No sign of accelerants.
Well, if it's arson, somebody figured a new way to hide it.
Okay, we got Alan Seagrave...
and Donald Cosgrove.
Both deaths due to close encounters...
with stationary objects.
We have an office door for Cosgrove...
and, oh, an '87 Porsche for Seagrave.
No non-relevant traumas.
No significant blood toxicology.
Attitude of both trajectories are consistent with explosion.
They ran the residue you scraped from both front doors.
It's a combination of plumber's putty and rayophene gum.
It burns almost completely away when you light it.
- So it was on both doors? - Yeah.
Something else I want to show you. You're gonna have to help me.
McCaffrey, why don't you come over and help us?
No, I don't think so. Not in my contract.
I just rewrote your contract.
Come on over and help us.
- Anyway, we're gonna have to lift him. - Great.
Christ, he's not gonna sell you insurance. Just lift him up.
Hold on.
You see that patch of shirt right there?
We wondered about the discoloration.
So I scraped a piece off and ran a spectro on it.
On a lucky shot, they picked up traces of something.
What was it?
Ah, trychtichlorate.
Nobody around here ever heard of it.
Yeah, trychtichlorate. It eats magnesium.
It's an absorption catalyst used in toxic waste accidents.
It's rare. They stopped making it a couple of years ago.
We figured it got in his clothes in a gas state from the fire.
What was it doing in the fire?
That's your job. Okay!
Stephen, what-- What are you doing here?
Just fixin' my roof.
You've gotta stop just showing up on the roof like this.
Look, I just-- I wanted to, I don't know, not exactly...
apologize for the other night, especially since...
- I don't remember much. - You remember.
Yeah, I know. I just wanted to say, I don't know, something.
The great communicator.
So what's going on, Stephen?
You only bang on the roof when you got something on your mind.
How's Brian doing?
- He's out. He quit. - He just up and quit for no reason?
I don't care what you heard, Helen, I treated him better...
than any other probie I ever had. All right?
He probably hates my guts...
but at least he finally took a look in the mirror.
So once again, Stephen's right and somebody else is wrong.
You always gotta be right.
- That's such bullshit. - Yeah? Why?
Because I'm the first to admit it when I'm wrong.
Yeah? How often does that happen?
In a fire? Never!
He would have bought it, Helen.
I'm telling ya, maybe not today, maybe not next year;
but it would have happened. All right? He's my brother.
I couldn't just--
You just couldn't live with that.
McCaffrey.
Yeah?
Take the top off.
Holy shit!
That's it. That's it.
Son-of-a-bitch! This guy is different. He don't love fire.
- Who? - The killer.
He used magnesium to make it look like an accident.
I got it after we went to see Ronald.
Torchers want to fry the whole goddamn world.
But the fires that killed those guys never burned up that much.
The trychtichlorate hid the magnesium in the plug, but it burned slow.
And he made his burns backdrafts.
- But he killed these guys. - Could have killed everybody.
Backdraft blew out the flame. That's it. That's the reason.
- What reason? - Why backdrafts.
Whoever fried Seagrave and Cosgrove...
went to a hell of a lot of trouble to make sure they died by fire.
They also made sure that the fire blew itself out.
So that's why they used the putty in the doors.
What do we got? A torch with a conscience?
No. We got a stone killer trying to make a point.
You can make the call now. It's arson, right?
I'm not calling anyone yet.
You can't rush this. I've seen it too many times before.
I wanna make sure this torch doesn't walk.
We're gonna wait.
Well, well, Mr. McCaffrey.
- Welcome aboard. - Nice boat you got here.
What? You mean mine?
Well, not yet. Glad to have you as part of the team, Brian.
Let's get a picture with Mr. McCaffrey and myself.
You look good. Yeah, there you go.
Thanks. Hi.
Yeah, have fun now. Great night, isn't it?
Who is that?
- Larry Dewaay. - Come on. Larry, how are ya?
Hey.
- Yeah. - How's the job going?
- Okay. - Yeah?
- Is Rimgale getting any better? - Rimgale's Rimgale.
- He's just doing his job. - Doing his job? He hasn't done anything.
At this rate, he won't declare it's arson before he retires.
Will you get me out of here? Otherwise I'll have to go pick her up.
This is it, one of the oldest fire stations in the city.
What do you think?
- It's homey. - Shhh!
The guys are sleeping upstairs. You're gonna get me in trouble.
This is my office. Impressive, huh?
Yes, it's very nice.
Lot of tradition locked up in this old house.
See those doors?
They lead to the hay loft when they used to have the old horse-drawn engines.
Lot different then.
But kind of the same, you know?
Do you miss it?
You seem like you do.
Well, when I came back,
I, uh-- I knew.
I knew that I really wanted to be a fireman.
Then why'd you quit?
Well, I should have said I wanted to be a good one.
So show me your fire truck.
Shhh!
Mask up, lads. Bring that sledge.
Where is it?
I don't know. There's alarms goin' off on three floors.
This alarm system's been screwing up since they built--
- 10? 29? - Yeah.
How do we know if the floor's gonna be on fire?
Well, when the doors open,
if it's hot,
don't get out.
We're gonna start on this side. I'll meet you down at the end.
- All right, come on. Come on. - High-rise gigs give me the creeps.
Bull, we're early on this one again...
and it ain't even broke out yet. We're one short with Brian gone.
- Wait for the next-in engines. - Let's catch it before it breaks out.
- You want to learn something? - Yeah, I do.
Axe, go with Pengelly. Take the other side.
- Don't split us up again. It ain't safe. - I haven't got time for this.
- Then let me take the lead. - Do your job; they need a line.
Come on. Come on, Axe.
Oh, you're so very sly; but, so am I.
She's hot and smoky...
but she's not rollin' yet.
Shit!
Hello, 51. You follow 17 in the truck.
11201 South Clark. It's a cancel.
11021 South Clark.
- South Clark. - What time is it, anyway?
All right, take it.
Wait, wait. Make sure you check it first.
Oh, yeah.
- Howdy, boys. - Brian!
- Here we go. Now get that mask back on. - Right.
Clear!
Stay here.
Check that door for heat, Tim?
Tim!
Watch out, Steve. I got him. Move off.
Put it out!
Stretcher!
Get the goddamn stretcher.
Everybody over here. Through here. Through here.
Get that stretcher over here.
What the hell happened? Oh, my God! Tim!
Tim! How'd it happen?
Breathe, Tim, breathe.
Get him in there!
Come on!
- You're all right. - Come on! Hang on, kid!
- Hey, Shadow, I got one here. - Oh, Christ.
Some guy named Holcomb.
Steve.
Steve, you all right?
- How is he? - He's alive.
- Is he gonna make it? - They're not saying.
He's in there.
I'm sorry. You can't come in now.
Please stay outside.
I should have been there.
None of us should have been there, Brian.
Don't tell me about the chance I'm taking.
- You were costing me time. - You didn't wait for back-up.
- You were wrong. - What the hell is your problem?
- This part of your investigation? - You had to do it.
You had to be myth man, taking another fire bare-handed...
- instead of looking out for your probie. - We need space.
- Is that what happened? - I had that fire. He didn't listen.
He's a candidate, your responsibility.
You shouldn't have had him up there in the first place.
You burned him, Stephen.
- Fuck you. - Don't you walk away from me.
Yo, Brian. Let's go.
Goddamn it! Get him off!
Come on!
Easy, man.
Loosen up! You're just making things worse.
- Relax. Forget about it. - Come on. Come on.
- Inspector. - Alderman.
Chinese sponge cake?
When are you gonna catch the prick that's doing this, Don?
- Don? - Don't you have any leads?
No, Marty, I don't.
We haven't found any connection between the victims at all.
Jesus Christ. Open your eyes.
You got Seagrave, Cosgrove...
- and now Holcomb. - Holcomb?
Put 'em together. It's a goddamn list.
I didn't know the name of that victim had been released.
- Hey, John. - Morning.
I'll do whatever you want me to do.
I want to help you nail that son-of-a-bitch that burned Tim.
Show me how.
Thought old Marty was acting a little strange.
He's right. There's residue.
Holcomb is the third victim.
The backdraft was set up somewhere in there.
Fried Holcomb when he opened the inner door.
But the outer door held and it waited for Tim.
In a word, Brian,
what is this job all about?
Fire.
It's a living thing, Brian.
It breathes, it eats,
and it hates.
The only way to beat it...
is to think like it;
to know this flame will spread this way across the door...
and up across the ceiling;
not because of the physics of flammable liquids,
but because it wants to.
Some guys, fire owns 'em. Makes 'em fight it on its level.
But the only way to truly kill it...
is to love it a little, just like Ronald.
- Hi. - Hi.
- I heard your friend's gonna be okay. - Thanks.
We checked and your boss was partners...
with all the murder victims in a company called Lakeside Dynamics.
He's keeping that a secret. I wanna know why.
- I don't know anything about that. - You might be able to find out.
- Get me his files. - Do you know what you're asking?
Yeah.
Four years ago I was punching a cash register.
Two years ago, Marty Swayzak didn't even know my name.
I was bringing the guy coffee.
I practically run that office now.
And Marty-- He believes in me.
I just don't--
You're asking me to throw that all away.
Your boss is a liar.
Stephen?
I'm sorry, Helen. I just couldn't sleep.
Well, what's wrong?
It used to be real clear.
When I was a kid,
what meant most to me about this job was...
no "ifs."
Somebody called the fire department, we came.
We just showed up.
Those guys, they just don't know how much I love 'em.
You don't leave people hangin'.
It holds everything up, doesn't it?
Loyalty.
I don't get it.
"Till death do us part." Isn't that what you heard, Helen?
You go, we go. It's all the same...
piece of shit without that, isn't it?
It's the end of everything.
I'm sorry I came.
There's just nobody I can talk to.
I really miss you.
You sure you really want to put grape jelly in the eggs?
Yeah, it's part of my formula. It's an experiment.
- It's an experiment? - Yeah.
Let's get these eggs going.
- Hey, I want to do that. - Can you do it?
That's good.
I'll put that in the formula.
- You gonna leave the shells? - Yeah.
- They're part of the formula? - Yeah.
I guess you know what you're doing.
- I know what I'm doing. - Uh-oh.
Mom!
I didn't know you'd be up so early.
Mom, go back to bed. We're making you breakfast in bed.
- Stephen, can I talk to you a minute? - Yeah.
You keep going there. You're doing good.
He knows what he's doin'.
He told me he likes those piano lessons you got him taking.
It's just I don't want to confuse him, you know.
I knew who you were when we got married.
I knew how you did things.
And--
I mean, you haven't--
I just can't anymore.
I just-- you know,
I gotta worry about Sean.
- Yeah. - I mean, you're the best.
You really are.
But the chances that you take just--
You scare me now.
Sean.
Listen, I, uh--
I blew it.
I forgot that I gotta work this morning.
So, um--
That's all right. We'll just do it again next Saturday.
- All right? - Mom's crying.
The latest polls came in, Marty.
Marty?
Jesus Christ, Marty.
What's going on?
We have a city planners meeting in 15 minutes.
Marty.
You've gotta level with me, Marty.
Is there something about these deaths you're not telling me?
No.
- What's this? - Just take it.
Rimgale's gonna wanna talk to Swayzak about this.
I'm sorry.
- That's a dumb thing to say. - You're right.
Good-bye, Brian.
What the hell you do with this thing?
What do you mean? I drove it, Joe.
This is a copy of Swayzak's report that we know is bullshit;
but we could never argue with the numbers because they're airtight.
This file she gave you proves it's phoney.
I checked on the firm that recommended the cuts to Swayzak's task force.
They've done exactly one job, a manpower study.
I checked further and it's not even a company. No employees... nothing.
- Just a P.O. box. - I wonder who wrote that report.
- Someone who knows how to work numbers. - Exactly.
Like a bunch of dead financial wizards.
- Seagrave, Holcomb, Cosgrove-- - And Swayzak.
Why did he go through this trouble to cut firehouses?
When a firehouse closes, Swayzak converts it into a community center.
- That's sweet. - Lakeside Dynamics, remember them?
They get all the expensive construction work.
I'm telling you, this is a total scam.
These guys were making a ton of money.
It's time we had a little talk with Mr. Swayzak. Let's go.
Mr. Swayzak?
Gas. Check in there.
Aaah!
Come on. Come on!
Let's go. Come on!
Hey, kid.
I think I've got a problem here.
Is it true that you were rescued by the fire department's arson team?
That's quite a bunch of guys, huh?
I'm so goddamn helpless here.
I can't do a fucking thing.
- What do you want me to do? - I've been lying here thinkin'.
For hours... thinkin' and thinkin' and thinkin'.
We're close. We're close.
But we're not lookin' in the right place,
not in the right place.
So, you've come to pick Ronald's brains...
because nobody knows the animal like Ronald.
It must've looked like it was going to be...
a medium deal, didn't it, when your father bought it?
What?
Did you watch him when he made that ballsy jump and saved--
I didn't come to talk about my father.
I sent away for a copy of that "Life" with your picture on the cover.
It's a collectible.
- Who's doing this, Ronald? - Wrong question.
Who isn't?
It isn't a spark, is it? Because there isn't enough damage...
and he wouldn't have had any fun.
It isn't an insurance pro because there isn't any profit.
- Who does that leave us with? - What's his tool?
How does he do it? How does he talk to the fire?
- The outlets. - No.
That's a probie. That's beneath you, Brian.
Trychtichlorate.
Very good. Very good.
You still haven't put it together?
- I have. - Then who, Ronald?
You wanna know who?
I wanna know...
if this kid really wanted to be...
just like his dad.
Did he?
Okay.
I'm outta here.
All right! I wanted to be him, okay?
I wanted to be him more than anything.
You loved him.
Yeah.
You watched him dance with the animal. You saw your dad burn.
Fuck you, Ronald! Who the hell's doin' this?
Did it look at you?
Did the fire look at you?
It did.
Ohhh.
Our worlds aren't that far apart, are they?
So...
whoever did this really knows the animal well, don't they?
They know him real well but they won't let him loose.
They won't let him have fun so they don't love him.
Who doesn't love fire...
and is around trychtichlorate all day long?
Oh, my God!
That wasn't such a long walk after all, was it?
Oh, my God.
Goddamn it, Stephen.
Hey, what's goin' on?
I just came by to see how you were doing.
How am I doin'?
Well, I'm sellin' Dad's boat.
Guy comin' by in a few minutes to take a look at it.
What are you gonna do?
I mean, where you going?
I didn't say I was goin' anywhere.
Look, I gotta-- I gotta get back.
- There's somethin' I'm supposed to do. - What?
What do you gotta do?
Look at you.
Look at your face! All the things you must be thinkin'.
You really hate my guts, don't you?
You know something, Brian? That's all right.
- Maybe we should talk about it-- - You don't like me...
because I was no genius in the way I raised you. Is that it?
Dad was gone! What was I supposed to do?
- You tell me. - Forget it. It's okay.
I tried. I wanted so many things for you...
that I couldn't even hope for.
Because after that, I had no choices!
Well, I'm not your father.
You got somewhere to go, go.
People change, huh, Brian?
Sometimes right when you're lookin' at 'em.
What's going on with you?
I don't know.
Do you?
I gotta go.
Attention, all units responding.
This is gonna be a hazardous materials response at a chemical plant.
- Stephen? Has Stephen gotten back yet? - He just pulled up.
- Is it Adcox? - How do you know?
I didn't until you came to the boat lookin' for those chemicals.
- Lookin' for me. - What were they doing on the boat?
Axe gave 'em to me. They're cleaning shit.
- We gotta roll! - I'll be there in a minute.
I gotta go to Rimgale with this.
- They're pullin' a box. - I'll be there!
- Stephen! - Wait! I'm his lieutenant.
I'll handle it.
Stephen?
Are you a part of this?
No.
You're sure?
That's the only thing I am sure of anymore.
Bull, we need you.
Jesus Christ!
Stephen!
Shit!
Get out of the way!
- You all right? - You all right, Peng?
- Everybody all right? - You okay?
Yeah. Help me out.
Where's 17?
- I don't know. - Shit!
Stephen!
- Where's 17? - 17's on the roof.
Mask up. We got a chemical fire.
We're pullin' the plug.
Everybody off the roof, now!
- Jesus Christ, Axe. - You don't understand.
My cousin, Sally, used to work at Swayzak's office.
She saw the files. She saw what he did.
- You set me up with those chemicals? - I'm tryin' to explain.
- Stephen. - You back off!
- Axe. - Somebody had to stop these pricks.
- Are you thinkin'? You burned people! - You didn't see.
- You're a fireman. - When Sally showed me Swayzak's files--
- I should've let you in on it. - In on murder?
Those assholes were closin' firehouses, gettin' our friends killed for money.
- I had to do it for the department! - For Tim?
- That was an accident. - Did you start that fire?
Why'd you have to go in there so fucking early?
That's why you wanted me to wait.
- Let me finish Swayzak! - No. It's over.
Your dad would puke if he saw how you shit on his department.
- What would he say about what you do? - Your dad died...
saving my life, and these people were killin' firemen for money.
- Swayzak. - He killed our friends for money.
What the fuck would you do?
You're his lieutenant. You've gotta handle this.
It's going!
Get to the side! It's gonna go!
17! Somebody! I'm in the elevator shaft.
Help me!
Help, somebody!
17, help!
- Brian! - Stephen!
I'm burning up in here!
- You all right? - Yeah. You all right?
Uh-huh.
Come on. We gotta go get him.
We gotta get outta here. The whole place is goin' up.
Look out! Come on. This way.
Wait a minute. Brian!
Jesus!
I just couldn't let it go, Bull.
Yeah.
Agh. I got ya.
Let me go, Bull.
You go... we go.
Stephen!
Nooo!
Don't move.
Don't move, damn it.
- What? - Just lie down.
Oh, shit!
Pengelly, up here!
Did you hear somebody? Stephen!
- Pengelly! - Up here!
- Where's he at? - Over there!
Pengelly!
We're gonna get you outta here. Lay down. Don't move.
Get goin'!
Pengelly, I lost the line.
I'm going for the hose.
Brian!
- Go! - All right, move it!
Agh!
Come on.
Look at him.
That's my brother, goddamn it.
Agh!
How is he? Is he okay?
- Let's move it. Let's go. - Hang on.
Let's move it, now!
- Up with him! - Come on.
- All right, Bull. - He's gonna make it.
I gotta get this collar on. Come on. Help us out.
I don't want it.
Brian?
Don't tell them about Adcox. Don't let them.
- It'll hurt the department. - I won't.
- Monitor on. - I'm sorry. I thought--
B.P.: 90 over 60.
I'm sorry I ever thought you--
I know.
- I-- I beat it. - Blood pressure: 80 over 60.
The fire never got me.
Hang in there.
You're gonna make it!
Lidocaine, now!
- Is he going to be all right? - He's spiking!
Who's your brother, Brian?
You are, Stephen.
Lidocaine in.
I'm tired of hearing the sirens.
Turn... turn the siren off, Brian.
Turn the siren off.
You're gonna be all right, goddamn it!
Hang in! Let's go! Move this thing.
Don't you die on me now. You hear me?
Hang in there. We're almost there.
It's not your time now. I need you.
You're gonna make it.
Clear!
Starting compression. One, two, three, four, five.
One, two, three, four, five.
One, two--
In the Chicago fire department...
the alarm code 3-3-5 signifies...
that the company has returned home to quarters.
We will now ring out that code to welcome home...
Firefighter John Adcox and Lieutenant Stephen McCaffrey.
Honor guard, hand salute!
Honor guard, dismissed!
Gentlemen, can we help you?
Police. We have a subpoena for Alderman Swayzak.
- Ah, Inspector-- - Alderman Swayzak, how are you doin'?
- This will only take a minute. - I'm in a press conference.
These detectives would like to question you why you secretly paid...
Donald Cosgrove, Jeffrey Holcomb, and Alan Seagrave...
to create a phoney manpower study.
Ask him who made money off firemen dying.
You see that glow flashing in the corner of your eye?
That's your career dissipation light.
It just went into high gear.
I'll have my aides look into it as soon as they can. Thank you.
Mr. Alderman has no further comment. This conference is over.
...1718 West Maplewood.
1718 West Maplewood. Got it, Cap?
Okay, into the truck. Code 32.
Nightengale!
We're gonna be damn busy.
Salsa!
You're doin' it wrong!
Thanks.
All right.
♪ You sit there with a blank expression ♪
♪ Say you can't go on anymore ♪
♪ It's not like me to come out and help you ♪
♪ Maybe I've been down this road before ♪
♪ Been livin' in the shadows ♪
♪ Now you come out slow ♪
♪ Now you're in the saddle ♪
♪ Got to ride alone ♪
♪ Now the dream is shattered ♪
♪ Those days are few ♪
♪ Maybe something mattered ♪
♪ It's not just for you ♪
♪ Some are gonna go for broke ♪
♪ Some will lay down ♪
♪ I've been too long standing still ♪
♪ All I know is whenever you need me ♪
♪ You reach out and set me in motion ♪
♪ Lookin' out on that lonely valley ♪
♪ You're tellin' me I've come so far ♪
♪ You're the reason I finally got there ♪
♪ You're the reason it's been so hard ♪
♪ Been livin' in the shadows ♪
♪ Now you hear the call ♪
♪ Now you're in the saddle ♪
♪ You got to ride or fall ♪
♪ Now you push a little harder ♪
♪ Like I showed you to ♪
♪ 'Cause the day'll be comin' they will look to you ♪
♪ Some are gonna go for broke ♪
♪ Some will lay down ♪
♪ I've been too long standing still ♪
♪ All I know is whenever you need me ♪
♪ You reach out and set me in motion ♪
♪ Some are gonna go for broke ♪
♪ Some will lay down ♪
♪ I've been too long standing still ♪
♪ All I know is whenever you need me ♪
♪ You reach out and set me in motion ♪
♪ Some are gonna go for broke ♪
♪ Some will lay down ♪
♪ I've been too long standing still ♪
♪ I will pick you up whenever you stumble ♪
♪ You reach out and set me in motion ♪