Fay Grim Page #2

mean anything to you?

- No.

- Bebe.

Bebe Konchalovsky.

We understand that Henry kept a diary,

some kind of a journal, many volumes.

What he referred to as his Confessions.

Yeah so?

Did you ever read this book?

These Confessions?

A little. Once. By accident.

Could you tell us about what you've read?

I'd rather not.

Was it treasonous?

Did it seem to discuss subjects potentially dangerous

to the security of the United States of America?

I just read the dirty parts.

The dirty parts?

You get that, Carl?

Got it.

What are you saying,

that Henry was some sort of a spy?

Or worse...

Look, Fay...

What?

Fay, Henry's dead.

Ma, you okay?

Yeah.

Did you eat?

I'll make something.

What time is it? Where have you been?

It's 7:
30.

I was at the library. Didn't they call you?

Who?

The school.

I had my cell phone turned off.

Why? What happened now?

I've been expelled.

Ma?

Ma? You okay?

Go eat.

Don't do anything... drastic.

Like what... drown myself because

you've been expelled from school?

Go away and leave me alone!

Conceited little monster.

Then after all that the school calls

and tells me Ned's been caught getting a blow job

from these two 16 year old girls right down

the hall from the Principal's office.

Now he's expelled.

Wait a minute. Back up.

They actually said Henry's dead?

When? Where?

Berlin, Germany. Two days after he ran away.

And you believe them?

They're the CIA, Simon.

The Government of

the United States Of America.

God! Get with it.

Do you have the package from Angus?

They think there was an accomplice

at the airport.

- You mean, besides me?

- Yes.

There was no accomplice at the airport.

But you didn't actually see him

get on the plane, did you?

Well, no, not exactly. But...

What wouldn't he have gotten on the plane?

He was running away.

That was the whole point.

Maybe he had, you know, second thoughts.

Maybe he felt all at once the... the ahh...

What?

Forget it Simon,

you've got to get out of jail.

I can't handle all this on my own.

Ned needs a father figure or something.

What do you want me to do, escape?

You might be eligible for early parole

on account of your good behavior.

Ask.

I won't be eligible for another couple of years.

We can't wait that long!

They'll send Ned to reform school.

He'll be in prison before he's...

...old enough to get a driver's license.

Look, if you need anything at all,

just ask Angus.

She's got a date with him.

What?

He's taking her to the theater...

...and supper and stuff.

Calls her all the time.

Evaporate.

See you later.

You're dating my publisher?

You got a problem with that?

Simon.

I spent a lot of time

and money tracking this book down.

I'm fairly certain it is book

six of Henry Fool's Confession.

If it's for real, keep it with you.

It's safer there.

I'm beginning to think

your suspicions are correct.

I chose not to tell Fay everything.

Perhaps the less she knows the safer she'll be.

We'll talk soon.

Yours, etc. Angus.

I want Simon released from prison.

That's not as easy as it sounds, Fay.

The Governor's gonna kick and scream...

...if the feds try to negotiate his release!

You understand, don't you, Carl?

I mean, he is up for parole soon.

Years from now. Forget it.

Carl, go take a walk in the rain.

Bye Carl.

Leave him alone.

He likes me.

That's his problem.

I won't cooperate unless Simon

is released from prison.

Ok. We'll see what we can do about your brother.

But I'm not promising anything.

Now, will you do it or not?

What do you want me to do, exactly?

I mean, what's this all about?

That's not how it works, Fay.

We tell you just enough

for you to complete your mission.

Then, if all goes well and

we decide to move on, we tell you more.

It's called plausible denyabilty, Mom.

Why isn't this kid at school?

- Ned, go upstairs.

- I'm hungry.

Here. Go buy yourself a pizza, scram.

French Secret Service have

two books of Henry's Confession.

Really? Where'd they get them?

They were found in the possession

of a notorious drug smuggler

who swears he got them

from Bebe Konchalovsky.

And who is that?

Nobody knows for sure.

A terrorist.

Wanted by the Russians,

the Israelis, the French, and us.

What would terrorists want

with Henry's notebooks?

What would anybody want

from Henry's notebooks?

Got me.

The books contain information the French

can use to blackmail the United States.

With what?

Who cares with what. Besides, it's classified.

Fulbright... Henry was a garbage man.

Yeah, for five years here in Woodside Queens,

he was a garbage man.

And?

So, what the hell was

he doing in Afghanistan in 1989, for instance?

- What?

- We have evidence Fay. Witnesses.

Luckily we got some bad dope

on the French at the moment

which might urge them to back off

if we get compromised.

Really? What do you need me for?

The French are in a tight spot.

The German's, the Belgians,

the Israelis, China...

...nobody wants the French to hand

over those books to the U.S.

However, there's a treaty, an old one,

and a loophole in that treaty...

...which prevents the French government

from impounding an American citizen's property...

...under certain narrowly defined conditions

which we have recently had broadened...

...due to the current unstable international

terrorist situation, etc.

So, the books written by Henry...

...and you are Henry's widow,

the books obviously belong to you.

The French will take a lot of crap

from the European Union...

...for a week or two, but then so what.

Believe me, Fay, this is critical.

And you're the only one

who can do what needs to be done.

I want Simon released from prison.

I think it's real.

Are you sure?

Angus, has it ever occurred to you...

...that, perhaps, Henry's Confessions were

simply too completely awful to be true?

You mean as in bad?

- Inept.

- Idiotic?

- Right.

- Oh yes, that was my first impression, certainly.

Try to remember what you read.

Try to peel away the layers of

masturbatory self indulgence.

The ego-maniacal rant, the paranoid obsessions,

the sexual preoccupation.

Would there be anything left?

Look over my left shoulder.

There's a prisoner down the row reading a book.

Yeah, I see him.

His name is Herzog.

He once worked for the CIA.

He was what they called...

...an encryption specialist.

He invented codes.

Go talk to him.

Ask him about operation Inferno.

He's expecting you.

I was the chief attache to the US operative in...

B*tch!

...in a certain South American...

country during it's first free and open elections.

Put that thing down.

Ned look, if I do this thing for them in Paris,

they're gonna get uncle Simon out of jail.

- No way!

- Yes way.

And besides it will give me

an opportunity to wear this nice coat...

...that Angus has got me.

Did your father ever tell you...

Unusual bedtime stories when I wasn't around.

Sure. All the time.

What were they about?

About the places he'd been to.

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