"My chest, it's, like, burning up." "All right." "Let's go back, Vince." "Please, back." "What am I gonna do, take back that knife I left in that guy?" "And give back a pound of 100% pure snow?" "You must be a comic, kiddo." "I don't want to die, Vince." "Do you know what this will bring when I break it down?" "Vince!" "Miserable..." "Hey!" "At least you got a nice clean ambulance." "It's more than some of us get." "We interrupt this program to bring you a hot-off-the-wire bulletin." "Two criminals have escaped from the maximum security prison at San Quentin a few hours ago." "Vincent Ryker and William Dabner stabbed and killed one guard, wounded another guard and the prison physician." "They reached the rear of the hospital, leaped into the parked ambulance and roared through the gate before prison officials could stop them." "Smart thinking, huh?" "We have not been able to determine the extent of the guards' and Dr. Corce's injuries." "Warden Merrick has just issued a statement to the press that both men are desperate and considered extremely dangerous." ""Extremely dangerous. "" "Dabner is described as 5'6", 155 pounds, blond hair, blue eyes." "Vince Ryker is 6'1", brown curly hair and brown eyes." "They are believed headed south." "All the way to LA, Daddy." "Warden Merrick also warns civilians that these men are probably heavily armed..." "Heavily armed is right." "A million bucks." "Ryker and Dabner are not to be approached." "Stay tuned for further hot-off-the-wire details." "And now back to soft music till dawn." "Bunch of lying cops." "Boy, thanks, mister." "Things are tough, huh, kiddo?" "It's that jailbreak." "They're all passing me up." "They're afraid, I guess." "I could be one of them cons dressed up like a sailor." "Well, maybe you are." "How do I know?" "Want me to get out?" "Nah, I'll take a chance." "Hop in the back." "Sack out for a while." "Thanks a lot, Mister, uh..." "Justin, Vince." "This is sure swell of you, Vince." "Another one." "You'll have to get out of the car." "Okay, sleeping beauty." "What time is it?" "8.00." "License please." "Just your license." "I.D. Card?" "Hey, this is the fourth one of those things." "You're not the only one, Mr. Justin." "Where're you coming from?" "Monterey." "I left last night, about midnight." "You didn't break any speed laws, that's for sure." "I'll leave the speed stuff up to the young kids." "What do you do?" "Salesman, cosmetics." "Where do you live?" "It's right there on the registration." "I know." "624 North 8th Street, San Diego." "Okay." "Okay, get in." "Where'd you get picked up, sailor?" "Gee, I don't know." "It was about two or three hours ago." "What's his name?" "I was practically asleep when he told me." "It's, uh, uh..." "Justin!" "Yeah, that's right, Justin." "I'm sorry, Mr. Justin, I'm not very good on names." "Forget it." "How about it?" "I've got a million people to see." "So have we, Mr. Justin." "We bring you a special news bulletin from police headquarters." "Police have just identified one of the two bodies found in the charred wreckage of the ambulance used in the daring San Quentin escape last night." "The other body is now listed as a John Doe." "A tri-state alarm has been issued for Vincent Ryker." "It is suspected Ryker killed a passing motorist and has used the body in his effort to confuse police." "We will continue to interrupt our regular program to bring you the latest developments." "Some confusion." "He's one man, holding the lives of three million people in his hands." "The people should know, Mark." "What?" "That Ryker is loose with a cylinder of death that could wipe out a city?" "That we don't know where he is?" "We'd start a first-class panic." "We could evacuate." "Excuse me, Lieutenant." "Yeah?" "Will there be anything else, sir?" "No, you'd better go down to traffic, see if anything's come in." "Yes, sir." "Where could we put three million people, with no guarantee that Ryker wouldn't be right in the middle of them, no matter where we send them?" "June?" "Oh, Vince." "Vince, it's been such a long time." "So long." "Could have been longer." "I didn't want you out this way." "When I heard..." "Not this way." "What difference does it make?" "I'm out." "That's what counts, isn't it?" "That counts most." "Let me take a look at you." "You haven't changed." "You have changed." "The first year you take it and the second year you change, then you get out." "Not this way." "What difference does it make?" "I'm out the right way." "Could you have waited eight years?" "I'd have waited." "For what, an ex-con?" "Do you know the difference between a con and an ex-con?" "Well, there isn't any." "You're just dead meat, dishwashing the rest of your life." "And what are you now?" "I'm plenty, because I've got plenty." "Enough so you won't ever have to work and worry again." "I told you, Vince, I don't want that much." "Darling, I told you before..." "But, baby, you've got it." "We can go places, live big." "Yes, Vince." "What do you think I am, some kind of animal or something?" "Don't you think I know what's good in life and what's bad?" "I know what's good." "So do you, and you want it as bad as I do." "Whatever you say, Vince." "I'm not an animal." "I'm a person." "I want things, especially you." "Excuse me." "I'm Dr. John Wallace." "I'm looking for Lieutenant Mark Richards." "Yes, Doctor, they're expecting you in here." "Thank you." "Dr. Wallace." "Am I glad to see you." "You sounded as if you might be over the phone." "Chief Jensen, this is Dr Wallace, of the Air Pollution Control District." "Glad to see you, Doctor." "Glad to know you, sir." "He's the radiological coordinator." "I'm going to give it to you fast, Doctor." "Last night, a convict by the name of Vince Ryker escaped from San Quentin, after stealing what he believes to contain a pound of pure heroin." "What do you want with me?" "It doesn't contain heroin." "It contains cobalt-60 in granular form." "Cobalt-60?" "Just how powerful is it, Doctor?" "Well, it's easily dissipated and spread." "And in granular form it's the most deadly thing in existence." "Contamination begins almost immediately." "Within 84 hours, you're dead." "We know that, Doctor." "Is it in a lead casing?" "No, it's in a steel cylinder." "It's being used under controlled volunteer experiments at the prison hospital." "Steel is worthless against those rays." "What if this Ryker opens it?" "We're just praying that he doesn't." "If other people are exposed to the cylinder, they'll become contaminated too, even if Ryker doesn't open it." "That's what we're worried about." "How big is the cylinder?" "Vince, where did you get all the makeup?" "I got it from a friend of mine." "We sort of changed identities for a while." "I'll be right out, baby." "Mmm-mmm, you stay there a minute." "I want to look beautiful for you." "Two years, Vince." "I want you to think me beautiful." "What are you doing?" "Nothing." "Come here." "I'm gonna make this night last." "The police are gonna pick you up, you know that?" "I know." "We won't be seeing each other for a while." "Vince, can't we?" "We can't." "They'll be watching you." "They know about us." "Won't be long, will it?" "Well, as quick as I can make it." "Then I come back and I'll have a bundle, and you and I can go away and live somewhere as long as we want." "Vince, I love you so." "I've waited so long." "He's got to be in the city by now." "What good are roadblocks if we don't know what to look for?" "There's no protection against it?" "Yes, there is." "Line up every man, woman and child and issue them a lead suit and a Geiger counter." "Mark, that man must be found..." "How many men in your radiological unit?" "About 25." "That you can trust to be silent?" "They've all been trained in panic control." "They won't talk." "The cobalt is probably in a confined space." "It won't be easy to detect from any great distance." "Yeah, that Ryker's got all the luck on his side." "All right, Doctor, brief your men and send them out." "Washington had better be notified, sir." "Washington, DC." "It's urgent, please." "I'll be in my office." "Yes, Hank?" "Excuse me, Lieutenant, but I have three of them waiting, including the girlfriend." "Only three?" "Two of them are in stir back east and one of them's dead." "The others are transient, address unknown." "Ryker never had any friends." "Well, let's get to it." "Where's Ryker?" "I don't know." "I didn't know anything two years ago, and I don't know anything now." "Miss Marlowe, we want Ryker, fast." "I think you'd want to help." "I told you, I don't know where he is." "But you were very close." "Very close." "Close enough that he confided in you, introduced you to his friends." "Vince is the strong, silent type, and if he had any friends he never brought them around." "We liked to be alone." "All right, Miss Marlowe, you can go." "Thank you very much." "Keep yourself available." "Would you like the key to my apartment?" "That won't be necessary." "But I suggest that if Ryker contacts you, you let us know immediately." "I will." "Then you can all come over and we'll have a party." "You have a lot of answers, miss." "I'll tell you a few." "You help Ryker, you become an accessory." "Every crime he commits, you commit." "Whenever he goes back to the penitentiary, you go along with him." "You can go." "We put a stakeout on her, Lieutenant." "I don't want her to know that." "Get Hallon in here." "Good morning, Lieutenant." "Mr. Crown." "Look, Lieutenant, I know why I'm here." "So Ryker worked for me a couple of months." "Ten." "I told you that at the trial." "Am I a marked man just because I give a guy a job?" "A man who was a pusher, and had a criminal record as long as your arm." "Well, that's the whole story." "I want to co-operate, believe me, but..." "Mr. Crown, if Ryker contacts you, you could be signing your own death warrant." "I've got nothing." "Ryker is dangerous." "If he isn't caught soon, he might become desperate, deadly." "Sure, I believe you, Lieutenant, but why should he contact me?" "You, uh..." "You received a letter from him," "February the 4th, last year." "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember." "It was something like," ""I'm not getting any letters" and what a swell guy I am, you know the sort of thing." "Did you answer it?" "Well, to tell you the truth, Lieutenant, I don't remember." "Are you sure?" "Look, Lieutenant," "I got a thousand things to think about in a year." "Owning an exclusive shoe store sounds fine, but it takes a lot of work to keep it." "Unless something's important, I don't remember it." "Did any of his friends ever contact you?" "Just his girl, once." "The reason I remember her is because once you've seen her, you've seen her." "All right." "Thanks a lot, Mr. Crown." "You can go." "Sure." "I'm sorry I couldn't help you any more." "I would if I could, believe me." "If Ryker contacts you, you let us know immediately." "Believe me." "Now ain't he the little dandy." "Do you know him?" "Huh?" "I said, do you know him?" "No, no, I, uh..." "I don't know him." "Sit down, Hallon." "Spit out the gum, Hallon." "Spit out the gum, Hallon." "Hallon..." "Give me Crestview 2-4-5-9-9, please." "Yes, sir." "Good evening, Crown's." "Eddie?" "Vince." "You must have the wrong number." "Look, don't get cute, Eddie." "I'm in no mood." "Do you know what's going on?" "I know what's going on, but you don't, not yet." "Listen to me..." "Hello, Eddie?" "Eddie?" "What's up?" "All right, honey, sure." "Cops, huh?" "No." "No, no, I'm not mad." "Uh, listen, hold on a minute." "Jeannie?" "Yes, Mr. Crown?" "I'll take this in my office." "Take care of your customer, sweetheart." "I'll hang up for you." "That's all right." "Thank you." "Is there something I can do for you?" "You sure make it hard to say no, honey." "But Mr. Crown will take care of me." "Get out of here." "Now, baby," "I'm just smart enough to know cops are smart." "So if Crown was called in, it's 'cause the cops figure Vince might contact him." "Why?" "Because they know something I don't." "What?" "I don't know." "But cops are smart, so I'll have to go along with them." "Smart?" "I've always been a soft touch for you, Pete." "That's just ended." "Okay, Mr. Crown." "Ah, Mr. Parker," "I won't have you leaving this establishment dissatisfied, believe me." "I don't know anything about Ryker." "Why should I?" "And you shouldn't be here." "The cops are probably watching both of us right now, putting two and two together like you're trying to do." "Why don't you be smart and forget it?" "How about a pair of alligator shoes?" "With my compliments." "We know he's here somewhere, but where?" "We haven't any leads." "We don't even know what identity he's using." "A stakeout on a girl's apartment and a couple of bars in 600 square miles." "I tell you, Mark, it's ridiculous." "It's only been 46 hours." "Forty-six years, Mark." "The people have a right to know what's facing them." "They won't know who's facing them any more than we do." "Everyone will be under suspicion." "The phone lines will be jammed with false reports." "The people will be driven to it, they'll be scared, just like we are." "The only difference is, we get paid not to show it." "Huh." "I don't think we're being fair." "They might take it more calmly then we think." "Look at the English during the Blitz." "They knew where the bombs were coming from." "Well, we could have the mayor go on television and radio and explain it carefully and calmly." "Ryker might have that thing open right now." "I don't think so." "Why not?" "If it were floating, we would have detected it by now." "He's gonna need some kind of tools, too." "But as for telling the people, it's an alternative we wouldn't choose, but it's one we've got." "You could tell them it won't wipe out the whole city." "There's not enough of it." "It's not a bomb." "However, it will contaminate entire farms, milk, butter, eggs, get carried into markets on meat and produce, into theaters and restaurants, get carried around by people on their clothes, on their shoes," "on insects and birds, and on children." "Then you'll have to describe the symptoms to watch out for." "Hoarse coughing, heavy sweat, horrible retching." "Then the blood begins to break down, then the cells." "If you merely touch your skin, the watered blood just oozes out of your pores." "Finally, you hemorrhage internally." "Blood fills the lungs." "I doubt if anyone can explain that calmly to three million people without touching off the worst panic in history." "Yes?" "Oh, it's for you, Doctor." "Yes?" "Oh, fine, Tony." "Now begin your cross section about four or five blocks from your original point." "Yes, fine." "Can we have another 24 hours?" "Yes." "What about Ryker's condition?" "It all depends how quickly he's become affected." "In some cases, it's only a matter of a few hours." "He could be coughing and perspiring right now." "Notify all hospitals and emergency medical centers to report all cases of nausea and upset stomach due to unknown causes." "The same thing applies to all doctors' answering services." "Yes, sir." "Open it up!" "Open it up!" "Who is it?" "I've been out there for 30 minutes making sure." "I told you today, I'm clean." "The cops still don't know a thing about me." "Oh, yeah?" "Well, June's place is staked out, and so are two other joints I used to hang out in." "What makes you so sure?" "What's the matter with you?" "Have you gone nuts?" "I spent over two years up in the joint." "I went through a lot of cops to get here." "They still don't even know who that stiff is." "So you've been lucky." "Don't push it." "Those clothes you're wearing look like they were made by a hopped-up tailor." "They're even pulling cops out of retirement to look for you." "I've been over this block 20 times, followed my phone line for seven blocks, that's what makes me sure." "Hmm." "You sound great." "Have some coffee and a sandwich, roast beef." "I've waited so long to eat, now I'm not even hungry." "Clothes are in the suitcase, with the hammer and the chisel." "I don't know what's wrong with me." "I've just been sweating and drinking and sweating and drinking some more." "You got a drink?" "No." "I should've stopped for one." "And expose yourself more?" "That would've been dumb." "Look, knock off this "nuts" and "dumb" stuff." "You're not talking to some punk." "I'm the guy that made you a lot of dough." "All right, Vince." "If you want to play big shot, play it with somebody else." "One word from me and you're out of business." "Look, who's hiding you?" "Taking care of you?" "And when they wanted to find out who supplied me, who told them to take a walk?" "Come on big with other people, but not with me." "Look, Vince, I got no argument with you." "Great." "Get yourself a pencil and paper and I'll hand you a half million." "Look, Vince, this is no time to..." "Oh, right now that feels better than anything." "You ready?" "All right." "One pound of snow, 440 grains to the ounce." "We cut it." "Where'd you get the stuff?" "They're conducting some secret junky tests up at Q." "Huh." "Does that hand you a laugh?" "There's no secrets where 3,500 cons live." "Boy, I feel rotten." "I just figured out why the cops haven't mentioned this." "They could follow a peddler right to you." "Believe me, that's it." "I knew that yesterday." "Yeah, but if they get into a bind about not finding you, they will release it." "So what?" "You know a junkie who can't smell a fix 100 miles away?" "Look, Vince, in 24 hours I can have you in Miami, then over to Cuba." "Sun, ocean, casinos, just taking it easy." "Sound good?" "Who buys in Cuba?" "Look, when the law finally gets around to realizing that you're gone, they have to figure that the stuff is gone too." "But it's here with me." "Things quiet down, get tucked away in the files, and we've got a million." "Well, I don't buy the Cuba bit." "Look, this stays, I stay, and you get rid of it when I say so." "Vince?" "It's Pete Hallon." "Then he did..." "What?" "He was in the store when you called." "He could have told the cops." "Well, if he did, I want him in here now." "You alone, Pete?" "You're kidding." "Well, look, I'll open the door and you put your arm in, real easy." "Vince!" "My arm!" "Now, the truth, are you alone?" "Oh, Vince!" "Please!" "I swear!" "Please!" "Things are rough all over." "How did you know I was here?" "Well I..." "I've been waiting for you, Vince boy." "You can use me, Vince." "It's big enough." "Rabbit Ears Pete." "Well, look, make yourself at home." "Have some coffee." "Twenty-five grand, no more." "On my word." "Where did you learn this one, Vince?" "I got a few." "You better burn those clothes." "Vince, it's dangerous for you to stay around here." "I'll work on it here tomorrow." "Patrol 32." "Patrol 32." "Patrol 32, would you contact Long Beach Police Department?" "Reading negative." "Patrol 23." "Patrol 23, code seven, 1300 block," "West Pacific Coast Highway." "Patrol 23." "Reading negative." "Patrol 18." "Patrol 18." "Location, Four, Baker, Queen, Four." "Reading, 10, Mike, roger." "Patrol 18, will you repeat?" "Patrol 18." "Location, Four, Baker, Queen, Four." "Reading, 10, Mike, roger." "Patrol 18, 10-4." "Unit 32 to headquarters." "Put me through to Dr. Wallace." "Wallace." "District five, covered." "No results." "Oh, okay, Timmons, you'd better start making another round right away." "Over." "Uh..." "Where's the chief?" "You want me to wake him up?" "No, I haven't got anything to tell him." "I don't know..." "Maybe our directives are all wrong." "We said, "From unknown causes only. "" "Every report of sickness has been from overeating, overdrinking, or intestinal flu." "Yes, Wallace." "No, no, Tony, nothing yet." "Chief, I would have awakened you, but..." "I wasn't sleeping." "If Ryker isn't in custody in 24 hours, I'm notifying the mayor." "Bill, you can't..." "That's my decision, Mark." "Not a minute longer." "You think I like it?" "I'm praying it won't be necessary." "We have to risk a panic in order to be prepared." "Unit 32 to headquarters." "Unit 32 to headquarters." "The last complete report coming in over an hour ago." "Well, at least he hasn't opened the cylinder yet." "It's almost 60 hours, John." "Won't that make it easier to detect?" "Not if it's in a confined space." "If Ryker..." "Jensen." "Timmons?" "That's my man." "The devil with roentgens." "Where?" "Fine." "Don't let anyone touch that car." "Doctor." "Wallace." "5100 block, the Palm Drive." "A car with a dead man in it." "Ryker?" "Could be." "He didn't die of radiation." "He was murdered." "Well, then someone must..." "Got there first and now has the cobalt." "Let's go." "Have a car ready for Lieutenant Richards." "Have all units in the Palm Drive area proceed there at once." "Talk to a man named Timmons until Lieutenant Richards gets there." "Yes, sir." "Have an ambulance and tow truck proceed to the same area." "It's still holding over 200 points there, Doctor." "Say, this guy's been yapping about a hot car with Ryker dead inside, Lieutenant." "That's right, Sergeant." "But that ain't Ryker in there, Lieutenant." "It's gotten into the metal, John." "Pete Hallon!" "Had a chance to go through it?" "It's not in there, Lieutenant." "It would have registered." "Say, what's this all about, Lieutenant?" "Never mind, Sergeant." "Let these boys handle it." "Just keep these people moving." "That car's been completely stripped, too." "Registration, license plates." "There's not even an old matchbook cover in there, Lieutenant." "Not all, Timmons." "Raise that hood, get the motor number." "This may be Ryker's big mistake, John." "Let's just hope we have time to take advantage of it." "Unit one to unit two." "Go ahead, Mark." "Pete Hallon found dead in an unidentified car." "Hallon?" "What about the other thing?" "It's gone." "Suspect this is the missing car." "Getting the..." "Oh, here's the engine number." "L" " H-V-1-3-0-2-6-5-4-5-7-A." "Repeat." "L" " H-V-1-3-0-2-6-5-4-5-7-A." "Good, Mark, I'll get to it myself." "Out." "At least that still leaves Ryker." "Oh, man, am I sick." "Here's a special bulletin from police headquarters." "A little more than an hour ago," "Police discovered the body of Pete Hallon, a petty hoodlum and former acquaintance of Vincent Ryker." "The body was found in a car believed to be the one stolen by Ryker during his daring escape from San Quentin three days ago." "A note of mystery was added as newsmen reported the presence of some men with strange instruments who were carefully handling the car and Hallon's body." "Chief of Police Jensen was unavailable for comment." "Yeah?" "I just heard, Vince." "What are you trying to do?" "Look, Eddie, don't cry over bums." "Well, you didn't have to kill him." "Vince, you'll have to get out of town." "Don't start that again." "Do you know what you've done?" "The cops..." "Cops!" "Cops!" "Look, I'm sick of hearing about cops." "This cold is killing me, my nose is even bleeding." "Cold!" "Nosebleed!" "Listen to me, Vince..." "Shut up, will you?" "Look, I don't have any wheels, so..." "So why don't you pick me up in a half hour, and get me some penicillin or something." "That wouldn't be very smart, my picking you up, I mean." "Look, what're you trying to pull, Eddie?" "Use your head, Vince." "We're both in this." "I'm the only chance we've got to keep out of it." "Believe me." "Eddie, I told you that I..." "Listen to me!" "The car, the car's got to get tabbed." "I stripped the car." "The motor number, it can be traced through the..." "DMV doesn't have a record of it here, Lieutenant." "Ah, naturally." "Call Sacramento." "Ask them to relay the information directly to the police of the resident city and have them contact us." "That'll save a little time." "Yes, sir." "Oh!" "So I like beautiful things." "Thank you." "Jeannie, be the boss for a while." "I'll be back about 2.30." "Send out another one." "No, I'm sorry." "Lieutenant Richards has no comment." "Yes?" "Oh, I'm sorry." "You'll have to get that information from the chief's office." "Right." "And I've got it." "Hank, check the reports from General Hospital." "Yes, sir." "Still the same?" "Yeah." "I want all of Hallon's clothes and effects immediately." "Still the same." "Nothing new on this end either." "Well, this is Hallon's stuff." "The clothes had a very low count." "But by the nail head of these shoes, we figure he was exposed about an hour." "Oh!" "Yes, I think we have this style." "I'll check in the back." "You look..." "Sick?" "You make me sick, Eddie." "Where've you been?" "You're..." "Getting excited about nothing." "Just like you when you glom onto this, huh?" "Where've you been?" "Getting a suit altered." "Shirt, socks, the works." "Ticket to Miami." "You leave at 11.00 tonight." "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" "You'd really like that." "You'd like to handle this too, huh?" "Well, I'm going to stay, whether you like it or not." "Look, Vince, I've been trying to get along with you." "It's an easy ride for a half a million." "That stuff is dead in this town." "Nobody'll touch you but me." "And you know it." "The dumbest thing you did was to kill Pete." "The cops will be questioning everybody who knew him." "It isn't like you." "You're a lone wolf." "He was a leech, everybody knew him." "He could have told anybody." "That's your word." "Yes, it's my word, and the only one you've got." "I've got the key to your freedom." "You better slow down." "No, Vince, you slow down." "And until you do, I do nothing for you." "What do you mean by that?" "You're the big shot." "I've got the experience." "Think about it." "I just did." "Lieutenant Richards." "What?" "Great!" "Hold it!" "Get me a car." "Uh, take this down." "Yeah?" "Yellow Cab Garage." "Cab number 3-0-4-5." "All right, wait there." "John, a hot cab." "Hank, check this stuff out." "Shirt." "Shoes." "Shoes." "Genuine alligator." "Look, how long are you gonna keep the cab tied up?" "As long as necessary, Mr. Millikin." "I'll see that you get a receipt for it." "Oh, certainly, certainly." "Ah, uh-huh, I told you." "Fifty or sixty pick-ups, at least." "I'll have to keep this." "Well, I have to have it back, you know, our record..." "I'll see that you get it back." "Yes?" "I've just talked to the driver, Sam." "He's a little confused but on his way to the lab." "The other driver that we got has nothing to worry about." "Hmm." "Hollywood Garage." "Yeah, right here." "Oh, thanks." "Richards." "Yes, Hank?" "You stay right there." "Notify Chief Jensen." "Thanks." "Ryker's not smart." "We're just stupid." "Where's the manager?" "Get everyone out!" "Watch this alley!" "Mark, this room is burning up." "That's Ryker's work, all right." "Call my office." "What?" "Somebody's murdered..." "Just a minute." "Call my office, tell Sergeant Johnson what we found here." "How long have you been in this room?" "I don't know." "Maybe 10 minutes." "Get this girl to a hospital right away for a complete check-up." "Here, leave that with me." "Do you think the cobalt's in here?" "I don't know, the room is hot enough to be." "Mark!" "Yeah?" "It's been here!" "The shavings are from that canister." "A dead end." "Another dead end." "Yes." "Yes, yes, I understand." "Yes, all right." "I said, all right!" "Don't tell me." "Let me guess." "The mayor." "Blasting the whole thing wide open, and what a mess." "What is it?" "It still holds." "At 1.00, he's pulling the switch." "He's going to inform the public of what we're up against, and he's going to make an appeal to Ryker to give up the cobalt." "He can't!" "He..." ""We can't jeopardize people's lives any longer," he says." "Oh, I know what your feelings are, Mark, but we do know the cobalt is in the city, and we could get the children out at least." "What about the panic?" "Well, we'll try to control it." "Try?" "You'll try..." "We're going to sound a general alert." "As soon as the sirens go off, we'll close up the city." "We'll move in and batten things down and try to keep them in line." "At 1.00, the mayor goes on radio and television to inform the public and..." "And to make a plea to Ryker." "Do you think Ryker's going to believe you?" "Look, we've been lucky so far." "The moment he hears that report, he's going to open up that canister just to see what's inside." "Somebody's got to know something." "You've tried them all." "They're all dead, except for the girl." "I'll get her in here, I'll keep at her until I find out something." "There isn't time." "I'll keep after her until time runs out." "Here she is, Lieutenant." "I don't know why you've brought me down here again." "But I don't like it and I don't like you." "Hank." "Won't you sit down?" "I'm not going to be here that long." "Where's Ryker?" "I don't know." "You were very good friends, you were going to be married." "I haven't seen him." "I know you have." "You don't know anything." "I haven't seen him, can't you understand?" "How did you find him?" "I haven't." "I've never seen him." "I don't know where he is." "Just leave me..." "Just leave me alone." "We'd better get this girl to the hospital right away, Mark." "Hank, emergency." "Mr. Justin!" "What's going on in there?" "Go away." "Are you drunk or something?" "Well, you've got this room in a fine state!" "You get out." "Look at that!" "You'll pay for it." "I'll see to that!" "You get out." "Going around breaking up things!" "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" "You get out, or I'll kill you, you old witch." "Dr. Wallace?" "Yes." "Dr. Perrin?" "Yes." "Lieutenant Richards." "How do you do?" "How do you do?" "Is it what we thought?" "Oh, yes." "It's a very high count." "That girl is in serious condition." "I see." "Well, remember, Doctor, this is in strict confidence." "Oh, yes, of course." "Do you know what this is?" "It's a Geiger counter." "That clicking means that you have radioactive poisoning." "I just fainted." "Oh..." "You're a very sick girl." "What do you mean?" "I'm not sick." "Yes, you are." "Miss Marlowe, you have radioactive poisoning." "Ryker thinks he has heroin in that canister." "But it isn't heroin." "It's radioactive cobalt-60, and it's killing him." "Do you understand?" "It's killing him." "No, you're lying..." "You're a very sick girl, but Ryker is dying." "If we get to him soon enough, there's a chance we can save him." "A slim chance, but a chance." "To throw him back into prison?" "Look, I don't know how much you love him, but even prison is better than death." "He's here, all right." "We can't stay in here longer than a couple of minutes, Mark." "He's gone!" "Get everybody out of here." "I don't want anyone near." "Call for more units," "I want this whole area roped off." "HDQ to all units." "You are instructed not to approach suspect until the arrival of proper personnel." "Unit 11 to HDQ." "Have received instructions." "Over." "Coffee." "Yeah, yeah, sure." "That'll be a dime." "Hey, what's the matter?" "You sick or something?" "We interrupt this program to bring you a special broadcast from Mayor Benjamin Garrett." "Ladies and gentlemen, His Honor, Mayor Garrett." "My fellow citizens..." "Those guys, they can talk anytime." "It is my unhappy duty to inform you of a grave and immediate crisis in our city." "I ask you not to be alarmed." "Only by our being calm can we avert a possible disaster." "A few days ago, a metal container was stolen from the prison hospital at San Quentin." "Say, have you been drinking or something?" "Mind your own business." "This cylinder was believed to contain a large supply of heroin." "Instead, it actually contains a substance known as cobalt-60, a highly radioactive material." "Cobalt-60 is one of the most dangerous elements in existence." "Look, fella, I don't want any sick or drunk people around here." "Maybe I'd better call an ambulance, huh?" "He is a dying man with no hope..." "Fella, please, why don't you go, huh?" "Shut up!" "I beg him not only to save his own life but the thousands of other lives that can become fatally contaminated if the canister is opened and the cobalt allowed to escape." "Now, please listen to me." "The canister does not contain heroin." "It is certain death unless you give it up right now." "No, it's worth a million!" "Vince Ryker, I beg you to do as I ask." "To all of you listening..." "It's a lie!" "It's worth a million." "...At desperate speed to bring Ryker to justice, and already Civil Defense units are preparing to evacuate all children in the event Ryker succeeds in eluding the..." "Hold it!" "You're finished, Ryker." "No!" "It's not that stuff." "It's worth a million." "It's not even worth your life." "Give it to me." "There's still a chance to pull you through." "Lying..." "Come on, I want to go home."