I Coulda Been A Defendant


[busy sidewalk]

[Fraser & Kowalski walking along; Fraser opens door for delivery guy]
Ray: Fraser...
Driver: Thank you.
Ray: Come on, you gotta do that for everyone?
Reporter: Despite efforts to halt development--

[Fraser trots past news crew & spoils the shot, then comes back]
Fraser: Uh. Excuse me.

Reporter: Cut.
[Fraser helps old man across the street; Kowalski looks on, annoyed]
[a boy rummages through a trash basket near an ATM]

Mother: Hey, come on, get out of there.

[she drops her bank card... a man (Bruce) picks it up and gives it to her]

[Fraser helps woman put stroller into her car]
Ray: [mutters]
  Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. [shouts]  Fraser, come on!!

Fraser: Pardon me. [runs past news crew again]

Reporter: This historical-- Cut!

[distracted ATM mother & kids walk away; Bruce quickly uses ATM; younger son starts to run across street toward juggling clown]
Mother: BILLY!!
[Bruce pulls boy back just in time to save him from being run over by a 4x4]
Ray: [to driver]
  Chicago PD! Step out of the car. Step out!
[Bruce notices that he’s stepped in gum]

Fraser: Are you all right, son?
Reporter: What happened?
Mother: He saved my boy’s life.
Fraser: You, sir, are you all right?
Bruce: Me? I-I’m-I’m okay.
Ray: Anybody hurt?
Fraser: No, Ray. Everyone seems to be all right, thanks to the quick thinking of, uh...
Ray: Okay, where’d he go?
Fraser: I have no idea.
Reporter: Well, we have to find him.
Ray: Why?
Reporter: Because the guy’s a hero.
Fraser: She has a point, Ray. Historically, communities create myths to act as a mirror to themselves, from Glooscap, great hunter of the Mi'kmaq, to George Steinbrenner, who I’m told is a symbol of a sensitive and caring New York.
Reporter: Well, can you find him?
[Fraser notices gum on sidewalk where Bruce was standing, picks it up, tastes it]
Ray: Aww.
Fraser: Possibly.
Ray: Look, Fraser, I don’t have time for this. The day’s getting away from me. What are you doing?
Fraser: Just one second, Ray.
Ray: One s-- What?
Fraser: He came from this direction.

[stops at ATM, picks up something from sidewalk, tastes it, then the gum again]
Ray: Haven’t you tasted enough garbage for one day?
Reporter: Ugh.
Fraser: There might be something here to identify. Ah, yes. [retrieves papers from basket]
  One of these will be his ATM receipt.
Reporter: How do you know that?
Fraser: Well, from the gum. You see, he deposited this [hold up first wad]
  over there.  I think he must have picked it up here when he was taking his money out.
Reporter: Yeah, but how do you know which slip is his?
Fraser: Well, there were three transactions at the time of the incident. One of these will be his. And the bank will have his name and his address.
Ray: Look, they’re not going to give it to us, not without a warrant.
Reporter: They’ll give it to me. I’ve got a camera.

[Bruce’s apartment; knock knock knock]
Ray: Police, Mr. Talbot. Would you open up a minute? You’re not in any trouble, we just want to thank you for saving the kid.
Bruce: Just a minute.
 

[hurriedly he packs a bag; he goes to the fire escape, knocking over a lamp on his way out]
Ray: You all right in there?
[Dief draws Fraser’s attention to window]
Fraser: Ray.

[Fraser goes out the window & down fire escape after Bruce; does a nice little gymnastics number on a high bar to circus-type music... he flips around and lands in the back of a convertible]
Fraser: Ma’am.
Woman: Don’t tell me. Capricorn.
Fraser: Sorry, ma’am, no. Canadian.
Woman: Oh, that’s great. I’m Albanian.
Fraser: That’s nice. I wonder if you could do me the favor of flattening that accelerator and getting us to the end of the alley as quickly as possible.
Woman: Anything you want, good-looking.
Fraser: Thank you kindly.
[she speeds down the alley after Bruce; he runs blindly into the street, where he is hit by a cab...he lands stunned on sidewalk]
Fraser: Are you all right, sir? Are you all right?
Ray: Just take it easy, take it easy.

Fraser: We’re just trying to help.

[Kowalski sees gun tucked into Bruce’s pants] 

Ray: GUN!! [pulls his own gun out]  Don’t move! Spread ‘em! Hands away from the body!
Bruce: Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. This is a mistake.

[Kowalski takes the gun and hands it to Fraser]
Ray: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be...
Fraser: Appointed to you.
Ray: Appointed to you -- for free! Hands away from the body! What are you, deaf?

[27th precinct; interrogation room]
Bruce: This is a mistake. This is really a big mistake. This is just a mistake.
Ray: Shut up.
Bruce: But I didn’t do anything.
Ray: Oh, you didn’t? Oh, well, then, we screwed up. You’re free to go.
Bruce: Really?
Ray: Sit down!!
Bruce: But I didn’t do anything.
Ray: Oh, I’m sure you didn’t. In fact, you hump this job long enough, you discover very few criminals ever actually commit a crime. You know, just the other day, I find this guy standing over a dead body, smoking gun in his hand, marked bills in his pocket. Guess what? He didn’t do it either.
Bruce: What are you talking about?
Ray: What you didn’t do! Do you want to start with the gun or do you want to start with these? [pulls out stack of ID’s]
Bruce: No, you don’t understand. You really don’t understand.
Ray: No, I don’t understand. So why don’t you tell me, why an honest guy like you is running around Chicago with more names than the phone book, carrying a loaded piece?
Bruce: I have a permit for that gun.
Ray: Under what name? [goes through cards]
  Mr. Talbot. Mr...Hughes. Mr...Jackson..... Dr. Walnut?
Bruce: I can’t be on television. Not on television.
Ray: I repeat myself when under stress. I repeat myself when under stress.

[observation room; Fraser & Dief listen through speaker]

Ray: This is America, pal. Everybody wants to be on television. [winks at Fraser through glass]
Bruce: But I can’t be on television. Not on television.
[Dief grumbles]
Ray: I tell you what.

Fraser: [to Dief]  I agree.

Ray: I’m not gonna waste any more of your valuable time. I’m gonna take you right down to a nice little holding cell and we can spend the night there. We can do this all again tomorrow.
[Fraser knocks on glass; Kowalski picks up phone]
Ray: Fraser, can you not do that? It sort of gives it away. [hangs up & exits]

[observation room]
Fraser: Something’s not right.
Ray: Yeah, he’s nuts.
Fraser: No, he’s frightened.
Ray: Course, he’s frightened. That’s me. That’s my thing. On the inside I’m a poet. Outside, mmm!
  Shake, bad guys, shake.
Fraser: Hmm.
  Does he seem like a bad guy to you?
Ray: He’s polite. Big deal. I mean, Jack the Ripper was polite.
Fraser: I’d like to talk to him.
Ray: Torture. That-that’s a good idea. I never thought of that.
Fraser: That’s...that’s very funny, Ray.
Ray: Polite cop, bad cop. It might work.

[Welsh’s office]
Welsh: [into phone]
  Yes, sir....Yes, sir. [covers mouthpiece]  Three bags full, sir. [into phone]  Oh, yes, sir, we’ll cooperate fully....Well, sir, I-I wasn’t aware they were in the building....Yes, sir, I’ll take care of it. [hangs up]  Vecchio!
Elaine: Lieutenant, there’s some guy from Justice on the line for you.
Welsh: Park him. Vecchio! [finds him at water fountain]
  Don’t move. Don’t move.

[front desk]
Desk Sergeant: No, no, no, no! I told you. I cannot give you any information about this.
Welsh: [to reporters]
  Sit!
Desk Sergeant: No way!
Welsh: Go on, sit down! [they do]
  Stay. [returns to Kowalski]  My office!

[interrogation room; Bruce is playing with paper; Fraser holding a 3D paper object]
Fraser: It’s an interesting pattern.
Bruce: It’s a rhomboid.
Fraser: So it is.
Bruce: I like to make different size sides then try and figure out how many I can get into a fixed space, something determinate with few variables. I like to do that. I like your dog. He seems like a nice dog. Is he a nice dog?
Fraser: He’s half wolf, actually.
Bruce: Ah. A wolf. A wolf. Howling wolf. Are they good friends, howling wolves?
Fraser: Loyal companions. You know, that was a very admirable thing you did today. Very courageous.
Bruce: No. Stupid. Very stupid.
Fraser: You saved a boy’s life. Would you change that?
Bruce: No. No. I like kids. Kids are great. I like kids. I don’t like TV, TV guys. I can’t be on TV. I don’t... That’s a concern.
Fraser: The police are concerned about your forged documents and the weapon. You don’t want to talk about that?
Bruce: No, I don’t. I don’t. I really don’t.
Fraser: Do you mind if I try?

Bruce: Oh.

[he pushes pieces of paper towards Fraser, who begins to manipulate them while humming]

[Welsh’s office]
Welsh: Well, let’s see if I got this right. A guy saves a kid’s life and to show our gratitude we go to his house, knock down his door, cuff him, drag him here, and grill the snot out of him.
Ray: The guy had a gun.
Welsh: Oh, he had a gun! Here in Chicago, a man had a gun! Oh, what is this world coming to?
[knock knock knock]
Elaine: That guy from Justice is on the line again.
Welsh: I said, park him. [Elaine exits]
 Look, you arrested a good Samaritan in front of a camera crew. Now, when the media sees it, they get very excited. When they get excited, Commander Murphy gets excited. When Murphy gets excited, I get piles. Now I want that guy and the media out of the building ASAP. Do we understand each other?
Ray: We gotta ID him.
Welsh: All right, if he’s Jimmy Hoffa, keep him. Anybody else, set him free.

[interrogation room]
Bruce: So it’s not that complicated, you see. It’s just a wave of possibilities that collapses to a probability, then you can say, I observe this. That which we call reality. Do you have a mother and a father?
Fraser: No. They’re both dead.
Bruce: Like me. Dead. Both of them. Dead. Dead. Sister?
Fraser: No. I was an only child. Although, you know, I had a best friend in the village I grew up in.
Bruce: Best friend, huh? Was he like your brother? So he took care of you, looked after you, like he was your brother? Was he like your brother?
Fraser: Yes, he was.
Bruce: Name?
Fraser: Innussiq.
Bruce: Spell that. Spell that, please.
Fraser: I-N-N-U-S--
[Kowalski knocks on glass in the door]
Fraser: S-I-Q. I’ll be right back.

[corridor]
Ray: Why is Welsh giving me all this chin music about this guy? I don’t get that.
Elaine: Hey, guys. Are you coming tomorrow?
Ray: Tomorrow what?
Fraser: Ray, tomorrow Elaine graduates as a new police officer, and as veterans it’s our responsibility to be there and offer her our support.
Elaine: Oh, and here comes my new replacement now.
Ray: I’m gonna pass a bullet through my brain.
Francesca: Not that I object to that, but thanks for the vote of confidence there, bro.
Elaine: She was the best candidate for the job, Ray.
Ray: She’s going to be in the same office as me every day? In the same office every day?
Francesca: He’s intimidated by my presence.
Elaine: Mmm. Very intimidated.
Ray: I’m intimidated?
Fraser: It would appear you’re intimidated.
Ray: This is just not going to work out.
Francesca: It’s already worked out. [walks away with Elaine]
  Okay, so alphabetical order just means the alphabet.  Right?
Ray: I’m doomed.
Fraser: I don’t understand this, Ray. I thought you liked Francesca.
Ray: Are you from another planet, Fraser?
Fraser: Not that I’m aware of.
Ray: Of course I like her. That’s why I’m doomed. I gotta work with her in the same office every day, and pretend like she’s my sister?
Fraser: This makes no sense, Ray. All women are our sisters.
Cop: Vecchio. Someone here to see you.
Kevin: Hi. Kevin Spender, Deputy Director of Justice. I understand you got a man in here they’re calling ‘The Samaritan.’ I’d like you to cut him loose.
Ray: Look, just cause you’re from Justice, Kevin, doesn’t mean you can waltz in here and--
Kevin: I know this is your jurisdiction. I’m not trying to step on any toes. But this man is a protected federal witness. Any public exposure could risk his life. I’d like to talk to him if I could.

[interrogation room; Bruce has made a wolf out of paper pieces]
Ray: Dr. Walnut? Someone here to see you.
Bruce: Oh, I knew you’d come. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.
Kevin: What happened to you?
Bruce: Accident.

[observation room]
Fraser: They have a right to their privacy.

[Kowalski nods; they exit]

[interrogation room]
Kevin: --you know that.
Bruce: Yeah. I’m sorry.
Kevin: They can happen.
  Whose dog is that?
Bruce: Oh, it’s just a friend.
Kevin: I’m tired, Bruce.
Bruce: Yeah, you’re tired. But you work hard. You work hard. You work hard. I’m sorry.
Kevin: Can you give the origami a rest?
Bruce: It’s not origami. It’s combinatorics.
Kevin: Okay. Combinatorics. [exits]

[bullpen]
Welsh: Deputy Director Spender.
Kevin: Yes.
Welsh: Harding Welsh, Lieutenant, Chicago PD. What have we got here?
Kevin: A protected federal witness. You got a camera crew back there. I’d appreciate it if you could get rid of them.
Welsh: Oh, it would be my pleasure. Can I ask you why a deputy director from Justice is so interested in a stoolie?
Kevin: Yeah, you can ask me. He’s my brother.
[local TV news shows Bruce’s arrest]
Elaine: Hey, hey, look, Fraser, Ray! You guys hit the big time!
Francesca: Oh my God!

Reporter: [voice]  Minutes after a man risked his life to save a little boy, he was led away in handcuffs, when the police officers who witnessed the good deed checked the man--
[Kevin turns off TV]

[Welsh’s office]

Kevin: Seven years he’s been dead to the world, never had any problem. Five minutes after you guys get a hold of him, his face is on national TV. Why didn’t you just stick a target right to his forehead?
Ray: Two magic words. Witness protection. Why didn’t he use ‘em?
Kevin: For security reasons I told him never to do that.
Ray: Do you rank that up there with one of your good ideas?
Welsh: Aren’t you a little out of line, Detective.
Fraser: Sir, I wonder if I might ask a question.
Kevin: Sure, if you can tell me how a Mountie fits into this.
Fraser: My name is Constable Benton Fraser.
Welsh: He originally came to Chicago on the trail of his father’s killer.
Ray: And for a whole bunch of reasons he’s decided to stick around.
Fraser: Attached as liaison with the Canadian consulate.
Kevin: What I meant was, what possible interest could a Canadian have in this?
Fraser: Nothing official, sir, beyond an ongoing interest in universal justice. No, what I was curious is what we might have planned by way of protecting--
Kevin: Well, for starters, *we* aren’t planning anything. It’s my brother, my responsibility. Some things never change. Now I would like to confer with Lieutenant Welsh. If you don’t mind, I wouldd like to do that in private.
Fraser: Understood.

[bullpen]
Ray: Confer with you? What is that? What kind of talk is that? Confer with your own suit, you federal jackass. That guy sucks.
Fraser: Well, you know, Ray, he’s probably got reasons for privacy. I mean, after all, we were the cause of the problem.
Ray: Well, maybe we made a mistake, maybe we didn’t. But one thing I know. I hate when somebody tells me to go to my room, not when I’m in the middle of something.
Fraser: You know, Ray, I may not share in your motivations, but this situation...
[they leave out one corridor, then enter from another, going to Elaine’s desk]
Fraser: ...thank you for helping us with this information. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Elaine: Don’t thank me, Fraser.
Francesca: Okay. Okay, I can do this. [sitting
  at pc, looking a bit lost]
Elaine:
  I know. [stands behind Frannie & types]  Okay, Bruce Spender. Here we go. Spender, Bruce. Died October 8th, 1992. No next of kin. No services. Body burned beyond recognition.
Fraser: U.S. marshals faked his death. Is that standard procedure?
Ray: No, no, no. This guy got the deluxe package. Who’d he rat on?
[Elaine types some more; Frannie looks on with interest]
 

Elaine: It was robbery. Armored car. Four were arrested. Spender turned state’s evidence on the other three. Dustin Mahoney, Michael Johnson, and Elliot Wells.
Fraser: Do you have any information on them?
Elaine: Hard copy?
Fraser: Please.
Francesca: Okay, okay! I can do this. Okay...Hard copy... [clock ticking; drumroll... Kowalski even tries to help]
  Okay...I know, I know. [Frannie hits a key; cymbal crash]  Ha-ha! Okay, I told you I could do this.
Fraser: You are a natural.
Francesca: Thank you, Fraser.
Elaine: That’s Mahoney. Suspected of numerous armed robberies. This was his only conviction. Released a year ago for good behavior. They think maybe he killed another con when he was in prison.
Fraser: That’s good behavior?
Francesca: Well, it’s all relative. I mean, if the con was Jeffrey Dahmer, pffft.
Elaine: Michael Johnson escaped from Leavenworth three years after he went in. Suspect in a gun store robbery in Lewisville four months ago.
Ray: Great. So 2 out of 2 are on the street.
Elaine: Make that 3 for 3. Elliot Wells, paroled six months ago on the robbery. Arrested a couple of weeks ago for holding up a gas station. Jumped bail. He’s on the loose.
Ray: Well, that’s great. Three guys on the street. Motive. Method. This boy’s in a deep hole.
Kevin: Yes, he is. My brother’s safety is my first priority. I would like to get him out of the state by sundown.
Fraser: Is that really necessary, sir? I mean, after all, this is a police station. One would think we’d be able--
Kevin: No slight intended, Constable, but police stations are like a sieve, and these boys are nothing if they’re not resourceful. I’d like some of your men to assist me.
Ray: Assist you. What does that mean, ‘assist you’?
Welsh: It means exactly what he says. I want you to give Deputy Director Spender all the assistance he needs. [exits]
Kevin: Do you have a secure phone?
Elaine: Yeah, right this way. [Kevin & Elaine exit]
Ray: ‘You got a secure phone?’ I don’t like Kevin. [Fraser exits]
Francesca: I don’t like him either. I mean, it’s never really been my personal ambition to make friends with stuffed-shirt, uptight kind of people, you know. [Kowalski exits quietly] If that’s the usual trade that you have around...here... [realizes she’s alone]

[Welsh’s office]
Fraser: Hi. You all right?
Bruce: Oh, yeah. I’m okay. Fine.
Fraser: Nice to see your brother.
Bruce: Yeah. Long time.
Kevin: Bruce? Bruce? Gotta get moving.

[Kevin & Bruce exit]
Fraser: Hmm.

 

[The Operation]
[Huey checks out the back]
Ray: [into radio]
  Huey?
Huey: [voice]
  Looks good.
Ray: [into radio]
  Team one, go.
[Decoy Team 1 exits out the back]
Kevin: Check.
Ray: [into radio]
  Team two, go.
[Decoy Team 2 exits out the front]
Kevin: Ready?
Ray: [into radio]
  Got anything yet?
Voice: Operation is secure.
[Real Team exits out the back]

Ray: [into radio]  So far, so good.
Voice: All clear.
[Real Team drives to top floor of parking garage]

Ray: [into radio]  How we doing, guys?
Cop1: West entrance clear.
Cop2: [voice]
  North entrance clear.
Kevin: Give the signal.
Ray: [into radio]
  Send the dummy cars out. Wait to see if anyone follows. Keep all the entrances tight. After those cars leave, no one gets in or out. Okay?
Cop1: Perimeter’s clear. Operation’s a go.
Kevin: All right. Let’s make the transfer.
Ray: Hang on a second. All my men are covering the entrances.
Kevin: That’s where they should be.
Ray: There’s no cover here.
Kevin: We won’t need it. Let’s just do it, okay?
Ray: Okay. [into radio]
  Send up the transfer car.
Cop: [voice]
  Transfer car, on its way.
Bruce: I’m, uh, I’m kind of scared, Kevin.
Kevin: I am, too.

[transfer car arrives; Kowalski is hyper-vigilant]

Kevin: You ready?
Bruce: Yep.

[Kevin opens cell phone, speed-dials, and hangs up]
Ray: Who’d you call?
Kevin: Airport. Let them know we’re on the way. Not that you need to know.
Ray: Let’s get it on.
Kevin: All right. Let’s get in the backseat.
[Kowalski sees laser aimed at Bruce’s back & tackles him]
 

Ray: Down!

[they hide behind car as shots are fired at them] 

Ray: Go! Go! Go! [into radio]  Everybody, ground zero! Sniper! Now!

[gunfire]
Kevin: Where the hell are they?
Ray: One of those six buildings over there. Let’s get him the hell out of here!
Kevin: Too risky!
Ray: Oh, yeah, like this isn’t? [to Bruce]
  Come on. Come on. Come on, come on!

[Kowalski returns fire]

Ray: Come on, come on!

Cop: [voice]  Backups are on the way.
Bruce: Kevin!!
Ray: Bruce! Get in!
Bruce: KEVIN!!

[Kowalski shoves Bruce into original car and speeds away]

[27th precinct]
Welsh: Forensics is at the crime scene. When they get something, they’ll send it right up.
Kevin: You’ll give this the blue ribbon treatment?
Welsh: You got it, from top to bottom.

Woman: Lieutenant, have you got a moment?

[Welsh holds up his hand & keeps walking]
Kevin: As for Vecchio, I want him brought up on charges.
Welsh: Oh, and what charge would that be? Saving your brother’s life?
Kevin: Well, kidnapping for a start. We’ll see what else shakes out.
Welsh: Come on, that’s ridiculous.
Kevin: Oh, you think I’m ridiculous, huh? Well, let me tell you what I think.

[they go into Welsh’s office]

Kevin: I think someone in your department set my brother up.
Welsh: Impossible. I know this department. They’re all good men.
Kevin: Good men who haven’t even bothered to check in.
Welsh: Ahh, don’t worry. They’ll check in.
Kevin: Let me make myself perfectly clear, Lieutenant. The only reason I haven’t brought in Justice and the Bureau is because I have some respect for you. But this is personal. This is my brother. I would go to the mat for him just like you would do for yours. Full bore. Do we understand each other?
Welsh: Yeah, I think we do.

[Kowalski’s apartment; they’re gathering supplies (sleeping bags, cooler, etc.)]
Fraser: How many assailants were there?
Ray: Hard to tell. I mean, there were shooters everywhere. You know what that’s like. You hunker.
Fraser: And they were disguised?
Ray: Yeah, in disguises. But by size and build, I figure one of ‘em to be Johnson, the other one to be Mahoney. I mean, these guys were good. They had us pegged. They were right inside us. I mean, they must want him bad.

[Bruce is putting together a 3D Empire State Building puzzle]
Fraser: Hmm.
Ray: Does that figure to you, Fraser?
Fraser: Does what figure to me?
Ray: That he masterminded the heist. Cause when I look at him, what does not come to mind is arch-criminal. I mean, the guy can barely tie his shoes.
Bruce: The bank had three entrances. The doors were controlled after business hours by a central computer on relay. Well, that bypass was easy. The vault codes were logged in sequence through two networks. It took me months to sort through the algorithms but once I found the key, it was just a matter of refining the sequence and bypassing the time clocks. Everything was planned with precision and detail. The operation was undertaken and completed in precisely 27 minutes and 13 seconds.
  And I can tie my shoes.
[knock knock knock]
Francesca: Hey, Fraze.
Fraser: Francesca.
Ray: Were you followed?
Francesca: I don’t know. People follow me all the time. I have an allure.
Ray: That’s not what I asked. I was asking more along the lines of police work.
Francesca: What do you mean, like, criminals?
  [Kowalski nods]  No!  Nobody followed me. Okay, so I have the background files. And a report that came in from Dallas. A guy named John Michaels was picked up for knocking flat a convenience store.
Ray: Knocking over.
Francesca: Over, flat, down, sideways. God! Anyway, they ran his prints and John Michaels is Michael Johnson.
Ray: So that makes Elliot Wells and Dustin Mahoney the shooters.
Fraser: That would seem likely. Bruce, I’m curious. Your plan was very meticulous, wasn’t it?
Bruce: Yes, it was a very good plan. Very graceful. Very good plan.
Fraser: Until someone told the police where you were hiding out.
Bruce: But I didn’t tell. I didn’t tell.
Francesca: You testified against them.
Bruce: Yes, I testified, but I didn’t tell.
Fraser: And now they want to kill you.
Ray: Something’s queer.
Fraser: What?
Ray: I don’t know. Something’s queer. Let’s just move it. [sees completed puzzle]
  I could do that. I choose not to.

[apartment building hallway]

[Fraser stops them & crouches down, listening intently]
Ray: What is it?
Fraser: Two men just entered the building.
Francesca: Well, they didn’t follow me!
Fraser: That may be true but I believe that one of them just put a 32-round clip into a machine pistol. A Mach 10, if I’m hearing the mechanism correctly. Back stairs.
Ray: Go, go, go.
[other end of hallway; Fraser stops them again]
Ray: More?
Fraser: I can’t tell about their weaponry. Roof.

[Fraser climbs ladder, then Bruce]
Francesca: Okay, so maybe I was followed. But if people are running around, sneaking and hiding, how the hell am I supposed to hear them?
Ray: After you.
Francesca: Yeah. You wish.
Ray: Okay.

[Kowalski goes up, then Frannie, just as two guys in trenchcoats arrive; they kick down Kowalski’s door]

[Elaine’s apartment; phone rings]
Elaine: Hello?....Fraser, is that you?....Are you all right?
Fraser: Yes, thank you, Elaine.
Elaine: What’s going on?
Fraser: Did you find out any more about the bank robbers?
Elaine: I ran a search on all Spender’s accomplices. A guy got killed in Denver last month with one of Mahoney’s aliases. I had the Denver PD compare his prints to Mahoney’s. They matched.
Fraser: [to Kowalski]
  Mahoney’s dead.
Ray: That just leaves Wells.
Elaine: I got nothing on Wells. I could go back to the station, you know, keep digging.
Fraser: No, Elaine, you’ve got your graduation in the morning.
Elaine: I’m all set. Uniform fits. You know what? I’m going to go back in. I’ll call you if I come up with anything. Oh, and Fraser? Just so you know. Welsh was in his office holed up waiting for the phone to ring when I left.
Fraser: Understood.

[27th precinct; Welsh’s office]
Kevin: Three hours, not a word. Is that how things usually work in this department, Lieutenant?
Welsh: Not ordinarily. They gotta have a reason.
Kevin: Well, I can’t wait around to hear it. I’m moving now.
Huey: I got Fraser on line one.
Welsh: [into phone]
  Where the hell are you, Constable?!
Fraser: We’re all right, sir, for the moment.
Welsh: Yeah, well, you pick a location, we’ll meet.
Fraser: Well, I’m not entirely sure that would be safe, Leftenant--
Welsh: Yeah, well, I’m not entirely sure what you’re doing is any better.
Fraser: You may be right, sir, but in a situation like this, I think the fewer people that know, the better.
Kevin: [on extension] This is Deputy Director Spender, Constable. I appreciate your efforts and I’m willing to believe you think you’re doing the right thing, but I want my brother and I want him now! If you keep getting in my way, I’ll hit you with obstruction charges so hard it’ll kill your entire family! [Fraser hangs up]
Welsh: Great move, Spender. What do we do now?

[Kowalski’s car]
Bruce: Kevin’s mad?
Fraser: Mm-hmm.
Bruce: He’s just worried, though. He’s just worried about me.
Fraser: It would seem so.
Ray: So?
Fraser: They want to talk.
Ray: Yeah, I bet they do. Look, I don’t like this. Where’s this safehouse you got in mind?
Francesca: Yeah, what are the sleeping arrangements, Fraze?
Fraser: Fairly rudimentary. The place I’m considering, uh, has no heat.
Francesca: Oh, so, I guess I’ll have to curl up to something really warm then, won’t I?
Ray: And you’re going to get it, Frannie. It’s a little place called home.

[safehouse (empty apartment)]
Ray: Oh, nice place.
Fraser: It was Constable Turnbull’s but he decided he didn’t need anything quite so fancy.
Ray: Oh so, where does he live now, a cardboard box?
Fraser: Uh-huh. A very nice one, though.

[Bruce unfurls his sleeping bag]

Fraser: I see you’ve had some experience with bedrolls.
Bruce: Well, I was a scout.
Fraser: Really? So was I. Mind you, our troop was very small. It was just me, my friend Innussiq, and his sister June.
Bruce: A girl? A girl was in boy scouts?
Fraser: Yeah. But you know, you can’t really have a troop with only two boys, and she had very short hair, so--
Ray: I got short hair.
Fraser: Well, we’re lucky. We have a troop.
Ray: Woo-hoo.
Bruce: Will I have to go to jail?
Ray: No, no, no, no, no. You got some big guns on your side. A DD from the Justice Department, that carries a lot of weight.
Bruce: Yeah, I know, I know. Kevin’s always been there.
Fraser: He has, hasn’t he? Right from the beginning.
Bruce: Yeah, right from the beginning.
Fraser: Well, troop, it’s time to tuck in. [leaps onto sleeping bag]
Ray: Ah, come on, Fraser, we don’t really have to sleep on the floor, do we?
Fraser: Yes.
Ray: Look, I do this, I want a badge. A tuck-in-on-the-floor, I-hurt-my-back badge.
Fraser: I’ll get you one.
Ray: Okay.
Fraser: [singsong]
  A-key-la, we’ll do our best. We’ll dib-dib-dib...
Bruce: We’ll dob-dob-dob.

[morning; cell phone rings]

Ray: Huh?! Ah!

[Fraser is up immediately; Kowalski is trapped in sleeping bag... he struggles to find phone; Fraser sits on him & tries to untangle him]
Ray: Got it!! [answers]
  Yeah?
Elaine: Good morning, Ray.
Ray: Yeah, if you say so....Right. On my way. [hangs up]
  Ahh! Motel clerk recognized a mug shot of Elliot Wells.
Fraser: Excellent.
Ray: Ahh! [holds his back as he stands]
  You better watch him. I’ll give you a call when we wrap up. [exits]

[motel room]

[Huey & Kowalski burst in; woman screams] 

Huey: Don’t move!!

Ray: Drop the gun! Drop it!!

Woman: I don’t even know this guy!

Huey: You can get acquainted with him downtown!

Ray: Up! You Elliot Wells?

Man: Maybe.

Huey: Put some clothes on, let’s go, come on!

Ray: Yeah, you can check out the big brain on Elliot. Come on, just move it! Put your clothes on!

[woman & man are quickly ushered out the door]

Ray: (mutters) Maybe.

 

 

[safehouse]
Fraser: In the end, Innusiq and I both earned our cooking badge, but June - she never did. That poor girl, she couldn’t boil a pot of water if the future of western civilization depended on it.
[cell phone rings]
Fraser: Hello, this is Detective Vecchio’s cellular telephone, Constable Benton Fraser answering.
Ray: [voice]
  Hello is enough, Fraser.
Fraser: Right.
Ray: [voice]
  We got the guy but he doesn’t look good for the shooting. He spent the whole night with a hooker. And that call I told you about? Elaine checked with the airport guys? Never heard anything.
Fraser: So that confirms it, then.
Ray: [voice]
  Yeah.
Fraser: All right. Thank you, Ray.
Ray: [voice]
  Yeah.
Bruce: Everything okay?
Fraser: Yeah. So tell me, was Kevin a scout also?
Bruce: Oh, no, no, not Kevin, no. He was always looking after things, though. And he looked after me. He did. Even when things got ugly, he looked after me, he did.
Fraser: And did things get ugly?
Bruce: Yeah. We’d move. We moved around. And there were people sometimes who were ugly, yeah. And I don’t mean here. [points to face]
  I mean here. [points to heart]  And sometimes, well, one time, one time I....I miss Kevin.
Fraser: One time what, Bruce?
Bruce: We’d just moved. New place, new town, new everything. We were in a gang, boys in a gang, and they didn’t like me. And Kevin knew it. And the leader of the gang, his brother always wanted a boomerang. Hmm? Can you imagine that?
Fraser: Yeah, I can. I always wanted a bola.
Bruce: Yeah, yeah. Same thing. Same thing, yeah. So, one day, Kevin found a boomerang, found it in a closet, and he gave it to me so the other guys would like me. A beautiful boomerang. But the leader’s brother wanted it, so we had to fight for it.
Fraser: You had to fight because that was the code of the gang?
Bruce: Yeah. Kevin didn’t like it. Didn’t like it at all. But I had to stand on my own two feet. I had to. But I couldn’t. And I disappointed him. I did. Because I got hit. I got hit a lot. And I lost. And I lost it. I lost my boomerang Kevin gave me.
Fraser: Did you say he found it in a closet?
Bruce: Yeah. Benchley boomerang. Found it. Found it in a closet.
Fraser: It was made of wood?
Bruce: Yeah. Beautiful, beautiful wood.
Fraser: Did it look sort of like this? [holds out wooden coat hanger]
Bruce: Sort of.
Fraser: [removes metal hook]
  More like this, then.
Bruce: Just like that, yeah.
Fraser: Bruce, I think that Kevin has been lying to you, and I think he’s very worried that someone might tell.
Bruce: Might tell what?
Fraser: That the robbery was his idea.
Bruce: No. It was mine. It was my plan.
Fraser: It was your plan, but it was his idea, wasn’t it?
Bruce: Kevin would never hurt me. He would never hurt me.
Fraser: How do you know?
Bruce: I can ask him.
Fraser: I think you should.
[dials cell phone & holds it out to Bruce]

 

[woods, dirt road; it’s raining heavily]
[Welsh, Kevin, and three other men arrive... Kowalski, Fraser, Dief, and Bruce step out from the trees; Bruce goes over to Kevin, Welsh crosses to stand with Kowalski. Music: “Brothers In Arms” by Dire Straits.]
Kevin: I understand you have some questions.
Bruce: No. No, Kevin.... Yeah, I do.
Kevin: So hit me.
Bruce: Yeah. Yeah. That’s the question. Do you remember the boomerang?
Kevin: The what?
Bruce: The boomerang. Do you remember the boomerang?
Kevin: What about it?
Bruce: Was it a boomerang?
Kevin: What are you asking?
Bruce: Was it a boomerang?
Kevin: Bruce. In six days I stand before the Senate. The Senate of the United States of America.
Bruce: It wasn’t a boomerang?
Kevin: I am talking about a directorship! Don’t you understand that?
Bruce: They’re gonna ask about me? They’ll ask about me a-a-a-a-and you won’t know what to say?
Kevin: I can’t carry you anymore.
Bruce: You can say that you’re my brother and that you love me. You can say that. Just say that you love me.
Kevin: They’ll find out about the robbery. You’ll tell them. You won’t be able to help yourself. And I will lose everything that I have worked for. I can’t let that happen, Bruce. I do love you. Just get in the car and we’ll work it out. [hugs Bruce]
Bruce: No, Kevin, I can’t do that.
Kevin: Bruce? [reaches into his pocket]

Fraser: [to Dief]  Go!

Kevin: In the car, now. [pulls gun]
Bruce: No.
[Dief knocks Kevin down; agents fire their weapons, cops fire back]

Ray: Get him outta here!!

[cops escape into the woods]

Agent: Okay boys, let’s go get ‘em!
Welsh: Why’d you pick this place?
Fraser: Well, I thought Kevin would be more forthcoming if he thought he had the upper hand.
Ray: It worked great, except they do have the upper hand!
Fraser: Not for long.

[heavy fire; Kowalski dives behind a fallen log, and others hide beside him]

Fraser: Bruce, you all right? [Bruce nods]

[more gunfire]
Welsh: Reloading!

Ray: Two at 12 o’clock!
Welsh: I got ‘em! [fires]
Ray: Three at 1 o’clock.
Fraser: Ray?
Ray: Four at 5 o’clock.
 
Fraser: Ray?
Ray: Oh, man.
Fraser: We just have to get over this hill.
Ray: Okay, that’s it. Check please!

[Kowalski fires cover, then they run]
Agent: Got ‘em on the run, let’s go, come on!


[graduation ceremony]
Academy Director: All of you have worked hard to make the grade. But I know it’s been worth it. Now you take on the satisfaction of knowing that you are among Chicago’s very-- [gunfire] --finest. This is only the beginning. Now you take on the responsibilities and duties of police officers, and-- [more gunfire]
  Your friends seem to be celebrating already with firecrackers.
Elaine: [stands]
  Excuse me, sir.
Director: Sit down, cadet. You’ll get to come up in a minute.

[Elaine sits; more gunfire; Elaine stands again]  

Director: I said sit down.
Elaine: But that gunfire, sir. I think officers are in trouble.
Director: In the middle of my speech? Don’t be ridiculous. And if you want to graduate, sit down.

[hillside]

Agent: We got ‘em on the run.
Fraser: We’re just about there!
Welsh: You guys get going, we’ll cover you!
Fraser: You ready?
Bruce: Yeah.

Welsh: Go!

[they shoot cover fire]
Fraser: Let’s go!

[Bruce & Fraser start up the hill, just as cadets spill over the top]
Welsh: Hey, calvary’s coming. It’s just like the movies!
[Kevin has shot at Bruce, but doesn’t take it;
  Kowalski shoots, wounding an agent; Kevin runs, Fraser chases]

 

[cadets surround one agent, pointing guns]
Elaine: Okay, scumball! Spread ‘em!
Director: Don’t forget to check for an ankle holster.
Elaine: Yes, sir!
Director: What do you do as soon as the suspect is controlled?
Elaine: Read him his Miranda rights, sir!
Director: Good, good. Excellent, excellent.
Ray: [gets another agent]
 Pencilneck!! Stop! Or I will put a bullet right through your head! Drop the gun! On your knees, on your knees! Hands behind your back!

[more cadets swarm around]
Director: Carefully, carefully. Very good. All right, now. What do we do after we’ve controlled a suspect?
Ray: Uh... Kick ‘im in the head?

[Fraser tackles Kevin, making the machine gun go flying; they grapple in the mud; Kevin pulls out pistol]
Bruce: Kevin!

[Kevin turns... Bruce has the machine gun pointed at him]

[graduation ceremony (Take 2)]
Director: Elaine Besbriss. [applause]
  Congratulations, Elaine. You’re one of the first cadets to graduate with an arrest already under your belt. [more applause]  Let’s hope it’s the first of many!
Elaine: Thank you, sir.
Director: You’re welcome.

[outside]

Fraser: You know, Elaine, my graduation marked the beginning of one of the most exciting periods of my career. I received my first posting. It was to a very remote community perched on the edge of a--
Ray: An ice floe. Look, love you like a brother, Fraser, but let’s not hear about that right now.
Fraser: Understood.

[Kevin is put into the back of a police cruiser]
Ray: So, you’re gone, Elaine. I’m never going to find another file, who’s going to transfer the calls? Hey, who’s going to order pizza?
Elaine: I’m sure Francesca will work out fine.
Ray: Oh, no, no. She belongs on the Home Shopping Network, not at a police station.
Fraser: [to Welsh]
  How did it go?
Welsh: Well, Bruce’ll have to go to Washington to answer some questions about Kevin. After that, he’s free to go wherever he chooses.
Fraser: Will you excuse us? [to Bruce]
 Where are you going to go?
Bruce: I don’t know.
Fraser: You don’t want to stay in Chicago.
Bruce: No, no. I don’t think so.
Fraser: I understand.
Bruce: You know, maybe when I’m in Chicago, I could, uh, come and play with your dog sometime.
Fraser: Yes. Anytime.
Bruce: Okay.


End

 

 

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