#s10m7

~

[cloth rustles]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I... Sorry. Madam, I... Oh, thank you, really, but I have to go.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Quinzi, please keep the carnival crowd from jostling Frances. I must say, that magpie mask suits you well. [laughs] And Frances, a black swan to match Maxine’s raven!

MAXINE MYERS: We need to keep our masks on tonight. All the gangs of Venice are out, including the most powerful of them all, the Mala.

MOHAMMED Who, alas, have been on the hunt for myself and Frances since we first stepped foot in this city.

MAXINE MYERS: I’m sorry, it’s my fault! I brought you into danger, into a plague city. But I need your help to locate the source of the sickness. And tonight, with the carnival for cover, we might finally be able to.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I’m just glad we found you, Maxie. I don’t care about the plague... well, I do. Those poor people. But not as much as I care about you. Me and Mo spent months looking for Five, for any of the missing Abel people, traveling all over Europe. I’d kind of given up hope. And then we found you! That’s awesome. And you think the plague’s waterborne, right? Me and Mo and Quinzi have been drinking bottled water since we got here. We’ll be fine.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: And besides, it wasn’t truly you who summoned us, was it, Maxine? Your messages came via intermediaries. And its origins was this mysterious contact you’ve mentioned to us, the person who helped you to escape from Valmont.

MAXINE MYERS: If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have made it out of Tunisia. When I got away from Valmont, I was half-drowned, no equipment. That’s when I got the first message, just a printed note with instructions on how to find a stash they’d hidden for me. Food, weapons, maps.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: But you never spoke to them. You’ve got no idea who it really is.

MAXINE MYERS: No. But I didn’t know how they knew I needed help, unless it was one of the others. Five, maybe, or Janine. I don’t know why they can’t get in touch directly. But with Valmont watching... That’s another reason you need to keep your masks on tonight! Valmont might have eyes in the city. I know he’s been tracking me since I escaped in Tunisia. That’s why I couldn’t risk a message home.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: I’ve tried to raise Amelia since we found you to tell her the happy news. My signal never gets through. Blocked by this Valmont, no doubt.

MAXINE MYERS: His reach is terrifying.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: But tonight, we’ll be just four revelers amongst many as we search for the origin of the plague devouring the city from the inside. After the next bridge, we’ll be in Mala territory. We must run!

~

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: We are in Mala territory now. Although it doesn’t look as fearsome as their reputation. The lights from all the palaces reflecting in the water, costumed revelers on every balcony, quite beautiful.

MAXINE MYERS: It’s not usually like this. Since Z-Day, this city’s been divided into territories run by the gangs. Some of them, like your magpies, Quinzi, take good care of their people. Others, not so much. This carnival is a general ceasefire. All the gangs are free to move through each others’ territory, and so are we.

[fireworks explode, audience cheers]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: They seem weirdly happy. For, you know, people in a plague city.

MAXINE MYERS: You need to understand, everyone out there has lost someone or is in the process of losing someone to this sickness. There is no escape, no cure. It’s a party for the end of the world.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: And you are entirely convinced, Dr. Myers, that this plague is connected to Mr. Valmont?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Yeah. I know he’s like, a terrible person, but deliberately spreading a plague is next-level terrible.

MAXINE MYERS: It’s him. When the buboes are fully developed, you can see a V-shaped lesion in them. I think Venice must be a failed experiment, a test of his panacea that went horribly wrong. But it can be cured, I am sure. I just need to know where it came from, where it started.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: The plague is everywhere! The streets are filled with the sick and the dead! What makes you believe, Dr. Myers, that this has but one point of origin?

MAXINE MYERS: Have you ever heard of John Snow?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Um, yeah. The “You know nothing” guy from Game of Thrones?

MAXINE MYERS: [laughs] No, the other one, the founder of epidemiology. In the 19th century, people thought diseases were caused by miasmas, bad air. He didn’t. There was a cholera outbreak in Soho he was sure was carried through the water. By studying the spread of the disease, he traced it back to just one water pump.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: They removed the pump’s handle! I believe to prevent further infection.

MAXINE MYERS: Yeah! And I’m no John Snow, but I’ve done my best. I’ve spent the last weeks interviewing plague victims, mapping the spread. Quinzi, you’ve been a massive help. You know Venice better than anyone, and you’re very good at opening doors, literally and metaphorically. Thanks to you, I think I’ve located the well that’s the source point for the whole plague. Trouble is, it’s in Mala territory, which we had no chance of getting into before tonight.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: And you think once we’ve found it, we might be able to take the pump handle off?

MAXINE MYERS: Maybe. And more importantly, with a sample from the source of the plague, there’s a chance my contact can synthesize a cure. One of their messages told me that they’ve got access to an advanced lab, but they can’t do anything until they know where the plague came from.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: I see the first Mala checkpoint ahead. Two sentries dressed in red. Even in a ceasefire, it seems they are still on their guard.

MAXINE MYERS: We can’t risk them identifying you. We need to sneak past. Quinzi, take the lead. Stick to the shadows, and move quickly. Run!

~

MAXINE MYERS: I can see the Doge’s palace ahead.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: It’s all illuminated with candles and colored lanterns. Fire breathers, acrobats, and this music... I... I think I recognize it.

MAXINE MYERS: The Mala certainly made themselves at home. They’ve only had this territory for a few months.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Who controlled it before?

MAXINE MYERS: No one knows. The Mala moved in with very little resistance. I think this is where the plague started, a well in the center of the courtyard. We’ll need to blend into the party and get a water sample without anyone noticing.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I don’t like this...

MAXINE MYERS: You are doing great, Frances. We’re almost at the well.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: No, it’s not that. Doesn’t this feel familiar to you guys?

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: The Venice Carnival has starred in many a film over the years.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: No, you don’t understand. I’m so sure I’ve heard this music before. If I can just get a closer listen...

MAXINE MYERS: Frances!

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Quickly! Quinzi, hide Frances! That dancer knocked her mask clean off!

REVELER: It’s her, the interloper!

MAXINE MYERS: It’s too late. Back the way we came, now!

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Not possible. Mala thugs have blocked the entry.

MAXINE MYERS: The other way then, under the arches, into the palace. Run!

~

FRANCES DEMPSEY: We’re inside the palace, but the Mala are right behind us. Now where?

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: There, a metal door at the bottom of those stairs. If we slip inside before our pursuers arrive, they may not realize where we’ve gone.

[metal rattles]

MAXINE MYERS: Just kick it, Quinzi. [metal bangs, hinges creak] Everybody in.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: The Mala have run past. We remain hidden.

MAXINE MYERS: They’ll check that door sooner or later. We need to keep moving.

MOHAMME BOUJETTIF: Where are we?

MAXINE MYERS: I think this might be the old prison. I know it’s beneath the Doge’s palace. Frances, are you all right?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry. I felt like I’ve seen it all before, but... Uh, never mind. Can we please keep moving? This place is giving me the creeps. Also, are you seeing lights ahead, Quinzi, or am I officially losing my mind?

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: If you are, I’m joining you in madness. This prison should be a shell, derelict, and long-abandoned, but... I see work benches. Are those Bunsen burners? I believe we’re running through a laboratory!

MAXINE MYERS: A hidden laboratory right under the well that’s the source of the plague? It’s got to mean something.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Perhaps our answer lies ahead of us, and with our enemies behind, I suggest we all make haste!

~

MAXINE MYERS: This underground lab goes on forever. What were they doing?

FRANCES DEMSPEY: And why all these cells? Some of them look like part of the original architecture, but... Hey, I think there’s someone in there. Hello? [metal slams, zombie growls, chains clink, FRANCES gasps] Oh, it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s a zombie. I can deal with zombies, especially when they’re locked up. Look, it’s wearing a lab coat. But can you see, Quinzi? It’s got this horrible oily green goo leaking out of its eyes.

MAXINE MYERS: It could be the plague. In its later stages, patients show greenish-black veins all over their face and lymph nodes. Most of them die soon after. The bodies are cremated to prevent further infection. We might be looking at the post-mortem stage.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Over here. I believe I may have found something. A telegram. “Stage one infection completed. Withdraw and observe.”

MAXINE MYERS: I was right. This is the source. I guess that’s my area of expertise these days, the zombie virus and other plagues. [laughs] Talk about a specialism you never wanted. But then... How did they get it in the water?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Over there, pipes leading upward. The well is above here, right? And there’s a huge container of that sickly green goo feeding into the pipes. We found your water pump, Maxine!

MAXINE MYERS: That’s not all. Look at the initials.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: V. Of course.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Again, he marks his gruesome handiwork. An egoist of repulsive proportions!

MAXINE MYERS: Frances, help me disconnect this pipe. It’s probably too late, but let’s stop any more of this stuff getting into the water. Quinzi, get a sample of that goo and let’s get out of here.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Wait, is that... It looks like mold growing in the tank. A horrible sickly green mold. Get some of that, too, Quinzi. [metal creaks and bangs, zombies growl] The cell doors have all opened. It must have been triggered when we touched the pipes!

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: An undead fail-safe. There are dozens of them! White lab coat, barely decayed, weeping that pustulent ooze!

MAXINE MYERS: Mo, behind you. Quinzi, it’s about to grab him!

[zombie growls, splatters]

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: A most inventive use of the spectrometer, Quinzi. Thank you.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: They’re swarming the lab!

MAXINE MYERS: We can’t go back the way we came, the Mala will be waiting. Our only choice is to go deeper into the tunnels. Run!

~

FRANCES DEMPSEY: We can’t seem to lose those zoms!

MAXINE MYERS: We did lose our way, though. All those tunnels look the same.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Wait, are you hearing this?

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Music. We must be getting close to the surface!

FRANCES DEMPSEY: It’s the same music from the party. The same song, echoing all over the city. I know this music. Like Alice singing when we were kids, like... something in my bones. The music, the dancers with their grinning masks... I remember now! It reminds me of the dreams I had when I lived in the Far Hebrides. Maxine, do you think the plague is connected to the Red God?

MAXINE MYERS: I don’t know how it could be. This isn’t the zombie virus. There’s no red fungus in Venice.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: But there was mold growing in the tanks that held the plague. I have a sample here. And molds are a form of fungus.

MAXINE MYERS: Well, we’ll have to worry about it later. For now, we need to follow the music. Just run.

~

MOHAMMED Through there! I can see a light.

MAXINE MYERS: It’s coming from up that ladder. It must be a sewer hatch in the street. We can make it. Quickly! Give me your hand, Quinzi. Mo, get the hatch ready to shut behind us.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: There.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: We’re alive! We made it out!

MAXINE MYERS: I can’t thank you enough. Now that we have found the source of the plague, you can take it to my contact. They can finally start working towards a cure. They’re based somewhere in the Alps. They said they’d have a car waiting for you at the edge of the city with a map inside.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: A vehicle waiting for us and not for you? But surely you will accompany us, Dr. Myers.

MAXINE MYERS: No, I won’t. I can’t leave Venice. Look, we’re clear of the Mala. I think it’s time to unmask.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Your face! Maxine, what are those marks? Those green-black veins?

MAXINE MYERS: I started getting sick just before you arrived. Fever, joint pain. The more visible symptoms came slower. The veins appeared last night. We know Valmont infected people through the water, but there’s a chance the plague itself is infectious in its later stages. I-I can’t risk leaving.

FRANCES DEMSPEY: You should have told us.

MAXINE MYERS: It would have just distracted you, and with what we’ve found today? If you can get to my contact, maybe you’ll be able to save me. And if not me, a lot of other people.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Frances and I will fly like birds to find this contact. Faster! We won’t fail you, Dr. Myers.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: No. Sorry. It doesn’t take two of us to carry that plague sample, and you’ll be faster without me anyway, Mo. I’m staying.

MAXINE MYERS: Frances!

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Look, I’m not a runner or a thief or a genius who solved the zombie plague like you, Maxine. But I worked on Dearg for a long time. If anyone knows the red fungus, it’s me. Or whatever other sort of fungus we’ve got going on here. This is where I need to be.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Are you quite sure, my friend?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Yes. I’m at least going to stay until the fresh water runs out. And then, well, you’ll have brought a cure by then, right, Mo?

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: You have told me many tales of your sister, Frances. I know you don’t want to live in her shadow, but I feel she would be proud. Take care of each other. I will use the escape route you’ve prepared, Maxine, and I will cross rivers, fields, and mountains to bring you back a cure. On this, you have my word!