Difference between pages "The Orient Express" and "Nest of Spies"

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'''OUTLINE'''
 
'''OUTLINE'''
  
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''With Uri and Alexander on board, the Orient Express stops in Paris where Najwa boards it. Following a short leave of absence, Carla visits her family farm in Emmental before returning to work. Crossing Europe, the train journey traverses time as Najwa's and Carla's minds meander into the past. Female insight wins over violence.
+
''[[Neda]] is the daughter of Sunni Palestinian Winemakers who emigrated to Iran after having been evicted from there land in near Jerusalem. As a kid, she attended an American school in Israel/Palestine until the 1973 war. She is fluent in English.''
  
−
''Mossad won't be on board, only US operatives tipped by IRN.
+
''Neda was part of a left wing student group which took part in the seizure of the US embassy in November 1979. Because of her knowledge of the English language and American culture, she became a valuable asset to the cause although she was more driven by left leaning ideals then Islamic ones. She was eventually recruited by the Iranian espionage services to infiltrate European extreme left groups.
  
−
''How does Uri learns of Alexander's presence on the train? Through [[Zvi]]?
+
''As a Sunni Palestinian, she never felt Iranian. As a Marxist, she never felt Islamist. These convoluted allegiances were great characteristics for spy. Also risky ones.
  
−
[[London Calling|<< PREVIOUS EPISODE]] -- [[TBD|NEXT EPISODE >>]]
+
''In September 1979, 2 month before the seizure of the US Embassy, Susan, the US Embassy employee, is interviewed by an Italian journalist (O.F) who leaves a bag behind containing a xeroxed copy of a not yet published manuscript: Adso of Melk, The Name of the Rose.
  
−
====GARE DE L'EST, PARIS====
+
[[The Hansa Way|<< PREVIOUS EPISODE]] - [[The Moscow Games|NEXT EPISODE >>]]
  
−
[[Najwa]] wears a red [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijab hijab] as she walks out of a taxi in front the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Paris-Est Gare de l'Est] and enters the station. She looks around and notices the ticket counter where she addresses the SNCF agent in French.
+
{{
 +
#display_map:35.70775, 51.42391; 35.704403, 51.409
 +
|zoom=15
 +
}}
  
−
-L'Orient-Express pour Venise?
 
  
−
The agent replies with a typical Parisian demeanor.
+
====TEHRAN POLYTECHNIC, IRAN, 3 NOVEMBER 1979====
  
−
-Les billets pour L'Orient Express c'est en agence mademoiselle.
+
[[File:PeoplesMujahedinLogo.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Mojahedin-e-Khalq]]
  
−
-Merci, non je rejoint mon mari à bord... J'amerais savoir sur quelle voie s'il vous plait.
+
The corridors of the Polytechnic are overcrowded as [[Neda]], a 19 years old medical school freshman, holds on to [[Ali]] and [[Hussain]], all making their way towards the main auditorium. A general meeting has been called by several student organizations but most attending don't seem to know where to go next. Arriving at the auditorium's guarded door, Ali states his allegiance to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Mujahedin_of_Iran People's Mujahedin] and points to Hussein and Neda to clear them as well. The three walk in but as Neda passes through the doors, one of the guards stops her.
  
−
-Ben y faut regarder les tableaux alors.
+
-Cover yourself sister, this is not a discotheque.
  
−
The agent reluctantly looks at his screen as Najwa smiles at him.
+
Upset, Neda looks at her two comrades.
  
−
-Voie 6 à 21h44.
+
-I told you, I'm not following if that's going to be the way.
  
−
-Merci...
+
Hussain, looks at the guard who keeps his arm extended to block Neda, then back at Ali who raises his shoulders, helpless. About three hundred students are already inside the auditorium. Mostly men. The few females attending are veiled.
  
−
She walks away then turns back towards the agent.
+
-Come on Neda, just do like he says. We gotta get going.
  
−
-Ah si, une dernière information, les trains en provenance de Berlin, il arrivent ici?
+
Neda pulls a scarf from her pocket and wears it, not pleased.
  
−
-Non l'Allemagne c'est la Gare du Nord.
+
====MAIN AUDITORIUM, TEHRAN POLYTECHNIC====
  
−
-Et c'est loin?
+
Neda, Ali and Hussain have joined a small contingent of the People's Mujahedin who have gathered in a corner of the auditorium.
  
−
-En sortant vous tournez à droite et montez la balustrade de la rue d'Alsace puis à gauche sur la rue de Dunkerque... 10 minutes.
+
-I told you guys, I'm not into this Imam's Line thing. If we don't stand our grounds from the start, they're going to wipe us out. What do you think? Once we'll be in, we're going to have a round table discussion?
  
−
-C'est très gentils monsieur.
+
-She's right, this is not what I had envisioned. They're all from Poly Engineering, and the ones carrying guns are not even students, they're like the Imam's protection men, Hezbollahi...
  
−
-Je vous en prie.
+
-I'm like the only girl here!
  
−
====BETWEEN GARE DE L'EST AND GARE DU NORD, PARIS====
+
-No, I've seen a couple when we got in.
  
−
[[image:RueDAlsace.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Rue d'Alsace]]
+
-Yeah, a couple. How many are we here? A thousand!
  
−
Najwa pulls down her veil to fix her black [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beats_Electronics Beats] headphones and plugs them to her phone as she walks up an external staircase leading to Rue d'Alsace. She scrolls down the song list until she hits the German version of David Bowie's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David_Bowie_-_Heroes.ogg Heroes]. As she wanders around, she stops in front of a bookstore and notices the cover of an Argentinean comic book [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Eternauta l'Eternaute], which leads her to think of [[La Voie de l'ange#Lundi_2_ao.C3.BBt_1948|Borges, Anne Frank and her missing father]]... When she notices a one star hotel down the street, she wonders if that could be where she was conceived. Her minds continues meandering until she gets in front of the Gare du Nord but an incoming SMS interrupts her inner journey.
+
An Engineering student approaches followed by two shadier men carrying duffel bags. The student walks up to Ali.
  
−
-WAY
+
-Ali, right?
  
−
-GARE DU NORD
+
-Yes.
−
 
 
−
-IT'S GARE DE L'EST!
 
−
 
 
−
-I KNOW. CU IN 10 ;)
 
−
 
 
−
-RUN NAJWA RUN
 
−
 
 
−
====PLATFORM 8, GARE DE L'EST, PARIS====
 
−
 
 
−
[[Alexander]] stands on the platform holding the handle of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_train_(UK) Pullman car] as the departing whistle resonates through the station. Several wagons ahead, [[Uri]] notices Najwa running towards Alexander and boarding just seconds before the train's departure.
 
−
 
 
−
====ALEXANDER & NAJWA'S COMPARTMENT, ORIENT EXPRESS, LEAVING PARIS====
 
−
 
 
−
Najwa lies on the berth as Alexander sits next to her, caressing her hair.
 
−
 
 
−
-Did you sleep on the flight?
 
−
 
 
−
-No. Dozed off I guess.
 
  
−
She continues staring out the window not really connecting with him.
+
-Ok so we're scheduled to storm through the South gate at 06:00.
  
−
-What's up, why are you so moody?
+
Hussain steps forward. What do you mean we're scheduled? When was this decided. Wasn't the point of this whole gathering to discuss the strategy?
  
−
-Sorry, It's just Paris... Takes me back.
+
-Well, no... The plan has been ready for days... We just couldn't divulge it to prevent leaks.
  
−
-I thought this was your first time.
+
Hussain looks back at his comrades. Neda looks down in disbelief.
  
−
-It was...
+
-So the girl has to team up the two other women. They're the scout crew. Which university are you attending, sister?
  
−
Najwa turns her back to Alexander and the two remain motionless until she continues.
+
-University of Tehran, Med school!
  
−
-That's where my parents made me... You know...
+
-So you must know how to use your hands then.
  
−
-Not in Budapest?
+
-Well, I grew up on a farm, so besides the scalpel...
  
−
-My mother only told me bits of the story... Apparently my father was this French Canadian kid wayfaring throughout Europe and they met in Berlin, I think. Then they came here. To Paris. Just for one day... One night... The only thing I have left from him is a poem he wrote to my mother... That night. It ends with ''For ever and ever''... But they never met again.
+
-Right on, says one of the two shadier guys stepping forward and dropping his bag in front of Neda.
  
−
-You know his name?
+
He pulls a 36" bolt cutter from the bag and hands it to her.
  
−
-It was signed Axel... I think he was even younger than her...
+
-Know how to use one of those?
  
−
Najwa turns to grab Alexander's neck and kisses him, changing the mood.
+
Neda grabs the heavy tool from both handles and raises it up before the guy squeezing it defiantly.
  
−
-See... I'm not looking for my father!
+
-Well, you'll never achieve anything this way.
  
−
====CARLA'S GRANDPARENTS FARM, MITTELLAND, SWITZERLAND====
+
The guy grabs the tool, walks up to the iron railing cordoning the bleachers around the speaker's desk. He then places a section of the railing between the cutter's blades, lowers one of the handles to the floor, blocks it with his foot, then presses on the other handle, cutting  through the half inch steel bar like butter.
  
−
Both grandparents are sitting at the kitchen table staring at Carla who is contemplating a plate of roesti. They smile at her silently.
+
-Here. Now practice until get it right. One of our girls will bring you a proper chador.
  
−
-Eat Johanna... You need to get strong my little girl.
+
====OUTSIDE THE US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 4 NOVEMBER 1979====
  
−
Carla gently rests her hand on her grandmother's arm.
+
Lance-Corporal Tyrone Washington the Third's shift ends at 06:00 but the next Marine hasn't shown up to replace him yet. For the past weeks, Washington has spent the cold Persian nights on the roof of the US Embassy's staff living quarters, scanning the compound's perimeter with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/PVS-4 Starlight Scope] mounted on his M-60 Machine Gun. Since they landed in March, the 13 men unit of the Marine Security Guards have been on high alert night and day.
  
−
-Grosi... I'm not Johanna... I am Carla...
+
The streets of Tehran are dimly lit on this early November morning. The silhouettes of three black chadors crossing towards the South wall of the US Embassy Compound are missed by the National police cars parked at each end of the street but they light up in Washington's night vision scope. -A little early for 3 Muslin women to roam down the streets of Tehran..., thinks the Marine as he loses sight of the trio behind a wall. He pans his scope to the right to see if they show up through the iron gates when Sergeant Willow arrives to relieve him.
  
−
Carla's grandmother stares outside then looks back at Carla who smiles at both her grandparents lovingly.
+
-Tyrone my man, times up! Two eggs and crunchy bacon waiting for you at the cafeteria.
  
−
-Grospapi, how many cows do you still keep?.
+
-Hold up a sec, just on to something, answers Washington as he keeps his attention focused on the gate.
  
−
He answers giggling between bits of sentences.
+
-What'd you see.
  
−
-One... Schakal... She's a loaner... doesn't want to die...
+
-These 3 women crossed the street just a minute ago and I can't locate them anymore.
  
−
-Do you still milk her?
+
-Man, you pervert. These ain't x-ray glasses. I you wanna see one of them Iranian girl's boobs, you gonna have to get under them black sheets.
  
−
-Every morning... and every night... Schakal...
+
At the same moment, Neda gets by the gate and pulls the bolt cutter from under her veil. The single street light's ray bounces of the metallic blade and flashes into Washington's scope, blinding him for a second.
  
−
The grandmother smiles at Carla again.
+
-What the fuck!
  
−
-Eat Johanna... Eat.
+
****
  
−
====ALEXANDER AND NAJWA'S COMPARTMENT, ORIENT EXPRESS, EAST OF PARIS====
+
====US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 7 NOVEMBER 1979====
  
−
Najwa looks around their compartment pulling drawers and opening cupboards as Alexander sits on the berth reading the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Times Financial Times].
+
Neda, who's hair now is lose, leans over a card board on which she translate a Persian text into English: ''THERE IS NO TIME FOR IMPERIALISM IN IRAN ANY MORE...
  
−
-How was London?
+
====FEMALE HOSTAGES ROOM, US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 25 DECEMBER 1979====
  
−
-Good.
+
Neda discreetly opens the door and peeps in the room where a woman is leaning on a bed, reading. Neda holds a plastic bag containing pomegranates. The woman on the bed is in her late thirties and wears hexagonal shaped eyeglasses. She smiles at Neda and addresses her in basic Farsi.
  
−
-Got what you wanted?
+
-Please come in.
  
−
-Yes, we launched.
+
Neda makes a few steps forward, leaving the door open, then responds in English.
  
−
-And...
+
-Hi, I hope I'm not bothering you. I brought you some pomegranates. I hope you enjoy them.
  
−
-We'll see.
+
-Oh! Wow... You speak very good English.
  
−
-So... Did you guys celebrate?
+
-Thanks... You're alone? Where is your friend?
  
−
-Yeah but I was not in the mood. I left early.
+
-Oh, she went to the chapel, in the other building.
  
−
-Cute girls?
+
-Christmas!
  
−
-As always... But none with a cute ass like yours.
+
-Yes
  
−
-Right!
+
-And you? You don't celebrate?
  
−
Alexander grabs her hand and pulls her towards him.
+
-No... Not really in the mood... But please... Come in... You can close the door if you want.
  
−
-Come here baby...
+
Neda looks at the door behind her, then quietly pushes it leaving it ajar, then walks back towards the woman who moves to an upright position on the side of her bed and invites Neda to sit next to her.
  
−
They kiss as Najwa lies on top of him. After a moment she grabs his face and stares at him.
+
-I'm Susan... and you?
  
−
-So why this sudden rush to see me in this "Romantic" decor.
+
-Neda... Very pleased to meet you.
  
−
-I don't know. I thought you'd like it. I read the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_on_the_Orient_Express novel] in high school... Then I slept so many times on the hard benches of the Tallinnn-Moscow that I promised myself that one day I'd travel on this one... So when I saw the ad in London... You don't like it?
+
Neda pulls a pomegranate from the bag and offers it to Susan.
−
 
 
−
-It's okay I guess. Fancy...
 
−
 
 
−
She looks around then straight at him again.
 
−
 
 
−
-I thought you fucked some whore, felt disgusted once you were done, then booked this trip to cleanse your soul... And body.
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander grabs her tightly against himself.
 
−
 
 
−
-You should keep all this wit for your diary.
 
−
 
 
−
-It's not mine, I told you.
 
−
 
 
−
-Well, still, whoever's it is...
 
−
 
 
−
====EXTERIOR, CHAMPAGNE-ARDENNE, THREE HOURS EAST OF PARIS====
 
−
 
 
−
The Orient Express crosses the French countryside, traversing space and time. Its thick white smoke lightens the nightly sky. Najwa stares out through the foggy window as Alexander sleeps, leaning on her shoulder.
 
−
 
 
−
====BERLIN-PARIS TRAIN, 1982====
 
−
 
 
−
[[The_Kreutzberg_Veil#BERLIN-PARIS_TRAIN|The overnight train crosses towns and fields]]. [[Neda]] and [[Axel]] are the only two passengers awaken in their compartment.
 
−
 
 
−
====CARLA'S GRANDPARENTS FARM, MITTELLAND, SWITZERLAND====
 
−
 
 
−
[[File:HousesOfTheHollyCover.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Houses of the Holly]]
 
−
 
 
−
Carla exits her sleeping grandparent's bedroom leaving their door ajar then enter another room at the end of the corridor. It's her mother's bedroom where very little has changed since she died more than 30 years earlier. She pulls objects from boxes stacked in the cupboards. She finds a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houses_of_the_Holy Led Zeppelin album], opens its double sleeve before pulling the record out. She removes an Afghan textile covering the turntable, turns it on and drops the needle on the 3rd track of the B side. She lies down on her mother's bed sorting through photos to the sound of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Led_Zeppelin_-_No_Quarter.ogg No Quarter].
 
−
 
 
−
====BAR CAR, ORIENT EXPRESS====
 
−
 
 
−
A man sitting at the counter of the bar car sips on a lager reading something on his phone. It's [[Uri]]. The barman, a black man with a Jamaican accent looks at him from the edge of the counter.
 
−
 
 
−
-Quiet night Sir. Still working... or matters of the heart?
 
−
 
 
−
Uri, smirks but doesn't answer.
 
−
 
 
−
-Another half? On the house.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri raises his eyes away from his phone, empties his glass then slides it towards the barman.
 
−
 
 
−
-Why not... Thank you.
 
−
 
 
−
The barman fills up Uri's glass. Foam spills over the edge.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri notices the barman's clumsiness.
 
−
 
 
−
-Vibrations!
 
−
 
 
−
-Yes.
 
−
 
 
−
The barman looks at the beer barrel under the bar before topping Uri's glass.
 
−
 
 
−
-I better check the pressure. Here you go.
 
  
 
-Thanks.
 
-Thanks.
  
−
The train slows down. Uri looks out the window trying to figure out where they are.
+
-I thought maybe for Christmas, you'd be happy to eat a fruit.
−
 
 
−
-Do you know where we are?
 
−
 
 
−
The barman pulls a curtain behind the bar's window and notices the station's name plate.
 
−
 
 
−
-Troyes... I guess.
 
−
 
 
−
-You've done this journey before?
 
−
 
 
−
-No. This is my first trip. They called me in last minute to sub for the regular guy who was incapacitated. I come from the hotel business. Same company.
 
−
 
 
−
====CARLA'S GRANDPARENTS FARM, MITTELLAND, SWITZERLAND====
 
−
 
 
−
Night has fallen over the Swiss Alps and Carla exits her grandparents farmhouse seeking a better phone signal. She reaches the summer stable and enters quietly as a lone cow appears to be sleeping.
 
−
 
 
−
As she notice signal bars on her phone, she is surprised by a loud moo. She approaches the cow which stares at her before launching another moo.
 
−
 
 
−
-Schakal... It's ok my baby... [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schakal Shakal], what kind of a name for a cow my sweaty...
 
−
 
 
−
The cow continues to moo...
 
−
 
 
−
-What's going on... You want me to milk you...
 
−
 
 
−
Carla grabs a stainless steel bucket and kneels down under the cow to milk it as a sound signals an entering SMS. She set her phone on the floor to read the message as she starts massaging the cow's teats.
 
−
 
 
−
-ON BOARD ORIENT-EXPRESS WITH GERONIMOFF
 
−
 
 
−
Carla continues to milk the cow, perplex about the meaning and origin of the message.
 
−
 
 
−
====BAR CAR, ORIENT EXPRESS====
 
−
 
 
−
The train is stopped at the Troyes station as the barman is leaning down behind the counter adjusting the pressure knob on the beer barrel.
 
−
 
 
−
-Bloody thing is ass backwards.
 
−
 
 
−
-Don't worry... A little foam is no big deal. Just gets a little flat, replies Uri.
 
−
 
 
−
-What you mean?
 
−
 
 
−
-You're not a beer drinker right?
 
−
 
 
−
The barman stands back up wiping his hands.
 
−
 
 
−
-Not much, obviously... Not much.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri's phone's screen lights up with a new SMS.
 
−
 
 
−
-WHO ARE YOU?
 
−
 
 
−
-Sorry, I gotta answer that.
 
−
 
 
−
-So, matters of the heart.
 
−
 
 
−
-Matters of the past.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri types back.
 
−
 
 
−
-YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL.
 
−
 
 
−
At the same moment, both men notice the scarlet veil of a woman disembarking on the platform through the door leading to the other car.
 
−
 
 
−
-Hope she's aware that this is only a pit stop, says the barman looking at his watch.
 
−
 
 
−
-What time does it leave?
 
−
 
 
−
The barman looks at a work schedule posted behind the bar.
 
−
 
 
−
-Seven minutes.
 
−
 
 
−
-Time for a cigarette... You're joining me?
 
−
 
 
−
-Thanks. I'm gonna chill here. Get things in order before breakfast.
 
−
 
 
−
====TROYES STATION PLATFORM====
 
−
 
 
−
Uri walks out of the train and lights up. He looks around trying to find the scarlet veil woman but the platform is deserted.
 
−
 
 
−
He grabs his phone and starts typing as he notices Najwa wearing her hijab, boarding the train through the next wagon's entrance.
 
−
 
 
−
====OUTSIDE CARLA'S GRANDPARENT'S FARM, MITTELLAND====
 
−
 
 
−
Carla opens the trunk of a new Fiat 500 which she borrowed from [[Franziska]] as her phone buzz.
 
−
 
 
−
-U'R OK?
 
−
 
 
−
-AT MY G-PARENTS.
 
−
 
 
−
-ALL GOOD?
 
−
 
 
−
-YES. JUST CHECKING ON THEM.
 
−
 
 
−
-KNOW THE FEELING... WILL B IN CH IN THE AM. WANNA MEET?
 
−
 
 
−
-TELL ME WHERE.
 
−
 
 
−
====ALEXANDER & NAJWA'S COMPARTMENT, ORIENT EXPRESS, TROYES====
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander is not in as Najwa enters their compartment. She grabs her iPad and sits down as she hears a bell signaling the imminent departure.
 
−
 
 
−
====BAR CAR, ORIENT EXPRESS, LEAVING TROYES====
 
−
 
 
−
As Uri gets back into the restaurant wagon, he notices Alexander sitting at the counter right where he was previously sitting. The barman looks at him stepping in.
 
−
 
 
−
-Think I figured it out. Wanna try a last one.
 
−
 
 
−
Then looking at Alexander, waiving a glass.
 
−
 
 
−
-Sir, on the house, we're testing the pressure?
 
−
 
 
−
-No thanks, another vodka please.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri sits two seats apart from Alexander.
 
−
 
 
−
-All the way to Venice?
 
−
 
 
−
-Is there another option?
 
−
 
 
−
The barman serves the beer and vodka.
 
−
 
 
−
-Well, I guess one could leave at any stop.
 
−
 
 
−
Looking at Uri.
 
−
 
 
−
-By the way did this lady get back in on time?
 
−
 
 
−
-Yes, I saw her stepping in further down.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri looks towards Alexander.
 
−
 
 
−
-You travel alone?
 
−
 
 
−
-No, yourself?
 
−
 
 
−
-Yes.
 
−
 
 
−
-Venice as well, then!
 
−
 
 
−
-Not to sure, I might get off in Switzerland.
 
−
 
 
−
The barman interjects.
 
−
 
 
−
-Siren of the Alps.
 
−
 
 
−
-In a way...
 
−
 
 
−
-So matters of the heart.
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander slides his glass towards the barman for a refill. Uri continues his exchange with Alexander.
 
−
 
 
−
-You've visited?
 
−
 
 
−
-Switzerland, no... I'm more of a seaman. Not much to do for me in landlocked places.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri stays silent for a moment, staring at his beer then addresses Alexander in Russian.
 
−
 
 
−
-Well that's as well. You should go then.
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander looks at the barman who raises his hands as if not concerned about what Uri just mumbled. Alexander slides his glass for more.
 
−
 
 
−
-Time for vodka... Please pour the man a shot.
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander addresses Uri in Russian as the barman pour two shots of vodka.
 
−
 
 
−
-So I guess you're the mysterious cyclist...
 
−
 
 
−
At the same moment he gets an incoming SMS from Najwa.
 
−
 
 
−
-WAY
 
−
 
 
−
He puts the phone back into his pocket and continues in Russian.
 
−
 
 
−
-As we are here talking man to man, this was not my call. The ones who called it are out. You're on the wrong track.
 
−
 
 
−
-We're all on a different track. Just make sure ours don't intersects again.
 
−
 
 
−
-Same goes for you and we'll be fine.
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander empties his glass, drops a 50 Euro bill on the counter and stands up.
 
−
 
 
−
-Well gentlemen, it was a pleasure...
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander exits the restaurant wagon towards his car.
 
−
 
 
−
Uri looks at the barman.
 
−
 
 
−
-So, you got what you wanted?
 
−
 
 
−
-What do you mean?
 
−
 
 
−
-Nikitin.
 
−
 
 
−
The barman smiles at Uri.
 
−
 
 
−
-How did you guess? The foam?
 
−
 
 
−
-The foam, the new job, the fake Jamaican accent, the Yankee slang coming out when you screw up.
 
−
 
 
−
-So what you think we're on the wrong track?
 
−
 
 
−
Figuring out that the barman understood Russian.
 
−
 
 
−
-I see. You guys came in well prepared.
 
−
 
 
−
-Somehow.
 
−
 
 
−
-And you, what was all this about?
 
−
 
 
−
-Personal story.
 
−
 
 
−
-Matters of the heart.
 
−
 
 
−
====SOUTHBOUND ON HIGHWAY E25, CANTON OF BERN, SWITZERLAND====
 
−
 
 
−
Carla is driving Franziska's Fiat 500 on the deserted Swiss highway.
 
−
 
 
−
====TRAIN STATION, BRIG, SWITZERLAND====
 
−
 
 
−
Uri walks along the platform carrying a small shoulder bag as the Orient Express leaves the station. He glances at Najwa who stares at him from her seat, in trance listening to the music of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trans-Europe_Express_sample.ogg Kraftwerk].
 
−
 
 
−
She grabs her iPad and [[La_Voie_de_l'ange#Vendredi_16_d.C3.A9cembre_1949|starts writing in French]].
 
−
 
 
−
====LOTSCHBERG TUNNEL, SWITZERLAND====
 
−
 
 
−
Carla checks her SMS but realizes that she doesn't get a signal as she sit in her car being hauled on a train across the Alps.
 
−
 
 
−
====FERROVIA, VENICE====
 
−
 
 
−
A train attendant smiles as he passes by Alexander and Najwa while they wait for the train doors to open as the Orient-Express arrives at the station.
 
−
 
 
−
-Excuse-me, is the name of your hotel identified on your luggage. We have a boat which could drop them off for you.
 
−
 
 
−
Alexander raises his small [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_bag dry bag].
 
−
 
 
−
-Thanks but that's all we carry.
 
−
 
 
−
-Well, have a beautiful stay in Venice.
 
−
 
 
−
The train attendant walks away as Najwa smiles at him. The doors open and the couple are the first passengers to disembark.
 
−
 
 
−
Najwa sets her scarf around her head and grabs Alexander's arm.
 
−
 
 
−
-Where do we go.
 
−
 
 
−
-Shower!
 
−
 
 
−
-Did you book a hotel?
 
−
 
 
−
-No. Thought we'd play it by ear. You have an idea?
 
−
 
 
−
-None... Let's walk around a little first.
 
−
 
 
−
====CANNAREGIO, VENICE, LATE AFTERNOON====
 
−
 
 
−
Najwa is fascinated by her surroundings as they meander in the small Venetian streets.
 
−
 
 
−
-So is this where the novel ends?
 
−
 
 
−
-Not really. They never even get to Venice. From what I remember it kind of ends in the Balkans...
 
−
 
 
−
-Did you see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_Venice_(film) Death in Venice]?
 
−
 
 
−
-No, I don't think so. A film?
 
−
 
 
−
-Yes, beautiful music while the man wanders around a desolated Venice. Hit by a cholera epidemic. I think I have it.
 
−
 
 
−
Najwa scrolls down her song list and splits her headphones to share them with Alexander. They walk around listening to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mahler_S5M4_100506_16b.ogg Mahler's Symphony No. 5].
 
−
 
 
−
====HOTEL ROOM, VENICE====
 
−
 
 
−
As a vaporetto docks across the Grand Canal, Najwa sits at her room's open window and scrolls through Wikipedia on her iPad looking for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Novels_set_in_Venice Novels set in Venice]. She is led from Thomas Mann's Death in Venice to Hemingway's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Across_the_River_and_Into_the_Trees Across the River and Into the Trees] where she focuses on the author's platonic relationship with a [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriana_Ivancich young woman]. This is the missing link she's been searching for months. [[La_voie_de_l%27ange#Du_5_mai_1945_au_14_mai_1948|Anne>Cuba>Hemingway]]. She takes notes in "her" diary.
 
−
 
 
−
Moments later Alexander walks out of the shower with a towel around his waist. Najwa peaks at him.
 
−
 
 
−
-When you'll be like fifty... you think you'll be more attracted by teenage girls, or boys?
 
−
 
 
−
-Boys? Your talking to a Soviet Navy officer my Muslim sister. We don't do boys. A woman in every port maybe. But no boys.
 
−
 
 
−
-So why do writers when they hit their fifties are so fascinated by youth that they don't really care about the gender.
 
−
 
 
−
-Writers maybe, but not us men.
 
  
−
He grabs her by the waist as she remains sitting on the window frame.
+
-Yes... and red on top... very festive.. and thoughtful of you... thank you.
  
−
-We like real women. With flesh under the cloth.
+
Neda is quite shy and intimidated by Susan, a serious looking woman, a generation older than her, yet youthful. She looks at the sparsely decorated room. A desk. A mirror. Two chairs. Two suitcases containing carefully folded clothing. On the bed rests a twisted bundle of xeroxed sheets.
  
−
-But I'm not your sister, you pervert, continues Najwa as she pushes him away with smirk. Go back to your London whore... and let me work.
+
-You're working? Am I bothering you?
  
−
-You really are fixated on fiction my love.
+
Susan grabs the bundle and shows the cover to Neda.
  
−
====ISABELLA'S ROOM, JERUSALEM====
+
-No... no.. this is actually in Italian. I don't read it very well but I can manage. This journalist, from Rome, who I've met when she visited Tehran a few weeks before all this happened left it behind. I guess it's the copy of a manuscript, about a manuscript, about a manuscript... maybe not yet published... Quite puzzling, I must say, in light of all what is happening. Anyways it's the only thing I have to read. Do you read Italian?
  
−
A teenage Uri, stands in [[Isabella]]'s room. He watches himself in the mirror as his grandmother lies in her bed.
+
Neda smiles as she scrolls her index over the title. -Adso da Melk, Il nome della rosa... Do I pronounce it right?
  
−
-Why didn't you ever go back to Venice.
+
-I guess. Sounds right. Better than me anyways. I have a terrible American accent in Italian... Like in Farsi.
  
−
Isabella suddenly looks as if she was 20. She answers in Italian.
+
Susan squeezes the pomegranate open. Blood red juice drips over the white sheets as she pulls out the seeds. -Like for accents, I guess I have no talent for peeling fruits...
  
−
-But we are in Venice my love.
+
Both women laugh...
  
−
Uri looks back at himself in the mirror and is distracted by knocks on Isabella's door. She continues in Italian...
+
-We better eat these outside I guess, suggests Neda. Let me ask the guard.
  
−
-The Germans!
+
====COURTYARD, US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 25 DECEMBER 1979====
  
−
====HOTEL VICTORIA, BRIG, SWITZERLAND====
+
Susan and Neda stroll along the grassy yard. Neda grabs a pomegranate from the bag.
  
−
Uri is pulled from his dream by knocks on his hotel room's door. After a few seconds, he cautiously makes his way to the door where he finds an exhausted Carla standing. She walks straight at him and they start hugging each other until they collapse on the bed.
+
-This is the proper way, you crack it open then carefully pull the seeds... Here.
  
−
-Who are you... I can't get you out of my mind ever since I woke up from that night in Moscow. Did you hypnotized me? Did we do it?
+
She offers a handful to Susan.
  
−
Uri smiles as they continue kissing over the bed.
+
-Thanks... Sweet... Yummy...
  
−
-Not that I remember. You passed out.
+
-I'm very sorry but you understand that I can't talk to you about much more then fruits.
  
−
They make love.
+
-I know... But just speaking to someone new, the fresh air. It's great thanks.
  
−
====MOSSAD COMPOUND, HERZLIYA====
+
The two women continue their walk, enjoying each others company.
  
−
''Aaron is in a meeting with his superiors reporting that what they're now getting from US sources is that Yatom seems to be back on Nikitin's trail.''
+
====FEMALE HOSTAGES ROOM, US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 25 DECEMBER 1979, LATER====
  
 +
Susan's roommate opens the door to an empty room, turn on the light and freezes when she sees the bed covered in blood!
  
 +
****
  
  
−
[[London Calling|<< PREVIOUS EPISODE]] -- [[TBD|NEXT EPISODE >>]]
+
[[The Hansa Way|<< PREVIOUS EPISODE]] - [[The Moscow Games|NEXT EPISODE >>]]
  
 
[[Category:Episodes]]
 
[[Category:Episodes]]
−
[[Category:The Venetian Cell|1.004]]
+
[[Category:The Passengers|2.005]]
−
[[Category:Follow the Money|1.004]]
+
[[Category:The Clan|2.005]]
−
[[Category: The Age of Nujood (2010- )]]
+
[[Category: The Age of Christiane (1979-1983)]]

Latest revision as of 16:57, 22 December 2023

OUTLINE

Neda is the daughter of Sunni Palestinian Winemakers who emigrated to Iran after having been evicted from there land in near Jerusalem. As a kid, she attended an American school in Israel/Palestine until the 1973 war. She is fluent in English.

Neda was part of a left wing student group which took part in the seizure of the US embassy in November 1979. Because of her knowledge of the English language and American culture, she became a valuable asset to the cause although she was more driven by left leaning ideals then Islamic ones. She was eventually recruited by the Iranian espionage services to infiltrate European extreme left groups.

As a Sunni Palestinian, she never felt Iranian. As a Marxist, she never felt Islamist. These convoluted allegiances were great characteristics for spy. Also risky ones.

In September 1979, 2 month before the seizure of the US Embassy, Susan, the US Embassy employee, is interviewed by an Italian journalist (O.F) who leaves a bag behind containing a xeroxed copy of a not yet published manuscript: Adso of Melk, The Name of the Rose.

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TEHRAN POLYTECHNIC, IRAN, 3 NOVEMBER 1979

Mojahedin-e-Khalq

The corridors of the Polytechnic are overcrowded as Neda, a 19 years old medical school freshman, holds on to Ali and Hussain, all making their way towards the main auditorium. A general meeting has been called by several student organizations but most attending don't seem to know where to go next. Arriving at the auditorium's guarded door, Ali states his allegiance to the People's Mujahedin and points to Hussein and Neda to clear them as well. The three walk in but as Neda passes through the doors, one of the guards stops her.

-Cover yourself sister, this is not a discotheque.

Upset, Neda looks at her two comrades.

-I told you, I'm not following if that's going to be the way.

Hussain, looks at the guard who keeps his arm extended to block Neda, then back at Ali who raises his shoulders, helpless. About three hundred students are already inside the auditorium. Mostly men. The few females attending are veiled.

-Come on Neda, just do like he says. We gotta get going.

Neda pulls a scarf from her pocket and wears it, not pleased.

MAIN AUDITORIUM, TEHRAN POLYTECHNIC

Neda, Ali and Hussain have joined a small contingent of the People's Mujahedin who have gathered in a corner of the auditorium.

-I told you guys, I'm not into this Imam's Line thing. If we don't stand our grounds from the start, they're going to wipe us out. What do you think? Once we'll be in, we're going to have a round table discussion?

-She's right, this is not what I had envisioned. They're all from Poly Engineering, and the ones carrying guns are not even students, they're like the Imam's protection men, Hezbollahi...

-I'm like the only girl here!

-No, I've seen a couple when we got in.

-Yeah, a couple. How many are we here? A thousand!

An Engineering student approaches followed by two shadier men carrying duffel bags. The student walks up to Ali.

-Ali, right?

-Yes.

-Ok so we're scheduled to storm through the South gate at 06:00.

Hussain steps forward. What do you mean we're scheduled? When was this decided. Wasn't the point of this whole gathering to discuss the strategy?

-Well, no... The plan has been ready for days... We just couldn't divulge it to prevent leaks.

Hussain looks back at his comrades. Neda looks down in disbelief.

-So the girl has to team up the two other women. They're the scout crew. Which university are you attending, sister?

-University of Tehran, Med school!

-So you must know how to use your hands then.

-Well, I grew up on a farm, so besides the scalpel...

-Right on, says one of the two shadier guys stepping forward and dropping his bag in front of Neda.

He pulls a 36" bolt cutter from the bag and hands it to her.

-Know how to use one of those?

Neda grabs the heavy tool from both handles and raises it up before the guy squeezing it defiantly.

-Well, you'll never achieve anything this way.

The guy grabs the tool, walks up to the iron railing cordoning the bleachers around the speaker's desk. He then places a section of the railing between the cutter's blades, lowers one of the handles to the floor, blocks it with his foot, then presses on the other handle, cutting through the half inch steel bar like butter.

-Here. Now practice until get it right. One of our girls will bring you a proper chador.

OUTSIDE THE US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 4 NOVEMBER 1979

Lance-Corporal Tyrone Washington the Third's shift ends at 06:00 but the next Marine hasn't shown up to replace him yet. For the past weeks, Washington has spent the cold Persian nights on the roof of the US Embassy's staff living quarters, scanning the compound's perimeter with Starlight Scope mounted on his M-60 Machine Gun. Since they landed in March, the 13 men unit of the Marine Security Guards have been on high alert night and day.

The streets of Tehran are dimly lit on this early November morning. The silhouettes of three black chadors crossing towards the South wall of the US Embassy Compound are missed by the National police cars parked at each end of the street but they light up in Washington's night vision scope. -A little early for 3 Muslin women to roam down the streets of Tehran..., thinks the Marine as he loses sight of the trio behind a wall. He pans his scope to the right to see if they show up through the iron gates when Sergeant Willow arrives to relieve him.

-Tyrone my man, times up! Two eggs and crunchy bacon waiting for you at the cafeteria.

-Hold up a sec, just on to something, answers Washington as he keeps his attention focused on the gate.

-What'd you see.

-These 3 women crossed the street just a minute ago and I can't locate them anymore.

-Man, you pervert. These ain't x-ray glasses. I you wanna see one of them Iranian girl's boobs, you gonna have to get under them black sheets.

At the same moment, Neda gets by the gate and pulls the bolt cutter from under her veil. The single street light's ray bounces of the metallic blade and flashes into Washington's scope, blinding him for a second.

-What the fuck!

US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 7 NOVEMBER 1979

Neda, who's hair now is lose, leans over a card board on which she translate a Persian text into English: THERE IS NO TIME FOR IMPERIALISM IN IRAN ANY MORE...

FEMALE HOSTAGES ROOM, US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 25 DECEMBER 1979

Neda discreetly opens the door and peeps in the room where a woman is leaning on a bed, reading. Neda holds a plastic bag containing pomegranates. The woman on the bed is in her late thirties and wears hexagonal shaped eyeglasses. She smiles at Neda and addresses her in basic Farsi.

-Please come in.

Neda makes a few steps forward, leaving the door open, then responds in English.

-Hi, I hope I'm not bothering you. I brought you some pomegranates. I hope you enjoy them.

-Oh! Wow... You speak very good English.

-Thanks... You're alone? Where is your friend?

-Oh, she went to the chapel, in the other building.

-Christmas!

-Yes

-And you? You don't celebrate?

-No... Not really in the mood... But please... Come in... You can close the door if you want.

Neda looks at the door behind her, then quietly pushes it leaving it ajar, then walks back towards the woman who moves to an upright position on the side of her bed and invites Neda to sit next to her.

-I'm Susan... and you?

-Neda... Very pleased to meet you.

Neda pulls a pomegranate from the bag and offers it to Susan.

-Thanks.

-I thought maybe for Christmas, you'd be happy to eat a fruit.

-Yes... and red on top... very festive.. and thoughtful of you... thank you.

Neda is quite shy and intimidated by Susan, a serious looking woman, a generation older than her, yet youthful. She looks at the sparsely decorated room. A desk. A mirror. Two chairs. Two suitcases containing carefully folded clothing. On the bed rests a twisted bundle of xeroxed sheets.

-You're working? Am I bothering you?

Susan grabs the bundle and shows the cover to Neda.

-No... no.. this is actually in Italian. I don't read it very well but I can manage. This journalist, from Rome, who I've met when she visited Tehran a few weeks before all this happened left it behind. I guess it's the copy of a manuscript, about a manuscript, about a manuscript... maybe not yet published... Quite puzzling, I must say, in light of all what is happening. Anyways it's the only thing I have to read. Do you read Italian?

Neda smiles as she scrolls her index over the title. -Adso da Melk, Il nome della rosa... Do I pronounce it right?

-I guess. Sounds right. Better than me anyways. I have a terrible American accent in Italian... Like in Farsi.

Susan squeezes the pomegranate open. Blood red juice drips over the white sheets as she pulls out the seeds. -Like for accents, I guess I have no talent for peeling fruits...

Both women laugh...

-We better eat these outside I guess, suggests Neda. Let me ask the guard.

COURTYARD, US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 25 DECEMBER 1979

Susan and Neda stroll along the grassy yard. Neda grabs a pomegranate from the bag.

-This is the proper way, you crack it open then carefully pull the seeds... Here.

She offers a handful to Susan.

-Thanks... Sweet... Yummy...

-I'm very sorry but you understand that I can't talk to you about much more then fruits.

-I know... But just speaking to someone new, the fresh air. It's great thanks.

The two women continue their walk, enjoying each others company.

FEMALE HOSTAGES ROOM, US EMBASSY COMPOUND, TEHRAN, 25 DECEMBER 1979, LATER

Susan's roommate opens the door to an empty room, turn on the light and freezes when she sees the bed covered in blood!


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