Caray, Caray!

Alcides hears noises in the house. He waits with his gun. Down the stairs comes Eloisa. He asks what the hell she is doing there. Wasn’t he sufficiently clear before? Eloisa asks him to be calm and lower his weapon. She tells Alcides that she came because Michelle knows everything: she knows about the treasure; she knows about them. She was here and heard us arguing. Eloisa says that she is ready to tell everyone.

At Rebeca’s house, Alcides watches while a bound and gagged Michelle wakes up. He takes the gag off her and the first thing Michelle says is that the treasure doesn’t belong to Alcides. “I told you she knows everything!” says Eloisa. Alcides replaces the gag and uses the Vulcan nerve pinch on Michelle to render her unconscious. Eloisa asks how he did that. Alcides says this is no time for trivial matters. Eloisa asks what he is going to do with Michelle. Alcides says that soon it will be dawn. He has to get her out of here. Alcides mentions the fact that Paquito helped Eloisa incapacitate Michelle. Eloisa assures Alcides that he doesn’t have to worry about Paquito. Alcides says that he hopes so. Alcides says that Michelle is very beautiful. Eloisa says that she hopes Alcides isn’t thinking about taking Michelle to his house. Marina is there and he shouldn’t trust her. “You do your part and I’ll do mine,” says Alcides. Eloisa wants to know if that means he will still pay for her services. Alcides tells Eloisa to give him all Michelle’s belongings so that there is no trace of her in Rebeca’s house. Eloisa says that Michelle only came with her sword. Alcides picks up Michelle and the sword and tells Eloisa not to say a word about this to anyone. When he is gone, Eloisa says that Michelle has finally got what was coming to her. Alcides has no other alternative than to kill her.

Alcides takes Michelle to the Treasure vault. With his back to Michelle, he is fiddling with something and asks himself what he is going to do with her. He has to think of something. She can’t ruin his plans for Soledad by talking. All of a sudden, Michelle’s sword is at Alcides’ neck. She tells him to turn around slowly. He does and he’s holding a gun.
M: This is the treasure you told Eloisa about, right? You’re so wretched. You killed Rebeca de Montenegro over this. You tried to convince everyone that you were a changed man but no, you’re just a murderer. No wonder Soledad hates you.
A: That isn’t true. There is no basis for what you say. You don’t understand. I love Soledad more than anything. I’d do anything for her.
M: Including murder?” (‘llenar tus manos de sangre’, literally ‘fill your hands with blood’) “That not love it’s craziness, it’s obsession.” Alcides cocks his gun. Michelle looks around. What are doing? Be careful.
A: Don’t move. Don’t take another step or I’ll shoot. (Michelle is very close to the trip wire.)
M: Where are we? Where is this place?
A: Listen to me Michelle. No one has to die. We can reach an agreement.
M: There’s a way out, isn’t there? Where is it?
A: We’re under the Obragon house. (Alcides lowers his gun).
M: How ironic that Soledad is above us. That’s how you get into her house undetected.
A: We can reach an agreement, Michelle. No one has to die.
M: No.
A: Don’t move!
Michelle trips the booby trap. Alcides pushes her aside and the arrow goes into his arm. He staggers, puts down his gun, holds the wounded arm and looks at Michelle.

Doña Gladis rings the bell at her party and in comes Margot. Gladis and the other maid stare in disbelief. Margot has made her uniform into a tight-fitting and extremely low cut dress.

Paquito comes to see Antonia and says that he has a good paying job for her as a pianist. She asks what she has to do.

Hugo is having breakfast. Boris says that he is very thoughtful. Dr. Dan bursts in and says that Michelle is missing. Her bed wasn’t slept in. Something must have happened to her.

Soledad comes to Alcides’ house with the bag of money. She tells Marina to tells Alcides that she is waiting and she won’t leave until he speaks with her. Marina gives Soledad a real nasty look.

M: Why did you do it, Alcides? Why did you lie to Soledad? Why?
With great effort, Alcides pulls the arrow out of his arm. (that trap is not working out so well for you, Alcides.)
A: I’ve never lied to Soledad. I’ve loved her since I was a boy.
M: That’s not love; it’s sickness. You have no right! She’s not in love with you!
A: (making an effort to speak) All’s fair in love and war. Why did you have to stick your nose in my business? Why? Why did you come to my house and listen to what you shouldn’t have?
Michelle looks at the gun Alcides laid down. She makes a move for it. Alcides tries to stop her. They struggle. The gun goes off. It’s not clear at first who is hit. It’s Michelle. “Tell Hugo, I loved him with my whole being,” she says and dies.

Ester is dreaming. She flashes back to visiting Jeremias’s tomb and asking him to help her because someone knows her secret and is blackmailing her. Rebeca comes up and asks what she is doing there and on and on. Finally, she wakes up when she hears a shot. Ester goes to Lucas’ room and tells him that she heard shots. He heard them too. He thought they were close to the house. Ester looks out the window and sees that Paquito and Antonia are talking as if nothing happened. Lucas says that means that they are getting old and are hearing things. He asks her to help him up.

Paquito is having difficulty making Antonia understand what he wants to hire her to do without telling her that she will be working in a tavern. Finally, he asks her to come with him to see the establishment he is opening.

Marina tells Soledad that Alcides is not in the Hacienda. He must have left early because he didn’t have breakfast. Soledad doesn’t believe her and says she will look for herself . Marina stops her. Marina asks why Soledad is looking at her like that. Soledad says that because of her Hugo was almost hanged and Boris was only saved by a miracle. She betrayed her boss and her husband. Doesn’t she have a heart? Marina shouldn’t forget that Hugo dropped the charges against her. She should be in prison. What she did was unforgivable. Marina raises her hand to hit Soledad. Soledad dares Marina to hit her and she will see what Soledad de Obragon is capable of.

Hugo asks if Dr. Dan is sure that Michelle didn’t sleep in her room. Dr. Dan says that her bed is untouched and the reception desk didn’t see her come in last night. Boris suggests that she did leave the city, maybe by carriage if she wasn’t on the train. Hugo says that he can’t believe she wouldn’t say goodbye. Dr. Dan asks if there was any detail that caught Hugo’s attention. Hugo (eating grapes and drinking orange juice) says no. They had talked. Michelle had agreed to stay. Hugo flashes back to asking Michelle to leave him and Soledad alone in Soledad’s house the previous evening. Michelle told him that she had something to do and hugged Soledad. Back in the present, Dr. Dan asks if Hugo has any idea where Michelle could be. “Yes,” says Hugo, “Michelle has left San Marino. I want to know why she left without saying goodbye to anyone.”

Alcides carefully lays Michelle on the floor of the Treasure Vault and puts her sword on her body and crosses her hands over it. “What a shame,” he says, “You were in the wrong place at that wrong time. I don’t think I’ll respect your last wish, Michelle. I can’t tell my brother without revealing my involvement. You knew it. One of us had to die. You lost. (‘Sólo que a ti te tocó perder’).

Antonia doesn’t want to go with Paquito. He offers her 1,000 pesos just to come and see the place. Antonia says that is more than all of them earn in the house. “And that’s just a tip,” says Paquito. Antonia agrees to come. She will just tell her family. Paquito does a happy dance. He has found a pianist.

Margot tells Gladis that she knew she would be surprised at the alterations to her uniform but she didn’t think Gladis would like it so much. In a voice that would freeze the blood, Gladis tells Margot to come to the kitchen with her and excuses herself to her guests.

Soledad tells Marina to go away. She prefers to wait for Alcides alone. Marina leaves. Soledad flashes back to one of the many times in that house that Hugo as Alcides tormented her for betraying him. “As much as I want to,” says Soledad, “I can’t forget the horror you made me live through in this house, Hugo. All because of your revenge.”

“Ah Michelle, my belle (Mario actually sort of says the line from the Paul McCartney song in its original English/French!) How could she?” Dr. Dan says that if Hugo and Michelle had a problem, he could understand how she could not say goodbye to Hugo but not to say goodbye to him. He doesn’t believe it. Boris says that he thought it was strange that Michelle went out so late with her sword. Hugo asks Boris if he thought Michelle had a problem. Boris says that she doesn’t know but she didn’t look very happy. Dr. Dan has a thought. What if Michelle went to confront Alcides because she was convinced that he had it in for Dr. Dan (‘me tiene entre ojos,’ literally, ‘had me between the eyes,’) for courting Soledad. “Michelle went alone to confront Alcides,” says Hugo twice.

Alcides resets the trap. He tells Michelle that he will return tonight to bury her body.

Gladis hauls Margot out of the room where the guests are. She asks what Margot did to the dress. She looks like a street walker. Margot says that she always dresses this way. Gladis sends her to her room until Arturo comes back.

Hugo says that Michelle didn’t have any reason to confront Alcides unless she thought he was going to attack Dr. Dan. Dr. Dan says if that were so, she would have told him. Dr. Dan says that he doesn’t understand. She changed her mind. Did she leave without telling anyone so that we couldn’t try and convince her not to go? Hugo tells Boris to send a telegram to Andres and have him let them know when Michelle arrives. Dr. Dan asks what Hugo is going to do. Hugo says that he will go to see Michelle in her country.

Alcides comes out of the treasure vault and runs into Antonia. She asks what he is doing there. Alcides says good morning. Antonia asks if he came to leave another bag of money. Alcides asks what she is talking about. Antonia says that yesterday a bag of money was found in Soledad’s room and Antonia knows perfectly well that it came from Alcides. Is he going to deny it? Alcides says, of course he denies it. Could it have come from a family friend? Antonia says that she would rather question her family’s enemies. She tells Alcides that he returned to the city showing off about his money and has entered Soledad’s bedroom without being seen several times. It’s obvious that he left the money there.

Ester comes up calling Antonia. She asks if Antonia heard shots being fired a little while ago. She is not happy to see Alcides either and asks what he is doing at her house. Alcides politely says good morning to Ester. Ester asks Antonia if she saw Alcides coming out of any of the windows. Antonia says that she found him in the garden and she doesn’t know if he’s been inside. Ester tells Alcides that he may be a millionaire but deep down he is a thief because only a thief would enter a house without permission. Ester says that it must have been Alcides who fired those shots. Alcides claims that he has no idea what she is talking about. He repeats the suggestion he made to Antonia that a friend left the money in Soledad’s bedroom. Antonia says, “What shots? I didn’t hear anything.” Ester says that if she finds Alcides wandering around her house again, she’ll call the police. Alcides’ arm is starting to bleed. He tells Ester and Antonia that he has to leave. They can finish their discussion later. He drives off in his ratty wagon. Ester yells insults after him and Paquito comes running up asking who she is yelling at.

Meanwhile, Soledad is still waiting at Alcides’ house. Arturo is there too, watching her. Soledad is uneasy.

Margot goes to her room. She says it was a mistake for Arturo to bring her here. Gladis wouldn’t like her if she were dressed like a princess. Hercu-less climbs in the window. Margot is worried about Arturo finding him. Herc says that he waited until Arturo left. Margot says that if Arturo finds her with Herc, he’ll kill Herc. She locks the door. Herc asks if Arturo gave her that dress. Margot say no, it is a servant’s uniform but she altered it a little bit. It turns Herc on. They fall to the bed and start going at it.

Alcides is with Eloisa. She says that he is bleeding. Eloisa starts to panic: If that wound is from Michelle’s sword, then that means Michelle escaped and she’s at the police station right now to accuse thm and Eloisa doesn’t want to go to jail… Calmly, Alcides says that Michelle is dead. He asks Eloisa to cover his wound but she is open-mouthed impactada.

The guys are packing up to leave the hotel. Dr. Dan is going to Dr. Max’s place. Hugo is going to the cabaña in the woods. He says he will pay Alcides for it little by little. Hugo asks Dr. Dan to tell him if he hears from Michelle. After Dr. Dan leaves, Boris asks Hugo if he believes that Michelle left town. “No,” says Hugo, “I didn’t want to say it in front of the doctor but it’s not possible. Michelle loves me as much as I love Soledad and when you love someone that much, you don’t give up that easily.”

Paquito is having some tea at the Obragon house. He asks who the Obragon witches were yelling at. Ester says that lately Alcides has spent a lot of time wandering around outside her house. To himself, Paquito says that if the treasure is here, of course Alcides would come here a lot. He wonders what happened to Michelle. Did Alcides take care of her? Ester asks why Paquito has come to visit. Paquito is surprised that Antonia hasn’t told her. Antonia says that she prefers to make sure what it is about before telling her family. She and Paquito leave. Ester asks Ursula where Soledad is and Ursula says that she went out very early to see Alcides.

Eloisa says to Alcides that his wound looks very deep and ugly. He should see a doctor. “Yes, of course,” says Alcides, “I’ll go to the hospital and see von Chirac and when he asks me how I got the wound, I’ll say that an arrow struck me when I was trying to save Michelle Phillips in the treasure chamber.” Eloisa says that everything is getting out of hand. She is afraid. Soon, everyone will be looking for Michelle. Alcides says that she will have to decide if she wants to go to prison or not. Eloisa asks what he means by that. Alcides says that she has to follow his instructions to the letter.

Soledad is still waiting. Alcides comes in (the Phoebe is singing like crazy outside). “Soledad,” says Alcides surprised. Soledad says that she has been waiting all morning. Alcides closes his eyes for a few seconds (is Alcides meditating? trying not pass out? is Mario trying to remember his lines?) Finally, he says that he had to go out early to do some errands. He is so glad to see her. What can he do for her? “Nothing,” says Soledad coldly, “I don’t need your help.” She holds up the bag of money. “I imagine you know what this is, right?” Alcides pretends that he doesn’t know what the bag is. Soledad says that he is the only one who could have left a bag of money in her house. “Ah, the infamous bag of money,” says Alcides, “Hugo told me about that last night. Soledad, I didn’t have anything to do with that.” Alcides suggests that it was Michelle who left the money for her. “How can you lie to me so easily?” says Soledad, “I could never be with you. I hate lies.” Ester comes running in. She says that Alcides is a fraud. Ursula told Ester that Soledad had come here alone. This is the second time that Ester has seen Alcides this morning. Soledad asks what she means. Ester says that Antonia found Alcides prowling around the house this morning. Alcides stands there with this idiotic smile on his face while Soledad looks at him in horror.

Paquito brings Antonia to the bar. She says that this is the cheap tavern where indecent people come. Paquito says that it isn’t a cheap place. All the best people will come here. Antonia is scandalized at the thought of working there and that is before the ‘Paquitas’ come in wearing their skimpy outfits.

In a post coital chat, Margot tells Hercu-less that he will always be the man of her life and she swears that she will return to his house. But for now Herc has to stay calm and not get in Arturo’s way. Herc asks why, will Arturo attack him? Margot says that she doesn’t know but she thinks that Arturo doesn’t want to hurt Herc. She says that he is not as bad as Herc thinks. (What have you been smoking, Margot?) She asks if Herc knew that Arturo had been in the military. He is tough like all military men. Herc asks if Margot likes Arturo. She asks if he is jealous. He says of course he is. Margot asks why Herc should be jealous. Even if Arturo wanted to sleep with her, he can’t. (That’s not really an answer to the question of whether you like Arturo.) Herc asks Margot to come back with him before Arturo comes back.

Ester tells Soledad that she and Antonia just saw Alcides wandering around the garden of her house. He was probably putting more money in Soledad’s room. Alcides asks why they both think it was he who left the money. Did anyone see him go inside? Soledad asks Alcides not to be so disingenuous. He has entered her room secretly before when he rescued Hugo from the investors. Arturo is watching. Ester says that she and Soledad should leave. Soledad holds the bag out to Alcides. She thanks him but says that he can’t buy her not even with all the gold in the world. Alcides doesn’t take the bag and it falls on the floor. Ester and Soledad leave. Alcides stands there confused, “I just wanted to help,” he says. The credits roll.

Tomorrow- Aurora is kidnapped.

Labels: la traicion