"Where's Julio's old lady, man?" "Jesus!" "A setup!" "Call the police." "Call an ambulance!" "Comprende?" " What do you see?" " Nothing, Lieutenant." "Bullshit!" "What do you see?" "Nada, Lieutenant!" "The gun, honey dripper." "You see that gun in his hands?" "Sí, Lieutenant." "What do you see?" " l see a gun." "A gun, señor!" " Where?" "His right hand!" "His right hand got a gun." "Okay." "Calm down." "Calm down!" "Wait!" "Wait right here!" " Yeah?" " ReiIIy?" "Is this Assistant District Attorney AIoysius Francis ReiIIy?" "Yeah." "This is Kevin Quinn, Chief of Homicide Bureau Office of the District Attorney, County of New York." "You've heard of me?" "Jesus." "Yes, this is me." " Who?" " Al Reilly, sir." "Aloysius Francis Reilly." "All right." "That's better." " Are you catching tonight?" " Yes, sir, I am." "A squad car is on the way to pick you up." "I've already alerted the duty stenographer." "Make note of the time." "It's 3.:05 a.m. You have time to shower." "Be here by 4.:00 a.m." "What precinct, sir?" "Tony Vasquez has been shot, it belongs to us, Homicide Bureau." "I know this is your first case for us." "Don't make me feel like an idiot for requesting you here." "Homicide Bureau, my office, sixth floor." "Come in, please." "Shut the door behind you." "Sit down, please." "Aloysius Francis Reilly?" "Yes, sir." "My friends call me Al." "Background, Francis." "Tell me about it." "Well..." "Queens." "Grew up in Elmhurst." "Catholic school." "A little minor league ball, long enough to find out I couldn't hit a curve." "Law degree?" "Brooklyn." "Why not St. John's?" "My father thought the Jesuits were too left-wing." "Your father's death was a great tragedy." "Not only for your family but for the police force as well." "Yes, sir." "He was killed in the line of duty in the 23." "I see you served in Harlem, also." "It's bad there." "Yes, sir. lt is." "Those people have a tough time." "If you want to serve as the house liberal I can transfer you back to Mr. Bloomenfeld's office." "I don't care if a man is black, white, green, polka-dot or was thrown in the garbage at birth or he started wearing women's clothes at 14." "If he breaks the law and it crosses this desk, he pays for it." " You understand?" " Yes, sir." " And you agree?" " Yes, sir." "Yeah." "Your father was everything the Police Department used to be." "He was part of a tradition that had been built by our people." "A tradition that justified the use of those words, "The Finest."" "That's why I brought you in here." "I want to hold on to those values and the people who reflect them." " l hope you'll be one of them." " l'll certainly be trying." "Your first case as an Assistant District Attorney began with my phone call at 3:05 a.m." "A classic case of justifiable homicide." "A piece of vermin, one Tony Vasquez, attempted to ambush Lieutenant Brennan." "Mike Brennan is the personification of the finest." "The toughest, most dedicated police officer it's been my pleasure to know." "He gets rough sometimes." "If he takes shortcuts, they never hurt us in court." "I know, because this office has tried all his cases never lost one." "Never been reversed on appeal." "You'll meet him shortly." "Your job is to collect the facts, present them to a grand jury and close this out." "You will advise Brennan of his rights and get a statement from him." "The TV unit is occupied, so you'll be using the court stenographer." "His name is Lubin and even now he's struggling to find his way here from Far Rockaway." "Do you have any questions about how to conduct your investigation for this office?" " l don't think so, sir." " Good." "Well, it's cut-and-dried." "Thank you, sir." "One word of caution:" "Do not speak too rapidly." "Make sure everything said and everything that happened has been recorded by the court stenographer." "From now on, for all intents and purposes, the QA defines what really happened." "If it's not in the QA it didn't happen." "Wait outside with the other witnesses until Lubin arrives." "Questions?" "I'm not to discuss anything with anyone until Lubin arrives." " Correct?" " That's correct." "Welcome." "I don't know what this guy's on." "But he just sits there with a shit-eating grin on his face!" "So, fuck it." "I figure I've got to straighten him out a little bit." "So I say, "You've got a right to remain silent as long as you can stand the pain."" "There's nothing." "Not a fucking dent." "Not a fucking dent!" "I decide to fingerprint him in the back room." "He pulls away from me." "He's a big motherfucker." "He's 260 or 270." "He starts yelling, "You fucking harp, this!" "You fucking harp, that!"" "I say, "Mr. Calabrese, don't upset me now."" "I go to put his hand on the printer." "He pulls his hand away he says, "You can't print me!" "I'm made!"" "He throws the fucking ink pad!" "And I'm standing there and I'm looking at my new light-blue jacket." "I've got ink all over my fucking white shirt." "He just ruined my fucking jacket." "I'm seeing red. I'm pissed, right?" "I'm going to get that motherfucker!" "I grab him by the ass and the neck and very quietly I say, "All right, you guinea, you bought it."" "I threw the fucker out the window!" "Threw him right out the window." "He goes right through the wire mesh, out the window." "Now remember, this guy's stoned so he thinks he's gonna die." "He thinks he's on the second floor, and he goes..." "Shits his pants." "He shit his pants." "He wasn't hurt too badly." "It was the ground floor." "He had some cuts, that's about it." "Now, we gotta go get the guy and he smells." "We bring him in the back." "I'm going to take him in." "I take him back to print him and I make him put his hands down in his pants and he gets some of that shit on his fingers." "I say, "Mr. Calabrese, we ain't got no more ink pads." ""You've got to use your own shit."" "No more out of Mr. fucking Calabrese." "I'm Mike Brennan." "You're the Homicide ADA?" " Yeah." "Hi." "Al Reilly." " Al Reilly, it's a pleasure." "I guess I'm the guest of honor, so to speak." "I'll do the introductions." "This is Captain Flynn." "This is Lieutenant Keely, from the PC's office." "Officers Corbin and Ramon, first on the scene." "Detective Valentin here." "He's working the case with Detective Chapman from Homicide." "Call me Chappie." "We're your arms and legs, Reilly." " You want a Pepsi, Chappie?" " Yeah." "So, you're a lawyer now?" "You don't do no running around no more." "That's right, you was a cop once, right?" "In the 23?" " That's right, Lieutenant." " lt's a pleasure." "It's about time they brought them from the force into here, right?" "It's a pleasure. I knew your old man." "It's cops like that that made us the finest." "We were just telling some old war stories." "Mike was just telling us what cojones he got." "The jungle bunny over here is laughing his ass off" "You ain't nothin' but a nigger with straight hair." "Gentlemen." "You're in violation of Police Department directives." "Racist epithets are not permitted." "Excuse me, sir." "Who's a racist?" "Me and Chappie?" "We're the minorities, man." "You're damn lucky to get us." "If we quit, some Federal judge take away your money." "Brennan, he ain't no racist." "He hates everybody." "He's an equal-opportunity hater." "Lubin, what the fuck took you so long?" "I almost got mugged on the subway." "Where were you pricks when I needed you?" "Would all present please leave their name badge and assignment number with the stenographer before leaving?" "Thank you." "Now at approximately 12:30 this morning something happened." "Right, Lieutenant?" "Correct, Mr. Reilly." "Where did this something happen?" "At 3111 Park Avenue, city and county of New York." "Tell us in your own words, tell us what happened." "Whose words is he going to tell it in?" "Lubin, I make the jokes around here." "Yes, Your Holiness." "I think it best not to include that last exchange, Lubin." "Not if I'm gonna be off on Passover." "Earlier this evening, I was at the 23 on 104th Street between Park and 3rd." "I was investigating the homicide of one Julio Sierra." "lnvestigation revealed that Sierra's lifelong friend and associate Antonio Vasquez, had been cheated out of a vast sum of money by the aforementioned Sierra." "So a little after midnight, I get a call from a reliable informant as to the whereabouts of this Antonio Vasquez." "I realized that this Vasquez should be questioned in the murder of Sierra as he had ample motive." "He's got a long yellow sheet of violence." "I went to this after-hours joint, a club at 3111 Park Avenue." "The door was open." "I saw the deceased, Tony Vasquez." "He was known to me as Tony from previous encounters." "I said, "Tony, come here." "I want to talk to you."" "Or words to that effect." "I don't expect nothing. I'm nonchalant." "Tony comes over and we talk." "I no sooner say the words "Julio Sierra" to Tony and he goes crazy." "He starts screaming at me, "l'll kill you!" Or words to that effect." "I don't mind saying that I was scared because Tony is known as a shooter." "I saw him reach." "I saw a flash of metal and in fear of my life, I drew my gun and popped him." "And God was with me." "I hit him in the head." "Then the people emerged from the club and started shouting abuse at me." "They were pushing and shoving." "I pointed out to them that the deceased had a pistol in his hand." "Then I held them back at bay until reinforcements arrived." "Ballistics is now checking out whether the gun of the deceased is the same gun that killed Julio Sierra because they were both.45 caliber." "That's about it, Mr. Reilly." "Anyhow, I'm sick a human life was lost." "But Jesus, I mean, it was quick!" "It was him or me!" "Lieutenant, you certainly covered everything." "You want that last remark on the record, Mr. Reilly?" "That was a spontaneous, refreshing reaction." "I'd leave it in, Reilly." "Yes." "Leave it in." "I'll be happy to answer any more questions, Mr. Reilly." "We have no more questions." "Do we, Mr. Quinn?" "That's up to you to decide." "Okay, thank you." "End of statement." "All right, thank you, gentlemen." "Everybody go home and get some sleep." " You handled that well, Francis." " lt's pretty cut-and-dried." "It's a good case for you to cut your teeth on." "All you need for the grand jury is statements from the witnesses at the club, ballistics and autopsy reports and a statement from Brennan's informant." "I want you to shield the identity of the informant from everybody." " ls that clear?" " Yes, sir." "Good night, everybody." "Good night." "He's pretty impressive, isn't he?" "As Durante used to say, "You ain't seen nothing yet!"" "The rifling and ridges match up with the.45 found in Vasquez's hand." "Ballistics will confirm it was the same gun used in the Julio Sierra killing." "We're wrapping up two homicides." "We're looking good here." "That's a great introduction to the Homicide Bureau." "Please, it's Al." "I was a cop too long, I'm not used to second names." "I rode with Sabartelli, Forenzi, Mullins..." "Moon Mullins!" "You couldn't call him that to his face." "That fucking Mullins, he was happy doing his stint in uniform." "Sure, man." "Why you go and ruin a good thing?" "What about the witnesses?" "Let's see here, we got Santo Rivera, Maxie Correa..." " ..." "Angel Delgado" " Rice and bean choirboys." "Fuck you, night fighter." "We got Luis Alvarado Jose Castillo, Mauricio Valdes Roberto Texador, also known as Bobby Tex..." "Bobby Tex." "We got some funny fish in the net, two scungiIi up there, too." " Italians in a PR joint?" " Fellas, we gotta be alone." "We've got Lorenzo Franconi, a.k.a. Larry Pesch and his bodyguard, Bruno Valli." "Larry Pesch, Bobby Tex." "That's heavy stuff." "These guys don't go uptown." "Not for a long time, man." "I used to see Bobby Tex playing stickball up by San Juan Hill." "Now he's living on Sutton Place and I'm still stuck in the projects." "Get into dope." "That's the trouble with these PRs." "They breed like rabbits, don't do any work and expect Welfare to put them on Sutton Place." "Up yours, darker-than-me." "I get twice the work done around here." " You know why?" " Why is that?" "Because you're always stopping for watermelon." "What's up with you people and that watermelon?" "Who else?" "We got Bobby Tex's old lady, Nancy something." "Nancy Bosch." "Who?" "That's what it says, Nancy Bosch." "She's been with Bobby Tex a few years." "We keep a file on him." "You should read about the parties this guy throws." "One time he had the whole cast over from some Broadway show." "They had to bring in the coke in wheelbarrows." "I guess I'll get mine when I get to heaven." "The only way you'll get to heaven is if they have their groceries delivered." "Let's say we stop this shit." "Chappie, you finish up ballistics and the autopsy report." "Valentin, you take the witnesses but I want to see Franconi, Bobby Tex and Nancy Bosch." "So get them down here." "Hey." "I'll never get used to it, Al." "You got das at one table, you got judges at another and defendants at a third." "How many deals do you think get cut in the men's room?" "Don't answer that." " What are you drinking?" " Some soda." "Can I have a soda?" "An Irishman turning down a drink?" "The prophet Elijah's coming for Passover this year." "Mr. Bloomenfeld, an honor." "Once again, we meet." "Pearlstein, fuck off!" "I'm seen talking to you and shooflies will follow my children's children." "Al, this is Preston Pearlstein." "When Jesse Jackson used the word "Hymie," he meant him." "What a character!" "How do you do?" "I'm delighted." "That's it, Pearlstein." "Don't spoil my appetite." "We haven't eaten yet." "What a character." "Look at that son of a bitch." "Twenty years ago he was wearing the jacket from one suit and the pants from another." "Now he's living in 516, his wife just bought half of West Palm Beach and I'm sitting here pulling my putz." "We'll eat here at the bar, Phil." "The usual." "What is this, Tuesday?" "Yes, it must be." "You're crying in your Scotch again." "You're right." "How come my generation of Jews drink?" "My parents, they come over from Poland, they used to sing this song:" "I'll translate for your mick ears." ""A drunk is a gentile."" "And then I forget... "He has to drink, because a gentile is a drunk."" "Leo, you know the DA's office would fall apart without you." " You're the best tactician." " Yeah, that and a token will get you a ride on the subway." "Thirty years." "Thirty years in this fucking office." "I should've quit years ago." "Gone private." "Made some money." "Molly deserves better." "So, why didn't you?" "Because I had the same disease you've got." "I thought I could make a difference." " You're blushing." " Am I?" "Choirboy, I hope they don't break your heart." "How do you like your new boss?" "He's a pisser." "Tough but fair. I like that." "And decisive." "All we heard about in law school was his track record, his memory." "He was reading my summary and he said, "You've got Vasquez's record wrong." ""We've brought him in 11 times but he's had two convictions, not three."" "I looked it up." "On the Xerox of the yellow sheet the "2" was smudged and it looked like a "3."" "He was right." "He's a prick." "He's a racist and an anti-Semite and a prick." "He wants to be Tom Dewey and he will be." "He married for politics and all he can see is his way clear to God knows how high up." "Years ago, when we still had executions in the state he used to volunteer as a witness." "His first murder case he was a young ADA then, I'm talking years ago..." "The case was shaky, largely circumstantial and he wanted a recommended death penalty from the jury." "Before he finished he had them believing that poor black kid had raped their mothers." "He goes up to Sing Sing for the electrocution." "And the next day we're sitting around drinking coffee and he walks in with this shit-eating grin on his face." "And somebody says, "Hey, how'd it go?"" "He says casually, "He fried!"" "And then he says, "l sure hope he was guilty." Then he laughs." "Fuck him." "Now and forever." "Two corned beef." "Anything to drink, gentlemen?" " Nothing, thanks." " Make it a single, Phil." "You drew the Brennan-Vasquez case, huh?" "Cut-and-dried." "Vasquez had a.45 in his hand." "Vasquez never carried a.45 in his life." "He did that night." "Schmuck, listen to me." "I also have a memory." "In 11 arrests, they never found anything on him but a.32." "That's one of the two times they ever got him for carrying a concealed weapon." "He had this little.32 made special so it would fit in his boot." "Check your yellow sheet." "You'll see I'm right." " Maybe he had two guns that night." " Tony Vasquez?" "He used to say he had three balls." "All that Latino macho shit." ""l don't need no stinking pistols, I take 'em out with my bare hands!"" "Two guns, bullshit!" "I don't give a fuck what he told you." "I didn't see no gun." "Thank you, Mr. Alvarado." "You're excused." "You okay?" "I want to set this up a little differently." "We should question Bobby Tex with his old lady and the goombah in the room." "We've been doing it individually so far." "Alberto, I know my people, man." "Bobby Tex I know from the street." "He can't take the needle, not in front of his old lady." "He's a hothead." "Why do we want to get on Bobby Tex's ass?" "Larry Pesch and Bobby Texador in a Harlem joint with Tony Vasquez?" "Come on, Chappie." "There's fish in the stream." "Maybe we'll get lucky." "Yeah?" "Mr. Reilly, my clients have been waiting a half an hour." "We're ready." "Please come in." " Everybody been sworn?" " lt's done already." "Mr. Reilly, these are my clients, Mr. Franconi, Mr. Valli and Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Texador." "Mr. and Mrs.?" "I thought you told me Mr. Texador was single." "You know how it is, living together." "Times have changed, haven't they?" "You know, common-law wife." "Counselor, common-law marriages were abrogated in New York in '31." " You should know the law." " That's the way we're gonna play it?" " Listen, kid." " Don't call me "kid."" "I've seen you standing outside of night court with a vaudeville hook waiting for clients." "We don't have to take this." "Everyone out!" "Take it easy." "You've brought your clients down here in good faith." "You always do." "This is a bullshit case." "Pardon me, ma'am." "We'll just ask a couple of questions and everybody can go home." "Nobody's going to get hurt here." "It's over." "Water under the bridge." "Pearlstein never takes it personally." "However, I would like to state for the record that Larry here, Mr. Franconi refuses to say anything, invoking his privilege under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments." " ls that on the advice of counsel?" " Not necessarily." "I can't believe an advocate as respected as you would advise his client to plead the Fifth." "He's not the target of this investigation." "Do you want us to become suspicious of Mr. Vito Franconi, a.k.a. Larry Pesch Pleasant Avenue and points south?" ""Pesch" means "fish" in the mother tongue, right, Mr. Franconi?" "Do you want us to grant him immunity?" "March him upstairs to Part 30 and have him imprisoned for contempt?" "You want me to talk with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics see if they have any problems?" "Internal Revenue Service?" " l'm not saying I'd do any of these things" " Wait." "Do you mind if I talk with my clients outside, Counselor?" " Of course, Preston." " Thank you, Al." "Al, it's all straightened out." "Mr. Franconi will make a statement." "Me and my chauffeur here was driving on Park Avenue around midnight." "All of a sudden, I had to take a piss." "I said, "Bruno, find me someplace." "I gotta take a piss."" "I didn't want to go in the street on account of the neighborhood, you know." "So, Bruno pulls over by this joint." "I go in. I take a piss. I come out." "And there's this guy." "He's waving a piece and yelling, "Stay here!"" "I figured he was a cop, so I stayed." "is that your recollection, Mr. Valli?" "I'm with him." "I'm a little confused here." "The after-hours club on Park Avenue had a sign saying, "Members Only."" "What made you think you could get in?" "What is this, the third degree?" "I come down here on my own time." "I've got no..." "I've got a poultry business to run." "I've got no time to be jerking around." "Pearlstein, straighten this guy out, will you?" "My client has cooperated in every way possible." "This interview was a half-hour late in starting." "I'd like the two gentlemen to stay just a little longer, in case..." " ...any conflict develops in the testimony." " Of course, we're cooperating fully, Al." "Mr. Texador." "Suppose you give us your version of what happened?" "I'll be happy to, Mr. Reilly." "I know Mauricio Valdez from the old days." "In fact we used to live in the barrio." "Last Thursday, my wife and I here, we decided to give his club a visit." "Excuse me, Bobby Tex." "Your wife?" "I'm talking to Mr. Reilly." "Detective Valentin and Chapman are assigned to the case." "They're allowed to ask questions." "Continue." "They're allowed questions, yes, but not snotty insinuations." " Right?" " Right, please continue." "We went to the club to pay our respects and leave." "I won't stay late." "The crowd's too rough in these places." "Do you know, I remember you now?" " You served the 23rd Precinct, no?" " That's right." "You had a good reputation among the Latinos." "Tough but fair." " l can't stand this shit." " Hey, Luis, please." "He's blowing smoke up your ass and you're taking it." "I've got my wife here now, Mr. Reilly." "I don't want any profanity." "Okay, I'm sorry, all right?" "I'm sorry." "Please continue, Mr. Texador." "We had a drink." "All of a sudden, there's a lot of noise." " Like shots?" " l can't say, but noise." "I go outside and there's like a big guy there." "But something was in his hand." "And a little guy, he's laid out." "Another big guy, he pulls his badge, and he says:" ""Hey, nobody moves," you know, like they do." "And then more cops came." "That was it." "You know Mr. Franconi and Mr. Valli from before?" "No, I can't say I do." "But you saw them when you came in the club?" "That's a big noisy club." "How" "You're trying to tell us that two big wops walk in like hit men, and you don't see them?" "Those racist remarks are an outrage!" "I'll call the Civil Rights League." " l object!" " All right!" "Detective Valentin... I'd like to apologize to everyone." "This office does not condone any racial epithets." "Now, let's just settle down and get this over with." "This guy that was laid out was Tony Vasquez, right?" " That's what I heard later." " You knew him?" " Sort of, yes, from around the neighborhood." " Sort of?" "Look, Bobby Tex, with my own eyes I've seen Tony Vasquez save your life." "It was when that guinea..." "Italian gang caught you on 114th and Pleasant Avenue in the playground there." "What you was, maybe 18, 19 years old?" "And your ass was grass, man." "And he waded in there with a lead pipe and he saved your ass and now you're going to deny him over his dead body?" " Man, cobarde!" " Cobarde?" "Yeah, you fucking coward!" "Tony loved you like a brother, man!" " He worked for you since then." " Hey!" "Fucking honey dripper." "You know, we knew you was a punk then, but you're being a punk now." "Detective?" "Come on." "You couldn't find a Jew in Rockaway." "You got a badge and a gun but you're still a punk so shut up" " Bobby, please!" " Shut up, shyster. I'm talking here." "You're finished, Bobby Tex." "You're over and finished!" "The baddest guy is me, because I'm the law and this case is wrapped!" "This case is clear self-defense and the Lieutenant gets his medal and I can make first grade!" "So, fuck you, man, fuck you!" "No, fuck you!" "Come on, what are you talking about?" "Little Tony Vasquez is 120 pounds." "Are you telling me he's carrying a.45 and a.32?" "How?" " Wearing pants with no belt?" " You're a detective now?" "You're right!" "You see his.32 sticking out his boot when he fell." " Everybody knows that's all the man carried." " You're saying Brennan whacked Tony?" "I guess that's for me to know and you to find out, Detective Valentin!" "I'm really sorry, Mr. Reilly." "You know what it is, I'll tell you." "A couple of PRs from the old neighborhood, we get together, it's always like this." " Luis, I'm sorry." "You're beautiful." " No hard feelings." "You're so beautiful." "No kidding." "You know something?" "I'm no detective, but sometimes I run off at the mouth." "What about it, Mr. Reilly?" "I got chickens to pluck." "I'm with him." "Will the witnesses please remain in the waiting room just five more minutes?" "I want to make sure there's no conflict in the statements so we don't have to bring you down here again." "Thank you." "Lubin, you can take a break." "The feces has struck the air conditioner." " You were great, Val." " You wasn't too bad yourself, Alberto." "While you two pricks are congratulating yourselves, you better realize maybe you put Brennan's neck in it." " l don't want to hurt a cop." " You just did. lt's now on the QA." " Welcome, shooflies." " This whole thing stinks." "Look, Chappie, I know my people like you know yours." "There's no way that Tony knocked off Julio." "Those two guys and Tex, shit man, I seen them take on a gang of 10 guineas with nothing but a knife and a broken bottle in their hand." "They called themselves the Sinners then." "I'm talking 25 years these guys been together, you know?" "They're how Tex formed his gang." "You were moving against the Mob in those days so you had to be tough to move in on dope." "Them junkie motherfuckers will fall out over anything." "A kilo, a broad." "Tony Vasquez didn't jam Sierra." "We're not talking about Columbians here." "I know my people." "This case is dirty, man." "I feel it in the cojones, you know?" "You're listening to a piece of shit like Bobby Tex." "The day you start believing a goddamn dope-dealing spic against a cop like Mike, that's the day I hand my badge in." "Mike Brennan is the best cop I ever saw." "First one through the door, the window, the skylight." "He stepped in front of a bullet for me once caught it in his left hand and shoved it up the punk's ass." "Now, unless you know, don't blow." "This is serious." "Fuck you, bean-eaters." "They were in the Marines together, you know?" "Chappie?" "Just suppose Brennan comes up wrong." " You ready for that?" " l'll do my job, but I won't take him in." "I'll leave that up to the pride of San Juan Hill here." "Thank you very much, thank you." "You know that fucking gorilla would shove me up his ass easy as Preparation H." "Then it's simple." "We find the stool, Roger Montalvo, and that should settle it." "Superfag?" "He's worse than Bobby Tex." "He's a stool, a pusher, a beater and a shooter." "The Feds pay him $500 a month and hands off while he deals his own shit." "He sets you up, or shoots you in the back." "If we're depending on him, we'll all wind up indicted." " What about the girl?" " What about her?" "Let's get her in." "Maybe she'll say something." "You look at her with those baby blues." "Who knows where it might lead, you know?" "Why should all the bad guys get all the good pussy?" "I'm sitting on something." "I've got to say it to your face, Counselor." "Say it." "What I've got to say, maybe you don't want these guys to hear." " Say it." " Say it and get out." "What do you think, you're smart?" "You think I don't know why you got me down here on this cockamamie case?" "She's with me now, whitebread." "I know all about you and my old lady." "She told me everything." "If I catch you sniffing around her you'll get much more than you could ever handle." "I really don't care if you're the law or whatever the fuck you are." "Okay?" "You were warned." "You ever point your finger at me again, I'll break it off and shove it up your ass." "Okay." "I guess now, we've both been warned." "Hey, Flo." "Come here." "Bring your friend." "Call your girlfriends over here." "Come on, girls." "Come on." "You know better than to run from me, Flo." " Lieutenant, I was just" " You was just bullshit." "All right, who we got here?" "We got Min, Sherry, Lola Carrie, Sue Ellen..." "Oh, and that star of stage, screen, and cocksucking." "Sylvester, right?" "My name is Sophia." "Sophia?" "What's this, Sophia?" "This feels like little balls and a cock and a Kotex, right, Sophia?" "Don't you come in my hand, you cocksucker, or I'll rip it off." "Jesus, Lieutenant, you're hurting me." "Not as bad as I'm going to." "Now, what's your name?" " What's your name?" " Sophia!" " What's your name?" " Sylvester." "I'm looking for Roger Montalvo." "I mean now, I'm really looking." "Whoever lets me know, I owe them one, okay?" "You got it, Lieutenant." "Anything else?" "Flo, if I wanted anything else, I'd call Sylvester here." "I mean, look at this mouth." "This is an experienced mouth, right, Sylvester?" "Please, Lieutenant." "Now listen, cocksucker." "Montalvo's boyfriend, what's his name?" "Jose Malpica." "That's right." "Jose Malpica." "You run in the same circles." "You run into him on the daisy chain you tell him I want to see him." "Comprende?" "Yeah." "Get back to work." "Get back to work!" "I heard." "Got the word." "Nancy, please." "Nancy, please!" "Don't be this way." "Are you going to your mother's?" "Of course." "You've got a tap on us." "And a tail on Bobby, so I knew when you'd be going out." "It figures." " l want to talk to you." " Don't even try!" " There's a lot to talk" " Not another word." "Look, it's raining and cabs are really tough, especially going uptown but I will be out of this car in one second if you open your mouth." "Now, which is it gonna be?" "Okay." "Do you remember where it is?" "Hello, Mrs. Bosch." "Alberto..." "Well, long time." "This is my mother's house." "You can't come in here." "Let me talk to you." "Please, Nancy." "I don't want to start rehashing everything." "We never talked about anything." "You left me standing on a corner, and six years later you walk into my office" "Stop it!" "Whatever he is and whatever he does, he is a lot more honorable than you are." "He is what he is, but he has one face, not two, and he's colorblind." "Please." "Understand I was taken by surprise." "You never told me your father was..." "Say it!" "Say it!" "My father was what?" "Say it!" "Was a nigger?" "Cops say it all the time." "Just say it, okay?" "Was a nigger, was a dinge, was a coon!" "He was the best man that I ever knew, and you turned pale when you met him." "And it is pretty goddamn hard to see you go pale." "Nancy, we were together for two years, and you never told me your father was black." "is that what you thought?" "You thought I was hiding my father from you?" "I'll tell you what I thought." "I thought, "l'm in love." ""l'm in love with a cop from the 23." ""l'm in love with this baby that I'm carrying." ""l'm in love with a great man." lt was my father." "We're coming home and he's coming around the corner with his sea bag." "He's been away two years." "And at that moment, I have everything that I could ever possibly want." "And I say, "Al, this is my father."" "And then, I see your face." "What did you see in my face?" "A look." " A look?" " Yes!" "One look can tell you something that changes two peoples' lives?" "Yeah, one look." "You know, it's what we're like." "It's our sixth sense." "What happened to the baby?" "What baby?" "You know, those Irish eyes are not smiling." "I'm as Catholic as you are, but I'm just not as strict." "These words are useless." "Just get out of my house." "Nancy, I don't want to leave like this." "You don't have a choice." "Just get out." "Just go." "Go!" "Get out!" "If you don't get out, I'm gonna go!" "Just go!" "Out!" "Get out of my house!" "Go!" "This is idiotic, Francis." "You've complicated what should be a simple self-defense." "I will not allow an officer of Brennan's stature to be dragged through the slime by some Puerto Rican scum." "You won't present this to the grand jury." "There's no corroborative evidence." "It's in the QA." "The QA is for the record." "It's like the other paperwork." "The grand jury will go where you lead them." "They won't ask for the QA, they will accept your quotes from it." "Don't complicate this, Francis." "Don't let me lose my faith in you." "Yes, sir." "We'll find the stool, Montalvo." "And I'm sure that will corroborate Lieutenant Brennan's version." "Francis?" "You're not working for internal Affairs, are you?" "No, sir." "Keep in touch." "Yes, sir." " Hey, Alberto." "Can we do Joan Rivers?" " What?" ""Can we talk?" Just a question." "Yeah." "Now okay?" "Al, Chappie told you about him and Brennan being tight." "I don't have anything to tell, but we've got to be honest." "If we push this, who are we pushing against?" "What're you saying?" "That scene the other day." "You've got to admit, that's a bit unusual." "You and the lady, an old roll in the hay or what?" "We met, we were going to get married." "We didn't get married." "Why?" "I fucked up." "Okay." "That's cool." "You got my respect and silence, Alberto, okay?" "Thank you." "The other day, you looked like you were still hurting." "Every little breeze, Val." "We need you downtown for your statement, nothing complicated." "Your report will cover all of it." "Say hi to Delgado." "Glad to see I'm not the only case you're working." "Hey, Mike." "I came to see you because I think you've got the wrong idea about me." "I've got no idea about you, Mike." "Come on, Reilly." "If I want my prick pulled, I'll do it myself." "Look, fuck it. lt's no secret." "I believe in kicking ass." "I've kicked ass in the 32, the 25, the 30 the 34, the 6, you name it, but I'm respected." "I mean, my first night on patrol, at 147th and Lennox I told those niggers on the corner:" ""When I'm on the post, the baddest motherfucker on the block is me."" "And then some jive-ass gives me that stick and gun shit." "He said, "You motherfucker, I shove that stick up your ass."" "I say, "Okay, asshole." l hand him to my partner we go in the alley, and wham-bam!" "That scumbag loses his teeth." "He goes to the fucking hospital, right?" "But things got better when I was there." "I heard about you when I was still at the Academy, and Chappie's told me." "Chappie knows it, too." "I don't get this." "They're fucking animals." "I mean, two cops are just driving by, Al, and some fucking animal drops a rock through their fucking windshield." "It's all coming apart, Al." "I want it the way it used to be." "I mean, you lose control of this jungle, and you're finished." "You know, you've been on the street." "So, I break a couple of heads?" "You know what we're fighting out there, and they know it!" "That's why they hate me out there." "This Texador, this Montalvo!" "They want to set you up!" "You can always find somebody to set you up, right?" "Not if you're clean." "Bullshit." "Like you rode with Moon Mullins, right?" "Yeah." "He's retired now." "He's in Miami." "It's Moon over Miami." "Let's say some eager-beaver Assistant DA gets ahold of old Moon:" ""We know you were taking." "We got your nuts in our hand." ""We know who you rode with." ""He didn't report us, so he must've had his hand in, too, right?"" "Cops don't rat that easy, Mike." "I know that, Al." "I know that, but you've got to picture Moon." "His pension could go." "In the meantime, this DA is crooning in his ear:" ""Give some names, we'll give you immunity." "Give us cops."" "You think Moon will sit on that?" "He'll give them the whole PBA roster." "Listen to me, Mike." "If you're dirty, you're going." "Anything you say to me from now on, say it to me in the QA." "I gotta stand here and take this shit from Kevin Reilly's little boy?" "I wish you were dead." "If your father was alive, he'd raise a glass to that, too." "Hey, guys." "Come here." "Hey, buddy!" "There ain't nothing on Roger the Dodger." "Come on, I'll buy you a drink." "Things have really calmed down in here." "Remember a couple of years ago?" "What will it be, Lieutenant?" " Coffee." "Chappie?" " Scotch." "They're looking to hurt me, Chappie." "This will all blow over in a couple of days, Mike." "No." "They want to hurt me." "That phony Reilly, night-school commando." "Looks like a fucking choirboy." "All those years he rode with that bagman Moon Mullins you don't tell me he didn't take." "Nobody knows what goes on inside a police car, right, Mike?" "You're fucking right." "And this spic, Valentin, what a fucking nut case." "He spent all his time undercover, sleeping in abandoned buildings palling with the junkies." "Christ, who can trust a narc, Chappie?" "I always heard he was clean." "Clean?" "I know my ass is clean, because I wipe it." "Who do you trust, Mike?" "You. I trust you, Chappie." "Because we've been through it together and separately." "You're the whitest black man I ever knew." "That's the truth, Chappie." "Come on, help me." "They want my ass." "How?" "Promise me." "I'm glad you're looking for Montalvo but you have to promise me." "If you find him, I talk to him first." "You know what a fucking snake he is." "I want him before you bring him downtown." "I don't know him. I don't know where he is." "Valentin's got a line on him." "You got Luis' home address?" "I got it, but I don't know." "Come on, this is me you're talking to, Mike Brennan!" "Come on, Chappie." "Come on!" "Ten bucks." "Oh, Jesus." "Look at these prices, man." "You couldn't go somewhere else?" "Okay, okay!" "Here, I'm giving you $25." "I'm going to the video store." "What do you want to see tonight?" "Whatever you want." "You decide." "'Bye, Junior." "Hey, Mike." "What are you doing up here?" "Seeing you, Luis." "That's what I'm here for." "How'd you find us?" "What's your boy's name?" " Lucito." " Lucito, huh?" "I've got to see you alone, Luis." "Now." "Sure, man." "Come on." "Here okay, Lieutenant?" "Perfect." "Shoot, Lieutenant." "I'm the wrong guy to say that to, huh?" "You got a line on Montalvo and his corn-hole buddy, Jose?" "Not yet, man, but we'll find him." "I got the stool brigade out looking." "Takes a stool to find a stool, huh, Lieutenant?" "You'll take him to Reilly?" "Sure, man, where else?" "I have to talk to him first, Luis." "Your friend Bobby Tex is trying to hang me." "I have to talk to him first before Reilly." "I don't know." "That's rough, Lieutenant." "Jesus Christ." "Luis, you were in narcotics, right?" "Yeah." "You worked with Alvarez, Lopez and them guys?" "Yeah." "$10,000." "What?" "Don't play boy scout with me, you nigger with straight hair." "You worked with Alvarez, Lopez and them guys." "I'm clean, Lieutenant." "Don't pull my prick, Valentin." "I know everything that goes on." "Everything." "You want particulars?" "The Rubelo case." " $80,000." "You split it five ways." " Four, I never went upstairs, Mike." " "Lieutenant" to you." " l'm clean, I swear to my kid." "Don't look down!" "You look me in the face." "Now, are you in for $10,000?" "Yes, Lieutenant, yes." "The contract's closed." "$10,000, cash, when you bring me Roger Montalvo." "Don't fuck with me on this one, Luis." "If you fuck with me better you piss a kidney stone through your hard-on." "I understand, Lieutenant." "That's a nice kid." " Chappie, it's me." " Yeah." "He was here." " He caught me, too." " That figures." "Don't talk on the phone." " I'II see you tomorrow." " Chappie." "I'm all shook up." "This fucking guy's scaring me." "Have a good day off." "Chappie?" " That's right, $10,000." " Wow." "One good thing." "You can trust Chappie and Valentin, they didn't have to tell you." " What do I do, Bloomy?" " Did you tell Quinn?" " l'm seeing him at 2:30." " Don't tell him." "He and Brennan go back much too far." "From now on, you keep me informed of everything." "None of this departmental-loyalty crap." "My boss is higher than your boss." "You're a lawyer now, don't forget that." "Your final responsibility is to the DA." "We can have this walk anytime you need me." "Don't worry." "Even if I were wearing a wire, this noise would wreck the tape." "I thought this was going to be a simple case." "My final word of advice is this, Francis." "You're letting a purveyor of narcotics, a liar and a criminal affect your judgment." "There are not too many of us left in this city." "There's only room now for a select few." "Stay with us, Francis." "I'm having friends in on Wednesday for dinner and drinks." "Please come." "The Montauk Club, 9:00 pm." "Come alone, Francis." "I want to say what I have to say, and then I'll take you where you want to go." "Yes, I was shocked that day." "I'm an Irish cop from Queens." "My father was a cop." "All I knew about black people was they hated me and they made my job very hard." "When we met at Brooklyn Law, everything changed for me." "They're right." "Love can do that to you." "I loved being in love with a girl from the 34." "It made me feel anything was possible in this city." "I loved our life together, the school, subway walking you home, the two weeks we took in St. Thomas." "Whatever that look on my face said to you that wasn't how I felt." "I've died a thousand times since." "Every unanswered phone call, every time you ran away from me on the street every time I looked at your empty chair in class." "Then you disappeared, and I've been dying since." "A little piece of me every day for six years." "All I do is work." "I got this new apartment with no furniture in it." "I loved you then." "I loved you while you were gone." "I love you now." "Nancy, I'll do whatever you want." "You know, something can happen a little thing and everything changes." "Like one time, I was with this guy and he came into my bedroom and he was naked, except he still had his socks on." "And I just started to laugh." "And just like that, I wasn't in love with him anymore." "So that's what happened the day that you met my father." "Everything went out of me then." "Everything left me." "Good-bye, rainbow people good-bye, good times good-bye, paralegal." "It was everything." "Maybe you were right about one thing." "Maybe I was testing you." "Maybe I didn't want to tell you that my father was black." "Maybe I wanted to see your face naked, no guard up, how you really felt hoping I would be wrong about something that I knew my entire life." "If I was testing you I found out and you failed, white boy." "You can do one thing for me." "If you're going after Bobby, don't do it because of you and me because of us." "Things were not so great for me all those years that I was gone." "He found me and he got me off dope." "He takes care of my mother and my little brothers." "He loves me as much as you do." "I'm going to Broadway 96, you know it?" "Yeah, I know it." "You're so beautiful." "Gentlemen, my wife, Nancy." "Honey, I want you to meet Hank Mastroangelo." "Stand up, Hank." "Come on." "Come on, yeah." "His friend whose name I don't know." "You know Larry and Bruno, of course." "Armandito and Alfonsito Segal." "I can't stand this spic shit." "I'm going to the bar." "Have Bobby join me for a drink." "Tell him to come alone. I don't want those two cokeheads anywhere near me." "Bobby Tex is okay, he's done all right for us." "You made money with Bobby, huh?" "We all have, he's a good kid." " You know what's going on?" " Well, no." "Then mind your own fucking business." "Bobby, you've been with us a few years, right?" " And we looked out for you." " Always." " No static on the street, right?" " No, no." " No interference from us, right?" " Never." "You always get first crack on the merchandise and the price is fair?" "I've always done the right thing back to you." " No complaints, you're reliable" " What's the beef?" "These two shooters you just brought up from Miami." "Why?" " They're two nice Jewish boys from Cuba." " You're kidding me." " Cuban Hebes?" " Sephardic." "That means no hits on Saturday, huh?" "Bobby, don't shit me." "I need some protection now from Brennan." " He's gonna whack me." " What makes you say that?" "He killed Julio, now Tony." "He's after me." "I'm not sitting still and letting him do this." "The balance is very delicate, right?" "We can't disturb what's going on downtown." "I keep my hands in my pockets while he's tracking me?" "Take a vacation, let things cool off." "We'll straighten this out." "But do not hurt that person, you understand?" "No way." "Don't forget, you dropped him in." "You want to protect yourself and your quiff, okay." "But stay away." "You've been told." "Bad news or what?" "Brennan plucked my wings, he's trying to muzzle my beak." "We'll fuck him." "It's taken care of." "Mr. Texador." "Nothing to worry about." "They did pretty good, huh?" "Come on." "Mr. Texador, please!" "You don't come at me like that!" "Of course, I'm sorry." "I'm Jose Malpica, Roger Montalvo's friend." "I design his clothes" "What do you want to see me about?" "They're okay." "I've been waiting all night for those guineas to leave." "I've been dancing my ass off, my feet are killing me, these shoes are too small." "It's Roger, he wants to see you." "Good." "You don't mind coming along." "Where are we going?" "He's in my dressing room." " After you" " No way, Jose, you first." "Montalvo, my man." "hola, puss." "I'm upset. I want her with me." "Loose lips sink ships, send her home." "I'll call you later." "I'll let you know where l'll be." "Want to get the fuck out of here?" " Want some snort?" " No, thanks. I'm a seller, not a buyer." " Brennan's gonna kill me, Bobby." " l know." " You know he's going to kill you, too." " He's gonna try." "That's why I got my two friends now." "Please, he'll crush them into wine, honey." "I want to tell you something." "I'm gay, and on the street that means tough but Brennan scares the shit out of me." "It's his eyes, you know, he's a fag killer." "And like all those guys, he's gay." "He doesn't know it, but the man is gay." "You faggots say that about everybody." "I hate him so fucking much." "You stool for him, fuck." "It was four years ago." "He got me out of stir." "I'm a three-time loser, Bobby." "I'm not getting any younger." "You went to work for him." "It wasn't easy, but he did get me out." "I'm always hiding from him, but he finds me." "It's like a fucking nightmare." "Anyway, last year he comes to me." "He wants some names checked out." "Who was where, who's doing what." "So, you know, I find out." "And I realize it was the old Sinners gang." "My club?" "Really?" " We split up 20 years ago." " That's what I said." "Four of you guys got wasted one way or another and only three were left." "There was Sierra and there was Tony and me." "Tony and Sierra were working for you." " You fingered Tony for him." " There was nothing I could do." "He found me that night." "He can't do it in the club so he makes me call Tony outside, and he jams him." "Thing is, now you're the only one left." "You're a faggot motherfucker." "He's probably waiting outside for me right now." "I won't do that to you, Bobby." "You think I'm gonna team up with some faggot stool-pigeon." "You fucking little douchebag." "I'll take you out right now, for Tony and Sierra." " Yeah, but you won't." " Don't be sure." "You gonna knock off a police lieutenant?" "Not unless you're crazy, baby, and crazy you are not." "I'm your witness, with me you can take him out legally." " l'm the one who can" " You're a dead man when he finds you." "What do think I contacted you for?" "So that you could tell me this?" "You got the money, the boats, the planes and you need me alive." "I can't go to the grand jury without him." "There's no doubt now, Brennan took Tony out." "That's why he offered money for the stool." "Any word on where he is now?" "No man, nothing's happening." "Chappie, you said that if Brennan came up dirty, you won't take him in." "I'll accept that." "But nothing short of it." "You want me to tail him?" " lf he gets to the stool" " All right." " You're a cop, Chappie." " No shit." "You're a natural shadow Chappie, invisible in the night." "Fuck you, fartmaker." "Should I put somebody else on this?" "No, man, he'll do it." "He'll hate it, but he'll do it." "I'll ask you straight." "You been in touch with Brennan..." " ...since this investigation started?" " No, why?" "I think he's getting some information about what we're working on." "Fuck this shit." "Fuck this shit, man." "I had to ask, that's all." "Look, choirboy, I don't spy, lie, or cheat." "You knew how I felt." " You want me off, I'm off." " No, your work's good." " Sorry I had to ask." " Anything else?" "Got to admit, you and Brennan is not exactly a natural combination." "Yeah?" "Why not?" "Jesus Christ, I mean every word out of his mouth..." "You'd know better than anybody." "It's no big deal, it's just his way." "At least with him, it's out in the open." "How do you take it?" "I told you, no problem." "He's him. I'm me." "What about the others?" " What others?" " The ones not so out in the open." "Fuck them." "They're them, I'm still me." "Can you..." "Can you spot them?" "Shit, yeah." "You see, they ask a lot of dumb questions about what it's like being a black policeman." "Shit like that." "Anything else?" "No, Chappie." "Listen, Al, you're not a bad kid, but get one thing straight about me." "You want to know what color I am, inside and out?" "I'm blue." "When I was in the corps, I was olive drab, or camouflage, or dress blues or whatever was the fucking uniform of the day." " You got it?" " l got it." "Y'all take care now, you hear?" "Oh, God, it should have come to this." " You'll be comfortable very soon." " Where are we going?" "Puerto Rico." "You'll stay on a nice boat." "I get seasick. I absolutely hate boats." "Don't be an asshole. lt's tied up at my dock." "All the candy you need." "A nice baby-sitter." "You want a baby-sitter?" "I'm going to try to be true to Jose." "It'll do me good." "Ay Dios mío, what did I ever do to deserve this?" "Everything." "Anything I can do for you while I'm down here?" "Sorry, Nancy, but I just don't eat fish." "Now listen to me, maricón." "Sometimes you're not that funny, you know what I mean?" "Just keep respect." "Oh, you brute." "That ends my official duties." "I will leave you now." "Dirty stories are okay, even stag films but there will be no girls." " Send Gerald back with the car." " l will." "Goodnight, everybody." "Goodnight." "Leave those." "Thank you." "What conclusion did you reach, Bob?" "The best." "Your recognition factor is almost as high as the Governor's or the Mayor's." "The image factor couldn't be better." "Crime fighter, straight as an arrow." "Poor boy who made it, ex-cop." "You're strong in Queens, Staten Island, the Jewish and Italian parts of Brooklyn." "Nassau and Suffolk are a wrap." "Now, the good news." "Stronger as we move upstate except for isolated pockets of blacks around Troy, Utica, Buffalo." "Nothing we didn't expect." "But that together with Levy for governor Amalfitano for lieutenant governor it's the perfect ticket." "Money clearly is no problem." "Just look at this crowd." "And that's not counting Agnes' dowry." "That's a lot to invest for an Attorney General." "I'm ahead of you." "Levy thinks he can be the first Jewish president." "I told him it's not time yet but when he gets the bug, what do you do?" "He figures, at worst, vice president." "In two years time, he's gonna make a run for it." "He resigns the governorship, Amalfitano moves up." " lf we take it that year." " We will." "We move Amalfitano to the Supreme Court, maybe even the Federal bench." "That leaves you sitting in the catbird seat for the special election." "So, Kevin?" "Let's go for it." "Kevin you've fought the good fight." "Holding fast year after year." "Here's to the next Attorney General." "Hear, hear." "You need a Puerto Rican skag peddler?" "For six years I've been with you wops." "I've saved you guys from big junk collars, traced lost stuff, fingered stools." "I've even gone on special assignments for you, Nick." "You're telling me you need Bobby Tex?" "He runs a good operation, Mike." "Let's wait, see if we can straighten this out- lf you had a square asshole, you'd shit bricks." " l don't want to hear that shit." " Watch your mouth." "You're gonna put on your Al Capone face?" "You want to step out right now?" "You want guns right here?" "You want to go in the kitchen with knives?" "You're talking to me." "I chew up you fucking wise guys and spit out fags!" "You hear?" "Mike, come on my friend." "We're all friends here." "Why are you so angry?" "I'll tell you why Nick, I know you guys." "You'd crawl over your dying mother to fuck your sister." "When I need you, me, a harp..." "I know how you talk about me." "I get this "he runs a good operation" shit." "I'm telling you Nick, if I go down on this one I'm taking everybody with me." "And listen, if you're thinking of taking me out they got this new Assistant DA Reilly." "He's a real choirboy." "He likes me." "He thinks I'm hot shit." "He gets a big envelope the first day I don't show up for work." "Mike is right." "What are we talking about here, this Bobby Tex, a spic stool-pigeon?" "We're going to lose a man like Mike here for that?" "Bury him, Hank." "Larry, you set it up." "You're close to him." "We'll get on it tonight, Nick." "Done." "You see, Mike, no reason to get angry." "I understand it's not like the old days." "We got spics and niggers mixed up with everything." "With us, the police force, detectives, inspectors." "You come to a crime scene, you don't know who to shoot." "Go home, Mike, it's over." "Okay." "Sorry, Hank." "He's trouble." "It's too bad." " He was good for us." " Right away, Nick?" "No." "Tex first, that'll calm Mike a little while we check out this Reilly guy." "It's probably bullshit." "It is. I've seen the guy." "We're covered." "You see what happens when you go outside your own?" "Maybe it's better this way." "Clean out the pipes." "Start a whole new operation." "Anybody know any chinks?" " Phillie." " How's it going?" "Danny, how do you like San Juan?" "It's hot." "please don't leave your cars unattended while waiting for passengers to disembark." "Yes?" "It's me, Larry. I just got in." " How about some dinner?" " You got it, my friend." "How about the Gobernador?" "You took me there once. lt was terrific." "That's swell with me, Larry." "8:30." "Pick me up in the lobby of the Marriott." "And Bobby, I'm alone." "Leave the Cubans at home." "They scare the shit out of me." "8:30." "You guys get here around 8:30." "I'll get here at 9:00." "Danny, you stay on the wheel on that side of the island." "Phillie, when you start to us I'll get out of his car." "He'll be on the driver's side." "You pop him, go for the head, then vroom, you're out of here." "Separate flights back, it's a snap." "You got it." "Danny, pour me another margarita." "That's some sign you got on the door out there." "I guess since I'm here, I got no choice, huh?" "Lieutenant." "Boy, that's some show you guys put on." "No, really." " You were there tonight." " Damn right." "Jesus, I could have sworn those were girls up there dancing." "That chorus, they work really hard." "Jesus, that end guy, what legs." "That gets a guy horny, you know?" "His name is Michael, like yours." "No shit?" "Wow." "You look pretty good up there yourself." "You want it, Mike." "Yeah, $100." "I pitch, you catch." "Let me get some of this crud off." "All right, let me help you." "We'll go over to your place, all right?" "We'll take this Vaseline here." "And I've got K-Y." "Just wipe this off, a little bit." "So, what would you like me to wear?" "Bra?" "Panties?" "Garter belt?" "Whatever, lover." "Give me a few minutes." "This is Marty." "You come late again tonight, you're fired." "This is Vince." "call me." "Hi, it's Roger." "You better be home tonight, you faggot." "I'm on a boat in fucking Puerto Rico." "Can you believe it?" "It's too tacky." "He calls it The Nancy." "I couId vomit." "I'm so lonely, I couId die." "call me tonight or I'II go crazy." "809-555-7171." "There's a payphone at the end of the pier." "I can hear it ring from the boat." "Let it ring a Iong time." "Bobby Tex has a boat with no phone." "Can you believe it?" "Don't be scared, lover." "This isn't your first time, is it?" "Come here." "Come here." "Come on." "Turn around." "Larry, it's this way." "It's this way." "Something on your mind, Larry?" "No, I'm just feeling the jet lag." "Really?" "How come?" "It's the same time." "Jesus, Bobby, I never thought you'd do this to me." "I came down here to warn you." "They want to hurt you." "Cut the shit." "Your two gunsels are out of action." "You're left holding it." "Jesus, Bobby, we made money." "Didn't I make money for you?" "Chicken-plucking guinea, if you make it back... I ain't decided that yet." "When you make it back, carry this message for me to your bosses." " l didn't put the finger on you" " Shut up." "I'm getting out now." "I'm going to bury your boy Brennan, but legally. I got my proof." "He jammed Sierra and Tony." "I want his ass." "If they stay in this corner, they'll have another war on their hands." "I'll make Miami look like a little place where the monks live." "If they let me settle this now, between me and Brennan they're never going to see or hear from me again." "They can name whoever they want to run things uptown. I'll disappear." "I don't ask for separation pay." "I think you know my word is good." "So do they." "Can I leave now?" "Sure, get out of here, scumbag." "I've got nothing against you, Bobby." "I take orders like everybody else." "Get out of here, before I make you beg for your life." "Yeah." "Is this the Assistant DA ReiIIy?" "Yeah, who's this?" "Bobby Tex." "What's up?" "How about that whole fucking city, if you don't do what I say?" "I'm at the Hilton. I'm here in San Juan, and I want you on the first plane out." "And that leaves Kennedy at 7:00 a.m." "Why?" "I got Roger the Dodger." "Does he finger Brennan?" "Brennan is the least of it." "How would you like Quinn?" "What?" " You want me to keep talking on the phone?" " No, I'm on my way." "Three things:" "You talk to anybody, all bets are off, we've got to disappear." " Two, no wires, please." " Okay." "And three, no Chappie." "'Cause that spook... I want to tell you that he's been ratting you out to Brennan." " l'll bring Valentin and one other." " Okay." "If you're not here on the first plane, I'll know you went to your bosses and then you're going to have to look for us." "So you just obey me." "You know, you're in over your head as it is." "That's the whole reason they put you on this case." "Bloomy, were you asleep?" "Of course, what's up?" "I've got to go to Puerto Rico, first plane." "The eyewitness is there." "What witness?" "The Tony Vasquez killing." "It was no self-defense, Brennan took him out." "Jesus." "You told Quinn?" "I can't, Bloomy, he's in it." "My God, Quinn." "I don't know how yet, but I trust this witness and that's why I have to be on that plane." "Leave a night message you won't be in tomorrow." "Not a word of this to anyone." " Take your flight." " Yeah, I'd Iike to bring two men." "Anything you need, I'll call administration and have them authorize the tickets." " Al?" "I have to take this to my boss, the DA." " Yeah." "This is very big, you talk only to me." "Be careful." "Good luck." "That's the best phone call I've ever gotten." "Back to the land of my fathers, you know?" "Not going to have time to enjoy it, we're coming back tonight." "You're kidding me." "What the hell is going on?" "I'm meeting Bobby Tex, that's all I can tell you." "We may have to bring someone back." "It's going to be your ass..." " ...if anything happens to him." " Shooting?" "Zucker, you're still a virgin, man?" "You heard about this guy, Al?" "They call him "The Virgin."" "Eighteen years on the force, six on Narcotics, four on Safe and Loft and the guy's never fired a gun." "Four years and I bury the damn thing." "TWA flight Number 413 to San Juan..." "Taxi." "Takes your breath away, don't it?" "You hate guys like me, don't you?" "Well, $1,600 worth of silk on my back." "And you with those Delancey Street originals." "I'm cops, you're robbers." "Not to mention our little competition here." "Some of this is going to get tough on you." "Because I want out." "I want to get away from you cops and wops and junkies." "Are you turning?" "Who the fuck are you?" "You're talking to Roberto Texador, not Roger "the Dodger" Montalvo, okay?" "You know, you better look around." "There's a whole world out here." "A nice one, maybe." "I want to take a look." "Right now, I'm sitting around here." "I'm waiting for a bullet." "Nancy." "She deserves better, don't you think?" "I mean, who knows, maybe kids." "I really love her and she likes me." "We're good together, you know?" "I told you, this can get tough." "So now that you're a good guy, what about the bad guys?" "Okay." "Do you know Brennan's on a contract?" "I'm the last installment and that troubles me." "Roger put me onto this." " Who put the contract out?" " l've got to go back a little now." "Twenty-four, maybe even twenty-five years." "You got a bunch of tough kids, PRs." "We used to call ourselves the Sinners then." "We were pretty tough." "We rumbled." " l mean we rumbled with anybody." " You were bad then." " You ever do anything, make anybody?" " No." "Nickel-and-dime stuff." "You protect a fruit stand, man, a shoeshine parlor, you know?" "You run a few numbers for the coons when they need some extra people." "We liked to rumble, we got down." "We had a kid, his name was Skinny." "He used to deliver for the AP." "He sort of thought we were the thing." "He had a pistol." "If we had a bad rumble coming up we used to take this kid along." "In those days it was okay to use a ringer or two." "Some of these kids were coming all the way from Long lsland." "They were a little stupid." "Then anyway, this kid, Skinny..." "See, I'd never seen anyone that bad." "This kid would stand in the middle of the street with the bullets flying all around him." "But he didn't give a shit." "This kid would empty his rod, man." "He wouldn't even take cover when he'd go to reload." "This guy was trying to show the PRs he had more balls." "He wasn't Puerto Rican?" "No, he was Irish, a little older." "He couldn't hang out with his own, because there was nobody up there for him." "Wait a minute, I'm ahead of you." "Skinny grows up..." "That's what I'm telling you." "Kevin Tharon Quinn." "Skinny." " You guys had something on him?" " Yeah." "One day we're talking away to this little bodega owner we knew, Sal Garcia." "Sweetest little guy." "We wanted to raise him, $5 a week, it was a goof." "Come off a rumble, we'd beat the shit out of a gang." "Who was it?" "The Dyckman Street Angels." "Skinny was with us with his piece." "But the little guy Garcia, he starts carrying on." "He says, "That's it, I'm not paying now." "Get the fuck out."" "He picked up a bat, right?" "Skinny popped him." " Jesus H. Christ." " Just like that, I couldn't believe it." "Twelve years ago, Al I'm down in General Session, but there's a big trial going on downstairs." " Remember the Fuentes case?" " Yeah, one of Quinn's big wins." "I see him in the corridor, you know, he was very different." "But he was the same." "You know what I mean?" "We're still talking about good ol' Skinny." "So what's he got on Brennan to make him the hit man?" "I don't know." "That shouldn't be too hard to find out, Brennan's wide open." "Give me a QA on this, there's no statute of limitations on murder." "I'm not a rat." "You tell Quinn that." "He's got nothing to fear from me." "All I want from him he calls Brennan off." "Now he calls Brennan off I never heard of Skinny." "That's an even trade, man." "Quinn goes on wherever he's going." "Brennan goes on being a cop." "You're going to come out a hero." "Me?" "I'm going to disappear." "I'm going to take Roger Montalvo's signed statement in my pocket I'll get it done right here." "What makes you think I'll be a party to this?" "Because I know how guilty you feel about Nancy." "You know this is her chance for a life." "So?" "You talk to Quinn, okay?" "He might even be expecting you." "But if I don't hear from you in a week, me and Roger are going to disappear." "You'll be the only one left." "And you're going to be sitting on a lot of information." "That's not a good place to be with Brennan back there on the loose." "BIoomy." "I've been waiting for your call." "Tell me." "We leave in an hour, the plane gets in at 3:00 a.m." "I've got to lay this out for you and the boss." "It's everything I told you and worse." "Quinn." "Up to his lips, Bloomy." "The District Attorney, his Executive Assistant, and Administrative Assistant will meet you at 4:00 a.m." "They're waiting for my call now." "You got Roger with you?" "Not this trip." "Send your cops home then." "They're not to come here, you understand?" "I got it." "4:00 a.m. We'll wait for you, even if your plane is late." "Cangrejos Yacht Club." "Isn't Texador concerned about his own complicity in drug dealing?" "He's concerned about getting Brennan off his back." "Our conversation was one-on-one, he can always deny it." "Do you believe him, Al, about wanting out?" " Yeah." " Why?" "He's in love." "Has been for some time." "That's a lot of love, to give up the money he's making." "I believe him." "Right now he thinks you're going to carry his message to Quinn." "Does he have any reason to believe that?" " What do you mean, sir?" " Are you vulnerable to him in any way?" "In no way, sir." "We must work quickly and in complete secrecy." "You will function as usual, Reilly." "We will conduct the investigation into the Brennan-Quinn relationship." "Bloomenfeld, any suggestions?" "All the cases they've made, there must be one that allowed Quinn to set this up." "Brennan's been on the edge so often." "If it isn't airtight, maybe we can get enough to squeeze Quinn." "What do I do about Texador?" "I'm supposed to call him back." "Sit tight, he said you've got a week." "I want to tell you, Reilly, you've done a marvelous job." "This is not an easy one." "Thank you, sir." "No!" "No!" "You're not going to yell, are you, Roger?" "It's no use anyway." "The captain left a sinking ship." "I think he was disgusted with all the corn-holing going on down here." "Now, I'm going to take my hand away." "And you're going to be quiet." "Right, Roger?" "You know how long l've been looking for you, you spic fink?" "Mike, I was so scared." "You shut up." "I'll tell you when you're allowed to talk." "You just shake your head yes or no, until I tell you to talk." "Okay?" "Now I want that fucking Texador." "Are you going to get him down here for me?" "Alone." "How?" "It's okay, talk." "I don't know Mike, but I'll do it." "I'll do it." "How do I know you won't kill me after I call him?" "You don't." "But you know I'll kill you now if you don't." "Let's go." "Where is everybody?" "People have to work, Roger." "Stop a minute." "You're making no sense here." "How many times do you want me to say it?" "They said they were from immigration." ""Where's my papers," shit like that and a lot of questions about you." "I don't know who they were." "They could be from 116th Street for all I know." "Where is Gilberto?" "That prick?" "Not on this fucking float, baby." "Where'd you get him, off the Titanic?" "That bastard walked off the boat." "You listen to me, you son of a bitch." "Listen to me!" "If you're not down here in an hour, you're never going to see me again." "I'm going crazy." "I'm coming. I'm on my way now." "And one other thing:" "I don't want to see those two Cubans with you, either." "They hate me. I'll see them coming!" "I see them coming, baby I'm throwing myself in the fucking ocean!" " Bobby, what's happening?" " l don't know." "Could be nothing, could be something." "Come on Roger." "Come on, cut that shit out." "Come on, cut it out, Roger." "Roger." "Roger, you did very good out there." "You did." "Listen, I've always returned favors, haven't I, Roger?" "Come on, Roger, now cut it out." "God!" "Can I have a blow, Mike?" "Sure, Roger." "Help yourself." "Roger, can I have one too?" "No, no, not that kind." "That's more like it." "Turn around." "Here, let's take this robe off." "There you go now." "Looking at this morning's report." "8:30 this morning, they found him." "Jose Malpica, Roger's girlfriend." "Been dead over 36 hours." " lt was Brennan." " How do you- l tailed him." "He stayed five minutes." "Came out and took off. I stayed with him." "What was I supposed to do, knock on the door?" "The fox is in the chicken coop, Al." "Check this out." "It's okay to touch, Frank?" "Yeah, what the fuck." "Go ahead." "A thousand people have done it already." "Just put me through on the phone, Sarah." "Goddamn it!" "I want to speak to the Police Commissioner in San Juan." "Of course I don't have the number, goddamn it." "Come on!" "The Presidential Suite." "Sì, el Presidente." "Nancy, this is Al." "Get out!" "Get out right now!" "It's all coming down." "What's coming down?" "Where's Bobby?" "Have you got anybody with you?" "Yes, Armand's here." "But where's Bobby?" "Yes, Commissioner." "Get your men to the Marina, immediately!" "The Nancy!" ""The wreckage reveals two, possibly three, bodies on board." ""One boot found..." ""...believed to be the type worn by Roberto Texador..." ""..." "long under surveillance of San Juan PD." ""Hand and fingerprint identification of possible second body..." ""...forwarded to the fbi, Washington." "Rodriguez."" "We should cover the airport." "Every San Juan flight." "Why?" "If Brennan did this, he'll be back." "Looking for you, us." "I'm not bringing him in." "Pray you get the chance." "My guess is, we'll have to kill him." "You're a cop." "Your job is to talk first." "My job is to get home to my wife and kids." "Put two men on everything arriving from San Juan." "Go through Port Authority Police." "Valentin, he must be brought in alive." "I'm not bringing him in." "Al, when I last spoke to San Juan, they said they thought she was all right." "Thought?" "When they got to the hotel, she had already checked out." "The clerk said she left with one of those two Cuban Hebes." "When we were talking, you and Bobby Tex were out on the terrace Alfonso, Gaston, one of those two guys mentioned this island they take their mother to." "No airport, no hotel." "Guyola." "Maybe she went there, man." "Thank you, Val." "TWA flight 210 to Montego Bay and Kingston is now boarding at Gate 16." " NYPD." " l'm sorry, sir, but you see..." " We're onto something." " What?" "When he was a cop early on Brennan was brought up on charges for shooting a 16-year-old black kid." "The witnesses said it was a clean take-out." "But the only QA we can find is Brennan's." "All the other depositions, they're not in the files." "It was Quinn's first case as Homicide Chief." "Quinn destroyed them." "That's how he got his hooks in Brennan." "Not necessarily." "To keep his hooks in him, they have to exist somewhere." " Hi, Mike." " Hi, Jerry." "How you doing?" "Any word from Valentin?" "Nothing at Kennedy." "They're heading back." "This just came in from San Juan." "You're not the man your father was, Reilly." "You're siding with the shooflies and the rats." "You don't love cops, Reilly." "I loved my father, Mike." "Oh, Reilly." "You just loved the idea of your father." "Now, your father was dirty." "He was as dirty as they come." "Nothing big, just penny-ante stuff." "You know, free meals." "A place to coop." "For a while, he was a bagman for a pad in the South Bronx." "The normal stuff." "He took home $100, $150 a week." "That's all." "But hell, what a cop." "Like me, he was the first through the door, the window, the skylight." "I mean, he knew there were animals out there!" "He knew there was a line the niggers, the spics, the junkies, the faggots had to cross to get into people's throats." "He was that line. I am that line." "And the fucking judges and Jew lawyers, Aldermen and guinea das are raking it in." "We take a fucking hamburger and it's goodbye badge, gun and pension." "All the time, it's our life that's on the line." "It's our widows and our orphans!" "Now you're a rogue cop, you mick bastard." "You went from our side to their side." "Hey, Mike!" "I don't want to take you in, Mike." "You won't, Chappie." "Not by myself, Mike. I wouldn't know how." "I knew that in the corps." "But don't make me try, Mike." "Now you can't get out." "You'll beat me but you'll go down, Mike." "So, come on, give me the gun." "Come on, Mike, turn yourself in." "I'm your friend." "I always said you was the whitest nigger I ever knew, Chappie." "Freeze!" "Fuck you, honey dripper!" "Down!" "Down!" "Shit, Chappie." "Al?" "Max." "We got a real mess here, man." "10-13." "At least three down." "Maybe some civilians." "Send everything." "Jesus Christ." "Taken out by a virgin Hebe." "Yeah?" "Is this Assistant District Attorney AIoysius Francis ReiIIy?" "Yeah." "This is Kevin Quinn, Chief of the Homicide Bureau." "Office of the District Attorney, county of New York." "What do you want, Quinn?" "A squad car is on the way to pick you up." "I want you in my office within the hour." "You still work for me." "Be there." "Why didn't you listen to me, Francis?" "It wasn't cut-and-dried." "It was whatever you chose to make it." "Look at what you've done." "Detective Chapman's fighting for his life." "Zucker's doing QA for shooting Brennan." "A legend on this force is dead." "It's already on the 6:00 news." ""Cop turns killer," "Rogue cop," "Nervous breakdown."" "A desecration of what used to be the finest." "They must be celebrating tonight all over Harlem, South Bronx..." " ..." "Bed-Stuy" " Mr. Quinn... I'm in pain. I'm full of sedatives." "I understand." "Just wanted to tell you I'm resigning." "We're announcing my candidacy next week." "I'm trying to decide whether to keep you on-board." "It's a question of loyalty, you see." "I don't feel a deeply committed loyalty from you, Francis." "Of course, in a political campaign that's unacceptable." "Unless you can show me I'm wrong that you share my values and concerns." "Mr. Quinn." "I don't think I should join your campaign, you know." "I think you should reconsider whether you announce next week." "Brennan's death is going to require pretty intensive investigation." "Thank you, Francis." ""Que sera, sera" ""Whatever will be, will be"" "is he crazy?" "He's got to know something's up." "That we must be at least investigating him." "No, he's not crazy." "Brennan's the only link to him and all the others." "Brennan's dead." "This whole thing won't just disappear, though." " Yes, it will, Al." " Will what?" "Disappear." "How can it?" " We'll bury it." " What?" "It's too big." "We'll bury it." "You can't." " Yes, we can." " How?" "We just do it." "It's impossible." "Chappie..." "The black in blue fighting for his life." "Okay, say he lives." "All he knows is that Brennan took out two PR drug dealers." "You know what they say about black cops in the ghetto?" ""Blue first, black second."" "He loved Brennan he'd rather he be remembered as a nut case than as a murderer." " Valentin?" " He knows no more than Chappie." "A cop having a nervous breakdown might have shot two drug dealers." "They might have." "Anyway the orders promoting him to Detective, First Grade, have already been cut." "On that salary, a home in the suburbs is more than possible." "He can open up a neighborhood." "He's light-skinned, he loves his kids." "All those bodies." "Tony, Sierra, Jose, Bobby Tex." "A bunch of fags and spics up to their ass in dope." "Who'll give a shit?" "It's just a normal Saturday night in the city." "Most people will feel good riddance." "And all the original QA, all the paperwork, the investigation" "Someday, I'll show you the records division." "You should see it." "They've got folders dating back to 1791." "But you'd have a hard time finding Washington's farewell to his troops." "Anyway, paper burns at Fahrenheit 451." "This is a nightmare, Bloomy." "Yeah. I know." " What about me?" " What about you?" "I can yell, I can scream." "Yeah, you can." "The village Voice." "The New York Times." "The daily News." "Call Jimmy Breslin." "Call Pileggi at New York Magazine." "They're all friends of mine." "I'll give you their home numbers." "But..." "But..." "Moon Mullins." "That's right." "He's ours." "And you never reported him." "Yeah, but that's easy." "What, there's something else?" "You could cop a plea, maybe, with Mullins." "But there's your father..." "Posthumously decorated for heroic action." "Posthumously promoted to Detective, Second Grade." "Both of those promotions are in your mother's pension." "Bloomy." " Bloomy." " No, let it be, Al." "You can't afford this." "I can't, and God knows the department can't." "We've got an election this year." "So Quinn gets away with it?" "is that why he was singing?" "Let him run." "Nobody will vote for him, anyway." "He's a prick." "People sense these things." "Hey, Bloomy." "Can you really bury something this big?" "Bigger." "You're breaking my heart, Bloomy." "You know, it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it." "Call me." "Bobby said there was a reason they put me on this case." "He was right." "What were they counting on?" "My dumbness?" "They were on the money." "Maybe they were counting on my loyalty." "loyalty to what?" "What made them think I was one of them?" "That day on the corner." "When your husband came round the corner." "Did he say anything to you about me?" "Oh, yes." "He saw." "He saw it on my face, too." "Yes." "Maybe they were figuring on the lack of guts." "Were they right?" "I don't know." "I don't think so." "I know I have to fight back, and I will." "I just don't know how to start." "Maybe I've got to start with myself." "Ask myself what caused that look on my face when I met your father." "I Iove you, Nancy." "And I want us to marry." "I'll sit by your side until you're ready." "If you tell me you'll never be ready, I'll leave right now, never bother you again." "Otherwise, I'm here." "As long as it takes."