"Somebody once said that religion was deemed by the commoners as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." "The only thing I believe is that my name is Jonathan Preest." "And tonight, I'm gonna kill a man." " Hey." " Hey." "What's going on?" "Where's Karen?" "A bit of a change of plan." "Actually, quite a radical one." "What?" "You're fucking kidding me?" "Seriously, I'm not." "Let's just get back to London." "I think I need a drink." "I think you make too many demands on me." "I feel we don't connect." "That you..." "Sorry." "...I hate you because of the divorce." "Even though I've done everything to help you support your so-called career..." "Margaret." "Now, remember, remember the rules." "Just what you feel Emilia thinks, not what you think." "I'm sorry." "It's just that..." "I really don't feel I'm getting through." "That is the point ofthis, isn't it?" "Building trust takes time." "All structure must start with foundation, and communication is the cornerstone of foundation." "Amen." "Emilia." "For fucking real?" "As real as you feel you would express yourself if you were in your mother's shoes." "Try." "OK." "The next time that you come back from hospital after another... drunken suicide attempt, you little slut," "I'll drag you home, throw your charity shop cast-offs into a bin liner, and make you move to some other stinking city." "Any excuse to keep us away from your dear father." " Don't you start..." " We can't even mention Father now!" " That's enough!" " So we don't have to communicate..." " Emilia!" " ..." "I'll provide my... my psychotic, alcoholic, waste-of-fucking-life daughter..." " Enough!" " ... with a £100-an-hour psychiatrist." " You see what I have to deal with?" " Make friends, find yourself a man..." "Emilia, will you be quiet?" "A little too much?" "Emilia, please." "I need to speak with your mother." "See you next Tuesday." " Hello?" " Hello." "Anne?" " Peter." " Er, yes." "You're there." "Um..." " I thought we agreed not to do this." " Yes, but please, wait." "But you promised me you would not try to contact me." "It's David." "They're letting him do a day visit." " Yes, I heard." " I'm picking him up on Wednesday." "He can stay overnight as well." " Look, Peter, Martin will be home soon." " Oh, Martin will understand." "Ha!" "Will you come?" " Peter..." " I'm sure he'd like to see his mother." "Well, I'd like to see you, too." " It's been so long." " I don't know." "Look, I'll think about it." "I've got to go now." "Yes, OK." "Don't read too much into this." "I'll expect your call, then." "Goodbye." "Bye." "So there it is." "Meanwhile City." "So beautiful from the upper heights... it almost looks like it makes some kind of sense." "From a distance, you'd neverthink this city was hopelessly insane." "It seems so long ago that the clockwork of events that led me here began to turn." "Events that led me to this room, to the task that I have to perform tonight - the eradication of The Individual." "Back then, things seemed so simple." "It seemed like any otherjob, any other night on the streets downtown." "The main drag was swarming with the faithful." "...open mind and a steadfast faith applies the unchanging values of our religion to the new priorities of the people of Meanwhile City." "Our plan - to improve your lives, to provide opportunity..." "We are all immortal, spiritual beings." "I didn't like using the main thoroughfares." "The Ministry clerics were always out in force." "You see, you've got to have religion to live in Meanwhile City." "It's the law." "There are now so many faiths registered in this town, it gets kind of hard to be original." "...find yourself clean on the outside the water has been drained." "Objects such as coins, safety pins, stones, cause extensive damage and must not be placed in the machine." "These days, you can form a congregation simply based on washing-machine instructions." "Always consult the care instructions on the clothes." "You see, without faith, it's difficult to be controlled." "And I didn't like being controlled." "Not by anybody." "That made me a big problem for the Ministry." "I'm the one and only non-believer in Meanwhile City." "I'd been investigating a nasty little faith known as Duplex Ride." "Their leader called himself The Individual." "He was one of the most dangerous I'd come across." "Egocentric and insanely deluded." "The Individual had abducted a young girl into Duplex Ride." "For what purpose?" "Somebody's god only knew." "God bless you." "How's tricks?" "Whisky, please." " Straight." " Coming up." "Hot outside today." "He here?" "You're sure you wanna stay for this drink?" "Think I shouldn't?" "He's in the back." " Thanks." " No problem." "Your god bless you." "Wormsnakes - my eyes and ears on the street." "Ha, ha!" "Mr Preest!" "Looking..." "You're looking well." "You know how I feel about public appearances." "Just tell me what you got." "Mr Preest, information..." "is very hard to come by these days, let alone having any faith in it, you know what I mean?" "Snakes," "I'm running out of patience." "You don't understand!" "If he finds out that I..." "It'll be nothing to what I'll do if you don't." "The girl, Snakes!" "Where is she?" "The girl, she's dead." " Please!" " The Individual?" "I don't know!" "I swear, I don't know!" " Did he do it himself?" " I don't know the... the d- d- details." "You know, she didn't... didn't suffer." "That's all I know." " Just tell me where he is." " I don't know!" "I swear!" "All I know is that you should get out of here before they..." "Before what?" "Ssh!" "They made me." "No!" "No!" "I'll be back for you." "Too many clerics on the street." "I should have seen the signs." "Stupid." " Just like that?" " Just like that." "Are you sure?" "I mean, you guys have been down this road before." "That's just it." "Maybe I should have seen it coming." "Does being jilted at the altar count when it's your rehearsal day?" "Milo." "Come on." "Just a thought." "There's so many people to call." "Do you think she's spoken to anyone?" "That's the last thing you should be thinking about." "It's hard enough bloody organising a wedding." "How the fuck do you go about dismantling one?" " They don't tell you that, do they?" " Just relax." "I'll take care of everything." "I'm still your best man, OK?" "It's my duty, right?" "Do you need to stay tonight?" "No, I'll probablyjust head back to mine." "All right, just thought you might like the company." "Mate." "This is Emilia." "Leave a message." "Emilia?" "Hello?" "Er, Emilia, it's Gavin Clunes from college." "I've not seen you in for a while." "I don't need to remind you that your deadline was Thursday." "Call me back if you can." "She was lost, needed my help." "And I'd let her down." "A routine cultjob, and now the girl I was supposed to save was dead." "The Individual had gone to ground and Wormsnakes had given me up to the Ministry." "I knew I was a wanted man." "But even I hadn't expected that much attention." "Well, let's see what all the fuss is about." "Somebody upstairs had wanted me brought in." "And whoeverthey were they were good." "Shit." "Anywhere can feel like a prison when you don't have any faith." "The only thing that got me through the endless night was to plan, stay focused stay sane." "Then, out of nowhere, they came." "Slowly now..." "Get up." "Tarrant." "The nearest I ever got to the face behind the curtain." "Nice to see you again, John." "Yesterday, we received word that one of our stations in the South City had been hit." "Chemical attack of some kind." "All operatives lost, as well as any hope of monitoring the southern wall." "It wasn't me." "Quite." "However, we do know who it was." "Consequently, we have a proposition to put to you..." "You lock me up for four years and now, all of a sudden, you want to..." "Offer you a job." "Interested?" "What could possibly interest me?" "Freedom, perhaps." "The chance to settle an old score." "Familiar faces have been turning up in Meanwhile City, every one of them a fully-fledged, paid-up member of Duplex Ride." "That's right." "The nasty little religion that murdered your last client." ""Life through the eyes of the sole beholder." "The world around him tailored and designed for the one and only... "" " The Individual." " That's right." "Seems like your old nemesis is finally coming home to roost." "We want to give you a chance to make amends." "For what?" "You're a man without religion, John, a man without direction." "We want you to come to peace with your inner self, embrace a belief, however small." "How old was she, John?" "How old was the little girl you failed to save?" "10?" "11?" "Count yourself lucky that absolution is very much part ofthis religion's dogma." "The Individual is coming back to Meanwhile City." "So?" "Well, you'll be doing us all a service." "You'll have the Ministry's permission, sectarian permission, to commit this sin." "Can I assume you're going to cooperate?" "So what happens now?" "Good." "No time like the present." "Take him to the hospital, get him dressed and field ready, please." "Oh, and, John..." "You'll probably be needing this." "She went out the back." "You won't see her today." ""Her"?" "My name is Emilia Bryant." "And I'm a liar." "Drowning in depression at the bottomless lake of my fathomless mind, a mind that's lost its heart." "Disappointing, isn't it?" "Come closer, beautiful girl." "I want to fall into the depth of your eyes, kiss your lips as red as blood." "We understand one another." "Emergency services." "Which service do you require?" "Ambulance." "74 Leonard Street, London EC2." "Flat 3." "OK." "Can you tell me what the problem is there?" "Suicide attempt." "Hurry." "Next stop, Meanwhile City Hospital." "Not many people left this place in better shape than they arrived." "I knew why I was there." "And I was running out oftime." "Here." "Get in!" "Oh, hello, dear." "As Mr Tarrant probably explained, we want to fix you up with a homing device." "We don't want to lose track of you on the streets, now, do we?" "Well, funnily enough, he didn't mention it." "I thought this was just a medical." "Just a precaution." "If you pop yourself on this chair, I think we can do it with a local." "Regulation for all clerics in the field." "Come, now." "Not scared of a little procedure, are we?" "I needed to go to ground, hit the safe house and make ready." "I'd always intended on dealing with The Individual in my own way." "How long since the call?" " 14, 15 minutes." " Come on, love." "Wake up now!" "Give her some oxygen." "Who is she?" "Name" " Emilia Bryant." "Next of kin" " Margaret Bryant." "Blood type A." "Emilia, come on, wake up now." "Wake up, love." "Emilia?" "Emilia, can you hear me?" "Let's move her." "OK, Steve, prep Thomas's." "Tell them we've got an OD." "One, two, three..." "Young female, mid-twenties, found unconscious on her bed." "Left a suicide note, by the looks of it." "All the details are there for us." "Baseline obs look pretty good." " But otherwise not much response." " OK, one minute." " One minute." " Put her in room six." " Are you OK?" " It's been a crazy week." "Number six again." "Today on Radio 4 with John Humphreys and Edward Stone." "Hello?" "Yes?" "Oh, yes?" "Oh, my God." "No, no, no, he hasn't been here." "What do you mean, has he contacted me?" "Where is he?" "Um... yes." "Well, you'll... you'll call me back." "You'll call me back when?" "Well..." "Well, of course." "Yes." "Yes, I will." "I'm very sorry." "Goodbye." "No, I'm sorry." "I tell you what, these are the last names..." "Did you call my mother?" "Hm?" "Did you call my mother?" "Yes." "The staff nurse spoke to her." "Let me guess." "She wanted to know if you were OK." "But not enough to come down here." "Right?" "I'm sorry." " Would you like me to...?" " No, no, no." "That's all right." "Please carry on." "I look after a church myself." "I'm a warden." "Back in Cambridge." "It never stops, does it?" "It's the same." "Actually..." "I'm here looking for somebody." "My son." "Would you...?" "I don't know." "I see so many here." "Every day." "I can imagine." "What?" "What is it?" "He is lost." "Yes, he is." "That's why I'm looking for him." "Could I...?" "Please." "I'm sorry." "I haven't seen this person." "That's all right." "Thank you, anyway." "If you needed to find someone, the best place to start was the Faith Registration Centre " "Meanwhile's melting pot of the pious." "Every creed, cult, religion and doctrine pass through these doors, all looking for the same sense of belonging and hope." "I just hoped that Wormsnakes had managed to hold onto his job." "Next!" "He's in there." "Nothing had changed." "This was still a living, breathing testament to the insanity of the Ministry's grip on this city." "Please be advised that queue-jumping..." "A free blessing for every donation we receive." "Hi, I'm Teri." "How can I help?" "I'm looking for somebody who works in the kitchen." "Oh, OK." "I just need you to enter your faith for the record." " Why?" " For the register." "What's your faith?" "What's yours?" "Well, at the moment, I'm with some Seventh Day Manicurists." "But I'm thinking of changing." "The level of discussion isn't great and we've nearly run out of colours." "It's probably not your thing." "If you just want to sign in." "Thank you." "I've seen all I need to see." "OK." "Don't mention it and God bless you." "Hi, I'm Teri." "How can I help?" "You're not allowed to smoke in here." "Do you think?" "I saw you come in." "Last night." "May I talk to you for a moment?" "I can buy you a hot drink." "Please." "We get many suicides." "Oh." "I heard the paramedics talking." "So you know the whole story." "My name is Pastor Bone." "It means "bread of life"." "Look, Mr... whoever you are," " I appreciate..." " I knew someone once." "She did what you tried to do last night." "She was... successful." "She started a chain of events like... dominoes." "I'm sorry, but I really should..." "I'm just saying that it isn'tjust about your family, your friends, the people you leave behind." "It's about the people you haven't met yet." "A person can stay inside themselves for too long and end up blind, like not recognising your own voice on tape or..." "It's an art project." " I'm sorry." "I..." " Listen." "I..." "I get to piss off my mother and my tutors." "I get to kill myself every month without dying." "I'm having a ball." "OK?" "You know what, Mr Bone?" "You should get yourself a job as a social worker here." "Thank you." "For the coffee." "I followed Wormsnakes home after his shift." "Snakes' neighbourhood suited his personality down to a T." "Fractured." "Infected." "Forgotten." "Meanwhile's slum quarter." "Jesus Christ!" "Wormsnakes." "Get the fuck out of my apartment now!" "Let's not make this difficult." "What do you want from me?" "What do you want?" "You're crazy." "Know that, yeah?" "Be polite." "You owe me, remember?" "For every single day of my four years." "My fucking nose!" "Now, then, the word on the street is The Individual is coming to town." "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now, would you?" "No!" "No!" "I swear." "Uhh..." "I don't believe you." "I need you to do a little favour for me." "I want you to tell The Individual where he can find me." "How do you know..." "How do you know he is gonna come and find me?" "I found you, didn't I?" "I'm gonna be at this address." "And rest assured, he'll find you." "Just do yourjob." "What little faith I have I have it in you." "You're a lucky man, Snakes." "You've got a stay of execution." "Understand?" "I'll be waiting and watching." "Nice to see you again." "Fucking likewise, I'm sure." "I knew he'd deliver my message one way or another." "Now all I had to do... was wait." "So another in a long line of relationships bites the dust." "And after all this... experience, the same thing happening again and again," "I understand it all even less." "Cheers." " Cheers." " Hey." "Hey." "What did I say?" " Spoilsport." " Whatever the subject, let's change it." "How about this?" "I think I saw Sally again." "Yesterday." "This again?" "Technically, that's not really changing the subject, is it?" " Who's Sally?" " Milo's childhood sweetheart." "I think I saw her around a couple of months ago." "It felt like she was following me or something." "This time, it was closer." "I'm sure it was her." " Childhood sweetheart?" " When I was about seven." "See what I mean?" "I think that's lovely." "See?" "Romance is not dead." "Come on." "Enough of the romantic bullshit." " Thank you very much." " Do you see what you're doing to me?" "Oh..." "I heard this story once when I was a kid, or read it." "It was about a storyteller who was so good at telling stories that everything he made up became real." "Which would be an awesome superpower." "Exactly." "So the storyteller creates a world for himself where he's the king of the castle, has a beautiful princess on his arm." " The sun's-always-shining kind of stuff." " Yeah?" "And then, one day, he wakes up." "He looks around." "He kisses her on the cheek and legs it." "Why?" "I don't know." "Even though his life was perfect, absolutely perfect, he had the feeling he should be somewhere else." "With someone else." "Anyway, the princess wakes up and he's gone." "And that's it." "I guess." "Does that make any sense?" "No." "I'm going to open another bottle." "I take it that's how it ends." "It ends when you want to stop watching it." "Well, that happens to be right now." "That was real." "Define "real"." "You called the ambulance." "I had to." "I'd have died, otherwise." "I can't let you submit this, Emilia." " You know that." " You're censoring me?" "This is way more extreme than the last one." "It's not finished." "What happened to your Following project?" "Two months following random strangers around London with your video camera." " Now you're going to throw it all away?" " The last guy saw me." "I even wore a wig to disguise myself for a few days, but it didn't work." "It's over." "So is this." "I suggest you stop wasting the emergency services' time." " Come up with something more original." " More original?" "Shock and bad taste doesn't necessarily equate with originality." "Like I said, it's not finished." "And how does it finish, Emilia?" "With you dead?" "The college sued?" "I don't know." "Well, I bloody well do." "Bin this drivel." "Get back on track." "Or don't bother coming back." "When you're lost, you're willing to believe anything." "In this city, every religion promised a future, whether in this world or the next." "All you had to pay them with was your faith and trust and, despite the celebration, the reverence and the prayer, everybody ends up in the same human mess." "Old." "Sick." "Unhappy." "Dead." "She'd be 16 now." "A young woman." "The Individual had robbed her of life and, tonight," "I was going to relieve him of his." "You asked me how this finished." "I told the truth." "I don't know." "A broken doll." "A hollow girl." "Bereft at the loss of herfather." "But part of me left when he did." "Someone said, "It's about the people you haven't met yet. "" "Like the people on my tapes." "I'm not sure I like the sound of them." "The truth is..." "I'm a little scared they might be like me." "I'm sorry, Mr Clunes." "That's the best I can do." "Get me down!" "Hello." "I was just... um..." " Passing?" " Yeah." "Sally." "Wow." "It must have been..." " 20 years." " 20 years, yeah." "But..." "I saw you on the street the other day." "Oh." "At least..." "I thought it was you." "I got to thinking about you." "Quite a lot, I guess." "I just came to check the records." "I never thought you'd be working here." "Check the records?" "Yeah, well, you know, so I could try and contact you, write to you or something." "Do you get a lunch hour?" "Can you spare a few minutes?" "Excuse me." "Sorry." "We're not really open yet." "Er, yes, I know." "I'm sorry, but..." "I was wondering if you could help me." "I'm looking for someone." "It's my son, you see." "He used to come here a few years ago and I..." "I just wondered if he'd been back." "OK." "Well, do you have a picture?" "I can put it on the board." "I do, actually." "Erm... well, I only have this one." " It's OK." "I can do a copy." " Thank you." "Do you recognise him?" "I don't know." "Maybe." "I couldn't say for sure." "He probably doesn't look like this any more." "No, of course not." "Look, I'm only part time." "You could speak to Bill." "He's been here the longest." "He'll be in later." "Bill Wasnik." "Why don't you put your contact details on there?" " Oh, yes." " Do you have a pen?" "I do." "Yes." "Thank you." "Great." "Thanks." "So when did you start teaching?" " Pretty recently." " Yeah?" "Suits you." "Thank you." "You look good with kids." "You were always good with me." "I know we were both kids at the time, but you know what I mean." "Yeah, I think so." "How is your mum?" "OK." "Still the same." "Away with the fairies." "When did you forget about me?" " Hello." " Anne." "If you want to leave a message for Anne or Martin, please speak afterthe tone." "Well, I should get back." "It's been really nice." "Could I... see you again?" "Milo..." "We could go for a drink or something." " It's been so long, it's bizarre luck you..." " Yeah, but it's fate." "Thought you didn't believe in all that stuff." "Look..." "I'm not taking no for an answer." "Any time at all." "Any day this week." "OK." "OK." "How about Friday?" " Friday." " All right." "There's a..." "There's a restaurant." "The Tabernacle." "On the corner of Lennox Street." " Yeah." "I know it." " Yeah?" "Eight?" "OK." "I'll be there." "Can I get your number?" "Everything OK?" "Can I help?" "No, it's fine, thanks." "We're fine." " Don't expect too much." " I won't." "Friday." "Her name was Sarah and she was only 11 years old." "To The Individual and his twisted faith, she was just another soul sacrificed and forgotten in the detritus ofthis senseless world." "One little soul, who is now about to be avenged." "I had to keep it together, stay focused." "It's nearly time." "Hi, Mum." "You could have come sooner, you know." "Might have seemed a little bit too much like running away." "Coming home is never like running away." "What's happening with the flat?" "I might keep hold of it for a while longer, but I'll probably spend a couple of nights at Dan and Laura's." "How is young Dan?" "A little embarrassed at his abject failure as best man." "Other than that, he's OK." "Bless." "It wasn't his fault." "I think you've had a lucky escape." "Bring her over here, please." "She's bicardic." "Get me some atropine." "We're losing her." "Er..." "Bill Wasnik?" "Yeah." "Something kind of funny has happened, though." "Oh?" "I bumped into an old flame." "Oh, really?" "Who?" "Do you remember Sally?" "She used to come round after school sometimes." "Sally?" "Yeah." "Sally." "I saw her this morning, round the corner, at Boston Park." "Which is weird." "She's teaching there now." "We had a chat and we're going to hook up." "Milo." "What?" "Karen must have hurt you so much." "What's Karen got to do with this?" "How did it feel, seeing Sally again?" "Well..." "Good, actually." "Nice." "Kind of put things in perspective." "What are you doing?" "I want to show you something." "There." "What?" "Sally." "Where?" "Oh, Milo." "What?" "I don't see her." "When you were six, she was in every photograph." "What?" "What do you mean?" "After your father died," "Sally turned up and kept you happy." "I spoke to your teacher." "She said it was normal for a child of your age to have a friend like Sally." "What?" "Sally wasn't..." "She appeared in our lives right after your father died and disappeared when you started to forget him." "No." "She's turned up in your time of need." "I think it's quite sweet." "No, no, no." "No, I'm not getting involved in any spooky bullshit." "I saw her today." "I spoke to her." "All I ever get from you is a load of half-arsed astrology." "Whenever anything bad happens, "Oh, well, it's meant to be. "" "Well, I tell you, I saw this girl today." "I saw her!" "And if it's not Sally, then it's somebody pretending to be her." "Jesus." "I think you just don't realise how unhappy you've been." "Milo." "The world is full of people sent here to help us." "Most of the time, we just don't see them." "Whatever it was she wanted to say to you, you should listen." "Do you know what you're saying?" "Do you actually know what you're saying?" "Milo." "What's happening?" "You were a friend of David's?" "Not close." "Army days." "We was er... we was in Basra together." "We met up again back here." "Mostly at the centre." "But er..." "I don't think Dave would exactly count me as a mate." "I'm not proud of it, Mr Esser, but I led the filth... straight to him." "We was in a pub, down at the market." "Anyhow, he started freaking out." "You know, banging on and on about his dead sister." "No, no." "That's all right." "He was talking about Sarah." "What was he saying?" "He kept on asking me and asking me how she died and I didn't know." "An accident." "Yeah, well, he got quite irate about it all and... er luckily the Old Bill steamed in." "They nicked him." "They chased him up on the bloody roof and nicked him." "They told me..." "They told me it was for Dave's own good." "He needed help." "He was a danger to the public and they was right." "Ta." "Tips up here, right, a couple of days ago, acting all weird." "Asking about me." "The creepy sod, he follows me all the way home." "I walk in and there he is, sitting in my flat." "Like fucking Batman." "He breaks my fucking nose, talks a load of shit at me and then buggers off." "What was he saying?" "He gave me an address." "An address?" "He said that someone was coming to look him up." "He didn't say anything about it being his old man." "Please?" "Bill, I'll leave the keys on my desk." "OK?" "That's fine." "Thanks, Teri." "Good night." "Look..." "Dave, he said he'd come back and finish me off." "So, if it's you or the police that finds him first, just make sure that he stays the fucking hell away from me." "Here." "Who's Franklyn?" "That's the address." "All right?" "Myjob's done." "Emilia?" "Are you all right?" "You didn't mention you were coming by." "Come and say hello." "No, thanks." "I need to speak to you." "It won't take long." "Darling, I'm in the middle of..." " What is it, sweetheart?" " I'll be in the study." "I'm so sorry." "I..." "Please excuse me." "What are you doing here?" "You knew I had guests." " Please, Mother, sit down." " I beg your pardon?" "The sooner you sit, the sooner I'll be gone." "Well?" "I want to talk about fairy tales." "If a god is willing to prevent evil, but not able, then he is not omnipotent." "If he is able but not willing, then he must be malevolent." "If he's neither able or willing, then why call him a god?" "Why else do bad things happen to good people?" "I..." "I always remembered it as bedtime stories." "But bad ones." "Stories with horrible endings." " Emilia..." " Instead of "happy ever after", the Princess would wake up and her Prince would have left her." "What do you want from me, Emilia?" "I want you to admit that you knew about it." "That you remember." "That you've had to live with it all this time, just like I have." "That's all." "Is this what it's all been about?" "The way your father treated you?" "I just wanted you to be on my side." "He had a business trip." "Usually, I hated him going away, but this one was a godsend." "The moment his foot was out of the door, I packed everything up and took you away." "Just like that." "I hoped we'd... we'd both forget, move on." "Emilia?" "Thank you." "I have to go now." "I have a project to finish." " Peter." " Mr Tarrant." " Please have a seat." " Thank you." "This is Frank Grant, David's Military Welfare Officer." "I hope you don't mind if he joins us." "Mr Esser." "Peter, on the whole, we both felt it would have been wiser if you'd stayed at home." "When you find David..." "what will happen?" "Well, obviously, he'll be returned to this institution immediately." "He was getting so much better." "The letter you sent..." "David's home visit is a little redundant now." "As I told you, David took advantage of his assessment hearing to escape." "He was being fitted with a tag when he went out of control." "What?" "What... what is it?" "What's happened?" "Mr Esser, your son assaulted two hospital orderlies one ofwhom died of his injuries this morning." "We also have reason to believe there's a chance he may still have his service weapon." "Essentially, he's possibly armed." "Are you ready to listen to us now, Peter?" "Mr Tarrant, if I..." "If I talk to David talk some sense into him would you at least reconsider?" "Peter, if you have any idea where David is, you have to tell us." "The police are involved now." "I..." "I..." "I don't know where he is." "Your daughter was killed playing in the street outside your house just two weeks before David came back from Iraq." "What's Sarah got to do with it?" "Why are you talking about this?" "We think it's key to David's condition." "It was clear from his evaluation that he holds an individual responsible." "Now, you wouldn't happen to know who that might be?" "You?" "God, maybe?" "It was God's will that Sarah was taken from us." "We spoke to Anne earlier today, Peter." "She seemed to think that you were fairly convinced of God's hand in finding David." " Your ex-wife thinks you're deluded." " Frank!" "What are you saying?" "Why would she say that?" "I came here to help." "To help bring my son back home." "Peter, if he does in any way hold you responsible, however mistaken there's no telling what he might do, if you approached him." "We have been severely tested as a family, Mr Tarrant." "But I have trust in God." "I..." "I should go back to Cambridge." "I..." "I think you're right." "I..." "I should wait for him there." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "Thank you." "Good evening." "So, Wormsnakes told me he delivered my message." "I decided to give the little traitor his life." "In a way, I wanted tonight's assassination to be unique." "Pure." "It felt like the last pieces of the jigsaw were falling into place." "But don't get me wrong." "This wasn't fate." "For every soul ofthis deluded population who believed in fate's comic clockwork, they neglect to see the wear and tear beneath the surface." "The teeth that grind into the cogs." "The damage that fate causes so many in its selfish journey towards just one favourable consequence." "The Individual had simply run out of luck, and I was here to collect." " Hello?" " Hello." "Yes." "David?" "Hello?" "No." "You've got the wrong..." "David?" "Is that you?" "Hello?" "David, please." "We've got to talk." "I don't care what you've done." "Listen, I'll be across the road, in the restaurant." "For fuck's sake." " Shit." " Hello?" "Yes?" "I'm sorry to bother you, but I've just moved in upstairs." "Coming." "Hello." "John Preest." "Upstairs?" "My buzzer doesn't seem to be working." "You've moved in upstairs?" "I'm sorry to introduce myself like this, but it's as good a time as any." "Thanks, but I was just doing something, and..." "I... am expecting someone." "I heard your buzzer go." "Yeah, the intercom's wired up wrong." "A guyjust rang asking for David." "He said he's across the road, at the restaurant." " The restaurant?" " Yeah." " You're sure?" " Yeah, the restaurant." "Now, excuse me." "I have to go." "Good night." "Hello?" "Jesus." "It's me again." "You're not gonna believe this." " What are you doing?" " Please don't make a sound." "It's better if you don't." " You hurt me." " Stay quiet." "Don't be afraid." "I have a simple job to do." "It'll be over soon." " What's your faith?" " What?" " Your religion." "What is it?" " I'm not religious." "How long have you been in Meanwhile City?" "What?" "Hello." "Well..." "Hello back." " Meanwhile City?" " Yes." " Where is that?" " Quiet." " This is London." "Where is it you think..." " Will you shut up?" " Just stay back." " I'm sorry." " Stay there." " I'm sorry." "I feel a bit stupid now." " Why?" " Why do you think?" "There's nothing to feel stupid about." "You always knew, really." "How's the wine?" "You want to make small talk now?" "If I'm going to have an imaginary conversation," "I'd like to think it might be a bit more fucking interesting than this." " Sorry." " It's OK." "So, my mum was right?" "Kind of." "If you believe in something strongly enough, who's to say if it's real or not?" "Amen." " I thought you were an atheist." " Yeah, very funny." " So, what happens now?" " Time to tie up loose ends, I guess." "Like what?" "It was me who told you that story." "The one about the storyteller and the princess." "That's been bothering you." "Right?" "Well, if it was you who told me, then that means it must have..." "Come from you?" "Sure." "Well, if that's true, then why don't I understand what it means?" "You know." "Go on." "Try." "The storyteller was so used to his fantasies that no matter how good his reality was, it was never enough." "Would never be enough." "You see?" "The first step to recovery is understanding the problem." "No!" "Agh!" "No!" "What's happening here?" " I have to go now." " Why?" "Can't you feel it?" "It's nearly time." "Life's too much of an adventure as it is without making anything else up." "I just wanted to let you know that before I go." " Please." "Please don't." " Milo..." "You're such a romantic." "Use it for somebody else." "Sally, we can..." "No, we can't." "Listen." "I don't care." " I don't care." " It's for the best." "Mr Preest." "Mr Preest!" " What are you doing?" " Go, or I'll kill us both." "If you really knew me, you'd get out of here right now." "See?" "David?" "Drop the gun." "What was your name?" "Emilia." "David." "In this world my name is David." "I think it's time you left." "Will you be all right?" "I'll go and find some help." " Excuse me." "Please..." " Sir, are you OK?" "Have you been hurt?" " No, I'm fine." " Well, hold on." "We'll get to you." "No, you don't understand." "Someone's been shot." " What?" "Where?" " Him." "You're hurt." "Fading World" "# This land # Is ahead of its time" "# Oh, but you know it's past its prime in so many ways" "# This land # Is a miserable rock" "# Stuck like a foot at the end of a sock" "# Full of razor blades" "# Is mine # The right to defend at all" "# Is mine # To fight to the end, I know" "# My hand # Can hold back the seas no more" "# But it's not from man" "# That we need defending" "# Cos you don't need your weapons now" "# You've got to hold on to your world" "# So, stop and put your weapons down" "# You've got to hold on to your world" "# This fading world" "# This land # Has damaged the world" "# How many times these bells have tolled I've heard many tales" "# This land # Is riddled with lies" "# How many told how the seas would rise with such heavy scales" "# Is mine # To know what I've seen and done" "# Is mine # The suffering and screams at home" "# My hand # Can't find New Orleans at all" "# This desperate land that seems to be ending" "# Cos you don't need your weapons now" "# You've got to hold on to your world" "# So, stop and put your weapons down" "# You've got to hold on to your world" "# This fading world" "# This land" "# Is mine"