Detroit 9000 (1973) - full transcript

What are you doing there?

Hey, blood!

You wanna know how all them
rich motherfuckers got it all together?

By shafting the hell out of
poor sons of bitches like us!

That's how!

Keep on shafting, brothers!

♪ I feel it

♪ movin' along with me

♪ oh, I feel it

♪ ooh, hey, hey

♪ can't you feel
it movin'?♪ movin'



♪ I feel it in my soul, ya'll

♪ I feel it movin'

♪ in my walk, I feel it...

Oh, reverend Markham.

I'm so glad you could find time

out of your busy, busy
schedule to be here.

The honor's mine, dear sister,
that you should have invited me.

I never miss your hallelujah
Holly radio program,

and the TV hour...

I hope we can make this
an annual event, sister.

Drew, check everything.
I want no slip-ups. None.

Congressman Clayton.

Dear lady, how are you?

Oh, I'm so glad you could come.



The president himself
couldn't have kept me away.

What is this "congressman" jive?

Hasn't it always been Aubrey
and Adelaide? Besides...

Now, Aubrey. Come on, let's go.

♪ Lord, stand beside me

♪ touch me

♪ and kiss me,
lord♪ kiss me, lord!

♪ Touch me

♪ kiss me, lord♪ kiss me, lord

♪ behold your name♪ sweet Jesus

♪ make me understand♪ oh, Jesus

♪ I want to be your
friend♪ oh, Jesus

♪ help me live again

♪ touch me, Jesus

♪ kiss me, lord

♪ let me walk with you

♪ sweet jesus♪
night and day with you

♪ my Jesus

♪ touch me, Jesus

♪ just touch me, Jesus

Oh, my brothers
and sisters, I tell you,

this is a happy night!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

A happy, happy night! Amen!

All Detroit can be proud! Yeah!

All the nation can
be proud! Yeah!

Tonight, we hail our brothers,

our sisters and our heroes!

Hallelujah! hallelujah!

Yeah, but tonight, we
can do much, much more

than hail our
heroes of the past!

We can create a new hero.

We can write black history.

We can send a brother to
the state house. Hallelujah!

Now, the great book says, "he
rode upon a cherub and did fly."

Yeah!

Yeah, he did fly upon
the wings of the wind.

And we are fortunate tonight

to have with us

a great man right
from our great city.

I refer to the honorable
Aubrey hale Clayton!

There's never been a black man

in the governor's
chair anywhere!

But tonight, we're
gonna launch a campaign

for congressman
Clayton that will...

And it will not end until
we have sworn him in

as the governor of this
great commonwealth!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

No! No!

When I boarded that plane
from Washington tonight,

the farthest thing from my mind

was to announce my
candidacy for anything.

I have been so happy
serving as your congressman

that I hadn't given the
governorship a thought.

I yield to your demands.

As of this moment,

I am your candidate
for governor!

Clayton!
Clayton! Clayton! Clayton!

Unfortunately,

even a minister of the gospel

must recognize

good intentions is not enough.

Hear! Hear!

To keep the faith
with our brother,

to start him on the march

down the road to glory
for all of us... Yeah.

Brothers and sisters, it's
gonna take money. Yeah!

Lots and lots of money.Yeah.

Hallelujah! hallelujah!

Now, who wants to be the
first to start the ball rolling

and drop the first
campaign dollar

in the Aubrey hale
Clayton war chest?

We will! We will!

Thank you, sisters.

♪ Look at the people,
what they're doin'

♪ look out

♪ standing♪ standing

♪ standing by the people ♪
standing by the people

♪ sent to me

♪ can't go to church on Sunday

♪ you better hurry
up and get it together

♪ now, you pray

♪ loud as you can♪ sweet Jesus

♪ turn your back on

♪ on your fellow man

♪ now you swear

♪ you're on the level

♪ turn around and shake hands

♪ shakin' hands with the devil

♪ you've got to
help your brother

♪ seven days a week

♪ if peace and happiness

♪ is what you seek -

Attention,
ladies and gentlemen.

Attention, brothers and sisters.

Attention, everyone, please.

No reason to spoil your evening
if you follow my instructions.

Just stay cool and sensible.

Look around the room, you'll
see men in white coats with guns.

Oh, it's the
cops.

It's the cops!

Stay cool. Don't
do anything crazy.

Stay cool.

Each of you make your
contributions to the war chest,

then step back,
kneel on the floor

and cover your
heads with your arms.

If you want to say
a prayer, feel free.

Stay cool. Don't do anything
crazy. Follow my instructions.

Cover your heads with your arms.

♪ If your mind is burdened

♪ you don't know where to turn

♪ look for the answer,
and you'll find it in him

♪ if your world is
troubleddon't, don't!

♪ You asked yourself why

♪ look for the answer

♪ you'll find it in him

♪ he'll move that mountain

♪ you've been tryin' to cross

♪ look for the answer

♪ you'll find it in him

♪ he'll guide your way

♪ when you are lost...

Listen, we gotta get in there.

Move this damn
thing out of here!

Oh, yeah?

You wanna move this, fella?

♪ Look for the answer

♪ you'll find it in him

attention, ladies and gentlemen.

Attention, brothers and sisters.

Attention, everyone, please.

No reason to spoil your evening
if you follow my instructions.

Just stay cool and sensible.

Look around the room, you'll
see men in white coats with guns...

On tape!

The whole goddamn
thing was on tape!

I want those sons of bitches
nailed, and I want 'em nailed now!

Cover your heads with your arms.

Well, that's it. These
boys were real top pros.

Nobody spoke a word.
No one saw a face.

They were in and out of the
place inside of ten minutes

and away in the
stolen caterers' truck.

The only words were prerecorded
on a drugstore tape cartridge.

We'll make a
voiceprint analysis,

but according to our inventory,

from the statements
of the victims,

they got close to $400,000.

We have no way
of verifying that.

Inspector, may I ask a question?

Doesn't it seem
just a bit strange

that there was no
police protection?

Now, if this had
been a white affair,

wouldn't you have had a
half-dozen cops on duty?

If we had been requested

to cover the hail
our heroes ball,

we would have had men there,

just as we would
for a white occasion.

But even without a request,

if we had known the
Trenton girls would be there

wearing a quarter of a
million dollars in jewelry,

or that congressman Clayton
had planned to turn the ball

into a fund-raising circus
for his campaign for governor,

we would have assigned a squad of black
officers in plain clothes to be there.

Congressman,
could you give us a statement?

Number one - I wanna
know what happened

to the millions of
dollars in federal funds

that were supposed to
improve the efficiency

of the Detroit
police department.

You implying the federal
Grant was wasted?

You tell me.

Would you say the protection
last night at the ball was efficient?

Does that mean you want a
congressional investigation?

You said it, I didn't. But
it's not such a bad idea.

Number two - I want
this caper solved,

and I want it solved in a hurry.

I want to know
who was behind it,

and I want them punished
and punished fast!

If the Detroit police can't do it,
then I'll put the heat on Lansing,

and if Lansing can't do
it, there's always the FBI.

That's all, gentlemen.

In your opinion, inspector,

was this a crime by
blacks against blacks,

or do you think, like
congressman Clayton

and my colleague here,

that it was a honky
caper to keep black power

from taking over the
state government?

That's exactly what I mean,
so let's have some straight talk.

No opinion.

Where's bassett?

Oh, inspector Chalmers.
Danny's over at the hospital.

His wife? No, no.
Same old thing.

Tell him I wanna see him
when he gets back. Yes, sir.

Right away.

I don't have to tell you how to
breathe through one of those.

You've had more experience
with them than I have.

Honest to Christ, Danny,
if I had your sinuses,

I'd get the hell
out of this town.

The trouble with you is,
you're allergic to Motown.

That's enough.

Feel any better?

It's opened up a
little, but it still hurts.

All right, try one of these.

Maybe they'll help,
maybe they won't.

Only real cure for you is a change
of climate or maybe acupuncture.

Suppose you tell me how I'm
supposed to get out of this town.

Even if I had the money, where
would I go? And what about Madeline?

You poor, sad
sinusitis son of a bitch.

Hey, doc, fill this up for me?

Don't I always?

Get that report over
here right away. All right.

I hate like hell to
do this to you, Dan,

but I got no choice,
absolutely none.

Commissioner pulled
me off my section.

He made me case
coordinator for this heist.

He wants it solved, and
he wants it solved right now.

I need you, Dan.
It's that simple.

Look, I know we haven't
exactly been friends lately.

I also know the department
thinks I stole your promotion.

Did I say it?

But I didn't, Dan. Did I say it?

All I did was go along
with departmental policy.

I broke my ass with those
college night-school courses.

Me, a schoolboy at my age.

I worked hard in
community relations,

made a few speeches,
shook a few hands,

and, yeah, I guess I
kissed a few asses, too.

And I wasted all that time out
in the street busting assholes.

This is a different age, Danny.

This is a different department.
We gotta change with it.

All I am is a cop. If that's not
enough, you know what you can do.

Goddamn you. Everything I
learned about police work -

I'm talking about real
police work - you taught me.

All I'm asking you to
do is go along with this.

It's the hottest bundle of dynamite
to hit this city since the riots.

You crack this, and everybody
in this town will kiss your ass.

You'll get your promotion -
college points or no college points.

Don't give me that
promotion bullshit, morg.

I find out black assholes pulled this
heist, the brothers will claim cover-up.

If I say the whites did it,

the honkies will say we're
pacifying the black community.

And if I don't crack this case, you
and the department are off the hook,

but I get the shaft right
up my tender keister.

You're really beautiful, morg.
You got what it takes - balls.

Hi, Lou.Sir.

Hey, lieutenant! Howie,
how's your love life?

Fantastic! Listen, it's so good, I'm
even laying a little aside for a rainy day.

Hello, Alex. Hi, Danny.

Say, lieutenant, I've got these
two cheerleaders over at Detroit U,

and, well, confidentially,
they love older men.

Older men, huh? You bastard.
What do you got here? Anything?

The tire tracks match
those from the alley.

Footprints are deep, so they
were carrying something heavy.

Do you think they crossed
the river? Canada? Maybe.

Either way, they got away by
boat. Oh, it's too cold to swim.

You don't look so hot. How do
you feel? About the way I look.

All-night stakeout on the
West Side. Nobody showed.

So they stick you with this. I'm
gonna take a swing up the river.

You never know. Anything
you get. I know, I know.

Hey, lieutenant! Well, what
about those two cheerleaders?

Give me a yell!

Is that the car, Jesse?
Description matches.

I'll check to see
if the man's home.

You stay, you come with me, Tim.

I'll get the registration.

Police. Open up.

My god.

Jesse, the back way!

Hold it!

Radio. 2730 calling.

Radio, 9000, 9000.
Officer in trouble.

9000, officer in trouble.

Go on. Try it.

Go for it, you bastard.

Give me an excuse to
waste a goddamn cop killer.

Go on! Maybe I'm bluffing.

Maybe I don't have
the guts to kill you.

You're a smart boy, brother.

...Calling 11-2
Adam, 11-2 Adam.

Patrol 41 at 18-9-5-5
Mark twain, a 4-year old...

What's the story?

Harbormaster bureau spotted
this floating just offshore.

They got curious,
so we fished it out.

Damn dirty shame about it, too.

Young brother like that.

Brand-new on the
force. Was he married?

Yeah. One kid.

How about that, huh?

You know, with this current, he
could've drifted in from anyplace.

Well, can the coroner
have him, Jesse? Yeah.

Let me know which medical
examiner will do the autopsy and when.

I wonder why they
cut off his legs.

So he'd fit in the trunk.

Now look, bassett,

you don't think I had
anything to do with it, do you?

Since I got out of Jackson
state and got this job,

I been clean.

Believe me.

Walker, I'll believe you
as soon as you find me

another local talent good enough

to kill the alarm and the
phones and rig that recorder.

Suppose they weren't
local. You heard something?

No. Discussions over a beer.

Fine. Who said what?

Shit.

What's the matter?

Those guys at the
door - they know me,

and they made you for a cop.

You're gonna take a
punch at me right now.

You understand what I'm saying?

Make it look good. Really good.

Bassett... I'll do
better than that.

You prick.

Welcome to buzz the fuzz.
Here's the buzz the fuzz gang.

Bob Marquand of the chamber,

sid ludkey of the chamber and
also the originator of buzz the fuzz,

sergeant Fred Williams,
inspector Richard Boutin

and, of course, commissioner John
Nichols. How do you feel tonight?

Real good, Martha.
I was just thinking...

We've had this program on
the air for about two years now,

and Detroit's still the only
city with anything like it.

We're really glad
about that, too.

We're gonna get a
whole lotta calls tonight,

after that hail our
heroes robbery.

That's why we asked inspector
Chalmers, the case coordinator,

and lieutenant bassett, the
detective in charge, to be on tonight.

That's real great. Now
let's take our first call.

Hello. We're buzzing the
fuzz. Your name, please?

I'm John t.

What would you like to ask
the commissioner tonight?

Black people are saying the
police knew... No, put it on him.

But they're looking
the other way,

because it was supposed
to knock Aubrey Clayton

out of the race for governor.

- What about that?
- Commissioner?

That's simply not true.
We knew nothing about it.

We're putting all the department's
manpower and facilities

behind our efforts
to crack this case.

All right, we're going
to our second call.

You're buzzing the fuzz. Hello?

Was it whites
ripping off blacks,

or was it brothers
ripping off brothers?

Inspector Chalmers?

You better ask lieutenant
bassett here that.

He's in direct charge.

Look like you're on
the hot seat tonight.

Sit down and answer
the question, please.

Sit down, lieutenant.

I don't really give a damn.

You mean you're a honky
racist like the rest of the pigs.

You don't care what happens to black
people long as they keep their place.

No. What I mean is, I don't care

whether the bastards are black,
brown, blue, yellow or green.

When an asshole commits a felony,
I'm gonna do my goddamnest to bust him.

That's what I mean. Bassett, that's
enough. I wanna talk to you now.

What do you know,
bassett? Hi, Sammy.

I got a call to be here, Jesse.
What the hell's going on?

I left it. I caught your act
on the air. It was terrific.

Could set our public
relations back ten years.

Nothing wrong with that one.

It's just too bad
you're not black.

You could be
another flip Wilson.

What else you want besides
my autograph? Come on.

We fished a body
out of the river.

It was cut up and
stashed in a trunk.

So, you're homicide. You
get 700, 800 a year. So what?

So I got a hot flash.

The caper, the abandoned
truck, the getaway by boat,

then the body in the trunk.

I think they're all part of
a pattern, all tied together.

That's very interesting, Jesse.

Maybe it sounds crazy, but
you and I working together,

we can make it all fit and
break this thing, Danny.

Another hot flash. Thanks,
but no thanks, sergeant.

This is my case. If I need
your help, I'll ask for it.

Maybe you better talk
to inspector Chalmers.

What you're saying is
you already have, right?

Interesting thing, Jesse. Hmm?

One of the legs was hacked
off with an ax or a knife -

pretty dull knife.

Butchered all to hell. Yeah?

The other one was taken off by
a surgeon - damn good surgeon.

Professional amputation -
veins cauterized, stump dressed.

How about that. Cause of death?

Gunshot wound. Probably a
shotgun... In the amputated leg.

I haven't run the
full procedures yet,

but my guess is
he bled to death.

You could tell us one other
thing that would help a lot, doc.

So we'll know who
we're looking for.

Was he a black man or white?

I'm afraid I can't
help you much there.

The guy was an Indian.

A redskin.

How's it going, maddy?
Are they treating you ok?

God damn it. My
name is Madeline!

You know how I hate "maddy."

I'm sorry, honey.

If you knew how I hate having
them touch me, do for me.

Who? the jigaboos.

I get nightmares.

Black hands, black
faces, all over me.

And when I wake up
and ring, what do I get?

More black faces.

This is a state hospital. They do the best
they can. If I had the money, I could...

Don't give me that "private home"
stuff again. What could they possibly do...

I was just thinking you
might be more comfortable.

I'm afraid I'll only be able to make it
up here on weekends from now on.

What do you mean? The
department's cracked down.

All the cops have to live
in the city, no exceptions.

That's not fair, not to me!

There is another chance. I
got a good friend at Chrysler.

He told me about this
place out in Hamtramck.

Oh, no, you're not
putting me in there,

not with all of those
bohunks and polacks.

You're out of your mind.

Maddy, I can only do
what I can do, baby.

This place takes every
cent I can scrape up.

If Hamtramck is out, it's out.

Oh, Christ.

Could anything be
worse than marrying a...?

What do they call you? Pig!

Worse yet, an honest pig!

And don't tell me there
haven't been opportunities.

What would be wrong with doing
a few favors for the right people?

Nothing, if you wanna
be a whore, maddy.

Maybe with a few thousand dollars,
they could get me out of this chair!

Isn't that more important than
that sickening conscience of yours?

Maddy, more money
can't help your case.

The doctors don't even know
enough about it as it is yet.

So I'm hopeless, right?

And that means
you're stuck with me

until I do you a favor...

And decide to die.

Don't say that, maddy.

Too bad, isn't it?

Being born and
brought up catholic.

If we weren't mackerel-snappers,

you could get a divorce like...

Stop that, maddy... Like that.

There's no way I'm gonna
buy it. What else could I do?

You tell me. You
got all the answers.

You know how our niggers feel
about Jesse Williams. He's their boy.

Mr. Pro football comes in,
wants to help with the caper.

Am I gonna turn
him down? No way.

Morg, there's one thing. What happens
if I get lucky and crack this thing?

Who gets the credit - the poor,
sad honky son-of-a-bitch lieutenant,

or the beautiful
black glamour boy?

I ask you again,
what else could I do?

Very simple, Morg. Take
me off the goddamn case.

Let Jesse have it.
Didn't he ask for it?

No way. The press will say
we're putting Jesse on the spot.

Jesus Christ, where
are you putting me?

I'm on the shit pot
with the seat down!

Danny, I really
hoped as an old friend

you'd understand my position.

As an old friend, I do, Morg.

You're in the position, but I'm
the one that's getting screwed.

Goddamn. I'm supposed to be
giving these fucking things up.

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk,
Tsk. Such language.

Well, it's just the way you
like it - hot and black, right?

You talking about the coffee?

Anybody who has any doubts
about black being beautiful

just needs one look at
my big hunk of manpower.

No wonder honkies
call us oversexed.

You know, in your case,
they might have a point.

I never had much reluctance
dragging you into the sack.

Detective sergeant, sir.

Something's been bugging
you all night, true or false?

Mm-hmm.

Danny bassett.

Inspector Chalmers
told me he blew up

about working with me.

Well, you gotta remember,
he's from a minority race.

From a what? He's white.

In downtown Detroit,
he is in a 1-to-9 minority.

It's a whole new turnaround
situation for the honkies,

and they gotta
adjust, and it's tough.

I don't buy that.

Bassett's a pro.

It's got to be something else.

Baby, I don't know
whether this is important,

but they were saying
in the faculty club

that Aubrey hale Clayton's
bright, number one hotshot...

What do you mean,
drew Shepherd? Yeah.

They don't think drew
was all that enthused

about his boss
running for governor.

Sounds interesting.

Uh, Mr. Hunk of man...

You know what you are?

A raving, out-of-sight,
unnecessary sex maniac.

And I wouldn't have
it any other way.

Hey, man, you know this is nice.

Not just a police escort,

but police transportation
and a chauffeur.

Nothing too good for
our public servants.

You know, it's too bad we didn't
get together more up at state.

Well, you know how it
was with us jocks, man.

They kept us in cages,

let us out on Saturday
afternoons for the games.

You said on the phone
you had a question.

Well, not really a question.

See, my girlfriend
teaches at Wayne state.

Said she heard
some... funny talk.

About what?

That you are not
1,000% enthusiastic

about putting your boss
into the governor's mansion.

Funny, huh?

Not so funny.

True?

True.

Aubrey hale Clayton is a
pompous, posing phony.

He doesn't care anything about
black aspirations or white aspirations

or any other kind of
aspirations except his own.

The man's in love with himself.

I can't imagine anything worse
than electing him governor.

Nobody could accuse
you of evading issues.

Why, look what he
did the other night.

He took one of the best
and - all right, I'll say it -

noblest ideas to come
along in quite a while,

and he prostituted it,

turned it into a shit pile
of a fund-raising circus

for his own goddamn candidacy.

I hate him for that.

So you did something about it?

What?

You mean, did I hire
those trick-or-treaters

to rip off the hail
our heroes ball?

Sorry. No.

Whatever my private
opinion of the bastard is,

he's still my first-class ticket
to where I want to get to,

and I'm not about
to throw that away.

Well, the great
man's waiting for me.

Say, if and when you get 'em,

don't be too hard on 'em, huh?

They performed a
great public service.

Clayton!
Clayton! Clayton! Clayton! Clayton!

Be right with you. Better
check in with the commander.

All right.

Uh, no.

Do you understand? I won't.

You bitch.

If you think some stuck-up
whore's gonna put me down...

Get your hands off me.
You can kiss my ass.

You ain't got enough fucking
money! Shut up, bitch! I'll kill...

You need to simmer down, buster.

You wanna swing at somebody,
you try me, understand?

Who the hell are you?

It's not gonna look so
good in the papers, is it?

Booked for drunk and
disorderly in a whorehouse?

You a cop?

You get upstairs to the
party like a good boy, ok?

Come on.

Danny.

We weren't expecting
you. I know, Barbara, listen.

Ethel wants to talk to us.
Do me a favor and get her?

Sure, I'll get her.Ok.

Now, ok? Ok.

Ok.hi.

Hi.

Don't be a smart ass.

You mean that way down deep

maybe Danny
bassett is human? No.

Hi, Danny.

Hello, Ethel. How are ya?

Fine. How are you? Ok.

This is sergeant Williams.
We're working together.

Hello, sergeant. Big
private party tonight. Sorry.

Regional sales managers for...

One of the big car companies.

If stockholders knew what I was
charging them for just one night, well...

How about in there? Ok, fine.

Come in.

Would you like a
drink? No. No, thanks.

Like everyone else, I've been
reading about the big heist.

You're on it, right? Uh-huh.

Well, the night before,

we had a couple
of out-of-town tricks.

They acted all right
- that is, they paid -

but, well, there was just
something funny, you know.

I sort of got a feeling. That
they were pros, assholes?

This man's language.
I've talked to him, but...

You oughta catch him on radio.

I wrote out their descriptions.

What I want to know is, how in the
hell do they know about your place?

How did you know about my place?

No, I mean, did they come
here to drink? Did they get drunk?

Did somebody say something,
or were they just here to ball?

They didn't come here to talk.

Were they white men or black?

They were black.

We're completely
integrated here.

Have to be to stay in business.

You have a description of the
men, right? Yes, there were two.

One of them have a mustache?
One of them did, a large, full mustache.

Full mustache. Did
either one have sideburns?

The one with the
mustache, had sort of...

Ethel, you said they
were from out of town.

They were pros,

and someone in the trade knew
how to get in touch with them.

Thanks, baby. You've been a
big help. Oh, Danny, there's...

Well, there's something
more, a favor you can do for me.

Actually, for a friend. You
know doc Cooley, I think.

Horace Cooley? Sure.
Takes care of your girls.

The whorehouse Hippocrates. Had a hell of
a thing going out there in grosse pointe.

Whenever a big-shot starter would
get knocked up, Horace got first call,

but now, with legalized
abortion, forget it.

Listen, Danny, the
doc has a problem.

I told him he should talk to
you, that he could trust you.

All right, I'll talk to him.

Come on, Mr. Lucky.

I think it's time to spend
some of your money.

Let me speak to ferdy, please?

Hello?

Ferdy?

It's Roby.

Baby, we got trouble,
and it may be bad.

What kind?

The cops were just
here about the caper,

and one of them, the
black cat, knows me.

What are you talking about?

Way back. From a long time ago.

Look, don't do anything.
Just keep your mouth shut.

I'll think about it.

Sure, I'm a mercenary bastard.

I wouldn't make a house call
if my mother broke her neck

or if my brother's kids found
a gun and shot each other.

People have a
lot of fancy notions

about the joys of being a
"professional man" these days.

I've got a 60%
overhead on this place.

The labs bleed me white.
The taxes are murder.

If it weren't for my
dear little whores,

I'd have to get into
something legitimate,

like robbing banks
or pushing dope.

Yeah, it's a tough old son of
a bitch of a world, huh, doc?

Ethel said you got a problem.

She, uh... she said
I could trust you,

that you play it straight.

That works both ways, doc.

All right.

The night of the robbery,

I get a call, late,
from Ethel's place.

A man was dying.

They gave me an
address. Rupert arms.

A house call?

For $2,500, I made an exception.

So you went?

Yeah. A man had been shot in
the leg. He was bleeding to death.

I took his leg off on the
kitchen table. I had no choice.

I told him it was no good.

So you took the money and
didn't report a gunshot wound?

Well, how could I?

It would mean the
end of my practice,

Ethel, everything!

Did you call Ethel after that?

After I had read in the paper

that you'd found my patient
in a trunk and the autopsy...

My god, I was going crazy.

Now, look, you will give
me a break, won't you?

You said Rupert arms.

Yeah.

Let's get one
thing straight, Milo.

Anybody, but anybody, lets our
man know about this stakeout,

it's your ass, understand?

'Cause we'll roust this
joint from top to bottom.

Any little pissant violation, and
you're busted. You understand me?

You can depend on me, sir.

I won't say a thing to
anybody. Oh, no, sir.

Great. As long as we
understand each other, we'll be ok.

Now get out of here.Damn.

Milo, I got news for you. You
ever hear of a man called Lincoln?

He freed the slaves a hundred
years ago. How about that?

Hallelujah, praise the lord!

Praise the lord.
There you see him.

The ultimate product

of your jive-ass honky
establishment - your house nigger.

Don't look at
me. I didn't do it.

Still gonna give
these damn things up.

Entertainment ain't
bad cross-court.

Better than old TV reruns.

Well, Danny, you
interest me. Why?

I can try to figure you out.

Class of the department
- everybody says so.

But they're sticking it
to you, right up your ass.

How about that, huh?

You don't even flinch. Why?

You know, I minored in psych.

Studied all about
you quiet guys.

I think you're
holding it inside,

waiting for that big moment
to come along - payoff.

When it does, you grab it...

...Like that.

Take off like a raunchy rabbit.

Jesse, baby, you should go into
the business. You're a mind reader.

Check on my entertainment.

Love's a funny
thing. Takes all kinds.

Things are getting
rough over there.

Man, stiff everywhere
except where I want to be.

I always thought you spades were,
like, perpetual humping machines.

See how wrong a guy could be?

Is that why white chicks been chasing
us all these years? I wondered about that.

Hold it.

It's Milo! Milo,
you goddamn fool!

Jesus Christ! I'm sorry.

I figured you been up here all
this time, you gotta be hungry,

so I brought you
something to eat.

Milo, you just can't walk
into a stakeout like that.

How could we know it was you?

I'm sorry. I just didn't think.

Jesse, bring Milo.

Is that him?

Where the hell ya going?

Yeah, that's him.
That's Mr. Hendrix.

Milo, pick up your tray, get the hell
out of here, lock yourself in the room.

Ok, I will. I sure will.

Hurry up!

What the hell...?

Shit!

Freeze!

Son of a bitch. That's
our first real lead.

Wonder why the hell
he took off like that.

If you're involved with a third of a million
bucks and a dead Indian, wouldn't you?

Shit!

God damn it!

First break we get in this
friggin' case, and we blow it.

They're demonstrating
over at Wayne university.

And they're supposed to
march on the city hall tomorrow.

Let the fucking idiots march
if it makes them happy.

Yeah, well, in an
hour and ten minutes,

I gotta brief the
press on our progress.

Progress, shit!

Why couldn't somebody have
notified patrols that we had stakeouts?

Nobody's fault, inspector.

Well, in 48 hours,

I want to be able to announce
we broke this goddamn case.

Otherwise, you're off of it, Danny.
And, Jesse, you're in full charge.

That's fantastic, Morg.
You really are something.

When this come in?

The Windsor police ran
an ID on your dead Indian.

You know, the guy in the trunk.

He was Canadian?

His place is in the back.

We've known Indian
Tom a long time,

since way back when he
ran booze across the river.

What's he been doing lately?

A little of this,
a little of that.

Smuggling dope. Bringing
across some of your suspects.

Handling stolen goods.

A fence?

Just a middle man, we
think, for somebody big.

No solid evidence,
though. It's over here.

Not a hell of a lot
to see, is there?

What I can't figure is, if the
Indian was involved in the caper,

why would they shoot
him? Double cross?

But they paid a doctor to cut
his leg off, tried to save his life.

Why the hell do that?
Paper's a week old.

Hmm. Travel
folder. Princess italia.

Passenger ship?

I think our Indian friend
was planning a cruise.

A getaway? That's no way to go.

No, wait a minute.

If I were on the lam, I
think that's how I'd do it.

We cover the trains, the airports
and the bus stations, right?

Hmm. who would think to check
out a comfortable cruise ship?

Maybe icebound. Hey!

There's somebody out
there watching the place.

This is lieutenant Dan bassett.

We need help with
the harbormaster

to intercept a small craft
- about 20 feet in size,

inboard motor, white
hull, white canvas top,

heading west off Peche island.

Good morning, Danny.

I heard you two-timed
me last night.

Wait a minute, what
are you doing? Barbara...

Hey, let him be, Barb.

Saved again.

Drink that. It'll do marvelous
things for your head.

How do you stand it, Danny?

You're about as uptight
as any guy I've had in here.

Nothing new with your wife?

Not a thing. And
you just take it.

Stop by here, get drunk,
get laid. For how long?

Come on, you know my situation.
Nothing can cure Madeline.

Just one - money, lots of money.

Not for what Maddy's got.

I don't mean for what Maddy's
got! I mean for you, stupid!

Take it from a gal who knows.

With enough bread, you can
buy your way out of anything.

Maybe you're right.

I know I'm right.

I heard from doc Cooley again.

He said it was one of
your girls that called him.

Roby. roby?

Pretty black girl. Oh,
yeah. What about her?

What about it? A pimp named ferdy
turned her out, brought her to me.

She doesn't live in.

Has a place of her own.

Would you believe Roby's
got a college degree?

In what - screwing?

Yeah, but did you
talk to the witness?

What about the m.O.?

I don't... hello, roby. I'll
call you back in 20 minutes.

Have a seat, babe. I'm
glad you could make it down.

Ethel was right. You're
a classy-looking broad.

She said you wanted to
talk to me about something.

Yeah. Roby, who was it
that had you call the doc?

A John. What John?

A trick at Ethel's.What
was his name?

I have no idea. I've never had
a trick yet tell me his right name,

and I just wasn't
paying any attention.

But you went ahead and called
the doctor for him, anyway?

Yeah. 'Cause he said it was a matter
of life or death, so I called the doctor.

Did I do something wrong? I mean, a
cat asked for help, and I gave it to him.

And so you have me down here
and you're harassing me for that?

And that's your story,
roby? It's the truth.

You don't know anything
about the robbery at the hotel?

Why should I? I mean, any more than
anybody else out there on the street.

Look, I came down here because
I thought I was helping doc Cooley.

And you're throwing all these
off-the-wall questions at me!

Do you have some bag
of tricks in your closet

you just pull out every time you
see something black walk in here?

I don't believe you pigs!

You don't believe
anybody, do you?

I bet you don't even believe
each other. Who do you believe?

Just because I called a doctor,
that's why you have me in here?

Hello, Benny? Is
that computer still warm?

Yeah, it's bassett. Run
an m.O. Check for me, ok?

Sloane. Ferdy Sloane.

Yeah, a goddamn pimp.

One girl in his stable
named roby Harris.

See if he's ever been mixed up
in a robbery or any kind of a heist.

Yeah, I'll hang on.

Let me speak to ferdy.

Hasn't he come back from Canada?

Yeah, baby, I'm glad you called.

If you're so glad, how come you
didn't get in touch with me, baby?

Do you realize I've been sitting
there at that house waiting for you?

Ok, but did everything work out?

Nothing worked out. The
fuzz were there ahead of me.

I got chased by a pig boat,
nearly froze my ass off,

and they nearly
blew my brains out.

We're in trouble, ferdy.

The cops are on to
me, about the doc.

I already told you, the
black cat knows me.

That's why you got
to do what I tell you.

Now, you call them.

Offer to turn in the gang
that pulled the rip-off.

I can't do that,
ferdy! I just can't.

I gave you my reasons.

I told you what went down.

Reasons, my ass!

You want to get us both sent up?

Now, look, you'll
make him a hero.

He'll be so goddamned grateful,

he wouldn't dream of
charging you with anything.

What about you?

Ain't no need in
bringing me into it at all.

You just leave me out of it.

But listen, ferdy, you know...

Now, baby, you wouldn't want to
see your sugar man dead, would you?

'Cause that's what I'll be.
These guys don't play around.

But once we get 'em locked up,

everything's gonna be
just lovely for the two of us.

Just lovely. As
long as you do it.

Ferdy? Ferdy, don't
hang up... Listen to me!

Ferdy! Ferdy! Ferdy?

♪ I'll keep my baby warm

♪ keep him wrapped up in my arms

♪ through the cold and rain

♪ even on wintry domains

♪ I will stand the
wind, the storm...

Ferdy, you there?

Hold it, hold it,
hold it, hold it!

Hold it now! You two
dudes want to knock heads,

we'll put gloves on
you, put you in the ring.

Any more fighting on this basketball
floor, and you answer to me, you hear?

All right, now let's shake
hands and get on with the game.

What's the matter, your
hand tied down? No.

Well, come on, then.

All right. Let's play
ball. Let's play ball.

Toby's shooting two.

I thought you retired
from all that crap.

Well, you know, once a
jock, always a jock, I guess.

What do you got?

Maybe a lead, maybe
nothing. Wanna come along?

I'll get dressed.

Hey, now, ain't it a shame to
mess up a pretty face like that?

And I hurt my hand,
too. And for what?

For that dirty, lousy,
little son of a bitch ferdy!

Why don't you make it easy on all
of us, honey? Tell us where he is.

I don't know. Damn
it, I don't know!

Oh... I'm not cut out
for this kind of business.

Call the damn bar again.

Jeez. Come on!

Roby? Roby? Lieutenant bassett.

There was a car in the
alley. They got away.

What the hell's going on?

All right, take care of
her. I'll get an ambulance.

Roby?

Roby Harris.

Jesse.

It's been a long time.

Too long.

Way too long.

Yeah, lieutenant bassett. We
need an emergency ambulance.

Wait a minute.

1222 14th street. Yeah,
a gunshot wound, female.

Take it easy, sugar.
Ambulance is coming.

When I saw you at Ethel's,

I just couldn't believe it.

How many years has it been?

How many years?

Ethel's? You mean,
you're one of her...?

Ferdy, my... my old man,

wanted me to call you

to make a deal.

But I just...

I just couldn't, Jesse.

I just couldn't.

I didn't want you
to know about me.

A deal? What kind of deal?

You mean the big robbery?

I thought ferdy had hid it here,

but ferdy... Ferdy's
too smart for that. He...

Don't talk anymore now. Once
we get you to the hospital...

But I've gotta tell
you how it was.

I've... I've got to.

I've got to.

Ok, now remember,
it's a real VIP this time,

a very important customer who
specifically wanted a black girl.

Listen, it could do the place a lot of
good, so, you know, make us proud of you.

I'll give it the old college
try. See that you do.

Ok.

♪ And the going gets rough

♪ I will be right
there on hand...

Hurry up. The man
don't like waiting.

♪ Help him make a stand

♪ yes, I will, now

♪ I'm gonna wrap him
up slow, yes, I will, now

♪ in a blanket of
love, yes, I will, now

♪ I'll suffer anything

♪ sure as you're born

♪ I'll keep him warm

♪ ooh, yeah

♪ I'll keep my baby warm somehow

♪ so this cold world...

Hey, this is the
service entrance.

It's service, isn't it?

Now remember, I'm not even
supposed to be in town yet.

I'm gonna make a dramatic,

last-minute flight in from
Washington just to be here.

I don't...

She'll do. In there. Get your
clothes off. I'll just be a minute.

Old man Trenton'll be ok. He wants
a favor from me after I'm elected.

He'll have his girls there.
They'll toss a quarter of a million

into the pot just to
get the ball rolling.

But before we leave
our hail the heroes ball,

our black brothers will toss a
half million into the war chest easy.

Reverend, you're
hitting the sauce.

If you foul up that ball,

it won't be the devil that'll run a
hot poker up your ass. It'll be me.

My acceptance speech.

The spontaneous acknowledgment
of my unexpected draft.

Copies are in the
bedroom, come on.

Free press, the
news, wire services,

television stations, radio.

Hail our heroes is gonna
put me in the governor's chair.

See you in a second.

Never enough time.

If I didn't have to do everything
myself. Come on, let's get it on.

You know how it is.

Some guys just gotta make time
to get their rocks off, no matter what.

I'm like that.

Oh, baby.

Ba...

That was good, honey, real good.

You're ok.

Oh, that's your job.
You're the cashier, huh?

If you've got any
ideas, it's paid for.

The day I follow Aubrey
hale Clayton on a wet deck,

that day, I cut my throat.

Get your clothes
on. I'll take you back.

Hey, I can deal with a honky.

I mean, but do you know
what really pisses me off?

It's that the brother thinks
he can run this shit on me.

He was acting like I wasn't even
a person, like I wasn't even there.

Look, baby, you gotta realize that
not every black man is your brother.

Now, um... what is this you were
saying about the congressman

and this half a million dollars?

Who's talking about
half a million dollars?

I'm trying to tell you
what the cat did to me.

I'm a human being,
and I've got my rights!

Ferdy, look at me. I can't keep
taking this abuse. Look at me.

Look, honey, we're gonna
get rid of all of the abuse,

but it's gonna take money.

Now I want you to sit here

and try and remember
everything you can

about this fund-raising thing.

I'm gonna go and
make a few phone calls,

'cause, baby, this
is the big score.

Ferdy, you haven't
been listening to me.

He pulled it off.

He pulled it off. He really did.

Poor ferdy. They had to hole
up. And he was half-crazy.

Why are they holed up, roby?

Where are they? Tell me, please.

You remember, Jesse,

that first night
after Holly hill?

Remember where we went?

Try to think, baby.
Where are they?

We were just kids.

We didn't know
what we were doing.

The gang and ferdy
- where are they?

After Holly hill...

So nice.

And it was so sweet.

Even though...

Holly hill.

That's great,
Jesse. Great, great.

I knew you'd do it. Yeah.

Oh, too bad about
the girl. Uh-huh.

Had all the confidence in
the world in ya. Both of ya.

You did a great job. I
was behind you all the way.

Uh-huh. Let me talk to Danny.

He isn't?

No. Check you later.

How you doing, man?

I don't know.

Where's bassett?

If only roby could've lived
long enough to tell me.

Unless... come on, Sam.

After Holly hill...

So sweet, so nice.

Even though...

Holly hill.

"After Holly hill..."

Suppose she wasn't just remembering.
What if she was trying to...?

God damn it, Sam. Maybe I'm sticking my
neck way out, but I think I owe her that.

Owe her what?

Sergeant Jesse Williams.

Dispatch three cars
to 25th and Joes...

We're all set.

Sure hope you know
what the hell you're doing.

You and me both, brah.

Cops, man! Everywhere!

Get our asses out of here!

Halt!

Motherfucker!

Hey, look, look!
Wait! Wait a minute!

You don't have to hold on to me
like this! I was looking for you guys!

You don't have
to worry about me!

I was gonna find you, but these
guys were shooting at me, you see?

Sergeant, look what we've
got. Man, I'm glad to see you.

You're glad? Yeah.

These guys were getting
ready to kill me.Shh.

Hey, I know you.
You're Roby's friend.

How do you know that?

I saw your picture in her place.

I'm ferdy, her sweet mack.Ferdy.

You know what? Seeing
as you're Roby's friend

and seeing as you
guys saved my life

and seeing that you're a brother,
I'm gonna make you a hero.

You keep saying
we saved your life.

It's true, man. After what
happened to the Indian,

these motherfuckers
grabbed me outside of Ethel's

and were gonna cut my balls
off unless they got their bread.

Then why'd you kill the Indian?

We didn't kill him! That stupid
motherfucker killed himself.

Jesse? yeah.

We just got a black
dude in the cemetery.

The mounted boys got a
white cat heading for the river.

Another black dude
cracked up in the car,

and the other one, you put down.

All dead. Very
integrated operation.

Do you know
everybody's screwed up?

This whole city.
Everybody but Danny.

He's the only one that saw it the
way it was, man - just another rip-off.

It's like he said,

"assholes are only assholes."

Fo' sho.

It went like a dream, man.

We were in and out of that hotel

before hallelujah Markham
could even get off an amen.

You got yourself a
real team. All pros.

Henry got 'em. All from out of
town, except for him and me.

All we had to do was to drive to
the island, lay the stuff on the Indian

and wait for him to bring
our money across the river.

He was gonna fence it? Yeah.

That goddamn feather-wearin',
bow-and-arrow motherfucker.

No wonder they always
lost. Look, can you dig this?

He had a rusty old shotgun
in the bottom of his boat.

We're passing
the fucker the loot,

and the fucker kicked it and
damn near blew his leg off.

Ha! wasn't even a homicide.

Look, man, what could we do?

The bastard wouldn't tell us who
he was dealing with over in Canada.

We got him a doctor,
tried to save him.

If roby had only called you
and made the deal like I wanted,

it'd been so much easier.

And she'd still be alive.

You... you mean Roby's dead?

Mm-hmm. At your place.

Your own dudes, looking for you.

That's awful, man.
Son of a bitch.

There's gonna be a
lot more of those, man.

You know, 'cause I'm gonna make
you a real hero. You understand?

As long as you don't forget who worked
with you and cooperated all the way.

Let's make sure the stuff is
here first, then we talk deal.

Oh, it's here, man. Nobody
knew where I left that shit,

not even roby.

It's gone.

It's gone, man.

What the hell are
you trying to pull?

Nothing! It was there,
I swear before god.

Not a goddamn thing.

It was there, man. It was. It
was in an old yellow travel bag.

And nobody else knew?

Why would I lie to you, man?
Why would I lie? It's my ass, ain't it?

I'll take that, sir.

We've been expecting
you for quite some time.

This way, sir.

I think you're
holding it inside,

waiting for that big moment
to come along - payoff.

When it does, you grab it...

...Like that.

Take off like a raunchy rabbit.

Jesse, baby, you
should go into the business.

You're a mind reader.

If I were on the lam, I
think that's how I'd do it.

We cover the trains, the airports,
and the bus stations, right?

Who would think to check
out a comfortable cruise ship?

Oscar Beauford is the name.

We haven't met before, but...

Lucky we did, right?
I mean, for both of us.

Right. I was forced to conclude

that I wouldn't have the
chance of meeting you.

As you can see,
I've left the ship.

I was going to fly
to Europe tonight.

Please sit down.

That was a dirty shame, what
happened to the Indian there.

Hmm? the Indian.

Yes, most unfortunate.

When he expired, I'm afraid I was at
somewhat of a loss as to how to proceed.

Oh, then he kept his
mouth closed to you, too?

Oh, Tom was
suspicious of everyone.

However, did you just
guess where to find me?

The only thing the Indian
said when we made our deal,

he mentioned the name of a
ship. I asked myself, "why?"

So, you see, it's a good thing you
had your man watching the dock.

I mean, so we could
make the connection.

Yes, Mr. Larson has been
out on deck constantly, hoping.

It's all in there, hmm?

You understand the payoff
has to be cash, of course.

Of course, of course.

One thing I'm curious about.

None of the local fences
would touch this stuff.

They claim it was too hot.

My primary business
is in the middle east.

The growers of poppies are
distrustful of paper money.

But things like
these - gold, jewels -

they'll gladly accept.

So you'll use this stuff
to buy your opium?

And turn a profit
of several million.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

Well, if everything's
ok, what about my cash?

Well, everything's
ok, as you put it,

except for one little detail
that I'm curious about.

Our Indian friend was
quite close-mouthed,

except that he let slip

one little item to
bring you here.

That's right.

Well, he did the same for me.

He told me nothing except that
he had made his deal with a...

Black man.

You knew all along, didn't you?

We were just
playing a little game.

Outside! Outside!

Don't try nothing. You
understand? Nothing!

Don't move a
muscle, you bastard!

Jess...

Ferdy wouldn't take a chance on
keeping a loose stash at his place,

not a goddamn pimp!

Is that how you guessed the
stuff was stashed at Roby's?

I almost did it.

Jesse, I almost made
a million-dollar bust.

I had to go it alone
before the news broke.

I had it!

Are you being for
real? Man, I thought...

Once the shit hit
the fan, no chance.

Oh, if I was black...

If I was black, Jesse.

God damn it, Danny!
Give it to me straight now.

Were you really going for a bust

or were you gonna
grab that bread and run?

Give me my squeeze bottle
in my pocket. Ok, Jesse?

Get it, Jesse.

My sinuses are killing me.

Danny?

Danny!

My god.

My hat is
off to all of these men.

I believe that Detroit,
the state, the nation

owes them a great debt.

Inspector Morgan Chalmers,
the case coordinator,

given a thankless job
and discharging it nobly.

Sergeant Jesse Williams,

a great athlete and
a great policeman.

You will be hearing a lot
more from our brother Jesse.

And last, but
certainly not least,

a tribute to one who gave that
last full measure of devotion -

his very life.

Lieutenant Daniel bassett...

Died a hero.

He risked his life
to play a lone hand.

How else, if he
was planning to take off with the loot?

He brought great credit
to - as we like to say -

the best damn police
department in the country.

A great policeman.

Maybe. Or maybe just
another crooked cop.

Any comments on the racial
aspects of the case, congressman?

I certainly have.

It seems to me that the way a black
policeman and a white policeman

working side by
side, hand in hand,

were able to crack this case

points the way to a future,

not of black brothers
or white brothers,

but merely brothers.

Once I am established in the
governor's chair in Lansing...

There he is! Great
athlete, great policeman!

That stuff was beginning to
pile up over my head in there.

I know. I heard.

You are illegally parked.

So give me a ticket.

You know what's gonna bother
me the rest of my life? What?

Oh, just trying to figure...

If he was the worst cop
I ever knew or the best.