The Time Tunnel s01e25 Episode Script

The Death Merchant

The American Civil War.
Come on! Fermo, Cesare.
Fermo.
All right, men, lets get out of here! You too! Major, over here! Help, Major.
! We need a doctor.
Hes beyond any hope this world can give him now.
Hess dead.
He cant be dead.
- He cant! - Amplify his signal.
Im sorry, General, but there is no signal.
That could only happen if he- I wont accept it.
Maybe theress been a malfunction in the equipment.
Come on, Ray.
Lets check it out.
Quickly.
Well? Everythings working, General.
Dougs signal is still coming in strong.
Theres nothing else it can be? No.
Well, weve lost the trail.
The tracks disappear into the stream.
This is as far as I go, Major.
If youre going the rest of the way, yourre gonna have to do it alone.
- Im going back for my friend.
- Wait a minute! You wouldnt stand a chance getting through those Confederates alone.
You help me, and Ill go back there with you - and well see that your friend gets a decent burial.
Well, you with me? All right.
But if Im gonna risk my life for you, Idd like to know whatsss going on around here.
The man in black stole a wagon containing and those Rebs back there wanna get their hands on it.
So we gotta get it back or destroy it.
Weve gotta find out where those tracks come out.
Ill try upstream.
You go downstream.
Here.
You better put these on.
They might save your life.
Wait a minute, Major.
Im no soldier.
You think those clothes make you a civilian? You get caught on a battlefield, youre a soldier.
Look at those boys.
Do you think theyre soldiers by choice? Huh? Here.
Get those on.
Well meet back here in 15 minutes.
Major, whats the name of this place? Gettysburg.
The Time Tunnel.
The odds were against both of them surviving.
Weve known that for a long time.
Well close down Tonyss channel.
By concentrating full power on Doug, we may be able to save him.
- I wont let you do it.
- If you can think of anything we can do, Ann.
Anything.
General, will you let me try a power surge? Perhaps the shock- Well, it could work.
All right.
Make the try.
Ill monitor.
Im afraid we cantt wait any longer.
General.
! It worked! Hes alive! Hes comin around, Sergeant.
Corporal, you find Private Acton.
Tell him to get a horse, report to Captain Vickers at the supply train.
He is to tell him that we found the courier alive.
Yes, sir.
- Corporal! - Yes, sir? Id be obliged if youdd wait until Iddd finished the instructions.
Yes, sir.
He is to tell him that he doesnt have the money on him.
- Well, move! - Yes, sir.
And be careful with them Yankee snipers! Theyre usin real bullets! Kids.
They oughta be home shootin possum.
Here.
Thisll make you feel better.
Youll be all right.
Important thing is you got through, Lieutenant.
- Lieutenant? - Well, youre Lieutenant Andrews, aintt ya? You were sent here to lead us to a man named Michaels.
What do you remember? Nothing.
No, wait.
There was an explosion.
I remember that.
I was running, and there was an explosion.
Do you know me? Have you seen me before? No, sir.
Youre part of Longstreetss corps.
We got a message to meet you here.
I may not be this lieutenant at all.
Its not very likely.
There aintt no civilians around here two days of battle.
Well, here.
Brought this uniform for ya.
May not fit ya, but itll save you from being shot as a spy.
Sergeant Maddox! Sergeant Maddox! Get down! Michaelss dog.
Hes howlin for all the men who are gonna die here.
Ive had enough of your crazy superstitions! You understand me? Yes, sir.
That Yankee major who left the lieutenant for dead- Hes lookin for Michaels too.
Well track him.
Like as not, hell lead us right to him.
- Cover me, Corporal.
Ill get the lieutenant.
- Yes, sir.
Lieutenant.
Lets ready to move out.
- Find anything? - Not a sign of anything.
Michaels and that dog mustve crossed over to the other side.
If were lucky well be able to find their trail before nightfall.
Come on.
- Major.
Here are their tracks, all right.
- Good.
The Rebs oughta be showing up any minute now.
Theyre lookin for a courier with $2,000 to negotiate with Michaels.
Fortunately for us that courier isnt gonna make it.
We got word that he was killed.
I want you to follow this trail while its still light.
Ill give the Rebs 10 minutes.
If they dont show by then, welll know they lost the scent.
Do you believe in omens, Lieutenant? Theres some strange things goin on here.
What do you mean? Well, I cant explain it, but I feel it.
Ive been in some battles before, but never like this.
What battles you been in, Lieutenant? I dont remember, Corporal.
Well, maybe youre the lucky one after all.
Some things, its better not to remember.
Them tracks are all over the place.
No tellin where they crossed.
The corporal and Ill take this bank.
Will you be good enough to take the other side, Lieutenant? Sure.
Sergeant, let me take the other side.
I think I can hunt em out.
All right, Corporal.
Youre on your own.
And dont be no hero.
If you see anything, give us a yell.
You understand? Yes, sir.
- Is he alone? - As far as I know.
He stepped out a minute ago and looked around and then went right back in.
- Im just wonderin.
.
- About what? Why that dog isnt settin up a racket.
Yeah, I know.
Weird, isnt it? - Well, at least hes chained.
- All right.
Cover me.
Im gonna try and take him alive.
All right, Michaels, on your feet! Theres no need to break the door in, Major.
My house is yours.
Avanti, signor.
Oh.
Scusi.
It is against his nature to sit by when he considers his masters life threatened.
Zitto, Cesare.
Basta.
Basta.
Basta.
Basta.
He fears the wrath will fall on him if he disobeyed me.
Avanti, signor.
Avanti.
Come in.
I suppose youve come about the gunpowder.
You will surrender it, sir, or Ill kill you where you stand.
But you have no need for the gunpowder, Major.
You already have sufficient supplies.
- Wine, gentlemen.
- You are under arrest.
War is only interesting when the sides are evenly matched.
Dont you agree? I was just setting down a principle in my book The Art of War.
RReduced to essentials war is nothing more than a conflict of one man against another.
Surely you wouldnt want to take unfair advantage of an adversary? For example you have an unfair advantage of me now, Major.
Two against one.
Not a very gallant affair, is it? But should the odds be changed- Suddenly, the conflict becomes more exciting.
The major has seen my point.
Perhaps you will too.
Mille grazie.
Instruments of death come in such intriguing forms.
This weapon of yours is very effective but do not underestimate the rapier.
Just who are you? Let us say I am the superior here.
The major needs help.
All right.
But quid pro quo- something for something.
Your major can provide me information concerning this most interesting war.
How can you bargain while a man is bleeding to death? Only a stupid man does not press the advantage when he has it.
Still, sometimes the advantage is increased by delay.
Theres a cot in the storeroom.
Do what you can for him.
Ill try to stop the bleeding.
No.
No, theres- Theres no time for that.
Listen to me.
- Hes a madman.
You know that, dontt you? - Yes.
He must be stopped.
He must be stopped.
He will be stopped, Major.
I promise you that.
I- I hate to die and not know whether the Union will ever- The Union will survive, Major.
The Confederates will be stopped here.
Theyll begin their retreat to the South.
The final peace will come at a small town called Appomattox.
Two equal weapons.
Interesting.
Who are you? Where did you come from? Let us say I come from another place, another time.
That box in there- Impossible.
Machiavelli died four centuries ago.
Then you know me.
My works did outlive my era.
My rule in Florence.
History remembers me, huh? Not as a ruler.
As a man of evil, of cunning.
As the most hated philosopher of planned carnage in the history of mankind.
You call it carnage, but I call it the highest achievement of man.
Bella.
! Bravissimo, signore.
You really have gone too far now.
Much too far.
That was the last bottle of my fine Italian wine.
My Orvieto! Finito.
Im not acquainted with your weapons, but I learn quickly.
- How did you get here? - I wish I knew.
I had just returned to Florence from the camp of Prince Borgia and was preparing to unpack when I was seized with all my goods and whirled through a maelstrom which left me here.
The Time Tunnel.
As luck would have it, I have fallen into the most wonderful war.
An opportunity to see the refinements of my theories.
Oh, if only the Romans had had your equipment.
Thats incredible.
How could Machiavelli have been switched through time? We have the only operative transfer mechanism.
Then his being there must have something to do with the Time Tunnel.
See if you can get a signal for him.
Theres our answer, General.
A one-in-a-million coincidence but his signal is identical to Dougs.
Machiavelli somehow switched through time on Dougs frequency? General? - Here are those pictures you ordered.
- Oh, good.
Now.
First well sort out all the pictures of cabins.
Sir, how long do battlefield cases of amnesia persist? Oh, Ive seen some boys come out of it in hours and Ive seen others who never regained their identity.
But weve got something much more important than that to worry about at the moment.
- Machiavelli? - Yes.
We sent him there.
Its our duty to get him out.
You think we can send him back to his own time? I dont know, General.
If his signal is interlocked with Dougss- Well have to find some way to separate their signals.
Ann, I want the date that Machiavelli returned to Florence from the camp of Prince Borgia.
Ill get on it right away.
Those are checked.
Here.
Thats Michaelsss dog, all right.
Hes got visitors.
Were gonna have to flush them out before we can talk to him.
I think youll need this.
- You expect me to fight them? - Unless you prefer to let them kill you.
Better cover the door as well.
Dont move! Tony.
- What happened to you? - Take his gun.
Well, whats the matter with you? Dontt you recognize me? You stay put or Ill kill you just like you killed my corporal.
The other ones in there.
Hess dead, Immm afraid.
- Are you Michaels? - Yes.
You have 150 kegs of gunpowder.
We want it.
- And you shall have it.
- Theres no money in this.
No bargains.
The moneys not important.
Your side is the weaker side here.
Unless you have the firepower, the battle will be most uninteresting.
The gunpowder is in a cave above Wilsons Creek.
The foot of the suspension bridge.
I know the place.
But you- I dont understand you.
- What do you get out of this? - I? I am merely an observer.
Nothing more.
A historian in search of knowledge.
I want to know the disposition of your forces.
You make this war sound like some kind of mental exercise.
Precisely, and of the highest order.
Nothing would make him happier than to increase the slaughter on both sides.
And youd like nothing more than to keep us from getting to that gunpowder.
It doesnt make any difference whether the South gets it or not not in the long run.
You dont remember me, do you? Im Douglas Phillips, and yourre Tony ewman.
We came here together.
Is that true, Lieutenant? You know this man? Ive never seen him before.
Ive never been a member of the Union army.
Neither of us were.
You were injured in an explosion.
I thought you were killed.
He did have civilian clothes on him when we first saw him like you did.
Dont you remember anything? The Tunnel? General Kirk or Ann? Well, youre not even from this time.
Youre trying to save your own skin with some cock-and-bull story.
All right.
If youre not Tony Newman, who are you? My name is Andrews.
Im a courier, mister, for General Longstreet.
Why, that courier was killed.
The major told me so before he died.
Now, wait a minute.
Did he say how much money the courier was carrying? - Yes.
$2,000.
- Thats right.
You are a member of the troop that ambushed me.
You took the $2,000! You killed my corporal! And, mister Im gonna kill you.
Theres really no sport in killing an unarmed ad- Cesare! The mastiff will tear Doug apart! Have you made the adjustment for the time reversal? My time setting is January 3, 151 the date we lifted Machiavelli out of Florence.
I tried to separate his signal from Dougs but I dont know what may happen when we activate.
- Lock in on the mastiff!.
- Im locked in and tracking it.
Back! Back off!.
- We did it! We did it! - Hes not out of danger yet.
Tonys on his way.
Can you get Doug out of there? Well, if we move Doug, what about Tony? Well hold the fix and try to get Tony out later.
Somethings happened to our power.
- How long will it take to repair it? - I dont know, General.
Ill check it.
Now, listen to me! Just let me explain.
Thats all I ask.
All right.
Do you know how old that corporal was? He was 16.
And that justifies your killing me? I dont need any justification! Yourre the enemy! Im the only friend you have.
All right, so that explosion took your memory and watching that boy die made you mad.
I dont blame you.
But if you kill me, you kill your only link with the past or your future.
Take that gun out carefully.
Tony, use your head.
Ive had this gun all along.
If I wanted to kill you, I couldve killed you from the rock.
I said take it out! Now throw it over there.
- None of this makes any sense to you at all, does it? - None of it.
Look.
If Michaels carries out his plans this is gonna be the bloodiest battleground in the entire Civil War.
Get up.
Now, were gonna join the sergeant.
You give me the slightest excuse, and Ill kill you.
Is that clear? Lets go.
Come on! I have a report from the generating station.
Itll take eight hours to bring the power up to peak.
Eight hours? You know, that sergeant mentioned something about a suspension bridge.
Here.
This mustve been the one he was talking about.
Let me see.
Yes.
There it is.
Ann, find the coordinates of that bridge and feed them into the console.
Well have our fix preset by the time they approach it.
Then well retrieve Tony and Doug when they reach it? No.
No, we wont.
I will not leave Machiavelli on the field.
Well send him back to his own time as we did the mastiff.
Hess far too dangerous.
He cant change what happened at Gettysburg.
Im not gonna take any chances.
Itss our duty to get him out of there.
All right.
I understand how you feel, General.
Even if were willing to risk Dougss life - we dont have power enough.
- Welll find supplementary power.
You saw the explosion that followed the transfer of the dog.
Itll take three times that power to transfer a human.
We cantt do it.
- You have a better suggestion? - No.
If we overload our circuits that much, theres no telling what will happen.
- General, Im against it.
- Imm sorry, Ray.
This is the one time I have to overrule you.
I want that programming done as quickly as possible.
When its complete, notify me.
Please.
Ill make the changes, General but heaven help Tony and Doug if youre wrong.
You think Im wrong too? I dont know.
We have a responsibility here not only to science, but to humanity as well.
They ride like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse bringing death closer with every stride.
Do you have that feeling of tight excitement within you, Sergeant? That fascination with impending death? You sure do run off at the mouth, dont you? Union cavalry, sir.
Theyre attacking our supply train.
Its a fortunate circumstance, Lieutenant that this type of artillery was nonexistent in ancient times else the Romans would not have conquered so easily.
But the use of firearms prevents men from displaying personal valor.
Dont you agree? Well need at least two of those wagons to move the gunpowder.
They may never survive the attack, sir.
Theres a wagon and horses at the cave.
Ill try to get another wagon and an escort.
Weve got to get that gunpowder through.
Thatss the most important thing right now.
Tony, dont go.
Youlll never make it.
Sergeant, you guard the prisoner.
If he tries to escape, kill him.
Michaels.
Were moving up into higher ground.
Whyd you do it? What do you want with me? Youre gonna have to trust me.
What I told you before was the truth.
Were gonna have to find a landmark and wait to be picked up.
- Picked up? - I could explain it to you.
But in your condition, I dont expect you to believe me.
Weve got to stop Michaels, and wevve got to destroy the powder.
You know, you almost had me there for a minute.
It would be easier for you to get at that gunpowder through me, wouldnt it? Are you all right? Dont make the mistake of doubting it.
Come on.
I would say you have Just about outlived your usefulness.
Wouldnt you, Sergeant? After all you couldnt possibly help us to move the gunpowder.
And you walk with only the greatest difficulty.
You would impair our mobility.
A good field commander always destroys those things which are detrimental to his cause.
Thats just common sense, isntt it? Im a better man than you half dead.
Then I suggest you prove that, Sergeant.
Otherwise, I intend to kill you.
You see, Ive always had the advantage.
Your prisoner almost succeeded in telling you the truth.
I am indeed Machiavelli- a man in a time long past his own and, therefore, already dead.
Ah! They smashed us to pieces and swept on.
Like a whirlwind scattering death in its wake, eh? Tell me, Lieutenant does not your mind quicken in the presence of such destruction? - What happened to him? - Oh, poor fellow.
Felled by a final fusillade.
But he was quite helpless at the end.
The battlefield is a place for strength, not weakness.
Dont you agree? The officers who commanded this train are dead the sergeants dead and Im a very tired man, Michaels worn right down to the bone.
Ive got no time for whatever game it is yourre playing.
I want the gunpowder from you and nothing more.
Now lead me to it.
No.
Carry the conduit down to the terminal pole.
- Were running out of time, Ray.
- Werre almost through here, General.
All right.
Thats it.
Now close it up.
A special power supply from Hoover Dam is hooked in, General.
It should be enough to handle our power reversal.
- Well run a test of the circuits.
- Good.
The timing is gonna be critical if we can separate Dougs signal and send Machiavelli back in time.
How long will it take you to test the circuits? A few minutes.
No more.
I owe you an apology, Woody.
Well, lets say it was the strain of the moment.
- Then you think Im right? - No.
But somebodys got to make the decisions, and I respect you for doing it.
The apologys accepted.
Ill run the test and stand by for your signal.
And I wish us luck.
Amen to that.
The powder is hidden by that screen of brush, and the wagons over there.
An interesting thought, is it not? Yankee, load this onto the wagon.
Beware.
He will outwit you.
Now youre faced with the commanderss decision- whether to sacrifice your friend to destroy a larger evil.
All right, this has to be done, Tony.
Im gonna get by you one way or the other.
Now, youd better get out of here while you can.
Put that down.
I said put it down! Excellent.
Now you are both even.
- Whats happened? - Hess trying to kill us.
You have the advantage.
Kill him, and you can destroy the powder.
Thats not gonna work this time, Machiavelli.
You forget yourself.
I am Machiavelli.
You cannot kill me.
Therefore, Im indestructible.
No, were not going to kill you, Machiavelli.
No.
Were going to tie you up and put you in that cave.
One of the bloodiest battles of all time is about to take place and we are personally going to see to it that you miss it.
I think not.
Youve deprived me of the lieutenantss aid but a good field commander always has alternatives.
Stand back! Stand to your posts, everyone! Stand to your posts! Theyre in the path of the explosion! If that powder goes, theyll be killed.
! - Switch them quick! Weve only got seconds! - Itlll be a miracle.
Cant you get them under control? Stabilize them.
Ann, refine your locator.
Im doing the best I can, General.
Were getting an interfering impulse.
Wevve lost eeem.
Ive got Doug and Tony again.
Lets try this way.
Oriental.
Sure is.
Mongolian.
Those were Mongols back there.
If my memory serves me right this is the emblem of the great Khans.
Genghis Khan?
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