We Might Be Heroes: Stan

(DENISE and DENNIS are sitting in a break room.)

DENISE:  You need to calm down.

DENNIS:  If they find out—

DENISE:  They’re not going to find out.

DENNIS:  David—

DENISE:  David can go to hell.

DENNIS:  He’s my boss.

DENISE:  And I’m his boss.  So what are you worried about?

DENNIS:  I don’t want to get you in trouble either.

DENISE:  Nobody’s getting in trouble.  The program’s voluntary.

DENNIS:  Denise, please.

DENISE:  What?

DENNIS:  You know it’s not—

DENISE:  Dennis—

DENNIS:  Denise, c’mon.

DENISE:  If Stan doesn’t want to participate, he doesn’t have to.  He knows that.

DENNIS:  Then why did he run away?

DENISE:  First of all, let’s not call it running away.  He’s a grown man.  He didn’t run away.  He—I don’t know what he did.  He probably didn’t do anything.  This is probably just a misunderstanding.  Have you tried calling him?

DENNIS:  He left his phone at the house.

DENISE:  Really?

DENNIS:  Yes!  See—isn’t that weird?

DENISE:  It’s only been a few hours.

DENNIS:  He wouldn’t just not show up for work.  It’s because of what we talked about last night.

DENISE:  What did you talk about?

DENNIS:  About how we…Dammit.

DENISE:  Dennis, did you tell him something?

DENNIS:  I was just—

DENISE:  Did you tell him something about what we talked about at the briefing yesterday?

DENNIS:  I just mentioned that he might want to sign up on his own, and not wait because—

DENISE:  You didn’t bring up the draft, did you?

DENNIS:  I said theoretically—

DENISE:  Jesus, Dennis.

DENNIS:  But he seemed fine.  It wasn’t like he panicked or anything.

DENISE:  But now he’s gone and he knows about the draft?

DENNIS:  But there is no draft, right?  You just said—

DENISE:  It’s still a confidential matter we’re discussing within the department!

DENNIS:  So there is going to be a draft?

DENISE:  You let private information out in the public!

DENNIS:  I did not!  I just told my husband to get him to come in and sign up.  Isn’t that what we wanted?

DENISE:  Yes, I mean—Yes, we did want that.  But what we didn’t want was somebody like Stan going out into the world feeling backed into some kind of corner—

DENNIS:  It’s not like he’d hurt anybody.

DENISE:  Not intentionally, but—

DENNIS:  He’s never hurt anybody.  Intentionally or otherwise.

DENISE:  Do you really know that for sure?

DENNIS:  Denise, we’ve been together for fifteen years.  You’ve been over our house.  You went in our hot tub.

DENISE:  But now he’s gone, and he didn’t even let you know where he was going.

DENNIS:  Probably because he’s scared.

DENISE:  Well, now, I’m a little scared.

DENNIS:  I am, too, but—

DENISE:  Of him, Dennis.

DENNIS:  You’re scared of Stan?  My Stan?

DENISE:  He can make things combust with his mind, Dennis.  Why wouldn’t I be scared of him?

                (She goes to the door.)

DENNIS:  Where are you going?

DENISE:  I have to tell David about this.

DENNIS:  What?

DENISE:  Dennis, this is a major breach.

DENNIS:  It’s not a breach.  He’s just—I’ll find him, okay?

DENISE:  If you could have found him, you would have found him already.  We need to call this in.  Team Grey can find him faster than you or I can.

DENNIS:  You want to call in Team Grey?

DENISE:  They’re who we call in.  You know that.

DENNIS:  They’re who we call in when we want to remove a target.

DENISE:  We’re not going to remove Stan.  We just need to get him sequestered.

DENNIS:  And what if he resists?

DENISE:  Well, why would he resist?

DENNIS:  Gee, I don’t know, because you’re sending a squad of mercenaries after him?

DENISE:  Dennis—

DENNIS:  He’s running for a reason.  He doesn’t want to come in.  If you try and force him to—

DENISE:  If you hadn’t told him about the draft—

DENNIS:  You said there might not be a draft.

DENISE:  But he can’t know that—whether there is or there isn’t—he can’t know those sorts of things.  Jesus, Dennis, what else did you tell him?

DENNIS:  Oh, and you don’t tell Steve anything about work?

DENISE:  Steve can’t blow up buildings whenever he feels like it.

DENNIS:  Stan wouldn’t do that.

DENISE:  I’m sorry, Dennis, but I can’t just take your word on that.

DENNIS:  Forget my word, what about yours?

DENISE:  What?

DENNIS:  You know him.  He’s not just my husband.  He’s your friend.  You know he wouldn’t do anything to hurt anybody, right?

DENISE:  Dennis, you have to understand, if something were to happen, I can’t go to the boss and just say—I thought everything would be okay.  I have to say that I knew everything would be okay, because I was handling the situation.  So you need to let me handle this.

DENNIS:  And what if they take him out?

DENISE:  Dennis—

DENNIS:  Don’t act like it’s not a possibility, because we both know it is.

DENISE:  Team Grey is designed to handle a lot of different scenarios.  They don’t just go in to kill.  David says—

DENNIS:  I thought you were David’s boss?

DENISE:  I am, but he still needs to be brought into this.

DENNIS:  He’s my husband, Denise.

DENISE:  I understand that.

DENNIS:  If this was Steve—

DENISE:  If this was Steve, I’d tell Team Grey to take him out.

(A beat.)

DENNIS:  What?

DENISE:  I wouldn’t take the chance.

DENNIS:   You don’t mean that.

DENISE:  I’m going to try and get them to bring Stan in alive, because I know how you’d—

DENNIS:  You’d have them take out Steve?

DENISE:  Dennis, we’re in the business of keeping the country safe.  That goes beyond who we’re married to, or who our parents or our kids are, or who we like or don’t like, or—

DENNIS:  Who we’re friends with?

DENISE:  I will tell them to bring him in alive—if they can.

DENNIS:  And what’s going to happen to me?  When they find out I told him about the…the chance of there being a draft?

DENISE:  When they find out what you did, they’re going to want to prosecute you.

DENNIS:  Oh God.

DENISE:  And I have to tell them about it, or they’ll come after me too.

DENNIS:  Oh my God.

DENISE:  So I’m going to go to the bathroom.  I’m going to be in there for about twenty minutes.  When I come out, I’m going to see David.  By then, you should already be on your way to Canada.

DENNIS:  What?

DENISE:  Or Mexico.  Whichever.  Just don’t go to an airport.  Drive.  Avoid tolls.  Drive fast.

DENNIS:  Denise—

DENISE:  That’s what I would do.  If I were you.

DENNIS:  But Stan—

DENISE:  You’re never going to see Stan again, Dennis.  I can try getting him here alive, but I can’t make everything better.  Do you understand that?

(A beat.)

DENNIS:  Yes.

DENISE:  I’m going to take the bathroom.  And then I’m going to see David.  Stay here for a second.  Take a deep breath.  Then get to your car and drive.  Okay?

(DENNIS nods.)

Say ‘Okay’ for me.

DENNIS:  Okay.

DENISE:  Good.  I love you.

DENNIS:  I love you too.

DENISE:  Maybe this will all be okay eventually.

DENNIS:  Do you believe that could happen?

DENISE:  I don’t know.  I really don’t.

                (She exits.  He sits.  Lights.)