Desperado – Season 1, Episode 8: Daylight Killing

As Shinji wakes up, he meets a kindred spirit amongst the people of the circus. Talia and Elio finally agree to share their story, and Marcus offers them a proper welcome.

You can find more information, including our full cast list and transcripts, at DesperadoRadio.com.

Credits:

Written and produced by Samy Souissi.

  • Elio – Samy Souissi
  • Shinji – Tibet Boyer
  • Talia – Tami Ige
  • Leo – Femi Adebowale
  • Samar – Kawtar Morchadi

Soundtrack:

  • (Free) J Balvin x Dancehall Reggaeton Type Beat 2019 – “Mamacita” | Isa Torres x Taylor C.
  • Warrior Women – Epic Journey

Transcript

Previously on Desperado…

ELIO

After Joan and her coven raided the circus, Marcus had to give Shinji an emetic to protect him from questioning. Doing so, unfortunately, he almost killed him, as we learned later from Leo, a man who swears like a crusader, but claims not to be one. On our guard ever since, we’ve been watching over Shinji as he recovers.

This is Desperado…

SFX: (transitional music)

ELIO

We didn’t really spend much time looking over Shinji because, merely half an hour later, that man, Leo, stepped back inside the tent holding a pillow in each hand. Talia glanced at me, dagger in hand, and I nodded. If anything happened, my shield was ready.

LEO

Can we please talk?

TALIA

Stay where you are, drop what’s in your hands. And sit down.

LEO

… Guys those are really nice pillows, I mean-

TALIA

You do all three, or you bleed.

LEO

(laughs heartily)

Okay… this is what I get for being nice.

ELIO

The rest… honestly was too quick for my eyes. The man didn’t move, but a pair of wings sprung from his back… and slit through the air. Neither of us had time to react, I blinked and there was wingtip under my chin, an inch away from my throat. Same thing for Talia.

LEO

You know, Marcus thinks it takes time, and tact, and patience… for newcomers to finally warm up to the circus and learn to trust- but really, everybody here was pushed against a wall at one point and told- “Hey, if we wanted to kill you, we really would have, and it wouldn’t be hard- So can you stop being such a wanker?”.

ELIO

His wings disappeared, and I took my first, real deep breathe in a minute. Then he dropped the pillows, and sat down on the floor.

LEO

Now, can we talk?

SFX: Sharp whoosh

TALIA

My dagger flew off, and stopped right before his eyes. I didn’t smile at his surprise, but to some level it reassured me. And I said:

Sure. What do you want with Shinji?

LEO

Take a fucking guess, did you not see the wings?

ELIO

Talia.

TALIA

I glanced back at you and froze for a split-second. You, the man with the impenetrable shield, were terrified.

ELIO

He… He’s an angel. He doesn’t care for your dagger, and he’s being really, really, patient with us. So drop it.

TALIA

I’m not-

ELIO

NOW, Talia.

LEO

Wow-wow-wow- It’s okay- Relax. I’m-

ELIO

I’ve seen wings like yours before. I’ve seen them fly over a city and reduce everything to ash- in a matter of seconds. What are you doing here?

LEO

Same thing you’re gonna do.

TALIA

And from his pockets he took out a handful of military tags, each one emblazoned with a cross, some of them completely scorched.

LEO

Hunt down crusaders. These are all from the past 6 months. These two in Madrid, this one in the south of France, and the other four just a few days ago, less than an hour away from here. If you can make your way here, what makes you think Crusaders haven’t?

TALIA

Yeah, why do you think we have a dagger to your face?

LEO

Which, by the way, I do care about, because again, not a crusader. All I have is my wings. Nothing else. And that makes me the only person equipped to make sure your friend recovers properly. Even Marcus, no matter how well intentioned, almost killed him.

ELIO 

You’re just here to… watch over him?

LEO

Yes, please.

ELIO

I looked at Talia, and without a word this time, she called back the dagger to her hand.

Still, he didn’t try to get up and instead just slid the… really nice pillows on the floor.

LEO 

I’ll stay right here. I’ll answer whatever questions you have. All I want is to keep an eye on him.

TALIA

(growls)

…Fine. 

It didn’t seem like we could keep him away from Shinji anyway. So I sat back down, and asked… 

Let me get this right. Your job… in this circus… is to hunt down Crusaders?

LEO

Me and everyone else. That is Marcus’ life work. In the morning you’ll be officially introduced to the circus and- Actually I guess you still need to be debriefed.

ELIO

I’m… not sure I follow.

LEO

Does Marcus know everything he needs to know? About you?

TALIA

He tried to ask, but… witches.

ELIO

What should we expect tomorrow?

LEO

A party.

TALIA

Seriously? What?

LEO

Yeah you’ve been found! It’s a celebration. But before that, you’ll need to tell Marcus everything. Because if he doesn’t know the whole story… this happens.

TALIA

And he pointed to Shinji.

LEO

Make sense?

ELIO

Yeah.

LEO

I would get some rest if I were you, then. Tomorrow will be a long day.

TALIA

I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes. Right now, I’m watching out for my friend.

ELIO

And an hour later we were both asleep, because Lady luck was a lot more subtle than we thought. And as the minutes passed, we felt more and more at ease with Leo. We let down our guard, resisted a little less… And drifted away.

TALIA

I never slept so well in my life.

ELIO

Yep. In the morning we found Marcus and Leo pleasantly talking on the other side of the bed. And even then we didn’t wake up in panic, nor did I feel any guilt about falling asleep, and that should have been the first sign I was being soothed by Marcus.

TALIA

Yeah. I was embarrassed at best but Marcus and Leo were very quick to tell us it was all fine, that we were probably more tired than we thought and blablabla-

ELIO

Fucking liars.

TALIA

And good ones at that.

SHINJI

…You know, hearing it now… he handled you two like tired babies.

TALIA

What do you mean?

SHINJI

He saw you were loud and cranky, and he put you to bed.

ELIO

Smart man.

TALIA

Yeah. 

So then Marcus suggested we get some food, while Leo would keep watch over Shinji- And we agreed. I mean, seriously. At this point what could I have possibly objected to?

SHINJI

You left. I assume I woke up just a few minutes later- and then I met Leo. When he showed me his wings I didn’t even make the connection between him and the Angels. I was just amazed there was someone like me!

I- I didn’t even have the words, really- I just… deployed my own. 

LEO

I knew it! I knew it!

SHINJI

He was delighted. He looked like a kid opening a present and I couldn’t help but smile in return.

LEO

They’re incredible! I’ve never seen a refraction like that!

SHINJI

I like your feathers.

LEO

Thank you! I’ve always wanted to see bare-wings like yours, can you control each- “finger” I guess… on its own?

SHINJI

I smiled, and showed him I could.

LEO

See, I can’t do that! The feathers are great but they really get in the way.

Goodness! Where are my manners? How are you feeling? Do you need anything? 

SHINJI

I’m good. Just tired.

LEO

Yeah? Hungry?

SHINJI

You know you’re– the first one like me.

LEO

Am I? You’ve never met anyone else? Wait… give me your hand.

SHINJI

And I did. I braced myself, like I always had to when about to shake someone’s hand- not knowing how strong their grip would be or how much pain I would have to hide. It ranged from light discomfort to split-second-torture but with him… nothing. Nothing… 

Ah, fuck- sorry- getting emotional-

ELIO

It’s okay, dude.

TALIA

Take your time.

SHINJI 

It just hit me y’know. It was the first time feeling someone’s touch and not being scared at all. And I bet he saw it because his smile widened and… he gently pulled me closer. He wasn’t even trying to be careful. He didn’t treat me like I was made of glass. He just… knew. 

And I held on to him…. I just started crying man. I know it sounds dumb but-

TALIA

Don’t say that, come on. I genuinely think it would have killed me. I need human touch. It’s intimacy, connection, it’s love– It’s- I’m so sorry you grew up like that.

SHINJI

It’s alright- I caught up a bit lately. But yeah, I was… I was a mess that morning-

TALIA

I can imagine. 

While you were meeting Leo we stepped outside, as the Circus was setting up a buffet for breakfast.

Everyone knew their roles, whether it was setting tables, heating up food or making sure the night shift was served first. I never understood what “organized chaos” meant until I saw the circus in function. And if most of them were still being discreet, we noticed a few more cast members glancing and whispering about us.

ELIO

Marcus got us our plates, brought us to a table and – with a little nudge from Lady Luck, we talked.

TALIA

It was… an unusual feeling to tell your story in broad daylight, without precautions or fear of any kind.

ELIO

We told him everything. My village, La Catrina…

TALIA

The deal I made with the Baron, and the mission he gave me. Marcus listened, only interrupting to ask for more details here and there… And at the end of it, he kept quiet for a moment. He said my story, in particular, was most troubling. But still he told me not to worry, and I believed him with all my heart. He said that there were precedents, that a curse like that could be broken and he would personally look into it.

ELIO

And immediately after that, he reminded us we were free to leave. If we wanted it, he’d make us disappear as promised. But if we stayed… If we stayed he could maybe free Talia, and help us become what we needed to be. 

TALIA

Nobody would have said no to this.

ELIO

And so we stayed. And Marcus smiled. He got up on his seat and claimed us as part of the Circus. And people cheered and clamored- like they were just waiting for this. And in an instant we were swarmed.

We were welcomed.

And whatever plans they had for the day- they ditched to celebrate. Nobody’s as ready for that than circus artists. Instruments appeared in people’s hands and a group made space for dancing. Honestly I think they just wanted an excuse to start drinking early, like-

TALIA

Yeah, the Nova folks know how to throw a party.

SHINJI

A little too much if you ask me.

ELIO

Yeah. At first I found it quite… impressive, y’know what I mean? But- There was something off about it.

TALIA

It’s because it’s sad. It’s how most of them cope. Everybody there had a story like ours. Stories of loss, of burning cities and drowning boats… So you drink. You take. Or you lose yourself in your work, your art, whatever garden of peace you managed to protect from the outside world.

The Nova folks are extraordinary… but a lot of them are hurting.

It was a lot to take in. A lot of questions and repeated answers. Just a lot of faces, honestly. And I… I don’t know. Now that I didn’t have people depending on me, I just wanted some time for myself. So I asked someone for a cigarette, and told Marcus I need to find a bathroom. Instead I went to find some shade under an oak tree. Not too far from the camp. It was nice. I sat down, I took a deep drag, and felt my mind clear up. I didn’t think of anything. I just took time to exist. How I was alive. I was safe. That was enough. 

SAMAR

Oh hey!

ELIO

I looked over, as Samar approached the clearing. She was coming from the forest, dirt all over herself and a fresh bandage on her shoulder. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but accessorized it with a travel pouch dangling from her belt, a set of throwing knives strapped to her thighs, and two short swords, crossed on her back.

SAMAR

You look well! How was your first night?

ELIO

I- Good. Good. It was… Yeah. It was good. 

SAMAR

Yeah?

ELIO

Actually- no-not really. It’s fine. It was just… yeah. It was a lot. But you’re- what happened to you? Is everything okay?

SAMAR

Oh yeah, no that’s… that’s fine. It’s part of the job.

ELIO

Right. And you’re a…

SAMAR

Gardener.

ELIO

… Okay. You’re not a fucking gardener.

SAMAR

I’m really not. Is it the sword? It’s definitely the sword.

ELIO

Well, I mean… It didn’t help.

SAMAR

It’s not my job per say- but back home it’s considered polite to hunt demons.

ELIO

Okay… not my first language. But you said…Demons.

SAMAR

Yeah it’s– ummm… civilized, you see what I mean? Like picking up trash on the floor? If you can, you should.

ELIO

I… No, no. It’s… mmmm.. I’m stuck on the demon bit, actually.

SAMAR

Yeah this country is full of them. I don’t know what the witches are doing.

ELIO

What- What do they look like?

SAMAR

Uhh- It depends. So a demon is basically what happens when people hear creepy noises at night and superstition spreads. People can put a lot of faith in folktales, and all that energy has to latch on to something. Usually a wild animal that just happens to enjoy screaming at weird hours. They can get quite big, super aggressive. They grow claws, fangs- sometimes wings. It depends on the culture. 

ELIO

And… Are you okay?

SAMAR

Yeah it’s fine. It did scratch me a bit.

ELIO

Yeah…

SAMAR

My parents would be disappointed.

ELIO

Is that the right word?

SAMAR

Oh, it really is. My dad used to say there’s no difference between a demon and the breeze. I still don’t know if he was kidding… But what about you? Whatcha doing all alone?

ELIO

Are you sure you don’t want to rest? You had quite a night.

SAMAR

I was more hoping to bum a cigarette off you, to be honest.

ELIO

Ah, sorry, it’s not mine. But you can finish that one if you want.

SAMAR

Nah, it’s okay. What happened last night though?

ELIO

We got to meet some witches.

SAMAR

Ah. Was it Joan again?

ELIO

Yeah, you know her?

SAMAR

Yeah. Smart woman. I assume Marcus took care of it?

ELIO

Yeah, he- fuck I forgot to ask him about that. She asked to see our IDs and… he already had three passports for each of us. Out of nowhere, like…

SAMAR

Oh, no! That was probably Basim.

ELIO 

And she took out her necklace from under her shirt. It was a small pendant, carved in a strange, smokey crystal with garnet reflects. On it was engraved a single word in Arabic.

SAMAR

(in arabic)

Good morning, Basim. Would you like to meet my new friend?

ELIO

As soon as she spoke, a strange mist started pouring from the stone, taking shape in the air. It was…alive. With huge round eyes and a sort of… Cheshire smile. It blinked at me, intrigued, then seemed to yawn and…stretch. And by that, I mean like three or four hands made of smoke materialized around him and extended briefly. I was mezmerized, and I asked

What is it…?

SAMAR

This is Basim, the genie.

ELIO

…No way…

SAMAR

My people and his kind have been companions for centuries. They hate taking orders, but they love being helpful… and they can create pretty much anything with their little hands. 

ELIO

Anything…

SAMAR

Well, I’ve never seen them create anything bigger than a shirt. The more complex the object, the more energy it takes. 

ELIO

The genie then took one look at Samar, and started shaping some of the haze around him. His little hands multiplied in the air, moving with the ease of a seamstress, as he weaved together an object from the mist. You could feel him pull at the seam of reality and rearrange it between his tiny claws. And in an instant, a cigarette pack that dropped into Samar’s hand.

SAMAR

Aww! Thank you! This little one has been spending a lot of time with Marcus lately. I would be surprised if he decides to-

SFX: distant demonic roar

ELIO

…Samar.

SAMAR

…Did I miss one?

ELIO

Was that…?

SAMAR

Yeah- And it smelled blood.

ELIO

It’s…

SAMAR

Go get Marcus.

ELIO

But-

SAMAR

Sweetie, it’s okay- We’re all gonna be fine. Just go get Marcus.

ELIO

Deep in the forest, branches from the highest trees started to shake, as something made its way toward us. Something big. Despite the panic I looked back at Samar and said 

“I’m not leaving you here!”

SAMAR

Which is, frankly insulting, if you ask me.

SFX: Another menacing roar

GO!

ELIO

I stepped back, slowly and said: “I- I’ll go get some help!” And I started running. Everyone in this circus was fucking crazy- but anyway, I sprinted back to the festivities and yelled something about: “Demon! There’s a demon in the field!” 

As soon as I saw Marcus, I just grabbed him by the shoulders and screamed my warning. Just… begging for anyone to help, but they just all stopped. They looked at me and then they… cheered. They all just fucking cheered like if I had said “next round is on me”… And they made their way to the field.

TALIA

What’s going on?

SHINJI

Did you say demon?

LEO

Move! I’m not missing this!

ELIO

I- Samar-… I didn’t have the words. I was just- floored. And then that roar again.

SFX: Demonic screech pierces the air

TALIA

We turned around as the creature emerged from the forest.

SFX: Crack of bark and leaves as something large crashes through the trees

SHINJI

One look at it, and my wings deployed. Everything about that creature was made for killing.

ELIO

It vaguely resembled a panther- yet something about the way it moved reminded you of a snake. It was  sort of… repulsive grace. With thick, red fur… its spine distorted by the weight of turgid muscles. Whatever animal it used to be, magic made it a killing machine. With claws the size of my hands and fangs big enough to distort its mouth. Bony spikes had pierced the skin on its back and shoulders- every aspect of its body made to pierce, tear and slash. And yet the circus still cheered, observing from afar as Samar took out her blade. 

SFX: sword unsheathes

TALIA

What is she doing?

ELIO

Why is no one helping her?! I ran back to the field, elbowing my way up front- until a hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder. Leo. 

LEO

Calm down. I don’t think she would appreciate that. 

ELIO

What are you talking about?! 

And Samar just… whistled. 

SFX: sharp whistle cuts the air

Like you would a dog. She was perfectly still, and in that moment she seemed made of stone. Unmoveable, implacable. I can’t even describe it- she was… she was a rock. A mountain. But the beast couldn’t see it. It took one step forward- foaming at the mouth, and the machinery of its muscles exploded in fury. 

SFX: loud, aggressive roar

ELIO (CONT’D) 

It leaped forward and I couldn’t help it- I yelped. I had seen death, in that very moment. 

But Samar simply stepped aside, and the claws dug the earth instead of gorging in blood. Its jaw snapped in the air immediately afterward. But still. Too late. Samar spun around and her blade slashed into the demon’s shoulder. 

SFX: blade slashes

Always with that insulting indolence, playful like a dancer on waxed floor. To the creature she opposed a barrage of steel, elusive and ruthless- but not once did the demon weaken. It could take a thousand cuts without a flinch but one swipe of its claws- and it could have torn Samar apart. She wouldn’t be able to maintain that rhythm, but as I quickly find out she had no intention to. She slipped under the creature as it leaped again… And stood up in a staggering spin. The arc of her blade caught a flash of the morning sun- as the head of beast fell to the ground.

The move had seemed so obvious… And then the applause. The thundering joy as wicked blood soaked the earth. That, was the Nova circus.

TALIA

Now let me tell you about what we became, under their teaching.

SHINJI

This is where our story truly begins.

ELIO

In a peaceful valley not too far from Bristol… they made us god- killers.

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