Death Duty - Renegade
This script © 2002 John Freeman. Work in progress!
RENEGADE: A WAR WORLDS
STORY
Writer: John Freeman
In a war-torn future, crime and disloyalty to the Teran Empire are punished
with conscription into Peackeeper squads: soldiers consigned to do or die in
order to prove their commitment to the common good. If they survive the period
of their sentence – anything from 68 days to six years – they are
free to once again become a citizen. Very few do: the average life expectancy
for a Peacekeeper member is four months, hence the street slang for the job:
Death Duty.
Any ‘Dutyman’ who survives over a year is entitled to bonus and
financial rewards for their work – and even the opportunity of early
amnesty.
By 2125, dissidents in the Terran Empire are tracked down by Peackeeper squads
and terminated for their rebellion with extreme prejudice. A Peacekeeper termination
mission could take place anywhere – an alien worlds, a Martian cities
or aboard a rebel spaceship or station.
Described by some as ruthless assassins working with the worst of intentions,
these are just some of the men and women paid to kill to keep the Empire safe.
For most of them, exactly who they kill doesn't matter – until one of
their number, Travis Wilson, begins to question the missions they're assigned
and goes AWOL – a wanted man.
The DEATH DUTY story will essentially be a chase across the WAR WORLDS empire,
with hi-tech battles across whole cities, subterfuge, double dealing and betrayal
on a grand scale. The story will enable exploration of many of the worlds in
the WAR WORLDS universe, culminating on a showdown on Mars with one of the rich
men running a dying empire.
In Renegade, the role of one Death Duty squad is put under the microscope,
and we soon get the general idea that here are some quite ruthless mercenaries
working with the worst of intentions – men and women paid to kill to
keep the Empire safe.
RENEGADE opens with a typical Death Duty hit on a wanted political terrorist
on one of the Border Worlds of the Earth Empire. The status and technology
level of the world is quickly established and it's made clear that whoever
this team of hardened killers are after, s/he has no chance of escaping once
they find him. Their weaponry is state of the art – and in some societies
on the fringes of the galactic empire, appears to be almost magical.
The Death Duty concept permits both an ongoing storyline and spin-offs featuring
popular characters on Death Duty missions.
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An early version of this page. Art
© Alan Burrows Click the image to see a larger version. |
RENEGADE: OPENING GAMBIT...
PAGE ONE
Frame One
We set the scene with a globe in the sky and a huge, powerful ship racing towards
it, looking like something from hell itself. It is an old, patch-work vessel
which has seen many years service; impossibly armed, improbably functional.
This ship belongs to the Peacekeepers, aka DEATH DUTY; individuals bonded to
the trillionaire businessman Masumo, operating outside the law to ensure his
interests run untroubled. Those who cross their path never do so twice. usually...
BX: THE YEAR -- 2125.
BX: MARSPORT WARSHIP KILL ME SOFTLY SCREAMS INTO THE ARIADNE STAR SYSTEM AT
NEAR-LIGHT SPEED, AVOIDING DETECTION FROM ALL BUT THE MOST SOPHISTICATED DETECTION
SYSTEMS...
BX2: -- IMPOSSIBLY ARMED, IMPROBABLY FUNCTIONAL, IT DISGORGES A HUNTER TO THE
PLANET BELOW...
BX: DELTA PRIME. A PEACEFUL WORLD...
BX: -- UNTIL NOW.
TITLE: DEATH DUTY
A WAR WORLDS STORY
SCRIPT: JOHN FREEMAN
ART: ALAN BURROWS
DEATH DUTY CREATED BY JOHN FREEMAN
Frame Two
The drop ship screams towards a small ‘Iron Age’ settlement
on a clearly alien planet. Maybe we see the action from the pov of an alien
bird or creature, watching from what it hopes is a safe distance!
BX: COLONISED BY THE GREENHEART ALLIANCE, ITS HUMAN POPULATION HAVE SUPPOSEDLY
FORSAKEN ALL TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES TO BE AT ONE WITH NATURE...
BX: TO BE AT PEACE WITH THE UNIVERSE...
Frame Three
The ship begins to fire on the village – as colonists flee the
blast. Two women in foreground, one beginning to pull up a trapdoor covered
in turf....
FX: BRA-KOOM!
WOMAN: THE DEATH DUTY -- THEY’RE HERE! WE SHOULD WARN THE OLD ONE...
WOMAN2: I THINK SHE KNOWS, ROSE. WE WON’T GIVE HER UP WITHOUT A FIGHT!
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An early version of this page. Note
that in the earlier version of this stopry the Green rebels were pacifists with few weapons. These days, who can blame the Greens for being angry?
Art © Alan Burrows Click the image to see a larger version. |
PAGE TWO
Frame One
On the ground, the ‘farmer’ hands her companion a weapon from the
concealed cache, grim-faced. Other farmers begin to open fire on the drop ship
with assault rifles. High above and in shot, we can see that the belly of the
ship, closer now, is open, and men are dropping from it on ropes.
GREENHEART REBEL: NO QUARTER GIVEN, NO QUARTER TAKEN! IT’S THEM OR US!
Frame Two
Pull in on the opening in the ship, we see more of the Death Duty team
about to drop. Sqaud leader CAIN is pointing at the ground, some men are already
going down on the ropes. ROBINSON and MICHAELS, the vilest men on the squad
should be in shot. They’re both travesties of the human form, their bodies
scarred, limbs replaced or enhanced with biotech.
TRAVIS WILSON, our central character also in shot, grim-faced, his gun already
drawn as he reaches for a drop rope. He has no scars, no biotech in complete
contrast to others in the sqaud.
You have the character designs for these characters, so I won’t repeat
them here. Jus a reminder that their weaponry is a mix of all sorts of technologies,
from cutlasses to high-tech, weapons acquired in battle and different from man
to man according to experience. Thus Wilson and Travis are the best-armed!
Make sure that we see a floating CAMERA in shot – the entire raid is recorded
for screening on vid-channels.
WILSON: SOME RECEPTION COMMITTEE, HUH?
CAIN: NEVER MIND THE FLAK! YOU KNOW YOUR TARGET... WHAT ARE YOU DEEVES WAITING
FOR!?
Frame Three
The DEATH DUTY team begin to drop from the ship but we’re looking
at their backs, like those shots of people leaping from aeroplanes to parachute.
We only see the face of the squad leader, CAIN, as his team begins to drop.
One of the drop team gets his legs blown off as they drop
CAIN: MOVE IT – BEFORE I DOCK YOUR VETERAN BONUSES!
CAIN: REMEMBER, BOYS --THE BOSS IS OFFERING AMNESTY TO THREE SURVIVORS THIS
TRIP!
Frame Four
Big establishing frame of the Peackeeper team dropping from the ship,
armed to the teeth, TRAVIS WILSON in the lead. Cain shouts after the team.
CAIN: KEEP IT TIGHT, WILSON... MAYBE ONE OF THEM WILL BE YOU!
WILSON: YEAH, RIGHT, CAIN!
BX (LOWER CASE): Masumo will never give me amnesty -- it wouldn’t look
good in the ratings...
BX2: -- And I wouldn’t take it, anyway.
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An early version of this page. Art © Alan Burrows
Click the image to see a larger version. |
Page Three
Frame One
The team drops to the ground, the farmers look defiant, blasting away.
This is a major firefight: the farmers know that once on the ground, the Death
Duty team have an advantage: we see several men die as they drop. Don’t
forget the camera!
ROBINSON: WILSON! I THOUGHT THIS WAS GONNA BE A CAKE-RUN...
WILSON: GREENHEART REBELS -- SHOULDA KNOWN THIS WASN’T GOING TO BE EASY.
WILSON2: NEVER MIND -- I NEEDED THE EXERCISE.
Rest of page: action sequence as the team get to ground, firing, fighting. By
the end of the sequence, Travis has downed and is astride a rebel, a gun to
their face. Basically, I felt the original version didn’t really see our
‘hero’ up against any real threat, so make this as bloody as you
want both in this sequence and in the lead up to his encounter with the old
woman, OK?
DIALOGUE TO PLACE:
REBEL: STOP THIS, PEACKEEPER!
WILSON: PEACKEEPER? WE’RE BEING POLITE TODAY. IT’S USUALLY DEEVE
--
WILSON: ... CONSCRIPT --
WILSON: ... OR DUTYMAN. AS IN
WILSON: DEATH DUTY.
Last Frame
Wilson speaks into a wrist-com as a Robinson pumels a rebel behind
him. Wilson looks down at the rebel as he speaks.
WILSON: CAIN! LANDFALL ESTABLISHED. WE’RE STARTING SEARCH - -
CAIN (FROM LINK): STARTING!? WHAT’S KEEPING YOU?
WILSON2: ALL RIGHT, EARTH HUGGER! WHERE’S MIRANDA SMITH?
 |
An early version of this page. Art
© Alan Burrows Click the image to see a larger version. |
Page FOUR
Frame One
Wilson levels his gun at the farmer’s head, his teeth clenched. Close
up. The rebel looks terrified.
REBEL: PLEASE -- DON’T KILL ME-!
WILSON1: CONTRARY TO THE AGITPROP, THE DEATH IN DEATH DUTY IS USUALLY OURS,
NOT YOURS, REBEL.
WILSON2: WHY SHOULD I KILL YOU? YOU’RE NOT ON THE LIST.
WILSON3: ... I DON’T DO FREEBIES.
Frame Two
Travis in the face of the rebel, shouting, looking real scary.
WILSON4: NOW! MIRANDA SMITH. AN OLDSTER. NO TEETH...WHERE IS SHE?
FARMER: THE SETTLEMENT!! THE SETTLEMENT!
Frame Three
As Travis runs towards the settlement in the background, jumping weapons
beams with ease, one of the team slices into the rebel he’s left as he
scrabbles for his weapon.
MICHAELS: HEY, ROBINSON! WILSON LEFT US A LIVE ONE!
ROBINSON: GOING SOFT, HE IS. SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS TO EVEN THE BEST...
Frame Four
ROBINSON: HE’S NOT LIKE US, HUH, MICHAELS? WE KNOW OUR PLACE.
MICHAELS: DEATH DUTY UNOFFICIAL CODE, SECTION THREE-OH-FOUR... OURS NOT TO REASON
WHY – JUST TAKE THE MONEY, BECAUSE IT’S DO OR --
REBEL (LOWER CASE) NoNoNopleaseNoNomyfamilyNoNomyboyNomybo --
Frame Five
BOX: "DIE..."
PAGE FIVE
Frame One
With laserfire and gunshot still raining down around him, Wilson enters the
settlement. He holds a scanner ahead of him, infra red picking out targets ahead.
WILSON (BOX): The Pack think I’m losing my edge. They’re partly
right...
WILSON (BOX): Four years I’ve survived this so-called peace-keeping. Most
of them don’t make four months. Not even the biodroids.
Frame Two
In the background, two rebels attack with hand-held laser swords, trying
to pin Wilson between them.
WILSON: (BOX): So why am I still doing this? My sentence was only three years...
WILSON (BOX): What have I got to prove?
Frame Three
Wlson knocks his opponents flying with casual ease, still moving, heading
towards the largest building in the settlement.
WILSON (BOX): That I’m better than the rest of them? Because I need to
do more than anyone else to show I’m loyal to the Empire because of who
I am?
WILSON (BOX): -- Or because I don’t know any other life?
Frame Four
REBEL: AAARGH!
WILSON: I ONLY WANT MIRANDA SMITH! KEEP OUT OF THE WAY AND YOU WON’T GET
HURT!
Frame Five
We see Wilson’s approach from over the shoulder of an old woman
MIRANDA SMITH and a younger female warrior, ROURKE. They’re looking down
on the action from the doorway of the larger building as Wilson cuts through
the defending rebels with ease.
ROURKE: THIS IS THE ONE YOU WANT? THRICE TIMES COULD I HAVE FLOORED HIM BY NOW.
OLD WOMAN: BUT YOU WON’T. BECAUSE I SAY SO.
PAGE SIX
Frame One
Look at a front view of the two women, looking slightly up so the old woman
is in the foreground, smiling enigmatically the way irritating old women do.
Rourke behind her, a two handed sword strapped to her back and looking ready
for anything. More up to date weapon at hip.
In the foreground, Wilson knocks another rebel away, having reached his final
target.
ROURKE: YOU’RE RIGHT.... BUT WHY?
OLD WOMAN: LET’S JUST SAY... HE HAS POTENTIAL.
Frame Two
Wilson confronts the women, weapon raised. Rourke behind the old woman,
arms crossed, non-hostile.
WILSON: MIRANDA SMITH?
OLD WOMAN: ONE NAME IN MANY. I FORGET WHEN I LAST USED IT...
WILSON: TRY THE MARTIAN CHRONICLE, TWO DAYS AGO... A FEATURE DROPPED INTO THE
INFOWEB ABOUT ILLEGAL RAD-DUMPING ON DENDRIS IV...
Frame Three
Old woman and Wilson face each other.
OLD WOMAN: AH. THAT MIRANDA SMITH.
WILSON: COST MY EMPLOYER A TWELVE SHARE ON THE STOCK. HE DOESN’T LIKE
THAT.
OLD WOMAN: AND WHAT DO YOU LIKE, TRAVIS WILSON?
Frame Five
The old woman raises a hand and sparks crackle from it, lancing into
Wilson, who screams in pain. pretty spectacular lighting effects around the
head.
OLD WOMAN: BECAUSE I DON’T THINK YOU LIKE YOURSELF VERY MUCH.
WILSON: YAAARGH!
PAGE SEVEN
Frame One
Black Frame.
WISLON BOX: Yarz! She’s blinded me! An old woman with no teeth and she
blinded me!
VOICE; HEY MAN – YOU OKAY?
Frame Two
We’re seeing the world from Wilson’s pov, sightly fuzzy
a black man looking down at him, concerned.
MAN: DON’T DO THIS, MAN... I DON’T NEED THE GRIEF!
WILSON: What the h–
Frame Three
Wilson is lying in swamp water, still in uniform, a black man helping
him up, grabbing his arm. He looks frightened, looking around as a laser blast
slices through the air near them. All around them are canisters with the radiation
symbol on them - large. The rad symbol is accompanied by a skull.
WILSON: THIS IS DENDRIS IV... I WAS HERE...
MAN: YEAH, YEAH – SPARE ME THE GEOGRAPHY LESSON...
MAN2: WHAT ARE YOU, CONCUSSED? WE HAVE TO MOVE OUT – NOW!
Frame Four
The coloured man drags Wilson, who is staggering, confused, away from
the source of the laser blasts, dim figures cutting between jungle trees towards
them. In one hand he clutches something looking like a video camera, which he
uses to gesture at one of the barrels, in the foreground.
MAN: I’VE GOT THEM DUMPING THIS STUFF – IT’S ALL ON DISC!
MASUMO WON’T GET OUT OF THIS ONE...
WILSON (SMALL): THIS IS A DREAM... A NIGHTMARE. IF I’M RELIVING THIS,
THEN –
Frame Five
The coloured man is cut down by laser fire, the camera goes flying.
MAN; YAAARGH!
Frame Six
PAST WILSON steps between the trees, weapon smoking, to confront OUR
WILSON as he looks down at the corpse.
PAST WILSON: MOVE AND YOU’RE DEAD...
OUR WILSON: YOU CAN’T KILL ME... I AM YOU...
PAGE EIGHT
Frame One
From our Wilson’s POV, PAST WILSON raises his gun and fires. (Alan, maybe
you could break this frame up into some sort of film-style sequence of the gun
being raised, reaction shot, closing in on ‘our’ Wilson’s
eyeball, the gun reflected in it?
PAST WILSON: I’M JUST DOING MY JOB, CITIZEN. DON’T QUESTION IT.
PAST WILSON2: QUESTONS ARE FORBIDDEN. YOU KNOW THAT...
Frame Two
Black Frame.
VOICE: WILSON? TRAVIS?!
Frame Three
Head shot, Cain sneering. Same poise as the PAST WILSON as he shot
our man. Maybe he’s jabing at him with a gambling chip, or a hunk of meat
in place of the gun, Past Wilson had.
CAIN; WAKE, UP, TRAVIS! YOU CAN’T DROWN YOUR SORROWS HERE FOREVER...
Frame Four
Pul out. We’re in a casino. CAIN, a woman wearing very little
draped around his neck, throws chips onto a gambling table. WILSON is beside
him, his arm around a woman who’s face we don’t see just yet. He’s
staring down at the gambling table. Thinking about this, Alan, you could tweak
reality in this dream sequence: things slightly out of kilter, but not so much
that they don’t make sense. Bear in mind that we’ll be back in this
casino later in the episode, so what you create here will be useful!
WILSON: SORRY. I WAS JUST THINKING. ABOUT WHAT I WAS BEFORE ALL THIS...
CAIN: YOU THINK TOO MUCH, WILSON. YOU ALWAYS DID.
CAIN: BEFORE THIS, YOU WERE NOTHING. A CRIMINAL. NOW – YOU’RE DOING
THE ONLY THING YOU WERE EVER ANY GOOD AT – AND YOU GET PAID WELL FOR DOING
IT. VERY WELL.
Frame Five
Close in on Cain, Travis – a two shot.
WILSON: BUT IS WHAT WE’RE DOING RIGHT?
CAIN: LISTEN – WE’RE JUST DOING OUR JOB. WE DON’T ASK QUESTIONS.
Frame Six
Close in on Cain, a thin smile on his face. Troubled Wilson in the background.
CAIN; MR MASUMO DOESN’T LIKE IT.
Frame Six
The woman now turns to look at Wilson. She smiles.
WOMAN: THE EMPIRE SAVED YOU FROM YOURSELF, TRAVIS. IT FEEDS YOU, KEEPS YOU HEALTHY,
ASKS SO LITTLE IN RETURN...
WILSON: EMMA? BUT YOU’RE DEAD...
Frame Seven
Exactly the same shot but woman is now a skeleton. Look of horror on
Wilson’s face.
WOMAN: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU HAPPY, WILSON?
PAGE NINE
Frame One
Cut to: a battlefield. Wilson looking down at a dying woman in uniform, similar
pose to the woman shot on previous page but larger frame. Troop ships whistle
overhead, bodies everywhere. It’s a nightmare.
WILSON: THOMSON! THOMSON, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!
DYING WOMAN: IT’S TOO LATE, TRAVIS... IT’S OVER. JUST TELL ME –
WAS IT WORTH IT?
Frame Two
Woman looking up at Wilson, touching his face.
WILSON: YOU WERE ALWAYS WORTH IT, EMMA...
DYING WOMAN: NOT ME, IDIOT – THIS DAMMED WAR! THE FIGHT TO KEEP THE FEDERATION
TOGETHER... FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM!
WILSON: YES. IT WAS WORTH IT...
Frame Three
The woman becomes a skeleton. All around Travis, who looks away from
the skeleton, dim figures, the people Travis has killed, begin to encircle him.
EMMA: SO WHAT HAPPENED, TRAVIS? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE?
WILSON: I DON’T KNOW...
EMMA: TELL ME WHY YOU STOPPED DREAMING!
PAGE TEN
Frame One
The dead circle Travis. Men, women, aliens. "Emma" in front of him.
In silhouette is a woman with a stick in her hand. We can’t tel who it
is just yet, but it’s The Keeper.
EMMA; YOU WERE A SOLDIER… BUT NO YOU’RE JUST A KILLER, TRYING TO
STAY ALIVE. YOU ABANDONNED THE THINGS THAT MADE YOU BETTER THAN ANYONE I’D
EVERY KNOWN!
DEAD MAN: I FOUGHT FOR THE GREEN... AND YOU KILLED ME FOR MONEY.
DEAD WOMAN: MASUMO STRIP MINED MY PLANET... YOU STRIPPED ME OF LIFE... FOR A
SPACE YACHT!
DEAD ALIEN: WE WERE JUST IN THE WAY... SO YOU REMOVED US FROM SIGHT...
WILSON: I DIDN’T HAVE ANY CHOICE!
Frame two
The old woman is now in front of all the accusers except Emma, pointing
her stick at Travis.
OLD WOMAN: THERE’S ALWAYS A CHOICE, TRAVIS... BUT FEW OF US EVER MAKE
IT.
Frame Three
Wlson, head in hands as the woman puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Emma still looking straight into Travis’ eyes, looking hopeful.
WILSON: THIS ISN’T HAPPENING... IT’S A NIGHTMARE...
WOMAN: BUT IT IS REAL. EVERY MEMORY, EVERY SIGHT, EVERY SOUND – YOU CAN
NEVER ESCAPE IT...
EMMA: BUT YOU CAN ATONE FOR IT... IF YOU REALLY WANT TO...
Frame Four
The Old Woman, smiling at Travis as he continues to deny his nightmare,
turning away from Emma with an anguished look on his face as she shakes him.
EMMA: FIND THE MAN YOU WERE – NOT THE SHADOW YOU ARE...
OLD WOMAN: WILL YOU DO IT? WILL YOU LIVE AGAIN AS YOU WERE MEANT TO?
Frame Five
Travis, face only. Single tear.
TRAVIS. I don’t know...
TRAVIS2: GOD HELP ME, I JUST DON’T KNOW --
VOICE OFF: WILSON! TRAVIS!
PAGE ELEVEN
Frame One
We snap back to Delta Prime, Wilson in the foreground on the ground, Cain towering
over him, shaking him urgently. Buildings burning all around. The bully boy
team of Michaels and Robinson also in shot, smirking. mMybe one of them is doing
something unspeakable with a prisoner, or in the middle of it.
WILSON: WHU –
CAIN: WAKE UP, TRAVIS. YOU WERE WELL OUT OF IT
ROBINSON: SCREAMING ON THE JOB! WHAT A DEEVE --
CAIN2: THAT’S ENOUGH, ROBINSON! HE’LL BE ALL RIGHT.
CAIN3: JOB’S DONE! TIME FOR RECALL!
Frame Two
We pull out to see dead farmers all around, Wilson gets up, Cain in
foreground looking right, calling for troop ship on wrist band communicator.
WILSON: THE OLD WOMAN – CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISE...
CAIN: EVEN OLD WOMEN CAN BE DANGEROUS, WILSON... HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO
REMIND YOU SQUADDIES OF YOUR BASIC TRAINING...
CAIN: DON’T WORRY, BOY... YOU FINISHED THE JOB.
ROBISNON: -- EVEN IF YOU WERE ASLEEP!
Frame Three
Wilson turns to see the dead body of the old woman on the ground, smiling.
The rest of the Death Duty Team start to move out, towards the landed ship.
Cain is further away from the body than Wilson, out of earshot, shouting at
the rest of the team.
WILSON; NO...
WILSON: This isn’t right...
CAIN: SNAP OUT OF IT, WILSON!WE’VE GOT ANOTHER RUN TO MAKE – A FEW
MORE TO TAKE OFF THE LIST...
CAIN: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? MAYBE NEXT TIME YOU’LL GET THE AMNESTY.
FOR NOW, YOU JUST GET A BONUS!
Frame Four
Wilson turns to follow the others. This seen from the doorway of the main building,
two people watching – the old woman and Rourke in silhouette.
ROURKE: THEY’RE GOING...
OLD WOMAN: YES. THEY THINK I’M DEAD.
ROURKE: ANOTHER LIFE TAKEN FOR PROFIT. ONE MORE NAME OFF THEIR PRECIOUS LIST...
Frame Five
We see the two women watching Wilson, in the foreground, a grim look
on his face.
OLD WOMAN: AND ONE OFF MINE, TOO...
ROURKE: YOU REALLY THINK YOU’LL CHANGE HIM WITH ONE NIGHTMARE? YOU RATE
YOUR ILLUSIONS PRETTY HIGHLY...
OLD WOMAN: IT WORKED FOR YOU, DIDN’T IT?
Frame Six
In the hut. We get the impression of some alien-looking device which
has a portal swirling with weird lights. Rourke begins to step through it. The
old woman looks on. Framed in the doorway, we see Wilson, the last man off planet,
dead bodies all about him.
ROURKE: I WAS DIFFERENT. I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN...
OLD WOMAN: DON’T UNDERESTIMATE WILSON. HE ALREADY BELIEVED IN SOMETHING,
BUT HE LOST THE DREAM.
OLDWOMAN2: I’VE HELPED HIM FIND IT...
Frame Seven
Old Woman, head shot, smiling.
OLD WOMAN: OR AT LEAST, HE’S ON THE WAY...
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