DAVINA: Welcome back to the show, Your Highness. I was going to say Macbeth, but you're King now. I didn't want to be rude. 

MACBETH: Oh, well I feel like you and I have become friends in this short time, Davina. But Your Highness works. 

DAVINA: Okay, well, Your Highness. You're in your royal palace with your queen by your side, and an entourage in tow when you come across Banquo. 

MACBETH: Oh, good. He's our most important guest of all, I should make sure he's coming to the feast tonight. 

DAVINA: A feast? 

MACBETH: Yes. A ceremony really, to mark the start of our reign. You should come. 

DAVINA: Oh. How nice of you to invite me. I'll have to check my schedule first, if you don't mind. 

MACBETH: Entirely up to you, Davina. But Banquo should really be there. In his case, it's an official request. 

DAVINA: Oh, yes. And he assures you right away that he'll be there. Your wish is his command. 

MACBETH: Great. And, uh, what will he be doing in the meantime, I wonder? Is he taking his horse for a ride, I assume? 

DAVINA: You know him well. He is in fact going on a ride. Just something Thanes like to do, I take it. 

MACBETH: I was hoping he could join the royal council today. I really do value his advice, but that's fine we can talk tomorrow. 

DAVINA: You know, I have to say, I like how you're pulling Banquo into this business of running Scotland. I mean, I know what you had to do to get here. So I wasn't sure how this was going to go. You know, once you were actually King. But here you are, trying to make Banquo, your buddy on the battlefield, a part of the, you know, the ruling of the kingdom. 

MACBETH: Yeah. Well, of course. I mean why wouldn't I? He's a smart guy. How far is he going, by the way? 

DAVINA: I'm sorry? Oh, you mean the horseback riding stuff. Guess you guys are really into this. Let's see. He just says as far as it takes to fill up the time between now and the banquet. He thinks he'll be back an hour or two after sunset. Boy, from affairs of the state to what time you coming to dinner. This is kind of a strange conversation. 

MACBETH: As long as he's at the dinner. 

DAVINA: He assures you he will be. 

MACBETH: Oh. And I should probably tell him that our bloody cousins, you know Malcolm and Donalbain—

DAVINA: Right, Duncan's sons. And you call them bloody because they're murderers. You know. Have blood on their hands. 

MACBETH: I'm still talking to Banquo, right? 

DAVINA: Yes, sorry. 

MACBETH: I should tell them that our bloody cousins are living in England and Ireland, and still haven't confessed to the cruel slaughter of their own father. But are instead telling all sorts of crazy stories. 

DAVINA: How strange. 

MACBETH: Yeah. Well. Does Banquo react to that news at all? 

DAVINA: Not that I can see. 

MACBETH: Doesn't matter. We can talk about it more tomorrow. When, you know, he's helping me run the kingdom and all of that. He should get going on his horse. And oh, almost forgot. Is Fleance going with him? 

DAVINA: Really more horse back riding details. 

MACBETH: Just curious. 

DAVINA: Yep. Fleance is going, too. And Banquo says they should probably get started on their ride. 

MACBETH: Of course. I hope his horses are swift and sure of foot. He should go. In fact, everybody should go. You know what, everyone take the evening off, free time until dinner. Let's say seven? 

DAVINA: Okay. 

MACBETH: The truth is, I'm supposed to be meeting with some guys soon. Do you know if they're around? 

DAVINA: Oh, right. You know, I know something about that actually. But before we get into that, I can't help but asking. Is something wrong? I mean that conversation with Banquo was a little weird. Seems like something is going on. 

MACBETH: Yeah. Well. Do you really want to know? 

DAVINA: Please? You can't keep it all inside. Think of me as a friend. 

MACBETH: Okay. Fine. Here's the problem. To be thus is nothing. Yet to be safely thus. 

DAVINA: Thus? I'm sorry, you've already lost me. 

MACBETH: To be King. This crown, this power, it's nothing if I'm not safe in this position. 

DAVINA: Being king is nothing? That sounds a little strong. And what do you mean by not safe? 

MACBETH: Look, I'm a little afraid of Banquo. I can't shake it. 

DAVINA: Keep going. 

MACBETH: You know. He's very kingly himself. Nothing really scares him. And there's nothing he wouldn't try. He has no problem taking risks. But he's also not reckless. If he's going to make a daring move, he'll do it in the smartest way possible. And one that keeps him well protected. He's the only person I'm afraid of, now. 

DAVINA: Right. He accomplished a lot on the battlefield. The same day you did. And you two sounded like twins at first, except now you're king. But I don't get it. What are you afraid of him doing, exactly? 

MACBETH: Do you remember the meeting with the weird sisters? 

DAVINA: I do. 

MACBETH: Know he jumped in there to have them tell him something about his future when they first called me King? 

DAVINA: That's right. And then they said Banquo what would be father to a line of kings. That's what's troubling you? 

MACBETH: On my head the weird sisters put a fruitless crown. 

DAVINA: Fruitless? 

MACBETH: They put a barren scepter in my hand. 

DAVINA: I'm sorry, barren scepter? 

MACBETH: Only to be wrenched away by someone who's not even my son. 

DAVINA: Right. You don't have a son to pass your crown to. But is that really worth worrying about already? That could be 40 years from now. 

MACBETH: That's not the point, Davina. It's for some son of Banquo that I've defiled my mind. It's for the sake of his offspring that I've killed the gracious Duncan. It's for them I've troubled my own soul. Only for them. 

DAVINA: Okay. I mean, I see what you're saying, and technically it might be the case. Although if you ask me, we still don't know how these weird sisters work. But even if they're right about Banquo, that could all be a long time from now. Meanwhile, you're King now. Why worry about that? 

MACBETH: You're not listening. I have sold my soul to the devil. I've murdered a King for my own gain. 

DAVINA: Well, right. And you believe that a sin like that leads to eternal damnation. But didn't you know that going in? 

MACBETH: Maybe I did. The point is, if the weird sisters are right about Banquo, that means I am damned to hell for their sake. And I'm not going to let that happen, Davina. 

DAVINA: But, sorry. Now I'm a little confused again. If the weird sisters are right, then doesn't that also mean that it's fated to happen? It's fated for Banquo's heirs to be kings. 

MACBETH: That's right. 

DAVINA: So then how are you going to let that not happen? 

MACBETH: I will challenge fate itself, and defeat it. Aren't those guys here yet? 

DAVINA: Oh. Yes. I suppose they are. Who are they, anyhow? 

MACBETH: Just a couple of guys. The kind of guys that might be willing to do bad things. 

DAVINA: Oh, dear. So you've already been planning your challenge to fate. 

MACBETH: Yes. In fact, I've already met with these guys. You know, laid some of the groundwork. They thought that I had mistreated them in the past. 

DAVINA: Mistreated them? What kind of thing are we talking about it? 

MACBETH: It doesn't really matter. The point is, I managed to convince them that it was Banquo who was behind it, not me. I gave them proof and everything. There was no way they could think otherwise. 

DAVINA: And was this true? Did Banquo mistreat them? 

MACBETH: You're missing the point again, Davina. The point is, here are two guys that are holding a pretty strong grudge against Banquo. So the goal of this meeting, stage two, is to get them to act on it. You know, suggest that they're cowards if they don't do something about it. Challenge their manhood a little bit. 

DAVINA: Kind of like when your wife was trying to talk you into killing Duncan. 

MACBETH: Yeah. Well. See, that kind of thing can work. Whatever. So what do these guys say? Are they up for it? 

DAVINA: Well, let's see. They say they are in fact men, if that's what you mean. 

MACBETH: Of course they're men. The point is what kind of men are they? Take dogs, for example. There are hounds, greyhounds, mongrels, Spaniels, shoughs. 

DAVINA: Shoughs. 

MACBETH: Water-rugs. 

DAVINA: Goodness that sounds so cute, water-rugs. 

MACBETH: Demi-wolves. 

DAVINA: Oh. That sounds a little intense. I don't know if I'd like that. 

MACBETH: Well, that's the point. They're all called dogs, but they're so different. So what I'm asking these guys is, what kind of men they are, exactly. Because if they have any manhood at all, they would get rid of their enemy Banquo. Besides, Banquo's been causing me some problems, too. So they would be doing their king a favor at the same time. So what do they say? 

DAVINA: Let's see. Looks like you've picked the right kind of men for the job. They both say their lives have been so miserable that getting some revenge, and a shot at a better life, both sound good to them. Even at the risk of death. 

MACBETH: Splendid. So I'm sure they'll understand that I can't kill Banquo myself. Even though it would be easy for me. 

DAVINA: As king, you mean. 

MACBETH: Right, but you know we have friends in common, it would get awkward, blah, blah, blah. It's better if it's out of the public eye. 

DAVINA: They say just tell them what to do. 

MACBETH: Perfect. Within the hour I'll tell them where to hide. One of them should be the lookout, and should do it at the exact right time. But it should be far from the palace, I can't look like I had anything to do with this. Oh. And just to make sure there's no hiccups, they need to kill his son too. Fleance. I need to make it clear that killing Fleance is just as important as killing Banquo. 

DAVINA: That does seem like an important detail in your fight with fate. The only way to make the weird sisters prophecy impossible is if Banquo and his son are dead. 

MACBETH: So I've made that clear? 

DAVINA: You've made that clear. Are you sure you want to go through with this? 

MACBETH: If Banquo's soul is bound for heaven, he's going to find it out tonight.