Blakes 7 - 1702 - Rumours of Death [ home ] [ prev ] [ next ]
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Excerpt from Blakes 7: The Program Guide by Tony Attwood Avon decides to hunt down once and for all the personal responsible for the death of his girlfriend Anna Grant. She had been killed after she had helped him in his attempt to break the Federation banking cartel and commit the biggest theft in the history of the galaxy. His plan involves returning to Earth, getting caught and then holding out until he is confronted by Shrinker, the hardest of all Federation interrogators and the person he believes caused Anna's death. At the moment Shrinker appears in his cell, Avon turns off a transmitter which has been constantly beaming his position to Liberator, bringing down a rescue party from the ship who teleport the two men back. After cleaning himself up, Avon takes Shrinker to an underground cavern and confronts him with a picture of Anna. Shrinker convinces Avon that he knew nothing of her death. In fact, throughout the entire operation, Avon is told, it was thought he was running a political movement; therefore a top officer code-named "Bartolomew" was watching Avon constantly and arrested anyone he even looked at. In Residence One, Servalan is preparing an official reception. Councillor Chesku is out taking a walk with his wife Sula (who, as the pictures make clear, is Anna Grant); Whilst Councillor practices his speech, two men disguised as Federation troopers appear and confront him. When he tries to escape, Sula shoots him in the back. Avon leaves Shrinker in the cavern with no means of escape, merely a gun with which to commit suicide. He determines to find Servalan, the only person who would know Bartolomew's identity. At this same moment Sula's plan to take over the Presidency is coming to fruition with a raid on the presidential residence. By the time Avon and the others find Servalan, she is chained in a dungeon. Whilst they are questioning her, Sula appears and Avon recognizes her at once. With the information given him by Shrinker, he now sees that the only person Bartolomew could have been was Anna herself. When Servalan confirms this Anna moves to draw a weapon, but Avon shoots first and kills her. Whilst holding Anna in his arms Servalan moves to kill Avon, but he is teleported back to Liberator before Servalan can complete the task, and she is rescued by loyal troops. Review 07/09/2005 by ledlogic One of the better episodes. We find out who Avon's Anna was, meeting her for the first, and last time in this episode. (c) 1980 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a complete dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c) 1992 by Micky DuPree. Dramatis Personae
Uncredited
[Avon is alone in a cell, barefoot, in prison coveralls, bearded, looking tired] PRISONER: [V.O. screams at medium distance] Oh, no, no, please! Please, no, no, no! [Shrinker enters] SHRINKER: They tell me you haven't been cooperating. AVON: No? What's the matter? Did I bleed on the wrong bit of floor? SHRINKER: Good, good. AVON: I'm glad you're pleased. SHRINKER: I hate to waste my time. AVON: Don't let me detain you. SHRINKER: I'm a specialist, you see. AVON: Oh, it's written all over you. SHRINKER: I specialize in uncooperative prisoners. AVON: And you love a challenge. SHRINKER: It's good that we understand each other. AVON: Your name wouldn't be Shrinker, by any chance, would it? SHRINKER: You've heard of me? AVON: Ah. I knew if I held out, you would show up eventually. SHRINKER: That says more for your nerve than your brain. AVON: You think so? SHRINKER: Long before I've finished with you, you'll be begging for death. Don't worry, it's sending all right. AVON: What are you talking about? SHRINKER: The implant in your neck. AVON: I don't know what you're talking about -- SHRINKER: There is a homing device implanted in your neck. AVON: How did you know? SHRINKER: We detected it as soon as we picked you up. We've been monitoring it ever since. It's been sending steadily for five days. AVON: Five days? Is that how long I've been here? SHRINKER: Your friends aren't coming. AVON: Oh, they are. They must. SHRINKER: An attack on this place would be suicide anyway. Is there anyone who thinks that you're worth dying for? AVON: Not anymore, not since Anna. SHRINKER: Anna? AVON: Dead. Anna ... is dead. SHRINKER: Do you know what this is? AVON: It's a laser probe. SHRINKER: It's a laser probe. Now we're tired of waiting for your friends to come to us, so we have decided to go to them. You are going to tell me who they are and where they are. AVON: I can't. Please, I can't. SHRINKER: I'm going to start by burning out your eyes. AVON: Please. SHRINKER: And you're going to start by telling me your name. Now that's not too difficult, is it? Who are you? AVON: Avon! My name is Avon. SHRINKER: Avon? AVON: And you misunderstand about the homing device. My friends won't come while it's sending. But now I've switched it off -- TARRANT: And we're here. DAYNA: Still! Stand very, very still. SHRINKER: How did you get in here? TARRANT: It's called a teleport. SHRINKER: You're Blake's people. AVON: That's right. That's why I couldn't tell your interrogators my name. TARRANT: What IS your name? You look terrible, Avon. What have they been doing to you? [Dayna takes quick aim at Shrinker.] AVON: No! Don't kill him. I waited for him! SHRINKER: No. AVON: He's mine! SHRINKER: No! Guards -- AVON: [Chops Shrinker, who falls. To Tarrant] Bracelets. TARRANT: [Puts bracelet on Shrinker.] Sorry we took so long. A two-minute alert is difficult to sustain over five days. AVON: I thought he'd never show up. Then I thought you'd never show up. DAYNA: Well, now everyone's showing up. Get a move on. TARRANT: Ready? DAYNA: [Into bracelet] Go. [Explosion in corridor] [Teleport bay] VILA: You look terrible. AVON: So I've been told. VILA: I thought you might need this. [Hands him some green liquid] AVON: [Accepts] Thanks. CALLY: So you're Shrinker. He doesn't look like much. TARRANT: It depends on what you paid to get him. AVON: He cost me enough. CALLY: Was it worth it? AVON: I'll let you know. SHRINKER: What are you going to do with me? DAYNA: [Smiles] He's going to kill you. [Dayna and Tarrant lift Shrinker to his feet] SHRINKER: Why me? I haven't done anything. I've only ever -- TARRANT: Oh, don't tell me, let me guess. You've only ever followed orders. SHRINKER: It's true! It's true! TARRANT: I believe you. Stand there. AVON: Is everything ready? VILA: Just as you said. I set it all up myself. CALLY: Are you sure you want to go on with it? AVON: Yes, I'm sure I want to go on with it. Look, Cally, I know you don't want any part of this. All right, I'm not going to give you any part of it. You're out. This is mine. I'm doing it. CALLY: And what am I doing, Avon? Just following orders, like him? SHRINKER: She's right. It'd be murder. VILA: Well, you should know if anyone does. AVON: I'm going to get cleaned up. Will you entertain my guest? TARRANT: It'll be a pleasure. [Avon exits] SHRINKER: Why? I don't even ... I never saw him before. What have I ever done to him? DAYNA: You killed someone he loved. VILA: And there aren't many of them about. Avon's not a very lovable man, in case you hadn't noticed. SHRINKER: Who was it? [Vila, Dayna and Tarrant circle Shrinker as they taunt him] TARRANT: Oh, did they give you names when they gave you your orders? DAYNA: Hm, even if they did, could you put a face to the name? One screaming face among so many screaming faces? VILA: Did they beg, Shrinker? Did they plead? "No, Shrinker. Please, Shrinker"? TARRANT: Can you remember how they cried, what they cried? Can you separate the voices now? DAYNA: Or is it just one long satisfying scream? CALLY: Stop it! Stop it! All of you! Leave him alone. TARRANT: He's an animal, Cally. CALLY: Yes, and it's contagious, isn't it? TARRANT: Get over there and sit down.[Shoves Shrinker, who whimpers, and sits on steps] DAYNA: What do you suppose went wrong down there? VILA: Took longer to trap him than we expected, that's all. DAYNA: No, I didn't mean the plan. I meant the whole thing. What happened to the rebellion? Why is the Earth still controlled by creatures like him? [External of Residence One. Federation guard troup quick march in front of building.] CHESKU: [Rehearsing] ... a question of leadership. The rabble which sought to challenge the established order lacked our inspiration, our unity, our leadership. They are crushed. Earth and the Inner Planets are once again united. Gentlemen, I give you a toast. Our inspiration, our unity, our leader: President Servalan. [To Sula] What do you think? SULA: I think it's crude and obvious. CHESKU: Thank you, Sula. SULA: You asked what I thought. CHESKU: Stupid of me. I should know better by now. SULA: If it's any consolation to you, I'm sure Servalan will be delighted. She is, after all, a tasteless megalomaniac. [Looks at Residence One.] CHESKU: I think it's rather fine. SULA: You would, Chesku. CHESKU: Her presidential palace. SULA: A grotesque anachronism, like its owner. We could have built two cities for what it cost to reconstruct that absurdity. CHESKU: You keep talking like that, you'll get us both killed. [Two troopers show up.] Yes? What do you men want? SULA: I'm afraid they want your security pass and your clothes. The rabble aren't quite as crushed as your speech suggests. [She point a gun at him] CHESKU: Sula ... is this some kind of a joke? SULA: No, Chesku. This is no kind of a joke. CHESKU: I don't understand. You're my wife. SULA: That's all over now. [He bolts. She shoots him in the back.] Get him out of sight. [Surveillance room in Residence One] FORRES: Maybe we should have stopped them, sir. GRENLEE: Stopped them? FORRES: Councilor Chesku and his wife. Maybe we should have stopped them leaving the surveillance zone. We are supposed to watch everyone. GRENLEE: That is the meaning of surveillance, yes. Have you been studying in your spare time, Forres? FORRES: Sir? GRENLEE: You think we should have stopped them, do you? FORRES: It is standard procedure. GRENLEE: For a member of the High Council there's no such thing as standard procedure. FORRES: The book says -- GRENLEE: Never mind what the book says, Section Leader. All you have to worry about's what I say, right? FORRES: Absolutely, sir. GRENLEE: Absolutely, Section Leader. And what I say is that if a High Councilor wishes to swing stark naked through the trees and spit on the surveillance scanners, then swinging stark naked through the trees, spitting on the surveillance scanners, becomes standard procedure, at least for him. Or his wife. FORRES: Now there's a thought. GRENLEE: Huh! Not one to dwell on, given your present rank. FORRES: One law for the rich, eh Major? GRENLEE: There's no law for the rich, Forres, and even less for the rich, personal friends of the President. FORRES: [Puts his feet up on the console] They are only civilians, though. GRENLEE: Do you want to join them? [Nods at feet] FORRES: [Takes feet down] Sorry, sir. GRENLEE: If you want to get on in this man's army, Forres, you've got to learn to distinguish between civilians who are and civilians who aren't. FORRES: Sir. [Thinks twice] Are and aren't what, sir? GRENLEE: When you know that, Section Leader, you'll be ready for promotion. FORRES: I don't know that I'd want it -- promotion, I mean. GRENLEE: You done the routine sweeps? FORRES: All is smooth and sweatless. GRENLEE: WHAT? FORRES: Full sweep is negative, all systems, sir. Surveillance is clear. Function is normal. Sir. GRENLEE: Better. FORRES: Some days are better than others, sir. They say that where I come from, sir. GRENLEE: Loudly, I imagine, on the day you left. FORRES: My mother cried when I left. Thought she'd never see me again. GRENLEE: Cries easily, your mother, does she? FORRES: No, not really, sir. But I owed her money, you see. [Grenlee looks askance.] Oh, it's true, may I never leave this spot. GRENLEE: That can be arranged, Section Leader. [Teleport bay. Avon enters, shaven, in usual clothes] AVON: The teleport coordinates set? VILA: All set. TARRANT: Need any help? AVON: I'll manage. [To Shrinker] On your feet. SHRINKER: No. AVON: I'm tired and I hurt. It would be easier to kill you here and now. On your feet. [Points Shrinker to teleport pad] VILA: Avon. [Hands him a little control box.] AVON: Thanks. VILA: Concentrate. He's more dangerous than he looks. AVON: Isn't everybody? TARRANT: Listen, you've got him on his feet. Are you sure you can stay on yours? AVON: I'm touched by your concern. TARRANT: My concern is that I don't find myself looking down the wrong end of your gun with him on the right end of it. AVON: Don't worry. You won't. [To Vila] Put us down. [Avon and Shrinker materialize in a cave. Water drips.] SHRINKER: Where are we? AVON: The bracelet. [Shrinker raises arm, Avon removes bracelet] SHRINKER: What, what is this place? AVON: It's a cave. If you're thinking of running, don't. There's nowhere to go. The only way out is the way we came in. SHRINKER: You're -- you're really going to do it, then? In cold blood? AVON: Executions are always in cold blood. SHRINKER: Executions, I see, so that's it, is it? Execution? Justice? AVON: You tell me. [Hits the control switch. Lights come up in the cave, illuminating a large poster of a woman] SHRINKER: Well, who is she? [Avon remembers Anna, leaning on a silver lame pillow. The woman is recognizable as Chesku's wife, Sula.] ANNA: Who are you? AVON: [O.O.S.] Isn't it a bit late to ask that? ANNA: Why do I never know what you're thinking, Avon? AVON: [O.O.S.] I could never say it. ANNA: Not even to me? AVON: [O.O.S.] Especially not to you. [Anna smiles] [In the cave.] SHRINKER: I never saw her before in my life. I'm telling you the truth. I don't know who she is. AVON: Anna Grant. Her name was Anna Grant. SHRINKER: It means nothing. You, you've got to believe me. AVON: Oh, I do. It's been several years. You must have killed hundreds since you tortured her to death. SHRINKER: All right, yes. I've killed hundreds -- and remembered them all, all of them, every last whining traitor. And there wasn't one that died without telling me what I wanted to know. Not one. AVON: Professional pride? SHRINKER: If you like. AVON: Not much, no. SHRINKER: I never saw your woman. AVON: You were looking for me. She knew where I was. [Again, Avon's memory, of Anna.] ANNA: This man you're buying the exit visas from ... do you trust him? AVON: [O.O.S.] Trust him? Of course I don't trust him. ANNA: Well then? AVON: [O.O.S.] Trust is only dangerous when you have to rely on it. ANNA: That's very profound, my love. AVON: [O.O.S.] As long as I know I can't trust him there's no problem. ANNA: Do you trust anyone? Do you trust me? AVON: [O.O.S.] Oh, yes. I'm afraid I do. [In the cave.] SHRINKER: Why were we looking for you? You hadn't joined up with Blake. Not then. Not here on Earth. AVON: I'd found my way around the security programs in the banking computers. I was about to undermine confidence in the entire Federation credit system. Anna and I were going to be so rich that no one could touch us. And we were almost there. SHRINKER: You were never even close. I remember you now -- you're Kerr Avon, the great bank fraud. AVON: That's what I just said. SHRINKER: Bartolomew was running you. AVON: Running me? SHRINKER: Central Security -- Bartolomew was their best agent. They were on to you from the start. But they were convinced that you were political, so Bartolomew stayed close and let you run. Anyone that you so much as looked at was marked for collection. AVON: You expect me to believe that? SHRINKER: You, you dropped out of sight, after you killed the man who was supplying you with exit visas. I'm right, aren't I? AVON: I was shot. I was stupid enough to let him fire first. SHRINKER: Once Bartolomew lost sight of you, all your contacts were pulled in. AVON: So. You remember her now. SHRINKER: No! That's just the point! I never saw any of them! It was Bartolomew, he was in control. I didn't kill her. Bartolomew did. [At the perimiter, Sula and rebel jam surveillance camera. She motions, several more run up a stream bank.] [Surveillance] GRENLEE: Well? FORRES: Everything's out in that section, sir. Visual, audio, electromagnetic -- they're all out. GRENLEE: Breakdown or sabotage? Well, what is it, Forres? FORRES: I'm not sure, sir. GRENLEE: Being sure is what you're paid for, Forres. Would you rather be back on foot patrol? FORRES: Breakdown. I'd say it was a breakdown, sir. All the equipment hasn't been fully tested yet. [Grenlee grunts] Why sabotage a small section like that, anyway? [Grenlee opens a comm link.] GUARD: [V.O.] Guard Commander. GRENLEE: [Into comm] Major Grenlee here. GUARD: [V.O.] Yes, Major? GRENLEE: Get a squad out to section -- FORRES: Six one delta zero. GRENLEE: -- six one delta zero. We have a surveillance malfunction. I want to know why. GUARD: [V.O.] Right sir. GRENLEE: And Guard Commander? GUARD: {V.O.] Sir? GRENLEE: At the double and alert. GUARD: [V.O.] Naturally sir. [Breaks link] GRENLEE: "Naturally sir." I only wish it was. [To Forres] Are all the others clear? FORRES: All functioning normally. It's just that one. Shall I seal the perimeter? GRENLEE: No! FORRES: Standard operating procedure, sir. GRENLEE: I don't give a damn if it's Holy Writ. You don't seal the perimeter on the day the President's giving her first official reception in her new residence. Not unless you'd like to explain to her that the guests couldn't get through because we had a faulty microcircuit. FORRES: There are worse things than foot patrol, sir. GRENLEE: Oh, there are indeed, Section Leader. And if we interfere with that reception, we'll get to know most of them -- intimately. [Servalan and guard in a formal dining room, with a very long table fully set for a banquet.] SERVALAN: Excellent. My other guests will be arriving in about four hours. I trust everything will be ready for them? [Servalan exits banquet room. In corredor, speaks to another guard.] SERVALAN: My compliments to Councilor Chesku. Ask him to check the seating arrangements in the banqueting hall before our meeting. [Guard nods, turns upstairs] [ Servalan enters office. At her desk, she stabs commlink.] GRENLEE: [V.O.] Surveillance. Major Grenlee. SERVALAN: I take it surveillance and perimeter security have been fully briefed on the guests I'm expecting, Major. GRENLEE: [V.O.] Yes, ma'am. Everyone's fully briefed. SERVALAN: Any problems? GRENLEE: No, ma'am. Everything's normal. No problems, ma'am. SERVALAN: [V.O.]Good. Keep it that way, Major. [Breaks link] [In survellance] GRENLEE: Where the hell is that squad? [Fed guards find jamming gear. Rebels drop from trees and take squad out. Sula shoots one in the back] SULA: When you've stripped them, make sure the bodies are well hidden. [To Balon] Balon. You know what to do. [Hands him the squad leader's communicator. He faces surveillance camera] [In surveillance] FORRES: We can't wait any longer. We must seal the perimeter. It's taking too long. Something has happened to that squad! GRENLEE: All right. Status One alarm. Seal the perimeter. BALON: [Over video, distorted, coming into focus] Surveillance. Surveillance, do you read me? Surveillance. Surveillance, do you read me? GRENLEE: We read you. What happened? BALON: You aren't going to believe this. [Holds up a dead squirrel] It was building a nest in the microwave transmitter. FORRES: That's why nothing got through to us. I told you that was the weak point in the system. GRENLEE: All right, Forres. [To Balon] Well done. You and your men can get back now. BALON: Right, sir, but, uh, with your permission, we'd like to make a quick sweep beyond the perimeter, now that we're here. GRENLEE: Oh, very well. Out. [Balon breaks link] Section Leader Forres? FORRES: Sir? GRENLEE: If you ever panic like that again, I'll see you are busted so far down you'll be saluting civilians. FORRES: Sir. [At the perimeter] SULA: Well done, Balon. Get some rest. We start the second phase in two hours. [In the cave] SHRINKER: I've told you over and over and over again. Why won't you believe me? AVON: All right. Let us assume that I do believe you. Who is Bartolomew? Where do I find him? SHRINKER: What's in it for me? AVON: A way out. SHRINKER: I don't trust you. AVON: That's your problem. SHRINKER: Why should I trust you? AVON: I'VE got the gun. SHRINKER: Bartolomew was just a code name. AVON: Yes? SHRINKER: Well, I'm not sure who he was. AVON: End of conversation. SHRINKER: No wait! Don't shoot! Bartolomew w-was Central Security's top agent. AVON: So you said. SHRINKER: No one knew who he was. That's why no one was safe from him. He was free to hunt anyone in or out of the service. Bartolomew could be watching you, and if he didn't like what he saw -- AVON: Paranoia is the occupational hazard of the torturer. SHRINKER: Bartolomew was real. AVON: WAS real? SHRINKER: One of the first targets of the Rebellion was Central Security. That was where they made their mistake. They were obsessed with revenge. By the time they'd finished kicking the corpses, they, they'd lost their chance, and the, the President had regrouped her forces. AVON: Are you telling me that Bartolomew was one of the corpses they were kicking? SHRINKER: Well, no! At least I don't think so, I mean, if I escaped, why shouldn't he? AVON: You're wasting my time, Shrinker. "Ifs" are no use to me or to you, either. SHRINKER: No, wait, PLEASE! I've got a name. AVON: A name? SHRINKER: I had to question a controller from Central. When I was with the rebels ... AVON: [Laughs] So that's how you escaped. And when the rebels lost, you changed sides yet again. No one could accuse you of being doctrinaire, could they? Why didn't the controller recognize you? SHRINKER: Why should he? The elite from Central didn't mix much with members of the interrogation division. AVON: Their fastidiousness did them credit. SHRINKER: Well, somebody's got to do the lousy jobs! AVON: Life is cruel, isn't it? Spare me the rationalizations. Just give me the name. SHRINKER: Councilor Chesku. AVON: The controller told you that that was who Bartolomew was? SHRINKER: Well, not exactly. AVON: Well, WHAT exactly? SHRINKER: Well, I, I, I'd finished questioning him -- he, he was dying -- and suddenly I got curious, so I hit him with one last order: Identify Bartolomew. And HE said: "Councilor Chesku is still -- " and th-then he died. AVON: Chesku ... SHRINKER: He's one of Servalan's closest advisors. She'd know the answer, I mean, why don't you ask her? AVON: I might just do that. [Into bracelet] Are you ready to bring me up? VILA: [V.O.] Ready when you are. AVON: Stand by. SHRINKER: Uh, we had a deal. AVON: Did we? SHRINKER: A way out. You promised me. AVON: Oh, and I'm a man of my word. In the end, that's all there is, really. [Tosses the gun on the ground] SHRINKER: What's that for? AVON: That's your way out. It's a better deal than you gave any of your victims. [Into bracelet] Bring me up. SHRINKER: No, we had a deal. [Avon teleports.] That isn't what I meant. That isn't fair. It isn't fair! [Teleport bay. Avon materializes. Tarrant trains gun on him. Avon holds his hands up till Tarrant holsters] TARRANT: You took your time. AVON: It was necessary. TARRANT: Is it done? AVON: Yes, but it isn't finished. VILA: Wonderful. Who's next on your list? Servalan? AVON: [Inserts key] Orac. ORAC: What is it now? AVON: Gracious as ever. Orac, I want you to interrogate the Federation Security computers and get me Servalan's present location. VILA: I was joking, Avon. AVON: Then I want your best strategy for reaching her. ORAC: You wish to communicate with her. AVON: Face to face with a gun in my hand. TARRANT: And a hole in your head. Have you gone completely mad? AVON: Possibly. How long, Orac? ORAC: I will inform you when I have the necessary data. AVON: Good. VILA: Don't we get a say in this? AVON: By all means. Say away. Oh, Orac! ORAC: Yes? AVON: Check on a Councilor Chesku at the same time. I want to know where he is, too. [In Servalan's office. Into comm.] SERVALAN: It is the duty of surveillance to keep track of everyone. GRENLEE: [V.O.] Councilor Chesku and his wife left the perimeter some time ago, ma'am. They were taking the air. SERVALAN: "They were taking the air." You let them leave. GRENLEE: We had no authority to stop them, ma'am. But they were accompanied. Two troopers were following them, ma'am, at a discreet distance, of course. SERVALAN: Find them. Bring them here. Convey my compliments to the Councilor, and assure him that I am certain he has an excellent reason for keeping his president waiting. GRENLEE: Yes, ma'am. [Breaks link] Some days are better than others. Thank the stars that squad is still out there. FORRES: I hope the Councilor's wearing fireproof underwear. GRENLEE: If I were him I think I'd keep on going. [Into comm] Squad Leader, Squad Leader, this is surveillance, do you copy? Come on, man, come on. [To Forres] I suppose they are still out there? FORRES: Absolutely, sir. They definitely haven't come back across the perimeter. GRENLEE: I'll have that Guard Commander on a charge. If his men were any slacker you'd have to pour them into uniform. [Into comm] Squad Leader, Squad Leader, this is surveillance, do you copy? [V.O. Over comm] Squad Leader, Squad Leader, come in, please. [Outside Residence. Balon and Sula listen to comm] BALON: [Into comm] Surveillance, this is Squad Leader. GRENLEE: [V.O.] Have you seen Councilor Chesku and his wife? BALON: Yes, sir. We passed them about, uh, ten minutes ago. GRENLEE: [V.O] Get back to them and remind the Councilor that he's late for a meeting with the President. You might tell him that she's not exactly overjoyed about it. BALON: Right, sir. GRENLEE: [V.O.] At the double, Squad Leader. Out. SULA: Perfect. Get to your positions. And good luck. [The "troopers" get into formation. She checks her watch. Speaks to man dressed as Chesku] All right. Let's go. [Surveillance. Forres and Grenlee watch monitor] FORRES: Here they come. [Grenlee opens a comm link.] SERVALAN: [V.O.] Yes? GRENLEE: Councilor Chesku's on his way, ma'am. SERVALAN: [V.O.]Very well. [Link breaks] FORRES: I'll say he is. Look, he's starting to run. [Grenlee laughs.] Go on, Councilor! GRENLEE: Yeah, it's a race. Come on, Councilor, you can do better than that. FORRES: If it wasn't free, you'd pay to see it, wouldn't you? Look at him go. GRENLEE: Oh, dignity, Councilor, at all costs dignity. FORRES: My money's on the woman. Look at that movement. I had a feeling she'd be athletic. Every part a moving part. GRENLEE: Yes, all right, Forres. Back to work while you can still see. FORRES: Sir! [More men are visible on the monitor] GRENLEE: What is it? FORRES: We're under attack! [Alarms sound. Explosions, shooting, several Fed guards go down. Sula and two men enter Residence One. Sula and co. run to surveillance, break in, shoot Forres and Grenlee. A rebel turns off the alarm. They leave and shut the door behind them. Grenlee crawls to Forres] GRENLEE: Forres. Forres. [Flips him over] Some days are better than others, Section Leader. [More fighting outside Residence] [Sula tries Servalan's door. It's locked.] SULA: Break it down. [Two rebels break the door down. Servalan moves from behind her desk] SERVALAN: I take it these creatures belong to you. [A rebel chops her to the floor. Sula points gun at her] SULA: That's right, Madame President. And they want you to resign. [Liberator's teleport bay] TARRANT: [V.O.] You can tell Avon the new orbit is now confirmed and steady. Green on all systems. DAYNA: [Into comm] Right. [To Avon] You heard that? [Avon nods.] Are you really going through with it? AVON: I made a promise. DAYNA: To Anna? AVON: To me. DAYNA: So what are you going to do? Stick a gun in Servalan's ear and say, "Give me Bartolomew or I'll blow the top of your head off"? AVON: Something like that. DAYNA: And if she doesn't? AVON: I'll blow the top of her head off. DAYNA: [Smiles] Yes, I believe you would. AVON: So will she. [Inserts key] Orac, have you got it yet? ORAC: An examination of the plans contained in the main security computers indicates that there is no safe place to teleport within that defense perimeter. AVON: Outside it then? ORAC: To cross it undetected would be impossible. AVON: I'll take your best option within the perimeter. ORAC: Very well. I will set the teleport coordinates. I would, however, strongly advise waiting until dusk. DAYNA: Why not full dark? ORAC: Despite all efforts to eliminate this weakness, dusk and dawn remain the human being's most vulnerable times. Therefore, insofar as the security system contains human components -- AVON: All right, Orac, we get the picture. ORAC: -- it will be at its least efficient at these times. AVON: You know Orac's main drawback? DAYNA: He's too useful to destroy. AVON: Irritating, isn't it? [Outside Residence, bodies are being dragged away] [Servalan's office. Sula sits behind the desk] SULA: She's useful. HOB: The men want her killed. SULA: Really? HOB: Yes, really. The men want her killed now. [Bangs the desk] SULA: I'm not deaf, Hob. HOB: Just not listening, is that it? I'm not fighting my own men to protect Servalan. Or to protect anyone else, for that matter. D'you understand me, Sula? SULA: Perfectly. HOB: You see, I know which side I'm on. SULA: Meaning what, exactly? HOB: Meaning I've never been a member of the senior echelon. I have no problem understanding how the men feel. I've never eaten at Servalan's table. SULA: [Laughs] I wouldn't let that bother you. I'm sure your exception from the guest list was an oversight rather than a deliberate insult. HOB: Don't patronize me, Sula. SULA: Then stop talking like a fool. Do you seriously imagine I have any personal regard for that woman? Doesn't it occur to you that I might hate her more than any of you precisely because I do know her? HOB: So let's cut her throat and be done with it. SULA: She is more use to us alive. HOB: The men don't think so. SULA: The men don't think at all. HOB: Maybe not, but they do fight and they do die. And that isn't something that's new to them. SULA: Now you're patronizing me. HOB: We didn't fight to put you behind that desk, Sula. [Sula stands] SULA: It was my planning that got us here, Hob. Without me, you and your men would still be skulking around the wastelands. You seem to have forgotten that rather quickly. HOB: Did you expect gratitude? SULA: I expected to be listened to. HOB: Sula, we've WON. SULA: Not yet! HOB: Servalan IS the Federation. Kill her and it's over. SULA: You're not really that naive, are you? HOB: I'm speaking for the others. It's what they believe. SULA: And you? What do you believe? HOB: I believe we're lost unless we stick together. If killing Servalan is what it takes, then she's more use to us dead. SULA: Alive, Servalan can order her forces to disarm. Alive, Servalan can announce that she's standing down in favor of the People's Council, which you and the others will lead. Alive, Servalan can hand over power. Dead, she's just one more corpse. Haven't we got enough of those? HOB: We're clearing them away now. SULA: That's not what I meant. HOB: You think she'll actually do all that? SULA: I think she could be persuaded. HOB: How? SULA: I imagine that between us, we could think of a way. HOB: You'd have to persuade the men, first. SULA: Will you back me? HOB: Yes. You've been right so far. SULA: Good. Get the men together. We'll talk to them. HOB: Where? SULA: In the banqueting hall. HOB: All right. [Exits] SULA: An appropriate place to whet the appetite of the People's Council. [In Surveillance. Guard is dragging Forres out into hall] HOB: Get a move on with that. Sula wants to talk to us about the next phase. [Closes the door. Grenlee, in pain, staggers into room, leans over comm panel] GRENLEE: [Into comm] This is Major Grenlee on emergency band seven. Residence One to Command H-Q. Do you copy? We need help. Do you copy? [Avon stands behind the bracelet rack in the teleport bay. He 'hears' Shrinker's voice, and 'remembers' Anna, as though thru a reflective tube. Anna lifts glass of red liquid in toast to Avon] SHRINKER: [V.O.] Bartolomew was running you. Anyone you so much as looked at was marked. Bartolomew stayed close ... let you run. [Rhyming shot with Anna in the cell., echoes the first time we see Avon. ] PRISONER: [V.O. Screams at medium distance] No, no, please. Please, no, no, no! [Avon, caught up in his reconstruction, suddenly draws his gun] ORAC: The optimum time for teleport will be in precisely one minute and forty-three seconds. [Crew enters teleport bay, strapping on guns, selecting bracelets.] TARRANT: Good. Let's get on with it, then. [Crew position themselves on teleport pad, guns drawn] VILA: Uh, I'll operate the teleport. A visit to Servalan appeals to me rather less than going bald, or breaking both legs. AVON: I'm going down alone. TARRANT: Not this time. AVON: This has nothing to do with you -- any of you. TARRANT: That's true. DAYNA: On the other hand, you are something to do with us. CALLY: We've talked about it and discovered we care what happens to you. TARRANT: Within reason, of course. DAYNA: We're as surprised about it as you are. VILA: Not to mention, embarrassed. AVON: I stand a better chance alone. TARRANT: No you don't. Are you coming? DAYNA: We'll try not to get in your way. CALLY: What's the matter, Avon? Are you afraid of witnesses? ORAC: If you are going at all, now is the optimum time. AVON: [Draws gun. Steps onto teleport pad.] Put us down. [They materialize at the perimiter, where Sula and co. recently killed several guards. Dayna discovers a body, and calls to Avon, who is moving towards the Residence] DAYNA: Avon! He's been shot. Not too long ago. TARRANT: Probably forgot to salute. [Into bracelet] Vila. [Avon moves off.] VILA: [V.O.] Yes? TARRANT: [To the others] Get after him. [Into bracelet] Vila. VILA: [V.O.] Still here. TARRANT: Make sure you stay that way. I think we've walked into a revolt. VILA: [V.O.] You're among friends, then. TARRANT: Avon may not see it that way. Stay awake. VILA: [V.O.] Of course. TARRANT: And sober. [Breaks link] VILA: That was uncalled for. [Pours a drink] I only drink to be sociable. Cheers, Orac. TARRANT: [Gruffly, to attract attention] Hey! [Cally, Dayna, and Avon each club a guard. Tarrant makes a gallant bow. They enter the hallway. Voice from the banquet hall is audible] HOB: [V.O.] Listen. Listen! Sula's right. Servalan's main forces don't even know we're here. Why throw away an advantage like that? [Avon, Dayna, Cally, Tarrant approach banguet room door] SULA: [V.O.] You have to make up your minds. Do you want victory, or do you want revenge? [Avon and Tarrant move off] REBEL 1: [V.O.] We want both! REBEL 2: [V.O.] Yes! [Avon and Tarrant break into Servalna's empty office, and leave. They break into Surveillance. Avon savagely shakes Grenlee in his chair.] AVON: Hey! Wake up! [Grenlee groans throughout.] Where is Servalan? Where is Servalan!? TARRANT: Easy, man, you'll kill him! [Removes Avon's hands from Grenlee's shoulders] GRENLEE: I don't ... TARRANT: Major. GRENLEE: Wha-- TARRANT: Major, where are they holding the President? GRENLEE: I, I think below ... TARRANT: If we help you, can you show us where? [Grenlee groans and discovers blood.] Yes, Major, you're dying, but that's what you're paid for. Now the President's life is at stake. Can you take us to her? [Avon stares at Tarrant] GRENLEE: I'll ... try. TARRANT: Good man. Take his other arm -- "Section Leader." AVON: Yes "sir." [Avon and Tarrant stagger into hall, supporting Grenlee. In cellar, camera pans around to Servalan, slumped down on floor, arms chained to wall and above her head, dress torn, face and neck bruised. Avon, Grenlee and Tarrant stagger down the stairs] TARRANT: Gently, Major. GRENLEE: [Weakly]Be all right ... in a minute. TARRANT: Take your time. AVON: But not too much of it. TARRANT: Odd feeling. AVON: Mm? TARRANT: Place feels old. Do you suppose this part's original? Genuinely pre-atomic? AVON: Possibly. Does it matter? TARRANT: Obviously not. [Avon lets go of his half of Grenlee.] Oh, Avon -- it's all right, Major, I've got you. Avon, you really are a prize -- [Puts Grenlee down. Avon finds Servalan] AVON: Yes, I really am. So shut up and let me do what I came to do. SERVALAN: I might have known you were behind all this. AVON: You flatter me. SERVALAN: Go to hell, Avon. AVON: Probably. But I'd like some information first. SERVALAN: In exchange for what? A quick death? AVON: THAT is the reward for silence. SERVALAN: I've had worse offers. AVON: Tell me what I want to know, and I'll get you out of here. SERVALAN: Yes? AVON: What's the matter with you, Servalan? I'm offering to set you free. TARRANT: You're offering to let her go. That's not the same thing. AVON: What are you talking about? TARRANT: I'm talking about the President of the Terran Federation, Ruler of the High Council, Lord of the Inner and Outer Worlds, High Admiral of the Galactic Fleets, Lord General of the Six Armies, and Defender of the Earth. AVON: Get to the point. TARRANT: The point is, that a few dozen guerrillas walked in, killed her guards, beat her up, and then chained her up. You want to set her free? Convince her that it didn't happen. AVON: She's been a prisoner before. TARRANT: Yes, but in her own palace, on Earth, in what should be the center of her power? AVON: [To Servalan] Is that it? Have you finally lost your nerve? [Roughly grabs her neck] Have you murdered your way to the wall of an underground room? SERVALAN: It's an old wall, Avon, it waits. I hope you don't die before you reach it. [Cally and Dayna outside the banquet room, listening] SULA: [V.O.] Then we're agreed? Then bring Servalan to me. You'll see. She'll do everything we say, and that, my friends, is real revenge. [In cellar] SERVALAN: Why should I tell you anything? What can you threaten me with? AVON: [He picks her up, rather ungently, considering her bruises.] I spent some time with your interrogators. SERVALAN: It's too late for that, Avon. TARRANT: Your dead major there might have given the alarm. Help could be on the way. Don't you want to be alive when they get here? AVON: And unchained? [She holds out a manacle for release. He smiles and shakes his head no.] Who is Bartolomew? SERVALAN: Why? AVON: Tell me who. SERVALAN: Tell me why. TARRANT: He killed someone. A girl. Anna Grant. SERVALAN: ANNA? [She smiles.] Release me. I'll tell you anything you want to know. [Avon starts to comply, but they hear someone approaching on the stairs and duck for cover.] [Sula spots the dead major and draws her gun.] TARRANT: That's far enough. [His gun is at her head. She moves] Don't. [She puts the gun in her jumpsuit's leg pocket.] AVON: Hello, Anna. ANNA: Avon. [Tarrant retreats.] Avon ... Avon! Oh! I was afraid they'd kill you. I heard there was someone with Blake, but I didn't know for sure, and I didn't dare let myself hope. Oh, Avon, Avon. [Kisses him twice, but he doesn't help.] Why didn't you come back for me? What's the matter? AVON: I didn't come back, because you were dead. [Cally enters and gets the high sign from Tarrant. She holsters.] ANNA: Well, as you can see, I'm not. AVON: As I can see. ANNA: You don't seem very pleased about it. 'Course, it's been a long time, I suppose there's someone else, is that it? Is there someone else, Avon? AVON: No, no, there's no one else. ANNA: What then? What's wrong? [Move to kiss him] Why won't you touch me? AVON: Perhaps because I can't believe that it's you. ANNA: Have I changed so much? AVON: I don't know. Have you, Anna? ANNA: Not the way I feel for you. Nothing's changed since you left me. There hasn't been one single moment when I wasn't alone, I want you to know that. You must see that. Avon, look at me. Look at me. SHRINKER: [V.O.] Anyone you so much as looked at was marked for collection. AVON: How did you get away, Anna, that last day, the day I got myself shot? How did you get away? ANNA: I waited for you, and when you didn't come back, I ran. SHRINKER: [V.O.] Bartolomew was running you. AVON: Where to? Where did you run to, Anna? Not to your brother. He thinks you're dead. Who hid you, Anna? ANNA: My husband. I didn't love him, he knew that. There was only you. But he wanted me and I was afraid. SHRINKER: [V.O.] Bartolomew stayed close and let you run ... close and let you run ... close and let you run. AVON: [whispers]He ... wasn't Bartolomew, was he? SERVALAN: No, he wasn't. Not even Chesku knew who Bartolomew was. But you do, don't you Avon? [Anna goes for her gun.] CALLY: [O.O.S.] Avon! AVON: [Wheels and fires. She falls and he catches her, sinking to his knees, cradling her.] At least that was honest. ANNA: I knew when you found out, you would kill me. AVON: Unless you killed me first. ANNA: Huh. We were well matched, Avon. AVON: You weren't even real. Bartolomew, Central Security's best agent, one of your colleagues told me that. ANNA: Anna Grant. I was only ever Anna Grant with you. AVON: Of all the things I have known myself to be, I never recognized the fool. ANNA: 'Twasn't all lies. I let you go ... my love. [Dies] AVON: [Kisses her temple] Oh, no, you never let me go. You never did. [Sets the body down. Removes his bracelet and drops it on the floor] SERVALAN: Can you convince yourself that that didn't happen, Avon? [Avon stands, fires his gun at the eyebolt holding Servalan's chains, freeing her] [Upstairs, in a darkened corridor, Dayna with gun drawn. Fed troops enter, and Dayna shoots] TROOPER: [V.O.] Attention in the house. You are surrounded. Throw down your weapons and come out. DAYNA: [Into bracelet] Stand by, Vila.[Runs down corredor] TROOPER: [V.O.] You are surrounded. [Alarm sounds.] Throw down your weapons and come out. [More troops appear] [Teleport desk] VILA: [Into comm] Are you ready to come up? Is that what you said? [In cellar. Avon kneels still by Anna's body] TARRANT: Looks as if he did get through. CALLY: Avon, we've got to get out of here. DAYNA: [Runs down the stairs] Time to leave! TARRANT: [V.O.] Vila. Vila, can you hear me? VILA: [Into comm] Teleporting now. [Cally, Dayna, and Tarrant materialize on teleport pad] CALLY: You idiot, Vila! VILA: What do you mean "idiot"? That was a very fast pickup. Where's Avon? DAYNA: Exactly! TARRANT: Put me back down. VILA: Outside the house, like before. CALLY: Put me back where you just took us from. VILA: Uh, well, I can't. The output coordinates are still set. CALLY: Well, didn't you check the input coordinates as we came up? [Cally strides to the desk] VILA: I, I forgot. DAYNA: He forgot! Well, put me down outside the house. CALLY: Oh, don't be stupid, Dayna. It'll be crawling with Federation troops by now. This'll take at least two minutes to calculate. [In the cellar, Servalan now has Sula's small gun trained on Avon. He is again kneeling by Anna, his hand covering hers] SERVALAN: Avon. AVON: You really think I care? SERVALAN: Put the bracelet on. AVON: Why? SERVALAN: Just do it. [He does. She walks around him, strokes his cheek with Anna's gun.] I'm going to send your friends a corpse. Tell them to bring you up. AVON: [Into bracelet] Liberator. Bring me up. HOB: Sula! Sula! [Servalan shoots Hob. Avon teleports.] [Avon materializes, kneeling, on the teleport pad] AVON: Servalan was planning on sending you a corpse. VILA: [Hands him a drink] Corpse reviver? AVON: [Drinks it] But, "The rumours of my death -- " TARRANT: " -- have been greatly exaggerated." AVON: Well, slightly exaggerated, anyway. |