EPISODE
FOURTEEN – NOBODY’S FAULT
Set
to some sad, classical style music, scenes of regular police officers in day-glow
jackets are shown surveying the smouldering wrecks of the Red Star Building,
the Jaguar, the slums and withdrawing, showing them as images being reported on
television.
Valentine
(V.O.): It seems like I’ve been dreaming for fifteen
years, and now, I’ve been rudely awakened…
Archive
images of Shadowhite, Valentine, and Valentine’s wife are shown.
Valentine (V.O.): Have I found you again?
TITLE
CARD: NOBODY’S FAULT
EXT.
MEL’S
Mel’s
is the name of a diner owned by a woman named Melissa just down the road from
the wreckage of the Jaguar, a real greasy spoon. Elli pulls up in her Mazda.
Valentine exits, talks to Elli through the window, then goes back into the
diner, exits again this time with the girl Mei
following him, and they pile into the car. It gets about twenty yards before it
halts, Valentine gets out, stomps over to the driver seat, shunting Elli to the
passenger seat and takes the wheel himself and drives off super fast.
Valentine:
You gotta DRIVE it!
INT.
TRAPEZOID OFFICE
Shadowhite
looks grump. He is attended by Beaufort and two others, Mowbray and Percy.
Beaufort:
So what is it going to be?
A
long pause…
Shadowhite:
He is the bad guy here… Understand?
INT.
VALENTINE’S CAR
Elli
sits in the passenger seat alone, gazing vacantly through the window. Her phone
rings.
Elli
(answers): Hello?
Remington:
Where are you? Where’s Valentine? We have all got to get back here together and
have a sit-down.
Elli:
He’s with me, we’re in the next town over – Well, he’s – I’m waiting for him,
he’s looking at something with (pause)
With a girl he says is his daughter.
Remington:
Come again?
Elli:
His daughter.
Remington:
Are you joking?
Elli:
That’s what he said, so ask him.
Remington:
How long will they be? What are they looking at?
Valentine
and Mei stand (well, Valentine squats) in a secluded
area of a park kept as a cemetery. They are looking at a headstone which
declares that here lays Su Megan Francescoli, having
passed on fifteen years ago.
Mei: She died giving
birth to me. My carer, he – they buried her with a different name so as not to
draw attention. This is a fairly peaceful town, and they didn’t want government
officials and the like crawling all over it.
Mei reaches into her pockets, and
brings out some stuff, Su Valentine’s driving license, silver watch, wedding
ring, Evenstar pendant, hands them to Valentine, who
takes them and inspects silently. He puts them away in his own pockets, stands
up wearily, puts his hand on Mei’s shoulder and leads
her away.
INT.
VALENTINE’S HOUSE
Remington
and Seth sit, watching TV. Seth is cuffed at the hands and feet. They are very
solemn as they watch Beaufort interviewed by intrepid reporter Tim Clostio on the Tim Clostio Newshour.
Beaufort:
You’re not listening. I have evidence Marco Valentine was involved in a slew of
mafia activity and murder.
Clostio: You have
circumstantial evidence, and you’re avoiding my question Mr Beaufort. Was this
not a raid against the White Tigers? Is the implication that you believed
Valentine – who still has not been found – to be a terrorist against an
administration he served with distinction for over ten years? So what you’re saying
is that you have managed to repel a loyal member of staff to the other side of
the spectrum so drastically?
Beaufort
sweats.
In
comes Elli, Remington turns to see her. Valentine follows with Mei. Remington stands.
Valentine:
This is my daughter. Her name is Mei.
Mei: Hi…
She
waves. Remington nods, unsettled.
Remington:
Hello, Mei.
Seth:
Hello, Mei.
Mei smiles warmly at Remington and
icily at Seth.
Remington:
We need to talk, Valentine.
Valentine:
What’s up?
Remington:
Those government bastards are -
Valentine:
Yeah, I heard all that crap on the radio coming down here.
Remington:
We need to get our stories straight and respond. (Beat, Valentine looks unsure)
We need to do it now.
Valentine:
All right, my study. Elli, you come too… What about him?
He
nods at Seth.
Remington:
He broke his foot in the fight, he’s not going anywhere.
Remington
and Elli head for the study. Valentine hands Mei the
remote control and absently ruffles her hair.
Valentine:
Make yourself at home.
He
leaves and Mei flops down on the sofa next to Seth.
Seth:
First
Mei turns… looks at him... looks at
him… slaps him, hard.
Mei (whispers):
You better not ruin this for me, you failure.
INT.
VALENTINE’S STUDY
Valentine
is seated, the other two lean against tables or bookcases.
Valentine:
Somehow, I knew this day would come, but I didn’t expect it like this.
Remington:
They’ve called us out on a lot of things.
Valentine:
Remington:
How can you disprove the truth?
Valentine:
Trust me. But like I said, neither of you are involved yet at least, so you’re
both confined indoors for the time being.
Remington:
What?
Valentine:
Trust me.
Remington:
What about those White Tigers?
Valentine:
No, I think they’ll be hiding for now.
Remington:
What about
Valentine:
I trust
Remington:
I gotta go out. Home.
Valentine:
You can stay here, I may need counsel. And some serious
painkillers. My arm is giving me major grief.
Remington:
I gotta get my stuff, right? Who the hell even knows
me anyway? You’re the celeb.
Valentine
(suddenly suspicious): What’s up?
Reminton: Trust me.
Valentine:
…Alright. Avoid the press.
Remington:
I can handle myself.
Valentine:
I have to think, so you can all go away now.
Remington
exits. Elli lingers, but Valentine barely notices her as he broods, so she
leaves too, goes out and finds Remington slipping on his shoes. She sits next
to him.
Elli:
What about… her?
Remington:
Who? Oh! Ooh.
Elli:
Doesn’t it seem weird?
Remington:
Be nice. Don’t be the evil step-mom.
Remington
leaves.
INT.
MAD OFFICE
Hagen
and Courtenay attend to Beaufort.
Courtenay:
Valentine was sighted returning to his accompanied by… no positive
identifications, but it seems like his wife and concubine?
Courtenay:
Not Ms Darklight, Mrs Valentine. Not seen in public
for over ten years though.
Courtenay:
Probably a mistake.
Beaufort:
Well, he’s still alive. We can proceed. Ready for your big TV
moment, young Daniel?
Beaufort:
Don’t wander too far.
EXT.
MAD COMPLEX
Hagen
comes out back having a smoke, chaperoned by an agent. Close up on his face,
then a *thwip* noise makes him turn to find the agent
dead. He reaches for his piece, but a hand grasps his and twists it. Another
hand appears to cover his mouth and smother his yell. The other hand comes up
holding a gun
Remington:
Ready to meet your maker, “Young Daniel”?
*Thwip!* Remington’s face is splattered with blood. He drops
the body, crouches, removes
BREAK
INT.
VALENTINE’S STUDY
Valentine
is in front of a camera operated by Elli.
Valentine:
My name is Marco Valentine and I have a statement to make. Yesterday, at 1630
hours, my office in the Kunishige sector was
viciously and unjustly assaulted. My friend and business associate, Matthew Armside who you may remember from heroic moments such as
the Moratti siege, was murdered. The attack was
carried out by the government bureau MAD under the mistaken and fraudulent
belief that I was a member of the White Tigers. I refute all these outlandish
claims and all other suggestions designed to assassinate my character. I demand
an apology from the government and plan to sue for damages. That’s all I have
to say for the moment. I now await and none too patiently, might I add, for an official
apology from John Beaufort, the director of
Elli
turns off the camera.
Valentine:
Give me the disc.
Elli
pops the recording disc out and hands it to Valentine who slots it into his
computer.
Valentine:
This will go to all the major news networks. It will force these bastards on
the defensive.
Elli
packs away the camera.
Valentine:
If the press come, you’re all to stay upstairs.
Elli
opens her mouth to say something, but Valentine has already left the room.
INT.
VALENTINE’S TV ROOM
Seth
is asleep, looking cute and twee, curled up. Mei watches One Tree Hill avidly, wearing an old Aerosmith T-shirt. Enter Valentine.
Mei: Bad day, huh?
Valentine:
I’ve had worse.
Mei: What was really
going on down there? On that day we met.
Valentine:
You mean yesterday. Nothing that you need to worry about.
Where have you been hiding all these years, eh?
Mei: What do you
mean?
Valentine:
How come I’ve never heard from you before?
Mei: My foster father
kept me very sheltered. He didn’t want me mixed up with you. I think he was
hiding from something or someone as well. We kept moving about. Then into that
apartment block where I found you. But he’s disappeared lately. I haven’t seen
him for several weeks now. Though he does that sometimes.
Valentine
frowns.
Valentine:
Well, you’ll stay here from now on… ok?
Mei: Well… Ok.
Valentine
stands up, ruffles her hair.
Valentine:
I have some work to do down here; you’ll have to go upstairs for a while, ok?
Mei: Ok.
She
exits. Valentine’s smile melts away as he switches off the TV.
INT.
GAMES ROOM
Mei enters the room. An Aerosmith song is playing, Home Tonight. She stands
entranced, vacant. Elli pushes past her and Mei snaps
out of it.
INT.
VALENTINE’S TV ROOM
Valentine
pours himself some scotch and knocks it back. He puts down the glass and turns
to Seth. Slaps on the face, one on each cheek.
Valentine:
Wake up, asshole!
Seth
comes to and gets slapped again.
Seth:
Cut it out!
Valentine
ponders the situation momentarily.
Valentine:
How’d you come to work for Claverty?
Seth
is close mouthed.
Valentine:
We can do this the easy way or the hard way.
Seth:
What’s the hard way?
Valentine:
I take you down to Campbell Commons and let the vagrants have their way with
you.
Seth:
Bluff!
Valentine:
I’ll do it, they’ll eat you up, you got a real hard
body.
Seth:
Grossness! Let me go, you evil communist pig!
Valentine:
I’m pure capitalist actually. Now, you just need to talk. Or I’ll be getting a
leash for you.
Seth:
Ok! Ok! You know Simon and Trudy Cohen?
Valentine:
Yeah. What about them?
Seth:
They were my parents. That’s how I knew Prince. When my parents were
slaughtered during SHA’ARAD’S TERROR, he took me in and trained me.
Valentine:
To become a terrorist?
Seth:
To become a warrior. Noble and brave, a champion of the
common person. To fulfil his vision and restore
balance to the country.
Valentine:
By blowing things up?
Seth:
That’s training. And we do what we have to in order to balance.
Valentine:
I see. You’re a good little automaton droid.
Seth:
We will force change. Shadowhite shall topple and our Prince will lead us into
a new age of peace! A few sacrifices have to be made along the way, but that’s
just the nature of the world.
Valentine:
You’re deluding yourself.
The
intercom starts buzzing.
Valentine:
That’s the press. All the major networks. What do you
think? Should I tell them about your boss?
Seth:
No. That would ruin everything.
Valentine:
Everything that matters to you doesn’t mean shit to me. My only concern is
keeping myself and people that I love alive. Now… time for you go upstairs.
INT.
GAMES ROOM
Mei is bent over the pool table, making
a shot, butt in the air. Elli watches. Mei strikes, sinks it. She used to hustle drunken gangsters and
beating Elli is a cakewalk for her. She pots another ball, walks back to the
side where Elli is to rake a drink (of milk, naturally). All
in a perfect, uncomfortable silence.
Elli
(whispers): Who are you? Why are you here?
Mei looks pretty crumpled by that. The
tension is broken spectacularly by the door opening and Valentine literally
throwing Seth in and then leaving, locking the door behind him.
ON
TV CHANNEL 6
Valentine:
I don’t know why, but you are lying! You are covering what is-
Beaufort:
Now hold on!
Valentine:
You were after – You were not after me, you were chasing down Claverty, and now you’ve failed, you are trying to set me
up as a scapegoat.
Beaufort:
Is it not true that –
Valentine:
Again! I’m not going to be the fall guy for YOUR mistakes!
Cut
to reporter and pundits.
Clostio: An unbelievable
statement by Mr Valentione.
Mechalek: I’m not entirely
sure what to make of it.
Bowyer:
I think there’s truth there. I’m not one to attack my own party members, but
Beaufort has a lot to answer for.
Mechalek: It certainly
won’t do his and Shadowhite’s reputation any good. (Tee-hee)
Clostio: What about
Valentine though?
Bowyer:
I question the hero status the liberal media has given him. But he’s a victim
here.
Mechalek: Certainly. I
think we should also have a moment of silence for Mr Armside,
another victim in all this.
Silence.
Clostio: And Claverty?
Bowyer:
if it’s true that he is still alive and orchestrating these terrorists, then
there’s no question.
Cut
away to Prince watching the TV with White.
Bowyer
(O.S.): He should be arrested and tried for treason.
Prince
turns off the TV.
White:
What now?
Prince
drums his fingers against his stubbly chin.
END
– EVERYBODY’S SCREAMING, RUNNING FOR THE SEA
Episode
Fifteen Preview
Valentine:
The war is over, at least so I say. Time to move on, and time to return
to the way I was and not let the miracle cloud my thoughts. Time
to get back in the saddle and bury my dead, look to the future and find my
head. Next episode, Back in the Saddle. For me
it had to come.