" You look awful!" " I had a late-night poker game." "You should have at least shaved." "This new Police Commissioner Blakelock is very spit-and-polish." "Fuck him." "But, Jesus God, Ben!" "You got to watch the way you look." "You can't walk in on these bigwigs without shaving." "You just can't do that." "You should've put on a tie." "You should've shined your shoes." "You should've made an effort to spruce up a little bit." "Mr. Feyderspiel." "Shockley." "How are you?" "Fine, sir." "How's our Assistant D.A. these days?" "Shit!" "He couldn't convict Hitler." "Don't use any profanity." "And remember to say "sir" to him." "When he speaks to you, say "sir." Then stand up straight." "And for God's sakes, don't breathe on him." "Here." "Wait a minute, guy!" "Come on!" "Open your mouth." "I wish I had time to shave you." "Nag, nag, nag!" "E.A. Blakelock." "Ben Shockley, sir." "I've heard about you, Shockley." "As Commissioner of the police department considerable responsibility." "Watchdog of the department, so to speak." "Policing the police." "So that the need for absolute secrecy is" "I understand." "Plane tickets." "Extradite and subpoena." "You're flying to Las Vegas, coming back with a prisoner for us whom you will remand to custody at County." "And then you report, you know, back here." "Respectfully, sir, I work for Metro squad." "Why me?" "Your division commander says you're a man who gets the job done." "Is there anything special I should know about this case?" "What it is, is this:" "It's a nothing witness for a nothing trial." "That'll be all." "You represent the Phoenix P.D. Get a shave." "Yes, sir." "15 years on the bricks together, look what happens to us." "I land a lousy desk job." "You get a freebie to Vegas." "Big deal." "A two-bit witness for a two-bit trial." " Anybody I know?" " Name's Gus Mally." "Heard of him?" "No." "What's the charge?" "He wouldn't say." "I'm just going there- Hi, Shirley." "And coming back." "You won't even have time to get laid." "You won't have time." "Helen'd kill me." "Listen, are you still getting serviced by Shirley?" "Why not?" "You've got a very shapely lady there." "She was after me for my money." "The trip to Vegas is 2 hours." "Have dinner with us." "Not tonight." "Say hello to Helen and the kids, though." "And thanks for the escort." "I know how busy you execs are." "In your ear, Jim!" "Congratulations on the promotion." "I don't know why they promoted me." "We're partners, for chrissake." "You deserved the promotion." "I hate paperwork, you know that." "If it wasn't for the family, I'd tell them to shove it." "Why don't you quit bellyaching?" " You're off the bricks, aren't you?" " I like the bricks." "Relax and enjoy life." "You and me been through some doors together." "We've had our times." "We've had our times." "Ever been to Las Vegas before?" "A lot of tourists in town." "It's always this way, the Strip, choked with traffic all the time." "You can't drive." "You can't go fast." "30 miles an hour all the way." "The old days" "Buddy, drop the tourist crap, will you?" "What do you mean my man isn't here?" "You heard what I said, bud." "I've got papers for one Gus Mally." "The address is this building." "You better check again." "I've got all kinds of fellas in here." "I got a Smith." "I got a Gonzales." "I got a McNaughton." "Take your pick." "But I don't have a fella named Gus Mally." "He was to have been picked up yesterday, held for extradition." "Somebody screwed up." "Wait a minute now!" "When you get back to Phoenix empty-handed all I said was I ain't got no guy named Gus Mally." "Augustina Mally I got over in women's detention." "Asshole." "She's been spitting up since morning." "I don't know." "She might have a fever or something." "We called the prison doctor, but he hasn't shown up yet." "Hit the deck, Mally." "Has she eaten?" "Just a cup of coffee this morning." "Looks like she put cigarette ashes in the coffee." "Old army trick." "She wanted to look sick." "Let me go!" "They're going to kill me!" "I want a fucking lawyer!" "Terrific!" "My life on the line and they send me an on-the-ropes bum!" "What kind of record?" "Hooker." "We've got a problem, you and me." "We don't like each other, but we're taking a trip together." "You can come along peacefully or be a pain in the ass." "But I warn you, mess around and I'll put cuffs on." "Talk dirty, I gag you." "If you run, I'll shoot you." "My name is Shockley." "We've got a plane to catch." "They're still cutting her papers." "Swell." "Can you ask them to hurry it up, please?" "You think about what I said." "You're a dead man, Shockley." "They'll kill me." "And if you're with me, they'll kill you." "Who's "they"?" "I don't know." "Why are "they" going to kill you?" "I don't know." "Pack your lipstick." "Damn it, it's the truth!" "They've even got a line on it." "On us!" "They got a betting line on everything in this town." "Ponies, football, the fights." "Nobody cares about a dumb-ass cop and a two-bit hooker on Airwest." "Shockley, listen to me." "It's 50-to-1 we don't make it." "Ask any bookie." "Don't drown in the sink." "You big prick!" "That's a hooker?" "The kick now is the schoolgirl look." "She's on the high side." "Finds it hard to maintain those hundred-dollar tricks." "On a scale of 10, I'd give her a 2." "And that's only because I've never seen a 1 before." "Okay, sir." "Here you are, just what you ordered." "How about another one?" "This is fine." " You sure?" " I've got a plane to catch." "Holy gee!" "No way you'd get me on a plane." "Not after the airline pilots I've dated." "I wouldn't let those assholes drive my car." "Really?" "Just last week I was reading this article." "It talked about flying." "Said we'd all become just like cattle." "Trusting our lives to people we don't even know." "Like pilots." "Said we do it all the time." "Then we get our heads bashed in like cattle, for being so trusting." "Did you ever think about that?" "Like those pilots I dated." "They're so snockered they don't know what button to push." "One minute you're flying 30,000 feet in the air next you are splattered all over the ground somebody's dachshund nipping at your pancreas." "Flying really sucks, you know what I mean?" "How much on what, sport?" "Mally No Show." "What's the score on her?" "50-to-1." "I can read." "I mean, how does she run?" "I don't know shit from horses." "I just put up the names." "She started out at 20-to-1." "The smart money must figure she ain't got a chance." "You want to bet or not?" "Maybe later." "Ed's Pony Book." "You got a horse in the 10th race called Mally No Show." " Got a line on her?" " Hang on." "We've got her, 70-to-1." "70?" "It was 60-to-1 10 minutes ago." "So aren't you glad you waited?" "But the odds are bound to go down." "No filly can be that bad." "You found out I was right, didn't you?" "I didn't find out dick." "But a horse named Mally No Show's in the 10th race at Santa Anita." "Somebody's betting she'll drop dead at the starting gate." "And this is the gate right here!" "You see?" "They're saying we haven't got a chance!" "For all I know, it's just a coincidence." "It's not a coincidence." "There isn't any 10th race at Anita!" "Wagon's outside." "What about that horse?" "75-to-1." "Sounds like a real nag." "Go back home." "Leave me be." "Call it off." "Please!" "We're splitting right now." "One of you call Hertz or Avis." "I don't care which one." "Have them leave me a car between here and the airport." "Leave the keys." "I'll pay once she's on the plane." "If, and I say if, what you're saying is true somebody's betting I can't do my job." "They're full of shit!" "These people laying these odds will chew you up and spit you out!" "You're fucking crazy." "I'm not going anyplace with you." "What about that car?" "'74 Plymouth, blue." "It's parked at the Christian Center." " Who's the driver?" " That's me." "Let's go." " Just him." " We're a team." "Next time." "You cheap-shot, gutless bastard!" "You get off roughing up girls, don't you?" "Big man!" "Big 45-caliber fruit!" "That's me." "Macho mentality." "You'll get us both killed before we get out of here!" "Jesus!" "Breathe deeply." "There it is." "All right." "Pull around in front." "I'll get her ready for transfer." "Check for the keys." "I'm hyperventilating, you bastard!" "Go die by yourself." "I won't get out of this ambulance." "Come here." " Take this." " What's that?" "It's a gun." "Take it." " I don't want it." " Take it!" "Anybody comes up behind us, shoot him." "You got to be kidding!" "Where the hell are you going?" "I'll take a less popular way to the airport." "After what happened back there?" "They'll be waiting for us!" "By the time they sift through that wreckage, we'll be gone." "Pull over." "Until you pull that trigger, I'm headed to the airport." "I mean it." "I swear to Christ, if you don't stop, I'll shoot." "What's that?" "They're shooting!" " Shoot at them!" " Stop!" "It's the police!" "It's not the police!" "Shoot at them!" "I can't!" "You were ready to shoot at me, damn it!" "Oh, my God!" "So we don't go to the airport." "But I'll be damned if I know where to go." "Six blocks down, hang a left." "Second house on the right." "You got a telephone in this place?" "It's over there." "This your house?" "Yeah." "What kind of guys do you bring here?" "Locals, mostly." "Married men cheating on their wives." " Police Department." " Commissioner Blakelock's office." "Ben Shockley." "You were supposed to be on the plane 15 minutes ago." "Somebody doesn't want your nothing witness to testify at your nothing trial." "If I'm going to get her to Phoenix, I'll need your help." "Call the Vegas police and send two squad cars one for a decoy, the other to take her to the airport." "Where are you?" "Where the hell is this place?" "316 Rothdale." "316 Rothdale." "You can't miss it." "There's an ambulance in front." "Yeah, it's a cathouse." "Stay there." " Where the hell would I go?" " Don't get smart, Shockley." "Yes, sir." "You win, Shockley." "I'm through fighting it." "I appreciate what you did in the ambulance." "If you hadn't pulled me back" "My job's just to get you back to Phoenix in one piece." "I know." "Still, I owe you." "You married?" "What do you care?" "I'm interested in you." "Want a glass?" "It's fine." "Every woman has her thing about men." "Something that turns her on." "With me, it's hands." "I love strong hands." "Like yours." "We have time." "We'll have such a good time, baby." "Such a good time." "You're so beautiful." "You just lie there now." "Just lie there and momma will do all the work." "Somehow I get the feeling your heart isn't in your work." "You bastard!" "Even if we do get to Phoenix I'm not testifying at any lousy trial." "That's your problem." "My job's just to get you there." "You'd risk your life for something this stupid?" "All you've got's your job!" "I just do what I'm told." "Yeah?" "So does an imbecile." " Information." " Number for Airwest." "We won't be here long." "Do you mind?" "Once we're in the air I'd hate you to worry I'll leap out the washroom window." "Go ahead." "Air-worst has planes leaving almost every hour." "Airwest?" "When's your next flight to Phoenix?" "You have planes leaving every hour?" "I'd like to book a reservation on your next flight for two." "Two people, name's Smith." "We'll be there." "Thanks." "Let's go." "You, in the house!" "Come out with your hands up!" "We got the house surrounded." "Throw out your guns." "Bring the girl." "Fuck me!" "Come on, let's go." "Come on, goddamn it!" "They've got an army out there." "You've got thirty seconds." "They're shooting at us!" "Mally?" "Open fire!" "Hold your fire!" "Captain, they should've surrendered." "Why the hell didn't you tell me about that passageway?" "I'm your prisoner." "I was trying to escape." "What happened?" "I heard shooting." "I damn near got cut to ribbons." "Somebody set me up!" "Don't blame me." "It was your idea, calling the cops." "Did you shoot at those guys?" "I didn't do jack shit!" "Then why?" "What happened?" "I don't know what happened." "Let's get out of here." "I don't suppose there's anybody in this town you could trust?" "I don't know." "I'm not sure." "I guess in your line of work you don't make many lifelong friends." "What about you?" "Those were cops." "How many friends have you got?" "Get your ass in gear." "Here." "Look normal." "I am normal." " There's a cop car." " Shut up." " Do what I say and this won't go off." " You got it!" "Get in the back." "Now go." "Don't get nervous with that cannon." "I ain't no trouble." "Just head right on out there to the left." "We just left 50 of your buddies, tried to blow me to hell." "They were nothing but trouble." "You two are them holed up in that cathouse, ain't you?" "Do you know about that?" "Every cop in town knows about it." "Just what do you know?" "Our dispatcher said there was this hooker and three men, armed and dangerous, holed up in a cathouse." "Hell, half the units in this city must have picked it up." "I don't care what bullshit came over that radio." "There was just us two in that house, and I'm a cop." "You think that piece of tin proves anything?" "You can get that out of a box of Cracker Jacks." "It's real." "You look at it!" "The two fellas in the car said you shot at them put them in a hospital." "Why would a cop do that?" "They shot at us, that's why." "That ain't their story." "They said you fled the scene of an accident." "They tailed you and you opened up at them." "Well, they're full of shit." "Sure as hell, somebody is." "Constable 3-1-5." "This is dispatch." "You being a cop, you don't mind if I tell them you're in the car?" "You just forget about that." "What's your detail?" "You're compounding your problem, kidnapping an officer." "I said, what's your detail, cowboy?" "I got the west side shift." "I just cruise." "Come sundown, I turn in this car and hang up the hat." "You just cruise out this highway towards the border, understand?" "I'll tell you what." "I'll make you a deal." "If you're really a cop let's turn this clit into the people who are looking for her and I'll forget the liberties you've been taking." "You know who they are?" "The people looking for her." "You know who they are?" "Let's just say that your story's true about them dudes in the car shooting at you first." "If them two are examples, I'd say the folks hunting for her have the initials M-O-B." "You didn't tell me it was the Mob after us raising the odds." "Who the hell are you protecting?" "I'm not protecting anybody." "I didn't know." "Shit!" "Now you got the cops on your ass too." "The good guys and the bad guys." "You're between a rock and a hard place, boy." "You ain't got a chance in hell." "No, sir!" "What do you say, colonel?" "Let's us get a taste of her and turn her ass in." "Okay?" "Pull over up here." "Pull into this station right up here." "Right here." "Stop." "Here, take these cuffs." "Put one bracelet on her hand and one over the roll bar." "Tough guys!" "Big tin-star egomaniacs." "Slide out this side." "Right over this side, here." "Over by that booth." "I ask you under penalty of perjury, Mr. DeLuca are there witnesses to corroborate what you've told the jury?" "One, sir." "One that I can think of." "Just one?" "Detective Shockley from Vegas, sir." "Jesus!" "I don't care what you heard." "I'm telling you what happened and who set me up." "Proof?" "Proof against the Mob?" "Come off of it, sir!" "I've got a scorched ass." "That's all the proof I need." "In the middle of nowhere with a witness you said means nothing." "And everybody in this town's shooting at me." "And I'm slightly worried about it." "You've got to bring me in." "I'd like an escort." "A convoy of Arizona police to take me and the prisoner back to Phoenix." "Where and when?" "The Arizona border's an hour away from here." "I'll be riding in a constable's car." "You copy?" "Affirmative." "You'll have your escort." "You'll transfer from the constable's vehicle to an escort car in 60 minutes." "Can you handle it or should I write it in braille and shove it up your ass?" "Yes, sir." "Take us to the border." "I heard some of that phone stuff so I guess you are a cop." "So you know I got to call in at quitting time, which is now." "Call in, tell them you need the car for another hour." "Say your mother-in-law was hit by a truck." "Tell them anything, just make believers out of them." "You mind if I ask you a question?" "How many times a month you spread your legs?" "Just drive the car, will you?" "I got a chance to learn something, colonel." "As long as I got to chauffer the little strumpet." "You mind if a country boy picks up a little education?" "I got this buddy he had the idea we'd open a string of whorehouses and advertise like fried chicken places." ""Finger-lickin' good!"" "How's it work with your kind?" "You go to some kind of special school?" "I have a B.A. from Finch College." "Is that where you learned how to give head?" "Will you shut up, for chrissake!" "Colonel, you coming to the strumpet's rescue?" "I bet you had some ideas of getting some gash yourself." "Maybe you already had a taste of it, huh?" "Ain't nothing like a slice of the damp, is there?" "You can't fool Deke." "I seen you zip your fly" "Will you shut up!" "Let him talk." "Were you going to shoot a fellow officer, colonel?" "What'll you tell them back home?" "I was insulting your whore?" "Looks like you done lost your hero-boy." "I can take care of myself." "Yeah, I bet you can at that." "Let's me and you have a little talk." "Did you ever go down on another little girl?" "Ever have it done to you?" "Whores just don't make it with guys." "They make it with anybody with cash, right?" "Bet you do." "Bet I'd like to watch you too." "Yes, ma'am." "I'd really dig watching you." "Them little melons all pink and tight." "That little ass a-humping and a-jerking around." "Them long legs all jacked up juicy-like." "I bet it don't take much to get you all wet and hot to trot, does it?" "Talk to me." "I want to know what it's like being a whore." "Actually, I always thought it was rather like being a cop." "You did?" "Not unlike being on the take at two dozen bars in downtown Vegas." "Taking money from some politician each time you peel his drunken kid's Cadillac off a telephone pole." "Strong-arming the Chicanos in the barrio on Saturday night." "Busting kids for smoking grass then taking a kickback from heroin dealers." "Or those occasions when you do bust a pusher and skim the haul when you've made the collar." "Sell it to your dope addict buddies on the force." "She's sure onto all our tricks." "As I see it the only difference between us, is that when I quit work I take a long hot bath and I'm clean as the day I was born." "But a cop especially a flunkie like you when sheriff whistles, you squat." "And what he does to you rots your brain." "No amount of water can get you clean again." "You going to take that crap?" "You were the one that wanted her to talk." "I know you don't like women like me." "We're a bit aggressive." "We frighten you." "Because you've got filth in your brain." "The only way you'll ever clean it out is to put a bullet through it." "Does your wife know you masturbate?" "You've had your chat." "Now drive!" "What's going to happen at the border?" "We'll pick up an escort to take us to Phoenix." "Who?" "Police." "Arizona police." "How do you know?" "Because I asked for them." "Did you call the same person you telephoned from the house?" "When I saw you back in the culvert you said you'd been set up." "It seemed that way at the time." "What's changed since then?" "What are you trying to say?" "Somebody's trying to kill me." "Since you're along, you're a target too." "The car that blew up, and the guys who shot at us could've been the Mob." "But back at the house, those were cops outside." "Somehow they got the wrong message." "Maybe it was a legitimate mistake." "Maybe not." "But if it wasn't who would've given them the wrong message?" "How would I know?" "Not my guys." "Not the guys on my own force, for chrissake!" "You're probably right." "But let's just say that there's a chance you're wrong." "Just one chance in a thousand." "The state line's a pretty lonely place to find out." "Hear what she said about your own people?" "You going to sit there and take that shit?" "How far is the state line?" "About 10 miles." "I really do have a college degree." "State line's just beyond that next rise up there." "Good thing you're out of here." "I ever see you again, you've had it." "I may be wrong." "But what if I'm right?" "Pull over here." "Pull over and stop!" "The hell, you say!" "I'll leave your gun by the road." "You can pick it up later." "Damn bet I will!" "You'll have some fast talking to do." "They'll wonder why you bailed out, and I'll tell them." "You chose sides." "Got yourself a little nookie and chose sides!" "Shit!" "Better get a move on." "If you're wrong, I want to be there to explain before that asshole starts spouting off." "Red Fox One, this is Kingman relay." "Has Rabbit arrived yet?" "Rabbit approaching." "Ten-four." "Will relay to Phoenix." "How y'all doing?" "If it's any consolation" "Nothing." "Shut up." "Never saw a cop feeling sorry for himself before." "Mind if I watch?" "For 2 cents and a stick of gum I'd kick the shit out of you." "Whatever gets you off, butch." "After I was through where would I leave the $20?" "I don't want your money." "I love you for your mind." "Sorry." "Just had to jog your thinking." "You're a loser." "I'm splitting." "You'd shoot a woman in the back?" "How would that look on your record?" "You'd never make it alone out there." "With you I don't have a chance." "On my own, I do okay." "I saved you from that constable." "I wouldn't take any bows." "If not for me, you'd have let that schmuck drive us into the guns." "There wouldn't be guns if they weren't try to kill you." "It's both of us, you witless idiot!" "Haven't you figured that out?" "Why do you think you drew this assignment?" "Because I get the job done!" "They don't want the job done!" "They picked you because you're a drunken bum." "And if they bump you off, not a fucking soul is going to give a rat's ass!" "You're a nothing." "A nobody." "A faded number on a rusty badge." "You've been set up by your own people to take the fall with me." "Wake up, for chrissake!" "At least that way you'll know where the bullets are coming from!" "Watch out for the sidewinders." "What?" "It's a type of rattlesnake that comes out after dark." "Horseshit!" "They're drawn by body heat." "You never know it till they hit you." "I'll leave in the morning." "I will!" "I'll make it too." "You'll see." "If we were in Vegas, you'd be just going to work." "Go polish your badge, Shockley." "It's all you've got." "Miserable bitch!" "Welcome to the ranks of the disenchanted." "Shut up and go to sleep." "I'm a counter-puncher, Shockley." "If you can't last the 12 rounds then stay out of the ring." "Who's DeLuca?" "Angelo DeLuca, as in the State of Arizona vs. DeLuca." "Who is he?" "Have you been sitting there all night?" "Cut the mother-hen crap, will you?" "You're supposed to be a witness at this trial." "Now who the hell is he?" " Small time." " Is he Mob?" "Who knows?" "Talk, for chrissake!" "Hell, I guess he is." "So what?" "A:" "The Mob's making book you don't testify at the trial." "And B:" "Somebody on the Phoenix P.D. also doesn't want you testifying." "A plus B equals a tie-in between the Mob and the police force." "You sit on your ass all night figuring that out?" "Congratulations." "Now, who's DeLuca?" "I only met the guy once!" "Jesus!" "I'm no good without coffee." "Lay off!" "The time you met him, what happened?" "I don't want to talk about it." "Half my force is involved and you won't talk." "You heard me." " Who you protecting?" " Nobody." "Me!" "I'm protecting me!" "So lay off!" "From what?" "From me?" "Have I tried to kill you?" "Or jump your bones?" "I'm not the enemy!" "Hurray for Mr. Clean." "What did he do?" "I don't want to talk about it!" "You're the key." "You're the proof and both sides know it." "Please." "DeLuca set me up with this guy." "Told me to be special nice to him." "What guy?" "Someone on the force." "Phoenix P.D.?" "His name?" "I didn't ask." "What happened?" "I went to this hotel room in Vegas." "There was this guy there." "He seemed like an okay guy." "I asked him how he wanted it." "He told me to take off my clothes lie down on the bed lie on my stomach." "Told me to open up my legs." "I couldn't see him." "He had this gun." "He took this gun with one hand and he held it there." "I knew what he was doing with his other hand." "And he told me if I screamed, he'd pull the trigger." "Describe him." "He was 55, 60." "Blue eyes, gray hair." "Very distinguished." "And he had this face that looked like it was made out of stone." "And his voice sounded like it came from the bottom of a tomb." "Blakelock." "Hogs." "You stay there." "Oh, my God!" "You wait here." " Where you going?" " You just stay here." "All right, mother-jumpers!" "This is a bust!" "Everybody up against their bike." "Balls in your pockets." "Come on!" "Don't do that, man!" "Don't!" "Son of a bitch!" "The next turkey who tries that, I'll shoot him stuff him and stick an apple in his ass." "Any takers?" "You?" "You?" "You?" "You?" "Hey, man." "You can't do this without a warrant." "The man says I need a warrant." "The man don't know jack shit!" "Anybody here know more about the law here than me?" "Any lawyers here?" "Any lawyers want to tell me why I don't need a warrant?" "Why don't you get off our case?" "You with the fucking hair." "You look smart." "Tell me why I'm entitled to come in here anytime I please." "Reasonable what?" "Reasonable suspicion." "Exactly!" "Reasonable suspicion." "I can do as I please if I have reasonable suspicion." "If I have suspicion a felony's been committed I can walk in here anytime I feel like it." "Because I got this badge, this gun and I got the love of Jesus in my pretty green eyes." "He must be high on something." "He's just fucking crazy." "Shockley, you idiot!" "Mindless, brainless, stupid, fucking idiot!" "Maybe even one of you girls." "Like what?" "I don't know what." "And personally I don't give a shit." "The main thing is, I'll have to bust you all." "Of course, we do have a choice." "Wait a second." "We have a choice." "If you get on those bikes and get out in the next 30 seconds I'll let you off with just a warning." "However, if you give me any shit any shit at all then there's going to be more cops." "More guns." "More handcuffs." "More marijuana-sniffing dogs than you've ever seen in your wildest hallucinations." "Thirty seconds!" "Haul ass!" "This bike stays with me." "You 3 can take a hike." "Hey, man!" "This is our choppers, Charlie!" "This is my gun, Clyde!" "Come on, this game's dead." "Let's get out of here." "This guy's nuts." " Fuck you!" " Take a hike, man." "What else can you do?" "Pig!" "Asshole!" "You're crazy!" "Ridiculous!" "You're outrageous." "You're just completely outrageous." "Thanks." " Hop aboard." " Do you know how to drive this thing?" "It's been a few years." "We'll fake it." "Maynard Josephson, Metro squad." "I'll get us something to eat." "Josephson." "Josephson?" "It's me, Shockley." "Ben?" "For chrissakes, Ben!" "There's an APB out on you." "Why'd you do it?" "Do what?" "The constable last night." "Why'd you kill him?" "I didn't kill anybody." "That's Blakelock, you hear me?" "It's who?" "It's Commissioner Blakelock." "He's tied in with the Mob." "He's trying to nail me and the girl." "What girl are you talking about?" "The witness at that trial." "Gus Mally's not a guy, it's a girl." "And if she testifies, Blakelock knows she'll torpedo him." "Hear me, Josey?" "Come on!" "What's going on?" "Blakelock's buddies." "Hold tight." "Look out!" "Jesus, we're going to hit!" "Let's go." "We'll never make it." "Nag, nag, nag!" "Thanks, buddy." "Hold him!" "Hold him!" "Stop!" "Let me kick him!" " Move away from him!" " Let him alone!" " Get off my hand!" " Get him up!" "Where's your gun, Clyde?" "I'll get his hand." "Hit him!" "Where's your gun?" "Get this bitch away!" "Get away from here!" "Give it to him!" "Come on, hit him!" "What are you?" "A bunch of goddamn fairies?" "You want to play with boys or show me if you got anything between your legs?" "Get her pants off." "Hold still!" "Get her pants." "You get her pants, man!" "Get off her." "You wouldn't hit a lady." "Mally?" "When's the next bus to Phoenix?" "Next express pulls in at 3 o'clock." "Thanks." "You want a ticket?" "I don't think that'll be necessary." "I heard it's 3 o'clock." "This whole idea's insane." "You first." "Care for something to eat?" "What'll you have?" "Surprise me." " Josephson here." " Josephson?" "Ben!" "Hold on, guy." "You okay?" "I'm coming in." "Coming in where?" "Phoenix." "Right to City Hall." "For chrissakes, that's nuts!" "Will you write this down?" "You can't!" "Please." "Will you write this down?" "All right, all right." "Go ahead." "I'm taking the 7th Street off-ramp going down Central over Mesa straight down Adams to City Hall." "You got that?" "Seventh, Central, Adams, Mesa." "I got it." "But, Ben" "Five minutes after I leave here Blakelock's going to hear I'm coming." "He's going to try and stop me." "I want you to give him my route." "Tell him to clear the streets." "That way no innocent people get killed." "This is crazy." "And give him this message:" "Tell him I know why he picked me for the job." "Tell him he was wrong." "Tell him I'm coming and I'll nail his ass to the wall." "You hear me?" "For chrissakes!" "He'll have every cop on the force there." "You can't get in there!" "Thanks, partner." "My best to the family." "Jesus Christ!" " Front desk." " This is 14-A." "You have anything like room service around this joint?" "I can probably get you something." "Maybe you could send your kid out and pick up some steaks fried chicken." "Something like that." "Maybe a bottle of wine." "Yes, sir." "Anything else?" "Is there anything like a florist around this neighborhood?" "When I was a kid growing up, I used to hate cops." "Me and the other kids in the neighborhood we'd always get in trouble, fights." "Gang fights." "Always getting rousted by the cops." "I suppose if we had guns like gangs do nowadays I'd have shot every cop on sight." "Parents never seemed to care." "Teachers, they forgot how to care." "As you grow older, you begin to realize what cops are all about." "They're just doing a job, enforcing the law." "Raising families." "If you break the law you get busted." "That's about all there is to it." "I learned to respect that." "I even began to realize that the only people I knew that stood for something were cops." "So when I got old enough, I joined up." "I had this dream, boy." "I had this dream of meeting the right woman having kids." "Most of all breaking that big case." "I could just see them pinning captain bars on me and...." "Well, the years went by, and never did meet that right woman." "Seemed like other guys were always breaking the big case." "After a while you get to the point where you just put in your 20 and wait for retirement." "Now I got the big case and I'm picked to go down with it." "You don't have to." "Neither of us does." "Nobody's forcing us to go back to Phoenix." "We could go to Canada or Mexico." "Any place!" "Sure." "And live like kings." "I've got some money." "I've got my checkbook." "$5000 back in Vegas." "And when that runs out?" "Then let's take the money and buy a pickup truck." "An old sedan, or something unobtrusive." "We'll take back roads, turn ourselves in to some precinct station." "Anything but City Hall!" "We'll ask for protective custody." "Talk to the D.A." "That's exactly what I want you to do." "What about you?" "Me?" "I'm going in." "Why?" "We know why Blakelock picked me for this job." "I'll prove he's wrong." "Then I'm going with you." "You're not my prisoner." "You can go." "You get your money." "It's between me and Blakelock." "You said yourself you didn't think the whole thing would work." "At least someone'll know I tried." " Who, Blakelock?" " No, me." " Operator." " Area 2-1-2, please." "684-6114." "Just a moment." " Hello." " Hi." "Mom?" " It's me." " Are you all right?" "I'm okay." "How are you?" "I'm in Wickenberg." "Wickenberg." "It's a small town halfway between Vegas and Phoenix." "I thought you had a nice job you liked." "I quit that job." "Who wants to be a secretary all her life?" "That's what I've always said." "Things always happen for the best." "Anyway, the big news is I met this man." "He's really special." "You'd really like him." "If you like him, that's what counts." "Shockley." "Ben Shockley." "Jesus!" "What difference does it make what church he goes to?" "We love each other and we're going to be married." "We're going to settle down in Arizona and have kids." "Where are you going to live?" "I don't know." "We hadn't really decided." "Probably Northern Arizona somewhere." "Maybe up near the canyon." "It's supposed to be really beautiful there and you can still get land." "When are you getting married?" "We've got business we have to take care of in Phoenix first." "Then we're going to do it." "What business is he in?" "I just wanted you to know." "Look, would you tell Dad?" "What was the young man's name again?" "Shockley." "Just like it sounds." " I love you." " I love you too, dear." "What number, please?" "Give me Las Vegas. 283-8779." "Up near the canyon, huh?" "Bernie's Book." "Bernie?" "Gus Mally." "Listen, what's the line on that horse, Mally No Show?" "100-to-1?" "Perfect." "I want $5000 worth, on the nose." "You know I'm good for it." "She's going to be a winner." "Let's go." "Move on out." "What the hell you think you're doing?" "What the hell's it look like?" "What's wrong with you?" "This is the bus." "I don't give a damn." "Get away from that lever." "Get out of here." "Let's get the luggage out of this thing." "Sorry for this inconvenience but I'll have to ask you to leave the bus." "Please be sure to take your belongings." "Arrangements will be made for your continued journey as quickly as possible." "Haul ass!" "You, shorty!" "And you, give me a hand with this luggage." "My, this is so exciting!" "Just like on the news!" "Court stands to recess." "Ralph, ten minutes." "I don't know if you remember me or not." "My name is Josephson, I'm Metro squad" "I'm busy now." "Can you see me later?" "Yes, sir." "But you see, this is about Shockley." "He and I talked together just a little while ago." "You spoke with him?" "Yes, sir." "He's coming in." "He gave me his entire route." "He said some very strange things about Commissioner Blakelock and I didn't know who to approach." "You've done absolutely the right thing coming to me about this." "Why don't we go into my office and talk there?" "There's some quarter-inch steel here." "Get this over by the bus." "Here's what I'm looking for." "What's this Josephson know?" "Nothing that can hurt us yet." "Why would Shockley give us his route?" "I don't know." "I haven't had time to melt it down." "It's a ruse." "It's a ploy." "He's trying to manipulate us into thinking some" "I think he's on the level." "I'll call you." "Do that, Feyderspiel." "Before the whole bucket blows up under our face." "You get that trial postponed." "Have a heart attack." "Perjure yourself." "Shockley's got to be stopped." "Stopped hard." "So long, folks." "Good luck." "All set?" "Ready." "Hijacked a what?" "Wickenberg-Phoenix." "That's 150 miles of goddamn desert." "It's 3 hours on that road." "We could blast that bus to hell." "Sitting duck, you know?" "Call Vegas." "Have the boys do it." "Blow the shit out of it, I mean." "I could make that call." "But the boys don't do that sort of job." "It's a little high-profile." "But they're with us, right?" "Yes, sir." "But we're talking about a large bus on a public highway." "And that's big news." "Our friends in Las Vegas don't like...." "They're embarrassed by that kind of coverage." "Our boys, then." "The cops, deputy sheriffs, Highway Patrol." "We've got heavy-duty weapons, don't we?" "Bazookas?" "We have the assholes." "Show some balls!" "Blow them away, for chrissake!" "Sir, with all due respect, this is a very well-traveled highway." "We don't want blood and tennis rackets all over the asphalt." "Screw it!" "A few casualties." "If there are casualties, other than Shockley and the girl someone will be answerable." "You." "I make the decisions." "Now what is it?" "Are there any other options?" "I suggest we let Shockley drive right in." "Now, we have his route." "We then employ a two-phase plan." "In phase one, we use his friend, Josephson, to lay a trap." "In phase two, we clear the streets along his route deploy our men and create an impassable barrier." "A gauntlet, if you will." "He won't have a chance." "That would work, wouldn't it?" "I mean we could control the media then too." "We'd appear justified, getting him." "It'd be a feather in our caps." " Excellent thinking." " Then that's our plan." "Can you manage?" "Can you arrange the thing with his friend?" "Josephson, sir?" "Yes, sir." "I'll put it in the works right away." "I repeat to all units:" "Station yourselves as requested." "Battalion Captains will be taking their orders from this office only." "Contingency nine-one." "We're doing this to one of our own?" "You heard Blakelock, didn't you?" "But it don't make sense." "I mean, if this guy's the mad-dog killer Blakelock says why would he supply us with his route?" "What do you think they'll do to us?" "Whatever Blakelock tells them to." "Isn't there somebody who can stop him?" "The Chief or the Mayor or" "He's the Police Commissioner." "He'll do whatever he wants to do." "He can put an army on the streets and nobody'd question it." "You do want kids, don't you?" "Kids, a house, a car, swimming pool." "You name it." "Someplace with trees." "Someplace with neighbors not too close by." "With hills to walk in." "Horses and a greenhouse, maybe." "Maybe even a little guesthouse out back." "Maybe even a" "What?" "Nothing." "You don't even know if I'm good in bed or not." "I'll just take that on faith." "What if he gets through?" "He can't get through." "He's gotten this far, hasn't he?" "Sir, how many units have you deployed?" "Four dozen?" "Five dozen?" "And those marksmen are the finest on the force." "I know." "But what happens if" "I mean, there's going to be hell to pay if something goes wrong." "The only thing that can go wrong is if your disciples decide they can't shoot down one of their own officers." "Jesus, they're cops." "The bastards are paid to shoot, not think." "Then we have no problem." "This is where our welcoming committee will be." "Why can't we just keep going?" "Maybe they won't stop us." "We could just keep going and going" "Nag, nag, nag!" "What's that?" "Roadblock." "You get ready to hit the deck now." "They're letting us through." "Don't want innocent people to get killed." "Who's that?" "Jesus!" "That's Josephson." "What the hell you doing here?" "Jesus Christ!" "You don't have to do this." "We've got a friend at City Hall." " Who?" " Feyderspiel." "He's the Assistant D.A. on the DeLuca case." "I told him about Blakelock." "He promised to help us." "He promised to defend you if you could prove your point." "I don't trust anybody connected with the DeLuca case." "Damn it!" "Don't you hear me?" "The man is the Assistant D.A." "The man prepared the whole case." "Maybe he's the one with enough guts to go up against Blakelock." "And maybe they're in bed together." "Maybe the whole thing's a smokescreen." "Listen to me." "I've talked to Feyderspiel." "He's okay, not like we thought." "Besides, guy, you've got no choice." "Blakelock's got half the goddamn police force out there." "Just waiting for this elephant to roll in." "Where?" "Seventh, Central Mesa Adams." "The whole route you gave me." "The place is swarming with squad cars." "Hell, even with this pig iron, it's suicide." "Please." "Transfer to my car." "Stay in the back." "Just stay down low." "I'll smuggle you into City Hall." "The back door." "Feyderspiel and I got it doped out." "We'll take the service elevator." "He said keep your gun." "If you think you're being crossed you can use him for a hostage to get away again." "For chrissakes!" "This man's laying his life on the line for you!" "What do you think?" "I think it's worth a try." "Maynard Josephson, meet Gus Mally." "Hi, Gus." "Let's go, partner." " Oh, my God!" " Get in the bus!" "Get in the bus!" "Son of a bitch!" "He's dead!" "The son of a bitches killed him!" "Blakelock and Feyderspiel." "Goddamn, motherfucking...." "Stay down." "We're going in." "Keep glued to that floor." "Commence firing!" "Unit 4, this is Unit 5." "Stand by." "We failed to stop him." "He's headed straight for you." "Come here." "Drive this sucker." "Get up." "Drive this sucker." "I don't know how!" " Do what I tell you!" " Don't yell at me!" "Do what I tell you." "Drive, please!" "Jesus Christ!" "Oh, my God!" "Look at this." "Open fire!" "Just get down!" "Stay down!" "Watch out!" "Here he comes!" "Cease fire!" "Cease fire!" "I've got a witness here for Courtroom "G."" "I gave orders!" "They were supposed to kill them!" "I gave orders!" "Shoot them!" "Shoot!" "Kill them!" "Shoot them!" "Kill them!" "Tell them." "It was Blakelock!" "Tell them about Blakelock." "Blakelock did the cover-up!" " What cover-up?" " The DeLuca cover-up." "He set you and the girl up!" "Please speak to me!" "You know I love you." "Goddamn it!" "Ben Shockley, don't you die on me!" "Open those fucking eyes!" "Nag, nag, nag!" "Get me up."