The Masquerade
[INT. MAGNUS INSTITUTE, ARCHIVES]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
MARTIN
Are you listening?
[He takes a deep breath.]
Good.
[We hear him flip through some files.]
Case, uhh, 0071304. Statement of Ivo Lensik.
[He breathes out again, then flicks open a lighter.]
(your loss) Alright.
[He sets the statement alight and lets out a long breath.]
Statement ends, I guess. Um…
[He looks through some more statements.]
Harold Silvana. 0020406. You’ll probably do.
[He lights this statement aflame too. There’s a clear glee in his voice as he continues; what’s up with that?]
All right then. 0140207. Dylan Anderson. Yeah? (pause) Okay.
[He sets it on fire.]
(sing-song) There’s plenty more on the pile…
[There’s a sharp knock-knock-knock at the door. It’s Elias, and he doesn’t sound happy.]
ELIAS
Martin. Martin, open the door.
[He jiggles the doorknob in a fruitless attempt to open it.]
MARTIN
Sorry, Elias. I can’t hear you. There’s – a door in the way.
ELIAS
Martin, I do not have time for this.
MARTIN
Then maybe you should make time.
ELIAS
Unlock the door. Now.
MARTIN
I thought you had a key.
ELIAS
Martin.
MARTIN
I’m not going anywhere.
[Elias knocks once more against the door in frustration, then stalks off, presumably to get the key.]
MARTIN
I would hurry, though, if I were you.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[INT. WAXWORKS]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
[There’s a low, almost windy sort of constant background noise. Everyone (John, Daisy, Basira, Tim)’s voices echo a little more than usual.]
DAISY
Come on.
ARCHIVIST
Right.
[He makes a sound of extreme disgust – it almost sounds like he’s straining with something.]
DAISY
Shut. Up. It’s just cobwebs.
ARCHIVIST
There’s no such thing as just cobwebs.
[Everyone around him sighs. Their sighs are weary, as if they’ve heard this, or some variation thereof, before.]
ARCHIVIST
I don’t like it.
TIM
Tough. Is this it?
BASIRA
Yeah. We plant the last of it here, and this place will go up nice.
ARCHIVIST
What’s the range on the detonator?
TIM
Same as the last time you asked.
[In the background we can hear the sound of Daisy unzipping the explosives bag.]
BASIRA
Where is everybody?
ARCHIVIST
Preparing, I – I guess. Haven’t seen any of them since the last of, uh, whatever the hell that was went inside.
[Rustling sounds.]
BASIRA
It’s too quiet.
ARCHIVIST
It could be a trap.
DAISY
And? If it is, I give this a squeeze, no more trap.
BASIRA
And no more us.
[Daisy makes a noncommittal noise.]
TIM
[Don’t fret] it. And anyways, it’s not like we’re alone in here. (Laughs) Look. There’s Prince Charles.
[Everyone groans.]
TIM
Oh, if he’d been in an accident. Or, the Beatles! If they’d all been in separate accidents, like, like Ringo –
[Basira(?) sighs.]
TIM
– was in a horrible fire, or Paul was in a car crash, that’s a classic –
ARCHIVIST
Yes, Tim. I remember them. The waxworks are… bad. (A mechanical sound begins) Just keep an eye on them.
If they start… moving, hit them with an axe.
TIM
Sure.
[Pause.]
BASIRA
John…
ARCHIVIST
Yes?
BASIRA
When you were, um, kidnapped, did you leave a tape recorder here?
ARCHIVIST
What? I don’t – I don’t think so, why? Is there –
[Silence as eyes go to the tape recorder.]
ARCHIVIST
Oh.
BASIRA
Yeah.
ARCHIVIST
For god’s sake.
BASIRA
So where did it come from?
ARCHIVIST
Not important right now.
BASIRA
John, it’s – d–
ARCHIVIST
Yes, I’m aware.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[INT. ARCHIVES]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
[Rustling of papers. A crackling begins as Martin lights another statement on fire.]
MARTIN
Hello?
ELIAS
What are you doing.
MARTIN
That one, that one was Benjamin Hatendi. You weren’t fast enough with the key!
ELIAS
What. Are. You. Doing.
MARTIN
Oh, I’m sorry, can you not just look into my head? Read my mind?
[The fire crackles.]
What’s wrong? Too busy trying to keep an eye on everything?
ELIAS
Tell me what you’re doing, and why.
MARTIN
I just thought I’d, you know, drop a couple of ideas in the old suggestion box.
[He picks up another statement.]
Turns out my suggestion is…
[He sets it alight.]
Fire.
[Elias sighs in a way that sounds like he’s trying to keep himself from saying or doing something.]
ELIAS
And yet you haven’t set the whole Archives alight. So I assume this is… what’s it called. A cry for attention.
MARTIN
Maybe I just thought it might hurt.
ELIAS
No more than you’re hurting yourself by acting out.
MARTIN
Oh, so that’s it, isn’t it. Martin’s just acting out. I mean, Daisy’s a “rabid dog,” and Melanie’s a potential killer, Tim’s a – a rogue element, but Martin, oh Martin’s just acting out. He’ll have a cry, and a lie down, and feel much better.
ELIAS
(done) And if you’re trying to convince me otherwise, then you are failing. Now, if you’re quite done, I am very busy.
MARTIN
Oh, sorry. Sorry, I’m not – keeping you from the show, am I? Well – well you head back. I’ll keep myself busy here. Albrecht von Closen is next, I think.
[There may be a quiet ‘oh’ in the background here.]
He’s quite an old one. Should go up very quickly.
ELIAS
[Elias takes a deep breath.]
Did John put you up to this?
MARTIN
You think I’m doing this for him?
ELIAS
No. It’s just the sort of half-baked scheme he’d come up with, and I am well aware that you’d do just about anything for him.
MARTIN
(overlapping) I would [unintelligible] –
ELIAS
(cutting off) And I don’t need to read your mind for that one.
[Pause.]
MARTIN
Do you really –
[He cuts himself off, composes himself.]
Is it so hard to believe that I hate you as well?
ELIAS
No. It’s just hard to imagine that you would act on it.
[Disbelieving laugh from Martin.]
MARTIN
You think I’m what – I’m, I’m, I’m, um, blind?
ELIAS
Oh, no. You’ve made that quite clear.
MARTIN
So what? I don’t get to be angry? I don’t get to burn things? Just, just run around, making tea, while everyone else gets to actually have feelings?
ELIAS
Please get to the point, Martin.
MARTIN
Maybe there isn’t one. Alright? Maybe –
ELIAS
Maybe you’re just wasting my time.
MARTIN
Yeah. Yeah, maybe.
ELIAS
I see. That puts me in a… difficult position.
MARTIN
Good.
ELIAS
You might want to turn the tape off, Martin.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[INT. WAXWORKS]
ARCHIVIST
How much longer?
DAISY
(through gritted teeth) I don’t. Know.
ARCHIVIST
The others didn’t take this long.
DAISY
The others had clear structural weaknesses. This room doesn’t.
TIM
How hard can it be to blow up one building? All this… stuff!
DAISY
It depends. Lots of other buildings close around it, I was told to be careful.
TIM
Right. Fine.
BASIRA
So would you say this was supposed to be Churchill or Alfred Hitchcock?
[John lets out a breath.]
ARCHIVIST
Jowls like that, could be either. I mean, the [unintelligible] is a bit – Tim! Leave it!
TIM
We should know what’s going on. How close they are.
ARCHIVIST
We are not ready yet! If you start opening doors and they see you –
TIM
Are you sure it’s through there?
ARCHIVIST
I, I, I, I’m pretty sure. I saw it a few times while I was here, they’ve knocked through most of the middle, ho-hollowed it out, made a sort of auditorium.
BASIRA
How big?
ARCHIVIST
I don’t know! Big!
BASIRA
I mean, it’s not a huge building.
ARCHIVIST
I don’t know. Tonight was my first time seeing it from the outside. At least in the… flesh. I guess it does seem, m, smaller?
[Silence.]
BASIRA
You’re sure this is the right place?
ARCHIVIST
I am. This is definitely where they kept me. Although I don’t remember quite this many waxworks.
BASIRA
Alright. I just don’t want to get this far and find out we’re in a –
[She’s cut off by a strange music seeming to come from the other side of the door.]
ARCHIVIST
This is the place.
[He takes a shaky breath.]
TIM
We need to see what’s going on in there.
ARCHIVIST
Just ignore it. We have a job to do.
BASIRA
Jesus.
ARCHIVIST & TIM
What?
BASIRA
It moved.
ARCHIVIST
Right, okay, if they’re starting to, ah, We’ve got to go.
BASIRA
No, like – it was just – it’s just a flicker in his eyes. Look at it –
ARCHIVIST
Don’t – Look, if the waxworks are coming alive, we need to go.
BASIRA
Just shut up and look.
[Silence but for the background melody as they do.]
BASIRA
Huh.
ARCHIVIST
Oh god… Oh god, they’re not waxworks.
TIM
What do you – Christ.
ARCHIVIST
Tim, I – I think – I think maybe we had better see what’s going on in there.
TIM
Alright. Alright. On three. (pause) Three.
[They open the door. The music grows louder.]
ARCHIVIST
Oh…
TIM
Holy –
ARCHIVIST
Yes. I suppose it is.
DAISY
Done.
ARCHIVIST
I, um. I think we might need all of it, Daisy. This place is, uh, it’s bigger than we thought.
DAISY
Roger that. Give me a couple of minutes.
ARCHIVIST
S-s-sooner would be better.
[He starts breathing faster.]
TIM
What is it?
ARCHIVIST
Fear fuels everything, of course they need it, for a g-grand ritual…
BASIRA
What the hell is that thing? What’s it doing to them?
ARCHIVIST
I, I think – I used to call it The Anglerfish. It’s – I knew it took the skin, used it to coat people made of sawdust and stuffing, but now – I suppose I thought it just ate the rest. But no. It had a museum to fill with waxworks. And I guess you don’t need skin to sing. (shaky breath) To join the choir.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[INT. ARCHIVES]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
MARTIN
Hm. Sorry. Looks like it wants to know what’s going on.
ELIAS
Hm. A pity. You know John listens to all of them.
MARTIN
What, you don’t want him hearing your big evil speech?
ELIAS
Just wanted to spare you the small amount of dignity you have left.
[Martin laughs, but it’s mirthless.]
MARTIN
Dignity? Right, yeah. Like the dignity of being trapped in your flat by worms, or sleeping in the Archives clutching a corkscrew, or, or fetching drinks for the thing that murdered your friend without you even noticing. Laughing, at all their little jokes, then being led to wander impossible corridors for weeks.
ELIAS
(sighing) Are you done.
MARTIN
Not even close. Because, I – (composes himself) I’ve been thinking. It’s not like you got this all-seeing thing recently. You’ve had it the whole time. I remember the way you looked at Sasha after the attack. You knew it wasn’t her. And I reckon you knew Prentiss was lurking under the Institute, too, and you did nothing. Why?
[Beat.]
[Martin slams his hand down onto the desk.]
Why?
[Beat.]
ELIAS
Let’s just get this over with, shall we?
MARTIN
What, like with Melanie? Just that perfect bit of information to leave me a wreck?
[Elias takes a breath.]
ELIAS
Yes.
MARTIN
Well, I hope you’ve got something better than that pathetic dig at my feelings for John.
ELIAS
It’s baffling, really. Such loyalty to someone who really treats you very badly.
MARTIN
Oh, is that supposed to be, what, a revelation?
ELIAS
You know, I really should have gone for that. Found something that would finally manage to shatter that precious image you have of him. But, as you say I am very busy at the moment. So I suppose I’ll have to go with what I had prepared.
MARTIN
Do it.
ELIAS
Your mother. She’s always been… difficult, hasn’t she. You take care of her for years, feed her, clean up after her, and now, with her condition degrading even further, she is the one that asked to be moved into a home.
[Martin sucks in a shaky breath.]
To have it left to the nurses. She’s the one that refuses your visits.
MARTIN
She’s a-always been –
ELIAS
Strong-willed?
MARTIN
Stubborn…
ELIAS
No. No, Martin. You know the reason. Your mother simply hates you. You just don’t know why.
It’s not your fault, though I know that isn’t any consolation. Just bad luck, really. How old were you when your father left? Eight? Nine? When your mother began to sicken, and he decided he was done with you both. Not old enough to remember him with any great clarity, especially when your mother refused to keep any pictures of him. She never recovered from that betrayal. He just tore her heart right out and took it with him.
The thing is, though, Martin. If you ever do want to know exactly what your father looked like… All you have to do is look in a mirror.
[Martin’s breathing grows louder and shakier. There’s a vague static in the background, still.]
ELIAS
The resemblance is quite uncanny. The face of the man she hates, who destroyed her life, watching over her. Feeding her. Cleaning her. Looking down on her with such pity.
MARTIN
(tearful) Shut. Up.
ELIAS
You want to know what she sees when she looks at you?
[Both Martin’s sobs and the static grow louder; Elias is transmitting the memories and images straight into his mind.]
MARTIN
(through sobs) Oh god…
[He continues crying as the static keeps going.]
ELIAS
(hissing) Don’t burn any more statements.
[Elias leaves, closing the door to the office behind him as Martin continues sobbing. He’s doing his best to compose himself, and he manages to do so just enough before the door opens again and Melanie comes in.]
MARTIN
Did you find anything?
MELANIE
Uh, yes, I found –
[She finally looks up and sees the state Martin’s in.]
Jesus. Are you okay?
MARTIN
Do we have what we need?
MELANIE
I think so, yes. He didn’t even have a safe, just a few locked drawers. It was – it was easy.
[Martin takes a shaky breath.]
MARTIN
We need to leave.
MELANIE
We need to kill him. Look at you. He needs to die.
MARTIN
No. No, I – I knew what this was gonna be.
MELANIE
It’s not just for you! If we leave him alive –
MARTIN
Melanie. Melanie, please.
[Beat.]
[Melanie sighs.]
MELANIE
Alright. Let’s get these somewhere safe.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[INT. WAXWORKS]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
BASIRA
So what do we do?
ARCHIVIST
We can’t help them.
TIM
So, what, we’re just going to leave them to be skinned alive?
ARCHIVIST
(overlapping) [And] what do you want me to do?!
TIM
Well, you brought me in as a distraction, right?
ARCHIVIST
What?
TIM
Let me do it. Go in, maybe you can get some of them –
ARCHIVIST
Tim, contrary to what you think, I did not bring you here to indulge your death wish.
TIM
That’s not what this is.
ARCHIVIST
No?
TIM
No! You knew I might not be coming back –
ARCHIVIST
I knew none of us might be coming back, and I’m not going to let anyone get killed for nothing!
TIM
Well, except for those people in there.
ARCHIVIST
They’re already dead!
TIM
Not all of them.
ARCHIVIST
(sudden yell, followed by immediate realization of need to whisper) I am not losing you as well!
BASIRA
[unintelligible, overlapping]… Look. Whatever we’re going to do, we need to figure it out. Now.
ARCHIVIST
Fine.
TIM
Look. John, I –
DAISY
Done.
ARCHIVIST
What?
DAISY
It’s all ready. Here.
ARCHIVIST
Oh. I – I thought you would want to, uh, do the honors.
DAISY
It’s safer with you. You know when it needs to happen.
ARCHIVIST
Right. Okay, um, c-come on, then. Let’s go. (pause) Tim, come on.
TIM
This isn’t right.
BASIRA
At least it’ll be quick.
ARCHIVIST
Tim, please. We have to go –
[The door creaks open. The music is louder, now.]
ARCHIVIST
Get back.
DAISY
Behind me.
[A new static begins.]
NIKOLA
(over speaker) Will the audience please take their positions?
[The static grows in intensity.]
NIKOLA
The show… has begun.
ARCHIVES TEAM
AAAAH.
[The static grows louder. In the background, the circus music intensifies, with a proper melody and beat finally recognizable. Amidst it all is the Archivist’s breathing, loud and isolated against the background frenzy.]
ARCHIVIST
Jesus…
BASIRA
Get the hell away from me!
TIM
Where’s – no!
DAISY
Don’t move –
ARCHIVIST
Daisy! Daisy, i-it’s me!
TIM
No!
DAISY
I said, don’t move.
ARCHIVIST
Daisy!