Revival – Part 1

This play was performed in Harlem (NY) in 2011. 

Setting: 

Hotel room 

Cast:

Bruce: In his late forties. He is three days from retiring. 

Virgil: In his late twenties. 

The lights come up on Bruce sitting on a sofa. He is relaxed. He is dressed in a black suit (the jacket is off and next to him), white shirt, and black tie. He is cleaning his gun with a handkerchief, which he puts in his pocket. He then picks up the newspaper next to him and starts reading. Virgil enters through the front door. He is dressed similar to Bruce.

Virgil: (Tentative) Bruce? 

Bruce: (Still reading, doesn’t look up) Yeah.

Virgil: I’m Virgil, agent 6579. I’ve been assigned to the escort detail. 

Bruce: (Reading, Nods) Okay.

Virgil: (He looks around the room. He sits in the chair. A couple of minutes of silence pass. He moves nervously, is distracted. He jumps up.) Synchronize. (He starts to adjust his watch. Bruce doesn’t respond.) Synchronize?

Bruce: (He slowly puts the paper down, adjusts his watch.) Five. 

Virgil: Eight forty-five.

Bruce: Three, two, one.

Both: Synchronized.

Virgil: Package arrives?

Bruce: ETA 9:30 am.

Virgil: Confirmed.

Bruce: Waiting for the call.  

Virgil: Roger.

(Bruce goes back to reading the paper and Virgil sits, then gets up and paces. A couple minutes of silence pass.) 

Virgil: You make it look easy. 

Bruce: (Grunts while reading) Huh?

Virgil: The wait.  

Bruce: (Reading) Damn!

Virgil: What?

Bruce: The money this guy gets. And he can’t hit a lick. 

Virgil: (Checking out the newspaper’s front page) They have the Times out here? 

Bruce: I didn’t take any chances, grabbed it, this morning, at the airport.

Virgil: (Looks around the room) This is it?

Bruce: Might as well get comfortable.

Virgil: Stuck out here in the middle of nowhere is worse than a bug fight.

Bruce: You’ll be alright. 

Virgil: Itinerary updates?

Bruce: On schedule. Awaiting the package’s arrival.

Virgil: We’re out tomorrow morning?

Bruce: Right. 

Virgil: I guess some fresh air won’t kill me.

Bruce: Of course not.

Virgil: If it did I’m sure that’d be good for a few laughs. I can imagine the headline “Country Air Kills City Man.”

Bruce: (Chuckles) It’d be a collector’s edition. But who would ever know?

Virgil: That’s true. (Pause) They have room service?

Bruce: Yeah. There’s a coffee shop at the end of the block.

Virgil: Hell, I just got in here. I’ll wait until dinner. You want the first or second shift?

Bruce: It doesn’t matter.

Virgil: (He takes a coin out of his pocket) Heads or tails?

Bruce: You call it.

Virgil: (He flips it) Tails. (He catches the coin in his hand and slaps it on back of his hand) Heads. Which do you want?

Bruce: Second.

Virgil: I’ll try not to snore. 

Bruce: Thanks.

Virgil: (Pause) What’d you do to get this shit assignment?

Bruce: (Smiles, puts the paper down) Twenty years. I’m out in three days.

Virgil: Finished?

Bruce: Done.

Virgil: Damn. Congratulations. I’ve got (Pauses, tries to figure out the years) too long. I can’t even think about that yet.

Bruce: Give it time. It’ll be here before you know it. The years move like (Snaps his fingers) that. 

Virgil: (Pause) Then what? You’re a young man. 

Bruce: Thanks.

Virgil: You know what I mean. 

Bruce: My back doesn’t feel like it sometimes. 

Virgil: I didn’t mean it like that. 

Bruce: How then?

Virgil: Nothing personal. 

Bruce: Were you briefed?

Virgil: I know. Keep it simple.

Bruce: (Matter of factly) We are on assignment.

Virgil: True. 

Bruce: It’s that way for a reason.

Virgil: (Sarcastically) That and a capsule of cyanide?

Bruce: You need it?

Virgil: I’ve never lost a partner. (Pause) You? 

Bruce: Not even close. 

Virgil: But we’re not in combat.

Bruce: Still, it’s for your protection.

Virgil: I guess so.

Bruce: It’s a fact. Less to slow you down. You should make it a habit.

Virgil: No second thoughts. 

Bruce: That’s Right. A picture of your wife, family, friends, even a sentimental thought, can get you killed.

Virgil: Maybe. 

Bruce: You doubt that.

Virgil: They’re exceptions to every rule.

Bruce: I’ve seen it. In a flash, friends of mine taken. Everything seemed simple enough, plain as can be, but just when they relaxed – bang! Out of nowhere. And it’s over.

Virgil: That’s twenty years talking?

Bruce: Yeah, real life.

Virgil: Or fate.

Bruce: That doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s a choice.

Virgil: I don’t think so. I mean, random events are a part of life. They make things exciting, a challenge. You don’t know what’s going to happen. If it was about choice, who’d do anything? It’d be all reasoned out. Life would be limited, no spontaneity

Bruce: So if you knew there was danger behind that door (He points to a door) would you open it?

Virgil: That depends.

Bruce: On what?

Virgil: The circumstances. What my motivations and needs are. 

Bruce: All right. Money?

Virgil: Depends how much.

Bruce: Remember, you’re walking into the teeth of absolute danger. No cover.

Virgil: Am I poor?

Bruce: You tell me?

Virgil: Yeah, dirt poor.

Bruce: Okay.

Virgil: Extreme poverty is a form of death anyway. 

Bruce: There’s no hope.

Virgil: Unless I walk into the room?

Bruce: You tell me? 

Virgil: Will I die?

Bruce: You mean be killed?

Virgil: I didn’t say that.

Bruce: (Pause) Okay, lets up the stakes. They have your wife. I assume you have one.

Virgil: (He nods his head) Go on.

Bruce: Better yet, kids?

Virgil: Two.

Bruce: Then?

Virgil: There’s no question. I’m going in.

Bruce: Brave man. But abstractions don’t count.

Virgil: You think I’d let my family die?

Bruce: Be honest.

Virgil: You think I’m lying? I’m going to do everything I can to save my family. 

Bruce: That’s only natural. We all wanna live.

Virgil: (Exasperated) This speculation is nonsense anyway.

Bruce: Maybe. But it makes you think.

Virgil: It would be a reflex. I wouldn’t think about the consequences. You’ve got to have the guts to play your hand. No matter what. (Pause. He goes to the window.)

Bruce: Like jumping out of the window of a burning building?

Virgil: I guess. If you thought about it rationally would you really do it? I don’t think so. A sane person would just stay and get burned.

Bruce: You realize what we’re doing?

Virgil: There’s no reason to be clinical about it. 

Bruce: No. I mean how we’re talking?

Virgil: How?

Bruce: See how easy it is to cross that barrier? Now we’re old friends.

Virgil: Really. What about the package?

Bruce: Pending.

Virgil: So we’ll tighten things up when he gets here?

Bruce: You wanna give him your phone number and address. It’s just like being a CO. These guys are so smart. They’re predators, can read you perfectly, and know-how to exploit your weaknesses. Even not talking around them is no guarantee. It’s like they have a sixth sense about human nature.  

Virgil: So we’re good for another half hour or so?

Bruce: I’m good with the basics.

Virgil: It’s not like we’re telling national secrets. 

Bruce: You know any?

Virgil: Me? No. You?

Bruce: (Thinks) Not really.

Virgil: What’s that mean? Yes or no? 

Bruce: Everything is out there.

Virgil: You think so?

Bruce: Pretty much. People always want to know the usual; who killed the Kennedy brothers, Malcolm and Martin. It’s just that many things haven’t been confirmed and never will be. That’s how you keep things unsolved.

Virgil: So you’re not offering anything?

Bruce: Like what?

Virgil: The people you named?

Bruce: If I knew, maybe. But I don’t. Besides, does congress really need more hearings?  

Virgil: But it’s not like they’re real. They’ve got to go through the motions. 

Bruce: (Chuckles) Maybe.

Virgil: See, I knew you didn’t make it to twenty by disregarding the rules.

Bruce: I’d like to say I did. But you’re right. I was, am, very thorough in completing my assignments.

Virgil: Like any good agent.

Bruce: I guess.

Virgil: Still, it makes you wonder.

Bruce: That’s normal. (Pause) Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I mean we’ve already violated about five regulations. The regular five. But you just can’t shoot your mouth off to anyone. Let’s start over. 

Virgil: I’m good.

Bruce: Come on, it’s not personal, just feeling you out.

Virgil: For what?

Bruce: To see how you carry yourself. It’s all part of the process. Don’t you check people out?

Virgil: Sometimes.

Bruce: Well, it’s imperative in this kind of situation. You never know what can happen. I need to know I can count on you know matter what. Can I? 

Virgil: Of course. That’s what being a professional means.

Bruce: See, here you go. I mean we’re here in the trenches. This is about life. You wanna get home to your wife and kids, don’t you?

Virgil: I never said I was married. 

Bruce: Yes you did.

Virgil: When?

Bruce: Before, about stepping through the door, saving your family’s life.

Virgil: I thought it was hypothetical.

Bruce: It was. So what is it?

Virgil: (Pause) I was. 

Bruce: And kids?

Virgil: Yes. 

Bruce: (Softly) What happened?

Virgil: I …

Bruce: If you don’t…

Virgil: (Cuts him off) We’re trying to work it out. (Goes to the window. Abruptly changes the subject) You know who’s gonna be speaking down there?

Bruce: Of course.

Virgil: Are we here for backup? 

Bruce: No.

Virgil: We’re just gonna sit?

Bruce: They’re at least three teams out there, plus secret service. They’ve got it covered.

Virgil: I hear he’s been getting threats like crazy.

Bruce: He knows the deal. Especially given his situation.

Virgil: That’s all the more reason. I hear some group put a million dollars on his head. 

Bruce: The secret service takes care of that. We need to focus on the package.

Virgil: Babysitters. I can handle it with my eyes closed.

Bruce: This isn’t just any baby.

Virgil: I read the profile. He makes Rayful Edmond look like a dime bag dealer. Ruthless. Killed too many to count. Was wanted for ten years…

Bruce: We got him now.

Virgil: He came running to us.

Bruce: (He stands, stretches) Don’t they all? Funny how when they’re on the street they seem invincible. But as soon as they smell the inevitability of concrete walls, life without parole, they start to talk, willing to do anything, bent over like a two-dollar like a crack ho. Talking about redemption, forgiveness, anything that will keep their asses out of the biggest sling of all – lockdown twenty-three hours a day.

Virgil: It’s become routine.

Bruce: Hell, I say cut them free and let their peers deal with ‘em.

Virgil: (Laughs) How can you say that?

Bruce: Easy. I’ll set it up, pick the time and place.

Virgil: Yeah, but then we’d have their competition to deal with. So we’re right back to where we started. 

Bruce: That’s how it works. They fall out of favor and want to come in. Drugs, the reality of organized crime, is here to stay. It’s an integral part of our reality. Hell, it is us.

Virgil: You believe that?

Bruce: It’s a fact. Look around. Take a good look. Crime is part of the process. And those that engage in it are as expendable as we are. 

Virgil: How can you say that? Especially considering the kind of work we do. We’re on the right side. 

Bruce: Yeah. But we’re still in the mix, front and center. Allegiances don’t change the fact that we know the bad guys just as well as they know us. We’re all connected.

Virgil: (Abruptly changes the subject) So you’ve got it all worked out?

Bruce: (He looks at him curiously) What?

Virgil: Retirement? You’ve got a plan?

Bruce: Yeah, of course. I’ve got a lot to keep me busy. First, a long vacation, my children are grown, spread across the country. I’m going to spend some time with them. 

Virgil: You travel alone.

Bruce: My wife will be with me when she has time. She teaches so she can only travel when her schedule allows.

Virgil: Family is great.

Bruce: We’re all very close. But now I’m ready to live my dream.

Virgil: What you been doin’ the last twenty years?

Bruce: This, is business. Your dream is your birthright. I’ve put together a trio.

Virgil: Jazz?

Bruce: What else? I’ve been playing bass all my life. I come from a family of musicians. 

Virgil: (Genuinely curious) So how’d you get from music to the bureau?  

Bruce: Being an agent isn’t that different. It’s all part of a whole. Rhythm doesn’t lie – never. It’s the essence of how things work: science, math, literature, music, the sun coming up in the morning.

Virgil: But it didn’t keep you out of the sewers of this world.  I mean look where we are. 

Bruce: It wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t join the bureau to get saved. I was called. 

Virgil: (Pause) I felt that way.

Bruce: What happened? You’re too young for such cynicism.

Virgil: Just…things.

Bruce: Like?

Virgil: I want to make a real difference. 

Bruce: That’s why we’re here.

Virgil: No. I really want to change things. 

Bruce: So, live your life. It’ll all come together.

Virgil: I’m ready. I’ll do whatever it takes.

Bruce: Ah! The thrill of being young! 

End of part 1/2