Into Fire

Michael Price and Shinelle Azoroh in the Theatre UAB production

A little morality play, with a sobering question at the end.

Two desperate radicals in some faraway land have stolen a vial of deadly germs -- a few ounces of fluid that could kill millions. It's all part of a plan to blackmail the governments of the world into making peace with one another.

But can peace ever truly be attained through force?

This script, along with a few other short scripts of mine, is in the collection PUSHED TO THE LIMIT.

MICHAEL
You weren't going to talk about this again until we finally had the thing in our hands. I figured that if you thought if we really had it we could ... well, finally talk about it the way I want to.

KRYS
Where is it, Michael?

MICHAEL
I know who has it.

KRYS
Who?

MICHAEL
He doesn't even know he has it. We have plenty of time to get it before he accidentally finds it.

KRYS
And opens it and wipes out the whole god-damned world.

MICHAEL
We'll have it back before then.

KRYS
That's right, because we're going to get it right now.

MICHAEL
Krys. I'm begging you. Listen to me. Our basic logic here ... it's been flawed from the beginning. I don't think you can use a -- a weapon to stop people from fighting. That's a lie people have believed since --

KRYS
Michael --

MICHAEL
-- since the dawn of man! And the more terrible the weapon the more seductive the lie. Now let's ... take a -- a -- you know. A breath. A sort of spacer here, a ... you know. Let's just ... take a breath.

KRYS
I am going to tear you apart with my bare hands --

MICHAEL
Listen to yourself.

KRYS
Listen to --? You listen to YOURself! We go through all this and you pick this time to ...! Look, I'm through with this shit. You go get it. You hear me? You and I are going to get the real one right now.