John Graham Jones - Writer -

Plays

Assignment

The Assignment

(A hotel room, reasonably well furnished: bed, an easy chair, a couple of hard-backed chairs; dull, rather drab curtains, half closed.
Two women stand there facing each other, each has a gun in her hand, not raised to a firing position.
They are Jeanette Walters and Charlotte Manners.)

Jeanette: You have a gun.
Charlotte: You do too.
Jeanette: Are you going to shoot me?
Charlotte: I... I... er... I was... What about you?
Jeanette Yes, I was too. But I don’t think I will now.
Charlotte: Why not?
Jeanette: Well, if I go to shoot you, you might go to shoot me. It’ll be a matter of, sort of, who’s quickest on the draw. (smiles) Shall we put our guns away and think about things a while?
Charlotte: Yes, I’d like that.
Jeanette: Together then? One, two, three, down.

(They lower their guns, place them on a chair. Charlotte almost faints. Jeanette supports her. Charlotte sits down.)

Jeanette: Are you alright? Like a drink?
Charlotte: Please.

(Jeanette gets a bottle out of her handbag and they both take a swig of whisky. Charlotte coughs.)

Jeanette: Don't you like it? It's good quality scotch.
Charlotte: Prefer gin.
Jeanette: O!
Charlotte: No, but whisky's fine, really.

(Jeanette sits down on the edge of the bed.)

Jeanette: How did you get into this?
Charlotte: This what?
Jeanette: This. (nods at guns). This "game"?
Charlotte: O, I was bored.