"Well, it's Halloween." "Of course your parents have to work." "Other parents don't." "Well, other parents aren't cops and nurses." "I mean, think about it." "Think about all the monsters that are out tonight." "The vampires and werewolves and the zombies." "Not really." "Wait a minute, wait a minute." "Come over here." "What do you think Halloween is all about?" "Costumes and candy?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "No, you're wrong." "Mom..." "Halloween is when the evil come out to play." "All right." "Scream if you need us." "10-50 at 2-5 West 5-7." "Security reports a disorderly male." "Let me go!" "Hey!" "Relax!" "Let me go!" "Hey, hey, hey." "Hey!" "It's about time!" "Relax!" "Step away." "Just step away." "Take it easy." "Got a doctor's appointment." "There's no doctors in this building." "He's crazy." "Got a doctor's appointment." "What's your doctor's name?" "I got to see him." "Okay, what's your doctor's name?" "Got to see him." "Hey, hold on, hold on." "Got to see the doctor." "Call for a sergeant and ESU." "I can't let you up there." "I got to see the doctor." "Okay, I can't let you up there right now, though, okay?" "I got to see the doctor." "Okay, but no..." "Hey." "Don't let him up!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "Shut down the elevators." "Shut down the elevators." "I look more like Eleanor Roosevelt than I do Teddy." "That's not true at all." "How much am I raising by sacrificing my dignity?" "The dinner's $2,500 a plate." "Who's the mayor going as?" "Uh, either Jackie Robinson or Earl "The Pearl" Monroe." "Typical." "Either way, he gets to look cool in a uniform." "Not if he has to wear those old-school basketball shorts." "Good point." "Hope he's Monroe." "This stuff is itchy." "You'll be in and out in under an hour, and you're raising over 200 grand for the Police Sports League." "Win, win." "Your detail's waiting." "You better get a move on." "Don't take any unwrapped candy and mind crossing the street." "Happy Halloween." "I love you, babe." "I love you." "You're the best." "I think we should go." "One more stop." "Come on." "Take me home." "Richard, is that you?" "Nah." "Stop!" "♪ Blue Bloods 3x07 ♪ Nightmares Original Air Date on November 9, 2012" "== sync, corrected by elderman ==" "♪" "So that's all he said was, "Nah"?" "Not like that, though." "It was more like a..." "I don't know, like a-an animal sound." "Animal sound like how?" "Can you show me?" "It was like, "Naaahhhh" or something." "You said your husband thought it was Richard." "Who's Richard?" "He's just a friend." "Well, why would your husband think it was him?" "Richard's big on Halloween, always comes up with a great costume, that's all." "Richard who?" "What's Richard's last name?" "Richard Schultz." "He's our neighbor and my husband's squash partner." "He's not your guy." "Now, can I please go to the hospital and take care of my husband?" "Okay, all right." "Officer, take her to the hospital, okay?" "Thank you, ma'am." "Detective Reagan?" "I'm Detective Lansing." "Oh." "I just moved over from Internal Affairs." "Oh, congrats on getting sprung." "Where's Detective Curatola?" "I don't know." "Sergeant Gormley gave me orders to hook up with you." "Uh-huh." "Okay, so what do you got?" "Well, Jack Sparrow here caught the perp on his cell camera." "Oh." "Yeah." "All right, e-mail that to yourself." "I already did." "Detective, this isn't just a skeleton costume." "What do you mean?" "I spent six months in Haiti doing detail after the earthquake." "I got a crash course in Vodou." "There's..." "You mean voodoo." "No, Vodou." "It's voodoo." "It's Vodou." "There's this spirit of death and struggle, the Baron Samedi." "Who looks like this?" "Right down to the top hat and tails." "Right." "So you're saying our guy's a bogeyman?" "No, what I'm saying is he's done up specifically as the Baron Samedi." "Thank you." "We'll be in touch." "So he's human?" "Well, as far as we know, yeah." "Well, happy Halloween." "Happy Halloween." "Detail clocked you out of the party at 2103 hours." "Did they?" "In and out of a charity dinner in 36 minutes." "A personal best?" "I'm checking, but it looks good." "From the office of my DCPI." "Yes." "Why didn't you open it?" "Because, once I open it," "I am compelled to act upon its contents." "And one of the things I value most about our relationship is we can talk to each other without pain-in-the-ass protocols." "What the hell is up, Garrett?" "I wrote it because I won't get through saying it." "There's a formal letter and an informal explanation of my circumstances." "Please." "What's going on?" "The knife attack in Williamsburg made two out of the three front pages and all the morning talk shows." "No suspect in custody, no apparent motive." "Cut it out." "I'm late for some lawyers, so we'll talk when I get back." "What's going on, Garrett?" "Frank... read the damn letter." "Okay, there." "Zoom in." "Okay, freeze it, blow it up." "We got a grainy shot that could be a million guys." "Exactly." "I see that." "What platform is he on?" "Downtown two." "Okay, bring up the Flatbush stops." "Are we gonna go station by station?" "We could be here all night." "Aren't you the one that mentioned the Baron Samedi and Haiti?" "The Haitian community's centered in Flatbush." "Flatbush." "Exactly." "Okay, I'm giving up giving up coffee." "All right, good." "Call transit." "Have them secure that bin." "Oh, and did I say please?" "No." "Well, please." "Thank you." "Can we dispense with the thank-yous and pleases, by the way, when we're on the job at least?" "Certainly." "But I don't work for you;" "I work with you." "I know that." "Not according to reputation." "How much actual football in the three hours it takes to watch a game?" "An hour." "11 minutes and change." "Seriously?" "Yeah, so I don't want to hear any more crap about soccer being boring." "12 David, be advised you have a 10-50 at 2-5 West 5-7." "Security reports a disorderly male at that location." "That's the building from yesterday." "He's already out?" "Let somebody else take it, man." "I'm still sore from dealing with that dude." "Come on, we're a block away." "12 David." "Show us responding." "Come on." "Put that down." " It's just pepper spray." " Drop it." "Lose it now." "Let's go." "Get it off!" "Hey, my name is Officer Reagan." "What's yours?" "Got to see the doctor." "Okay, what's the doctor's name?" "Dr. No." "Dr. No, okay." "All right, uh, and what's your name?" "Malcolm." "Malcolm?" "All right, we're here to help you, Malcolm." "My name is Malcolm!" "Yeah, we got that." "All right." "Hey, I'm Jamie, okay?" "Jamie." "You were here before." "Yeah." "Yeah, I was." "I'm so embarrassed." "It's okay." "Nothing to be embarrassed about." "Please help me." "Okay, just take it easy, okay?" "We got him." "We got him." "Stand back, please." "All right, please, can I see your hands, please?" "He-he's just confused." "No, not gonna." "He's all right." "You'll be fine, sir." "No, no, not gonna." "Give me your hands, please." "Not gonna!" "Jamie?" "Jamie." "Jamie." "All right, okay." "It's okay." "They're not gonna hurt you." "Jamie?" "Go with the officers." "Let's go." "Jamie?" "Jamie?" "Jamie?" "What do you got?" "Look at this." "Oh, say cheese." "That's right by the 6-7 precinct in Brooklyn." "Make copies?" "Wow..." "I never would have thought of that." "You try giving up coffee." "No, you'd have to pry that from my cold, dead hands." "Nice work." "These are all residences." "Maybe the precinct gave us the wrong address." "Well, odds are the temple is in the basement of a residential building, maybe with the floor torn up so it exposes the dirt." "In Vodou, the offerings-- rum, sugar water, perfume-- they have to be poured into the earth." "There's your basement apartment." "This must be it." "And try to remember that All Soul's Day is sacred in the Haitian community." "I'm just trying to put a name to a face, okay?" "May I help you?" "Yeah, I'm Detective Reagan;" "this is Detective Lansing." "We were directed here by the Community Affairs Officer from the precinct." "Regarding?" "You know this man." "I'm not sure." "It wasn't a question." "I'm busy preparing for services." "Okay." "You may join me." "You can leave us alone, Pierre." "I know it is against regulations for you to remove your shoes, but please tread softly." "This is sacred ground." "You've had cops here before, have you?" "There isn't a Vodou temple that hasn't." "Our oppression goes back to the very origins." "Well, we're just here for information." "I am simply asking for the same respect you would show a priest of your faith, in your church." "Now, why have you come to me for this?" "Well, the suspect was dressed as the Baron Samedi when he made the attack." "And then afterwards, he got off the subway three blocks from here." "Do you know him?" "His first name is Toussaint." "Who did he attack?" "A guy dressed as a Catholic priest." "He cut him up with knife." "Last name?" "Not a priest, but dressed as a priest?" "With all due respect, ma'am, what's his last name, where does he live, who does he hang around with?" "Forgive me, Detective, but I am seeing things you can't begin to fathom." "Toussaint Lazard." "He emigrated a couple of years ago from a fine, old Port Au Prince family." "He is or was a student at Brooklyn College." "I personally haven't seen him in a couple of months." "But he did come to services here?" "Yes." "Until?" "Until he didn't." "One thing about this Lazard kid, uh, I noticed he had men buzzing in at odd hours." "I thought he was running some kind of lady boy service." "Yeah, and?" "I started checking." "Always the same guy." "Did you get a look at him?" "Couldn't tell through my peephole, but a man, short, my age." "Same man, night after night for the last week or so." "He got a fire escape?" "Yeah, up to the roof." "Okay." "Stairs?" "Yeah, up to the roof." "Police!" "Coming in." "Police!" "Hold it!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "He's coming up, Kate!" "Lazard!" "Police!" "Stop!" "What happened?" "Did you get him?" "He just... he..." "he just jumped." "What do you mean, "he jumped"?" "He made that?" "What's that?" "It's a cross." "He threw it at me on the fire escape." "That's a big cross." "Well, it's a pectoral cross." "Catholic priests wear it." "Amy and I separated a month ago after I found out she was having an affair." "So you thought you'd level the playing field?" "I went to Atlantic City for a lost weekend, met this Christy at the blackjack tables." "I didn't go looking for it, but yeah, when it fell in my lap..." "Who is she?" "Said she was a real estate agent." "Blonde, gorgeous, about 30." "Any bells go off?" "Like you were punching above your weight but everything was landing?" "Only bells going off were from good whiskey." "Like I say," "I didn't have to go to a lot of effort." "She was..." "She know where you work?" "She thinks I work in an investment bank." "And I was wearing my wedding ring." "Rich, married, her kind of whale." "One out of two, anyway." "What's she threatening to charge you with?" "Sexual assault." "Maintains I forced myself on her in her room." "But you didn't." "Of course not." "And I have the texts and e-mails showing the relationship was consensual." "Consensual is an understatement." "All righty, then." "There's pictures." "I'm good." "Just of her." "I've seen all I need to." "How much does she want to go away?" "$50,000 for damages, which I don't have." "And you wouldn't pay if you did." "I want you to know that I haven't so much as whispered a hint for a favor from anyone in this department." "It never crossed my mind that you would have." "And when she brings the charges," "I'll have to answer with the evidence that it was all consensual." "And your old friends in the press will have a field day publishing those e-mails and texts." "I can't be your DCPI." "I won't bring that circus to this office." "So please don't fight me on this." "You're innocent." "We know how it plays out, Frank." "You have to accept my resignation." "I'd appreciate it if we could wait to make the announcement in conjunction with the naming of your replacement." "I can't tell you how sorry I am." "Took the words right out of my mouth." "If he shows up to class or is spotted on campus, give me a call." "Thanks." "He's registered as a freshman at Brooklyn College, but he's been cutting classes all week." "Yeah, and his family's all in Haiti, he's not registered in DMV, and he's got no arrests." "Ever a complainant?" "Nothing that made it into the system." "Did we get a dump on the phone?" "There's no account under his name with any of the major carriers." "They're checking the mom-and-pop services to the Caribbean." "This kid's like a ghost." "None of the prints we lifted from the cross appear in any of our databases." "We cleaned it up and found some initials, though." "Here, tiny... "FXA," "Anno Domini, MCMXXVIII."" "Father Francis Xavier..." "A-something, ordained 1978." "Thank you." "Huh." "What?" "Thank you." "We got a kid with no record, just attacks a random victim with a knife, but what if it wasn't random?" "What if he just got the wrong priest?" "Victim wasn't a priest." "No, but on Halloween night, he was." "Dressed as one." "That's right." "Can you get me an exact location of occurrence, front of?" "8996 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11211." "I don't have his name, and I'm not a relative." "And I'm not a clairvoyant, so..." "Uh, first name's Malcolm." "Big guy, about 60." "He got processed through here twice the last 48 hours." "Take a seat and lose the attitude." "Did I mention that I'm NYPD?" "Yes, not that you needed to." "Take a seat." "Look, lady," "I am just trying to help this guy, the same as you." "And for the last time," "I can't just walk back there and take an inventory." "Malcolm, hey." "Hey, Malcolm." "Uh, excuse me, where is he being moved to?" "Moved to?" "How should I know?" "What, he's just being released again?" "That's what the paperwork says." "Hey, Malcolm?" "There's a saying," "Haiti is 80% Catholic, 100% Vodou." "Okay, so say this kid got close to a priest, then." "We don't know why, but this priest turns out to be one of those, you know, touchy-feely types of priests." "The guy who was visiting his apartment?" "Yeah." "Say it is." "This kid's a stranger in a strange land, no family to turn to, decides, you know, getting high one night," "I'm gonna settle up with Father Sandusky." "I don't know, Danny." "That's a bigger leap than Lazard took off his roof." "We'll find out soon enough." "This should be the rectory." "Hey!" "Hey, Malcolm." "Hey, it's me, Jamie." "Hey, come on, buddy, don't tell me you don't remember me." "Hey." "Hey, uh, how about a picture, Malcolm?" "You mind?" "I want to take your picture." "Okay." "What's that?" "For the picture." "What's that pose, Malcolm?" "Take the picture!" "Okay, all right." "Okay." "Got it." "Hey, uh, why don't we go back inside and talk to your doctor, huh?" "Hey, hey, not so fast, buddy." "You have to understand, any parish these days has a certain, uh, fluidity with visiting priests coming in to help out." "Well, fortunately for us, we're only looking for one." "Father Francis Xavier." "Last name, A-something." "Ordained in 1978." "Figuring he's mid to late 40s by now." "Where did you get this?" "I got it from the suspect who airmailed it to us." "Which is why we need to speak to the Father." "Francis Xavier?" "Yes." "No, no Father Francis." "Frank, Fran?" "We did host a Father Fran Ainsworth, but he's since moved on." "How long since?" "I'd have to look at the parish calendar." "You know, with all due respect, Father," "I'm getting the sense you're being a little less than forthcoming with us." "And with all due respect, Detective," "I have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the attacker." "Okay, well, Father Ainsworth might." "You'd have to ask him." "I don't know where he was sent to next." "Yeah, of course you don't." "What are you implying?" "That the Catholic Church has a way of playing hot potato with, uh, certain types of priests." "You understand?" "That's a pretty slanted view." "Okay, I think you're hiding something." "Is that direct enough for you, Father?" "Are either of you Catholic?" "Kneel for a blessing?" "I think I better go to confession first." "My faith's a little bit shaken at the moment." "Ready when you are." "Thank you." "I really can't take you anywhere." "But then, right in the middle of it, out of nowhere, he looks at me like he remembers me." "That sounds like Alzheimer's." "Once in a while, the curtains open." "That's exactly what the doctor at the hospital said." "I've lost a few old pals to that one." "A real nightmare." "Yeah." "He thinks he knows me, which is a start." "So I went down to the hospital to see what I could do, and guess what." "He's dumped back out on the street?" "Yeah!" "Isn't there some legal requirement for..." "Kendra's Law." "It allows for mandated treatment, but it doesn't require it." " What's he got to do, kill someone?" " No, but the cracks are pretty easy to fall through on that one." "It helps to get the attention of somebody who gives a hoot." "It sounds like you've been elected." "Yep." "I asked him if I could take a picture of him so I'd have something to put out there, and here's what he did." "I don't get it." "His reaction to being asked to pose for a picture, like a reflex." "Like a shortstop posing for a baseball card?" "Yeah." "I think he's too big to be a shortstop, though." "Maybe a linebacker?" "Maybe, and he made this face when he did it, too, like..." "Like one of those wrestlers on cable?" " Maybe that's it." " Or maybe he just had to pass gas." "Hey, what's up with you two?" "Your dad makes a fart joke, you don't even react?" "Yeah, you've been pretty quite over there." "What's going on?" "What?" "I take it you haven't gone trick-or-treating with my mother." "You let them go alone with Erin?" "Well, I didn't get that memo." "Oh, the poor kids." "I think they still may be a little traumatized." "I know I am." "You guys are wimps." "What did you do?" "Reagan." "Yeah, Monsignor Doonan." "No, no, just, uh, having Sunday dinner here." "Sure, I'll come right down." "What's going on?" "I think I have to go to church for the second time today." "Excuse me, Dad." "I'll see you later." "Danny Boy." "Walter." "Hope I didn't interrupt your Sunday dinner." "Not at all." "Appreciate the call." "You remember Monsignor Milano." "Mm-hmm." "And this is Father Ainsworth." "I'm not here to play old friend and good Catholic, just so you know." "I'm aware of that, Danny." "So what happened, you checked the parish calendar and "Oh, hell, hey."" "Father Ainsworth was here all along?" "Danny, please, have a seat." "I'm good where I am, Walter." "What are you doing here, though?" "Look, the nature of Father Ainsworth's involvement with the young man you're seeking is not something the church is eager to see publicized." "Hence the bit of a runaround." "Why don't you just stop right there, okay?" "I'm the investigator on this case." "Danny..." "I cannot protect or will not protect you." "Father Ainsworth is an exorcist." "You still do that?" "In exceptional circumstances, yes." "Sorry." "Guess I should sit down." "The Archdiocese had requests from Mr. Lazard's family in Haiti and his pastor here." "All the testing required to clear him for clinical psychological disorders was performed in conjunction with medical doctors." "Ah." "So, like, the Devil's inside him?" "Not like in the movies, but yes," "I intervene to liberate the victim from demonic possession." "In the case of Mr. Lazard, numerous times." "Regrettably, to no avail." "What happened to your wrist?" "I broke it fending him off the last time I performed the rites." "He became violent." "Do you have any idea where he is now?" "None." "Has he tried to contact you?" "Not since Halloween night, if that's what that attack down the street was." "Sorry." "Detective?" "Hey, we got Lazard's cell and dumped it." "He's got texts back and forth from someone saying "sanctuary," quote, unquote." "Looks like we should pay another call to our priestess." "Unless you got something more on Father Handsome." "They don't have Lazard, okay?" "I'm, uh..." "I'll be back soon." "Hey, Pop." "Francis, boundary between Earth and the underworld." "Greek mythology, four letters." "Ending in X?" "Then exit would work." "Styx, S-T-Y-X." "Thank you." "The River Styx." "I need a favor, Pop." "There's a driver waiting outside, a civilian." "I need you to take a ride over to Jersey and talk to your old friends there." "Couldn't I just call them?" "No, this has to be done face-to-face, no phone records, no e-mails, nothing." "Just the retired brass old-boys network and your old-school methods." "Okay." "You guys need to figure out the best way to deliver a message without a smudge of fingerprints from here." "I don't want to know a thing." "I'll see a result, or I won't." "The name and address and record of the individual." "All I want is a message delivered that says she's got her hooks in the wrong whale." "This time of night, you can be in Sea Breeze in about an hour." "You're sure about this?" "Pop, I've given over 40 years to law enforcement." "The victim in this is a good man who would fall on his sword for my department." "If I want to go out on a limb to protect him, let them take a couple of bricks out of my house in Cop Heaven." "You got it." "So it wasn't a mitt or a wrestler's outfit missing from that pose." "It was a hockey stick." "No way." "Yeah, his last name's Laroche." "Guy got drafted to the Montreal Canadiens out of high school, ended his career as a fourth-line wing with the '82 Rangers, and whose knee guy had an office in that building that he keeps going back to." "So where's he AWOL from?" "Some assisted-care home outside of Albany." "When's the last time a call went out on him?" "Nothing over the weekend, so four days ago." "You think he's all right?" "I still think we should call for backup." "Well, we don't even know if the kid's in there yet." "Warrant or no, we're still violating these people's belief in sanctuary." "It makes them angry." "They'll get over it." "Police." "We got a warrant to search the premises." "Sorry, we closed for services." "Not for us, you're not." "This a sanctuary, sir." "Yeah, and this warrant trumps your sanctuary, okay?" "So why don't you step aside." "All right, step aside." "We're going in." "Back up!" "Hey!" "Put your hands on me again." "Get them up." "Get them up." "Get down the stairs and open the door." "Now." "Keep them up." "Move it." "Go on, open the door." "Call for backup, Kate." "Go on." "Detectives at 42 Linden Street." "Step aside." "Hey, move it!" "Step back." "Who are you?" "Step aside." "Hey, step back." "Hey!" "Toussaint!" "Back up." "You can't be here." "Step back, I said!" "Hey!" "Hey, what's wrong with him?" "What the hell is wrong with him?" "This is a sanctuary!" "Please..." "What's that?" "There is nothing wrong." "Please do not interfere." "Please." "We must free him from the demons." "Kate, call a bus!" "Listen to my spirit." "Be gone." "He's free!" "The demons are gone!" "The demons are gone!" "He is free!" "Oh, he's free." "The demons are gone!" "10-85, forthwith, What took you so long?" "regarding an EDP." "2-5 West 5-7." "Officers!" "You guys got to do something." "Malcolm!" "Hey." "It's all right." "We got it." "We got it." "Malcolm?" "Malcolm Laroche?" "Hey, third period, game two, playoffs against the Islanders." "One goal, one assist, one player sent to the hospital." "Yeah, you're Malcolm Laroche." "You know me?" "Yes, I do, yeah." "Dr. Noth is on his way." "Dr. No?" "Dr. No, yeah." "You want to go home?" "Home." "Yeah." "Okay." "Why don't we relax?" "They'll be here in a minute." "Yeah?" "Thank you very much." "It's okay." "Help's on the way." "Jamie." "Nice working with you." "You, too." "You sure about that?" "Yeah, I'm just thinking, that's all." "What's on your mind?" "We got a troubled kid who never hurt a flea." "Right?" "Priest tries to squash his demons, he takes a blade to the priest, or who he thought was the priest, but never to anybody else." "Where you going with this?" "Who took up the blade?" "The kid or his demons?" "Like, the Devil made him do it?" "Seriously?" "I know, I know." "Just..." "I saw the look on that kid's face tonight at the end." "Yeah." "You've been around this Vodou stuff." "Is it possible that's what it was?" "I guess it's possible." "You know, I heard two things about you." "One, that you treat your partners like they're your employees." "And the other, that you are just incapable of letting anything go." "Innocent on the first count, guilty on the second." "Have a good night, Detective." "You, too." "Thanks, David." "One of the candidates is coming in first thing in the morning, another one in the afternoon." "I would appreciate it if you could sit in on both interviews." "Not a problem." "Good." "Thanks." "Thing is, my problem-- it seems to have gone away." "How so?" "Good question." "I got a registered letter from an attorney in Wayne, New Jersey, informing me that all former correspondence from a certain client of his had been sent in error." "How about that." "How about that." "So I'm kind of in limbo here." "I don't know what to do." "Well..." "Look, it could've happened to anyone." "Not anyone." "Anyone I know." "Uh-huh." "When the kids were little and Mary was swamped the way mothers get, you know, so the husband comes dead last," "I was at a police convention in Chicago, staying at the Drake Hotel." "Frank, stop." "You're very good at having an anecdote at hand that puts you directly in the other guy's shoes, and most of them are true, but some of them are total BS, like this one." "The real question is:" "Can you trust someone who got played as badly as I did to still be in your inner circle?" "Didn't see that one coming." "Piece of advice?" "Mrs. Moore gave you a free pass." "You cashed it in." "That part's done." "Now, go home and see if there's still a marriage there." "Okay." "See you in the morning." "For the interviews." "For the briefing." "First thing, as usual." "Like this never happened." "Thank you, Frank." "Hey, back by popular demand." "Yes, uh, for a farewell appearance, one night only." "What's going on?" "I left you a note in your... in your drawer." "You left me a note... in my drawer?" "Some kind of a joke, partner?" "You putting in for a transfer or something?" "No, I, um..." "I'm gonna take a leave of absence." "Because?" "Because I was away on vacation, and I realized I'm..." "I'm not capable of taking one anymore." "You know, it's not like" "I'm gonna erase the things that I've seen here, or I'm gonna erase the things people do to each other, but I at least need to stop feeding the meter right now." "I need to think about something else." "And you know what, you don't have to worry." "It's not gonna happen to you because... you're surrounded by good people." "And I need to go find mine." "♪" "== sync, corrected by elderman =="