The Hero And The Traitor- Part 2

Scene 2
Outdoor patio of a London Café. Rubble is strewn everywhere. This is after the bombing of London, and things are starting to open up again. The Coffee shop is a complete mess. Newspapers are strewn everywhere, chairs are on their sides, and half-empty cups of coffee are strewn about. Ryan is sitting at a table with Nigel Hurley. Ryan is a posh, upper-crusty Englishman, who used his great-grandfather’s name as a springboard to become a London Elite. Ryan is ambitious, a name-dropper, with a flair for writing, socializing, and self promotion. Nigel is an English soldier, one of the RAF who defended London during the Blitz. He’s a very slow person, methodical in his thoughts, and immune to being impressed. Up in The Box is a soldier, using it as a lookout tower for German bombers.

RYAN- It’s flabbergasting how much damage Jerry did. They must have destroyed half of the town. What d’you think, Nigel, did we finally scare Hitler and his ilk off?

NIGEL- No, the Nazis are willing to do whatever it takes to win this war. It will take a lot more than repelling them from our borders to get them to give up. They’ll be back, mark my words.

RYAN- Really? I was talking with Winston the other day, Winston Churchill, I was visiting his home for dinner, because he wants me to write a book about the RAF, and he said the Germans will have to worry about other things before they can bomb us again. He’s a really interesting man, Winston Churchill, wonderful fellow, but he drinks a bit much; it’s amazing that he’s still alive with the amount of whiskey he quaffs, reminds me a bit of my great-grandfather, he does, Fergus Kilpatrick. Say, have I ever told you about how my great-grandfather was assassinated?

NIGEL- Not personally, but I know the story. Apparently he was killed in a theater?

RYAN- Oh yes, but there’s so much more to it. You see, he had a letter on him telling him not to go out that day. Do you know what that means?

NIGEL- Somebody didn’t want him to die?

RYAN-No! It meant this was preplanned, an assassination attempt, and the person had read up on his Shakespeare. Why would someone be so loose with information, unless they wanted a bit of a flourish to his “masterpiece” if you will?

NIGEL- I think you’re obsessing over a conspiracy theory. What did the police have to say?

RYAN- The police never found a suspect, which wou-

NIGEL- So couldn’t the police have done it? Done the deed, that is.

RYAN- No, while it seems to work well, a police assassination would be too bold a move by the English.

NIGEL- If the English wouldn’t do it, who would?

RYAN- The English wouldn’t do it, but they would hire an assassin to do it; the royals could then find the assassin and pin him for murder. It would make them out to be heroes. But that’s not what happened, so suspicions are placed elsewhere. Some suggest that the Irish assassinated him to jumpstart the war against England. Quite poetic really; cutting off one’s head to free the body from a noose.

NIGEL- Hmm. Interesting. (A moment’s silence.) There are quite a few parallels between Julius Caesar’s death and Kilpatrick’s death.

RYAN- What do you mean? I’m woefully under-read on my Roman history.

NIGEL- Both were great leaders, with large amounts of power in their respected factions. Both were assassinated on the ides of March. Both had unopened letters on their persons, which told them not to go out that day. And both sparked a revolutionary war with their death.

(RYAN is disturbed by this revelation.)

RYAN- That’s… Wow. There are quite a few similarities between the two aren’t there?

NIGEL¬¬- Well, you know what they say; “History repeats itself.” You might want to look it up.

RYAN- Right…

(There is a whistling noise, then a loud explosion offstage. Smoke piles onto the stage. The Soldier is startled and starts up a siren.)

SOLDIER- Attention! Attention! Please head to your nearest bomb shelter! This is not a drill!
(End Scene.)