Several Years On--a play in one act
Scene: An office in
MI6 headquarters in
London. On one wall is a window. On another, a map of
Europe. A man, the
Director of Operations (Europe), is seated behind a desk. A younger man,
Agent K, blonde, in his late 30s or early 40s, sits on the other side.
DOO(E): The intelligence is conclusive: we've been infiltrated. We think it's
Moscow.
AK: Moscow. But how?
DOO(E): Dr Vanderbilt suggested we take a Motive Adjustment/Brain Penetration test, to determine whether we've been brainwashed.
AK: Vanderbilt! He's a hardliner. But he might be right, MA/BP could be the only way to battle Moscow. They don't yet have our parapsychological capabilities.
DOO(E): We don't know how deep the damage goes; the Director-General himself may have been compromised.
AK: I once saw a
defector being interrogated using MA/BP. [
He jumps up from his chair and goes to stare out the window ]
DOO(E): [
Slowly ] Vanderbilt wants you to be tested first. He and the Director-General think your identity may be blown.
AK: [
Turns around to him ] What are you saying?
DOO(E): Moscow may have tracked you back to when you broke
deep cover twelve years ago.
AK: Impossible.
DOO(E): The
publicity at the time...
AK: [
Interrupts emphatically ] Yes, the publicity. Remember the headlines? The mourners at my memorial service? The graveside vigil?
DOO(E): I'm scheduling you for the MA/BP session immediately.
AK: I gave up
everything I had for MI6. Even my '
wife' and my '
daughter' still believe I died in that house in
Seattle!
DOO(E): [
Watches him ] It was deep cover, Agent.
AK: It was, wasn't it.
DOO(E): You're one of our most valuable operatives. That's why Vanderbilt will be administering the test himself. Even so, a medical team will be standing by in case of...adverse side-effects. [
Pause ] Ever have regrets,
Kurt?
AK: [
In an odd tone ] No. At least I've never had to hear
Smells Like Teen Spirit again.
CURTAIN