The Slave (1) - Recap

Jim goes to a park and picks up his briefing tape from a fire call box. King Ibn Borca of Elkabar secretly sells slaves, auctioning off thousands of slaves each year. His principal supplier is Karl de Groot, who raids free men from nearby nations and aggravates tensions in the Middle East. The IMF must put an end to the slave trade.

Jim assembles his usual team as well as UN commission investigator Akim Hadramut. At the briefing, Barney demonstrates his ability to escape from slaver manacles using a hidden lockpick. Akim explains that Barney won’t need a passport since he’s posing as a pilgrim to Elkabar’s holy city, and that they’ll pick Barney up as he crosses the Persian Gulf. Rollin has checked and confirmed the Desert Rover that de Groot will be driving to the Holy City, as he is the only non-Moslem who has access. Willy displays a case filled with frozen bats and explains that they’ll come out of hibernation in 20 minutes. Jim assures the team that once they take care of Borca, his brother Prince Fasar will rule against slavery. He and his British wife, Amara, are not aware of Borca’s slave trade. Akim knows Fasar from Cambridge and the prince has offered his hospitality to them.



In Elkabar at the Holy City, Rollin, disguised as an Arabic Interpol inspector, goes in with Akim and meets with Borca and Fasar. Borca claims that he wants to eliminate any rumors of slavery. Akim appears satisfied that there is no slavery and Borca tells his brother to issue a public statement confirming that there is no slavery in Elkabar. Borca also tells his brother to put an end to the movement to replace him with Fasar, and Fasar insists that he only seeks an end to slavery. Once everyone leaves, Borca calls in de Groot and his assistant Musha and tells them that they haven’t provided enough slaves. de Groot warns that every neighboring country is willing to go to war over the slave trade, making procurement difficult. Borca tells him that Fasar now believes that there is no slave trade, and that he is eager to go to war so he can obtain their oil holdings. He tells de Groot to get the slaves he needs and dismisses him.



Jim arrives in town, passing Rollin and Willy who are disguised as a legless beggar and a street peddler, respectively. He enters a seedy tavern and orders whiskey, much to distaste of the owner, Jara. When Jara points out that the city is Moslem, Jim demands whiskey anyway and Jara has his bartender serve him. He then asks Jara for a meeting with de Groot, and Jara says that de Groot will be there later.

Outside, Rollin and Willy spot de Groot and Musha arrive. Once they go into the tavern, Willy holds up a robe for sale, providing cover so that Rollin can slip under de Groot’s Rover and attach a harness.

de Groot inspects Jara’s available slaves, including Barney, and has them chained up and taken away for the slave block the next day.



Out on the street, Rollin finishes attaching the harness and slips away.

Borca inspects Barney and the other slaves and then puts them in the holding pens. Once he’s alone, Barney frees himself.

At the tavern, Jara tells de Groot that he has a visitor who asked for him by name. The procurer goes to talk to him.

Barney takes a camera out of a hidden pack, disguised as part of a rifle, and takes photos of his cell from all angles.

Jim shows de Groot a newspaper photo of Cinnamon, posing as a lounge singer, and tells him that she’s for sale.

Barney reverses his clothing, revealing a guard’s uniform.

Jim says he can get top dollar for Cinnamon and asks for five thousand pounds from de Groot. The procurer says he needs a little time and Jim gives him until sunset. As de Groot leaves, Jim tells him to inform Borca that if he isn’t interested, Jim will sell Cinnamon himself. de Groot then tells Musha to follow Jim while he meets with Borca. de Groot leaves in his Desert Rover and Jim tells Willy to get to Rollin while he loses Musha and walks away.



Barney puts together the rest of his prop gun and removes his fake beard to complete his disguise. He then picks the lock on his cell door and uses a telescoping hook to release the bolt.

de Groot shows Borca the article on Cinnamon and assures him that they can make a fortune from selling her. Borca tells de Groot to get Cinnamon, but to first confirm that Jim is who he says.

Barney leaves his cell and heads for the door. One of the guards stops him to ask why he’s there, and Barney says that a slave escaped from his cell. He sounds the alarm and orders the guard to start the search.

Borca gives de Groot the money to pay Jim and assures the procurer he’ll get 25% of what Cinnamon draws on the auction block. When de Groot warns that the sale has more risks, Borca tells him to cut the risks any way that he can. Borca’s assistant Kadi arrives to tell them that a slave has escaped and Borca tells him to hang the slave when he’s recovered.

Barney and the other guards search the area, and Barney takes a photo of a cart with a barrel on it. He then goes to de Groot’s Rover and hides beneath it, slipping into the harness that Rollin attached earlier. de Groot drives out of the Holy City, taking Barney to safety. Once in the countryside, he comes to a cart in the road. Rollin is posing as a farmer, and Barney gets out of the harness when de Groot stops. Once the procurer leaves, Barney assures his teammate he has the photos and they drive away.



At the team’s secret base, Jim and Willy recreate the cell from Barney’s photos as part of their fake slave pens. Barney recreates the cart from the market with a fake compartment capable of holding a man. Jim then checks on Cinnamon, who is preparing a blonde wig.

Akim and Rollin, again posing as an Interpol agent, meets with Fasar and Amara for dinner. Rollin pleads an early night and leaves with Akim. Outside, Barney and Willy pull up in a van and sneak into the palace grounds.

Amara and Fasar prepare for bed and she asks if her husband is satisfied there is no slavery in Elkabar. Fasar doesn’t appear convinced and worries that if there is a slave trade, he will have to destroy his brother to end it.



Once in his room, Rollin goes out onto the roof with the cylinder of frozen bats. He signals to his teammates and then opens the cylinder and lowers it down the chimney into Amara’s room. Rollin then covers the chimney with a plastic sheet so that the bats can’t fly out. Willy then enters the grounds and makes his way to the power box, and cuts the wires.

de Groot and Jara meet with Jim at the tavern. They only pay him three thousand pounds rather than the five that was discussed earlier. The procurer claims that’s all that Borca would pay and that they’ll only give it to Jim upon delivery. Jim agrees and reluctantly agrees to meet at the tavern at dawn. They go to Jara’s office to drink to their agreement, but then Musha knocks Jim out. They search him and take his money, gun, and ID. The ID confirms that he’s an ex-convict that jumped parole. Jim wakes up and de Groot assures him that he was just being sure. As Jim goes, he punches Musha and tells him to stay out of his way or he’ll kill him.

In the prince’s room, the bats wake up and start chirping. The noise finally wakes up Fasar and Amara, but they’re unable to turn on the lights. The bats swoop around the room and Fasar runs to the window, opens it, and calls for help. Willy then comes in, throws a sheet over Amara, grabs her, and takes her to the van.



Fasar finally realizes that his wife has been taken and goes outside. Rollin and Akim, who have been listening the entire time, go outside with Fasar. Rollin fires a few blanks at the departing van to no effect. Inside, Rollin tells the prince that the abductors were professionals and says that there’s nothing they can do but wait for a ransom demand. Fasar wants to call his brother to assign soldiers to the task, but Rollin warns that the kidnappers will kill Amara if things become too risky. He promises that he’ll bring Amara back safely and Fasar agrees.

Jim and Willy put Amara in the fake cell, remove her ring, and assure her that she’ll bring a good price. They leave and Barney, dressed as one of Borca’s soldiers, locks the door behind them. As Jim meets with Cinnamon, now wearing a silver-blonde wig, and gives her Amara’s ring, Barney worries about what they’re doing. Jim tells him to go as easy on Amara as possible.



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