The Tailor of Panama Page #3

Or it was, until Osnard blubbed it.

I mean, I'm barely allowed to know it.

Not the Osnard got

drummed out of Madrid?

Foreign minister's wife, wasn't it?

Not his wife. Mistress.

There are some things

I won't do for England.

Got your picture in the paper,

didn't it?

Hence my posting to Panama.

What was your crime?

Coffee?

Thank you.

Help yourself.

Is it just exile, or do you

have a purpose here?

Sure.

The boys at home are concerned that

the world's biggest trade gateway...

...doesn't fall into

the wrong hands...

...now that it's in the wrong hands.

Forgive me.

Don't want to seem presumptuous...

...but I doubt you'll find

anything they don't know...

...from our regular embassy briefings.

Know about the Silent Opposition?

There you go.

You're a fast worker.

See something worth having,

go after it.

May I ask at what point we here

at the embassy...

...will get sight of your product?

My boss says no local sharing unless

he gives the nod...

...but I'm not really bothered

about that.

Say, the four of us in this room?

I'd have no problem with that.

Well, all that seems very

satisfactory. Nigel?

Francesca?

Good to have you with us, Andrew.

Good to be here.

Francesca will show you

to your office.

Yes.

It's a bit on the poky side,

I'm afraid.

Bit on the poky side's fine with me.

We thought you'd be out

and about a lot.

Here we are.

What are you listening to?

The sea.

Bloody thing's been sitting in

the warehouse all its life.

Stuck on one combo.

Tumblers all shot.

Gotcha!

Are you quite sure that it

was locked in the first place?

I'm staying at the Gamboa Rain Forest

Resort till the apartment's ready.

Come out on Sunday.

Spot of lunch. Swim in the lake.

See how it goes.

I think I'm busy on Sunday.

You're right.

It was open.

Just tight from lack of use.

The ambassador's asked me

to brief you...

...in case there's anything you

don't already know.

Noriega formed these so-called

"Dignity Battalions."

Dingbats.

They were to beat the dignity out of

anyone remotely critical of Noriega.

It was Dr. Frankenstein,

George Bush...

...who created this monster...

...when he was head of the CIA.

And when Noriega's...

...drug running and brutality

got too much, even for the CIA...

...it was George, now President Bush,

who decided to take him out.

And just to make sure...

...they fire-bombed a big chunk

of the old city.

Sadly, that's where

the anti-Noriega rebels were.

The handful that Noriega hadn't

banged up already.

So no more opposition,

silent or otherwise.

Burnt...

...scattered...

...fled.

Or risen again from the ashes.

Okay, okay, okay.

Everybody, here we go.

Sorry.

Mickie!

Come in.

Sorry about the other night.

I'm going through a bad patch.

Is it money, Mickie? Is it?

Maybe I can help.

You?

You got worse debts than me.

Mr. Farmer, huh?

Do you still keep in touch,

you know...

...with any of the students,

the fighters, from the old days?

No, they're all lawyers now. Bankers.

Haven't you heard?

We got a democracy.

There's still a lot to fight for,

Mickie.

I haven't got the stomach for it.

I get the shakes when I see a cop.

Unless I'm drunk,

and then I want to hit him.

Either way...

What about Marta's people?

They loved you.

They looked up to you.

You should give up on me, Harry.

I'm a lost cause.

How much do you owe, Mickie?

Owe to the casino? To you?

All of it. All in. Come on.

Not much change out of 20 grand.

I'll get it for you, Mickie.

And I'm gonna make you a new suit.

A lovely silk and mohair herringbone.

Okay?

Okay. Okay.

- Se? Or Pendel?

- What have I done wrong, Marta?

Nothing. That's the problem.

Look at these accounts.

Your friend Rafi Domingo.

Two months overdue.

Carry it till next month.

He's a good customer.

He's a sh*t. He made all his

money under Noriega.

I'm going to charge him interest.

- You can't do that.

- Yes, I can.

You're worried they won't like you

if you make them pay.

It's a tradition.

Gentlemen keep tailors

waiting for money.

Gentlemen? Find me one.

Your Mr. Osnard isn't one,

that's for sure.

- What does he want?

- A suit.

This is me, Harry.

He's looking for information.

Be nice to him. No sulks.

Promise?

He's a devil.

- Who says?

- His eyes say.

I'm just having a bit

of a natter with him.

Don't look at me like that, Marta.

I'm just a tailor.

No, Harry, not just a tailor.

You are a dreamer.

Which is why I have to

watch over you.

Oh, speak of the devil. Mr. Osnard!

How's my suit coming along then?

When I put the shears

into that alpaca, I said:

"Harry, this is gonna be

something special."

A poem, is it?

Great body.

As long as her face is turned away

when you're f***ing her.

Marta's decent. She's been

in some very bad places.

Oh, yeah? Such as?

Here. Under Noriega.

She stood up when the rest

of us were lying down.

That's why they did her face for her.

Are her sacred causes still intact?

She'd never budge.

Not Marta.

So she's one of them.

- One of who?

- The Silent Opposition.

Absolutely.

- Harry, stop.

- I can't.

What is she?

Their chief of ops?

Head spook?

- She's more. Much more.

- How much?

You press me too hard, Andy.

Sweetheart, you haven't even

felt me yet.

Think "farm."

She's their Joan of Arc.

Their spiritual leader, bar none.

You're too much, Harry.

Can I have her?

Every penny you give her goes

to the cause...

...without commission

or deduction of any kind.

How much?

For the pulse and soul

of the Silent Opposition?

For Marta?

Mickie needs 20 grand

to activate his units.

Marta should get the same.

- Yeah, I think we can swing that.

- Thank you, Mr. Osnard.

London's tickled pink with this

Silent Opposition of yours.

How is the farm, by the way?

- Don't ask.

- Know who your neighbor is?

The guy who's cutting off access

to your water?

He's not a person,

he's an absentee landlord...

...and a corporation in Miami.

And a prick.

You know where he banks?

With your chum Ramon.

Not to put too fine a point on it,

he is your chum Ramon.

Well, Ramon owns two thirds.

Mr. X owns the other third.

You know who Mr. X is?

No, I don't know who Mr. X is.

How about your farm-manager chap?

Angelo, isn't it?

No!

Mickie! Marta!

Oh, for the love of God!

Mickie!

- Oh, God!

- It's okay.

What time is it?

It's 7:
00.

I'll make breakfast.

What happened to your diet, Mom?

I'm in denial.

What's denial?

A very big river in Africa.

- Ba-bum!

- Thank you.

Mom, this girl in school told me

mothers who work...

...feel guilty about their children.

Why don't you?

Maybe because your father

is such a good mother.

Listen, it's ballet today.

Do not forget your bag.

- Let's go.

- Okay, come on.

Are you seeing

the president today, Dad?

Indeed. So we'd

better get our skates on.

Harold Pendel.

This way, Mr. Pendel.

Working. Always working.

He thinks only of Panama.

Se? Or Pendel.

Show me your pass, please.

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