"Wonder what reservation they let him off of." "Excuse me, sir." "But my truck's overheating, and it's 30 miles to the next station." "Can I get some water out of your cooler, please, sir?" "Maybe you should've stole a better truck, Tonto." "You got a big mouth, convict." "Take it easy, Chief." "He's only joking." "Okay." "Can I have the water, please, sir?" "Firewater, Tonto?" "Is that what you mean?" "Firewater, huh?" "Hey!" "Jesus Christ!" "Hold it!" "He's a state prisoner, you asshole!" "Goddamn you two!" "Knock it off!" "Hold it, you asshole!" "Get out of the way!" "Don't move, convict!" "Fuck you!" "APO 657, unit 25 to APO 478!" "Roger, APO." "Escape in progress!" "Two officers shot!" "Fugitives are driving a blue flatbed pickup truck!" "Two men!" "One of them is an Indian!" "Tall!" "6'4", 200 pounds." "The other one's Albert Ganz." "They're armed and dangerous." "God, we need help!" "Get it here quick!" "Say again, 25." "Escape in progress!" "Two fugitives!" "One Indian and prisoner Albert Ganz!" "You know, if you let me come over to your place once in a while, you could put on a clean shirt in the morning." "What makes you think I got any clean shirts at my place?" "Great morning." "Yeah." "I want her young, tall, thin." "Yeah, real thin." "She's got to have nice legs." "Yeah." "Legs are important." "No, no jeans." "I don't like jeans." "Jeans are cheap." "A dress." "Yeah, a nice summer dress." "I want her fresh, you know?" "No, I know you don't get it." "Hey, what about me?" "Yeah." "And I need one more for my friend." "Now, make her an Indian." "No, not with a turban." "You know, a squaw." "Yeah." "It'll be the Walden hotel." "That's 3rd, near Broadway." "And you tell them to ask for Polson." "G.P. Polson." "Yeah." "P-O-L-S-O-N." "Just be a couple of hours." "Right." "That's a fairly crummy way to start a morning." "Maybe I got a fairly crummy day ahead." "Maybe that makes a nice excuse." "Maybe you don't know what the hell you're talking about!" "Jack, when you start with that attitude, it's like I don't even know who you are." "What do you want to know?" "And what difference does it make?" "I make you feel good, you make me feel good." "Now, what the hell more do you want from a guy?" "I wish you'd stop trying to make me mad." "I don't have time for this." "I got to go to work." "You really are hopeless." "That's what I always say." "Call me later." " You want me to?" " Yeah." "Good." "Thanks for the coffee." "Okay." " Oh, hey, Jack." " Yeah." "Here, take this." "It's cold as hell out these mornings, and you know what the man said." "No." ""The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer I spent in San Francisco."" "No, we ain't going by the store again." "I told you a million fucking times, we start slow, we save a little bit." " We go with that way." " But I liked that carpet we saw." "We can't afford it." "Don't remind me." "I know we can't afford it." "I'm just saying I liked it." "You don't have to get crabby about it." "What do you want me to do?" "Go out and steal for the money?" "I hated the color anyway." "The color sucked." "Wait." " Surprise, Luther." " What do you want?" " I thought you were locked up." " I want the money, asshole." "What do you think?" "The money that Reggie hid." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Want that Indian to snap her neck?" "Instead of worrying about Reggie, you better start worrying about me." "Don't give me this." "We were partners!" "Go ahead, Billy." "Break it." "No!" "Don't hurt her." " I can get you the money." " When?" "I can't get it till Monday." "Honest." "Little chickenshit..." "Honest!" "The place we got it stashed doesn't open till Monday." "I can't get it till then." "Monday morning." "That's when it opens." "After that, I'll get the money right to you." "I always liked you, Luther." "You were always a lot of fun to hang out with." "We're gonna keep her." "Come on." "You can trust me." "And if you mess with us," "I'll put holes in her you never even thought of." "Go on, get the fuck out of here." "Ganz, please." "Don't fuck up." "Ganz!" " Luther!" " Rosie!" "Hey, Algren, need any backup?" "No, Jack, please." "You make me nervous." "You know that." "Your wife makes you nervous, not me." "The radio said you guys had something on." "Not much, Jack." "A salesman named Polson had his credit cards lifted." "One of Polson's cards rented that green coupe over there." "Not much for a big guy like you, Cates." "Oh, it's just a laugher, huh, Van?" "It's five-and-dime, Jack." "Polson said a kid with a switchblade mugged him and took off on a motorcycle." "Well, you guys are experts at taking knives away from teenagers." "Yeah, we are, so keep out of it." "We don't need any big artillery." "Well, I'm just trying to help out, Van." "I love to watch pros work." "I don't need your help, Cates." "Hey, Jack, you want to come in, that's fine." "You stake out the lobby." "How's the car running?" "Great." "How's the wife?" "Mean as a snake." "Nice paint job." " Hello." "We're looking..." " You guys were in last week." "You better ask around." "I'm not supposed to be hassled." "I got friends." "Park your tongue for a second, sweet pants." "We just want to search a room." " Not unless you got a warrant, babyface." " Actually..." "Hey, maybe you should've been a lawyer instead of a dumb skirt working behind a cash register, huh?" "Come on, what the shit is this?" " Jack, don't do that." " Don't worry about that, now." "We're looking for a man by the name of Polson." ""Polson." "Room 27."" "Okay, big deal." "Get it over with." "Is he alone?" "A couple girls went up to visit him about an hour ago." "Thank you." "You guys be careful." "Yeah, and like we said, you stake out the lobby." "All right, Vinnie." " I'll let you handle it, Al." " Thank you." "Hey, this isn't exactly my goddamn life's ambition, you know." "It's like a part-time thing." "I'm trying to get the money together to send for my kid." "He's been staying with his granny." "You don't want to hear that personal crap anyway." "Are you listening to me?" "Hey." "Did you hear a goddamn word I said?" "So..." "How much money you got left?" "Hi, Liz." "How you doing?" "It's me." "What's going on?" "Nothing." "Just a couple of cops." "What else is new?" "How was your date?" "You're kidding." "Liz, you gotta stop sitting still for that kind of shit." "Yeah." "Put him in his place." "You're gonna ask who it is." "All right?" "Ask." " Who is it?" " Police." "Open up." "What do you want?" "Police business." "Open up right now!" "Keep on stalling." "Hang on a second." "I gotta put something on." "Hold on." "You listen." "When I tell you to jump, you jump." "Call for help now!" "Operator!" "Jack." "There are two of them, Jack!" "Stay here." "Stay down." "Check out the lobby." "It's an emergency!" "They're fighting upstairs!" "Operator, did you get through to the police?" "Put down that goddamn phone, lady." "You drop the phone!" " Drop that phone!" " Don't hurt me, please!" "Oh, my God!" "Please, let me go!" "Please, let me go." "Billy, bring her out." "He ain't gonna shoot." "Come on!" "No!" "No!" "Shut up!" "No!" "Oh, my God!" "No!" "You!" "Toss me that goddamn piece, and he won't waste him." "Don't do it, Jack." "Don't give him the gun." "God damn it, Jack!" "Don't you do it!" "Don't do that for me." "Get the car." "Nice gun." " What happened?" " Just read the fucking report!" "Two cops get blown away by a credit card booster?" " That don't figure." " No shit." "Yeah, and those guys were good cops." "Hell, yes." "They were good cops who fucked up." "They just got careless, that's all." "Yeah, that's what you say, Cates." " Yeah, that's what I say!" " That's what you always say." "The way you tell it, we're always the ones that fuck up." "The truth hurts, don't it, buddy?" " Yeah, but, Jack, it don't figure." " It don't figure." " Can I borrow a piece?" " Yeah, okay, I'll see what I can do." "When somebody steals your gun, you're supposed to file a report." "Just don't give me a bunch of crap." "Well, I guess when two cops die because you fucked up..." "Jesus!" "Cool down!" "Knock it off!" "Knock it off!" "It's not gonna bring them back!" "You know better!" "Look, Cates, I want to see you right away." "We got a lot to talk about!" "God damn it, do you read me, Cates?" "Yeah, I hear you." "Your voice carries." "Five minutes." " Ruth!" " They're still wet." "A lot of people getting shot with. 44s lately." "Last year, it was Saturday night specials." "Now it's the heavy stuff." "People must be getting madder about something." "You're an accessory to Murder One, so you're gonna have to do a whole lot better" " than what you've got down here, honey." " Give me a break, huh?" " Cates!" " Yeah!" "Got a print from the hotel room, the guy's real name is Ganz, Albert Ganz." "He headed from back east, but he worked out here a few years back." "Armed robbery." "Broke out of prison a couple of days ago and capped a couple of the guards." "A real animal." "Wait till you see this." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Did he give you a return match?" "He wasn't interested." "Maybe he didn't like the merchandise, huh?" " Fuck you." " I'll take a rain check on that, huh?" " This'll interest you, Jack." " Yeah, what do you got?" "We got something from your gun, and this is from the first weapon Ganz used." "Wait a minute." "I don't get this." "Here." "It's a perfect match from the markings from the first gun he used." "But it's not from the Walden hotel." "Fired six hours earlier, point blank range, right between the eyes." "Found him on a park bench." "You know, there are some very bad people out there in the world." "Yeah, look at it this way, Ruth." "If there weren't, what the hell would we have to do, huh?" "So anyway, I got there." "He took me down." "He started watching television, and then you sensational people started banging on the door." "That's it." "Except that I think he's gonna give you guys a hard time." "What makes you think so?" "I just think he likes shooting cops a lot more than getting laid." " Jack, check it out." " What do you got?" "The stuff from his hotel." "Every last bit of it." " The big guy's room was empty." " All right, let's go through it." "A speedloader." "This guy's got a. 44 like yours, Jack." "Jesus." "This cat is serious about his artillery." " Here's the files." " Oh, thanks." "Billy Bear, huh?" "Yeah, big Indian from the East Bay." "Worked with Ganz a few years back, and he sprung him from the road gang." " Who's this guy?" " Wong." "Henry Wong." "He was in on the same job." "Kehoe, come here." "Come here." "I want to show you something." "Come here." "Look at this." "Look at this." "Now, tell me." "The same guy." "Hey, Dick fucking Tracy." "All right, I'm gonna want to talk to one of these guys." " Any of them walking around?" " One of the gang's still in the slam." "Good." "Good." " Get in here, Cates!" " Yeah, yeah, yeah!" "Speedloader." "Kehoe!" "I want to be left alone on this one." "Al was killed with my gun." "Jack, there's an official department policy about cop killings." "Now, cop killers represent a special priority, because any man crazy enough to kill a cop is a greater threat to an unarmed civilian." " Right." " In other words, we can't seem like we're in the revenge business." "And we all know the truth's a little different." "Yeah?" "Anything's bothering you besides losing your gun?" "Yeah, it bothers me when cops get killed." "I don't like that." "Then you might be a little more of a team player and a little less of a hot dog on this one." "Hot dogging's been working real well so far." "Besides, I got a lead." "Okay." "You got to do things your own way?" "Fine." "Now, you nail this guy and make us all look good, but you better watch your ass, because everybody's watching on this one." "If you screw up, I can promise you, you're going down." "Boy, you know how to send a guy out with a real great attitude, boss." "Those days are over" "You don't have to sell your body to the night" "I'm here to see Reggie Hammond." " He's in 18." "You want company?" " No, thank you." "You don't have to put on the red light" "Those days are over" "You don't have to sell your body to the night" "Roxanne" "You don't have to put on the red light" "Walk the streets for money" "You don't even care if it's wrong or if it's right" "Roxanne" "You don't have to work for money..." "Is that Hammond?" "You don't have to sell your body to the night" "Hammond!" "Put on the red light" "Roxanne, put on the red light" "Roxanne, put on the..." "Hammond!" " You got a name, cop?" " Let's try Cates." "Come on, I want to talk to you in private." "Look, Hammond, I know all about you." "You're single, you got no fixed address, no relatives." "One previous conviction, armed robbery." "Six months to go on a three-year sentence." " Is that right?" " So what, man?" " You gonna write my life story?" " Not likely, Reggie." "Maybe I just need a little help, huh?" "That's Henry Wong, an old friend of mine." " He's looked better." " That's right." "Yeah, well, look, man," "I've been in this goddamn cell for two and a half years and I'm getting out in six months, all right?" "I ain't gonna do nothing to fuck myself up." "But if you came here to find out something from me, you come to the wrong person, 'cause I don't fuck my old friends over, man." "That's too bad, Reggie." "I thought maybe you were a smart boy." "But I guess if you were real smart, you wouldn't be a convict." "Yeah, I guess a second-rater like you would be no help" " with a hard case like Ganz." " Ganz?" " Right." " Man, Ganz is in jail." "He's gonna be there two years after I get out." "Didn't work out that way, Reggie." "A big Indian busted him out." "They capped two guards on a road gang." "See you later." " Yo, Cates." " Yeah?" "I can help you get Ganz, but you gotta get me out of here first." "You're crazy." "I'm serious." "I can help you get him, but I gotta be on the street." "What's the big deal being on the street?" "Let's just say I got a lot to protect, all right?" "I want Ganz as bad as you." " Neither one of us ain't got no time." " Bullshit!" "No, that's serious shit!" "You want Ganz, get me out of here." "I'll think about it, Reggie." "Cates." "Cates!" "You gotta get me out of here, man!" "Get me out of here, Cates!" "Cates!" "Fuck you!" "Let me borrow your pen, Bob." " You gonna use your own name?" " Shit, no." "Jack, if all this comes down, you don't know me." "I'm not gonna burn for you." "And I'll tell you something else." "If it all comes down, your ass is new-mown grass." "All right." "You got him for 48 hours." "Sure thing." "You know, you got a big career as a forger if you decide to go that way." "Thank you, Bob." "I'll ring security." "Wouldn't talk down to you" "Hammond." "Okay, send him through." " You gotta sign for him." " Yeah." "Sure thing." " He's all yours." " All right." "See how you needed me a little more than you thought, huh, Mr. Cates?" "I decided you're as good a chance as I got." "That shows you how desperate I am." "This prison give out $400 suits?" "$957, and I wore this shit in." "We're after a killer, not a bunch of hookers." "Yeah, well, I got a reputation for looking real nice with the ladies, man." "Maybe when we get out, I can take you to a couple of spots, we can get you dressed up, and we can go on a little pussy hunt." "I don't want to hear your jive." "Already got that department taken care of." " You got a lady, Cates?" " Yeah." "You know, the generosity of women never ceases to amaze me." "You know that?" "Hey, don't even try this shit, man." "I don't work like this." "No deal." "Listen, we ain't got no deal." "I own your ass!" "Ain't no goddamn way to start a partnership." "Now, get this." "We ain't partners, we ain't brothers, and we ain't friends!" "I'm putting you down and keeping you down until Ganz is locked up or dead." "And if Ganz gets away, you're gonna be sorry you ever met me!" "I'm already sorry." " This your car, man?" " Yeah." "Look like you bought it off one of the brothers." "All right, I did my part and I got you out, so now you do yours." "Where we going?" "We gotta go see a guy named Luther." "Ganz will be going to see him soon." "We ain't got that much time, though." " Is Luther part of the gang?" " What gang you talking about, Jack?" "Hey, I can read a police file, shithead." "Quit calling me Jack." "It's just an expression, all right?" "I don't mean nothing by it." "I don't give a damn." "It happens to be my name." "What the hell you complaining for?" " At least nobody calling you shithead." " I may call you worse than that." "Right up there, man, and don't knock on the door." "He ain't expecting no company." "Luther ain't very stable, man." "And I don't want you getting shot before you get a chance to help me." "Oh, I'm helping you, huh?" "Slow down." "Right there, 232." "What's the chances he's packed?" "Been a while since I worked with him." "I'd say chances are probably about 100%." "You better leave me a gun or something, man." "I ain't sitting out here without no gun." "Sure thing, asshole." "Now, you just hang on." "Hope this big move of yours turns out to be something." "What's happening, Luther?" "I'm sorry about the door, man." "Did that hurt?" "It looked real painful when you slammed into it." "Luther, I'm talking to you." "Luther." "Luther!" "Hammond!" "Drop that goddamn gun!" "Hey, man, that's a dangerous game you're playing, man." "Don't point that gun at me, all right?" "Don't point your goddamn gun at me, all right?" "Hand me that gun or you're dead." "I'm looking for Ganz." "Where is he?" "Ganz?" "Haven't seen him for years." "That's the truth." "Look, asshole, you just took a shot at me." "I think you do know where Ganz is." "Who gives a fuck what you think?" "Yo, Luther, man, you better tell this boy something." "He's having a ball with this car door." "Luther!" "Are you angry with me?" "I don't know what you're smiling at, watermelon." "Your big move just turned out to be shit." "All right, all right, all right!" "Yeah, if I defend myself, I'm resisting arrest, right?" "Officer, I want to make a citizen's arrest!" "Shut up!" "What you got here, Jack?" "I got a punk here carrying a concealed weapon..." "All you cops are faggots!" "Resisting arrest." "I'll think up some more, file a report tomorrow." " I bet you will." " Yeah, I will." "Get him out of here." "Man, give me a 9:00 wake-up call." "Good-bye, Luther!" "I don't need a friend like you, Reggie!" "When do I get my phone call?" "Let me get my lawyer here!" "You're gonna be in trouble!" "Stay right here." " Okay?" " Get your hands off me!" "I'm not gonna take this from you." "That's no way to treat a lady." "No, you're not." "Excuse me, ladies, you seem to be in some need of assistance." "We've got enough problems." "We don't need some tight-assed, court-appointed lawyer trying to bullshit us." "Sweetheart, I'm not here to bullshit you." "I don't know whether or not you ladies know, but the city's coming down on people involved with unlawful carnal knowledge." "Hello?" "This is Jack Cates." "Any messages?" "Oh, just one." "Some lady called, says she's a little hotheaded sometimes, but she still wants her occasional roommate." "She says she'd like to talk it over tonight after she gets off work, if it's humanly possible." "Look, Elaine, I..." "I've got some stuff to do tonight." "I'm not going to be able to come by." "I don't know when I can." "Come on, Jack." "You're making me work too goddamn hard at this!" "Listen, god damn it." "If you think I'm happy about it, you're nuts!" "I just got a few things to take care of." "This is not the way people who care about each other are supposed to behave!" "Shit!" "I'm trying to say you're both going to do a little time, about 30 days each." "Unless, of course, we talk some real business." "So where do you want to do it, honey?" "Want to hop up on the counter?" "No." "We can go in this room over here, next to the bathroom." " Give me a break." " I'm dead serious." "Come on, we're on the move." "Let's go!" "Man, you know how close I was to getting some trim just now, and you fucked it up?" "Hey, well, my ass bleeds for you." "I didn't get you out so you could go on a trim hunt." "Stop moaning." "You know, speaking of moaning, my stomach is starting to growl." " We better go get something to eat." " We eat when I say we eat." "Hey, now, that's bullshit." "That's the last straw, all right?" "I want some food now." "If you don't like it, you take me back to the penitentiary and kiss my hungry black ass good-bye, all right?" "You took me out here, you've been treating me like shit since we first left, and I want some food in a nice place, in a nice atmosphere, with some good people." "Okay, hold it." "I'm hungry." "Let's go get something to eat." "I know a place, all right?" " All right, let's go." " All right." "I want some mandolins and some violins." "Yeah!" "There's your goddamn dinner." "Come on." "Who was that you called back on the phone, Jack?" "None of your goddamn business." "Just get in the car and keep your mouth shut." "Come on, man, I think it was your lady." "Why don't you tell me something about her?" "What's her problem, besides you?" "She got the same problem as half the goddamn population." "Can't get a job she's trained for, and it pisses her off." "She's bitching all the time." "What the fuck do you care?" "Hey, man, I'm in jail, remember that?" "I'm surrounded by guys wearing blue suits 24 hours a day." "I ain't built for that shit." "Yeah?" "The clothes you wear, you look like you'd love it." "All right, where to, convict?" "Mission District, catch us an Indian." "Yo, man, tell me about this girlfriend of yours." "When was the last time you got with her?" "I don't give out details." "Come on, man." "I've been in prison for three years." "I'm tired of hearing lies about pussy." "Man, when was it, last week, the week before?" "Last night." " Really?" " Yeah." " Was it fun?" " Yeah." "Christ." "Then in the morning, we got in a fucking argument." "At least you took care of business first, right, Jack?" "Right." "Yo, man, does she have, like, big, giant titties?" "I can see this is gonna be a long fucking night, convict." "Okay, what's the deal?" "It's a long shot, but Billy used to work at this club over here as a bartender." "I heard him talk about it before." "This neighborhood, they're gonna make me for a cop right away." "All right, you just back me up." "Pretend like you got a piece, all right?" "What the fuck I want to do that for?" "They may beat the shit out of me, but I guarantee you, they'll cut your black ass right up." "Oh, so you a bad-ass?" "You know, it's amazing how far a gun and a badge will take some guys." "Bullshit!" "Attitude and experience is what gets you through." "Come on." "I'm telling you, man, I've been in places like this before." "When white cops came to fuck with me and my friends, only thing that stopped us from kicking their ass, they had guns and badges." "Takes years of experience to handle a joint like this." "You want to bet?" "I got two problems." "Number one, I ain't playing fucking games." "Number two, you ain't got nothing to bet with." "Look, if we go in there and get a phone number or Ganz or a dead Indian, anything that helps us out, turn your back for a half-hour and let me go get some pussy." "What for?" "Any man talks about women like you can't get it up anyhow." "I been in prison for three years." "My dick gets hard if the wind blows." "All right." "You got a bet." "But when you lose, you tell me the truth." "What the fuck you talking about?" "Ganz didn't get out for nothing." "What's he after?" "I don't know what you're talking about, man." " I want to nail Ganz, just like you." " Fuck you!" "Bet's off." "All right, Cates, look." "If I lose, I'll tell you everything you want to know." "All right, you got a deal." "Hell, I'm gonna enjoy this." "I'm gonna even give you my badge." "You said bullshit and experience is all it takes, right?" "Right." "Come on in and experience some of my bullshit." "All right." "Let's see it." "Not a very popular place with the brothers." "It's my kind of place." "I always liked country boys." "They're sure as hell gonna like you." "Howdy." " How do." " Yeah?" "I'd like something to drink, preferably some vodka." "Maybe you'd best have a Black Russian." "Black Russian!" "You hear what he said?" "Black Russian." "That's a funny joke." "I get it." "I'm black." "Now, that's funny!" "No." "I'd just rather have plain old vodka." "That'd be nice." "You know, long as we're standing here talking and we're all friendly, I'm looking for a good old boy by the name of Billy Bear." "I was wondering if you might be able to help me find him." "Never heard of him." "Never heard of him before." "Never heard of Billy Bear, huh?" "Looky here!" "You fucking heard of him now, man?" "I don't know what the hell you're talking about." "Well, maybe you wouldn't mind if I looked around for a little while then." " I don't give a shit what you do!" " Good." "Never seen so many backwards-ass country fucks in my life." "It makes me sick just to be in here." "You boys look like regulars." "I'm looking for a guy named Billy Bear." "You know where I could find him?" "This is our place." "I don't give a shit what the fuck your badge says, nigger." "You're a big, tough country faggot, ain't you?" "You out of your fucking mind, man?" "Get up against that fucking pole!" "Think I'm playing a goddamn game, man?" "You out of your fucking mind?" "I'm gonna say it one more time, okay?" "This is a police matter, and I'm looking for an Indian named Billy Bear." "I know everybody in here wants to cooperate with me." "Hey, that's not even necessary, all right, man?" "I got this situation in hand." "Some of us citizens are behind you all the way, officer." " What's your fucking problem?" " I'm on parole." " That's why you're running away?" " Yeah." "Sit your country ass down, man." "All right, listen up!" "I don't like white people!" "I hate rednecks!" "You people are rednecks." "That means I'm enjoying this shit." "You loaded here." "Where the fuck did you get this?" " Tax refund." " That's bullshit." "You're too fucking stupid to have a job." "You don't like that?" "You don't like that shit?" "You hate that shit, right?" " What the hell kind of cop are you?" " You know what I am?" "I'm your worst fucking nightmare, man." "I'm a nigger with a badge." "That mean I got permission to kick your fucking ass whenever I feel like it." "All right, listen up, man." "One of them's underage, another one attacked a police officer, and I still ain't found what I'm looking for yet." "Well, look, I think you're on your way to being out of business, all right?" "Let's see what we can fuck with next." "Hey, man!" "All right!" "Okay!" "Now, listen." "The Indian hangs out with a chick who lives up the block." "Just head up the alley, across the street, where Chinatown starts, she lives on top of the jewelry store." "I didn't ask you shit about his girl, man." "Come on, give me a break, will you?" "You're gonna have to settle for her place 'cause it's all I know." "I'm telling you." "I'm giving you all I know!" "Well, look, hoss." "You start running a respectable business, and I won't have to come in here and hassle you every night." "Know what I mean?" "And I want the rest of you cowboys to know something." "There's a new sheriff in town." "And his name is Reggie Hammond." "Y'all be cool." "Right on!" " Let's go, man." " I think you got something for me." "What you talking about?" "Why don't you give me that gun you took off the redneck?" " Oh, you saw that!" " Yeah." "Here you go." "While you're at it, why don't you give me the switchblade?" "You saw that, too, huh?" "You don't miss nothing, Jack." "It was real smooth how I took it from him, right?" "Listen, man, you owe me a piece of ass, right?" "Why don't you just give me that gun?" "We'll call it even." "You did a good job, Reggie." "I guess you deserve a reward." "Here." "Fucking bastard." "That I am." "Let's go get us an Indian down the alley." "I don't think nobody's home, man." "Let's check around back." "Shit!" "I hope we have as much fun as we had in that hillbilly bar back there, man." "Don't bust your arm patting yourself on the back, convict." "You see the way I handled those boys?" "I tell you." "I'm on a roll." "If we see Billy in here, you let me take care of him, all right?" "Why don't you get a megaphone and announce we're coming?" "You make more goddamn noise than a busted chain saw." "What the hell they watching?" "I don't know." " Yeah, well, TV has changed." " Yeah." "Look at this!" " There." "That must be Billy's girlfriend." " Yeah." "Come on." " Police!" "Nobody move!" " Stay where you are!" "Okay, you'd just better drop it, or he's gonna get another one." "Man, listen to her." "The girl thinks she's Babe Ruth." "I said police!" "Now put the goddamn gun down!" "Don't give me that police shit." "You drop it." "Okay, look." "Don't shoot." "I'm just gonna reach for my badge." "I don't like this bullshit." "I've seen fake badges before." "Hey, sweetheart, this guy got a real itchy trigger finger, and he's a nervous cop." "You better listen to him, or you'll get your brains blown out!" "Shut up!" "I'm the calm type." "Now, I know you don't want me to shoot you, and I know you don't want to shoot me." "So come on, just hand me over the gun." "You assholes better be real." "Hey, let's just wait a minute here." "Let's see your badge." "I ain't got no goddamn badge." "I ought to hit you in your head with this thing." " Hey!" "Will you call the cops?" " Right." "Put that goddamn phone down!" "If you don't answer some questions, I'm gonna haul both your asses in!" "Shit." "All right." "Which one of you sees Billy Bear?" "Hey, look, it's none of your business, cop." "The son of a bitch isn't here, and he isn't coming back." "You guys can do better than that." "How about you?" "I haven't seen him for two weeks, and I don't think I'm gonna." "He owes me money." "Sounds like a real stormy romance." "I don't care much what it sounds like to you, cop." "All I know is that I went a couple of laps around the track with him, and I ended up with the short end of the stick." " Come on." " No, wait a minute, man." "I've been in prison for three years." "You know, if this lady's been getting the short end of the stick, maybe you'd like to go a couple laps around the track with us." "Fuck off." "Come on!" "Say, if you find Billy, tell him to stay out of my life." "I don't want any more of his macho bullshit." "Let's go." "This sucks." "A maniac gets a hold of my gun and runs all over the streets killing people with it." "So instead of being where I ought to be, home in bed with my gal giving her the high hard one," "I'm out here doing this shit, roaming around the streets with an overdressed, charcoal-colored loser like you." "Look, man, if you don't like it, why don't you just leave?" "I can take care of Ganz by myself, all right?" "Yeah, don't make me laugh." "You can't take care of shit." "You've been dicking me around since we started this turd hunt." "The only thing you're good for is games." "So far, what I got out of you is nothing." "Yeah, well, I'm real impressed with you, too, man." "It took a real skilled cop to kick in the bedroom door of a couple of dykes." "Luther knows more than he told me, and so do you." "Now, I want to know what the fuck this is all about." "I gave you 48 hours to come up with something, and the clock's running." "Yeah, well, maybe I don't like the way you asked me, all right?" "Who gives a goddamn what you like?" "You're just a crook on a weekend pass." "You're not even a goddamn name anymore." "You're just a spear-chucker with a number stenciled on the back of his prison fatigues." "All right, I'm through fucking around." "You tell me the truth, or you're gonna get the living shit beat out of you." "Oh, you're gonna kick my ass now?" "I think you've lost your mind, Cates." "Why don't you put your gun back in your holster and get in the car, and let's go?" "I'm serious." "I'm not in the mood." "And I'm just gonna end up fucking you up out here." "This is gonna be an embarrassment to you and the police force." "Let me explain one thing to you, nigger." "I fight dirty." "You little fucker." "You pushed me in the fucking garbage!" "Get the fuck off me!" "All right, you two, what's going on here?" " Nothing." " It's all right." "I'm a cop." "Yeah, sure." "Get your hands above your head!" "I'm too fucking tired to put my hands above my head." "My gun and badge are over there in the car." "Check it out, Bill." "Get in the car!" "Just what the hell is going on here?" "We got a burglary call." "Two women said a couple of hoods broke into their place posing as cops." "Yeah." "I was following a lead." "We rousted them." "Why don't you guys go sweet-talk 'em, straighten it out?" "I got a better idea." "Why don't you do it yourself?" "We've got better things to do than straighten out your messes." "I'll file a report tomorrow." "Yeah, well, I got to file a report tonight." "Yeah?" "Goes with the territory." "It's a good thing your friends came when they did, Cates." " I was getting ready to get in your ass." " Yeah?" "You want to try it again?" " You'd just call your buddies back." " They saved your ass, convict." "That's what you'll tell them down at the station house tonight." "Yeah." "Right." "I'll even put it in my report that way." "Yeah." "I bet you will." " How much do I owe you?" " 10 bucks." "Motherfucker." "Hammond!" "You come clean, or we're going again right here, right now." "I want to know what's going on between you and Ganz." "Look, man, I've been waiting for some money for a long time, all right?" "How much?" "Half a million dollars." "You starting to get the picture now?" "You're on the wrong side of the law-and-order business, Jack." "Just tell me about the goddamn money." "Me and some my friends hit a dealer during a sale." "It's the kind of money nobody reports stolen." "One of the guys turned around and dropped dime on me." "Happens to be the same guy that's running around shooting people with a certain cop's gun." "So he's after your money." "You know, you're a real bright cop!" "You know that, Jack?" "So how much you want, man?" " You want to split 50-50?" " Not likely, convict." "Oh, I can't have nothing now, right?" "I believe in the merit system." "So far you ain't built up no points, boy." "Oh, well, then, I'll be real good from now on, Mr. Cates." "Just tell me where the goddamn money is." "In the trunk of my car." "Right, partner." "But get this, man." "We ain't brothers, we ain't partners, and we ain't friends." "Now, if Ganz gets away with my money, you're gonna be sorry you ever met me." "I'm already sorry." " All right, where's the goddamn car?" " Be cool, man." "The car's parked." "For three years?" "Bullshit!" "Bullshit?" "I'll let you in on a little secret, Jack." "You just passed it." "Okay, now what?" "Now you get to play cop and watch that building back there." "I'm gonna get in the back seat and go to sleep." "You son of a bitch!" "You knew where the money was all along." "All we had to do was come here and wait." "Christ, I almost got my ass shot off twice for nothing!" "Yeah, well, being a cop is a hard job, Jack." "The building opens up at 7:00." "Wake me up at a quarter to." "I'll be back here asleep." "Shit!" "Jack, tell me a story." "Fuck you!" "Oh, that's one of my favorites." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." "I didn't want you sleeping on the job." "Yo, man, that place opens in five minutes." "You better go look for Ganz." "You took a big chance leaving it here all this time." "No, I didn't, man." "I knew Ganz was gonna be away for a while, and I knew Luther wouldn't cross me." "The boy ain't got no heart." "Guess what?" "Luther just crossed the street." "That's a damned shame, man." "The guy took a shot at a cop yesterday night, and he's running around on the street today." "The judicial system ain't shit." "Must've had a primo bail bondsman." "Hey, buddy, I want to pick up my car." " What's the name?" " Hammond." "Reggie Hammond." " This is three years old." " Yeah." "I've been busy!" "Hey, Al, get a load of this." "Bring down 29-012." "It's been here three years." "How about charging the battery?" " We take care of that every month." " Great." "Just great." " Thanks a lot." " Yeah." "There he is." "Goddamn!" "Look at all that dust on my car!" "Why the fuck don't he take it to a car wash?" "I didn't know you darker people went in for foreign jobs." "Yeah, well, I had no choice." "Some white asshole bought the last piece-of-shit sky-blue Cadillac." "Yo, man, I hope to God none of my fellas see me riding around in this car, man." "You really let this shit go bad." "What you don't understand is, I don't care how it looks." " It ain't got no class, Jack." " Class isn't something you buy." "Look at you." "You got a $500 suit on, and you're still a low-life." "Yeah, but I look good." "That goddamn suit is yours?" "Them suits was in style a couple years back." "Yeah, right." "If you ever switch from armed robber to a pimp, you're all set." " There's the money, Jack." " Yeah, right." "Look out, now!" "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Hey, you!" "Put that down!" "Luther!" "Luther!" "I'm going after the money, Jack." "Come on!" "Stay close to me." "Freeze!" "I'm a cop!" "Drop it, or you're all done!" "Well, look, just meet me at Vroman's and bring the shit, okay?" "Thank you." "Vodka with a twist!" "And I'd like to run up a tab, please." "Yeah, right." "Hey, babe." "My name's Reggie Hammond." "Well, so what?" " My name's Reggie Hammond." " I'm with somebody." "How you doing?" "My name's Reggie Hammond." "This ain't my night." " You look awful." " Yeah, well, so do you." "It's been a long day." "Long night, too, from what I heard." "Word's going around that in addition to losing Ganz for the second time, some soul brother beat the crap out of you." "Oh, bullshit." "You heard the story wrong." " Doesn't look like it." " Did anything come in yet?" "Any calls?" "Nothing." "Kehoe." "Ordnance." " Yeah?" " Reports are late, Cates." " Yeah." " I need 'em." " Yeah, I'll be in tomorrow." " 9:00 sharp." "Yeah, for Christ's sake." "You can depend on it." "Jesus!" "Bullshit." "I'm heading out for a while." "How about you?" "No, I got to wait for a call." "Okay, I'll see you in the morning." "You know, you really ought to get some rest." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Hello?" "Yeah." "He's here." "Cates." "For you." "Line 3." "Hey, motherfucker, where the hell are you?" "I'm at work, asshole!" "Where else?" "Elaine." "Oh, Jesus." "I'm sorry." "I thought it was somebody else." "Police business." "Yeah, no wonder you're so popular." "Look, I'm sorry about the way things have been lately." "I know I have not been acting real great." " Hey, Jack." " Yeah?" "Jack?" "I almost forgot." "That pal of yours from the vice squad wants you to call him." "Jack, are you still there?" "He said he rousted a bar with you last night." "Well, why in the hell didn't you tell me that before?" "Hey, I'm not paid to take your personal calls." "Well, what's the goddamn number, Kehoe?" "It's on my desk." "Find it yourself." "Elaine, I got to put you on hold for just a second." "No." "No, don't put me on hold!" "Jack, don't put me..." "You son of a bitch." "It's under the light." "Reggie Hammond." "Hammond, you son of a bitch." "Where the hell are you?" "Jack!" "How have you been?" "Yeah, I've been waiting for you to call." "Yeah." "I'm at Vroman's." "Vroman's in the Fillmore." "Yeah, I know you don't know about this place." "The brothers hang out here." "They probably wouldn't let your tight ass in." "All right, I'll be right there." "Don't move your ass." " Jack." " Yeah?" " Elaine's on the other line." " Oh, Jesus!" " Elaine?" " Jack?" "Fuck you!" "Shit." " Hey, listen, my name is Reggie." " I'm Candy." "Yo, look, Candy, if I don't get some trim before the night's over, I'm gonna bust." "What?" "Some trim, some mugambo, some sex." "Are you crazy?" "You can't ask me any better than that?" "Look, you don't understand." "It's 10:05." "By 10: 10, I want to be into some flesh, okay?" "Let's just go across the street over here." "Wait a second." "I don't have no money." "Do you have any money on you?" "You mean to tell me that you can't even pay for the room?" " Hammond!" " Hey, Jack, what's happening?" "I want you to meet my friend Candy." "This is Jack." " Hello." " And goodbye." "Well, maybe I'll see you later." "Yeah, I hope so." "You know, that's some rude shit to be pulling, man." "That's the second time this week." " Where's Luther?" " Where's Ganz?" "We missed." "No, we didn't miss nothing." "You missed, man." "Luther went and took a cab to that hotel across the street, and he made a phone call." "Maybe we should pay him a visit." "Don't make no sense to go get him." "He left an 8:00 wake-up call, put a "do not disturb" sign on his door, and tomorrow morning, he'll go and exchange the money for the girl." "Only thing that's going to stop us from catching Ganz is going blind, man." "Why didn't you just take the money and split?" "I could've did that, but I want Ganz just as bad as you do." "I'll let you in on a little secret, Jack." "Ta-da!" "Keep it." "I'm too tired to argue about that." "Thanks for calling." "You know, I..." "Well, "nigger" and "watermelon," I didn't mean that stuff." "I was just doing my job, keeping you down." "Yeah, well, doing your job don't explain everything, Jack." "Yeah, you're right." "Well, as long as you're feeling like Abraham Lincoln..." "Listen, you see that girl over there that you just made walk away?" "Yeah." "She would love to take me to the hotel across the street and fuck my brains out, but I ain't got no money for a room." "I got..." " I got a 20." "Yeah." " This should be fine." "Have fun, huh?" " I'm going to have sex, Jack." " Yeah." " You come here often, home?" " Yeah." "This is my favorite place." "Hey, this is my wife!" "You whispering in my wife's ear?" "I got rent money for one night!" "Lack of pussy make you brave, man!" "Come on, let's go." "Excuse me, brothers." "Excuse me." "So where do you want to go?" "We can go right across the street to the hotel if you want." "All right." "Oh, shit." "Come on." "Excuse me." "Excuse me, please." " Excuse me." "Excuse me." " Hey, wait a minute." "I'm sorry." " That was quick." " Luther's on the move, man." "Open your coat." "Both sides." " Let her go." " Money first." "Just show me!" "Set it there." " Rosalie, are you okay?" " Luther!" "What are you talking about, huh?" "I said I wouldn't hurt her, didn't I?" "A bus!" "You goddamn whiskey mick cop!" "You lost a stolen bus!" "I got five deaths related to Ganz!" "And you blow it for a lousy nigger convict!" "That's right!" "I called him a nigger!" "You bet I did!" "Come on." "Now, I saw the report on that little piece of shit." "If he's spent one legal day in his life, it'll be a record!" "And this is it for you!" "Suspension, review board!" "You've had it!" "As soon as it get round you protected a con rather than nail a cop killer..." "Wait a minute, god damn it!" "I'm gonna tell you something about this man." "He's got more brains than you'll ever know!" "He's got more guts than any partner I ever had!" "Just 'cause you say it with conviction, it don't mean shit to me!" "Let's get out of here." "And where the Christ do you think you're going?" "Don't you think you're being kind of hard on the guy?" "You go fuck yourself, convict!" " How'd my car get here?" " I had it impounded." "We'll use it to take you back to the slam." "Now, wait a minute." "Ganz got away with all my money, and you're going to take me back to jail in my own car?" "Somehow this shit just don't seem right." "Yeah, a lot of things don't seem right." "I don't know about you, but I could use a drink." "I'll buy." "It'll be my goodbye present." "I feel real bad, Jack." "I feel like I let you down." "No, you didn't let me down." "Hell, it was a long shot." "We gave him a hell of a run, though." "But we didn't catch him, man." " Hello?" " Yeah, let me talk to Kehoe." "Yeah." "Hold on." "Kehoe, answer the damn phone." "It's for you." "Hold on." " Yeah?" " Kehoe, how's it going?" "Not so good." " What about the other guys?" " They're all on the street." " How about the airport?" " It's clean." " Train station?" " Same deal." "They dumped the bus in Chinatown." "Other than that, we got nothing." "All right." "I'll get back to you later on." "Nothing." "No Ganz, no Indian." "Airport's clean, bus station, train stations, docks..." "Shit." "That's too bad, Jack." "Looks like the partnership ended before it got a chance to start, huh?" "Yeah, some partnership, huh?" " What's up with your lady?" " Hell, we had another fight." "Why?" "If I was depressed and had a lady, I'd go see her, man." "It'd make me feel better." "I figure you wanted to do the same thing." "Nah." "I'll make it up to her tomorrow." "You think that big Indian will go down to Chinatown" " and try to patch it up with his girl?" " No, man." "Billy's girl don't want to see him." "I don't think he'll be going back there." "Well, they got the bus down in Chinatown." "Jack, you're reaching for shit now, all right?" "Yeah, but you're the one that said when you're on the run, you go back and visit your girl." "Yeah, but Billy's girl don't have no interest in his crotch, Jack." "She want to put some bullets in his behind." "Yeah, I am reaching." "What the hell." "You got important things to do, like going back to jail." " Chinatown, huh?" " Yeah." "There she is, Jack." "Whatever play I make, you just back me up." "Come on." " I hear you got visitors." " Would you guys..." "Shut up." "Don't give me any crap." "Answer my questions or I'll tear your fucking lungs out." "You're Billy's girl, aren't you?" "You've always been his girl." "Listen, the man can live or die." "It's up to you." "Let us in and he has a chance to make it." "Otherwise, he's a dead man." "He's in the first room down the hall." "Where's Ganz?" "He's in the back, down the other corridor." "All right." "Come on." "Give it up, Billy." "You got no chance." "Billy, you're going to lose." "Get down!" "Come on!" "Help me!" "Oh, God!" "Oh, God!" "It's all over." "Oh, God damn you!" "You ought to know, Reggie, if you come up against me, you're going to lose." "Now, come on." "There's one more little thing I got to take care of." "Hey, cop!" "Come on!" "I got something for you!" "You're not going to make it." "What are you talking about?" "I got your gun." "I got the money." "I got everything." "Take aim, man, and blow his fucking brains out!" "Bullshit!" "He ain't gonna try it." "Right, cop?" "Are you crazy, man?" "I was just bluffing!" "I got hit." "I don't believe it." "I got shot!" "You're done." "End of story." "You..." " I got to go, okay?" " Okay." "Look, here's a little something for you." "I told you I wasn't a pro." "Take that and buy yourself something nice." "I'd do it, but I'm in a rush, okay?" "I got a cop waiting for me downstairs." "I'll be back in about six months." "We'll get together and go out and have a good time, all right?" "We'll go dancing or something." "Okay." "You take care of yourself." "You, too." "Bye." "I'll see you later." "All right." "Bust my chops." "Tell me how great you were with that chick in there." "I'm not going in for all that macho shit, Jack." "I was great." "I should have my dick bronzed." "This what you want to talk about?" "Hey, come on, Jack." "That's not fair." "I've been waiting for that money for three years." "What happened to all that merit system shit you was talking about?" "It's your money." "It'll be there in six months when you get out." "And you don't want any of it?" "Not my style." "I need a car." "How about loaning me a couple thousand when you get out?" "What kind of car you want?" "Convertible." "I'm a rag top man." " Deal." " Good." "But even if you do give me the money for a car, it don't mean shit." "If I ever hear of you crossing the line, I'll bust your ass." "Now, Jack, the both of us know that I'm gonna be an honest man from now on, right?" "Good." "But if I did decide to be a thief, what makes you think you can catch me?" "Can I have my lighter back, Reggie?"