Bang Bang Bang (9 page)

Come on. Tell me.

SADHBH. He wanted to know if I had enough to indict him.

STEPHEN. I'm sure he's cacking himself.

I wish you had a sense of self-preservation.

SADHBH. He was not hostile.

STEPHEN. Not to you. You haven't got enough on him.

SADHBH. Yet. You're right. The women are afraid –

Many are in terrible physical state –

The brutality of the rapes… and then the psychological damage. But the Mama – my contact at the camp – has found witnesses who want to talk to me.

STEPHEN. That's a result.

SADHBH. The thing is – I feel – in a way – he's been warned.

STEPHEN. No, Sadhbh –
you've
been warned.

So how long will this investigation take?

SADHBH. How long is a piece of string?

STEPHEN. You said three months max.

SADHBH. And I meant it, but I have a responsibility here.

STEPHEN. There are plenty of other researchers.

SADHBH. Yes but they're local and you know they face intimidation and violence in the way that I don't. Now that Bibi has left I'm the most senior researcher.

STEPHEN. I came here today with an agenda.

SADHBH. I'm a bit afraid.

STEPHEN. Don't be.

SADHBH. Do you want to leave me?

STEPHEN. You're the one who leaves.

I've been offered a six-month contract in Beijing.

$85,000 plus per diems plus an apartment.

SADHBH. Holy fuck. Wow.

Does this have anything to do with your lunch / at the Dutch Embassy?

STEPHEN. I need to be able to indicate my interest. /

I don't want to go without you.

SADHBH. Oh. Oh.

I see. I see.

China is hardly my area / of expertise.

STEPHEN. You were serious about stopping fieldwork?

SADHBH. I didn't say I'd stop working.

STEPHEN. You've changed your mind?

SADHBH. There is a little girl. Amala. I made her a promise.

STEPHEN. You're using that as an excuse?

SADHBH. Fuck right off.

STEPHEN
shakes his head.

Why are you shaking your head?

STEPHEN. There's always going to be an Amala, or the little boy or the fourteen-year-old or the thirty-five-year-old, or the elderly lady or the dying man –

SADHBH. I know.

STEPHEN. – but there won't always be me.

SADHBH. So you keep threatening.

SADHBH
thumps
STEPHEN.

STEPHEN. I'm not threatening – (
Fends off her thump.
)

I am serious.

SADHBH
thumps him again.

Hit me again and I'll hit you back.

STEPHEN
stops
SADHBH.

He holds down her arms.

I'll finally be in a decent financial situation.

We could think about a home not an apartment.

Having a family –

Six months together is what / we need.

SADHBH. It's still six months in China taking dirty money.

STEPHEN. For fuck's sake, Sadhbh – grow up!

These are our lives! Our lives.

We either spend them apart –

SADHBH. I'll think.

STEPHEN. – or together – not this in-between.

SADHBH. I'll think. I'll think.

STEPHEN. I need more than that. I need an answer.

Before I get on the plane tonight.

Silence.
SADHBH
looks away.

STEPHEN
gets up and gets a glass of water. He drinks a little.

He takes off his jacket and opens the top buttons on his shirt.

He runs his hand across the back of his neck – the heat starting to get to him.

SADHBH. What's your start date?

STEPHEN. Six weeks' time.

SADHBH
gets up and moves away. She experiences a wave of nausea.

She gets a glass of water.

Dicky tummy still?

SADHBH. I need to eat – but I can't face food.

SADHBH
breaks down and cries.

STEPHEN. Hey.

He moves to
SADHBH
and puts his arms around her.

Darling – you're just tired.

He holds her tightly.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Pressure, pressure, eh?

SADHBH. Obviously I wouldn't be able to come for the first month –

I could probably get a leave of absence for the rest of the time. Of course I could.

STEPHEN. I could live with that.

SADHBH. Are you absolutely serious?

Yes.

STEPHEN. Why was that easier than I / thought it would be?

He puts his arms around her.

SADHBH. Just shut up.

Oh, you smelt so sweet when you arrived.

STEPHEN. I smell of vomit?

SADHBH. Maybe – a little splash.

INNOCENT
enters with tea. He stops for a moment, not knowing whether to turn and leave the room or deliver the tea.

STEPHEN. Come in, Innocent.

INNOCENT. Of course, Papa.

INNOCENT
puts the tea things in front of
SADHBH.

Désirez-vous du thé, Papa?

STEPHEN.
Plus tard, peut-être,
Innocent. Thank you.

(
To
SADHBH) I need to freshen up. Two minutes.

He leaves the room.

INNOCENT. Madame?

SADHBH. Thank you, Innocent.

INNOCENT.
Madame est fatiguée. Madame doit aller se coucher.

SADHBH. Thank you.
C'est une bonne idée.

INNOCENT.
C'est la chaleur. Il fait très lourd. En tout cas –
it will rain tonight.

INNOCENT
pours
SADHBH
some tea.
INNOCENT
hands her the cup. He starts to tidy up.

Please, madame.

SADHBH
sips some tea and lies back on the sofa.
INNOCENT
cleans.

Three

That night. Same space.

MATHILDE
enters.
SADHBH
is resting.

MATHILDE. You're in the dark too.

SADHBH. Power cut.

I can give you some candles to take to your room.

SADHBH
lights a lamp.

MATHILDE. I'm wondering if –

SADBH. Yeah?

MATHILDE. Someone can? A friend –

SADHBH. The guy you were giving mouth-to-mouth last night?

MATHILDE. It's my fault Vin missed his trip.

SADHBH. You tied him up? Forced him to drink a bottle of whiskey?

MATHILDE. Ah, okay. And we're going to Masisi and he needs to go –

SADHBH. Tell him to meet here at 7:45 tomorrow morning. Janvier is arriving at 8.

MATHILDE. Oh, thank you.

SADHBH. Are you still hanging?

MATHILDE. What is ‘hanging'?

SADHBH. Do you still feel shite?

MATHILDE. Very, very shite. Yes.

You?

SADHBH. Sick as a dog.

Terrible nausea. All day.

MATHILDE. Poor you.

And Stephen? He caught his flight.

SADHBH. Yeah. He's gone.

MATHILDE. Ah – I'm sorry for that.

SADHBH
shrugs.

SADHBH. This is not a good job for relationships.

MATHILDE. I have noticed in our programme – no one has kids. Most women are single.

SADHBH. Not everyone wants ‘
la vie bourgeoise
'!

MATHILDE. But – for me –

Take Bibi –

SADHBH. What about Bibi?

MATHILDE. I don't want to be like her.

No home, no children and now she's ill and old.

SADHBH. She's thirty-seven.

MATHILDE
looks at her uncomprehendingly.

MATHILDE.
Pourquoi tu est triste?

SADHBH. Because I am.

MATHILDE. I think it's wonderful you go to China together. An adventure, ah?

SADHBH. Yeah – to Beijing – that well-known haven for human rights activists.

MATHILDE
does not know what to say for a moment.

SADHBH
fans herself with her hat. She groans.

MATHILDE. You are unwell a lot.

SADHBH. I'm not unwell. I'm pregnant.

MATHILDE. What?

SADHBH. Yeah.

MATHILDE. How do you know?

SADHBH. I've missed a period. My boobs are sore, I'm perpetually queasy. And I just did a test with Romy.

MATHILDE. Oh my God – but that's so –

Congratulations. Oh, beautiful.

SADHBH
says nothing – but she allows herself a smile.

So… You did not know this at the party?

SADHBH. I had an idea. Romy confirmed it.

MATHILDE. Because you had a lot of – the stuff that numbs the brain –

SADHBH. Don't. I know.

MATHILDE. Is Stephen happy?

SADHBH. Too many questions, Mathilde.

MATHILDE. Sorry but –

SADHBH. I'm just six weeks gone. It feels more like indigestion than a baby.

MATHILDE. You didn't tell him?

SADHBH. He'd have made me go back with him.

I didn't want that. We have a job to do here.

MATHILDE. It's not very hygienic – where we go.

And there is cholera in Lushabere.

Perhaps it is better if you go –

SADHBH. Mathilde! There is no one but us to finish this investigation.

If we work our asses off and interview ten people a day we'll be home in a month.

MATHILDE. I'm happy for that.

SADHBH. But we go when we've got enough to put the frighteners on Mburame and not before.

MATHILDE. But you can't ignore –

SADHBH. Did you want something else?

MATHILDE. No.

SADHBH. Go on. Spend time with –

MATHILDE. Vin. He is asleep now.

He threw up all night.

But we've had sex – so I'm happy…

SADHBH. Good. Good for you.

MATHILDE. It's just been good to get a break – from the guilt.

SADHBH. Go. Wake him up. Enjoy it.

From now on you'll never escape the feeling you've failed someone.

And you will have.

SADHBH
throws her arm over
MATHILDE
's shoulder.

MATHILDE
leans into
SADHBH.

Sounds of the city. After some moments the atmospheric sounds segue into the sounds from the compound.

Four

The compound.

A cow lows loudly.
VIN
is taking photographs.
MATHILDE
is wearing a bikini top and cut-off shorts.

MATHILDE. Hey, boy from Tring! You can't just leave me alone in bed. What is that?

VIN. It's commonly known as a cow.

MATHILDE. Of course I know this.

But why is? Where does it come from?

VIN. Democratic Republic of Congo?

MATHILDE. Vin!

VIN. It's a gift – for Madame ‘Kavanagh'.

From Colonel Mburame.

A great compliment apparently.

MATHILDE. No. This can't be true.

VIN. I think you'll find it is true.

The cow lows.

Two scary blokes delivered it this morning.

MATHILDE.
Merde. Une vache.

And I smell its shit.

Regarde
– there is cow poop everywhere.

SADHBH
enters.

Disgusting.

SADHBH. I think Mburame is trying to make me feel at home.

VIN. Sadhbh and Mburame up a / tree. K-I-S-S-I –

SADHBH. Exactly how old / are you, Vin?

MATHILDE. That is terrible. You / can't accept it.

It must go back.

SADHBH. Strap her on the back of a motorcycle?

Squeeze her / into the Jeep?

MATHILDE. Why are you smiling?

Mburame has given you a – cow.

Does he think he can bribe you?

SADHBH. Do I look like a woman who can be / bribed with a cow?

The cow lows.

SADHBH
laughs.

MATHILDE. Stop laughing. For me – this is terrible.

He is a monster. /

You have blood on your hands.

SADHBH. Steady now. Steady.

It's very easy to categorise such people as evil. Mburame is an evil man who does evil things therefore he is less human. If faced with the things he's faced, / let's hope we would not become killers.

MATHILDE. I can't believe you can say this after Amala and all the women and –

SADHBH. Just for a moment think like a grown-up.

The cow lows.

MATHILDE. What?

VIN. I am so doing cow jokes all day.

Sacré vache!
Classic.

La vache qui rit.

He takes a photograph.

SADHBH. Don't.

If I ever see a picture of me and that / cow in any publication –

VIN. Don't have a cow.

SADHBH. Mathilde.

You're right to think it's sinister.

Radio trottoir will ensure everyone knows about Mburame's gift of ‘friendship'.

But while we are so cut off here – it's a bad idea to spurn him.

MATHILDE
is visibly annoyed.

MATHILDE. But of course I'm being stupid again.

SADHBH. No need to call the righteous brigade every time something happens.

You won't cope here always living on your nerves.

MATHILDE. So you say –

but if we keep it – this looks like collaboration.

Isn't that a ‘bad idea'?

SADHBH. Either way – there's no winning.

MATHILDE. Okay. Thank you. That's clear.

SADHBH
makes to leave.

Oh my God. It is pooping again.

SADHBH. Forget about it.

MATHILDE. Where are you going?

SADHBH. To get a bucket.

That cow needs to be milked.

You want to get dressed? It's not the Costa del Sol.

We leave for the camp in an hour.

SADHBH
exits and calls back.

R and R is officially over.

MATHILDE
sulks.

The cow lows a number of times.

VIN
takes a photograph.

Five

The IDP camp.

Tight spot of light.