Burn Country Page #2

---

as hell when I called.

"Yeah, sure, Gabe.

Anything you need.

"Your piece in the times

magazine tore my heart out."

I'll bet he didn't even read it.

Oh, he read it.

It tore his heart out. He wanted very

much to make sure that I was okay.

You going to go crazy

over there, man?

Look, I got a few friends

in New York that can...

No, Gabe.

I'm not going to go crazy.

Not if... Not if you

have something to do.

Not if I have something to do.

The market, airport road.

Osman, I got to go.

Your understudy's

giving me the eye.

Yeah, I think, uh...

I think your mother

wants to talk to you.

I'd rather not, buddy.

It's easier not dealing with her fretting

over me, if you know what I mean.

Look, stay strong. You're a badass, man.

You're a fixer, huh?

California can't possibly

defeat you, huh?

Own it, brother. You know?

You hear what I'm saying?

Own it.

Gabe?

He had to go to work.

I'm going to go get

some cigarettes.

Can I get you anything?

Where is he?

I haven't heard

from him since...

It's a mile-and-a-half

away.

Hello.

May I help you?

Yes, a pack of reds, please.

Don't think we have those.

Uh...

Okay.

Is there a grown person

I could talk to here?

No?

There a problem?

Ah, yes.

I don't think

she can reach the cigarettes.

Oh, dear.

Brand?

Reds, please.

Just these, lace, and the cigarettes.

Thank you.

No...

Shut up.

Thank you for the cigarettes.

Oh, yeah.

No worries.

I've been recently told that

I have to own it, and...

Uh-huh?

I think that means

I should talk to you.

Um, what are you

supposed to own?

I have no idea.

Okay.

I'm Sandra, by the way.

Sandra. Osman.

I like that.

Where are you from?

Carl, we're going to the beach.

Are we?

Uh-huh.

This is Osman.

He's from Afghanistan,

and he hasn't seen

the water yet.

Also, he really dug your play.

Well, then,

we'll go to the beach.

So, Osman...

Yes?

What are you doing in my Van?

I don't know.

Yet.

You don't know yet.

So, you worked with Gabe?

Yeah, I was his fixer. We...

Like an interpreter?

Yes.

In Afghanistan, it is all

about the relationships.

A journalist cannot walk around

the country

just asking the questions.

You need a guide.

Yeah. Someone who know

how to read the place.

A kind of cultural translator.

Yeah, exactly.

So, what happened?

I got the hell out.

No, Gabe had a connection,

so I got lucky.

Hey, Gabe still helping you out?

Yeah, I'm staying

with his mother,

and thought

he find me a job, but...

Really?

Maybe it's stupid.

The police blotter

for the newspaper.

It isn't anything.

Yeah, I know what it is.

You'd like something

more substantial.

Yes.

Something that lets you

assert yourself,

makes you feel like a man.

Something

that gives you dignity,

"dignity" being kind of

a nebulous concept right now,

since it's got

a different flavor over here

than it did back home,

or seems to,

but you're not sure,

because how do you know yet?

That right?

Well, it's just

that back home...

No, don't tell us too much.

Not yet.

Okay.

Okay, f*** it.

I'm getting in!

I'm happy

you bring me here, man.

Osman, come on!

Go ahead.

I'll chaperone.

Whoo!

Hey, Osman!

Come on!

You all right, buddy?

Whoo-hoo!

You okay?

Thank you.

That better?

Is he all right?

He's fine!

Osman!

Whoo!

Whoo!

Gloria!

Well, where have you been?

The sea.

I have been to the sea.

You liked it.

Oh, Gabe was right. All I

need is something to do.

Is that what he said?

I'm going to take the job.

What, the police blotter?

Yeah.

I thought you said you didn't want

to sit around writing reports.

Exactly.

I don't need to wait

for people to give

me things, right?

I can go out

and actually do something.

I'm going to use it to meet

this place, the people,

do real work

like Gabe and I did.

Osman, what are you

talking about?

I'm going to go out on patrol

with you, Afghan-style.

Huh?

I'm not just going to write

the police blotter,

I'm going to do it.

Osman...

Turn this bullshit job

into real work.

Osman, you can't.

You can't go out with me,

as delightful as you may be.

But... One, it's totally

against the rules.

Last night...

And two, it interferes.

I can't have you with me

out there when I'm working.

I can't.

I... I wouldn't interfere.

I'd be in the back...

No.

I'm sorry.

Here. Sit.

It's the only thing

I can actually cook.

You... you don't

need me to be here.

You know that, right?

We should do the interview

when we're done this, right?

Yeah, man. Yeah.

Many people say

the Taliban receive support

from the Pakistani government.

Does the Taliban receive

support from Pakistan?

Come on.

He's actually affirming

that the Pakistani government

helps them,

and did nothing against them.

They got many offices

at the border... Hmm.

And that's how they operate

their operation.

Right. What is the structure?

Sh*t, man.

That sounds like...

Like a detective aircraft.

That sounds

like a detective aircraft.

Should we go?

He's actually saying

that it's an American aircraft,

so we should just

wrap things up.

So, we should go?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Let's just wrap things up.

Tell him thank you very much.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Go, man.

Go!

Oh, sh*t.

Go, go, go!

Go! Go! Move!

Gabe?

Whoo!

Thank you. No problem, brother.

Hey, foreign correspondent.

You here to report me?

I'm just f***ing with you.

I'm just messing around.

Come on, get in.

Look, I owe you.

That sh*t the other night,

my bad, all right?

Serious misuse

of a sacred martial art.

I own that.

I apologize.

Come on.

Man, I ain't going to touch you.

You sit on that side,

I sit on this side.

Come on.

All right, it's cool.

Man, no problem at all.

No problem at all.

You just...

Anywhere you want to go,

just say the word, brother.

No, man, you'd be doing me

a favor.

That karmic rebound.

Seriously.

Where do you want to go?

I have to go downtown.

"Downtown" is kind of

a vague direction.

Well, I...

I have work to do.

Yeah?

Something going on

I should know about?

You got a scoop?

No, no.

Oh, yeah?

So, what are you working on?

The police blotter.

No sh*t?

F***ing love it, man.

First thing I read

every morning.

Really?

Yeah.

Love all that dirty

underbelly stuff.

You know, the last dude that

wrote the blotter was stellar.

Frankie the finger.

Frankie the finger, man.

He wrote me up a couple times.

Yeah, but he had

the perfect tone, you know?

Wry as a motherf***er.

Like a laser beam, you know?

You got some... you got

some shoes to fill, my friend.

I can fill some shoes, man.

I'll bet you can.

So, the idea is what?

You head into town,

do a little recon,

pin the likely criminals,

and then you just hide out

and wait for them

to do something nefarious?

Something like recon.

In this work, it's...

It's all about finding

the source of things, yes.

No sh*t?

What's a dude from

Afghanistan doing out here

in the this godforsaken

part of the country?

Journalism.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes