"Last season on NYPD Blue." "If you're interested, John, there's a P.A.A. Slot open upstairs in Anticrime." "Don't tease me." " I was thinking maybe we could go over there." " That's a long way for lunch." " I mean, dinner." " James, I don't think that's a good idea." "I sort ofhave a rule about not getting involved with anyone on thejob." " Twenty-four more hours, huh, Andy?" " Till what?" " Your wedding." " Yeah, tomorrow." "Isn't this one of those things we swear to ourselves we're going to avoid?" "Yeah." "But let's do it anyway." "Mm, uh, just a second." "Andy thought you might have been drinking last night when you showed up at the hospital." " I had wine with my dinner." " He's concerned that you might have a problem." "A.A. People think everybody's a drunk." "Look at that beautiful girl." "Morning." " Morning." " I was, uh, wondering if you had a chance to talk to him." " I just got here." " But you still intend to talk to him." " What'd I tell you after the meeting?" " I know." "I was just..." " worried maybe you'd changed your mind." " No." " I have no idea what Bobby's attitude's gonna be." " That's up to him." "I feel like a goofball worrying about it." " You take it how it comes." " I know." "And don't be hovering around me all day." "You gotta let me do this how I'm gonna do it." "Yeah." "Andy, um, I appreciate everything." "Well, you've shown me a lot these last few months... on and off the job." "You want to not go in together in case he's up there, you get a chance to talk?" "Walk inside." "So this is your statement here?" " Right." " This is how you got robbed?" " That's what happened." " Hey." " Hi." " Good morning." " Hey." "You know, Detective, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today..." " and I think I'm gonna be doing a disservice here to Mr. White." " What's going on?" " Mr. White got robbed last night." " Uh-huh." "He was driving down South Street, 100 a.m..." "How'd you put it?" "Collecting your thoughts?" " Yes." " On South Street?" "Yeah, just driving down South Street collecting his thoughts... when he stops for a stop light." "An assailant walks up, demands his car, his wallet and his pants." " His pants too?" "Hm!" " I mentioned to Mr. White... this pattern we've been working on where the prostitute gets into the car... and points the john to some romantic parking lot off of South Street... and then her hardworking pimp shows up and sticks a gun in his face;" "how we got two detectives on the street right now... trying to put a stop to this before somebody gets shot." "But he can't help us with that because this case is unrelated." "This is a whole separate phenomena here, because, uh... there's no prostitute involved, right, Mr. White?" " I told you what happened." " Mr. White told me what happened... so he can't be of help on this pattern that we've been working on... where we got these two cops out on the street busting their ass." "I'm feeling kind of bad now, 'cause, uh, I thought Mr. White might be lying to me." "Well, maybe being in a strange police station, he just can't remember right." " Maybe he needs more familiar surroundings." " Could that be, Mr. White?" "Try taking him over to his house and talking it out with his wife in the room." " See if maybe that mightjog his memory." " Wait." " No, I think we should do that." " All right, all right." "All right." "Good-looking black girl, 5'2"." "Where'd you pick her up?" "13th and Second Avenue." "Did she give you a name?" "Hey, Sal!" "Wait up!" "2.50." "I figure the guy must've thought I ordered a muffin too." " Notice how they didn't have the prices posted." " Yeah." " Two and a half bucks." "Coffee and no muffin." " We should've just walked out:" " Sorry, pal." "I work for a living."" " Nah." " That would've been even more of an embarrassment." " Forget about it." "Where's this pimp we're supposed to meet?" "How reliable is his information gonna be anyway is my concern." " Is he just looking to settle a score?" " Hey!" "You're the police?" " The bar's over there." "Hurry!" " Wait, wait!" "What bar?" "I called the 911 operator." "Something bad is happening." "We don't know nothing about a 911 call." "What's going on in there?" "Okay, I was upstairs." "We have a signal." "My husband, he buzzed me." "I call 911." "I go out the backstairs." "Something bad is happening" " I think a robbery." " Okay, we're gonna check it out." "Stay right there." " Calm down." "Police!" "Put your hands on the bar and don't move!" "Do it now!" "Whoa, whoa!" "It's all right." "I'm on the job." "It's taken care of." "Hands on the bar right now!" "You're on whatjob?" "Just check my I.D., all right?" "Let me show you my shield." "Yeah, take it out slow." "You!" "What's going on?" "You speak English?" "All right?" "Let me see it." "Let me see it!" "What is this crap?" "I just showed you the damn shield, man." "I tell you I'm on the job." "Why have you still got your gun pointed at me, huh?" "Oh, I got it." "I'm black, so you can't believe a word I say." "Okay." "Now, what's the story?" "Bastard!" "Oh!" " Aah!" " Damn it!" "Hey, Greg!" "I've been shot!" "I've been shot, man!" " Oh, God." " Oh, my God." "15th Squad to Central." "1013." "My partner's been shot." "We're at 11 th Street and Second Avenue, an alley in the back." "Can you get up?" " I don't know." "I've been hit." " Come on." "Come on." " Man!" " Come on." "I'm taking you to the hospital." " Hey." " Hey." " Hi, Bobby." " Hey, Donna." " Can I pour you a cup?" " Great." " Coffee, right?" " Yeah." " There you go." " Is that Fahrenheit you're wearing?" " Yeah, it is." " It's a great scent on you." "Thanks." " I'm just not used to folks around here taking notice." " Really?" "Listen up." "James has been shot." " Where are we going?" " The shooting was at 11 th and Second Avenue." "Medavoy's taking him to the hospital." "I'm on my way over there." "I want everybody at the scene." " You're gonna be okay." " Wasn't what I thought it would feel like." " Just stay calm!" " My leg's killing me, Greg." "Hurry up, all right?" " Hey, hey!" " Damn it!" " Wait a minute." "Wait in here." " Hey, Greg!" "Where you going?" "Damn it!" " 15th Squad to Central K." " Son of a bitch!" "1085 forthwith" " Where the hell am I?" " I don't even know what street I'm on." "What street am I on?" " There we go." "I got it." " I'm calling for another unit." " No, no." "We'll be there in two minutes." "Disregard that, Central." "Have them standing by at the hospital." " Come on!" " You're gonna be okay, James." "All I want is a fightin' chance." "Come on, Greg." " Come on, Greg." "Back it up." " Wait a minute." "I'll back it up." " Oh!" " Hey!" " What are you doing?" " Oh, Greg!" " I don't want to die, Greg." " Come on, partner." "We made it." " We're here." " Don't call my dad, Greg." "Don't call him, all right?" "Help!" "There's a man shot!" "Come on!" "Help!" "Help!" "Down here!" "Down here!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" " We're gonna lie you down, okay?" " Easy, easy, easy, easy!" " Here you go." " All right." "Let's get that jacket off." " Get his jacket." " Get an I.V. Running in each arm." " Okay, Detective." "Where do you have pain?" " I got a hell of a backache." " How many times do you think you were hit?" " Once, I think." "Here's the wound of entry- left flank, just below the rib cage." "Okay, we gotta look for an exit." "Detective, we're gonna roll you over, okay?" " One, two, three." " Aah!" " How's it look, Doc?" " Wait out there, please." " He never lost consciousness." "That's good, right?" " No exit wound." " Is that good?" " Let us do our job." "Wait outside." " Should I give blood?" " Good." "Give blood." " Sir, stand back." " Does this hurt?" " No." " How about this?" " No." "Be careful with those scissors down there." " We're at mid-thigh." " Don't get delusions of grandeur." " B.P.'s 90 over 60." "Okay." "Put in the Foley." "We're gonna catheterize your bladder and look for bleeding." " Okay, Detective?" " Okay." " Haah!" "Aah!" " What's happening?" "Is he okay?" " You gotta wait outside." "Please, get him out." " What's goin' on?" " We need a further description on these two black males." " Oh, yeah, yeah." "Both of them were over six-foot tall." "Um, the shooter, he was more dark-complected than the other one." " He was wearing a- a blue T-shirt and jeans." " Mm-hmm." "The other one had a, um, a yellow and black and white check shirt on and tan pants." " Got it." " Can you safeguard this for me, Sergeant?" " Yeah, sure thing." " Thanks." " No blood in the urine." "You want to get set up for a D.P. L?" " No." "Get a CAT scan right away." "In your opinion, you think I'm gonna live?" "You're looking real good so far." "We need to locate the bullet, then we're gonna go from there." "Do me a favor." "I don't want my name released, Doc." "I don't want my next of kin notified till I know what's happening." "All right?" "Fine." "You're gonna be okay." "It'll be okay." "First I think it's a straight-out robbery, you know?" "Then your men come in, and this pendejo pulls a badge out." "How much money did they get?" " I don't know exactly." " You don't" " How much?" " Around 3,000." " Three thousand dollars?" "Early morning, you're not even open for business." "What's up here, Mr. Hernandez?" " Up" how?" " Up' how?" Look, we want to know who shot our friend." "Was this involved in bookmaking or drugs or numbers?" "You better not hold back on this, pal!" "Guys, neighbors saw one of the perps climb in a Dumpster..." " around the corner." " You stay right here." "Over here!" "Police!" "You do what I say!" "You understand me?" " Answer up loud and clear, or we start shooting!" " Don't shoot!" "I hear you!" " Stick your hands up in the air right now!" " I've been shot!" "Come on!" "Let me see your hands!" "Get 'em up!" "Now stand up!" " Diane?" " Got him." "I'm shot!" "I need a doctor!" " Where's your gun?" " Oh, I need a doctor!" " One gun!" " Got ammo here." "I got the money." "Who's your partner?" " I want a name and address now!" " Come on, man." "I feel like I'm dying, man." "Please!" "Listen to me!" "I don't want to hear another word... about how you feel or what you need, all right?" "Nobody's gonna help you now, slick, huh?" "So you better give up a name..." " or you will die right here, understand?" " Bobby!" "Andy!" "You better take this somewhere else." "Come on." "Let's go for a ride." "The guy's shield, it looked legit." " We'll figure it out, Greg." " We thought he was on a job." " Detective?" " Hey, there." "How's he doin'?" "James is stable." "He's going to the intensive care unit." "The bullet is buried in the heavy muscle of his back... so we'd rather not go in and try to cut it out." " You're gonna leave the bullet in?" " The bullet's not the problem." "It bounced off the second lumbar vertebrae and chipped it." "James is feeling a little numbness in his left leg... so we're gonna watch for any progression ofloss of feeling." "Give us a minute to set him up in his room, then you guys can go and see him." " Thank you." " Oh, man." "Don't worry, Greg." "Detective Medavoy." " Oh, hey, there-John, right?" " I was so stunned." "I heard what happened." "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." " Hi, John." " Hi." "Any word on Detective Martinez?" "Not yet." "They got him in intensive care." "Uh, fortunately, uh, there's plenty of blood around... you know, if it's needed." "So if you were thinking of coming maybe down here to... you know, give blood, I wouldn't worry about it." "Uh, Detective, on the side of caution, I don't give blood... even though I'm in a monogamous relationship, and I get tested every three months." "I didn't mean any offense." "I just meant-Well, you know." "Uh..." "Could you... give this to Detective Martinez... or just put it in his room?" "I've had it since I was a kid." "Whatever positive energy it has, I figured Detective Martinez could use more than me." "Oh, yeah, sure." "Absolutely." "I'll get this to him." "Thanks, John." "I need a doctor!" " Get this thing out of me!" " We got the shooter-Antonio Vargas." "He just gave it up in the car." "Greg, can you I.D. This scumbag here?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's him." "I bet you that's my bullet in his ass too, huh?" " That's enough." "Come on." "He's the one that showed the shield?" " No, we haven't got that guy yet." "But this one had a nine-millimeter with him at the scene, right?" " How's James doing?" " Possible spinal damage." "It's up in the air." " Damn." " So, it was a robbery?" "No." "The bar was a numbers bank." "Now, the shooter's partner, he set up the whole play." "This one said that he never met him until last night." "Only got him by his first name." " Nate." " Yeah." "One of his con, lowlife running buddies... tells him that this Nate is looking for some backup on a robbery." "So Antonio here goes to meet him at the 79th Street Pool Hall, takes the job." " And that's all he knows, right?" " We're sure?" "Believe me, he gave up all he's got." " I ain't got no reason to dick y'all around, man." " Shut up." "Just get me a doctor!" " What about the other guy's shield?" " Figure it's fake or stolen... something to use when he needs it." "So this one could get the drop on us, huh?" "I don't believe it." "We grabbed this one with all the money." "This guy, Nate... is supposed to call him on his beeper." " That was the plan if they got separated." " He hasn't beeped him yet?" " No, we gotta wait on that." " I want him to call that guy back as soon as he beeps." "Hey, here comes a doctor." "Get him in there." " Come on, Antonio." "Come here." " Hey, Doc." " Here, I'll take you to seeJames." "Is that you?" " No, it's not me." "Come on." "This way." " Show us where he is." "Let's find a pay phone." "I want you to listen up." "Don't you say anything that might tip this guy off." " Better do this right." " Look, man, I can hardly think straight." "Well, you think about this:" "You screw this up, and we all get back in the car." "All right?" " Just take a deep breath." " Do it right." "Yo, Nate." "Yeah, I'm good." "I'm straight." "Where you at?" "Ah, a pay phone." "I don't know." "Outside some pizza place." "Where you at?" "You want me to come up there so we can whack this money up?" "Yeah." "All right." "I can do that in 20 minutes." "Yeah." "All right." "Later." "Very good." "He's at the 79th Street Pool Hall." "Y'all gonna take me to that doctor now, right?" " We need Martinez to I.D. Him." " The other one I.D.'d me already!" "We need both of them to I.D. You, asshole." "We're not takin' no chances." "No, no, I confessed already." "I did it!" "I shot that cop!" "Where'd that doctor go?" "Come on, man!" "I've been shot!" "Get me that doctor!" "Oh, it's burning, man!" "Uuh!" " How are you feeling, James?" " I'm down but not out." " It's good to see you, James." " Yeah, likewise." " This piece of crap look familiar?" "Yeah, you got him." "That's the shooter." "What about the other guy?" "Yeah, we're gonna grab him up right now." " Who's this?" " He's all yours, Doc." " You want to remove the handcuffs?" " We'll get 'em off in a minute." "Here." "Fellas, want to help the doctor with this guy?" "And stay with him." " Get well soon, pal." " I was aiming for your monkey ass!" "We'll be back to see you later, all right?" "Chin up, man." " You're looking good." " Just got this weird feeling in my leg though." "Listen, when the nurse comes by, give her a little tickle on the ass." "They love it when you do that." "Man." "The one day that I have my.38 instead of my nine-millimeter." "I mean, if I don't have to reload, that scumbag is dead." " You got him at least though." " You should see all the cops that came down here, James." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "Bosses too." "I bet the mayor comes by to see you." " Yeah, I'm a real role model, huh?" " Yeah." "Oh, geez, I almost forgot." " Uh, John wanted you to have this." " John Kelly?" " Naw, upstairs John," the gay guy- for good luck." " Oh, yeah?" "I didn't know he cared." "James, hi, I'm Dr. Kressell." "I'll be stopping in over the next few days to do some quick checks on you." "Do me a favor and describe for me the sensation in your left leg." "It's the damnedest thing, Doc." "There's a zone around here where I don't feel anything... and then right around it it's like pins and needles." " It's hard to explain." " All right." " Uh, let me see you wiggle your toes, okay?" " Oh!" "Is that full mobility?" "I mean, I can't tell." "Does that look like full mobility?" "That's good." "It's good." "No problem with the right leg?" "No, I" " I don't think..." " I don't know though." " All right, all right." "We're gonna do a series of pin pricks... and I want you to tell me if you feel any of them." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." " Martinez, he's a tough kid." " Yeah, he is." "You don't figure this Nate guy got wise and took off, do you?" "I think our guy sold it pretty good." "Look, God willing, Martinez don't take a turn for the worse, we snatch this guy up..." " You want to have supper tonight?" " Yeah, sure." "Thanks." " I was thinking maybe you and Russell come over." " Me and Russell?" "Yeah." "She's been doing good work on the squad the last few months." " Uh-huh." " You disagree?" " No." " You know she's been going to meetings?" "No, I didn't." "You know, she said she wanted some time, she needed some space." "I didn't want to talk to her about that." "So you been helpin' her out, Andy?" "I talk to her somewhat, regards to the drinking." "You're supposed to do that." " Uh-huh." " So what do you think about, uh, the dinner?" "Um, yeah." "Yeah, I'd like to come." "Talk with Russell." "You work out the transportation." "Police!" "Everybody put your hands on the tables." "Hands flat on the table!" "Back door!" " Show me some I.D." " You too!" "Bobby." "Drop the stick, turn around, put your hands flat on the table." "Listen, guys, I'm on the job here, all right?" "What's with you?" " I'm on the job here." "Check my I.D." " Shut your mouth!" " He's got balls, I'll give him that." " Nathan Stackhouse."" " Is this for real, man?" " Corrections officer?" " I want to make a phone call." " You work for Corrections?" "That's right." "I work for Corrections." "Hey!" "Aah!" "You want to stop twisting my arm now?" "Guard for 12 years at Rikers." " Twelve years." " Great job to look for guys to help you with stickups." " I've got nothing to say until the D.A. Gets here." " Right- his buddy, the D.A." "You all can quit wasting your time and your effort." "Prison guard, noise like a subway station... inmates flinging their crap off the upper tiers." "This guy probably looks the other way." "He don't want no confrontation." "Kisses up to the skells, so if there's a breakout he don't get took hostage." "You know, you wouldn't last half a day either side of the bars, bitch." "Take this." "Step out, guys." "The D.A. 's taking over." "How's this guy hooked up with you?" "Would you wait in the squad room, please, Detective?" "That's right, ma'am." "What the hell has this Stackhouse got going?" "Whatever it was, Abrams isn't giving it up to me." "I know this guy who was in there with Abrams." "He used to be a guard himself." " Would he talk to you?" " Yeah." "I think he's with the inspector general's office." " That's the Department of Corrections." " I'm telling you... whatever play this hump is making, Martinez better not get moved down to second place." "Okay." "Let me know." " See how James is doing." " That's who I'm calling." "Can I talk to you for a minute?" "Hi." "Yeah, I'm trying to check the status of a patient." "Um- Listen, forget about talking to Bobby." " Just forget about it till this whole thing is over." " I talked to him." " You talked to him?" " Yeah, I invited him for dinner." " What did he say?" " He said it was a good idea." " Does he know I'm gonna be there?" " Yeah." " And he said, It sounds good"?" " In those words." "What did you tell him?" "Did you tell him I was going to A.A. Meetings?" "How did he react?" "You want me to describe his breathing pattern?" "Yeah." "Changes in his body temperature." "This is what I need to know, Andy." "Come on." " Easy does it." " Mm-hmm." "I know." "Get back to me quick." "We can finish this up by the end of the day." "Okay, okay." "Inspector, this is need-to-know." "I don't think the detectives should be here." " They're the arresting officers." " Then they should stay." "All right?" "We're making Stackhouse a witness." " You're making him a witness?" " He'll testify against the shooter." " This guy's gotta do time." " No time." "He's a material witness." "You've got two detectives for witnesses." "The shooter's who we need to convict." "He's the one I'm worrying about." "No, I want some answers." "Stackhouse knew the fix was in since we picked him up." "You watch your language, Detective." "No one is fixing anything." "No?" "James Martinez is Iying in a hospital bed with a bullet in him... and you're dressing up this scumbag for a walk." "Have you thought through what this is gonna do to cop morale?" "Officer Stackhouse is a crucial informant on a series of cases..." " that'll blow the roof off the Corrections Department." " Blow the roof off"?" "Jiminy!" "It's easier to get high on Rikers than a Harlem street corner." "Corruption is so rampant, it's putting the good C.O. 's at risk." "Stackhouse is our shot at cleaning that up." " You have got a cop who is shot here." " Believe me... if Stackhouse was the shooter, this other thing goes to second position." "But we got the shooter, and my office has eight months in this guy." "I know he's trouble, but he's got a setup, and we're just not ready to move." "He set up Martinez and Medavoy to get shot." "He used his shield to get 'em to drop their guard." "He's gotta be at work in two hours." "He tried to get two cops killed, and now he's gonna go put on a uniform." "It's wrong, man." "You can't get more wrong than this." "Where are they taking him, Lieu?" " Why don't you step in my office, Greg?" " How come he's not in handcuffs?" "Just come talk to me." "Hey, it's, uh, Hampton, right?" " Bernie Hampton, I.G.'s office at Corrections." "Bobby Simone?" " Yeah, good to see you again." " I was with the P.C.'s." "This is my partner, Andy Sipowicz." " How you doin'?" " This Stackhouse is helping you guys clean up Rikers?" " Yeah, right." "This is making me sick." "Yeah, huh?" "Come on over here." "All right, look." "I gotta tell you off the record:" "Have somebody sit on Nate Stackhouse, and don't let him out of your sight." " Why?" " He's got relatives in Barbados or Trinidad or some damn place." "It wouldn't surprise me if the guy jumps on a plane the first chance he gets." " What about this corruption case?" " Stackhouse has been... jerking this D.A. Around for eight months." " He hasn't produced one damn thing." " Abrams is calling it a big deal." "Abrams needs to come back to reality." "He is hoping and praying that this investigation turns into something." "But he never should've done business with this bum." "I know Stackhouse." "I worked on a tier with him 10 years ago." "He was a malingerer then." "And now stickups." "I knew there was something this prick was up to." "And you think he might disappear now?" "He's burning his candle at five different ends, so, yeah." "Maybe he's got sense enough to know that his luck is running out." "Look, I'm just telling you:" "Sit on this guy, 'cause he might be gone." " We appreciate this, man." " Yeah." "Hey, take it easy." "Mm-hmm." "I knew Abrams was full of crap." "Hmm." " You believe in the people's right to know?" " Not generally, no." "How else do you put pressure on a guy like Abrams?" "Benita?" "Yeah, it's Bobby Simone." "You on a deadline?" "If you want me to, I can tell your parents in person what happened." " I can bring 'em down here." " No, not till I'm sure what my status is." "You gotta tell 'em at some point, James." "Right, so I don't want them worrying on spec." "They're gonna be worrying enough already." "God knows what my dad's gonna say." "He's already on me like, uh..." "I should be getting married, have kids, a life outside the job." " My family's that way with me." " You just gotta find the right person." "Yeah." "You ever think about kids?" "Not really." "You know, I think I'd make halfway decent father." "I mean, if I wasn't partially paralyzed or anything." "Can you believe that second guy turned out a correction officer?" " Yeah, how about that?" " Hey there." " Hey, Doc." " How you feeling?" " I don't know." " Should I go?" " No, no." "Don't go." " Well, just in case the squad needs me." "Okay, but not on my account." "Okay." "Feel that?" "No." " Feel this?" " No, I don't." "Doc, it's been six hours." "If it's gonna come back, shouldn't it have come back already?" "Just a minute, James." "Feel that?" "Yeah, I felt that one." "The hypesthesia isn't progressing, which is good." " I'll come back in about-about an hour, okay?" " Okay, Doc." " Thanks." " Mm-hmm." "Dr. Venner." " You need to be gettin' back?" " I don't think." "I think they got things under control." " Hey, how's James Martinez?" " Possible spinal injury from the bullet." "Your boss is looking to make a material witness from one of those scumbags got him shot." " What's the guy got for him?" " Some crap about corrupt prison guards." "Maybe it's a good case." "Abrams is a decent guy." "Maybe he's a decent guy looking for a promotion." " I got your voice mail about dinner with Bobby." " How does that sound?" "Well, I wish that you had asked me first." "I'm up to my neck in work." "Yeah, I was figuring I'd pick up some carryout." "Andy, maybe it's not about me cooking." " Maybe I just might not be in the mood to have people over." " Sure." "Okay." " I'm sorry." " No problem." "We'll do it another night." "I gotta go." "Sylvia, is something the matter?" "I just got some things up in the air." "I'll see you later." " Hey." " Hi." " Andy mentioned dinner." " Yeah, he was talking about that." "He, um, told me that you've been going to these meetings?" "Mm-hmm." "They're going pretty well." "I, um..." " I had to get it straight in my own head first." " Yeah, sure." "You figure it's okay then, us testing the waters?" " Yeah." " That's good." "15th." "Yeah." " Detective Simone, Benita Alden is waiting downstairs." " Thanks." " Bobby." " Hi, Benita." "Thanks for coming." "A man I never thought I'd hear from again." "Listen, I can put you out in front on that shot cop." "First of all, I'm not on that story." "I'm working the courts now." "And second, we need to talk through what we didn't talk through eight months ago." "No, we don't." "Then we don't have anything else to talk about." "Benita, you took information that I shared with you in bed... and you passed it along to another reporter." "You think that I did that?" "That I crossed that line that one time?" "You know, I would hope that you'd believe that I did it out of dedication to my work." "Haven't you ever crossed the line out of dedication to your work, Bobby?" "Look, I don't want to go over all this, all right?" "Geez, if you knew how crazy I was for you, you would've forgiven me." " You want to hear about this cop?" " Why are you telling me?" "We collared these two perps, and the D.A. Just cut a sweetheart deal with one of them." " Roy Abrams signed off on that?" " Roy Abrams drew it up." "Listen, you gotta get to Abrams, Benita, you know." " Call him before the end of the day." " Who's the cop?" " The next of kin hasn't been notified yet." " Is he gonna die?" "No." "Look, Benita, the cop's not the story here." "You gotta get to Abrams." "Yeah, I've got his beeper number." "Wait a second." "Why-Why are you giving me this?" "Why?" "Because I think that it's an important thing that needs to be told... and I know that you're good enough to nail it and tell it right." "Is that the only reason?" "I just thought that here's a thing where both of our interests coincide." "This guy right here, he's with the Corrections Department." "Call him." "Tell him you talked to me." "Yeah." " Hi." " Hey, Donna." "I guess no recent news on James." "I called five minutes ago." "Yeah, I think he's out of harm's way now." "Everything is so... impermanent." "Hmm." " May I ask you a question?" " Sure." "If I am 100% out of line, I apologize beforehand." "But I have been thinking about this for so many months, and I was just thinking... something could happen, and I would've never gotten it said." "What is it, Donna?" "Would you be interested in seeing me socially?" " Whoa!" " Oh!" " I just dove off the deep end." " No, n..." "I'm, um..." "I'm interested in somebody, Donna." "I see." "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." "Not at all." "I'm very flattered that you would be interested." "I'd hope you'd keep me posted if your situation changed." "I'm not expecting any changes, Donna." "I understand." " Hey." " Hi." " Excuse me." " Sure." "Um, how'd it go with the reporter?" "Good." "It went good." "You know, uh, I just had to talk to her about something." " Look, uh..." " Oh, yeah?" "Tonight turns out to be not good for Sylvia." " Oh, okay." " She's all piled under with work." " Sure." "No problem, Andy." " We'll do it another time, huh?" "Sure." "Good night." " Well" " Hmm." " I gotta have dinner anyways." " You know, me too." " So are you gonna seeJames?" " Yeah, in a bit." " I want to report a backstabbing." " What?" "A newspaper reporter calls and wants to know why I'm giving a free pass... to a cop shooter for the sake of a separate investigation of the Corrections Department." "You people didn't leave anything out." " It didn't come from this office." " All right, Lieutenant." " You wanted Stackhouse charged?" "He's chargedattempted murder." " You locked him up?" "Five thousand man-hours worth of criminal investigation down the toilet." "Well, maybe that's where it belonged." "See, I hear Stackhouse was playing you like a fish." "Was it you, Detective?" "Did you give it to her?" "Maury, you got the respect of every cop in this city." " What do you hear about Martinez?" " I'm going to see him now." " Good night." " Good night." "I'm gonna go home, have two shots of scotch and consider the bright vista of my career." "This is not coming back." "It's not coming back." "It's" " I still got the numbness." "James, don't you want to call your parents?" " I think it could help to have your family with you." " No, I..." "I don't know how I'm gonna tell 'em this." "They already lost my brother." "Everybody decent?" " Hello." " Hi, Greg." " How you doin'?" " What's cooking?" "Hah, you know, there's some back and forth on one of the perps- nature of the charges." " It's not something you should worry about." " Mm-hmm." " They said the other guy's gonna be okay, the other perp?" " Yeah, yeah." "Hooray for him." " James, I'm gonna go home." " Yeah, I guess Maurice is going crazy, huh?" " I'll stop by in the morning." "Okay?" " All right." "Thanks, Adrianne." "Yeah, I'm gonna have a good thought for you." "See you tomorrow." "So long, Adrianne." "So, huh?" " Yeah." " Heh-heh!" " What, is the TVbusted?" " Yeah, said they're coming by to fix it." "The feeling is not coming back, Greg." " No, huh?" " No." "I'm afraid here." " I'm afraid I'm gonna wind up a cripple." " Hey, hey." " They already lost my brother." " Don't worry." "You're good." "You're gonna be good." "Hey, how's it going in here?" "Okay, I guess, Doc." "Listen, I just wanted to say..." "I appreciate you helping me out this morning." "It's our pleasure, Detective." "You take care of us pretty good too." "Actually, Doc, James does have some concerns." " This isn't my neurologist, Greg." " Yeah, well..." "What are your concerns, James?" "With my, uh, feeling not being back, truthfully." "When was your neurologist in last?" " He's supposed to be by soon, I guess." " Listen, James..." "I know you're worried, but I want you to understand that after trauma... it is very hard to monitor our own nervous sensations precisely." " So don't worry." " Yeah." " Hi." " All right." "Here we go." " Hey, Doc." " How you doing?" "Well, I'm concerned, naturally." "I'm getting more and more worried." " Okay, well, I tell you what." "Let's do another test." " Yeah, yeah." "Whoa!" "L" " I felt that one!" " How about here?" " Yeah!" "Yeah, I felt that one too." "Is that the area I haven't felt anything in?" " Yeah, that's the area." " That's a positive sign, right, Doc?" "Yeah, it doesn't get much more positive than that." " It's the green Jell-O." "I keep telling people." " Yeah!" " I'll look in on you in the morning." " Okay, Doc." " And I'll see you in about an hour." " I look forward to it." " How about that, huh, James?" "Huh?" " Yeah." " Yeah." " Hey, grab me the phone." "I want to call my folks." " Yeah." "Yeah, right." "Now we're cooking, huh?" " Yeah." "Here we go." "What's the number?" " It's 723" " Okay, wait." "Nine first." " Hey." " Hi." "I think I could probably throw something together tomorrow night for Bobby and Diane." "Just let it wait." "I'm sorry, Andy." "I was just out of sorts." "Don't worry about it." "Maury Abrams told me you guys really did a number on him." "Abrams knew he was wrong." "What he was trying to do there?" "He knew that was wrong." "Hi." "Andy, I'm late." "For what?" "I'm late." "My period." "You're late?" "How late are you?" "Two weeks." "Two weeks, huh?" "That's late." "That is." "Geez, it was just that one incident... our country weekend." "I think maybe I'll take a test." "You gonna take it right now?" "Maybe in the morning." "Wait till the morning maybe... probably." "Yeah, this was about all you could do if you didn't want to run with a gang." "How'd you learn about 'em?" "I was, like, 13, and there was this old fighter named Patsy Ferrara." "He taught me about 'em." "There's a lot of tough guys that had birds." "Go on." "Every once in a while you realize how beautiful they are." "Yeah." "I don't know." "I can't figure anything that Sylvia could've cooked... that would've turned out as good as this." "I'm glad it happened." "You know, Bobby, um..." "I'm still a kid being sober and clean." "Yeah, well, I'm no adulthood expert myself." "You seem good, Diane, really." "I mean, the last few months, I" " I watched you all the time." " Yeah?" " Oh, yeah." "I'm happy." "I am... real happy now." "That reporter that you, um- That you sicced on Abrams." " Yeah?" " She didn't seem a hundred percent focused on business." " You observed all that just from being out there?" " I'm a detective, huh?" " Huh!" " Waiting for an answer." "We dated a few times." "Is that why you gave her the story?" "She's a cutthroat." "And I figured even if she did owe somebody any favors in the D.A.'s office... she would've sold them out in a heartbeat." "So I've got a clear field here?" "All clear." "You ready for me?" "Yeah, I'm ready."