TWO PLAYS. MAIDEN FOREST. THE ADVENTURES OF YUMI

Tatyana. Untie him.

Chopper. Give me the rifle. Don’t mess with me.

Tatyana. Don’t put your fingers in the fire, sweetheart. [She flips the rifle bolt.]

Chopper approaches Fyodor, takes the knife from the table, and cuts Fyodor’s hands free.

Chopper. Now that’s a woman. [He puts the knife towards himself and gives it to Fyodor.] Lucky you, Kolosov. [Aside.] Frost, you son of a bitch, where are you?

Tatyana. Put your hands behind your head!

Chopper slowly puts his hands behind his head. Fyodor quickly frees himself, removes the tape from his mouth, spits blood, takes the truncheon from the table, approaches Chopper from behind, and strikes his legs. Chopper drops down on his knees.

Fyodor. You are dead, you piece of shit. Put your hands behind your back.

Chopper is on his knees. He puts his hands behind his back, Fyodor ties them. He takes off Chopper’s balaclava.

Fyodor. I recognized Moray’s voice at once. But you… I’ve never seen you before.

Chopper spits on the ground.

Fyodor. Face down.

Chopper. Do you know what I am doing now? I am speaking to a dead man.

Fyodor. What are you talking about?

Chopper. You are toast, Kolosov. You will all die tonight.

Fyodor kicks Chopper to the grass, approaches Tatyana. At this point Slav reappears out of the dark and lashes out at Tatyana with the knife, trying to take the rifle from her. Tatyana dodges his attack nimbly. Fyodor sends Slav sprawling with a heavy blow, takes the rifle out of Tatyana’s hands. Then he knocks Slav out by hitting him over the head with the rifle stock.

Scene 10

Late night. Fyodor Kolosov’s summer cottage.

Slav is handcuffed to the handrail core, he is unconscious. Chopper is tied to a chair in the gazebo, his hands tied behind his back, his mouth taped.

Fyodor. Thank you, Tanya.

Tatyana. Fyodor… I feared for you so much.

Fyodor. It’s gonna be alright.

Tatyana. It was Artyom who brought the bandits here.

Fyodor. Artyom? Where is he?

Tatyana. Artyom is in Rybin’s old house. Do you remember Ivan Moray?

Fyodor. I’ve seen him today. He’s lying dead in my banya.

Tatyana. Good Lord! I might have smashed Artyom’s head with a poker.

Fyodor. You are a doctor, not a killer.

Tatyana. I was frightened.

Fyodor. Who else has seen you?

Tatyana. There were two women in the house with Artyom. One of them was taped to a chair.

Fyodor. What a beauty. Must be Khlora and Natasha.

Fyodor enters the gazebo, sits down at the table, and puts the rifle next to him. Slav regains consciousness but closes his eyes again, pretending he is still unconscious.

Tatyana. We should call the police. My phone is broken. Where is Alexey? And Venya?

Fyodor. I don’t know. Go inside, have a look there. Meanwhile, I’ll deal with this piece of shit. [He takes out the hunting knife he took from Slav.]

Tatyana. Yes, sure.

Tatyana goes up to the house. Fyodor gets up, walks up to Chopper with the knife, cuts the cable ties serving as handcuffs, and gets Chopper’s hands free. Chopper silently rubs his numb wrists, removes the tape from his mouth. Fyodor sits on his chair, takes the bottle of vodka, and fills two glasses. He takes one glass himself and offers another one to Chopper.

Fyodor. [Swallowing his vodka in one gulp.] Did you really think I would give you the collection?

Chopper remains speechless

Fyodor. It’s not the money. The icons hold a sentimental value. They remind me of Lyudmila.

Chopper. [He removes the tape from his legs, now he is free.] Karen the cracksman told me he had already got the icons.

Fyodor. These are copies. Knockoff.

Chopper. [Takes his glass with vodka and drinks it off.] Why didn’t you say so?

Fyodor. You never asked. You kept harping on the same thing: Password, password.

Pause.

Fyodor. I want to offer you a deal.

Chopper. Go ahead.

Fyodor. You and I are men of business.

Chopper. We both have something to lose.

Fyodor gets up from the table, approaches the porch, and opens a hiding place on the side. He produces a bundle of money wrapped in plastic, steps up to Chopper, places the bundle on the table in front of him, and takes his seat again.