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Dark Blue (2002)
All units, all frequencies, stand by.
Repeat, all units, all frequencies, stand by. All units stand by. CHP are in pursuit. Westbound 210 freeway, approaching Paxton. Westbound 210 freeway, approaching Paxton. Sixteen Adam Twelve reports vehicle is in excess of 100 miles an hour. The vehicle is exiting the freeway at Paxton. Suspect is wanted for evading. All units stand by. Suspect is wanted for evading. All units stand by. It has been more than a year since the Rodney King beating. The twelve jurors in the trial of the four white police officers have just returned with a verdict after deliberating for several days. Right now what's happening is that the four officers accused of assaulting Rodney King are on their way to the courthouse here in Simi Valley along with their lawyers. As soon as they get here, the judge will call the jury back into the courtroom, and the clerk will begin to read the verdicts. We expect it will happen very, very soon. What's happening on the other side of the courthouse, a large crowd is developing. These are people who have been monitoring this trial. They are anxious to find out what the verdict is. And as soon as it happens, we will bring it to you live. Reporting live from the Simi Valley courthouse in Ventura County... There it is. Come on. Come on, hang a U. Turn around, nigga. Jack O' Hearts, that's it. They ain't getting off. What, the jury don't have fucking eyes, man? It's Rodney King getting his ass beaten, man. They are beating the black out of homeboy's ass. I don't give a fuck, man. Pull that weed out your mouth, motherfucker. Check this shit out. I wouldn't give a fuck if it was motherfucking Martin Luther King got clapped off, nigga. It don't matter. Ain't no brothers on that jury out there, fucker. It's Simi Valley. All good decent white folk like yourself, nigga. That is why they moved the venue. The cops are protected. It is on videotape. You can't fuck with that. - If they go down... - They going down. If they go down, I'll buy you some good old-fashioned black pussy. If them motherfuckers walk, though, you got to spot me a ho. And I don't want no white ho, either, nigga. I want a Puerto Rican. Where you gonna find a Puerto Rican in LA, man? I'm gonna get you some Mexican shit. I don't want no clumsy-ass Mexican, nigga. I want me a bad-ass Puerto Rican bitch. I don't give a fuck if you got to swim. Let's shake. It's about that time. We gonna do this short, simple and clean. You dig? Detective Keough, if you had a little time machine, and you could travel back to the day of the shooting, to the afternoon that you killed Mr. Robertson, I'd like to hear what you'd do differently. I wouldn't do anything differently, sir. He drew down on me, and I did what I was trained to do. If anything, sir, I really believe that I should have acted quicker. The last man that Robertson pulled a gun on, he's not with us anymore. - Thank you, Detective. - Thank you. I think we've kept Detective Keough here long enough. Chief Barcomb, I have a few questions for the detective. Fire away, Chief Holland. I know it's been a long day. And I know those chairs aren't well-padded, so I promise to be quick. Are you okay? Three weeks in SIS and you have made your first kill. Would you say you have proven yourself? Well, respectfully, sir, I think this shooting board has to decide that. - Do you think it could have been avoided? - No, sir, I don't. Well, it says here that you and your partner had Mr. Robertson bumper-locked for two days before the shooting. Why didn't you bust him for the weapon? Well, we didn't bust him because we weren't sure he had the weapon. The informant who told us he was armed is highly unreliable. Yeah, but you tailed him anyway, to the tune of 680 man hours. He was on parole. You could have shaken him down, but instead, you chose to let a two-time felon stroll around downtown LA with a.357 Magnum stuck in his jeans. Why? Why? We didn't bust him because we didn't want to get him on a bullshit weapons charge. Thank you, Chief Holland. We have to wrap it up here. Officer Garcia, would you bring Sergeant Perry in? Sergeant Perry, we are not quite through beating up on you yet. I have one final question before we adjourn. - Time machine, sir? - Yes, the time machine. Chief, I'd get real pro-active. If I had a time machine, I think I'd go back a decade and take out G-Bone, his street name, by the way, before he killed a man for $10. The time machine I'm talking about, it doesn't go back that far. It goes back one week. To the day that Detective Keough chose in an instant to use deadly force. Now, what would you change about that day? That day only. Nothing, sir. It was textbook. At the end of the day, the bullets were in the bad guys, not us. We expect department personnel to use deadly force... Only as a last resort, which in this case it was, sir. Bobby Keough is a good cop with a lot of potential, and he dropped a menace to society. It was a good call. Thank you. Thank you, Sergeant Perry, Detective Keough. You gentlemen are dismissed. We will issue our findings at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. These proceedings are closed. Call me. It is the second full day of deliberations in the Rodney King beating trial. No word on when the jury might reach a decision. Reporters and photographers and the news media have been covering this case. They are sitting around outside in the parking lot of the courthouse, waiting until we get word that there is a verdict. Reporting live from the Simi Valley courthouse... Man, they should have wasted that worthless motherfucker's ass. - Here. Settle your stomach. - Thanks, Jack. - So, how did my nephew perform? - Well, he aced it. Say hello to the department's new poster boy. No, I'm telling you, I'm going to get suspended. I'm going to end up being a fucking security guard at Taco Bell. Bobby, you go down, I go down. I go down, Jack goes down. And Jack isn't going down. So have some faith in the system, will you? A man is supposed to be nervous in front of his first shooting board. Listen, kid, here's my advice, for what it's worth. - Live with it! - Jesus Christ. Good hands! Good hands! I'm never going to live it down, am I? Don't go getting sad and weepy on us. One mistake means you're human. Two mistakes means you're fired. Holy shit! It's a royal visit. Look what descended from the sixth floor. - Hey, Jimmy. - Jack. - How are you holding up, son? - Oh, I'm good, sir. I'm good. Jack, you should have seen this kid. He was outstanding. You ever thought about doing a tour with Public Affairs? We could use a good-looking son of a bitch like you. He is a good young cop, Jimmy. And he's mine. Well, I tried. So, the board voted. In policy. - You're off the hook, kid. - There you go! Congratulations. Have a cigar. The report will be ready in the morning. You guys can get back into the field. So, the vote... - The vote... The vote was four to one. What? Oh, come on, who the fuck pissed backwards. Holland? Affirmatron. I would like to see his bald-headed, black ass back in a radio car in South Central. Hell, we don't need that shit. - No, I just... He actually said, "Out of policy"? Holland began contacting outside agencies a month ago. He is undergoing civil service testing with the City of Cleveland. He's leaving to run their PD. You didn't hear it from me. - Didn't hear it from you. Fuck Holland. Good riddance. But you watch, you are going to have to pin his stars on another brother or the community will go apeshit. Jesus, Eldon, you sound like your old man. - It's true. It is not such a bad thing, Jimmy. Everything I know... His old man. A toast to Bobby. Right between the eyes. Well, thank you. Thank you, guys. I mean it. Thank you for giving me the chance to prove myself in SIS. - Amen, Bobby. To Jack's squad. - Jack. Eldon, Jimmy has something to tell you. You made Lieutenant. You're next on the transfer list. - Yeah, fuck you too, Jimmy. - No. We're not pulling your dick. It's about fucking time. It's about fucking time! All right! Hey! Where's my badge? The badge ceremony is Wednesday at the Academy. A dozen lieutenants are being promoted. The biggest in department history. That is if you think you can make it on time, Mr. Smart-Ass. I'm going to try to shove it into my busy schedule, Jimmy. Thanks for dropping by, Jimmy. Thanks for the cigars, Jimmy. - Good luck, kid. - Yeah, thank you. We'll hoist a few next week. That'd be good, Jack. Any time. Looking forward to it. That's our next chief, gentlemen. That's a scary fucking thought. I mean, oh, God help us. I can't stand much more of that dump. Did you see that drunk tonight trying to paw me? No, what drunk? It doesn't matter what drunk. What's the matter with you tonight, darling? That's the third time you tried to tell me something, then stopped. We shouldn't have any secrets from each other. You're a fucking alcoholic. - Thanks. - There's goulash in the Crock-Pot. I'm not hungry. I love you. You know I do. I want to marry you, but not now. Only after we've dated first. Did you just get home? Eleven prisoners got early releases. I had to process them out. Sal, I made lieutenant. - You're kidding. - Uh-uh. - Finally. - Yeah. When's it going to show up on your paycheck? Well, not until after the ceremony, honey. Oh, come on, man. Who the fuck is calling 900 numbers? If it's anyone, it's you, and you don't remember. The department tapes for manual labor. Watch this, it's the damn kid. Welcome to Sorority Slut Hotlines. Yeah, Sorority Slut Hotline. Just fucking pay it. At least he's not a fag. No, he's not a fag. He's a damn kid. He has a girlfriend. Did you know that, "Detective"? No. No shit? Yeah. She is very pretty, very sweet. That's excellent. The boy's finding his dick. I work in a jail. Do I have to listen to that at home? Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Aren't you going to ask me how the shooting board went? Aren't you gonna at least ask me how the shooting board went? I'm sorry, honey. I have a hard time keeping track of all your shootings, and investigations, and interrogations, - and inquiries. - Come on. - How did your shooting board go? - In policy. - Like it would be anything else. - Oh, what is this? What is this? I recognize this. I've seen them before, somewhere, sometime. You know, Bobby... He's strutting around like a little bantam rooster. You're just jealous of him 'cause he's cute. Cute? You are so lost in space, you have no idea what the fuck is going on. Jealous of Bobby? Bobby is a fucking coward. - Bobby's not a coward. - Oh, he's not? Okay. Chicken shit. Let me tell you how that Robertson case really went down. My gun has to cool 'cause I blasted that freak in Pacoima last month, right? And it's due time Bobby gets tested. So we're out there. We're in this alley. We're waiting. Robertson comes running out, almost smacks into Bobby. So there they are, eyeballing each other with their shit hanging out. Robertson says, "Boo." Bobby drops his gun and Mandingo goes track star. Sally, Bobby dropped his fucking gun, okay? - I don't want to hear this. - No. Listen, listen. 'Cause this is good. So I reach down, I pick up Bobby's gun I go, "Hey! Yo, G-dog!" Or "GQ" or whatever the fuck his name is. He turns around and boom! I split this guy's eyeballs. Lucky shot, I admit it. Point is, I let Bobby take the trigger-man slot to save his ass from big-time embarrassment, okay? How you like that for cute? Fuck! Fucking goulash, huh? Oh, boy. And you wonder why I drink. Oh, Jesus Christ! Oh, Jesus Christ! Oh, yeah. Is that all you got? Yeah, for now. For the moment, yeah. Man, you sure you're a cop? Just call me Sarge. But no last name. Yeah, we've known each other, what, for three weeks without last names? I'm afraid if you tell me you're gonna, like... - What? I'll turn into a pumpkin? - Yeah, something like that. - Want to know my last name? - No. No. I don't want to know your last name. Or your division, or your partner. I don't know. I kind of like it like this, you know? Nothing too serious, yet. What just happened was pretty serious to me. - Ready to go again? Hmm? - Whatever you say, Sarge. That's what I'm talking about. Money. - Niggas went... Orchard! Sidwell! Did you hear that? - Yo, what's up? Orchard! Sidwell! Open up! I know you're in there. Orchard! Sidwell! Where's the safe? Dump that shit! Where's the money? Give me all the money now, or I'll put you back in your cages. - Is this it? - Hell, yeah. Yo, what about our half? Keeping your half. I'm keeping your half because you couldn't control yourselves. Why did you dumb fucks kill those people? What the fuck do you think? We going to let people walk in the store and walk out after they've seen us? I don't give a fuck. You live and breath and walk the streets because of me and me alone. You know that, don't you? - Yes, sir. - Yes, sir. Your whore is dead. Dump her, too. Get off your asses. I'm putting you on a fresh-blood case. There was a quadruple homicide in Jefferson yesterday. - Two coloreds fucked up a robbery. - Monkeyshines. Why call us in? The Shit Fairy paid me a visit and it is rolling downhill. Yeah, I hate it when the Shit Fairy visits. One of the vics was an LAPD dispatcher. I got four bodies in the morgue. This Rodney King shit has the department on the ropes. So get these gorillas. Show the world the LAPD looks after its own. - Eldon, can we do this? - Sure, Jack, we can do this. Help the guys out in South Bureau. Peltz and Sapin. They're a little overworked. They'll be happy if SIS take point on this. - Bobby. - Yes, sir. - This could be a second chance for you. - I hope so, sir. So, what's the deal with this new girl, Bobby? Where did you meet her? - What are you talking about? - Come on, man, I am a detective. - Give me some credit. What's her name? - Her name's Beth. - What does she do? - I don't know. I don't know what she does. She works in the building. Bullshit. She's a cop. I will bet she is the only blue-suiter who didn't drop her drawers when you flashed your shield, - and now you're intrigued. - Oh, Eldon, I'm more than intrigued. Do you remember the stenographer? Eldon. Bobby! Don't do it! Bobby! Bobby! You fucking idiot! You have no idea how badly you'll regret that when you're my age. I'm sure I will. The latest now on the Rodney King beating trial. We're into the third straight day of deliberations. Hey, Lefty. The jury is somewhere on the second floor. I'll have a... We don't know what they're talking about. We don't know how long it will take them... - A couple of coffees. Regular. - Two black coffees. - Can we turn this shit down? - Thanks, man. - Hey guys, getting your swerve on? - Hey, Eldon, what's shaking? No. - So, how's Sally? - Sal? She's my angel. And what brings you south of King? Please tell me Jack gave you our case. Van Meter is all over this one. He wants us to help you guys out. - Eldon, it's dog shit. - Yeah, it's crazy-man stuff. These dumb-asses hot-footed out without even tapping the till. They're hypes or cranksters. They've got to be ex-cons. - Any wit? - One. The fifth victim. - Did you interview him? - No. He's in surgery over at Drew/King. Metro is on him, 24 hours. And that's all we know, and you're more than welcome to it. - Mount up, partner. - Okay. Gentlemen, thanks for the help. Yeah, thanks a lot, guys. - You bet. Keep ducking. - Thanks. - You're welcome. Chief, they called again about the shooting board report. Send it back without my endorsement. Attach this cover letter. - Do you know what you're doing? - Declaring war. That's crazy. You can't upstage a hard-ass like Van Meter. He has a weak spot, you know. Eldon Perry. Weak don't come to mind when I think of that redneck. Perry and his little partner lied through their teeth for eight hours straight. Perry killed Robertson. Not his partner. And I'm going to prove it. I'm going to get their badges. Will you help me? Whatever you want. I'll need copies of every piece of paper with Perry's name on it. Every ratings report, every division log, payroll, medical, commendations, everything. His partner, too. Arthur, this is some dangerous shit. Sailboats. I don't understand them. I prefer a big boat with a big motor on a big lake behind a big dam. How about you, Arthur, you a motor guy or a sail guy? I don't like boats and I don't like you. Has this department been so bad to you that you feel driven to humiliate it? Don't hide behind LAPD blue, Jack. It's not your color. Arthur, no one buys your sudden transformation into this beacon of higher consciousness and moral right. The last thing your ham-fisted political ploy will get you is four stars. You should rethink this, very seriously. Very seriously. I know how you fight. I'm ready for you. We can handle this like gentlemen, or we can get into some nigga shit. So you go ahead and you do whatever it is you feel you have to do. Oh, I plan to, nigger. - They didn't get a dime, huh? - No. They're crazy. They shoot and run. They're like dogs. They have no heart. No, sir, they don't. Do you have any problems with anybody in particular in the neighborhood? Any troublemakers? No video, huh? Camera not work. What's upstairs there? An apartment? I live there with my daughter. My wife... We married 22 years. Mr. Kim, me and my partner are going to get the guys that did this. I want you to give me a call if there is anything you need. - We're here to help. - Thank you. - Please, excuse. - It's all right. What are you doing? I'm just trying to get a feel for the scene. Well, how did it go down, Sherlock? Well, I don't get it. I mean, one suspect kills Mrs. Kim and then hops the counter, right? Shooter two pops each vic as they walk in. This is what I don't get. He then takes the bodies and he moves them over here, hiding them from the street. That must have taken some time. It must have taken at least a minute. - Keep going. - All right. So, outside they run into Mr. Lewis. One of them shoots him in the neck. They get into the car and they're gone. I don't know. I'm sorry. That does not make any sense, man. - It never does, Bobby. - So what do we do now? Well, why don't you ask Mr. Kim for a broom and bag everything in this gutter for the lab? Matter of fact, let's get that gutter too. Let us jack these motherfuckers right here and rattle some cages. What's up, Maniac? You got your shit in the dump? - Yeah. Oh, boy, you know I'm trying to get my paper. That's what it is. Homies! Up against the wall, boys. - Oh, shit, man. Come on, spread them. You know the drill. Let's go. Palms on the bricks. Let's go. Man, we ain't do nothing. - Hey, you in the gorilla suit! Turn around. - Turn around. - Turn the fuck around, man, turn around. Man, I say I ain't do nothing! You really think this bullet gives a shit how tough you are, big guy? - That's it. You're under arrest. Let's go. - For what? Watch your elbow! Don't do that! All right, hook him up, Bobby. Let's go. - Yeah. Yeah. Calm the fuck down, man. - Fuck you, man! - Calm the fuck down! - Hey, easy. - Calm the fuck down. - Hey! - Calm the fuck down now. - What the fuck I did? Why did you shoot my car? Man, I didn't shoot your... Oh, man! Motherfucker's crazy. - What is it, man? Fuck! - Get in. Let's go. Come on now. Get your head down. Man, that shit stings, man. I know, man. He's crazy, so just cooperate with us, all right? What's your name? Maniac, man. They call me Maniac. Who the fuck are you? Metro? Yeah, we're Metro. I'm Detective Smith. This is my homeboy Detective Jones. Somebody dropped a dime on you, big guy. You robbed a liquor store and you dumped four good citizens and now your ass is getting gassed. How the fuck you going to run that bullshit at me? How am I going to run it at you? How about this? Man, please! Please! You're fucking killing me with that shit! I got to find an alley somewhere. I'm gonna empty this can up his nose. - Man, he's fucking crazy. - Fuck him! He is fucking crazy. He'll do it again, believe me! Tell us what you know. Man, you talking about Mr. Kim? He cool-ass people. He be throwing us out with forties and shit, man. You know. We keep a eye out for him. Somebody came in there blasting the other day on a civilian, man. - That shit ain't cool. - Speak fucking English, will you? It's a good dude, bro. So we gonna handle this. You heard me? Shut the fuck up. I want to know who did this. You help me bring these guys down? I'll bust a doper, give you his shit. All I know, it was two loc'ed out motherfuckers that ain't from around here. Somebody's gonna get drunk and get to bragging about it. You know what? "We went up against Mr. Kim and did his wife." Why? Why is somebody gonna do that? Because he a player, wardie. I mean he got game. Game? Mr. Kim? What's he play? Golf? Speak fucking English! Man, word on the street, he got strip clubs, ladies and stuff like that. Selling that flat-ass booty. You're telling me fucking bedtime stories, Maniac. Check it out, then, cop! All right, hold still now, because this hurts less without a broken fucking nose. Fuck you! I told you Kim is a straight-up gangster, man. He a pimp like that. I hope you're not fucking with me, Maniac. Hey, Ed, it's Detective Smith. Yeah. Do a make for me? Hyun Henry Kim. D.O.B. 10-15-41. Yeah. Thanks, Ed. Kim's in the gang book. Suspicion of loan-sharking and pandering. He's got a club on Olympic, just like you said. Unhook him. Hey. Where are you going? - I gave you what you wanted, right? - What do you want? - I want a goddamn cheeseburger. - Tommy's or Fatburger? Fatburger. Double King with cheese. Sounds good. Let's go. Come on. Get in. He tripping, huh? I'm getting in the front seat this time. So, you little sneak. You're smitten with this broad with no last name and you're dumping stenographers. But I don't know anything about her? Yeah. Well, sometimes you're pretty clueless. You're going to make a good pogue someday. How about setting us up with a fifth of Scotch over here? I admit it, Bobby, I get played every now and then, but that's because I'm trusting. I like giving people the benefit of the doubt. It is just that when my trust is abused, you know, it drives me out of my fucking mind. I mean, not as much as she's driving me out of my mind. Well, she's black, Eldon. - That is why I don't talk about her. - Yo, you be dating a sister! I didn't know you were an ebony-and-ivory man. Hey, I don't want hear a bunch of black jokes. Hey, no. I really don't. Amigo. You think I care about the size, shape, color or political party of some sweet thing you're rolling around with? And by the way, while you're thinking about pussy, I'm talking about Henry Kim. I bought his "struggling immigrant in South Central" tap dance. He's a gangster. All right, you think it was a hit on his wife? No, it wasn't a hit. He would have been in and out, a couple of vics. - These guys lingered. - Went back to rob them. I'll bet this place moves five or six G's worth of pussy weekdays and double that on weekends. That's a lot of cash, Bobby. - Come on, Bobby, let's go fishing. - Okay. What do you want? Well, a half a fucking hour ago, I wanted this drink. Now I want to fuck that girl. Sorry, she can't do that. Well, find me one that can, slick. You got eight girls in here. You gonna tell me you're not pimping them? I'm not going to talk to you. You're LAPD. You beat Rodney King. I did not kick Rodney King's ass but I am going to have some serious fun kicking your ass. Did you take Kim's money? Is that what you did? You son of a bitch! Talk to me! You put on a ski mask, go in there, and take his damn money? - Get the fuck back inside! - You go in there with a ski mask - and kill his wife? - Get the fuck back inside now. - Did you kill his fucking wife? - No! Look, I didn't do that! I didn't do that. Look... Get the fuck out of here, now! - I work for Kim. - Now! Move! Now! - I work for him a long time. His family is like my family! Okay? - I didn't steal! - I heard they got 200 grand. No, no, no. They took a safe. But it only has 150. Anybody show up for work late this morning? Anybody in your little sewing circle blow town? Hey! Give me a fucking name! Du Ku! Okay, look, he's not at home. I don't know where he is. This guy doesn't own one fucking chair? There's nothing in there. Holy fuck. Oh, man. I guess that's what they mean by chilling out, huh? Oh, shit. Oh, man, they tortured this guy. - He sang, man. - He hit high fucking C, Bobby. All right, our bad guys have turned on to Henry Kim's business somehow. Yeah. Stashed the bag man here and tortured him to find out - where the money was hidden, right? - Yeah. They go in. They kill four people. They come out, they wing a fifth. They torch the getaway car, and they take off in a second set of wheels. This thing is coming together, Bobby. Let us call this in - and take another shot at Kim San. - Yeah, good. - Good morning, Matt. - Good morning, Sergeant. Hey, the verdict might be today. I bet they're gonna get off. That's my opinion. What about you? Jesus, you talk about everything else, from dog racing to foreign policy. How come you never talk about the King thing? Well, Bobby, I avoid the subject, because it pains me to see real criminals free while four of my brothers eat political shit because the pogues outlawed the choke hold. You know, when they got rid of the chokehold, it left us with a stun gun and a baton. The chokehold saved lives. But nobody ever got elected saying that. Ah, hell, they don't give those guys enough cars, radios, equipment or live bodies to man the watches. And then they take away the tactics that work, and they indict them for using the approved tactics that don't. Bobby, this is simple. Either four good cops are going down because they followed the department manual, or they get off, and we are all back in the summer of '65, baby. I don't know about that. You really think so? If they get off, this city burns. Perry. I got it. - What? - Let's go. Lewis is conscious. Thruway bags for these, huh? - How is he doing? - Well, actually, in the last couple of hours - he has been moving around a little bit. - Good. Mr. Lewis. Hey, how you doing? I'm Detective Keough. This is Detective Perry. Sir, we would like to ask you a couple of questions. Oh, he's whacked out on painkillers. He can't speak. His larynx has been removed. The bullet shattered it. Sir, can you write? Mr. Lewis, do you think you could identify the race of the attackers? One was white and one was black. - Hey, Jack. - Hi, guys. Brief on Jack O' Hearts. I've been getting calls all day. I say "My two best guys are on it, giving 200 percent." Tell me you've got the suspects in the trunk. My trunk is full of nothing but a spare tire and dirty underwear. You got to have some breaks. Interviewed the K who owns the crime scene, who I sniffed out instantly as a lesser light of the underworld. It turns out he's got strip clubs. He's pandering. He is a cash-and-carry businessman. And he had a safe with a buck-fifty in it. That's what got boosted. That's real money. You guys found a body. Whose? - Kim's bagman. - Your shooters are Korean. Well, that's what we thought. Till we interviewed the wit. - He can't ID them. They had ski masks. - He can ID race. It was a salt-and-pepper team. A safe-cracking spook, and a blood-thirsty, blue-eyed peckerwood. Now, who does that sound like? Huh? How about Orchard and Sidwell? It's always Orchard and Sidwell with you. What is that? You are not going to dump my two best informants. Jack, your pets, your science projects, whatever the fuck they are. The evil little shits did this and I think it is time we put these slick twists down. Your job is not to think. It is to follow orders. To execute plans. To be a good soldier. And you are a good soldier. You're a goddamn great soldier, because you leave the planning and the fixing to me. - Are you listening to me? - Yeah, I'm listening, Jack. Now, listen to my philosophy. It's very simple. I am a performer of unpleasant tasks. So that the majority of people are free to perform pleasant ones. The last thing I care about is what you fucking think. - I got it, Jack. - Good. Open your fucking ears. Orchard and Sidwell were in San Diego, working for me. Now, you and Bobby are going to do whatever it takes to clear the Jack O' Hearts. Find some bad guys that profile and get a search warrant! - Are you listening? - I'm listening, Jack. You better be listening, Eldon. I don't need you making shit up as you go! Take the warrant and serve it with Rico's platoon. Do what you do! - Okay? Okay? - Okay. Where are you going? Okay. Okay. It's gonna be a beautiful thing. You pull this off and you'll be sitting on water skis, sucking fumes from my new boat with a couple of kegs and a couple of hookers on Lake Havasu. Now, stick this in Holland's mailbox and get your asses back on the street. Forget finding the real guys? Did I hear that right? Hey, Perry, you guys get anywhere with that Jack O' Hearts case? Yeah, as a matter of fact, I think we just had a breakthrough right now. How you guys doing? Well, I just got handed a drive-by murder-suicide. A twelve-year-old wasted an ice-cream truck driver over a Popsicle. In other words, just another normal day. - Hey, good luck nailing those bastards. - Yeah, keep us posted. Sit down, Bobby. We are going to find a couple of assholes and bury them in the Jack O' Hearts. Listen, we cannot pin four murders on patsies, Eldon. No fucking way. The real shooters, they need to be taken off the streets and you know it. Absolutely, 100 percent agree with you, Bobby. They are vermin and should be exterminated. But you got crime and you got criminals. And if you're meticulous, maybe somehow you make a match. Whatever. We're in the getting-shit-done business. What do you talking about? You know who did it. Come on! Come on! How can Jack get us involved in this type of shit? - What the hell is he thinking? - What? - I said what the hell is he thinking? - How fucking dare you, man? Who the fuck are you to question Jack Van Meter? You don't question his orders. You follow! I ought to kick your ass, man. You know jack, Bobby! You were tested and failed! That's my daddy's gun. You see those? Eleven men! He and Jack were partners. And the only goddamn reason this city is here is because they made it possible. They built it with bullets! Hunted down evil fucking parasites that would have committed thousands of crimes, would have ruined hundreds of lives. They protected the good people, Bobby, so that they could grow, and not the cancer! So who the fuck are you to question anybody? Eldon, please. Take it easy. Come on. Take it easy. - I'm with you, okay? - Good. Me and you, we're gonna do this. Okay? How we gonna get a search warrant? Sergeant Perry, I'm from the paper. You got a minute? No. I heard SIS is attached to the Jack O' Hearts killings. That's a little overkill, don't you think? Is there some political motivation here? You care to comment? Look, I know you have said that you've been misquoted in the past. That's why I brought a tape recorder. You give me a quote and I'll run it exactly as you say it, word for word. Question is this. Why has an elite force like SIS been asked to solve a routine multiple robbery homicide in South Central, unless there's something going on that we don't know about? Quote. Get your fucking head out of my ass, and stop writing that cocksucking criminals are victims instead of the pigs they are, and let motherfucking cops do what motherfucking cops do. End quote. Print that. Hey, Deena. Hi, Sergeant. - Hi, how you doing? I'm Detective Keough. - Hi, good to meet you. So, what brings SIS to my office? The quadruple on Jefferson and a linked mayhem homicide in Korea Town. - Dead dispatcher, that whole mess. - I know. Is that yours? Well, we're helping out South Bureau. You know Peltz and Sapin, don't you? Sure, the bourbon brothers. Yeah. Good homicide guys. Yeah, we're taking point on this one 'cause they're a little overloaded right now, and we found the gentlemen that did it. We're going to need a search warrant. Well, you better have more than you had on that Hollywood Hills double. I got hell from the judge on that one. You could finish the story, Deena. His Honor signed and I nailed the bastard. You got lucky. Let me see what you've got. It is a little thin. I know. But Deena, these are some bad hombres. Look at this. This guy sodomized an 80-year-old woman for two days. Okay? This one raped a little girl in front of her family during a home invasion. Come on, read the file. Calling this circumstantial would be a compliment. I can't issue on this. No judge in his right mind is going to sign it. We're not going to trial, for Christ's sake. It's a search warrant. - Hey, there's probable cause here. - Don't bullshit me. I can't process this. Yeah, you can process it, Deena. And you will. And by tomorrow morning, those two young bucks will be dressed out and strapped across the hood of my Chevy. So says the playbook, Deena. So do it. Be a team player. Jesus Christ, man, you got Alzheimer's? You know the deal. You want to change it? Give me your phone. - Do you have any shame? - Well, I try not to. Fine, I'll issue the search warrant but no judge is going to sign it. The judge is my problem. We'll wait, Deena. Fine. I'm lost. What just happened? - All right, Deena went to USC, right? - Yeah. Good sorority, dean's list, the whole thing. She's a sharp gal. But like a lot of young girls who are away from home for the first time, she experimented. And she got into team sports. I mean, the whole football team, man. "Fight on for old SC!" I guess it was a hell of a videotape. I never saw it. Anyway, she ended up marrying some CEO from Century City who doesn't know shit. - That's the way she wants to keep it. - And that's the deal? Well, Bobby, there's always a deal. Judge Russo, I'm sorry. Listen, I really appreciate this, sir. You're sure about this one, Eldon? These guys are a couple of sick puppies, Your Honor. It is all here if you want to read it. I mean, it's kind of thick. Raise your right hand and repeat after me. As the affiant, do you swear that everything contained in this affidavit is true to the best of your knowledge, so help you God? I do. - How's Sally? - She's great. - Mrs. Russo. Is she feeling better? - Much better, thank you. This is Bobby Keough, my new partner. Judge Russo. - Hi. - Hi. Great. Thank you very much sir, again. I appreciate it. You sign out a car and paint "Enola Gay" on its side, because you are gonna drop the bomb on Holland. Take a look at these. Who's the female? Beth Williamson, LAPD Sergeant. She's Holland's assistant. - Who took them? - Me. Some people call that "doggy-style". Kind of like "Bow-wow-wow". And I call this one "girl on top". Wait a second. Who's wearing the high heels here? And lets see... Oh, yeah. "Missionary". Although I'm not quite sure what religion that would be. So what do you want me to do with these? Stick them in Holland's mailbox. Then you're off until 21:00. You get some sack time. You look like shit, Bobby. - I'll see you. - Okay. What's up with the blue suit? Public relations. So people see everyone who wears it isn't like you, Detective. Would you like a menu? Why don't you go tell Holland he's a great pimp? What the hell are you talking about? You know, I think I was falling for you. Yeah, I really do. What? Do you deny you're sleeping with him? Oh. The secret files. The gossip. The dirty little stories whispered in the men's rooms and hallways of Parker Center. - You're part of it now, too. - No, I know what happened. He was my stationhouse fling. I was a patrol supervisor and I was attracted to him. I thought he was a great man. It was a brief affair. Then he told me he made a mistake and wasn't leaving his wife. That was five years ago. We both walked away like adults. It's long over and it is my business, his business and not yours or anyone else's. Yeah, it is my business. It is my business when you're spying on me. You're the goddamn spy. You work for Van Meter, not me. Who approached who first? I never wanted to know anything about your work, remember? I never asked. Now I know more than I want to. Oh, yeah? What do you know? Chill, man. Honey, we're running late. I want out of the marriage, Arthur. Listen. Please just listen. Now, I'm glad the time you put into the department is paying off for you, but the time I put into you isn't paying off for me. I want to have a life while I still can. Don't worry. I'm still down for you, baby, and I think you'll make a wonderful chief. And I'm going to work hard and do my part to help you make it. And when you do, I don't see myself staying around. I'm sorry. That happened five years ago. You know it. We dealt with it. You said that you would forgive me and try to forget it. It is hard to forget when you got a mailbox full of those. I didn't know about those pictures. LAPD just doesn't miss a trick, does it? Is it possible to have a secret inside that department? No. Perry, you know the X's and O's. You'll be in the observation post in the alley. You know, you guys are lucky the verdicts didn't come in today, or we'd be in the south end on standby. Well, it took my guys a day to locate these assholes, and two more days to pat them down. We finally tailed them into Charcoal Alley. You know Bobby Keough, my number two on this one. - Hey, how you doing? - Yeah, I know Bobby. - Congratulations on the shooting board. - Thanks. If you ever get tired of SIS, kid, you come on down to Metro. We could always use a good man. Yeah, it's not going to happen. But thanks. What do you say we hit the bricks? What's going on, man? I mean, this ain't your style. Political as it gets, Rico. I think they want this one on the front page, so make as much noise as you want. Folks, I'd like to introduce to you a member of our congregation who has spoken to us on many occasions. Assistant Los Angeles Police Chief Arthur Holland. Praise the Lord! Okay, ladies, listen up. Perry and Keough will give you some background on the players we're after. Guys, these are the two shit birds that took out one of our dispatchers and a few other innocents. No one fucks with our family. And remember, SIS doesn't have a jail, so if you knock one of these pricks down, make sure he stays down. I remember one fine spring day about 25 years ago. I had just graduated from the police academy. I felt so proud with my brand new blues coming to church that Sunday. I felt so proud with my new badge on my chest. Bottom line, gentlemen, watch your asses, and pay attention to your fields of fire. Once we have secured the location, we turn it over to Perry and his people. Sergeant, take over. A couple of weeks ago some gentlemen from Cleveland called me. They wanted me to move out to Ohio to become the chief of their police department. Well, that opportunity is knocking mighty loud. And my LAPD badge doesn't seem to glow anymore. And I'm not as proud of my blues as I used to be. Today, I called those gentlemen in Cleveland, and I told them that I'm staying put. Questions? We'll be pulling out in 15 minutes. I stand before you tonight to declare my goal of becoming the first African-American Police Chief of Los Angeles. So what happens if they take these guys alive? Getting out alive isn't part of the drill. - No, I know. - For all I know, you'll hand these cheese dicks your Roscoe and they'll shove it up your ass. Shut the fuck up about that, Eldon! I am fucking serious. Just shut the fuck up about it! - You hate me right now, don't you. - Yeah, you're damn right I do! Good. Stay in that zone. - What are you doing? - Calling the suspects. Why? Making sure they're up and about. You can't shoot a man in bed. Hey, dumb-ass! Take a look out your window. The cops are crawling all over your place. Flash bang! - Get down! On the ground, now! All right. - Get the fuck down. - All right. - Get your fucking hands up! - All right! - Up! - All right. - Get the fuck down. - I'm cool. - Fall down! Now! - All right! - Down! - All right, here. Take my piece. Here you go, here. Here you go, the safety is off. You drill him. I'll take the heat. Okay. All right. Hey, hey, hey! Take this worthless piece of shit down right now! This ain't right, Bobby. I never did shit to you. - Shut up! - Be cool. - Shut the fuck up! - I ain't got no gun. - Shut up! Go to work. Go to work, Bobby. We're running out of time here! Come on, man! Go to work! We are running out of time here! - I ain't got a gun. - What? - I ain't got a gun. Yeah, you do, you cocksucker! How about that? - Come on, Bobby. - Don't, don't, don't, don't. We are not going back to Jack empty-handed, are we? You want me to do this, Bobby? You want me to do this? Shit! You want me to do this? You want me to do this, Bobby? I will do this! Bobby, you want me to do this? No, don't. Don't, don't, don't, don't. You got to do it, Bobby. You got no choice, man! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Take this worthless piece of shit down right now, Bobby! For Christ's sake, we're running out of time. When that chopper light goes out, you do it! - Do it, Bobby! Do it! - Don't! Hey, Bobby, breathe. Bobby, come on. Come on now, take a deep breath. Take a deep breath, that's all right. Stay down there. Breathe. - Fuck. Fuck. - Breathe. Hang on. You'll be all right. Here, give me your gun. That's it. All right, come on. Breathe deep. - So, you shot him. Did you get him, Eldon? - Yeah. - Jesus, how many is that now? - Who the fuck cares? What about the other guy? They pulled a shotgun on us. My guys dropped him. - He's tits-up in the living room. - Good. Let's get the logs rolling. Hey, Rico. No statements till Robbery-Homicide gets here, right? Don't worry about it. I'm all over it. Bobby, you listen to me. This asshole had it coming. All the fuck he ever did was ruin lives. You just saved somebody a shitload of misery, man. So come on, let's start getting it together. You didn't shoot this guy. I did. I was giving the suspect commands and he wouldn't comply. Which commands? "Police officer." "Freeze." "Let me see your hands on your knees." All of that. Okay. Then I saw the suspect reach into his waistband, and I saw a metallic object in his hands. Then I fired my service weapon once, striking the suspect in the chest. I thought Sergeant Perry fired his service weapon once. Yeah, right. Yeah, that's right. I'm sorry. No problemo, amigo. We got all day. We'll get it right. Let's go over that last part again. I saw the suspect reach into his waistband and I saw a metallic object in his hands. And then my partner fired his service weapon once, striking the suspect in the chest. Perfect. We're all done. Twice through is plenty. All right. Bobby was a natural, Jack. I'm telling you, when the shit went down, he did it right. - You think you could do it again? - Yeah. - He's a natural. - He's my blood. - Done with the OIS guys? - Oh, yeah. Hell, they were trying to get a job with our unit, you know. Yeah, you boys are heroes. I like heroes. It's a simple idea, really. You got your villain, you got your hero. Modern thinking tries to complicate it, but it always comes down to that. You know, "Those who victimize were once victims," all that stuff they teach in college. It's sad. It's probably even true. It really doesn't matter. Everybody's got a sad story. Who gives a shit? Did you guys deliver those pictures? Yeah. I thought they'd put Holland's ass down, but he's still up. He's all over the goddamn news saying he wants to be Chief. Well, I got plenty more shit. That can wait. Why? Is he gonna press us on the Robertson shooting? I mean, you know, could he know what really happened? Well, he is pressing, you know. He might have a witness. What? There's no fucking witness, Jack. You know, they have a witness, you know. He might dig up someone in the DA's office happy to file on you two for murder and conspiracy. That's bullshit, Jack. Nobody saw shit. I'm holding it together, Eldon. You know, that's what I do, hold things together. Whatever, Jack. Nobody saw shit. There's no witness. Nobody saw shit! You said that three times already. You feeling okay? Yeah, I'm fine. There's that Orchard and Sidwell thing, but you know, whatever. We're not going to go there, right? Look, get some rest. You're going to need it. Promotion party tomorrow. I can't wait to hear your speech. No, really. The press is going to be there. Let's give them a show. Yeah, I'll be there. I'll be there. - On time. - Yeah. - Bobby, you guys were good today. - Yeah. - Are you okay? - Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about this Holland shit. It's my problem. Get the fuck out of here. What the fuck are we gonna do, Bobby? It's a hell of a job, isn't it? Yeah. Hey, why don't you come over to the house. Sally'll fix up a big pot of goulash. No, I'm beat, man. I'm gonna go home and get some sleep. You're going to be okay, Bobby. You know, the little gangster kids out there killing people, - you don't see them sweating it. - Would you shut up, Eldon? Just shut up. I had a facer once. Just like that. The guy was begging me for his life. Then I found out later that he had a wife and a little boy, and every Christmas I slip some money into her mailbox, you know? That one really fucked me up. And I can still see his face. Oh, come on, man. Come on over. You'll make her day. - What... - What do you think? Sal, put the box down. This is not gonna happen. What... What is this? I didn't think you'd be home till late. I didn't want to see you like this. Read it. - Come on, Eldon, don't do this. - Well, you wrote it, but you can't read it? Read it. "Dear Eldon. You're probably wondering what's going on. "Well, it's finally over. "I found a place. I'm taking our son with me. "This is a good thing, because he is frightened of you. "Like I used to be. "I know you can handle our leaving, "because you really don't give a shit about us." Honey, that is just not... "You care more about the people you hate. "I guess you're still trying to be your father." What? "You'll find out anyway, so I'm telling you now. "I met a man at the jail. "But don't start beating up every deputy you see, "because he's not a cop. And he's not an inmate either. "He's a lawyer. - "A defense lawyer." - Oh, fuck, that's good. A fucking defense lawyer, that's just... Sal, come on, man, this is... Fuck it, man. Whatever. Get back in here! You wanted me to read it! You're gonna listen to me read it! "We're going to try and start a new life together. "And I say, 'Try,' "because I have no idea what a healthy relationship looks like. "I know this seems abrupt, "unless you're good at reading signals, "which you're not. "I have watched you descend into hell. "And I have been waiting for you to come back. "Apparently, you don't want to. "I loved you. "Goodbye." Sal, put the box down. The house is yours. You don't have to leave. I'll do that. Hey, guys. Look, just... You can unpack everything in the truck and just bring it back in. I'm sorry. I don't know what to say, Sal. I don't know what to say. Say goodbye. Say goodbye. Yeah, goodbye. All right! Please go away! I got to speak to you. - I need you to go away. I'm not moving until we talk. - You're a thug, Bobby! - I know. - What do you want? - I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't think. - I need you to tell me what you want. - I killed a man last night! I blew a hole through his chest! Every time I close my eyes, I see him staring at me. - You're making no sense. - The Jack O' Hearts case. Me and Perry cleared it last night. Two suspects are dead. - They're the wrong guys. - No, wait! Stop, Bobby. Stop! Who are you? A few nights ago you're wining and dining me. Then you're making accusations about my sex life. Now you want to come in here and confess? I pulled the trigger, not Perry. In the Robertson killing. It was supposed to be my initiation. I dropped my gun. Perry shot him, not me. I think Holland already knows that. He does. He just can't prove it. I'll give Holland the Robertson shooting. I'll give him me. I'll give him Perry. I'll give him Van Meter. I'll give him everything. Think about it. Like a bullet, you can't call it back. It was a bad shooting. I didn't have to pull the trigger. I can't live with that. Call Holland, please. No, you got to tell him in person. Are you willing to say all this in court with Eldon Perry and your uncle staring at you? - Yes, I'm willing. - You can trust him. Okay, we have to get Orchard and Sidwell in custody. I'll put together a task force. We'll locate them and swoop down on them like the Lord's fury. I want everyone to see this. But I need a little more time. Old Jack and Perry can't know yet. Where are you supposed to be? I'm off today but I got to go to the Academy for Perry's promotional ceremony. You should be there. Can you handle it? Yeah, I can handle it. - I'll be there. - Okay. - Hello. Who be it? - Me be it, fuckhead. Santa Claus. - Yassuh? - Shut up. Did you dump that shit? Yassuh, we did. A white police officer is coming to your house. He'll be there shortly. Cancel his ticket. Smoke a cop? You know him. He works for me. He is a serious bad-ass. You slip, he won't. Do you know who I'm talking about? Yeah, I know. But this is some heavy shit, man. Leave him breathing, I'll make sure you're not. That is no shit. You owe me, asshole. He won't make it. I won't trip. I'll do his ass jailhouse-style. Chino. Just put him away clean. Then leave town. Both of you. LA's too hot, so vanish. I don't care where you go. Vegas, KC. I can set you up in either place. All right. We out then. Fuck LA. Yeah, fuck LA. - Yeah. - Eldon, what's wrong? Oh, nothing. It's just Sally and me. You know. Fuck, it's over. She'll be back. Do you want me to call her? No. She thinks I'm a monster. Listen, I know you're hurting now, but I have a mission for you. Eldon? Yeah. Holland has a witness to the Robertson shooting. - I need you to do what you do. - Jack, there is no witness. There is a witness. 12657 Juliet. He's a 50-year-old Hispanic male. Fuck. Jack... Jack, this is different, man. This guy didn't do anything. He's a fucking witness. There's got to be another way of handling this. He is alone in the house for the next few hours. Do you understand? I need this one, Eldon. And it will all be over. You listening? Are you listening? 12657 Juliet. I need this one, Eldon. -12657 Juliet. - You're a prince. See you this afternoon, Eldon. The Academy? You forgot, didn't you? You made lieutenant and you forgot. No, I didn't forget. Hey, Ed. Yeah, it's Eldon. I need you to run an address for me. 12657 Juliet. And let me know if law enforcement has got anything in the area. You know, stakes, DUI sweeps, INS, federal shit, organized crime, the works. And then get me the name on the utilities bill if you can. Real quick, please. I appreciate it. Yeah, I'm here. Daryl Orchard and Gary Sidwell. Yeah, I got it. Thanks, Ed. Oh, fuck me. You're right, Jack. It's all over. Yeah, this is Detective Keough. You did. All right, that's a great job. Do you have an address? 12657 Juliet. All right, I got it. Thank you. That was the lab. I gave them a bag of cigarette butts from the gutter outside Jack O' Hearts Liquor. They were able to get a partial thumbprint off a cigarette and they just matched it directly to Daryl Orchard. - There's no question about it. - What are you doing? Look, when Jack finds out that they know it's Daryl Orchard, he is probably gonna send Perry to kill him. Now, I'm not gonna wait around for that. I'm gonna pick up Orchard and Sidwell. I'm gonna book them into protective custody myself. Five-King-15 to 15-Adam. 114 to all units. Be advised the verdicts have come in. 114 to all units. Stand by. Verdicts are not guilty. I repeat, not guilty. Five-King, 15-Adam, come in. 15-Adam, come back. What's up? What's up, white boy? Keep rolling, punk! Heads up. What's up with that? What the fuck you think you doing over here? Back up. Slow down! Bitch, open the window! Open the window. All right. - Where the fuck's he going? - This nigga think he smart. I can't wait to see that bitch's face when I turn that motherfucker into a teabag. Let's go. Keep your ass low. You act like you ain't never done this before, nigga. What the fuck is you doing? Well, I just bought these jeans, man. - Stay low. - He ain't gonna smoke my ass. I'm gonna check over here. You see him? There he goes. Right there. All right, Bobby. - You see him? - No. See anything? - You see him? - No. Fuck, I just saw something. - You ready? - Let's get these assholes. - What? - Looks like a whole motherfucking army - up in this place. - Let me see that. Homeboy's coming up here all chill and shit. Homeboy's up here with a fine-ass sister. She coming up here with a boo-ya all chill and shit. That's a damn shame. That's a damn shame that we gonna have to kill her. Just concentrate on shooting one of these motherfuckers soon as you see one of these motherfuckers. This ain't the motherfucking liquor store, nigga. These niggas shoot back. Here's the situation from South Central. Oh, look at that. Terrible. And there's no police presence down here. They will not enter the area. No, there's no shutting down Florence. We're gonna tell the LAPD to do that now. Tell LAPD to shut Florence Boulevard down, and Normandie... Shit! Bobby. - Oh, Bobby. Bobby. I snitched you out, Eldon. I snitched you out. Don't you touch him. Don't you dare touch him. This should be you lying here, not Bobby. Your blood should be spilling here, not his. You filled his head with all this bullshit! I hope that you burn in hell, Eldon Perry. You evil motherfucker. I'll call it in. Five-Y-15, shots fired. My partner is down. Another officer needs help. 12657 Juliet. Five-Y-15, roger. All units and 12-Adam-18. 12657 Juliet. Handle code three. State intentions. I'm in pursuit of the suspects, Daryl Orchard and Gary Sidwell. Come on! Get out of the street! - Shit. Come on now! Arrest us! Son of a bitch! Hey! Hey! Hey! Wait! Wait! Wait! Yo! I'm cool! I'm cool! Hey! Hey! Hey! Fuck 'em! Bitch-ass nigga! - Fuck y'all! God damn! Oh, fuck! Shit! Fuck! Hey! Hey! Fuck! Fuck you, Sidwell. Get in. Cuff yourself. Get them on. Put them on! Daryl, I am going to kill you just as soon as I think you're lying to me. You understand that? You see in there? Take a look in there, motherfucker. You see that? Come on, man. Lie to me. Lie to me now. Van Meter tell you to hit Jack O' Hearts? Yeah, man, yeah. - You been hitting safes for him? - Damn right. Made that nigga a gang of money, too. I bought that nigga a house! Shut up and listen to me. Van Meter tell you to ambush me? He tell you to ambush me? Hmm? A simple fucking task, you couldn't get it right. - You dumb-asses wasted my partner. - Your partner? This whole city is about to burn the fuck down. And I want to thank my wife and children for staying with me through the 16 years in Metro. My years with this department... Sir, there are structure fires, major 415s and code-three traffic all over South Bureau. Captain Lennox wants permission to deploy. You tell Lennox to get off your ass. Now, you know I can't do anything till you get the Chief on the phone. The Chief's at a fund-raising luncheon in Brentwood with specific orders not to be disturbed. Frank, get the Chief on the phone. Thank you. Thank you. Apparently Eldon Perry, our final officer to be promoted, was unable to attend this afternoon. Whoa! Nobody moves till I get my bars. Thanks, Sal. I thought he should be here for this. Congratulations, Dad. I'm sorry. Eldon Perry. Here's a cop when you need one! This is to certify that by the authority... Forget the formalities, this is what I came for. Thanks a lot. Well, Jack Van Meter asked me to say a few words today, so I guess I'll say a few words. You know, law enforcement has taken a lot of dings lately and I'd like to congratulate our four fellow officers on their acquittal today. It is a hell of a job we got, isn't it? I mean, a cop is the last person a civilian wants to see until some shitbag shoves a gun in his face. And then we can't get there fast enough, right? You know, law enforcement... It's been my family's business since Los Angeles was a frontier township. I mean, I can actually remember sitting on my granddaddy's lap and listening to stories about chasing horse thieves and rustlers into the Santa Monica Mountains and then coming back with a bad guy tied to the ass end of his Appaloosa. And then just when my dad got into the business there was black-and-whites, traffic signals. But the job hadn't changed. My dad preyed on the predators that preyed on this city. Now, there was never any doubt what I was going to be. I mean, I was a Police Explorer by the age of nine. I guess I was a teenager when the Watts Riots came around. Anyway, I can remember going out with my dad on the second night. There was this Woolworths that was burning, and I remember that there were these looters running in and out. And every time they would run out, my dad would take a pot shot at them with this deer rifle he'd brought from home. Anyway, he gave it to me, and this looter ran out. And I winged him in the arm. And he ran back inside. And that's when the roof collapsed. The whole goddamn building caved in. I don't know. I guess they all burned up. Nobody got out. Tell Jimmy to get him down from there. He's drunk. My dad... Jack says he's drunk again. He wants him off the stage. I will take care of it, Frank. Leave it alone. That is Eldon Perry III, right there next to his mom. He'll never be a cop. He hates cops. I love him. I thank God that I was just too busy to pass on to him what my granddaddy passed on to my daddy, and my daddy passed on to me. I was raised up to be a gunfighter by a family of gunfighters. And I got to tell you, I made a career out of going after the worst, most dangerous, parasitic sons of bitches to walk this planet. And I was happier than the devil in hell because I'd fabricate evidence if I wanted to bring some asshole in, or I'd lie on reports. I'd lie to investigators, and I'd sure as hell stretch the truth in court. And if anybody messed with us, we just muscled them. Right, Jack? Or blackmailed them. I mean, what the hell? Everybody's got a secret. It's a tough job, but I was a good soldier. Yeah. Just taking orders from my commanding officer, Jack Van Meter. Whenever Jack said, "Eldon, do what you do," you know, I carved "case cleared" on a casket with my deer-skinning knife. Because I figured, what the hell, Jack's God. And you know, sometimes, Jack, I got to say you work like God. You work in some mysterious ways, man. Thanks a lot, Eldon. Thank you. It was Van Meter that ordered me... It was Van Meter that ordered me to pin the Jack O' Hearts homicides on a couple of ex-cons that didn't really have anything to do with it. And he ordered me to set them up for the kill, too. So acting on some information from me, SWAT took one down during a raid. But I made my partner kill the other one in cold blood. You got to be heartless in my line of work. And my partner, Bobby Keough... He had a good one, and it cost him. Yeah, the real Jack O' Hearts killers turned out to be a couple of snitches of Van Meter's. And Bobby tried to do the right thing and, you know, arrest them. But he didn't make it. They cut him in half. He is laying dead on a concrete slab somewhere in South Central right now, 'cause he walked into an ambush that Van Meter set up for me. Isn't that right, Jack? Eldon, it's gonna be okay. Those of us here who love you want you to get down from there before you embarrass yourself any further. To those members of the press who are gathered here, I would ask you to consider only that this fine man, a great LAPD cop, has demons that sometimes get the better of him. Discretion, please. I'm slow, Jack. But I get there. I just couldn't figure out why in the hell you would throw me over for a couple of crackheads, until I talked to Orchard and he told me that the safes they'd been hitting were for you. It's simple. It's just about money. So I brought Orchard back in as a witness. Yeah. He's right back there in the custody of Robbery-Homicide. He had quite a lot to say, Jack, but not as much as me. That man is a well-known crack addict, a heroin-user, a bottom-feeding, petty thug with a police record 14 feet long. Eldon, you are an alcoholic! We have all tried to help you. But there comes a time, I guess, when support becomes enablement. And we are well past that point. Now get the hell down from there. While you're grandstanding here, the city is starting to burn. Jimmy, for Christ's sake! If the city is starting to burn, Jack, it's partly because of guys like you and me. And I may be a goddamn alcoholic, but that doesn't mean I can't tell the truth. And I got all the deep, deep dirt right here. Somebody put the cuffs on me and let me start talking. We'll just let the shit fall wherever it wants to fall. Come on, who's got the cuffs? Come on. Come on, who's got my back here? Somebody, come on, who's got the cuffs? For Christ's sake, somebody back me up here! - Can we wrap this up? - Sergeant Jakes, arrest him. - Are you sure about this? - Just do your job, Sergeant. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, think again. - Perry is delusional in the extreme. - You're going down. Then the whole department goes down with me, starting at the very top. I got files on everybody. I got photographs, canceled checks. No dirty little secret gets by me. - I take the fall, everybody takes the fall. - If that's what it takes. It would be suicidal for you to arrest me here. Cameras running, a riot starting out in the streets. No investigation, no inquiry. Is that the way a Chief behaves? You should have taken the deal we offered you. You're the one who has to make a deal. I'm the one you have to deal with now. I'm not going to arrest you because I don't have to. Everything's been set in motion. You're finished, Jack. You don't know what you've started. I didn't start anything. You did. - I'm not going down. - Yeah, you are, Jack. Because I'm taking you down. Are you listening to me? Are you listening? Good, because they all are. They're gonna book him within the hour. He needs a lawyer, a good one. You report to your A and B watch commanders. We're officially on tactical alert. They finally nailed Jack Van Meter. We got a story now. I'll run it exactly as you said it, word for word. There is a riot alert all over the city. Sergeant Jakes, uncuff him. Look at that. The whole damn city is gonna burn. It's going to get ugly before it gets better. How ugly do you think it's gonna get for me? Ugly. Hey, Chief. What's the worst prison we got? San Quentin? Mmm-hmm. I'd rather go to Lompoc, man, or even Tehachapi. I'll see what I can do. |
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