[The Hire] Season 1, Episode 5: Powder Keg

The final episode of Season 1 of The Hire starts with Stellan Skarsgard as a photo-journalist in a South American dictatorship taking pictures of a massacre. Chased by the gunmen and wounded, he manages to get to a U.N. vehicle tasked with taking him out of the country. The Driver is there in the U.N. vehicle.

The dictatorship is supported by the U.S. Government and the photo-journalist complains bitterly about it. He talks of the 15 wars he's covered and how he's focused on taking the picture, never saving a life. He tells The Driver that his mother taught him to see and that is why he's a photographer.

The Driver notices a truck filled with soldiers in his rear-view mirror and then it pulls up beside him, signaling him to move over. But The Driver eludes them as the road becomes more congested and the photo-journalist is gets weaker. His life's-blood is pouring out. He passes his vital film to The Driver as they get to a border check-point.

The Driver has a gun pointed at his head as the photo-journalist takes the border guards pictures in a bid to antagonize them and they make a break for the border through a hail of bullets. The Driver proclaims their success at making it but realizes too late that his passenger has passed on.

The final scene has The Driver arriving at the photo-journalist's mother's home to tell her of his death in a poignant scene.

Microlite20 Modern:

The Photo-Journalist
STR 10 (-), DEX 12 (+1), MIND 16 (+3)
Smart Hero, Level 2, HP 16 [5], AC 11
Investigative background
Melee: +3, Missile: +4
Physical +3*, Subterfuge +3*, Knowledge +4*, Communication +4*
* includes human bonus (+1 to all skill rolls)

Equipment: comfortable clothes, camera and camera equipment, Pulitzer Prize-winning roll of film


Border guards
(Soldiers) HP 10 AC 13
Melee: +2, Missile: +2
Physical +2, Subterfuge +2, Knowledge +1, Communication +1

Equipment: Army fatigues, M16 (2d8, ROF S/A, shots: 30 box)