"Floods." "You know how you always hear about them people in Iowa or Missouri or wherever, how some big river overflows?" "The fucking water keeps pouring over its riverbanks, out of control, taking out farms and towns and everything in its path." "Everybody tries to stop it, but nobody can." "Everybody's lives are wiped out." "Completely destroyed." "And the fucking river, it don't give a shit." "It just keeps rising." "Year after year after fucked-up year." "My question is, are them heads in the Midwest whacked out or what?" "This one joker I seen on TV, his home had been washed away four times." "Four fucking times." "Why don't he just leave?" "Why don't he jump in that pickup and drive to higher ground?" "Or is he like us in Oz?" "There ain't no higher ground." "Hey!" "Yeah, what I'm saying is that your officers are doing a shit job." "The whole concept behind Emerald City is that we never take our eyes off anyone." "We don't." "Then how do you explain Beecher getting a swastika burned onto his ass, or Miguel Alvarez cutting his face all up, or inmates using classrooms to snort fucking heroin?" "It's life, Tim." "Shit slides through." "If you got a problem with the way I run things, replace me." "You know I'm not gonna do that, Diane." "Why?" "Because we're fucking each other?" "Sorry we're late." "If you ever got here on time, McManus, I think I'd have a heart attack." " What are we talking about?" " Drugs." "My favourite topic." "The more we try and stop the drugs, the more the drugs get in." "What do you expect?" "Outside, they're sentencing dealers to much longer prison time." "Yeah, we got a prison full of guys who are experts at moving shit through any system." "Schibetta's got the biggest operation." "We stop him, we make a major dent." "Unfortunately, that's one of the many things we don't have." "I know." "When it comes to drugs, there are two major players involved:" "Nino Schibetta and Kareem Said." " Muslims are anti-drugs." " Exactly." " We want your help stopping the flow." " That's your job, not mine." "You know everything about this place." "You could tell us the whens and the wheres." "Yeah, and end up dead." "No, thank you." "I have to take care of this disease my own way." " Which is...?" " By fighting the addiction." "Well, you see, that's what I'm trying to do with my counselling sessions." "You know, you and I have exact same goals, Kareem." "Only because of who we are, we can't help each other achieve these goals." "So more inmates get hurt. lt's-- lt is so frustrating." "Sister, we both believe in a greater power." "His will be done." "His will or yours?" "Yeah, well, in my experience," "God isn't too helpful unless you give him a little nudge." "What now?" "Schibetta's drugs fuck with people's heads." "It's time I start fucking with his." "The last couple of weeks have been tough on you, Nino." "Your wife dying," "Dino murdered, Joey D'Angelo out of commission." "Overall, your troops, they're thinning." "They're getting older, they're more anaemic." "Now, the blacks and Latinos are taking over, on the street and in here." "So we gotta face it, the days of the Mafia are over." "Okay, okay." "Let's just say that you're of an age, you ought to start to relax a little bit." "Now, I got a friend, DEA." "He says you wanna talk, he'll make a deal." "A deal?" "What's he gonna do, put me in Witness Protection?" "You are a fool, McManus." "Now, you can try for the next thousand years not to be a fool, but you'll always be one." "Well, I can't change neither." "I can't turn my back on who I am." "Certainly not for you." "Certainly not for some dumb-ass DEA deal." " You done with me?" " For now." "Attention." "The following inmates are to be transferred immediately." "As I call your name, gather your belongings and form a line by Officer Vogelsang." "88P7 1 5, Ottovino." "91 J224, Jenbro." "85P661 , Pellicano." "94R51 1 , Ricatta." "Arrivederci, baby." "Bye-bye." "Looks like Nino's all alone." "Get out of here." "Chocolate bars." " With almonds or without?" " Both." "You got it." "You've been handling things pretty good around here since Joey's accident." " Hey, you do what you gotta do." " That's right." "The bad blood between you boys and us, well, with Jefferson Keane cold, I'm willing to let bygones be gone." "Yeah, me too." " You like tits?" " Who doesn't?" "My tits are firm and round." "Maybe you could suck my tits." "I know a lot of brothers who would love to." "If you fuck me over, I'll cut this hand off." "What was all that about?" "The future, my brother." "Us owning the future." "Tits." "That's what we call drugs." "Sixty percent of the violence in prison is due to tits." "Either people not paying their debts, or people trying to control the traffic." "The traffic." "Here in Oz, the last few days, the traffic has been bumper-to-bumper." "Prisoner number 94P442, Ronald Poklewaldt." "Convicted March 8th, '94." "Arson in the second degree." "Sentence: 25 years." "Up for parole in ten." "so that we can have a couple of fucking hits, you know." "Just couple of tits." "Don't touch me." "So you're hiding behind the bitch's skirt now, huh?" " You hurt me, she'll see you." " Just want our money." " Next week I'm getting a cheque." " See, you said that last week." "I know, I know, I know, but I can't be held responsible for the U.S. mail." " Shit!" " Yo, Adebisi." "Yo, let's go." " No money, no tits." " Yeah." "Tomorrow we get healthy." "I want you boys ready to" " Who you calling "boys", old man?" " Shut the fuck up." "Take a walk." " How you gonna let him just call--?" " Be gone, little nigger." "We have to talk." "Look, Nino, I wanna be there when the shit comes in." " Where's it happen?" " Sorry." "It's an old family recipe." "We don't share." "Hey, if we gonna be partners, yo, we just ought to be up on how big a risk we gotta take." " Just knowing it works ain't enough?" " No, man." "All right." "So how's it work, Nino?" "We know it doesn't go through the kitchen, otherwise we'd have seen it." "Kitchen's the first place the cops would look." "No, we use the post office." "Hold this." "A box of socks from my sister." "Versace." "It's an old trick." "It still works." " Yeah, but where do you cut it?" " Here." "Here?" "Here, where?" "I ain't telling you everything." "At least not until we've been in business a little longer." "All right." "Cool." "Fuck him. I don't wanna do no business with no dago." " Hey, how's it going?" " Man, we won't be for long." "Look, Schibetta's weak." "He done already lost a lot of his men." "All we got to do is find out how his operation works, then we take it over." " Nino?" " Yeah?" "My offer still stands." "I wanna be here for you." " l wanna help you any way I can." " Okay, kid, thanks." " l said "okay," okay?" " Okay." "I'll testify against Adebisi, Markstrom and Wangler." "We need to figure out how the drugs are getting in." "You got any idea how the gangsters are doing it?" "No." "No, I don't. I don't." "You find out, you let me know." "Oh, I'll find out all right, and then I want you to bust Adebisi's ass." "Ronnie." "Been to drug counselling recently?" "Sure, sure. I go all the time." "Sister Peter Marie says you haven't been there for two weeks." "I'll go today. I promise." "Get lost, punk." "You aren't squeezing my tits anymore." " You never pay." " No, no, no, that's not why I'm here." "Markstrom and his crew, how do they get their shit into Oz?" "What are you doing?" "You doing market research now, huh?" "No, man, I'm looking to fuck those niggers up." "Well, I don't know how they do it, but I got a couple of guesses." "Sit your ass down." "Nino, let's talk about this, man." "Come on." " You stay out." " lt's all right, Kenny." "It's all right." "Me and my associates are very unhappy about this morning's events." " How did this happen?" " Nino" "My operation's been running smooth as a silk shirt." "Then I tell you what's what, suddenly the hacks know." "I gotta wonder if one of your boys is the jabber." " Oh, come on, man, that's impossible." " Anything is possible." "You wanna stay in business with me?" "Find the leak and plug the leak today." "Nino, don't worry about it." "We'll take care of it, all right?" "Come on." "Adebisi, stay." " What's that?" " l don't know, man, but watch him." "Secrets." "We all got secrets." "Mostly our secrets are tied to our addictions, our obsessions." "You like that bourbon too much?" "You get off eating chicks with dicks." "You gotta do it in hiding." "You say you somebody but you really somebody else." "Only things that matter to us most, do we keep our secrets?" "And sometimes those secrets will kill you." "Fuck." "Cut him down." "All right." "Markstrom didn't strike me as the suicide type." "He wasn't." " l'm sorry, Leo." " For what?" " He was your cousin." " Not my cousin." "What are you talking about?" "That's what you told me." "That's why you wanted him in Em City." "He's not my cousin." "He's a narc, undercover cop." "You put an undercover cop in my cellblock and you don't even fucking mention it to me?" "Look, I'm trying to put some brakes on the drug traffic." "I get city Narcotics to send in a man, I figure the less people know about it, the better." "Even so, you should have told me, Leo." "And what?" "Listen to you lecture on prisoners' rights?" "About entrapment?" "No, thanks." "So let me get this straight." "Markstrom's been feeding you info all along." "The idea was to get him in good with the gangsters, get him to find out about their operation." " But somebody gave him up." " Yeah, who?" "One of his bunkies in Narcotics must be talking to the mob." "What?" "Oh, yes, governor." "Yes." "Yeah, I know." "Goodbye." "This time, he wants a lockdown." "Oh, Devlin's fighting for his political life." "Trying to take the focus off him, put it on us." "Yeah, I know." "But the bottom line is, I was gonna do it anyway." "Until we nail whoever's responsible for Markstrom's murder, I'm locking Oz down, tight." "Man, who would have thought Markstrom was a cop?" " Makes you sick, don't it?" " Yeah." "Makes you wonder who else is undercover." "Could be anybody." "Could be you." "Could be you." "Hey, Nino." "The hacks didn't buy Markstrom's suicide." "I didn't they think would." "It was more a sign to Glynn:" "Don't fuck with us." "Yeah, now they're gonna lock down this whole fucking place." "For a little while." "And your smuggling operation, it's busted." "The post-office thing?" "That's not the way we really do it." "That was just a test to see what you boys are made of." "The truth is, I'd never tell you the truth." " Oh, yeah?" " Now, the fastest way to end this lockdown is to pick one of your gang and have him cop to the Markstrom hanging." "Okay." "I always thought Keane and Markstrom were holding you back." "From the get-go, I knew you were a guy who sees how the world gets made." "Adebisi." "Ends in I." "You sure you're not Italian?" "Schibetta ends in A. Maybe you African." "Lockdown, gentlemen, lockdown." "Today, Adebisi." ""Lockdown, gentlemen, lockdown."" "Man, I fucking hate lockdowns." "Not because of being trapped in this fucking fishbowl." "Man." "I start fiending for some fucking tits." "You a tit boy, Groves?" " Drugs are bad." " That's bullshit." "Man, you had to be fucked up when you ate your mother." " Mom told me that drugs were bad." " Right." "I bet you was, like, a good little boy, right?" "Did everything your mama told you to." "I like your scars." "Now I know why McManus put us in the same cell together." "You're the only motherfucker in Em City who's more fucked up than I am." "Here." "I don't wanna write anybody a fucking letter, all right?" " l wanna get fucking high." " You lick the back." "Yeah." "Lick the back." "It's liquid LSD." "Groves." "Groves." "You give stamp collecting a whole new meaning, baby." "I don't have to tell you, drugs ain't the only things to get addicted to." "Some people mainline their work, some people...snort ESPN." "Some people needle-pop gambling." "There are those that shoot up junk foods, fine wines, Cohibas, baby." "Some people get hooked on love." "And like any fiend on the street, you always need another bump." "Just one more bump, man, just one more bump." " Hey." " Hi." "What's the matter?" "Markstrom was murdered." "He was a cop." "I feel responsible." "Diane, Van Harris confessed to the murder." "Yeah, well, even so." "Maybe you're right." "Maybe I am doing a shit job here." "You know what?" "I got an idea." "Tonight after work, you come to my place." "Oh, I can't, I gotta drive home." "Mom says Didi's been acting up." "I wanna meet your daughter." "Why don't you bring her into town, three of us will go to dinner?" "Then what do I do with her?" "This isn't exactly a take-your-daughter-to-work kind of place." " l love you, Diane." " Do you?" "No, you're supposed to say, "l love you too, Tim."" "The night of Keane's execution, you know, what we did it was really fucked up." "And I don't know why." "I don't know if it's loneliness." "Why does the why matter?" "Well, it doesn't, does it?" "I came up here to get the file on the new arrival." " His name is Scott Ross." " Scott Ross?" " Oh, shit." " ls there a problem?" "No, it's nothing I can't handle." "Prisoner number 9 7 R5 1 8, Scott Ross." "Convicted June 4th, '9 7." "Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute." "Third conviction." "Sentence:" "life without parole." "Three strikes, sucker!" " Wait here." " Sure." "Since when you been working Oz?" "About six months." " This is great." " No, no, it's not." "Always dreamed of you having me in cuffs." "Look." "Just because we knew each other in a former life, doesn't mean you're gonna get any special treatment." " l love it when you play tough." " l'm not playing, Scott." "Mack." "Mark Mack, Scott Ross." "Mack is your sponsor." "He'll help you get acquainted with the rules." "Take him to Em City." "You knew her on the outside?" "Yeah." "Me and her ex used to ride together." "In there." "Top bunk, all right?" "All right, gentlemen, the lockdown is over." "Hey." "Hey." "I'm gonna give you ten minutes to get your hands off my dick." " Schillinger, you fuck." " Scotty, how long you in for?" "Life." "Oh, man." "What?" "Come on." "You got any cigarettes?" " No smoking." "Put the butt out." " Diane." "I'm not asking for any special favours, but we've known each other for a long time." "Have we?" "I was married to Glen for four fun-filled years." "During that time, you were finishing off a six-year sentence." "We were on the road together maybe five months?" "They were a great five months." "All you did was come on to me." "If Glen hadn't been so fucked up on coke, he'd have noticed." "I was a man in love. I still am." "Oh, please." "Save it for the shower room." "Diane, I know what your life is like now, raising a kid on your own, working in this shithouse." "I hear you're doing double shifts just because you need the money." "I got a way to make you money." "You're looking out for my best interests, huh?" "Yeah." "Like I said, save it." "Get your ass back to Em City." "Next item: overtime." "The good news is, based on the successful conclusion of negotiations between the Department of Correction and the Officers' Union, we have a contract." "The bad news is, because the overtime rate is now so high, the commissioner has decided to no longer allow officers to work double shifts." "What?" "This sucks." "The department gave in to the union's demands, knowing they never intended to pay any overtime?" "Hey." "That's how deals get made." "Hey, what are you complaining about, Lady Di?" "It frees you up to spend more time with your boyfriend." "What are you talking about?" "Yeah, Healy, what are you trying to say?" "You two wanna pretend you're not fucking each other, fine." "You're a funny guy, you know that?" " Knock it off, you two!" " Come on, tough guy." "McManus." "McManus, sit down." " You fucking prick." " Sit down." "Healy, keep your comments to yourself." "Next item." " Fuck them." " No, Timmy, it's not that easy." "Like it or not, we work with these people." "If they don't respect us, it makes the day ten times harder." "Are you saying we can't see each other anymore?" "Look, this job is all I have." "Do you understand that?" "You have a college education, a bigtime reputation." "If I lose this, it's back to cleaning other people's houses." "It's welfare." "I have a daughter to feed and a mother getting old." " l can give you money." " You have alimony and a mortgage, you can't afford to take me on." "And I wouldn't want you to." " Please" " No, I'll see you, Tim." "You and me both know cigarettes is money in the joint." "Want someone to do your laundry, a couple of sticks." "Want someone to get rolled, a carton or two, depending on who it is." "Problem is, they got a really short shelf life." "You can't hoard them, you gotta keep them moving." "Supply and demand, baby, that's what I'm talking about." " l bring them in, you sell them." " A carton a day, that's it." "Come on, what do you say?" "Okay." " Put the cigarette out." " That's my baby." "Not all drugs are recreational." "Some are benign, or supposedly benign." "I got the final results back from your tests." "You're suffering from hypertension." "Curse of my people." "African-Americans are genetically predisposed to the condition." "No, doctor, it's not genetics." "High blood pressure is caused by racism." "There are some studies out suggesting a link between racial discrimination and hypertension, but the data is inconclusive." "Well, it may be inconclusive to the scientists, but I know that it's a fact." "Men of colour in the working class have a higher blood pressure than whites, or even black professionals." "Why?" "Because we are forced to accept unfair treatment, doctor." "I'm not really interested in the politics, Said, I care about your health." "And if we don't do something, you're headed for heart disease, stroke, damage to the other organs." "So I'm going to prescribe some Tenormin." "What are the side effects?" "Low heartbeat, light-headedness if you stand up too quickly." "That won't do." "Daily, I kneel and I pray to Mecca." " What else do you have?" " Calan." "Constipation, nausea, dizziness." "No." "My mind must function clearly." "All drugs have side effects." "Perhaps that's God's way of telling us we shouldn't be taking them." "You have to take something or you'll die." "Believe me, doctor, I have no intention of dying." "Can I go now?" "Sure." "I'm sorry that you're ill." " And who told you that I was ill?" " God." "Oh, yes." "You talk to God." "When he's in town." "Well, in Islam, we believe that only two people spoke to God directly:" "Mohammad, and praise be to him, and Moses." "So, you see, you are in excellent company." " You think I'm lying or deluded." " Oh, yeah." "I may well be." "I do know sometimes I can see inside men's souls." "And can you see into mine, old man?" " Yes." " And what is there?" " Anger." " Yes, I am angry." "I am angry at a society that cripples my people, that infects their bodies." "No, you're angry at God." "I am not." "My illness is Allah's will." "And I accept the bad as well as the good that God gives me." "Still, you're angry at him, and afraid." "Afraid of dying." "That is not true." "You watched Jefferson Keane die, die gladly." "Keane embraced death like a lover, like a traveller going home." "You saw that and were afraid." "You realised you aren't as willing to go." "Get out of here, old man." "Get out." "The ever-increasing scandal surrounding Governor James Devlin accepting kickbacks took another bizarre turn today, when his wife, Evangeline Devlin, moved out of the governor's mansion." "Though no official word has been given, sources say that Mrs. Devlin has learned of an affair between" " The doctor told me what's going on." " That is not your concern, McManus." "He told me you won't take your medication." "I haven't decided anything as yet." "Well, you don't have a choice." "Take the drugs." "And what if I refuse?" " l'll force you to." " How?" "I'll open up your mouth and stuff the pills down your throat myself." " Okay, let's make that deal, McManus." " You know what I want." "I can't tell you much about how the drugs come into Oz, except to say look at your own house." "What's that mean?" " That's a pretty big accusation." " Not really." "Look, there are plenty of examples of officers smuggling drugs into prisons." "Soledad, Attica, here at Oz in '82." "I remember. I was working solitary." " Two of my best friends got busted." " So then...?" " l'll start an investigation." " Good." "Of the entire staff." "Everyone from the officers to the librarian to you." "I'll take it slow, because if it's true, I don't wanna spook them." "I wanna be able to make the charges stick." " Hey, Roger." " Hey, morning, Mike." " See the Toronto game?" " Yeah, Gaston's a spaz." " How much you lose?" " Don't ask." "Hey, Diane." " You heading out?" " Yeah." "These graveyard shifts are killing me." " O'Reily." "Yeah." "Go see Schibetta." "Since when are you his Western Union?" "Since we partners, he and I." "You're the monkey chained to his organ grinder." "Better watch that pretty little ass." "No need." "You're too busy watching it for me." "And keep your fucking hands off me." "I'm scared of you." "You wanted to see me, Nino?" "Yeah, come on in." "No, thanks." "I've never been big on tomatoes." "You Irish." "You got no appreciation for the simple things in life." " What's simpler than a potato?" " Sit." "You been saying if I need it, you'd be willing to help out." "Anything." "You know Adebisi's gonna shank you the first chance he gets." "Don't you worry about Adebisi." "He's a mongrel, but effective." "From you, I need a more sophisticated favour." "I need to close down Healy's drug operation." "Healy?" "Officer Healy?" "Don't say you know nothing about it." "Your brother and Healy are friends." "Healy's been your archangel since you got to Oz." " You've been running tits for him." " You know, I don't know what you're-- l don't hold it against you." "I'd have done the same." "Only Healy's business is starting to cut into mine, and that I can't have happen." "So I am looking to you for assistance." " You want me to set him up?" " Yeah." "If you do, I promise I'll take care of you." "What do you say?" "He's been good to me." "is that your answer?" "I'll do it." "So, what's the plan?" "The plan is up to you." "I don't care about the hows." "Just get it done." "All right." " l need more tits." " Oh, yeah?" "I gave you a huge pair a couple of days ago." "What can I say?" "We go braless in Em City." "When can you get me some more?" "Later." " Yo, you looking for me?" " Yeah." " How'd you like some tits for free?" " l don't kill." " You don't have to kill." " What do you want me to do?" "Go see your pals upstairs." "And tell them what?" "Tell them that you found another drug connection." " Well, who you gonna bust this time?" " Me." "Man." "What the fuck is this?" "What the fuck is this?" "I got him, I got him." "Hold on." " Take O'Reily to the hole." " You're fucking dead!" "You're a fucking fag!" "Hey, McManus!" "Get him out of here!" "Hey." "That's going on your record." "Big fucking deal." "I gave this place everything I had." "And then you decided it was time to take everything you could." "Look, I know working here's no paradise, but you swore an oath and you broke that oath!" "I got no sympathy for you." " Get him away from me." " You wait, warden." "Wait till you need somebody like me to back you up. I won't be here." "Then you can kiss your ass goodbye." " Will you testify against Healy?" " No." "I jabber on him, every other hack will be waiting in line to take a whack at me too." "Fine." "Officer Hunt?" "See you in a month, O'Reily." "Hey, O'Reily, any idea who ratted on Healy?" "Beats the shit out of me." "But if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Poklewaldt." "Coming through." "Come on, back up." "Back up." "Patient's name is Ronald Poklewaldt." " lt's severe head trauma." " How are the vital signs?" "Got a lot of blood." "Gonna have to get blood." "Let me out of here!" "You're done." "Piece of cake." "No." "Who is this fucking Pinocchio?" "I don't play games." "How do you keep that hat on your head?" "Velcro?" " Deal me in." " You play Pinochle?" "No, I can learn." "Adebisi, I'll see you later." "Okay, each player gets 1 2 cards." "One card face up, that's the trump card." "There's two ways to score." "You're in a mood." "I'm in a mood, all right." "I'm in a mood to kill." "Anybody in particular?" "Mick and dago." "Yeah, well, I could go for a piece of Schibetta's ass myself." "Yeah?" "Well, stick around, little brother." "When the time is right, he's all yours." "He's all mine." "You take a drug, right?" "The chemicals, they rush through your body, rush through your brain." "And the sensations, you want the sensations again and again and again." "But let me tell you, you can also get addicted to grief, to guilt, to hate." "Because when you feel dead inside, even bad sensations make you feel like you're alive!" "What, that's it?" "No good-night kiss?" "I'm beginning to think you don't love me anymore." "I do." " Say it." "Say you love me." " l love you." "No, you see, you said it but you didn't mean it." "I do mean it, sir." "No, I'm telling you, the romance has gone out of our relationship." "But I have the cure." "I was saving this for your birthday, but, hell, I think we need it now." "No, thanks." "Come on, you're gonna hurt my feelings." "You know what happens when you hurt my feelings." "Put some on." "No." "Okay." "Hey, I understand." "You wanna surprise me." "Gonna wait for a special occasion to get yourself all prettied up." "That is so sweet." "Hey, I can wait." "Not too long." "What?" "A nun can't look beautiful?" " Tobias, are you all right?" " Sure." "Think I'm blind?" "I'm a drug counsellor, for God's sake." "If I can't spot the signs, I might as well tear up my licence." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Listen." "I know how hideous life is in Oz, especially for a man like you with no streets skills, no preparation for the reality of it all, but Tobias, Tobias, drugs are not the answer." "They only make the questions more difficult." "I want you to start coming to counselling sessions." "Whatever." "I'm not sure when he started, but my sense is not too long ago." "I'm hoping we can nip this in the bud." "Well, I'll have the officers on duty monitor Beecher carefully and I'll see who he's hanging out with." "Well, it can't be Schillinger who's supplying." "He's so anti-drug, he makes me look like Robert Downey Jr." "Yeah, maybe we should also talk to members of his family." "Well, his wife took the kids and moved away, but he does have parents and siblings." " What about an intervention?" " l think that's too much, too soon." "Why don't we invite one of his relatives to visit him and see what happens?" "You know, on the outside, Beecher had a history of alcohol abuse." "Oh, I know." "How pathetic is that?" "The man gets jailed for one addiction and we watch him get hooked on another." "You smell good, Mother." "Same old Chanel, I'm afraid." "Yeah, I remember you and Dad getting ready to go out, him putting on his tux, you wearing the latest gown, and that scent wafting through the air." "But that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." "Toby I had a conversation with the man who runs..." " ...the place where you live." " McManus?" "He told me that he suspects you of using drugs." " Mother" " Heroin." "Mother, you don't know what it's like in here." " l can imagine." " No, you can't!" "And I thank God every night for that." "So if you wanna tell me about how Angus is doing in law school or about Dad's most recent fishing trip or Grandmother's lumbago, fine." "But if you came here to lecture me, tell me to "just say no" don't." "Don't put that final knife in my heart." "Toby." "Get out!" "Hello, Tobias." "Come on in." "Sit down." "Okay, we've got a new member to our group, Tobias Beecher." "Tobias, I think you know Augustus and Ron from Em City, and that's John and Bill and Whitney Munson." "Beecher. I knew a Beecher." " Cyrus." "Are you any relation?" " No." "Good." "The man was a cocksucker." "Okay, the idea here is for us, in this small group, to talk about ourselves, our feelings, our addictions, in the hope that we can find the cause." "I know the cause." " l like the shit." " All right, that's fine." "Pleasure plays a very strong factor." "But underneath, maybe there's something else." "There's a deeper need, a deeper hunger, an emptiness that has to be filled." "So, Tobias, why don't you tell us what you're addicted to?" "You know." "They know." "Yeah, okay." "Augustus, you wanna talk about your addiction?" "I was a crack addict." "Been squeaky clean 22 months." " Yes." "Ron?" " Speed's my fave." " How long you been clean?" " A year." "Whitney." "I quit seven times over the last 52 years, this being my longest period:" "five years, three months and six days." "What are you addicted to?" " What, since I been inside?" " Yeah." "Anything I can get my hands on, but originally opium." "I had been decorated with the Purple Heart for valour." "Valour." "Only I knew I was really a fraud." "Even after I was discharged, I couldn't take the uniform off." "During the war, while I was in the Orient, I got hooked into opium." "My true self lay in that quixotic little drug." "Prisoner number 45M242, Whitney Munson." "Convicted March 7th, '45." "Murder in the first degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance." "Sentence: 1 1 0 years." "Up for parole in 60." "Question:" "why'd you strangle the whore?" "I didn't think I was." "I thought I was being affectionate." "Her neck was so pale, so thin, so fine." "And you've been in prison for 52 years, right?" "That's right. I only got eight years left until my parole." "Come the year 2005, I'm out of here." "I can't stay here anymore and listen to any more of these fucking stories!" " Tobias, sit down." " No, it's not helping." " Sit down." " lt's not helping!" "Hold it!" " Hello." " Yeah, yeah." "I'm here to give you a makeover." "Your boyfriend told me to." "He said, "Don't take no for an answer."" "My God." "You're even prettier than I thought you'd be." "He really is a beautiful baby." "Miguel." "Your baby is dead." "I ain't saying drugs are good." "But when your past is past and your present sucks, your future holds nothing but broken promises and dead dreams, the drugs, they kill the pain." "Listen up, America." "You ain't never gonna get rid of drugs until you cure pain."