The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977): Season 1, Episode 20 - Trail of the Serpent - full transcript
Stone is held hostage by the Cobras street-gang, which demands an exchange for its wounded leader who was captured in a bungled robbery. Keller and Devitt scour the city's seamy underside in their search for their friend and colleague.
( funky jazz theme playing )
ANNOUNCER: The
Streets of San Francisco.
A Quinn Martin production.
Starring Karl Malden.
Also starring Michael Douglas.
With guest stars Tim O'Connor,
Cal Bellini,
Brad David.
Tonight's episode:
"Trail of the Serpent."
( suspenseful theme playing )
( whistling )
( laughs )
Let's do it.
Whoo!
All right, let's go.
WOMAN: Two forty-two.
Okay.
( cash register keys clicking )
( register dings )
Got the change...
We're just closing, guys.
( change jingling )
Thank you. Good night.
Thank you, ma'am.
The register's closed, fellas.
You want a couple
of oranges, apples?
It's Saturday.
( gasps )
Mrs. Barberio's just been down
to the night depository.
Can't help you.
George,
50 will tide us.
Well, if I had it, uh...
Like I said, it's
already in the bank.
It's in the box.
Yeah, it's in that, um, tin box
you got stashed under
the counter somewhere.
Will.
MR. BARBERIO: Hey, look,
guys, I can't keep giving you money.
There's just not
that kind of profit
in a small market like this.
All right.
Rich.
( yells )
Okay.
Now, 50.
Find it.
Hey, guys, please.
Try to see it from my
side. I see nothing!
BUDDY: Boys!
Come on. You guys come here
every week, I give you 50, $60...
BUDDY: Hot stuff!
Hey, guys, what're you...?
No.
No, no, no.
No!
No!
No, no, no!
Please! No, stop it.
I'll give you the money.
No. Stop it!
No. No, Angela. No!
There's almost $90. Take it all.
( sirens blaring )
Buddy, it's heat.
All right, split.
( action theme playing )
Come on.
BUDDY: Leave them. Let's go!
That way, Chick. Come on.
Open the door, George.
Open the door, George. Open...
( gunshot )
God... Get off me.
Stop or I'll fire.
( grunts )
Angela, get an ambulance, quick!
( grunting )
You have the right
to remain silent.
You know what you
can do with your rights?!
( siren wailing )
This guy cut down Trikonis?
Yeah, this is the punk.
That's your word,
man. Just your word!
And your gun.
The people who own the store,
they saw the whole
thing, lieutenant.
Those people over there?
Keep an eye on him.
Right.
I'm Inspector Keller.
This is Lieutenant Stone.
George Barberio.
Angela.
And that's the guy who
killed your policeman.
He was their leader.
They call themselves the Cobras.
I've heard about them, Mrs...?
Barberio. Barberio.
Could we do this inside, please?
Sure.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Hoh!
Is that you, Rich?
Oh, man, why don't
you say something?
Man, we didn't
know you were here.
Where's Buddy?
I don't know.
Buddy and Chick
doubled out the back way.
What were the shots?
Man, I don't know
what the shots were.
Phew.
( footsteps )
( panting )
( coughing )
Buddy cashed a cop.
( laughing ): Buddy
cashed a cop?
Hey, man, what's
the matter with you?
I ain't lying.
( all giggling )
This big fuzz... ( grunts )
grabbed a hold of my arm.
And Buddy chopped him.
( chuckling ):
Yeah, then they...
Then they got Buddy.
They, uh...
They zapped him in
the knee or something.
He's okay. I seen him
from a roof later on.
There must've been...
There must have been
50 fuzz around him.
Hey w... Wait a minute,
Chick, you gotta know what
they're gonna do to him, right?
( grunting )
( laughs )
I mean, Buddy didn't dump
me, so I don't dump him.
I got away, that's all. Heh-heh.
You guys wanna piece of it?
WILLARD: Whoa!
Whoo.
( all laughing )
You don't?
( all giggling )
Okay. Okay.
What do you got working, Chick?
( chuckles )
A little job for your
kid brother Richie.
( sobbing ): They're
like a lot of the boys.
The traditions
are breaking down.
They live on the... The streets.
I tried to help them at first.
Maybe I was wrong.
I gave them groceries
every now and then.
Or a couple of bucks.
They took advantage.
It just got out of hand.
It happens, Mrs. Barberio.
And I'm sorry about your store.
Oh, the market we
can put back together,
but the dead
policeman... I'm s-sorry.
Descriptions will help, though.
We'll get the four. Really.
Would you excuse us, please?
Sure.
Fred,
I wanna make a sweep through
a four-square block
area around this market.
And we better do it quick,
before those kids disappear.
Good enough, lieutenant.
What's our manpower?
We still have eight,
ten men on the scene.
Good. That'll make four
two-man teams, huh?
We'll divvy up the blocks
and house-to-house it.
Steve, I think if we're
gonna shake doorknobs,
it would be wise if we split up.
Each of us take a uniform.
Right. What?
Right. You take Fred.
I'll take Rojak.
I'll call it in.
Come on, Rojak.
You've got the
short straw this time.
There's an old pigeon
coop on that roof, Mike.
We tagged some juveniles up
there a couple of months ago.
All right, let's try
it. I'll take the back.
Check. Take the front.
Hi. Hi. How are you?
You a policeman?
Yeah, that's right.
After somebody?
Uh-huh. That's right.
Guys in black jackets, maybe?
You see them?
Black jackets with
cobras on the back.
Cobras. I don't know.
They were running.
Black jackets, yeah.
How many? Where?
Four. They went into a
place way down there.
You show me.
Nobody lives there.
There's a back door, but
they still might be in there.
I just saw them from our house.
We live right down the street.
Good.
Good. Will you do
me a favor? Sure.
You know that building I
was standing in front of?
A policeman will be
coming out of it soon.
You tell him where I am.
And then tell him to call in.
Call in? That's right.
Sure. Come on.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( footsteps )
Where's Rojak?
Did you see the policeman?
Did you...? Give
the piece to the kid.
( dramatic theme playing )
Spread eagle.
Hey, you've just been busted.
You can stay
with us for a while.
It ain't too much,
but it's home for you
for about as long as it takes.
( all chuckling )
( funky jazz theme playing )
Yeah, we'll be rotating
units all weekend.
Between us and the...
And the Secret Service,
those boys'll be safer than
they were in their cradles.
All right, Stan. Later.
Boy, these governor's
conventions. Eh, if...
I don't know why they don't
pick on Miami for a change.
Yeah. You got anything?
Mike? No.
What do you think?
Wait. Just a second, Steve.
I'm gonna get
this little diddly.
I really envy you
guys out in the streets.
If I thought this promotion
was gonna mean this
much more paperwork...
Roy, it's been an hour and a
half since Mike and I split up.
Now I... You're
talking about maybe
the most experienced
guy in the department.
I'm just talking
about my partner,
a guy I know
better than anybody.
A guy who would
not wander around
without checking in
and leaving a 10-7.
Well, it's only been
an hour and a half.
You said so yourself.
I want some men,
Roy. Oh, Steve...
A cop got gunned down
right where we were tonight.
You got a report to write
up, okay? Just get outta here.
The only report I'm working
on is Mike's. Until then...
Until then, you're not
gonna do your job, huh?
You're gonna let
your nerves take over,
when your head
could be used the most.
Look, Steve, baby, I know
that a brother died tonight.
And I know what it can do
to every man on the force.
But I can't let it panic us
into actions that can
set off a real powder keg.
Wait a minute. I
don't understand.
( sighs )
I mean, the kids that
run in those gangs.
They don't have all that
much of a life to start with.
Right. I'm not
going to give them
that kind of an incentive
to build this thing
into something
bigger than it is,
by sending an army
out onto their turf.
Well, that's all fine,
but Mike's still out there.
Mike can handle himself.
( phone rings )
Yeah.
Devitt.
All right, put him on.
Hello? This is Lieutenant
Devitt speaking. Can I help you?
Get a tracer on this thing,
and climb on it yourself.
How'd that go again?
CHICK: I said we got a cop.
And you can forget about
any tricks with the phone,
'cause we ain't
gonna rap that long.
DEVITT: Okay.
Well, what are you
talking about? Who's we?
We is us.
( scoffs )
You don't got to
know who we are,
you just got to know who we got.
Let me get this straight:
you're telling me that
you got a police officer
with you somewhere?
Badge number 897.
That ring any bells?
Okay, all right.
Just get them going
as soon as they
find the location.
Now cut me back
into Devitt's line.
I said anyone can call
in and give us a number
outta the air like that.
It doesn't prove much.
Yeah, and I said forget about
trying to check out this call,
remember?
You wanna check out
something, you check out
where Lieutenant
Michael Stone is right now.
Let me talk to him.
Forget it.
The only way you talk to
him again is to let Buddy go.
Buddy?
Buddy Simms.
You booked him tonight.
He's the one who
killed the police officer?
Yeah, you don't let him go
and, uh, you can
order up two funerals.
Now, you get this,
and you get it good:
threats like that
cut nothing here.
You got till 9 a.m.
I'm telling you,
department policy.
And I'm telling you, 9:00.
Buddy walks by then, or, uh...
Or this guy's head comes off.
( line disconnects )
Come on, come on.
What do you got?
What do you mean, nothing?
You got an area, a
section, anything?
Okay, all right.
Where is this guy, Buddy...?
General. Emergency.
Light's better over here.
I just thought we could trade
spots. Better for his eyes.
What're you reading?
A fellow can learn
a lot from books.
Places he's never been,
things he's never seen.
Do you read a lot?
Have you ever read Robin Hood?
( scoffs )
I think I read that when I was
about your age.
There's another one,
uh, Three Musketeers.
Both those books
loaded with adventure.
Have you read
either one of them?
You ought to.
Ask your teachers about them.
What grade are you in?
He doesn't go to school.
He doesn't go to... Why not?
I guess it doesn't
matter to you.
It certainly does. It
matters to all of us.
A kid like that,
who likes books,
doesn't get a
chance to read them?
I know how to read books.
Of course you can.
But what kind of books?
Can you pick the right books?
That's what school is for,
teaches you to pick the right
books. I don't need school.
You don't need
school? Who told you?
Did you tell him that?
Hey, maybe you better shut up.
You two are
brothers, aren't you?
Yeah, you're
brothers, all right.
( rustling )
CHICK: David, come here.
Split.
We did it.
You called.
Go on, tell him.
( giggling )
Well, he told 'em.
He called 'em and he told 'em.
My man, uh, Chick
laid it on 'em very heavy.
He gave them till 9 tomorrow.
What'd they say?
They said forget it.
( scoffs )
Well, like, what they
say and what they do
are two different things.
No way.
There's going to be no
trade for me tomorrow,
or for anybody, ever.
It just doesn't work that way.
( grunts )
That's cold.
Well...
then you'd better get
ready to kiss it off, Jack.
( suspenseful theme playing )
KELLER: Who are they,
and where'd they take him?
By me, baby.
Look, Buddy. There's no way
you can climb outta this one.
You mean, all of a sudden,
I'm worth more than
one of your own kind?
Nobody wearing one of
those jackets is worth anything,
man, unless they turn him loose.
Well, I'm sorry, man,
what can I do about it?
Like, I'm in here and
they're out there, you know?
You can tell us where they are.
Keep them from making
the same mistake.
Like the man says,
man, it's a free world.
Stop this. Stop this.
You know where he is,
and you're gonna talk. Steve.
He killed Trikonis. His friends
are the same: they don't care.
Wait a minute, man.
Who doesn't care?
Look, you want me to tell
you how much I care, baby?
Come here, man.
( spits )
( laughs )
You punk!
( indistinct shouting )
I guess the dude they
got must mean something
to somebody after all, huh?
Well, lieutenant,
still no deals?
DEVITT: That's right, punk.
Still no deals.
Will you give me those men now?
Boy, if we ever had a
prayer of cracking that kid,
you sure blew it.
He thinks now we
care so much, that...
That we're gonna crack.
You know that. All I
care about is Mike,
what's facing him,
and what he would do
for me in the same spot.
He'd have used
his head. All right.
He'd use his head.
But you have got to
give me those men.
You got to let me
comb those alleys,
building by building,
door by door.
I don't have to let
you do anything,
the way you're wound up.
If there's gonna be a
sweep, then I'll lead it.
What are you
talking about, "if"?
I got 50 governors arriving
in this city tomorrow.
Every one of them,
every available man is...
You name me one man who
wouldn't pull double duty for Mike.
That's not the
point. Then what is?
Look. Look, Steve,
forgetting that we all know
this can happen to
any one of us walking in,
and forgetting we're
more than a family,
we got a whole
city to look after.
Roy, I'm asking for one section.
Ten lousy blocks.
That's all, Roy.
( groans )
All right, you got it.
You can pull Lessing and Harris,
Kincade and
Carpenter to start with.
I'll call juvenile and see
if they got anything for us.
Then I got to juggle
that security setup
on the convention with
C.P.U., get us some more men.
You give me a 10-20
every 15 minutes...
Where'd he go?
Yeah. This is Devitt here.
Hm.
It stopped.
What time you got?
I don't.
Must be about 2,
wouldn't you say?
Yeah, I guess.
Yeah. Must be.
Where's, uh,
Davie?
Is that what you call him?
Say, could you spare
another cup of that?
Bright kid, Davie, you know.
( chuckles )
The way he suckered
me into this little setup.
If he hadn't done it just right,
he never would've had me.
You know,
you're wrong in telling him
he doesn't have to go to school.
How old is he, 14 or 15?
Pretty important
years in a kid's life.
Hey, you know something? What?
You talk too much.
( sighs )
Why do you do this for a
guy who murdered somebody?
Look, we don't stick
together, what've we got?
What's Davie gonna
have if you keep telling him
that this is the way?
Hey, uh, we gotta talk.
Man, they have got black
and whites all over the place.
I figure we better move this
guy till Buddy gets out, you know?
This might not be the best spot.
You got a cigarette? Yeah.
STONE: War's over, fellas.
They're putting out a dragnet,
and a decision has to be made.
Who usually made
them for you? Buddy?
Shut up.
Wasn't thinking
too good, was he?
Getting you into all this.
Pretty messy.
You always got to be looking
down your noses, don't you?
You got to be making the cracks.
Got to be the big man.
You don't look all
that big to me now.
You look like nothing.
You look like an old man.
And you're ready to die.
( tense theme playing )
( scoffs )
( clears throat )
CHICK: Watch him, Jerry.
Uh, me and Richie's gonna
scout out another place.
MAN: Skulls, Warlords.
Nothing there.
DEVITT: How goes it?
What do you got, Stan?
It's got to be a new club.
None of the guys in
juvie ever heard of 'em.
Invaders, I got. Grim
Reapers, no match. No Cobras.
We're just going back to the
packet on this Buddy Simms,
finding out who he was
busted with and who he ran...
Where's Lucas, huh?
Home. His wife has a 103 fever.
Well, Lucas is
the man, isn't he?
He's the guy that's into
the whole thing with the gangs.
Well, so is Stan here.
We're into it. It's okay.
Two guys were... Simms
was collared three months ago,
suspicion of G.T. auto,
with a Chick Kramer.
We had a warrant on Simms,
Kramer and a Richard Sung.
For suspicion, ABW.
Sung. That checks out with...
Yeah, let's run that one, Stan.
Rings a bell. Sung.
Richard Sung.
The Choppers. Sung, Kramer,
Willard Lu. The Choppers.
Cobras must be a
spinoff of the same gang.
What about a phone
drop, headquarters,
anything we can make a
move on? Right. Right here.
Right here. Pool
hall. Over on Clay.
What about a name?
Davis. Ed Davis.
Good work, Stan.
I appreciate it. Okay. See ya.
( tense theme playing )
What're you doing, huh?
I'm getting the coffee
that Richie poured for me.
Your coffee has got to be...
( gunshot )
Oh.
( grunts )
( jazzy, tense theme playing )
What time you got?
Five-thirty.
That the place, there?
Yeah. Should be.
Nobody's up.
Let's get 'em up.
Look, I just run a business.
They want to shoot pool
here, that's their business.
Juvenile records just told us
that this is the home
for the whole club.
I wouldn't know. You know names?
I know names, faces.
Faces, huh? Good. Let's go.
Wait a minute. Wait a
minute. Where are we going?
Downtown.
What for? Looking at some faces.
Who's gonna open up here?
How long's this gonna take?
That's not our business.
Come on, let's go.
Okay, okay. Just wait a minute.
Okay, I know some names. Maybe.
A few.
Uh, first names, that is.
Billy,
Buddy...
RICHIE: How's your head?
You cracked it on the
floor when you went down.
Bullet took a chunk
out of your side.
You lost some blood, but
I plugged it with a towel.
Don't worry.
You won't die from it.
We won't let you.
( coughs )
Word's out.
These jackets are underground.
Yeah. Just go up
here a little further,
then we'll go to
the alleys on foot.
You know, that guy
could've told us more.
He gave us all he had.
Should've leaned on
him. Ah, it's not your style.
I worked for 13 years,
shoulder to shoulder
with the same guy.
I think I know what
you're going through.
You can't change
your m.o., Steve.
You're liable to get caught
looking the wrong way yourself.
Yeah.
How do you think they got him?
He's gonna have to tell us
that himself when we find him.
MAN ( on radio ): Inspectors
8-1, code 10-25, 411 Fremont.
Officers report possible
location of kidnap involving
Lieutenant Mike Stone.
Will you respond?
Eighty-one, 10-4. We'll respond.
Fremont, huh?
That gang hangs
out at the pool hall...
Yeah, they just might
be smart enough
to stay as far away
from it as possible.
Hit it, baby.
( siren blaring )
( tires screech )
Freeze!
Feet apart. Spread
eagle over there. Move!
( sirens blaring )
( tires screeching )
What's going on?
Sorry, lieutenant, false alarm.
What do you mean, false alarm?
Eh, we scared these
two up down the block.
They ran. We thought
we had something.
Turned out to be
six sticks of grass.
What are you doing
this far off the sweep?
COP: We just got word they'd
be holed up down here someplace.
Word was wrong.
It came from a very
good source, inspector.
The name's Johnny Dolan.
Dolan?
The little guy has that
newspaper stand down on Geary?
Yeah. Distributor now.
On the streets with a
truck early every day.
He says he saw Mike?
Yeah. With three Cobras.
That possible Cobras
get down here?
No way, man. Why not?
Cobras never drift past 22nd.
What time this guy
Dolan say he saw Mike?
Uh, it was about,
4:30, wasn't it, Ben?
Maybe a quarter of five.
Okay, book these two.
All right, you guys,
let's go. Move.
I don't know. I don't buy it.
You got a hostage, you don't
walk him around the streets.
You keep him holed up.
I'll bet he's not
more than ten blocks
away from where we started.
It's all these back alleys
and the way these
buildings are stacked up,
we could look in there
all day and never find him.
We've got less than two hours.
Take these two downtown,
then get your tails
back on the sweep.
Yes, sir. Where can
we find this Dolan?
Oh, he's probably
still out making drops.
He was heading north
toward Telegraph Hill
when he stopped us.
Oh, he's driving an old pickup.
( suspenseful theme playing )
You Johnny Dolan? Yeah.
I'm Lieutenant
Devitt, with Homicide.
Yeah, sure.
Used to be Robbery. I
remember. How's it going?
You gave some information to
one of our radio units an hour ago?
Yeah, I thought maybe it was
something you should know about.
A big guy I seen around,
I think his name is Stone.
He was being hustled off
by some of those gang kids,
didn't look right to me.
What kind of jackets
they wearing? Huh?
The gang. What kind of
jackets were they wearing?
Oh, uh, those club
jackets, you know.
What club, Johnny?
Well, I don't know.
I mean, I just seen 'em
walking down the street.
And you saw their faces? No.
You mean you came up
from behind them then?
That it? Yeah, that's right.
You saw the back of
their jackets? Yeah.
Well, what was on them?
What design? What picture?
Well, I don't know.
I didn't notice.
But you noticed they
were wearing jackets?
Yeah. Why? What was so special
about the jackets?
Look, I give you guys a
lot of inside stuff. Now...
What're you giving
us now, Johnny?
What? I'm giving
it to you straight.
No, you're not. Straight's
a gang called the Cobras.
They like to be seen.
They wear a snake on
their back in bright orange.
You couldn't have miss it.
DEVITT: Why, Johnny?
Why what?
Why the lie? Now, look, guys...
KELLER: We have looked!
And we know you're having
trouble on your corners.
Trouble with gangs.
You know they're trouble
everywhere. You know that.
We know you filed
charges against the Cobras.
Two guys in particular:
Chick Kramer and a Buddy
Simms. Robbery and assault.
Then you dropped
the charges. Why?
I figured it was best.
They just got out of line once.
Nothing's happened since.
How much you pay
them to make sure?
Nothing, I...
DEVITT: Come off it.
Names, Johnny. Names.
Names, names.
Oh, all right. One
of them was Kramer.
The other ones I don't know.
Kid with dark hair and another,
Chinese. Stocky, not too tall.
Where? Where was this?
Stopped me up on Connecticut.
They told me to call
in. Told me if I didn't...
Connecticut and what?
18th. Right on the corner.
That's two blocks from
where Mike split with Rojak.
And a block from the pool hall.
That could be the phone drop.
Hey, hey, you guys.
You gotta protect me.
Hey, fellas, you... I... I...
He didn't do it.
DAVID: Chick?
Here. How about you?
I'm okay.
What do you say
we split it 50-50?
Okay.
Thanks.
Hey, say, that's
a pretty fancy ring.
Dragon, huh?
Symbol for the Tao.
You know the Tao?
I know about it.
The way, right?
David.
It's the mystery of life,
and the dragon represents it.
Something that man thought
up to stand for an idea he...
Well, he really couldn't
explain, or he couldn't see.
How do you know all that?
Oh, books.
Books, really. I told you.
You can learn an awful
lot from good books.
Where did you get that?
From my brother.
And my father.
Family ring.
I thought the oldest
son always kept it?
You read that in a book too?
Uh, no, no. Heh-heh.
A friend told me.
Good friend.
You two weren't
born here, were you?
Hong Kong.
You been here how long?
A couple or three years?
Five.
Five years.
And your father, he
come here with you too?
Yeah.
And died here.
In the land of opportunity.
Twenty of 9.
I'm going in.
They've got to
call it back, Steve...
I'm gonna get some
information outta that dude.
MAN ( on radio
): Inspectors 8-1,
we have your caller on the line.
Inspectors 8-1.
8-1, 10-4. Keep him talking.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Is that the only
phone you got in here?
Yeah, that's it.
It's gotta be near here. Yeah.
I'll work up the hill.
Hold it!
( grunting )
( ominous theme playing )
Ten minutes.
Ten minutes.
What about Davie, huh?
What's gonna happen to
him when this is all over?
They gonna put
him in a foster home?
Or he's gonna live
in a dump like this,
and scrounge a living
outta garbage cans?
He stays with me.
Same as always.
Sure.
You're gonna be
dead, and so am I.
Maybe you'll be in
Quentin with a life jolt.
That's a fact, Richard.
You could look a fact in the
eye and not even recognize it.
What's the matter
with you, Richard?
You a slow learner?
Facts.
That's what you
been laying on me?
That's right. Facts.
Fact:
you helped kill a cop.
Fact:
you're gonna serve time for it.
That right?
That is right.
Even if you gave
me that gun right now,
you're gonna serve time.
So? What have I got to lose?
David, you bonehead.
With you in the slammer, who's
gonna keep his nose clean?
Davie will have had it.
Fact: you've had it.
The minute Buddy pulled that
trigger on Trikonis, you had it.
Your brother still has a chance.
A small chance, but a chance.
You see,
I could make sure that he
got in with a good family,
took care of him,
made sure that he
got to school regularly,
bought him books, talked to him,
took him out to ball games,
and made sure he
got a kick in the slats
if he hooked up
with a guy like Buddy.
It's a small chance, Richard.
What's the handle?
What do you want?
Well, first, I don't
expect you to help me.
Just don't stop me.
Don't stop me.
I'm gonna get up,
I'm gonna go to that door
and I'm gonna walk out.
I wouldn't.
I have to.
I have to, Richard.
In just...
I don't know, eight,
seven minutes.
That psycho that you're
letting call the shots,
he's gonna walk in here
and blow my head off.
And I'm not going to sit here
and wait for that to happen.
I c...
Why...?
Why don't you give us a
break, Richard? Davie and me.
He's wearing that ring
because you and your
father believed in him.
You felt he was the one
that had a chance, didn't you?
He was the one in the
family that was gonna make it.
Well, don't you be the one
that blows it for him, Richard.
Okay, here goes.
( suspenseful theme playing )
That it?
Yeah.
You know,
Chick's not the one who's
gonna do it, you know.
It's gonna have to be you
who's gonna pull that trigger.
You're the one that's
gonna have to live with it.
It's time.
Let's do it.
Listen, man, uh,
I'll meet you, okay?
I'll just be a second.
You don't!
You were just as big on
grabbing that guy as I was.
( gun cocks )
( clatters )
Not a word.
Where you got him?
It's your move, Richard.
KELLER: Hold it! No! Steve, no!
Was he gonna let you...?
I don't know.
I just don't know.
My God.
What little I know
about Oriental heritage,
I learned from a
Chinese scout on Iwo.
Once he said:
"The trail of the
serpent leads to death."
Steve.
Steve,
that kid bought that
bullet a long time ago.
There was no way to buy it back.
( somber theme playing )
( upbeat theme playing )
David. Hey, good
to see you again.
Listen, Ben showed me
that report you finished.
Biography of Dumas.
Whew. How'd you
happen to pick him?
Oh, I heard of him.
He wrote The Three
Musketeers. Yeah.
I heard of him. Hey.
You're doing all right, Davie.
I'm glad. I'll see
you soon, huh?
Sure. Yeah.
I don't know if he's
going to go for it or not.
Time, that's all.
Just takes time.
And a lot of what that
family's giving him.
I hope you're right.
Oh, he's a bright kid.
Listen, maybe he won't
grow up to be a cop,
but at least he'll know
why we're around.
( chuckles )
( funky jazz theme playing )
ANNOUNCER: The
Streets of San Francisco.
A Quinn Martin production.
Starring Karl Malden.
Also starring Michael Douglas.
With guest stars Tim O'Connor,
Cal Bellini,
Brad David.
Tonight's episode:
"Trail of the Serpent."
( suspenseful theme playing )
( whistling )
( laughs )
Let's do it.
Whoo!
All right, let's go.
WOMAN: Two forty-two.
Okay.
( cash register keys clicking )
( register dings )
Got the change...
We're just closing, guys.
( change jingling )
Thank you. Good night.
Thank you, ma'am.
The register's closed, fellas.
You want a couple
of oranges, apples?
It's Saturday.
( gasps )
Mrs. Barberio's just been down
to the night depository.
Can't help you.
George,
50 will tide us.
Well, if I had it, uh...
Like I said, it's
already in the bank.
It's in the box.
Yeah, it's in that, um, tin box
you got stashed under
the counter somewhere.
Will.
MR. BARBERIO: Hey, look,
guys, I can't keep giving you money.
There's just not
that kind of profit
in a small market like this.
All right.
Rich.
( yells )
Okay.
Now, 50.
Find it.
Hey, guys, please.
Try to see it from my
side. I see nothing!
BUDDY: Boys!
Come on. You guys come here
every week, I give you 50, $60...
BUDDY: Hot stuff!
Hey, guys, what're you...?
No.
No, no, no.
No!
No!
No, no, no!
Please! No, stop it.
I'll give you the money.
No. Stop it!
No. No, Angela. No!
There's almost $90. Take it all.
( sirens blaring )
Buddy, it's heat.
All right, split.
( action theme playing )
Come on.
BUDDY: Leave them. Let's go!
That way, Chick. Come on.
Open the door, George.
Open the door, George. Open...
( gunshot )
God... Get off me.
Stop or I'll fire.
( grunts )
Angela, get an ambulance, quick!
( grunting )
You have the right
to remain silent.
You know what you
can do with your rights?!
( siren wailing )
This guy cut down Trikonis?
Yeah, this is the punk.
That's your word,
man. Just your word!
And your gun.
The people who own the store,
they saw the whole
thing, lieutenant.
Those people over there?
Keep an eye on him.
Right.
I'm Inspector Keller.
This is Lieutenant Stone.
George Barberio.
Angela.
And that's the guy who
killed your policeman.
He was their leader.
They call themselves the Cobras.
I've heard about them, Mrs...?
Barberio. Barberio.
Could we do this inside, please?
Sure.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Hoh!
Is that you, Rich?
Oh, man, why don't
you say something?
Man, we didn't
know you were here.
Where's Buddy?
I don't know.
Buddy and Chick
doubled out the back way.
What were the shots?
Man, I don't know
what the shots were.
Phew.
( footsteps )
( panting )
( coughing )
Buddy cashed a cop.
( laughing ): Buddy
cashed a cop?
Hey, man, what's
the matter with you?
I ain't lying.
( all giggling )
This big fuzz... ( grunts )
grabbed a hold of my arm.
And Buddy chopped him.
( chuckling ):
Yeah, then they...
Then they got Buddy.
They, uh...
They zapped him in
the knee or something.
He's okay. I seen him
from a roof later on.
There must've been...
There must have been
50 fuzz around him.
Hey w... Wait a minute,
Chick, you gotta know what
they're gonna do to him, right?
( grunting )
( laughs )
I mean, Buddy didn't dump
me, so I don't dump him.
I got away, that's all. Heh-heh.
You guys wanna piece of it?
WILLARD: Whoa!
Whoo.
( all laughing )
You don't?
( all giggling )
Okay. Okay.
What do you got working, Chick?
( chuckles )
A little job for your
kid brother Richie.
( sobbing ): They're
like a lot of the boys.
The traditions
are breaking down.
They live on the... The streets.
I tried to help them at first.
Maybe I was wrong.
I gave them groceries
every now and then.
Or a couple of bucks.
They took advantage.
It just got out of hand.
It happens, Mrs. Barberio.
And I'm sorry about your store.
Oh, the market we
can put back together,
but the dead
policeman... I'm s-sorry.
Descriptions will help, though.
We'll get the four. Really.
Would you excuse us, please?
Sure.
Fred,
I wanna make a sweep through
a four-square block
area around this market.
And we better do it quick,
before those kids disappear.
Good enough, lieutenant.
What's our manpower?
We still have eight,
ten men on the scene.
Good. That'll make four
two-man teams, huh?
We'll divvy up the blocks
and house-to-house it.
Steve, I think if we're
gonna shake doorknobs,
it would be wise if we split up.
Each of us take a uniform.
Right. What?
Right. You take Fred.
I'll take Rojak.
I'll call it in.
Come on, Rojak.
You've got the
short straw this time.
There's an old pigeon
coop on that roof, Mike.
We tagged some juveniles up
there a couple of months ago.
All right, let's try
it. I'll take the back.
Check. Take the front.
Hi. Hi. How are you?
You a policeman?
Yeah, that's right.
After somebody?
Uh-huh. That's right.
Guys in black jackets, maybe?
You see them?
Black jackets with
cobras on the back.
Cobras. I don't know.
They were running.
Black jackets, yeah.
How many? Where?
Four. They went into a
place way down there.
You show me.
Nobody lives there.
There's a back door, but
they still might be in there.
I just saw them from our house.
We live right down the street.
Good.
Good. Will you do
me a favor? Sure.
You know that building I
was standing in front of?
A policeman will be
coming out of it soon.
You tell him where I am.
And then tell him to call in.
Call in? That's right.
Sure. Come on.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( footsteps )
Where's Rojak?
Did you see the policeman?
Did you...? Give
the piece to the kid.
( dramatic theme playing )
Spread eagle.
Hey, you've just been busted.
You can stay
with us for a while.
It ain't too much,
but it's home for you
for about as long as it takes.
( all chuckling )
( funky jazz theme playing )
Yeah, we'll be rotating
units all weekend.
Between us and the...
And the Secret Service,
those boys'll be safer than
they were in their cradles.
All right, Stan. Later.
Boy, these governor's
conventions. Eh, if...
I don't know why they don't
pick on Miami for a change.
Yeah. You got anything?
Mike? No.
What do you think?
Wait. Just a second, Steve.
I'm gonna get
this little diddly.
I really envy you
guys out in the streets.
If I thought this promotion
was gonna mean this
much more paperwork...
Roy, it's been an hour and a
half since Mike and I split up.
Now I... You're
talking about maybe
the most experienced
guy in the department.
I'm just talking
about my partner,
a guy I know
better than anybody.
A guy who would
not wander around
without checking in
and leaving a 10-7.
Well, it's only been
an hour and a half.
You said so yourself.
I want some men,
Roy. Oh, Steve...
A cop got gunned down
right where we were tonight.
You got a report to write
up, okay? Just get outta here.
The only report I'm working
on is Mike's. Until then...
Until then, you're not
gonna do your job, huh?
You're gonna let
your nerves take over,
when your head
could be used the most.
Look, Steve, baby, I know
that a brother died tonight.
And I know what it can do
to every man on the force.
But I can't let it panic us
into actions that can
set off a real powder keg.
Wait a minute. I
don't understand.
( sighs )
I mean, the kids that
run in those gangs.
They don't have all that
much of a life to start with.
Right. I'm not
going to give them
that kind of an incentive
to build this thing
into something
bigger than it is,
by sending an army
out onto their turf.
Well, that's all fine,
but Mike's still out there.
Mike can handle himself.
( phone rings )
Yeah.
Devitt.
All right, put him on.
Hello? This is Lieutenant
Devitt speaking. Can I help you?
Get a tracer on this thing,
and climb on it yourself.
How'd that go again?
CHICK: I said we got a cop.
And you can forget about
any tricks with the phone,
'cause we ain't
gonna rap that long.
DEVITT: Okay.
Well, what are you
talking about? Who's we?
We is us.
( scoffs )
You don't got to
know who we are,
you just got to know who we got.
Let me get this straight:
you're telling me that
you got a police officer
with you somewhere?
Badge number 897.
That ring any bells?
Okay, all right.
Just get them going
as soon as they
find the location.
Now cut me back
into Devitt's line.
I said anyone can call
in and give us a number
outta the air like that.
It doesn't prove much.
Yeah, and I said forget about
trying to check out this call,
remember?
You wanna check out
something, you check out
where Lieutenant
Michael Stone is right now.
Let me talk to him.
Forget it.
The only way you talk to
him again is to let Buddy go.
Buddy?
Buddy Simms.
You booked him tonight.
He's the one who
killed the police officer?
Yeah, you don't let him go
and, uh, you can
order up two funerals.
Now, you get this,
and you get it good:
threats like that
cut nothing here.
You got till 9 a.m.
I'm telling you,
department policy.
And I'm telling you, 9:00.
Buddy walks by then, or, uh...
Or this guy's head comes off.
( line disconnects )
Come on, come on.
What do you got?
What do you mean, nothing?
You got an area, a
section, anything?
Okay, all right.
Where is this guy, Buddy...?
General. Emergency.
Light's better over here.
I just thought we could trade
spots. Better for his eyes.
What're you reading?
A fellow can learn
a lot from books.
Places he's never been,
things he's never seen.
Do you read a lot?
Have you ever read Robin Hood?
( scoffs )
I think I read that when I was
about your age.
There's another one,
uh, Three Musketeers.
Both those books
loaded with adventure.
Have you read
either one of them?
You ought to.
Ask your teachers about them.
What grade are you in?
He doesn't go to school.
He doesn't go to... Why not?
I guess it doesn't
matter to you.
It certainly does. It
matters to all of us.
A kid like that,
who likes books,
doesn't get a
chance to read them?
I know how to read books.
Of course you can.
But what kind of books?
Can you pick the right books?
That's what school is for,
teaches you to pick the right
books. I don't need school.
You don't need
school? Who told you?
Did you tell him that?
Hey, maybe you better shut up.
You two are
brothers, aren't you?
Yeah, you're
brothers, all right.
( rustling )
CHICK: David, come here.
Split.
We did it.
You called.
Go on, tell him.
( giggling )
Well, he told 'em.
He called 'em and he told 'em.
My man, uh, Chick
laid it on 'em very heavy.
He gave them till 9 tomorrow.
What'd they say?
They said forget it.
( scoffs )
Well, like, what they
say and what they do
are two different things.
No way.
There's going to be no
trade for me tomorrow,
or for anybody, ever.
It just doesn't work that way.
( grunts )
That's cold.
Well...
then you'd better get
ready to kiss it off, Jack.
( suspenseful theme playing )
KELLER: Who are they,
and where'd they take him?
By me, baby.
Look, Buddy. There's no way
you can climb outta this one.
You mean, all of a sudden,
I'm worth more than
one of your own kind?
Nobody wearing one of
those jackets is worth anything,
man, unless they turn him loose.
Well, I'm sorry, man,
what can I do about it?
Like, I'm in here and
they're out there, you know?
You can tell us where they are.
Keep them from making
the same mistake.
Like the man says,
man, it's a free world.
Stop this. Stop this.
You know where he is,
and you're gonna talk. Steve.
He killed Trikonis. His friends
are the same: they don't care.
Wait a minute, man.
Who doesn't care?
Look, you want me to tell
you how much I care, baby?
Come here, man.
( spits )
( laughs )
You punk!
( indistinct shouting )
I guess the dude they
got must mean something
to somebody after all, huh?
Well, lieutenant,
still no deals?
DEVITT: That's right, punk.
Still no deals.
Will you give me those men now?
Boy, if we ever had a
prayer of cracking that kid,
you sure blew it.
He thinks now we
care so much, that...
That we're gonna crack.
You know that. All I
care about is Mike,
what's facing him,
and what he would do
for me in the same spot.
He'd have used
his head. All right.
He'd use his head.
But you have got to
give me those men.
You got to let me
comb those alleys,
building by building,
door by door.
I don't have to let
you do anything,
the way you're wound up.
If there's gonna be a
sweep, then I'll lead it.
What are you
talking about, "if"?
I got 50 governors arriving
in this city tomorrow.
Every one of them,
every available man is...
You name me one man who
wouldn't pull double duty for Mike.
That's not the
point. Then what is?
Look. Look, Steve,
forgetting that we all know
this can happen to
any one of us walking in,
and forgetting we're
more than a family,
we got a whole
city to look after.
Roy, I'm asking for one section.
Ten lousy blocks.
That's all, Roy.
( groans )
All right, you got it.
You can pull Lessing and Harris,
Kincade and
Carpenter to start with.
I'll call juvenile and see
if they got anything for us.
Then I got to juggle
that security setup
on the convention with
C.P.U., get us some more men.
You give me a 10-20
every 15 minutes...
Where'd he go?
Yeah. This is Devitt here.
Hm.
It stopped.
What time you got?
I don't.
Must be about 2,
wouldn't you say?
Yeah, I guess.
Yeah. Must be.
Where's, uh,
Davie?
Is that what you call him?
Say, could you spare
another cup of that?
Bright kid, Davie, you know.
( chuckles )
The way he suckered
me into this little setup.
If he hadn't done it just right,
he never would've had me.
You know,
you're wrong in telling him
he doesn't have to go to school.
How old is he, 14 or 15?
Pretty important
years in a kid's life.
Hey, you know something? What?
You talk too much.
( sighs )
Why do you do this for a
guy who murdered somebody?
Look, we don't stick
together, what've we got?
What's Davie gonna
have if you keep telling him
that this is the way?
Hey, uh, we gotta talk.
Man, they have got black
and whites all over the place.
I figure we better move this
guy till Buddy gets out, you know?
This might not be the best spot.
You got a cigarette? Yeah.
STONE: War's over, fellas.
They're putting out a dragnet,
and a decision has to be made.
Who usually made
them for you? Buddy?
Shut up.
Wasn't thinking
too good, was he?
Getting you into all this.
Pretty messy.
You always got to be looking
down your noses, don't you?
You got to be making the cracks.
Got to be the big man.
You don't look all
that big to me now.
You look like nothing.
You look like an old man.
And you're ready to die.
( tense theme playing )
( scoffs )
( clears throat )
CHICK: Watch him, Jerry.
Uh, me and Richie's gonna
scout out another place.
MAN: Skulls, Warlords.
Nothing there.
DEVITT: How goes it?
What do you got, Stan?
It's got to be a new club.
None of the guys in
juvie ever heard of 'em.
Invaders, I got. Grim
Reapers, no match. No Cobras.
We're just going back to the
packet on this Buddy Simms,
finding out who he was
busted with and who he ran...
Where's Lucas, huh?
Home. His wife has a 103 fever.
Well, Lucas is
the man, isn't he?
He's the guy that's into
the whole thing with the gangs.
Well, so is Stan here.
We're into it. It's okay.
Two guys were... Simms
was collared three months ago,
suspicion of G.T. auto,
with a Chick Kramer.
We had a warrant on Simms,
Kramer and a Richard Sung.
For suspicion, ABW.
Sung. That checks out with...
Yeah, let's run that one, Stan.
Rings a bell. Sung.
Richard Sung.
The Choppers. Sung, Kramer,
Willard Lu. The Choppers.
Cobras must be a
spinoff of the same gang.
What about a phone
drop, headquarters,
anything we can make a
move on? Right. Right here.
Right here. Pool
hall. Over on Clay.
What about a name?
Davis. Ed Davis.
Good work, Stan.
I appreciate it. Okay. See ya.
( tense theme playing )
What're you doing, huh?
I'm getting the coffee
that Richie poured for me.
Your coffee has got to be...
( gunshot )
Oh.
( grunts )
( jazzy, tense theme playing )
What time you got?
Five-thirty.
That the place, there?
Yeah. Should be.
Nobody's up.
Let's get 'em up.
Look, I just run a business.
They want to shoot pool
here, that's their business.
Juvenile records just told us
that this is the home
for the whole club.
I wouldn't know. You know names?
I know names, faces.
Faces, huh? Good. Let's go.
Wait a minute. Wait a
minute. Where are we going?
Downtown.
What for? Looking at some faces.
Who's gonna open up here?
How long's this gonna take?
That's not our business.
Come on, let's go.
Okay, okay. Just wait a minute.
Okay, I know some names. Maybe.
A few.
Uh, first names, that is.
Billy,
Buddy...
RICHIE: How's your head?
You cracked it on the
floor when you went down.
Bullet took a chunk
out of your side.
You lost some blood, but
I plugged it with a towel.
Don't worry.
You won't die from it.
We won't let you.
( coughs )
Word's out.
These jackets are underground.
Yeah. Just go up
here a little further,
then we'll go to
the alleys on foot.
You know, that guy
could've told us more.
He gave us all he had.
Should've leaned on
him. Ah, it's not your style.
I worked for 13 years,
shoulder to shoulder
with the same guy.
I think I know what
you're going through.
You can't change
your m.o., Steve.
You're liable to get caught
looking the wrong way yourself.
Yeah.
How do you think they got him?
He's gonna have to tell us
that himself when we find him.
MAN ( on radio ): Inspectors
8-1, code 10-25, 411 Fremont.
Officers report possible
location of kidnap involving
Lieutenant Mike Stone.
Will you respond?
Eighty-one, 10-4. We'll respond.
Fremont, huh?
That gang hangs
out at the pool hall...
Yeah, they just might
be smart enough
to stay as far away
from it as possible.
Hit it, baby.
( siren blaring )
( tires screech )
Freeze!
Feet apart. Spread
eagle over there. Move!
( sirens blaring )
( tires screeching )
What's going on?
Sorry, lieutenant, false alarm.
What do you mean, false alarm?
Eh, we scared these
two up down the block.
They ran. We thought
we had something.
Turned out to be
six sticks of grass.
What are you doing
this far off the sweep?
COP: We just got word they'd
be holed up down here someplace.
Word was wrong.
It came from a very
good source, inspector.
The name's Johnny Dolan.
Dolan?
The little guy has that
newspaper stand down on Geary?
Yeah. Distributor now.
On the streets with a
truck early every day.
He says he saw Mike?
Yeah. With three Cobras.
That possible Cobras
get down here?
No way, man. Why not?
Cobras never drift past 22nd.
What time this guy
Dolan say he saw Mike?
Uh, it was about,
4:30, wasn't it, Ben?
Maybe a quarter of five.
Okay, book these two.
All right, you guys,
let's go. Move.
I don't know. I don't buy it.
You got a hostage, you don't
walk him around the streets.
You keep him holed up.
I'll bet he's not
more than ten blocks
away from where we started.
It's all these back alleys
and the way these
buildings are stacked up,
we could look in there
all day and never find him.
We've got less than two hours.
Take these two downtown,
then get your tails
back on the sweep.
Yes, sir. Where can
we find this Dolan?
Oh, he's probably
still out making drops.
He was heading north
toward Telegraph Hill
when he stopped us.
Oh, he's driving an old pickup.
( suspenseful theme playing )
You Johnny Dolan? Yeah.
I'm Lieutenant
Devitt, with Homicide.
Yeah, sure.
Used to be Robbery. I
remember. How's it going?
You gave some information to
one of our radio units an hour ago?
Yeah, I thought maybe it was
something you should know about.
A big guy I seen around,
I think his name is Stone.
He was being hustled off
by some of those gang kids,
didn't look right to me.
What kind of jackets
they wearing? Huh?
The gang. What kind of
jackets were they wearing?
Oh, uh, those club
jackets, you know.
What club, Johnny?
Well, I don't know.
I mean, I just seen 'em
walking down the street.
And you saw their faces? No.
You mean you came up
from behind them then?
That it? Yeah, that's right.
You saw the back of
their jackets? Yeah.
Well, what was on them?
What design? What picture?
Well, I don't know.
I didn't notice.
But you noticed they
were wearing jackets?
Yeah. Why? What was so special
about the jackets?
Look, I give you guys a
lot of inside stuff. Now...
What're you giving
us now, Johnny?
What? I'm giving
it to you straight.
No, you're not. Straight's
a gang called the Cobras.
They like to be seen.
They wear a snake on
their back in bright orange.
You couldn't have miss it.
DEVITT: Why, Johnny?
Why what?
Why the lie? Now, look, guys...
KELLER: We have looked!
And we know you're having
trouble on your corners.
Trouble with gangs.
You know they're trouble
everywhere. You know that.
We know you filed
charges against the Cobras.
Two guys in particular:
Chick Kramer and a Buddy
Simms. Robbery and assault.
Then you dropped
the charges. Why?
I figured it was best.
They just got out of line once.
Nothing's happened since.
How much you pay
them to make sure?
Nothing, I...
DEVITT: Come off it.
Names, Johnny. Names.
Names, names.
Oh, all right. One
of them was Kramer.
The other ones I don't know.
Kid with dark hair and another,
Chinese. Stocky, not too tall.
Where? Where was this?
Stopped me up on Connecticut.
They told me to call
in. Told me if I didn't...
Connecticut and what?
18th. Right on the corner.
That's two blocks from
where Mike split with Rojak.
And a block from the pool hall.
That could be the phone drop.
Hey, hey, you guys.
You gotta protect me.
Hey, fellas, you... I... I...
He didn't do it.
DAVID: Chick?
Here. How about you?
I'm okay.
What do you say
we split it 50-50?
Okay.
Thanks.
Hey, say, that's
a pretty fancy ring.
Dragon, huh?
Symbol for the Tao.
You know the Tao?
I know about it.
The way, right?
David.
It's the mystery of life,
and the dragon represents it.
Something that man thought
up to stand for an idea he...
Well, he really couldn't
explain, or he couldn't see.
How do you know all that?
Oh, books.
Books, really. I told you.
You can learn an awful
lot from good books.
Where did you get that?
From my brother.
And my father.
Family ring.
I thought the oldest
son always kept it?
You read that in a book too?
Uh, no, no. Heh-heh.
A friend told me.
Good friend.
You two weren't
born here, were you?
Hong Kong.
You been here how long?
A couple or three years?
Five.
Five years.
And your father, he
come here with you too?
Yeah.
And died here.
In the land of opportunity.
Twenty of 9.
I'm going in.
They've got to
call it back, Steve...
I'm gonna get some
information outta that dude.
MAN ( on radio
): Inspectors 8-1,
we have your caller on the line.
Inspectors 8-1.
8-1, 10-4. Keep him talking.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Is that the only
phone you got in here?
Yeah, that's it.
It's gotta be near here. Yeah.
I'll work up the hill.
Hold it!
( grunting )
( ominous theme playing )
Ten minutes.
Ten minutes.
What about Davie, huh?
What's gonna happen to
him when this is all over?
They gonna put
him in a foster home?
Or he's gonna live
in a dump like this,
and scrounge a living
outta garbage cans?
He stays with me.
Same as always.
Sure.
You're gonna be
dead, and so am I.
Maybe you'll be in
Quentin with a life jolt.
That's a fact, Richard.
You could look a fact in the
eye and not even recognize it.
What's the matter
with you, Richard?
You a slow learner?
Facts.
That's what you
been laying on me?
That's right. Facts.
Fact:
you helped kill a cop.
Fact:
you're gonna serve time for it.
That right?
That is right.
Even if you gave
me that gun right now,
you're gonna serve time.
So? What have I got to lose?
David, you bonehead.
With you in the slammer, who's
gonna keep his nose clean?
Davie will have had it.
Fact: you've had it.
The minute Buddy pulled that
trigger on Trikonis, you had it.
Your brother still has a chance.
A small chance, but a chance.
You see,
I could make sure that he
got in with a good family,
took care of him,
made sure that he
got to school regularly,
bought him books, talked to him,
took him out to ball games,
and made sure he
got a kick in the slats
if he hooked up
with a guy like Buddy.
It's a small chance, Richard.
What's the handle?
What do you want?
Well, first, I don't
expect you to help me.
Just don't stop me.
Don't stop me.
I'm gonna get up,
I'm gonna go to that door
and I'm gonna walk out.
I wouldn't.
I have to.
I have to, Richard.
In just...
I don't know, eight,
seven minutes.
That psycho that you're
letting call the shots,
he's gonna walk in here
and blow my head off.
And I'm not going to sit here
and wait for that to happen.
I c...
Why...?
Why don't you give us a
break, Richard? Davie and me.
He's wearing that ring
because you and your
father believed in him.
You felt he was the one
that had a chance, didn't you?
He was the one in the
family that was gonna make it.
Well, don't you be the one
that blows it for him, Richard.
Okay, here goes.
( suspenseful theme playing )
That it?
Yeah.
You know,
Chick's not the one who's
gonna do it, you know.
It's gonna have to be you
who's gonna pull that trigger.
You're the one that's
gonna have to live with it.
It's time.
Let's do it.
Listen, man, uh,
I'll meet you, okay?
I'll just be a second.
You don't!
You were just as big on
grabbing that guy as I was.
( gun cocks )
( clatters )
Not a word.
Where you got him?
It's your move, Richard.
KELLER: Hold it! No! Steve, no!
Was he gonna let you...?
I don't know.
I just don't know.
My God.
What little I know
about Oriental heritage,
I learned from a
Chinese scout on Iwo.
Once he said:
"The trail of the
serpent leads to death."
Steve.
Steve,
that kid bought that
bullet a long time ago.
There was no way to buy it back.
( somber theme playing )
( upbeat theme playing )
David. Hey, good
to see you again.
Listen, Ben showed me
that report you finished.
Biography of Dumas.
Whew. How'd you
happen to pick him?
Oh, I heard of him.
He wrote The Three
Musketeers. Yeah.
I heard of him. Hey.
You're doing all right, Davie.
I'm glad. I'll see
you soon, huh?
Sure. Yeah.
I don't know if he's
going to go for it or not.
Time, that's all.
Just takes time.
And a lot of what that
family's giving him.
I hope you're right.
Oh, he's a bright kid.
Listen, maybe he won't
grow up to be a cop,
but at least he'll know
why we're around.
( chuckles )
( funky jazz theme playing )