Amelia
[After mixing drink]
All right. He's ready for you. [Walking upstairs leading The Ghost] How's your hotel? Quiet?
The Ghost
Monastic.
Amelia
That's nice. No distractions.
Adam Lang
[Amelia hands him drink]
Thanks, love. [To The Ghost] Hi, man. You ready to start?
The Ghost
Absolutely. [Amelia produces box on desk, opens it to reveal manuscript and holds up USB stick] Is the manuscript loaded on this?
Amelia
It is.
The Ghost
Can I have it?
Amelia
I'm sorry, that would be a security risk.
The Ghost
You mean I've got to retype the whole manuscript?
Adam Lang
Have you really got my entire book on that little thing?
Amelia
We can get 100 books on it, Adam. And it can be copied in a flash. That's the trouble.
Adam Lang
Amazing. You know the worst thing about my life? You get so out of touch. Everything's done for you. You don't drive, you don't carry money. If I need cash, I have to borrow it from the protection boys. This is the kind of details we need in the memoirs. I couldn't put that in. People would think I was a complete idiot.
The Ghost
No, not at all. No, this shows what it's like being Prime Minister. That's exactly what the readers want to know. How does it feel to run a country? How does it feel to be so cut off? How does it feel to be so hated?
Adam Lang
Thanks a lot.
The Ghost
[Stammers]
And so loved.
Adam Lang
Amelia, what do you think?
Amelia
I think I should leave you two alone.
Adam Lang
So, how do we go about this?
The Ghost
I interview you. I turn your answers into prose. Here and there, I'll add linking passages, imitating your voice.
Adam Lang
Okay. You heard about Mike?
The Ghost
Yes. I'm sorry.
Adam Lang
We should put in something nice about him. I think his mother would like that.
The Ghost
Of course.
Adam Lang
Well, um, the first thing that struck me was, you became such a successful politician precisely because you didn't appear to be a politician. It's certainly not something I wanted to do when I was younger. I thought most student politicians were complete nerds.
The Ghost
Well, I'm with you there. So, what turned you on to politics?
Adam Lang
Turned me on, indeed. Let's see, I was 23, something like that, a couple of years out of Cambridge. And I remember it was a Sunday afternoon, it was raining. I was still in bed. And someone starts knocking at the door. And, you know, I'd been out the night before and had a few drinks and what have you. So, I get the pillow and I put it over my head, and it starts up again. Knock, knock, knock, knock! And I get up, I'm swearing, I go to the door and there's this girl. She's soaking wet, but she just launches into this speech about the local elections. And that's it. I'm in love.
The Ghost
And this is Ruth?
Adam Lang
This is Ruth. And the only way I can see her again is to join the party and hand out leaflets.
The Ghost
This is great.
Adam Lang
You want to use this?
The Ghost
Use it? I think we should open the whole book like this. "I went into politics out of love, not love for a party or an ideology, but out of love for a woman."
The Ghost
Who is it?
F Frank
Mr. Rycart sent me.
The Ghost
Hold on.
F Frank
Just gonna do a quick check, if you don't mind. Get your stuff together. We're leaving.
The Ghost
[Richard searches luggage bag]
Hey! That's private!
F Frank
[To Richard in vehicle]
He's clean.
R Richard
Thanks, Frank. Sorry about that. Please, get in.
The Ghost
[Riding in vehicle]
You thought it was a trap?
R Richard
It crossed my mind. You do work for Lang.
The Ghost
Yeah, for three days. I hardly know the guy.
R Richard
Who does? I worked for him for 15 years, till he fired me, and I still can't fathom him.
The Ghost
Yeah, his wife said more or less the same.
R Richard
There you go. If someone as sharp as Ruth can't get him, what hope do we have? Tough day?
The Ghost
Yeah, you could say that.
R Richard
You have the book?
The Ghost
Yeah.
R Richard
[At diner with The Ghost with Frank watching from aside]
Before we go any further, I wonder if I might take a look at that book.
The Ghost
No. Before we go any further, there's a few things I'd like to know first. Such as, why did Mike McAra have your number?
R Richard
Okay. Sure. He was helping me.
The Ghost
McAra? How?
R Richard
Mike found the documents linking Lang to the torture flights.
The Ghost
What? It was McAra who gave you the documents?
R Richard
Yeah, Mike McAra. The loyalest of the loyal.
The Ghost
But why?
R Richard
He didn't like discovering he was working for a war criminal. Would you? Oh, I forgot. You are. The book?
The Ghost
Well, don't tell me you're gonna read it now.
R Richard
Not all of it. Just the beginning. There's something very important about it.
The Ghost
Yeah. It's the cure for insomnia.
...
R Richard
Mike said he'd discovered something new. It's the last time he called me. He said it explained everything that had gone wrong when we were in government.
The Ghost
What was it?
R Richard
He wouldn't say over the phone. He just kept saying if anything happened to him, the truth was in Lang's memoirs. "It's all there in the beginning."
The Ghost
The beginning? Then he means Cambridge. [Rummages for photo and displays it]
R Richard
What the hell's this?
The Ghost
[Pointing to photo]
That is Lang, and that is Paul Emmett.
R Richard
Emmett? The Arcadia guy. So what?
The Ghost
On the day that Mike McAra died, he drove up to see Emmett, and I think he was murdered on his way home.
The Ghost
I went to see Emmett today, and two guys followed me from his house. That's why I called you. At the time that this photograph was taken, Paul Emmett was an officer in the CIA.
The Ghost
Foreign Resources Division.
R Richard
Oh, my God. You realize how important this is, don't you? This explains why Lang went into politics. Everyone knows he didn't have a political thought in his pretty little head. This is why he rose so quickly, with a little help from his friends.
The Ghost
Well, do you think it's possible...
RR Richard Rycart
Okay, a quiz for you. Name one decision Lang made in 10 years as Prime Minister which wasn't in the interests of the USA. Well, come on, it's not a trick question. Iraq, Middle East policy, Star Wars defense, buying American nuclear missiles, support of terrorist rendition. The sacking of any minister Washington didn't like, including yours truly. McAra was right. This explains everything.
The Ghost
[Answering phone and says to Richard]
It's Amelia Bly.
RR Richard Rycart
Answer it.
The Ghost
Hello, Amelia.
Amelia Bly
Good evening. I have Adam for you.
The Ghost
[Whispers to Richard]
Lang.
Adam Lang
We're coming to get you.
The Ghost
What?
Adam Lang
Ruth tells me you're stuck at the ferry terminal. We've just taken off from New York. Pilot says we can stop by and pick you up.
The Ghost
Really? There's no need.
Adam Lang
We've got a book to write, remember?
The Ghost
Hold on a sec, Adam. He said he wants to pick me up in his private jet.
RR Richard Rycart
Say yes.
The Ghost
What if it's a trap?
RR Richard Rycart
If you refuse, he'll get suspicious. Tell him yes.
The Ghost
That'd be great, Adam. Yeah, thanks.
Adam Lang
I'll get to the airport. See you there.
...
The Ghost
He sounds worried. I really don't think this is a good idea.
RR Richard Rycart
You have no choice.
The Ghost
Emmett must have told Lang that I'd been to see him.
The Ghost
So, what's he gonna do about it? Dump you in the ocean?
The Ghost
Well, it happened before!
RR Richard Rycart
Which means it can't happen again. He can't drown two ghostwriters, for God's sake. You're not kittens.
The Ghost
All this is just theory. We don't have any proof.
R Richard
You'll get us the proof.
The Ghost
Me?
RR Richard Rycart
You're his ghostwriter. Presumably, he lets you tape him.
The Ghost
I use discs, actually. Discs, tapes.
RR Richard Rycart
You've got to confront him with this. Record his reaction. Even if he denies it, it's something.
The Ghost
I'm in a tricky position here. I signed a confidentiality agreement.
RR Richard Rycart
It's a bit late for that. It means the discs are his property. The court can subpoena them.
The Ghost
And what if I don't record any discs?
RR Richard Rycart
Then you'll be subpoenaed and forced to repeat this whole story.
The Ghost
Then I'll deny it.
RR Richard Rycart
Then I'll give them this. Frank is recording every word. Aren't you, Frank? Oh! Come on! Don't look so shocked. What did you expect? That I'd come into a meeting with a man working for Lang without taking any precautions? Except you're not working for Lang anymore. You're working for the good guys.
The Ghost
You know all this is pointless, don't you? In the end, he'll just retire over here with his CIA pension, and he'll tell you and the bloody war crimes court to go and **** yourselves.
...
JA Jet attendant
Good evening, sir. Hatherton welcomes you aboard.
The Ghost
Thank you. It's my first time in a private jet.
JA Jet attendant
Well, let's hope it's not your last.
Adam Lang
Hi, man. Take your seat.
The Ghost
Thanks.
Adam Lang
Hey, bring my ghost a Calvados.
JA Jet attendant
Yes, sir.
The Ghost
[Unwrapes an audio recorder]
Do you mind?
Adam Lang
Leave it off for now. Ruth said you were in New York to see Maddox.
The Ghost
That's right.
Adam Lang
How was he?
The Ghost
He was fine. Full of energy?
Adam Lang
You know John.
The Ghost
Yes, I do know John. As a matter of fact, I was just with him.
Adam Lang
You never saw him today, did you?
The Ghost
No.
Adam Lang
Do you have something to tell me?
The Ghost
I went to see Emmett.
Adam Lang
That windbag! Why?
The Ghost
I know about you and Emmett.
Adam Lang
Me and Emmett?
The Ghost
I know that he was your...
Adam Lang
My?
The Ghost
...handler, if that's what they're called.
Adam Lang
My handler?
The Ghost
Yeah, that he was your handler in the CIA.
Adam Lang
Oh, my God. You're serious, aren't you?
The Ghost
When McAra found this, he went to Boston to show it to Emmett, and he died on the way home, and I think he was murdered.
Adam Lang
I think you've had a few too many of those already.
The Ghost
It was McAra who believed that Emmett told you to go into politics in the first place.
Adam Lang
Emmett? I barely knew the man.
The Ghost
And that story of yours about why you joined the party and Ruth and the canvassing, well, the dates don't fit.
Adam Lang
I got the dates wrong. Big deal!
The Ghost
Then when he found this photograph, and he heard the rumors about Emmett being in the CIA...
Adam Lang
Rumors?
The Ghost
It's on the Internet.
Adam Lang
I've never heard such utter balls in my entire life. Mike would never have believed such crap. He was too clever. Too loyal. Mike betrayed you to Rycart. How do you know that?
The Ghost
He told me.
Adam Lang
Rycart? He's lying.
The Ghost
This phone number on the back of the photograph, it's Rycart's. The handwriting, that's McAra's.
Adam Lang
Mike. Mike, Mike.
The Ghost
And you knew he was disillusioned. You had a big row with him just before he died.
Adam Lang
Yes, I know, but he never mentioned this. This is just... This is grotesque. I've never taken orders from anyone. Whatever I did, I did because I believed it was right.
The Ghost
What, even supporting illegal kidnapping for torture?
Adam Lang
Oh, for God's sake, spare me the bleeding-heart bullshit! Do you know what I'd do if I was in power again? I'd have two queues at airports. One for flights where we'd done no background checks, infringed on no one's civil bloody liberties, used no intelligence gained by torture. And on the other flight, we'd do everything we possibly could to make it perfectly safe. And then we'd see which plane the Rycarts of this world would put their bloody kids on! And you can put that in the book! [Assistant staff stare at them]
