David Hare Plays 2

by David Hare

  Barbara (voice over) Nearly ready.

  Chesneau It’s OK.

  Barbara (voice over) I’m sorry, I’m taking your time up.

  Chesneau No. (He stands, patient. Then almost to himself) Go your own speed.

  For the first time Barbara appears, by the door jamb. She holds a few random objects she is planning to pack.

  Barbara Do you want to go?

  Chesneau Yeah, there’ll be choppers at the Embassy.

  Barbara And what … you think I should get on?

  Chesneau Well sure, I mean …

  Barbara No I meant … you mean now? Or can’t I hang on for you?

  A pause, he does not reply.

  I’ve never even asked where the helicopter takes me.

  Chesneau To the Philippines.

  He smiles slightly, but already she is going on with a new urgency.

  Barbara Listen, I have a friend. A terrific girl. She used to bring me laundry. Put her on. She’s a wonderful girl. Let her go in my place.

  He is still looking at her.

  Why not? Just the chance to be with you. (She turns away.) It’s the waste. All the time we’ve wasted.

  Chesneau Yes, I know. That was my fault.

  He moves across the room. She is in his arms.

  When I first came here, Barbara, I thought I could do this job decently. I thought it was honourable work. And even now I’m not ashamed, all the work we’ve done, this week, all the people I’ve managed to get out. But also it’s the nature of the thing. It’s been left to us. ‘Hey, you guys, go and make us look good.’ Well, we didn’t. We weren’t any better at losing the war than we were at winning it. And Barbara … you made it worse for me. Every time I saw you, you made me feel guilty. I couldn’t take that after a while. That’s why I stopped coming to see you. (tenderly) Now it seems stupid. Now that we’re here.

  They embrace. There is a pause.

  Barbara It’s so strange. Everywhere you go you hear people saying ‘Oh I loved this country.’ That’s what they say. They usually say it just as they’re leaving. ‘Oh I loved this country so much …’ I realized when I was in the bank one evening. This was … oh some time ago. I tried to say something affectionate to Quoc. Well, that’s what you’re left with. Gestures of affection. Which you then find mean nothing at all.

  Chesneau (moved) Barbara, please …

  But she at once moves past him, leaving the room.

  Barbara Put me on a helicopter!

  Chesneau Barbara …

  Barbara Shut up! Put me on!

  She leaves the room. A silence. Chesneau, left alone, stunned by this sudden change.

  We cut to Barbara in the bathroom. She is putting her toilet things into a sponge bag. Chesneau appears behind her at the door.

  Chesneau What will you do? Will you go back to England?

  Barbara My mother.

  Chesneau May I come and see you there?

  She turns and looks at him as if the idea were self-evidently absurd. Then she quietly tips the cosmetics into the sink and leaves them behind.

  Barbara I think let’s leave the place to be looted. Don’t you think so? (She goes from the bathroom. She goes from the main room, leaving her bag behind on the floor.)

  Chesneau Sure, if you want.

  91. EXT. STREET. DAY

  Chesneau comes quickly down the stairs carrying Barbara’s luggage urgently now to the car. As he puts it down he looks up into the sky, and we cut to the helicopters arriving overhead. Marine helicopters are now flying overhead into the city. Chesneau and Barbara drive together through the streets. As they pass along a shopping street, they see the old South Vietnamese flags being pulled down, and the flags of the new regime being put up.

  As their car draws closer to the Embassy, they overtake straggling lines of Americans who are walking with their suitcases down the road towards the compound.

  92. INT. CAR. DAY

  Inside the car the radio is playing ‘White Christmas’ as Barbara watches the stragglers in the street.

  Barbara Look! Coming in on signal …

  Chesneau smiles. The crowd begins to thicken as they approach the Embassy. They pass burning and wrecked-out cars. As they get near the gate they see a huge crowd. Barbara points to the thickest part.

  Look! Over there!

  93. EXT. EMBASSY GATE. DAY

  Outside the Embassy in the huge crowd, Haliwell is desperately trying to push his way through. He is carrying a suitcase, lost in a hostile crowd.

  Haliwell English! English! Please I’m English! English! Please let me through!

  94. INT. CAR. DAY

  Barbara desperately trying to catch sight of him through the crowd. Chesneau trying to edge the car towards him through the crowd, who are now beginning to turn ugly. They bang on the roof. They hit the side of the car with their fists.

  Barbara He must have got caught at the airport.

  Chesneau Hold on. Let me try …

  95. EXT. STREET. DAY

  The first great helicopter hovers over the Embassy to make its way down into the compound. At once the crowd begins to push even harder, packing in a press towards the gate.

  Haliwell English! English!

  In the excitement he is pushed to the ground. Some random rifle shots are fired in the air. People scream. Chesneau draws alongside Haliwell.

  Chesneau Quick. Get him in.

  Barbara reaches for the door and opens it, as Chesneau stretches right across the seats and pulls Haliwell like a beached whale into the car. He turns back to the wheel, while Barbara closes the door.

  Haliwell My God!

  Chesneau Close the door!

  Barbara slams it as the car is inched towards the gates.

  Haliwell Oh God, for a moment out there …

  He stops, checking himself. Barbara looks at him. He tries to smile and shake his head. The gate is opened fractionally to allow Chesneau’s car into the compound.

  Chesneau Right, OK. We’re getting there.

  We watch the crowd surging against the gate, the GIs holding them back with rifles.

  Barbara For a moment you felt what it’s like to be them.

  96. EXT. COMPOUND. DAY

  The tremendous circular cloud of dust going up as the first helicopter comes down with a great roar by the tree stump. Marines jump from the helicopter with guns as it lands. The crowd inside the compound, half white, half Asian, gathers round to get on. The GI is shouting above the noise.

  First GI It’s all right. Everyone’s going. Please. Everyone. Just hold on.

  By the gate the far greater crowd is pressing much more urgently to get in. A man now flings himself at the gate in an attempt to climb over. At once a GI brings his rifle butt crashing down on his head.

  We cut back to the GI inside the compound.

  Everyone OK. There will be a place for you. Everyone inside is going to get on.

  97. INT. CORRIDOR. DAY

  Colonel Fiedler walking along the main corridor in fatigues and helmet. It is absolute chaos. The place has been ransacked as fast as possible to destroy as much equipment and papers as possible. People are running back and forth with stuff for the incinerators. The Colonel is simply opening the door of each room and shouting inside.

  Fiedler All right, please, let’s get on with it. Everyone out. We’re all going home.

  He comes into the communal office, now ravaged by the speed of the exit. Linda and the others are still working in helmets, piling stuff out of cabinets on to the floor.

  All women first. Hey –

  He smiles at Linda. The mood is good-hearted.

  Out please. (then a military joke) Everyone, please, in orderly lines.

  98. INT. PASSAGEWAY. DAY

  At the end of a concrete passageway you can see teams of people, about forty in all, feeding papers into the burners in the distance. They are scorched with effort. At the front there is a Soldier hauling a bag along, single-handed. He is stopped by an Officer.

 
; Officer Soldier, what’s that?

  Soldier It’s two million dollars, sir.

  The Officer looks at him.

  It’s the Ambassador’s emergency fund.

  Officer Where’s it going?

  Soldier I’ve orders to burn it.

  The Officer nods, and casually reaches into the bag, takes out a handful of dollars and stuffs them into his hand.

  Officer All right, soldier. I’ll see to that.

  99. EXT. COMPOUND. DAY

  The crowd gathered at the helicopter. We watch the Commanding Officer at work, striding round the area.

  Commanding Officer OK here, please. Yeah. You here. OK, yeah.

  The Marine inside the helicopter yells across.

  Marine That’s all we can take.

  Chesneau appears at the Officer’s side.

  Chesneau Bill, I’ve two friends.

  Officer Sure, put ’em on then.

  Chesneau turns back. At the front of the crowd, Barbara and Haliwell are standing together.

  Chesneau Barbara!

  They make their way past the crowd to the helicopter. Haliwell gets on. Chesneau holds a moment with Barbara.

  Good luck, OK?

  As they stand looking, the Officer passes them impatiently.

  Officer Come on, please.

  And Chesneau steps back, yells to the helicopter.

  Chesneau Goodbye, Mr Haliwell.

  Barbara God, have I really got to get on to this thing?

  She is muttering to herself as she makes her way. Chesneau waves to Haliwell inside.

  Officer OK, everyone, please – let’s lift it.

  The crowd falls back.

  Stand by. Everyone clear.

  She is sitting opposite the open main door of the helicopter, next to Haliwell, as it begins to go up. She is wearing a panama hat. She is an old English spinster. The image rises into the air and out of the frame as we hear the voice of the Officer.

  Next lot, OK? Right. Get ready. You. You and you, right? Right. Over here.

  100. INT. OFFICE. DAY

  Chesneau with an axe is now attacking the laminated maps on the walls of his office. They are absolutely covered with the red scrawls of the advancing army. He is making wild swings to cut the wood they are mounted on. Systematically taking his own anger out. Judd arrives, alarmed by the noise.

  Judd God almighty, what the hell are you doing?

  Chesneau turns smiling.

  Chesneau How do you suggest I get rid of these things?

  Judd If we had any sense, we’d just set fire to it, we’d burn the whole place down.

  He turns hopelessly to survey the amount of paper still left in the office. Chesneau has pulled the drawer out of a filing cabinet. It is full of plastic individual name cards, several thousand. Each with a person’s name on it.

  Chesneau What about these? People’s name plates … agents who worked for us … (From the drawer he also takes duplicated foolscap sheets, all with lists of names.) Lists. All the people we promised to get out …

  Ockham appears at the door.

  Ockham Oh Bob, could you come?

  Chesneau Yeah …

  Ockham waves airily as he goes.

  Ockham Just leave that …

  As he goes out the main office, Chesneau sets the drawer full of names and lists down on a desk.

  We’ve got problems with helicopter sites.

  They go out. We pause a moment on the drawer Chesneau has abandoned on the desktop.

  101. EXT. EMBASSY. DAY

  A line of people being passed hand to hand up a dangerous chain that leads to the very top of the Embassy where a Compound Officer then handles them into the helicopter on top. Next to him is the Officer with two million dollars.

  They shout.

  Bag Officer This doesn’t look good.

  Commanding Officer The ground’s too dangerous.

  He points down to the compound where the crowd are now looking up towards the roof. Around them the gates are still besieged.

  We got frightened of killing the gooks.

  Bag Officer nods. And then he puts his hand on the Compound Officer’s shoulder, as he steps into the line to leave. The Compound Officer frowns slightly at the size of his bag.

  You taking that?

  Bag Officer Yeah, I have to.

  The Compound Officer moves round to signal to the pilot.

  Compound Officer OK. Right. Lift away.

  He holds both thumbs up. In an immensely precarious movement, the Green Giant lifts off. As it does, it tilts to one side. We just catch sight of the Bag Officer, desperately grabbing at the bag as it slides across the floor. As the helicopter gains height, the bag falls. Thousands and thousands of dollars flutter out of the air.

  The crowd in the compound looks up as the money flutters down on them and into the pool.

  102. INT. SCHOOL. EVENING

  A Vietnamese schoolroom. Two hundred people sitting patiently on the classroom floor with their baggage, while in the headmaster’s small office off the main room, an American in late middle age is sitting on the table with a telephone. We recognize him from the Tu Do bar earlier. He has a saddlebag. As he speaks he looks to the crowds, cramped and patient on the floor.

  Brad Jack, it’s Brad.

  Ockham (voice over) Yeah.

  Brad Brad at Forbes Chemicals.

  Ockham (voice over) Yeah, I know who you are.

  Brad I’m with my designated employees. Jack, we’ve been waiting six hours. (He looks out to the playground which is cleared and empty, as if waiting for a landing.) We’re at our assembly point, but nobody’s come for us. All the choppers are flying right by.

  There’s a slight pause at the other end.

  Ockham Yeah, that’s right. They’re on their way to you.

  Brad We’ve decided to make it through town. I’m going to lead them across to the Embassy …

  Ockham (voice over) No, please, Brad …

  103. INT. OCKHAM’S OFFICE. EVENING

  Continuous. Ockham exhausted at his desk. His office is ravaged. The contents have been cleared by Marines who are still working to take things out. The remains of the CIA corps, who number about eight, are working around him on the phones ringing in the offices. There is a great deal of drink – a crate of Heineken at the centre of the room.

  Ockham It’s not a good idea.

  Brad (voice over) But, Jack …

  Ockham If you just hold on, we will come and get you …

  He turns and looks at Judd who is talking on another phone.

  The crowd’s getting ugly, you must stay where you are.

  Judd (simultaneously) No, they’re coming, I promise you …

  Chesneau drops a scrawled note across the desk to Judd.

  Chesneau Another two hundred waiting in Cholon.

  Judd sees it but does not acknowledge it. Instead he picks up in his other hand a phone which is ringing and, while he talks to the first source, cuts the second phone off by pressing down on the cradle.

  Judd It’s OK. You will be collected. (Then he drops the newly dead line into the waste-paper basket.) Nobody is going to get left behind.

  104. INT. BANK. NIGHT

  Quoc alone in the bank, closing the shutters with the long pole. It is eerily dark and quiet. Then he walks back across the deserted bank and picks up his briefcase which he puts under his arm. Then he goes to the door and, without looking back, goes out.

  105. INT. WASHROOM. NIGHT

  The Ambassador stands washing his hands, then dries them carefully and walks out of the washroom into the deserted corridor.

  106. INT. CORRIDOR. NIGHT

  He walks along the corridor and goes into his office. The corridor is deserted.

  107. INT. OFFICE. NIGHT

  He walks through his outer office which is now unmanned and goes into his own inner office. It is similarly deserted. He goes to the American flag which is pinned on the wall and now unpins it. He takes it from the wall and folds it i
nto the shape of a tea towel. Then he puts it in a plastic bag which he has left on his desk. He then picks up a cable from his desk and with the bag and the cable leaves the room.

  108. INT. CORRIDOR. NIGHT

  The corridor which only a moment ago was deserted is now full of the remaining staff who number twelve in all. They have appeared while the Ambassador has been in his office and are now waiting for him in the corridor. He is haggard, he has flu, he looks terrible. He reads them the cable.

  Ambassador Gentlemen. This is from the President. The Ambassador is ordered to leave. (He looks down.) We are withdrawing the American presence under orders. (He nods slightly and looks at them.) Thanks very much.

  109. INT. CORRIDOR. NIGHT

  The whole group seemingly driven along the corridor by the stricken giant at their head. They keep close together as they walk through the darkened building. Ockham and Chesneau are at the back like straggling schoolboys who can’t keep up on the walk. They whisper furiously to one another.

  Chesneau What’s going to happen to all those people?

  Ockham Bob, there’s nothing …

  Chesneau There are thousands of them still at the assembly points. I tell you, they’ve been waiting all day.

  Ockham We can’t, there’s nothing …

  There is a strange bump and clink in their progress.

  Shit.

  Chesneau What’s that?

  Ockham Whisky bottle.

  A bottle has rolled out on to the floor from Ockham’s pocket, but they do not stop to pick it up. It is left there.

  Face it, Bob. There’s nothing we can do.