Part two of eight. Vince undertakes his first assignment at the behest of the mysterious Mr. Jonas, deepening his involvement while also bringing him closer than expected to home.
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The Mutual Audio Network
Spoken Signal Podcast: Agents, Episode 2(071524)
(upbeat music) This episode is brought to you by Experian. Are you paying for subscriptions you don't use, but can't find the time or energy to cancel them? Experian could cancel unwanted subscriptions for you, saving you an average of $270 per year, and plenty of time. Download the Experian app. Results will vary, not all subscriptions are eligible. Savings are not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment account required. This is Monday, Matt and A on the Mutual Audio Network. Come on, let's all go to the lobby, because people are staring at us listening to these shows while we're in the theater. The following audio drama is rated PG-13, suggesting that children under the age of 13 should listen accompanied with an adult. - Remember peanut butter? God, I love peanut butter, have since I was a boy. I don't know what it is. There's just something about it for me. It tastes decadent, even though I know it isn't, not really. A while back, the regrettable tensions with our southern neighbors meant that peanuts could no longer be imported into the new Midwest territory. There was very little to be done about it. It's not a crop that grows particularly well in these climbs. Technically, peanuts are not nuts. Did you know that? Technically, they are legumes. Anyway, that was years ago. And relations have studied a bit since then, but did you notice? Peanut butter never came back. It has remained quietly, unavailable. You won't find it for sale anywhere inside the territory. Now, take a look in that tin. Ha, see there? I have a bite with every meal on a cracker or just straight from the spoon. Tastes as good as ever. Better, maybe, because now it's rare. But what do I mean by all this? Well, it's just an illustration. Just one little example. You've made some powerful friends by coming through on this delivery by your discretion, your efficiency. (chuckles) And yes, I know. You've been handsomely compensated already, but there are other forms of compensation. I had for you, my friend, now that you're in. Let's just say that whatever your peanut butter is, you'll have it. Wait, where are you rushing off to? Aren't you enjoying your meal? Well, it is exceedingly delicious. But I'm afraid I must leave you to introduce yourself. Introduce myself. What are you talking about? Secretary Hochstead. Secretary Hochstead, how do you respond to allegations that you've been using your position to smuggle illegal contraband into the territory? Secretary Hochstead. (upbeat music) (gentle music) - "Spoken Signal Audio Drama Presents Agents" by Robert Arnold. Episode two, "Friends of Mr. Jonas." (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - A bombshell report today. As Secretary of Agriculture, Miles Hochstead is found with evidence of drug running and other illegal trafficking. Mr. Hochstead denies the allegations, but territory president William Reddick has accepted his resignation. Hochstead joins a string of disgraced party officials whose misdeeds have come to light in the past year. A party spokeswoman tells the press that, quote, "We are committed to rooting out corruption, "no matter where it may hide." It's another seismic upheaval for the president's cabinet, still reeling from the disappearance of Secretary of State and presidential candidate, Madeleine Stevenson. With the election, mere weeks away. - Out. What am I doing here? - Get out and shut the door. - Please would be nice. (crickets chirping) (loud thudding) (crickets chirping) - Good morning, Mr. Harris. - Who are you? - My name is Overstreet, and this handsome gentleman is Claude, but we refer to him as radio. - Hey. - Cute, are you two, you know, his guys? - I believe you mean to ask whether we are friends of Mr. Jonas. - Okay, are you friends of Mr. Jonas? - We are acquainted, but I would not consider us friends. - I'm sure he'd be very hurt to hear that. - That particular question and response is our code, Mr. Harris. You may use it to identify other agents in the field. Remember it, please. Now, are you ready for your first assignment? - I guess so. What do you need me to do? - Nothing much. You and Mr. Radio must deliver this briefcase. - Okay, where? - Right there. - The hospital. - Correct. - Who does it go to? - It is to be left in a particular storage closet on the building's third floor. Mr. Radio knows the location. It will reach its intended recipient from there. You want us to sneak a briefcase into a hospital storage room. - Is that a problem for you? - No, no, it's just... You know my wife works here, right? She's a doctor. - Then it will be all the more imperative to avoid detection. Besides, I was given to understand that you have been declared dead, Mr. Harris. - Well, yeah, but in that case, let me remind you that you no longer have a wife. Till death do you part, remember? Take this. - I will wait here for your return. If you are apprehended, identified, or otherwise caught, you will not hear from us again. Mr. Radio, I will of course look to you for a full report on Mr. Harris' usefulness to this mission. - Yes, sir. - Can I at least ask why? - You cannot. Well then, Mr. Harris. Best of luck. (indistinct chatter) So, how long have you been involved? - With what? - You know, all this. - Don't know what you're talking about. - Of course. Third floor's restricted. I'll need a badge to get up there. - A badge? How do we get one? - You're gonna have to lift one. See that doctor? He's wearing his on a clip. Easy enough to grab. - Grab. How? When? - I'll distract him. Here we go. - Hang on. - Hell, my hip. - Damn it. Sir, sir, sir, are you all right? Sorry, sorry. Let me get out of your way. - I'm fine. Get your damn hands off me. I don't need any help. (sighs) - Get it? - You're crazy. You know that? - Uh-huh. Come on. Elevator's down here. (beep) - Swipe the badge and press three. - So, what's your background? Can I at least ask you that? - Electronics. You? - I'm a poet. (laughs) What? Did they know that when they recruited you? - Keep an eye on this marshal in 412, will you? - Elaine. - I think she's stable now, but I'd like to see a few more hours of sinus rhythm before we think about tightening down on the doses. - What are you doing? - Hide me. Quick, get in front of me. - Hold the elevator, please. - Sorry, emergency. - You want to tell me what that was about? - That was my wife, former wife, Elaine. I told you she works here. - Hmm, quick thinking then. - We'll have to find a different path to the storage room. - There's another elevator on the far side of the parking garage that-- - That goes up to three. You know, I know, I've been here before two. Come on. (footsteps) - So they recruited a poet? (laughing) What are you gonna write a main lemurick about the bad guys? What are you doing? - What's in the briefcase? - Get off me. - The briefcase, what's in it? - Don't do this, poet. - Why are they sending me with an electronics expert to hide a briefcase in a hospital, huh? - I'm warning you. - Is it, is it a bomb? You have to tell me. - Why would we bomb a hospital? - I don't know. Why would we sneak a suspicious package into a random storage room in a hospital? - You're questioning the assignments already? - You're damn right I am. - Don't you realize who these people are? There's no reason for them not to kill you. - Then they kill me. But I am not helping them kill anyone else. - Fine. Let's just open it up and take a look, shall we? - I wouldn't do that. - I would, but not here. Come on, we need to get clear of the garage. - I hope you know what you're doing, pal. - I don't have a clue. I'm just trying to do what's right, but here, this is fine. Nothing to hurt out here, but a few parked cars. - Last chance. - Why, afraid I'll trip it by opening the case? Hey, I've already had one close call of death recently. I'm kind of getting used to it. Okay. It's bricks. Just a couple of old bricks. What is this? It's a test moron of loyalty. You just earned yourself an F minus. - What? - What will they do to me? - What do you think? Come on, time to report back. - Mr. Radio, Mr. Harris, you were not quite as efficient as I expected. - Yeah, we ran into a couple of snacks. - No matter how did Mr. Harris acquit himself on his first assignment, Mr. Radio? - Fine, he did just fine. - Excellent, the briefcase has been delivered then. - Sure has. - Well, Mr. Harris, allow me to congratulate you on a job well done. I may now also confess that this little exercise was merely that. The briefcase contained no special contents. We simply needed to know whether we could trust you in a difficult situation, even with the presence of a former loved one nearby. - Wow, you guys are crazy. - Perhaps, but with this firm evidence of your commitment, we may now share with you some additional details of our operations. Come along. - Good morning, Mr. Overstreet. - Ms. Preston, allow me to introduce Mr. Vincent Harris. He'll be joining us. Ms. Preston is the traffic manager here at the station. - Traffic? - I make sure all the different departments play nice with one another. Welcome, Mr. Harris. You can call me Madge. - How's my signal strength today, Madge? - A little up and down radio. - Wait, you work here? - Why? You thought I got my name by having a face for radio? Probably just some weather coming in, Madge. I'll call the boys at transmission to check in. This way, Mr. Harris. - This is incredible. Are all these people friends of Mr. Jonas? - They are acquainted with him, but I wouldn't consider them friends. - Right, of course. - Beyond that, this is a fully functioning broadcast station, Mr. Harris, K&M W 98.7 FM, the voice of a new Midwest. - Sure, I listen to you guys sometimes. - Is that so? Well, always nice to meet a fan. And speaking of someone who enjoys his fans, here is Mr. Crandall. Mr. Lawrence Crandall, I'd like you to meet Mr. Vince and Harris. - How do you do, Mr. Harris? - You play Mr. Jonas on the radio. - That's right. Crime is a riddle. And justice, the answer. Do some of the voices on Baby Bart, too. Dr. Krasha, mailman Tim, some of those. And you, are you friends with Mr. Jonas? - We're acquainted, but I wouldn't consider us friends. - That's what I assumed. Seeing you strolling around with this fellow here, that's great. I'll look forward to working with you. - These station broadcasts, news, sports, classical music, and a handful of original dramas, including The Adventures of Mr. Jonas, Bad Baby Bart, and my personal favorite, The Cave of Whispers. - All produced here in this studio? - Where else? In addition to entertaining the masses, of course, we use the station's broadcast equipment to communicate with our various allies, and the broadcasts themselves to transmit messages to our agents in the field. - That's nuts. And this is all in service of what, exactly? - Step into my office, won't you? Have a seat, Mr. Harris. As I'm sure you are aware, our world is divided. The territorial governments are driven with corruption. They maintain their power through deceit, obfuscation, and fear. The people I work with, we work with, are regular people emboldened by the idea that things need not continue as they are. - So you guys fight the powers that be, huh? What, like organizing, espionage, exposing crimes, that sort of thing? - All that and more, whatever is required. But to what end? - Betterment, Mr. Harris. - Okay. And what's your role in all of this, Mr. Overstreet? - Talent, acquisition, and onboarding. - Right. - Of course, here at the station, it is more formally referred to as human resources. - Uh-huh. And who decides what to do with those resources? - Who? - Come now, Mr. Harris. You've met him. (dramatic music) - You're with passengers, our subjects, to randomized security checks. Remember, never to leave your baggage unattended. Immediately before, if any suspicious activity, especially from passengers entering from outside the new Midwest territory, the nearest security security. - Better hurry, Mr. Secretary. Two minutes till departure. - You, what are you doing here? - I'm just making sure you catch your train, Hoxton. Now, legally, of course, you aren't permitted to leave the territory while you're under investigation. But given what's come to light recently, it seems like the best course of action for all concern. Wouldn't you agree? - I don't want, I wasn't. - In fact, it's such a good idea that I think I'm going to send bull here along with you, just to be safe. What do you say, Bull? You up for a little train trip? See the countryside? - Sounds like fun, sir. - I'm sure it will be. Is that your ticket, Hoxton? May I? Well, the Secretary has a sleeper car. I don't know about you, Bull, but I can never sleep on trains, not really. - Me either, sir. - In that case, why don't you help make sure that the Secretary enjoys a nice, long rest? - Please, you wouldn't. - You're right, Hoxton. Normally, I wouldn't. But you crossed the party, so you didn't leave us much choice. Bull, I'll see you when you return. Mr. Secretary, travel well. [phone ringing] - Dear Elaine, I realize it's pointless to keep riding, but frankly, I don't know what else to do. I'm not quite sure what I've gotten myself involved with here, and the only thing I want is to talk to you about it, to see you. [knocking on door] [knocking on door] I wish I could do either, but I can't. Not anymore. Not without putting you at risk. But sitting alone in that hotel room is driving me crazy, so I'm taking a chance. Who are these people, Elaine, this network? Are they for real? And if they are, what the hell do they want with a suicidal poet? - Hey, Charlie. - Oh, hey, buddy. - Oh, hey, it's good to see you, too. It's just a quick visit, okay? Just a pop-in. You can't tell anyone I was here, hmm? Come on, let's get you some treats. Oh, yeah, I know. It's good to be back. If only-- - Charlie? Charlie, here, boy. Charlie? Hello? Is someone there? That pantry door was closed when I left this morning, I'm sure of it. Is someone in there? What are you doing with my dog? Better speak up before I decide to defend myself. Come on now, who's here? Are you a friend of Mr. Jonas? (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Episode two of Agents was written by Robert Arnold and featured the voices of Marcus Brown as Vince, Kilby Yarbrough as Elaine, Chris Jowers as Radio, Robert Arnold as Overstreet, John Manus as Mr. Flowers, Steve Swift as Hockstead, Mandy Martin as Burke, Renee Davis-Bream as Madge, Steven Brown as Crandall, Tony Isbel as Blue Eyes, and Kenan Keplinger as Mr. Jonas. Additional Voices by Ashley Travathan, Jeffrey Adams, Gabriel Kestrel and Robert Arnold. Principal dialogue recorded by Daniel Lin at Archer Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Original score by Eric Jorgensen. Sound effects by Robert Arnold and Karen Strawn with additional sounds from freesound.org and soundstripe.com. Artwork by Shane McDermott. Special thanks to Kalman Benshot, Karen Strawn, and Marcus Brown. Assistant directed by Karen Strawn. Produced and directed by Robert Arnold. To learn more about spoken signal audio drama, here are other productions and get in touch, visit us at spokensignal.com. (gentle music) - Hi there, are you a fan of all things horror? - Yeah, you are. Well, in that case, find Tuesday Terrace, which is the mutual audio feed that comes out on a Tuesday, believe it or not. Shark horror, I know. But if you subscribe there, you'll find amazing horror fiction audio in your player every Tuesday. Yeah, Tuesday Terrace, subscribe to the Mutual Audio Network. (gentle music) The mutual audio network, listening and imagining together. (gentle music)