Give me a hand over here!
All right.
Right! load her up in the back!
Damn!
Hello, Doris.
Want to do me a favor? Help me load the next order?
You're no lady, Doris.
Far from it.
Good morning, boys and girls.
Did we all remember to bring our homework assignments today?
We didn't?
Well, we know what happens...
to little boys and girls who don't do their homework.
Okay, class is over.
Did you hear me? Class is over!
Okay.
I'm just gonna have to make another example.
Surprise, surprise.
I know you're there, Warwick.
You know something? You just saved me a trip to your office.
I may be desperate for work, but I'm not desperate enough to--
Everything's set down here!
let her rip!
Goddamn!
Adios, motherfuckers!
Excuse us, please.
Thanks.
Wouldn't mind having his boots resting under my bed.
One more pair of boots, you're gonna have to open a boot shop.
Anyway, he's married.
Daisy May, more coffee.
Daisy May, let's make us a baby doggie style.
They found him in pieces. The rats--
The little cannibals were all over him. It was really unbelievable.
What you got in the bag, pal?
Not very friendly, is he, Stevenson?
I bet his mommy packs his lunch.
Peanut butter and jelly.
Without the crust.
looks like a Boy Scout to me.
Maybe a Girl Scout.
See ya around, Girl Scout.
You ought to see who they're hiring for the new mill.
She is one cute little chick.
...accidental death at Bachman Textile...
has opened the restored mill to a series of investigations...
and probable lawsuits.
Jason Reed had been working the night shift...
when the mysterious accidents occurred.
- Good morning, Mr. Warwick. - Hello.
Oh, God, this is bad.
Extreme safety hazard.
Exterminator's working around the clock.
He's tired.
- Needs more time. - There's already been one accident.
This place has to be cleared before another worker steps in this death trap.
Damn!
July 4th holiday.
I'll organize a cleanup.
I'll hold onto this till then.
I'll be back.
To be honest, I don't think you'll find a crew that'd work it.
Not down here.
We'll see.
Come shower with me. You can save water.
This'll work out just fine.
- See you later. - Bye.
Morning.
Good morning.
Take coffee...
- Mr.-- - Hall. No, thanks. I'll pass.
Me too.
Can't be more than an instant enema by now.
You here by car or by thumb?
By Greyhound.
I see you got a real problem staying put.
lots of movement over the past five years.
Starts down in Florida.
Jumps all the way up the map. Are you on the run, friend?
I'm here for a fresh start.
College boy.
No, that's not the problem.
With all due respect, what is?
Fair enough.
Putting it plainly, Mr. Hall, you're a drifter.
And I get no guarantees with a drifter.
You get no guarantees with any man.
There's only instinct.
You spent some time at Munson Textile.
- You ever run the picker? - I know how.
Then you also know it's a one-man operation.
This mill depends on that machine.
And what's left of Gates Falls depends on this mill.
Now, we don't do better than minimum to start.
Four weeks before the union comes knocking at your door.
- You still interested? - Sounds fair to start.
All right, then.
That's it, except for the hours.
Because of the heat, we only run that sucker through the night.
1 1 :00 to 7:00.
The graveyard shift.
Spread the word, fucker.
Mice.
Damn, that's good shootin'.
Tucker Cleveland, Martial Extermination.
John Hall.
looking like one of your buddies got a little too close to the blower.
Shoot, I'd like to know how many of them Beantown execs...
are wearing one of your rat-lined overcoats.
No, thanks.
Gave that up with the wife.
Should miss her as much.
- You work late hours. - I got no choice.
Yellow Pages-- thick with competitors.
Why, I don't mind telling you...
this place is infested.
That might be the understatement of the year.
The schmuck you work for don't want to hear that.
Afraid of what it's gonna cost the mill.
Thinks a little tracking poison will do the trick.
I've been dealing with these things for more than 20 years...
and we ain't talking about no candy-ass field mice.
These sons of bitches piss on tracking poison.
They piss on it to warn their little fucker friends.
Take it from me.
There's only one way to deal with their kind.
On their own terms.
Yeah.
I first met up with them back in...
Con Thien myself.
Big as puppies, and they had no fear.
Not of death, nothing. like the Cong.
And I ain't one of them burnin' baby flashback fuckups...
you see Bruce Dern playing, so quit your grinning.
Anyways...
the conditions, being what they were back then, we had little choice.
We shared the land...
we shared our food with the fuckers...
and they turn around, stabbing us in the back...
by going to work for the VC.
That's right.
'Cause the VC...
would reward them with a hot meal.
Now...
do you have any idea what a VC rat eats?
Try raw American...
hold the mayo, thank you.
The Cong...
had a way of serving up a meal...
real nice and fancy.
They'd stake one of our boys to the ground...
through his hands, through his feet.
They'd stake him like Jesus.
And then...
they'd make a cut just above the abdomen.
Now, this wasn't a fatal cut.
This was merely an entry wound.
Then, they'd get a rat.
A real hungry rat.
One that hadn't been feeding for about a week.
And they'd put it on the wound...
and they'd stick its nose down inside.
And if the damn thing wasn't starving enough...
they'd cover it with a flaming rice bowl...
and let me tell you...
that gray-black son of a bitch...
would have nowhere else to go but inside.
And he'd start to tunnel his way through...
looking to put an end to that loud beating sound.
like a human artichoke.
So warm, so juicy.
Yeah.
So...
maybe I'm a little prejudiced.
Did anybody call break?
Ain't no laughing on company hours.
looks like you just bought yourself a shift...
scrubbing the latrines.
Shit. I should be downstairs...
humiliating the college boy by now.
Bravo, Ippeston. Bravo.
Now we can get you that audition on Star Search.
Come here, boy.
We've got commitments to our New York sales office on Wednesday.
Are we on schedule?
- Yes, Mr. Warwick. - Fetch me your work order, boy.
- Evening. - Evening.
How are you tonight, darling?
We're on time.
In fact, we're slightly ahead.
No, I'm asking about you,Jane. How are you?
Managing. Thanks.
Well, you look tired.
like you're losing too much of your beauty sleep or something.
The night shift will do that to you.
No special deals. I'm here, I'm doing a job.
You got a problem with that, you can talk to the union.
Who said anything about a deal?
I'm talking about a promotion.
A cool office. A desk.
This cleanup ain't gonna be pretty, darling.
I got Stevenson down there now stringing the lights.
He's pissing and moaning about the heat.
- And it's gonna get hotter. - I can handle it.
It's double pay. So back off, man.
Why don't you wisen up, for Christ sakes?
like Nardello?
I'm gonna see you down in the basement.
There ain't no way they're gonna get this place settled in a week.
Goddamn rats!
This is bullshit. A whole bunch of bullshit.
Brogan?
Hey, you porker. Is that you?
Shit.
Very funny!
I'm laughing my ass off!
Hey, how about picking up a--
Oh, damn.
Brogan?
- What about Stevenson? - Well, all I know is...
Stevenson left in the middle of a job and didn't pick up his pay.
Well, looky who's here.
- Still alive. - Now.
- How are you doing? - All right.
- Want some coffee? - Please. Coffee and toast.
We got you a little something to nibble on.
Enjoy.
Special order for the commander of the rat patrol.
Bastards.
Do you need a lift?
Hi, sweetheart.
You don't want to be doing that in broad daylight.
Then let's do it in the dark.
Mr. Warwick?
Who wants to know?
I'm Charlie Carmichael. I hear you're looking for a few good men.
Yeah.
A few. Come this way.
I'll talk to you later about that thing.
Nice meeting you, ma'am.
Those guys are assholes, man.
Every town has 'em.
That's a depressing thought.
- What town are you from? - Wheeling.
West Virginia? That's nice.
How about you? Have you lived here your whole life?
No way. I'm from Castle Rock.
Castle Rock. That sounds very Norman Rockwell.
No. It's just Castle Rock.
So, I'll see you around.
You're on the basement cleanup crew, no doubt.
- Not that I know of. - Oh, you will be.
If I know Warwick, and I know Warwick, you're a prime candidate.
Bet your wife ain't too thrilled.
losing you through the night and all.
We gotta do what we gotta do, right?
- My wife's dead. - Oh. I'm sorry.
Thank you for the ride.
Take care.
Keep the lights as high up to the ceiling as possible.
Get a water vac in here tomorrow, mop this shit up.
Welcome aboard.
Bit jumpy, aren't you, kid?
Not to worry. The rats don't bite.
- Mr. Warwick? - Yeah?
What did happen to the fella that started this job?
What happened?
He didn't work out.
He needs this typed right away.
- What is it? - Cleanup crew.
looks like you made the list, Nardello.
Basement cleanup?
Clean up this, Warwick!
What the fuck is she doing?
Where's Warwick?
He's right there.
He's gonna be wicked pissed.
How can you do this to me?
like it rough, don't you, Nardello? Huh?
You can't put me down there. You can't put anybody down there.
I know things.
What are you talking about?
Now, you better watch what you're saying.
I don't think so.
I think from now on, you better watch what you're saying.
Come on. I'll take you home.
All right.
Show's over.
Everybody go back to doing what you were doing.
Sorry. I thought you were a rat.
You're not the first.
Mr. Hall...
I wanted to drop in and thank you.
Sorry about that situation with Nardello.
Tempers flared.
All it was, a big misunderstanding. You know how it is.
Anyway, as a show of gratitude...
I want to offer you the chance to earn some extra cash.
Next week's the July 4th holiday.
The mill's shut down.
That means vacation week for most of our people...
thems with union.
layoff week for the rest.
But there is work available for a select few.
We got that there cleanup thing going on down in the basement.
Regular graveyard-shift hours, and I'm hand-picking the crew.
Now...
to tell you the truth...
I've watched you work...
and I like your style.
Gonna be a mess, no doubt about it.
That bastard ain't been touched since Christ was a kid.
But it's for double pay.
Now, you tell me if an educated guy like you...
can't use double pay.
Thank you, Mr. Warwick.
You're so welcome, Mr. Hall.
Yeah, it's pretty bad.
Hey, Commander.
Hey, rat man.
You must feel awful special.
You're gonna be down in the shit pit with the rest of us.
Yeah. I bet he likes your style.
Wait a minute. He said he liked my style.
- What's going on? - Guess who finally made cleanup crew?
Congratulations.
Want to get out of here?
Yeah.
Thanks.
- You were hungry. - Yeah, for decent food.
It's been a while.
I worked a spell as a short-order cook.
In Miami.
Mostly burgers.
So I want to hear the rest of your story.
You got married...
left Castle Rock against your father's advice.
Yeah. Why are dads always right?
I don't know.
Anyway...
it wasn't too long after my divorce...
Warwick came sniffing around.
He said he wanted to help. He felt bad.
So he offered me a promotion to office manager...
to ease my emotional as well as financial burdens.
All I'd have to do in return is perform a couple days a week...
on the couch in his office.
He even had 'em picked out.
Monday and Wednesday. That son of a bitch.
- Shoulda brought him up on charges. - I tried...
and was advised by personnel to see a therapist.
They couldn't get rid of me.
I was saved by the union and the fact that Warwick would come out...
looking like the basic shitheel that he is.
So I'm still here.
On borrowed time, I guess.
Bet you hate him, too, Mrs. Warwick.
This'll teach you to fire me, you son of a bitch.
Shit.
- The best and the brightest. - Pull!
Carmichael, you want to try it?
Go on.
Carmichael.
Ippeston.
leave the ghetto blaster back in the ghetto.
Yes, sir.
Don't want anybody being cute with one of these.
You end up spraying one of your buddies back onto a slab.
Now...
the work area's listed over there, just like we talked about.
Jobs split evenly night by night.
Tried to keep it interesting.
Any questions?
Basically, we need to have this basement in a workable state...
by next Thursday.
We only got the chain hoist for one night.
Execute these orders, you'll get through it without a snag.
And then what happens? Do we all, like, get a gold watch or something?
Sure beats nailing 'em with soda pop.
What are you doing?
Warwick says to list everything.
Fifty-year-old files are crap. list them as 50-year-old crap.
It's not salvageable.
Hey, check this out.
Come on. Take a break.
The longer it takes, the longer we'll be down here doing it.
This thing's in great shape.
Brogan!
Rats.
No problem.
Where are you going, asshole?
You goddamn ignoramus, you almost killed me!
What the hell is your problem, Brogan?
I ain't got a problem. You got a problem?
look, guys, this is crazy.
We were hired as a cleanup crew, not as exterminators.
I mean, I need this money as bad as the next guy.
But we are not damn exterminators!
What's your problem, boy?
- We were hired to clean the basement. - ""We?''
You speaking for everybody?
Or just yourself?
Just me, Mr. Warwick.
""Just me, Mr. Warwick.'' Yeah.
You best be punching out your time card...
permanently.
Is that clear, boy?
Somebody call break?
Control that sack of fleas, Cleveland. Please.
Moxy, come on over here.
Moxy here is a real special breed.
Rat terrier.
He didn't waste his puppy years down at the beach...
playing Frisbee with Frankie and Annette.
He was too busy training...
tracking rats through walls, concrete.
looks to me like he don't always win.
Hey, Moxy, cut that out.
Cleveland...
we got ourselves a little problem, you and me.
Our sister mills along the river don't take too kindly...
having their backyards polluted by rat stew.
But our own Mr. Bachman has graciously agreed...
to keep your name out of any impending lawsuit.
You are legally responsible...
when it comes right down to it.
Ain't you a kick in the nuts?
First off...
I was called personally by Bachman...
and told to pump directly into the river...
because, just between you, me and Moxy...
he was too cheap to spring for the dumping charges hisself.
Hope you got that in writing.
Fuck you.
No, Cleveland, fuck you.
Stunts like that can easily cost an exterminator his license.
But again...
no one's naming names.
We're only asking you to provide one additional service.
We got an idea of where them things is nesting.
Shouldn't take you more than a night.
What is it you got me doing?
When's the last time you've been to a graveyard?
Come on, Moxy.
Burn their little home so we can get back to ours.
Go on, Moxy! Get 'em!
Eat 'em for breakfast!
Come on, Moxy.
There just ain't no job worth this.
Moxy?
Ain't no dog worth it either.
Just a few more hours.
I know.
Break's over.
Back to work.
The week's almost over. I thought it would never end.
Place still looks like shit. What are they looking to put here?
- A nightclub. - Really?
You must have been at the top of your class, Brogan.
Truth is, they're expanding for office space.
Who would have an office down here?
Hey, look at this.
What you got, kids?
Trap door.
Well, ain't that interestin'.
It certainly is.
That's where your rats are coming from.
They're breeding underground.
Now you know it all, don't you, Hall?
Hey, boys.
Come on over here.
Can't get it.
Brogan, give me a hand.
Wow! I wonder what's down there.
Brogan, fetch your lamp.
- You're not thinking of going in? - Me?
No. No, sir.
Johnny is on hoses tonight.
I trust his judgment, him bein' a college boy and all.
On one condition-- need an extra body to help me carry the line.
Name your body.
You, Mr. Foreman.
The management should be represented in this little venture...
don't you think?
In case there is a treasure, I don't want to be accused of stealing it.
You first. Be right after you.
I'm going.
Danson. Carmichael. Come on. Gear up.
Brogan, you too.
At Bachman, we're just one big happy family.
Yeah. The Manson family.
You all right?
We need to find someplace to sit you down.
There's a table in the corner.
Come on. Come on.
Brogan, watch your step.
What the hell we got here?
A bygone power source-- water power.
looks like it hasn't worked in years.
Smells like stale piss down here. I say we turn around right now.
So much for your breedin' ground, Hall.
- Can you feel it? Does it hurt? - Yeah.
Shit, Brogan. You're a regular bug light.
Shit!
I see him!
Grab hold of the wood!
I'm comin' down.
- There's something down here! - Hold on, Brogan!
Hold on!
- Oh,Jesus! - There he is!
Please help me! Danson!
Come on.
He's dead! Brogan's dead!
Shut up, Carmichael!
Give me that.
We can use these for weapons.
Something our friend Hall hasn't got.
And I'll deal with her-- her and Hall.
Fuck Hall, damn it. Forget about Hall and start thinking about...
whatever the hell is down here.
He found the openin'.
He brought us down here.
We wouldn't be here if it weren't for him.
So don't go telling me my business.
You're going out of your mind, Warwick.
You just stood there and watched Brogan die.
You did.
All right, move.
It's a dead end.
There must be some other way out of here.
Wait. listen.
- Come on! - Wait a second!
John, this has gotta be a way out.
Here. Grab ahold of this.
Which way do we go?
- Mr. Warwick. - What you got there?
Water. Pretty loud.
You hear it?
Sounds like the river.
I knew it. I knew this was the way out.
It's your moment, Carmichael. You go first.
Go on. Be right in back of you.
There's a hole here.
I think we can break through.
It's wet.
Something's got my arm! Help me!
Carmichael, what is it?
Help me! Something's got my arm!
Danson, move! Move!
Somebody help me!
Move!
Please, somebody help me!
- Please! - It's blocked!
- Wait. Wait!
Hey, the river!
Help me! Help me!
Help!
Help me! Help me!
All right now.
We're gonna take this nice and slow.
No more! No more! No more!
No, I'm not going! No, I'm not going anymore! No more!
You wanna die?
I'm not going anywhere!
Ain't that bad.
It's ice cold.
I'm very close.
We'll never get through that way.
At least not with that thing.
Help me!
We're gonna make it.
I know.
- You ready? - Yeah.
Must be where it lives.
Come on. let's go.
Mr. Foreman.
Come on. let's lift him up.
- It's really bad. - We should let the bastard bleed.
Here, hold that. Hold it for a second.
Yeah, yeah.
We're goin'...
to hell...
together!
There's only one way to deal with these fuckers.
The show's over.