SCENE FIVE
David and Elliot appear on the front of the stage.
DAVID
I want to know what's going on, Elliot. I'm not going to just sit around while Sunni is being - interrogated - you saw those pictures.
ELLIOT
I don't think they would do that to an American citizen. Mr. Paine, you know you can count on me. I still haven't had the chance to tell you how sorry I am...I can't believe Tommy's really dead - he was always so - alive.
DAVID
Tommy was – well, you know, a son is supposed to look up to a father – but it was me who looked up to Tommy.
ELLIOT
Tommy was a hero to those of us who were lucky enough to know him.
DAVID
And he didn’t just believe – he’d be doing something about Sunni if he were here. Tommy dies so that things like this won't happen in Iraq, and then - they happen here.
ELLIOT
I haven't found out much - something about a guy named Ahmad.
DAVID
Just a guy she dated -
ELLIOT
He may have been a terrorist.
DAVID
Terrorist! He didn't seem political - never spoke that way. Look, I don't understand - why can't we just see her?
ELLIOT
IT'S A SECURITY ISSUE -
DAVID
ELLIOT, YOU'RE NOT MAKING SENSE - THEY CAN'T JUST ARREST SUNNI AND NOT LET ANYONE SEE HER -
ELLIOT
They can - they have.
DAVID
And there’s nothing we can do?
ELLIOT
I've filed for habeus corpus. We're asking them to bring Sunni into court and justify arresting her.
DAVID
How can they justify that? Sunni and I disagreed about a lot – but I know her, better than anybody. She could no more hurt innocent people than Tommy could -
ELLIOT
I’m sorry Mr. Paine – that was the only time I ever heard Tommy talk about what he had to do.
DAVID
He broke my heart that night -
Tommy enters and Elliot and David turn to him.
ELLIOT
You happy with the transfer to a combat unit Tommy?
TOMMY
I asked for it.
DAVID
You asked for it – why?
TOMMY
I had to Dad - The interrogations were - It wasn't easy - when you –
DAVID
What?
TOMMY
Torture – it’s not easy to say that word – almost harder than it is to do it. When you torture someone, it changes you. That's why I had to get out of the Intelligence Unit.
DAVID
You torture people? You mean, like standing up for a long time or loud music - that kind of stuff.
TOMMY
No, I mean - torture.
DAVID
You? I, I can't believe that. I can't believe you would, could do that.
TOMMY
I couldn’t either – at first. Then you change – what you do changes you.
ELLIOT
I can understand that – if I knew a prisoner knew where terrorists were going to strike next -
TOMMY
They bring in some Hajji – he denies everything, but you know he’s been making IEDs –
ELLIOT
IEDs?
TOMMY
Improvised explosive devices. You need him to tell you where the cache is. Then you take a break – and you see them bring in a couple of bodies: two guys you were having a cup of coffee with just the day before, and now they look like road kill.
DAVID
Tortured? Did anyone - die?
TOMMY
Sure. Nott that we wanted that - you can't get answers from a corpse. But it's not easy to, to control how these things play out.
ELLIOT
When I went to Israel - they wanted to train me to do that kind of work. It takes a lot of training.
DAVID
What are you saying? Just because you see a couple of dead buddies, anything goes? What is this, a bad b-movie from the fifties? You can’t do that – you can’t torture people just because you’re mad – just because you can – that’s not how I raised you. My god, you know that’s wrong – don’t you?
ELLIOT
I don't know.
DAVID
And you – is that what you believe? Just torture people to get what you want. You can do that?
TOMMY
Yes I can - when they tell me what I want to know, I can save lives – American lives.
DAVID
And if they don't - if they die professing their innocence. That's happened, hasn't it? Hasn't it?
ELLIOT
Probably rarer than you think.
TOMMY
Once in a while. Those are the ones you have to forget –
DAVID
And you can't, can you? You do something like that – and it stays with you until you’re dead - That's why you transferred out - because you can't forget, you can never forget.
TOMMY
No, I transferred out because I could forget them - I could.
Tommy exits. David and Elliot return to Elliot’s office.
DAVID
Tommy – he was just – just upset at what he saw, what he had to see others do to prisoners. I don’t believe he could ever have, have ever done anything like that himself.
ELLIOT
Mr. Paine – we have to discuss Sunni.
DAVID
Yes – when can we expect them to release her – can she post bail?
ELLIOT
No bail and they can hold her forever – all they have to do is keep switching her from one place to the other – they’ve done that before. There’s a guy in jail who’s been there for over four years and still hasn’t had a trial - they just have to call her an enemy combatant.
DAVID
Just calling her that doesn’t make her one.
ELLIOT
You would think so – but the reality is, just calling her that does make her one.
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