Bird in the Hand


[airport]

Announcers : Final boarding call for flight 235...Now boarding at gate H.M...Arriving passengers...information desk...Departure at terminal three...Welcome to Chicago O’Hare. Arriving passengers, please proceed to concourse D, lower level, for baggage.

[coming down a busy escalator is a man in wrist & ankle cuffs, flanked by two men; they enter a door with a key (“Entry Prohibited”)... they are US marshals; they all enter another locked door, into a restroom. One marshall searches it, then prisoner is allowed to go in alone; the marshals wait outside the door... one lights a cigarette]
Marshall 1 : You can’t smoke in the terminal.
Marshall 2: So arrest me.
[restroom; the prisoner removes the ball in the toilet tank, and inside are several items, including a key, screwdriver, and money; he uses the screwdriver on the screws above the grate above toilet and escapes, walking nonchalantly out with other passengers and turns... it’s Gerard]

[Canadian consulate]
McFadden: Special Agent McFadden, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and this is--
Borland: Special Agent Borland, FBI.
Fraser: Well, I’m afraid that Inspector Thatcher is out of town. I’m Constable Fraser, Deputy Liaison Officer. [Turnbull clears his throat significantly] And this is Constable Turnbull, our temporary...assistant...interim...associate...Deputy Liaison Officer.
Turnbull: Oh, sorry, I didn’t notice you. [rises & extends hand]
McFadden: Yeah. [doesn’t shake]

[Dief whines]

Fraser : And this is Diefenbaker.
McFadden: Uh, your office.
Fraser: Yes, please.
Turnbull: Would you like me to hold your calls?
Fraser: Yes, I’d appreciate that.
Turnbull: And what reason should I give?
Fraser: I’m sorry?
Turnbull: The Americans. Should I say you’re in a meeting?
Fraser: Yes, that would be good.
Turnbull: Ah. So it’s not a secret meeting?
Fraser: I’m sorry?
Turnbull: High level. Inner agency. Off the record.
Fraser: Not that I’m aware of, no.
Turnbull: Ah, good. Of course, if it was you shouldn’t even tell me. So perhaps it is secret and you just can’t say. If that’s the case, I understand.
Fraser: It’s not the case.
Turnbull: Ah. I understand.

[long pause]

Turnbull : [answering phone]   Canadian consulate, liaison office...I’m sorry but I can’t tell you that...He may have ordered lunch from your establishment, or he may not have.
Ovitz: Who’s in there?
Turnbull: Where?

[Fraser’s office; Gerard’s b+w mug shot is placed on the desk]
Fraser: He was my father’s best friend on the force. They went to the academy together. I’ve known him all my life.
Borland: You had any contact with him since his incarceration?
Fraser: No.
McFadden: I imagine not. I mean, the man killed your father. You’re not just going to pick up the phone and kick around old times.
Fraser: How can I be of assistance to you?
McFadden: You seem very cool about this.
Fraser: Gerard is serving a life sentence. Whatever my feelings, they ended with his imprisonment.
Borland: Two months ago, Gerard reached out to one of your crown attorneys. Let it be known that he’d be willing to talk about his involvement in other criminal activities in exchange for making his life easier.
McFadden: Apparently he had an arrangement with an American arms dealer named Lloyd Nash. It’s a name that interested us.
Borland: Last week Gerard was in transit to testify here in front of a Grand Jury. Two U.S. Marshals picked him up in Toronto and flew him to O’Hare, where he disappeared.
McFadden: He had help. [pulls the (bagged & tagged) screwdriver from briefcase]
Borland: We’ve been looking for him for seven days. We can’t even find his shadow. And as you said, you’ve known him all your life. We figured you might be able to help.
Fraser: Well, I would still have to clear it through the consulate.
McFadden: Grand jury convenes on Wednesday. We have one day to find Gerard, or Nash’ll never see the inside of a prison gate. That’s...our problem. Your problem is the man who killed your father is out there, enjoying life. Clear it all you want. [exits]
Borland: Anything you can think of. Contacts he might have here, family members or friends that we don’t know about. We’d appreciate it.

[27 th precinct; a large pile of files drops onto Vecchio’s desk]
St. Laurent: Vecchio. You’re going to trial a week from Wednesday on the Turner brothers case. I’ve turned it over to Assistant State’s Attorney Hilliard.
Ray: Stress-related vacation, Louise?
St. Laurent: I’ve assured Hilliard that you will have a complete and thorough recollection of the details of the case so as not to embarrass him on the stand, because if you embarrass him, you embarrass me. And you don’t want to embarrass me. Read it. [exits]

[Fraser approaches]
Fraser: Busy?
Ray: Nope.

[Vecchio opens the L-O file cabinet drawer & begins the search]

Ray : Nash, Lloyd. How do you get any respect as a criminal with a name like Lloyd?
Fraser: Is that a serious question?
Ray: Uh, no, Fraser. Is this the guy Gerard is supposed to testify against?
Fraser: Apparently.
Ray: Ah, here it is. Lloyd P. Nash. Heh. You wanna know what the P stands for?
Fraser: Is it pertinent?
Ray: Not even close. Well, I can see why the State’s Attorney wants him so bad. Indictments, seven; convictions, zero. Yeah, it seems all key witnesses have a funny way of disappearing just before each trial.
Fraser: Where can we find him?
Ray: Come on.

[puts file haphazardly in drawer & exits, but Fraser must return to straighten it; Vecchio returns with a heavy sigh]

Ray : Fraser, if you’re going to keep doing that, people aren’t going to be able to find anything around here.
Fraser: I’m sorry.

[outside Nash’s warehouse]
Ray: All right, so here’s the plan. Good cop, bad cop.
Fraser: And I play?
Ray: Take a guess.
Fraser: Ah.
Ray: So we go in, you tip your hat and curtsy. I threaten to burn down the warehouse if he doesn’t turn over Gerard. None of which’ll do any good.
Fraser: Well, why’s that Ray?
Ray: Look, use your head, Fraser. If Gerard is supposed to testify against Nash, do you think he’s gonna turn him over to us?
Fraser: Never hurts to ask.
Ray: Oh, that’s not true. Sometimes it hurts very much. People tend to shoot bullets at other people for asking questions like this.

[inside the warehouse]

Nash : Make sure they’re all there. [to Vecchio]   You say this guy Gerard is suppose to be giving testimony against me?
Ray: Hey, don’t play like you don’t know, all right? The question is, how much heat do you want to bring upon yourself. Cause it just so happens I have a pack of matches in my breast pocket.
Nash: Yeah, I noticed the bulge.
Ray: You wanna play? All right, let’s play. What’s in the crate?
Nash: Christmas decorations.
Ray: You got a permit for ‘em?
Nash: In fact, I do. Why don’t you go pick up a warrant and I’ll show it to you. Now I suggest you and your friend step off my premises. It’s not a safe place to be standing. A bulb might burst.
Ray: Look, let me tell you what’s not safe, all right?
Fraser: We appreciate your time.
Ray: No, he appreciates your time, I don’t appreciate anything!
Fraser: Ray-Ray, I think Mr. Nash understands our position, and if it’s in his interest to cooperate he will do so. Why don’t you give him your business card?
Nash: No need. I have your number. [exits]
Ray: And we got yours, Lloyd!
  [to Fraser]   Why don’t you ask him what the P stands for.

 

[outside the warehouse]

Ray : What did I tell you?
Fraser: When, Ray?
Ray: Waste of time and audiotape.
Fraser: You recorded that conversation?
Ray: Yeah, it’s a new policy. Anytime I go anywhere with you, I record everything. Mainly because if I have to go to court, no jury will ever believe the damn things that come out of your mouth. Why isn’t this thing turning?

[bangs recorder on the roof of the Riv]
Fraser: Did you depress the red button?
Ray: Yes, I depressed the red button.
Fraser: And did you press play at the same time?
Ray: Of course I pressed play at the same time.
Fraser: Here, let me have a look.
Ray: I know how to operate a tape recorder.
Fraser: Well, I wasn’t saying that you don’t.
Ray: Then why did you ask me if I depressed the red button?
Fraser: Well, I only meant that sometimes it’s the obvious things that we overlook, Ray.

[they get into the Riv]

Fraser : I mean, by way of example. It was obvious that Nash was operating openly. In fact, he appeared to be flaunting it.
Ray: Look, buying guns isn’t illegal. Smuggling ‘em out of the country will get you arrested. [bangs recorder on the dash]
Fraser: Still, it’s not the way you would expect a person to behave if they were under threat of indictment. One could almost conclude that he was trying to tell us something.
Ray: Look, if he was trying to say something I would have heard it, okay? [cell phone rings] What.
Nash: Are you still recording?
Ray: You’re a very funny man. What do you want?
Nash: I made a call for you. The package you’re looking for is at the Waverly Hotel. Room 311. Told you I had your number.
Ray: He just told us where to find Gerard.
Fraser: Something isn’t right here, Ray.
Ray: There’s nothing right about this Fraser. Nothing at all.

 

[outside Hotel Waverly]

Ray : If someone was going to testify against you, would you tell the cops where he was?
Fraser: We’ve been through this, Ray.
Ray: Ah, I don’t like this, Fraser. We’re gonna knock on that door, and the shotgun blast is going to remove a portion of my body I’m not ready to part with.

[hallway]

Ray : Benny. Take this. [offers him a gun]
Fraser: No, I can’t, Ray.
Ray: Look, two will get you seven that Gerard’s not even in there. But if we find him, and he should put up a fight? And try to escape?
Fraser: Then we’ll pursue him.
Ray: Yeah. But maybe I can’t keep up. Maybe my ankle’s going to give way?
Fraser: Ray, are you saying you need to see a doctor?
Ray: [sigh]
  This man killed your father. If he should shoot at you, or come toward you in a threatening manner?
Fraser: Then I’ll disarm him.
Ray: Okay. Say you needed to defend yourself. To discharge a weapon, and accidentally kill Gerard. I’m just saying that I would let people know that it was self-defense. You don’t have to worry that I would let ‘em know that it was anything but self-defense.
Fraser: I understand, Ray. And I appreciate that. But I simply want to see Gerard returned to prison. That’s all.
Ray: Okay. Let’s go say hello.

[they kick in the door and find the room empty]

Ray : I knew it was to good to be true.

[Fraser looks out the window to see a man headed down the stairs]

Ray : I’ll come in from the street.
[Fraser gives chase; Gerard tries unsuccessfully to hotwire a car; he runs down an alley, and Fraser follows...and has to climb over the delivery truck bearing down on him; Gerard rounds a corner, and Fraser drops in front of him, then punches Gerard right in the face]
Gerard: I never thought you’d be the one they’d send to kill me.
[Fraser bends down to help him up, and a bullet misses Fraser & shatters the windshield of the car behind him; gunman continues to fire from a roof as Fraser pulls Gerard behind the car; Vecchio rushes up the fire escape to the roof...but the shooter is already gone. Vecchio finds the shell casings on the rooftop...]

[Fraser’s office; Fraser handcuffs Gerard to a chair]
Gerard: A little tighter, I can still feel my fingers. [puts his feet up on the desk]
[Fraser ignores him and dials]

Fraser : This is Constable Fraser for Detective Vecchio, please, it’s urgent...Well, when he does come in, could you please tell him that I’m at the consulate...Yes, thank you kindly. [hangs up, then shoves Gerard’s feet off the desk and puts his boot in Gerard’s chest, shoving him against the wall]

Gerard : Oh!

Fraser : Who was shooting at you today?
Gerard: You brought them with you. You tell me.
Fraser: Nash.
Gerard: Nash? [laughs]
  You really don’t know what’s going on, do you?
Fraser: Who wants you dead?
Gerard: Who sent you looking for me?
Fraser: They shot at me. They shot at my friend. I want to know what it is we walked into.
Gerard: What’s wrong, Constable? People not behaving the way you want them to anymore? The good guys don’t wear their white hats and the bad guys don’t like black?
Fraser: You’re going back to prison, Gerard.
Gerard: I don’t think so, Ben. The moment you turn me over I’m dead. You already guessed that much, you just don’t know what it means.
Fraser: I don’t give a damn.
Gerard: See, I forgot for a moment who I was dealing with. You’re Bob Fraser’s son. I can’t tell you the number of times he almost died trying to bring some lowlife to justice. He’d give ‘em his food. He’d carry them on his back. Men who had done unspeakable things, men he detested, men who had tried to kill him. But he never brought one back dead. Because the moment they were his responsibility, he’d sacrifice himself before letting them die. That’s what finally got him killed, you know. He was trying to bring me in and he walked into a trap. You’re cut from the same bolt. I don’t have to tell you anything more than you already know. And you’ll go out there and lay down your life trying to protect me.
Robert Fraser: Shoot him, son. Shoot him between his rat-like little eyes.

[Fraser leaves quickly]  

Robert Fraser : Don’t walk away from me. This is your father talking!

[Fraser closes the door behind him and takes a breath; Dad knocks, Fraser lets him out]
Robert Fraser: The bastard is sitting in there bragging about how he had me killed! And all I’m asking is that you do one small thing for me. Shoot him in the stomach and let him bleed to death. Think of it as a son’s gift to his father. You did forget my birthday.
Fraser: You were dead!
Robert Fraser: Still, one can have feelings. Not even a card.
Fraser: I am not going to shoot him.
Robert Fraser: Well, now you’re being silly. Here. Use mine. They won’t be able to trace it.
Fraser: Dad, we’ve been through this. That is an imaginary gun. It fires imaginary bullets.
Robert Fraser: Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try, son. Go on, pump a few into his torso. If it doesn’t kill him, maybe he’ll have a heart attack.
Fraser: All right. You want me to try?

[takes gun, shoots three lamps, to no effect]

Fraser : Satisfied? [hands gun back]
Robert Fraser: All right. Point taken. Grab the lamp and crack his skull. Make it look like a freak lighting accident.
Fraser: A freak “lighting” accident?
Robert Fraser: Sure, sure. Happens all the time. Lightning strikes the wire, sends a jolt through the line. Lamp hops up, hits him in the skull, splits it in two, you never had a chance to prevent it. Happened so fast.
Fraser: Dad, I know what he did. And believe me, it takes every bit of restraint I have not to walk back in that room and separate his head from his shoulders.
Robert Fraser: Oh, you should always go on an impulse, son.
Fraser: But I cannot do that, and neither could you.
Robert Fraser: Well, if I could pick up a lamp I would sure as hell try!
Fraser: No, you wouldn’t.
Robert Fraser: I would!
Fraser: Dad, you are only saying that because you’re dead and you know you can’t.
Robert Fraser: Exactly! Which is why I’m asking you to do it. If you really loved me, son, you’d strangle him for me.
Fraser: No. If I really loved you, I would’ve--
Robert Fraser: What?

Fraser : Forget it.
[Vecchio arrives]
Ray: Where is he?
Fraser: He’s in my office.
Ray: Is he alive?

Fraser : Yes, Ray.
Robert Fraser: He’d shoot him for you if you asked.
Ray: You okay?
Robert Fraser: Well, he would!
Fraser: I’ll be right back. Diefenbaker. [goes into office]
Robert Fraser: [offers gun to Vecchio]
  Hey. Hey, Yank.

[Fraser’s office]

Fraser : [to Dief]   Watch him. If he tries to escape, tear out his throat.

[Dief looks like he just might]

 

[Fraser leaves his office, locking the door behind him]
Turnbull: Anything I can help you with, Constable?
Fraser: As a matter of fact there is. There’s someone in my office, I can’t tell you who.
Turnbull: Ah. I understand.
Fraser: Now don’t let anyone go in or out of that door.
Turnbull: Including myself.
Fraser: Especially not yourself.
Turnbull: Not in or out.
Fraser: That is correct.
Turnbull: But I’m already out, sir.
Fraser: Yes.
Turnbull: So if I find myself inside, I should just stay there.

[Fraser just...exits.   And is that a vase stuck to Turnbull’s hand?]
Ray: Whoa-whoa-whoa, we’re not taking him?
Fraser: No.
Ray: Fraser, you want to explain this to me?
Robert Fraser: Son, did I ever teach you how to make a proper noose?

[Fraser’s office; Gerard makes a phone call]

 

[27 th precinct]
Elaine: Thanks. [hangs up]
  Three years ago the ATF got a tip that Nash was taking a truckload of automatic weapons into Canada, some small border crossing in Minnesota. Somehow the FBI got wind of it too, and insisted on being in on the bust. They staked out the crossing, Nash shows up, they arrest him and a couple of sidekicks and seize the truck. They suspected that someone had paid off the Canadian customs officials, but all the Feds could do was to report their suspicions to the RCMP.
Fraser: And they called Gerard.
Elaine: It was his jurisdiction.
Ray: Yeah, nice arrangement. He bribes the border guards and the Feds ask him to investigate his own crime.
Elaine: Here’s where it gets strange. Nash and his men were released the next day and no charges were ever brought.
Ray: Hmm. They had him cold with a truckload of weapons.
Elaine: That’s all she could tell me.

[FBI agents arrive & head for Welsh’s office]
Ray: Ah. Agents Borland and McFadden. Now might be a good time to tell them you found their prisoner but you’re not willing to give him up yet.
Fraser: I’d rather avoid that.
Ray: Good idea.

[they exit down the back stairs]

Ray : So where we going?
Fraser: Back to see Nash.
Ray: Ah, this is crazy. This Gerard guy is spinning you in circles. You know, a con’ll tell you anything to stay out of the joint.
Fraser: Someone tried to kill him, Ray.
Ray: Yeah, Nash.
Fraser: Well, if Nash wanted him dead, why would he have sent us there?
Ray: Well, maybe he wanted to kill us, too.
Fraser: What possible motive could he have for that?
Ray: You know, sometimes you are the most annoying man that I know. There’s plenty of times that I want to kill you and I’m your best friend!
Fraser: Now Ray, that’s just not true.
Ray: Look. I don’t know what this Gerard guy is up to but he’s playing you like a jukebox and he’s pushing all the right buttons.
St. Laurent: Vecchio!
Ray: Oh, God. Pretend you didn’t hear that. Go-go-go-go!

[outside Nash’s warehouse; night]
Ray: Hey Benny. Do me a favor. Pin this to your chest. [hands him a paper]
Fraser: It says I am mentally deficient.
Ray: Yeah, I just want Nash to know so he doesn’t shoot us both dead.
Fraser: It’s not going to happen, Ray. All I’m gonna ask him to do is tell the truth.
Ray: Just pin it to your chest.
Fraser: No.
Ray: Pin it to your chest!
Fraser: No.

[inside the warehouse]

Nash : Why?
Fraser: Because I think you know it’s in your best interest.
Nash: Let me tell you a story. I had a friend. A man who unlike myself dealt in the illegal weapons trade.
Ray: I wonder who this could be.
Nash: My friend had a very sweet setup with some Canadian who would help him bring goods across the border. This went on for a few years. And all involved took a small cut and were content with that. ‘Til one night when things went bad. Now it wasn’t until later that he suspected his Canadian friend had set him up in order to make a larger profit.
Ray: All good reasons for your friend to want to kill said Canuk. Especially if that snowback was going to testify against him.
Nash: Well, it may be true that my friend would like to see this Canadian below some freshly-turned soil, but not until after he gives testimony to the grand jury.
Ray: Fraser. Give him that piece of paper. I think he should be wearing it.
Nash: When my friend took his truck to the border, it was loaded with very expensive automatic weapons. When the same truck reached the federal impound, it carried only a few cheap handguns. Now while my friend was pleased to be released with a slap on the wrist, he realized someone had stolen from him.
Ray: So you’re saying that agents from the ATF and FBI stole your weapons.
Nash: My friend only knows that he was out a quarter million dollars. This is not an expense his business can easily absorb. He would just like someone to pay. One way or another.
Fraser: So you called the State’s Attorney.
Nash: My friend has a deep belief in the integrity of the criminal justice system. He’d like to see it work.

 

[outside the warehouse]
Fraser: Nash wasn’t the target of the grand jury. They’re out to indict the agents on the scene. That’s who Gerard was suppose to testify against.
Ray: Oh great, so now we’re going to help some criminals bring down two arms of the federal government? You know, I am so glad we have this on tape. I can’t wait to get back and sell it to Oliver Stone. What is wrong with this thing?!
Fraser: Did you check the batteries?
Ray: Look if you ask me one more time--
Fraser: Sorry.
Ray: Great. [cell phone rings]
  What....Well, hello, Madam State’s Attorney!...Uh, uh, which witness would that be?...No, I’m sorry, I haven’t seen him all day...Yeah, he’s right here, hold on.
Fraser: Constable Fraser...Mm-hmm...Mm-hmm...Understood. [hangs up]
  Well, I’m under arrest.
Ray: Under arrest, for what?
Fraser: Obstruction of justice.
Ray: Obstruction of justice?!
Fraser: Cuffs, Ray.
Ray: Oh, this is ridiculous. Obstruction of justice. She’s gotta be-- [can’t get them unhooked from his belt]
  Out of her--
Fraser: Here, let me give you a hand. [tugs & tugs, but the cuffs won’t budge]
Ray: Eh, forget it.

[consulate]
Turnbull: I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to divulge that information.

[27 th precinct; Welsh’s office]
St. Laurent: [to agents]
  How could you be so stupid?!

Welsh : [on phone] All I want to know is if Gerard is in Fraser’s office and--
Borland: We asked for his help. We didn’t ask him to kidnap the guy.
St. Laurent: Is that how the FBI finds all their criminals, by relying on helpful Canadians?
Ray: Well, it seems to have worked so far.
Borland: You know I’ve heard about you.
Welsh: He won’t tell us if he’s there.
McFadden: For all we know, he might be dead. I mean, he certainly has a motive.
Borland: If he’s there, tell him to put him on the phone.
Fraser: Well, I’m afraid he won’t do that.
Welsh: Fraser says put him on the phone.
[consulate; Gerard is banging on the door]
Turnbull: In order to do that, sir, I would have to confirm that there was someone here.
Gerard: [voice]
  I have to use the bathroom, you moron!
[Welsh’s office]
Welsh: If he’s not there, who’s that yelling to use the bathroom?
McFadden: That’s it, I want Vecchio arrested for aiding and abetting!
Welsh: He said he never even saw the prisoner.
Ray: Which is true.
McFadden: He’s complicitous. He knows where he is.
Ray: Well, so do you. I want him arrested!
St. Laurent: Just go over there and get Gerard and bring him back!
Fraser: Well, you can’t do that, actually. He’s on Canadian soil, he’s under my protection.
St. Laurent: That’s it. Lock him up.
Ray: You can’t do that, he has diplomatic immunity!
Fraser: Well, strictly speaking that’s--
Ray: Shut up, Fraser!
Fraser: Will do.
[consulate]
Turnbull: If it’s of any help, sir, I can confirm that we do have a bathroom.

[outside the precinct]
Fraser: Thank you, Ray.
Ray: Don’t talk to me, I’m in a bad mood.
Fraser: I’m sorry, Ray.
Ray: Want to know why I’m in a bad mood?
Fraser: Well, that would require that I-- Why, Ray?
Ray: I’m in a bad mood because I’m not used to arresting people and then immediately bailing them out, okay? It’s embarrassing. Did you see those guys in lock-up, how they were laughing at me? This is not a good thing, Fraser.
Fraser: Come to think of it, I’m not even sure if it’s entirely legal.
Ray: You want to know what I found out or not?
Fraser: Oh, I’m sorry. Please, go ahead.

[into the Riv]
Ray: I got a friend down at the Bureau.
Fraser: Really?
Ray: Don’t be so smug, okay? He told me ever since Waco, the FBI has been making a lot of noise about absorbing the ATF. They want to embarrass them any way they can. And when they heard about this case, the FBI have been walking around with big grins on their faces. All of this leading to the conclusion that, the more I know about this case, the less sense it makes and I don’t want to know anything else! Do you understand?

[Agent McFadden leans into the window]
McFadden: I need to have a word in private.
Ray: Why?
McFadden: There’s something you should know.
Ray: Well, I don’t want to hear it!
Fraser: Ray. Ray.
Ray: All right, fine. Follow me.

 

[donut shop; very busy, lots of cops]
McFadden: The truck was seized and impounded, and when they went to log the evidence it wasn’t there.
Ray: Cruller?
McFadden: Go ahead.
Fraser: Who had control of the truck?
McFadden: Two men from my district office.
Ray: Both ATF agents?
McFadden: Yeah.
Ray: So what’s all this about Gerard testifying against Nash?
McFadden: You think I want to advertise that the grand jury is about to indict my own men?
  I don’t even know what Gerard’s gonna say. He refused to name names until he’s in front of the grand jury. I wasn’t there. I don’t even know that there were guns there in the first place, maybe the Feds took ‘em. I just know that this happened on my watch, and if my men are involved I have to bring ‘em down. If I don’t clean my own house, the Feds’ll do it for me. I can’t afford that.
Ray: That’s why you’re talking to us without Tweedledum.
McFadden: Let’s just say Special Agent Borland has his own agenda. I need Gerard to testify. I’m asking you to turn him over to me so I can take him in.
Fraser: I’m sorry, I can’t do that.
McFadden: The grand jury convenes tomorrow morning. Can I trust you to get him there?
Fraser: Yes, you can.
McFadden: Understand my concern. This guy is doing time for murdering your father. If he disappears again, or steps in front of a truck or comes to harm in any way while he’s in your care, I can guarantee that I’ll have you indicted for murder and use the full weight of my agency to insure a conviction.
Ray: Here, try the one with sprinkles. You take your job way too seriously.
McFadden: We’ll meet on the steps of the courthouse and we’ll walk him in together.

[Vecchio shrugs assent]
Fraser: All right.
McFadden: I guess that’s the best I can do.

[consulate]
[toilet flushes, and Gerard exits washroom]

Gerard : I don’t know who’s stupider, that Mountie or your dog.
Ray: Sorry I’m late. I had to help somebody with a tire.
Fraser: You helped somebody with a tire?
Ray: Hey look, you’re not the only one around here who can turn a good deed.
Fraser: Well. I’m sorry, Ray. [cuffs Gerard]
  Let’s go.

[they proceed downstairs, where Turnbull is sitting at his desk, his hands over his eyes and humming Canadian national anthem]
Fraser: You can open your eyes now.
Turnbull: Oh, thank you. [sings]
  We stand on guard for thee...
Ovitz: Where’d he go?
Turnbull: Who?
Ovitz: Uh... Never mind.

Turnbull : [sings]   God keep our flag... [he is gluing a vase back together]

[street; the boys get into the Riv; Agent Borland gets back into his car, intending to follow them, but discovers his back tire is flat]

[Riv drives by the disabled car]
Fraser: The FBI’s tire? That’s-that’s really quite commendable, Ray.
Ray: Thank you, Fraser.

[hideout: some kind of warehouse; Vecchio unpacks trunk of the Riv & carries bedding upstairs; Fraser lights lanterns]
Ray: You got everything you need out of the car?
Fraser: Yes, Ray.
[Vecchio drops bedding onto the floor, sending up billows of dust]

Ray : Oh yeah, this is going to be great for my allergies. We couldn’t go to a hotel, huh?
Fraser: Since we don’t know who it is that’s looking for him, we don’t know what their search capabilities are. [to Gerard]
  Raise your hands. [removes cuffs]
Ray: Oh yeah, just take those off. We’ll go on the honor system here, Fraser. What are you thinking?
Fraser: He’s not gonna run.
Ray: Oh, did he give you his word as a Mountie?
Fraser: No. He just knows if he tries, I’ll kill him.
Gerard: You got me so terrified I won’t be able to sleep.
Ray: Oh, Benny, can I have those back please?
Fraser: Sorry.
[he hands Vecchio the cuffs, and Vecchio puts the cuffs back on Gerard]

Ray : Sleep tight.
Fraser: Ray.
Ray: One more peep out of you and I’m going home.

[Vecchio makes a pallet out of 5 pillows; Fraser unrolls a thin sleeping bag]
Ray: Need a pillow?
Fraser: No. Thanks, Ray.
Gerard: I’d like one.
Ray: Did I ask you?

[Fraser sits & calmly watches Gerard; Vecchio lies down with a sigh, then shifts uncomfortably, then gets up]

Ray : That’s it. I can’t sleep here. I’ll take first watch.
Fraser: All right. Thanks, Ray.
Ray: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dief takes over Vecchio’s bed]
Gerard: You are just like your father. You put duty above everything else. Duty to the force, duty to your friends, even duty to your enemies. I can’t say I understand it, but I admire it.
Fraser: You know, I’m not really interested in talking to you so I suggest you go to sleep.
Gerard: His greatest strength was his greatest weakness. You could always predict exactly what he was going to do. I knew I could count on him. And I knew I could count on you.

[Fraser tosses his boot knife with great force at Gerard; it sticks into the wood next to Gerard’s head; Fraser rises and retrieves his knife]
Fraser: I’m just...not really in the mood to talk.
Gerard: [laughs]
  Have a good sleep.
Robert Fraser: Psst. Look what I made for you, son. [dangles a noose above Gerard’s head]
Fraser: Oh, Dad.
Robert Fraser: All right, all right. Deep down I knew you couldn’t do it. If you could just go over there and kick him a few times.
[Fraser watches through the window as Vecchio patrols below; a gray car is hidden in the shadows...]

Fraser : I knew you were in trouble, you know.
Robert Fraser: What do you mean?
Fraser: When we talked that last time before you died. I knew something was bothering you.
Robert Fraser: Ah. You couldn’t. I didn’t say a thing.
Fraser: No, I heard it in your voice. I didn’t ask. Do you know how many times I wondered why I didn’t? Do you know how many times I thought if I’d just done that--that one thing, maybe you’d still be here.
Robert Fraser: I am here!
Fraser: No, I mean alive.
Robert Fraser: Dead or alive, you still never listen to me. Just one good kidney punch! If I could see him writhing in pain, I could rest easy.
Fraser: It was always the same with us, wasn’t it. I mean, if I knew something was bothering you, something personal, I wouldn’t ask, I wouldn’t push it. I used to tell myself it was out of respect for you, but the truth is, I was afraid. It was that fear that got you killed.
Robert Fraser: If you had asked, I wouldn’t have told you.
Fraser: Why? I could have helped, I could’ve done something.
Robert Fraser: Father asking his son, for help? Not an easy thing to do, you know. It would be like admitting I was old.
Fraser: Or human.
Robert Fraser: Ahh. You wait ‘til you’re my age. Wait ‘til some young turk comes up and says ‘Can I give you a hand with that, Pops.’ See if you say yes. He was my friend, I had to bring him in myself. I owed it to him.
Fraser: Well, what did you owe me?
Robert Fraser: Oh, God. If it’s going to be this kind of conversation--
Fraser: You know, you were so afraid to open up. It’s as though you chose to be killed rather than expose your feelings.
Robert Fraser: That’s ridiculous!
Fraser: It’s more or less what happened, isn’t it? The thing is, I’m no better, I mean...I never loved anyone as much as I loved you--
Robert Fraser: Stop that kind of talk right now!
Fraser: And I could never, ever say it.
Robert Fraser: Well if you did, I woulda hit you... Ah, it’s my fault. Shouldn’t have left you with your grandmother all that time. You don’t know until it’s too late, the effect that women can have on you. For years you’re living a perfectly normal life, then one day right out of the blue, you start thinking about feelings and emotions. That was my mistake, not yours, son. You go ahead, you blubber on.
Fraser: No, I’m fine, thank you.
Robert Fraser: Well, you’re not going to sulk now, are you?
Fraser: I’m not sulking. I don’t sulk.

[Vecchio notices something & draws his gun... and is hit in the head; Fraser notices that Vecchio hasn’t returned from his circuit]

Fraser : He said I was just like you.
Robert Fraser: Shows you how much he knows.
Fraser: He knew what I was going to do.

[he turns, and is hit in the face with a 2x4]
Robert Fraser: Look out, son.
[Gerard rears back to hit him again, but Dief attacks; Vecchio is tossed into the room by a man, who enters and raises his handgun...]
McFadden: Call him off.
Fraser: Diefenbaker!
Robert Fraser: Good dog. Bite him again.
McFadden: We’ve come for your prisoner.
Gerard: You took your sweet time about it.
Ray: Sorry, Fraser.
Fraser: No, that’s all right, Ray. I didn’t see it myself. [stands]
Robert Fraser: See what, son? I’m somewhat confused.
Fraser: McFadden and Gerard were working together. McFadden’s men stole the weapons, they split the profits.
McFadden: [to goon]
  Bring the car around to the front.
Fraser: Of course, Agent McFadden wasn’t on the scene so he was in the clear. But he knew if Gerard named names in front of the grand jury, his would be at the top of the list. So they cut another deal.
Gerard: I’ll take the keys.
Ray: Yeah, bite me.

[goon kicks him, takes keys, and tosses them to Gerard]
Fraser: They had to get Gerard away from the marshals, but McFadden had to make it look at though he was doing everything in his power to bring him back. Of course you knew that you could count on me to not turn you in.
Robert Fraser: Stab him with your knife, son. [Gerard takes the knife from Fraser’s boot]
  Too late.
Gerard: A simple quid pro quo. They get my silence, I get my freedom. Unfortunately I was forced to kill you and your friend in making my escape. The irony is, you’re the one who’ll be blamed.
Fraser: Well, no, actually, Gerard, the irony is that you’ve just helped plan your murder. McFadden can’t let you disappear because he knows if you ever resurfaced he’d be right back in the same box he’s in now.
McFadden: Give me the cop’s gun.
Gerard: I held up my end of the bargain.
McFadden: Yeah, you’re an honorable man. I appreciate that. [to Vecchio]
  You get over with your friend.
Ray: Yeah, carry me. [goon kicks him again]
Gerard: If you kill all three of us, you can’t cover it up. They’re gonna know it was you.
Fraser: Well no, actually, I think he’s done quite a good job of reminding everybody that I have a good motive to murder you. And you me.
Robert Fraser: Oh, I don’t think you should argue in their favor, son.
McFadden: [to Gerard]
  Step away from the door.
Gerard: Go to hell.
McFadden: All right. [shoots Gerard in the arm]
Robert Fraser: Finally, someone shoots him.
Fraser: Before you kill him, there’s something you should know about this man.

McFadden : What?

Fraser : I don’t understand it now, but when I was a boy I admired him.
Robert Fraser: For God’s sake, son, what are you saying?!
Fraser: And I can still remember the first time he came to visit us.
Gerard: Oh God, do I have to listen to this?
Robert Fraser: Oh stop it, son, you’re embarrassing yourself!
Fraser: He stood so tall in his uniform. You know, I’ve never told him this, but secretly-secretly I wished he was my father.
Gerard: If you’re gonna shoot me, shoot me.
Fraser: I don’t know, maybe it’s just because he was so much taller.
Robert Fraser: He’s no taller than me! People shrink when they die, everyone knows that. In life I was six-two!
Fraser: Anyway, the thing I wanted to say is-- [kneels next to Gerard]
Gerard: Get away from me.
Fraser: You broke my heart. [gets knife]
McFadden: Oh, this is just too sick.
 

[McFadden points gun at Fraser but Fraser throws his knife – directly into the barrel of McFadden’s gun; Vecchio jumps up and tackles McFadden; there is a hail of gunfire as Fraser & Vecchio run behind a pylon (Dief takes cover in a box)]
Ray: What the hell was that all about?!
Fraser: Well, we needed an advantage, Ray, so I had to unnerve them. And there’s nothing more unnerving to men than talking about feelings.
Robert Fraser: Measure him! He’s not a hair above six-one. Ask him for a tape.
Fraser: I will not ask him for a tape.
Ray: I already got one. [hands Fraser a tiny tape recorder]
Fraser: This works?
Ray: Of course it does.

[playback: Gerard: They get my silence, I get my freedom.]

Ray : All right. You head for the door and I’ll cover you.
Fraser: I can’t leave him, Ray.
Ray: Look, we don’t need him alive. We got everything we need on tape. Besides, he’s not going anywhere.
Fraser: I gave him my word that I would protect him. Look, I owe it to him, whether he deserves it or not.
Robert Fraser: That’s where I made my mistake, son.
Fraser: I’m going for him.

[Fraser dashes out, picks Gerard up and dashes back...but he’s hit, and drops to the floor; Vecchio rushes to him]
Ray: Feel better?
Fraser: Well no, Ray. I have a bullet in my leg.

[Gerard runs for it, out the back]
Robert Fraser: Your mother was nearly six feet and I was taller than she was.
Ray: I’m out of bullets.
Robert Fraser: Watch this.

Fraser : What?

Ray : I’m out of bullets!

Robert Fraser : [shouts]   Let’s get out of here!

[pause]
McFadden: Let’s get out of here!
Goon: I’ll get the car!

[all the bad guys take off]
Fraser: How did you do that?
Ray: I don’t know.

Fraser : Are you all right?
Ray: Yeah. Stay put.

Robert Fraser : Stay put.

[McFadden and goons hop in car and drive off; Gerard’s way is blocked, so he smashes through a window...he tries for the roof, but it’s slick – he slides off and hangs from the window one-handed (the other arm was shot)... Robert Fraser appears in the window]
Robert Fraser: Take my hand.
Gerard: Ah! You’re dead.
Robert Fraser: No time to be choosy.

[Gerard tries to take it...and his hand passes right through]

Robert Fraser : Oh. My mistake.

Gerard : Ahhhhhhh!
[Gerard falls into McFadden’s car; he falls off as they swerve, and the car runs into a very large shelf filled with 50-gallon drums]
Fraser: What did you do?
Robert Fraser: Nothing. Just tried to give him a hand.
Fraser: You don’t have a hand.
Robert Fraser: Well still, I had to offer it, son. Whether he deserved it or not.

[Vecchio apprehends Gerard & holds gun at goons as they get out of the car]
Ray: All right, throw down your guns and keep your hands where I can see ‘em.

[courthouse steps; press swarms as McFadden and Gerard are led away in cuffs; Fraser opens the cruiser door for (a very injured) Gerard, and slams the door with angry gusto; Fraser hobbles on crutches over to Vecchio, who is sharing a “look” with Louise St. Laurent...]
Ray: So how’s your leg?
Fraser: Fine.

[they begin to walk slowly down the street]
Ray : Is that the same leg that they shot you in last time?
Fraser: Yes.
Ray: The same leg they stabbed you in?
Fraser: Yes, Ray.
Ray: Your country give you a medal for getting wounded like that?
Fraser: No, not that I’m aware of.
Ray: Then I think you should have this.
[sticks a note to Fraser’s chest]
Fraser: [reads]
  “Please shoot the other leg.” Well, that’s just not amusing, Ray.

[Vecchio chuckles]
 

 

End

 

 

Main Index

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Season 2

Season 3

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