The Passenger (Professione: reporter)

Excuse me, ma'am, can you tell me where...?

Do you speak English?

Nous parlons français?

Which way?

Left. Left.

Stop. Stop.

What?

Where you going?

How long does it take to get to this place?

Oh, twelve hours. More or less.

- What's there? Camp? - Yes, a sort of military camp.

And...

- How many people? - They will tell you when we get there.

Do they have arms?

They will tell you that too, when we get there. Everything.

No. No.

Shit!

Bitch.

All right!

I don't care!

Water.

Yes, sir.

Come in.

Monsieur, your drink.

- Thank you. Put it on the table. - Yes, sir.

- There's no soap. - No, sir.

"No, sir."

Robertson?

Robertson?

- Hello? - Yes. I want to enquire about flights.

There are only two flights in the week. The next flight is in three days.

All right.

Come in.

Sorry to barge in like this.

I saw your lights on, thought you might like a drink.

Oh, yes, come in.

I saw you on the plane.

I'll get some glasses.

My name's Robertson, David Robertson.

First time I've been in this part of Africa.

Do you know it well?

No, I've never been up here before.

I'm a reporter.

My name's Locke.

- Not David Locke? - Yes.

I've often read your pieces. I'm very glad to meet you.

Are you down here for a story?

I'm putting some material together.

Pieces of film for a documentary on Africa.

I'm finished now, thank God, or almost finished.

What more do you need?

I'd like to make contact with the guerrillas.

Everybody knows they're fighting up here now.

They just arrested some farmers. I suppose you heard about it.

Yes.

Anyway, I must've taken a wrong trail.

There aren't very many around here.

But you're not a journalist as well, are you?

No, no. I'm here on business.

Business?

In a godforsaken place like this?

Well, I've been in so many places the last few years,

it doesn't make any difference any more.

Beautiful. Don't you think so?

Beautiful? I don't know.

So still.

A kind of...

waiting.

You seem unusually poetic for a businessman.

Do I?

Doesn't the desert have the same effect on you?

No. I prefer men to landscapes.

There are men who live in the desert.

Any family?

No, no family, no friends.

Just a few commitments, including a bad heart.

I really shouldn't be drinking.

How about another one?

Why not?

And now what?

I'll continue on around the world, I expect.

I'm a globetrotter.

I take life as it comes.

I suppose it's different for you, isn't it?

Yeah, it's different.

Still, you must've been around quite a bit yourself.

Yes, I suppose so.

How about Umbugbene?

I bet you've never been to Umbugbene.

No.

Terrible place.

Airports, taxi, hotel. They're all the same in the end.

I don't agree. It's us who remain the same.

We translate every situation, every experience into the same old codes.

We just condition ourselves.

We are creatures of habit, that what you mean?

Something like that.

I mean, however hard you try,

it stays so difficult to get away from your own habits.

Even the way we talk to these people,

the way we treat them, it's mistaken.

I mean, how do you get their confidence? Do you know?

Well, it's like this, Mr Locke.

You work with words, images, fragile things.

I come with merchandise, concrete things.

They understand me straight away.

Yes. Maybe.

So where are you going to next?

London, I think, then Munich perhaps.

No real reason, just thought I'd check up on some of the old places.

Haven't been in London for three years now.

Yes, sir?

There's a gentleman in number 11.

He's dead.

- Mr Locke? - Robertson.

Oh, yes, of course. The man in number 11.

I believe is Mr...?

Locke. David Locke.

Yes, exactly.

He was a newspaperman, I think.

This is most unfortunate.

There is no doctor now, and no flight for another three day.

What can we do with him, Mr Robertson?

I'll be outside.

Mr Robertson!

- Mr Robertson! - Yes?

He's dead, Mr Robertson.

What are you going to do?

We send body in the city. The heat, you know.

We think have to get done very quickly here.

- There are regulations. Is very sad. - Yes.

Do you know if Mr Locke was a religious man?

We have a Catholic mission near here. Do you think?

I'm sure that will do very well.

Library. David Locke? Yep. Okay.

Martin Knight, I think you probably knew David better than any of us here.

In fact, I think he was in Africa making a television film for you.

That's right, yes.

But I feel I must begin by saying

how terribly upset I was by the news of his death.

It was so unexpected. He was still very young.

If you were asked to sum up

what it was that made David such a good journalist,

what would you say?

First, I suppose it was his background.

Being British but educated in America gave him

a different perspective, a kind of detachment.

And then he had this great talent for observation.

- Going on a holiday? - Sort of.

- Where do you want to leave the car? - I don't know.

- Where are you going? - I haven't made up my mind.

Here's a list of our offices. Have a look in it.

Yugoslavia. I'll go to Yugoslavia.

- Dubrovnik? - Yes. Dubrovnik. That's nice.

- How long for? - For the rest of my life.

Why don't you buy a new car?

Thank you.

Here you are.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Herzliches Glückwunsch.

- Good to see you. - Good to see you.

Mr Locke!

David!

David!

What the hell do you think you're doing?

- Are you crazy? - Yes.

Rachel, where are you going?

Mr Robertson?

Mr Robertson.

Did something go wrong at the airport?

We were expecting you to contact us, sir.

Yes.

I'm afraid there was a slight muddle.

Is it all right for us to talk now, then?

Talk?

I suppose so. Yes.

This is Mr Achebe.

Enchanté.

We are very grateful for your help, Mr Robertson.

You have taken enormous risks for our sake.

Did you manage to get everything we wanted?

Have you got the papers?

The papers? Oh, yes.

You better take a look at them and let me know what you think.

Yes.

Oh, excellent. Excellent.

You got the FN rifles as well. Excellent.

A pity about the anti-aircraft guns.

Yes.

Well, that's very good.

Glad it's all there.

Sorry about the anti-aircraft guns. I hope it won't be too much of a...

drawback.

Oh, no, their planes aren't very effective at the moment.

We evade them easily enough.

Our main problem is the military assistance

the government is getting from Europe.

Yes, well, it's not surprising.

Here's the first instalment, Mr Robertson.

Don't you want to check it?