Mr. Arkadin Page #8

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What else do you want?

I want you to tell me about Athabadze.

It's, uh, Van or... Wasaw.

- Atha-

- What about him?

I'd like you to tell me

what you thought of him.

I was crazy in love with him, mister.

- But what's all this to you?

- Well, you see, I work for Athabadze.

Of course, he has a different name now.

Sure.

Gregory Arkadin.

- You knew that?

- Years ago.

Chato, give me those photograph albums.

And you never said anything?

But you must have realized

what that information was worth.

Money. Money I don't need.

But even if I did, mister,

that kind of money I couldn't use.

Not that Wasaw don't owe me. He does.

- 200,000 Swiss francs?

- It was in gold.

He borrowed this money?

If that's the way he remembers it.

Give me the old one.

Come here.

Oskar.

There.

I guess he must have

grown his beard after he left you.

He had a beard when I saw him

in Monte Carlo.

But I knew him.

That was years later.

Sitting right next to me he was,

and he didn't know me.

Why should he?

Not that he hadn't changed too,

of course.

But why the beard? I don't know.

Maybe it had something to do with his

daughter growing up. I wouldn't know either.

This is even the first time

I've heard about the child.

- Who is he married to?

- Somebody in Berlin.

- Yeah?

- She died when Raina was born.

Ah.

The only time I saw him afterwards

was that night in the casino.

When he got up from the game

and moved over to the roulette...

somebody whispered,

"There goes the famous Gregory Arkadin."

So that's how I found out

what happened to my boyfriend...

and the money.

I was going to talk to him.

"Hello, Wasaw," I was going to say.

"Where's the money you stole from me?

"Where's the gold pieces I had stored away

in my old pair of drawers, Wasaw?

Now that you are the great Mr. Arkadin,

maybe you could afford to pay me back."

But I didn't.

There was that old, hard, lonely

kind of look in his eyes.

I thought of all the fun

we had together.

Besides, he was winning.

I'd been playing his numbers,

and I was winning too.

A whole lot more than what he took

from me all those years ago...

even figuring the interest.

So, I thought to myself...

"Here he's gone to so much trouble

to be somebody else.

Why should I spoil it for him?"

I had my money's worth

You can go now, mister.

And when you see your boss...

tell him from me he could

leave well enough alone.

- You mean he doesn't have to worry about you?

- Why does anybody worry?

He's a billionaire with a new name.

So Oskar takes dope.

Let them both have what they need.

It's your deal, darling.

- Yeah?

- Mr. Arkadin is calling you.

- Okay.

- How are you coming, Van Stratten?

Couldn't be better, Arkadin.

I finally got the goods on you.

- What?

- The dirt. All of it. From before '27.

- Can you prove it?

- On the long-distance telephone?

Come and talk to me.

I want to talk to you now.

I don't think you understand.

I'm in Mex -

You -You didn't know

I was on this side of the ocean.

This your first trip to Mexico?

It's mine.

Seem to be treating you pretty good, huh?

This part of the hotel is private.

They keep it for me.

- I suppose you own the hotel.

- Well, as a matter of fact-

Okay.

- What does she say?

- Chiquita says she wants to go waterskiing.

It's an amusing sport. I'd like to try it myself.

- Yeah. You'd look real cute in a pair of water skis.

- Oh, you think it'd be funny?

I'll take your picture.

You can judge for yourself.

- Mr. Arkadin would look exactly like Neptune.

- Who?

Neptune. He was the god of the sea.

- Yeah? Did you know that?

- No.

That's what I thought.

We're both a couple of mugs.

I'm leaving tonight.

Sell our Mexican pesos and buy Chilean.

Remember what I said about copper. Oh, and, uh,

get Chiquita a little present to remember us by.

Check.

- I found Sophie.

- Sophie.

She's married money, but a character

known as Oskar's her real husband.

- He's blackmailing her.

- Oh?

- I'll put all the details in my report.

- Never mind your report.

- But I do mind it.

I'm gonna get paid for it. Remember?

- Tell me what you know.

In the old days in Warsaw,

Sophie had nine men working for her.

Four are dead. Two are behind the iron

curtain, so they can't make you any trouble.

Oskar's here. That leaves somebody

in Germany called Jakob Zouk.

- And one other.

- And this other man?

What's he up to?

- He says he wants to go waterskiing.

- Any proof?

Not till I take your picture.

I'm sorry. I forgot. You're camera shy.

- Stop trying to be funny.

- I think it's funny!

You were born near Tiflis. Your real name

is Wasaw Athabadze. I think it's funny.

- Who says that's my name?

- Oskar. So would Sophie -

Are you trying to tell me

in all seriousness that...

I belonged to this gang?

You belonged to Sophie.

I -

This man in Germany-

Can he identify me too?

Zouk's in a safe place, Mr. Arkadin.

He's in jail.

Speaking of jail...

there's some gentlemen

waiting to talk to you.

- Well, tell 'em I'm busy.

- I think you'd be wiser to see them.

They're from the police,

and they want to take you to your plane.

- Oh, and one thing more.

- Yeah?

These things you claim

to be finding out about me -

don't speak of them to my daughter.

- I have your word on that?

- My word? What's that worth to you?

Perhaps a man like you can't realize

what it is to have a conscience...

and no memory at all.

You imagine it's pleasant to be ashamed

of something you can't even remember?

Attention, please. Attention, please.

Will all passengers proceed-

I wanted to go to Germany too,

you know, for Christmas.

But of course the ogre wouldn't let me,

so I'm off to Spain to wait for him there.

Your father's going to Germany too?

Checking up on me, huh?

Well, you know Pops. He can't help it.

Counterespionage, mystery.

After all, he is a Russian.

- Hmm.

- It's the breath of life to him.

Hey. Wait a minute.

What makes you think he's a Russian?

- Well, I'm his daughter.

- He doesn't know himself.

- He really doesn't!

- Is that what he told you?

- What about the famous amnesia?

- Amnesia?

Look. In 1927, your father found himself alone

in Zurich with no memory at all.

He didn't know who he was, where he-

What's so funny?

Almost 30 years.

Oh, really, chum.

I never heard of amnesia lasting that long.

So the whole gag about him

losing his memory was just a lie.

Naturally, it was a lie.

The only true part

was the money he stole.

And all he really wanted from me was to see

how much I could find out about it.

- Hmm.

- Well, I got a little further than he expected.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

You got to Munich.

- How did you find me?

- The jail.

The warden told me they let you out

because you were sick. It was Christmas.

Christmas? They wanted to

save themselves the price of the coffee.

Now listen to me, Zouk.

What I'm gonna tell you now

happened today.

I was on my way here when suddenly...

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