Day of the Assassin

And so the controversy surrounding the

sinking of the Shah's Yacht continues to grow.

Accusation following accusation,

denial following denials that the yacht

was deliberately scuttled as a means

of concealing the deposed ruler's fortune.

It's said to be worth millions of dollars,

much of which is still believed to be

aboard the sunken ship, a fortune that they claim

belongs to the people and was stolen from them

by the Shah and his family.

The Shah's enemies also claim that there

may be documents aboard the yacht of

even greater value than the treasure.

Documents so sensitive, that should they fall

into the hands of the wrong people,

it could plunge the entire Middle East

into a political and religious bloodbath

of the most disastrous consequence.

Pull up closer to them, easy.

Good morning.

Give me a hand (mumbles).

Is everything good? Catch this!

Check everything aboard, all right?

Hello there!

Shoot him, shoot him!

I can't, goddammit! It's stuck!

He's coming back again!

Hurry up, start the motor, quick!

Come on, start the boat, let's get out of here.

John, John, are you all right?

Quicker, come on, let's go!

Christakis.

And at this hour the bodies of the two divers

and the bodies of their assassins remain unidentified.

Dateline Zihuatanejo.

The announcement was read to the press

by Señor Gorge Gomez, here is Señor Gomez.

The immediate coastal area of Zihuatanejo

and in particular La Ropa Beach

have already been closed to the general public.

The area is now in the control of the Army and will remain

so until the present difficulties are resolved.

And the treasure, Mr. Gomez?

Will there be any attempt at salvaging it?

We have no knowledge of any treasure being

aboard the Shah's Yacht when it sank.

Michael, find me a man who's willing to risk his life

for a million dollars.

Perhaps we need a man who lives outside the law.

Yes, yes, it's funny,

the man for this job is Mr. Thomas Fleming.

Care for a drink, Mr. Fleming?

Yeah, I'd like to get a..

Vodka Neat?

Here you are, Sir.

Thank you.

Mr. Fleming, the money will be paid

in any manner you care to name.

Of course, in any currency you wish.

One quarter immediately if you will agree to my terms.

A million bucks, huh?

For what?

For your life perhaps.

Fair enough, one quarter immediately, huh?

Immediately, the balance

when you place the list in my hands.

A list, a piece of paper?

I thought this Mexican caper was some sort of a treasure.

Mr. Fleming, the so called treasure

is of no interest to me.

Now, please remember that.

But this piece of paper, this list

must be pretty important, huh?

Obviously.

You wouldn't care to tell me what it is?

No, I would not.

And now Mr. Fleming,

let me introduce you to your competition.

Fessler the Mute.

Yeah, Marshall Fessler, he's called a mute

because he never says anything.

He smiles a lot, never says anything.

You know him?

Nobody knows him.

American CIA?

He was with the CIA,

might still be with them, I don't know.

I understand he's very dangerous.

Like stepping on an angry cobra.

Like stepping on two angry cobras!

Yes, Yuri Vasilenko.

He's best known, I believe for his unorthodox methods,

like playing with fire.

Your private secret service must be pretty good.

It is, Mr. Fleming.

Mr. Christakis can afford the very best.

You know Sir, I take that as a compliment.

It is one.

The gentleman, Vasilenko?

Educated at Oxford, Shakespearean Scholar,

was the top man at KGB,

disaffected 1959.

We suspect he still works for the Russians.

Why not? He's the best man they could get.

Besides, his disaffection was religious, not political.

Well, now this rather troublesome gentleman

is I believe, well known to you.

Jerry Beltron.

You may have to eliminate him.

Uh uh, that's not the way I operate.

Well, apparently he does.

Jerry has been known to get a little

explosive if you crowd him too much.

I take it you crowded him.

That doesn't concern you, Mr. Fleming.

What does concern you is getting the paper.

Will you go to Ixtapa for me?

Well, I'm considering it.

Well, while you're considering it,

do you know this man?

Well, well, well, things are warming up.

You know him?

Yes, I know him, that's Dante Vallone.

Is he after the list?

You can bank on that Mr.

His mother was Jewish, she fled Italy

during the Nazi occupation.

He was born and grew up in Mexico.

Got his training from the Israeli, from Mossad.

Might still be with them, I'm not sure.

And the woman, do you know her?

No.

No matter, he picked her up in Mexico City.

She's probably a prostitute who has found

a steady and sturdy client in Mr. Vallone.

Yeah, she's his cover.

He's using her, keeps the police off the scent.

Well, well?

There it is, all of your competition.

At least all we know of at the moment.

So, are you interested in my proposition?

Take it easy, let me think about this a minute.

Hey, tell me what happens if I don't get the list?

I do not accept failure, Mr. Fleming.

I expect you to get the list,

or die trying.

Oh, swell!

Mr. Christakis, I respectfully suggest

you take your job and million bucks and shove it!

Two million dollars, Mr. Fleming.

What the hell, you only live once.

If you're lucky.

A glass of (mumbles) for me.

Me too.

Is he somebody you know?

Yeah.

The man with the easel,

is he an artist?

In his own way, yes, he's an artist.

But that is La Ropa Beach, Señor.

You must have heard of La Ropa Beach, Señor?

Yeah, yeah, I remember now.

The government closed the area a couple of weeks ago.

Si, si, very bad for business.

And you say you can't get in there anymore?

You can get there, Sir.

The bus runs all along the South Coast.

The South Coast?

But it isn't allowed to stop.

And nobody can get off.

Just my luck.

And I want to do a painting of the Valle Del Sol.

Hey waiter.. Coming.

Dante Vallone! What a surprise?

Is it?

Sit down.

You want a drink?

No, thanks.

What are you doing here?

Same thing you are.

Really? When did you take up painting?

Let's not start insulting each other's intelligence.

I'm not gonna ask who you're working for

and I don't give a damn.

Let me give you a little friendly advice,

get out of this!

I can't do that, I owe it to my art to stay.

I'm serious.

Look, why can't we work this gig together?

I can't, it's too big.

It's too big.

Sure is a lot of excitement over a lousy piece of paper.

What's on it?

Don't you know?

No, I don't know.

And neither do you.

Don't be too sure.

Oh, I'm sure.

You're nothing but a minor "Leaguer", Vallone.