"Since 1970, the federalwitness protection program has relocated thousands of witnesses-- some criminal, some not-- toneighborhoods all across the country." "Every one of those individuals sharesa unique attribute distinguishing them from the rest of the general population." "And that is,somebody wants them dead." "South Central Los Angeles,California" "Come on, lawrence,hurry up." "I'm not supposedto be here." "Oh, you're not supposedto be here?" "Well, now thatI understand this is a "not supposed to"situation, god help us!" "Help us!" "We in a "not 'upposed to" sitch-ee-ay-shun!" "You think this is funny." "Yeah, I do." "And you know it." "Yeah, well,we'll see how funny my father thinks you are when he finds out you dragged me down here." "Hey, you dragged me." "And I'll be sureto tell him that too." "Aw, girl,you'd play me like that?" "A'ight, a'ight,I see how you be." "Oh, yeah?" "What do you see,lawrence parker?" "Dang, shorty, how'd you get all the cakein them jeans?" "Don't trip, lawrence." "Let's just go." "Come on, chica,at least turn around so I can see the rest." "She won't turn." "She too good for us." "And he's too chicken." "You in the wrong hood, homes." "At least I'm inthe right country!" "lawrence, leave it alone, please!" "Yeah, lawrence... please." "No!" "Lawrence!" "Please help me, someone!" "WITSEC ID:.........." "I think my least-favorite phrase in the human language is "I'm sorry."" "Los Angeles,California" "Nine times out of ten when a person says they're sorry, they're really only sorry they got caught and now want me to forgive 'em for something I'm still pissed off about." "Which puts me in the unhappy position of either saying "up yours"" "and looking like a total bitch, or saying "I forgive you," and feeling like a total schmuck." "And that's why I hate the phrase..." "I'm sorry, but that stewardesshad a bad attitude, plain and simple." "I don't know how you candefend that behavior." "Did it ever occur to you thatperhaps our flight attendant didn't appreciatebeing called "stewardess"?" "Yeah, well, I didn'tparticularly appreciate our stewardess hittingon my travel companion." "Just assumingwe weren't a couple." "Crap!" "Damn it!" "Raph physical therapy 3:30" "You must bethe best girlfriend." "What are you doingright now?" "Uh, cleaning the kitchen." "I'm about to washthe floor." "You know, for a congenital liar,you really suck at it." "Was washing the floortoo much?" "You lost me at "cleaning."" "Listen, I need youto take raph to his physical therapy." "I don't know, mare." "It's such a hassle." "I mean, I have to pick him up all the wayon one side of town." "I know, but I-- and I have to bring him all the way over to the other side of town." "Okay, I know,but I really need you to-  and then I have to-  brandi!" "All right, I'll take him." "But you owe me." "Thank you." "She didn't wantto take him?" "She didn't want me to knowthat she wanted to take him." "God, what are you doing?" "Call chuck." "hello?" "Hello, who's this?" " who's this?" " don't answer that." "Why?" "I told my friend to call me here." "and for the record, there was no "hitting on"taking place." "Just a little bitof old-fashioned common courtesy." "really?" "So you think an invitationto join the mile-high club is old-fashioned?" "All right, maybethat's what passes for courtesy these days." "Just not what I'd call kickin' the friendly skiesold school." "And by the way... if the stewardessfinds the job title so objectionable, maybe he should have chosen another line of work." "Greetings, inspectors." "How was your flight?" " Awful." " Fabulous." " What's up, lou?" " How are ya?" " How far along are we in the process?" " Not far." "We've only just nowbeen able to round upall the family members." "Jeez, the shooting happened,like, five hours ago." "What took so long?" "It took us morethan three hours just to track everyone down." "The daughter iris told usthe mother and father were in ojai for the day." "But mom was at the spa,dad was playing golf." "It's one of those placesthat doesn't allow cell phones." "And the younger daughterwas just plain M.I.A.Said she'd goneto the mall." "All right, all right,we get it." "Anyway, we literallygot them all together about 15 minutes ago." "Everyone?" "Except for the witness." "After L.A.P.D.Andthe federal gang task force made their determination, we stashed her in west covina." "What about the rest?" "You get into any of it?" "Clear them for albuquerque?" "It's funny,we were just about to give them the happy news when you two arrived." "So, seeing thatyou're already here, you might as well tell 'em." "What a sport." "Just give the word whenyou're ready for transport." "I got a word for you." "Mr. And mrs." "Mcbride,I'm inspector shannon." "This is inspector mannof the U.S.Marshals." "It's dr." "Mcbride." "I'm denise." "This is lily." "Hi, lily." "That was beautiful." "Bach, suite number three?" "Not something I've heard on piano before." "Oh, I was my sister'scello piece." "I was just fooling around." "Inspector, we'd liketo see iris." "How soon beforeshe comes home?" "Actually, we're gonnatake you all to see her." "But right now I need youto pack two suitcases." "For each memberof the family." " Suitcases?" " Why do we need suitcases?" "Where have you taken iris?" "Iris is here." "She's in los angeles with federal marshals-- we have her secure." "But here's the situation." "The kid who shotyour daughter's boyfriend is a member of one of the mostviolent gangs in the country." "And because iris canI.D.Him, neither she nor the rest of youare safe in this house." "You have to leave." "Now." " Right now?" " For how long?" "I just can't take time off from my medical practice... how longwill we be gone?" "Time out." "Folks, listen to me." "Like it or not,your lives as you know them ended five hours ago." "You have to leavelos angeles." "Permanently." "Because of this gang'sviolent history, the department of justiceis offering you immediate entry into the federalwitness protection program." "This is beyond insane." "I know it seemsthat way now." "It doesn't seem that way." "This isn't the illusionof insanity." "This is actualmind-boggling, bang-your-head-with-a-hammer nuts!" "You expect us to justwalk away from our lives, give up everything, including who we are, just becausemy willful little girl went for a walkin the wrong neighborhood?" "Something like that." "Well, forget it." "I've worked too hard." "Sacrificed too much building this lifefor us." "And--and a successfulmedical practice." "And I'm not gonna letsome punk with a gun take it away." "Look, there's no lawthat says you have to comeinto the program." "But this gang has almost certainly put a green light on iris." "Which means the only wayto keep her safe, dr." "Mcbride, is witness protection." "It's possible iris couldgo into the program alone." "But understand this." "Once you say good-bye, you will becompletely cut off from all further contactwith her... forever." "No, that's unacceptable." "Now, I've heard enough." "Our child needs to be safe, and our family needsto be together." "Period." "We can figure out the rest later." "What should we pack?" "Mostly clothes." "Come on, I'll help youfigure it out." " You too, lily." " Come on." "Wow, you're really intothe latin thing, huh?" "Oh, yeah, anything spanish,I'm there." "Crazy, right?" "I don't know." "My boyfriend's dominican." "He's smokin'." "Yeah?" "Can I meet him?" "What, do you thinkI'm stupid?" "Let you steal him away?" "Yeah, you knowl would too." "All right." "That'S... a lot of shoes." "It's not even half of them." "Okay, well,pick five pair." "Two casual, one athletic,one dressy, and one businessy." "I have to runthese patient files over to my practice." "We'll take care of it." "What about the restof this stuff?" "I just can't leave." "I'm afraid you have to leavethe things that identify you with your past." "The rest will all get shippedafter you get settled." "Speaking of... getting settled, let me ask you something." "Do you by any chancehave any friends or relatives... or any connections at allanywhere in the country that might, you know,help ease the transition?" "Well, we lovesan francisco." "I still havesome contacts there who could help meget re-established." "Or boston." "I went to wellesley." "New york, chicago." "There's a dr." "Chesneyin atlanta." "Definitely not atlanta." "Way too hot." "What about new mexico?" "Say, albuquerque." " Albuquerque?" " Albuquerque?" "No, I don't think so." "I mean, does anyone actually live in albuquerque?" "We're cleared for albuquerque." "I want to get everyoneout of the danger area asap." "Send the girl from ontario,as planned." "We'll have the restof the family wheels up from van nuysinside of... two hours." "Roger that." "Much appreciated." "They're just about packed up." "We all set?" "Yeah." "It's alwaysthe innocuous tidbits that get to me." "Like archaeologicalartifacts." "We were here." "Now we're not." "It's just stuff." "It can be replaced." "*****Ves home." "There's bathroomsaround to the left." "There's a kitchenetteover there." "You're welcome to anythingyou can find, which isn't likelyto be much." "Daddy, mom!" "Daddy!" "I got you." "I'm here." "Mom!" "Okay." "It's okay." "it was so terrible." "They shot lawrence." "I know, I know, baby." "I know." "Baby... what were you doingin that neighborhood?" "Warren, shush." "Does anybody know how lawrence is?" "Last word,he was still in surgery." "I don't knowwhat that boy was doing in that neighborhood." "It's his faultthat we're in this mess!" "His fault?" "Daddy, lawrence got shot protecting me!" "He stood in front of meand took all those bullets." " Don't say it's his fault!" " It's okay." "If it wasn't for lawrence, I wouldn't be here,daddy." "None of us would." "Quit cryingyou big baby!" "I'm the baby?" "How would you like itif I did this to you?" "That is so you." "Always with your minding the-- how do you say basura?" "And that is so you,always with your mouth screwing upthe english language." "How do you twoknow each other?" " Well, she's my-- - shrink." "I'm helping him dealwith low self-esteem due to chronic sexual dysfunction." "Shouldn't that informationbe confidential?" "Truth is, mostlyI just follow him around telling him he's pretty." "This is the witsecmemorandum of understanding." "It lays out all the rulesand regulations of life in the witness protection program." "Item number one:"All contact with friends, "family,business associates, or any other persons fromthe witness' past will cease."" "What does that mean,"all contact"?" "It means you may not talk,write, visit, email, or I.M.With anyone." "Nothing, unless approvedand arranged through us first." "But our family." "We're a very close-knit family." "I know this seems harsh, but understand if your friendsand family can find you, so can the peoplewho want you dead." "Sexual dysfunction?" "Obviously you're doingsomething wrong." "Mary does not havethe demeanor of a satisfied woman." "Well, if her demeanoris sour, it's probably becausewe haven'T... you know... since before I proposed." "But before that,I can assure you that I demeaned hervery well." "Again?" "Just talk to him." "No." "So a girl answeredhis phone." "That could betotally innocent, like you and I." "We hang out all the time, but I can assure you thatwe'll never have sex." "That's because you'rethe gayest man on the planet." "Help me up, butt head!" "Item 28: "Witnesses may not practiceor work in any specializedprofession or trade that connects themto their former life."" "What, exactly, does that mean?" "You're a well-known ob-gyn." "Being african-american puts you in an even more select group." "Are you saying that my husbandcan't practice medicine?" "It's possibleyou could still use your medical background, maybe teaching or doing research." "one doctor became a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company." "Oh, daddy, I'm so sorry" " I got him." " Warren... warren... this isn't gonna work." "We have to figure outsomething else." "We're not likethe other people with whom you'reaccustomed to dealing." "We are not criminals!" "My children are intelligent,hard-working, accomplished." "My wife is." "We're all accomplished." "And resigning ourselvesto small, mediocre, anonymous livesis not an option." "There's nothingabout this program that mandates mediocrity." "Only anonymity." "Look, I've seengangbangers from el salvador completely reinvent themselvesand go on to great success." "And I've seen folks come inwith every advantage, and completely bomb out." "The ones who make itfind a way to reconcile themselves with their new setof circumstances." "I have lost everything for which I have spentmy entire life working." "I can never again practicethe only thing I know how to do, all because my headstrongoldest daughter, who never listensto a thing I say, decided to go someplaceshe knows she wasn't supposed to be." "And now I have this rage!" "Listen, I have this rageinside of me against her" " I--I am so angry at her!" "At iris... my beautiful, brilliant,precious baby girl." "I can't even lookat her anymore." "So you tell me, how do I reconcile myselfwith that set of circumstances?" "So you're goingwith the "just give me six months"routine?" "Yeah." "I was considering going with the"daniel boone, davy crockett, backs against the wallat the alamo" bit, but this seemedmore apropos." "Yeah, especially since it wasjim bowie, not daniel boone." "And they both got slaughteredat the alamo." " You sure about that?" " Pretty sure." "I'm not gonna stand hereand tell you everything's gonna be fine, because I don't know that it is." "What I do know is that what happens from here forward is entirely up to you." "All of you." "How you approach each day, and what you make of the coming months." "Hence... a calendar." "I want you all to doone thing for me." "And that is keep an open mind." "Keep a positive attitude." "And just keep it togetherfor the next six months." "That's all I ask, okay?" "Just give me six months,and on this day, october 15th, we'll all get together and we'll take stock of-- unbelievable." "What?" "What?" "What just happened?" "that's warren's father's 75th birthday." "We were planninga huge party for him." " Should've gonewith the alamo." " Yeah, I guess." "Daddy, wait." "Have a good day, daddy." "I love you." "Me too." "Come on, honey, hurry up." "Give it time." "He'll come around." "No one stays mad forever." "You don't know my daddy." " I love you girls." " Love you too, mom." "Okay." "Come on." "Are you sure I shouldn'tgo to school?" "I am their mother." "Trust me, it's betterif I do it." "I know the principal." "And she knowsthat the girls are... you know?" "She knowsand she doesn't know." "Put it this way--she knows enough to know not to asktoo many questions." "Which saves me the troubleof having to invent some cockamamie story." " All right." " I'll call you later." "Okay." "This is where I'm supposedto practice medicine?" "This place isn't fitfor shearing sheep." "You have no idea how many stringsI had to pull to get clearancefor you to work here." "I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an outpouringof gratitude." "This isn't gonna work." "Are you marshall mann?" "That's me." "And you're... dr." "Espinosa." "You can call me ferdinandor ferd." "You must be dr." "Morris." "Welcome to our clinic." "Let's go this way." "We opened in '79,and I'm proud to say we've been operatingin the red since day one." "With doctors like yourselfdonating their time, we've managed to keepour doors open." "Did he say "donate"?" "Picked up on that,did you?" "Iris and lily morris." " Yes, ma'am." " That's us." "Hi, I'm vice-principal fair." "Is your motheror father here?" "Actually,they're with me." "And you are?" "Mary shepherd." "Is principal timmons here?" "She had a family emergency." "Oh, well, I spoketo her yesterday about enrolling them." "And what, exactly,is your relationship to these twoyoung ladies?" "I'm their aunton their father's side." "I was marriedto their father's brother... phillip." "They're laughing becauseit didn't work out--ha ha!" "Very funny." "Joke's on aunt mary." "Uncle phillip wason the "down low."" "All right." "Never mind." "Let's get these girlsenrolled so they won't be latefor homeroom." "Come on in." "Phillip morris?" "Well, doctor,we'd love to have you join our rotation." "Obviously, we havelimited resources, but we still manageto do good work." "Don't you want to knowabout my background?" "You have a licenseto practice medicine?" "Last time I checked." "That's good enough for me." "Please give it some thought,won't you?" "I will." "I hope I hearfrom you soon." " Thank you, doctor." " Sure." "So what do you think?" "I spent 20 years buildinga successful practice." "I graduatedfrom johns hopkins with honors." "And now I'm supposedto be happy picking up shiftsat some third-world clinic for some caribbeanmed-school hack?" "Is that what you thoughtwas gonna happen here?" "'Cause you need to get thisthrough your head right now." "I will not demean myself!" "Actually, espinosa graduatedtop of his class at harvard med." "And he spent the last 30 yearsworking 100-hour weeks helping peoplewith nowhere else to turn get competent medical care." "But yeah, I can seewhy you think you're above all this." "There's lily." "she's really got a thing for the latin boys, huh?" "Like west side story." "Where's iris?" "I think she's aroundthe side of the school using the phone." "Stay here." "Look, I know he's there." "I was the girl that was with himwhen he got shot." "Look, can't you justput me through to his room?" "What's your problem?" "My problem isyou don't know who's on the other endof that call, and whether they havecaller I.D.That puts youin a 505 area code." "Don't you get it?" "Your testimony strapsthat gang banger to a table with a needle in his arm." "His people are very,very motivated to find you." "And when they do,they'll kill you." "They'll kill your mother,your father, your sister, and anyone else that happensto be hanging around." "Come on." "a few days ago in baltimore, a 12-year-old boywitnessed a gang shooting." "Thanks." "When the policeinterviewed him, he said he didn't wantto testify." "He wasn't a snitch. 'Cause, you know,that's the culture these days." "Yesterday that kid was shot16 times." "Apparently the gang didn't wantto take any chances on him changing his mind." "I know what you're going through is hard." "But while you sit hereeating chinese food, right now there's a familyin baltimore planning a funeral." "Thank you... for putting it in perspective for us." " Warren..." " no, I mean... how else are we supposedto come to appreciate the difference betweeneating fried rice and being dead?" "Also, the lapdarrested the shooter today." "We have to take iristo I.D.Him in the morning." "Do you want to go, denise,or should I?" " Neither of you are going." " Why?" "Because marshall and I can doa better job protecting iris if we don't have to worryabout protecting you too." "Don't worry." "You'll be back in time for dinner." "Los Angeles,California" "Okay, please step forwardwhen I call your number, and say these words:" "Hola, mamacita.¿Que pasa?" "Number one." "I don't need to hear anybodysay anything." "It's definitelynumber three." "I think we're done here." "all right, everybody but number three can step out." "You're dead, you stupid bitch!" "No." "You are, bitch!" "You are!" "You hear me?" "You're dead!" "Iris, come on." "Come on, come on." "I'm just curious... why did you and lawrence go to that neighborhood?" "We just went downto see someone." "Is that a crime?" "It depends on whoyou went to see and why." "Can we not talk about this?" "Sure." "No problem." "I've got a surprisefor you." "Really?" "What?" "I must be dead." "'Cause it sure feelslike heaven." "Oh, lawrence." "baby, I am so, so, so, so sorry." "there's nothingto be sorry for." "Everything's all right." "They moved us. my whole family.We're not in L.A." "Careful what you say." "Yeah, us too." "It is so hard, lawrence." "And I don't knowif I can do it." "Everybody... is so mad at me." "Hey, baby, if you can't do it,then no one can." "You are the strongest, bravest personI've ever met." "Girl, you're my hero." "I don't want to go back." "Not without you." "You're never without me." "We're connected... cosmically,through time and space." "Only a 17-year-old can pull offthat kind of crap." "Hey, guys... for what it's worth, once you turn 18, if you bothstill want to get together, we can arrange it." " For real?" " For real." "You see what I'm saying?" "The universe wants usto be together." "Unbelievable." "In case I forgotto mention it, you impressed the hellout of me today." "And she doesn'timpress easily." "Thank you." "You know,I actually feel like maybe we canput this behind us and get on with our lives." "I know you can." "Like my dad always says, as long as the familysticks together, we can get through anything." "He says that,does he?" "Makes you wonder what familyhe's talking about." "Lily's sleeping." " Hey, baby." " Hi, mom!" "Is daddy here?" "Not yet." "He went out job huntingthis morning." "That's good." "Have you heard from him?" "Uh-uh, but he had a listof about eight clinics he wanted to check out." "And once he starts talking medicine with other doctors--what's wrong?" "Are you upset 'cause he didn't likeyour clinic?" "Could we speak to youfor a sec?" "What's wrong?" "What's wrong isI told warren he has one opportunityto practice medicine-- at the clinic, period." "I know, but you needto understand that warren is not inclinedto let people tell him what he canand cannot do." "And warrenneeds to understand I could give a rat's assabout his inclinations." " Marshall..." " no, don'T." "We have bent oversix ways to sunday accommodating warren'sdelicate sensibilities.And if I've-  that's probably" " I'll get it." "Don't touch that." "Hello?" "That's right." "Where are you?" "Stay there." "I'll be back." "and he can't take advantage of those free-throws." "Lakers up by three." "I'm supposed to beat that game." "Season tickets." "Just one more partof my life down the drain." " Sweetie..." " my friend hereis cut off." "The hell I am." "Make that a double." "He doesn't speak for me." "Pour me my damn drink!" "yeah." "That seems about right." "You always hidebehind that badge." "Here." "Now you've got the badge." "Do not serve this manany more alcohol." "Now pay upand get your ass outside." "You know whatyour problem is?" "You're one of those guysmy father used to say demands respect butdoesn't command respect." "Who the helldo you think you are talking to me that way?" "There's nothing to you." "Just a lot of hot airand puffery." "You shut your mouthor I'm gonna shut it for you." "No wonder irisdoesn't listen to you." "I swear to god... that girl'sgot more sack than you ever thoughtabout having." "I'm warning you." "What are you gonna do?" "Count to three,spank my bottom?" "What's it gonna be,warren?" "I will not let youbait me." "All that righteous rage gonein a fit of conscience and common sense." "You're gonna hate yourselfin the morning." "Get in the car." " What are you doing here?" " I brought food." " Really?" " Yeah." "Is that okay?" "Well..." "I don't seethe four horsemen." "Amusing." "So how's the knee feeling?" "Good." "I mean, not "readyto steal second" good, but... okay." "what are you doing?" "We may not everfigure out the other stuff, but this I knowwe're good at." "Okay." "Who the hell is that?" "I don't know." "Uhh,ay dios mio." "brandi, hi." "I brought yousome groceries, 'cause, you know, I seem to be the only onearound here-- mary, hi!" "What are you doing here?" "Uh, spending an eveningwith my boyfriend." "Was I supposedto check with you first?" "What?" "No." "What do I carewhat you and chico do?" "I'm just bringingthe poor slob some food." "So here you go." "You've got to talkto him sometime." "Come on, give him a chance, at least to explain." "Fine, I'll answer." "See you later." "finally." "Thank god you answered." "I was so worried." "Where have you been?" "Sorry, I misplaced my phone." "You know howi'm always losing things." "Brandi, you didn't misplace the suitcase, did you?" "'Cause that's everything." "That's our whole world." "So what was thatall about?" "She called chuck,and a girl answered." "So now she's not takinghis calls." "You seem to know a lotabout brandi's personal life." "And you seem to knowalmost nothing." "You know, she's beengoing through some very difficult time." "You-- brandi's always goingthrough difficult times." "That's what she does." "You know what elseshe does?" "She sucks innocentbystanders in." "And then herdifficult times become your difficult times." "Kind of like right now." "Well, maybe thingswould be different if she had someonethat was encouraging and helpful, rather thanalways critical." "You know what?" "I think I'm gonnapack it in for the night." "Good idea." "You know,you should leave before you actually have to dealwith something personal." "'Cause that's what you do." "I'm just being honest." "I don't think I can do this." "Sweetheart, you just have to step back." "You're not thinkingclearly." "No, that's not right." "For the first timesince this happened, I am thinking clearly." "In eight months, iris turns 18." "Her college accountis fully funded." "And that's more thanwhat most kids can say." "Now, we can leave this insanity, go back to our lives." "Oh, ba, I can't believethat you would even consider walking outon your daughter, never seeing heragain." "Believe me, I hatedoing this, but... it's the consequenceof her actions, and it's what's bestfor this family." "Oh, my poor,poor baby bear." "So many wonderfulqualities." "But your motherraised you to believe that the sunand the moon and planetsall revolve around this sweet,sweet face." "And I have let yougo on believing that, because I so adoregazing at it." "And because that's howl was raised." "And you know that I wouldwalk through hell and back just to be hereby your side." "But don't-- my sweet love, don't make the mistake of having me choose between youand my children." " And she said nothing to youabout going anywhere?" " No, nothing." "No sign of a break-in." "Looks like she just bolted." "Stan's got homeland security pulling passenger manifests from all albuquerque bus,train, and plane departures." "Was she okaywhen she went to bed?" "Yes." "Fine." "This is just another oneof her stupid, self-centered screw-up's, just one more way for her to cause grieffor this family." "Daddy, stop it!" "You need to stopblaming iris for everything--just stop!" "You don't know whatyou're talking about." "You don't know anything!" "Lily." "Come back here!" "Now she's even beingdisrespectful to me." "What is wrong with you?" "Your daughter is missing!" "You know,from what I've seen, there's only one self-centeredscrew-up in this family." "Everyone walks around on egg shells." "We have to accommodate warren." "Careful, we don't wantto upset warren." "That's doctor to you." " Dr. Warren mcbride." " Fine." "You wanna bedr." "Warren mcbride, I've got an opt out cardin my car." "You can put your doctor'sscrawl on that, be out of the program and onyour way to L.A.By noon." "Without your family." "But I think we've all learnedwhat's important to you." "Sweetie, why did youtell your father he doesn't knowwhat he's talking about?" "Does this have something to dowith what happened that day?" "She made me promiseI wouldn't tell." "Tell what?" "What are you protecting her from now?" "Lily, if you know something, you have totell us about it now." "Daddy, I am so sorry." "This is all my fault." "I was visitingthis boy from my school, and she told me not to go." "She knew it wasn't safe for us, but... but she came anywayto get me." "Daddy, she was there protecting me." "Why didn't she tell us?" "Why didn't you tell us?" "lily, were you there?" "Did you see it happen?" "She didn't want the gangto target me too." "Daddy, I-I-I swear, I was gonna tell you, but iris made me promisenot to tell." "Why?" "Why would she do that?" "Because, daddy." "Because she said... it was better if you onlyhated one of your daughters." "roger that." "Got her." "She boarded a bus to L.A.At 6:10 A.M." "It's supposed to reach kingland by noon." "We've got a chopperstanding by." "I'm going with, this time." "What's he doing here?" "He cameto take you home." "Why are you doing this?" "He told my mom... that when I turn 18... the familyshould quit the program and leave me on my own." "They thought I was asleep,but I heard him." "I didn't know that." "I'm sorry." "That sucks." "But if you go back to L.A.,You'll be out of the program." "Which means you won'tsee lawrence ever." "You'll be out on your own, so there's reallyno point to this." "The point is that my familycan get on with their lives." "I don't wanna talk to you." "I know you don't,and I don't blame you." "Can you pleasetell him to get off?" "I just need one minute." "Please." "Can I?" "No!" "Stay." "I don't wanna be alone with him." "It's all right." "You can hear this too." "I won't leave." "I'll be right up there." "I have no excuse." "There's nothing I can sayto justify my behavior these past few days." "It's a terrible thing to work your whole lifefor something only to have ittaken away." "You're not the only onewho lost." "I know I'm not." "I know." "So listen to me." "Listen to me, puddin'." "As bad as losingeverything is, there is nothing that compares to finding out that the moment when the people who you love need you most, you are... small... and petty... and a coward." "But daddy, you didn't loseeverything." "You told us that family-- family is the only thing that matters." "That as long as we hadeach other... and it was all just a lie." "You didn't mean any of it." "I did mean it." "I swear I did." "I'm so, so sorry." "I just caught up in... self-pity,and I forgot." "I forgot that I am your father, that I'm supposed to stand up for you." "I'm the one who's supposedto be there for you." "I'm the one who's supposed to protect you." "And I'm the one who's supposed to eventake a bullet for you." "And how could I forget that?" "I--I'm so ashamed..." "and embarrassed." "Oh, daddy." "You are my preciousbaby girl." "What you mustthink of me, I" " I can't standdisappointing you like that." "Daddy, don't say that." "Don't ever say that, okay?" " I'm sorry." " Okay." "people generally think of forgiveness as the flip side of contrition, the obligatory response to an apology." "It is not." "To forgive is to answer the call of our better angels and bear our wounds as the cost of doing business." "It is that rarest of things, simple and pure... transcendent... without strings."