FIRST CALL

Nick Blaine: Blessed day, is this Luke Bankole?

Luke Bankole: Yes, this is Luke Bankole. Who the hell is this?

NB: My name is Nick Blaine, I am a Guardian of Gilead in the New Gilead District. We met.

LB: I kind of figured….. I mean, who in their right mind says, 'Blessed Day'. - pause - Is this allowed? - silence - Wait, you're Nick! Is this about June? Is this about Hannah?

NB: I'm sorry, Mr. Bankole, it is not. - pause - We met. In Toronto.

LB: Is she safe? Is she with June?

NB: - silence - Mr Bankole, I'm the man you met in Toronto, who gave you that package. I want to thank you for what you did with it.

LB: Wait a minute! Is this some sort of crank? Aren't you people in Gilead monitored? Is this some sort of game?

NB: You don't need to worry, I have a position in New Gilead that allows for secure calls.

LB: Me? It's not me I'm worried about! God, you're dull. What did you say your name was?

NB: Nick Blaine, I'm a Guardian of Gilead, I work in the Waterford home. But I'm soon going to be on the move.

LB: Look, is June okay or isn't she? Is she with Hannah?

NB: June is safe, she's presently back at the Red Centre. - silence -

LB: The what? Look, I don't even know if it is you. - silence - Ok, if we met in Toronto, what was the name of the place?

NB: I think it was called, 'The Comrade.'

LB: Okay, Mr. Guardian-man, when you handed me that package, what did I tell you.

NB: You told me that June's friend, Moira, that she got out and that she was living with you. - silence - You also asked me to look out for her. Which I am. -silence - You also asked that I tell her that you love her. Which I did. - silence - You also said that you weren't going to stop, which you haven't.

LB: You also said that you were 'just a driver'. How do 'drivers' make these sorts of calls? Were you lying about that? - silence -

NB: This was a bad idea, I should go…

LB: No, no, no, don't hang up!

- silence -

LB: Are you still there?

NB: June is pregnant.

LB: So you said!

NB: What? When? When would I have told you that?

LB: At the Comrade. You don't remember? - pause - You said! - pause - Is it his?

NB: I don't know.

LB: What!? You don't know! Last time you said it was! You're 'only a driver' ha! You're a funny guy. Yet you're making calls like this. - silence - Why are you calling, Nick?

NB: I don't remember telling you. I don't know whose baby it is.

LB: Well then, what the fuck DO YOU KNOW!?

NB: You asked me to look out for her, and I've done that.

LB: This is bullshit. - sarcastically - What are you guarding, 'Guardian' Nick!?

LATER THAT NIGHT

r-r-r-r-r-inggggg - Luke picking up…..

LB: Hello? Hello? Who's this?

Mark Tuello: Is this Lucas Bankole?

LB: Yes, yes, who is this? Are you in Gilead?

MT: Mr. Bankole, I'm going to need you to put the phone down for a second, and go to your front window. You'll see RCMP, OPP and Toronto Police Service vehicles. There's one out back, too. I'd ask you not to be alarmed, but when you see them, please come back to the phone….. let Ms. Strand know.

LB: - returning - Jesus fuckin' Christ! Who did you say you are!? Who are you!?

MT: I'm Mark Tuello. Mr. Bankole, I'm from the US Embassy, I normally live in Anchorage. I've been in Toronto since the Gilead trade mission - the mission that you, sir, wrecked.

LB: Wait, what!? I did no such thing….

MT: Look, Mr. Bankole, unless there is cause, the Canadian authorities will not enter your house. But I need you to tell me, who that was you were talking with? - pause - On the phone. From Gilead.

LB: How, the actual fuck, do you know that? What? Is my phone now being tapped?

MT: Well, no sir. Canadians picked up a communication from the Boston area of New Gilead, traced it to your land-line. But it was secured from the Gilead end. All they know is that one of my people, you, received a call from Gilead.

LB: Jesus, can you slow down a bit? Wait, 'your people'!? Who the fuck are 'your'people?

MT: I'm now posted at the Toronto consulate, I'm a liaison with American refugees and The United States to Canada…. but, Mr. Bankole, I need you to focus. I can keep the Canadian authorities from entering your home.

LB: ….. you'll soon know I don't respond well to threats, Mr. Torkoe.

MT: 'Tuello', Mr. Bankole, 'Mark Tuello'. T-U-E-L-L-O.

LB: Whatever. Look, I got a call out of the blue from a 'driver' of Gilead, if you must know. I once met the guy. He'd been with Waterford during that trade mission. Waterford is the guy who's kidnapped my wife.

MT: Of that I am aware, Mr Bankole. I need to know what you and this 'driver' talked about. Do you think you could voluntarily come down to the Consulate and give us an interview? One of the cars outside can give you a ride.

LB: I honestly don't know why the guy called. His name is Nick Blaine.

MT: My file says that he was the one who gave you those 'postcards from the edge', the ones that you and Ms. Strand put on the internet and social media.

LB: - silence - He also said that June….. that June… that June was pregnant.

MT: Is that why he called?

LB: You tell me. - silence - I just want my wife back. I want my Hannah back. You people at the Embassy, you've done dick-squat about that.

WHO IS NICK BLAINE?

MT: Ok, Mr Bankole, I need something from you. I need to know what he said to you exactly. You said that you two had met in Toronto when the Waterfords were here…..

LB: In the Comrade, he said he was a friend of June's. Literally, that was the first I'd heard about June - well, since Moira got here. - pause - He told me that June was 'fine'. Yah, right! - pause - He told me then, that June was pregnant. - silence - Now, he doesn't remember telling me. He's a fucking liar. Honestly, I didn't believe him. I mean, I don't know what to believe. - pause - He told me that it was Waterford's. Now he says he doesn't know.

MT: So why the call?

LB: You tell me, man, you tell me. - pause - Me, I wasn't at my best. When we met, I thought of punching him, but I embarrassed myself. - pause - I called his type, 'fucking monsters'. That's what they are. - pause - I went mental. That's when I asked him to take care of June. - pause -

MT: Can I ask you a question, Mr. Bankole?

LB: Me, I'm all ears, man.

MT: Did you ever disbelieve him?

LB: What?

MT: Mr, Bankole, I'm curious. This man who you've never met, tells you that your wife is pregnant. He's from the security apparatus in Gilead…..

LB: Oh Jesus, you people.

MT: Was that why he called? To see if you had believed him?

LB: I told you, he claimed not to remember. I caught him in a THAT lie. The bastard, in Toronto? He lied to me. He told me that the baby was Waterford's. Then during the call…. he suddenly didn't know.

MT: Is that why he called?

LB: The lot of them, monsters. Then this guy risks life and limb calling from Gilead - basically, to tell me he now didn't know who the father was. - pause - He's either a real dick, or perhaps worse. He's got a conscience. - pause - A fucking monster-Gileaden with a conscience. I think he feels guilty. I hope he does.

THEY MAKE DELIVERIES, DON'T THEY?

Luke Bankole: - answering - Hello? Do you know what time it is?

Nick Blaine: I just need to know… your media is not covering it….. did Nichole make it out safe?

LB: Jesus, man. Is this - sarcastically - 'Guardian' Blaine?

NB: Ya, it's Nick. Did June make it? Did she have a baby with her?

LB: Man, you're a fucking dickhead. June didn't make it, Emily Malek did. With a baby.

NB: Baby Nichole, she's a major security operation now. I need to know, did June make it?

LB: I just told you, no. Why would June have made it?

NB: The truck, it was for June and Nichole.

LB: Me and Moira, we saw Emily with a baby, yes. Emily had a picture of Hannah with her, said it was stuffed in with the baby. Me and Moira, we're petitioning to get temporary custody - Emily says it's June's baby, the one you told me about. Then Emily can go home to her wife and son.

NB: Wife? I knew that Emily was….. never mind. We don't do that here.

LB: - out loud - Ha! I bet you don't! - pause - Look dickhead, you tell me that June and Hannah are safe. Or I'm hanging up.

NB: No! Don't hang up! Is Nichole safe?

LB: Yes, they're safe. These Canadians, they're daffy about refugees. Emily and the baby, they're getting all that free healthcare. And all I want is to get back to the USA where we had to pay or die of our maladies.

- silence -

NB: It's going to get crazy from here. The Gilead Commanders, they're rallying around the Waterfords. You need to prepare.

LB: The Waterfords!? What the actual fuck? -pause - It's not even their kid!

NB: I'm just telling you, Mr. Bankole. You don't know Gilead. - pause - June will be getting another posting. It looks like Offred will be becoming Ofjoseph.

LB: What? What the fuck does that mean? Tell me, honestly, you slimy fuck. - pause - Are you Nichole's father? - pause - 'Nick'. 'Nichole'.

NB: It'll be better for June at Lawrence's, Commander Lawrence. He doesn't do The Ceremony. His wife, a real whack-job. But seriously, what goes on there, she could get killed just being there.

LB: What the fuck? WHO ARE YOU!?

GILEAD STILL HAD CASSETTES

If it hadn't have been June's voice, he would never have done it, not in a million years. What were those fucks doing to her!?

Luke Bankole was now driving away from Pearson Airport, with Nichole asleep in the back, and a package on the seat. Serena Joy Waterford, she had said what was in it, it was from June. Luke, he was still dizzy from the weirdness of the conversation he'd just had with Mrs. Waterford, right there in the open at the YYZ concourse. He was thinking: 'How on earth can June ever recover from these weird, monstrous fucks?'

June will one day get out of Gilead. But will Gilead ever leave June?

Meeting with Serena Joy, her obsession with a baby that was not even remotely hers…. he just shook his head. If he did not hate her so much, he would have pitied her.

Serena Joy's words still severed Luke - as long as Nichole was safe, then June and Hannah would be safe. He'd never ever been threatened like that. Not ever.

THE TAPE (You Make Me Feel Like Dancing):

June: When you met her, you were probably thinking less of Nichole's journey across the border, than her journey into the world. You Luke, you deserve a life, a full life there. Me, I'm doing what I have to do to survive. Nichole, she was born out of love. I have to cling to love where I can find it. Her name is Holly, her father is a driver, Nick. You met him. He helps me. I need you to forgive me. I am sorry, I am so sorry. I am trying to get to Hannah. I am.