"[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]" "[PEOPLE CONVERSING INDISTINCTLY]" "[HISSES]" "Hello there, stranger." "I'd begun to think that you'd forgotten all about me." "Don't you know you shouldn't play with matches?" "Oh, just living on the edge, I guess." "What about you?" "Shouldn't you be out there serving and protecting?" "It's been a tough week." "Three homicides." "Two unsolved cases that have us all backed up." "And I'm spending too much time alone with Schanke." "I thought I needed a little shelter from the storm." "Indeed?" "Well, we are honored." "Now, don't you worry your pretty little head about a thing." "And if it's rest and relaxation that you require, well, I have a few... suggestions." "Hey, wait." "[GUNSHOT]" "How's everybody doing?" "Just play it cool and nobody gets hurt!" "Move it!" "Over there!" "Everybody, move it!" "Move it!" "Come on!" "There's too many mortals." "All we want..." "is what you've got." "We'll wait till they both leave." "Shut up!" "[CRYING HYSTERICALLY]" "Give him the ring." "Don't take my ring." "Give him the goddamn ring!" "No!" "[SCREAMS, CRYING]" "Put down the gun." "[HEART BEATING]" "Put the gun down." "And tell your friend to do the same." "I told you to shut up!" "[SCREAMS]" "WOMAN:" "Help me." "[CRIES, GASPS]" "Please help me." "[WHIMPERING]" "I'm so cold." "[CRYING]" "Please help me." "I don't want to die." "Help me!" "[¶]" "JANETTE:" "This is not your fault, Nicholas." "[¶]" "NARRATOR:" "He was brought across in 1228." "Preyed on humans for their blood." "Now, he wants to be mortal again..." "To repay society for his sins..." "To emerge from his world of darkness..." "From his endless forever night." "[GROWLS]" "COHEN:" "The shooters were on probation." "History of weapons offenses and drug abuse, but, hey, it's not like they killed anyone, right?" "[POLICEMEN CHATTER]" "This is not your fault." "I put her in the line of fire." "And if you hadn't gone after him, there could have been a lot more dead bodies on the floor." "Any of a half-dozen vampires could have stopped them." "I prevented it." "Which was right to do." "Revealing yourself to so many mortals would have had much worse consequences." "You couldn't have hypnotized them all, Nick." "A lot of people aren't susceptible, just like the shooter." "[SIGHS]" "Let him brood." "It's always been his way." "[SIGHS]" "He's okay, Schanke." "Knight's fine." "Thank God." "Thompson didn't have the details." "Just that there was a shooting." "A couple of thugs killed a woman and Knight's blaming himself." "Hell, the way I see it, he saved lives." "I just hope Internal Affairs is more forgiving than he is." "Oh, right, yeah." "And pigs can fly." "Just give me a minute with him, all right?" "Hey, Nick." "Captain tells me you did a real job here and took those punks down in a big way." "You know, you should" "I appreciate the pep talk, Schank." "That doesn't change the fact that a woman died here tonight." "[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]" "I've got to go." "Nick..." "[¶]" "[BELL TOLLING IN DISTANCE]" "[KNOCKING AT DOOR]" "What's with turning off your phones, Knight?" "We gotta roll here." "We got ourselves a homicide." "Wagon ho, partner." "Let's move 'em out." "[DOOR BANGS]" "[¶]" "Hey." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Good call..." "OFFICER:" "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "Stand back." "OFFICER 2:" "Sir..." "Sir..." "It's your favorite all-night bogeyman, the Night Crawler." "Stabbed in the heart." "No witnesses, no sign of a weapon." "I guess you could say he crawled under one too many skins." "Oh..." "I forgot." "You were one of his biggest fans, weren't you?" "Maybe you can say a few creepy words at the funeral?" "Where's Natalie?" "Natalie?" "On a first-name basis now?" "What?" "Where is she?" "Been and gone." "I'm gonna check out the premises." "Personally, I think the man got what he deserved." "Next to him, Howard Stern sounds like Regis Philbin." "[DOOR CLANKS CLOSED]" "Janette?" "Janette?" "[¶]" "Natalie?" "Nat?" "LACROIX:" "Nicholas?" "[SPEAKING FRENCH]" "Mmm." "When they're as beautiful as she, the flesh is like the sweetest fruit... the blood like the rarest wine." "The palate is tingled, the brain intoxicated." "It is ambrosia." "There is nothing that compares." "Your first week of feeding has gone very well." "KNIGHT:" "Something isn't right." "Give yourself time." "You'll feel a little out of sorts for a while." "No." "It's not that." "I feel fine." "The blood is not the problem." "It's..." "I don't know what it is." "But part of me wants to run from this." "[SCOFFS]" "Of course." "The last embers of your mortal conscience take a little time before they flare out completely." "It's the guilt, Nicholas." "You haven't quite shed your mortality yet." "Then, this is normal." "Oh, perfectly." "To a point." "But there are dangers." "You must kill this righteousness." "Do this now... and you will never question your nature again." "But allow your guilt to fester, to grow and strengthen... and there will... be consequences." "Consequences?" "Of a type you need never experience... so long as you listen to me." "Do as I say." "[SLAPS LACROIX]" "Wake up, Lacroix." "Wake up!" "Come back!" "[SOFTLY] Come back." "[PHONE RINGING]" "Nice to see you back on the job, detective." "I hope we're not interfering in your personal affairs too much." "Where have you been?" "I was about to ask you the same question." "Lewis from IA wants to talk to you about the shooting." "She'll be here before you go off shift." "Any leads in the Night Crawler case?" "Morgue found metallic traces in the wound." "Murder weapon was definitely a knife." "Other than that, just theory." "I'm thinking lunatic fringe." "That's what his audience was, for the most part." "We got ahold of the radio station log tapes yet?" "Yeah, Carpenter at the sound lab will let us know if she finds anything." "Good work, Schanke, as usual." "Thank you, captain." "[SNAPS]" "Come on, Knight." "Nat, I have to talk to you." "Not here, Nicholas." "Call me at home." "SCHANKE:" "Knight!" "IA's gonna make us squirm real good about the last time this happened." "The last time?" "Well, yeah." "What do you expect?" "Let's see what we can find out about this Night Crawler clown, shall we?" "All right, I think we should start at the Raven." "Oh, you do, do you?" "Well, yeah." "I know for a fact that he used to hang out there." "And maybe Janette can cast some light on a few things." "Janette?" "Yeah." "Unless you've got a better idea." "Not as screwy as yours." "But, hell, the Raven it is... if you think you can handle being back there so soon." "[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]" "LACROIX:" "Tonight, we mourn the loss of a dear friend." "[CLOCK TICKING LOUDLY]" "One moment, so full of life... and the next... what was... lies shattered and broken." "Irretrievable." "Beyond reach." "Beyond hope." "[SIGHS]" "And we ask ourselves," ""If there is a God... how can this happen?"" "[CLOCK CONTINUES TICKING LOUDLY]" "Better to ask..." ""If there is a God... must it be sane?"" "[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]" "SCHANKE:" "Didn't take 'em long to get over it, did it?" "What is this, some sort of kinky wake?" "Let's work the room." "Ten minutes, Knight, then we're out of here." "Got it?" "I've got it." "[VOICES DISTORTING]" "I've been looking for you." "Nicholas..." "How nice of you to drop by." "I've missed you." "[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]" "Oh my, did I get smoke in your eyes?" "What on earth is the matter, Nicholas?" "Haven't you ever seen a vintage burgundy before?" "[LAUGHS, RELIEVED]" "What are you doing here?" "Miklos is sick tonight." "I own the joint." "Here I am." "Yeah, well, I'm" "I'm just looking for someone, actually." "Lacroix?" "It doesn't ring a bell." "[HEART BEATING]" "Where can I find Lacroix?" "How long have you known me?" "Years." "From the day I opened the club." "Why are there no vampires here?" "Because... there's no such thing as vampires." "[EXHALES QUIETLY]" "[HEART BEAT STOPS, MUSIC RESUMES ABRUPTLY]" "Oh, my goodness." "Perhaps I should have eaten something." "Now, tell me, Nicholas, we wouldn't be having some kind of relapse, would we?" "We're not gonna get word one from this crowd." "No offense, Miss Cohen, but your clientele could use a little bit of upgrading." "Maybe you'd prefer it if they all wore baseball caps and ate chicken wings by the barrel." "Maybe a wet T-shirt contest would" "Knight?" "What the hell are you doing?" "Let him go, detective." "Unless you want to push him over the edge." "[SIGHS]" "[TOY SQUEAKING]" "[¶]" "[DOOR CLOSES]" "JANETTE:" "Nick?" "Are you all right?" "[BABY CRYING]" "Oh, damn it!" "I just got him settled down." "[BABY CRYING LOUDER]" "[DOOR CLOSES]" "So where have you been all night?" "Out." "[SCOFFS]" "Fine." "Don't talk about it... as always." "If you're hungry, there's leftover corned beef hash in the fridge." "Take it or leave it." "No, thanks." "I'm sorry, but it's the best I can do on the salary that you bring home." "[SIGHS]" "Not to mention the two months' rent we owe... the bills that are past due, and the fact that the baby doesn't even have his own room in this godforsaken place." "[¶]" "Nick..." "[CRYING]" "We need you." "I need you." "Just talk to me." "A woman was shot tonight." "Killed." "I put her in the line of fire." "There's going to be an investigation." "And I don't know, I" "It might go my way, it might not." "We'll get through it." "We did last time." "Lacroix is dead." "Our master is dead." "Oh, no." "No, no." "Not this vampire nonsense again." "Don't do this to me." "Don't do what?" "!" "And why's everyone talking about "the last time"?" "All your delusions, they're happening again." "Nick... try to remember... the shootings at the stakeout two years ago... the woman who was killed in the line of fire." "Try to remember." "I don't know what's happening to me." "If there is a God..." "[CAMERA CLICKS]" "[BLOWS]" "Lacroix?" "Doesn't ring a bell." "...must it be sane?" "[BABY CRYING]" "Nick..." "Nick, don't go!" "Please?" "[DOOR BANGS CLOSED]" "[TAPE RECORDER SQUEAKING]" "LACROIX [ON TAPE]:" "My word, gentle listener, what have I said to upset you so?" "That there is madness in the world... fueled by hatred... by guilt." "That we all share in the collective sins of our past... and that none will be forgiven." "Is this not so?" "Is that from tonight?" "[PLAYBACK STOPS]" "The topic on the night in question was guilt." "Collective sins, or some crap like that." "[IMITATING LACROIX] "That leads to madness," ""for there is madness in the world, born of guilt."" "Nutcase." "We couldn't trace the numbers, but we may be able to get a fix on some of the locations by breaking down the background sounds." "There's something on the tail end of this one." "LACROIX:" "Guilt is for the weak." "To harbor it is to deny yourself freedom." "To be a captive, a slave." "The strong know this." "They do what must be done and think nothing of the consequences." "And so they survive... free." "Agree or disagree?" "Discuss." "[PRESSES BUTTON]" "And who have we here?" "MAN:" "Your assassin." "[CHUCKLES]" "Really?" "My, my, we are in a mood tonight." "[STOPS TAPE]" "Now I can isolate that noise in the background." "[TAPE REWINDING]" "[RESTARTS TAPE]" "LACROIX:" "And who have we here?" "[FAINT METALLIC RINGING] MAN:" "Your assassin." "It's a buoy." "[LACROIX CHUCKLING]" "He lives near the lake." "LACROIX:" "Really?" "There's something else." "It's very faint." "CARPENTER:" "I'll check it out." "[PHONE RINGS]" "Excuse me." "Sound lab, Carpenter." "[HANGING UP]" "Hate to tell you this, Nick, but IA's waiting for you at the precinct." "Captain Lambert wants you there ASAP." "Time to face the music, huh, Knight?" "Your service profile makes for some very interesting reading." "Some might say disturbing." "May I?" ""Knight does not work well with others." ""He's not a team player." ""Frequently operates counter to department regulations." "Disregards orders."" "Is it just me, or does this sound like a police officer who should maybe be in another line of work?" "I wouldn't know." ""Knight has a cavalier attitude towards his own safety and the safety of others." That's not true." "What did you become a cop for, Knight?" "It couldn't have been for the discipline." "It doesn't matter how I answer, you'll twist it somehow, so" "Guess we can add "mistrusts his fellow officers," to the list." "You are a loose cannon, aren't you?" "You know what I think?" "I think with you, it's a power thing." "Guys like you, you could be cops, you could be hired killers." "It doesn't matter." "Mentality's the same." "Every time you flash your badge, every time you pull your gun, it's a kick, isn't it?" "Gives you that big, tough-guy rush?" "You don't know what you're talking about." "Is that a fact?" "Well..." "let's just pull back another layer and have a look-see, shall we?" "You see, I think what's going on here is smoke and mirrors." "Inside, you're terrified of being found out." "Am I right?" "I mean, all this hero crap is just a cover." "Oh, I've seen your psych report." "And, uh, people do talk." "Your life's been threatening to fall apart on you for years." "We both know you've been there before." "And it's the same thing all over again." "You're out of control, Knight." "But as long as you can be a cop, as long as you can fool yourself and others into believing that what you're doing is good, serving and protecting, then, hey, you don't have to deal with the truth." "And the truth is scary, isn't it?" "All your deepest fears, all the guilt, all the pain you've caused others?" "It's boiling just beneath the surface." "A cop gets to that point and he makes mistakes." "[GUNSHOT]" "People die." "I'm so cold." "Please help me." "LACROIX:" ""The sun was shining on the sea." ""Shining with all his might." ""He did his very best" ""to keep the billows smooth" ""and bright." ""And this was odd, because it was the middle of the night."" "[CLOCK TICKING IN BACKGROUND]" "Is the sun shining in the middle of your night?" "Is your wonderland getting "curiouser and curiouser,"" "as young Alice would say?" "Is everything that you know... wrong?" "Good." "That's exactly how it should be, Nicholas." "Yes, I'm talking to you, Nicholas, from nowhere." "From everywhere." "Where the hell have you been?" "Why is everybody asking me that?" "Oh, for God's sake, come on in here." "This dress is not for public consumption." "[SIGHS]" "Something I said?" "Well, no, it's just I wasn't expecting this." "I came to talk." "Talk?" "I've been looking forward to this all week." "Ow!" "Haven't you?" "Well, yeah, of course I have." "Of course." "Oh, well, I suppose an IA grilling would ruin the mood for me too." "But let's try to forget about all that tonight." "What did you say to your wife?" "What about?" "About us." "I don't think she's gonna buy that overtime line much longer." "I know I wouldn't." "Especially when it seems to happen every week at the same time." "Well, I didn't, uh..." "You know," "Nicholas, you really are one umbrella short of a cocktail sometimes." "If she finds out about us, we're toast, and personally, I don't want to have to put in for another transfer." "And you, my dear, are on thin enough ice as it is." "Here you are, something to loosen the screws." "Nat, you know I can't." "You're off-duty, Nicholas, and besides, your captain commands you." "Single malt, there really is nothing quite like it." "Cheers, darling, and don't you worry that pretty little head of yours about a thing." "[CHOKES, COUGHS]" "Aw, poor boy, did it go down the wrong way?" "[CHUCKLES]" "Are you all right?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "[SIGHS]" "Well, actually..." "I'm not fine." "Mmm." "Everything's wrong, Nat." "Oh." "Nothing makes any sense." "[SIGHS]" "Nicholas, this IA thing will pass, trust me." "It's not that." "I'm married to Janette." "I appear to be having an affair with you, and you're the captain." "Schanke... well, he's different." "Everything's different except the damn shooting at the Raven, and Cohen..." "Amanda..." "It does not make sense." "I mean, everything is real but how can it be real?" "It" "It's" "NAT:" "Oh, God." "It's happening again, isn't it?" "You're not kidding." "Nat, what is happening again?" "I don't know, I can't remember." "What is happening again?" "You lost it, Nicholas." "Cracked up." "And if it's happening again," "I suggest you go and seek help, now." "Okay, look." "Why don't you go home, dear?" "Get some sleep, and we can talk about this in the morning." "Okay?" "[¶]" "[STATIC HISSING]" ""The time has come,"" "the Walrus said," ""to speak of many things." ""Of shoes" ""and ships and sealing wax," ""and cabbages and kings," ""and why the sea" ""is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings."" "[CHUCKLES]" "It's all nonsense, isn't it, poor Nicholas?" "Yes." "All this guilt." "That nice Miss Lewis from Internal Affairs nearly had it right." "I warned you, didn't I?" "Do you know the rest of the tale of the Walrus and the Carpenter, by any chance?" "How they feasted on their unwitting little Oyster pals?" "Mmm, so delicious, and guilt-free." "They hardly gave their treachery a second thought, really." "They were hungry, they ate, end of story." "But our story still has to be played out." "I don't like being dead." "It's... quite annoying, actually." "But I will have my revenge." "My killer will pay." "And you will lead me to him." "Won't you?" "Why are you doing this?" "What's happening to me?" "Where are you?" "Lacroix, I need your help!" "[BABY CRIES]" "Come back!" "[DOOR OPENS]" "[BABY CRYING]" "What are you yelling for?" "Again you woke the baby." "Where've you been?" "I called the precinct." "They said you'd left hours ago." "I was out." "Out." "Oh, out!" "It's wearing a bit thin, isn't it, Nick?" "I can't deal with this" "Don't you dare walk out on me twice in one night!" "I have to!" "I have to work this through before I really do lose my mind." "[BABY CRYING]" "Here, listen." "LACROIX:" "And who have we here?" "MAN:" "Your assassin." "LACROIX:" "Really?" "[PLAYBACK STOPS]" "CARPENTER:" "I ran it through an audio co-comparitor." "The database says stadium crowd noise." "So he lives near the Skydome or the warehouse district." "That's your neck of the woods." "[TAPE WINDING]" "Play it again." "I'm still hearing something else in there." "[PLAYBACK RESUMES]" "LACROIX:" "And who have we here?" "[METALLIC CLANGING]" "MAN:" "Your assassin." "[FAINT SQUEALING]" "LACROIX:" "Really?" "My, my..." "I don't hear anything." "LACROIX:" "...tonight." "We're just spinning our wheels." "[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]" "Cap" "Uh, Amanda?" "Spare a minute?" "Of course, Nicholas." "Thanks, guys." "What's your poison?" "Not for me." "In that case, what's on your mind?" "That's a good question." "Could you tell me about the last time?" "You mean your breakdown?" "Yeah." "What was I like back then?" "I mean, how did I behave?" "Be honest." "You don't remember?" "You were quite a piece of work." "I've seen my share of people on the edge in here, but you..." "[WHISTLES]" "Mad as a hatter." "Delusional?" "Not unless you really were a vampire." "I claimed I was a vampire?" "It wasn't a claim, really." "You believed it." "Told me in some detail, I'd rather forget, what it was like." "Drinking human blood, this Lacroix, whoever he was, and your history together." "It was fascinating stuff, Nicholas, but after a while it wasn't funny anymore." "You were getting a little creepy, if you know what I mean." "How do I seem to you now?" "A little stressed." "Nicholas, it's not happening again, is it?" "Frankly, I don't know." "Look... if there's anything I can do, just call." "I'll help you in any way I can." "I know therapy's expensive." "[PEOPLE WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]" "Lewis has filed her decision." "Put your gun and your badge on my desk." "You're suspended without pay." "I'm sorry, Nicholas." "But I think this may be the best thing for you." "IA and I both agree that you really do need some help." "[¶]" "Just went to sleep." "[MUSIC BOX PLAYING BRAHMS' LULLABY]" "I'm sorry about before." "I've been suspended." "Hmm." "Your performance not satisfying the captain?" "[SIGHS]" "[SIGHS]" "What happened to you, Nick?" "What happened to your vitality and your humanity?" "Your life?" "Somewhere you lost faith in us." "You stopped dealing with what your life had become." "With what you had become." "Lonely and unhappy." "And incapable of love." "So you turned away from us." "From yourself." "It's not the shootings that are driving you crazy, Nick." "It's the guilt of losing your humanity." "[BELLS JINGLING]" "[COOING]" "For God's sake, start dealing with it... before it completely destroys you." "[¶]" "[METALLIC SCRAPING]" "LACROIX:" "The jaws that bite, the claws that catch." "[GRUNTS]" "His vorpal blade went snicker-snack." "Time to kill Papa." "LACROIX [OVER TV]:" "As I said, Nicholas, now that have you led me to the killer," "I will have my revenge." "LACROIX:" "My, my... we are in a mood tonight." "COHEN:" "I'll help you in any way I can." "I know therapy's expensive." "JANETTE:" "It's wearing a bit thin, isn't it, Nick?" "Don't you dare walk out on me twice in one night!" "KNIGHT:" "I have to!" "LAMBERT:" "Cheers, darling, and don't worry that pretty little head of yours." "LEWIS:" "You're out of control, Knight." "And the truth is scary, isn't it?" "MAN:" "Your assassin." "Time to face the music, huh, Knight?" "[GUNSHOT]" "LACROIX:" "Beware the Jabberwock, my son." "The jaws that bite, the claws that catch." "[CLICKS]" "Nicholas?" "Come to slay the Jabberwock?" "One, two!" "One, two!" "And through and through his vorpal blade went snicker-snack." "Time to kill Papa." "[GRUNTS]" "[GROANING]" "And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?" "Happy, Nicholas?" "Absolved?" "[ECHOING] Free?" "[SIGHS]" "KNIGHT:" "Janette!" "[GLASS BREAKING]" "[¶]" ""Come to my arms, my beamish boy." ""O frabjous day!" "Callooh!" "Callay!" he chortled in his joy." "You know what's going on." "You've been expecting this." "Yes." "Where are we... really?" "Here." "This is all quite real." "But I didn't kill you." "I couldn't have, not with a knife." "Of course not." "[GRUNTS]" "I warned you about this, many years ago." "Of what would happen if you insisted on allowing your guilt to fester." "We do not have the capacity to contain it." "When we become vampires, we lose that particular mortal gift." "To us, then, guilt is a disease that we cannot control." "It takes on a life of its own, so to speak." "This life." "This strange little world you've been living in." "It's all your guilt, incarnate." "But" "Confused?" "I shouldn't wonder." "Examine the facts." "You're married to Janette, having a torrid affair with your medical-examiner friend, being bossed around by Schanke and confessing all to your captain." "Everything I've denied them." "Everything you feel guilty about and more." "Eight centuries rising to haunt you." "So unnecessary." "If only you'd listened to me." "But I'm not like you, Lacroix." "I can't dismiss the pain I've caused others." "You must!" "Going through this state has only pushed the guilt back." "It will surface again, with more ferocity, if you do not release it." "I can't." "Then I'll do it for you." "This is hurting me far more than it's hurting you." "[GRUNTING]" "[MOANING]" "What is the greatest guilt that you carry, Nicholas?" "Your hatred of what you are, and the fact that you're still alive." "[SNARLING]" "[BANGING AT DOOR]" "What's with turning off your phone, Nick?" "We've been trying to reach you all night." "IA's report is coming down." "Captain wants to see you in the precinct as soon as" "You okay?" "It all depends." "On what?" "On what the captain's name is." "The captain's name?" "Have you fallen on your head or something?" "Just humor me, Schanke." "What's her name?" "Cohen." "Got any more brilliant questions?" "No." "No, let's go." "It's time to face the music." "Yeah." "I take it the recommendation from Internal Affairs came in." "I'll get straight to the point." ""It is our determination that Detective Knight" ""acted in a manner consistent with department guidelines" ""with respect to the public safety," ""and therefore should be exonerated of any wrongdoing in this matter."" "Yes." "I want you to forget this ever happened." "There's no need whatsoever to feel guilty about the shooting." "You did everything you could, Nick." "I'll try, captain." "But how do you get rid of guilt?" "I guess you just have to find ways to deal with it." "Easier said than done, Nick." "Come on, partner, let's celebrate." "I can't, I'm on duty." "So at least walk me to the coffee machine?" "What's this, Lewis?" "This just came in." "It's a homicide... at a radio station." "[¶]"