The Other Side of Hell - Chapter 2
EXT: The Sanctuary, 2000.
SCREEN CAPTION: FIVE YEARS LATER
A bunch of people show up and attack Sanctuary. Things go boom, guys in monk-robes die. Attackers die. Etc. When things are quiet...
WATCHER
(to another watcher) "Take their heads. Some of them might be Immortal."
KARN
(from behind the corner) "Some of us are." (kills both of the Watchers, then goes to kick his partner, William.) "Don't take too long."
WILLIAM
(gasps, revives, goes with KARN.)
INT: The Sanctuary, The Holding room
(Karn and William arrive in the holding room. Karn and William starts unlocking the hoods. When they're all done, Karn takes out his sword and goes to one of the people.)
WILLIAM
(frantic) "You can't do that! We're on Holy Ground!"
KARN
(smiling) "Haven't you ever wondered what would happen? I have. Live on the edge." (spins and decapitates William) "Die on the edge."
(a quickening occurs)
KARN
(looking at his erstwhile companion and starts to laugh-he's survived.) "I don't care about the rules. I don't care about the Game. All I want is Connor MacLeod." (Lifts his sword and strikes at one of the seated immies, place starts to blow up again.)
INT: The Sanctuary, The Holding room
(place is a mess, headless bodies everywhere, etc. Three Watchers are in the room; Pierre in a monk-robe comes in the door.)
PIERRE:
"What the hell happened?"
CLAUDE
(sarcastic) "I don't know, Pierre. We've got heads over there, and heads over here, and bodies everywhere. What do you think happened?"
PIERRE
"All of them are dead?"
CLAUDE
(counts the crispy-fried and unrecognizable heads on the floor) "Yes, nine."
PIERRE
(coming down the stairs, picking his way among the wreckage) "How did he find us? We've been safe here for centuries. Not even the rest of the Watchers know about us."
CLAUDE
"No witnesses were left alive, and the surveillance cameras were destroyed by the Quickenings."
PIERRE
(shaking his head) "Quickenings on Holy ground." (He and Claude look at each other grimly) "Then our work is even more important than we thought. Nowhere is safe."
CLAUDE
"We need at least two 'volunteers.' That way, no one will ever win the Prize, and no Immortal will ever rule the world." (sighs) "We also need a new location. We'd better call a real estate agent."
(one monk-Watcher looks up, worried, but keeps cleaning.)
INT: Methos's house, VIENNA
(knock on the door)
METHOS
(opens door to show Joe, looking worried.) "What's wrong?"
JOE
"There was, ah, a bit of a problem yesterday."
INT. Car, on the road -day
(Methos driving Joe in a car)
METHOS
"How the hell did this happen, Joe?"
JOE
"Renegade Watchers. Seems they wanted to take out some insurance against the Prize being won. Life-time policies."
METHOS
(swears under his breath) "How long has this been going on?"
JOE
"Centuries, I guess. Whenever an immortal would decide to visit that monastery, the Watchers would grab 'im."
METHOS
"Welcome to the Hotel California."
JOE
"Yeah. They used to lock them up; lately they've been using drugs to keep 'em quiet."
METHOS
(muttering in disgust) "More humane."
JOE
"One of the Watchers who works there was with me at the Watcher Academy. He called me yesterday, really spooked, and told me what's been going on. We figure some Immortal found out about their hideout, came in and killed the Watchers, then whacked all the immortals he could find. Nine of 'em, lined up in a row. Talk about an all-you-can-eat buffet."
METHOS
(almost yelping in surprise) "An Immortal took their heads? On Holy Ground?"
JOE
"Yeah, well ... whoever he is, he doesn't follow the rules."
METHOS
(swears again, viciously.)
JOE
"I'll say. And we gotta tell Duncan MacLeod, but the Watchers lost track of him two years ago, after he left Paris."
METHOS
"He's in Romania."
JOE
"Romania? What the hell is in Romania?" (turns in his seat to look at Methos) "And how the hell do you know?"
METHOS
"I helped him pick out the paint chips."
EXT: DUNCAN'S ESTATE, ROMANIA, 2000
(Duncan MacLeod walking outside near a farm field. A comfortable house is in the background. A car pulls up, he gets the buzz, stops, Maura (the pretty woman he remembered at Connor's house) gets out of the car, short hair, cold expression, a white lacy shirt over tight black pants, nifty earrings.)
DUNCAN
"Maura!"
MAURA/FAITH
"Maura was killed, almost three centuries ago. Don't you remember, Duncan?"
DUNCAN
"I remember."
Flashback TRANSITION TO
INT: House, Ireland, 1715 - Morning
(Maura sewing by the fire, a lovely piece of needlework. Duncan sits by her side. Their eyes meet, they kiss.)
BUZZ comes, and Duncan pulls away.
MAURA
"What's wrong?"
DUNCAN
"I think I hear someone coming."
MAURA
"I didn't hear anything."
(A knock on the door)
CONNOR (off screen)
"Duncan!"
DUNCAN
(smiles innocently and shrugs, opens the door to greet his kinsman.) "Connor!" (they embrace)
CONNOR
"You look good, Duncan." (His eyes go to Maura, and he walks over and bows, very appreciative.) "But I like the view over here much better."
DUNCAN
(hurrying over to claim Maura's hand in his own.) "Connor, this is Maura Flaherty. Maura, my kinsman, Connor MacLeod."
CONNOR
(takes Maura's hand and bows over it. His smile fades a tiny bit.)
EXT: By a pond in Ireland, 1715 - SAME DAY
CONNOR
"Pretty girl."
DUNCAN
"Aye." (rubbing hands together in excitement and nervousness.) "I'm going to ask her to marry me."
CONNOR
(not really surprised at that; Duncan's often about to get married.) "She knows then? That you are Immortal?"
DUNCAN
"Well, no ... I ..."
CONNOR
"You know she will be an Immortal, too?"
DUNCAN
"Aye. That is, I thought I sensed something. I wasn't sure."
CONNOR
"It's not always clear, but with her, I can tell." (ever the teacher in charge) "She needs to know, Duncan, before you marry. If you marry."
DUNCAN
"We love each other!"
CONNOR
"Until death do you part? Marriage isn't the same for Immortals. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years together? You two should think about that."
DUNCAN
"We'll have time."
CONNOR
"You need to tell her now. How old do you think she'll be the first time she dies? Thirty? Fifty?" (pushing his point) "Seventy? Do you think she will want to spend eternity as an old woman?"
DUNCAN
"Connor-"
CONNOR
"Maura has a choice, Duncan. Heather didn't. She grew old before my eyes ..."
CUT TO: Heather against a wall, with a knife in her hand, cutting off her hair.
CONNOR (voiceover)
"I found her one evening, cutting off her hair. When I asked her why she would do such a thing to herself, she handed me the locks of hair, and said that she'd taken out the white ones, and that I should keep the gold. She wanted me to remember her as she was when first we met."
(FB: SCOTLAND, 1587, From HL1, Connor holding a dying Heather in his arms.)
CONNOR (Voiceover)
"She died in my arms, an old woman."
HEATHER
"Don't see me, Connor. Let me die in peace."
CONNOR (Voiceover)
"But still beautiful - to me."
(Connor carries Heather's body up the hill. Jams his sword into the earth as a grave marker.)
BACK TO: Ireland, 1715
CONNOR
(to Duncan) "You and Maura will never have to face that, but you need to tell her now. She's in the flower of her youth, Duncan. It's her life. Let her decide."
DUNCAN
"Aye. I will." (starts to leave)
CONNOR
(calling after him) "She'll need to learn how to fight."
DUNCAN
"I can keep her safe."
CONNOR
"No. You can't. Not now, not after she becomes Immortal. You know that."
DUNCAN
(unwillingly admitting it) "Aye. I do."
EXT: under a willow tree by a stream - Ireland, 1715 - DAY
(Duncan and Maura are lying on the ground, clothes all disheveled, in the aftermath of love-making. Duncan is straddling her, a knife in his hand.)
DUNCAN
"You're certain? You want me to do this?"
MAURA
(looking up at him, smiling) "I do. To be young and beautiful, to live with you forever ... What matters a small moment of pain, for an eternity of love?"
DUNCAN
(having a hard time with this) "I love you."
MAURA
"And I love you. Forever."
(Duncan stabs her, she gasps, blood all over the place, etc.)
CUT TO:
(Maura, a little cleaner now, Duncan wiped up the blood. She revives, gasping)
MAURA
"Duncan?"
DUNCAN
"I'm here, my love."
MAURA
(reaching for him and smiling) "Forever."
(They kiss passionately, and then keep going. Fade before they get too busy.)
TRANSITION TO:
EXT: DUNCAN'S ESTATE, ROMANIA, 2000
DUNCAN
"You're as beautiful as ever, Maura."
MAURA
"But no longer young. And my name isn't Maura now. I'm Faith."
DUNCAN
(trying out the name) "Faith."
MAURA/FAITH
(nastily) "That sounds odd, coming from you." (She draws her sword.)
DUNCAN
(backing away) "What are you doing?"
FAITH
"What I've learned to do, over the centuries. What you taught me to do. I'm not young, and I'm not innocent. I've become the killer you wanted me to be."
DUNCAN
"I never wanted this."
FAITH
"Neither did I. But we Immortals don't have a choice, do we? After all, it's how we live." (she attacks, Duncan grabs a stick to defend himself.)
DUNCAN
"I won't kill you!"
FAITH
"You haven't changed, have you, Duncan?" (smiles coldly) "But that just makes this easier for me."
DUNCAN
"Maura!"
FAITH
(whacking at him) "My name is Faith." (she cuts him a good one) "Remember it."
DUNCAN
(draws his sword, does some fancy move and disarms her) "No more."
FAITH
"Oh, yes. There's more." (She walks over to him, kneels, and takes his sword in her hands and puts it against her own neck.)
DUNCAN
(wanting to pull away, afraid he'll slice her fingers off. Blood drips between her fingers.) "Stop!"
FAITH
"Not this time." (she pulls the sword closer, leans into it, and cuts into her own neck. Blood drips down onto her white shirt.)
DUNCAN
(about to drop the handle, when BUZZ hits. She lets go, but stays kneeling. They both turn to see Shen Ji in the distance, drawing a sword as he approaches.)
DUNCAN
"Who's that?"
FAITH
(smiles, still on her knees, licking the blood off her fingers) "My teacher. My friend. My lover." (stands as Shen Ji draws near). "My husband."
SHEN JI
(stopping a little bit away.) "Your death."
DUNCAN
(unhappily prepares to fight.) "I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod."
SHEN JI
(sneers) "You are a killer of women. I am Shen Ji, a man of honor."
DUNCAN
(taken aback and recognizing the name) "Shen Ji? You fought for the Emperor Chang?"
SHEN JI
(bows head in acknowledgment, then attacks. Fancy sword stuff. After a while, Duncan disarms Shen Ji. Shen Ji prepares to fight with his hands, and issues another challenge.)
"Honor is not in the weapon, but in the man."
DUNCAN
(Nods, sticks the point of his katana in the dirt. Shen Ji is surprised, looks at Faith, her face is cold, and she glares at them both. Duncan and Shen Ji bow to each other again, start to fight unarmed, more of a contest now, less of a duel.)
(Car approaches, kicking up dust. All three immies feel the Buzz. Car pulls up, stops. Methos and Joe get out. Duncan and Shen Ji stop.)
METHOS
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"
FAITH
"A challenge. You can't interfere."
METHOS
(looking her over) "But will you?"
FAITH
(Decides to cut her losses and leave.) "Shen Ji!"
(Duncan and Shen Ji bow to each other once more, in respect. Faith and Shen Ji walk to their car. Shen Ji looks at Faith, trying to figure her out; then they get in the car and leave.)
METHOS
(looking about) "I like what you've done with the place."
DUNCAN
(retrieves his sword, looks at Methos, wondering why he brought Joe with him.) "Why are you in Romania?"
JOE
"Funny, I was going to ask you that very same question. (looks around) Romania?"
DUNCAN
(not amused, stares at Methos.) "Well?"
METHOS
"Connor MacLeod."
DUNCAN
(gets serious, waiting for more)
JOE
(gently) "Mac ... the monastery Connor was living in was attacked. He's dead."
DUNCAN
(disbelieving) "No. That's not possible." (Methos and Joe just stare back at him.) "Someone took his head on Holy Ground?"
METHOS
"An Immortal."
DUNCAN
(shocked) "But ... we can't fight there."
METHOS
"How many of the other rules have you seen broken? One-on-one, can't interfere ... why not this rule, too?
DUNCAN
"But-"
METHOS
(exasperated) "What did you think would happen, MacLeod? The earth open and swallow us up? Fire and brimstone raining from the sky? A lifeguard blowing a whistle and telling everybody, 'Out! Out of the pool!'? You think someone on high is making sure we play by the rules?"
JOE
"You're kidding. All these years..."
METHOS
"If we make the rules, it's up to us to enforce them."
DUNCAN
(grimly) "And to live by them."
METHOS
(ever the optimist) "Or die by them."
DUNCAN
(glares at him) "Where's Connor's body? Where is he?"
JOE
"We don't know, Mac."
METHOS
"Duncan..." (Duncan looks up in surprise; Methos never calls him by his first name.) "I'm so sorry." (Duncan nods, Methos takes Connor's katana out from under his coat and offers it to him.) "I liberated Connor's katana from the Watcher archives. I thought you might want it."
DUNCAN
(looking at the blade closely) "It's got blood on it."
METHOS
"I didn't say it was easy."
Car, driving in the Highlands
(Duncan driving, too fast, to Loch Shiel, remembering their conversation)
JOE (voiceover)
"I'm sorry, Duncan."
DUNCAN (voiceover)
(shaky) "I'm going home, to Scotland."
EXT. Church in the Highlands
DUNCAN
(gets out of the car at the church where Alex and John and Brenda are buried, goes to the gravestones. The graves are all grown over with grass now, the headstones all up: Brenda Wyatt MacLeod 1958-1987, John Duncan MacLeod 1983-1995; Alexandra Johnson MacLeod 1961-1995.)
"To say goodbye."
Duncan takes out the sword and lays it carefully on the ground, kneels, bows his head in prayer.)
DUNCAN
(all lovely angst and sorrow) "You were ... so much more than a teacher to me, Connor: clansman, drinking buddy, sparring partner, best friend, father, the brother of my heart... You were always there for me; I can't believe you're gone. I wish I could tell you-" (He gets the Buzz, immediately stands and picks up the sword.)
CONNOR
(comes out from behind the corner of the church.) "You can." (Duncan stands there, unbelieving. Connor smiles a little) "Well, go on. I'm waiting. Surely, there's more."
DUNCAN
"Connor..." (smiling, stepping forward, putting the sword in a non-threatening position, they embrace) "You do have a hard time dying." (they embrace again.) "God, it's good to see you. I thought you were dead."
CONNOR
"So I gathered. You're not usually such a poet."
DUNCAN
(a little embarrassed, a little close to tears) "I meant it. Every word."
CONNOR
"I know." in Gaelic "I love you, too, Duncan."
DUNCAN
In Gaelic, smiling "I know."
CONNOR
(they stop this before it gets even mushier. Connor looks at the sword.) "Is that for me?"
(Duncan smiles and offers him the blade ceremoniously, they bow to each other. Connor looks it over, touches it reverently. It's been a long five years.)
DUNCAN
"I cleaned it for you."
CONNOR
(a wry grin) "Thanks."
DUNCAN
"Connor ... what happened?"
CONNOR
(starts walking a bit, Duncan goes with him) "Dreams, Duncan. Dreams and memories. That's all I know of the last five years." (looks at the gravestones) "I wasn't sure what had really happened, and what I only dreamed. I came back here to see ... I hoped ..." (touches John's headstone, walks on)
DUNCAN
(after a moment) "Dawson said you were kidnapped by Renegade Watchers, kept prisoner in a basement at the monastery for the last five years."
CONNOR
(shoots him a sharp glance, looks puzzled, shaking his head. He's feeling trapped and trying to fight his way out) "I don't know. I don't remember. I don't even know how I got to Scotland. I don't remember *anything*!" (softly) "Except fire. And blood."
BUZZ - Connor and Duncan turn immediately, Duncan drawing his sword, Connor lifting his, the two of them side by side, ready to fight. Major Photo op here
KARN
(walks up to the edge of the graveyard, with FAITH by his side.) "Do you remember me? Old *friend*?"
FLASH ON: Bearded priest from the 1555 FB and the sneaky guy from NYC, and then to this fellow.
CONNOR
(surprised, yet not really) "Liam Karn."
KARN
(comes into the graveyard, right up to the headstones.) "One, two, three MacLeods, all in a row." (smiles at Connor) "But where is little Rachel? Helping a garden grow?"
CONNOR
(now he knows) "You."
KARN
(very satisfied) "Me."
CONNOR
(steps forward, lifting his sword, ready for revenge.)
KARN
"Holy Ground, Clansman!" (Connor checks himself)
DUNCAN
(guessing) "But that didn't stop you. Did it?"
KARN
"It will stop Connor MacLeod."
CONNOR
"No. It won't." (walks right up to Liam and puts his sword at his neck.) "Not with you."
KARN
(leaning into the blade, blood starting to drip) "Go ahead. Do it. You've killed me this way before - a man of God, unarmed, defenseless, a man you called friend. You killed another priest, too, my foster-father. But you didn't know I would be Immortal, did you? You didn't know I would come back and make you pay for your sins."
CONNOR
(letting the sword go deeper, circling the man) "*My* sins? You betrayed us. You helped burn my mother at the stake."
KARN
"No! I never betrayed you. They followed me. I didn't know."
CONNOR
"Lies."
KARN
(waits until he can see Connor's eyes. There's a line of blood all around his neck) "Truth." (Connor pauses, and Liam knows he has him pegged) "And you never even gave me a chance to explain."
CONNOR
(dismissing that) "You killed Rachel. You killed Alex and John. They never had a chance, either."
KARN
(gloating) "Neither did Brenda." (Connor cuts deeper, and Liam flinches in pain.) "Would you kill an unarmed man again, Connor?"
CONNOR
"You have."
KARN
"Do you want to become me? Take my head, my Quickening, have me inside you forever?"
CONNOR
"I've had worse."
KARN
"Oh, I don't *think* so. I know you too well. And you don't know me at all." (He drops to his knees, Connor's sword follows him down.) "Go on. You'll never get another chance like this."
(Connor pulls back his arm for the blow)
KARN
"Fire and blood, MacLeod. The cleansing fire, the blood of the lamb. Everything must end with fire and blood."
CONNOR
(starts to swing)
DUNCAN
(in warning) "Connor, this is Holy Ground!"
(Connor stops, just barely, but Faith walks up to Duncan and kneels at his feet. He immediately puts his sword out of her reach.)
FAITH
"Third time's the charm, Duncan."
(Connor and Duncan look at each other. They know they can't do this - not here, not now. The other two know it, too. Faith and Liam laugh and stand up.)
KARN
(snidely) "Honor. It's such an old-fashioned concept."
CONNOR
"Honor never goes out of style."
FAITH
(looking him over critically) "How would you know?"
(the pair walks off. Connor and Duncan lower their swords.)
EXT: Car, parked in the Highlands, not far from the church
(Karn and Faith are walking down the hill from the cemetery, smiling)
KARN
"I haven't enjoyed anything so much since I worked for Cardinal Richeleau."
FAITH
"Not even Paris with me?"
KARN
(smiles) "Ah, Paris."
Flashback TRANSITION: Can use the reflection of Karn's face on the side of the car, distorted by the curve of the metal, becoming ...
INT: Church, Paris, 1745
Karn's face, dressed now as a priest in full regalia. He's celebrating mass, complete with incense, altar boys, candles.
KARN
(elevating the host and chanting the prayers.)
"Hoc est enim corpus meum."
CAMERA shows us rows of nuns kneeling behind the decorative grill that separates them from the main part of the church. Maura in the front row, murmuring to herself, dressed as a novice.
MAURA
"This is my body."
KARN
(elevating the chalice.)
"His est enim calix sanguinis mei."
MAURA
(softly) "This is the chalice of my blood."
CAMERA on the chalice, the red wine within, Karn's hands. On the Flame of the Sacred Presence, burning on the altar. On a stained glass window.
NUNS singing, MAURA singing too.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.
(Maura stops singing on this last line)
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem.
MAURA
(whispering) "Peace."
KARN
(chanting) "Domine, non sum dignus."
MAURA
(hoping she can make it true) "Lord, I am not worthy. But only say the word, and my soul shall be healed."
CAMERA on crucifix.
CUT TO:
The mass is over, the altar empty. Maura, kneeling, all the other nuns are getting ready to leave. A nun touches Maura's shoulder, she shakes her head and stays.
(We see this next part through the bars of the grill, from Maura's POV. Karn re-enters the church, they get the buzz and stare at each other. She doesn't move from her knees. He goes to her, looks down at her paternally, possessively.)
KARN
(his face shadowed by the bars of the grill) "You are new here, Sister."
MAURA
"I took my vows as a novice three days ago, Father."
KARN
"Ah. Seeking peace on Holy Ground. Or ... seeking safety?"
MAURA
"Seeking faith." (softly) "And myself." (Rises from her knees.) "Would you ... hear my confession, Father? I need to-"
KARN
(a benevolent smile) "Of course, my daughter."
CUT TO
(the inside of a confessional, Karn is behind the screen, his face still shadowed)
MAURA
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I have ... killed ..."
KARN
"How many?"
MAURA
(whispering) "Five."
KARN
"All men?"
MAURA
"No. A woman. And then ... last month ..." (closes her eyes, forces herself to go on) "... a child, only twelve years old - in body."
KARN
"An Immortal, then."
MAURA
(shocked that he could think otherwise.) "Of course! I wouldn't-"
KARN
(sharply) "Wouldn't you?"
MAURA
(shaking her head, looking frightened)
KARN
"Haven't you thought of it? Don't you want to? In your heart of hearts, don't you feel the lure of that power? That lust for death?"
MAURA
(forced to admit it) "Yes." (trying to explain) "That's why I became a nun. I want the Quickenings; I want that power. But even though I know it's evil, I can't seem to stop. I thought that here..."
KARN
"We redeem by death, my child."
MAURA
"But-"
KARN
"Christ redeemed all mankind by his death. And by killing other Immortals, we redeem them."
MAURA
(not what she was expecting to hear) "No! What about the Game, the Prize?"
KARN
(sniffing in dismissal) "Man's rules. Man's game. No Prize is worth more than the kingdom of Heaven. God has a higher plan."
MAURA
(willing to listen; he's a priest after all.) "Father, I do not understand."
KARN
(persuasively) "God has chosen you for this, his holy work. All immortals must die, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. You and I have been chosen to kill the others, to bring the Day of Judgement ever closer, when the last Immortal will stand alone, and the world will end in fire!"
MAURA
"God can not ask me to kill!"
KARN
"God asked it of Judas." (pause) "Without Judas, there would have been no resurrection of Christ, no eternal life, no salvation for the world."
MAURA
(not at all happy about this) "No ..."
KARN
"God would not place this burden on one who was too weak to carry it."
MAURA
"Judas hanged himself for his sin of betraying Christ."
KARN
(unperturbed) "And so shall we die for our sins, when this is over. We are the anointed ones. We make the ultimate sacrifice. They lose their lives, but we ... we shall lose our souls. We already have."
MAURA
(shaken) "We are already damned?"
KARN
"Our souls are bound to the Quickenings. We can never reach heaven, and so we are condemned to hell." (leaning forward, earnest and sincere) "But even though we have lost the chance of eternal salvation, my daughter, still we can bring others closer to God. Through their suffering, through their death, they achieve salvation. We exist only to serve others."
MAURA
"You are saying ... that I should kill?"
KARN
(an unctuous blessing) "Submit to God's will, my child. Accept what you are, and take comfort in knowing that you have a place in God's plan."
Camera shifts to Karn's side of the confessional. Karn makes the sign of the cross over her, and now Maura is the one in the shadows.)
QUICK FLASHES OF
Maura sneaking out of the convent, meeting Karn outside.
A quickening: Maura in black robe, bloody sword in hand. Karn watching.
Karn and Maura hunting together, stalking an immortal through the streets.
Another quickening, this time Karn is taking it.
An underground dungeon and torture chamber, with another man helping them torture somebody somehow.
The church: Karn and Maura smiling at each other during a mass, eyes aglow with unholy glee. In the background, the chanting goes on.
NUNS
"Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. "
MAURA
"Blessed are they, who come in name of the Lord."
ALL
"Amen."
TRANSITION TO:
EXT: Car, parked in the Highlands, not far from the church
KARN
(gives her a little bow) "Sister Mary Faith."
FAITH
(bows her head in return.) "Father Karn." (she opens the door of the car) "The MacLeods do make a lovely pair, don't they? Like little matched bookends. Take one away, and everything comes tumbling down."
KARN
"Duncan dies first. Connor has to suffer."
FAITH
(shaking her head) "Duncan has to suffer." (they stare at each other, at an impasse, until Faith suggests:) "Flip a coin?" (Liam pulls one out of his pocket, tosses it, Faith calls it on the fly.) "Heads!" (Liam's about to uncover the coin, but Faith puts her hand over his.) "Wait! I have a better idea."
Continued in Chapter 3