Sergeant isn’t there. We see one man 15 meters off to Andy’s right. We see two figures in the distance further along do backflips. Andy looks ahead and the bunker is 15 meters away. Through hazy white smoke we see figures moving in slow motion. We see the muzzle flash from a machine gun.

Andy continues to run and we see him jump and leave his feet. There is a disorienting moment of dirt, grass and tumbling. Then we see Andy on the ground at the edge of the bunker below the firing slits, almost curled into a ball. We see his POV again. He looks around to his right with his back to the bunker wall and he sees another soldier. He looks to his left. No one is there. He looks back at the soldier and makes eye contact and reaches on his web belt for a grenade with his left hand. The soldier, positioned similarly like Andy, looks to his right and seems to reach for a grenade. Andy pulls the pin and we see the lever pop off. He then turns and throws it into the bunker. As he does this we see the other soldier attempt the same motion and as the arm is vertical it seems to disappear and the forearm has disappeared. The man looks like he is screaming and falls and we see another man, further long by 2 meters throw a grenade in the bunker. Andy gets low again. a few seconds pass. Music Stops.

We hear screaming, dry popping explosions, the sound of a loud typewriter in the distance. It stops. We still hear screaming. We hear a voice shout “Clear!, Clear!” Hard Cut to the the close up of the upper body and face of an older Andy with wrinkles on his face. He is wearing a cap and a plaid shirt. It is quiet and birds are chirping. It is a beautiful day in a mountain forest. “1200 14 JUL 1984” flashes on the bottom of the screen. We hear a boy’s voice say, “Grandpa, did you hear me? I asked how you won the Silver Star?” End Scene. Hard Cut.

Track 1: “Fire on the Mountain (Traditional)” by Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys, 1964.

Scene 2: Opening Credits

Actor and Main personnel credits over montage scenes of militaries moving, Jets flying, politicians talking through the Cold War in B&W and up to the current date of setting where it becomes color after the anti-Gorbachev Coup of the timeline, with shots of combat, protests in streets, and finally nukes, destruction etc.

Main Cast: 1SG Keller (Bryce), 2LT Kathryn Twarowski (Gordon), 2LT Donovan Duffy (Ned), SSG Bob Beck (Scott), SGT Holman (Paul), SSG Ash Marsh (Shannon).

Track 2: “Fascination Street“ by The Cure, 1987.

Scene 3: “Hidden Threats”

Music (below, Track three, below) begins and will continue throughout the scene.. The camera shows us 2LT Twarowski, SGT Holman, CW2 McConnell and SPC Lane crouched in the woods. “0640 14 JUL 2000” flashes on the screen. Ahead of them is a gnarled tree about 20 meters away. “That’s where I heard the Polish voices”, Lane whispers. Twarowski calls out in Polish, subtitled at the bottom of the screen, “Whoever you are, we know you are there spying on us! Come Out!” There is silence. “If you don’t come out we’ll be forced to open fire!”, She shouts. “We are comfortable right here!”, a man shouts back in Polish. He continues, “If you lower your weapons we will leave!” Twarowski gestures and says in English, quietly, “Lower your weapons but be ready.” The rest do.

Four people expose themselves; a young man in his early 20s carrying a rifle, a pretty young woman in her early 20s carrying a rifle, and two men in their late 20s, both unshaven, carrying shotguns. All are wearing civilian outdoorsy clothes. “Are you sure you want to leave?”, Twarowski shouts in Polish. “We have borsht if you’re hungry!” The pretty young woman curls her nose, “I hate borsht!”, she says in Polish. “We have food we like”, says the young man. He is evidently the leader. “You may find it hard going when the Soviets get here”, Twarowski cautions. The group was walking away but the young man stops. “I think we’ll be fine”, he calls out, “You Americans had better be careful.” He turns to leave. He stops, “How do you know Polish?”, He calls out. “My family is from Siedlce”, Twarowski answers. “Well, people from Siedlce are thieves, everyone knows that!”, the young man says as he walks away. “Good Luck and enjoy your borsht, Americans”, he says as he waves goodbye while his back is turned and the group walks off. Twarowski looks at Holman, “I think I screwed that up, Sergeant”, she comments in English. End Scene.

Track 3: “Running Through The Hills“ by Tangerine Dream, 1983.

Scene 4: “Flashback 2 (Around Noon, July 14, 1984)”

Camera Opens on an extreme close up of of the upper body and face of an older Andy with wrinkles on his face, where the first scene left off. “Paul, I’ve told you, there ain’t nothin’ fittin to talk about that war to ladies, children or polite company”, Grandpa Andy says calmly but firmly, continuing as they walk in the woods, “I will tell you though again about how the government found me to get drafted.” “Tell us Grandpa”, says Paul. He is 13, wearing a plain long sleeve T-shirt and Jeans. He is carrying a .22 rifle. Next to him is a younger boy, blonde like Paul, dressed similarly and also carrying a .22 rifle.

Grandpa continues with a winding tale about being an “Egg and Milk Man” bartering through Cherokee and Clay Counties and the Government not knowing he didn’t live on his father’s old farm. The government didn’t know they had put it under Lake Chatuge years prior. So he never knew he was drafted until a County Commissioner, Mr. McCall, stopped him on his route and told him he had 3 days to report or go to jail. Grandpa continues to relate that he married his sweetheart, Ella, that day at the county courthouse and “beat feet” to Camp Bragg. “That was 1940!”, he continues. “And when I got back home in ’45, Mr. McCall recommended me for a Deputy. Was years before I was elected Sheriff in ’58, though.” The younger boy whines, “Grandpa there is a squirrel nest up there, can I shoot some squirrels? I’m bored.” “Now, ya’ll know my policy here on my land about squirrels”, Grandpa asks, “What is it?” Paul answers, “If we can’t eat it or it won’t disturb the garden, chickens or any person, we leave it alone.” “Good job, Paul. You need to remember like your brother does, John”, Grandpa educates. He continues, “We don’t eat no squirrels in the Holman family. So the answer is ‘No’, John.”

They seem to be approaching a clearing in the mountain woods up ahead. Grandpa motions with his hands and whispers, “You boys stay quiet. I think we are near…” he is cut off by the sound of a shotgun blast and we hear the pellets spray through foliage. “Whoever is out there you announce yourself!”, a voice threatens. Grandpa shouts, “Its me, Sheriff Andy Holman, Retired! Is that Jimmy Plum?” “It may be!”, the voice shouts back, “You come forward here and careful, please, Mr. Holman! I hope you are alone like we arranged!” “I am, and I shall approach!”, Grandpa shouts back. “You boys get low, stay here and let me do my business with the Plum boys”, Grandpa whispers. If I wave my arms, you run and run fast back to the house.” “OK, Grandpa”, Paul whispers.

Grandpa moves forward and yells “I am moving, lower that darn scattergun!” We hear muffled indecipherable conversation ahead. Paul waits a few minutes. He turns to John, “I’m going to listen, you stay here.” “Don’t leave me alone, Paul!”, John whispers loudly. “Don’t worry, I’ll just maybe be 10 yards up, you’ll see me”, Paul whispers back. “OK, but stay in sight”, John pleads. “I will”, says Paul and moves to the edge of the clearing. The conversation becomes distinct and Paul can see Grandpa sitting on a stump talking to two men in their mid-late 20s, dressed in worn cut off shirts and jeans and unshaven and scraggly looking. One has a “CAT Diesel Power” Trucker Cap on and both have 12g Shotguns.

“…so you have the radio and the codes. Good. Remember, you hear a plane, you take them binoculars and write down any numbers on it that you can see out to the West and North there, you have a great vantage here. Then, you use the call sign, ‘Foxhound’ and you call it in. No numbers, you call it in that way”, Grandpa continues. “What do we do here?”, the man in the cap asks. “What you would do if your daddy was here, Jimmy?”, Grandpa answers. The other man chimes in, “Well if Daddy was here, we’d be cooking shine with him and listening to Hank Williams, the Senior”, he spits our some tobacco juice. “Well, do that, then, Jude Plum”, Grandpa answers. “I hate old time Hank Williams”, Jude responds. “Well, listen to something else then!”, Grandpa answers shaking his head. “OK!”, says Jude and puts a cassette in a boombox, hitting a button. Music (below, Track four, below) begins and will play through the boombox in the scene. “Turn that down. God Almighty, that’s horrible”, says Andy.

Paul shifts position and a branch breaks loudly. “What’s that!”, yells Jimmy swinging his shotgun. “Its probably my disobedient grandson, Jimmy, lower that thing. Come on out now, boy!”, calls Grandpa. Paul gets up and wanders into the clearing. He can see that on the mountainside it was a great view of the west and south valleys and the mountain range 5 miles off. There is a still in the clearing. “Paul, I want you to meet Mr. James Plum, Jr. and Mr. Jude Plum. Come here and shake hands”, Grandpa orders. Paul moves forward and shakes hands with both. “Pleased to meet you Paul, your Grandpa is a good man”, Jimmy says and asks, “Are you Jerry’s boy in Atlanta?” “Yes, sir”, Paul responds. “Well, you say hi to your Daddy”, Jimmy says. Grandpa gets up, “You boys, stop with the guns. I told you no one is going to molest you here. Sheriff Cherry knows all about this. No revenue men are going to harass you or bring you in.” “What do we do with what we cook?”, asks Jude. “Don’t tell me!”, answers Grandpa, “And please give my greetings to your Daddy, and tell him I hope he recovers quickly.” “We will, Mr. Holman”, answers Jimmy. “Come on, Paul, we better get back in time for supper”, Grandpa tussles Paul’s hair, “Let’s get your obedient brother and head home.” Music Stops. End Scene.

Track 4: “Call Me The Breeze“ by Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1974.

Scene 5: “Gas Station”

Camera opens with an overhead shot of PVT Rzad, 1SG Keller, SPC Randall, SSG Marsh, SPC Jacques and 2LT Duffy all prone observing the bridge from a vantage point 500m from the east of the bridge where we left off last session. Duffy is examining the bridge with Marsh. Rzad is examining the rear of a gas station to the north. We see what Rzad sees through binoculars, a dilapidated old gas station from the rear, one story, with a pump and two horses in harness, one bobbing its head. It is directly to their left and 500 m away, evidently on the road that leads to the bridge. “We need to get a better angle and see what’s going on there”, says Keller, “Rzad, come with me.” We hear Duffy say, “…come in Brick, come in Brick.” “0630 14 JUL 2000” flashes on the screen.

Music (below, Track five, below) begins and will play through the scene in the background. Keller and Rzad backtrack 100 m to the treeline of the woods with Keller in the lead and then make their way north with the woods as cover. They see the Turek-Uniejow Road that leads to the Uniejow Bridge, running East-West in front of them. They move to the eastern edge of the woods, to the treeline with a vantage on the road to the east to the gas station that continues on to the bridge and begin to observe the front of the abandoned gas station approximately 100 m away.

We see the POV of Rzad looking through binoculars. There are two wagons, each a modified affair; with a medium sized “U-Haul” trailer modified to have a seat in front for two teamsters. Four Horses are in train in front of each wagon. Two burly, bearded teamsters in utilitarian civilian work clothes sit at the reins of each wagon, one with a rifle slinged and one with a shotgun. Three other men are on horses. They look quite different. Two are in their late 20s and are wearing neater, vaguely military overalls and have AK-47s. They are more neatly groomed, are either tanner or have more olive skin than the pasty teamsters and wear sunglasses. The third man is dressed similarly to the other two, but looks to be in his early to mid 40s. He is pastier-looking, but handsome and well-groomed; clean shaven. He wears a floppy “boonie” hat. We see a small Skorpion submachinegun hanging from a lanyard attached to his web gear. He is smoking.

Rzad and Keller exchange the binoculars for about 5 minutes and observe the scene. We see, through the binoculars, one of the teamsters talk to the man in the floppy hat. Then he jumps off the wagon and moves quickly to the side of the gas station facing in Rzad and Keller’s direction, still 100m off. He then takes his pants off, squats and proceeds to “use the facilities.” While this is happening we hear the sound of horses clip-clopping on a paved road very nearby. Keller spins and sees 3 men on horseback trotting towards him. They have AK-47s and have on sunglasses, looking very similar to the other security types we observed before, except one is red-haired. The red haired man says in accented Polish, subtitled, “Put your weapons down on the ground, please.” “Do you speak Russian?”, Keller asks in Russian, subtitled. “Da”, says the man in Russian, “You just put your weapons on the ground, the boss would like to meet you.” “Well, we’d prefer to take them, they might go missing”, Keller clumsily proffers. The red haired man responds, “No they are fine there, there are no thieves here. Let’s go”, he gestures with the AK-47, “The boss is a busy man.”

We see SPC Randall, SSG Marsh, SPC Jacques and 2LT Duffy at the Observation Post. Duffy observes Keller and Rzad being walked to the front of the gas station at a distance via binoculars. He sees three men with AK-47s on Horses and another wagon on the road slowly making its way towards the gas station as well. “Well, they’ve made contact. I hope they’ll be alright. We can’t really do anything about it right now”, Duffy observes. “How long before we go up there?”, Marsh asks. “20 minutes? Or if we see anything funny or hear anything”, Duffy answers. “Roger that, L-T”, Marsh responds pensively.

“Sit First Sergeant, Private, relax”, the Boss says welcomingly in Polish, subtitled. Keller and Rzad sit on the raised concrete by gas pumps where the Boss gestures. “They speak Russian, Boss”, says the red-haired man in Russian subtitled. “Well, I speak Russian”, says Keller in Russian, subtitled, “I am First Sergeant Keller, United States Army.” “An American niemiec“, the Boss says in German, subtitled. At the mention of the word all the teamsters laugh. “Shall we talk in that or English”, he continues in slightly accented English with a British intonation. “English is fine”, responds Keller. “Good. I am Pawel Wargin. Why are you spying on me? And why are you not fleeing to Poznan?”, the Boss enquires. “We have people trapped near Łask”, Keller answers, “We intend to go rescue them. We were spying on you because we are reconnoitering the bridge. We didn’t know who you are.”

Wargin gets an interested look in his eye as if considering Keller seriously for the first time. He dismounts and sits on an upside down bucket near Keller and Rzad. “Do you smoke?”, He proffers a Gauloises French cigarette from what appears to be a new recently opened pack. “No thank you, I quit years back”, says Keller. “No thank you, Mister”, says Rzad. “Well, I shall smoke”, says Wargin, lighting a cigarette with a zippo lighter. “You have comrades near Łask? Where?”, Wargin asks. “The Air Base”, replies Keller. “You know they are there for certain?”, asks Wargin. “Yes”, replies Keller. “There are more of you?”, Wargin asks. “Yes. We have vehicles, so we need to cross this bridge”, replies Keller. “You do indeed”, agrees Wargin, continuing, “And when the Red Army arrives you do not want to be here. The other side of the Warta may be a bit more…permissive.” Wargin continues, “I think saving comrades in danger is the right thing to do. An honorable man would do that. So I will help you.” Keller breaks in, “I was thinking that if you can distract them we can clear them out and then we can give you what we collect on the ground.”

Wargin raises a hand. He smiles and says something in an unknown language not subtitled. All the security-types laugh. Wargin then speaks, “I have no need of things from the ground. People collect things on the ground and bring them to people who then deal with me later”, then continuing, “But I will tell you that the garrison of that bridge are 16 men, four Corporals, a Sergeant Shkulka and a Lieutenant Piróg. There are always 4 men and one Corporal on duty on the bridge. Once a day they send a patrol to this side of the Warta with either the Lieutenant or the Sergeant in charge and twelve men with 3 Corporals. If they are not on Patrol, the garrison is on the south bank, to our right from here, on the other side garrisoned in a…how do you say, muffler shop, that is correct, yes?” Yes”, replies Keller. “I must cross and be on my way. I must bribe either the Sergeant or the Lieutenant, whoever is there, with alcoholic spirits. But, if you survive, and if you rescue you comrades, and you wish to pay me a visit, go to Łodz. Say you are there to visit ‘Cousin Adrian Wargin.’ But I would alter your choice in fashion before you visit”, Wargin finishes, gesturing at their US Army uniforms. “Thank you, Mr. Wargin”, says Keller. “My pleasure”, Wargin returns, “And now, you may be on your way. I bid you good day.”

Cut to Keller and Rzad returning to the Observation Point with their weapons. “Who was it?”, asks Duffy. “A trader, he’s on nobody’s side, he works with everyone”, responds Keller. He continues, “He did give us some information about the garrison. Since we KIA’ed a Sergeant, two Corporals and four Junior Enlisted yesterday, they should be down to fifteen men. He’s going to bribe them with booze, maybe they’ll all get drunk and we can handle them now.” We see what Duffy sees in his Binoculars. A Lieutenant appears at the crossing on the far side and Wargin hands the Lieutenant a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue. “I don’t think they are getting drunk and you met a very interesting man”, Duffy opines, and continues, “Let’s get on the horn and coordinate with the CP.” End Scene.

Track 5: “Lizard Point“ by Brian Eno, 1982.

Scene 6: “Moving Out”

Music (below, Track six, below) begins and will play through the scene in the background. 2LT Twarowski, SSG Beck and SGT Holman are at the Command Post, and they have just gotten off the radio. “we’re going to have to pack up and get going”, Twarowski observes, “How long will that take us?” “About a half an hour, Ma’am”, Beck responds. Holman looks at their map and traces an area with his finger, “So this country road there”, gesturing to his left at the turn off into the clearing, “that has to continue to the northeast and wind around to the Turek-Uniejow Road.” “There is no other outlet they say when the recon’ed the treeline yesterday and today”, Twarowski affirms and then asks “It may twist and turn but it has to go there. How long will that take us?” “45 minutes to an hour ma’am”, replies Holman.

Cut to The rest of the personnel from the CP gather. SSG Beck gives a briefing, he states who will be where and on what duty. “When we meet up with the Recon Team they will be on the right side of this dirt road. They’ll load up quick, we’ll swap out some duty positions based on skills and capabilities as I’ve outlined, and then we move. We want to be on the Turek-Uniejow road early to observe if any reinforcement arrive. If not, we’re gonna do a thunder run. 1500-1700 when the sun is in their eyes. We’ll discuss those details when we get there. Any questions?’ Swain raises his hand, “Sergeant, how will we know where the Recon Team is if they are hiding?” Holman speaks, “They’ll have a purple ribbon on a tree to the left. We need to keep an eye out for it and they’ll also keep an eye out for us. They’ll have a lot of stuff they cached, so they will need help humping that into the Deuce for us to keep this quick.” He looks at Beck who nods. The screen flashes “1030 14 July 2000.”

Cut to Keller and Rzad tying a purple ribbon to a tree. Rzad asks Duffy who is about 3 yards away in a loud whisper, “Why did you tie a purple ribbon to the cache, Sir?” “Its a protocol, you see it…uh…never mind, Private!”, Duffy whispers back loudly. “Roger that, Sir”, says Rzad, shaking her head. Duffy turns to Keller, “So this turn off, 50 feet up on the left, you say it leads to some sawmill?” “Yes Sir”, Keller responds, “The writing writing on one big warehouse-looking building was ‘Zieleń.’ Some kind of community. They were changing the guard. There’s a cattle gate some 20 meters back from the main road after the turn-off.” “No trouble you think?”, asks Duffy. “No Sir, they may not even hear us if we get loaded up quick”, Keller replies.

Cut to a shot of the Recon Team hiding 3 meters back from the country dirt road in the woods. Waiting. We start to hear a noise of engines. We see a HMMWV coming around with SSG Beck at the M-60 Light Machine Gun above the roof on a mount. “They’re ours!”, shouts Rzad. “How do you know? What are the numbers on the fender?”, asks Keller. “Numbers?” asks Rzad, “I don’t know but its Sergeant Beck!” She runs forward and flags them downs. The convoy of a HMMWV, a 2 1/2 ton truck and another HMMWV in the rear all stop, idling.

Cut to a montage of everyone working dragging stuff into the back of the Deuce. Beck talking with Keller about assignments, Twarowski conferring with Duffy. Someone drops some of the goods stripped from the Polish BGB soldiers and it spills on the ground. It becomes obvious the quick load-up is taking longer than planned. We see a woman with greying hair, accompanied by the same young man Twarowski had an interaction with earlier approach along with 3 men best described as lumberjacks. The woman is unarmed, but the rest carry rifles. She calls out in accented English, “Can any of you fix a water pump?!” End Scene.

Track 6: “exit“ by Tangerine Dream, 1985.

Scene 7: “Flashback 3 (Around Suppertime, July 14, 1984)”

We see Grandpa Andy, Paul and John walking back to the house. There is a large-ish well-tended garden. We hear foxhounds barking. We see a chicken coop and two pick up trucks. One real old one from the ’50s on cement blocks. One is about 10 years old. An old hound dog is sleeping under the older truck. There is a new station wagon out front with a U-Haul trailer attached. Andy addresses the boys, “Now, you boys mind, this little adventure was our secret. We don’t need your Daddy or your Momma getting all riled up over nothing. They have a lot on their mind leaving Atlanta, and your Daddy has a really great opportunity out there in Washington State. I never been there, but I been to California. But anyway, remember, loose lips sink ships.” The boys reply, “Loose lips sink ships.”

Cut to the dining room and living room area. Music (below, Track seven, below) begins and will play in the background throughout the scene from a stereo. “What the hell were you thinking, Dad!”, the boys’ Father yells, “You put those two boys in danger!” “They weren’t ever in danger, Jerry. You’ve gotten all worked up about small things since you moved to Atlanta”, Andy says firmly but calmly, “You are overreacting. Its the Plum boys. I know them, they wouldn’t hurt a fly.” “Hurt a fly?! They’ve both done time! They were trouble in High School, I know!”, Jerry yells. “I believe I took you with me one day out when I arrested James Plum, Senior one day. You just sat there happy and read your book. He rode back to the courthouse in the back of the truck, as I recall.”, Andy, remembering “Dad we were safe, nothing happened”, says Paul who then glares at John, still at the dinner table, looking down with his head in his hands. A woman in her 30s, evidently their Mother, and an older woman in her 60s, short but neat and prim are clearing the table. “You stay out of this, Paul, go sit down!”, Jerry says, a bit less forcefully, and continues, “Well look, let’s just forget it, it happened and its our last night here.” Andy continues, “I’m just trying to help these people up here. Its my home, son.” “Dad, you’re retired, you all should move out to Washington and be closer to us”, Jerry offers. “Your Mama and I won’t leave here and I keep busy with smaller things too. That old truck, the grocery shopping in town…” Grandma cuts him off, “The grocery store. That’s a bald lie Andy Holman! You haven’t been to the grocery store since it was robbed in 1972. Now regarding staying here, well, that’s my druthers for right now, but don’t you speak for me or drag me into this. Jerry needs to move, its a big opportunity. We’ll visit. I’d like to fly in a plane.” “Alright Ella, I will keep mum. Let’s just enjoy the rest of this evening. John, get perked up. There’s Rhubarb Pie on deck! ‘Magnum P.I.’ on the cable TV after!”, says Andy encouragingly. John perks up. End Scene.

Track 7: “Half as Much“ by Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys, 1952.

Scene 8: “Saw Mill”

We open mid-conversation with 2LT Twarowski, 2LT Duffy, 1SG Keller, SSG Beck, SSG Marsh and SGT Holman near the vehicles. “1145 14 July 2000” flashes on the screen. They are in a repurposed sawmill. We can see about 100 people or more about. Many are armed. There are crops out in fields beyond the immediate area of buildings and a old 19th Century Manor house some 300-400 m away with tents outside of it. Marsh is speaking, “As best as I can tell, there are probably more than 100 people here, maybe double or triple that. They are all family or employees of the Zieleń Lumber Works pre-war or affiliated with the artist colony over there”, he gestures at the Manor House, “Horacy Sobin returned from California after the wall fell and rented that property there to give back to Poland and teach students. He was renting from Mrs. Kornelia Twardzik who returned from the UK with her husband Iwo, having gained German investment and trying to start a family business. They bought this mill as part of the privatization program. He died six months after NATO moved in on the ground. That young guy you talked to ma’am”, he addresses Twarowski, “He’s her son, David. Those are the main players here. The people Rzad and I spoke to think they are small fry and the Red Army won’t even know they are here. Regarding the Lublin Government, they have had good relations in the past and believe they will again. They have a good set of arms here. They may be right,”

Twarowski wrinkles her brow in thought. “What’s the story with the pump, Sergeant Beck?”, she asks. “Ma’am, its got a mechanical and an electrical problem. It runs off a generator. It’ll take me 12 hours to fix it”, Beck responds. Duffy chimes in, “I can handle the Electrical issue if that saves time. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.” “Even with the shorter estimate that means staying the night and no attack until after dark. I recommend no attack after dark because if we cross, we really need daylight”, Keller advises. “We’ll have to go off the main road immediately, unless we plan to Thunder Run through Uniejow proper, which sounds like a suicide mission”, Beck comments. “They have offered to feed us tonight and we need the water. Methanol also would be great to get. Heck, we even need the plastic 210 Liter barrels”, comments Holman.

“Ma’am, I don’t like this”, Marsh looks at them all and continues, “We really know nothing about their motives. They might sell us out. Also, what if the garrison gets reinforced with the delay. This just seems like a mistake.” Twarowski thinks for a minute and says, “Let’s take a vote right here. I will go with what the majority wants and recommend that as the course of action to Major Piper.” Keller responds first, “I vote yes ma’am, with the caveat that we attack while its twilight. Best time for that sort of thing.” Twarowski turns to Duffy, “Agree, with the same caveat.” She then turns to Beck. He nods. Then to Holman, “I agree ma’am, we stay.” She turns to Marsh. “I can’t advise it ma’am. I vote leave. I will follow orders. But I think its a bad idea. I want you all to know that.” “Noted, Sergeant Marsh and those are valid concerns. I think the water is foremost on everyone’s minds. We have a day’s supply left only, even including the borsht and the canteens you secured off the BGB soldiers yesterday. I’ll go talk to the Major and then go communicate the news to Mrs. Twardzik. Twarowski leaves. We see her talking to Mrs. Twardzik and they smile and Mrs. Twardzik hugs her.

Music (below, Track eight, below) begins and will play throughout the scene in the foreground and continue through the credits.. There will be no sound, just the music. We see a montage of different soldiers setting up a campsite by the vehicles. We see Beck and Duffy with a man in overalls carrying a toolbox as they look at the pump in the pumphouse. Duffy rubs his hands. We see Holman standing watch as a pretty Polish young woman brings him some sort of refreshing-looking drink. We see Keller giving a class to the Junior Enlisted about numbers on US Vehicles and what they mean. We see Twarowski just soaking it in leaning against a HMMWVV. We see Randall and SSG Marsh get delivered plates of food. Marsh looks worried, but digs in. Then we see young Paul Holman again. He is in the back of a station wagon driving away from his grandparents’ house. They are waving goodbye. He waves back. He’s sad.

Fade to Black.  Full Credits on Black.  Music (below) plays over credits until end. 

Track 8: “Take Me Home, Country Roads“ by John Denver, 1971.

Full Cast Credits:

Main Cast: 1SG Keller (Bryce), 2LT Kathryn Twarowski (Gordon), 2LT Donovan Duffy (Ned), SSG Bob Beck (Scott), SGT Holman (Paul), SSG Ash Marsh (Shannon).

Recurring Cast: SPC Jacques, SPC Lane, CW2 McConnell, CPT Melville, MAJ Piper, PFC Ramirez, SPC Randall, PVT Rzad, SGT Swain.