Triage Page #3

I just think of you as a friend,

that's all.

Fair enough.

Okay, so, 5:
00?

Yeah. Bill me. Thanks.

Okay.

Give us a pint, Kevin, will ya?

Please.

Cheers, Kevin.

Hey. Stretching.

You've already started

going through them.

- Yeah.

- How are they?

- Good. Got some good ones.

- Show me.

No, not now.

I'll show you later...

Missy.

Hey, I missed you today.

I missed you, too.

There you are.

David!

Elena?

I'm sorry I'm late.

I had a starter.

I had to feed the beast.

If I don't eat on time,

it gets really angry.

It moved! Did you feel it?

Of course you did.

How are you?

Yeah, all right.

Except I have to pee

every five minutes.

Any word from David, hmm?

I know it's his job,

and there's a war on,

and it's a primitive place,

but surely he could get

a message out to me somehow.

Or maybe not.

If the phone lines have been cut...

Well, forget a message.

I want him.

He does this to me

and then fucks off to Kurdistan.

Yeah.

Hey, what if I send a cable

to the Kurdish refugee camp?

I know some people working there.

I can have them

at least ask around, no?

Oh, I don't know.

The idea of some Red Cross guy

running up to him,

telling him he has to call his wife,

he'd get pissed off.

So what?

You know what, you're right.

Okay. Let's do it.

Mark!

- How are you?

- Good.

You look like shite!

Thanks.

- What happened?

- Oh, you know.

So, good trip?

I think so, yeah. You tell me.

Give!

It's a Pesh Merga ambush

of an Iraqi convoy.

They killed 19 troops

and took out a transportation truck.

Yeah.

Too bad Life magazine

only does pap these days,

but I'll run these past them anyway.

We should be able to find

something on the continent.

Hear there's a lot of Kurds

in Germany, right?

Or do I mean Turks?

You mean both, Amy.

Kurds and Turks.

Yeah, okay. I'll try Stern.

What else?

"Triage."

Working title.

- For what?

- Um...

Makeshift hospital in the field.

Soldiers that came in

that were too gravely wounded,

they took them outside

and killed them.

Killed?

By?

Their own doctor.

Fellow Kurd.

You can see him in the shots.

Jesus Christ!

Mercy killings.

Well, that is an incredible

piece of work, Mark.

Could put these up for auction.

I'll send it to all the news weeklies,

and I'll tell them I need an answer

by tomorrow afternoon.

Nice.

Listen, Time magazine

is sending a reporter to Burma,

and they need a photographer.

When they see these...

Interested?

Time? Yeah, sure.

Well, don't jump for joy, will you?

God.

- You all right?

- Yeah, I'm just tired.

It's a long trip.

- Okay, anything else?

- No, that's it.

Okay, I'll call you. Bye!

- See ya, Amy.

- See ya.

That's a terrible limp you got there,

Mark. You sure you're okay?

Yeah, fine. Just got banged up

a bit, you know.

Don't start being all concerned, now.

It doesn't suit ya.

Well, listen,

you may have got banged up,

but I'd say it was worth it.

- Great work.

- Thanks.

Hey. I probably should have

stayed home.

I'm not much in the mood

for socializing.

You should go and talk to Diane.

I will. I will.

I'm gonna say no

to the Burma job.

Gonna have Amy

pull my name from...

Are you serious?

But you've always talked

about working for Time.

I know. Just not right now.

God knows there'll always be

another war.

Mark, did something happen

in Kurdistan, hmm?

Yes.

I decided I want to spend

more time with you,

and I want to have a baby with you.

I'm sorry, but I'm...

I'm worried about you.

- Worried about me?

- Yeah.

Yeah, something's wrong.

You're not yourself.

I'm gonna see Diane.

That's better.

I don't know what I was thinking

with those heels.

- Here you go.

- Thanks.

It's just so weird.

You know, Mark didn't

even mention David.

It's so strange.

I don't know.

He just seems different,

preoccupied.

And his limp is definitely

getting worse.

He says it isn't, but...

And tonight he told me

he wants to have a baby.

- A baby?

- Yeah.

Mark wants to have a baby?

Wow, he really isn't well.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Diane.

My God.

You don't need to hear this.

- I'm sorry.

- It's okay.

Strange, isn't it?

They've gone

to so many places together,

they're best friends,

but they're so different.

David seems to always focus

on the beauty, what's hopeful.

While Mark...

Well, you wouldn't want

many of his pictures on the wall.

Mark?

Mark?

Mark?!

Mrs. Walsh?

He's been sent on to neurology.

We cleaned the head wound

and removed a foreign object.

A foreign object?

What do you mean?

I really couldn't say.

That's pathology.

Hey, sorry.

What is wrong with his legs?

That's neurology, I'm afraid.

But I'm sure the neurologist will be

able to answer all your questions.

It should be only

a few more minutes.

[Sighs]

So, the good news is

there's nothing permanently wrong.

Nothing physically,

permanently wrong with him,

that is, you know.

No neural disruption,

no broken bones.

There is some swelling

and some hypersensitivity

along the spine.

That's a class symptom

of high-impact trauma,

but all indications are

that it's dissipating.

Then, why is he getting worse?

He told me he fell into a river,

that he was dragged

across some rocks.

- Is that what he told you?

- Yes.

That's when I started to wonder

about his story.

Because we extracted this

from the back of his head.

Um, "composition...

steel and cadmium alloy

with traces of TNT.

Characteristics...

an eighth of an inch thick,

jagged edges,

curled on two sides,

indicating a sudden

and extreme metal-stress."

Shrapnel.

It seems like Mark had

a very close call over there.

An artillery shell exploded

just meters

from where he was standing.

That's how he got this.

But, look, that's not the problem.

By all medical

and physical indicators,

he should be improving.

But he's not. I mean, if anything,

he's getting worse.

Which means?

Which means it's

a psychosomatic complication,

maybe PTSD.

Look, I'm not a psychiatrist,

but I think that might be

the kind of doctor he needs.

Why didn't you tell me

about the explosion?

I thought it would be easier not to.

Easier?

Yeah.

Love, you've already had enough

to worry about.

When I go away, you know?

It's over now.

You're home.

I love you.

Don't be upset at me, Elena.

I'll be fine.

- Everything is going to be okay.

- Yeah.

I'm sure.

[In Spanish]... Joaquin Morales.

Leave a message after the beep.

[Beep]

[In Spanish]

Grandfather, are you there?

[In Spanish]

It's me, Elena.

Mutilated baby corpse.

Am I right?

In this test, there is

no right or wrong.

Next one.

Oh, Jesus.

Mutilated woman's corpse.

Mutilated man's corpse.

Must be the father.

They got the whole family,

did they, doctor? F***ing hell.

All just a game to you, Mr. Walsh?

I don't know.

It just all seems a bit...

...stupid, you know?

Maybe it is.

But I am trying to help you,

and in 15 minutes,

I'll be leaving here and will get paid

whether you answer

my questions or not,

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