"No!" "Don't let the demons take you." "Don't let the demons take you." "Don't let the demons take you." "Don't let the demons take you." "Wifhin fhe souls of every hellspawn... the baftle is waged." "Whaf scraps of humanity can fhey hold on fo?" "Whaf masfer will they serve?" "Every hellspawn, all the way back fo fhe primordial past... has lost fheir sfruggle wifh the darkness." "Each one sank info the pit... fo sif at fhe right hand of Malebolgia... to waif for the final battle against fhe light." "Choose, hellspawn." "What master do you serve?" "I serve no master!" "He came to you again, didn't he?" "The Black Knight will keep coming to you... tormenting you... until you choose." "How do you know my dreams?" "Within you are the remnants of other hellspawns from the past." "You and I are connected... across the millennia." "You're nothing like me." "You can't know what I feel." "It's time you heard the cold, hard truth." "I'm nearly out of time... and you are the only hope I have to finish my journey." "Look, old man, I don't know how you know about the dreams I have." "Maybe I yelled out." "But that's all it was..." "a bad dream." "Humans dream, not dead men who have sold their souls." " Get away from me!" " Violence is all you know." "You thrive on it, but it only sends more souls to your master." "It makes him stronger." "I have no master." "Yes, you do." "Malebolgia." " And he chose the right man." " Look at me." "I'm not a man anymore." "You were a man once." "You can be a man again." "The one you call Malebolgia... he can't be real." "He is real, and you know it!" "What do you want from me?" "I want you to remove that scarlet shroud." "A hellspawn can be free of the curse." "How can you know that?" "Because I am free." "Where we going first?" "What about that club we used to go to on 42nd?" "Hey, college boy." "You been gone too long." " We don't go there anymore." " Yeah." "In fact, you don't ask where we go." "We go where I drive." "Yeah, we go where he drives." "There's nothing like a Saturday night." "Joey, you can have a real woman tonight, not that college peach fuzz." "Jesus!" "Come on, Frankie." "You know I'm going out with Gina." ""You know I'm going out with Gina. "" "Hey, Petey, you were always the smartest guy in school." "How come you didn't go to college?" "I had some good business opportunities." "I know a sweet setup when I see it." "That's what separates me from the rest of the dumb fucks in this neighborhood." "I hear that." "What are we doing at Orvetti's?" "He's closing up." "For old times' sake, like when we was kids cruising' the old neighborhood." "Remember how Mr. O used to slip us candy on the sly so his old lady wouldn't see?" " Remember that, Petey?" " Yeah." "He was cool." "Lasf of fhe guys from the old country." "When my Mom gof sick, and after, when she was gone... he used fo bring groceries to fhe aparfment." "That's right." "Let's go in, see what's up with him." "Mr. Orvetti, you closing up?" "Hey, I'm never closed for you boys." "You should come down to the neighborhood more." "You got any of that cannoli you used to give my pops?" "Forget about it!" "I got cannoli, I got everything." "Here, mangia, mangia." "Eat, eat, eat." "Look at you kids." "I see men in my store, not little boys anymore." "Hey, Mr. O, it's Joey." "Jesus!" " Why the fuck did you do that?" " Just doin' a favor for the guy." "Holy shit!" "That's the way it's done, Frankie." "Quick and easy." "It gets a little messy sometimes, but, hey, forget about it." "What's done is done." "Jesus, Petey, what'd you do to my cannoli?" "There's fuckin' brains in it now!" "How am I supposed to eat this shit?" "I been around a little longer than you, Frankie, so listen to me a little bit." "If you wanna get noticed, you gotta do favors." "I don't want any part of this." "If the cops ask me, I'm gonna tell 'em what you did." "Shut up, Joey." "I'm not going to prison for this, Petey, you dumb fuck!" "Stand still." "I got my eye on you." " You killed him for nothin'!" " Easy, kid." "Come on." "Shit, Bobby, you gotta tell me what's happenin' here." "Hey, Frankie, listen, don't worry." "All right?" "It's nothing." "Get in the fucking car." "Let's just go." "Come on." "Okay, what's done is done." "He's dead." "Just gotta keep it together, keep it cool." " I'm gonna get sick." " Lighten up, man." "Have a little toke." "Relax a little." "Let me outta here." "I can't breathe, man." "Shut up!" "Just shut up, all of youse." "I gotta work things out." "I'm gonna puke!" "Be a man." "There's an alley up ahead." "You made a big mistake, Frankie, bringing him." "I ain't gonna lie to you, Frankie." "Joey ain't gonna make it home tonight." "He's just sick, Petey." "I" " I'll take care of him." "He's not from the streets." "He didn't get into the Army like us." "You don't understand." "I'm sayin', he's not gonna make it home." "At all." "So you do it, Frankie." "You take care of him right now." "Come on." "Move." "Let's go." "Come on." "Move." "Let's go!" "What's going on, Frankie?" "What's going on?" "Talk to me." "Come on, man." "Don't joke around." "Frankie, what are you doing?" "I'm your best friend." "Put the gun away." " You think he'll do it?" " If Frankie's smart." "I don't wanna stay out all night burying bodies." "I thought we were buddies, Frankie." "What are you doing?" "Don't shoot me, man." " I'm begging you!" "I don't want to die!" " Shut up, Joey!" "It's your fault." "You brought this on yourself." "If you hadn't opened your mouth to Petey..." "Frank, it's me, Joey." "Why are you doing this, man?" " You know I wouldn't give you up." " Shut up!" "What's happening, old man?" "The portal is opening... preparing to receive a soul." "Strange." "It feels..." "Familiar?" "Yes." "You yourself came through." "You just don't remember." "I don't want to look at your face!" "What's done is done, Joey." "Why don't you kill your good buddy somewhere else?" "Jesus Christ!" "I'm sick of seeing you punks in my alley." "What are you, some kind of freak?" "Get the fuck outta here..." "You're just taking up space, breathing my air." "This boy wants to be a killer like you." "It looks like you're going to show him how." "I want you gone." "Why are you doing this, kid?" "You don't owe them anything." "You think I want to shoot him?" "Joey fucked up." "I brought him into this, and now they think I'm a rat too." "They made me." "This isn't even my fucking gun." "Get out!" "You think you control what goes on here?" "You're damn right." "You have a lot to learn, hellspawn." "It's taking too long." "Maybe Frankie didn't have the guts." " Then they're both dead." " Yeah, they're both dead." "Shit." "What the hell's going on?" "Am I dead?" "Am I dreaming?" "What?" "No." "There's gotta be a way." "Am I being punished?" "Is that it?" "I can't believe this!" "What's happened?" "There's no way out for you, Frankie." "The bullet waits." "Which side are you on?" "I'm on my side!" "Mister, in my neighborhood... you take care of business or business takes care of you." "I don't have to choose shit!" "Why don't you two faggots go fuck off!" "Who is the real executioner here?" "Anyone who would murder his best friend isn't worth keeping alive." "You think he's the only one who has sacrificed a friend?" "You had choices about killing too." "You're no better than him." "I was a soldier stuck in a lot of dirty little wars." "I took orders." "This kid's just taking orders too." "His life depends on it." "You remember your buddy, don't you?" "The friend you sacrificed in the jungle?" "What did you say?" "You let him die at the hands of the enemy... while you survived." " I don't want you in my head, old man." " Do you remember your friend Sykes?" "Sykes." "You could have saved him." "Your position, man." "I want to know your unit's position." "Don't tell him anything, Al." "How about you, maricón?" "Would you like to live?" "Don't tell them anything..." "Sykes!" "They're coming, man." "If took hours before your friend's body sfopped moving." "There was the smell of his blood... fhe sound of fhe machefe hacking fhrough bone...  his moaning, fhe litfIe whimpers before he died." "Do you remember fhose sounds?" "Do you remember the blood, how thick?" "Your feef were sliding on if." "When it was your turn, whaf was fhe only fhing you could think of?" "Do you remember whaf fhaf was?" "The one fhing you would give anything for?" "You'd better kill me." "Do you remember?" "Secure the area!" "Cut our men off that pole!" "Now!" "Major Forsberg, sir, we didn't tell them anything, sir." "Jesus." "All the map coordinates we gave you were bogus, in case you were captured." "Do you remember whaf you did.. ." "even after you were rescued?" "They're just... women and children, Al." "Don't give in to the demons." "I can guide you out of here." "Listen to me, Al." "Look at me." "Don't let fhe demons fake you." "You hear me, soldier?" "Don't let fhe demons fake you." "And the way you felt." "You remember that, don't you?" "Don't you?" "Yes!" "Yes!" "It felt good." "I'm glad I killed the little prick." "I scattered his brains all over the jungle." "When you pulled that trigger... you made the eyes of Hell turn toward you that day." "You made Hell take notice." "You're lying!" "You don't know a damn thing about me!" "You gave Hell a new player." "That moment was the beginning." "You made them look at you, crave you." "Spawn was born on that day." "That's why they turned me into a monster?" "They put the right face on you, hellspawn." "You're just like Frankie here." "When you were still human you gave up your humanity." "Hey, uh, Gramps." "This Nighf of fhe Living Dead stuff is really freaking me out." "I didn't choose Hell." "What am I doin' talking to a bum about Hell?" "There ain't no Hell." "I gotta get out of here." "You get me out of this goddamn fog." "No." "It's done." "Time to choose." "The trigger has already been pulled." "The target chosen." "Why are you doing this, Frankie?" "Don't shoot, Petey." "What's it gonna be, Frankie?" "You did the right thing, Frankie." "Tonight you made your bones." "If you had killed them..." "Malebolgia would just have had more soldiers." "Malebolgia would just have had more soldiers." "Why does Malebolgia play these little games?" "He didn't make Frankie pull that trigger." "Frankie made the choice to be a killer, jusf like you did." "Hell can't make you choose." "They don't have thaf power." "You jusfified it." "I'm not buying into your little drama, old man." "Why?" "Because you refuse to trust me." "Then find someone else." "There must have been someone you believed in some time in your life." "Don't give in to the demons." "Forsberg." "I trusted him." "He was a rock." "Not anymore." "Don't let the demons take you." "Major Forsberg, how have you been?" "I hope my friends have been treating you well." "Shh." "I have come for you." "How does one find humanify in an alley?" "How does one regain one's soul...  in an abandoned church?" "For this newest hellspawn. .." "fhis alley is a way station. .." "his special purgafory." "In sickness and in health... until death do you part." "He lurks here in fhe shadows... amid fhis human debris. .." "waifing...  jusf inside fhe portal from Hell." "But fhis is not his domain." "His domain is thaf burned skin. .." "his shell of necroplasm. .." "and fhe scarIef shroud... which hovers around him. .." "protecfing him and possessing him.. ." "at fhe same time." "I'm sorry I made you stay here again, honey..." "Where is the old man?" "Why isn't he here?" "I don't know." "He's a ghost." "Like you." "He just appears." "Al, what's happening to your face?" "He's laughing at me." "It's okay, man, it's okay." "Look, it's just the church bells, man." "Come on." "It's Sunday morning." "Stop it!" "Leave me alone!" "I am still alive." "Did you think you could strike a deal with Malebolgia... and then renege?" "This is a graveyard." "I can feel the death." "Yes." "Look around you." "These artifacts are all that remain from hellspawns of the past." "They were cursed, like you." "This is their shrine... a reminder of what may be your fate." "Maybe you're not a crazy old bum." "What do they call you?" "I have had many names... and this time they call me Cogliostro." " How long have you been hiding here?" " Hiding?" "I've been here for many years." "You see, I'm the night curator of antiquities." "This is how I have kept these relics safe... while I waited for you." "Waited?" "In every age a hellspawn is sent." "I tried to guide them as I've tried to guide you... but they are lost souls." "I'm not them." "This is your tomb." "What deal did you strike with him?" "It was the time of knighthood... the time of the mist." "Affer fhe endless baffles and the slaughter of innocenfs. .." "it was I who was senf by Malebolgia...  to collecf the souls. .." "and ride wifh fhem in fhe air at night... fhe ride of fhe dead." "Buf never fo die." "There was no honor in thaf, nof for a knighf." "My honor had been taken from me." "I turned away from killing." "The black arts drew me." "I sfruggled wifh fhe evil inside.. ." "and used sorcery fo free myself." "In thaf time..." "I was known as Merlin." "If you are the Black Knight, then I want answers." "Your flesh rebels against you." "The shroud attacks you." "You wallow in self-pity." "You're lost." "I don't want to hear any more talk!" "You claim to be some kind of wizard." "Show me what this goddamn shroud is good for." "No." "You will, old man." "This is not the alley, hellspawn!" "I make the rules in this place!" "You are in my domain!" "They may have taken your honor... but they stole my life." "I came back for Wanda... but she sees me as a monster." "Do you wish to find the answers?" " What are you prepared to do?" " I am going to get my life back." "If you won't help me, I'll find the answers somewhere else." "One of your officers found a report on a cop killed in the alley." "Jason, you're a busy man." "Why are you spending your fime reading our New york City police reports?" "Chief Banks, if I didn't feel you served a purpose for me..." "I wouldn't have gotten you nominated for police commissioner... and we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?" "Mr. Wynn, I didn't mean to imply that..." "The report was written by an officer named Max Williams." "Twifch." "Smarf cop." "Thorough." "His partner is Sam Burke, a meat-and-potatoes guy." "Your smart cop describes the shooting death... of one of your best officers, killed in the alleys." "The dying man's last words on Earth were "red cloak. "" "Find the man in the red cloak." "Don't move in on him until you call me." "Consider it done." "Damn thing's no good." "Sights are off or something." "Yes, sir." "Worthless piece of shit." "It's jammed." "Fortunately." "I can usually shoot the dick off a squirrel from here." "Look at this junk." "Your lack of aim is surely the gun's fault, sir." ""Lack of aim"?" "What, Twitch, you think you can do better?" "You know, you've really lost your sense of humor." "You're too serious." "You gotta learn to lighten up a little." "Let's just see now." "Lucky son of a bitch." "Give me that gun." "Burke." "I thought you were banned from the range after that incident last week." "Hey, I been cleared of that one." "It was his fault." "He should've ducked." "You're at a disadvantage." "Your gut keeps you too far from the target." "Hey, Twitch, I think the chief just cracked a joke." "This is your report on one of ours that was killed in the alleys?" "We closed that case." "It was our collar." "That cop was killed by a crazy priest." "Before he died that cop said there were two of them." "That leads me to believe that maybe the priest had a playmate." "He also said something about a red cloak." "I remember." "That's a detail I shouldn't have missed, Chief." "Get me a perp." "I don't care if you gotta eat, breathe and sleep those alleys... and I don't care how much shit you step in." "You should feel right at home there, Burke." "Check it out." "You're missing the poinf, Lisa." "I don'f wanf you fo have fun in New York." "I want you fo have a lonely, exhausfing frip... which indicafes to me you're wrifing a sfory fhaf will spill a lof of ink." "Let's cut the bullshit." "If I wasn't the best, you wouldn't have sent me." "You got a thing for fhese psychos, Lisa." "You always manage to gef close fo them." "Yeah, well, my job is to hunt them down." " They all give off the same scent." " Whaf scent is fhaf?" "Evil." " Hey, Lisa." " Yeah?" "You're spooky." "Now tell me what you have." "This guy wears a red cloak." "Hey, he's no joke." "He murders people." "I'm gonna find him and deliver to you his head on a platter." "Like dolls' eyes." "Fourth time with this zombie, we don't have shit." "The guy has no prints, no name." "As soon as he starts in about "the dead guy's back," I'm gone." "I can't do a fifth dance with this twisted sister." "Nice digs." "Good thing you're gettin' some RR." "A wallflower, huh?" "You see this?" "This is a forensic report that says that your DNA matches... the cells found underneath the nails of a dead bum." "We also have witnesses that say you killed this less fortunate fellow." "We found this nearby." "He's dead." "I saw him burnt to a crisp." " But he's back." " That's it." "I'm gone." "Come on, Twitch." "Who's back from the dead?" "He looked at me with those green eyes." "That cloak, it reached out and touched me like it was alive." "Did you say "cloak"?" "He's gonna drag me back to Hell." "Tell me, who's come from Hell?" "Simmons." "Al Simmons." "What the hell are you doin'?" "Just checking some details, sir." "How's the chili dog?" "Kinda light on the onions." "That may signal a slight improvement in air quality." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "What a comedian." "I'm gonna grab a soda." "You came in looking for me." "Why?" "Shall we have a seat?" "You wrote some articles for The Washington Post.. ." "about a soldier named Al Simmons." "That's old news, Detective." "Why the interest?" "I was just wondering if you could offer me anything that was too... sensitive to put in print." " Like?" " You tell me." "Member of a special ops group." "Saved the president a few years back." "But you already knew all that before you came in the door." "I'm like you." "I do my homework." "You know what, Twitch?" "I like you." "You're a good cop and I'm a good reporter... and I know a fluff job when I hear it, so let's cut the bullshit." "You tell me something, I'll tell you something." "Ladies first." "I wasn't allowed to print the fact that Simmons was burned alive on a missión... that the NSC says didn't happen." "Your turn." "I'm working the alley murders." "Looking for a guy with a red cloak." "I have a perp down at Bellevue that got a good look at this guy in the alley." "Says he has a burned face." "Now you tell me Al Simmons was burned alive." "Coincidences do happen." "I don't believe in coincidences." "Thank you for your time, Ms. Wu." "I see the way you look when you talk about Al." "You really loved him." "He was my husband." "No." "I mean, he was the one." " Is this going to show up in the paper?" " This is just you and me." "What you said before... about Al?" "You're right." "He was that one." "Just hearing his voice excited me." "When he touched me..." "After he died I ached for him." "For months I'd sleep with his shirt or his robe." "Anything that smelled like him." "Mommy, where are you?" "Mom?" "Mommy!" "Mommy's in here, sweet girl." "There you are." "Ah, you're a pretty lady." "I remember you." "I've never seen her take to someone so quickly." "You have a way with her." " Is she Al's child?" " No." "Al couldn't give us a child." "What's happening with the NSC and Terry?" "He lost his job." "Come on, Cyan." "I'm glad he's not there." " Up, Mommy." " We're a lot better off now." "Hmm." "Jason Wynn will topple off the mountain." "It is just a matter of time." "We almost lost everything, and I still can't get Terry to talk about it." "He stays away for days at a time." "Maybe he's protecting you." "Sometimes the truth is brutal." "It's driving us apart." "Something's wrong." " But he won't let me inside." " Maybe you haven't grieved Al's death." "Do you sometimes feel that he's still with you?" "You've seen him, haven't you?" "The creature." "Twice." "I've seen what he's capable of, and I haven't told anyone." "You know who it is, don't you?" "He spoke my name." "There was something in his voice." "I think you should go now." "If you can hear me, Al..." "I know you're with me." "I feel it." "Wanda." "I'm hungry, Mama." "I ask you to step out where I can see you... very respectfully." "I warned the last cop not to come into my alley." "Are you threatening me?" " What would you do about it?" " I'd shoot you between the eyes." "Did you kill him?" "The police officer?" "You've got some hard bark on you for a little guy." "I didn't kill him." "Murders have occurred in this alley." "One victim was a homeless man." "We have a suspect who wears a skull face... a ritual of some kind." "Chapel." "I left him alive for you." "This man you call Chapel..." "We have him locked away." "he's quite completely insane." "So, naturally, when he described you we didn't believe it." "You believed it." "You're here." "He claims you're Al Simmons... a soldier who was burned alive five years ago." "What do you think?" "I think you somehow survived a government cover-up." "You're closer than you think." "Can you get me closer?" "You wanna be a knight in shining armor?" "Go play cops and robbers." "Forget all about this." "I wouldn't want to see your body dumped in my alley." "Confirm Chapel's involvement." "Chapel was just a puppet." "The NSC was pulling the strings." "Who's the puppet master?" "What difference does it make?" "Do you think you can stop them, little man?" "I can do my best." "You were a soldier once, a hero to your country." "What happened to your code of honor?" "When you play with matches... you can get burned." "Don't come down to these alleys again." "One of your officers has accessed some of my files, Chief Banks." " Why?" " I don't know anyfhing about it." "The only guy here capable of doing that would be Twitch..." "Officer Williams." "You asked abouf him before." "He's working on fhe killings in fhe alley." "Find out what he knows." "And after I get the information from Officer Williams?" "I understand that New York's finest who are killed in the line of duty... are given quite a hero's burial." "Jusf fell me where fo send fhe flowers, Chief Banks." "I spoke with a red-cloaked man here in this place." "I believe he's still somewhere in these alleys." "I'm gonna take a look around." "This goes all the way up to a high official in the NSC." "And who would this official be?" "The only man who could make decisions at this level is Jason Wynn." "My instinct is that the suspect we have down at Bellevue... is one of his assassins." "That's quite a story, Twitch." "Sounds like you have a very solid lead." "You've done well, Officer." "The department is proud of you." "Thank you, sir." "Officer down!" "Get a goddamn ambulance down here!" "Jesus, he's bleedin' hard from his head!" "Officer down!" "Do you hear me, goddamn if!" "Twifch is down!" "Twitch, can you hear me?" "This is Sam." "Listen to me." "Nobody dies tonight." "You hear me?" "You're not gonna die in this shithole alley." "Hey, Burke." "I saw the guy with the red cloak." "He came out of nowhere, shot your partner." "I chased him, but he just vanished." "Look what he did to Twitch." "Oh, sweet Jesus." "I'm gonna kill that fucker for what he did to my partner!" "Wait for backup!" "Burke!" "You hear that, you piece of shit?" "I'll fuckin' kill you!" "Glad you guys could make it." "But you're a little late." "The son of a bitch is gone." "I knew you would come." "They're swarming through the alleys." " I can't go back till they're gone." " There's always sanctuary for you here." "Why do they hunt you?" "What have you done?" "They think I killed a cop." "I can't hide from them anymore." "You have to stop the senseless killings." "The people I kill deserve to die!" "You project your evil onto others and then kill them... thinking you've destroyed that evil." "You're no different from the other hellspawns... and they're all dead." "It is all foretold here in the Book of Knowledge." "That's just a musty old book." "It means nothing to me." "There's only a single book like this one... written a long time ago, in the time of the mist." "It can help you break the curse and defy Malebolgia." "He made me a prisoner inside this shroud." "I escaped the shroud." "You can do the same and be free." "It fights against me." "I can't control it." "Yes, you can." "To be master of the shroud... you must be master of your heart." "My heart is dead." "That's what Malebolgia wants you to believe." "Yes, he did choose a man whose heart was dark... but now, inside you, there is some good." "Malebolgia is the mind killer... and he will seep in like a sickness, if you let him." "The shroud controls your flesh... but there is a way to keep it from controlling your mind and heart." "How do I fight against an enemy I can't see, that I know nothing about?" "A part of you is the enemy." "You have to bury the man you once were, because he's damned." "Become a new man, a better man." "Only then will the shroud serve you." "Don't preach to me!" "I need to know..." "Can this thing give me my body back?" "It can give you any form you choose." "So you'll have your face back." " What then?" " I want to see my wife as I used to be." "A man." "I never had the chance to tell her good-bye." "That's all I ask." "There is a cost." "I don't give a damn!" "I've already lost everything." "There's nothing more to lose." "You will be vulnerable... in your human form." "In time your skin will decay... and you will return to the form you are now." "Are you strong enough for that?" "Whatever you do, there will be consequences." "Show me, old man!" "Allow the shroud... to envelop you." "Here you go." "Twitch." "Hey, buddy." "You're gonna make it." "I told 'em you're gonna be okay." "Back in business." "I'm sorry." " Who are you?" " It's me, Twitch." "Sam Burke." "I'm your partner." "Of course." "My partner." "Cyan, child." "Stay out of those chocolates... and get an apple like Granny told you to." "All right, Granny." " I'll get it, Granny." " That's all right, child." "I'll get it." "Who could that be?" "Yes?" "Can I help you?" "I'm..." "I'm looking for Wanda Blake." "And who is this that's asking?" "Just an old friend of hers back in town." "Well, now, I know most of Wanda's friends." "Hi, it's me, Cyan!" "I'm sorry to have bothered you." "Would you like to come in and wait for her?" "No." " I've made a mistake." " Please don't go." "At least not yet, Al." "Granny?" "What?" "You think I still wouldn't know you?" "I visit your grave every Sunday... to talk to you... and pray for you." "I prayed that you'd answer me in some way." "I could use a few prayers." "Just last night I had a dream... fhaf you were in a darkened church. .." "looking' for fhe Lord." "You always did see more than the ofhers." "It is you." "You have come from Heaven, haven't you?" " An ángel to watch over us." " Granny." "I wish I was the person you want me to be." " Here, kitty, kitty." " You've always had a good heart, Al." "You just need to follow it." "The Bible says..." ""If you see and hear with your heart... you'll be shown the mysteries of His kingdom. "" "The afterlife is not what the good book says, Granny." "Why don't you come inside?" "I was wrong to come." "I wanted to see Wanda." " I was afraid." " What could you be afraid of?" "That I would never see her again." "Nothing can keep you and Wanda apart." "Not death, not anything." "Just wait for her, watch over her." "She'll join you in Heaven one day." "You always had faith, Granny." "You're the only one who knows I've come back." "This is my granny." "She can't see." "She sees more than most." "I think Wanda knows... that you are still with her." "That's the sad man." "How is our patient?" "You just join us?" "Feeling okay?" "I have a severe headache." "What's your name?" "I'm Twitch." "I mean, what is the name on your birth certificate?" "He knows his own name, Doc." "Don't you, Twitch?" "Maximilian..." "Percival Williams." "The bullet shattered on entering your skull... that's the good news." "The bad news is that we couldn't remove the largest fragment." "It's in a real precarious spot, so... you'll have a little house guest for a while." "Doc, stop holding our hands." "Tell us what the damage is here." "You see, he suffers from edema." "Until the swelling in his brain goes down... we won't know the extent of the damage." " I'Il check back later." " Yeah." "You do that, Doc." "Sir, you look like you've lost some weight." "A little." "You weren't around to get me do..." "Hey, partner!" "You remember me!" "It's hard, sir." "My memory... it feels shattered... like a puzzle that fell to the floor." "I'm searching for the pieces." "They said if you ever did wake up, you'd be a veggie." "We got a lot of work ahead of us." "You just need a lot of rest." "Help me, Sam." "Don't let them put me away in some warehouse." "I want to get this guy." "We'll get him." "What should I do with you?" "I shot the bastard point-blank, Wynn." "Not even the docfors have figured ouf how he pulled fhrough." "Your inability to do the job has put you in a very difficult position..." "Chief Banks." "We're both in a difficult position." "This creature told Twitch about you." "He'll eventually put the pieces back together." "When he does, you be there." "Here he comes." "I'll be close by." "I've been waiting for Wynn to step wrong." "If this information is what you say it is..." "Wynn will go away." "Then your problems will go away, Mr. Fitzgerald." "Forget me." "What about my family?" "My wife and little girl." "Mr. Sullivan, I want assurance that they'll be safe." "I can't assure that." "What?" "There is a cancer, Mr. Fitzgerald." "A cancer that has spread through the NSC all the way to the top." "My job is to destroy the enemy within... whoever they are... wherever they hide." "Judy, whaf's faking so long?" "I want the vice president on the phone now." "Sir, I..." "They said he's nof available." "What do you mean, he's not available?" "He and I have this phone call every day." "That's what fhey told me, sir." "I'm sorry." "Thought you should know. .." "I was sfrolling through Cenfral Park today... and there were fwo men talking on a park bench." "Did you hear me?" "Clearly." "I was just thinking that a maggot like yourself... wouldn't have the balls to fuck with me like you are... if the two men on the bench were not a great threat to me." "Something, I'm sure, is to your advantage." "One man was Terry Fitzgerald." "And the other man?" "Vice chairman of the NSC..." "Richard Sullivan." "The guy who's been circling over you like a vulfure." "I'll have to repay the favor some day." "Hey, Wynn." "You're a free agent now." "With what you know... you just became... the most dangerous man... on Earth." "You got my message." " Where's Cyan?" " She's at Granny's." " I told you to bring her." " She's safe there." "I didn't like what I heard in your voice." "Are you telling me you needed to keep her safe from me?" "I'm her daddy, remember?" "Lately you scare me, and you're scaring Cyan." "Pack your bags." "We'll pick up Cyan on the way." "What's going on?" "You've been gone two days." "You don't even tell me where you've been." "By morning Jason Wynn will no longer be the director of the NSC." "He'll be brought up on charges of treason." "When he realizes I was the one who dropped the dime on him... he'll come after me." "We can't stay here any longer, Wanda." "We have to go." "And start all over?" "No." "There are laws in this country..." "Laws?" "Are you serious?" "You really believe being a lawyer is gonna protect us?" "Listen to me." "Wynn has people everywhere." "We can't stay here any longer." "This is my home." "I won't be driven out." "You're right, Wanda." "I'm the one who's the target." "Terry, wait." "Where are you going?" " It's better if you don't know." " Terry, please." "Don't go." "It's a Chief Banks." "He insists on falking to you." "I don't know a Chief Banks." "It's the New York Times." "They'd like a statement about the allegations." "I'm not here." "Judy." "Have my car pulled up in back." "Where is he?" "He's out of the office." "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" " I'm sorry, Wanda." " I'm glad you came back." "What is it?" "What's wrong?" "I don't know." "For just a moment I thought I saw..." "I will always keep you safe." "I love you, Wanda." "I'm looking for a man." "I wonder if you could help me." "Hey, how 'bout me, baby?" "He wears a red shroud." "You're the only one beside him... who ever called it a shroud." " Where is he?" " Who is it that seeks the shroud?" "Jade." "There's still a price... on your head, hellspawn." "You were the only hellspawn to escape me." "As you can see..." "I gave up my shroud." "I live now as a human lives." "I live in fear." "Tell the new hellspawn I'm coming for him." "Terry?" "I know you're there." "I have no place else to go." "There is someone else who hunts you." "She is a celestial warrior." " What are you talking about?" " A bounty hunter... sent by the celestial masters." "She was the iron mistress of Genghis Khan." "I'm nof inferesfed in a hisfory lesson, old man." "You should be... because he also senf souls fo Malebolgia." "Millions of them!" "He slaughfered innocent women and children." "You look a little spooked." " She hunted me as well." " You feared a woman." "These spawns long before you... they thought she was weak, too... because she was a woman." "I fried to warn fhe others also." "They didn't lisfen eifher." " That's the skull of Genghis Khan." " I'm not like him." "Is there no blood on your hands, hellspawn?" "Heaven has sent their bounty hunter." "Now she wants your head." "Then let her come." "When fhe full moon came. .." "fhe hellspawn sfared af if... for a long fime... as if expecfing to discover some fruth...  in ifs cold sfillness." "Clarify, maybe." "A measure of peacefulness." "Things he hadn't known for a long time." "But fhe moon only brought info his world..." "Get your fuckin' hands off me!" "more savageness." "You see, this is business, Lakesha." "If you're not workin' for me, I lose money." "Why you turn tricks for those fuckin' Russians?" "I treated you like my queen." "I'm not stupid." "I see through you." "You think those nice clothes and fancy college talk makes you better than me." "You're more whore than I am." "You're nothin' but a coward." "Is this what you do?" "You kill people with these things?" "You're not a hero." "You're a coward." "Get out of my house." " Wanda, I..." " I don't even know who you are anymore." "So, Charles, what you want us to do with her, man?" "She just retired." "Cut her up." "Shit!" "Five-oh." "See you around, Lakesha." "Hey, lady, you okay?" "Officers requesting medical assistance af alley wesf..." "I remember this one." "We busted her a couple of months ago." "That you, Lakesha?" "I know who did this." "It was Charles, wasn't it?" "Not for nothin', you don't have to let him beat on you like that." "Come on." "Wanna make a statement this time?" "Lakesha, help us put his black ass in jail, where it belongs." "You gonna bring flowers to my grave?" "Just leave me alone." "Announcing the arrival of Red traveler 164... from Des Moines, Iowa, gate 53." "She's so innocent... and fresh." "The homecoming queen who came to New York to be a star." " Jesus, you know the drill." " Sure." " Tricks are gonna tear her in half." " Where are you goin', sweetheart?" "The subway." "Hey." "Beat it, or I'll cut you like a fish." "You have to be careful, miss." "This is New York." "You just don't talk to sleazoids like him." "I was hoping to get some directions." "I'm really hungry, and I need a place to stay." " Hey, are you guys security?" " Yeah, what's the problem?" "Listen, would you guys show this girl where the YWCA is?" "And here, buy her some dinner, will you?" " Sure." " These guys will take care of you." "Good luck, miss." "If you need any help, just call me." "You're really nice." "And they told me that New Yorkers might try to take advantage of a girl." "You're a long way from the sticks." " What's your name?" " Lily." "Lily." "Like in lily-white ass?"