[Man Over Radio, Indistinct]
[Man]
# Now, listen, Julie baby #
# It ain't natural for you
to cry in the midnight #
[Siren Wails]
# It ain't natural
for you to cry #
# Way in the midnight through #
# Until the wee, small hours #
# Long 'fore the break
of dawn #
# Oh, Lord #
- # Mm-hmm #
- [Siren Wailing]
[Man Narrating]
The night started out with a bang.
A gunshot to the chest
on a drug deal gone bad.
All the elements were in place
for a long weekend...
heat, humidity, moonlight.
I was good at my job.
There were periods when my hands moved
with a speed and skill beyond me.
But in the last year,
I started to lose that control.
Things had turned bad.
I hadn't saved anyone in months.
I just needed a few slow nights,
followed by a couple of days off.
- [Man] Ladder Four.
- We're there.
Respond to a 10-22.
Four-flight residential. 417 West 32.
77-David at 177 West 24.
There's a woman who says a roach
crawled in her ear. Can't get it out.
Says she's going
into cardiac arrest.
63-Boy, men's room, Grand Central.
Man set his pants on fire.
- Bad burns.
- Move back.
- Which apartment?
- 5-A.
- Oh, Jesus, it's Mr. Burke.
[Panting]
Why is it always the top floor?
Goddam.
[Woman]
No! No!
[Crying, Speaking Indistinct]
No! No!
No! No!
[Sobbing]
[Sobbing Continues]
Oh, God, they're here.
- Shh, shh. Over there.
- [Sobbing]
Mary, it's two hands.
It's my dad.
We were just watching TV,
and he was sort of punching his chest...
- Step outside.
- Next thing,
he locks himself in the bathroom.
So I told him I was gonna
call you guys, and he said not to.
- How long ago did he stop breathing?
- I don't know. Ten minutes.
Twenty. A woman on the phone
tried to tell us how to do C.P.R.
- Could you do something?
- We'll do what we can.
He was cryin'.
I never heard him cryin' before.
- [Beeping]
- I need you to squeeze this
once every three seconds.
Clear! Clear!
- [Gasps]
- [Long Beep]
- Ma'am, I need you to step back.
- Clear! Clear!
[Screams]
No more. Please don't.
- Clear! Clear!
- Ma'am, step back.
[Crying]
Daddy.
[Man Narrating] In the last year,
I'd come to believe in such things...
as spirits leaving the body
and not wanting to be put back.
Spirits angry at the awkward places
death had left them.
I understood how crazy it was
to think this way.
But I was convinced
that if I turned around,
I'd see old man Burke...
standing at the window,
watching,
waiting for us to finish.
I'll take over.
Call E.R. and ask for an 83.
Sorry.
[Sighs]
Do you have any music?
- What?
- Music.
I think it helps if you play
something he liked.
John.
Play the Sinatra.
- What?
- Play the Sinatra.
What is it, Johnny?
# I'm a man #
# Who has always had #
- # The wandering ways #
- [Beep]
# Now I'm reaching back #
- # For yesterday ##
- [Beeping]
- [Beeping Continues]
- Okay, Frank, you can call it. 83.
- No, we can't. He's got a pulse.
- No shit?
- Is he gonna be all right?
- [Beeping]
His heart's beating.
Have 'em bring up a board.
## [Continues, Indistinct]
No, no. No. No.
Help your family.
Ride with your mother and brother.
Help your family.
They need you more. Help yourself.
# Now, Julian, there ain't
nothin' on my mind #
- # More for the way than
what you're lookin' for #
- [Siren Wailing]
- For the family.
- # And she done went and jumped at me #
# Lunged from behind the door #
# And looked into my eyes #
[Frank Narrating] I had to concentrate
to keep my mind from wandering off...
on these short trips.
It was the neighborhood
I grew up in...
and where I'd worked most
as a paramedic.
And it held more ghosts
per square foot than any other.
# Your little
star-struck innuendos #
# Inadequacies and #
# Foreign bodies #
# And the sunlight shining
through the crack in the windowpane #
[Men Arguing]
# Numbs my brain ##
Come on!
Come on! Come on!
Hey, partner.
Your man doesn't look well.
They not gonna appreciate you inside.
- Nobody loves me, Griss.
- Hey, Griss just tellin' you
things are backing up.
Griss, let us in.
Whatever you say.
Oh, my foot!
Don't even slow down.
Just keep on moving.
Sir, you say you've been snorting
cocaine for three days...
and now you feel as if your heart
is beating too fast...
and you would like
for us to help you.
To tell you the truth,
I don't see why we should.
Correct me if I am wrong here,
if I'm mistaken.
Did we sell you the cocaine?
Did we push it up your nose?
- Oh, come on.
- For Christ sakes,
can I please get a cup of water?
- Shut up, goddam civilian!
- All I want is a cup of water!
[Woman] Oh, no. No, no,
no, no, no, guys.
We're on diversion here.
We're not accepting any more patients.
The dispatcher should've let you
know that, Frank. I cannot do it. No.
We picked him up at 49th and 10th.
You're the closest.
Where do you want me to put him?
You tell me.
He wanted to come here. He said that
the nurses at Misery were the best.
- All I want is a cup of water!
- All right, fine.
I'll kick someone out of bed three.
Excuse me.
You're a kind man, I can see that.
A man like you's not gonna deny a poor,
sick, dying, helpless man...
- a small cup of water.
- I can't.
I have to stay with my patient.
Will you shut the fuck up?
Goddam it. What the hell are you doing
to me? We're all backed up in here.
Jesus Christ, look at this guy.
Looks like he needs the works.
What's wrong with him?
- You should know. You pronounced him.
- You told me he was dead.
- Flatline.
- He got better.
[Sighs] I hate pronouncing
people dead over the phone.
Yeah. Better, huh? They're fixed
and dilated. This guy's plant food.
Hey, we stole a stretcher from X ray, so
put him in three next to the overdose.
All right, look. He's our lowest
priority now. He shouldn't even be here.
All this technology.
What a waste.
[Griss] Leave that dope alone.
The doc'll be out in a minute.
- Sir, is there some way we could
find out what's going on?
- Please, folks, step back.
Please, folks, step back.
I've already told you two to step back.
- Mister...
- Now, look, don't make me
take off my sunglasses.
First-time heart attack, age 45. He
should've gone to C.C.U. ten hours ago.
We got three bodies up there
just like the one you brought in.
Over there, two AIDS patients.
One is 12 and filling up with fluids.
Mother won't sign
the "Do Not Resuscitate."
Mercy killing doesn't
translate well in Spanish.
It's a sin
to have to tube that kid.
We got three more O.D.s from this new
killerjunk they're calling Red Death.
What's in it?
It's a mix of heroin and I don't know
what else. An amino acid, maybe.
This stuff is so strong,
they're drinking it with grain alcohol.
You need ten times
the usual amount of Narcan.
And when they wake up, watch out
'cause they're liable to go nuts on you.
- He one of 'em?
- No, that's Noel.
He used to be a regular off and on.
I haven't seen him for a while.
He seized and almost coded.
I gave him
a hypertonic solution.
He drank so much
his kidneys were taking out salt.
- That's one for the textbooks.
- Doc, you're the greatest.
- You gotta help me.
- Can you give this guy a drink of water?
Noel, I am helping you. You drink
any more water, you could die!
[Woman] Hazmat, three's coding.
We got a flatline here.
Start C.P.R. Milagros, get me an epi.
Odette, wake up Dr. Starks.
Tell him we're gonna need him stat.
400 joules. Clear!
You want water?
I'll give you water.
- What a pain in the ass.
Just get out of here.
- 600 joules.
- Clear!
- [Woman] So you get drunk
every day and you fall down.
Well, why should we help you?
Youre just gonna get drunk
tomorrow, fall down again.
Griss, this man
wants to leave.
[Shouting, Indistinct]
- Thank you.
- I know him. That's Noel.
You better step outside.
Quickly.
- Get...
- [Yelling] Fuck!
Noel? Noel.
It's... It's me.
It's Mary Burke from 49th Street.
Oh, Mary.
Oh, Mary, I'm so thirsty. They won't
give me any water to drink in there.
- Please.
- I'll get you some.
I wouldn't do that.
The doctor seems to think he's suffering
from some rare disorder.
He's had a rough life.
He grew up on our street.
He's a little crazy from it,
but that's no excuse...
for not giving somebody
a lousy cup of water.
Here.
My father's dying, Noel.
[Crying]
Oh, Mary, Mary, Mary.
Oh.
## [Singing, Indistinct]
# But it doesn't mean
I didn't try #
# I just never know why #
[Larry]
Chinese closes in five minutes.
Beef lo mein. Been on my mind
since I awoke. What do you think?
I think the moment that food
hits your mouth, we'll get a run.
Turn here. You missed it.
Chink's on 11th.
[Tires Screeching]
- Oh, finally. Where you been?
- [Grunts]
Hey, ambulance man,
what you looking at?
[Laughs] Yeah, pretty soon
you'll be coming for me.
Do you think he'll come for me?
[Laughing]
Pretty soon
you'll be coming for me.
Boy, some partner you are, Frank.
I could've walked there faster.
I'm starving, and you stop to talk
to hookers. You're making me nuts.
Is that what you're trying to do?
Drag me down to Nutsville with you?
[Siren Wailing]
- Oh, no!
- What?
I just remembered. I'm so stupid.
I had beef lo mein last night.
I can't eat the same thing
two nights in a row.
It's almost 2:00. What the hell am
I gonna do? What are you getting?
- I'm not hungry.
- Yeah, you don't eat food.
I eat.
Larry, I eat.
Just haven't had coffee yet.
Only coffee and whisky.
Lucky you ain't dead with that diet.
I got it.
Half fried chicken
and fries. Let's go.
# You can't put your arm
around a memory #
- # Foreign bodies #
- # You can't put your arm
around a memory #
# And the sunlight shining
through the crack in the windowpane #
# Numbs my brain #
# And the sunlight shining
through the crack in the windowpane #
[Frank Narrating]
Rose's ghost was getting closer.
# Numbs my brain #
It had been six months since I lost her.
A homeless girl,
asthmatic, 18 years old.
I used to block
the bad calls out.
I used to forget,
but she wouldn't let go.
And now she'd come
to bear witness for all of them,
all that had been lost.
These spirits
were part of the job.
It was impossible to pass a building
that didn't hold a ghost of something.
The eyes of a corpse.
The screams of a loved one.
All bodies leave their mark.
You cannot be near the newly dead
without feeling it.
I could handle that.
What haunted me now
was more savage.
Spirits born half-finished.
Homicides.
Suicides. Overdoses.
Accusing me of being there,
witnessing a humiliation,
which they
could never forgive.
[Woman Over Radio, Indistinct]
Turn it off.
- What?
- You know what. The radio.
That's not the police band. It's your
fire department scanner in your bag.
- Oh.
- [Man]
Ladder Four, respond to a 10-22.
Six-flight residential.
534 West 32.
- Let's do it.
It might be a good one.
- There are no good fires.
People die in fires. People get burned
up in fires. People can't breathe.
That's what we're here for.
Let's go.
- 63...
- Don't push it, Larry.
- Oh, you're burned out, man.
You're scorched.
- Not yet, Larry.
I'm still burning. If you get
any closer, I'm gonna put a burn on you.
[Man] 6-3 Zebra. 6-3 Zebra.
Zebra three, I need you.
- You see? He's giving it to us anyway.
- Zebra, are you there?
- I'm holding
an unconscious at 9th and 41st.
- No, no, no!
3:00 in the morning.
That can only mean one thing.
- Mr. Oh.
- Mr. Oh. I'm not answering it.
Answer the radio, Zebra.
You know it's that time.
Four times this week I've had him.
Aren't there any other units out there?
- Zebra, are you there?
- Don't answer it.
They'll get somebody else.
a captain to your location.
Frank,
when I say don't answer it, that means
answer it. You could do me that favor.
- 6-3 Zebra.
- Yes, Zebra, you'll be driving...
to the man who needs no introduction.
Chronic caller of the year, three
straight and shooting for number four,
the duke of drunk,
the king of stink,
- our most frequent flyer, Mr. Oh.
- 10-4.
Don't do it.
Not this time...
Relax. It's a street job.
It's easy except for the smell.
We just throw him in the back,
zip over to Mercy.
No blood, no dying. That's how
I look at it. He's just a drunk.
It's not our job
to taxi drunks around.
Yeah, but they're just
gonna keep calling.
Someone's gonna have a cardiac,
and the only medics will
be taking care of Mr. Oh.
He's bad, mister.
He ain't eaten nothing all day.
And he's seizing
and throwing up.
- So, what's different about him today?
- He says his feet hurt.
- Oh, why didn't you say so?
- I can't find a pulse,
but he's still breathing.
Well, it looks like we're just in time.
Step aside, sir.
- He's drunk.
- He's sick. You gotta help him.
He's fine.
He can walk to the hospital.
Walk? Are you crazy?
He's in the wheelchair.
Oh, don't give me that.
He walks better than I do.
- [Groaning]
- Oh! Oh! That's right, Mr. Oh.
[Coughing]
Come on, buddy. Your limo's here.
- [Coughing Continues]
- Get better.
- Good luck, old buddy.
- # I gotta get running now #
- # Bell Boy #
- # Keep your lip buttoned down #
- # Bell Boy #
- Oh!
- # Carry the bloody baggage out ##
- Faster! Come on, Frank. Faster!
- Faster?
You want faster?
[Laughing]
[Retching]
Oh, no.
Take that stinky-ass motherfucking
bug-ridden skell out of my face!
Johnny, welcome back.
Good to see ya.
And my conscience simply
will not allow that.
Griss, this gentleman
would like to leave.
Oh! He looks so pale.
Hey, you getting enough to eat?
You getting your fiber?
Wasted. That's my diagnosis.
He's shit-faced.
He just needs a bath and some food.
Let's take him in back.
- Get a stretcher.
- She's nuts. That's why he comes here.
- She encourages him.
- Don't you dare.
This is not a homeless shelter.
- He's gonna have to wait in the lobby.
- No way, man.
Not even in the corner.
Griss cannot abide the funk tonight.
Senor. Senor.
[Speaking Spanish]
[Larry Groaning]
My first cigarette
in over a year.
First is always the best.
The doctor doesn't think
my father will make it.
Said he was dead for too long.
After six minutes,
the brain starts to die,
and after that,
just close the door.
You never know.
You know, my father and I
haven't spoken in three years.
When my brother called me and said
that my father had a heart attack...
and that he locked himself
in the bathroom,
all the way going over there,
I was thinking of...
how I was gonna tell him
what a bastard he was.
When I got there
and we put him up on the bed,
and I thought of all the other things
that I wanted to say to him...
Well, right now I'm more worried
about my mother than anything.
Go home. Take her home.
Get some rest.
- You're not gonna
find anything out now.
- That's what I told her.
If she could just see him for a second,
then I know she'd let me take her home.
Thanks for the light.
Here's your dinner.
I wheel, you heal.
[Man] 6-2 David, at 38th and 2,
you'll find a three-car accident.
Two taxis and a taxi.
6- 2 Henry, 6-2 Henry.
487 West 22.
Report of a very bad smell.
No further information.
Larry, swing over to 10th. We're gonna
have to run one of these calls.
- Relax, will ya?
- [Tires Screeching]
[Frank Narrating]
The biggest problem with not driving...
is that whenever there's a patient
in the back, you're also in the back.
- The door's closed. You're trapped.
- # Let me breathe ##
5:00 or 6:00 in the morning is always
the worst time for me. Just before dawn.
Just when you've been
lulled into thinking...
it might be safe to close
your eyes for one minute.
That's when
I first found Rose.
She was on the sidewalk,
not breathing.
[Groans]
I'm not feeling very well, Larry.
Let's say we go back
to the hospital, call it a night.
You got no sick time, Frank. No time
of any kind. Everyone knows that.
Take me back.
Put me to bed. I surrender.
We've done
enough damage tonight.
You take things way
too seriously, Frank.
[Frank] You ever think
of doing anything else?
Sure.
Taking my captain's
exam next year.
Once the kids are in school,
Louise can go back to the post office.
I thought, "What the hell?
I'll start my own medic service."
Out on the island, the volunteers
are becoming salaried municipal.
It's just a matter of time
and who you know.
Someday it's gonna be
Chief Larry calling the shots.
[Frank Narrating]
I'd always had nightmares.
But now the ghosts
didn't wait for me to sleep.
I drank every day.
"Help others
and you help yourself."
That was my motto.
But I hadn't saved
anyone in months.
It seemed all my patients
were dying on me.
I'd waited,
sure the sickness would break.
Maybe the next call, maybe tomorrow,
the feeling would drop away.
More than anything else,
I wanted to sleep like that.
Close my eyes
and drift away.
[Man On Radio]
Zebra. 6-3 Zebra.
Zebra.
Zebra, answer the radio.
Come on. I got one for you.
Pick up the radio and push the button
on the side and speak into the front.
Come on. Zebra?
- Zebra.
- Suicidal male bleeding,
corner of 44th and 8th.
No further information.
[Horn Honks]
[Frank] We have a call, Chief.
Somebody's bleeding. 44th and 8th.
No, no. Brake! Brake!
It's the water. Turn around.
## [Rock, Indistinct]
[Noel] Come on. Kill me!
Push it in! Do it!
Kill me! Huh? Come on.
Kill me. Just push it. Huh?
I'm gonna cut
my throat, man.
[Yells]
No, don't!
Drop the bottle.
- Put down the bottle.
- He's crazy.
Really? You look pretty thirsty,
Noel. You want some water?
See, I can't do it.
I came out of the desert.
Those people left me
in the sun to die.
You came out
of the hospital.
You were tied down
and hallucinating.
You got some bad
chemicals in your head.
- There's some medicine at
the hospital that'll fix that.
- No! No medicine.
- No medicine.
- He got ya.
- [Man] Do it!
Man wants to die? I know how to kill
that mother. Pop, pop.
- Oh, sh...
- Shit!
Noel! Noel!
Noel!
Larry, call for backup.
[Larry] 6-3 Zebra,
10-85 forthwith, 44 and 8th.
[Man] Get out of the road,
you crazy bastard!
Noel, you didn't
let me finish.
We have rules against killing people
on the street, okay? It looks bad.
There's a special room
at the hospital for terminating.
It's a nice quiet room
with a big bed.
- You mean that?
- Yeah.
Man, thank you, man.
Wait a minute. How?
How are you gonna kill me?
Well, you have a choice.
You can have pills, injection or gas.
- Pills. Definitely pills.
- [Man] You fucking arsehole!
Tom Wolls,
that crazy motherfucker.
- He used to be my partner.
- Frank.
This the guy you called about?
I know you.
- Nah, you don't know me.
You don't know me.
- Oh, yes, I do, Pedro. I do.
- I know you. I know him.
- I don't think so.
You give my friend here
any more trouble, I'll kill ya.
- Yeah, at the hospital.
- What?
At the hospital. He's gonna
kill me in the hospital.
Forget the hospital.
I'll kill you here.
This looks like a very bad man
I took in a couple of weeks ago...
who'd been holding two priests...
not one, two priests...
hostage with a screwdriver,
and I told him...
if he was ever caught
making trouble again,
- I'd kick the murdering life out of him.
- It's not worth it, Tom.
- He's surrendering.
- What?
- The war's over.
- Not mine.
Hey, Pedro, come here,
you little motherfucker.
I just want to talk to you,
give you a little
psychological first aid.
I'm gonna give you your first lesson
on how to be an American.
It's called
"Eatin' My Shit."
- Come here.
- [Yells]
Tom, don't do it,
Tom. Tom!
I have to take him
to the hospital.
- I have to get him to the hospital.
- Get up here, motherfucker!
- That's enough!
- Take that!
There's a double shooting three blocks
down. 41st and 8th, confirmed.
We'll do that.
Larry. Larry. Larry!
- I'll take it. Motherfucker!
- That's enough.
I'll do that. I'll see you
over there, okay?
- What happened?
- [Siren Wailing]
Oh, man. Just walked up
and shot him. Not a word.
- Damn, that was cold.
- E.M.S. Move it.
- Where are you hit?
- [Panting, Grunting]
You see this shit, man?
Niggas put a hole in me.
Yo, Tiger did this shit, yo.
And money right here work for Outlaw.
[Grunting]
- [Man] We got a gang war
about to start, yo.
- Take a deep breath.
[Coughing]
Major Tom! I'm going to Misery!
You take yours to Bellevue.
Okay, Frank, you take yours to heaven.
I'll take mine to hell. Let's go.
Get him on the board.
Let's go.
You're gonna feel a stick in your arm.
Don't move.
Listen, I'm quitting, man.
I'm going in the army
where it's safe.
[Grunting]
I don't wanna die.
- No, I wanna die. I'm the one.
- You're not gonna die.
- What did you say?
- Shut up! You're going to die.
He's not. Got it?
- Hold my hand, man.
- I can't. I gotta do the other arm.
- Hold my hand, man.
- Hold this.
If you let go,
I swear I won't kill you.
[Grunting]
[Frank]
It's all right. We're here.
Fuck.
He's not breathing.
Call a code.
Noel, let's go.
Let's go!
Fucking Christ.
[Man] So here I am. And this junkie
got something jammed in his teeth.
Now, none of these junkies wanna give
mouth-to-mouth. It was a blow dryer.
So I pulls it out.
His body was cold except for his throat.
It had been blow-dried for an hour.
Junkie had second-degree burns
of the tongue.
Did you ever give mouth-to-mouth?
A long time ago,
when I was your age, boy. Never again.
Chances are you end up
with a mouthful of puke. Junkie puke.
I'd do it if I had to.
It's part of the job.
- What about you?
- What?
You ever do
mouth-to-mouth before?
- Once. On a baby.
- [Griss] Oh, babies.
Now, babies are a whole
different thing entirely.
Did I ever tell you about the time
that white woman approached me?
I said, "Ma'am, I'm a true cocksman,
and I don't mix my seed. "
Only time you see me with a white woman
when I'm holdin' her for the police. "
That's the truth.
You shouldn't smoke.
It's okay.
They're prescription.
Works better
with a little whisky.
Yeah, that was my brother's problem.
That's why he's passed out inside.
That's it!
I've had it!
Can't take it anymore.
- You got... blood on...
- I know.
That boy you brought in,
he's, uh, shot, wasn't he?
Yeah.
He's dead, huh?
Yes.
I think this place stinks.
- Our Lady of Misery.
- It's crazy in there.
What's the matter
with that doctor...
who keeps mumbling and poking himself
in the eye whenever he talks to me?
He's working a double shift.
Well, my father's in there.
He's in a coma.
My mother,
she's... she's going crazy.
It's like, uh,
she's in a trance.
She should go home.
Yeah, well, I'd take her,
but somebody's got to stay here.
- Did you see him?
- [Mrs. Burke] It wasn't him.
You saw him?
They showed me someone.
It wasn't him. It wasn't my husband.
Mrs. Burke, they'll take care of him.
You should go home now.
I should know my own husband.
They wouldn't let me see him.
Larry and I'll drop her home.
Help me get her to the ambulance.
Mom, they're gonna give you a ride home.
Come on. This way.
You want some coffee?
I have applesauce cake too.
- Right here. Right there.
- Oh.
Thanks.
I'll call you
if anything changes.
[Frank Narrating] Saving someone's
life is like falling in love.
The best drug in the world.
For days,
sometimes weeks afterwards,
you walk the street
making infinite whatever you see.
Once, for a few weeks,
I couldn't feel the earth.
Everything I touched
became lighter.
Horns played in my shoes.
Flowers fell from my pockets.
You wonder
if you've become immortal,
as if you've saved
your own life as well.
God has passed through you.
Why deny it
that for a moment there...
Why deny for a moment there
God was you?
Taking credit when things go right
doesn't work the other way.
When things go wrong,
spreading the blame is an
essential medic survival tool.
"The elevator broke down."
"The boyfriend was crazy."
"I should've called in sick."
"The tube wouldn't go in."
The god of hellfire is not a role
that anyone wants to play.
[Buzzing]
[Buzzing Stops]
- Good morning, Captain.
- What am I gonna do with this guy?
Pierce, I just got off the phone
with Borough Command.
Out of 12 shifts this month,
you've been late for nine, sick four.
That includes the shift where you
came in late, you went home early.
- I'm sick. That's what
I've been telling you.
- You're sick?
You're killing me,
do you know that?
You've got no sick time
left according to Command.
I mean, I was told to terminate.
It's okay. I'll just get
my things out of my locker.
Excuse me. It's not okay.
I-I never fired anybody in my life, man.
I'm sorry, Captain.
Don't take it too hard.
[Barking]
[Laughing]
Nobody tells me to fire anybody, ever.
I told them, "Stick it right up
your big one." Pardon me.
I said, "You wanna fire him?
Come on over and do it yourself."
You know they won't do it.
It's up to you. You've gotta be strong.
- Be a man.
- I am a man.
You think they give these to sissies?
Come on, kid. This is a weekend
of full moons. Nobody wants to work.
I mean, your partner
Larry's called in sick.
Okay, Larry Veeber.
Stupid Stanley too.
Come on. I need bodies out there.
I got buses that gotta run.
I had to put Marcus on 62-Young.
Hey. Hey. You know he's not
supposed to work two nights in a row.
- You know what we're in for
with that one?
- You swore you'd fire me...
if I came in late again.
- I'll fire you tomorrow.
- [Pounds Desk]
Even better than that,
what was I thinking about?
I could forward you some sick time.
How about a week?
A week's not gonna do it.
A week's not gonna do it.
- Kid, you're saying
no, it ain't gonna do it.
- [Pounds Desk]
You're going out
with Marcus. Okay?
Duty calls you, kid.
The city needs you. Please.
I'll front you sick time.
I'll make it up to you. Honest to God.
Look at me. The next time
I see you, I'll fire you.
- I can bark too.
- Pierce, you can do it all.
I never said
I could bark better than you.
Go and help... Go and help
the people of New York. Go ahead.
Get out there and mop them up for me.
Go ahead. Do your job.
- Do your job. You're the best.
- [Woman] Put down that crack stem.
Put down that crack stem
and drop your jug of sin,
your high-heeled skirts
and your stock dividends,
your patent leather underwear,
televised suicides,
lap dancers in leotards
in delicatessens.
And the Lord said,
"If you can find one that
isn't a sinner... just one...
- then I will spare the city. "
- My Lord, Mother of Man.
Boy, you look like hell.
What you drinking?
Captain almost fired me tonight.
I'm on my way out.
- [Chuckling]
- Anytime now.
Nobody gets fired, son.
Look at me.
The most they might do
is transfer you to the Bronx.
Boy, you look like you aged about
ten years since I rode with you last.
I ain't feeling so hot.
I've been seeing the ghosts.
- You mean the people we lost?
- Yeah.
If they got to go, got to go.
God bless 'em.
You ever notice people who see shit
are always crazy? Mm-hmm.
Scientific fact.
- I think the worst is over.
- Oh, no, son.
It can always get worse.
See, you can't change what's out there.
Only where
you're coming from.
So you got to let the good Lord...
Thank you, Jesus...
take over in here.
[Woman] 6-2 Young.
Let's go, 6-2 Young. Answer the radio.
Marcus, it's Love.
I haven't heard her in months.
Well, no,
she only works when I'm on.
I makes her wait.
Drives her crazy.
- It is true you and Love
went on a blind date?
- Mm-hmm.
- She hit you with a bottle?
- Why you gotta bring that up?
She loves me the way
no woman ever has.
for your games.
Now, answer me or do I have
to come out there myself?
Oh, sookie, sookie.
now. Rough.
Now, see, I usually don't do
calls before my coffee,
but I think this'll
be good for you, son.
- 6-2 Young is here, baby.
- [Laughing]
And I'm gonna take care of you.
# Don't you worry
'bout a thing ##
Come on, white boy.
'Cause Big Daddy Marcus
is alive and on arrival, baby.
I'm not your baby, Young.
I'm not your mother either.
You're going to a cardiac arrest.
30th and 11th, north-east corner.
It's a club.
Take the back entrance.
All right, 10-4, sweet mama.
You feeling better, Frank?
- I feel worse.
- Oh, that's good, boy.
- This here is for you.
- [Siren Wailing]
I hope we're not too late from you folks
holding us up here. Excuse me.
Right this way.
## [Alternative Rock]
Get the hell out of my way.
Okay, what happened?
- Please tell me he's gonna be all right.
- No, he dead.
- You buggin'. We just signed
our first record deal.
- Look, he dead, son.
Ain't nothing we can do about it.
Come on, Frank. That's it.
- [Woman] What do you mean he's dead?
- [Quietly] He's not dead.
It's a heroin overdose.
Let's break out the Narcan.
He's dead, unless you folks wanna stop
bullshitting me and tell it straight.
Then, the good Lord willing,
we'll try and bring him back.
He broke up
with his old lady.
- We didn't break up.
We were just seeing other people.
- Oh, she broke his heart.
- Shut up, arsehole! Nobody asked you!
- Was I talking to you?
Dick, shut up!
I'm still waiting
and this young man here is still dead.
- You wanna leave here
in a body bag too?
- You'll end up like him, dick!
- Shut up!
- He's been snorting
that Red Death stuff.
It's been going on
for, like, four days now.
I rebuke the spirit of drugs
in the name of Jesus. What's his name?
- I.B. Bangin'.
- What you mean I.B. Bangin'?
- I.B. Bangin'.
- What the hell kind of name
is I.B. Bangin'?
- I don't know his real name.
- It's Frederick Smith.
- [Marcus] Okay, Freddy...
- It's Frederick.
Okay, I.B. Bangin', we're gonna
bring you back from the dead.
Now, I want everybody here to grab
the hand of the person next to you.
Come on now.
We ain't got much time.
And look up
towards the heavens.
Dear Lord,
here I am again...
asking one more chance
for a sinner.
Please, Lord, bring back
I.B. Bangin', Lord.
You have the power, Jesus.
You have the might.
You have the super light
to spare this worthless man.
- My God! Frederick!
- Rise up, I.B. Bangin'...
and start your life anew!
Oh, thank You, Lord.
- What happened?
- You fucking died, you stupid bastard.
- I warned you.
- Damn, you guys are good.
- [Marcus] Not us.
The first step is Love.
The second is Mercy.
That guy I brought in yesterday,
post-cardiac arrest. He's gone.
Burke? You're not gonna believe it.
He's showing cognitive signs.
It started with spontaneous respiration.
Now he's fighting to pull out the tube.
He had to be sedated. He's in CAT scan.
There's no room in I.C.U.
- What do you think?
- Who knows?
It's all lower brain stem
activity at this point.
The heart refuses to stabilize.
You know, he coded 11 times
since he got here.
But the guy's a fighter.
Every time the Valium wears off,
he starts yanking on the restraints.
The family know?
I wanted to bring them in
to see if he'd respond to voices.
But there was no one
in the waiting room.
This guy's daughter
was in my face all night.
Finally, I got something
positive to tell her, she's gone.
You put poison in your veins,
and now that you're breathing again,
you can't wait to say
"Thank you very much"
and get back out to poison shopping.
Well, since we saved your life,
could you do us a favor...
and stop breathing
in another city next time?
I ever tell you
about that time years ago...
I was on this ledge uptown
trying to pull this damn psycho inside?
You mean where the guy jumped
and you almost fell?
No, you never told me that story.
[Chuckling]
No, you never listened.
There I was.
I put everything I had into saving
this dumb-ass, low-life suicidal...
that when he went down,
it was like I wanted to go with him.
That happened once in Ireland.
This girl jumped off the cliffs
of Moher and the wind blew her back up.
- The wind blew her back up?
- Yeah, the wind.
- No, that was Jesus, son.
- It was also the wind.
The wind, my black ass.
That was Jesus.
Don't tell me
about the Good Book.
I'll preach heaven and beat the hell
out of you. Don't tell me that now.
I was going, son.
But if someone up on high... Thank You,
Jesus... hadn't have pulled me in...
Would you turn left here?
I wanna make a stop.
The point is, everybody go through a
stretch where folks gonna die on you.
Just don't meditate on it.
# I say open up the window #
I'll be right back.
# And let me breathe #
# I say open the window #
- # And let me breathe #
- Hello. It's Frank Pierce
from the ambulance last night.
I brought your father
into the hospital.
- I just learned some news.
- [Mary] I'll be right down.
# I cried for ya #
He's better, isn't he?
Well, the doctor says
he's showing some movement.
I mean, it's still early. It might mean
nothing, but I thought you'd wanna know.
- # I cried for ya ##
- Yeah, I knew.
I sensed it when I heard your voice.
You-You look so different.
Oh. [Laughing]
It's awful, isn't it?
It's like Night
of the Living Cheerleaders.
No, I think it looks good.
Ah, I was going nuts in that waiting
room. I came back to check on my mom.
- How is she?
- She's sleeping.
Sleeping.
I was just gonna get some food.
Pizza. I thought maybe we...
You can't kill my father that easy.
He's a real fighter, like with me.
He hasn't talked to me in three years.
But it's okay.
Sometimes you just have
to put things behind you.
I gotta be getting back.
Hey. Hey!
It'll be tough to get a taxi here.
We can give you a ride if you like.
Okay.
Who that?
She's the daughter of a cardiac arrest
I brought in last night.
I told her we'd give her a ride
back to Misery. Her father's
showing signs of improving.
Oh, Frank, you got it bad, son.
So much worse than what I thought.
- I'm hungry too. We gotta get
something to eat after this.
- God, help us. He's hungry.
# These are the days #
# You might fill with laughter #
# Until you break #
# These days you might
feel a shaft of life #
# Make its way
across your face #
# And when you do #
# You'll know how it was
meant to be #
# See the signs
know their meaning #
# It's true #
# You'll know how it was
meant to be #
# Hear the signs
and know they're speaking #
# To you #
# To you ##
Dad?
Can you hear me?
It's Mary.
Squeeze my hand if
you can hear me, Dad.
- [Woman Screams]
- He squeezed my hand.
He's moving, Doctor.
He grabbed my hand.
Come on, Dad. Show 'em.
Come on. See? See?
I'll be damned. It's movement.
Just not sure how voluntary it is.
[Mary]
No, he heard me.
Come on, Dad. Yeah.
Oh! Nurse Crupp.
Nurse Crupp!
Ten milligrams of Valium!
- Get over here.
- [Beeping]
- Where's that Valium?
- Why don't we step out
for a little while,
- wait till this passes.
- Make sure he's breathing.
[Beeping Continues]
He wants
to pull that tube out.
It's pretty painful.
That's why they keep him sedated.
- But it's a good sign.
- Are you sure?
I know my father
would hate being tied down.
He wouldn't even go
to the dentist.
That's how it's done.
You have to keep the body going
until the brain and the heart...
recover enough
to go on their own.
He's better though, right?
He's better.
I'm sorry.
It's just...
It's important to me.
I mean, a week ago...
I was wishing he was dead.
And now, I wanna hear
his voice just once more.
- You know what I mean?
- [Door Swings Open]
[Marcus]
Went over to Ray's and got this.
Must be a place reserved in hell
for somebody who charges $1.50 a slice.
Anything comes up,
I'll call you.
- Bon appetit.
- Thanks.
- Thank you, Marcus.
Oh, thank...
I'm not really hungry.
You know, my father's
a really wonderful man.
There was nobody
he wouldn't help.
You know that crazy guy, Noel,
who I gave water to last night?
He lived at our house
for almost a year.
Total stranger
he'd do anything for.
His own family, though...
[Scoffs]
It's best not to...
dwell.
Yeah.
It's good pizza, huh?
Mmm, it's not as good
as, uh, Nino's.
You remember that pizza place,
Mimi's, on 10th, maybe 15 years ago?
When you ordered a pie, it came with
a little plastic Madonna in the middle.
Saint Anthony, yeah.
You from the neighborhood?
- I grew up on 43rd.
I went to Holy Cross.
- Really?
I went to Sacred Heart.
Where'd you go to high school?
Well, you know, Mary,
we moved out after that. Upstate.
Yeah. Like everybody else,
except us.
- So, your parents... Good.
- They're fine.
My old man's a bus driver,
and Mom a nurse.
Sort of born to it,
I guess.
- You married?
- Uh, no.
I was.
Hard to explain.
[Sighs] She had a hard time
adjusting to, uh...
Well, maybe-maybe
it was my fault too.
- [Man] White cocksucker!
Don't be touchin' me!
- [Crashing Sound]
Is it always this bad in here?
How does anybody survive?
- Gosh.
- Well, it's been bad lately,
but it's-it's always bad.
- [Shouting Continues]
- How long have you been doing this?
Five years.
Wow. You must've
seen some things, huh?
Well, no. I mean, you sort of learn
to block it out, you know?
It's like, um... like cops
fencing off a crime scene.
But then,
something good'll happen.
Everything just glows.
You must get
a lot of overdoses.
Bet you picked me up
a couple times.
I think I'd remember that.
Maybe not.
I was a different person then.
Does everyone you meet
just...
- spill their guts on you like this?
- Uh, mostly.
Must be my face.
My mother always said
I look like a priest.
You do. Yeah.
Yeah, my mom thought
I was gonna be a nun...
because, uh, I ran away
to a convent when I was 13.
But I didn't want to be a nun.
I just... I wanted to run away.
Well, Sister Mary or Mary the Junkie,
it didn't really matter to me.
- You know, I better go
check on my father.
- Yeah, all right.
Thanks for the pizza.
I owe you one.
Maybe, um,
when he gets better.
- When we're through with all of this.
- Sure.
Look after her, Griss,
okay?
- ## [R&B On Radio]
- Rule number one: Don't
get involved with patients.
Rule number two: Don't get involved
with patients' daughters.
- You understand?
- [Mimicking Marcus]
What about rule number three?
Don't get involved
with dispatchers named Love.
Now, boy, you don't know nothin'
about rule number three.
Cannot begin to understand
the complexities of that rule.
## [Continues]
Come on. Let's go look
at some hookers, hmm?
Kit Kat Club
be lettin' out 'bout now.
[Love On Radio]
74-Will. 330, West 33rd.
Church of Jesus Son,
for demonic possession.
72-Victor,
you're goin' to 8th and 14th.
On the corner, there's a 40-year-old man
hearin' celebrity voices.
76-X ray, take it uptown,
541 West 54th St,
for the elderly woman
abducted by her cat.
## [Continues]
[Marcus] Look at these women.
Can't even tell who's a hooker no more.
Whatever happened to
go-go boots and hot pants?
They'll wear anything now.
Walk out the house
with whatever they got on.
[Man Shouting, Indistinct]
You got the wrong guy!
Hands off, baby!
[Frank Narrating]
The street's not like the E.R.
There's no walls, no controls.
To make up for that, they try
to teach me how to act without thinking,
like a soldier who can take apart
and reassemble a gun blindfolded.
Kick his ass!
Fuck him up! Fuck him up!
Kick his ass!
Beat the shit out of him, baby!
Beat the shit out of him!
[Frank Continues] I realized
that my training was useful...
in less than ten percent
of the calls,
and saving someone's life
was rarer than that.
After a while,
I grew to understand...
that my role was less about saving
lives than about bearing witness.
I was a grief mop.
It was enough that
I simply showed up.
- [Woman Sobbing]
- Except with Rose.
[Sobbing]
[Wolls]
Shut up!
- I'll get ya a glass of water.
Noel, I'm your friend.
- [Shouting, Groaning]
Come on, calm down.
I'm gonna take you to a spa.
- I'm gonna get you a facial. Shh, shh.
- [Shouts In Spanish]
- [Shouting Continues]
- Get him in there!
Look-Look-Look at that.
Hmm? Look at that.
Leaves you with no idea what's
underneath. Not even a suggestion.
Could be a skeleton
for all you know.
Yeah, that-that's nice, though.
Right there. Mm-hmm.
Pullin' back her hood
as we drive by.
See, there's a mystery to it.
- Then she shows ya.
- She's not a whore, Marcus.
We're all whores, Frank.
You know what I'm talkin' about?
The way she looked at me.
She wasn't lookin' at you, man.
She was lookin' at me.
Why did you kill me, Frank?
- I didn't kill you.
- No, you didn't, Frank, and thank you.
But there's still a couple hours
left on our shift.
- No, it's not you. It's some...
- You hearin' them voices again?
- I just need a drink.
- What-What them voices sayin' to ya?
They say, "Kill Marcus!"
Okay?
- [Laughing]
- That ain't funny, Frank.
Look, I don't need shock treatments.
I'm not sick, all right?
- I just need a drink.
- Okay.
[Love On Radio] 62-Young,
answer the radio. I have a call for you.
I can't wait all night, Young.
I'm holdin' a priority,
and if you don't answer
I'm gonna knock you outta service.
and I'm gonna help you out.
Just remember,
you owe me.
[Love]
You're going to 370 West 98th Street.
17-year-old female, cardiac arrest.
No further information.
- 10-4, hon.
- Why is everything a cardiac arrest?
What happened to chest pain,
difficulty breathing, fractured hands?
Come on, people!
Lord Jesus,
help me get through the night.
- [Siren Wailing]
- # I can't get over it #
# It's so wide
I can't get around it #
# Nowhere to run
Nowhere to hide #
I hate this block.
Nothin' but crackheads.
- I don't wanna go in there
without the police.
- I'm goin'.
It's easier than waitin'.
E.M.S!
- Ambulance!
- Oh, Jesus. My bad back.
My feet hurt.
Damn crackheads.
- E.M.S!
- Hello? E.M.S.
Hello?
Please, hurry.
Please hurry.
Come this way, please.
- She's over here.
This way. Hurry.
- [Screaming]
[Both Speaking Spanish]
My, oh, my, a fat crackhead!
Now, that's a first.
- What's wrong?
- No English. She has
terrible pain in her belly.
- I mean, she's pregnant.
- No, no, that's impossible.
We're virgins.
Are you pregnant?
Estas embarazada?
Can you walk?
Puedes caminar?
- She say she in great pain.
- Thank-Thank you.
Thank you for the translation.
What's your name?
- Nombre?
All right, let's have a look.
- Maria! Maria!
[Couple Speaking Spanish]
You two know each other
a long time?
Yeah, two years,
ever since we left the island.
This is a personal question,
but I gotta ask it.
- In all that time, you never had sex?
- No, never.
Maybe you had a couple of beers
one night last summer.
You know how it works, son.
- No cigarettes, no drugs, no beer.
- No underwear?
- We're virgins!
- Oh, Jesus, we'd better go.
Call for backup!
- It's coming. Hold her down.
- My God! What the hell is that?
- It's three legs.
- That's too many!
- [Marcus] They're comin'!
- Is she dying?
- She's having a baby. Twins.
- That's imposible.
It's possible! It's possible!
She's having a baby, okay?
[Panting]
It's a miracle.
[Labored Breathing]
Contractions stopped.
Help me get her out of here.
Ow!
Hold it, hold it, hold it.
- My back. Hold it.
- [Woman Screams]
- [Screaming, Sobbing]
- All right, look,
let's just put her down.
Put her over here.
Let's just put her down.
- You take the first one.
- [Screaming Intensifies]
[Baby Crying]
It's a boy, Frank.
He looks good.
How's yours?
Open the door!
She had a pulse!
Code! Code blue!
[Man Over P.A., Indistinct]
- We're set up in Two.
- Jesus Christ. Get her on the monitor.
- Where's the pediatric cart?
- It's right here.
- Give me the blade.
How many months, Frank?
- Can't tell.
- It was a breech. Twins.
The other seems okay.
- Step back, Frank.
Marcus is taking him
and the mother to Maternity.
I'm a mother!
I got a daughter! I got rights!
- [Hazmat] Start compression.
- Give her some Valium!
- Ten mil, stat!
- Flatline. Let's start C.P.R.
- Starting.
- Status?
[Constance]
I think I got a pulse. I think.
- Fuck!
- Nothing!
- [Mishra] Give me an I.V. line.
- [Hazmat] Call X ray.
- I.V. 's in. Give me epinephrine.
- How long has she been down?
- [Constance] About ten minutes.
- Call respiratory.
- Excuse me, sir. Can I please
bother you for a cup of water?
- Can we get an X ray here?
- [Voices Continue, Overlapping]
- Oh, my God.
- For days, I have eaten
nothing but sand, O Lord.
- Stop compression.
- I've waited so long.
- All right, status?
- Can I please get some fucking water?
- Flatline!
Jesus Christ!
Who woke that guy up?
- Come on.
- I've got nothing.
[Hazmat]
Shit.
Are the parents here?
Someone's gonna have to tell 'em.
Don't give me that look.
- What look?
- You know what look.
It's all over your face.
That I-Just-Saved-
A-Little-Baby-Boy look.
We just saved a little,
bouncin' baby boy.
- Think of it that way.
- I don't wanna hear about it, okay?
That's three jobs for the night.
It's over. Three jobs.
Time for a drink.
Six A.M.., the cocktail hour.
So, pass the bottle.
I know you're holding.
The bar is now open.
I hate gin.
You know, when I had that
little baby in my hands,
I felt like I was
Call like that makes me wanna go back
to workin' three nights a week, not two.
- You know, start runnin' again,
cut down on my drinkin'.
- I'll drink to that.
Here's to the greatest job
in the world.
The greatest job in the world.
[Love On Radio] 62-Young, I have
priorities holdin'. Pick up the radio.
Don't do it, Marcus.
Please.
Tell her the bus died.
Tell her the radio's not working.
Tell her
our backs are out.
Tell her... Tell her we're too drunk
to take any more calls.
Okay?
- Let's take it!
- No!
Only for you, baby! Only for you!
- [Groaning]
- Keep it to yourself, Young.
Male diff breather, approximately 30.
West End and 72nd.
I'm comin', baby!
Big Daddy Marcus is comin'!
- We comin'! We comin'!
- No!
Lord have mercy!
Thank You, Jesus.
- Are you all right?
- Amen. Thank You, Jesus.
- [Laughing]
- Oh, thank You, Lord.
Oh, thank You, Jesus.
That is the last time
you do this to me, Marcus.
- Where are you goin', Frank?
- I quit!
I'm through.
Oh, you think just 'cause you quit,
them ghosts gonna quit too?
It don't work
that way, Frank!
I've been there, son!
- You need the Holy Ghost, Frank!
- [Laughing Hysterically]
The Holy Ghost!
[Noel Shouting, Indistinct]
Noel.
- What's going on, Griss?
- Your friend there just
untied the water beggar.
Griss was comin' out to thank her.
Probably saved Griss a murder charge.
[Sighs]
She's having a tough time, though.
[Children Chattering]
Excuse me. You seemed
like you were in trouble.
No, I'm all right.
I just...
I can't stand seeing
people tied up.
I'm in that waitin' room for hours,
and I'm listenin' to Noel screamin'.
And the only reason that's
he's screamin' is 'cause he's tied up!
- Don't seem so bad to me.
- Don't say that.
I almost cut
my father loose too.
You know, one minute they
tell me that he's almost dead.
The next minute, they tell me
he's better and I can go in and...
It's killing me
seeing him fight like that.
Well, since you're here,
maybe, uh,
maybe you could
do me a favor and, uh...
wait for me outside
this building, 'cause I gotta
go visit a friend who's sick.
Okay.
I'm only asking you because
this is a dangerous building,
and there's been some robberies and
a woman was raped not long ago, and...
This woman I'm seeing, she's gonna
wanna sit and talk with me all day,
but if I can point to you out the window
and tell her that you're waitin',
then she'll
let me out quick.
If anything happens,
I'm in 16-M.
Maybe I should
come up with you.
If I'm not back in 15 minutes
just hit the buzzer,
and that way she'll let me go.
If that's what's gonna happen.
I'll come with you.
I'm okay. I'm just
visiting a friend who's sick.
[Sighs]
I shouldn't have asked you to come.
You asked me not to come.
Promise you won't
go inside.
Fifteen minutes.
You know, everyone
at that hospital's crazy!
I'm going crazy too.
You understand?
I just have to...
I just have to relax a little
and not feel so guilty all the time.
We can still go back.
I'll walk you home.
You sleep for a couple hours.
Watch some TV.
Take a bath.
Don't be such a cop.
If you have any doubts
about this, it's my fault.
You go on home.
Really.
I'm fine.
Thanks.
I don't need you.
- Hi.
- Hey, Cy, guess who's here.
[Door Closes]
[Knocking On Door]
Can I help you?
Mary Burke.
She's a friend.
She's not here.
- Wait a minute. You can't go in.
- ## [Reggae On Radio]
- Kanita?
- Hey!
- Hey, Cy!
- Be cool. Be cool.
- It's all good.
- He looks like a cop.
No, he ain't no cop. You're a medic,
right? I'm Cy. Cy Coates.
Frank Pierce.
Mary said you might
be coming over.
- Where is she?
- Sleepin', brother, in the back.
She asked me
to pick her up,
- go out for a movie and a malt
and bring her right home.
- [Phone Ringing]
I know, I know.
I know.
- But she told me to tell you she
wants to crash here a few hours.
- [Takes Phone Off The Hook]
See, it's terrible
about her father and everything.
- ## [Continues]
- I better just go in and see her.
Frank, see,
I call this the Oasis.
It's a refuge from
the world out there.
You wanna come in here,
relax, sit down.
It's all right.
Brother, she is sound asleep.
She ain't gonna know
any difference.
No, I'm gonna go see her.
Well, did you know two people got shot
in this buildin' last week?
A priest got robbed
by ten-year-olds across the street.
Oh, brother, be careful.
That's the Tiger.
Lady's down the hall.
Clean up that nose,
brother.
Welcome to
Dayrise Enterprises, Frank.
Stress-free factory.
Mary. Mary.
- We have to get going.
- [Moaning]
She asked for something
to help her sleep, brother.
Mary, we really have to go.
- [Grunting]
- Whoa, Frank, she suffered
enough, all right?
Now, she's gonna be fine.
I promise.
Come on, Frank.
Now, I'm always
interested in people
with stressful occupations.
Now, bein' a paramedic, that's about
as stressful as I can imagine.
Go ahead, take a seat.
Sit down.
Tell me some war stories.
You know, what's it like?
Got a beer?
Oh, that shit
is poison, Frank.
We don't have
alcohol around here.
What you need
is one of these.
Did-Did you give Mary
something called Red Death?
- [Clicks Lighter]
- Excuse me?
Red Death.
Tell me something, Frank.
Does killing your clients sound like
good business sense to you? Hmm?
See, the kids sellin' that Red Death
are just tryin' to make a quick buck.
They don't got no respect for me
or the work I done in this community.
But don't worry.
They're gonna be taken care of.
I got Tiger workin' on it.
- I should be going. I just quit.
- Oh, look.
Sleep is all
stress reduction.
All right?
Here.
Now, if you take one of these,
sleep for two hours...
That's all you need.
Why do you think
I'm tellin' you this, Frank?
For my health?
Now, brother, you gotta look at yourself
in the mirror, all right?
Kanita.
Would you get our new friend
here a glass of water, please?
Oh, you're so fine.
Is this what you gave Mary?
Yep, that's the stuff.
I call it the Red Lion.
It's very king-of-the-jungle,
"Makuna matata," all that.
There's no language.
Just brute power.
But, see,
you just ain't gonna believe
how relaxin' that shit
really is, all right?
## [Continues]
- I guess I'll be going.
- Just relax.
You at the Oasis now.
All right?
Take my pulse.
It's good, isn't it?
It's perfect.
It's two beats per minute.
I knew it.
I was wrong about you.
You're not so bad.
## [Fades]
## [The Cello's
"Japanese Sandman"]
# Who are you #
[Lip Synching]
# I am the Japanese sandman #
# You lookee like
the Japanese sandman #
## [Continues]
- ## [Ends]
- ## [Classical]
# Don't worry about it
Don't worry about it #
# Don't worry #
# Uh-huh #
# I want a, I want I want a drink
of water, I want a drink of water #
# Go in the kitchen
and get me a drink of water #
# Said I gotta go #
# I'm all right
All right #
# Mm-hmm #
# I turn on the radio #
# If you wanna hear a few tunes
I'll turn on the radio for ya #
# There you go
There you go #
# There you go, baby
There you go #
## [Fades]
- You're in the stomach.
- You sure?
You're in the stomach again.
- You're in the stomach again.
Let me try.
- One more time.
- Rose.
- Huh?
My name, Rose.
- Stomach again.
- No way!
No pulse.
Let me try.
No pulse!
No pulse, goddam it!
[Screaming]
- Frank! Frank! Take it easy!
Okay, what happened?
- ## [Resumes]
- He flipped out!
- All right, now, Frank...
Frank, be cool, my brother.
- [Groaning]
- You're havin' what you call
a paradoxical reaction.
- [Kanita] He's psycho!
- Listen to me, Frank.
Frank, where are you goin'?
You're makin' a mistake.
Yeah, you go. Okay, that's good.
You go in there.
You go in there, lie down.
Get some sleep, whatever.
[Kanita]
Hey. Look.
- Cy, you want me to stop this?
- No, Tiger, it's all right.
- You sure?
- It's cool. Be cool. Let him go.
Let him go.
Put me down!
[Cy] Frank, you are makin'
a serious mistake, my man.
She's just gonna come back.
Oh, and Frank, you owe me ten dollars.
[Mumbling]
Put me down.
Get off!
- [Mary]
Did you and Cy have a nice talk?
- Let go!
Did he tell you about
Dayrise Enterprises helping people?
Well, I've seen him
hurt people.
[Exhales]
Why are you following me?
Because you
can barely walk.
[Siren Wailing]
You remember Noel from the other night?
How Noel is now?
He wasn't always like that.
He was my brother's
best friend.
Cy or Tiger or one of those goons
put a bullet in Noel's head.
He was in a coma
for three months.
He's been crazy
ever since.
This is...
my building.
What is it with you?
You wanna help me?
You feel sorry for me?
Well, keep it to yourself.
I just need to sit down
for a minute.
- You wanna fuck me? Everyone else has.
- [Sighs]
[Whining]
Hi! Hi.
I've been clean for two years.
No drugs. I got a job.
I paint when I'm at home.
I don't bother anybody.
Then all this shit happens.
Oh, no, you don't.
Hey, you can't stay here.
Come on.
Get up.
[Sighs Deeply]
Hello. I'm Frank.
Mary's friend.
A very close friend
who loves animals.
Hello?
[Frank Narrating] I washed my face
with three kinds of soap,
each smelling
like a different season.
It felt good to be
in a woman's room again,
especially a woman who wasn't comatose
or severely disabled.
I felt like perhaps
I had turned a corner...
like I saved someone...
though I didn't know who.
Hey, Pierce.
You're late, I know it,
but I can't fire you today.
- I got nobody to ride
- No.
I got a form for you to make out about
the accident when you get some time.
Come here, kid.
Come here.
Look, I'm gonna fire you tomorrow.
I promise you.
What-What if there is
no tomorrow?
Will you get out of here
before I give you a big hug!
"No tomorrow." [Laughing]
I love that kid.
## [Rock, Indistinct]
Frank. Hey, man.
What do you know?
You and me again, tonight.
The Rough Riders,
tearin' up the streets
just like old times, huh?
- [Pounds Hood]
- This old bus is a warrior, Frank.
Just like us.
I have tried to kill him...
many times,
and he will not die.
I have great respect for that.
- # You can't put your arm
around a memory #
- Okay.
# You can't put your arm
around a memory #
[Shouting, Indistinct]
Get up, right now!
Get up! Cool it!
I already told you you can't go
in there! Didn't you hear me?
Don't make me take off
my sunglasses!
- Good morning, Griss.
- We're full up here tonight, Frank.
Get the hell out of here.
Step back! Step back!
[Breathing Apparatus Humming]
[Mr. Burke's Voice] Go to the bank,
boy. Take out everything you can.
Mr. Burke?
I'm going.
I've had enough.
[Beeping]
[Curtain Slides Open]
[Whirring]
- You do it.
- I can't reach. You're taller.
- [Burke's Voice] Don't do it!
- He's getting better.
- Better than what? It doesn't matter!
- Better than what?
- Why not?
- The family wants us to keep him alive.
The wife wants to believe in miracles.
We keep him alive.
Shock him, Frank. He'll come back.
He always comes back.
[Beeping Continues]
Clear!
- [Burke] You son of a bitch!
- Nothing. Shock him again.
Don't do it!
[Whirring]
[Screams]
- [Burke] Son of a bitch!
- [Milagros] Do it again.
Don't do it!
Frank!
- Jesus! Move! Move!
- [Machine Whirring]
Clear!
[Burke]
Hey, boy. Where you goin', Frank?
Hey, Frank!
## [Rock, Indistinct]
Frank? Frank, what the hell
you doin' back there?
I'm sick, Tom.
I need a cure.
Vitamin B cocktail, followed
by an amp of glucose...
and a drop of adrenaline.
It's not as good as beer,
but it's all I got.
Come on, Frank. There's blood spillin'
in the streets. Let's go have some fun.
Watch out.
You all right?
These are hard times, Tom.
Yeah, it's great,
isn't it?
It's great to be drunk.
Sobriety's killing me.
Look up in the sky, Frank.
It's a full moon.
Blood's gonna run tonight.
I can feel it.
Our mission:
to save lives.
Our mission is coffee, Tom.
A shot of the bull.
Puerto Rican espresso.
El Toro de Oro.
Blast off!
[Groans]
This cure's not working, Tom.
Maybe we should go back to the hospital.
Oh, come on. Don't worry.
Tom will take care of ya.
Put your head out the window.
Get some of that nice clean air.
- Come on, stop it!
- [Man On Radio]
Okay, units, it's suicide hour.
14th and 7th. A man with a noose around
his neck and nothin' to hang it on.
66-X ray, don't even think about getting
coffee. I have a call for you too.
We like our coffee bloody.
This better be good.
My partner's dying to help someone.
You're in luck, X.
Your patient awaits you
with bleeding wrists in the tunnel.
- 10-4.
- Tom, where are the Band-Aids?
- This is an ambulance, isn't it?
- Be cool, man.
- Look out!
- [Tires Screeching]
[Siren Wailing]
He does this every time
he gets drunk.
- You smell that?
- But he hates when I call you guys.
What the hell's
goin' on here?
You gotta take him
to the hospital.
- He tried to kill himself.
- You guys got any coffee?
- Show him your wrist.
Go ahead, show him.
- All right, come on.
Let me see.
It's not even bleeding.
[Man] He does this all the time.
He ain't right.
It was bleedin' before. He kept spilling
his beer. I gave him mouth-to-mouth.
You're lucky
you didn't kill him.
I wanna hear it straight
from the Looney Tunes himself.
Try to bump yourself off?
Yes.
Yeah?
Why didn't you say so?
Come on.
I'm gonna fix you up.
Come on, Frank.
Sir, I am going to give you
some medicine that is still
very experimental.
It's from NASA. And although our
astronauts have been using it for years,
we are the very
first service to try it.
Now, I am gonna put this patch
on your forehead, like this.
And in about a minute,
you will have to relax.
You will lose all
your suicidal feelings.
It's very important that you wear
the patch for at least 24 hours.
And keep checking the mirror.
If the patch turns green,
you have to see a doctor immediately.
The side effects could be fatal.
Okay?
- Okay, now, what did I say?
What color?
- Uh, clean.
- Clean.
- "Cream." You said "cream."
- Cream. Green.
- Green.
This, uh...
Excuse me.
This is the worst suicide attempt
I've ever seen.
Can you feel that pulse?
Here? That's where you cut.
And it's not across.
It's down, like so.
Here.
Take it.
- I can't. I can't.
- What?
Oh, I see.
With all the poor people
of this city...
who wanted only to live
and were viciously murdered,
you have the nerve
to sit here...
wanting to die
and not go through with it?
- [Sobbing]
- You make me sick!
- Take it! Take it!
- [Wolls Laughing]
[Wolls]
We cured him!
There's nothin' we can't do
if we just work together.
I told you to stop
for coffee.
## [Salsa]
- Thanks a lot.
- [Radio Dispatcher, Indistinct]
It sounds like they're trying to
clean up the bus terminal tonight.
[Sighs, Chuckles]
Hello?
Major Tom to Frank.
Time to just say "no."
## [Man Singing In Spanish]
- Where you goin'?
- Come on, Tom, the city's burning.
# He's in love
with the rock and roll world #
# He's in love with
the getting stoned world #
# He's in love with
Janie Jones' world #
# He don't like
his boring job, no #
# He's in love
with the rock and roll world #
# He's in love with
the getting stoned world #
# He's in love with
Janie Jones' world #
# He don't like
his boring job, no #
# And he knows
what he has to do #
# He knows he's gonna
have fun with you #
What are you doin'?
I'm driving
out of myself.
- Uh, these brakes are shot.
- I've taken that into consideration.
- Frank? Frank?
- Yeah?
Are you okay?
Never felt better in my life.
How are you?
- I'm good.
- Good.
[Male Dispatcher]
66-X ray. X ray-66.
- X.
- First of all, I want you to know
how sorry I am about this.
I've always liked you two. A unit above
none. A legend in its own lunchtime.
So it hurts me deeply to do this,
but I have no choice.
You must go to
48th and Broadway.
In front of a liquor store you'll find
a 50-year-old male, unconscious.
It says here,
"Man smells real bad."
- Do I have to say more?
- But you've said too much already.
- Mr. Oh!
- It's early for him.
It's all right. We're not meant
to do Oh tonight.
Something's gonna happen.
I can feel it!
[Man On Radio] Sergeant,
put me on the back of that jumper.
E.M.S. to Central.
What was that call?
- E.M.S., a jumper.
A shooting. West Side Projects.
- 10-4.
One minute out.
Let's go.
Somebody's gonna kill themselves.
Let's go. I don't wanna miss it.
[Dispatcher] 66.
66-X ray, level one emergency.
Level one emergency.
I need units. I need units.
We got fires in the hole.
8th and Broadway.
Shots being fired outside
the Dynamite Club. 13th and 6th.
Fired workers are shooting each other
at the post office. Where are my units?
Where are my units?
6- 6? 6-6 X-ray?
Level one emergency! Level one
emergency! Where are my units?
[Sister Fetus]
The dead are rising, but you can't tell
their faces from the smoke!
[Wolls] Somebody holdin' him
or somethin'? Is he trying to jump?
[Sister Fetus]
Go on home, sinners!
Go back to your opium pipes
and whisky bottles!
- What's with the rabbis?
- They love to hang around with us.
They offered us money for a new rig,
so I deputized them.
[Sister Fetus]
Back to your slot machines,
ribbed condoms, Mexican divorces,
your sex clubs and martinis.
Back to your hot oil wrestling,
Washington lobbying, organ donation.
- What do we bring?
- Better bring it all.
You guys grab all the gear.
Let's go.
- This guy a jumper?
- Got a call for shots fired
on the 16th floor.
- The jumper called right after.
- He landed on 14.
[Chuckling]
I'm goin' to 16.
He must've left the tub on.
## [Reggae On Radio]
That's it.
Nobody else home.
Aye, that's gotta hurt.
- [Cop] Tell him not to move.
- I'm going down to 14.
[Motor Cranking]
Forget that thing.
Go with the torch. Go.
Hey, get this, Frank.
We got two patients.
Number one:
the scarecrow outside.
Number two:
the big fellah.
Misses the railing but breaks
both legs on the balcony.
[Chuckling] Then he throws himself
through the glass window.
Then he starts crawling
that way and, uh, he passed out.
- Well, he's our shish kebab
for the night then.
- Gonna have to torch him.
- How's he doing?
- I don't know.
I'm gonna work on Sleeping Beauty.
Hey, big guy!
Either you jump or you get shot.
What are ya gonna do?
- I think I'd rather get shot.
- [Scoffs]
[Man]
Drug dealers.
- Does that hurt?
- No! No. No.
I don't think you're cut
through any major arteries.
We have to get you off this thing
without setting off bleeding.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
- I'll take your blood pressure.
- [Sister Fetus Continues]
- All right, I'm in. You in?
- I am now.
If he happens to fall, I don't think
anybody'd be cryin' too much.
They're gonna torch the fence. You're
gonna feel the metal getting warm.
Maybe very warm.
I can't hold my head up anymore.
Hold this.
[Groans, Coughs]
[Man]
Jump! Let him fuckin' go!
- Let him die!
- Let him go!
So, Frank.
[Breathing Heavily]
Am I gonna live?
- You're gonna live.
- Frank.
That ten dollars
you owe me?
- Yeah?
- Keep it.
I've been thinkin'
about things, you know?
Oh, you guys gave me lots of time
to meditate on the future.
What'd you do, huh?
Stop for Chinese on the way over here?
I was tired.
I needed a coffee.
What about Kanita?
Dead.
That's, uh...
That's too bad.
Hmm.
See, Frank,
make some money,
fine-lookin' lady on your arm,
then everybody wants
to take a piece.
Yeah,
there's some kid...
who I wouldn't let wash my Mercedes,
comes to the Oasis,
starts shootin' at me.
The Red Death Gang.
Bunch of 12-year-olds.
I thought I could make it
on the balcony, like Tiger.
But he's fat. Falls faster.
That's why.
I'm tryin' to watch my weight,
and look what happens.
[Laughs, Groans]
Goddam, that's hot!
[Groans]
[Laughing]
Bring it on! Bring it on!
You can't kill me,
duck-ass kids!
Oh, yeah.
[Groans]
Ooh. Look at that.
Look at that.
Look at that.
Hey, isn't that beautiful?
[Laughing]
Isn't that beautiful?
Oh, when the fires
start to fall,
them that's strongest
rule it all!
Oh!
I love this city!
[Fireworks Exploding]
[Both Yelling]
[Grunting, Straining]
Good thing we clipped you in,
huh, Frank?
What about me?
Who buckled me in?
- I thought you did.
- Nah, I thought you did.
- I'm sorry about that, sir.
- Yeah, right.
Aah!
Stop jerkin' my pole!
[Cheering]
[Cy] I-I got a fence up my ass, all
right? I need something for the pain.
[Woman]
We'll get you another sedative.
And somebody'll be by to take you to the
O.R., hopefully sometime this morning.
Hopefully?
Hopefully sometime this morning?
Oh, Frank.
Frank. Psst.
You saved my life.
Yeah, I know.
Nurse Crupp, we're gonna need
some Valium here. He's waking up again.
- Where's that Valium?
- Coming.
Frank, give me a hand over here.
I gotta get something between his teeth.
- [Burke's Voice]
Don't! Don't do it!
- Valium's in.
How many times
have you shocked him tonight?
Fourteen. Finally got him
a room up in I.C.U.
He should be up there
in a couple hours.
What are you gonna do,
just have somebody follow him
around with a defibrillator?
That's a good one, Frank. No,
but we might surgically implant one...
around the shoulder over here,
'bout the size of my thumb.
Two electrodes
connected to the heart.
Sends a shock
whenever he needs it.
Or we could just send him home with a
defibrillator. He could do it himself.
[Laughter Continues]
# I know it ain't funny
It ain't funny at all, baby #
# To land in
the cool room, man #
Look.
Last night I was weak,
and it won't happen again.
All that shit I was sayin'
was just 'cause I was stoned.
- Just forget it.
- No problem.
Thanks for letting me crash.
It was the best sleep
I've had in months.
I used some of your soap.
Did you see my father?
You know, the doctor said
that, uh,
that his brain's
startin' to come around.
They're just waitin' for
his heart to stabilize.
I don't know who to believe.
[Chuckles]
Can I bring you back
something to eat?
A falafel
or some pizza?
No, we just ate.
[Sighs] I keep thinking about
how tough my father was.
Now I know
he had to be like that...
to make us tough.
'Cause this city,
it'll kill you
if you aren't strong enough.
No, the city
doesn't discriminate.
- It gets everybody.
- [Siren Chirps]
I gotta go.
Another call.
We're all dying,
Mary Burke.
[Siren Chirps]
Get ready, Frank.
Missed a drug shooting while you were
dicking around in there.
Gonna be trauma tonight, baby.
As long as we keep moving.
No standing still.
# I'm so bored with the U.S.A.
Well, what can I do #
Look at your screen!
Give us some blood!
66-Xray, a man
at the bus terminal...
shot three years ago
says his arm hurts.
# I'm so bored with the U.S.A.
Well, what can I do #
Come on, Tom.
Pick up a job.
You want some bum in the bus terminal?
We'll wait for a real call.
- Let's get in a fight then.
That's your job.
- Who with?
Just keep driving. Keep moving.
No stopping. We're sharks.
We stop too long, we die.
Let's break something, Tom. Let's
bust something! Let's bomb something!
- What do you wanna break?
- I don't know.
Let's break some windows!
- Why?
- Destruction! Distraction!
I feel the need!
You need a reason, Frank. You just don't
go around breaking people's windows.
- That's anarchy.
- What's the reason, Tom?
Give me a reason.
All right, let me think.
Oh, look at this.
Classic cabby move.
Hey, swami!
It's called a crosswalk! You're
supposed to stop before it, not on it!
You Senegalian raghead!
Motherfucker!
I know who to work over.
Him!
This guy's been terrorizin'
the neighborhood for weeks,
ever since he got out of jail,
wreaking general havoc,
contributing to
the bad name of the place.
You know, the term "menace to society"
was made up for him!
- He's crazy. He can't help it.
- Oh, yeah?
Well, why don't they
put him away?
Prisons don't want him.
I took him to the hospital yesterday.
I gave him a cup of water.
I was very nice to him.
And here he is again.
Oh! Look at that!
Tell me
that's a crazy person.
Huh? Every move
is calculated!
He knows exactly
what he is doing.
Frank,
this is the guy.
I've been after him for weeks.
He's quick, though.
He runs like a rat.
He'd be tough for one person.
- But with the two of us, you know...
- Okay, what do I do?
Okay, I'm gonna
get out here.
If he sees me, he'll run.
He doesn't like me.
You start talkin' to him
about baseball or something.
I'll sneak around behind him
and get down,
and then you push him.
And when he falls,
we get him.
- That's ridiculous.
- Believe me, it always works.
The simpler, the better.
Okay?
Havin' fun now!
That's a hell of a swing
you got there, Noel.
- I'm thinking Mattingly in his prime.
- Mattingly ain't shit.
Me, I swing like Reggie.
Huh? Mr. October,
number three.
Game six
of the World Series.
All right!
You hit it.
Come on, take a crack at it.
It's okay.
Come on, hit it!
- [Laughs]
- I better not.
Go ahead.
Give it a go.
Try it.
Yeah?
Okay.
What the hell.
The next year, tiebreaker
for the division in Boston.
The Yanks down two to nothing.
Bucky Dent steps to the plate.
- Lucky-Fucky-Bucky, man.
- The pitch: high heater.
Bucky knows what's comin'.
He steps in.
Smash! Over the Green Monster!
Yeah!
Frank!
What the...
What the hell are you doin'?
Huh?
Now get down those stairs
and go after him!
You meet me back here in ten minutes
if you can't find him.
Call out if you see him!
Remember, he runs like a rat!
Come on, Frank!
Get with the programme, man!
[Water Dripping]
[Woman Sobbing]
[Sobbing Continues]
[Rose's Voice, Echoing]
Why did you kill me, Frank?
I didn't mean to.
You should've helped me.
I tried to help.
I wanted to.
Rose?
- Don't you love me?
- Rose.
Rose?
[Gasping]
To the moon, Alice!
Little motherfucker!
[Yelling]
- Get the kit! We're gonna tube him!
- What the fuck?
- Get the kit!
- Frank!
You're gonna be all right, Noel.
We're gonna save you. Do it, Tom!
I'll call for fuckin' backup!
I swear!
- You'd call for fuckin' backup?
Fuck you!
- [Bat Strikes Ground]
You're gonna make it.
You're gonna make it.
[Constance]
Let him through!
[Chattering, Indistinct]
Let him through.
Bring him through.
Who got that funky
motherfucker this time?
Last show of the night.
What do you got?
What... Oh, boy.
- Oh, boy. Nurse Crupp!
Anybody else hurt?
- No.
Get him over by
the counter over there.
- All right, we're gonna need
an X ray for a C-spine.
- Got it.
I'm gonna need
respiratory down here.
Crazy bastard.
At least he's intubated.
- Won't hear him screamin' tonight.
- [Griss] People, hear me out.
Now, the path to your well-being and
salvation will not be over Griss' body.
You can forget about that,
'cause Griss gets off in 47 minutes.
Then he's goin' home to take a bath.
Nice warm bath...
Nurse Crupp, I'm gonna need
another line here.
[Crupp]
Fine. One second. Here you are.
Notify CAT scan. We're gonna need
a C.T. right away. Welcome home, buddy.
[Crupp] Oh, look who we have. You're
gonna have to start paying rent here.
- Where are you puttin' him?
- [Milagros] Three.
Give me some gloves, please.
Nurse, call CAT scan.
- Tell 'em we'll be there
in a couple minutes.
- I got it.
Is Patrick Burke here?
I brought him in.
[Breathing Apparatus Humming]
- [Burke's Voice] Frank?
- Yes?
Where have you been?
What is it?
Let me go.
[Alarm Ringing, Bell Dinging]
Code!
[Continuous Beep]
- [Man] What's this?
- He just coded.
- What a way to begin the day.
Are we doing C.P. R?
- Mm-hmm.
One mil epi.
Let me see this.
- Is this the man who was down
in the E.R. for so long?
- Yes, it is.
Seventeen codes.
My God.
- Who's this man?
- He says he's the one
who brought him in.
The family?
Seventeen codes.
Well, they must be prepared.
You know how they can be.
Yeah, I know.
Okay, stop C.P.R.
That's it.
I'm calling it. 6:02.
Are you gonna
tell the family?
[Pounding]
Die! Die! Die!
Son of a bitch!
Die! Die!
Die! Die!
Die! Die!
Bastard!
[Grunts]
- [Ringing]
- [Mary] Who is it?
- Frank.
- Oh, come on up.
Hi.
He's dead, Mary.
Your father passed.
They just moved him
to the second floor, to I.C.U.
He coded.
They shocked him too many times.
I'm sorry.
I don't know how he held on
as long as he did.
I'm sorry.
You have to keep
the body going...
until the brain and heart
recover enough to go on their own.
Forgive me, Rose.
It's not your fault.
No one asked you to suffer.
That was your idea.
Noel was almost killed.
I took care of him.
He's gonna pull through.
Would you like to come in?
Yes.
[Sirens Wailing]
[Man On Radio, Indistinct]