[Super: The Balkans]

Newscaster - [as footage plays] Violence continues to stalk the suffering civilians of this once-peaceful mountain region as the warring factions continue to hammer at each other. The only hope for the people of this shattered land is a truce between rebel leader Paul Karros and the better-armed forces of President Bourchek. Even as a U.N.-inspired arms embargo tightens its hold on the isolated rebels, Mr. Karros vows to continue the struggle until some kind of victory is achieved.

[A man is led amongst war-torn warehouses by three rebels with guns. He has a black hood over his head and his hands are tied with rope. An explosion nearby sends the men running for cover.]

Rebels - Come on! Let's get outta here! Move it. [They continue down the alley.] Move! Let's go!

Karros - [loading clip into hand gun] Wars and revolution have their own pacing, Mara, their own time. The question is not if we'll win, but when.

Mara - The city is falling around our ears, and you still believe that?

Karros - Well, how can I lead these men and believe anything else? What about '60 Minutes'? Have you heard anything from them?

Mara - No.

Karros - Well, get on it! I need to get on that show and talk about the arms embargo! It's imperative!

Mara - They want facts, Paul, not poetry. They want to know how men armed with rifles are going to defeat Bourchek's tanks.

Karros - These men are capable of more heroism you can imagine. All they need is the proper motivation. MY motivation!

[The three rebels arrive with the hooded man.]

Rebel - Come on! [pushes hooded man to his knees in front of Karros and steps back]

Mara - Who is he?

Karros - Their motivation. [pulls the hood away] Do you know who this is? This is one of Bourchek's secret police. And look -- a colonel. [to his followers] Is this what you fear? [quickly shoots the man, killing him] Are you still afraid? The men you face tomorrow are just like him, and they die just as easily. To victory. To victory. [His men start to chant with him.] To victory. To victory. To victory! To victory! To victory! To victory! [chanting continues]
 

Karros - [walking with Mara and Stefan] Well, I think that thanks to Father Stefan, the congressman has begun to see things our way.

Mason - [approaches with microphone and cameraman] Mr. Karros, I'm Alan Mason -- KHI TV. Will the congressman vote to end the arms embargo?

Karros - The congressman is a man of peace. He'll vote his conscience.

Charlie - I've heard stories about Karros all over Africa, Central America. They say he can turn villagers into Green Berets in a couple of weeks. How long have you known him?

DM - A while.

Charlie - Oh, so you're not gonna tell me about him?

DM - Probably not.

Charlie - You're a real public library, MacLeod. CUT

Mason - It's rumored that the truce was broken by your attack on a tank battalion.

Karros - Mr. Mason, you seem to be a reasonably intelligent man. Would you charge a tank with a pistol? <[continues talking in background as camera moves to follow DM & Charlie walking toward them] My people are brave, but they aren't fools. They fight for peace. The truce was broken by Bourchek.

Mason - Why would Bourchek break the truce? What did he hope to gain?

Karros - The annihilation of our people.

Mason - You call Bourchek the aggressor.

Karros - {??} [Karros & DM sense each other's 'buzz', obscuring Karros' response.]

Mason - But aren't you doing the same thing? Mr. Karros?> CUT

Karros - My friend, I have been cast in the role of a warrior, but those who know me, know me as... [turns, looks at DM] a man of peace.

[Super: Mexico 1867]

[Karros rides up, dismounts, addresses rebels sitting at cantina] ¡Viva la revolución! [The men cheer and respond in Spanish.] ¡Viva Juárez! ¡Viva la revolución! [He moves on to where DM is sitting quietly.] Wake up, Mac. Let's celebrate! Tomorrow we'll be in Querétaro, and all of Mexico will be ours.

DM - Not ours, Karros. [nods toward the rebels] Theirs.

Karros - Okay, theirs. What's the difference? We're all on the same side, aren't we?

DM - Which side is that?

Karros - The side of justice... glory.

DM - Maximillian's been trying to abdicate and go home to Austria for two years. He's a puppet. I think he'd go home on his own if we let him.

Karros - [laughs] I never thought you'd change. You know that? Duncan MacLeod, the pacifist. [They watch silently as peasant woman walks past them.] You were never a slave.

DM - So?

Karros - So, life was the property of the Roman empire. I was a gladiator trained to die for the frivolous amusement of Romans.

DM - You must've been a great disappointment to them.

Karros - Oh, I was a hell of a disappointment. See, they had choked on me and Spartacus. He was a Thracian, like me. Did I ever tell you that?

DM - Yeah, several times.

Karros - Spartacus was a great leader, Mac. He convinced a bunch of slaves that they could defeat the Roman Empire. Ninety thousand of us ended up with him.

DM - Yeah, all of which were crucified, burned or hung.

Karros - They died free. Spartacus may be gone, Mac, but I still hear his voice. And I carry his fight.

DM - Be careful when you hear voices from the past, Paul. <CUT Time can make you a liar.>

[Camera pans down from clear blue sky to grassy ridge. Two men appear along ridge carrying a stretcher between them. ¹ The men duck at an explosion just behind the ridge, continue on, bearing a wounded man down the hill to the hospital shelter.]

Stretcher bearer - Rápido. Rápido.

DM - [helping injured man toward hospital] Almost there.

Injured man - I think my leg's broken.

DM - Come on, just a little further. Right here. [helps man sit on bench at edge of the shelter] Good.

Injured man - Gracias.

DM - There. [to Elda as she approaches] Keep the tourniquet tight and try to keep the wound clean.

Injured man - My leg...

Elda - How goes the battle?

DM - I think we're winning.

Elda - [looks at wounded soldiers nearby] I wonder if they'll be celebrating. [scoops water from nearby container]

DM - [hands her a bowl] Here.

Elda - I'm sorry. I am very tired.

DM - You have a right to be.

Elda - When I was at the university, I heard about the price the peasants were paying for their revolution. I was sure their freedom was worth dying for.

DM - And now?

Elda - [points to one of the injured men] His name is Juan. He's a miner in San Juan Del Río. [looks at another] <CUT That's Julio and his girlfriend Maria.>

DM - I think if you asked them if they could choose to fight knowing that they might die, they would.

Elda - They're so young. What good is being free if you're dead?

DM - Maybe they believe there's something worth fighting for.

Elda - Like our revolution? Would you die for our revolution, señor?

DM - [as sound of gunfire continues in the background] I have to go.

Elda - What is your name?

DM - Duncan MacLeod.

Elda - I am Elda Guiterrez. Vaya con Dios, Duncan MacLeod.

(resume previous scene)

Mason - Bourchek says that you lead your men to suicide in order to get into the evening news.

Karros - Mr. Bourchek's a liar. He lies to his army. He lies to his people. Why shouldn't he lie to you? If he wants peace, let him come to the table. <We've endured much at the hands of Bourchek. Our homes are destroyed, our women taken, our men shot down in the street, and the world sat by and watched. That may all change, thanks to men like Father Stefan. If the embargo is lifted, Bourchek will be forced to negotiate.> CUT I'll embrace him with open arms.

[During this speech, a man wearing a hat and dark sunglasses enters the lobby. The man, Anthony, raises a gun.]

DM - [sees the gun] Get down!

[Anthony fires twice and Father Stefan falls to the floor.]

DM - [kneels beside him] Father.

Karros - After him!

DM - Call an ambulance!

Woman - 9-1-1.

Man - Someone get an ambulance, quick!

[DM races after Anthony, catches up to him and fights briefly, but Anthony shoots him and gets away.]

Anne - [meets Stefan's gurney and paramedics] Okay, what's going on?

Mike - [pushing gurney] Last B.P. was barely palpable at sixty. Pulse is one-thirty and shallow.

Anne - Okay, vitals are shocky. Skin is moist and cool. What's hanging?

Mike - Two large bore IVs of Ringers.

Anne - What's his name?

Mike - Stefan Retolo. He's a priest.

Anne - [to Stefan] Okay, Father, you hang tight. You're gonna be okay. [as they wheel him into an OR] Come on! Let's get him on the table fast. Let's go! Let's go! Get him typed. Get him crossed. Move it! Looks like that bullet chopped up his liver pretty bad. Come on, people, or he's not gonna make it.

Woman on P.A. - Dr. Foster to E.R., stat. Dr. Foster--

Mara - [as Anne approches] Doctor... so how is he?

Anne - Well, he's been better.

Karros - What are you saying -- he's alive?

Anne - Don't look so surprised. I've had four shootings today, and I'm three for four already.

Karros - Doctor, when will the press be able to speak to him?

Anne - The press?

DM - [approaches as Karros senses his 'buzz'] I'd let Father Stefan make it through intensive care before you start booking a speaking tour for him.

Anne - Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me... [leaves]

Karros - [smiles] Mac! [They embrace, then Karros turns to Mara.] Mara Leonin, Duncan MacLeod.

DM - [shakes her hand] Pleasure.

Karros - If we had this man on our side, we wouldn't need an army.

DM - You and me against an army, Karros? You must have gotten better since the last time we met.

Karros - Yes. Maybe both of us have. We're both still around, aren't we?

Karros - Mara's been with me since the beginning. She was one hell of a reporter in the capitol... until Bourchek's artillery leveled the building and killed the publisher.

Mara - Sometimes a "free press" means free to be murdered.

Charlie - Hm. You know, I, uh, I served some time down in El Salvador just around the time you were working that neck of the woods.

Karros - That was another war. It seems like such a long time ago. I take it we were on different sides?

Charlie - Oh, I was an adviser. Um, mostly I tried not to BE on a side. No, there was no up and down in that one.

Karros - There's always a right and a wrong.

DM - At least that's what the spin doctors want you to believe.

Karros - [finishes his wine] MacLeod, you know, maybe you've changed more than I thought. It's not like you to leave a friend standing with an empty glass.

DM - You with an empty glass -- This is exactly like the old days. [They walk together over to table to refill their glasses.]

<Mara - [to Charlie] Thank you. CUT

Charlie - For what?

Mara - For helping Father Stefan today.>

Charlie - Look, um, where are you staying?

Mara - A man from my country made his fortune here. Two days ago the world was crumbling around me, and now I'm staying in a mansion.

Charlie - Yeah, I remember how weird it was to come home. You know, one day I'm ducking bullets in El Salvador, and then the next day I'm drinking beer in my buddy's basement.

Mara - But I'm still ducking Bourchek's bullets. If he got to us here, it would send a strong message back home.

Charlie - We'll just have to make sure he doesn't get a chance to send another message. [Mara smiles at him.] More wine?

Mara - Why not?

[meanwhile] ²

Karros - Oh, maybe you're right, Mac -- giving up the life of a warrior. Opting for all this comfort. [looks pointedly around loft]

DM - The boredom of my life would kill you. I haven't led a cavalry charge in years.

Karros - Remember the old days, when all you needed was the right cause, a good horse, and a good blade? Now an army is run on money and high-tech weapons. There's no passion, Mac.

DM - It was always about money. Don't you remember?

Karros - Why don't you come back with us, Mac? Maybe two old relics like us can lay Bourchek to rest faster than one of us.

DM - I'm not looking for any new fights. As it is, some of the old ones won't leave me alone. You already have the press on your side. It's only a matter of time until Bourchek negotiates.

Karros - No. Never. I'll never negotiate with men like that. Never. [DM reacts to the vehemence in his voice. Karros chuckles, lightening the mood.] My glass is empty again.

DM - So it is.

Karros - Tomorrow, we call out the dogs, Mara. Let's see what kind of play we get from the media on the shooting.

Mara - You don't have to look so happy about it.

Karros - Mara, I'm worried about Father Stefan, too, but I'm not going to let it stop me from using it to get to the truth about Bourchek.

Mara - How about the truth that our people attacked those tanks.

Karros - The truth is it was necessary.

Mara - Was it?

Karros - Yes, it was. I don't expect you to understand, but someday you'll learn that sometimes you need to lose a battle to win a war.

Mara - Excuse me. We're talking about truth?

Karros - And something else. You never confuse people with what they don't need to know.

Mara - Didn't Bourchek say that?

[Phone rings, interrupting them.]

Karros - [into phone] Karros. [pause] I know it. I'll meet you there. [hangs up]

Mara - Who was it?

Karros - It's one of our people. He's got proof of Bourchek's involvement.

Mara - I'll come with you.

Karros - No, you wait here. I'll be back. [leaves] ³

Karros - Anthony?

Anthony - [turns, newspaper in hand] Have you read the evening newspapers? We made the front page.

Karros - Yeah. The priest was supposed to die.

Anthony - It's not my fault he lived. Blame the doctors!

Karros - See these munitions here? [Anthony looks at nearby shipping containers.] Cost me an awful lot of money. Now, I needed a dead priest to push Congress into stopping the arms embargo.

Anthony - I did what I was told. I want my money.

Karros - You want your money? I'll give you your money. [pulls envelope from his pocket] Here's your money. Count it. [tosses envelope at Anthony]

Anthony - [checks the contents] It's all here. [turns, sees Karros coming at him with a sword] No! [Karros cuts him down, lowers his sword, glances out across the water, leaves. ^A]
 

[DM walks around end of table holding a sheet-covered body, ^B puts his hands in his pockets as Harry enters through door behind him.]

Harry - You're the guy the police sent to look at the shooter?

DM - Yeah.

Harry - Detective Gord's late. You know what they say about cops when you need them. [moves to row of morgue drawers] Every stiff tells a story. We've got a whole encyclopedia down here tonight. Oh, sorry... [holds out packet] Licorice -- do you want some?

DM - No. Thanks.

Harry - Shootings, stabbings... We've even got a "natural causes" somewhere... but this one is really something. [knocks on door of morgue drawer] Hope you're decent! [opens door, pulls drawer out & unzips top of body bag] I hear he shot a priest. [pulls flap back to reveal Anthony's corpse] No wonder someone was mad at you. [to DM] Ah, but he's been good as gold for us down here. [off DM's lack of response] It's a joke.

DM - Oh, uh, any idea on who he is?

Harry - I think I heard a name. Dourcef. Yes, Anthony Dourcef. He's from outta town. Europe somewhere.

DM - The Balkans?

Harry - Yes, that's the place!

DM - Thanks. [starts to leave]

Harry - Don't you want to see the interesting part?

DM - Uh, no.

Harry - It's not every day we get something like this.

DM - [pauses] What do you mean?

Harry - I mean cut... sliced... like a tomato. [makes chopping sounds] Neat job, too. [lifts edge of body bag] See the severing, all along there? [leans closer to corpse] Bet you're sorry you messed with a priest, aren't you? [laughs]

DM - [laughs uncomfortably] Bet he is.

Harry - [as Gord enters] Ah! The cavalry's here. Morning, Detective Gord. I was just telling--

DM - [to Gord, interrupting] Uh, it's him. [leaves]

Karros - No, this wasn't war. This was murder. A murder of the cloth, a man who wanted only peace, paid for by President Bourchek. [senses DM's 'buzz' as he approaches] Our people will never forget what he did to Father Stefan... or forgive... or surrender.

[Karros & DM are in the midst of battle again. They take shelter behind a row of large pillars.]

DM - That was close...

Karros - [nods, smiling] Not close enough. [charges around the pillar]

DM - Paul, no! [runs after him] There might be soldiers!

[Several uniformed government soldiers appear and run toward them. DM & Karros are outnumbered but manage to take them all out.]

DM - This is the emperor's private guard... and they were leaving.

Karros - You know what that means?

DM - Yeah, it means it's over.

Karros - The capitol is wide open. Let's take it, Mac.

DM - Forget it, Paul. The capitol was gonna fall anyway. We're through here.

Karros - Like hell we are. [moves forward toward capitol]

DM - [calls after him] Paul, it's their victory. Let them have it.

Karros - We've won, Mac. Why did we come here?

DM - I've done what I came to do. It's their revolution.

Karros - No. It's my revolution. [pulls soldier from nearby horse and mounts]

DM - The emperor's finished, Paul. Do you need to see him die with your own eyes?

Karros - No, Mac. With my own hands. [laughs, rides off]

DM - Paul! No!

Karros - Adios, amigos!

[DM turns away and looks at the carnage around him. He sees a familiar form lying nearby and runs to it.]

DM - Elda! Let me get you out of here.

Elda - No, please. No. No. I've seen enough wounds to know that I'm dying. Just don't leave me, please.

DM - I won't.

Elda - I thought this only happened to the peasants. Maybe you should ask me if I would do it again. I would. Viva la revolución. [She dies.]

DM - Vaya con Dios, Elda. [kisses her forehead] Vaya con Dios.

(resume previous scene)

Karros - As I told you before, this was no random act of violence. This was no accident. This was murder, paid for by President Bourchek--

Anne - [pushing her way through the crowd of reporters] Oh, look, it's the vultures. They're here. Now, will somebody please tell me who rang the dinner bell?

Karros - I called this press conference.

Anne - Ah.

Karros - [to the press] This is Dr. Anne Lindsey, the esteemed surgeon who saved his life. [holds out his hand to Anne] I'm Paul Karros, Doctor.

Anne - [shaking his hand, unimpressed] You could be St. Francis of Assisi, and I still would not let you turn my hospital into a zoo. [turns to the crowd] Now, ladies and gentlemen, it's a bit early for happy hour, so please go.

Karros - Doctor, Father Stefan would want the world to know what has happened to him! He's one of our people...

Anne - News flash, Mr. Karros. Now he's one of MY people. I barely got him through, and I will not lose him so you can get the free air time. [turns toward nurses' station] Will somebody please call security?

Karros - Doctor...

Anne - [turns back] What?

Karros - Do you know what you are doing?

Anne - Yes, I do, and I happen to know exactly what you're doing, too. And I'm sure as hell not going to let it happen to my patients. [as security men arrive] Hi, guys. Would you please clear this floor now? I want everybody out.

Karros - Listen to me. There's a martyr dying in there, and I'm not-- [stops as security men pull him away]

Anne - [smiling] Not if I can help it, Mr. Karros.

Security man - Come on. Move it along.

Anne - [to herself] I'm sure I'll see you on the news. [follows the group down the hall] Let's go. [passes DM, turns back] I said everybody.

DM - Oh, you mean me?

Anne - Oh, unless you're the one with the special dispensation from the Pope.

DM - Oh, well, I must've left it in my other pants.

Anne - We have a wonderful hearing specialist upstairs. You want a referral?

DM - [with a small smile] Pardon?

Anne - Forget it. Get out. Go.

[Mara is at a table, staring at her laptop. She hears knocking at the door and gets up.]

Mara - [opens door] Charlie, come on in.

Charlie - [enters] Thanks. Uh, sorry to bother you.

Mara - It's all right. You're not.

Charlie - [sees the laptop] Uh, writer's block?

Mara - [shuts laptop] Something like that. Well, Karros is not here, but if you want to wait--

Charlie - Ah, well, um, look, I came to offer my help.

Mara - To Karros? What sort of help?

Charlie - The kind he can use. Hands, light weapons... It's what I do, Mara. Karros might need somebody to watch his back. Maybe, uh, someone to watch yours, too.

Mara - Thanks... but I'm not that important.

Charlie - Maybe to some people you are.

Mara - Charlie, are you coming on to me?

Charlie - Me? Yeah, maybe I am. I guess you and Karros are... Are you and Karros--?

Mara - You mean, uh, are we lovers? Is that what you're asking?

Charlie - Yeah, I guess I am.

Mara - No. There was a time that we could have been, but... but Paul's only love is the revolution. ⁴ [doorbell rings] Excuse me. [goes to door -- it is Mason & his camera crew.]

Mason - Mrs. Leonin... Mason, KHI. What's Mr. Karros' response to the news?

Mara - What news?

Karros - So what you're telling me it that you agree with that doctor. Is that it?

DM - You were pushing it, Paul. It's been known to happen.

Karros - Well, Stefan wouldn't have given it a second thought. If he was conscious, he'd call that press conference himself.

DM - But he's not conscious. He's hanging on by a thread.

Karros - You're getting soft, Mac. Maybe you've lost your fire.

DM - I haven't lost it. I just don't let it eat me up any more. Or anyone else.

Karros - What are we talking about here, Mac?

DM - What we're talking about is about Bourchek's claim that your side attacked his tanks.

Karros - And you believe Bourchek? You believe Bourchek against me?

DM - I know you, Paul. I've seen you send men with knives against machine guns -- unarmed men against cavalry. I was there, remember?

Karros - Yeah. Then you should know I never force them. I inspire them.

DM - Yeah, but they died, Paul. And they're still dying.

Karros - Maybe so. It's better than seeing them live like sheep.

DM - The police have found the man who shot Father Stefan. I saw him. He was killed by a sword.

Karros - You save your suspicions for Bourchek, Mac. He's the butcher. [enters mansion, finds crowd of reporters waiting inside. Instead of moving toward them, he tries to leave the room.]

DM - I thought you wanted all the press coverage you could get?

Karros - Not now, Mac. ⁵

Bourchek - [calls out from the crowd] Karros! [Karros stops, turns back to the crowd.]

DM - Well, here's your chance. The whole world's finally watching. ⁶

Karros - Bourchek. [Bourchek moves forward to meet him.] What are you doing here?

Bourchek - Taking up your challenge, Karros... To begin the process that will create peace in our country. Join me. [holds out his hand]

[Karros looks at the reporters, looks at DM, looks at Bourchek's hand, then grabs Bourchek's head and kisses him on both cheeks.]
 

Charlie - [raises elevator gate, walks toward Mara carrying two glasses and a bottle] Champagne. We've got a lot to celebrate.

Mara - [takes a glass] I hope you're right.

Charlie - What do you mean? I saw Bourchek holding out his hand. The man's offering peace.

Mara - You can't trust him. One hand offers peace, the other stabs you. Paul's sure it's a P.R. trick -- the way to get Congress on his side.

Charlie - But what if it's not?

Mara - It's too much to hope for. I've been at war for too long. I don't think I'd know how to be at peace. There's so much to do, so much... to rebuild.

Charlie - [playing chess with DM] You ever been to the Balkans, MacLeod?

DM - Not recently. Why, you thinking of going?

Charlie - Yeah, maybe. Karros thinks the truce offer is bogus.

DM - What's this about?

Charlie - It's about doing something important with your life.

DM - Well, there are other ways.

Charlie - Yeah, maybe. But maybe this is the one for me.

DM - You're serious.

Charlie - Yeah, I think I am. Karros can use me.

DM - I'm sure he will.

Charlie - What's that supposed to mean?

DM - Some people aren't what they seem, Charlie.

Charlie - So?

DM - So watch yourself around Karros.

Charlie - Look, if you've got a beef with Karros, that's between you and him. Me, I think he's fighting the good fight. Want another beer?

DM - No.

Karros - [to firing squad] Ready, aim...

DM - [rides up] No, Paul. Don't. You can't do this. [dismounts, walks toward him] You don't have to do this, Paul. You've won.

Karros - They would have done the same thing to us if they had won.

DM - No, look. They're not the government. They're not the opposition. They're just boys in uniform.

Karros - They chose their side. This is what war comes to, every time. Remember?

DM - No, don't!

[Karros lowers his raised saber and the men fire.]

Karros - Sorry, Mac. It's war.

[DM is sitting on a table bench, playing melancholic song on a harmonica. Karros walks up and sits opposite him.]

Karros - Owner, wine. Where is he? That dog. He's probably out celebrating.

DM - [stops playing harmonica] He's dead, Paul.

Karros - [pauses briefly] Well, we'll celebrate anyways.

DM - Celebrate what? With who? Look around you. All our friends are dead. What have we won?

Karros - Freedom.

DM - For a bunch of dead men?

Karros - They died nobly.

DM - The war was won. How many children would still have their fathers if we talked peace a few days ago?

Karros - Well, now they don't have to talk at all.

DM - [disbelieving] Really?

Karros - It's the price of war. A just war is worth it.

DM - "Worth it."

Karros - And a hundred years ago you'd've agreed with me.

DM - Probably! But now I think the noblest thing a man can do is live. [leaves Karros drinking by himself, mounts his horse, and rides away]

Mara - [enters with DM] So, what is this all about?

DM - It'll just take a minute.

Harry - Ah, you're back. Do you want the whole tour?

DM - Uh, no. Just the guy you showed us yesterday, Harry.

Harry - Quite. Cut to the chase. That's my motto. [knocks on drawer door] Visitors. [laughs, opens door, pulls out drawer & unzips top of body bag]

DM - [to Mara] Do you know him?

[Mara looks at the body in shock, then quickly walks away. DM follows.]

Harry - [to corpse] Nothing personal, I'm sure.

DM - Mara...

Mara - Leave me alone.

DM - I'm not asking you to tell the police. I'm asking you to tell me. He worked with you, didn't he? A dead priest will get the attention of the media.

Mara - If something like this came out...

DM - It could destroy everything that you've worked for.

[Mara walks away. DM watches her go.] ⁷

Mara - Paul!

Karros - Mara.

Mara - They told me you were here.

Karros - Yeah. I have a meeting with a congressman. We don't want our friends to forget us. We'll need them more than ever when Bourchek's peace offer is withdrawn.

Mara - What if he is serious, Paul?

Karros - Your idealism is very refreshing, Mara. Peace with Bourchek will not come about unless he's dead or exiled.

Mara - I know.

Karros - You know what?

Mara - I know what really happened to Father Stefan.

Karros - Father Stefan is a brave soldier. He almost got killed by the hands of the enemy.

Mara - Dourcef was on our side, Paul. You set up Stefan, and you killed Dourcef to cover it up!

Karros - You don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Mara - Tomorrow, you call a press conference and accept the truce.

Karros - No way. He'll slaughter us.

Mara - Maybe, but for now the fighting has ended, Paul.

Karros - Are you threatening me?

Mara - You're not the only one who can call a press conference. Accept the truce, or it all comes out... the lies, the murder. The war is over.

Karros - Spoken like a true hero, Mara. Our cause has always needed its heroes. [to himself as he walks away from her] Or its martyrs.
 

Charlie - [into phone] No, I think you did the right thing. Yeah. Bye. [hangs up]

DM - [enters] Looks like somebody lost a friend.

Charlie - Or gained an enemy.

DM - What's up?

Charlie - That was Mara. You were right all along. Karros is just another battle junkie.

DM - What'd she say?

Charlie - She threatened to call a press conference and blow his ass out of the water if he didn't start to negotiate.

DM - Where is she?

Charlie - Gone back to the place she was staying. Hey, you don't think he'd try anything?

DM - He doesn't want to stop the fighting. He needs it too much.

[Mara gets out of her car and walks toward the gate. Out of her sight, the inside of the gate latch is wired with explosives. As she reaches the gate, DM & Charlie drive up in DM's car.]

DM - Mara!

Mara - [turns to greet them] Hi, Charlie, Mac. What is it?

DM - [walking toward her] We need to talk to you. It's about Karros.

Charlie - [as they reach her] Listen, what did you do about the press conference?

Mara - Well, it's all set up for tomorrow. [unlocks gate]

DM - Um, I don't know if that's a good idea. [stops her as she starts to push the gate open] Wait! [to Charlie] Get her out of here.

Charlie - [pulls her away] Quick, quick, quick. [turns, sees car driving past, sees gun] MacLeod! Hit the deck! [All three hit the ground as the gunman fires at them several times before driving away.]

DM - Are you all right?

Charlie - Yeah. We're okay.

DM - [senses 'buzz', sees Karros driving off] Take care of her. [runs to car, drives off in pursuit of Karros]

[DM parks near Karros' car. Both get out with their swords in hand.]

DM - So now you kill your friends as well as your enemies?

Karros - Whatever it takes, Mac. I WILL lead my people to freedom.

DM - You have no people.

Karros - We could have fought together again, Mac. Side by side.

DM - I don't think so. [attacks Karros]

Karros - Come on. [DM lands a cut on his arm.] Aah! Not bad for a pacifist, old friend.

[As they fight, they knock over some of the munitions boxes, spilling the contents. Finally, DM gets Karros on the ground at swordpoint.]

DM - Up.

Karros - [carefully gets to his feet, DM's katana at his throat] You can't do it, can you?

DM - There can be only one. [performs a sideways, backhanded slice, & beheads Karros. The Quickening causes the munitions to explode, creating some impressive fireballs.]
 

Charlie - It's funny. This time I'm the one leaving with the girl, and you're stuck here running the dojo.

DM - Sure this is what you want?

Charlie - Yeah, I'm sure.

CUT

DM - You know, even if this peace works, it's gonna be harder than any war.

Charlie - I'm needed, man. Whether it's to fight or rebuild, I'm needed. I like the way that feels. Hey, you sure you don't want to come along? We could always use another pair of strong hands.

DM - No, it's not for me. Besides, somebody's gotta look after the place.

Charlie - Yeah. [They shake hands & he turns to leave.]

DM - Hey, Charlie... be safe. [holds up his fingers in a peace sign (CUT)]

Charlie - You know it. [leaves]