She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree
I let her hear my footsteps
She only goes stiff for a moment
Care for a smoke?
Sure. I'll take one
Are you as bored by that crowd as I am?
I didn't come here for the party
I came here for you
I've watched you for days
You're everything a man could ever want
It's just not your face
Your... figure
Or your voice
It's your eyes
All the things I see in your eyes
What is it you see in my eyes?
I see a crazy calm
You're sick of running
You're ready to face what you have to face
But you don't want to face it alone
No
I don't want to face it alone
The wind rises electric
She's soft and warm and almost weightless
Her perfume is sweet promise that brings tears to my eyes
I tell her that everything will be alright
That I'll save her from whatever she's scared of and take her far far away
I tell her... I love her
The silencer makes a whisper of the gunshot
I hold her close until she's gone
I'll never know what she's running from
I'll cash her check in the morning
Just 1 hour to go. My last day on the job
Early retirement. Not my idea
Doctor's orders. Heart condition
"Angina", he calls it
I'm polishing my badge and getting myself used to the idea of saying "Goodbye" to it
It and the 35 years of protecting and serving and tears and...
blood and terror, triumph that represents
I'm thinking of Aileen's slow smile
about the thick fat steak she picked up at the butcher's today
I'm thinking about the one loose end I haven't tied up
A young girl who's out there somewhere
helpless in the hands of a drooling lunatic
Damnit, Hartigan
I won't let you do this, you're going to get yourself killed
You're going to get us both killed
I won't let you. I'm warning you
Let go of my coat, Bob
You're draggin me down with you. I'm your partner
They can kill me too. I ain't putting up with that
I'm getting on the horn and calling for backup
Sure, Bob. We'll just wait
Sit on our ass while that sick Rourk brat gets his sick thrills with victim number 4
Victim number 4
Nancy Callahan, age 11
And she'll be raped and slashed to ribbons
and that backup that we're waiting on
will just so happen to show up just late enough
for Rourk to get back to his U.S. Senator daddy
Take a deep breath, Hartigan
Settle down and think straight
You're pushing 60 and you got a bum ticker
You ain't saving anyone
Got a great attitude, Bob
Real credit to the force, you are
Aileen's home waiting for you. Think about Aileen
Heck, Bob
Maybe you are right
I'm glad to hear you're finally talking sense
Hell of way to end a partnership
Hell of a way to start my retirement
Nancy Callahan, age 11
For all I know, she's dead already
You've been a very good, Nancy
You've been very quiet
Don't be scared
We're going to be taking you home really soon
But first, we're going to introduce you to somebody
He's a very nice man
Half way to the warehouse where Weevil said they took her and it hits
Wicked spot of indegestion
At least that's what I pray it is
I seek only the most lighthearted and momentary degression
The briefest indulgement in automotive pleasure
...for cheap thrills. Such shortlived durability, Mr. Shlubb
You would risk engendering an ill will on the part of our employers
Burt Shlubb and Douglass Klump
2 any-job-there-is thugs with dellusions of eloquance
This Jaguar you so pinheadedly covet
temporarily remanded to our customer, though it may be
remains the property of the son of Senator Rourk
Got to keep this quiet
Take them down fast
A single dent, the mearest scratch, thereupon on the before
mentioned consequences of which I so recently made mention
shall surely be afford us
Catch your breath. Give your heart time to slow down
But it won't slow down
Get over it
She needs you
We're all done here, Benny
Let's give them some time together
Give them some privacy
Be with you in a minute, Lenny
I'm just making sure they get along really well
What kind of beast couldn't get along with a precious little girl like this
You must be awfully scared now
But you got nothing to be scared of
All we're going to do is have a nice little talk
That's all. Just a nice talk, just you and me
Don't you cry now
Doctor said it'd be like this
Just take the pill he gave you
No need to play it quiet. Not anymore
Breath steady old man. Prove you're not completely useless
What the hell. Go out with a bang
He likes to hear them scream
I've seen his victims and their twisted little faces
all wide-mouthed and bug-eyed
frozen in their last horrible moment of living
No screams. Either I'm just in time or I'm way too late
It's nothing. Barely a flesh wound
On your feet, old man
Rourk
Give it up
Let the girl go
You can't do a goddamn thing to me, Hartigan
You know who I am
You know who my father is
You can't touch me, you piece-of-shit cop
Look at you. You can't even lift that cannon you're carrying
Sure I can
Cover your eyes, Nancy
I don't want you watching this
I mean it baby. Cover your eyes right now
I take his weapons away
Both of them
Hell of a way to end a partnership
For God's sakes, don't make it any worse
Don't make me kill you
I'm doing fine, Bob
Never better
Ready to kick your ass
Keep it talking
By time, just a few more minutes. Just until backup gets here
Sit down and stay down
I'll kill you if I have to
Keep his mind off the girl
Skinny little Nancy
Can't kill her once the backup gets here
Run home, Nancy. Run for your life
Hey. Don't listen to him, he's a crazy man
A tough man you are, huh?
You stay right where you're at
You shoot your partner in the back
then you try to scare a little girl
Later, I'll pull my spare rod. Plug you a couple times. Show you how it's done
We could've worked something out, but you've blown that
Sit down or I'll blast you in half
You're so slow, you'll never stop me
Sit down
You'll never be able to stop me
I finally sit down, just like you told me to
The sirens are close now. She'll be safe
Things go dark. I don't mind much
Getting sleepy. It's OK
She'll be safe
An old man dies. Little girl lives
Fair trade
THE HARD GOOD-BYE
The night is hot as hell
It's a lousy room in a lousy part of a lousy town
I'm staring at a goddess
She's telling me she wants me
I'm not going to waste one more second wondering how I've gotten so lucky
I want you
She smells like angels ought to smell
The perfect woman
The goddess
I need you
Goldie
She says her name is Goldie
3 hours later and my head's feeling several sizes too big
and that cold thing happens to my stomach
and I realize Goldie is dead
Not a mark on her
You'd have to check her pulse to notice those perfect breasts
of hers aren't moving like they would if she was breathing
She was murdered and I was right here when it happened
Lying next to her
stone drunk, just like she was
Damnit Goldie. Who are you and who wanted you dead?
Who are you besides an angel of mercy giving a 2-time loser like me the night of his life
It sure wasn't my looks
So why the sleazy salloon
Why the kindest Goldie
The cops
They're telling me too much
Showing up before anybody but me and the killer could know there's been a murder
Somebody paid good money for this frame
No reason at all to play it quiet
No reason to play it any way but my way
Whoever killed you is going to pay, Goldie
Open up. Police
I'll be right out
I don't know why you died, Goldie
I don't know why and I don't know how. I never even met you before tonight
But you were a friend and more when I needed one
And when I found out who did it
it won't be quick and quiet like it was with you
It'll be loud and nasty. My kind of kill
And when his eyes go dead, the Hell I send him to will seem like Heaven after what I've done to him
I love you Goldie
Claire?
Don't worry, Lucille. I was just grazed
Got any beers around this place?
No way I'm giving you any alcohol
Besides, it's not what you came here for anyway, is it
No
Go ahead. It work's without them
Thanks. You're the best
Lucille's my parole officer. She's a dyke, but God knows why
With that body of her's, she could have any man she wants
The pills come from a girlfriend who's a shrink
She tried to analyze me once, but she got too scared
Haven't seen you like this in awhile
Had a fight with some cops
Didn't happen to kill any of them, did you?
Not that I know of
But they know they've been in a fight, that's for damn sure
How the hell do you suppose I'm going to square this with the board
There ain't no squaring it, not this time
This isn't some bar room brawl
or some creep with a gas can trying to torch someone
Hey hey, this is big
Settle down, Marv. Take another pill
Hey, there isn't no settling down
This is blood for blood and by the gallons
This is the old day, and the bad days, the all or nothing days. They're back
There's no choices left
And I'm ready for war
Prison was hell for you Marv. It's going to be life this time
How's waking up every goddamn day and not even knowing why you're here
But I'm out now
It took somebody who was kind to me. Getting killed to do it
But I'm out
I know exactly what I got to do
So you were scared, weren't you Goldie
Somebody wanted you dead and you knew it
So you hit the salloons, the bad places
Looking for the biggest meanest lug around, and finding me
Well I'm going to find that son of a bitch that killed you
and I'm going to give him the hard good-bye
Walk down the right back alley in sin city
and you can find anything
That coat looks like ???
serves your face
Take off
He's new here, Marv. He didn't know
Katie's my kind of joint
Nancy's just getting started with her gig, but already the crowd's breathing hard
Plenty of nights I've drooled over Nancy
shoulder to shoulder with all the other losers like me
But that's not what I'm looking for tonight
What'll it be, Marv?
A shot and a brew, Shellie, and keep it coming
Sure, honey. You take it slow now
Most people think Marv is crazy
He just had the rotten luck of being born in the wrong century
He'd be right at home on some ancient battlefield, swinging an axe into somebody's face
Or in a Roman arena taking a sword to other Gladiators like him
They'd have tossed him girls like Nancy back then
Show's over, dickwad
Drink up
Now that's one fine-looking coat you're wearing there
You're killing days are over, you over-the-hill do-gooder son of a bitch
I love hitmen. No matter what you do to them, you don't feel bad
Take it off
What?
Fine coat like that, and you're bleeding all over it
Alright, it's all yours
Who was it you loosers who killed Goldie?
The guy who did that ... he knew what he was doing
So tell me, man, who sent you?
I don't hear you giving me any names
So I guess when I shot you in the belly, I aimed a little too high
You keep holding out on me like this, and I'm going to have to get really nasty
It's Telly. Telly Stern... passed me the order
He runs the tables over at the Triple Ace Club
Thanks again
Now the damnedest thing happens
For a second I smell the angel's smell that belonged to my Goldie
Just need my medicing is all
Bastard
You're going to pay for what you did to me
You like talking, Louie? How many got paid off for the frame, Louie?
How many for the kill?
It was Connely. He set me up
He'll never talk
I don't know about you, but I'm having a ball
Connely talks. They all talk
And what have been your sins, my son?
Well, Padre. I don't want to keep you up all night, so I'll just fill you in on the latest batch
These here hands of mine, they got blood all over them
You're speaking... figuratively
I need to find something out, I just go out and
look for somebody that knows more than me and I go and I ask them
Sometimes, I ask pretty hard
That way, for instance, in fact, I killed 3 men tonight
totured them first
you might say I've been working my way up the food chain
First 2 are minnows, small time messengers
But it was Connely. They money man who fingered you, Padre
Dear Lord, Marv. This is a House of God
Just give me a damn name
Roark
You really are pushing your luck, Padre, feeding me garbage like that
It can't be that big
There's a farm out North Cross and Lennox
It's all there
Find out for yourself. While you're at it, ask yourself...
If that corpse of a slut is worth dying for
Worth dying for. Worth killing for. Worth going to hell for
Amen
These keys say the Padre drove a Mercedes
Or at least that's what they're passing off as a Mercedes these days
Modern cars. They all look like electric shavers
Goldie
That couldn't be Goldie
It's my own fault, and nobody elses, that I got confused
I've been having so much fun I forgot to take my medicine
That wasn't Goldie back there. Goldie's dead
And that's the whole reason I've been doing what I've been doing
When you got a condition, it's bad to forget your medicine
The cold thing, it creeps into my gut and tells me one more time it won't let go
This is a bad place, this farm. People have died here
The wrong way
I don't want to fight, pooch
I got no gripe with you
Easy boy
No way I was going to use my gun on you, buddy
It's whoever owns you, I'm curious about
Because there's blood on your breath, and I think I know what kind
So I sniff around to see what's burried
Here we go
Impossible. Nobody can sneak up on me
I go blind. Not a sound. Nobody's that quiet
Nobody except the one who snuck in that hotel room 2 nights ago
It was you, you bastard. You killed her. You killed Goldie. It was...
I blew it, Goldie. I found your killer, but he was better than me
Too quiet. Too quick. A killer born
Why didn't he finish the job?
He keeps the heads
He eats the rest
Lucille?
It's not just that wolf of his
The wolfs just get scraps
Bones. It's him
He eats... people
He cooks them like they were steaks
Let's get you warm
Just like they were steaks
Now he's got both of us
It's alright. Take a nice slow breath
Just look at the heads on the wall
Heads on the wall. The heads on the...
Son of a bitch. He kept smiling that damn smile
made me watch him... suck the meat off my fingers
He made me watch. He made me watch!
Christ, I could use a cigarette
Dames. Sometimes all they got to do is let it out
and a few buckets later, there's no way you'd know
You brought us some big trouble this time, Marv
Whoever's behind this little thing, has his connections right in the department
Any leads?
Whoever it is, he knew I was checking out that hooker almost before I did
What hooker?
The one you've been obsessing over. The dead one. Goldie
I didn't know she was a hooker
It doesn't make any difference about anything
But I didn't know that
She was high class stuff
She must've shown you quite a time
Wait. There's a car coming
Kevin
All I've got is a face... and a name
I'll see you later, Kevin
Let's go
They've done checking the house. They're coming this way
Bastards, I'll show them
You're not going to get any of us killed, Marv
No, don't shoot. Please, listen to me. I'm his parole officer
He's unconscious and unarmed. So there's no need to kill him
Captain. The target. There's no sign of him
Here's a sign
That there is one damn fine coat you're wearing
I keep coming back to that cop I just killed and what he told me
I was pretty steamed about what he'd done to Lucille
So I took my time with that son of a bitch
It wasn't until I showed him all those pieces of himself that he said... just a name
Patrick Henry Roark. Man of the cloth
He could've become President, but he chose to serve God
And along the way, he just happen to become the most powerful man of the State
He's brought down mayors and governors like they were nothing
He even made his rotten brother a U.S. Senator without breaking a sweat
And here he's going to get killed in the name of a dead hooker
I'm getting used to the idea. More and more, I'm liking the sound of it
Then it hits me like a kick in the nuts
What if I'm wrong?
I've got a condition
I get confused sometimes
And with Lucille dead, I can't get my medicine
What if I've imagined all of this
What if finally turn into what they've always said I was going to turn into
A maniac
A psychokiller
Can't kill a man without knowing for sure you ought to
I've got to know for sure
The merchandise is on display, by the time I make my way to Old Town
For an hour or so, I ask around about Goldie
I don't get any answers, but I know I'm bound to
Lucille said Goldie was a hooker
And if she was, she has roots here. Friends, maybe even family
You can't be Goldie. Goldie's dead
Goldie. Yeah, sure, right.
I haven't eaten anything or taken my medicine for days now
No wonder I'm seeing things
Bastard
He's crazy
Hit him again, Wendy... harder
Wait a minute. Why did she call you Wendie?
Because that's my name, you ape
Goldie was my sister
My twin sister
I guess she was the nice one
Goldie and the other 6. Where are they? What did you do to them?
You crazy goddamn broad. Just take a look at this mug.
Would any of you dames let me get close enough to you to kill you?
None of you would. But Goldie...
And only she did because she thought I could protect her
And I'll bet those cops didn't do a damn thing about those other girls tonight
But as soon as they hit me for a fall guy, they showed up, guns blazing
But they didn't get me
And I've been killing my way to the truth ever since
So go ahead doll... shoot me now. Or get the hell out my way
Nuts
OK, I better be getting all that sorted out
What the hell?
I tied those knots. That's my specialty
You sat there and took it, when you could've taken my gun away from me anytime you wanted to
Well, sure. I thought I might be able to talk some sense into you
And I probably would've had to paste you one
And I don't hurt girls
We need a pair of handcuffs
What style you want? I got a collection
Just give him the ones you got with you, Gail
It was a farmboy named Kevin who killed Goldie
But it was Cardinal Roark who was behind him and I don't know why
I know that sounds crazy
No it doesn't
Goldie worked the Clergy
Just like that, a whopper of a puzzle piece falls smack in my lap
I'm too dumb to put the whole picture together yet, but...
she fires up 2 cigarettes and hands me one and i taste her lipstick on it
and suddenly my heart's pounding so loud I can't hear anything else
I wanna reach over and touch her and taste Goldie's sweat 1 more time
but she isn't Goldie
Yeah, yeah, this'll do
I'm also going to be needing a dozen 2-foot lengths of
This rubber tubing
And a spool of razor wire
A pair of those special gloves that'll ... let me handle the wire
Beefing up the old home security, huh?
You bet your ass
She was my sister
So I'm in this one to the end
But why are you willing to go up against Roark for someone you barely know
She was nice to me. Gave me something I didn't even know existed
I wasn't never even able to... buy a woman. Yeah, the way I look
I take my mind off her and I crawl back inside myself
It's almost killing time, and I better get sharp
I check the list
Rubber tubing
Gas
Saw
Gloves
Cuffs
Razor wire
Hatchet
Gladys
And my mits
We're close enough. Pull over
Yes, Marv
Keep the engine running
If I'm not back in 20 minutes, you get the hell out of here. Don't look back
Kill him for me, Marv
Kill him good
I won't let you down
Heading downstairs to the kitchen. Getting himself a midnight snack
And I can guess what kind
Come on, you son of a bitch
Damn, he's slick
Is that the best you can do, creep?
That's right. Get personal, get close. I can take it
I got you, you little bastard. Let's see you hop around now
I try to slow my heart down and breath the fire out of my lungs
My muscles make me a 1,000 promises of pain to come
Let me do it, Marv
She was my sister, let me finish him
You wasn't supposed to come down here, Wendy
Oh, but I wanted to ki...
I'm sorry kid, but I haven't even started with this creep
and I don't want you watching the rest
it'll give you nightmares
God, I got to tell you, I'm good and bushed
It's not that fight of our that did me in either
It's all that sawing and tying
It's not as easy as it looks
It could've been a real mess around here if I didn't have that tubing for... turniquettes
I got to admit... there was a spurt or 2
You get the scent in the air. To get that friend of yours to come running
Well, what do you know. Look who's here
Here he comes
That's a good dog
He doesn't scream. Not even when the mutt's had its fill
and Kevin's guts are lying all over the place
but somehow the bastard is still alive, still staring at me
Not even when I grab the saw and finish the job
He never screams
I put in a call to Katie's and ask Nancy to get her clothes on and meet me at her place
She say's "Yes" like always
Hey, Nancy. You got any beers?
Sure, Marv. Who's the babe?
There isn't much of anything Nancy wouldn't do for me
not since a year back when her frat boy roughed her up and I straightened him out but good
it really gets my goat when guys rough up dames
So what do you want me to do with her?
Well, your best bet is... drive her all the way up to Sacred Oaks
What about you? Are you leaving town?
Hell no. I like it here
I hotwire a parked cab and stay under the speed limit so as not to get any attention
My head starts to clear, and things start to make sense
I owe you, Goldie. I owe you 1, and I'm going to pay up
So going after Roark means dying, win, or lose?
Hell, I'll die laughing if I know I've done this one thing right
Quiet as a grave out here. No sign of target
Alright, keep a lookout
Kevin?
What's left of him, anyways
The dog ate the rest
Oh, my God
You monster
You... demon
Don't scream of I'll plug you
He had the voice... of an angel
Yet he spoke only to me
And he's dead now because of 1 stupid whore
It's not a real good idea for you to talk about Goldie that way... while I'm around
When he came to me
He was a tormented boy
Tormented by guilt
I tried to council him
But the eating. It filled him with white light
tearful, he swore to me that he felt the touch of God almighty
What the hell do you know?
I know it's pretty damn weird to eat people
He didn't just eat their bodies. He ate their souls
And I joined in
They were all whores
Nobody cared for them
Nobody'd miss them
And then your... Goldie almost ruined everything
She stayed in public places. And then with you...
You were so convenient. You'd broken man's jaw that very night
Who would believe a thug like you?
Kevin killed her
I ordered the police in for you. But you wouldn't be caught
You wouldn't stop. And now he's dead and you're here too
Eliminate me
Will that give you satisfaction, my son?
Killing a helpless, old fart
The killing, no. No satisfaction
Everything up until the killing. .. will be a gas
Kevin. We're going home
You could scream now if you want to
It's beautiful, Goldie. It's just like I promised, only better
And when his eyes go dead, the Hell I send him to must seem like Heaven after what I've done to him
Freeze! Oh my God
Jerks. They should've shot me in the head, and enough times to make sure
It's so stupid. Everybody knows what's coming
but they go through the motions anyway, what a waste of time
Month's fall off the calandar while I breath and eat through tubes
Night after night I wait for someone to come and finish me off
After awhile I realize it's not going to be so easy as that
I'm on my feet for about 10 minutes before the cops kick them out from under me
They don't ask me any questions
They just keep knocking the crap out of me and waving a confession in my face
and I keep spitting blood all over it and laughing at how many fresh copies they come up with
then along comes this worm assitant district attorney who turns the recorder off and says
if I don't sign their confession, they'll kill my mom
I break his arm in 3 places and I sign it
From then on, it's the circus everybody wants it to be
They nail me for the works. Not just the people I did kill
but even Lucille and the girls that Roark and Kevin ate
and even Goldie
the judge is all fire and brimstone when she hands down the sentence
midnight and my death are only a few hours away, when I get my first surprise in 18 months
My only visitor
I'm ready for anything but that scent
I got him for you good, didn't I, Goldie
I'm sorry, Wendy. I got confused again
seeing you like this
You can call me Goldie
She smells like angels ought to smell
The perfect woman. The goddess
Goldie. She says her name is Goldie
They fix fix me a pretty decent steak for my last meal
They even throw in a brew. It's the first I've had since back at Nancy's
Then they shave my head and fix me with a rubber diaper. And get to it
And it's about damn time, if you ask me
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Would you get a move on, I haven't got all night
You heard the man. Hit it
That the best you can do, you pansies?
He's done
THE BIG FAT KILL
Forget it, man. You can bang on that door all night if you want to. There is no way in Hell I'm letting you in
I can't believe you're doing this to me, Shellie
Everything we've shared. It has to mean something to you
It meant plenty. Plenty of lost pay on account on how nobody wants to
flirt with a waitress whose face is all purple and swollen up with bruises
I know you're angry, baby. And I forgive you for that without you even asking me to
There's a difference between getting honked off at a guy who's generally not so bad
and... finding out that you've been sweet talked by a total jerk loser
who skips out on a wife he doesn't even tell you about every time
he gets drunk, which is way too often
especially... the kind of total jerk loser who has to beat up on a girl to make himself feel like a man
That hurts, Shellie. It's one thing for you to play hard to get
but don't go trying to cut my nuts off
I... am impossible to get. Do yourself a favor, Jackie Boy, and get help
like... a shrink. Get help and... get lost
Just open the door
Go ahead and open the door, Shellie. I'll take care of this
Just open the door. You'll see how wrong you've been about me
Oblige him, Shellie. I'm ready for him
No. If he knew that you were here with me, you don't know how bad this can get
This clown's got a big mean drunk on
And he's got 4 friends out there in the hall, breathing had and just as drunk as he is
I could swear I heard somebody in there with you just now
Somebody?! Jackie Boy, it's a regular African lovefest in here
- Let me know who races (???) - I mean, I got me, I got me all 5 starters...
and half the bench of the Basin City Blues keeping me company
You feel like taking them on?
You are teasing me, baby. Some of my best friends...
but you are really pushing my buttons
and the whole time you've been doing me like this
I've been too polite to point out that at any time I want to
I could kick this damn door to splinters
OK, baby. You know what I can do. You know what I can do
- Alright, Jack - 1...
- Alright - 2...
Alright, alright
Troops, make yourself at home
You brought your whole pack with you?
None of these bozos got lives, they got to hang out with you
You're going to love this baby. You're going to call up some of your friends
who work in the salloon. With you and the bunch of us, we're going to
hit every joint in town. It's just going to be great
I ain't calling up nobody
That's a man's shirt, and I sure as Hell it ain't one of mine
You got somebody's slow stink all over you
You've been with another man. You've been with him tonight
He's Superman. He flew out the window just as soon as he heard you were coming
because you scared him so bad
You think I have no feelings at all
If you're going to slug me, just go ahead and get it over with, you sick bastard
There you go, lying about me again, right in front of my friends
I have never hit a woman in my life
You goddamn bastard. You goddamn coward
Baby, we're all here to have a good time
Got to take a leak
Wish you dropped by earlier, Jackie Boy. Then you could've met my boyfriend. Could've seen what a real man looks like
There you go. After my nuts again
But I forgive you. I'm a generous guy
He is generous. With temper of his, you never should've picked on him like you did
You don't have to. You don't have to worry about it
Shut up and keep your hands to yourself or I'll cut your little pecker off
I've been told
Hey, baby. I don't hear you making those calls
Answer me
Oh, I don't need this grief
Hi, I'm Shellie's new boyfriend and I'm out of my mind
You ever so much as talk to Shellie again, you even think her name, and I'll cut you in ways that'll make you useless to a woman
You're making a big mistake, man. A big mistake
Yeah? You already made a big mistake, yourself
You didn't flush
Troops. Get out of here. No questions, damnit, no questions. Now!
Dwight, what in the Devil did you do to him?
I just gave him a taste of his own medicine
I don't think he'll be bothering you again. How's your jaw?
I've been slapped around worse
Dwight? He was from awhile back
before you showed up again with that new face of yours
and... it was only because I felt sorry for him. It was only once
I've done some dumb things
Seeing as how I'm one of those dumb things, I can't give you too hard a time about that, Shellie
But this guy. He's a menace. He might kill somebody if I don't stop him
I'll call you later
No, don't go!
Shellie shouts something I can't quite make out over the racket of a passing police copter
It sounds like "Stop". But I can't be sure
It's a chance I shouldn't be taking. But I can't just go home and forget about it and let Jackie Boy and his pals have their fun
They're a pack of predators, and they're out for blood tonight
A woman's blood
Damnit, Dwight, damnit. You fool. You damn fool
I cut Caddy across the car to pick up Jackie Boy heading like a bat out of hell up the hill
I'm speeding
That's a good way to get yourself noticed
and if you're a murderer with a new face whose 1 fingerprint check away to the fast track to the gas chamber, like I am...
the last thing you want is to get noticed
I don't have nearly enough cash on me to bribe this cop
and even if I did, there's always the outside chance he's 1 of the honest ones
Do I try to talk my way out of this?
Or do I take this cop down and risk it all?
Then Jackie Boy saves me a great big streaming pile of trouble
Watch it Jack!
Cops. They're right on our ass
Not for long
Not where we're headed
My gut tightens up
Jackie Boy's leading us straight to Old Town
The cop shuts off his siren
He knows he's not the law. Not in Old Town
The ladies are the law here
Beautiful and merciless
If you got the cash and play by the rules, they'll make all your dreams come true
But if you cross them, you're a corpse
Hop in, sugar. We'll get you there
Aww, sweetheart. I work the dayshift, and it's been a long day. Besides, I don't do group jobs
Get in the car, baby. We'll just talk. It'll be nice
I don't do talk jobs, either
Baby doll, I've had me 1 hell of a bad day
I've been beat up every time I turn around
But then day when I get turned down by a hooker
When I got good hard earned cash to pay with
Well? There's only so much a man can take
Go try the Alamo over on Dillan Street. That's the Alamo, not the Amigo
The Amigo's a fag joint
Are you having a good time? Humiliating me like this for no damn reason at all?
That's far enough, Dwight
We've been on top of these peckerwoods since they first showed up with that cop behind them
Everything's under control. Enjoy the show
There's no use arguing with her
The ladies are their own enforcers
So how's the barmaid? You know, the one that never shuts up
Not right now, Gail
Oooh, wound up a little tight, aren't we?
That's your whole problem, Dwight
You worry too much
That and your lousy taste in women
These days, anyway
Damnit, Gail. Not right now
Those clowns, down the way. They some of the barmaids' boyfriends?
1 of them thinks he is. He's out of control
I followed them here to make sure he didn't hurt any of the girls
Us helpless, little girls
All kinds of death is about to hit less than 20 yards ahead of us
And still it's hard to take my eyes off her
Us girls are as safe as can be, Lancelot
Those boys in that Chrystler are 1 mistake away
from seeing what Miho can do
And she's been aching for some practice
She guards my glance upward to the pixie perched on the roofs edge
Deadly Little Miho
You're running out of valley, cowboy
Turn around. Safe yourself and your buddies a ton of grief
You're a sassy little thing
You ain't hardly in any kind of position to be making threats
The trap is set. Locked and ready to spring
So what? They're scum. They deserve what's coming
So why this rotten feeling in my gut that something is awfully wrong?
They haven't killed anybody I don't know about
They got pretty bad at Shellie's place
but they didn't kill anybody
And they won't
Why this rotten feeling?
Something Shellie said
I can't place it
OK, OK, OK, I sounded off a little more than I should've
I'm a little edge
Over the edge
It's not a woman you need, it's a good night sleep
You couldn't handle a woman in the state you're in
She saying you don't got what it takes, Jack
You want to see it?
You want to see what I got? Huh?
I've seen all shapes, all sizes
Have you seen this one?
Get in the car
Oh, sugar. You just gone and done the dumbest thing in your whole life
Oh, God, no
This is crazy
I don't know where... for no reason at all
Go ahead... go ahead
He's got the drop on her
He's got squat
He's dead, he's just too dumb to know it
I got you... right where I want you
This is a carreer ending wound for...
There's going to be hell to pay
Watch your step, Jackie Boy
Yeesh
This isn't funny
Don't anyone laugh. I got friends you can't imagine
Everyone in here is going to (???)
Hang it up, she's just playing with you
You're only making it worse
You shut the hell up
Don't pull the trigger, she blocked the barrell. It'll backfire
I told you to shut up
Can't see
I can't see
I can't hear anything
For God sake, Miho, finish him
Yeah
Make it quick, will you
She doesn't quite chop his head off
She makes a Pez Dispenser out of him
Then it's straight to business
stretching the corpses on the alley floor and checking their pockets
digging up cash when they find it
I'm fishing around in Jackie Boy's pants. His wallet is packed
Master Card, Discover, Platinum American Express
And nearly 300 bucks worth of 20s that I'm not too proud to stuff into my own pockets
Then I find an atom bomb
Jackie Boy. You son of a bitch
There was a helicopter that kicked up such a racket I couldn't quite make out what she said
I thought Shellie said "Stop"
She said "Cop"
Detective Lieutenant Jack Rafferty
"Iron Jack", the papers call him
A goddamn hero cop
It's hell for years, the shaky truce
The cops get a slice of the profits and free entertainment when they throw a party
The girls get to administer their own brand of justice
They get to defend their own turf
If a cop blunders into the neighborhood and he's not shopping for what the girls are selling
They send him packing
But they send him back alive
That's the rules
That's the truce
The cops stay out
That keeps the girls free to keep the pimps and the mob out
Old Town will be left wide open
It'll be war
The streets will run red with blood
women's blood
The cops
The mob. Things are going to go back to the way they used to be
The hell they will
We got guns
We'll fight the cops and the and mob and anybody else who tries to move in on us
We'll go to war
Don't be stupid, Gail. You wouldn't stand a chance
Get me a car
Make sure it's a hard top with a decent engine
I'll hide the bodies
Did you forget that cop car that trailed them here?
The cops know Rafferty came here
They'll check the river, they'll check the sewer
They'll find him and come gunning for us
I'll hall the bodies to the pits. The cops won't check the pits. Get that gun out of my face or I'll smack you
Who do you think you are, giving orders?
-You got what you wanted out of us -Shut up, Gail
You got what you wanted out of me
And you were gone, off playing with that barmaid. Gone until you brought this unholy mess on us
Miho moves to my back
1 word from Gail and she'll cut me in half
They'll be watching the roads
They'll catch you
It'll be the bad old days, all over again
The pimps, the beatings, the drugs, the rapes
They won't be watching the roads, not yet, they won't. Get me a damn hard top
If I don't make it, you can have your war
Get that gun out of my face, now
Bastard!
I forgot how quick you are