"Unit 7-3-6, unit 7-3-6." "Assistance requested, veterans hospital." "Possible attempted suicide." "Patient on roof of cancer wing." "I.D.--Johnson, Michael." "Male, Caucasian." "Age 36." "Officers at site request backup units." "Please respond." "Over." "This is unit 7-3-6." "We are on our way." "...And veteran, Michael Johnson, has been threatening to jump for over an hour." " Press." "Thank you." " Excuse me." "Damn, the network news is here first." "Stay there!" "Why don't you hear me?" "I'm so damn tired." "What the hell is wrong with you?" "Can't you people leave anything alone?" "I'm just doing' my job, officer." "Yeah?" "Well do it somewhere else." "You've done enough here." "We don't know what it is that drives a man to take his own life." "We only know that each of us deals with his private demons as best he can." "We all hope that Mike has found the peace and solace that he sought." "God knows he looked for it long enough." "Let us pray." "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." "Thy rod and thy staff-- they comfort me." "Hey, Mr. Garnett." "Got a letter for you." "Guess you're surprised as hell to hear from me, eh, Mitch?" "I'm dead." "Yeah." "If I didn't screw it up again." "Don't feel bad about it, man." "I..." "Was just trying to make a statement." "It's not what I had originally planned, but..." "Well, my time was running out." "Look, Mitch, it'll make it easier to understand what I have to say if you go to my special place." "Use the key at this address." "I had this plan to make people listen." "Holy..." "Shit." "Mitch, I'm writing you, my man, 'cause you're the only one I could trust." "Hell, I always said you was as crazy as me, anyway." "Before veterans' day, I was gonna take over Central Park." "It can be done." "I worked it out." "It's all on the map." "I found a section of an abandoned sewer system." "It's my supply dump." "It's where I planned to operate from." "Everything you'll need is here." "There's a list detailing my entire plan in a brown gunnysack behind the AK-47s..." "If you wanna study it." "Most of the explosives are already laid..." "Over the entire park." "It was like a big game-- to see if I could do it without getting' caught." "Took me most of a year, sneaking' in nights, to lay the stuff." "Got mugged twice." "Can you believe it?" "Mugging a vet." "No respect, man." "None." "I stashed shit everywhere." "Careful." "The clips with the red tape are live ammunition." "Clips with the yellow tape are blanks." "Most of the other stuff's non-lethal-- big bang, lots of smoke-- you know the kind of thing." "I didn't wanna kill no one." "Just..." "Get their attention." "Just for once." "Got real tough the last few weeks." "That cancer really knocks the shit out of you, man." "Maybe it was the chemo." "I keep thinking the cure is worse than the disease." "Anyway..." "I know I'd never be able to go through with it." "Just too weak." "Hey, you!" "What are you doing in there?" "Nothing." "Just looking around." "Come here." "You wouldn't be taking junk in there, would ya?" "No!" "Told ya, I wasn't doing nothing." "What'd you put in your back pocket, then?" "Nothing." "Map." "This map." "I love New York." "I want you out of the park." "What are you hassling' me for?" "I told you I didn't do nothing." "God damn it, don't treat me like I'm some kind of fucking junkie." " I'm a vet." " I want you out of the park now." "So get going." "Yes, sir." "It's up to you, Mitch." "All the stuff's laid." "Just needs to be wired up, is all." "Set the timers..." "Do what you want with it." "It would be a real hell of a thing, though, wouldn't it?" "Attention would be paid." "You're a good friend, my man..." "The best." "I just couldn't hack it anymore." "Later." "What do you want?" "I told you I didn't want to see you." "How do I not come by to see my own wife and kid?" "Cut the bullshit, Mitch." "You know it always irritated me when you talked dirty like that?" " I wanna talk to my son." " He's sleeping." "How come every God damn time I come by here, you tell me he's sleeping?" "!" "Because every God damn time you come by here, it's late." "Bullshit!" "You're two months behind." "I sent you what I could." "I've only had a job for two weeks." "I have not received any money from you for over two months." "I sent you the money..." "Yesterday." "Oh yeah." "Like the check's in the mail, right?" "Look, I-I-I don't wanna keep going over this with you no more." "All I am asking' now is now that you got a steady job, you just send some money to help support me and your son." "I told you I sent you the money." "A-and you're gonna keep sending it?" "E-every week?" "Right, Mitch?" "Send you what I can." "Y-you do still have that job?" "It was a bullshit job." "I hated those people." "The boss kept calling me "the okie from muskogee."" "Oh, Mitch, when are you gonna grow up?" "This--this just keeps going on and on." "Yeah." "Yeah." "But if you'd have had a little bit more respect for me, things could've been different." "Now I'm getting' sick and tired of hearing what a loser I am..." "Especially from you!" "Well then why in God's name don't you just do something about it?" "Hey!" "What are you doing in here?" "We were just going through to the West Side." "There are thugs, and muggers, and creeps in this park at night!" "You don't bring a lady in this park at night!" " Where you from?" " Duluth." "Come here, Duluth." "Let go." "Got change for a dollar?" "I gotta use the telephone." "Uh..." "I-I got about 80 cents." "72nd street." "City hall, officer Balkan." "I want you to listen hard." "I have a message for New York City:" "As of right now, Central Park is mine." " Who is this?" " You better listen to me." "I have set a series of explosions around the 86th street station house." "The first three will blow up the yard at 10 P.M." "After that, you will have ten minutes to evacuate, or else I'm gonna blow up the station house." "I don't want anybody to get hurt." "It is very important." "And nobody will get hurt if we do everything my way." "I'll have more to say to you later." "Wait a minute." "Don't" "♪ I'm gonna let it shine" "♪ let it shine, whoa, shine" "♪ let it shine" "God, it is so boring." "It is so quiet out here tonight." "Oh, that's for sure." "Nobody's been killed for at least an hour." "Check out the frequency for the precinct..." "Oh, all right, all right." "What is he doing?" "He's stopping!" "E.M.S. 1-2-1, please respond to the 2-2 station house." "We have a standby with the bomb squad." "Do you know your location, K?" "That's affirmed, K." "Your time out is 21-55." "Your I.D. Number, 9-2-7 dash 6-4-2." "Operator 2-4-2." " Did you hear that?" " Yeah!" "How could that be?" "The dispatch has a bomb squad responding to the precinct station itself." "Let's check it out." "Well, Mike old buddy, this is is." "I hope you knew what you were doing." "If it doesn't work, well hell, it just wasn't meant to be." "And I'll just walk the hell right out of here." "If it blows..." "It blows." "It looks pretty quiet to me." " Yeah." "Probably some nutcase." " Oh, yeah." " Oh,Shit!" "Jesus Christ!" " What the hell was that?" "!" " I don't know." " Get the hell out of here, man." "Oh, my God!" "Someone's bombing the precinct house!" "...those prisoners out of there!" "Move, move, move!" "Come on, you guys!" "No stalling!" "No stalling!" "Check that building!" "Get everybody out of there!" "Check the cells, Johnson!" "All right!" "All right." "Looks like we're the first ones here." "Come on!" "Come on!" "What's the matter with you?" "Don't you see we're standing there?" "Get this cab-- there's an emergency in the park, man!" "You got five seconds to back this cab up" "Five seconds?" "Do you think I'm a goddamned" "Are you listening to me?" " We're gonna slide right in." " Five seconds!" "Four seconds!" "All right, let's go!" "There's an emergency in the park!" "God!" "Look at those" "yeah, well" "Hey, what are you doing over there?" "!" " Come on!" "Get out of here!" "Come on!" " Hold on!" "Get the hell out of here!" "Let's go!" "Go on!" "Get out of here!" "Jesus!" "This is great!" "Get down!" "This is too good." "Look at him." "He's" "I'm okay." "Cease fire!" "Cease fire!" "Hold your fire!" "Stop shooting!" " Cease fire!" " Cease fire!" "Get out of there!" "Let's go!" "Move out!" "Vacate it!" "Get out of here!" "Come on!" "Move it!" "City hall, officer Balkan." "Are you the one I talked to about the park?" "Yes, sir." "You certainly did." "Did I get your attention?" "You certainly did." "You got everyone's attention." "Now you listen carefully." "I know all of these telephone calls are taped." "Here's what I want:" "I want everybody to stay out of Central Park... 72 hours." "That's all I'm asking." "I have set explosive booby-traps all over the park, and I personally am everywhere." "So let's not have any stupid mistakes, okay?" "I'll, uh, pass it on, sir." "You do that." "People be hearing from me soon." "It's all gonna make sense." "Commissioner Keller." "Frank." "You know Curran, here, borough commander, Manhattan north." "Frank Eubanks." " And you've met Juliano of the 22nd." " Chief." "Tough night." "This is an emergency." "Please stay indoors." "Stay off the street around the park." "Stay away from windows facing the park." "For more information, tune to local radio and television stations." "Mr. Dix, are there terrorists in Central Park?" "Mr. Dix, can I ask you some questions, please?" "Hostages?" "Ransom note?" "What are the mayor's plans?" "Is he planning on cutting his tour of China short?" "No, no, there's no need for that." "Look--the mayor has an excellent staff." "This department has contingency plans for terrorist-type attacks." "Mr. Dix, what are those contingency plans?" "I'm sorry." "I can't answer any more questions." "Mr. Dix, is Central Park officially closed?" "Yes, that's right." "Do you have any statement to make about the public safety, Mr. Dix?" "No." "None at all." "None at all." "Frank, you'll deploy your men at your own discretion." "Come on in, David." "You all know the deputy mayor." "Christ, I hate the press." "All right, commissioner, what do we got?" "We have to assume several perpetrators are involved." "Now, an emergency call-up went out an hour ago, so additional officers will be coming on traffic duty." "We'll have to keep the four surrounding streets closed." "The governor offered the guard." "Bad idea." "Overreaction." "Agreed." "Now, since we don't have a demand or hostages, our hands aren't tied." "So Eubanks and his boys will carry the ball." "Well, I'll have to consult on that." "There's no time for consulting." "He's right, David." "We got caught with our pants down, and my ass gets cold in the breeze." "What's the status at the station?" "Station house is evacuated, as is the fire alarm headquarters on 79th." "9-1-1 and New York tel have been notified." "Whoever did this picked a good night." "Low traffic, drive's closed for cyclists, no plays. nothing." "Permission to enter the park, sir." "Go ahead." "All right, we're gonna send our men South from the 85th transverse..." "Using three teams of five men each." "Now that's where most of the action is-- here to Central Park South." "Now if we come up empty, we're gonna have to go north past the reservoir to 110th street." "Are you with me?" "We're gonna use a simple grid-search pattern." "Boxing in and out of the drives." "Squad one will head west." "That's yours." "I'll take the second squad..." "On either side of the great lawn." "Squad three will head east." "Now any of you have any questions?" "No, sir." "Leader, this is one." "We're proceeding as planned." "Where's the light?" "Squad one, we're coming toward the Delcorte theater." "Roger, chief." "Nothing, sir." "Sure is spooky out there." "Fix that flak jacket." "Squad three, what's your position, K?" "We're approaching the museum." "And no sign of anyone yet." "Okay, we're coming down..." "Into the road around the fire alarm building." "Where is Daniels and Hardy?" "Damn it!" "I didn't even see you!" "Camouflaged for night fighting, sir." "That's very funny." "From now on, you and Hardy take the point." "Get going." "Yes, sir." "Let's go." "We may get lucky on this one, Richie." "No one else is covering central park west." "Well, I don't know." "We might miss everything." "Trust me on this one, darling." " My instincts are incredible." " All right." " 5th Avenue is where it's happening." " All right, let's go." "I'm gonna turn around." "Oh..." "Shit." "Sergeant Santini!" "What's the matter with you Goldman?" "We're trying to maintain." "Shit." "Are you sure?" "Truck checked it out, chief." "Goes all the way up to the street wall." "All right." "Head east, uh, into the ramble." "We'll link up there and try to find some way around it." "One." " You heard?" " What the hell's going on?" "Command, this is leader." "We got a situation here." "Hey, you guys!" "Come and help me here!" "Get me out of here!" "My ankle's busted!" "Come on!" "Leader, this is One." "What the hell was that?" "I don't know." "Look, abandon your position." "Go underneath my squad to the west edge of the lake." "Not possible, sir." "We're blocked by the wire." "Well just take the truck and fucking go over it!" "Leader, this is Santini." "Someone just blew our truck to shit." "All right, forget it and work your way up east through the ramble." "And hurry up, for Christ's sake!" "We're moving out to help squad three." "You'll have to meet us there." "Roger, chief." "Where the hell are Hardy and Daniels?" "Aw, shit." "They'll have to find us on their own." "Let's go." "Please don't kill me!" "Please don't kill me!" "Please don't kill me!" "Please don't kill me." "Christ!" "It hurts!" "Hang on." "We're close." "Smythe, take the point!" "God!" "Get me out!" "Get me out!" "Get me out of this!" "Chief!" "Squad one, reporting." "Come on." "All right, Santini" "Command, this is leader!" "Command, this is leader!" "Get all our police cars down to the east side!" "Jesus Christ!" "What's happening out here?" "Hold you fire!" "Hold you're fire!" "You're gonna kill each other!" "You're gonna kill each other!" "Hold your fire!" "Eubanks, command K." "Chief, what's your location?" "Do you require assistance?" "Negative." "Do not send any more men here." "We will connect with squad three and then assess our options." "Roger." "Out." "God, look at these guys." "They are really fucked up." " All right." " Stretcher!" "Come on." " Get a close-up on that, all right?" " All right." "I got him, I got him I got him." " Look at this guy with the blood." " Help me!" " Great." " Why don't you get back?" " Go." "Get the gun in here." " All right." "Hardy to leader." "K leader, do you copy?" "Shit!" "Nothing happening, Holmes." "They all dead!" "We gotta get to the street." "I ain't moving." "Fuck that." "We can't stay here till they find us." "I'm telling ya, they're just waiting for us to jump ourselves, then they're gonna pick our asses off!" "Come on, man!" "72nd street is just through those trees." "Bullshit, man." "I used to sell reefer there, man!" "I know!" "The grenade launcher's live, boys." "Now backtrack to 72nd street, and head out to 5th Avenue right now." "What went on in there?" "Is there a regiment in there or something?" "Can we talk to somebody" "Got him?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Okay." "Relax." "Relax." "This ain't no big thing." "No big thing at all." "You've only, uh, taken over Central fucking Park!" "You hear that, Rachel?" "!" "I finally did something!" "Took over the fucking park." "It's light out." "The park is still closed, right, Frank?" "Where's the commissioner?" "He and Curran went to the hospital." "We have some injuries..." "Broken ankle, shock, lacerations." "These men are not gonna be easy." "You think it could be one guy?" " You don't believe that, do you?" " I believe it." "If there's one God damn man, you know something I don't." "Shane and Oswald!" "The commissioner feels that since no violence has happened outside of the perimeter, we can go ahead and open up the streets." "Otherwise, we're gonna have traffic backed up to queens." "So get moving." "Okay, you guys, let's move those barricades out of here!" "Open the streets!" "Got orders to move those barricades!" "City desk, New York times." "May I help you?" "Yes." "I am the individual who controls the park." "In exactly 20 minutes, I am going to make a statement." "The news persons, scattered, will be able to pick it up as long as they're within a mile of the park." "I am using an F.M. Transceiver, and they should tune to 1-5-1 megahertz." "I want my statements broadcast on all commercial and public radio stations." "You got that?" "Twenty minutes." "You call the commissioner." "I'll try and raise Dix." "Please stand by." "We are going to rebroadcast a message from the terrorists who have taken over the park." "I don't wanna hurt anyone." "That's the first thing." "I could have..." "But I didn't." "Even though there have been several attempts on my life." "It's one guy." "One guy!" "My name is not important." "I'm just a guy." "Nobody pays much attention to guys like me." "I don't mean just 'cause I'm a vet." "I mean because my whole life has been directed by other people." "I guess I let 'em." "There's a lot of people like me in this city..." "Who don't feel any control over their lives." "A few weeks ago, I got fed up." "I couldn't hold a job." "I couldn't put certain things behind me." "My wife and I split up, and my little boy..." "Whatever." "And then..." "A friend of mine killed himself." "He was a vet, a good American, all those things." "And when he wasn't useful anymore..." "It was like he didn't exist." "It was like he was made out of glass, and they just looked right through him, and that boy disappeared." "Let's hook into Manhattan north's computers and start running this down." "I am staying in this park until 9:00 Wednesday night." "That is veterans' day." "All I want is for all of you to think about what is going on in your lives, and in this city..." "About how you are treated, and how you treat other people." "I came here to say that one ordinary man can have some power." "Right now, I matter." "Right now, I make a difference." "And I will not..." "Disappear." "God damn it, that's not the way you do things." " Guy's a stoned wacko." " No, he's not." "He's..." "Not by a long shot." "Gonna have to work a hell of a lot harder now." "Public opinion is beginning to swing heavily to this guy." ""Mr. Everyman." The whole schmear." "I just release a statement reiterating our belief that he's just a spokesman for a terrorist group." "We're expecting demands at any moment." "Certain people are going to be watching very carefully how we handle this." "Very carefully." "There he is." "Come on, let's go." "Mike, get it right on his face." "Mr. Dix." "Mr. Dix, do you think the man is alone in the park?" "No." "Can you, uh, tell us what your next step is gonna be?" "Are you gonna call the national guard?" "I can assure you..." "That rumor is completely erroneous." "However, we are certain that a band of well-coordinated, well-trained guerrillas is responsible, possibly with outside help." "Can you elaborate on the outside help, Mr. Dix?" "That's all right." "The action's concentrated mostly in here." " Right" " Sir, it's him!" "This is deputy mayor Dix." "Go ahead." "I didn't ask for you." "I called the mayor." "He's out of the country." "All calls from you will be routed to me directly." "Are you in charge?" "Yes." "You could say that." "All right." "I just wanna make sure we understand each other." "If we do everything my way, nobody will get hurt." "Do you understand?" "I understand." "I know things can get pretty dinky dow sometimes." "Yeah, I was in 'Nam." "A month in the bush." "I requested it." "I was a public information officer, M.A.C.V." "Look, I'm the only one around here who has any idea where you're coming from." "I mean that S.W.A.T. Team cowboy would like to blow your shit away." "Why?" "I'm not hurting anybody in here." "What's your name?" "Fuck you." "Okay." "Fuck me." "Look." "You have any problem, you call me on that phone." "I'm the only one you need to deal with." "I'm gonna talk to the commissioner, see what he says." "If I have anything positive for you," " I'll call you at this booth, okay?" " Right." "And since I'm an idiot, I'm gonna go for that." "Here's what you do, big boy:" "You wanna talk to me, you use the emergency line." "Every telephone booth in this park will ring." "I believe in safety first." "Whatever you say." "I just wanna say my peace and move on." "I don't want any more trouble than I already got." "I want two sharpshooters covering every booth in the park from now on." "Around the clock." " Sir, it's for you." " Wait a minute." "Yes?" "We got an I.D. On the guy in the park, David." "Weaver, w-why do you want to do this?" " Why not?" " Well, what would Jerome say?" " What?" " Over already?" "One night does not a boyfriend make, Richie." "Yeah, but I thought you liked this one." "I like corned beef on rye, too, but not as a steady diet." "Why are we even talking about this?" "A diversion to keep you from going into the park." "Come on, Richie." "Picture it." "Central Park at dawn, vacant for the second day." "Deserted." "No dogs." "No joggers." "No voices." "Nothing." "Quiet." "Empty." "Chilly." "What about the guy that's in there?" "He's Loony Toons." " No one said you have to come in." " No shit." "You'll just have to help me get in." " How's it look?" " I must be as crazy as you." "Look, I'm gonna need your help to get over this wall." "As soon as it's light..." "You get the shots, and you get out, right?" "Right." "Later." "Look..." "Not a word about this to anyone, okay?" "Must be crazy." " Promise." " You're crazy!" " Promise." " Okay, I promise." "Thanks, Richie." "Don't move!" " What are you doing' in here?" " Um..." "I'm a photographer--T.V." "I came in here to get some footage, you know" "Footage?" "!" "Yeah, footage in the park." " You know what I mean?" " You're a reporter." " No, no, really." "See, this is my" " Shut up." "I-I" "Shut up and let me think, for Christ's sake." "You know, you gotta be crazy coming' in here." "Don't you know I got this whole park mined?" "You could've been killed!" "What if I'd jumped out of one of these trees and cut your throat?" "You really screwed things up." "I hope you can appreciate that." "Um..." "I'm s" " Who knows you're in here besides me?" " Nobody--well-- uh, my partner." "But he won't" " He won't say anything." " Ha!" "No." "Hmm." "No." " Hell no." "Of course not." "Get moving." " What are you gonna do to me?" "If anything happens to you in here, they're gonna blame me." "You get walking down this hill and keep your mouth shut." "No--no, you see, because I wouldn't" "Shut up!" "I--I wouldn't say anything" "Move!" "Move, move, move, move." "Move, move, move." "Um, I-- um, where are you taking me?" "Um..." "Look" "Move." " In there." " Look..." "Ow!" "Look..." " Look" " Take off your clothes." "Pardon me?" "Get naked!" "Please don't do this." "Look..." "You do what..." "You have to do-- to do, but, um..." "Please don't hurt me." "Lady, I've got other things on my mind right now." "I'd have a little bit of trouble relaxing, you know what I mean?" "Here." "Put these on." "You'll make a lot less of a target..." "In case I have to move you." "Now I don't want you wandering around here while I'm gone." "I've got explosive booby-traps set all over Central Park." "Make one wrong move, you're dead." "You understand that?" "I won't go anywhere." "All right." "What?" "Mitch, what are you doing' in there?" "Rachel?" "How'd you get this number?" "I don't want you calling me here." "What difference does that make?" "Are you crazy?" "I didn't want anybody to know it was me." "Aw, well, so you--so you shouldn't go broadcasting it all over the radio and T.V.!" "You saw me on television?" "No, I heard you on television." "On the news." "Mitch, the police are here." "Have you any idea how embarrassing all this is?" "Why do you keep on doing these things to me?" "You!" "It's always you, isn't it?" "All you ever think about, Rachel, is you." "That is not true, and you know it!" "How's Ben?" "He's okay." "He's--he's at my mother's." "He's too young to understand all this." " Mitch, give yourself up." " Why?" "Because you're gonna get killed." "You know..." "Maybe that'd be the best thing for everybody." "Uh, good-bye, Rachel." "I don't want you calling me here no more." "Mitch!" "M-Mitch..." "I really do love you, you know?" "I do." "Good-bye." "He hung up on me." "Let 'em have some of this." "We'll see," "Fly boys." "Shit." "What the fuck is wrong with you?" "!" "What are you trying to do?" "Look, it was done behind my back." "No authorization." "Sometimes the chain of command gets screwed up." "You can understand that." "I could've blown that God damn helicopter out of the sky!" "Next time I will!" "Jesus Christ!" "I give you my word." "It won't happen again." "Look..." "I'm on my way to a meeting right now with the commissioner." "I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure you get the time you need." "We don't want anybody killed, either." "You better get your act together, big boy." "God damn it, Dix!" "I want to know about these decisions, especially when my own men are involved." "Frank." "I mean, you wouldn't be knocking on their wives' doors." "Frank, the commissioner Okayed it." "If you got a problem, you talk to him." "To hell with the commissioner!" "Things just bounce right off of you, don't they?" "There are considerations here I don't think you see." "Like your God damn political career." "You have your job." "I have mine." "Seems you're having trouble with yours!" "I don't believe it." "I don't fucking believe it." "The man tells me one thing, then he turns around and he tries to kill me!" "Tries to fucking kill me!" "What'd I do to him?" "Have I hurt anybody here?" " No." " Have I asked for money?" "Or my own country?" "Or a plane to Argentina?" "Do I want to be the emperor of Wyoming?" "Hell, no." "All I want to do is remind people they don't have to take shit their whole lives." "I guess that makes me some kind of God damn dangerous person, or some" "I didn't say you could do that." "Look..." "People should know about this-- about what they're doing to you." "Right?" "You got something' to say." "That's what you're here for, isn't it?" "That's why you're in this park." "Wanna tell people something?" "You want the world to know about this?" "Let me get it on tape." "And I'll make sure it's seen." "It'll get national coverage." "All right." "Here's the deal:" "I let you come with me, you take your own chances." "I am not responsible." " Is that on tape?" " Yeah." " Is it rolling?" " The whole time." "Fine." "City desk, New York times." "May I help you?" "I am calling from inside Central Park." "I will be talking again in 15 minutes." "Same frequency." "What are you doing?" "Come here." "I'm gonna read some clippings I've been collecting." "They're little short stories that were buried in the back pages of the newspapers." "Things people did to each other." "None of these people..." "were rich." "None of these people were famous, and none of them were on television." "They just lived their lives until something terrible happened to them..." "And then nobody helped." "January 14." "Gary black, 78, an invalid, was found frozen to death in his apartment this morning." "Medical authorities estimate he had been dead a week when found." "Gary black's heat got turned off 'cause he couldn't afford to pay the bill." "February 9." "John Flynn, decorated Vietnam veteran, drove his car through a deserted building in the South Bronx last night, killing himself instantly." "Friends said Flynn had been seeking help to stop the, quote," ""Horrible pictures in his head." Unquote." "But they didn't think it was that serious." "Um..." "March 9." "Manhattan." "Toby Lester, age six, has been locked in the family basement for the last three years, chained to a steel cot and fed from a dog dish." "The down syndrome child was, in his father's words," ""An embarrassment."" "Neighbors interviewed said they occasionally heard screaming..." "But they didn't think it was any of their business." "May 23." "Brooklyn, New York." "Eat that." "What's your name?" "I'm really not too hungry." "Weaver." "What's yours?" "What's your first name, Weaver?" "Valery, but nobody calls me that." "Shit." "This is my last cigarette." "You know..." "The, uh..." "Cops say that..." "Only a terrorist could be doing what you're doing." "You know I'd like haul my ass right over that wall?" "Why don't you?" "Too late." "They know who I am." "And I would like to strongly reaffirm that we are dealing, almost certainly, with a group of trained terrorists." "Now there is a danger-- there is a danger in lending this situation a carnival air." "These people have wantedly endangered lives, destroyed public property, and flagrantly broken the law." " What are you doing about it?" " Yes?" "Commissioner, any break on the identity of this man?" "That's "men," not "man."" "We are presently utilizing all means to identify the perpetrators." "Yes, sir?" "If this is a group and not a single man, why haven't they made demands?" "That is something that I-- w-we have received what could be interpreted as a demand or threat." "What threat?" "!" "I'm sorry--I'm sorry." "I can't be more specific at this time for security reasons." "Is money involved?" "Any hostages?" "We will have more for you as conditions permit." "Thank you." " What conditions?" " Thank you all for coming." "Dix!" "What hell is wrong with you?" "You cannot fabricate that kind of thing." "I just felt we needed something to bring the people back our way." "And he did say the next time he would shoot to kill." "Mister..." "You have got a lot to learn." "No more surprises." "You understand that?" "This whole thing is twisted enough without you helping it along." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Who's gonna root for the underdog?" "I got the cops, 8-to-3 odds." "8-to-3 he doesn't make it 72 hours." "Come on-- we're out here in the streets of Manhattan on this, the second full day of what has, uh, come to be known as the "siege of Central Park."" "Speculation continues, fueled by a statement made by deputy mayor David Dix concerning just who is in Central Park." "What do the citizens of New York believe?" "Sir?" "Uh..." "Elton Costanza, right?" "I'm from queens." "And, uh..." "Hey, I'm all for the guy." "I see." "And you believe he's a, uh..." "Single person, then, huh?" "Oh, most definitely!" "Yeah, absolutely." "See, what this guy's doing', you see-- he's sorta speaking' out for all of us, right?" "Right?" "Yeah!" "Only in America, right?" " Yo." " Thank you very much, Elton." "Uh, Ma'am?" "Uh..." "Oh..." "Uh..." "I believe what he's doing is wrong." "I don't care how honorable his intentions, he's terrorizing this whole area, and I, for one, don't expect the authorities to let him have his way." "Let him have his way." "He--what is he doing is against the law, and he should not be encouraged." "Thank you." "Thank you very much, Ma'am." "We have another, uh, person right here." "Uh, Miss--Miss, thank you very much." "My name is lorna sheen." "Ms. sheen." "And I can't tell you how it warms my heart to see a man with some gumption for a change." "I'm so sick of those moon-eyed, pencil-necked wimps running' around on the T.V., doing' talk shows and everything." " I just can't stand it." " Thank you very much, Miss-- and what's more, I wish those cops would leave the poor boy alone." "We don't care if they took over the park for a few days." "Why should they?" "We pay for them, don't we?" "Thank you very much, Ms. sheen." "Thank you very much." "Uh, thank" "T-shirts, any size, just $6." "Uh..." "Now back to, uh, the studio." "That's better." "Okay, good." "Go ahead." "Well..." "One day, I'm in the jungle watching all my buddies get blown away." "The next day I'm driving in to the 7-11 to buy myself a slurpee." "Just like that." "It's hard to readjust." "My friend Mike used to say," ""Nothing's relevant anymore."" "I mean, back over here, it's all about," ""I hope the bills get paid." "I hope my old lady ain't mad at me."" "Shit like that." "It's not even real." " But this is real." " Oh, yeah." "This is real." "Um..." "You were in the Marines?" "No." "U.S. army." "What'd you do in the army?" "Sneak in to places, and blow shit up, and kill people." "You know..." "People heard what you said on the radio." "They--they know why you're here." "I don't." "Dr. Mueller." "Uh, perhaps, commissioner, I should go last, ja?" "Fine." "General Bryant." "In light of recent incidents, gentlemen, perhaps you'll reconsider the governor's offer." "Technology, gentlemen." "Technology." "There's a variety of infrared seismic intruder devices that can detect movement." "The a.M.P.P.S. Ground radar can indicate a target to an accuracy of 25 yards." "We have all kinds of infrared people-sniffers at our command." "The department has all that equipment." "With all due respect, general, that kind of technical operation takes time, and they're impractical on this type of terrain." "We'd have to reroute subways, clear the streets for a half-mile in either direction." "We can't take that kind of time." "Point is well taken, commissioner." "But I have an alternative." "Tiger sweep." "Tiger sweep?" "Units of the 42nd rainbow division surround the parks." "Teams of mine-detection personnel precede the column at various points." "Now as the ring tightens in and contact is made, the enemy either surrenders or is eliminated." "It's a one-way operation." "What about wire and booby-traps?" "Won't that slow you down?" "Suppose he gets down into the sewer system and behind your column, general." "You could be chasing him for weeks." "Not a thrilling prospect." "The guard will supply air surveillance." "Tanks, sir?" "Remember Detroit in '67?" "Right." "Along the transverse roads and routes." "If it gets really hairy, we can go in there with the M-2s, or the 57-millimeter recoils." " Think about it." " Good, good, good, good." " What's the kill radius?" " How much is this gonna cost?" ""Tiger sweep." Hell, it'll cost $10 million." "The mayor won't stand for it." "It'll be humiliating if we have to bring in the national guard to take out one man." " You've already been humiliated." "May I, commissioner?" "Central Park's 900 acres of heavily wooded, essentially flat terrain." "It's cut into six roughly rectangular sections by transverse roads, ja?" "We must reduce the area the guerilla can occupy for cover in order to" "Force him to reveal his position." "The timetable I would describe would be repeated in each section." "A c-123 provider drops fast-acting defoliants on heavily wooded areas only." "Defoliant?" "You can't burn away half the park." "We can rebuild it." "Safer, better." " I like it." " It's solid." "It happens to be insane." "He's already been in there 48 hours." "I say, uh, we give him the rest." "Absolutely not!" "No man is gonna hold this city up to ridicule!" "No man!" "We will remove him before the deadline." "What's wrong?" "Are you cold?" "Frank, this isn't a game." "There aren't any rules." "No code of the west." " Look" "It's done." "Just accept it." "Yeah?" "How are you doing?" "Is this the guy I talked to before?" "This is the deputy mayor, yes." "So you're calling me now?" "What do you want, big boy?" "I want you to surrender your weapons and come out of there." "We can talk..." "Address some of the issues that seem to bother you so much." "We already had this conversation." "I'm coming' out of here when I want to, how I want to." "Look, we have the entire park perimeter surrounded." "How do you expect to walk away?" "I did it before, didn't I?" "What're you calling me for, anyway?" "What is this shit?" "They're trying to kill us." "Yeah." "They're gonna have to do a lot better than that." "Move off down the hill." "Move." "What do you mean, "Neither of them"?" "You mean there's another person in there?" "!" "All right." "Snipers spotted another person in there with him." " Are they positive?" " Yeah!" "All right, let's keep that information to ourselves." "Could be a hostage, but he hasn't tried to use him." "Or his partner." "Either way, we gotta go ahead." "Time's running out." "They're doing it again." "I do not believe it." "They think I'm stupid." "They think I'm really stupid!" "Do you know who it is?" "No idea, but he's persistent." "Whoever's calling hasn't hung up yet." "Nobody's answering." "When the guy in the park answers, put a tracer on the call." "Maybe they saw me." "I'm gonna talk to them." "I gotta answer this." "Hello?" " Who is this?" " Who's this?" " Is this the Park?" " Yes." "It's your wife." "Oh, fuck!" "God damn it, I told you not to call me here!" "Who was that who answered the phone?" " That was a woman." " No shit!" "Well what's a woman doing' in there with you?" "She's not a woman!" "She's a news person." "She's videotaping everything, is all." "I'm scared." "I'm so scared." "W-what did you do it for?" "It's my fault." "Is it my fault?" "It is, isn't it?" "It's nobody's fault." "What are we gonna do?" "Baby..." "I got this insurance policy." "It ain't much, but it'll get you started again..." "That's it." "I want all lines to the park cut off right now." "Those bastards!" "They're playing another trick on us." "It ain't gonna be funny." "Let's go." "When I first started this thing, I wanted people to hear me." "Really hear a person for once in their lives." " You know what I mean?" " I hear you." "Believe me, but there are a lot of people out there who aren't gonna like the way you're attracting attention." "No." "They're gonna hear a lot more." ""This park is mine."" "I'm not leaving' it until I decide." "Here's a little money from home, you lying' motherfuckers!" "The lone fucking ranger." "I know you're listening to me out there." "I am sure you know they are trying to kill me." "And what the hey, I should've expected that." "You won't be hearing from me again." "I have said everything I came to say, but I am not leaving until it's time." "I am not leaving until Veteran's day." "If anybody tries to come into this park while I am here-- if anybody tries to harm me while I am in this park, they will wish they had never been born." "All right, we finally got an I.D. on the woman in the park." "What woman?" "Some kind of T.V. Journalist." "Her partner came in a while ago." "Said she hopped the wall last night." "Apparently she should've been out by now." "We will assume that she's a hostage." "We're keeping her partner away from the press for a while..." "Lessen complications." "Frank, I want you to take a look at this." "That's Oscar Verdanken." "He's a Dutch national." "He's fought in Vietnam," "Angola, Afghanistan, the Middle east." "He's known worldwide." "Something of an idol to the soldier of fortune set." "The other man is Tran Chan Dinh." "He hooked up with Verdanken in Vietnam." "He's a master of guerilla warfare." "They come highly recommended." "Commissioner, what you're telling me is that these-- w-we have two hired killers, one of them a fucking Vietcong, to go in and get this man?" "!" "I mean, is that what I'm hearing?" "!" "Frank, you're out of line." "I mean, what about the woman?" "What about the concern for her?" "!" "They will be instructed to take every precaution." "Now that's it!" "That's it." "We're certainly not going to participate in the murder of a hostage, if that's what she is." "A trained two-man force has a much greater chance of getting her out." "This is wrong!" "I mean, what are you gonna say to the press?" "I'll tidy it up." "You'll "Tidy it up"?" "!" "That's my job." "We want them in the park before dawn." "This has got to be it, Frank." "If we don't get him out with them, the press is gonna hang us out to dry." "Commissioner, I gotta tell you, this stinks." "Look, no one's making' you go in." "Well somebody's gotta go in there, and it's not for their protection." "No matter what you might've been told..." "This operation has only one purpose:" "Search and destroy." "Understand?" "This insignificant little asshole has had his way too long." "Hey, wait a minute!" "Bastards!" "Hey." "Jesus Harold Christ." "I could've killed you." "You know that?" "What the hell you doing' out here, anyway?" "I woke up and I d--I" "I didn't know where you were." "We gotta go back inside." "Hold it." "Freeze!" "Do not move." "Jesus." "Don't move." "Step back." "My God, they laid this wire." "Somebody's in here trying to sabotage my program, valery." "Holy shit, that mine is real." "Real?" "Yeah." "Claymore." "What's a Claymore?" "It's a anti-personnel device, Valery." "This little baby right here..." "Will blow you up." "Kill you deader than hell." "What are you doing?" "There are individuals out there, valery, who are trying to kill us, and they are all totally fucking crazy." "And you?" "What are you?" "I never tried to hurt anybody." "You put a gun in an old man's face and you tell him you're gonna blow his head off, and he dies of a heart attack 'cause he's so fucking scared." "And you're not responsible because the gun isn't loaded?" "!" "I'm getting you out of here at first light." "Oh, give me a break." "We're both dead, and you know it." "Look..." "I realize I am a total fuck-up." "But I will get you out of this park." "The park is mine!" "The park is mine!" "What is it?" "Nothing." "Move!" "Move!" "Hold it!" "Stay there." "Stay here." "Watch me." "When I point to you, throw this wine bottle there." "Oh, God." "Shit." "Those sick bastards." "Those demented sons of bitches." "Look what they're doing'." "They're sending a Vietcong in here." "This is the middle of Central fucking Park." "They are sending in a Vietcong to kill me!" "Shit!" "We're going back." "I gotta have some more hardware here." "God damn." "Shit." "Holy shit." "Okay, I'm gonna get you as close to that wall as I can." " After that, you're on your own." " Okay." "You make sure people see that tape." " Yep." " Think it'll make prime time?" "That's a cinch." "What about you?" "You can forget me." "Run!" "Run!" "When this thing explodes, you run like hell for the east side." "Go!" "My leg!" "You idiotic motherfuckers have shot an innocent photojournalist here!" "A female!" "What the hell are you doing!" "?" "Are you crazy?" "There's a man dead back here!" "Look!" "The girl still has a chance." "I'm gonna put some trust in you." "I'm coming out!" "Look, this..." "This war is over." "Look..." "The man's dead." "The girl still has a chance." "No!" "I'm putting my gun down." "Now all I wanna do is..." "I wanna go over there..." "And I wanna pick up the girl." "I just wanna leave the park." "Now that's..." "That's all I want." "Okay, I'm gonna pick her up now." "Then I'm gonna leave the park." "Okay..." "I'm going out now." "No tricks." "We're leaving." "The park's yours." "There's somebody coming!" "It's the captain!" "Hey, it's the captain!" "Bring the gurney." "What happened?" "There are two dead men back there." "He asked for 9 o'clock." "We'll wait." "Now just a minute!" "We'll wait, man!" "We'll wait!" "Captain, somebody's coming!" "Hold your fire." "He's coming' out." "Hey..." "If it isn't the lone ranger." "I'm sorry you got hurt, valery." "Thank you." "You did it, you know?" "Okay, let's go." "Do you think you made a point?"