“Law and Order,” Highlander style.
A cop’s job is to bring in the accused, not to judge their innocence or guilt. That job belongs to the courts. What happens to society and the “rule of law” if we make exceptions? Moreover, what about the cop who thinks his mission is not only to ENFORCE the law but also to BE the law?
This episode marks a milestone in the Duncan/Richie relationship. Richie is struggling to emulate Duncan’s values, while simultaneously working at becoming his own man. Duncan sees that it’s time to let go; the sparrow must leave the nest and fly off. Hopefully, Richie has learned enough to fend off the hawks and survive.
A bonus in this one—great beefcake in the dojo.
New Characters:
MAKO — An Immortal lawman, doing his job, as he sees it.
LAURA DANIELS — Mortal, a pretty, young fugitive, befriended by Richie. Mac believes she is not being totally truthful.
TIM RAMSEY — Mortal friend of Mac’s from100 years ago, did a foolish act as a kid that caught up to him as an adult.
The Street
A young girl flees blindly—
Through dark empty streets,
Pausing only in shadows,
Her panicked heart beats.
Behind her, fast closing—
Her relentless pursuer,
Ugly scar on his face.
Can she find a rescuer?
He halts, feels the Buzz—
Up ahead, a bright glare.
Headlights on a motorbike,
She screams in despair....
“Help me...Oh, please!
There’s no time to explain!”
The biker extracts her,
Scarface will remain.
The Loft, Later
Duncan’s quietly reading—
And sipping red wine.
But this calm interlude,
Will soon be undermined.
Richie bursts in with Laura,
“She’s been hurt accidentally!”
“Why not go to a hospital?”
She declines, vehemently.
Duncan gives her first aid,
The wound’s not extensive,
He demands Richie’s version—
Be complete, comprehensive.
“Mac—One of US chased her—
With a mean nasty Buzz,
Ugly scar on his face,
Think you know who he was?”
Of course, Mac is blessed—
With instant recall,
Every Immie he’s met—
He remembers them all.
When coincidence brings them—
To his neighborhood,
He can usually tell—
The bad from the good.
“His name is Mako,”
Mac remembers him well.
An inflexible man—
With a tough outer shell.
A lawman by trade,
With unflagging drive,
He’d bring back his quarry,
Dead or alive.
Flashback—Pacific Northwest, 1882
Mac’s a newspaperman—
In this peaceable town.
His friend, young Tim Ramsey—
Brings news of his own.
His wife is expecting,
Mac offers a toast—
Just as Mako rides in—
To their rural outpost.
On his chest gleams a star.
He’s a Federal Marshal.
He surveys the townsfolk,
In a manner impartial.
The man he seeks out—
Helped a gang with their plan,
Robbed a train and then murdered—
A Wells Fargo man.
When he sees Mac, he states—
“I am not here for you.
The LAW wants this man.
I’ve a job I must do.”
Mac responds, “We all do—
What’s correct in our sight.”
Mako: “We understand—
Each other all right.”
The poster he holds—
Of the outlaw, stands out,
That’s Tim Ramsey’s picture—
Upon it, no doubt.
Tim saddles his horse,
Mac: “Why do you run?”
Tim: “He’s already judged me,
It’s over, I’m done.”
“I was only sixteen,
Never killed anyone.
I just held some horses,
Didn’t know what went on.”
“Tim, I have friends,
I can help you...please stay.”
“No, Duncan! I must—
Get far, far away!”
“When this Marshal leaves—
Then I can come back.”
“No, he’s different, he never—
Gives up,” argues Mac.
He cannot change Tim’s mind,
But he’ll try compromise,
“If you hide out nearby,
I’ll bring you supplies.”
Later, that night—
Mac and Mako converse.
They have both been around,
Seen better and worse.
“I thought you’re a man—
Who respected the LAW.”
Mac finds Mako’s censure—
Has one glaring flaw.
Mac: “I like to see justice,
They are not both the same.”
“The LAW’s what we live by,”
Mako’s quick to proclaim.
The LAW separates—
The man from the beast.”
“And no room for compassion?”
Mac’s concern is increased.
“Not from me,” Mako snaps,
“When in court, he can talk,
If the judge is persuaded—
Than Ramsey will walk.
‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’
The warrant states there,
How he goes, is his choice,
The LAW doesn’t care.”
The Loft, Present Day
Rich questions Mac,
“So this guy’s a cop?”
“Rich, why no police—
No hospital stop?
Let’s find out about her,
What is she hiding?”
They gently ask questions,
Soon Laura’s confiding.
She married Earl Daniels—
Because he had money,
But after two weeks—
He tired of his honey,
He drank and he cheated,
She was beaten and slapped,
She had nowhere to run,
Felt cornered and trapped.
Earl’s father-in-law framed her,
He told a wild tale—
That she stole his money,
Her choice? Earl or jail!
She’s avoided arrest—
By evading detection,
“Mac, we’ve got to help her,
Rich pledges protection.
Mac knows Richie’s trying—
To do the right thing.
Though Mac’s been his mentor—
Richie wants to take wing.
“Mako’s not one to fool with,”
“Mac you needn’t remind me,
He can’t know who I am—
And he’ll never find me.”
Rich’s Apartment
Richie turns on his shower,
Soapy, hot cleansing stream.
The curtain’s ripped open!
Mako’s face in the steam!
It’s a scene straight from “Psycho,”
All that’s lacking is blood.
But Rich visualizes—
His head falling......THUD!
Mako wants Laura, now!
“Where is she?” “Don’t know!”
Grabbing Rich by the hair,
He will not let him go.
“I don’t care what she did!
How she did it, or why!
I will bring this girl back,
You can help me...or die!”
An Open Field
How the tables have turned!
Mac asks Joe for a favor.
MacLeod hates to do it,
But Joe does not waver.
“Check out Laura for me,
Let me know on the double.”
“If it’s Mako she’s fleeing....
Mac—she’s got trouble!”
The Dojo
Mac chins on a bar,
Rich bursts in with news,
Mako ruined his shower,
But fell for a ruse.
“He believed me, I said—
Laura left on a bus.”
“Don’t count on it, Richie..
It’s his LAW versus us.”
“She won’t get a fair trial!”
“Richie, that is YOUR view,
Take her to the police—
That is what I would do.
There is only one way—
To stop Mako, it’s rough!
You’ll have to kill him,
And you‘re not good enough!”
Upstairs Laura packs,
Preparing to split,
Her story keeps shifting,
The facts don’t quite fit.
Rich insists he’ll go with her,
He’ll ignore Mac’s advice.
“Mac, when someone’s in trouble,
YOU never think twice.”
Flashback, to Pacific Northwest Town, 1882
Tim and Mako face off—
In the center of town.
Quickest draw wins—
One will live, one goes down.
Mac: “Don’t do this, Mako!
I’ll bring him in!”
“Not your job, MacLeod!”
He is set to begin.
“NO!” Ramsey screams,
He snatches his gun,
But six hundred years—
Of practice has won.
Ramsey dies in the dirt,
Leaving wife, unborn kid,
“It was not ME that killed him,”
Mako says, “The LAW did.”
The Loft, Present Day
The Buzz! Mako’s near!
Laura, Rich take the stairs,
Mac alone confronts Mako,
It’s been one hundred years.
“I’m in search of a girl.”
“Try a change of personality.”
Mako doesn’t see humor—
In MacLeod’s comicality.
Eyeball to eyeball,
Just like the Old West.
Who will flinch first?
Who will draw the fastest?
In a flash...it is done!
By a mere nanosec,
Duncan’s sword flashes first—
Stopping at Mako’s neck.
“Let them go! They are kids.”
Mac’s pleas do not bend—
Mako’s iron resolve,
The LAW’s its own end.
Mac knows he’s not evil,
He believes his crusade.
With enormous reluctance,
Mac lowers his blade.
A Motel
Rich has taken a room—
Where they’ll both spend the night,
Laura rouses his manhood,
Rich of course says, “All RIGHT!”
Surprise! Mako finds them!
They exit post haste—
Heading straight for the dojo,
There is no time to waste.
The Dojo
Mac had spoke with Dawson,
Joe’s response was effective,
The facts he discovered—
Put it all in perspective.
“She is wanted for MURDER!
Not merely grand theft.
First, she carved up her hubby,
Then she picked up and left.”
“Mac! Mako found us!
Can we borrow your car?”
“Rich, take a breath,
You won’t get very far.”
Mac tells Rich Joe’s findings,
Laura finally relents,
Her husband attacked her,
Was killed, self-defense.
“She has to go back.
Richie, those are the rules.”
“The hell with the rules,
We’re Immortals, not fools!”
“Richie, sometimes the rules—
Are all that we have.”
Rich: “You sound just like HIM!”
Defiant and mad.
Of course, Mac gives in,
And hands Rich the keys,
But the T-bird won’t start,
So these young refugees—
Take off on foot—
Leaving Mac, who defends—
The dojo, since Mako—
Brought two of his friends.
“Why not call the police?
They can’t run far from here”
Mako: “No cops! They’re MINE!”
Now his arrogance is clear.
Mac: “No one’s above—
The law, even YOU!”
But the goons keep Mac busy—
While Mako slips through.
The Street
Mako’s car’s close behind,
Rich stops in mid-flight.
He tries to tell Laura—
That he sees Mac is right,
But she breaks from his grip,
Trips and falls at his feet.
Mako’s car runs her over,
Strikes her dead in the street.
Hate and outrage suffuse—
Richie’s tortured young face.
He leaps to his feet—
Hurls his body through space.
He and Mako crash through—
A storefront, now vacant.
Their swords drawn and ready—
For this final engagement.
Mac reaches the scene,
Locates the fight zone.
He tries one more time,
“Richie, leave it alone!”
Mako’s gotten himself—
In unfortunate shape,
Some rotten wood planks—
Won’t let him escape.
Rich could decide—
To withdraw, and depart.
Mac wishes him to—
With all of his heart.
But it’s gone too far,
Rich consumed with emotion,
Seeing Mako entrapped—
Takes his head with one motion.
“Mac!”.... Rich implores,
In fear and confusion.
It’s his first Quickening,
In his mind... a profusion—
Of hideous torment,
But Mac turns and grieves,
An Immortal’s rite-of-passage—
Should be private, Mac leaves.
The Loft, Later
Rich exits the lift,
MacLeod’s back is turned.
Rich tries making small talk—
But his efforts are spurned.
“It’s that time,” says MacLeod,
Meaning Rich has to leave,
“Was I wrong?” questions Rich,
“It’s done.” No reprieve.
“Take care of yourself,”
Mac’s voice cracks with pain,
The pupil must go—
And the teacher remain.
One last query from Rich,
In the form of a plea.
“Will we ever face each other?”
Mac, in anguish, “Maybe.”
Mac won’t let Rich see—
The tear that descends.
His pride is unyielding—
Even for friends.
For a while he pretended—
He’d a wife and a son.
Is this ache worth the price—
To be the last One?
Peace, Emit
© 2001-2003
Under the Kilt from Highlander: The Official Site:
Ken Gord, Producer
“With Jonathan Banks, it's one of my favorite shows, I think it's probably in my top five. Number one, because I like westerns. And I think Clay Borris, again in a six-day show, did a remarkable job. I thought the script was fantastic, the acting was great, and the casting was brilliant. I thought the A-plot worked, the character was great because he wasn't good, he wasn't bad; he was one of those great gray guys. The love B-plot with Richie worked. To me it was a great, great show.”
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