| For Tomorrow We Die | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Plot Synopsis
A friendly game of chess with Darius is what MacLeod has in mind on an autumn morning, but he finds his friend in pensive mood. They have barely started on their game when they are disturbed by Inspector Raymond LeBrun, who is investigating a robbery in a nearby jewellery store the previous evening. Surprised to find MacLeod in the company of a priest, he tells the two Immortals that the thief gassed everyone in the store, then got up and walked out. He was seen entering the church. Darius confirms that he knows who it is, but as the man made his confession, he cannot help LeBrun. Outraged, LeBrun lets slip that the thief didn't even use a gasmask, then leaves. Duncan stares at Darius, then asks him if it is Xavier St Cloud. Darius' rueful nod is his answer.
Although he has known Xavier St Cloud for a long time, the last time Duncan saw him was during the Great War, when Xavier robbed an army pay truck, by the simple technique of using a gas grenade to kill the soldiers as they were being paid. Overcome by the gas, Duncan would have fallen victim to Xavier but for the timely arrival of a rescue party. Xavier beat a retreat, taking the money but not MacLeod's head, leaving the Highlander to mourn his friend Stan, killed by the gas.
Back at the barge, Tessa is entertained by Richie's youthful and exuberant description of his new French lover, but he leaves before he can tell her the girl's name. She is disturbed by an elegantly dressed black man, Gerard Fleury, who has read an interview she did with a magazine and has come to offer her a rare piece of 17th century West African sculpture for an exhibition she is holding. When Duncan comes back, she is over the moon at her unexpected good fortune, as the exhibition is the next day. Duncan's reaction tells her that he has forgotten, but he has other thoughts on his mind and takes the speedboat downriver, in search of Georges Dalou. Dalou and MacLeod fought together in the resistance during the war, ("Mortal Sins"), and now Dalou operates on the shady side of the law. Convincing Dalou that he is the son of the MacLeod that Dalou knew in the war, he finds out about Xavier's accomplice, Francois, who was killed in the robbery. Whilst Duncan is away, Richie returns with his girlfriend, Renee, and Tessa surprises them. She is shocked, because Renee is married to one of the patrons of the exhibition. Worried that Richie will be hurt, that evening she cajoles Duncan into agreeing to tell him.
The following morning, Francois is buried, with a service in Darius' church paid for by MacLeod. Dalou is gratified at Duncan's gesture and introduces him to the dead man's mother, who tells him where her son met Xavier. Duncan goes to the café and when Xavier feels the presence of an Immortal and realises who it is, bolts with MacLeod in hot pursuit. Xavier throws a gas grenade behind him as he runs, rightly guessing that Duncan will stop to deal with it. Duncan throws the grenade into a cement mixer, where the gas is neutralised. Frustrated, Duncan stops by the barge, then goes back to see Darius. Darius tells him that Xavier was sentenced to life imprisonment for theft, but escaped and fled to India and West Africa, where he lived like a king. As they talk, Xavier appears and goads them, but produces another grenade when Duncan threatens him, then leaves.
Duncan goes back to the barge and, when Richie starts talking about Renee, slips the fact that she is married into the conversation, stunning his young friend. Meanwhile, at the gallery, Tessa is talking to Gerard Fleury, who asks when the exhibition opens. Tessa tells him the evening event starts at 8:00pm. When she is distracted, Gerard resets a timer in the plinth under the statue for 9:00pm. That evening, as the guests start to arrive at the gallery, Richie takes the opportunity to finish with Renee. An uninivited guest is LeBrun, who asks Duncan to come downtown to explain how come he threw a gas grenade into the cement mixer, the same gas that was used in the robbery store. As they travel in the back of LeBrun's car, the policeman tells MacLeod that the prime suspect is called Xavier St Cloud, who is wanted in West Africa for the murder of a drug lord and the theft of millions in cash and a priceless collection of 17th century West African sculpture. Duncan makes the inescapable connection and, with time running out, leaps from the car and races back to the gallery on foot.
With only seconds to go before the bomb gasses everyone, leaving Xavier to walk in and harvest a fortune in jewellery worn by the guests, Duncan disarms the device, telling a startled Tessa that her mysterious benefactor is Xavier St Cloud. Later, the frustrated Xavier arrives at the barge, where MacLeod is waiting for him. The two clash, the fight taking them out onto the Quai. Xavier tries to distract Duncan with a grenade, but his extended arm is a ready target and the Highlander cuts off Xavier's hand. Screaming, Xavier dives into the Seine, pursued by Duncan. Next morning, Duncan returns to the barge, having scoured the riverbanks. Xavier is nowhere to be found, but Duncan knows he'll be back. But never in his wildest dreams could Duncan imagine the ally he will bring....