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Doo Mah>
[Fraser’s apartment]
[Dief lies on the rug watching Fraser get ready for
work]
Fraser: Now
before I go to work, there’s something we have to discuss.
We are no longer in the Yukon. This is a big city. And you
can’t just run around freely anymore. Like it or not, you
need a license. And I can’t seem to get a license for a
wolf. [Dief
mumbles]
I’ve tried,
but they just don’t issue them. Additionally, they have
something here called Animal Control Officers whose
specific job it is to take unattended animals off the
street. [Dief
grumbles]
No. No. You can’t take that attitude. These are
hard-working civic employees who perform a fine service
for the community and for the animals themselves.
[Dief
barks] All
right, occasionally they put them to sleep, but that’s
neither here nor there. The point is, until we can work
this out, you have to stay in the apartment while I’m
gone. [Dief
groans] So
it’s agreed. [Dief
whines] Good. I’ll see you after work.
[Fraser stops and
peeks through the keyhole: Dief is still in the same
spot…but as soon as he walks away, Dief is out the window
& down the fire
escape]
[hallway]
Fraser : Morning, Mr. Mustafi. [slam] Mr. Campbell! [slam] Good morning, Mrs. Garcia. [slam]
[Dief makes it to the street & runs off]
[lobby; a woman approaches, arms full with groceries, a child, and a baby]
Fraser
: Oh. May I help you?
Woman:
Sure.
[he takes the bag,
then the baby, who starts crying]
Fraser : Oh, very unhappy! Come on. [they go upstairs] This floor is it? [she keeps going up] Ah. No.
[he follows her up as Charlie exits his apartment on this floor]
Charlie
: Come on, Sweetie, I’m gonna be late.
Lucy: Please,
can I go with you?
Charlie: I
already told you, Daddy’s got to go to work today.
Lucy: I’ll be
very quiet.
Charlie: I know
you will, but you got school. Hey. Who’s the toughest guy
in the whole wide world?
Lucy: You
are.
Charlie: And
who can stop me from coming home to you?
Lucy:
Nobody.
Charlie: And
what would I do if any of ‘em tried?
Lucy: Upper
cut. Hook. Poke ‘em in the eyes!
Charlie: That’s
right. Now you got your lunch all packed, right?
Lucy : Yep.
Charlie : Now do you promise to wait upstairs until the bus comes?
[she nods; he kisses her, then goes downstairs, and stops]
Charlie : I’ll see you tonight, killer.
[she sits to wait on the steps, and Fraser passes her on
his way
down]
Fraser: Good
morning, Lucy.
Lucy: You know
my name?
Fraser: All the
pretty girls are named Lucy.
Lucy: It’s on
my lunchbox.
Fraser: Ah! You
found me out.
Lucy: Are you a
policeman?
Fraser: Well
yes, I am. But in Canada. And at the consulate where I
work. But outside the consulate I’m not. Unless I’m in
Canada. That’s not very clear. Um. Do you know what a
Liaison Officer is? No, of course you don’t. A Liaison
Officer is, uh--
Lucy: Policemen
help people, right?
Fraser: Well
yes, we try.
Lucy: Can you
help my dad? He keeps on hurting himself.
Fraser: He
does? Where is he?
Lucy:
C’mere.
[they go to the
window & she points him
out]
That’s him.
Fraser: What’s
his name?
Lucy:
Dad.
Fraser: Well
yes, it would be. You know, actually Lucy, I’m on my way
to work right now…You know what? I can spare you a few
minutes.
Lucy: You’ll
help him?
Fraser: I’ll
help him.
Lucy:
Thanks.
[Fraser exits the
building, Dief watches him go, then follows behind at a
distance]
Lady on Street:
[to
Dief]
Hello, Whitey. Here’s your cookie.
[fishes in purse for
treat]
[street; Charlie crosses, oblivious of a BMW bearing down
on him; Fraser tackles
him]
Charlie: What
are you doing?
Fraser: Oh. I’m
sorry. Benton Fraser, RMCP.
Charlie: You’re
a Mountie?
Fraser:
Yes.
Charlie:
Where’d you come from?
Fraser:
Apartment 3-J. Are you all right?
[pulls Charlie
up]
Charlie: Yeah.,
yeah, sure, I’m fine. Guess I should watch what I’m doing,
huh?
Fraser: Stop,
look, listen. It’s a simple motto but one worth adhering
to.
Charlie: All
right, I gotta go. Thanks, huh?
[exits]
Fraser: Perhaps
we can talk again another time.
[checks watch]
Oh.
[heads off in the other direction from
Charlie]
Fraser:
[to
bystander]
Morning.
[screech of
tires…metallic thump…a woman screams; Fraser runs to where
Charlie is now lying motionless in the street, surrounded
by people]
Driver: He
stepped right out in front of me – I couldn’t
stop!
[clinic; Fraser carries Charlie over his shoulder into the
reception area]
Fraser
: Harper Medical Clinic? Now, you sure about
this? Because
I can have you in an emergency room in less than--
Charlie: I
wanna see my doctor. Dr. Howard.
Nurse: Right
this way.
[another nurse (Mackenzie King) watches, suspicious]
[clinic corridor; Fraser is
waiting]
Dr. Howard:
Constable Fraser. I hear you’re quite the good
Samaritan. I
didn’t know we had any left in this town.
Fraser: Well,
I’m sure any one of his neighbors would have done the
same.
Dr. Howard:
Yeah. Well, Mr. Pike has suffered considerable soft tissue
damage, but none of his injuries are
life-threatening.
Fraser: Thank
you. Oh, excuse me, Dr. Howard. Is there any medical
reason why Charlie might be prone to these accidents?
Perhaps an inner ear imbalance resulting from an old
boxing injury?
Dr. Howard: How
did you know Charlie was a boxer?
Fraser: Well,
his nose cartilage has been reduced by almost 80%, and his
left eye socket is raised about a half a centimeter above
the right, indicating a slight shift in the cranial
plates.
Dr. Howard:
Where did you study?
Fraser: The
Inuvik Public Library. My
grandparents were librarians.
Dr. Howard:
You’re kidding.
Fraser:
No.
Dr. Howard:
Well, you’re quite correct. Uh, judging from today,
perhaps Charlie’s taken one too many blows to the
head.
Fraser: I see.
Will you be releasing him soon?
Dr. Howard:
Well, if there’s no concussion, he should be home by this
afternoon.
Fraser: And the
bill?
Dr. Howard:
Well. you must have inspired me Constable. This one’s on
me.
[reception desk]
Driver
: I just hit a guy. Look, I know you have rules, but can’t
you just tell me if he’s OK?
Nurse: Just a
moment.
Fraser: Pardon
me, is there a payphone?
Nurse: Down
there.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly. Sorry.
Nurse: I told
you sir, if you’ll just leave you name and phone number,
someone will contact you.
[he puts a business
card on the counter]
[Fraser dials a payphone, and King watches again,
suspicious]
[bar]
Ray: Cranberry
club soda, wedge of lemon.
Bartender: Sure
you can handle that?
Ray: What are
you, a comedian?
[cell phone
rings] Ma, I can’t talk I’m on a stakeout.
Fraser: Uh,
Ray?
Ray: Benny!
Benny, you gotta get down here right away. The Bears are
finally kicking some butt!
Fraser: Ray, I
need your help with something. I’m having a bit of a
problem getting a license for Diefenbaker, and I’m not
sure if it’s because he’s a wolf or just because he’s
deaf.
Ray:
[watching
game] Yes!
Yes!
Fraser: Then
you think you can help me?
Ray:
What?
Fraser: With
the license. Of course, I wouldn’t want you to use your
influence unduly.
Ray: Yeah,
yeah, sure, sure, sure. Just leave it to me.
Fraser: Okay.
[nurse rounds a
corner and drops an
x-ray] Uh,
Miss! Thanks, Ray.
[hangs
up] Miss!
Miss!
[parking lot; King pulls x-rays out of nurse’s uniform
& changes clothes in her convertible; Fraser
approaches just as she is lifting her shirt over her
head]
Fraser:
Excu -- Oh-oh!
[turns away]
I’m-I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t-I didn’t mean
to--
Mackenzie King:
Are you following me?
Fraser: No.
Well, yes, I am, but I’m not trying to--
King: I think
men who skulk around after women are the lowest scum on
the earth, don’t you?
Fraser: Well,
yes I-I suppose they are, but I’m- you see, I’m-I’m-
King: How did
you know where to bring him?
Fraser: You
mean Charlie?
King: Friend of
yours is he?
Fraser: Uh, no.
No, I just- I met him at the accident site. Well, at the
accident site before that.
King: So you do
this a lot, then.
[Fraser turns
back]
Fraser: By this
you mean…?
King: Would you
spell your name for me please?
Fraser: Uh,
certainly. B-E-N-T-O--
[she sees the other nurse and a cop/security guard exit
the clinic, looking
around]
King: You’re a
very interesting person, Bento. I’d like to see more of
you.
Fraser: Um, no
that’s Benton. [she
starts her car &
revs]
Benton Fraser.
King: How ‘bout
dinner tonight?
Fraser: Dinner.
Well I’d love to, but I-I have a dog.
King: Got a
good suit?
Fraser: Two,
actually.
King: Lakeshore
Room, eight o’clock. Wear the suit, leave the dog.
[speeds
away]
Fraser: Oh
dear.
[fenced-in park right next door; children playing; Dief
slides down a slide & yips; Fraser sniffs,
thoughtfully, then shakes his
head]
[newsroom]
Warren:
[answering
phone]
Mackenzie King’s desk…No, she’s not. Call back… Mackenzie
King’s desk.
King: I got the
story, Warren. I got it! You’re sweating on my phone.
[into
phone]
Hey, call back.
[hangs
up] Any
messages?
Warren: I send
you to a press conference, you come back with x-rays. Why
am I confused?
King: Take a
look at these obituaries. James T. Ryan, Carlos Escobar,
Lewis Wendowski. What do they
all have in common?
Warren: None of
them covered the press conference?
King: They’re
all dead prize fighters, Warren. All died in automobile
accidents in the last eight months. All the death
certificates signed by the same doctor. And if you think
that doesn’t stink, take a whiff of this. There’s a
Mountie involved.
Warren: A
what?
King:
[laughing]
Honest to God! Big hat, sweet little
grin, crooked as they come.
Warren: A
crooked Mountie? You’re bringing me a crooked Mountie?!
Look-look. Mackenzie, I know you hate cops. All of Chicago
knows you hate cops. But I am not printing any more
retractions. You-you keep making accusations about police
corruption you can’t prove, you’re gonna get yourself
suspended again. Or fired.
King: Okay, so
I screwed up last time! Look, it changed me. I spent three
months in a dark apartment, Warren, with a Persian cat
under one arm and a tub of Cherry Swirl in the other. I’ve
been to hell and back in a flannel nightgown, Warren, and
so help me God, I will never wear flannel again. This
time, I nail ‘em dirty. Tonight, eight o’clock, his little
Canadian butt is mine.
[phone
rings]
King : Could you get that? Thanks.
[Fraser’s apartment
building; night. Dief climbs up fire escape, Fraser walks
up stairs, with groceries]
Fraser:
Evening, Mrs. Garcia. How are you tonight?
[slam] Evening,
Mrs. Campbell.
[slam]
[he enters his apartment]
Fraser : I brought you supper. [Dief is lying in the same spot on the rug] Oh you know, I was hoping to, uh, be able to spend some time with you this evening, but, uh, I have a dinner engagement with a very nice woman that I met in a parking lot. And I can’t cancel it because I don’t know her phone number. Or her name for that matter. No, it’s not what you’re thinking. It isn’t. And you know something? I-I-I don’t appreciate your attitude. Y-y-y-you’re very judgmental. Just because you were right once does not make you infallible. I am perfectly capable of handling myself in any situation. I am. I am a Mountie. [puts milk into the cabinet]
[Music: ‘American Woman’ by The Guess Who. Fraser and King
both get ready for their date; she straps a tape recorder
to her waist, he ends up taking both corsages… And as soon
as Fraser walks out the door, Dief is out the window
again]
[Lakeshore Room, lobby; Fraser is
pacing]
Manager:
[answering
phone] Lakeshore Room.
Fraser: Excuse
me. Has a--
Maitre
d’
: Woman called to say she’d be late? No.
Fraser: You
sure? Because it’s-it’s uh, ten after eight--
Maitre d’: This
would be the woman with no name?
Fraser: Well,
I’m sure she has a name, I’m just not sure what... I’ll
keep waiting.
Wife: That was
such a wonderful meal.
Husband: Very
good, wasn’t it. Careful where you step, darling.
[Fraser holds door
open for couple]
Fraser : Evening.
Wife
: Good evening.
Husband: Ah
yes. Thank you, young man.
[he tips Fraser, who wants to object, but the man has
already gone; King arrives, and Fraser opens the door for
her; she restrains a laugh when she sees his bright red
serge
uniform]
King: Been
waiting long?
Fraser:
Actually yes, but I seem to have profited by it. May I
just say you look--
King: Thanks.
That’s your good suit?
Fraser: Oh, I
knew I should’ve worn the other one. You know, if-if we
have a couple of minutes I could run home right now.
King: No,
you’re fine. A little red. But fine
Fraser: Um,
this is for you.
King: A wrist
corsage?
Fraser: Well,
actually two.
King: You want
me to wear them on both wrists?
Fraser: I
forgot to ask what color of dress you’d be wearing.
[she’s a little
overwhelmed]
King:
Reservation for two, please. Mackenzie King.
Maitre d’:
Right this way, Miss King.
Fraser: Your
name, you wouldn’t be related to--
King: No.
Fraser: No. Of
course you wouldn’t.
[at the table; Fraser is trying to cut into his lobster
with a fork and butter
knife]
King: So you
live in the same building, you and Charlie, and you
started talking…
Fraser: Well
actually, his daughter asked me to help him.
King: The way
she looked at you, you just couldn’t refuse.
Fraser: Well,
she had these sad eyes--
King: Don’t
they all.
Fraser: Do you
mind if I uh--
[holds up boot
knife]
King: Go for
it.
[Fraser saws through the lobster shell]
King
: You and Charlie make quite the team.
Fraser: By-by
team you mean…?
King: He falls
under cars, you save him.
Fraser: Well,
he does seem to have a few--
King: How much
do you make?
Fraser: Me?
Well, it’s in Canadian funds, so you have to deduct 38
percent but, uh--
King:
Enough.
Fraser: About
myself. Absolutely. Consular work is pretty dull. Although
there was this one passport case--
King: Wait a
minute. You work at the consulate?
Fraser: Well,
yes. That’s why I’m paid in Canadian funds. It’s some-it’s
an odd governmental regulation.
King: So now
you’re denying you work with Charlie?
Fraser: With
Charlie? No. No, I could never be a professional boxer. I
mean in high school, I--
King: I saw you
bring him in. Are you telling me you don’t feed patients
to the clinic, you’re not involved in this million dollar
insurance scam? You’re just this straight-arrow,
do-gooding Mountie out to help
the little guy? Tell me why I find that hard to
believe.
Fraser: Well, I
understand your skepticism. Appearances can be deceiving.
I mean for example, you’re a nurse, yet you wear extremely
high heels to work, which indicates either you haven’t
been a nurse for very long, or you have remarkable arches.
Also the way you hold your wrists suggests you spend many
hours at a computer keyboard. And add to that the slight
crick in your neck, which indicates extended phone usage,
and the minute traces of printer’s ink under your
three-quarter-inch nails which, by the way, must make
bandaging quite a challenge. And a less trusting person
might assume that you weren’t a nurse at tall. A less
trusting person might assume that you work, say, for a
newspaper. But then appearances can be deceiving.
King: And
you’ve known this since…?
Fraser: The
parking lot. Also you should check your tape recorders. I
think either your battery is leaking or some liquid has
spilled into the motor. From the smell of it I would say
-- [sniffs]
--mace.
King: So you
just came along for the free meal and the amusement of
watching me make a fool out of myself?
Fraser: No. No,
I think Charlie’s in trouble and I thought maybe you could
tell me something that would help.
King: You’re
trying to get information from me? Forget it!
Fraser: I
understand. You’ve already been a great help.
King: I’ve-- No
appetite, all of a sudden.
[stands up &
walks away]
Fraser: Can I
at least walk you home?
King: Walk me
home?! He wants to walk me home.
Fraser: Well, I
thought it was expected.
King: Oh yeah?
What else did you expect?
Fraser: Well,
nothing. I mean, I don’t-- No, I--
King: You want
to do something for me? You get Charlie to talk to me on
the record.
Fraser: If
Charlie is in trouble what he needs is help, not an
interview.
King: Then all
you’re getting out of this date is the check.
[she shoves the
check into his chest & storms off]
Fraser: I--
[to
waiter] Do
you happen to know the current exchange rate?
[street outside Fraser’s
building]
Fraser:
[to couple]
Good
evening.
[Fraser’s apartment building; Fraser is checking mail and
overhears…]
Charlie: I told
you it ain’t enough. I cannot live on what you bastards
pay me.
Irish Thug: Two
hundred’s what you agreed to. Two hundred’s what you’re
gonna get.
Charlie: For
two hundred dollars, I can’t even pay my stinking rent.
Listen. You want me to keep taking dives, you better make
it worth my while.
Irish Thug: You
wouldn’t be threatening me would you, Charlie? Cause that
wouldn’t be healthy.
Charlie: No.
I’m not threatening you. But I have a child to
support.
Irish Thug:
It’s not my problem, and count yourself lucky. It doesn’t
take a lot of skill to fall under a car.
[exits]
Fraser:
Evening.
Charlie: Yeah,
hiya.
Fraser: Excuse
me, but I couldn’t help overhearing that--
Charlie: You
heard that? You know something, pal? You better start
learning to mind your own business.
Fraser: Well
actually, your daughter asked me to--
Charlie: You
don’t know nothing about me, and you don’t know anything
about my daughter. So just back off.
Fraser: I know
you’re in trouble and if I can, I’d like to help.
Charlie: That’s
easy. Stay away from me and stay away from my daughter.
[exits]
[Lucy has overheard
them]
Fraser: Hi. You
know, Lucy, your father...he has a good heart. He’s a good
man.
Lucy: It’s
okay. I understand. Can’t help everybody.
Fraser: Lucy.
I, uh...
Lucy: It’s like
the doctors. They tried, but they couldn’t help my mom.
It’s okay.
[27th precinct; break
room]
Ray: Okay, I’m
on the edge of my seat. What’s this huge moral dilemma
you’re carrying on your shoulders?
Fraser: I’ve
given my word to a girl.
Ray: Fraser,
you do not have to marry every girl that you meet.
Fraser: Oh no,
it’s-- She’s a very young girl.
Ray: Well then,
you do have a problem.
Fraser: No, I
mean she’s a little girl, Ray. She’s six years old. She’s
very sweet. She’s asked me to help her father.
[Vecchio sneers nose
at just-purchased coffee]
Ray
: I can see you’re making those minute adjustments to
bring out the flavor,
Hugo.
[pours coffee into
the garbage]
Hugo:
Chamomile, right?
[hands Fraser a
mug]
Fraser: Thank
you, Hugo. Now I’ve discovered that her father is doing
something illegal.
Ray: So what’s
the dilemma?
We bust him.
Fraser: Then
I’d be breaking my word to the little girl.
Ray: And this
gives you a problem.
Fraser:
Yes.
Ray: Oh.
Fraser: And if
I don’t turn him in, then I’m withholding evidence of a
crime.
Ray: Very good,
Benny. You can go to the head of the class.
Fraser: So I’ve
given it some thought and I’ve come up with the only-only
logical solution. You have to arrest me.
Ray: For
what?
Fraser: I can’t
tell you that.
Ray: Well, then
I’m not gonna arrest you.
Fraser: But you
have to.
Ray: Well, I’m
not.
Fraser: You
have to!
Ray: Oh, I’m
not!
Fraser: You
have to!
[they move into the
corridor]
Ray: Uh, this
guy, the dad, just how illegal is this activity he’s
involved in?
Fraser: It’s
serious. But he’s not the one who’s really profiting from
it. In fact, he stands to lose more than he’s made.
Ray: So if you
and I can get the bigger fish, maybe we can let the little
girl’s dad slide on this one.
Fraser: Is this
legal?
Ray: Would I be
offering it to you if it wasn’t?
[pause] Yes,
it’s legal! Now tell me everything you know.
Fraser: You
won’t use it against the man in question?
Ray: On my word
as a transvestite.
Fraser: What’s
that, Ray?
Ray: It’s a
Chicago thing.
Fraser:
Ah.
[street]
Ray: Okay, so
how you know the guy who paid Charlie’s a fighter?
Fraser: His
wrists. They were completely hairless, indicating he wears
gloves that are tied tightly in a constant use.
Ray: So we’re
tracking a guy with hairless wrists.
Fraser: Also,
the second knuckle of each hand is slightly lower than the
others. His jaw clicks slightly when he spoke indicating a
fractured mandible. And his eyes had shifted downward and
laterally in their sockets, caused, no doubt, by repeated
blows to the zygomatic
arch.
Ray: Okay, that
I’ll buy, but how’d you know he worked out in this
gym?
Fraser: It was
written on his T-shirt.
Ray: You
couldn’t have said that in the first place? You had to go
through the hairless wrists and the fractured
mandibles?!
Fraser: I’m
sorry, Ray.
Ray: Aw,
man!
[Dief sits on street, watching the animal control van pass
by; driver spots him and Dief takes off, Animal Control
officer right behind
him]
[inside gym; many men are working
out]
Fraser: I don’t
see him. Perhaps if we gave out a description?
Ray:
[scoffs]
Look, why don’t you leave this to me.
You see, I’ve been hanging out in joints like this since I
was a kid. There’s a certain way to talk to these types.
[clears throat at
man, holding up a
bill]
What’s it gonna cost to work out for a little while?
Man:
[shrugs]
Maybe your life?
Ray: Just gimme
a towel.
[in ring, to his opponent]
Ray: So I
figure, kill a guy or not, sooner or later I gotta get
back in the ring. Still I’m finding it hard trying to make
ends meet, training all the time like this. How do you do
it? [knocked out
with one
punch]
[in ring, to his opponent]
Fraser
: Now you’ll have to refresh my memory on the American
rules because I know there’s some subtle differences from
ours. [dodges a
charge]
Ah, you see right there. That would have been disallowed
under the Canadian system.
[dodges a
below-the-belt
punch] As
would have that. I wonder while we’re boxing if you’d mind
answering a few questions.
[ducks a charge, and
flips the guy through the
ropes] Ah,
now I believe that was my fault.
[to next
opponent]
Fraser:
Approximately 6 feet tall.
[dodges punch]
With a deviated mandible.
[dodges
punch] And
a noticeably fractured
zygomatic arch.
[ducks a roundhouse
right, then punches the guy squarely, and he goes
down]
Oh.
[locker room; trainer is tending to Fraser’s first
opponent; Fraser tends to the second; Vecchio holds a bag
of ice to his
face]
Boxer 2:
Ow!
Fraser:
Sorry.
Trainer: Your
old man taught you how to box like that?
Fraser: My
grandmother, actually. Although I’m beginning to suspect
that the book she used was somewhat outdated.
Trainer: Spit.
[Boxer 1
spits] Not
on the floor!
Fraser: You
were saying about Charlie?
Trainer: Yeah.
I knew him. Used to train here, ‘til he gave it up last
year. Bring in his little girl when he couldn’t get a
sitter.
Ray: But you
haven’t seen him around since?
Trainer:
‘Fraid not. Though...
Ray:
Yeah?
Trainer: I
don’t know, I heard he was in trouble, that’s all. Nothing
strange about that. Half the guys in here spend their
summers in the joint.
Fraser: Well,
if you hear anything else, we’d appreciated you giving
Detective Vecchio a call.
Trainer: I got
the card.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly.
Ray
: [hands icepack to
Boxer 1]
You’re probably going to need this more than
me.
[aside] Your
grandmother?
Fraser:
Yes.
Ray: You think
I can get a copy of that
book?
[street outside gym]
Fraser
: He’s in on it.
Ray: Who?
Fraser: The
trainer.
Ray: How do you
know?
Fraser: You’ll
get upset.
Ray: No, I
won’t! Just
enlighten me as to how in the span of a two-minute
conversation, you figured out that this guy’s a
criminal.
Fraser: You’re
sure?
Ray: Yeah, I’m
sure.
Fraser: All
right. Spittle.
Ray:
Spittle?
Fraser: During
the course of our conversation, he tried to spit several
times but he couldn’t because his mouth was too dry which
would indicate that he’s lying.
Ray: So let me
get this straight. This is what they do in the Yukon, they
arrest everybody who doesn’t drool?
[back room of gym]
Dr.
Howard
: So?
Trainer: Looks
like Charlie made some new friends.
Dr. Howard: Too
bad. Try to help somebody, he just ends up hurting
himself.
[trainer dials
phone…]
[Charlie’s apartment/back room of gym]
Charlie
: [answering
phone]
Yeah.
Trainer:
Charlie. Can you do it right away? It’s a trucking
company. Driver’s in on it. We can go five hundred this
time.
Charlie: Yeah,
except my daughter’s not home from school yet. I have to
wait until she--
Trainer: No
time, guy. I’ll get someone else.
Charlie:
No-no-no-no. Listen, uh, I’ll do it, I’ll do it.
Where?
Trainer: Be on
the corner of Haskell and Commerce. 3:45…You’re okay,
Charlie. [hangs
up]
Irish Thug: You
need me?
Trainer:
Charlie’s gonna meet with an accident.
Irish
Thug
: Such a shame. I always liked
Charlie.
[roof; Vecchio & Fraser (with his telescope) watch the
thugs’
conversation]
Fraser: They’re
going to kill Charlie.
Ray: You gotta
teach me how to do that, with the lips.
[Fraser moves to climb down the side of the building]
Ray
: Hey-hey-hey, the stairs are right over there?
Fraser: Oh,
sorry.
[Riv; Mackenzie King
is waiting in the backseat]
King: I had a
change of heart and decided to see you again.
Ray:
[to Fraser]
They’re following you around town now?
Fraser: You’ll
have to get out of the car, Miss King.
King:
Mackenzie. [to
Vecchio] So what do you know?
Ray: Mackenzie
King? The one who wrote that crap about corruption down at
division? Get the hell out of my car!
King: Yeah, and
I got it wrong, ‘cause I trusted a cop.
Ray: Tell you
something about cops--
Fraser: Ray! We
have to go.
Ray: Not ‘til
she’s out of my car!
Fraser: If I
asked you politely?
King: Yeah,
that’d do it.
Fraser: Ray.
We’ll miss ‘em.
Ray: All right,
I’m driving, okay? I’m driving.
[Vecchio peels out
and zooms through an intersection]
Fraser
: That was a stop sign, Ray.
[Vecchio zooms
through another intersection]
Fraser
: That was another stop sign,
Ray.
[Charlie exits the apartment building and walks down the street; Vecchio pulls up, Fraser is getting out when King spots him…]
King : There!
[Vecchio takes off after
him]
Fraser: Take a
left up ahead.
[they do, right
into…a construction site]
King
: Go around!
Ray: On the
sidewalk?? Oh
yeah, you’d love that. ‘Maniac Detective Slaughters
Pedestrians’!
Fraser: Stay in
the car.
[Fraser runs over, climbs onto crane
cab]
Fraser: May
I?
Crane Operator:
Sure, go ahead.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly.
[Fraser begins to climb to the top of the crane]
[Riv]
King: You got a
camera?
Ray: Get out of
my car!
[top of crane; Fraser spots Charlie walking a few blocks away]
Fraser : Follow me!
[rappels down crane wire; lands to applause from crowd of bystanders; runs off]
[Charlie makes it to the specified corner a little early;
walks to nearby payphone & dials…the phone rings in
Charlie’s apartment just as Lucy enters; Charlie sees the
dump truck coming, and hangs
up…]
Lucy:
[answers]
Hello? [dial
tone]
[Charlie wanders out into the street…the truck speeds up…Fraser tackles him to the sidewalk, and the truck screeches to a halt]
Charlie : You again? Get out of here!
[the truck is backing up fast, right towards
them]
Fraser:
Run.
[they do; the truck runs over the payphone, and Fraser
throws Charlie out of the way, just in time, shattering a
window, and knocking him out…the truck speeds off just as
Mackenzie and Vecchio arrive at the
scene]
[hospital]
Doctor: This
man was boxing? He shouldn’t even be breathing. When is
the last time he saw a doctor?
Fraser: I
believe yesterday.
Doctor: Then
he’d better get a second opinion. See these old hairline
cracks? One more blow to the head and it’ll be his
last.
[street; getting ice
cream]
King: It’ll be
okay. I told your dad I’d take real good care of you,
okay? As soon as they get his woozy head all fixed up at
the hospital, Fraser’ll bring
him right home.
Lucy: I think
they call it a concussion.
King: Oh,
yeah. Yeah. Well, some people
do.
[Fraser’s apartment building, stairwell]
Lucy
: I wish Fraser was my daddy.
King: Well,
Fraser’s a real brave guy. But your daddy’s the bravest
guy I know.
Lucy:
Why?
King: Well,
cause he is, that’s all.
Lucy: But he’s
doing bad things, and I don’t call that brave.
King: Sometimes
being brave means knowing you have to do something and
just doing it. No matter what happens.
[they enter Charlie’s
apartment]
Dr. Howard:
Come in. Nurse.
[several goons (the boxers?) are waiting in the living
room, and Trainer blocks the
door]
[hospital]
Charlie: What
are you, nuts? I ain’t talking to no DA.
Fraser:
Detective Vecchio assures me you won’t be prosecuted, and
if you need protection we can--
Charlie: I can
take care of myself. Just leave me alone, all right?
Fraser: You
know Charlie, when I was thirteen years old, I found a
caribou trapped on a mountainside. I tried to coax him
down, but his fear of me only drove him higher. By the
time he’d let me near enough to him, he was so weak from
the cold I couldn’t save him. And he died on that
ledge.
Charlie: You
think I’m afraid of these guys?
Fraser: No, I
don’t. I think you’re afraid of something else.
Charlie: If my
name gets in the papers, or on TV, Lucy’s gonna know about
me. She thinks I’m a boxer. A great boxer. She finds out
what I do for a living.... Look. All I got in my life is
the way that she looks at me. That is all I got, that is
all that I need. If I ever lose that....
Fraser: She’ll
understand, Charlie. Trust me.
Nurse: Excuse
me, guys. You Fraser? Telephone. At the nurses
station.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly.
Nurse: You got
one too. This man called. He said to tell you that he’s
taking care of your little girl for you. He said that
you’d know who. Guess he didn’t want you to
worry.
[clinic]
Ray: I’m saying
the place is totally cleared out. Files, medical records,
everything.
Fraser: And
Howard?
Ray: By now,
probably on a beach in Costa Rica. Want me to pick you
up?
[Fraser sees that Charlie is gone]
Ray
: Fraser? Don’t do this to me.
Fraser!
[Charlie’s apartment; Charlie bursts in & two thugs
grab
him]
Lucy:
Daddy!
Charlie: You
touch her, so help me God I’m going to kill you!
Trainer: Hey
Charlie. You come with us, nothing’s gonna happen to
her.
Dr. Howard:
Sorry, Charlie. We just can’t have you talking.
[hug goes to the
door and Fraser punches him & takes his
gun]
Fraser
: You won’t be needing this.
[scuffle &
fighting; Dr. Howard carries Lucy out the door]
Fraser : Charlie!
Lucy : Help!
[King gets loose and maces a thug in the face; Charlie gets free & runs after Lucy; another thug punches Mackenzie in the face]
King : Nice.
[Fraser pushes a third thug out the window and into the
alley…]
[alley…Dief watches the scuffle, as the Animal Control
truck drives
up]
Dog Catcher:
Gotcha!
[Dief jumps through the open doors and over the guy’s lap, and out the other side]
[street; Dr. Howard exits just as Vecchio drives up, siren
blaring, and crashes into the getaway
car]
Ray:
[holding his
neck] Jeez!
[alley]
Lucy : Daddy! Let me go!
[Dr. Howard pushes Lucy into the now-abandoned Animal
Control vehicle & drives away; Charlie gives chase on
foot]
Lucy: Let me
go!! Daddy!
[Dr. Howard pushes Lucy out…and Charlie catches her]
Charlie
: Gotcha!
[Charlie runs ahead
of the van, carrying Lucy, and ends up in a dead-end
alley]
Fraser : [from roof] Charlie!
[Charlie throws Lucy up…Fraser catches her…and the van
crashes hard against the cement
wall]
Lucy:
[from
roof]
Daddy!
[the dust
settles…Charlie rolls out from underneath the van, stand
up & smiles]
Lucy
: Daddy!
Charlie: Hey,
I’m a professional.
[Vecchio arrives; he pulls Dr. Howard from the van, and handcuffs him to the door; Lucy runs down into her father’s arms]
Charlie
: I’m okay. Hey. Who’s the toughest guy in the whole wide
world?
Lucy: You
are.
Charlie: And
who could stop me coming home to you?
Lucy:
Nobody.
Charlie: And
what would I do it any of ‘em tried?
Lucy: Upper
cut, hook, poke him in the eye.
Charlie: Damn
straight.
[Dief barks; Dog
Catcher sneaks up behind him & slips on a
noose]
Dog
Catcher
: I gotcha! Where you going now,
fella?
Fraser: Hi.
Diefenbaker, remember what I told you. Benton Fraser RCMP,
and this is my dog. Uh, wolf.
Dog Catcher: I
thought that was a wolf. Well, he’s mine now, cause you
sure as hell don’t have a wolf license.
Ray: In fact he
does.
Dog
Catcher
You can’t have this. It doesn’t exist. It never did!
Ray: Signed by
the mayor himself. Special dispensation. Now unhand that
wolf. [he
does]
Dog Catcher:
Look what you did to my van.
[exits]
Fraser: You
got it! I only asked you once, and you got it!
Ray: Of course
I got it. You asked me for it, right?
Fraser: From
the mayor himself?
Ray: Well no,
not exactly. You see, I didn’t want to bother him, so what
I did was, I Xeroxed a dog license and I put in
‘wolf.’
Wonderful things, photocopiers, huh?
[Vecchio exits; Fraser wants to protest,
but…]
Ray:
[voice]
Hey, Dr. Quack! Get your hands off of
that!
[later; cops on scene, rounding up all the
thugs]
Ray: Here, take
this scum off the street.
[places Dr. Howard
in the back of a
car] Oh,
and, uh, one more thing: for a neck spasm is that hot or
cold?
Fraser: I see
you got your story.
King: Are you
kidding? There’s going to be a bidding war over this
baby.
Fraser: And
Lucy’s father, will you be mentioning him in your
article?
King: Look,
Fraser. I don’t want to see Lucy get hurt anymore than you
do. But if there’s one thing I’ve had to learn, it’s that
people’s feelings aren’t as important as the facts.
Fraser: You
know when I was thirteen years old, I found a caribou on
a… No, that’s not gonna work.
Lucy:
Fraser.
Fraser : Lucy.
Lucy : You don’t have to help my dad anymore. [to King] You were right. He is the bravest man in the whole world.
[Lucy runs into her dad’s arms; King crumples up paper.
Music: ‘American
Woman’]
King:
[as she walks
away] You
know, you’re a really bad influence on me, Bento.
Fraser: I’ll be
seeing you.
King: Yeah in
your
dreams.
[Mackenzie King’s bedroom; in bed, pondering, putting on
both
corsages]
King: I wonder
if he’s here
legally.
End