Good morning.
Get out of bed, sleepyhead.
It's 6am in NYC, the place to be.
You're listening to the Big Q,
the place to be
for all the best music in town.
Are you OK?
You're all sweaty.
I just had a hot dream.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Starring me?
- Among others.
- You wiseass, Artie.
This girl knows her pressure points.
Yeah. All of 'em.
Reet.
I can't do this. I have to go to work.
Stevie's waiting for me. OK?
Just wait right here, OK?
And I'll be right back.
- Right back?
- 12 hours.
- Artie.
- I swear I'll be back in 12 hours.
My hero.
Tough day at the office.
What happened to Stevie?
You're a better kisser than Stevie.
- Daddy wins again!
- Daddy wins again! Yeah!
- Don't you ever sleep, Daddy?
- Policemen never sleep.
- Especially when people need breakfast.
- I need waffles, Daddy.
And I need a bagel with raisins on it.
And a flat egg.
Let me ask you something.
Am I a father or am I a short-order man?
A short-order man!
You bunch of wise guys!
You know what we do with wise guys?
- What?
- We take them to the police station
and we give them the huggy torture!
Hey, girls.
I think I pulled a muscle
in my leg this morning.
- You should smoke one of these.
- Why?
Well, I haven't got a pulled muscle.
What did the doc say?
She's still got to have
two insulin shots a day.
- She can still lead a normal life, though?
- Yeah.
- She's just scared of the needles.
- Yeah.
She's a kid. She's a baby.
- I'm scared of the needles.
- Yeah.
- She's such a cute little one.
- She's beautiful.
- Who gives her the shots? You?
- Yeah. She's too young.
Detective Lewis, 27th squad.
How you doing?
How you doing?
He don't know nothing about them dope
dealers. He was home with me all night.
That's all right. No problem.
We're looking for help.
Four guys were shot here last night.
Those boys want to make a quick buck.
Death is the dues and they know it.
Why don't you take care of those people
who are terrorised every day?
We're trying, sir.
You cops are getting rich off that shit.
Who are you fooling?
You hear anything, you give us a call.
Yeah. Sure.
- Think we're gonna hear from them?
- No. I don't think so.
Let's get out of here, babe.
You know what you need to do?
You need to start going out more.
Artie, will you stop with that?
- I'm just saying, you know.
- I don't have time to date.
Shit, the lights are off.
- Step into my office.
- All right.
Just be cool, all right? Just chill, man.
Get over there!
All right.
Man, get your ass up against the wall.
This ain't no landlord. He's a cop!
So what, man? Cops got money too.
You better cool it before it's too late.
So you promise
you won't bust us if we let you go?
We gonna play this shit out.
- Take him to the basement.
- Yeah.
Check it out. I got a stack on my ankle.
Private money. Take it.
I don't know nothing.
Go on, do it, man.
Look at you now, cop.
Fucking cops!
I got their asses right here.
Come here! I got you now!
Get outta here!
Thanks, man.
Are we alive, partner?
We're alive. We're alive.
They're jumping cops down there.
What's this world coming to?
Felix, do we look like landlords to you?
To a dude with lightning in his eyeballs,
you look like money.
These dudes are ice climbers.
It's all about the 12 hours of power.
It's crazy.
- What's happening?
- Fisticuffs at your age?
I know.
Tell me if my back fillings are in there.
Quinn at 11 o'clock, fellas.
You all right?
Well, a little winded, boss.
You want us to write this up
as drug-related?
Why? No drugs found,
no proof of drug involvement.
Come on, man.
You think they'd jump two cops
if they weren't whacked?
Want to put them in jail
or in a treatment programme?
Under a bus. They tried to kill me.
Write it up as attempted murder.
You don't have to testify.
I don't want some legal aid lawyer
saying I'm a liar
for withholding information.
The perps admitted that they were high.
Right.
OK. Include their statements if you want.
And the fact that
no drugs or paraphernalia were recovered.
Are you happy now, Lewis?
Delirious.
- He's cuter with those sores on.
- I think he's cute.
I am very cute. I'm known for my cuteness.
- City-wide.
- City-wide.
- There's Cheryl.
- Speaking of cute, she's cute, right?
Stash your drugs.
The joint is crawling with cops.
Yeah. There's Mr Happy Hour himself.
I'm gonna go on home.
No. Let's go across the street. I'm buying.
That's where the bad guys drink.
We're not welcome there.
You're welcome anywhere if you're with
me. I was raised in this neighbourhood.
What if they never liked you?
- I will never own another one of these.
- You never owned one of these.
- I've had three.
- You never did!
You never believe a thing I say.
Get in there.
Lighten up, everybody. It's that metal plate
I got stuck in my head. Relax.
I kinda like it here.
- Yeah.
- Good call, Felix.
The perfect place to kick back and relax
after a hard day's work.
We're gonna have to
shoot our way out of here.
Please don't say that.
- Give me them sticks.
- What for?
I want a light.
- You smoke too much.
- Leave me alone.
- I can quit when I want.
- Mira, Eddie.
Whatever you got on tap. Three.
What is this?
I need permission
to get a drink round here?
Tranquilo, my friend.
I just don't understand why you are here.
Policemen keep to themselves
where I come from.
They run with each other.
But you never see a policeman
where the businessmen drink.
Not in my country.
This ain't your country. It's mine.
My city. My neighbourhood.
This is Beniamino. He's too big for you.
Nobody's too big for me, babe.
I got 28,000 guys in my gang.
Understand?
Chill, Felix.
It's all right.
We're all friends here.
- I have to tear myself away.
- Knock yourself out.
- Jesus.
- What are you looking at?
Hey, doll. How you doing?
- You're late.
- Well, a little unwinding was in order.
Look at this. Got rear-ended by a gypsy
cab. The guy has zero insurance.
It's a ton of paperwork. It's a mess.
- Is Stevie OK?
- Are you kidding?
I'm with him eight years, he never even
gets a nosebleed. You want Chinese?
This cab... had knuckles.
Hon, I'm alive, right? Come here.
- Did you check out that empty store?
- On my lunch break.
- So what's up?
- It's about as big as a shoe box.
The guy wants $2,000 a month,
but he said he'll give me five years.
Oh, yeah?
Why is it that you get to hear about my day
but I'm not allowed to know
what happened to you?
Come on, Rita. You don't want to hear
the daily war story.
- I don't want to hear a lie either.
- It's not about lying.
I mean, it's about forgetting.
Why do I have to
unload my garbage on you?
lt'd make me feel better.
We could have a conversation.
It might even help you.
All right. You're right.
We should talk more.
I know.
Do we have to do it now?
- You just call Chinese, Artie, OK?
- All right. I will.
I'm serious.
You'll end up fighting over this guy.
This is Stevie. He's cute, right?
- He cooks.
- Thanks, anyway.
- What are you doing?
- I was goofing.
Looking out for you, man.
- Doing a little window shopping?
- Nah.
Goofing around.
I wouldn't know how to cheat anyway.
It's easy. You just lie and deny.
Rita's got cop eyes. I couldn't get away
with anything even if I wanted to.
- You think Lucille was stupid?
- No, I'm just...
You think she believed
those stories about extraditions?
- Steve, look...
- Let me tell you something.
Women always know.
They either put the wood to you
or let it slide, but they always know.
Lucille was a saint for putting up with me.
You're right, Steve, she was a great lady.
I think by this time she'd forget about it.
Right now she'd just want you
to concentrate on the girls.
Looking after your kids.
- Right?
- Yeah, she'd want that.
- All she cared about was her family.
- Right.
She never thought about herself.
Look what happened.
She gets sick...
and she dies.
It's a funny world, Artie.
I mean, look at Rita.
She's a great lady.
She tried so hard to have kids.
We're past that. We're doing OK.
What you have to do, Steve,
is take one day at a time.
I know, I know, I know.
- You want to take a sick day?
- No.
- You sure?
- I'd rather be on the street with you.
We alive, baby? Talk to me.
- Let's go find out.
- Kiss me. Give me a kiss.
Get off of me!
What's the matter with you?
- Move this out of here.
- I gotta stop wearing suits.
- What for?
- It doesn't look good.
Why don't you believe it
when I say you look good?
- It's a nice suit.
- I know.
Felix, you working now?
- That's a large miscreant you got there.
- Thanks for your concern.
... you, your children,
relatives and neighbours.
The innocent victims
of this nation's drug war. Miami.
This is the third time this month
I've been robbed. What are you gonna do?
- I know.
- Third time?
- That's actually not too bad.
- That's not.
The important thing is,
where are we gonna have lunch today?
You're thinking about lunch already.
- I'm hungry.
- Don't get comfortable, Lewis.
Come on. The both of you.
- Speaking of fun guys.
- Yeah.
- Good coffee today.
- Yeah? I made it.
- Before you.
- No, darling, please...
Yeah, come on. Come on.
You know a guy named Mickey Garrett?
- Yeah.
- Neighbourhood lowlife. Crack junkie.
He was holding people up
outside cash machines.
- Garrett says you set him up.
- Come on.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Are you setting me up for something?
- This guy has a bad beef with you.
- What for? We helped him.
He just took his wife and kids hostage.
Stay behind the barricades.
Come on, Mickey! Come on!
Who's the tough guy? Wanna get some?
Yeah, man, do it up!
Your main man's got himself a jackpot.
Don't worry. He'll boogie
right past all you motherfuckers.
Look at this, Stevie.
Drop the video camera!
Lewis, this whole party's for you, my son!
- I see you, motherfucker...
- Shut the fuck up!
- I see you. Come on.
- Mickey!
- Second right!
- I see him.
Let's go.
- Let's go, Danny.
- I'm coming.
- This is strictly voluntary.
- Yeah, I know.
Hi, Cheryl. What's happening?
He's got a cigarette jones from
all that dope. Maybe this'll work you in.
Come on, Lewis, let's go.
All right?
This is Lieutenant Farrell
from hostage negotiation.
They told you this was voluntary?
- Yeah.
- He's been smoking ice.
He's in a psychotic state.
That's his wife. He's been pulling her
around, sticking that cannon in her face.
She's scared to death.
The wife always gets the worst of it.
He's got two kids too. Where are they?
- We haven't seen them.
- Let's go.
Let's do it. All right. Let's go.
Watch yourself when you're in there.
Mickey?
Mickey Garrett!
Come on in! The door's open!
Shit!
What are you trying to do, Mickey?
Booby-trap this place?
Mick, what's up?
It's different than it was last time.
Last time you called me a mutt, Lewis.
Bet you're sorry you didn't kill me.
If I wanted to kill you,
there's this invention called a gun.
Know what I'm saying?
That's not what happened last time.
You promised you were gonna stay clean
for your wife and kids.
- Right?
- I went and got dirty again, man.
- That shit's gonna kill you, Mick.
- Wrong, cop, wrong.
This ain't no playground goof.
This is superfreeze. 12 hours of power.
If it's that good, we should try some.
Cops can't get into this, man.
Cops and bitches are all about
stopping a man having fun.
Like this bitch over here.
El tremendo bitch.
Mickey! Don't hurt your wife, Mickey.
He's gonna hurt her.
- What's the matter with you?
- He'll kill her.
- Stay right there. Don't you move.
- You stay down, bitch.
- He's gonna give her up.
- What's the matter with you?
Mickey. How could a nice girl like that
spoil any of your fun?
I'm dealing ice, two bills a night.
- She'd rather I was a messenger.
- I'm going in the kitchen.
She tells me to get out of the deal.
I tell her I'm in. There ain't no getting out.
She says she's gonna call Detective Lewis.
Detective fucking Lewis
who locked me up the first time.
I say, "You don't gotta call him."
- "I'm gonna call him for you."
- No! God!
- Here he is, like I promised you.
- It isn't her fault!
Mick, think about your boys.
That's right. You don't want them
to see you hurt their mother.
You're bringing up them kids right.
Don't hurt 'em.
Gunshot don't hurt.
Bullet goes whack and you go black.
And then Jesus'll take 'em!
After the father he gave 'em,
he owes 'em something, right?
Mick, let me ask you something.
Do you always take those boys out to play?
Don't you go out and play ball with them
all the time?
You gotta start 'em young
if you want 'em to be any good.
That's right. I bet you buy them
everything they want too, don't you?
When one of their boys has something,
they got to have it.
He-Man, GI Joe, Ghostbusters...
I know you got those... building kits
and bikes you gotta put together.
- Those instructions'll drive you nuts.
- Because the plans don't make sense.
Companies want to make you
look a chump in front of your kids.
Loving your kids
doesn't make you a chump.
Doesn't mean you can't
blow some dude away if you have to.
You're not one of them street mutts
who uses people.
You're a good father. All right?
Good husband.
You're a little stressed out today, that's all.
It could happen to anybody.
- What's he doing?
- I don't know, Artie.
Mickey? Where are you, man?
Mickey? Come on, what's the matter?
Talk to me. What you gonna do?
Go out for coffee?
Mick, I'm not gonna lie to you.
I'm scared for your kids.
It's OK. It's my friends Mr Lewis
and Mr Diroma. Go on, you guys.
He's releasing the kids.
Your man made it happen.
- All right, come in here.
- My mom!
- Where's my mom?
- Everything's gonna be fine.
Mick, these boys want to see their mom.
Why don't you send her down?
- Why don't you get out, Lewis?
- Why don't you cut her loose
and then I'll come down
and we'll talk this shit out?
Why don't you get out of here, Lewis?
I got nothing to say to you.
- He's gonna kill her.
- No, he's gonna give her up.
- He's gonna kill her.
- I want some time with her.
- I can't let him do it.
- Listen to me, Mick.
- I can't let you do it, Mickey!
- Stevie, no!
Go!
Go ahead, move a muscle.
- Move one. I'll pop you right now.
- You got him?
- All right, take him.
- Don't let him move, or shoot him.
- Mickey!
- Come here.
Stevie! Hey, partner.
We're alive, partner?
I'm all for grief support, guys,
but I ain't got all day.
When Artie says so. Not before.
We're gonna run into overtime
because of this.
Danny.
You can't keep him here.
He can't take you where he's going.
Come on. Let these guys do their job.
You all right?
He was tired all the time, you know.
I knew it.
Quinn kept piling cases on us.
Son of a bitch.
He couldn't sleep
with a caseload like we had.
You lay there with names and faces
spinning around in your head.
He had a lot on his mind, you know.
I should have made him go home,
Reet.
I should have put a gun to his head
if I had to.
Even called Quinn.
You couldn't have known, Artie.
Eight years we were together.
Eight years.
- He ain't coming back, is he, Reet?
- I love you, Artie.
I never did this for somebody I know.
Thank God you're here.
Can I have some more tea, please?
Want some sugar?
Hi, Uncle Artie.
Hiya, girls. How you doing?
Hi, Uncle Artie.
Hey, honey. Come here.
Let me talk to you for a minute.
Your daddy had an accident.
Rita!
I want my daddy!
The doctor's number's in the kitchen.
I'll go.
It's OK. It's gonna be OK, I promise.
Where's my daddy?
It's OK.
Marian's an extremely bright girl,
and they suffer the most.
But they also adjust the quickest.
Carol's a baby. As she grows she'll lose
all conscious memory of her parents.
Barbara... of course, needs special care.
She needs two insulin injections a day
and needs her blood tested twice a day.
These pamphlets
will explain how this works.
It's not as bad as it looks.
It'll say about insulin shock...
Excuse me, doctor,
I'm scared stiff of needles.
I hope you don't have a problem
with that, Mr Lewis.
No, I can take a shot.
I don't know if I can give one.
Well, bring the girls in tomorrow
and we'll go over the procedures.
- OK.
- Good night.
Thanks a lot.
So, doctor,
what's going to happen to the girls?
Something good, I hope.
Thank you for coming. I thought
house calls were a thing of the past.
For these girls you go the extra mile.
Good night.
Good night.
You OK? You want something, Barbara?
You have to go to the bathroom?
No? You hungry?
Do you want to eat?
OK.
We have to be quiet.
We don't want to wake up Aunt Rita.
OK. Let's go get some breakfast.
Wait here.
Uncle Artie?
I have to get dressed first.
Yeah. Come on.
Here. Let's go in here.
One, two, three, up!
All right.
What time is it?
I don't know.
Uncle Artie's sleepy.
- Do you always get up this early, hon?
- Always.
Here, take these.
I'm gonna take you to a nice place
for breakfast.
What about my sisters?
Aunt Rita will take care of them
when they get up. Come on.
You OK?
Look, my jobs are up 40%.
I need more personnel.
Don't give me that, Carl.
It's not the same all over the city.
I'm drowning up here.
People on ice killing each other...
Yeah, OK.
Just get me some bodies up here.
- You OK?
- Yeah.
I'm giving you Felix
until we can get a replacement.
Ride him around today.
Show him the ropes.
All right.
Better read this.
Stevie left a will?
Yeah. I took a quick look at it.
He didn't leave much.
Most of the insurance
will go for his wife's medical bills.
He made me legal guardian of his kids.
I saw that.
Wait a minute. What about his family?
- He's got a brother Angelo.
- He's putting it all on you.
You can do what you wanna do.
He won't be around to complain.
Being legal guardians
means you're responsible for the kids.
Lot of paperwork, lot of aggravation.
You gotta see to trust funds
and health plans... schools...
You're gonna want to make sure
they find a good home,
so you gotta stay
on top of the adoption agencies.
You probably want
to check out the parents.
That's all in the future, Cheryl.
What about right now?
Cute as these kids are,
we'll find them a home real soon.
If you could put them up for a week or two,
we'll be making it happen.
We're moving them to my apartment
tonight, but it's small.
You know,
we're crammed in there ourselves.
There's a priest who runs a shelter
at lmmaculate Heart church.
He's a little jammed right now,
but maybe he'll take them in.
We had 27 kids
sleep here last night.
We had to keep the heat, the electric on.
That's gonna kill us
at the end of the month.
Let me ask you something.
Say I bring my partner's kids here.
What might happen to them?
- Three of them, right?
- Right.
Well, we'd move them out
into a baby boarder home pretty quick.
What's that?
It's kind of a... halfway house
for kids waiting for foster placement.
How long might they have to stay there?
That's hard to say.
Especially with three of them.
They may have to be separated.
One of the girls is a diabetic.
This complicates things.
A lot of foster parents
don't want medical problems.
They can be in the system a year or more
before they find a family with the money
and commitment for three little girls.
- And they meet a princess.
- What does the princess look like?
lt'll look... It looked like...
- She had...
- Black.
...black hair.
- Right.
And she had a kind of dress like...
It was pink.
- Pink. That's beautiful.
- And it had blue diamonds all over it.
I was thinking of white diamonds.
White diamonds are pretty.
We'll make it white and blue.
I'm gonna tuck you in.
Let's tuck real tight, real close. OK?
- We'll finish the story later.
- Yeah, we sure will, darling.
OK, here we go. Is that cosy?
- When are we going to Jesus?
- What?
Mrs Christofaro said that Mommy
and Daddy were walking with Jesus.
And we would see them again someday.
Well, you will, sweetheart.
But not for a very long time.
- Not until we die.
- When will we die?
That's not for a very, very long time.
No. We could die at any time,
just like Mommy and Daddy.
- No, you're not gonna die.
- Why? You could die.
Uncle Artie could get shot like my dad.
- That won't happen to Uncle Artie.
- Why not?
Do you think he's a better cop
than my dad?
- No.
- Don't try to cheer us up, OK?
Just leave us alone.
Just let us go to sleep.
OK, guys.
Give me a kiss.
Stop it.
OK, monkeys. Go to sleep.
Oh, God.
It's OK, baby. It's OK.
It's OK. You're all right.
OK. It's OK, sweetheart.
Honey. It's OK, honey.
Can you put down some towels?
She wet the bed.
- OK.
- OK.
It's OK. You just had a bad dream.
You had a bad dream, honey.
You're safe now. It's OK.
Yeah. You feel better?
I told Dr Gelb
I could give myself the medicine.
But he says I'm still too young.
Well... it's hard for anybody, old or young.
He says he'll teach me when I'm seven.
Let's see. I'm five now.
Five, six, seven.
That's three years to go.
- Don't worry, Uncle Artie.
- I'm not. I'm not worried, hon.
This happens to me every day.
You all right, Lewis?
Yeah.
Take his cuffs off.
I'd like nothing better
than have this mutt make a move on me.
Sit down.
Guess what.
No deals today, Mickey.
No deals.
I just wanna make up for what I did.
Go ahead. I'm listening.
My best friend boxed me into this one.
His name's Clifford Ricks. He lives...
down in the basement at 914117th.
What's Clifford into?
He's recruiting for some new organisation.
Dude they call Beniamino.
Yeah, I know him. Hangs out
at Cienfuegos. What about him? Come on.
He's the ice man. He's the man.
- Don't get comfortable with me, man.
- All right.
You smoking ice yesterday?
Yeah.
Clifford's got a mountain of it in his pad.
- How does Beniamino bring it in?
- He don't bring it. He makes it here.
You just set up a lab.
Wipe out the competition.
Beniamino clipped those four teens
in the project.
Clifford in on that too?
No, man. Clifford ain't no killer.
He's just a get-over guy.
Just like me. That's all.
- Beniamino's the man.
- Where does Beniamino live?
Clifford will tell you.
Clifford's his boy now.
Come on, what else you selling?
That's all I got.
- Don't bullshit me.
- I ain't trying to cop out.
This ice... this shit is the plague.
It's like a hurricane.
Blows you out of this world.
You get so horny
you can tear bitches apart.
You get so angry you could
blow everybody away. You feel so big...
I don't give a fuck how you feel!
I don't care!
- You killed a cop.
- I'm sorry.
- You killed my partner, man.
- I'm sorry.
- You're sorry cos you got caught.
- I'm sorry cos I killed Detective Diroma.
If I could take it back... Jesus!
Get him outta here.
Clifford Ricks here, man?
Chill.
- I can't hear you, man. Yeah or no?
- Down there.
Don't spook this kid, Felix.
I know Clifford from school.
Dude's a lightweight.
He's gonna spill his guts
as soon as he sees us.
I can't believe Clifford's a big ice dealer.
That's what Mickey said.
If he is knocking down all that cash,
he should get himself a new pad.
This place is a shithole, man.
Yeah.
- Urban renewal.
- Yeah.
Maybe you'd better talk to this dude.
Clifford Ricks!
Yo, man.
- Who's that?
- It's Felix. We just want to talk to you.
What the fuck...
- Man!
- What is that?
- Rats, bro.
- Rats?
- Goddammit.
- Fucking dirtbag cops!
Felix!
Shit! Man, I'm all fucked up!
Fuck you!
Come on out!
Come on, motherfucker!
Cover me!
Clifford!
Motherfucker!
I'll bust your head!
- I'm gonna kill you!
- That's it, man. It's over.
- It's over, man. We won.
- I'm gonna kill you!
- I'm gonna kill him.
- No, Felix. That's it, man.
That's it. Look at me.
We won it! We're alive!
We are alive, partner.
Look at me. Look at me.
- Say it. We're alive.
- We're alive.
- Say it.
- We're alive.
- Yell it.
- We're alive!
Yeah!
I'm dead.
Is Aunt Rita OK? She left home so early.
She has to take two subways
to get to work.
Maybe I'll call her.
Her work number's by the phone.
It's only for emergencies.
But... I think I'm worried about her.
Better not call. You'll get in big trouble.
Want some coffee, Uncle Artie?
Here. Give me a wind-up.
- Big high kick and a throw.
- Ready?
Babe, I was born ready.
Good catch.
No-one will steal the show
from the bride.
- Mrs Lewis?
- Excuse me.
It's for you.
- Hello.
- Aunt Rita?
- Are you OK?
- Barbara?
Hi, sweetheart. I'm fine.
I love you, Aunt Rita.
- Come home soon.
- I love you too, honey.
- I love you very, very much.
- OK. Bye.
Are you sure it's OK?
Sure. Don't worry. Go.
I'll put the girls to sleep.
- Take this pretty girl out on a date.
- I will.
- Go, go!
- OK. Good night.
Just wanna make sure
you're in there safe and sound.
- Here you go.
- Thanks.
It's busy.
Who could she be talking to?
I don't know.
Maybe we should go back home.
Maybe we should just relax.
This is crazy. We only just got here.
What could have happened?
Everything's fine. Mrs Christofaro's
probably cracking open a bottle of vodka.
Four or five of her boyfriends are over.
- Check, please.
- Come on. They'll be fine.
- George, come here.
- Yes, Artie?
- Bring me a couple more of these.
- You got it.
OK. Let's eat.
- You got a big announcement to make?
- No. Why?
Last time you had two Mai Tais
you proposed.
No, I proposed a weekend in Atlantic City.
I guess I was hoping
you'd make me another proposition.
Like what?
Like we keep the kids.
You want me to sleep in that chair
for the rest of my life?
No. We could get a new place.
Honey, we're fairly tapped, you know.
That means a house.
That's 25 grand minimum.
Lawyers' fees,
closing cost, down payment.
I gotta warn you, it's gonna be
real hard for me when the kids go.
Rita,
we're gonna see these kids all the time.
- We're gonna keep tabs on these guys.
- I'm not talking being Aunt Rita.
Birthday calls
and Christmas and Easter visits.
You know what I'm feeling.
You know what I'm going through.
When we got married, I thought, "Great."
"I get pregnant. Have a kid."
"Another. As many as I want.
Just like my mom and my sisters."
I took it for granted what a miracle it is.
I thought you were pretty much over that.
I was.
I would have been fine
if the kids hadn't come into our lives,
but now the whole thing
just comes up all over again.
I really wanted kids.
It's like I have a second chance.
And I'm gonna lose them again.
- These horses are wild horses!
- Want some cotton candy?
Yeah. Thank you very much.
That was a lot.
Hey, look, there's the dinosaurs.
Let's go watch the clown.
- Hi!
- Girl, can you see from here?
Can I put you down here? How's that?
What's he making?
Would you like a balloon?
Aunt Rita, I want a balloon.
OK, you're gonna get a balloon.
Right after this one.
Uncle Artie's getting nauseous.
Ladies and gentlemen, presenting... Swan!
Carol!
Artie, get off!
Get off it! Come here!
- Carol's gone!
- What do you mean, gone?
I don't know.
I just turned around for a second.
- How did you let this happen?
- I don't know! Just find her!
All right. Stay here.
- What happened?
- We were at the dinosaur ride!
I'm looking for a little girl,
pigtails, about four, real cute...
I see so many kids.
- What happened to Carol?
- It's OK, honey. Let's go.
Let's go. I'm sorry.
I'm looking for a little girl...
I know somebody took her! I know it!
Stay here! Marian!
Marian, sweetheart! Wait!
Come here.
Uncle Artie, look what I got.
Where have you been?
Thanks. Where you been all my life?
Baby, you gotta calm down. Listen to me.
I got her!
She was hustling all the balloons
off some guy.
Carol, where were you?
- Thank God!
- I'm sorry I yelled at you, babe.
That's stupid!
What's the matter? Come here.
You have to watch babies.
She could have been kidnapped
and taken away.
But she didn't watch!
We've never had kids before.
This is new to us.
Aunt Rita's trying real hard.
That's OK, Artie.
You're right.
I should have watched more carefully.
But I'm gonna make you a promise
right now.
Look at me, Marian.
I will never, ever take my eyes
off any one of you guys as long as I live.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry too.
Come here. Come here.
Nice hug. A nice hug.
All right.
What do you say we all go eat lunch?
Night, guys. Sleep tight.
- Oh, man.
- Oh, God! What a day!
You know what?
I've been in and out of a lot of scrapes.
But I don't think I've ever been
as scared as I was today.
They're precious, aren't they?
You know what?
You're precious.
Come here, precious.
My darling precious.
Yeah.
- Come here.
- Oh, God.
Sorry.
- Aunt Rita?
- Aunt Rita's not here right now, hon.
I was looking for some shoes
under there.
We forgot to say good night to you.
That's sweet. Give me a smooch.
- Good night.
- Good night, Uncle Artie.
- Give me a hug. Give me a double hug.
- Good night.
- Good night, Uncle Artie.
- See you.
Well, there goes that idea.
"I'm just looking for some shoes!"
You want a beer?
Look at that, man.
Another dude I locked up.
This joint is smoking.
Felix, you reckon that little hump Ricks
was making 80 Gs a month?
lmagine what Beniamino
takes in through that door.
We roll a grenade, we wouldn't have
any more problems with drug sales, right?
OK, here you go, Felix.
That's the slime who killed Stevie,
any way you slice it.
Do me a favour. Call that plate number in.
Good morning.
Nice car.
- I'm glad you like it.
- Yeah.
Your meter's expired.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- I didn't know. Here, I'll pay it.
- No, no. It's on me. I'll get it.
- There you go, babe.
- Thank you.
I feel so safe knowing I'm so well protected.
Yeah. It's a new service the city provides.
Look at me as your personal policeman,
all right?
From now on, wherever you turn around,
I'll be right there.
That's very thoughtful, friend.
But in a dangerous world,
shouldn't you be where you are needed?
You want to know something?
I'm needed right here.
People in your business
need a lot of protection.
- I'm here to look out for you.
- I have protection.
Boss. We gonna
make an apprehension or what?
- Excuse me, ma'am.
- What is your problem?
Babes with big mouths, that's my problem.
You better take care of this dude here.
Artie, you want to bet
that if we toss this guy right now,
we'd find enough stuff
to put him away for life?
No, no, no. We can't do that.
That'd be unconstitutional.
We got probable cause.
I think I see a little bulge in his shirt.
That's my money clip, friend.
It wants to go to you.
You don't want it?
Too bad.
We'll leave it for the sweeper.
No, man. It's OK. It's all right.
This is certainly not Fun City.
We'll have to tell our friends
to meet us in Miami Beach instead.
Bye-bye.
Hey, Artie.
In Scarsdale they would call this a mansion
and hit you for two million.
Here 140 Gs buys you the keys
and the headaches.
On the top floor we got three bedrooms,
plus the master suite and bath,
where me and my wife used to sleep.
We tried to put as much space
between us and the kids as we could.
You know what I mean?
I'll tell you the truth, Mr Finnerty.
I think I'm wasting your time here, pal.
There's not a bank in the world
that's gonna give me a mortgage.
I don't need no bank
from one of the boys from the old precinct.
We'll make this a cash transaction.
What Uncle Sam don't know
won't hurt him.
You give me 25 big ones in green,
1,500 a month so I can
get my grandkids Christmas presents,
and I'll give you the deed
and I'm outta here.
Case closed.
Everybody says money talks.
To me, money can keep a secret
better than anyone I know.
Let's do one hand. One hand.
Maybe I could get your other sister,
hold her up.
- Hey.
- Hi, Rita.
This is Mrs Frazier from social services.
She'll be looking after the girls for a while.
We weren't expecting you.
Close quarters for all these people.
Yeah.
- Where are the other two?
- They're in the bedroom playing.
- Can I say hello?
- Yeah.
- You wanna take her?
- Yeah, sure.
Hey, Cheryl, let me talk to you for a minute.
What's going on? I didn't know
you'd bring a social worker so soon.
We found three spots for them
together in a nice new facility.
The sooner we get the kids
into the system,
the sooner we can find them a good home.
What the hell is this? A sewer?
I thought I was helping you.
- By slipping them out from under me?
- You can't keep them here.
You can't keep them if Rita's working.
We know all that, all right?
I'm working on getting this big house
up in the Bronx.
Get a house with enough room for kids,
get Rita to take some time off her job,
and you can keep the kids for 30 days
while we investigate foster parents.
You can put in for the programme
once you have the facilities.
OK, fine. We're doing that, OK. That's it.
- Give me seven days.
- We already started paperwork.
- Come on, it's a week!
- The best I can do is a few days.
Artie!
Life ain't easy for orphans.
Yeah.
- Are you taking Barbara to the doctor?
- All three of them.
Barbara has to get her eyes checked
and see a nutritionist for a special diet.
- Yeah?
- And he wants Marian to see a therapist.
He says she needs to be encouraged
to express her grief.
How much are these shrinks getting?
I don't know. Got to be at least 50 a week.
You're getting it back from insurance.
- I don't get any of this stuff back.
- Why not?
They're not related to me.
It's all right. It doesn't matter.
It's money well spent.
We gonna let them take our girls away,
Artie?
What do you mean, "take away"?
How are they gonna take something away
we never even had?
We can't keep those kids
even if we wanted to.
Why?
We don't have enough money.
They don't give kids to people
who can't support them. No room.
No social worker will let three kids
sleep in a bed. They'll lose their job.
Besides...
I hate to say it, but how do we know there's
not somebody who'll do better for them?
- More security, more opportunity...
- More love?
No.
Reet, I'm talking about a back yard.
A bank account, their own bedroom.
Stuff you can touch.
Baby, you gotta let them go.
- It's for their own good.
- No, I know.
I know, Artie.
God...
- I can't do anything.
- Hey, I know.
I know. It's OK. It's OK.
Baby!
Sweetheart, how you doing?
Remember me?
- You giving out parking tickets?
- Not tonight. I want to ask you something.
Your mama know
how you spend your nights?
My mama don't wanna know
as long as the rent gets paid.
- Let me see this.
- That's illegal search.
Get over by the car. Shut up
and get over by the car. Turn around.
Illegal search?
This is an illegal drug.
I could throw your ass in jail,
you know that?
Don't try that. I ain't scared of no cop.
Is that right?
You're scared of Beniamino, though.
What would happen if I told everybody
you were my personal stoolie?
Your boy Beniamino wouldn't like that,
would he?
He'd cut your tongue out
and ask if you were telling the truth.
Get in the car. Come here.
Get in the car. That's it.
That's the office, man.
They call it the office.
You go in... and you get the stuff.
You gotta sign a receipt
so they know how much you took.
Then you bring back the money.
- Don't slow down, man.
- Keep your head down.
- Is that where he keeps the money?
- No.
He's got this girl, Grace.
Every night she comes by in the car
and she takes it away.
There she is, man.
Get me outta here. If they catch me
with a cop, they're gonna kill me!
No, no, no, I got it.
I told you everything I know.
Please, cop, get me outta here.
Shut up and keep your head down.
- Let me give you a hand.
- It's OK.
- No. It's heavy. I'll get it.
- It's OK.
Man, that lady is so fine!
Go ahead. Give him some. Go on.
Grace, you want some?
No, you guys can do it.
Somebody let Oreste in. Come on.
Oreste?
Down on the floor right now!
All three of you! Line up!
Now, motherfuckers! Get down there!
You know who you're playing with?
I wouldn't be here
if you were from the post office, asshole.
Here. Tie your boyfriends up with this.
If one of them gets loose,
you're dead, bitch.
I'm gonna blow your head off.
Tie them up right now.
Where's the bread?
- What bread?
- Don't bullshit me, man.
This is no time to show off.
When one of your boys
feels your brains on his face, he'll talk.
Where's the bread?
In the panel. Behind the bar.
All right, show me.
Come on, show me, you motherfucker.
Show me.
All right.
Fill it up.
Come on, come on.
Come on! Fill it!
Put it there. Right there.
Now go back over there.
Come on. Come on.
Let's go, asshole. Get down on the floor.
OK.
Tie your boyfriend up. Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on.
Take a good look at this.
Take a good look at this, you fuck!
Get down there. Now!
All right.
I see you soon.
- No peeking.
- I'm not peeking.
How long do I have to wait?
Here you go.
- There's a kerb right here.
- OK.
Come on, girls. Here we are.
Let's go. Move it.
OK.
Let's give Aunt Rita a spin. Three times.
One, two, three!
OK.
Surprise!
What's going on, Artie?
I talked Finnerty into taking our note.
Why is he being so nice to us?
Well, cops stick together. You know that.
Also he told me he can't live
another minute there since his wife died.
In truth, I think we're his first real prospect.
What are you cooking up with this guy,
Artie?
Let me ask you something, Rita.
Do you think it's fair
some lowlife dirtbag has millions of dollars
while other people
can't put a roof over their heads?
What have you done, Artie?
Something that can't be undone.
- Be cool, man.
- What you got to tell me?
The thing is
that if we don't find out who it is,
we're just gonna have to do everybody.
- We don't know who it is, man.
- I don't know nothing.
What the hell's he talking about?
Hey, baby!
Where you been?
- Oreste.
- I've been looking for you.
I've been kinda looking for you too.
- I need a little something.
- I got something for you.
I can't go right now. My baby's waiting.
- No, you're my baby. I want to talk to you.
- Look, Oreste, I...
Look what I found.
Raisa.
Beniamino.
Nice to see you. Come in.
I was just telling Oreste
my baby's waiting for me, and I...
You don't have to be afraid.
Have a glass of champagne with me.
Come on.
- This guy ain't no mutt. He was too good.
- Hold it for a second.
Lieutenant Quinn?
Yeah. That's right.
Earl Williams, head of the narcotics
task force, New York state.
Grace De Felice,
one of our undercover operatives.
- Hi.
- Detective.
Why don't you have a seat?
We got a situation.
Might involve one of your detectives.
- Which one?
- Artie Lewis.
He's one of my best men.
Well, you're not gonna like this, lieutenant.
You want to repeat your story,
Detective De Felice?
I've been working on a guy who's
opening a market for ice in New York.
I set up the buys, made the phoney sales.
I won his confidence.
I'll bet you're doing a really good job.
You got that right. I am.
I set him up great.
We were getting ready to make a big buy.
- We would hit every lab on the east coast.
- What happened?
Some dude comes out of nowhere
last night and holds us up.
Now my man's crazed.
All he talks about is getting even.
No business is being done.
The chemist tipped back to Brazil.
We're gonna blow a year's work.
I'm sorry to hear that. You didn't
identify the guy that ripped you off?
- No, he was wearing a mask.
- What does this have to do with Lewis?
Last week Beniamino threw a bill like this
in a cop's face.
Last night the dude crumpled this bill
and dropped it right back at him.
You're losing me.
It's real simple, lieutenant.
We went through
your squad's photo ID files.
The cop last week was Artie Lewis.
Now you're trying to link him up
with this rip-off? Based on this?
Come on! You know this crumpled bill
ain't worth anything.
To nail a cop,
you need something better than that.
No rip-off artist works alone.
A mutt would have done us all.
This dude threw money out the window.
No mutt would have done that.
He could have been some wacko.
You didn't see him.
I hope I'm wrong.
All I know is that this guy was too good.
He had to be one of us.
OK, I got four guys
out on court appearances next week,
which leaves nobody to watch the store.
You'll have to talk to the ADAs.
They're slowing us down.
A court appearance is not a paid holiday.
You tell your story
then you come back to work.
OK, that's it.
You got a pen.
One more thing.
Anybody hear about a robbery
at 401 Royalton the other night?
Somebody hit a drug dealer,
Beniamino Rios.
We know that dude, don't we, Artie?
That's funny, him getting hit.
- How do you know this guy?
- His name came up in the Garrett case.
It's in the report. Just checking it out.
Did you inform DEA?
No, I never got around to it.
It's standard procedure for
major drug dealers. Why didn't you do it?
- That was the day of the rat attack.
- I don't need a lawyer, thanks.
I never got around to it.
I know what I'm doing. All right?
Give me this.
I'm outta here.
What's up with that?
- Are you in the union?
- What's a union?
- Are you supposed to move?
- Of course I am.
I wanna show you something too.
All right. There you are. There you go.
I need to see you
on Broadway and Third.
- Are you there?
- You got to do a grand jury on that kid.
- Broadway and Third.
- OK.
- Are you gonna be there?
- Get anything on that robbery?
I'll be there.
What robbery?
We gotta talk. I'm scared.
All right. Get in.
I haven't heard from him,
but that doesn't mean anything.
He's probably out working on his own.
I'll try to locate him for you.
Yeah, OK. Thanks. Sorry to bother you.
No trouble at all.
- I'll get back to you.
- OK. Bye.
That son of a bitch has skipped.
Hey!
- Come in. I got a surprise for you.
- Did I win the lottery?
No, wait.
What's going on?
Guess what. I went shopping today.
Come on. Come see what I got.
Come on.
I owe you one, cop.
Where's the money?
Where's the money?
You wanna die, cop?
Where is it? Want some more?
We have a brave man here.
You know,
I was a policeman in my country.
Just like you.
You don't believe me, do you?
But I wasn't
a stupid greedy little civil servant.
No, no, no, no.
I had a driver.
I had someone to polish my boots.
That's what a policeman means
in my country.
And I had respect.
To steal is one thing, my friend.
But to spit in a man's face by throwing his
hard-earned money out of the window...
You're wasting your breath, man.
He's not gonna talk
if he thinks you're gonna kill him anyway.
He'll talk.
When I put his wife and children
in front of him, he'll talk.
Or he'll watch them die one by one.
Our policeman,
he moved his wife and children.
He's smart. Smart.
Now he'll never talk.
Yes.
Soon life and death won't matter.
He'll talk.
He'll talk to stop the pain.
I'm gonna get some aspirin.
I don't think
either man's will has cracked yet.
- I'm on the job.
- What?
We gotta make a move or they'll cook you.
You got a gun?
He's too paranoid about chicks packing.
They're so whacked,
you might be able to run for it.
I'm gonna get the front door.
- Shit!
- Hey! Baby!
Can I come in?
You OK?
You OK in there?
No, I'm sick. Leave me alone.
- I'll hold your hand for you.
- No, Oreste.
He needs to watch out for those shots.
When Johnson lands a punch, he runs...
I gotta get my gun.
- I got it.
- I'm gonna check the front door.
Wait. That's crazy.
If you get caught, I'm boxed in here.
- Listen. We gotta take these guys out.
- There's four of them.
We gotta take 'em out.
- Can you get 'em looking the other way?
- Yeah.
Take this.
OK, listen to me.
You go out there.
I'll take a two count
and I'm right behind you.
Go ahead.
Look what this pig did to me!
He's loose!
You still alive, policeman?
Dammit!
We may have to bluff him out.
Are you ready for this, policeman?
Come out!
Are you ready for this?
Ready for this?
Ready for this, you fuck? Come on out!
Come out!
- Lewis! Lewis!
- In here!
Jesus.
Babe.
- How you doing?
- Good.
- How are the kids?
- They're great. How are you?
Got rear-ended by a gypsy cab
on Amsterdam.
Artie.
I stole government money.
You fought for the people that you loved.
I did the wrong thing.
I did it for the kids.
Now we can't have them.
I did it for us and now we're ruined.
No, we're not.
We're just beginning.
I blew it, Reet.
- I'm gonna win!
- No going on the grass!
That's not fair.
- I'll race you upstairs.
- OK.
I beat you!
Listen to Mommy.
I don't want to!
Too bad. You just better listen.
What are you doing? You guys fighting?
- Yeah.
- Why?
How come? Here. I think
we're gonna have to separate them.
- I think she has to go in the house.
- I think she should go upstairs.
Uncle Artie? I got something for you.
Well, I made it.
It's from when we went to the carnival.
There's Barbara.
There's Carol.
There's me.
There's Aunt Rita. There's you.
- You can put it on your desk if you want.
- Yeah, I will.
You, come here. Give me a hug.
As a matter of fact,
let's get in one big group hug here.
Come on.
A long one. Come on.
This is gonna have to last me a long time.
Come in.
You wanna give me your statement
or do you want to write it up yourself?
Any way you want it.
I take it, it's a suspect's statement.
You write it yourself, it's a confession.
It's a confession.
You can do it out at your desk if you want.
I'd rather do it here.
You want the tin?
Here you go.
Do me a favour.
Put that on that cabinet over there.
That priest brought it in.
Said he'd been staring at it for two days.
Said it's the worst temptation he ever had.
He knew whoever left the money
fixed it so nobody would find out.
I should have known
he wasn't gonna keep it.
He says he took out 200 bucks
to take some kids to a museum.
Says he's gonna take it
out of the collections.
Why didn't you keep it all?
I just needed enough to buy the house.
I mean, it's like we always say.
Everybody's got reasons.
I ain't making any excuses.
No, not you. Not Artie Lewis.
I got heroes and martyrs
all around me here,
so how come
this neighbourhood's still falling apart?
That policewoman
refuses to testify against you.
I almost got her killed.
That don't mean nothing
to the heroes I'm meeting these days.
Walsh says he's gonna get every cop
to give up a week's pay
to cover the money you gave to Finnerty.
The government'll walk away.
They don't wanna blow their people
in the field with a prosecution.
Why are you doing this?
I lost a good man.
His name was Steve Diroma.
Detectives like him...
and you...
are just too hard to replace.
So go home, Lewis.
Go on. Get outta here.
Go home to your kids.
Hello, Reet.
We're alive.
We're alive, partner.