"(Attention: some parts need to be resyncked)" " Thank you." "Hi, Ruth." " Mr. Bonin." "I, um..." "I wrote the letter to the governor just like you suggested." " Mm-hmm?" " I said everything in it that you said to say." "I even put in the Bible verses that your lawyer had suggested." " The one about mercy?" " I don't remember the exact words, but I brought the letter for you to see, because I think it's good." "I think it will be very effective." " They'll get it to me later." "I've done everything I can do." " So..." " Mr. Bonin?" " How are things at the library?" " I have done everything that you asked me to do, Mr. Bonin." "And now I think" "I believe that you owe me something." " I owe you something?" " I feel that you do." " Ruth..." "I never asked you to do anything." " I know." " I just knew that you had questions, things that you felt" "I could put your mind to rest about." "And all I said was that it would be impossible for me to answer yours or anybody else's questions if I was, in fact, dead." "Was I wrong about that?" " No." "No, you weren't." "I brought some pictures that I don't believe you've seen." " Of?" " My son." "These two are old." "I mean, he was very young there, but this one, this is what he would have..." "looked like then." "Please look at the pictures, Mr. Bonin." " You know that I only have three weeks to live, huh?" " Please, Mr. Bonin, please." "I need to know." "I know you don't have any good news for me." "I just need to know." "It's the thinking." "I just" "It won't let me sleep." "That's what it is." "I'm tired." "Take another look." "Do you recognize this boy?" " Faces." "So many faces." "They all just get so... mixed up." " ¶ White skies ¶" "¶ Waste away ¶" "¶ Pass by ¶" "¶ Hazily ¶" "¶ As a fading life ¶" " It's kind of counterproductive, don't you think?" " Yeah, I guess." "Look, why don't we partner up?" "You know, somebody stops for me and I'll take you along, and you do the same for me." " All right." " Cool." " Oh, hey." "Thanks for stopping." " Yeah, thanks, man." " You guys want a ride?" " Definitely." " How you guys doing?" " Better now, man." "Thanks for picking us up." " Oh, you're welcome." "You guys been hitching for a while?" " Yeah, a while." " Wow." "That's got to be tough waiting for a ride though, isn't it?" "I mean, doesn't that give you kind of, like, a little bit of a- I don't know." "Like, a helpless feeling or something?" " Yeah." " Yeah." " So you guys like to party?" "Yeah, man." " Hell yeah." " Look at that." "The Siberian wolf." "The most solitary beast on the planet, they say." " Can't be too solitary, otherwise there'd be no other Siberian wolves, now would there?" " You got that right." " All I know, man, is you saved our asses." "I was getting to the point personally where I would have taken a ride with anybody." " Well, you got to be careful these days." " No shit." "They still haven't caught that guy." " Haven't caught what guy?" " That guy killing dudes, leaving 'em by the side of the road." " Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." "I heard about that." "Where'd you read that?" "In the newspapers?" " No, I don't read newspapers too much." "It was on TV." " No shit?" "What channel?" " I don't know." "I don't remember, man." " What do you mean, you don't remember?" "What the fuck use are you?" " Oh!" " Help me!" "Help me!" " You gonna help or watch, Vern?" " Just gonna watch for now." " God!" "Stop moving!" " Did you see that?" "He kind of came up on me there at the end." " No." "You had him, Bill." "I'd have pitched in if it got too hairy." " Oh, man." "He's heavy for a scrawny little fuck." "Look at those boots." "They're huge." " Pretty badass." "Pretty cool actually." "I wouldn't mind keeping these." " You wouldn't mind what?" " I wouldn't, though." "I know the rules." " Yeah, I know you wouldn't." "Hey, you want to get a burger or something?" " Ah, Bill, I'm pretty tired." "I've just been fucking around with this kid all day." "Just kind of want to go to- just want to go home." " Come on." "Let's get a burger." " Just watch." "I'll be out of that embassy in six weeks, just in time for Reagan's inauguration." "You watch." " Why you been talking about politics, huh?" "How about common sense?" "Like wanting to take that kid's boots back there." "What, are you out of your mind?" " Look, it was your idea to get a burger." "I'm not gonna argue about stupid shit." "I already told you I'm not gonna take the boots." "I know the fucking rules." " Then why'd you even bring it up?" " I just thought the boots were nice." "That's it." "All right?" " Fine." "Hey, what was that kid's name again?" " Steven?" " Steven, right." "Well..." "Thank you, Stevie-poo." "Wherever you're at." " Kyle, can I have a word?" "You take the scenic route?" "You were gone over an hour." " There was traffic." "Traffic?" "You can't come up with a more original excuse than that?" "You fuck up so consistently it's like you practice at it." "Get over here." "You're staying an hour later tonight to pay me back for the hour you fucking cheated me out of." "Next time think of a better story, okay?" " Okay." " Thanks." " You know we're fucked now?" "We're never gonna make it." " I'm sorry." " You're sorry?" "Yeah, I wanted to see that fucking movie." "Did you tell your boss that you had a date?" " Oh, my God." "You are such a pussy!" " Great." "Thanks." " Let's go." "There's a midnight show." "Maybe we can catch that." "Where do you think you're going?" " I'm gonna walk home." " Oh, you think I'm gonna try to talk you out of it?" "Yeah, watch this!" " Do you want a ride?" "All right, if you don't want a ride, you don't want a ride." "Just looks like you could use a friend is all." "Check this out." "What do you get when you cross a penis and a potato?" " I don't know." " A dictator." "Hey, man, you want a smoke?" " No, I don't smoke." " Good for you." "Smart boy." "I like that." "That fellow back at the store, he sure rides your ass pretty hard." " Yeah." " That's got to be tough." "Somebody treated me like that..." "Makes you really want to" "I'd like to strike right back at 'em, you know?" " It's just left up here." " All right." "You live with your folks?" " Yeah, my mom." "My dad kind of walked out." " Which is to say that you had to grow up pretty fast, huh?" " Sometimes it feels like that, yeah." " Is your mom expecting you?" " She can expect whatever she wants." "Yeah, that's the spirit." "Now... we have a couple of choices." "The path we take depends on your answer to this question." "When you say you don't smoke, do you mean just cigarettes?" " Yeah." " You don't sleep too good at night, do you?" " I just lay awake at night and think about shit." "I don't know." "I wish that I" " Yeah?" " I just wish I could tell somebody about the shit that goes on in my head." " Yeah?" "Why don't you?" " Because- because if I told somebody, then they'd- because they'd probably call the men in white lab coats, maybe the police." " Really?" " It's bad." "Some of it." " Well, like- like what exactly?" " I don't know." " Now, that's the first outright lie you've told me." "Isn't it?" "Isn't it?" "I don't know." " It's just-it's" " Sick?" "Let me tell you something about sick." "Sick is just a question of community standards." "And even just two people like you and me, we can be a community." "And then we can think whatever the hell we want." " Let's get you home, buddy." "So where's your mom?" " Oh, she works graveyard." " So your mom gets the day shift telling you what to do, and the girlfriend, little miss tight ass- whatever her name is- she takes over at nights." "Is that the deal?" " Her name's Lisa." " I don't give a fuck what her name is." ""Lisa. " Figures." " You know, she's actually been waiting for me to take her to see Urban Cowboy, and I probably should." " Urban Cowboy?" "Really?" " Yeah, I know." "I'm not" "I don't even really want to go, to be honest, but I kind of promised her." " After how that bitch treated you?" "Fuck her." "Call her." "Tell her you don't want to go." "Tell her you don't want to go." "Tell her that Urban Cowboy is for pussies." "And you ain't no pussy, huh?" " No, I just- I don't want to go." "No, I'm- I know." "It's just something- something came up." " What has come up?" "Are you high?" "What the fuck are you talking about?" "You can't have something come up when you make a plan" " I told you once." "I'm not gonna say it again." "No." "Fuck-fuck you!" "Listen, okay?" "I'm gonna do whatever it is I fucking want to do, and that's all there is to it." " You're gonna do what I say you're gonna" " Cunt!" " What!" " "Cunt" was a little bit harsh." "A little harsh." "Just kidding." " Oh, my God." "I can't" "I can't believe I just did that." "What are we doing?" " What's up?" " Kyle, Vern." "Vern, Kyle." "Don't worry." "He's cool." "Chill out, Vern." " You'll have to excuse the mess." "Maid's day off." "You're wondering to yourself," ""What's the deal with this dude?"" "Well, I'm a wizard." "You ever met a wizard before?" "A real-life wizard?" "A wizard has the mists of Thule in his soul." "You can see it in his eyes." "Look in my eyes." "Can you see it?" " Um..." " Can you see it?" " Um..." "I guess." " Yeah?" " Okay, yeah." " I had you going." "I had him going, right, Bill?" " Hey, Vern." "Why don't you show him the family album?" "Go ahead." "Show him." "It's okay." " Bill and me have been at this for quite a while." "I guess you could call me the chronicler." "Here." "See the striations here?" "Guess what that is." "Yeah, you ponder that for a while." "How about this one?" " My God." " You like that one, huh?" "Pick a card." "Kyle." "Pick a card." " Any card?" " No, no, no." "You're gonna pick the card I want you to pick." " I am, am I?" " Yeah." "Queen of diamonds." "Ohh." "Queen of diamonds it is." " Hey, how many bites you think it'd take you to scarf that thing down?" " Oh, what?" "Like, without stopping?" " No." "How many bites to wolf that shit down?" "Seriously." " I don't know, man." "Like, maybe, like, four or five." " Four or five?" " Yeah." " I bet I can do it in three." "Two, one." " Oh, my God." "Look." "Look." "Look at him." "Oh, my God." "It looks like he's digging for buried treasure." "I bet you anything that's the most enthusiasm that guy's shown for anything in his pathetic life." " Yeah." "Probably." " Oh, yeah?" "What, do you think you're better than him?" "It's not a trick question." "You should be able to answer that one, right?" " Yeah." "I think I'm better than him." " You think?" " Okay, I know." " It's nothing to me." "I don't really give a shit one way or the other." " I'm-I'm better than him, obviously." " Well, you never know." "He might have been a bank president once." " That's nothing." " Exactly." "Now you're getting it." "Now you see." "Most people are overconfident of their value on the planet." "Most people... can be done without." "Hey, you want to have some real fun?" "Oh, yeah." "We're gonna have some real fun." "Here you go." "Take that." "Go ahead." "Take it." "There you go." "In my business, they say that is the trucker's best friend." "Yeah." "Feel better already, right?" "You see that one?" "Going to the park, huh?" " Yeah, I got a season pass." " Wow." "You got a season pass?" "Wow." "You must go all the time." " Yeah, the roller coasters are the best." " Hmm, I don't know how I feel about that, having a season pass." "I mean, ain't you afraid that kind of takes all the specialness out of it?" "I mean, don't you think the park should be special?" "I do." " I don't think so." "I like going all the time." "Really?" " Get his legs." "Get his legs." "Fast!" "Come on!" " I'm trying!" " That's it." "Good, Kyle." "Good, Kyle." "Yeah." "Good, Kyle." " I swear" " This kid's gonna die." " Please let me go." "I won't tell anyone, I promise!" " Oh, well, gee, if you promise," "I guess we can let him go then, right?" " I swear I won't!" " I mean it." " I know you won't." "Yak, yak, yak." "Shut up." " All right, you're up." "You are about to walk through a door right now." "Do you know what's on the other side?" "Becoming God is all." "'Cause right now you are God of his world, and you better fucking believe he will pray to you." " Please let me go." "Please let me go." "Please let me go." "Please let me go." " Seeing that?" "There is the world most people live in, and then there is this." "Fuck or be fucked." "It's up to you." "Door number one... or run out door number two, the pussy door." "I won't stop you, Kyle." "I won't stop you." "I won't stop you." "I won't stop you." "No!" " Get him!" "Come on!" "You can do it!" "Come on!" "Get him!" " Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" " I got it." "I got it." "You're screwed now, kid." "Once you get a taste... you can't get enough." "Don't let Vern bug you, by the way." " What's this?" " Well, one of you is gonna have to sit in the back." "Obviously." " You're looking at me." " Well, you're the one on the outside, Vern." "Ha." " This is my seat." "It's my seat." "I'm just saying somebody should ask if they want to take my seat." " Mind sitting in the back?" "Did you see that?" " I don't even fucking know what to say." "I am looking at you, and I don't know what to say." "Well?" " God." "Wow." " I know what the deal is with you and the kid, Bill." " Oh, well, you know everything, Mr. Wizard." " You just wanted to see if he could do it." " Well, shit's boring right now." "Let's spice things up a little bit." " Well, you're gonna spice your way right into the gas chamber if you're not careful." "I know you." " What do you mean, you know me?" " Always got to stick your goddamn hand in the fire." " Jesus, Vern." "What, do you want to live forever?" " You're so full of shit, man." "You wouldn't have spent two seconds with this kid if you weren't getting something out of it." " Can you believe that?" " You cut off his finger in front of everybody?" " In front of everybody, and everybody in the bar applauded too." "They're like..." "Cut the shit-bag's finger off right below the knuckle, and then I told him, and I said, "This is a tax on your stupidity. "" "But then I told him" "I said, "Hey, you know what?" "I'm a reasonable guy." ""I know in the future you're gonna be needing" ""that finger for dialing phones and so forth," ""so I'll tell you what I'm gonna do." ""You give me ten bucks," "I'll pack it in ice for you real nice. "" " You sold him back his own finger?" " Sold him back his own finger." " Hey, man, what do you look for?" " What do I look for?" "What do you mean?" " You know... what do you look for when you look for a- you look for a" " I know what you're talking about." "You look for a lot of things, but the first thing to remember is who's the wolf and who's the sheep." "We're the wolves." "They're the sheep." "Got to say to yourself, "Is that sheep alone?" ""Is the sheep in the vicinity of other sheeps?" "Does that little fur ball get you turned on?"" "'Cause if it don't give you a boner, what's the point?" "You know?" "Something about the person will stick out at you." "What you'll do is, you'll figure out what works for you." "That's the key, what works for you." "Look over there." "Look at that." "Look at that." "Look, look, look." "Yeah." " Any one of them." " Any damn one." " His dad was probably a Nazi." " If it makes you feel any better." " I'm just saying." "He was probably all baby-faced too, putting people in ovens." " You want to talk about war?" "My unit rolled into this hamlet three clicks north of Khe Sanh." "This little baby-faced mama-san come running up to the tent." ""Hello, G.I. Hello, G.I."" "Pulls out a grenade and takes out two fucking FNGs." "I cut her in half with my M-16." " What's an FNG?" " "Fucking new guy. "" " Body was found on southbound freeways..." " Hello?" " Go turn on the TV right now, channel five." "There's a story about us." " I'm pretty much going to bed, Bill." "Why don't you call your new playmate?" " Will you turn on the fucking TV, Vern?" " Channel five?" " Yes, channel five." " The victim was tortured..." " You believe this?" "They still haven't even tied us to anything in L.A." "It's just all that Orange County crap." " Well, that's good for us, though, right?" " Still, it'd be nice to get a little recognition just the same, you know?" " Found murdered along Orange County freeways." " Hi, Mom." " Oh." "I must have dozed off." "They were showing the hostages." "Hostages, shmostages." " You okay?" " Aren't you working?" " I just finished a run." "Thought I'd just come by and say hi." " You were half expecting to find my dead body." "Tell the truth." " I don't know why you always got to say that." "It's not necessary." " That's what I do." "I keep things entertaining." " Yeah, no doubt about that." "It's just not good to spend too much time alone." " You're not alone, Ma." "I'm here." " It was always when I was on my own that I'd get into trouble." " Really?" " It's like there was these demons that were always just hovering around." " The demons, huh?" " God, you know, your father was- your biological father was a real piece of shit." " Yeah, I know." " But then there was Daniel." "He was different." "He was just a real nice guy." "It was after he left that everything turned to shit." "And then it was just me and those demons." "They can take many different forms." " Bottles mostly, right?" " It was them that made me do so many regrettable things, like leaving you." " Hmm, I don't know if that will hold up in court." "I would hate me if I were you." " I'm not you." " So this will show you your hit points." "Like Kyle's got seven charisma and eight dex" "Can you not touch that?" "Could you just put it down?" "Thanks." "So, Bill, let's say you come into combat with a level-ten mage." " What if we decide to talk it out?" "We don't want to go to war." "I'll wait till you guys are finished, huh?" " No, no, no, no." "Wait, wait, so I got a question." "I got a question." "I got this orc, all right." "I don't want to be the orc." "I want to be the black wizard, okay, or the warrior." "Or something with the mists of Thule in their eyes." " Yeah, you guys just keep laughing." "You're, like, 1,000 vitality points away from doing shit, so..." " Ooh, vitality points." " Fuck you, Bill!" "Fuck you!" "You and your little shit, fuck you to hell." " Sit your ass down." " I'm not gonna sit my ass down." "This is my house!" "I will not sit my ass down in my fucking house!" " Whatever." "You coming or what?" " Oh, you're gonna leave?" "Oh, Kyle, hold on, hold on." "You want to know about Bill?" "Sit down." "I'll tell you all about Bill." "You want to know about this fucking asshole, huh?" "He tell you about all the war stories," "I suppose, huh?" " Don't even go there." " I'll bet he told you all the stories, huh?" "Yeah, he was there." "But the closest he ever got to combat was sticking his pistol to a couple of buck privates, making them suck his dick." "Yeah, I don't think they give medals for that last time I checked." "See the thing about Bill is, Kyle, he's got this fucking sickness all fucking stirred up inside him, and he thinks," ""I think I got all control in the world. "" "Don't you, Bill?" "You think you got control of that shit." "That's not true." "It controls him like a little fucking bitch." " Fuck you!" "Ah!" "Who's the bitch now, huh?" "Who's the bitch now?" "You're the bitch now, Vern." "You're the bitch." "Who's a bitch now, Vern?" "Who's the bitch now, bitch?" "Bitch." "Let's go." "Let's go!" " What the fuck?" "God damn it." "Oh, you've got something to say, huh?" "Go ahead, say it." "What?" " You think that was smart, leaving him back there like that?" " Why don't you mind your own fucking business?" " I'd say this was my business." "You just made an enemy of a man that could put us both in the gas chamber." " Relax." "Nobody's putting anybody in the gas chamber, all right?" "Vern and me go back, man." "Way back." "I did my first kill with him." "That's a bond." "I know he got squirrelly back there." "But he's a genius, really." "He can read books- astrology, philosophy." "What the fuck do you know, punk?" "I mean, I've seen him read minds, man." "It's not a parlor trick." "Now what?" "I'm supposed to- supposed to kill him on your say-so, huh?" "Some little shit-heeled punk, running off his mouth, telling me what the fuck I should and shouldn't do." "Is that it, huh?" "A man's your partner for six fucking years!" "Six fucking years!" "Fuck." "Fuck!" "Ah!" "Vern?" "Oh, Vern?" " What are you doing here, Bill?" " Oh, I thought you know everything, Mr. Wizard." "What are you planning on doing with that?" " You didn't knock or anything." "I thought you might have been a burglar." " Burglar?" " You want a beer or something?" " Nope." "What's the point?" " Hey." " Fuck you, kid." "I knew that fucking punk was trouble from the word "go. "" " He's got nothing to do with this, and you know it." " I know a demon visited my house when I was 11 years old." " Oh, yeah?" " A real demon." "He said his name was Azazel." "He had long, white, wizardry hair, a nose like a bat, like a bat's nose." "But it was you, Bill." "I recognized you the second I laid eyes on you." "I keep thinking about that guy." " What guy?" " The guy with the orthopedic thing on his fucking leg." "You know the guy I'm talking about?" " I believe I do." " Pushing on his chest, all that black shit came out of his mouth." "Jesus Christ, Bill, who sees things like that?" " Well, I guess you and me." "We've been places most people never get to go." " You were like my tour guide." " I still am." "Go get dressed." "Now." " What the fuck?" " Shh." " Fuck." "Ow, fuck." "God" " What the fuck are you doing?" " Oh, God." "Be right out." " I'll be right out." " What did you do?" "What did you do?" "Let me see." "Let me see, for crying out loud!" "Sit down." "God damn it, Vern." "Jesus, Vern." " Stupid, stupid." " Put this right here." "What are you thinking, man?" "You're like a stupid kid." "Fucking child, man." "It's gonna be all right." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "It's gonna be all right." " Harder." "That." "Like that." "That." "Okay, like that." "No, that." "Kyle, Jesus." "Who is that?" " God." " Pick up the phone, God damn it." " So stupid." " That supposed to be the ayatollah?" " Supposed to be Tom Krepnecke." "Same fucking thing." " Who the fuck is Tom Krepnecke?" " My boss." "Ex-boss." "Nazi motherfucker." " Well, I see you're a man not to be taken lightly." "Let's see some I.D." " You a cop?" " Shit." " William Pugh." "Get in." " Shit." " I'm getting out of here." " Johnny." "Oh, no!" "No, Johnny!" "Help me!" " Gonna go out for a bit." "Be back in a flash." " You gonna get more beer?" " Billy." "Alex." "Alex, Billy." "Go in the other room." "I'll be right there in a second." "I'm gonna kill that kid." "You want a piece of it?" "It's gonna be great." " How you doing in there, pumpkin?" " We fucking killed that guy." " You said a mouthful." "We fucking killed that guy, didn't we?" "William Jennings Pugh, Jr., we fucking killed that guy, didn't we?" "Didn't we?" "Didn't we?" "Come on, now, don't leave me hanging." "Yeah, that's my boy." "Yeah." "Hey, come back here!" "Hey!" "God damn it." "Fuck." " What do you want, Bill?" " Hey, buddy." "Hey, how you doing?" " What's going on, Bill?" " Nothing." "I don't know." "That fucking kid, he ran out on me." " That kid Kyle?" " No, another one." " Jesus Christ." "Bill, how many the fuck you got running around with you now?" " Well, one too many, obviously." "This kid could be telling anybody." "We don't know who he's talking to." " You know the rules, Bill." "No loose ends, remember?" " Rules?" "Hey, I know the fucking rules, all right!" "I" " I just" "I" " I got to go out." "I got to get some, you know?" "I got to get some." "You know how that is, Vern." "You know how it is, don't you?" " Bill, Bill, you got to take care of this, okay?" "You got to go kill that kid." " You know, maybe that's not such a bad idea." "Whoa." "What's going on?" "Is, uh-is- is William here?" " Billy?" " Billy, right." "Right." "Is he here?" " What do you want with him?" " I, uh... well, oh, actually, he, um... dropped his license while we were hanging out at the donut shop." " License, huh?" "Well, good luck with that." "You want to have your personal conversation with the piece of shit, you got to go through sheriff's deputies." " Deputies?" "Why?" "What- is he in county?" " The genius got busted trying to boost a car, a bug, if you can believe that." " A bug?" "He really got arrested?" " Yeah, that's usually how they work it." " I can't believe this." "Unbelievable." " What do you want with him?" "Who are you, man?" " Fuck." "Why did I" "Fuck." "Why?" "Why'd you pick the stupid shit?" " Reports are emerging about the connection between the rash of bodies in Orange County and several bodies found dumped along Los Angeles freeways." "L.A.P.D. sources have confirmed a task force has been set up to catch a serial killer who is" " Hey, hey, I was looking for The Orange County Register." "Thanks." "I appreciate that." "Can I help you?" " Huh?" " You seemed interested in me, obviously." " Oh, no, no, I'm sorry." "I was just looking at your paper." " Oh." " Yeah." "They catch that guy yet?" " Uh, I don't know." "I don't even think they gave him a name yet." " Hmm, The Register, yeah." "You know they broke the story?" " Yeah, they did." " Yeah, that's- that's a good paper." "Yeah, a good paper." "I used to live over that way." " Oh, did you?" " Hermosa Beach." " Really?" "Where you living now?" " Ah, just up the street here." "Anaheim." " What street?" " What?" " What street you living on?" "Ah, no, really, you know what?" "It's really none of your business where I live and what street I live on." "Have a good day." " Yeah, you too." "Good answer." "Officer!" "See ya." "Come on, Vernon, pick up the phone." "Pick up the phone." "Pick up the fucking phone, God damn it." "Pick up the phone." "Pick up the phone." " Hey." " Whoa." " How you keeping yourself?" " Hey, why don't you go to the car, okay?" " I'll be there in a second." " What's going on?" " Who is this guy?" " Just- just go to the car, honey." "Look, I don't appreciate you coming around here." " Wow." "Got your own car, huh?" "Your mom buy it for you?" " I bought it with my own money." " Really?" " Yeah." "They made me manager." " Wow." "Good for you." " What do you want?" " What do I want?" "It's not about what I want, Kyle." "It's about what the state of California wants." " What are you talking about?" " I'd give better than even money" "I'm being watched by police right now, maybe not this second." " Kyle, what the fuck?" " Just a second." "Cut the bullshit, Bill." "Look, I'm not coming back with you." " God, you're so arrogant." "That's not what this is about." "I trained another kid, and he got busted." "Now somebody's got it in their mind that I'm the big, bad Freeway Killer, but I got a plan." "What you got to do is, you got to grab somebody, a hitchhiker." "I don't give a fuck who it is." "You understand?" "Make it look like the Freeway Killer's out there." "You understand?" "T- shirt around the neck." "Choke 'em with a tire iron." "Dump their body on the freeway." "You make it real obvious that the Freeway Killer's still out there." " Shh." " And then you and me will be done with this thing forever." "Look, man, it's the only fucking way." " Kyle, I'm out of here." " It's the only way." "God, after everything we've been through." " I'm done with that." "I'm not coming back with you." "Okay?" "It's over." " Remember me and you?" " I don't think I'm gonna be able to help you out with that-that thing." " Are you sure about that?" " Yeah." "Where are we going anyway?" " Oh, just up here a ways, not too far." " What's going on?" " What's going on?" "Oh, nothing." "Just one of those days, you know?" "One of those days." "Hey, you like to get high?" " I don't know." " You don't know?" "Wow." "You don't know." "Well, I'm gonna get high." "You don't want to get high, you can just sit here and watch me get high." "How 'bout that?" "What's your name, man?" " Sean." " Sean." "Where you from?" " Anywhere but here." " Here, have a hit." " Take it." " Cool." " You know, I like that red coat, man." "That red coat is really cool." " Thanks." " Do you know what the most solitary predator on Earth is?" "What?" " I used to think it was the wolf, but it's not." "It's not the wolf." "It was never the wolf." "It was never the wolf." "It was never the wolf." "It was never the wolf." " Hey, man, um..." "I really don't want to be a bother." "You know, it's okay." "I've got a friend that lives right here." "I don't want to- I don't want to bother you." " You're not bothering me." "It's fine." " I'm just gonna- I'm gonna go." " No, you're not." "No, you're not." "You're not going anywhere!" " No, you're not!" " Get off me!" " You're not!" "No, you're not." "You're not going anywhere." " Help!" "Help me!" " You're not going anywhere." " Help me!" " Shut up!" "You're not going anywhere!" "You're not going anywhere." "You're not going anywhere." " Please." " You're not going anywhere." "You're not going anywhere." "You're not going anywhere." " You're not going anywhere." "Ah!" " Get out of the van now!" " Drop the weapon!" " Get him out." "Get him out of there." "Get him down on the ground." "Get him on the ground." " Put your hands behind your back." " I admit, I've always been kind of a loner, lonely type of guy." "Maybe that's why I was so easily reeled in," "I don't know." " So if you're guilty of anything, it's loneliness." " Reaching out to the wrong people maybe." "Yeah." " You know, you really don't have a lot of luck with your associations, do you?" "Why don't you, um- why don't you tell me a little bit more about Vernon Butts." " Well, what do you want to know?" "I mean, we only hung out randomly." " Well, that's not the way you made it seem when you first gave us his name." " You asked for acquaintances, and I gave them to you." " You do know that Vernon's not quite as tight-lipped as you, don't you?" " That's Vernon." "Mr. Politics." "He loves to talk." " He sure as hell does, friend." "He says you did most of the actual killing." " Mm-mm." " Mm-hmm." " He's got his memories." "I've got mine." " You know something that's funny?" "Well... funny from my perspective." "I'm actually trying to save your life." " Really?" "Well, thanks." "I appreciate that." " Yeah." "This is the truth, Bill." "The truth that's gonna set you free, or at least keep your ass out of the gas chamber." "Hmm?" "Your juvenile arrest records, psych reports going back, what, 20 years, look at 'em, Bill." "They paint quite a picture." "Neglect, abuse, pedophile grandfather, alcoholic mother." "Real true-life horror story." "It's a shame." " You keep my mom out of this, or I'm not gonna say another word." " Well, that's very noble of you." " I'm not gonna let you drag her through some fucking circus freak show like you always do, parading everything around." "I'm not gonna let you do it." " Well, then you're gonna die, Billy boy." " You ain't supposed to live forever anyway, right?" " Huh." "You know what I hear?" " What do you hear?" " There's a little rumor that they're looking for someone to be a guinea pig for the first lethal injection." "Yeah." "And from where I sit, you're the poster boy." "That really makes me something then, huh?" " It sure does." "Vernon, Pugh, Peterson, they all peg you as the murderer." "And the only chance you have of getting out of here is what you're looking at right now." "Now you're gonna have to fess up if you want to make it out of this." "Look at me." "I am out on the runway with my two flashlights trying to signal your ass home, and all you keep doing is wanting to dive nose first into the ground." "What is this?" "I don't get it." " There's always other alternatives," "Detective Saint John." "Pugh and Peterson, they were punks." "And they were true to form, of course." "They went down whining, pointing fingers." "Old Vern, he would have none of that." "By the time they put him in his cell, well, he was already someplace else." " Come on, Bill." "You and I, we've come a long way." "What do you say we give these people some closure, hmm?" "It's time." " But I got to get something in return, okay?" "So that was the key to everything." "They wanted something from me, and I wanted something from them." "They kept writing me letter after letter, waiting on me, like the return of Jesus." "They kept shoving pictures in my face of kid after kid like it was gonna bring them back or something." "All these parents, they all wanted closure." "Well, that's fine." "But I was sure gonna get paid back for all my troubles." " You- you traded a body for a cheeseburger?" " Pretty much, yeah." " Is this a game to you?" "You make me listen to all those stories, and then what, I'm supposed to pick my son out of all your victims?" " I never said he was any of them." " You said" " I said maybe he was one of them." " Why are you doing this?" " Vern's gone." "Kyle is gone." "Everyone's gone." "I don't have anybody." "Always staring at walls" " Wait, wait." "Are you telling me that you have been playing me all this time because you wanted someone to talk to?" " Well, it has been nice having some company." " Ah." " I remember your boy." "I do, Ruth." "I remember him." "I've always remembered him." "I know who he is." "I know exactly who he is." "I just wanted company is all." "I guess we did have a bargain, didn't we?" " What do you remember?" " I remember it was raining, and that's why he wasn't so picky when he took a ride from me." "I remember he was wearing a windbreaker." "Was it blue?" " It was blue." " He had a light coat that was blue." "That's the last thing I saw him wearing." "It wasn't a windbreaker though." " No, it wasn't a windbreaker exactly, but it was thin material, light." "But I remember picking him up." "And we drove around, and we had a good time." "I got him really high." "And we went through the drive-through, and we ate a couple burgers." "And we had a lot of laughs." "We had a lot of laughs." "God, he was cute." "And I hit him in the head with a tire iron." "And I put the T-shirt around his neck, and I strangled him, because that's what I do." "And it all happened very fast." "He didn't really suffer." "But he did cry." "And I remember he was saying..." " What?" "What did he say?" " He said, "Sorry, Mom, sorry. "" "Is this supposed to be making me feel better, this fucking fairy tale that you're telling me?" " What?" "You wanted to know." "Now you know." " My son never, ever, ever once in his life called me "Mom. "" "I wouldn't let him." "As it happens, I made him call me "Ruth. "" "He was my whole world, and you took him from me, you sick animal!" "He was my friend, and he was my son." "You fuck!" "You sick fuck!" "I hate you." " I'm sorry, Ruth." "I may have crossed paths with your boy, Ruth." "I don't know." " I am gonna watch you suffocate." "You pathetic monster, you have made my life hell all these years." "I have listened to your perverted stories." "You wanted company when you die." "Well, I'll tell you," "I'm gonna be there, and I am gonna watch you die." " Well, here's a tip for you." "When you do, watch the eyes." "That's where it all happens."