"Luke, stay with me." "Breathe." "Breathe." "Just breathe." "Don't move." "Okay?" "I've got you." "Hey there, you." "Okay." "Come on." "Relax." "Relax." "You're okay." " Where am I?" " Uh, you're in an ambulance." "You went into shock." "I called my friend Manny." "He used to run with my uncle back in the day." "He's driving." "He's discreet." "What the hell did you do that for?" " What do you mean?" " No hospitals." " I can't be in the system." " He borrowed it." "Like I said, he's discreet." "But you bleeding out in the back of a gypsy cab?" "That would get even more attention." "We need to keep you safe." "Drink this." "You can't dehydrate." "I saw you looking for the shooter before you passed out." "Did you see who it was?" "No." "On a scale from one to ten, how much pain are you in right now?" "Three." "Liar." "I'm okay." "You're not okay." "The bullet penetrated through your skin." "I didn't even think that could happen." "That makes two of us." " I looked for an exit wound, but..." " I know." "It's still in there." "The sound that it made, like it was drilling into you..." "I wanna get a closer look." "See what's going on inside of you." "I know a place." "Whatever we gotta do." " You okay?" " Yeah." "Manny?" "Who was that son of a bitch?" " Are you okay?" " I'll be fine." "But somebody took a shot at us." "You guys got to get out of here." "Go!" "Watch out." "Can you dig it?" "What the hell?" "Every Friday night at the drive-in." "The Warriors." "Carl, come out and play." "You know him, don't you?" "I'm enjoying this shit, Carl." "Keep running." "Luke, hey." "You can't fight him yet, Luke." "You're too weak right now." "Come on." "I didn't want it!" "You having second thoughts?" "What's on your mind?" "I'm not having any thoughts." "Is that normal?" "As long as you stay on the clock, it doesn't matter." "The secret to every great lie is it has to run parallel to the truth." "Every moment wasted brings you one step closer to jail." "So what do we do?" "DNA is our friend... and our enemy." "We must treat her carefully." "Head straight to the bathroom and clean up." "I don't have any clothes." "I had Alex take care of it." "They're in there." "To make this stick, we'll need a patsy." "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." "Karma is a cruel mistress." "She does not like being a side chick." "She eventually gets hers." " Brace yourself." " It's that bad?" "Yeah." "Did you forget anything?" "The bottle." "No!" "I hit him on the head with a bottle." "Did it break?" " No." " That's good." "Make sure we photograph the stage." "Compare the photos with the last performance filmed here." "See if there's anything missing." "Microphone stand, a monitor, anything." "What do you think?" "You're the visualist." "You see all that trauma to the head and the face?" "The fall couldn't have done that." "It's not enough height." "But he's not dead yet." "So let's say our perp did hit him over and over again with a blunt instrument until he's dead." "The trash bag is for the clothes you're wearing." "Every stitch goes in." "Jewelry, too." "Spurlock will incinerate them." "The towels you use, the rugs..." "They all go in that trash bag." "Get dressed from the clothes in the garment bag." "I look like I'm in shock." "Is that why you're speaking to me as if I'm a child?" "I need you to hear me." "I want you to win." "Do what I say... and when you get away with this... you can go back to being the sexy... domineering bitch..." "that we all hate to love." "Now go." "That's the last time you will ever call me a bitch." "Look at what you did." "Destroying the face that's rage." "But walking away without leaving a trail of blood?" "Who's ever done that?" "Temper, temper, Carl." "Councilwoman Dillard, my condolences." "Oh, please." "My cousin's still laid out on the floor and you're talking about condolences." "What's the condolence?" "The sheet?" "I think you're taking this personally." "Why aren't you?" "We are working as fast as we can." "They said you called this in." "Around noon, I called Cornell and told him that we needed to talk." "He said he was busy and that he would get back to me." "So I went in to work." "I mean, what could I do?" "Thanks to him, I had a million fires to put out." "Around 10:00, I realized that I hadn't heard back so..." "I decided to come here." ""Thanks to him." So you were mad." "Frustrated, yes." "Mad?" "Never." "He was my first cousin, but I practically raised that boy." "I loved him." "So when you got here was the door locked?" "There is a code on the VIP entrance." "It keeps the paparazzi away." "It changes every week." "Yes, I had access." "So you let yourself in." "Then what?" "Then I found him, sprawled out like a goddamn rag doll." "So he was already dead when you got here." "Yeah." "But then I heard someone else crying." "Who?" "Candace." "Candace Miller." "Candace is Cornell's VIP hostess." "Candy's worked here at Harlem's Paradise since we re-opened." "Ms. Miller..." "I'm Detective Misty Knight." "What did you see?" "Take your time to collect your thoughts." "I don't need time." "I saw who did it." "It was Luke Cage." " Councilwoman!" " Right here!" "Over here!" "Can you confirm that it was Luke Cage who killed your cousin?" "Is Harlem's hero a cold-blooded murderer?" "Or did he just take out the trash?" " Who said that?" " I did." "Frank..." "My cousin Cornell Stokes was a complex man." "Conflicted, but underneath all the bluster was the soul of a musician." "He was a true Harlem original." "But what about this stranger?" "That's the garbage." "But in your media rush to anoint a savior after the explosion at Genghis Connie's, no one asked the crucial question." "Who the hell is Luke Cage?" "You label Cornell Stokes a gangster, a thug." "But as many people recently witnessed at Mount Olivet," "Cornell was a repentant man dealing with his violent past." "Making amends for his wrongs." "He had every intention of..." "of cooperating with the police." "Goddamn vigilantes who call themselves heroes, like Luke Cage, they are dangerous." "They are a menace to the safety, the security, and the sanctity of our community." "You know what?" "People have used a lot of words to describe my cousin, but one word they have never used is "coward."" "And only a coward would hide in the shadows and kill an innocent man." "That's it." "One more question." "Councilwoman, was he innocent?" "That guy's putting innocent people in danger to get at you." "I'm gonna put a stop to it, but I need your help." "Hold on to this." "I can't lose it." "Okay." "I'm going to sterilize the area." " You feel that?" " A bit." "Keep going." "No." "I'm gonna see what kind of anesthetic they have here first." " No drugs." " Luke..." "I can't be compromised." "Innocent people could die." "I can't risk it." "All right, macho man." "Actually, it's Power Man." "That's what Pop used to call me." "That's even cornier." "Okay." "I'm going in." "All right, I'm gonna press even harder, okay?" "Wild." "This is supposed to be soft tissue, but it's almost as impenetrable as your skin." "Give it to me." "I gotta get it out." "It's getting hard to breathe." "Okay, let's look inside." "Anybody waiting for you at home?" "My parents." "I'm moving out as soon as I finish night school." "Nice." "The quicker you answer my questions, the quicker you can go." "Okay?" "Okay." "State your name and address for the record." "Candace Miller. 555 Edgecombe Avenue." " How do you know Mr. Stokes?" " He was my boss." " I noticed your hair was wet." " I took a shower." "Crime scene officers combed every inch of Harlem's Paradise." "We also noticed that the shower in Mr. Stokes' private bathroom had been used." " I used it." " When?" "After I was saw Mr. Stokes." "So, you're one of his... friends?" "Yes." "He has several?" "So I assume you have his code for his private entrance." "What private entrance?" "Don't say another word, Ms. Miller." "I'm representing you now." "Is this snake your lawyer?" "Candace, if you're not guilty, you'll answer my questions." "Nice try." "My client isn't under arrest." " Ms. Miller..." " I'm not guilty." "What else do you want to know?" "Ms. Miller, don't say another word." "We used luminol and found traces of blood in Mr. Stokes' shower, even though it had been heavily bleached." "Stand up and walk out." "It's a good thing you got this high-powered flunky." "I'm about to nail your ass to the wall." "It was Luke Cage!" "After I showered, I came out to see Cornell." "I still needed my paycheck." "I heard loud voices and a struggle." "That's when I walked out and I saw Mr. Stokes down below on the floor." "Luke Cage saw me and ran away." "He was wearing bright yellow gloves, like the kind he used to use when he washed dishes." "And you're positive it was Luke Cage?" "You would know." "I saw you two at the bar together the other night." "I saw you talking outside, too." "May I go now?" "Candace, look me in the eye." "You were too scared to go upstairs and serve Cottonmouth without Luke." "Table number seven, right?" "And then you started sleeping with him?" "But you still call him Mr. Stokes." "And you can't even tell me about his private entrance." "What do they have on you, huh?" "Is it money?" "How much are they paying you?" "This is over." "We're done." "Your delivery arrived right on time." "Yes, thank you." "Okay, gotta go." "You killed it out there." " I'm sorry." " Don't be." "Just get that clip up on the website within the hour." "Send the link to all my supporters, the donors." "If we play this right..." "And the Oscar goes to..." "Alex, would you wait in the car with Tony?" "Detective, do you have a problem?" "Just call 'em like I see 'em." "So you have your suspect, Luke Cage." "Who says I only have one suspect?" "You ready for our interview?" "Your cousin was attacked by somebody he was close to." "That's what those wounds tell me." "It was passion." "And hatred." "And Luke Cage didn't hate my cousin..." "and me, when he showed up at my brownstone trying to intimidate me?" "What do you have on Candace?" "What do you have on me?" "Other than the fact that your edges are a little damp?" "That's what I thought." "You ain't got shit." "You know what?" "I'm not under arrest, and I changed my mind." "You want to talk to me, you call my lawyer." "Where's your partner?" "Oh, I forgot." " Sorry." " Who the hell" " do you think you're talking to?" " Detective." "Priscilla, you need to teach your people some manners." "Mariah, I'm so sorry for your loss." " Thank you for being there for me." " Of course." "Oh." "It has been a very hard day." " I'm sure." " Hey." "Are you gonna make it to the Founders' Day Lunch at Cecil's?" " You know I'll be there." " Oh, great." "Bye-bye." "You hugged her." "She's my soror." "I had to." "You like Mariah for this?" " I do." " You have an eyewitness, Detective." " Who I can't trust." " Who puts Luke Cage in the box." "The evidence points to two suspects." "One of them was someone Cottonmouth was close to." "Because the door was locked?" "Because they got to gangster number one without catching a bullet." "Come on!" " Mariah called us." " Then she called the press." "And she put Luke Cage on blast." "Look, I was just about to compel her to make a statement before you let your little soror skee-wee on out of here." "Where is Cage?" "Because Mariah's not going anywhere, guilty or not." "But your real number-one suspect is ghost." "What are you gonna do about it?" "Okay." "Is it a boy or a girl?" "It's either twins or you need to start doing some sit-ups." "What is it?" "There's no bullet." "It's just shrapnel." "Yeah, the bullet drilled into your skin and exploded." "All the pieces that are left are just trapped." "How much?" "A lot." "And they're moving." "We couldn't get the scalpel in." "How you gonna take the bullet out?" "Remember when Jessica shot you?" "I've been trying to forget that." "Well, I drained the fluid in your skull by going behind your eye socket." "I'll figure this out." "Blocked ID." "Whoever it is has called three times." "See who it is." " Hello?" " Hello?" "This is Detective Misty Knight." "Who is this?" "Uh, Claire Temple." "Um..." "We met the other night." "I'm the nurse with the van... and, uh..." "Scarfe." "Misty." "I need you to come down to the station." "We've already been through this." "No." "Cottonmouth's dead." "He was killed earlier tonight." "I need you to come down to answer some questions." "You think I did it?" "A witness puts you at the scene." " Oh, this has got to be a joke." " Claire, stay out of this." "He's been with me all night." "He hasn't killed anyone." "Luke, listen, I've got crime scene guys combing through the barber shop and the apartment upstairs." "Just make it easier on yourself, okay?" "Claire, hang up." "They're trying to trace the call." "Luke." "Luke!" "They're close." "I've got a target area." "He's near the park." "Do you want to send a unit?" "No." "What's in the area?" "Uh, a few shops, a women's clinic." " I know that look." "You're about to..." " I'm bringing him in myself." "I didn't finish my sentence, Misty." "You're about to do something stupid." "Don't." "Listen, don't tell the inspector." "Don't tell anybody." "I thought you went back down south, Sugar." "Ain't nothing down there for me." "I'm back." "What do you guys want?" "Well, Cottonmouth's gone, so..." "Yeah." "You guys did a real bang up job protecting him." "What are you talking about?" "He sent us away." "Anyhow, shit done changed." "So we gonna need to work out some type of..." "What?" "Severance?" "Y'all work for me now." " What about the club?" " It belongs to Mariah." "But I'm in charge." "Do you understand?" "Good." "And do me a favor." "Buy some new clothes." "Please." "We're first class all the way." "You ain't worried about Luke Cage?" "Leave." "We gotta hurry." "I just want to examine your soft tissue cells, see if there's another way in I haven't thought of yet." "Just make it quick." "Holy shit." "Your epithelial cells are simultaneously super elastic and energy absorbent." "The cells that line your organs are stuck together like Legos, which is normal." "But when I try to pull them apart, they snap back together." "What does it mean, for real?" "Don't quote me on this because I'm not 100% sure, but it looks like the thing that makes you super strong is the same thing that's trapping the shrapnel and forcing it in deeper." "Did I miss the party?" "Is that a gunshot wound?" "I thought bullets couldn't hurt you." "Join the club." "Luke, who shot you?" "I never saw him." "We were walking in Mount Morris Park." "The shot came out of nowhere." "Sniper." "Medium range." "I went with him in the ambulance, but then the shooter attacked." " We barely got out." " The ambulance that got flipped over?" "Well, then that's your alibi." "Alibi?" "Hello?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Okay." "Thanks, Bailey." "Luke Cage... you're under arrest for the murder of Cornell Stokes." "You're kidding me." "Get down!" "10-13." "Harlem Women's Clinic." "10-13." "Shots fired." "10-13 Harlem Women's Clinic." "What the hell kind of bullet does that?" "I got him!" "I'm gonna go check it out." "Your backup isn't here yet." "When we get through this, I'm still arresting your ass." "You okay?" "Maybe she got him." "Misty!" "Let's spend some time together." "I see Carl's taste in women hasn't changed." "He likes frizzy hair and a tight frame." "Carl?" "Who's Carl?" "You mean Luke?" "No, I mean Carl, Misty." ""Your adversary, the devil... walks around like a roaring lion... seeking whom he may devour."" "First Peter... chapter five... verse eight." "See... my daddy was a preacher." "Oh, come on." "Aren't you gonna beg?" "Not even a little bit?" "If you're going to shoot me, then do it." "Hmm." "I have to go after him." "Help me up." "This is my cross to bear." "No one else can do this." "Misty!" "You're slowing me down, baby girl." "Besides, Luke likes you." "I'll hurt you later." "He'll suffer more that way." "Stryker!" "Oh, my God." "Go." "End this." "Stryker?" "Stryker!" "You left me to rot, Carl." "We can work this out." "Work what out?" "My life?" "My mother destroying herself?" "Being away for so long?" "Nah." "There's nothing left to work out." ""I did not come to bring peace... but a sword."" "Ain't that what the great Reverend James Lucas used to scream at us?" "Preached peace and prosperity... every Sunday on the pulpit, but come Friday night on the sideline?" "Nothing but fire and brimstone." "Guess he saved the sin for Saturday night like everybody else." "And everybody else caught hell but you." "All the world's a stage for the preacher's son... and I was a quarterback." "And no matter how many passes I threw... he was all about running the ball." "Because he wanted the game in your hands." "Hello, Carl." "Willis." "I prefer Diamondback." "Because you're a snake... just like Cottonmouth." "I am a snake." "I've shed my skin for something better." "Stronger." "You left me to rot, Carl... in a gutter." "But I changed that sewer into a garden." "I wasn't a good friend." "I should've stood tall... but I didn't." "And you paid the price." "I've been watching you." "Harlem doesn't realize they're worshiping a false idol." " False idol?" " You, Carl." "You." "You're the golden calf." "But I got commandments for your ass." "I'm gonna bring the pain." "Reva's death?" "Keep her name out of your mouth!" "The crimes you went to jail for?" "The torture you endured once you were inside?" "All me, I'm afraid." "Well, not Reva's death." "I just like saying her name just to watch you squirm." " You ruined my life." " I gave you wings." "I sent you to hell... and you come back with superpowers." "Ain't that a bitch?" "You're bleeding, Carl." " Cooper went at her for about an hour." " What did she say?" "Not much of anything." "Nothing we need in terms of finding Cage or your attacker." "I got it from here." " You're in no shape to talk to her." " I'm fine!" "Are you?" "She'll talk to me, I promise." "We have rapport." "The attacker." "Who was he?" "I already told the other guy I don't know." "You know, I helped you." "I helped your partner." "Luke helped you." " Why are you..." " Mmm-mmm." "No, no, no." "The shooter, when he attacked, what did he say?" "What's his connection to Luke?" "Did Luke say?" "You know, it's a blur." "Who's Carl?" "Look, it is critical that I find Luke." "So why aren't you outside looking for him?" "Why won't you help me find him?" " I want a lawyer." " Why?" "You're not under arrest." "But I can do that." "I can arrest you." "For what?" "Cottonmouth's dead and you gave Luke an alibi." "That's accessory to murder." "That's hard time." "I'm not scared of you." "I did nothing wrong." "That son of a bitch is out there hurting people." "But you won't do anything to bring Luke Cage in and end this." "I'm out of here." "Sit your ass down!" "Now, people have been walking out on me all day." "No more lies and no more deception." "You are going to tell me what happened and where I can find Luke." "Back off." "What, you think just because you got jumped by a psycho and lost your gun, you get to talk to me like that?" " Do your job." " What do you know about the job?" "You're either too weak to stand up to pressure, or too stupid to see that Luke is innocent." "You probably couldn't find your own ass with both hands." "Who's weak now, huh?" "Huh?" "Detective Knight." "I apologize for how you've been treated, Ms. Temple." "Would you like to press charges against Detective Knight?" "Please." "Luke Cage is innocent, Misty." "You're after the wrong man." "That's my statement." "Write it down." "Look, Inspector, I, um..." "Willis!" "You done good, baby girl." "I know you were uncomfortable." "I didn't like your cousin, and I would never sleep with him." "But now I'm on record with that." "I'm not a whore." "No, you're not a whore." "You're a businesswoman." "And that, in your lap, represents a chance to change your life... and that of your whole family." "That's power." "Did Luke really do all of that?" "You never really know what anyone is capable of." "Go on, get some rest." "You'll come back to the club in a few days when it opens." "You think it worked?" "She's a good girl." "She won't fold." "What if she does?" "We'll have to kill her." "And everybody else in that apartment." "Make it look like a home invasion... which would be a damn shame." "You know, Duke Ellington used to live in that building." "And Count Basie, too." "I'd hate to bring down the market value." "That's my girl." "I'm not like you." "Carl!" "They call this bullet the Judas." "You barely survived the first blast." "You won't survive the second." "Any last words?" "Willis..." "I'm sorry." "You don't have to do this." "I loved you like a brother." "Nigga..." "I am your brother."