The room is dark and dank. AMY is sitting on the floor next
to two water pipes that run from floor to ceiling. She is
handcuffed to one of the pipes. Amy is in very simple
clothes, something like hospital garb, but torn and flilthy.
Amy is not well; her eyes sunken, her skin ashen, her hair
matted. KATHARINE walks in. Katharine is well dressed,
simple business-like clothes. She holds an attache case.
Katharine walks up to Amy.
KATHARINE
Amy.
No response.
KATHARINE (cont'd) (contíd)
Amy Turlington. I'm Katharine Beyers.
Still no response.
KATHARINE (cont'd) (contíd)
From Amnesty International.
Amy is startled, slowly looking up through nutrition-starved
eyes.
KATHARINE (cont'd) (contíd)
Katharine Beyers. Did they inform you I
was coming?
AMY
Who are you?
KATHARINE
Amnesty International.
AMY
My mother...my mother said you might
come...might come some day.
Katharine checks some papers.
KATHARINE
I see your mother was last here four
months ago.
AMY
Four months? Has it been that long?
KATHARINE
Anyone else visit you?
AMY
Someone from the embassy.
KATHARINE
The US Embassy?
AMY
The guards visit once a day. They slip
food through the slot.
KATHARINE
Do you remain shackled like this all day?
AMY
Only when I have a visitor.
KATHARINE
So you knew I was coming?
AMY
I didn't know who was coming.
KATHARINE
You don't seem... you don't seem pleased
to have a visitor.
AMY
After six years here, visitors don't seem
to make a difference. So why the fuck
are you here?
KATHARINE
The American government is placing great
pressure on the Peruvian regime to
release you.
AMY
It's taken six years.
KATHARINE
They needed proof that you were not
involved with the Red Star freedom
fighters.
AMY
And so where did they get this proof.
KATHARINE
Well actually, since you can't prove a
negative, the Peruvian authorities were
unable to provide proof of your
involvement. So the Americans consider
this proof of no involvement.
AMY
Did you pass the men and women in the
cages down the hall from here? Is the
American government going to do anything
about them?
KATHARINE
They are not Americans.
AMY
Chica. Jose. Billy. Roberto. Roberto
is scheduled for execution.
KATHARINE
You speak of them as friends.
AMY
The Peruvians are idiots. They couldn't
prove a fucking thing. But they
convicted me anyway because it would have
looked bad to put Peruvians in jail but
not the American. So I am a political
prisoner.
KATHARINE
You want out?
AMY
Is that a serious question?
KATHARINE
Would you feel guilt being released
without the release of the men and women
down the hall?
AMY
That's a joke. Six years in a cockroach
infested, damp, cold, room, with a bucket
to shit in is a fantastic remedy for
guilt. Anger gets rid of guilt.
KATHARINE
You are angry?
AMY
Is this thing really going to happen, or
are you just some kind of do-gooding
missionary hauling a bag of phantom hope?
KATHARINE
No. This is real.
AMY
I can help you after I get out of here.
Chica had nothing to do with the bombing.
She was unaware of it. Roberto and I
planned the whole thing. I need to help
Chica get out of here. If I tell the
whole story once I am back in America,
maybe I can help you get Chica out.
KATHARINE
You planned the bombing?
AMY
Made the bombs. Roberto didn't know what
he was doing.
KATHARINE
Forty school children were killed because
of one of those bombs.
AMY
Yes. I know. But thousands of people
have been murdered by the Peruvian
regime. Politics are about
statement...about symbols. Forty dead
children is some hell of a symbol.
Katharine pulls out a cell phone. She flips it open and
punches in a number.
KATHARINE
(in Spanish)
It's Margarita. Yes. Yes...I got what
you wanted. OK. Thnak you.
Katharine flips the phone closed. She then takes out a small
hand audio recorder and turns it off. Katharine now talks in
English, but with a Spanish accent.
KATHARINE (cont'd) (contíd)
I think the Americans will now back off.
I think forty school children is as big a
symbol in America as here in Peru. I
thank you for your cooperation. Consider
yourself lucky. Afterall, you didn't get
the death penalty. Just life. We have
spared your life. Unlike Roberto, who
will be shot next Tuesday outside your
window. You can watch. A little bit of
entertainment.
Katharine gets up and walks out.
THE END.
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