FOREVER KNIGHT SERIES:

EPISODE "FOR I HAVE SINNED"

SEASON ONE

            

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MICHAEL STARS AS FATHER PIERRE ROCHEFORT,

A PARISH PRIEST CONFLICTED AS A SERIAL KILLER CONFESSES AND HE'S

UNABLE TO REVEAL INFORMATION TO 'NICK KNIGHT', THE DETECTIVE WORKING

ON THE MURDERS.

YOU CAN VIEW THIS EPISODE ON DISC ONE, SEASON ONE OF THE FOREVER KNIGHT BOX SETS ON DVD.

 

 

THE FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE.

 

 

FOREVER KNIGHT

Season One:

 

 

FOR I HAVE SINNED,

 

 written by Philip John Taylor

Forever Knight episode 3, season 1

transcribed by Victoria E. Meredith

extra scenes transcribed by Janet Dornhoff

 

People with lines other than "AAAAAH!" (in order of appearance)

A woman having an affair with the department store security guard

A man, security guard for a department store

The killer (K)

Detective Nick Knight, Metro homicide cop; vampire (N)

Janette, owner of the Raven; vampire (J)

Detective Don Schanke, Metro homicide cop and Nick's partner (S)

Dr. Natalie Lambert, coroner (NA)

Father Pierre Rochefort, a young priest (P)

Jeanne d'Arc (JE)

An older priest

Alma, a sexy female vampire

Three women who work at "Loose Lips," a phone sex outfit

Becky, a supervisor (?) at "Loose Lips"

Magda, a "Loose Lips" worker; the killer's next target (M)

Police Captain Stonetree (ST)

A woman who comes to confession

The police officer assigned to protect Magda

An officer who brings Schanke sauerkraut

 

Questionable words are enclosed in {} brackets and marked with

question marks.

 

TEASER

[Night.  Inside a closed, darkened department store, a male security

guard and a woman in lingerie dally on a bed in the furniture

department.]

 

Woman: [Laughing.]  I am outta here!  [She begins to dress, clasping a

cross around her neck.]

 

Man: Come here, come here, come here, come here.  It's red tag days.

We've got a two-for-one special....

 

Woman: Ohh...it's too late.  You'll have to wait for the one-cent sale.

[He walks her to the door.]

 

Man: Get home safely.

 

Woman: I will.  [They kiss.]  Take care.

 

Man: Call me, okay?  [She leaves.  In her car, the woman replaces a

diamond ring on her left hand.  As she prepares to leave, a black clad

figure wearing a ski mask pops up from the back seat.  She screams, and

he begins to strangle her.  Inside the store, the guard wanders around;

television sets play a horror movie.  The security guard hears only the

screams of the woman on TV.  Outside, the killer tears the cross pendant

that the woman is wearing from around her neck.]

 

Killer: You don't deserve to wear this.  [The woman whimpers, then

dies.]

 

OPENING CREDITS

He was brought across in 1226.  Preyed on humans for their blood.  Now

he wants to be mortal again, to repay society for his sins.  To emerge

from his world of darkness...from his endless forever night.

 

COMMERCIAL

 

[The Raven.  Nick walks past an assortment of denizens of the night,

looking for Janette.  He bumps into an unkempt young man with a punk

haircut.  The punk snarls at him, vampire-style.  Nick avoids him, then

turns back and leans close.]

 

N: A word to the wise: immortality is no excuse not to floss.  [The punk

snarls again, and Nick walks up to Janette.]

 

J: So, Nicolas.  [He kisses her hello, then gestures towards the dance

floor.]

 

N: Myra looks like death warmed over.

 

J: Well, you know Myra.  Bingeing one minute, purging the next.  I

think she still has remnants of a conscience.  No self-respect.

 

N: I'm here on business.  Two women have been murdered this week,

one decapitated, one disemboweled.  [Janette walks away.]

 

J: And so you came to...me, hmm?  Nicolas, you used to be so charming.

You know I don't care about what happens to them.  And neither should

you.

 

N: Some people change.

 

J: Ah, but you're not "people," hm?  You're never going to learn that, are

you? [Janette dips her finger in the wine glass she's holding and holds it

seductively close to Nick's face.  A droplet of blood quivers at the end of

her fingertip.]  Just taste it.  [He leans forward, then resists.]  You

can't

deny what you are.  You need it.  [Temptation....  And Schanke walks

into the bar, yelling for Nick.]

 

S: Hey, Knight!  Knight!

 

N: [To Janette:]  If you hear anything....  [Janette smiles.]  Bon appetit.

[He walks towards Schanke.  Janette licks the blood from her finger.

Across the floor, Alma, dressed in black leather, comes towards Schanke

and licks her lips seductively.]

 

S: Well, uh, hi there.  [A man comes forward and pulls Alma away. She

goes willingly, staring backwards at Schanke.  Nick reaches his

partner.]

 

N: I thought I told you to stay outside.

 

S: What're you doing?  I was just about to score!  [Nick pushes him

towards the exit.]

 

N: Outside.  Come on.

 

S: Outside, wait outside, so you can play with all that beautiful stuff in

there by yourself--  [They leave the Raven and walk towards the car.]

 

N: It's dangerous in there, Schanke.

 

S: Dangerous?  [Laughs.]  I eat danger for breakfast.  That is grade-A

action in there.  You're just selfish.

 

N: [Playfully.]  Look, you're a married man, Schanke.

 

S: Hey, listen.  My father fooled around, _his_ father fooled around, it's

a family tradition.

 

N: Oh, yeah?  You know, I don't think you've got it in you.

 

S: [Indignantly.]  Oh, is that right?

 

N: Yeah.

 

S: Is that right--you don't think I got it in me?

 

N: No, I don't.

 

S: Well, I'm tellin' you, it's in the genes.

 

N: Ha!  [They get in Nick's Caddy.]

 

S: You're lookin' at a killer ladies' man.  [The police radio blares with a

staticky voice:]

 

Dispatcher: 81 Kilo, 81 Kilo, where the hell are you guys?

 

N: What's this?

 

S: That's why I came in to get you.

 

N: What is it this time?

 

S: Ugly.  [Tires screech as the Caddy pulls away.]

 

***************Extra Scene****************

 

Nick turns the ignition, tries to start the car.  The engine groans

for a couple of seconds, then turns over with an alarming thunk.

S: Great car.

N: It works!

They pull away.

*****************End Extra Scene**********

 

[Crime scene.  The woman from the department store is stretched out on

the ground with her arms at right angles to her body, holes in her palms.

There is a chalk line around her corpse.  Frantic activity in the

background.]

 

S: What the hell is this?

 

N: [Grimly.]  It's a crucifixion.  [Loudly.]  Get her covered up and get

her out of here.

 

S: You heard what the man said.  Get her to the M.E., fast.

 

*************Extra Scene*************

 

Nick has turned away quickly; Schanke goes over to him, grips his

arm.

S: You okay?

Nick hurries past Schanke, away from the crucifixion, giving Schanke

a reassuring clap on the arm as he goes past.  They move away,

Schanke solicitous, Nick upset.

S: I got to admit, that's a first for me, too.

They are now in front of a green sports car.  The store guard is

leaning against it, hunched in on himself.

N: What's his name?

S: Gregory something.  That is a guilty man.

N: Yeah, but not about killing her.

   They were probably just having an affair.

S: He and the victim?  They said she was married!

N: Ah, come on, Schanke, I thought you were a man of the world.

They move over to the guard.  He looks like he's crying.

Nick turns to a uniform.

N: Take him in.  Maybe he knows something.

They move a little bit back towards the crime scene.  Nick stops,

eyes the scene.  The body has been removed; a chalk outline with

bloodstains at the wrists and ankles remains.

S: They say that death by crucifixion takes hours, days, even.

N: She was dead before she got spiked.

S: How do you know that?

Nick moves over, crouches down next to the chalk outline.

N: There's not enough blood.

Camera pulls away, showign Nick, outline w/ bloodstains, Schanke

hovering nearby.

 

*************End Extra Scene************

 

[Coroner's office.  Nat inspects the latest victim as Nick looks on.]

 

NA: Boy, I really hate to admit this, but you were right.  Coronary.  She

died from sheer, unmitigated terror.  [Nat holds the bloody hand, taking

scrapings of the fingernails.]  Here, come here, I want you to look at

this.

 

N: Nat, would you mind?

 

NA: Oh.  [She replaces the spattered hand under the sheet.]  So take a

look.  [She holds up a cross on a chain.]  Beautiful isn't it?

 

N: [Cringes.]  Yeah, depends on your point of view.

 

NA: These things really make you uncomfortable, don't they?  [He turns

away, disturbed.]

 

N: They make me feel weak.  I'm afraid of them.

 

NA: Well, that's the next thing we should work on.

 

N: Well, if you don't mind, I'd just as soon stick with your garlic pills.

 

NA: Hm.  To become mortal, Nick, you're going to have to confront

your _immortal_ fears.

 

N: You want me to start wearing it to bed?

 

NA: No...but you will need it for evidence.

 

N: Why?

 

NA: I screwed up.  It just didn't register when I found them on the other

two women.

 

N: The other two victims wore crosses?

 

NA: I checked.  They're all Catholic.

 

*********Extra Shot***********

 

Between the crosses being found on the victims and the killer's

confession, there's a panoramic view of the city from the lake.

 

********End Extra Shot********

 

[Day.  Inside St. John's, a Catholic Church.  A young priest, Father

Rochefort, hears confession.]

 

Priest: The Lord be in your heart and on your lips that you may freely

and sincerely confess your sins.  [We cannot see the person on the other

side of the confessional screen, but we recognize his voice as that of the

killer.]

 

Killer: I don't know why I came here.

 

P: There is no need to be afraid.  God is always ready to forgive us, no

matter what our transgressions--

 

K: _I_ haven't sinned.  I'm about God's work.  I'm cleansing his church-

-I'm _purging_ it.  [Priest is getting worried.]

P: We should all be...diligent in our service to God.

 

K: Three sinners already burn in Hell, for I hold the keys of perdition

and of death.  [A newspaper in the confessional catches the priest's eye.

The headline reads, "Third Woman Brutally Murdered."]

 

P: [Nervously.]  God does not desire the death of sinners.  He wants

them to turn away from wickedness and live.  Look into your

conscience.

 

K: Conscience is the sinner's word.  He bleeds {?} conscience, you

absolve him, and he walks away smiling.

 

P: It's not that simple.

 

K: The next sinner to die will be one who defiles this cathedral with her

very presence.  She feeds the fires of lust in men, so shall she be

consumed with fire!

 

P: Please--you're here, you _want_ to confess.  Something deep inside

you is crying out for help.

 

K: _I_ don't need help.  I _am_ the arm of God, I am his fury.

 

P: Please.  You must confess.  You have to listen to--  [The priest hears

the confessional door shut.  Quick footsteps retreat.  The priest throws

open the door to his side of the cabinet, but he is too late.  The killer

is

gone.]

 

[Night.  Nick's place.  Nick contemplates a bottle of garlic pills for a

moment, then puts a couple in his mouth.  For a few seconds, nothing

happens, then WHAM!  He jerks backwards.  He gasps in distress, and

either the room begins to spin crazily or he does--we can't tell which.  In

the background, his phone rings twice.  The garlic is still doing a job on

him when we hear Schanke's voice courtesy of the answering machine:]

 

S: Knight, it's Schanke.  You were right, for once.  All three women

were Catholic.  And get this, get this--they all went to St. John's.  Maybe

this thing is finally coming together after all.  [Nick falls, hitting the

remote for his fireplace as he does.  Flames blaze up.]  And don't try to

call me tonight--I'm off duty.  Hasta la bye-bye.  [Click.  Beep.]  [Nick

taps the remote for the fireplace and eases himself up.  He picks up the

evidence bag containing the dead woman's cross, and carefully opens it.

He pours the cross out onto the table and picks it up by the chain....]

 

[Flashback]

[15th century France.  Inside a chapel, a young woman whirls around to

find Nick behind her.]

 

JE: You've been following me.  [Nick oozes danger and evil.]

 

N: Yes.  I couldn't help myself.

 

JE: [She speaks with a heavy accent.]  I could feel

someone...something...

 

N: Hmm.  Were you frightened?  Is that why you stopped to hide?

Hmm?

 

JE: I am not _hiding_.  I stopped to pray for a safe journey.  I'm going to

meet with the Dauphin in Vaucouleur.  [Nick steps forward menacingly,

grabs her shoulders, and spins her around.]

 

N: It's a shame.  I don't think you'll ever arrive.

 

JE: I have no fear of you.

 

N: You should.  [He smiles, showing his fangs.]

 

JE: No.  My grandmother used to tell me of the ancient creatures cursed

to spend eternity in darkness.  You are Nicholas of {Brabant?}.  The

man of the night.

 

N: [Low.]  You think I'm cursed?  No...I will live forever.

 

JE: Oh, yes, very, because you are afraid of salvation.  You who choose

to live forever, live in constant fear of death.  [She looks directly into

his

eyes.]  I do not.  I will pray for you, Nicholas.  I will pray for us both.

[She begins to walk away.  Nick is impressed.]

 

N: Courage.  What is your other name?

 

JE: Joan.  [She leaves.  Nick is alone in the chapel.  Church bells ring.

There is a massive wooden cross directly in front of Nick, and he

approaches it as if in a trance.  He reaches out a hand to touch it--and

his fingers burst into flame.  He cries out in agony--]

 

[And is back in his apartment in the present.  He lowers the cross on the

chain into his palm, and it burns its imprint into his flesh but doesn't

burst into flame.  He winces, inspecting the burn.]

 

N: Well, the garlic pills are definitely an improvement.

 

COMMERCIAL

 

[Behind St. John's.  Outside, a large wooden cross is being erected.  A

banner reads, "St. John's Easter Pageant," and people are setting up

folding chairs.  An older priest directs the activities; the young priest

follows behind him, troubled.]

 

*********Extra Scene*****************

 

Older priest: Better save as many of those nails as we can for next year.

   (mutter) Cost nearly a dollar each.

He tosses the sticks onto a large brush pile, turns to Father

Rochefort (P).  Starts setting up folding chairs as they talk.

Older priest: Sorry.  Well, we were talking about, uh, confessions.

P: I was saying that if someone told you in confession they were

   planning to, oh, let's say, rob a bank, okay?  No, let's make it

   more, uh, melodramatic.  What if he were planning to murder

   someone.  Their wife.  Hypothetically, of course.  Would you go

   to the police?

Older priest: You know the answer to that.  Absolutely not.

P: Even if it meant that the wife would die?

Older priest: Yes.  The sanctity of the confessional is inviolable.

P: What about conscience?

Older priest: Now, Pierre.  God directs us, not our conscience.  If we

break

   the seal of the confessional, who could ever trust the church

   again?

P: But you'd have to live with that wife's death on your conscience.

Older priest: Yes, and I'd probably suffer for it the rest of my life.

 

**********End Extra Scene*************

 

Older priest: (to workman) Harry!  Come over here.  Look, I'm gonna need

you to just fill out that row in the front, okay?  That's a lad.  [Harry

walks off with

the chairs.  To the younger priest:]  A priest must be true to his vows.

 

P: What about living--with himself?  In the real world?

 

Older priest: We must follow God's will.

 

P: So a--a priest can do nothing...to stop sin.

 

Older priest: Nothing that would identify the sinner.  W--oh, Harry!

That's wrong.  [He goes over to correct Harry's mistake.]

 

[Night.  The Raven.  Schanke has returned on his own.  He walks in,

looking nervous and out of place in his off-duty cop clothes.  Alma grabs

his shoulder from behind.]

 

Alma: [Suggestively.]  Wanna dance?  Or maybe something else?

 

S: Well, y--yeah, I--sure, I--  [They dance.  Her dancing style is straight

out of the nineties--swiveling and sexy.  His is circa 1975.  Yelling over

the music:]  So, what's a girl like you doin' in a place like this?

 

Alma: It's a life.

 

S: Oh.  I--I can't believe I'm actually dancing to this stuff.

 

Alma: And what _else_ goes with dancing?  [Schanke searches his mind

and comes up with the only possible response:]

 

S: I dunno, uh--dining?  [Alma laughs.  She turns to him, and her eyes

glow.]

 

Alma: I was _thinking_ of something else....Take my hand....  [Schanke

is mesmerized.]

 

S: S--sure.

 

[Church bells.  Nick walks across the lawn at St. John's.  He sees the

young priest and calls to him.]

 

N: Father!  [The priest stops.  Nick flashes his badge.]  Detective

Knight. Homicide.

 

P: Pierre.  Rochefort.  [He offers Nick his hand; Nick takes it, looking

pained.]  Is, uh, there something wrong, Detective?

 

N: No.

 

P: Were you looking for me?

 

N: Not specifically.  I was just waiting for....

 

P: Any old priest who came along.  [Smiles.]  Why don't we go inside?

[He heads towards the church.]

 

N: It's okay, I don't mind the weather.  [Pulls out pictures of the

murdered women.]  Father, do you know any of these women?

 

P: [Solemnly.]  I buried them all.

 

N: Well, can you tell me something about them?  Did they know each

other?

 

P: Sorry, I...have to go.  [He walks off, and Nick yells after him.]

 

N: It's a coincidence, isn't it, Father?  Three women from your church,

all murdered.  One decapitated, one disemboweled, and the last one--

 

P: [Agitated.]  Yes!  I know.  [Firmly.]  Sorry.  I can't help you.

 

N: Father...it's a religious person who's doing this, isn't it?

 

P: [Pause.]  If that's the case...perhaps he'll confess.

 

N: Maybe he already has.

 

[The Raven.  Alma leads Schanke into a back room.]

 

A: In my next life...I'm gonna be a dancing doctor.  I think doctors are

toooo...formal.  [Schanke is breathing hard.]  Too impersonal.  Don't

you think?  [She pulls off his jacket.]  Hmm?  Honey...baby...sugar....I

think your plumbing needs a little flushing.  [She removes his tie and

throws him to a seat.]  That's how I'm gonna treat my patients.  [She

climbs onto Schanke's lap and binds his hands with his tie.]

 

S: Oh!

 

A: Take slow, easy breaths, cutie {?}  We don't want your blood to boil.

Spoils the taste.  [We can hear a heartbeat, gradually getting louder.

Schanke whimpers.]  I'm gonna cure you, you macho dog.  Forever.

[She vamps out and is just about to bite Schanke's neck--]

 

J: Alma!  [Janette yells from the doorway.  Alma leaps back, and

Schanke shakes his head to clear it.]

 

S: W--where am I?  [Leaps up, struggling to get the tie off his hands.]

How did I get--

 

J: Just get out of here.  Alma's not the kind of woman that _you_ want to

play around with.  The consequences could have proved fatal.

 

S: [Yipe!]  W--Oh--you mean she might have--You mean I could've

caught something like--

 

J: Let's just say that you would become a _permanent_ member of the

night shift.

 

S: Oh, my God--aah!  [He tries to rush out, but Janette grabs him by the

arm, hard.]

 

J: Never, ever come back to this club, Mr. Schanke.  Believe me.  I'm

doing you a favor.  [She releases him and he darts out, gasping.  In the

back room, Alma growls low at Janette, who returns the favor.]

 

["Loose Lips" phone sex agency.  Many women are speaking at once,

using deep sexy voices, and telephones are ringing.  We can pick out a

few individual conversations:]

 

Woman: What do I look like?  Well, honey, I'm 5'10, 42-23-36--

 

Woman 2: Expiration date--

 

Woman 3: Yeah, baby--

 

Becky: [Not at all sexy:]  Hey, pal.  You're not gonna get happy on dead

plastic.  [She hangs up on him.

 

**********Extra Scene************

 

Magda picks up a story she was telling her boss

M: So I took the blue one back and I told 'em I wanted a refund,

   right?  Have I got guts or what, this was of course after I wore

   it to the wedding, right?  She looks at me, and she says, (nasal,

   whiny voice) "Has this been worn?"  I look her straight in the

   eyes and I say, "Listen, honey, I had to wear it to know it didn't

   fit, right?"

B: Sure! (both laugh)

 

******End Extra Scene***********

 

[Phone rings, Magda picks up her phone.]

Magda: Hello?...Yes, this is Magda....W--how did you get this--

....What?!  [She hangs up, obviously upset.  The woman who just hung

up on the expired card guy looks over.]

 

Becky: Hey, Magda, you okay?  [Magda says nothing, only clicks a

switch and plays a recording of the call.  It is the killer's voice.]

 

K: You profane the church by feeding the fire of lust.  I know who you

are, Magda.  And all the dirty things you say.  And so you shall be

consumed by fire.  [The recording ends.]

 

Becky: Didn't know you went to church.

 

M: Yeah, well, I didn't think it would help my resume.  Look, I've gotta

go to the police.  This freak knows who I am.

 

Becky: But what are the cops gonna do?  Shake it off.  Freaks are our

business.  Uh...what time you off?

 

M: Um...an hour and a half.

 

Becky: You--you're no good to me all wired up like this.  Split, okay?

See you tomorrow night.  [She answers her phone.]

 

M: Thanks, Becky.  [Becky waves her away and talks to the phone.]

 

Becky:  {?I know?}--bald head?  Okay, what you gotta do is sing a sweet

lullaby, turn him on his back, and caress him very gently--  [Puts her

hand over the receiver.  To Magda:]  It's my baby-sitter.  [Back to the

phone.]  Yeah....Okay, like that.  [Kissing noise.]  Yeah....  [Magda

grabs the tape from her recorder and leaves.]

 

*******Extra Shot***********

 

As Magda leaves work, there's a shot of her walking down the halway,

passing a janitor.  Lots of long, quiet,empty corridors.

 

******End Extra Shot********

 

[Magda walks down the darkened hallway.  She pauses at the stairwell

door.  Suddenly, there is the killer, in black with a ski mask over his

face.  He grabs her, and she tries to scream, but he muffles it with his

hand.  Nick, driving by the building in his Caddy, hears Magda

screaming inside.]

 

M: No!  No--oo!  [She struggles to escape.]  Let go!  Let go!  Let me

go....oh!  Help!  Help!

 

K: Quiet, whore, or I'll send you to hell right now.  [Nick leaps into the

stairwell through a roof panel.  Unnoticed by the killer, he aims his

handgun and speaks quietly.]

 

N: Metro police.  Release the girl.  Now.  [The killer hesitates, then

makes a break for it.  He fires his gun, hitting Nick in the stomach.

Nick doubles over as the killer runs down the stairs.  Magda gasps.  He

turns to her, his face contorted as if in pain.]  Call an ambulance!  [She

hesitates.]  Now!  [She rushes off.  As soon as she is gone, he straightens

up and takes off down the stairs.  There is a bullet hole in the wall

directly behind the place where he was standing.  Outside the building,

Nick sees a man in black running from the scene.  Nick takes aim and

shouts:]  Stop it right there!  [The man does.]  Now put your hands on

your head.  [Ditto.]  Turn around slowly.  Come on!  [The man turns

around, pulling a toboggan hat off his head as he does.  He speaks:]

 

P: Don't shoot!

 

N: [Surprised.]  Father Rochefort.

 

P: Please don't shoot.

 

COMMERCIAL

 

[Police station.  In a small room, Nick, Stonetree, and Father Rochefort

listen to the tape Magda has brought.  Nick is extremely frustrated.]

 

K: [On tape:]  You're a dirty little girl, aren't you?  You have spat in

God's face.  You'll pay for that.  I hold the keys of perdition and of

death.  [Nick clicks off the player.]

 

N: All right.  One more time.  You recognize the voice, don't you?

 

P: I honestly don't know.

 

N: Don't lie to me, Father.  It doesn't become you.  [Stonetree gives Nick

a warning glare.]  Why are you protecting the killer?

 

P: I'm not protecting _him_.  I'm protecting something more important--

the rules and beliefs of my religion.

 

N: What about the victims of God's unofficial avenging angel?

 

ST: _Nick_, that's enough.  [Kindly.]  I'm sorry, Father.  Are there no

circumstances under which you could speak?  [The priest shakes his

head.]

 

N: Okay, you were in the alley because you wanted to warn

Magda...weren't you?  Well, isn't that breaking your vow?  [No response.

Nick's anger explodes.]  _Come_on_, Father!  All I want is a name here!

 

P: Sorry.  Things said in confessional are for God's ears only.  [Nick gets

up in his face.]

 

N: Right.  Well, I'll tell you what, Father.  Next woman that's murdered,

you come along with me when I tell the family.  Even better, tell the

family yourself.  [Stonetree intervenes.]

 

ST: All right, that's it!  Knight, you're outta here.

 

N: Fine.  [He moves to leave.]

 

P: Detective.  [Nick stops.]  Faith is the cornerstone of the church.  The

church grants people salvation and everlasting life.  I _believe_ in it.

[Stands.]  Is there nothing you believe in that strongly?

 

[Flashback]

[15th century France.  Jeanne d'Arc is in a church, dressed as a soldier;

Nick comes up behind her as before and she turns.]

 

JE: Nicholas.

 

N: Well.  You're a very different person from the last time we met.  A

heroine now.

 

JE: A heretic, they say.

 

N: Well, they do have a point.  After all, why would God reveal his

plans through a farmer's daughter?

 

JE: Why did he send his son to us as a carpenter?

 

N: And so you'll die a martyr...and I'm sure that will please you very

much.

 

JE: [Turns.]  What would please me very much is to be back in Doremy

with my family.

 

N: So you _are_ afraid of dying.  Life isn't so everlasting now.  [He

leans close.]  But I can give it to you....A life that never ends....A

power

beyond your imagination....[He moves to her neck....]

 

JE: [Firmly.]  Don't.

 

N: Why throw your life away for the church?  For some pious old men

who would lie to you?  How can you do that?

 

JE: If my death is necessary to keep the church strong, so be it.  I will

live on in the hereafter.

 

N: How can you be so sure your God will be waiting for you on the other

side?

 

JE: Faith.  Pure, simple faith.  [She holds out a wooden cross bound

together with a leather thong.]  Take this to remember me by.  To

remind you that the faith you have lost is always there to regain.

 

***********Extra Scene*************

 

Joan holds the cross out to Nick.  Nick grasps her wrist, holding it

away.  Joan kneels down before him, places the cross on the floor at

his feet, before the larger cross.  She meets his eyes the whole

time.  Joan turns and strides out without a backward glance.  Nick

circles her cross [his cloak swirling about him beautifully], kneels

down.  Looks up at the great cross before him, then down at Joan's.

 

*******End Extra Scene*************

 

[Present.  Police station hallway.  Magda hurries up to Nick.]

 

M: Detective Knight!  I've been looking all over for you.  Are you okay?

 

N: What?

 

M: What do you mean, "what?"  I just saw you get shot.