FUGITIVE SLAVE

A stage play in four acts By Dick Croy and Henry Burke

Copyright, 2000

Word & Image 9413 Southgate Drive Cincinnati, OH 45241 (513) 600-4042
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FUGITIVE SLAVE

FUGITIVE SLAVE
ACT I SCENE 1 Immediately before the curtain rises, the enormous SOUND of a Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer idling, then shut down. SCENE: Dusk. It's snowing. Strip mine foreman HARRY BARNES, a middle-aged black man in bulky coveralls with a hood over his fur-lined hunting cap and a radio clipped to his pocket, enjoys the silence of the falling snow. BARNES Gettin' colder. Bet it's dropped 10 degrees in the last hour. On nights like this when the ground's like concrete, my moustache turns to ice, and my toes freeze no matter how many pairs of socks I'm wearing I can see the ghosts of black men, women and children bent over against the wind, traveling north to freedom. See, growing up on the Ohio River, I spent my childhood listening to elderly relatives tell stories about "the old days" and the old ways many of them about slavery. A hundred and fifty years ago it was banned on the (MORE)

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES (CONTD) Ohio side, but flourished right to the water's edge in what was then Virginia. Abolitionists took great risks to help slaves escape. You can see how this could make for tension among the people co-existing here before the Civil War. Why the Ohio was like the River Jordan to slaves: the dividing line between freedom...and the most barbarous and inhumane condition in which the human spirit has ever had to endure. Where the very life of one human being was owned by another. ...Listening to those stories, instead of TV which we didnt have my favorite uncle didnt even have electricity; we sat around the fire after dark I tried to imagine what that must have been like. And now, part of me goes out to escort these imaginary freedom passengers to the next station. In my dreams I'm a conductor on the Underground Railroad. RADIO Three-oh-two (302)? BARNES (responding on radio) This is 302 go ahead. RADIO This is a general weather advisory. That storm warning's been upgraded. It's gonna get there an hour or two sooner, and be a lot worse, than they said. BARNES It's already here. I've got my equipment parked, and my people are headed home. I figure we'll be off tomorrow too; whadda you think?

FUGITIVE SLAVE RADIO You'll have to call the office in the morning. BARNES 10-4. (to AUDIENCE) That's how it all began. One Friday night two winters ago, with a cold front and a big snowstorm moving in. As I was driving home I said to myself, I pity anyone out there on the highway tonight. LIGHTS DOWN on Barnes, UP on RAYMOND POWELL, a funkfashionably dressed urban black man in his early 20s. POWELL (to AUDIENCE) I'm cruisin' along about 80 in my Black Sapphire Beamer, radar keepin' an eye out for the man, wonderin' if I'm gonna beat this blizzard home. Engine starts actin' a little sluggish and I say to myself, all 335 of you horses can't be that fuckin' tired. Get your well-fed black asses on up outa here and let's get back to the barn! 'Bout that time, she flat quits on me and I have to coast across two lanes of traffic to the side of the freeway. I'm so mad I can't think straight, and this black cracker working man pulls up behind me in a mud-lovin' pickup looks like it has more miles on it than he does.

He sits in a chair. Barnes walks into the light and bends over as if looking through a car window. BARNES Need a hand? POWELL Yo! what's up wit that man, what's it look like?

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES Just tryin' t' help. My buddy has a filling station up the road a ways. He's a good mechanic and I'm drivin' right by there. POWELL Yeah? Well, what am I sposed t' do with my car? BARNES (in exasperation) He's got a tow-truck. Powell is beside himself with anger and indecision. He looks away, trying to make up his mind. BARNES Look, I don't have all day there's a hell of a storm comin'. You can come along or sit here till you're covered up, it don't matter to me. POWELL Aww, fuck! Powell jumps up and pantomimes slamming his car door violently. SOUND of door closing. BARNES Don't slam my door like that. Powell glares at Barnes with hostility as they walk out of the light together. SCENE 2

SCENE: A garage and filling station, same time of day. Barnes buddy BOB STANLEY, an intense Anglo in his earlyto mid-50s with a slight southern Ohiah accent, is working on a pickup in the service area. He calls to his Assistant Mechanic off-stage.

FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY Slider! Call me in the morning if you're not comin' in! Hey you'd better stop in the men's room and take home some a those day-glow rubbers! We get snowed in, you're gonna need 'em! He laughs and gestures to the unseen man. STANLEY (contd) Otherwise, nine months from now you're gonna be workin' for three, buddy! ...See ya, Slide drive careful!

Stanley sticks his head under the hood, then calls to his wife in the office, adjacent to the service area. STANLEY (contd) Carol, call Bill Clampett and tell 'im his vehicle's ready, will ya honey! If he doesnt git his butt here by five, it's liable t' be here all weekend! CAROL, an extremely attractive woman in her early- to mid-30s, with long blonde hair and a lean athletic body, enters the service area and comes over to Stanley. CAROL Already called him he said he'll be here, not t' close up. He's gonna try t' beat this storm out of town. STANLEY (wiping his greasy hands) Sounds like a losin' proposition to me. He's already spotted it 50 miles. CAROL He promised his kids he'd spend the weekend with them. STANLEY You'd a felt kinda foolish if I hadn't a got them front wheel bearings seated.

FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL I saw where you were at lunchtime. I knew you'd have it done. STANLEY (pleased, affectionately) Think you're pretty smart don'cha. CAROL ...I know my mechanics. STANLEY (laughing) Yes you do, babe. You sure as hell know this one well enough. CAROL Tell me some more about gettin' snowed in. STANLEY (grinning) You heard that, did you? CAROL (tousling his hair) Bobby, I'm sure customers out there pumpin' gas heard you. But what I wanta hear is what we're gonna do if we get snowed in. STANLEY Honey, you're gonna get yerself all greasy. CAROL (pretending to consider this) ...Then what? STANLEY (playing along) ...After I get you all lubed up? CAROL Yeah, baby, after you get me lu-bri-ca-ted.

FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY (wiping his hands again) Then we're gonna forget you and me's married. He pulls her toward him in a manner at once sensual and protective of her clean blouse and jeans. STANLEY (contd) It's gonna be like the first time, when I was so fulla wantin' you I had a hard-on clear out to my fingertips. CAROL: (breathily) Oh yeah, I remember that. Every part of my body remembers those hungry hands of yours. Haven't felt them around much lately. STANLEY Maybe it's time t' remind 'em what a beautiful woman feels like. CAROL Mmmm, yesss, I think it's about time all right. STANLEY (still nuzzling her) But it ain't quittin' time yet, Honey. I still gotta get this damn truck out for Clampett. CAROL Course it's not quittin' time just the beginning, baby. These are just the previews....Coming attractions. SCENE 3 SCENE: Janes extra-dimensional corner of the service station. Her apparition appears out of the darkness. Is this a ghost...a doppelganger...some kind of aura? We dont know. But shes wearing the clothing of a middle-

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aged female slave of the mid-19th Century. (The flesh-andblood Jane was a slave on the Solomon Harness tobacco plantation, who escaped with her seven children on the Underground Railroad in 1843. An article in the local newspaper and a reward poster establish this as historical fact.) Jane takes in the Audience with an appraising curiosity before finally speaking. JANE (to Audience) ...Evenin. Certainly not like the first time I was in these parts. That was...oh, that was a long time ago. SCENE 4 SCENE: Service Station. Harry Barnes and Raymond Powell enter. Powell is sullen and wary. BARNES Howdy, Mr. Stanley! Brought you a customer! STANLEY Harry Barnes you sonofagun! Haven't seen you for months and I know damn well you drive right by here every day. BARNES I know, I know long days, Bob. Long days. This here's Raymond Powell. His car's broke down just up the road. STANLEY On the Interstate? POWELL Yeah, just a couple a miles from here. STANLEY What's wrong with it?

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL Just quit runnin'. STANLEY What kind is it? POWELL Beamer M3. STANLEY and BARNES exchange a knowing look. STANLEY ...If its new, it's gonna be a fuel, ignition or electrical problem. POWELL Check it out, dawg didn't think it was the tires. STANLEY (giving him a look) ...My driver left early, 'count of the storm. But since you're a friend a Barnes I'll go pick it up myself. BARNES I knew you'd help him out, Bob. (to Powell) You picked a good place t' break down, with this storm comin' up. POWELL Can you hook it up tonight? STANLEY Tonight? POWELL So check it out, man what's it gon' take t' get right? STANLEY (again looking at Barnes first) Assuming I can get the part after I (MORE)

FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY (CONTD) find out what's wrong with it I'd have to charge you extra to fix this tonight. But I promised my wife we'd stay home. She wouldn't be happy about me pullin' an all-nighter. At any price. POWELL Aw shit, man, I gotta roll on up outa here. I gotta get back to Cleveland! STANLEY Listen, let me get your car first and see what's wrong with it. Maybe it won't take long to fix. What color is it? POWELL Black, man what else? But I'm goin' wit' you. STANLEY (taking pen, notepad from shirt) Damn right you are. Ohio plates? POWELL Yeah. STANLEY What's your license number? POWELL (somewhat reluctantly) B-A-D-D M-F. STANLEY (unimpressed) Cute. BARNES Listen, if this storm's what they're expecting, you sure as hell don't wanta drive to Cleveland tonight. POWELL You be clockin super overtime, man.

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At this moment of tension among the three men, Carol saunters in, with grease stains on her clothes, face and arms. CAROL I thought I heard you out here, Harry! BARNES Well hello, Carol, I didn't know you were here....Where the hell you been in the grease pit? She and Stanley both laugh somewhat sheepishly at this, and it doesn't take Barnes long to get the drift of their amusement. BARNES Stayin' home tonight huh? Now all three of them are laughing, while Powell turns away in a show of disgust, drawing Carols attention. CAROL Who's your friend, Harry? Raymond and me from Adam. His Bob's gonna go tow-truck. Ray BARNES don't know one another car's broke down and bring it in with the Carol.

Powell gives her a long openly appraising look, as if the two men arent even there. Accepting the challenge, Carol returns the look and puts a spin of her own on it. CAROL ...Glad t' meet you, Raymond. STANLEY (displeased, to Raymond) Let's go I don't have all night. They exit, with Powell taking one more look at Carol on the way out.

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES So, uh, Carol, how're things with you an' Bob these days? CAROL Oh, theyre...lookin up, Harry. ACT II SCENE 1 SCENE: Janes mysterious corner of the service station. JANE (nodding) How life repeats itself. This is purt near where we spent that first night. (in wonder) Never thought it would come. I dreamed that it might. Follow the drinking gourd! Bless her heart dont know how much Mama saw, and how much she believed, but she was right. Carline was showin then, she didnt want t run. Catch us fo show, Mama! Or eat up by wil animals. Folks today Have no conception what it was like then. True wilderness, and wild animals sure enough bear and painters (what folks called panthers then), snakes that if they bit you, you were very likely to die. But nothing that was likely t jump a wagon and able-bodied famly. Carline already thinkin like a mama. So am I, child! I says to her. Alfred and Gustus gonna be sold down-river at the next slave auction! Rial Cheadle of the Underground Railroad got word to us and had a johnboat for us t cross the river, if we wanted to run. So thats what we got facin us, (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE JANE (CONTD) I says to Carline. Let your brothers die of fever or the whip in the Deep South, or make a run to save the family. SCENE 2

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SCENE: Night. The cluttered office of Stanleys garage, after he's returned with Powells car. Barnes and Carol converse while Powell (whom blocking and lighting favor) paces sullenly, picking up or examining one thing after another in a contemptuous manner. Then, after making sure he's unobserved, he hides something on a shelf. BARNES Did Bob tell you about the Underground Railroad tour I'm organizing? CAROL Harry, Bob doesn't tell me a thing I don't have to drag out of him. BARNES We had a tour for travel writers back in November. Now the Tourist & Convention Bureau's sending out pamphlets to the bus companies they deal with. They're always lookin' for new attractions. CAROL Well good for you, Harry! That sounds real interesting. BARNES I'm writin' a column now too, ya know. For the Register. CAROL Oh yeah, Bob and I read that every week. One of the few things in the paper we do read anymore. That and the drug busts. (laughing)

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Powell is suddenly more alert, although trying not to be obvious about it. BARNES Yeah, the sheriff sure keeps that helicopter busy, don't he? Out in the woods I half think I'm back in Nam when that damn thing comes around. CAROL Oh God, if we get snowed in, don't you and Bob get started on Vietnam now! BARNES (laughing) I promise. The last time, I was hung over for two days. CAROL So was Bob. She shudders melodramatically as Stanley enters. STANLEY Got good news and bad news, Raymond. Someone's put sugar in your gas tank. POWELL Aw, man! Shit! What's up? STANLEY The good news is, that dont do the damage people think it does thanks to the pre-filter inside your tank. But its still gonna take me five hours, minimum, to drop the tank, clean the filter and replace the gas. POWELL So what's all this gonna cost? STANLEY (figuring in his head) ...About $500, labor and gasoline.

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL And you can hook it up tonight? STANLEY I said I'd take a look at it first and see what was wrong. I didn't say I'd work on it tonight. BARNES You're welcome t' stay at my place till it's fixed. We've got a sofa-bed in the living room. POWELL (ignoring him) So looka here, man. I'll lay a grand on you if you do it for me tonight. Barnes responds with a low whistle. STANLEY (glancing at his wife) Sorry, man; I'm not gonna pull no all-nighter on a night like this. I'm not even sure I'll be able t' get in here tomorrow t' fix it, way the roads are. CAROL Oh, Bob. let's give him a hand. I'll pick up some beer and a couple a pizzas, and we'll make a party out of it. How about it? Surprised, Stanley gives his wife a withering look. STANLEY That's easy as hell for you t' say! CAROL We could sure use the extra money and we'll probably be closed tomorrow because of the snow anyway. Barnesy, you'll stay for a while won'cha?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES ...Well, whattaya think, Bob? You wanta work on it tonight or not? STANLEY (merely annoyed now) Hell, I guess so. (to Powell) I'll hafta run your credit card first, if that's how you'll be payin'. POWELL Be payin' cash, man. (pulling out wallet) Five hundred up front. A momentary hole in the conversation. BARNES ...Sure, I'm in the mood t' party. I'll give Laurelle a call, tell her not t' wait up....You realize I may be spendin' the night if it snows like they say it's goin' to. CAROL I wouldn't let you drive home, Harry! We have this couch here in the office, (gesturing) and the one in the back room folds down into the worse goddamn bed in the world. BARNES I know, I tried sleepin' on it 'fore I finally had sense enough t' pull the mattress off and sleep on the floor. SCENE 3 SCENE: The service area in Stanleys garage where he's working on Powells car and talking to Barnes.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY ...Whattaya think of our man Raymond drivin' one of these Yuppymobiles? How many drugs ya have to deal in the hood to tool around in a "Bad Mothafuckah" takin' orders on your cell phone? BARNES What kind is what bothers me. STANLEY Well ya know what kind. Recreational hemp's at the bottom of the list. Crack mostly...maybe a little heroin...meth and Ecstasy... BARNES Psychedelics...been a while since I tasted any a that strange fruit. STANLEY That it has, bro if it hasn't been since the last time you an' me indulged. BARNES It hasn't been you know it hasn't, Bob Stanley. STANLEY Where's he at now? BARNES Raymond? I think he's asleep in there on the couch. STANLEY You think he might be bringin' drugs up from the South? Miami maybe? BARNES Possible. I wouldn't go lookin' for 'em though, would you?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY (offended) What am I, Harry dumb, or a cop with a search warrant? BARNES (chuckling) Neither, that I know of. STANLEY Well, I'm not about t' go messin' with the guy's car, other than fixin' it and he's damn lucky I'm doin' that. You saw the look he gave Carol. BARNES Yeah I was already sorry I brought him here. I've got nothin' but hostility from him since the moment we laid eyes on each other. But you can't just leave someone stranded like that. STANLEY I think the dude's trouble. BARNES Aw, not here in our neck of the woods he's not. He's out of his element. STANLEY He's a real pitiful case all right, drivin' around in a brand new $50,000 car, or whatever the hell these things cost. BARNES Well, I don't think I'd particularly like runnin into him and his buddies in Cleveland, but I don't feel threatened by him. STANLEY Just got me a little on edge is all. You know Carol's background.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES Sure I do she can handle herself. She's been around guys like him before. STANLEY Yeah, you're right, man. And she's right about one thing: a thousand bucks is a lotta money on a night we thought we were gonna have to close early. I guess maybe we should celebrate a little. BARNES Now you're talkin'! Carol'll be back with the beer pretty soon. All we need is some good weed and we could wait out this storm in fine shape. STANLEY I think that can be arranged. BARNES You got some? STANLEY Harry...does a catfish have whiskers? There's some in a coffee can over there above the tires. Why don't you roll us a number? SCENE 4

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SCENE: The office of Stanleys garage. Powell is sitting sleepily on the couch when Barnes enters looking very mellow. He appears more amused than annoyed by Raymonds insolent attitude. BARNES Goin' t' town in there. By the time Carol gets back with the pizzas, he may have the gas tank off. Thought she'd be back by now. Guess the snow must be foulin' up traffic pretty bad. Powell has nothing to say.

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES (CONTD) ...Ya know, Raymond, just because I picked you up doesn't mean I expect you t' be overflowing with gratitude. But it would be nice if we could carry on a conversation, since we're going to be stuck here for a while. I have a couple a nephews your age in Youngstown. They don't have much to say either. Seems like conversation's becoming a lost art among your generation. POWELL What the hell you an' me have to say to each other? BARNES Our experience of life! That's how one generation learns from another. POWELL What I know 'bout life I ain't about t' tell you. And I don't give a fuck what you have t' say. BARNES (chuckling) Well, that's a direct answer anyway. That's a start. POWELL That ain't the start a nothin', ol' man. That's the end. BARNES Well then, Ill carry on the conversation. I can be quite a talker POWELL No shit. BARNES Yep, most people figure that out right (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES (CONTD) away. I'm a history buff: black history, native Americans...you've heard of the Underground Railroad haven't you? (Powell remains sullenly silent.) There's some real lessons in the things that happened around here a hundred and fifty years ago. I could tell you stories ...well, one in particular is as good as anything you'll see in the movies. And it's all true happened right here where your car broke down. LIGHTS UP on the SILHOUETTE ON A SCRIM of an overloaded johnboat being rowed across the Ohio River. Powell continues to sit morosely on the couch, paying little attention to Barnes. BARNES (contd) It was dangerous enough for an ablebodied man on his own to try to escape from slavery. Bounty hunters, wild animals and the wilderness all lay between fugitives and Canada, where most of them were headed. Think what it must have been like for a woman, with seven children! They crossed the Ohio River just a few miles north of where you did this afternoon. There appears to be a glimmer of interest in Powells eyes now, although he isn't about to let Barnes see it. BARNES (contd) The man who rowed 'em across was a slave himself, named Josephus, from another plantation right across the river from where we are now. Josephus helped hundreds of people escape from slavery but never tried to escape himself. Figure that out. Anyway, they made it across because I've got an article from the local paper to prove it. And a copy of the slaveholder's (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES (CONTD) reward poster too: $450. Back then that was as much as some farmers around here made in a year. So even though Jane and her family made it into the free state of Ohio, they were still in danger. The Fugitive Slave Law gave slaveholders the right to reclaim runaway slaves. And bounty hunters made a living out of helping them do it. LIGHTS DOWN on scrim and office, UP on Janes corner. JANE We gathered there on the riverbank a foggy, humid August night and we no sooner set off from shore, overloaded and wallowin in that swift, dark water sos it terrified us all, and we hear the masters hounds. They had our scent. (momentarily overcome) We was way out somewhere in the middle of the river, blinded with the fog, when they musta got to the waters edge, and Master Harness fired his rifle. We all ducked this way and that, nearly swampin our only means of escape, and Josephus say, Dont you worry none, he wouldnt hit you if he could see you. You too valable. But thats just it he couldnt see us. Well, time went on and I was beginnin to have my doubts that Josephus had any better idea where we was at than the rest of us when Henry, my youngest, say, Seem like we been on this river for hours. Josephus come right back: Bettern bein under it aint it? We hit bottom soon enough. Alfred and Justus jumped into the water and pulled us ashore...I dropped to my knees in that river mud and heard a voice sing out like it belonged to someone else, (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE JANE (CONTD) Bless you, Josephus! You done save my famly! Then, it was just waitin for David Putnams lantern to shine through that Godforsaken fog. I was in a fog of my own, hardly able to believe wed finly made it to the other side. It was Henry saw it first. He pipes up, I see it, Mama! I see de light! We all shushin him cause we still a long way from Canada but I feel...just overjoyed, as tired and exhausted as I am. I feel like tellin him, I believe I see it now too, child. SCENE 5 SCENE: The garage office. Carol returns with the pizzas and beer. CAROL (sweeping in from the cold) It's terrible out there! Cars all over the highway. Trucks jackknifed....You can forget about going back to Cleveland tonight, Raymond; they've closed the Interstate.

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Powell rises and throws up his arms in angry resignation. BARNES That's what I figured would happen. Is the beer still in the car? CAROL Yeah, thanks, Harry. BARNES (at open door to service area) Bob, get yer ass in here and take a break! He can't leave tonight anyway, the freeway's closed! Harry exits to get the beer.

FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL (to Powell) You might as well loosen up; it's gonna be a long night any way you look at it. He gives her a look that is at once cool and smoldering but says nothing. CAROL (laughing huskily) I don't know what kinda scene you're conjurin' up behind those angry eyes of yours, Raymond, but if it's some kinda male fantasy, things aren't gonna get that far outa hand. POWELL Check it, bitch don't be tryin' t' read me! CAROL ...Fair enough. But don't you be callin' me names; it's Carol. Carol or nothin'. POWELL (with a measure of respect) ...That's cool.

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Barnes enters with the case of beer. Stanley strolls in, wiping his hands with a grease rag. BARNES Already startin' to drift out there. Have a beer, Mr. Stanley! STANLEY Pop one a them pizzas in the microwave, honey I'm starved. Don't mind if I do, Harry. I'm dryer'n a cottonmouth. CAROL You two been into the coffee can? BARNES It was time for a coffee break, Carol.

FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL Any time you two get together is either Miller time or coffee time. BARNES (laughing, opening beer) You got that right. STANLEY (opening one himself) Spare us from the judgments of the newly reformed. BARNES Don't you smoke at all anymore, Carol? CAROL Oh, a little. Bob would like me to get stoned every time he does, that's all. Wouldn't ya, honey? STANLEY That's bullshit and you know it. She's gettin' to be a real straight arrow, Harry. Before long she'll be too good t' drink with us. Stanley gives his wife a look more of rough affection than annoyance although it contains a little of each. CAROL Hey, who went out and braved the blizzard to bring back the beer? BARNES (toasting her with his beer) You did. I say we drink to Ms. Stanley's indomitable spirit and good nature. STANLEY (raising his own can) I'll see that and raise it: to her husband's willingness to sacrifice a (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY (CONTD) snowbound evening at home, for the sake of a stranded motorist and a little extra spendin' money at the request of his wife. BARNES (to Powell) You oughta be part of this toast. Don't you want a beer? POWELL ...Yeah, that's straight, man. STANLEY Yeah, drink up, Raymond. That's part of the service here at Stanley's Interstate. Barnes hands him a beer. An uncomfortably long silence. CAROL ...So tell us, Raymond: what's it like in Cleveland these days? STANLEY Now that the Cuyahoga River's no longer a fire hazard. Barnes & Carol laugh. Nothin' much care a their little piece chunk of the POWELL t' tell. People takin' own. Protectin' their own a turf, their fist-size American dream.

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Barnes takes a sort of proprietary pride in "his protgs" venturing into the conversation. BARNES ...Business as usual, in other words. The hostility in Powells icy stare is replaced by an expression of bored contempt; he doesn't answer.

FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL That's a lot easier to do out here in the sticks protectin' your backside. BARNES Lotta trees t' hide behind. STANLEY What Carol wants you t' know is that, unlike Barnes and me here, she wasn't born a hick, she just married one. CAROL Bob's a little sensitive about his roots, but he's seen more of the world than I have. STANLEY (sarcastically) Courtesy of Ho Chi Minh and the U.S. Army. BARNES Don't forget Nixon, Johnson and Kennedy. STANLEY ...I'm sure as hell tryin' to, Harry! POWELL You a city girl? CAROL Philly. POWELL So why you cribbin' here? CAROL You must not have heard what I said. I got tired of bein' meat in the midst of predators. Livin' on the edge all the time. I don't need that kind of existence. Id rather be a hick any day.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE Standing behind her, Stanley puts his arm around his wife. BARNES Bob and I grew up here but didn't know each other till we served in Nam together. Livin' in the country's not like Gilligan's Island. People are movin' out here from the city cities all over the country all the time. POWELL Hey that's cool, man I'm down wit dat. I'm just tryin' t' get my ride hooked up and book. Get on up outa here. STANLEY Back among the predators. POWELL Whatever, man. ACT III SCENE 1

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SCENE: The office of Stanleys garage, two hours after the previous scene. All three men are showing the results of their drinking and smoking, but Carol appears relatively unaffected. STANLEY See, here we are, just over this ridge from where the VC are assembling a small strike force. The gooks know we're there, and we know we've gotta hit 'em before they get too much firepower, but our platoon leader's this young Ivy League prick who's been in country for...what, Harry, two weeks? BARNES If that. He

FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY He thinks we're all just a bunch of fuckoffs anyway which is true, but he thinks it's because we don't have the fuckin' intelligence to be good soldiers. But we can see this dumb shit lacks the common sense to keep himself alive before his tour is up, let alone the platoon unfortunate enough to be under his pardon the expression command. Command. This dweeb couldn't persuade his bowels to move, and he's tryin' t' get us up on that ridge, where we're gonna stand out like fuckin' duck silhouettes in a shootin' gallery. Princeton that's what we called him Princeton's just called in an air strike, and he's afraid Charlie's gonna get outa there before the napalm arrives. We're supposed to pin 'em down and hold 'em there till the Air Cav come in and deep-fry the fuckers. Isn't that the way it happened, Harry? BARNES Yeah. Princeton wasnt about to let anyone know how scared he was. Like there was something wrong with that.

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The look Harry gives Raymond makes it clear hes drawing a comparison here. Raymond knows it but says nothing. BARNES (contd) What Bob didn't mention...we did end up engaging them the VC and I caught some shrapnel. I'm layin' there tryin' to figure out where the hell I am, what happened to me. Next thing I know, there's Stanley in my face, tellin' me he's gonna get me back across the ridge. I thought he said "bridge." (laughing) Were in enemy territory, and we have to cross a bridge to save our ass. But, hell, I cant even move.

FUGITIVE SLAVE Both men and CAROL have been subdued by this obviously often-told war story, and Powell is engrossed by now as well. Barnes collects himself and finishes the story. BARNES (contd) ...So he carried me. Slung me across his back, and I could feel these (gesture, bullet sound effects) whizzin' past us...anyway, he got me back across that ridge not bridge and laid me down real gently I still remember that. Not more than, I don't know, two or three minutes later, the Air Cav came in and turned the whole side of that mountain the other side into an inferno. If I'd still been over there I'd a been burnt to a crisp. There's a pause as each of them covers up the more revealing elements of their response to the story by taking a swig of beer, etc. STANLEY ...Harry'd a done the same for me. Hell, there was lots a guys either one of us would a done it for. BARNES And others, with stripes, people were lookin' t' do it to. POWELL Yeah, I heard about fraggin. If the gooks dont get you...

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This time its Powell with the look, aimed at Stanley. Carol intercedes. CAROL I still find it hard to believe that kind of thing could happen, I mean that discipline could break down that much without there being more of an outcry, or consequences of some kind.

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES Oh, there were consequences. They ended the draft, for one thing. CAROL (to Powell) That was a break for you. POWELL Shit, the man's army wouldn't go mess wit me. The po-lice-man done already knocked me down. I got a fat rap sheet. STANLEY That's one way a stayin' out. POWELL Stayin' alive. Where I grew up it was either be bad or be lookin' over your shoulder the minute you stepped outside. (to Carol) Like you said: you either the predator or the prey. STANLEY So what's it like, Raymond, livin' that way. Harry and I were able t' leave Nam. POWELL It is a battlefield, man. Not exactly kill or be killed not usually but as long ago as I can remember, I fell asleep listenin' to the sound a gunshots most nights. STANLEY Random shots or real gun fights? POWELL Both. Ever so often someone be killed or crippled by one a those random shots. Little girl lived in the apartment below us when I was about 10 or so got (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) shot through the eye. Been a vegetable in an institution somewhere ever since. BARNES Its dangerous, I know it is. I've been to a couple of family gatherings in Youngstown, and I feel uncomfortable around some of my own family. POWELL (laughing coldly) I'll bet you do. BARNES I can't even talk to my nephews. It's another world. CAROL It's like a third-world country. It's like living in an American colony, the whole "company sto" trip. All you are is a market, for over-priced crap. Bread and a gallon of milk cost twice as much as they do in the suburbs and they're liable to be bad. A lot of things you can't even find. I was lucky, I was able to get out; most people can't. POWELL Where you crib at, in Philly? CAROL ...Powelton Village in West Philadelphia. Osage Avenue. POWELL Where's that? STANLEY You never heard of MOVE? Where the police dropped a bomb on a house and burned down a whole neighborhood?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL And killed 11 people five of them children. This is directed at her husband, as if questioning his sense of priorities. POWELL Yeah, yeah, I heard sump'n 'bout that, long time ago. STANLEY Mid-'80s. POWELL You was part of that? Displeased that her husband introduced the subject, Carols becoming more angry the longer they continue to discuss it; she gives him a withering look. CAROL ...I was living in the neighborhood, that's all. We weren't happy with the MOVE people either they were pretty radical. But the city was a lot worse: when the trouble started, first they evacuated us and surrounded MOVE'S house, then they dropped explosives on it and killed all those people. By the time it was over, they'd burned down two city blocks. And no public official was ever charged with anything. POWELL Shit! STANLEY You'd a thought police would have learned something. Then comes Waco. POWELL Who'd a thought? Some fool!

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FUGITIVE SLAVE Stanley glares at him. CAROL Anyway, that part of my life's over and done with. I don't like to talk about it, and I try not to think about it. POWELL Tha's cool. The effects on Stanley of the beer and marijuana have become increasingly apparent. STANLEY Hell, Carol, it's not like you was crim'ly involved or anything CAROL Shut up, Bob! STANLEY (visibly stung) Well 'scuse me! Jesus Christ, we're touchy all of a sudden. CAROL I've asked you before not to bring this up, but you never pay any attention! BARNES She has, Bob, I've heard her myself. She's just you can understand why someone's been through something like that wouldn't want to discuss it. CAROL I'm not sure he can understand it. He sure as hell doesn't act like it. STANLEY Jesus Christ, they're gangin' up on me. ...How 'bout you, Raymond? You wanta take a swing too?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL I'm stayin' outa this, man. STANLEY That's good I'd hate t' have all of you on my case. I'm sorry I ever fuckin' brought it up. Okay? CAROL There's no reason to get nasty about it, Bob. Just...leave it alone. STANLEY Nasty? Who the fuck's gettin' nasty? CAROL You are. BARNES He's just tired. Been a long day. STANLEY I don't need you t' stick up for me, Harry! BARNES I know you don't, I was just STANLEY Fuckin' patronizing me's, what you were doin'. I can take care of my own problems. I can sure as hell have a conversation with my wife without someone having to fuckin' interpret for me. CAROL Harry was just tryin' to be helpful, Bob. For Christ's sake get a grip! STANLEY (contrite, suddenly exhausted) ...Yeah, I know you were, Harry. I guess...maybe I do need t' call it a night. Christ, can't even party anymore.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES Hell, you been workin' for 12 hours. Time to get some rest. I'm tired too. STANLEY (rising) ...I'm gonna hit the hay in the back room. Carol will show you two where t' sleep when you're ready to turn in. (to Raymond) I'll have your car ready sometime in the morning. BARNES Take it easy, Bud. See ya in the a.m. Stanley exits and the other three remain silent for a moment, just looking at one another. BARNES ...He's just tired is all. SCENE 2 SCENE: Janes corner of the service station. JANE We near all night in that wagon, my daughters and me. The boys walked alongside, except for Henry. He crawled under the canvas with us about midnight. Girls none too happy about it, wasnt room for us as it was. But I tells em, not for the first or the last time, to shush. Bounty hunters, no doubt Master Harness himself before long, be on the lookout for us all the way to Canada. Little did I realize that would be more than two weeks yet. But that first night, like I said, went by like I was in a daze, a dream. I scarce felt all the bumpin (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE JANE (CONTD) and shakin my girls kept complainin about. Then when we got to our first Underground Railroad station is what they were called along the way each as far as runaways could walk or a wagon could cart em at night it was still dark, but you could smell morning comin when we arrived at the Palmer farm. Palmer Station. Very near where we find ourselves here tonight which seems downright odd when I think about it. How life does repeat itself in this world. Even though theres so much more to it than I could ever have known back then. We climbed down out of that wagon all cramped and weary, and Mizz Palmer brought a big wicker basket full of the heartiest breakfast felt like any of ever ate out to the hayloft where we spent that entire day. Travelin at night, sleepin all day, or tryin to that was to be our life, and the savin of it, all the way to Canada. SCENE 3

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SCENE: The office, later that night. Barnes, too, has gone to bed. The gradual arc of POWELL'S increasing relaxation among his rescuers has reached its zenith now that he's alone with Carol. POWELL ...This shit is wack. You grew up in Philly, and now you chillin' out here in the woods. CAROL (grinning) Some change huh? What about you? You gonna be content to live in Cleveland the rest of your life?

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL Content? I ain't sayin' it's all that, but my life's a helluva lot better'n the way most a my homeboys live. I schooled a few people thought I'd end up like my old man. I'm learnin' how the big game works, game that drives all the little games on the street. CAROL (amused but interested) Is that right? POWELL Yeah, I can see through all the scams and the bullshit people downtown put down to hide the way things work. I can see past all that lowlife retail hustle, "distribution channels" that're nothin' but someone's ideas hammered into a buncha people's heads. Know what I'm sayin'? I got ideas...no reason Raymond Powell can't be one a the men downtown. CAROL A man with a mission. POWELL Yeah, you could say that. Man with a plan....I get the feeling you really know what I'm talkin' about. That's unusual comin' from a woman as good lookin' as you are. CAROL (smiling) Oh? What's so unusual about that? POWELL Most people think you're gonna bullshit 'em, no matter what. You start talkin' ideas at 'em, how you can see behind (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) things, things can be done better now they know you're a fool, right? But the real fool's the one who calls a blood a fool just because he can't see. Know what I'm sayin'? Too damn lazy even t' look. Content? No, I ain't content, because there's always a better way. You know there is when you see how fucked up things is. Once you see what "average" means, that's when you know you the predator. You the wolf, you the lion the "average" man's the sheep. And see, I'm not talkin' (contemptuously) street muscle, street smarts. I'm talkin' downtown. Man who don't have to lift a finger because he already made that move in his mind. Let someone else, who can't do nothin' else, be the muscle an' do the hustle. CAROL I'm impressed. So you stay away from all that inner-city violence that used to keep me wide awake at nights? POWELL I stay away from it if I can. But, hey, I'm the one's doin' all the talkin'. Tell me about this neighborhood you cribbed at in Philly. (reassuring her when she reacts) I'm not axin' 'bout that MOVE shit. You act like you know what's up, what it's all about. CAROL ...I lived with a musician, half a block up from the MOVE house....You know, it was a black mayor who gave the okay to drop the bomb the guy who followed Rizzo. I could never figure that out.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL Don't surprise me none. What I was talkin' 'bout: downtown shit. Ain't the way things sposed t' be, way they appears t' be. It's the way they is. Musician huh? CAROL Tenor sax. He was a beautiful guy. Big, about six-three, 230 pounds, somethin' like that muscles...with this real cute little pot belly. Too much a the good life. Anyway, that's the way his tenor sounded. Big...but round. A little like Sonny Rollins, only Leonard was better. POWELL Leonard huh?...What went down? CAROL Whaddaya think? First it was the fire wiped out everything we had, that meant anything to us. Then it was the no, actually the drugs had already started but they were under control....Leonard had it under control there for a while. The city rebuilt the houses, but we were lonnng... (drawing it out) gone by then. We were history. POWELL But how the hell'd you end up here? CAROL Oh, that's a long story, Raymond long story. Too long, when I think about it, 'cause it ages me, in more ways than one. So I don't think about it, or talk about it. Except for the good parts like Bobby. Bobby's the best part. POWELL Bobby?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL Your mechanic. My husband. POWELL No shit? Damn, it don't seem like y'all got nothin' goin' on. CAROL Appearances remember? He gripes the shit outa me at times. And, sure, I do him too but I wouldn't know why. (musically, mock innocence). He's the one helped me turn my life around though. Powell looks around with exaggerated disbelief. POWELL Turned around. Is that what this is? CAROL Let me ask you something. POWELL What's that? CAROL If you're so set on making something of your life, bein' the "man downtown" and all, why the hell are you caught up in dealin' drugs? Hard drugs are what destroyed Leonard's life. First his dreams, then his life. That's a helluva thing to just... (gesturing) ...throw away, Raymond. I came awful close to goin' down with him. POWELL Why the hell you so sure I'm winnin'? CAROL Winning?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL Dealin' winnin'. CAROL Oh come on, Raymond. We may be country but... (cretinous expression) we ain't dumb. You didn't buy that car baggin' groceries. POWELL ...How else you think a blood like me's gonna make it? I got friends that are baggin' groceries! Well, not really. CAROL But you the predator. (hurriedly, responding to him) I'm not makin' fun of you, Raymond I'm just sendin' back what you're puttin' out there. I know the drug business believe me, I know it too damn well (shuddering) I'm sure nothing's changed much in the last 10 years. I know how likely it is you'll ever reach 30 dealin' crack. And so do you if you'll admit it. How else can you make it? What a load a crap that is! Even "average" people make it outa the hood, Raymond; I know people who did: people you'd call average who are heroic to me. If you're so set on goin' all the way "downtown," there are other ways to get there that won't get you killed. POWELL (jumping up from the couch) She-it! Why am I sittin' here listenin' to this? CAROL (lighting a cigarette) ...You tell me.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL You think just cause you lived with some blood in Philly, that makes you an expert in the black man's problems? That don't mean shit, sister! You think you can get inside my skin jus' cause he got inside a you? CAROL I'm no expert in anything, Raymond except maybe misery, and, I'll admit, that was my own. I'm just sittin' here talkin' t' this beautiful young man whose path happened to cross mine. I'm just tellin' you what I've seen in life, what I think. POWELL That's right. What you think and what I think are two different things. (sitting back down) CAROL ...Whaddaya do when you're not working? When you're not out there makin' your first mil? POWELL ...I got other shit t' do....I get off paintin'. CAROL (really interested) Painting? POWELL That was the only thing kept me in school. (chuckling) That and Moms. I'm all she has now, and she can be sump'n fierce when she wants to. Yeah, in middle school I got a scholarship from the Cleveland Art (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) Museum for their Saturday classes. That got me into it sittin' there on the floor where they got this big Monet, "Water Lilies". Doin' water Monet's way then doin' it my way. I won some awards here an' there. CAROL That's great! I'm afraid I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to art. POWELL Never seem to have time since I dropped outa community college. CAROL That's too bad. I'd love to see some of your work. POWELL Hey, I'd like t' show ya. Most people don't get it, man. I don't give a shit don't mean nuttin'. It's unimportant now anyway. CAROL The art or the criticism. POWELL Both. This the real world we're talkin' 'bout now....Hows come your man left you here alone with me? CAROL Well actually, he didnt did he? POWELL I dont see his drinkin buddy around either. CAROL You think I need a bodyguard, or a chaperone?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL You sure as hell dont need a bodyguard. But it seems to me your hubby takes a lot for granted. CAROL (melodramatically) Why its almost insultin aint it? POWELL (appreciatively) ...Youre good. CAROL The men in my life trust me, Raymond. POWELL I can see that. Im just tryin t figure out what the house rules are. CAROL Youre wonderin if I ever pine away for the old days. POWELL Old days? The old days done gone to bed. Im thinkin today, baby. Todays all we got. I mean whens the last time you forgot about everything except right now? Carols finding this very entertaining. CAROL (chuckling dryly) Is that your thing, Raymond? Making women forget about everything? POWELL Not everything. Why you always wanta answer a question with a question? You want my opinion, or the opinion of the women I make love to?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL (amused) Both. POWELL In my opinion, my thang is right: slow ...hard...marathon man no sprinter beneath the sheets. CAROL (laughing delightedly) And what do your women what do your lovers think? POWELL They think it's tight. I ain't tryin' t' sound like I'm all that, but that's what they all tell me. I sure don't have t' sweet-talk 'em into bed. CAROL I believe you. I'm sure you're quite the man in bed. POWELL So, you wanta find out? CAROL (laughing) I thought you'd never ask. No, I'm kidding, Raymond. Another time, another place...who knows? My philosophy used to be: what you don't know won't hurt you. But that's a little out-dated now, isn't it. POWELL Why's that? CAROL Well, AIDS, for one thing. POWELL Oh hell, I use plastic the best.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL That's not the only reason though, Raymond. Bobby's out for the night, I know him well enough. But Harry could walk in here any minute, I don't know what his sleeping habits are like. Listen, I hope I haven't been leading you on, that wasn't my intention. I admit, I'm attracted sex with you might be great. It's just not in the cards. POWELL Might be? Believe it, baby. It would be down, know what I'm sayin'? Somethin' you an' me both remember the rest of our lives. CAROL (her look a compliment) ...You've never been with a girl for a long time, Raymond. You couldn't have, you're too young. That's the missing part of your resume: still good ten years later. It's hard making a long relationship work. Real hard. And hard work means passing up the lay of a lifetime if it threatens your marriage. That's what I'd be gambling something I wouldn't even think of doing. See, that's one thing I've learned, Raymond: to stop and think. You need to learn it too, if you're really goin' downtown and I believe you can. POWELL (grinning in embarrassment) ...I don't get turned down too often. CAROL I'll bet you don't. I'm sure you can make a woman feel realll good. I'll bet your mama's given you a lot of love hasn't she?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL Why you say that? CAROL You're good with women even if you are just out to score. POWELL Then why you holdin' out? How you gon' play me?...This ain't just some kinda reverse psychology shit is it? CAROL (laughing) No, it's not some kind of reverse psychology, Raymond. It's the hard truth. POWELL Then why we sittin' here talkin' shit? CAROL Why? Why not? I like you. You remind me of my wild past. POWELL Wild past. Didn't anyone ever tell you 'bout livin' in the present? Livin' in the "now"? CAROL That's what we're doing. We're just not fucking in the now. POWELL And that's what the fuckin' problem is! He jumps up, yanks her by the arm from the couch and pulls her against him. POWELL You're just playin' hard t' get, white girl.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE

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Carol goes cold and lifeless in Raymonds enforced embrace which at first just provokes him. He spins her abruptly with his left hand, so her back is against him, and gropes her with the right; then forces her head back, kissing her hard on the lips. She neither resists nor gives in, and he finally pushes her away angrily. POWELL What kinda bitch are you, you prickteasin' pussy? Carol regains her poise almost instantly although far from effortlessly; but Raymond, his desire frustrated, fails to see how shaken she is. CAROL ...That don't play on this channel, Raymond. POWELL What the fuck's that sposed t' mean? CAROL (angrily) It means I learned the difference between sex and rape when I was a helluva lot younger than you are that's what it means. It means I got no confusion about that at all and no tolerance for men that do. POWELL Ain't you the tough-talkin' bitch all of a sudden. CAROL Well then you haven't been listening. POWELL I heard every fuckin' word you said. You're the one ain't listenin'. I keep talkin' about wantin' you and you gimme these smart-ass answers like I'm just (MORE)

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) playin games. Ain't no game far as I'm concerned. CAROL And that's another reason I probably wouldn't have ended up in bed with you, married or not. POWELL What a fuckin' waste. CAROL There can be other things between a man and a woman than sex, Raymond. I hate to see a bright young man like you waste his life. You young black studs talk like you've got no choice but to kill each other off and any innocent victim caught in the crossfire. I heard it for years. The white man's responsible AIDS and drugs are a conspiracy to kill off the black people. I mean even if it were so, why go along with it? Why be cogs in the death machine "fucking ducks in the shootin' gallery"? You really have to be Numero Uno or just a number in the morgue? Is that kind of choice what bein' macho's all about? POWELL It ain't like that. You're just puttin' words together t' make a point. CAROL Thats right what's wrong with that? POWELL Nothin', if the words is true. But it's not as simple as you make it sound. (facetiously) You're just tryin' t' get outa gettin' laid.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL Trying to keep you from being laid out, Raymond: naked and dead on a cold metal bed. POWELL ...You really do have yourself half convinced you give a shit, don't you? Almost enough t' convince me. CAROL People have to be there for people. POWELL Not too many been there for me. Besides my Moms, I can't think of one. CAROL Well see, you gotta let 'em first. Open up your heart a little. Instead of just your pants all the time. POWELL (chuckling ruefully) You're too much, girl.

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Carol smiles and touches his arm. Raymond starts to react as if this is an invitation, then thinks better of it. Her smile increases in intensity; she obviously sees something in this angry young man that we most of us haven't the background to recognize. And Raymonds expression says hes never experienced the acceptance and understanding he's receiving right now from her. POWELL ...You're sump'n else. You ain't out with that? You know, wacked? CAROL Hell, I'm flattered. (rising from the couch) I'm goin' t' bed. Night, Raymond. You should be warm enough with those blankets and the heat turned on.

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (grumbling) That sure as hell ain't the only thing that's turned on. CAROL (under her breath, exiting) Tell me about it. POWELL (yelling after her) You can always change your mind! SCENE 4

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SCENE: The service area the next morning. Stanley is under Powells car when Barnes wanders in with coffee in hand, looking as if he could use a lot more than just a hair of the dog that bit him the night before. BARNES Man, I sure had a good time last night, even if I do have a hangover t' show for it. I got body parts talkin' to me I haven't heard from in years. (laughs) STANLEY (emerging from beneath car) ...I've been waitin' for you t' get up. We got a problem. BARNES What kinda problem? STANLEY I got up in the middle of the night and started snoopin around his car, Harry. I found a stash of crack like you wouldn't believe. It's hidden in the seats underneath the upholstery, in the door panels....We can't just let (MORE)

FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY (CONTD) him drive outa here with that, can we? He must have half the crackheads in Cleveland strung out. BARNES ...Looks like you opened Pandora's box. STANLEY I couldn't put the lid back on now if I wanted to. BARNES Sure we could. What were you thinkin' of doin', (sarcastically) makin' a citizens arrest? STANLEY I don't know. BARNES You don't wanta call the police do you? STANLEY I said, I don't know, Harry. Whadda you think we should do? BARNES Did you put everything back the way it was? STANLEY Sure, sure he'll never know I found it. BARNES ...What's the big surprise? We were talkin' about this yesterday. STANLEY Yeah, but I didn't know he was carryin' it. Or this fuckin' much, Harry.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES You still wouldn't if you'd stuck to fixin' his car. STANLEY Don't get self-righteous on me, Harry that's not like you. BARNES I'll stand behind you, Bob you know I will. But let's call a spade a spade. I've been called one often enough. He laughs and slaps Stanley on the shoulder, trying to lighten the mood. BARNES (contd) Have you said anything to Carol yet? STANLEY Naw, I don't wanta bring her into this too; it's screwed up enough as it is. Besides, she's liable t' think I'm doin' it just because I'm jealous of the guy or something. BARNES Aw, are you shittin' me? Why the hell would she think that? STANLEY Well, see...it's complicated. I woke up when she came to bed I guess it was bein' on that damn sofa-bed. Anyway, when I saw how late it was, I asked her what she'd been doin'. Not really suspicious or anything, but it was a couple of hours after I'd gone to bed and she said you had too. BARNES (defensively) I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY That's all right, I'm not sayin' my wife needs t' be chaperoned, for chrissake. She said they were just talking and I believe her. But now you see what I mean about her thinking maybe this is me gettin back at the guy? BARNES I still say you're under-estimating her. STANLEY (throwing up his hands) Shit! Why couldn't I have left well enough alone?...Maybe you're overestimating me. BARNES Whadda you mean? STANLEY Harry, why do you think I was dickin' around with the guy's car? I was curious, sure but you don't think him and Carol bein' up half the night together didn't have something to do with that? He tried to score with her, I know he did. Just because she turned him down doesn't let him off the hook. BARNES How do you know he did did she say that? STANLEY Hell, she wouldn't wanta get the dude in trouble if he tried to rape her and she had to break his fuckin' arm. She'd say he broke it openin' the door for her. You know that. But I can put two and two together, we've been married long enough. BARNES Well, so tell me: is this all about wantin' to bust the guy?

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FUGITIVE SLAVE STANLEY I don't know, Harry maybe...probably some of it is, you know? But I can't undo it. And that sure doesn't change how I feel about being part of a huge fuckin' shipment of crack, if I keep my mouth shut and let him drive outa here with it. Does it? BARNES I hate the idea of callin' the cops on him though, Bob. Ruinin' his life. Twenty years in prison and when he comes out he'll be a helluva lot worse than when he went in. STANLEY I know, I feel the same way. BARNES I'll probably be gone by then, but thats not a legacy to leave behind. STANLEY Carol would never forgive me. BARNES Here, I've been borin' him t' death with the story of Jane and her family. STANLEY You just like a captive audience. BARNES (thoughtfully) ...Its more than that though. (change in tone) With all that crack, he must be armed. STANLEY Shit, I thought a that when you brought him here in the first place. Checked to make sure my .45 was loaded.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES Jesus, Bob, what've you gotten us into? STANLEY You brought him here, Harry! ACT IV SCENE 1

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SCENE: Later that morning. Carol, standing just inside the door, gestures Powell into the office and closes the door. She pulls him against her, insistently but not urgently, and snuggles up to him, running her hands all over his body. He responds then pulls away in surprise. POWELL You just patted me down! You frisked my ass! Barnes enters quickly, closing the door behind him; he's holding Stanleys .45. CAROL You're with friends, Raymond! POWELL What the fuck is this?! BARNES She's tellin' the truth, Raymond! Get away from the door and listen to me! Glaring in rage at Barnes who is covering him, then at Carol, Powell moves away from the door. CAROL Don't do anything crazy, Raymond, we're tryin' t' help you! POWELL Kiss my ass, bitch! (to Barnes) I'll fade yo ass, motherfucker!

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES (coolly) No you won't. You may try, but I'd advise you not to. CAROL Please, Raymond believe me! POWELL What the hell you expect me to believe? He's pointin' a motherfuckin' piece at me! BARNES: Siddown, Raymond. Now! Powell sits down heavily on the couch. CAROL Now just listen! BARNES You're busted, Raymond. We found the crack. POWELL (starting to rise) You Uncle Tom fuckin'

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Barnes pushes him back down with a stiff-arm to the head with one hand, the gun in the other. BARNES Don't make me use this, Raymond! I'm not the shot I used t' be I might hit something vital. POWELL So what's up, motherfucker? Y'all just gon' jack my shit? 'Cause if you are... BARNES We're not rippin' you off, and if you cooperate we're not callin' the police either.

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL Big fuckin' deal, you honkie mothahfucker. If I don't deliver this I'm dead, and the rest of you too! CAROL We've got a plan, Raymond! POWELL You got shit! BARNES Will you listen for a minute, you foulmouthed little prick? (responding to his surprise) Yeah I said "little"! You may outweigh me but I've got the gun. And I'm not the fool caught with a car full a crack! ...Now, you ain't leavin' here with it, so get that outa your head. That's too many lives on my conscience. CAROL But we're not settin' you up t' be killed either, Raymond. I told you, I know the drug business, and we're not stupid we know the danger you're in. We're in it together, now that we know you have the crack. But we have a plan, we talked it over. BARNES Take it or leave it, Raymond. But it's the only way we can see that offers you a way out short a killin' the three of us. And that ain't gonna happen. CAROL And you know what, Raymond? It's the way downtown. The real way. A way that'll leave you alive long enough to enjoy it. Barnes gives Carol a puzzled look, while Powell now appears as frightened as he does belligerent.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL ...So what's this great plan you all think's gonna save your ass when my people don't get what's comin' to 'em? BARNES "Your" people huh? That's where your problem is, Raymond. You call me Uncle Tom, but you're the one suckin' up to people have you in chains. CAROL And they'll get what's comin' to 'em too, Raymond trust me on that. BARNES (in Raymond's face) Most of you young blacks today don't know a thing about the heritage our brave ancestors have left you and me, Raymond. It scares the hell out of me when I talk to people like you and my nephews, willing to throw away the freedom black Americans risked their lives to give us. You'd rather be slaves yourselves to drugs, or money, or crazy ideas and beliefs than free. CAROL That sure isn't limited to blacks. BARNES No of course it's not. This is between one black man and another. Sure times is tough. There's still discrimination against black people, after nearly 400 years since we were dragged over here in chains. You and I are just niggers to a lot of people. But I'm sure Carol's known her share of ugly names CAROL Try "prick-teasin' pussy."

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES Great line, Raymond. Of course, Bob's a hick and a redneck. For some reason, entirely too damn many people love to despise one another, and they'll use any excuse they can lay their hands on. Skin color's an easy one a no-brainer, in every sense of the word. POWELL Jesus Christ! I asked what your plan was, motherfucker not your philosophy of life. Carol has to hide her smile; she throws a conciliatory gesture in Barnes' direction. BARNES You think times now are anywhere near as tough as they were for Jane and her family? If the Underground Railroad could work for her and thousands of others back then, it can work for people runnin' from slavery today. The spirit of the Underground Railroad's still alive, Raymond, and it's gonna save your hip young black ass. Bob and Carol and me know people all across America who are gonna be your "conductors." POWELL: ...That's it? How fuckin' dumb you think I am? You want that crack for yourselves! Man, yo ass be faded before you move an ounce a that shit. They'll be lookin' for me right now which is why I hafta get outa this nowhere fuckin' place. CAROL Listen to the man, Raymond! He's offering you the only chance you've got!

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES We're gonna flush that crack right in front of you. POWELL You're gonna what? You know how much that shit's worth?! BARNES Not exactly, just like I don't I know how many lives it would ruin either. POWELL More than you could earn in 20 lifetimes, old man! BARNES The point is, we ain't gonna steal it from you. Or the 9-millimeter we found in your car that goes in the river. CAROL Tell him about the car. BARNES I'm gettin' to that. There's no way you could hang onto that and stay alive too easy to trace. Besides, it offers us a way t' help cover your tracks. POWELL What the hell are you talkin' about? BARNES Once Bob's made it drivable and you've shown us where all the crack's stashed, we're gonna rip up the upholstery and door panels and splash some of your blood around. Carol's an LPN, she can draw it. Then we're gonna dump your Beamer in the Ohio River.

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By now Raymond appears so shell-shocked he hardly reacts.

FUGITIVE SLAVE CAROL When the car's found, they'll think you were robbed and murdered. Only your drug lords will know about the missing crack. BARNES Only the slave-master, the man in the Big House. There won't be any body of course, but that's not too unusual. People have been swept away by the current and never found. For all anyone but us will know, it just carried your body down to the Mississippi and out to sea. POWELL (in a stunned monotone) ...You motherfuckers are crazy. CAROL It's a chance to start a new life! BARNES As a free man. POWELL Fuck this slavery shit, man! What about my Moms? She be faded too they know where she lives. CAROL What kind of life does your mother have now, knowing the son she loves is living on borrowed time? POWELL A helluva lot better'n bein' dead herself! BARNES (annoyed) She's not gonna die, Raymond she's goin' with you. Powells expression is now a dazed sort of resignation.

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL ...Right, goin' with me. Nice of you t' check with her first. CAROL You said you're all she has now. She'd give anything for you to be able to start over to be a painter instead of a drug dealer. BARNES Yeah, Carol tells me you like to paint said you had a scholarship t' study at the Cleveland Museum. POWELL She tells you everything don't she? CAROL (meaningfully) Not everything, Raymond. POWELL (exhausted all of a sudden) ...Why you doin' this? Jackin' me up? Leavin' my Moms with nothin'. What'd she do t' you? What'd I do t' you? I'm just tryin' t' take care a mine. BARNES I think you better look at who's really responsible for any hardship your mama might suffer. CAROL I already told you, Raymond: what's your mama have t' lose that means more to her than her son's life? POWELL She never had nothin' till I started winnin'. That's one thing I always wanted: to give my Moms a nice big house an' nice (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) clothes t' wear. Take her outa the place she's lived all these years. That's what you're takin' away from both of us. BARNES You could just as easily say that's the chance we're givin' you, Raymond. The people we're sendin' you to will help you and your mama get back on your feet. But it'll be up to you t' take advantage of the opportunity. CAROL You can do it, Raymond, I know you can. BARNES Hell yes he can do it, just like thousands of black people before us, Raymond. With the help of people who don't even know you, you're gonna free yourself from slavery. That may sound like bullshit to you, but it's the greatest gift we can give ourselves. That's what America's supposed t' be all about. POWELL (angrily jumping up) Don't tell me what America's sposed t' be, niggah! That's the biggest crock a shit you said yet!

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Taken by surprise, Barnes backs up enough to keep Powell from grabbing the gun. BARNES Sit down on the couch, Raymond! POWELL Fuck you, Uncle Tom! Why you think niggers be killin' each other, in my neighborhood and cities all over this (MORE)

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) "great country" of ours? Cause that wonderful dream of Brother King's turned out to be a fuckin' nightmare where I come from tha's why! You think we don't give a shit when a brother taken down? Homeboy a mine standin' next t' me had his head turned into a fuckin' watermelon! (voice cracking, shuddering) ...I never have been able t' get all the blood offa me. BARNES Nobody's makin' you stay there, Raymond!

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In his tirade, Raymond paces, forcing Barnes to keep moving as well, to maintain a safe distance between them. POWELL Hell no, I can go anywhere I want in the land of the free! Black man's welcome anywhere! You don't know any more about the kinda life I lead than your white friend out there! And neither do you! (to Carol) I don't care how many brothers you slept with, black musicians' horns you blowed. Who'd you end up with? You was just trollin' tastin' the black life like some exotic fruit, suckin' black blood and black cock like some white bitch vampire! Dealin' drugs is dangerous? No shit! If it wasn't so dangerous, people like Uncle Tom here could do it. Dealin' drugs Tom's way is workin' in a cigarette plant for minimum wage! Honkies with a little talent can earn a lot more turnin' cowboys and fuckin' camels into cultural icons! People at the Art Museum taught me that: how t' make a living in advertising till you're discovered, man! She-it! That (MORE)

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) kinda work supports a lotta major cocaine habits, I'll say that for it. A lotta the "creative side" are steady customers of mine! They earn enough gettin' kids hooked on nicotine to buy their coke and fancy cars, with enough left over for the nasty little fines they get when they're caught! They're no dummies they'll pay the money any day when they see the brothers and sisters with crack doin' 20 years! CAROL You're one self-righteous drug dealer, Raymond. POWELL Just tellin' it like it is. Difference between me and legal dealers is, number 1, I admit what I am! And, number two, I put my life on the line t' do it! I don't like it that way, that's just the way it is! BARNES Your life and the lives of all your customers strung out on crack. All those people you feel so sorry for. CAROL Only if they're caught. Not if they're just destroying their lives. POWELL Hey, life's cheap in the hood, baby! Didn't cribbin' with the natives in Philly teach you that? Today's all there is and it ain't much so you jazz it up, pump it up! (mimicking needle injection) Crack's a way t' squeeze all the things niggers never gonna have into right (MORE)

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (CONTD) now, know what I'm sayin'? Smokin' it or sellin' it, don't make no difference! So I deal in slow death that's what life is! In the hood it's just speeded up a little. If a brother or sister or some honkie wants t' get it on or get it over with, I may as well be the one t' help 'em out! So that means there's a clip out there gonna tattoo my name in hollow-points someday so what? Death's just God sayin' "Fuck you!" I'll get mine first!

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By now Powell has maneuvered himself close enough to Carol to grab her suddenly. Spinning her around in front of him as a shield, he drags her over next to the shelf where we saw him hide something the night before. It's a handgun, which he picks up and aims at Barnes. POWELL (contd) Drop it, Tom! First shot's for you, second one's hers. CAROL Do as he says, Harry! SCENE 2 SCENE: Janes corner of the service station. JANE If a body could imagine what the future holds for her family and descendants, it wouldnt make no sense nohow. Only thing to do is live a life worth handin down through the ages, and trust blood to find its way. Its true course....Even then whos to say? you may be called on some day.

FUGITIVE SLAVE SCENE 3

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SCENE: Service station office. Powell holds Carol in front of him as a shield, with a handgun aimed at Barnes. POWELL Now you're bein' smart, baby. CAROL And you're bein' real dumb, Raymond a real loser! Barnes puts the safety on and lays the .45 on the floor. BARNES She's right, Raymond you're making a big mistake. POWELL Slide it over, Tom. Barnes slides the gun gingerly in Powells direction. Powell sticks it inside the waistband of his pants. POWELL You're the ones made the big mistake: tryin' t' pull this chickenshit hustle on the wrong blood. You're way outa your league if you think me or anyone else would be makin' this kinda run with one fuckin' gat. CAROL You're still stuck on that? You still think we POWELL Shut up! I oughta fade the three of you. CAROL Don't be a fool! Your car's not even running yet; they'll trace it to you, and you'll spend the rest of your short pitiful life on death row.

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES He don't care about that! CAROL Sure he does! I know you've never killed anyone don't start now for God's sake! POWELL Who says I never killed no one? CAROL I do. Crack may have killed some people you deal to, but you never have! POWELL And I'm not gonna start now, the three of you ain't worth it yet you still underestimatin' me. Whatchu think, (mockingly) I'm one a "dem slow-talkin' plantation niggahs a Sistah Jane's"? I already done thought 'bout the car, bitch that's why you goin' with me, in yours. When brothah Tom or the redneck returns mine in Cleveland, then maybe I let you go if you still want to, after you done spent a few hours with me. (to Barnes) Don't even think 'bout callin' no cops. CAROL You're crazy! Bob'll never let you leave here with me. BARNES (alarmed) She's right, man you're gonna get some innocent people killed, and you'll end up dyin' for it, just like she said! POWELL Then you better tell the fool t' back off!

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FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES When you're kidnapping his wife? POWELL (to Carol) Tell the honkie you wanta live black again. After you been with me for a day, you will! CAROL Fuck you! POWELL Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Get away from the door, Tom.

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Barnes moves and Powell drags Carol toward the closed door to the service area. The set has been constructed so that, in the meantime, we can also see Stanley approach the door from the service-area side, holding a tire iron as a weapon. He flattens himself against the wall beside the door. CAROL Please, Raymond, don't do this! Maybe we were over our heads, but so are you if you think you can do this without getting someone shot! Somebody's gonna get killed! Please! POWELL Nobody's gonna get shot if you do what I tell ya. Powell cautiously pulls the door open. POWELL (contd) Hey, Bob! You fucked up, man! I got your wife and your .45! Get in here an' don't try nothin' funny or she's dead! When Powell opens the door a little farther so he can get a better view of the service area, Stanley comes down

FUGITIVE SLAVE viciously with the tire iron but misses as Powell ducks back just in time, cursing. Carol screams and grabs Powells arm to keep him from shooting her husband. CAROL No! There's a single pain. She's been door, forcing it doorknob to keep

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shot. Carol screams again, this time in shot. She staggers and falls against the closed, and pushes the lock on the her husband out.

POWELL (enraged) You motherfucker! I said no bullshit! STANLEY (pounding on the door) If you hurt her...! CAROL (sobbing) Stay there, Bob! Get away from the door! He keeps pounding; Powell gestures menacingly at Barnes with the gun. POWELL Stay cool, man, or you're dead! BARNES She's been shot! We have to stop the bleeding! Carol slides down the door to her knees, then turns to plead with Powell. CAROL You wanted me on my knees well here I am! And I'm begging you, stop this insanity! Please, for the love of God! Barnes again starts to come to Carols aid.

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL I'm warning you! (to Carol) Get away from me, woman! Get off your knees! Get up! Stanley is starting to splinter the door. POWELL Don't come in here, motherfucker! CAROL (still sobbing) What's wrong, Raymond? This is the way you like your women! You want the whole fucking world on its knees! BARNES You can't just let her die there! POWELL Get up! Get up from there! Let him see where you're shot! CAROL Who gives a fuck where I'm shot if you're going to kill all of us anyway? POWELL I'm not gonna kill anyone 'less you force me to! Stanley is close to forcing the splintering door open. POWELL Stay outa here, motherfucker! I'll shoot you through the fuckin' door! CAROL (her voice more under control) Raymond, I'm begging you, as a woman who can never be a mother herself: Be a man! Be the son your mother deserves! Be the man she's tried to raise!

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FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (tears in his own voice) Don't be talkin' 'bout her! BARNES Listen to her, Raymond! She's trying to save our lives all of us! You kill all three of us in cold blood, you're killin' yourself and your mama too! Throw the gun down! POWELL (now definitely crying) Get up, woman, get up off the floor, let the man see where you been shot! BARNES Throw it down, Raymond! Don't destroy your life, man!

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Carol breaks into choking sobs and grabs Powell around the legs. He throws his head back in a wail of utter despair and anguish then heaves the gun across the room. Barnes rushes over and drops beside Carol to assess her wounds. She releases Powell and he staggers back away from her, as Stanley finally breaks through the door. BARNES Let him alone, Bob it was an accident! Help me with Carol! STANLEY Ohhh, God, you all right, baby? Jesus, there's blood everywhere! They lay her carefully on the floor. STANLEY Where you hurt, baby? CAROL My arm I don't think it's too serious. I don't think it broke a bone.

FUGITIVE SLAVE BARNES (examining her) ...Look! She's right, it's just, it's just a flesh wound! I don't think it's bad at all! STANLEY You hear that, honey?! CAROL: (moaning) You see what he did? He threw it away! He threw the gun away! STANLEY Easy, baby...take it easy. Everything's gonna be all right now.

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He bends down and embraces her silently; Barnes looks up prayerfully...then at Powell. BARNES You're lucky, Raymond we all are! God musta been lookin' out for us. Carol struggles to an elbow to look at Powell, facing away from the three of them, his head bowed. CAROL Don't quit on us, Raymond! You have a future. You've got a lot of things goin' for you. Maybe it's no accident that you broke down where you did and Harry stopped for you. You keep callin' him Uncle Tom, but he's a lot bigger man than the scumbags who want to own your soul. If he says he can get you free, he'll do it! Carol pauses but there's no response from Raymond. CAROL Choose life, Raymond!...Call your mother.

FUGITIVE SLAVE POWELL (turning to her in a daze) Huh? CAROL (indicating the phone) Call her. BARNES Tell her you'll be comin' back with some crazy black man from southeast Ohiya, and for her to be ready t' go with you. POWELL I can't tell her that...just up and leave everything she has behind. CAROL Tell her...tell her you're gonna take her with you on the Underground Railroad. POWELL She'd think I was crazier'n he is (meaning Barnes). CAROL Just try. BARNES (hand out to Powell) Oh, uh, You wanta hand me the .45?

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Powell slides the gun from his waistband and holds it. There is a long, tense moment in which we can almost hear the wheels turning in Powells brain. He looks at the phone, then at the gun in his hand. Finally, sighing deeply, he hands the .45 to Barnes, who removes the clip. BARNES We won't be needing this anymore. You won't need yours either where you're going you can put that kinda life behind you.

FUGITIVE SLAVE Powell picks up the phone...and dials. The phone rings and rings on the other end. Carol, Barnes & Stanley exchange anxious glances. POWELL ...Moms?...Yeah, I'm all right my car broke down....I don' know, someplace out in the country just across the, uh, Ohio River....The Ohio side....It's bein' fixed now....Oh, some crazy cornball and his friends....Yeah, Moms, I'm all right really.

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Lights begin to come up on Powells MOMS, elsewhere onstage, and to go down on the office. By the time Moms delivers her last line, the office set is dark and she is alone onstage. Played by the same actress, Moms is a dead ringer for a contemporary Jane. POWELL (in darkness now) Say, Moms how much...how much you know 'bout the Underground Railroad? MOMS (surprise then delight) ...Why I been tryin' t' tell you 'bout the Underground Railroad all your life, Raymond you never had time t' listen. Why in the world you askin' me now? Americas finest hour, what Grammaw used t say. When black and white alike risked everything to free folks from slavery. Lord knows the world could use some of that compassion now. Don't you 'member all the stories she used t' tell 'bout her great grammaw? (reverie on Moms' face) ...She was quite a woman, Raymond. I always did say you come from sounnnd... (drawing the word out) stock! CURTAIN

FUGITIVE SLAVE

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POST SCRIPT: When the curtain rises for the cast to take their bows, the four principal characters haven't moved, and the spotlight is on Powell who looks up in stunned surprise at whatever applause the play generates. First Barnes, then the Stanleys come over to congratulate him Carol with a passionate hug. Next his Moms/Jane comes forward to hug him. At first stiff and reluctant, Raymond gives in to their embraces, then turns with the rest of the cast to take their bows.