The Assassination Bureau Page #2

---

The name, please.

Very well, then. His name is...

...lvan Dragomiloff.

I shall need further identification.

He is of Russian extraction,

though educated in England.

Physical characteristics?

Approximately your size,

weight and age.

I was born in the province of Valenko.

Where was your man born?

In the province of Valenko.

I am compelled to believe

that you mean me.

I do.

You puzzle me, Miss Winter.

We've never met, yet you want my life.

Why? Why?

Because of my organization?

Because you believe "kill me,

kill my bureau." Is that it? Is that it?!

What an absolutely marvelous idea.

It was not intended to amuse you.

But it does. It intrigues me too.

It will let me put my aging colleagues

on their mettle. Wonderful.

Since you'll enjoy it, perhaps you'd

give me a bargain price?

There's one matter upon which my

board never compromise, on finance.

Without self-flattery,

you'll never afford me.

Name your price.

Well, I'm not my father, of course,

but in all due honesty I couldn't put

myself in at a penny less than...

...20,000 pounds.

- What a pity.

- I accept.

- You do?

- You will no doubt wish to count it.

But you will find each bundle

contains a thousand pounds.

I trust your board

will be quite satisfied.

- Good evening, gentlemen.

- Good evening.

- Popescu, good job in Zagreb.

- Thank you.

Gentlemen.

General von Pinck. Military life

certainly keeps you fit, sir.

Lucoville, welcome to London.

You too, my dear Weiss.

Cesare, you're putting on weight.

Food is the greatest

pleasure in my life.

Greatest? They tell me your wife

is the most beautiful woman in Venice.

She is also the best cook.

And now, gentlemen,

to business, please.

It is fortunate that you're all

in London for this meeting.

Something has come up

which has... How shall I put it?

Crystallized thoughts I've had

for some time past.

Look at the great deeds recorded

on these walls, gentlemen,

each one performed in the course

of bettering the world,

purging it of evil,

striking down tyranny.

In those days, you were all ruled by

my father's principle that our bureau

would never kill anyone without

a sound moral reason for doing so.

He was a saintly man.

Do you still adhere to his principles?

Consider a moment. Be honest.

Haven't we, in the pursuit of profit,

fallen short of the high morals

upon which our bureau was founded?

It's always possible to find a good

moral reason for killing anybody.

Everybody, from some point

of view, deserves death.

Man is born to die.

No operation that

consistently shows a profit

can do so without answering

a legitimate demand.

You say that we are justified

by the prosperity

our operations have brought us all.

You, Lucoville,

with your string of hotels.

You, general, with your

estates and castles.

You, Weiss, with your

Swiss banking syndicates,

and you Spado, with your

fake antiques. And you...

Oh, dear, we seem to have started our

meeting without our vice chairman.

Does anybody know...?

Lord Bostwick, my apologies.

We started without you.

Forgive me. A fallen horse in Piccadilly

caused a terrible congestion.

How the traffic will flow

when it is all motorized.

Please, proceed, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, my lord. I wish to put

a commission before you.

It is an assignment I welcome

and have accepted on your behalf.

To the commission of

Miss Sonya Winter for 20,000 pounds,

the assassination of lvan Dragomiloff,

your chairman.

Miss Winter has put into my hands

the very weapon I need.

With all respect, I no longer

see in you the idealism

without which we are no more

than murderers.

Murderers! We are assassins!

I aim to put you to the test.

I believe Miss Winter has shown us

the way to rekindle the torch

we once held so high.

We won't stand for it.

It's really quite simple.

Under our constitution

we have the right

to accept commissions on behalf of all.

I have accepted this one.

But what does it mean?

It means, my friends,

that you must kill me,

or I will kill you.

Kill us?

Yes, gentlemen, kill you.

Not to put too fine a point on it,

I consider you all expendable.

Taking the honorable course,

I challenge you to this duel.

Yes, but supposing, my dear young

friend, that we succeed in killing you?

Then you, Lord Bostwick,

whom I appoint as neutral referee

in this game, will, as vice chairman,

take over my position,

pending the election

of my successor.

I repeat, gentlemen.

The commission has been accepted.

We must now settle a moment

to begin this little adventure.

We must give you time

to return home.

Some of your journeys

will be longer than others.

Let us say that 24 hours from now

we shall be considered at hazard.

Lord Bostwick, we'd better

synchronize our watches.

7:
30.

Gentlemen, 24 hours from the striking

of this gavel, we shall be at hazard.

From tomorrow then,

at precisely 7:
30 p.m.

Hardly the act of a gentleman.

But one should always

applaud initiative.

Good night to you, gentlemen,

and good luck.

We must go after him. This ridiculous

nonsense must be stopped.

The motion has been accepted.

Discipline must be observed.

Why should we accept it?

We've given our lives for the Bureau.

- Not yet.

- Gentlemen,

it's not a moneymaking proposition.

As acting chairman,

I call you to order.

Gentlemen, we have all been very loyal

to the memory of our dear founder,

but let us be honest with ourselves.

I think we have all felt that seniority

should have counted for something

when the succession was decided.

He should not have

come in at the top.

- His father trained the boy well.

- Of course.

Please do not misunderstand me,

gentlemen.

I'm merely suggesting that it is

in everybody's interest

to go along with our young

chairman's sporting proposition.

In fact, I feel it is my duty as referee

to stimulate your enthusiasm.

In addition to Miss Winter's fee,

I offer a prize of 10,000 pounds

to whichever member accomplishes

her commission.

A very sporting gesture, my lord.

No, no, no, no.

Our young chairman deserves

all the credit.

He conceived this great adventure.

He is certainly a sportsman.

Isn't he handsome.

Really.

Good morning.

Shall we take a little walk

in the park, Miss Winter?

Mr. Dragomiloff.

Oh, forgive the disguise.

Thanks to you, I'm a marked man.

My bureau accepted

your commission.

Well, really.

The Albert Memorial?

It was an agreed rendezvous.

It was glorious in

the park this morning.

- Well, when are you leaving?

- Leaving?

Miss Winter, have you forgotten

so soon that you're a journalist?

- What more can I do?

- Follow Dragomiloff.

Report on his execution.

It's the greatest story of the decade,

and covered by a woman.

- Isn't that what you wanted?

- Of course.

My secretary will take care

of everything. Money, tickets...

But I suppose you don't

know where he'll go.

Well, he did tell me quite

a lot about the Bureau,

where it operates and everything.

- We walked by the Serpentine.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes