The Second Man [groggily]: Christ... how long have I been out?
The First Man: Morning papers won't come out for another few hours. Still plenty of time for headlines.
The Second Man: You have any in mind?
The First Man [looks up from his newspaper]: My mind's been on other things. First one I thought of was “Farewell to the Champs-Élysées”
The Second Man [smiles weakly]: It's a good headline. People can believe in it.
The First Man: You're still living in August, Foucault. It stopped being about what people can believe when we stopped being able to dictate that to them. [a beat] You were such a good soldier.
The Second Man: I told you, I don't remember any-
The First Man: What do you want, a Purple Heart? An Iron Cross? Should I break out in a round of My Country Tis of Thee?
The Second Man [uncomfortable]: No idea what you're talking-
The First Man [standing up]: Sweet Land of Liberty?
The Second Man: Listen, sit back-
The First Man [shouting]: Of thee I-
The Second Man [shouting louder] I made a judgment call! [a beat, then he speaks more calmly] You get Johnny and Jimmy's parents' permission for them to come over, you play dress-up long enough to convince yourselves that you're a kangaroo court, and you tell me you wouldn't have done the same goddamn thing, Torquemada.
The First Man [sits back down, returns to his newspaper]: You were never a soldier.
The Second Man: I suppose you mean that as a pejorative.
The First Man: Never served in the armed forces.
The Second Man: Not to the extent of my memory.
The First Man: There isn't even any war going on.
[a beat]
The Second Man [gestures to the newspaper]: Mind handing me the funnies?
The First Man: You read newspapers often, Foucan?
The Second Man: Well no, not since.... since...
The First Man: Since July.
The Second Man [shifts around a bit]: Since July, that's right. [a beat] I've got to keep trusting you.
The First Man: That's a good soldier.
The Second Man: So which section you on?
The First Man: Checking on the markets.
The Second Man: And how are the markets?
The First Man [looks up, smiles thinly]: You tell me, Foucault.
The Second Man: Say again?
The First Man: How are the markets today?
The Second Man: You're the one with the paper.
The First Man: They're either up or they're down. Call it.
The Second Man [pauses in thought]: Down. But you... you always turn a profit.
The First Man: Well done. And how did you know that?
The Second Man: And how did I know that?
The First Man [genially]: And how!
The Second Man [shrugs]: Chalk it up to intuition.
The First Man: Intuition! Well I'd call that nothing but mistaking balls for brains. Dangerous way to think in a time of war like this.
The Second Man: I thought you said there wasn't any war going on.
The First Man [chuckles]: You've got to keep trusting me.
7.65
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