1 www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2014 1 3 MAN: New York is still here. We're here now. We're gonna be here tomorrow. This is the way of life people want ` democracy, the rule of law, people treating each other decently, people caring about each other, and we're going to prevail. New York is going to be here tomorrow morning and it's going to be here forever, and this is the way of life that people want... (CAR HORN HONKS) (CHILD SQUEALS) (MAN ON TELEVISION) ..several times today. Daddy's home! Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing? What are you doing? Huh? What are you doing here? She's been dying to do that for the past hour. Where were you? Why is everyone still up? I had some paper and the traffic's horrible. What are you doing with a balloon, huh? Traffic? (BLOWS RASPBERRY) Let us know next time. I will. I will. What are you doing? You gonna go upstairs and brush your teeth? Yes. Yeah? Come on. Come on. Go, go, go. Go. Get up there. You're going to tuck me in, right? Yeah, of course. I'm going to check that toothbrush. CHILD: Oh, Daddy. So, what? They change her medication? The doctor says we'll keep trying different ones until the seizures stop. Well, that sounds like a genius plan. Yeah. That's where she got the balloon? Yeah. They're pretty nice in there, except that one idiot. Who? I can't st... Dr Sing? He talks to her like there's something wrong with her. What are you talking about? He talks to her like she's five. I can't stand him. He's an asshole. Whoa. Whoa, whoa. He is. I'm sorry. I just don't understand how they can move you two hours away randomly. It's ridiculous and you know it is. Look, it's temporary, isn't it, Ker? I don't care that it's temporary. Quality of Life. It's a bunch of shit. CHILD: Daddy, I brushed my teeth. OK, baby. I'm coming up right now. Look, what do you want me to do? I ain't got no seniority. CHILD: Daddy, I brushed my teeth. I went in bed. OK, baby. I'm coming up. Hold on. I love you. Stop it. OK? (GIGGLES) Hey, you. Hay is for horses. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, it is. How did Charlie run again, Daddy? How did Charlie run? You know how Charlie ran. (CHILD LAUGHS) And Charlie was a good dog, right? Yeah. What are you talking about? He was the best. And that's why you named me Charlie, right? Yeah. Shh. You can't say that too loud. Mommy still thinks I named you after Grandma Charlotte. (CHARLIE EXHALES LOUDLY) Hey. Hey. Charlie? Charlie. Hey. Charlie? Charlie? Charlie? (LOUDER) Charlie. (EXHALES HEAVILY) You OK? OK. You tired? OK. You know all I ever dreamed about was people like you and Mommy, right? (KISSES CHARLIE) OK. Night, baby. And that's where the castles were. Right? Where you grew up? That's right, baby. The giant castles. And they were as big as the whole world? OK. OK. Go to sleep, alright? Mm-hm. Goodnight, baby. (DOOR CLOSES) (SOMBRE MUSIC) MAN: Yo, Milk, I want my gun. I got a little motherfucker down here in apartment number 1C, a little Casper motherfucker, a little glow-in-the-dark motherfucker that they call Milk. Milk. Little glow-in-the-dark Casper motherfucker got my gun and I'm gonna get my shit. Milk! Where's my goddamned gun, Milk? Give me my goddamned gun. (SHOUTS) Fuck you, Milk. Give me my gun. Said you stole my gun. Where Milk at? Where he at? Milk! You glow-in-the-dark Casper motherfucker. (YELLS) (SHOUTS) I want my shit. Get the fuck out. I said, "Get the fuck out." Get out of here, Hanky. Go to your own fucking house. Vinny? Vinny! (DRAMATIC MUSIC) Seeing it is...in person is very different than seeing it on television or seeing pictures of it. It gives you a sense of the devastation that was accomplished there. (SIRENS WAIL) Retiring police commissioner Charles Stanford and his predicted successor, Captain Marion Mathers, are coming under continued scrutiny for the Quality of Life raid here at the Queensboro projects on Christmas Eve. Locals are saying this didn't have a whole lot to do with safer streets. It had a lot more to do with real estate, a deal to turn the coveted waterfront property into condos. Reporting from Queens... GEORGE W. BUSH: Osama bin Laden and other terrorists are still in hiding. Our message to them is clear. No matter how long it takes, America will find you and we will bring you to justice. We fucking live here! Oh, you live here? You live here? Now you live here. (SHOUTING) Alright. Back up. Back up. Back up. Captain Mathers, I just talked to one woman who said that the 118 isn't welcome here. You're just causing trouble. No, no. What were doing is were making a dangerous neighbourhood safer so that the good citizens who live here... We want them to enjoy their holidays. Doesn't seem like they agree with you. Well, that's what were doing. I'm a cop. Fuck. 20 in and 20 right out, Johnny, man. 20 in, 20 out. 20 in, 20 out. 20 in. That's what I fucking tell myself every day, man. 20 in, 20 out. 20 in, 20 out. 20 in, 20 out. 20 in, 20 out. Jesus, and you're a fucking rookie at 30? Shit. My 30th birthday I was halfway to retirement. So you just spent your fucking 20s, man, having fun, being free? Bullshit. Eating pussy. (LAUGHS) You've asked me this every day since I've transferred here. Yep. You know, record shops, 7-Elevens, they're not that exciting. Fuck excitement. I mean, I feel bad for you, though, man. One day you're fucking pulling over these hot DUI Italian chicks, the next you're in this shit? Fuck. Well, I mean, everybody hates America. Meanwhile, what the fuck is anyone else doing for the rest of the world? (SIRENS WAIL) (WOMAN YELLS) You fucking asshole. Where's my money? You got my money? (WOMAN OVER RADIO) She's smelly. She's Olive Oil. Pick that stink bitch up. See you two now back at the precinct. MAN: You got it. (SHOUTING) Oh. Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey. Yo, Olive. Hey, Olive. (SHOUTING) Alright, Olive. OLIVE: Whatever. Whatever. Fuck you. (ALL SPEAK SIMULTANEOUSLY) Take that son of a bitch in. Alright. OK. Alright. Whatever. Fuck you. Come on. Get in the car. OLIVE: Get in the car. Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Right after you, you bony-assed motherfucker. Shut up. You don't want to touch that. Whoa. Oh, you're gonna fucking regret that later. What are you doing? Get outta here. I'm looking. What? Are you retarded? What are you doing? MAN: You shouldn't call people retarded. Go. Go. Get out of here. Thanks for coming to work today, Mom. I appreciate it. OLIVE: Shut up! Stop it. Alright. Alright. You know what? Keep them separated. Hey, look who's here. Olive! Got your Sunday best on, huh? Go fuck yourself. Are you going flying today, Martinez? Look at you. It smells like he flew out of somebody's ass, Cap. MATHERS: You going flying? Look at him. Go to hell. Easy, Olive Oil. What about you? Mind the smell? I mean, I'd rather not. You know what we'd rather not do is smell like shit when we go home. When the old man steps down, you beat the shit out of anybody you want. OLIVE: Ill kill you! MEN: Whoa! Whoa! Fucking motherfucker. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Get him. Get him. (LAUGHS) WHITE: Alright. Alright. Get up. Fight, you stupid... Get off me. Fuck you. WHITE: Sit down. Sit down. Oh, way to go, Olive. OLIVE: Fuck you! How'd you get the weekends off? Just told em I wasn't gonna transfer here without it. Man, Mathers must have wanted you pretty bad, huh? Alright. Ill see you on Monday. Alright, man. You know what? Think of me from your 7-Elevens and shit. And Mathers said to look at that shit. The city's in an elevated Code Yellow and this fucker feels we should be looking into some unsolved shit from 16 years ago. Excuse me, sir? What? Are you in the army? No. No. Just... Fucker can't even sign his own name. I mean... It's the third month in a row. This reporter's making a career out of it. It's the first I heard of it. Now that you're here, you should be aware of it. I didn't even want this. I told him to stop coming to me. This is where I live. This is where I live. HANKY: I got a little motherfucker down here in apartment number 1C. (SHOUTS) This is where I live! Grandmother, she's an old lady and he...he takes the cheques and... I thought he was gonna kill me. I thought he was gonna kill me. My grandmother does nothing. She's an old lady. She doesn't do anything. Shit. Pretend like you're taking a shit or something. What? You can't even knock? You just walk in people's houses and shit? Listen, I gotta take a shit. I'll take a shit right here right now. Outta my way. What the fuck? What kind of fucking butcher's shop... (LOCKS DOOR) He comes every day. He takes the cheques from the mailbox, right from the mailbox, and she doesn't do anything. I just didn't want him to come here anymore. Yeah. I saw when Louie died. Cops were all laughing. I thought he was gonna kill me. Well throw him in the garbage. He got a bullet in him. Shut the fuck up. I don't care. Were gonna throw his ass in the garbage. No-one gives a shit. GIRL: Yeah, the cops don't care. No-one does. Yeah. Trust me. No-one gives a shit. Hey, baby. How did Charlie run, Daddy? He ran like this. And he loved to hang in the giant castle? That's right. In the giant castles. Goodnight. (DOOR CLOSES) WHITE: You like the circus, baby? KERRY: Of course she liked the circus. CHARLIE: I loved the circus. I loved the circus. I want stop by the precinct, alright? I left my cell phone there. And then we're gonna watch SpongeBob, right? CHARLIE: No secrets. You were whispering. Daddy was just saying this is where he grew up. Did you know that? In one of these buildings. CHARLIE: The giant castles. Come on. Hey, nice hip pack. Oh, whoa! Family outing at the 118, man. Run out of shit to do on the island? We came in from the city. We went to the circus. This is Kerry. Yeah, Kerry and Charlotte. Hi. Did you see some lions? Yeah, Charlie loves the lions, right? Yeah, everybody loves lions, man. You bringing two pretty ladies up in this shithole? What's up with that? You sit right here, OK? Cool. I just gotta get my cell out of my locker. Yeah, man. Ill be up here. But I'll be right back. Alright. (LOCK CLATTERS TO FLOOR) Charlie! Hi. What are you doing? We were just playing with the breathalyser. Stop it. This stuff's filthy. Don't touch this stuff around here. We were just fucking around here. Really? You don't know me that well. You understand? MAN: Really? Kerry, come on. MAN: Really? Come on, baby. MAN: There she goes. MAN: Have a safe trip back to the island. (SOMBRE MUSIC) (MAN ON TELEVISION) ..desire a chance to react, react to the set of circumstances, react to the economy, react to the stock market. New York is on track to a rebound, and it's just a year, just a year, after what many said was something a city like New York, or any city for that matter, couldn't bounce back from. HANKY: This boy, Milk, done took my gun. (CHILDREN CHATTER) MAN: If you get a murder on Whitestone, kids are crying, you know, parents giving them days off of school. Kids here? Just different. (DOOR OPENS) You see them from your window? Yeah. Don't worry. They'll do their shit and then they'll leave. We just can't say nothing. I gotta go. You better not say nothing, Vicky. Everybody's freaking out now. I know. But I better get home. Please, just chill. My mother's boyfriends home, and I...I don't want to deal with that. He got a bullet in him, Vin. I know...I know that. You... You don't think I know that? What do you want me to do? I just got to go home. Gotta go home. I'm serious. What do you want me to do? I don't know. I'm going home. Hey, Jonathan. Your grandma took the dog out so I was here just looking at an old picture and I thought maybe you and I could talk for a minute, you know? Like if we just... How about we go outside? Nice day today. You know, just you and me, just sit somewhere, just talk a little bit. Is that alright? Come on. Let's go do it. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. You seem a little shook up, Jonathan. A reason for that? It ain't easy growing up around here. I mean, I can imagine, especially without a father. He was... He was a good... He was a good man, your father. You know why I brought you out here, though, don't you... ..with all of them looking at us, wondering, What's Detective Charlie, white Officer Charlie doing, talking with little white Jonathan? What are they talking about? And a few of them are particularly concerned about some dead junkie last seen going through your door there and then winding up about... What? About 200 feet from that same door. You don't know why... why that would be? You're a deer in the jungle here, my boy, and that fellow, Hanky, well, he wasn't worth two damn cents, Milk. Yeah, that's what they call you, right? Milk? OK. I'm just talking. It's over. You can go. But you hear anything, you come talk to Officer Charlie about it, huh? OK. Good seeing you, Jonathan. (EXHALES SHAKILY) Charlie. MAN: Someone can tell me sitting in my hallway is a fucking crime now? Get the fuck outta here. Fuck that shit. Fuck you. Fuck that shit, motherfucker. (ANGRY HUBBUB) WOMAN: Hey, I need one of those. White. Prudenti. Come here. Let's take a walk. Outside. Olive Oil, you look beautiful, sweetheart. Can somebody get this lady out of here? Smells like open ass. Please. It's a fucking asylum in there. Jesus. Look, I need you both to go over to the 'Gazette's offices, over there by Ditmars. I want you to talk to the writer. Tell her she's not hunting the fucking Son of Sam here, alright? Tell her were fighting a war on terror in this fucking city already. No problem. Here. You take this. Handle it. Last thing we need is them demanding we reopen some case 16 years ago. None of us want that, I imagine. PRUDENTI: No. Alright. Lets go. Just be safe. OK. Tell her to cut the shit. (CAR ENGINE STARTS) (READS) I watched him die in the heat of the sun, sucking up bullets of a policeman's gun. Police at the 118 know. Listen to this fuck. Mathers said it's bullshit, though, right? Yeah, it's all bullshit. If he was a man, he would've signed his fucking name, though. (DOOR BANGS) Oh, God. Ms Bridges? Loren Bridges. Like London bridges, right? Yeah. Just like that. I know who you are. Officer Prudenti. Yeah, that's right. You're new? Yes, ma'am. Jonathan White. Nice to meet you. PRUDENTI: Look at this. You like that, huh? Yeah, I do. Fucking assholes. So Marion sent you. I understand why you're here. PRUDENTI: Captain Marion? As far as me not printing them, you came to the wrong person. We'd like to see the letters. Of course. Tampered evidence is wasted evidence. You realise that it's not actually evidence until somebody gives a fuck about this. Are there any more? BRIDGES: Only three. They run on the minute. They come in. I print them. Like doughnuts, right? Yeah. I'd appreciate if you stop touching my shit. Thank you. I'm sorry. So I called Marion after I received them. Couldn't give a damn. Seems no-one's interested in the possibility of police doing anything corrupt since this whole 9/11 debacle. Wow. You must feel like a real reporter, then. We have a circulation of over 100,000. You can tell me the last time that many people knew a cop for a good reason. Look, if you... If you get another letter, just why don't you give us a call, OK? Officer, you do know the hero tide will turn? My cell's on the back. Of course, no-one stays loved in New York for long. (TRAIN RUMBLES) What do you think? What do I think? I think she's a dyke. (PHONE RINGS) (DOG WHINES) Hello? Milk? Please don't hang up. You know I...I...would never do any of that stuff. Vin, I didn't see anything anyways. (VINNY OVER PHONE) ..do nothing, I swear. I swear. I wasn't gonna do nothing. He said if I didn't, he'd tell my mother to put me back in hospital. If they put me in the hospital, I can't do anything if anything happens to you. I can do nothing. What are you talking about, Vin? Um, you don't... You don't think I'm a faggot, right, Milk? I'm not a faggot. Right, Milk? MILK: No. You're like the only fucking person in this whole fucking world I can trust. I hate it. I hate it here so fucking much. I fucking hate it here. Me too. Listen, Milk. In my mother's boyfriend's apartment, he has $1,000. I saw it, Milk. $1,000. That's a lot of money. I got the key. I got the key to his apartment. I can... I can go in. I can find it, Milk. I know where it is. I saw it. I can take it and, man, we can get outta here, Milk. We can get outta here. OK. (THUNDER RUMBLES) (DOG WHINES) MAN: What's up, Milk? You kids are cold-blooded, killing junkies, partying and shit afterwards... Vinny up there sucking his mama boyfriend dick? Fuck is that about? I think... Hanky OD'd in our apartment...my apartment. OD? Yeah. Fucker jumped in a bathtub for one last bath. Gun went off. Yeah, I could see that. Anyway, Hanky was a no-good junkie, right? Junkie with a $300 tab and a gun like this. When I'm putting the pieces together, pieces of a fucking murder... Somebody definitely killed Hanky. Except me, I'm not going to the cops. They could give two shits about me. I just want the $300 he owed me. Listen, little man. I want $300, or I'm gonna go to the cops with this. This shit still smell like firecracker. Get your ass inside. (PHONE RINGS) (DOOR CLOSES) What's going on? Johnny. Sorry I'm late, Ker. No. What's going on for real? (LAUGHS) What do you mean? Is there someone else? Are you kidding me? I met you and you were working in a record shop. You take this ridiculous police test because you're gonna be right down the street. Now you're two hours away and you're in no rush to get home. It's temporary, Ker. Then why are you getting home so late? I just can't believe I ended up at my father's old precinct. I just can't believe I ended up there. I'm sorry. I just... I keep going by my old address and I just look at it. Who's there? No-one. No-one anymore. White. White. I'm gonna tell you like I've been telling Prudenti, which I'm sure you both already know this. But for the sake of clarity... Someone went in and tore the 'Gazette's offices to shreds last night about 11pm. I know Bridges for 15 years. 15 years, I've known her. She's relentless. Listen, Captain... No, no, no, you listen. I don't give a shit who did this. You know why? Because I don't. But what I do need is I need you both to go over there and tell her that whoever did this is gonna be a top priority on our list, whatever, anything. OK? Now, go. Go on. Ms Bridges? I'm... You came to have a good look at the work you'd done? I can assure you that we didn't have anything to do with this. You know every mafia wannabe who grew up here became a cop? Big facades with your hero 9/11 charity events. Fuck this! If I understood a fucking word you just said, I'm sure I'd have a comeback. I can have a car come around maybe a few extra times a night... Are you sure that wasn't your captain's request last night? Fuck her, lets go. Goddamn frat boy. Just contact me directly if you have any more problems. I have one. It'll be the cover of our next issue. Yeah, really. You know what a mucky pup is, Officer? It's the son of a copper. You? You look like the son of no-one. But you are the son of Stanford's old partner. You have my card. Did she say anything else in there? Just that she won't stop printing these letters, and her place got tore up. Diesel bitch. Probably did it herself looking for a story. And still no-one gives a fuck about those letters. Except for us. No. 'Cept you. (MUFFLED SPEECH NEARBY) (DOG YAPS) You came here with that dog? I want him to come with us. They won't let him come. Who won't? We don't even know where we're going. Just tie him up. Just tie him up. I just gotta get in this guy's, then we can go. It's under the couch. We just gotta get it and go. You have the key? It's...it's right here. We're just gonna get it and then go. In and out. Just close the door. Charlie, stay quiet. Just gotta get it and go. (DOG BARKS) Shut that dog up. Fuck y'all doing in here? Nothing! What you two doing in here? What's going on in there? (MOUTHS SILENTLY) (DOG YAPS) Charlie, stop! Charlie, stop. Shut this motherfucker... Shut this dog. You hearing me, man? Charlie, stop! Charlie, stop! Piece of shit! (DOG YELPS) (WHINES) Charlie? (SHOUTS) Vinny! (PHONE RINGS) (GLASS SMASHES) Oh! Shit. Hello? (CHILD WAILS) MAN: Sounds like your baby's crying. Who is this? What's the problem? She doesn't like her new medication? Who is this? When your husband gets home tonight... ask him about two murders in 1986. (HE HANGS UP) It's OK. It's OK. Keep your feet up. (RINGING TONE) OFFICER: Precinct 118. Officer White, please. Oh, sure. Hold on. Hey, White. You got a call on line one. This came for you too. Thank you. Hello? (LINE BREAKING UP) Jonathan, I just got a weird call. What? No, it was really fucked up. Kerry, I can't...I can't hear you. Is Charlie alright? Where are you? I need you to come home. No, I... (SIGHS) I can't hear you. Look, I got a really, really weird call, and I need you. Look, I'm gonna call you back from my cell outside. Hello? Jonathan? Jonathan! Wait a second, what the fuck are you calling me? Are you kidding me? I'm telling you, you need to shut the fuck up, you fucking Puerto Rican piece of shit. It's fine. I'm Dominican, motherfucker. Oh, I'm sorry, he's Dominican. Hey, hey, hey. You don't want this, man. Put it the fuck down. I don't want this. I don't want this! Put it down, right fucking now. I swear to God, I'm gonna put one in your head. I don't wanna do this. I'm gonna put a fuckin bullet right in your head. WOMAN: Relax. I don't want this! I'm just trying to live. I don't want this. I don't want this. I don't want this. Take him in the fucking bathroom. Hey, hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the fuck is going on? Motherfucker took my fucking gun. So, what, you're bringing him to the bathroom? What is this, the fucking 80s? Cameras all over the place here. What's the matter with you? Get this piece of shit up. Bring him over to the desk, rear cuff him. People wonder why we pump 40 bullets in these fuckers. MAN: 41! I got half the city watching my every fucking move and this asshole can't control himself in his own precinct. Look at him. Look at him. He thinks it's funny. I think it's funny. Look at him. Yeah, he's laughing. It's like you're retarded. Un-fucking-believable. Let me ask you something, Jonathan. When you were out there, did you feel like shooting that piece-of-shit Puerto Rican? Putting two in his head? Well, probably not the best idea. Why? Why is that? We'd have your back. It's important that you know that. (PHONE RINGS) It's important that you understand that that's not going above and beyond the call of duty. It's doing your job. It's our job. It's what we do. (PHONE RINGS) OK? Answer that. Sorry. Alright? You take the night off, alright? You saved a cop's life today. Even if he is an asshole. (PHONE CONTINUES RINGING) Kerry? Why aren't you answering your phone? I got a call. He told me to ask you about two murders in 1986. What the fuck is going on, Johnny? (SOLEMN MUSIC) STANFORD: They don't know anything. They know nothing about this. It's, like, everything you want or care about in this world and then it ends up nowhere, right? My mom says she's gonna put me back in the hospital. It's like they're always trying to get rid of me or something. But when I get out, I'm gonna get a job, I'm gonna get enough money to get an apartment, and we're gonna be OK. You're gonna be OK, Milk, as long as we don't say nothing. And I never will. I never will. Vinny. (MOBILE PHONE RINGS) (KNOCKING AT DOOR) WOMAN: Hello? WHITE: Ms Carter? I was friends with Vincent a long time ago. I lived downstairs ` Milk. I was...I was here to see Vinny. Jonathan. Oh, it's so nice to see you. Look at you. You look like you're doing well with yourself. Vicky? MS CARTER: You here for Vinny? Yes. Is he here? Jonathan, Vincent's not the same boy you knew. He's still my boy, but he's not the one you knew. I'm just gonna check up on the roof real quick. Jonathan, please don't go up there. No, I... The past bothers Vincent a lot. Jonathan, please. Hey, Vinny. Hey, man. It's me. It's Jonathan. Milk. My man Milk. Milk...my little man. What's up, Milk? Been a long time. It's Milk. Someone's calling my house, Vinny. Someone's calling my house. Yeah, he's talking to my wife. He's... ..he's calling my house. I always knew you was gonna be good. OK? I always knew it. I always knew it. I know, man. But you gotta, you know... I think I should go. If you're writing letters, Vinny... You gotta listen. Vinny, you're not hearing me. If you're writing these letters, you're gonna destroy both our lives. Enough! Can you hear me? Enough. Fuck. (DOGS BARK) (MOBILE PHONE RINGS) Hello. Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way. No, I'm coming home now. (CAR ENGINE REVS) WHITE: Alright. (DOGS BARK IN DISTANCE) (CAR HORN BLARES IN DISTANCE) (CAR HORN BLARES LOUDLY) (TAP RUNS) I wanna know what part of our conversation made you take another two hours to get home. Did he call back? I am asking you a question. Did he call back? Look, I love you... I'm asking you a fucking question! Shut the fuck up! Don't fucking talk to me right now, OK? I love you, Kerry, so just stop. Stop, alright? Don't tell me you love me. Why don't you look at me? Why don't you fucking look at me?! Look at me! Look at me! Stop staring at the sink and you look at me! You look at me! My God. What happened? What happened? (DOOR OPENS) (PEOPLE CHATTER QUIETLY) I never... (STAMMERS) ..I never told anyone, never. I didn't. I never told. I... I'm sorry. I never told anyone. WOMAN: OK, here he is. MAN: Oh, hey. Look who's here ` Detective Stanford. He's gonna ask you some questions. Hey, Jonathan. OK? Alright. OK, Mrs White. I'm going to the store. Ill see you later, OK? OK, thanks. OK. 'Bye. Sit. Sit down. Why don't you sit down? Your grandmother told me about your dog. I just heard about it. I'm so sorry. It's just awful. Nothing quite as painful in this world as that. Dog's name was Charlie, right? You know, Jonathan, I don't apologise about things, but I have to say, I, uh... ..I shouldn't have paraded you around out here like I did. That was, uh... It wasn't right. You see... ..when your father died... ..I had an obligation. You understand? It wasn't like we worked in a department store together or a bakery shop or something. We were partners, and when you're partners, you're family. Like you are with your grandmother. I got two dead bodies on my hands, Jonathan. Now, that's a lot. I got, uh, barking dogs, people looking through peepholes, drug talk about Hanky and it's all leading me... ..to this...to this... to this...to this. You know the severity of which I'm talking about here. I want you to answer me. Mm-hm. These buildings are full of secrets, Milk. They're full of things people shouldn't be doing. Mrs Carter up on the sixth floor, she's telling me Little Vinny's hearing voices again. What am I gonna do with that? I gotta worry about my own. I can't save the world. This ain't a fucking Superman outfit I'm wearing. I got two worthless pieces of over 21-year-old garbage that are dead. No-one cares, not a single fucking person. So what do I do? The case is closed. I closed it. So you can go live your long life. The next time we meet, though, you'll be a man like I am... ..and a man has to learn to live with shit. OK. (DOOR OPENS) (DOOR BANGS SHUT) MATHERS: I noticed you got a rental. Come here. We need to talk. Come on in. Come on. It's funny. Whoever's writing these bullshit letters seems to be interested in everyone except the actual fucking killers. It's time this shit stopped, don't you think? (MEN CHATTER AND LAUGH OUTSIDE) This next article comes out... ..naming names, all of us are fucked. But you? Your life's destroyed. Yours and your family's. Obliterated. You understand what I'm saying? (CHUCKLES) This would be the place for that. That thing that you're thinking there with your gun, you ain't wrong in it. You're just projecting it on the wrong people. Sit down, Jonathan. Let me tell you something, Jonathan. All that guilt and hate and all that other shit you've got bottled up inside your fucked-up head... ..you gotta realise what you gotta do to save your own shit. Me, I'm worried about a promotion, simple things. You? If this comes out, Jonathan, Ill see to it that your secret life is the headline in the 'New York-fucking-Times' and that, Milk, that's what we're talking about now. WHITE: Ms Bridges! Ms Bridges! Ms Bridges! So your brethren have been calling. I know why you're here. No. I'm here on my own, OK? This has nothing to do with the cops. This has everything to do with the cops. We're just getting a lot of pressure. We're? Yes, 'we're'. You love that term here in America. It makes you feel like, what? You're part of something? Family? Mm-hm. Everything about them will be over come Saturday. (CAMERA CLICKS) The kind of thing a real newspaper should be breaking. Not a single witness questioned, not a single suspect brought in. How very 1986. This isn't out yet, is it? Saturday is gonna be a huge day. Marion had me all confused and I kept thinking, 'He could give two damns about these letters.' Then his got plain-clothes following me over some articles? Look, all I'm asking is for... All you're asking is exactly what your captain sent you here to ask and I'm not even sure you know what that is. OK, just... (CHUCKLES) If this were a movie, I'd say you looked like you saw a ghost, Mr White. Look, you can't print this. Why? Why wouldn't I? Just please sit. Why wouldn't I... Please just... Can you give me a week? Give me a week. Two murdered nobodies from the projects you grew up in are about to finally get the justice they deserve after all these years. You're not hearing me, OK? Nothing's gonna change that. You're not hearing me. Can you just please... (SCOFFS) (SIGHS) Ms Bridges, hold on one second. Just hold on one... Come on, one second. Just hold on, please? Ms Bridges, please, just fucking give me one week, OK? Your father is dead, Mr White, and I'm not sorry because I didn't know him, but his partner's an old man now, a dirty old man full of dirty old man secrets, and I get to fuck his legacy and Mathers' future in one shot. It gives me great delight. (SCREAMS) Hey, Vinny. You got something you wanna say to me? You wanna talk to me? You wanna talk to me about these letters you been writing? I remember when you caught me up here on the roof with my mother's boyfriend. You never told nobody. Why you never told nobody? Cause you was my friend? Are you still my friend? When the pressures and things started to happen... ..you was the only one that came to see me in the hospital. They made me drink all that stuff. I couldn't say my words right. I couldn't talk. But you did talk. I tried to say... But you did talk. You DID talk. You said that you weren't gonna say nothing to nobody. But you fucked both of our lives up in this shit, man. You said you weren't gonna tell nobody. I think I'm gonna go. I knew you would do good. I think I'm gonna go. You're gonna be fine. (MOBILE PHONE RINGS) Hello. MATHERS: Do I need to talk to your wife to get this done? What? Is that what I'm gonna have to fucking do? Kerry, you know where my gun is? KERRY: What? You know where my gun is, right? I'm calling the cops, Johnny. You're on with a fucking cop, Kerry! I'm on my way. I don't know. You don't know? No. You don't know why people are calling about a murder or why your car was totalled or what's going on? Because eventually you're gonna have to know something, Jonathan. You are. You are. I am talking to you! Look, please just don't touch me right now, OK? I just wanted to give us a normal life, OK? I was just... That's it. I just wanted to give us a normal life, OK? What...what does that mean? It means I don't know what to do about this. I have no idea what to do about this. It comes out next week. I killed those people, Ker. I killed the people those letters are talking about. I killed both of those people. (THUD) (CHARLIE SCREAMS) Charlie? Shit, shit. Charlie! Charlie? Char? (CHARLIE CRIES) Charlie? Char? Alright. It's OK, it's OK. It's OK, sweetie. It's OK. I'll call the ambulance. No, no, no. She's fine. Let her sleep it off. It's OK, it's OK. It's OK, sweetie. It's OK. Mama's here. Mama's here. Mama's here. Mama's here. REPORTER ON TV: So as it's coming in, last night at approximately 7:45 local writer and columnist for 'The Queens Gazette' Loren Bridges was gunned down execution-style at the foot of her office on 31st Street in Astoria, Queens. Witnesses say one man in a black ski mask was last seen running right here... KERRY: My God. That's the woman from the paper. (PHONE RINGS) She was killed, Jonathan. Hello. MATHERS: Prudenti's outside. You'll take a drive. You fuck with my family, I swear I'll kill you. I don't care who you are. If you're watching the news right now, you know how serious I am. Now get in his fucking car and go. (HANGS UP) I'm taking my own car. You got it. (ENGINE STARTS AND REVS) It's fucked up about that dyke, right? Fuck her, though. PRUDENTI: Swing in right here. Where? Pull up. Alright, we're here. Go ahead. Come on in. What the fuck you want from me? OK, come on. Have a seat over here. Tommy, close the door. Come on. Sit down. Have a seat. Alright, how about I sit first, OK? Have a seat. Love fades. Did you ever hear that expression? Less than a year ago, we lost almost 400 fellow officers and firemen, and people are already getting tired of saying thank you. It's a tough city. These are photographs of you and Loren Bridges at Mike's Diner, 7pm the night that she was murdered, last night. Those pictures could cause you a lot of problems, I imagine. You killed her. STANFORD: Jonathan. Whoa, whoa. PRUDENTI: Oh, oh, sit down! STANFORD: Easy! Go easy! Thomas, Thomas, put it away. Yeah. Put it away now. It's OK. Just go sit over there, OK? What's going on? Everything's OK. Just...just do what he says. Just relax. Jonathan, you don't recognise me? (SCOFFS) Yeah, I recognise you. Well, that's good. I'm glad to hear that. Sit down now. MATHERS: Sit. We're gonna talk. You have to excuse my godson, Marion. He has a tendency to draw things out. (STANFORD CHUCKLES) Last I saw you, you were a boy, I was...I was a man. Yeah? Look at me now. Jonathan, you shouldn't be concerned about this, you know? This is a family matter. It's between all of us. You're here because in 1986 you and your friend Vincent Carter killed the two men referred to in this bitch's articles. STANFORD: They were no good. This is a family, Jonathan, that you passed your civil service test to rejoin. Listen, I knew your godfather, OK? I know you did. He was your dad's partner. As you can see, now he's an old man. Stop talking about me like I'm not in the fucking room. ..none of us were gonna allow... I said stop talking about me like I'm not in the fucking room! After all these years, none of us were gonna allow the good names of our family to go down because he did what was right for two ungrateful punk murderers, especially on the verge of his retirement. You mean on your inauguration. I did what I had to do. I did it for you and I did it for your father. That's who I did it for. I had to do it. When Bridges first told me about the letters, I could give a shit. But then they just kept on coming. They just kept coming. We knew it either had to be you or that other piece of garbage. But it just didn't make any sense to us. That's right. You'd gotten away with it. So we figured you were just suffering from a guilty conscience. We thought you were a fucking moron. So we brought you back. It turns out you didn't have any conscience at all. All the while, it was your brain-damaged friend with the desire to talk, to confess, to write the letters, to be a fucking retard. But you were a good kid, Jonathan, so let us take care of this, here. Let us do it. I've got a family. Of course you got a family. (CHUCKLES) This is what you've gotta do, Jonathan. STANFORD: Listen to him. He's listening. Just listen to him, Jonathan. You're gonna get back in your car now and you're gonna drive home to your daughter Charlotte and on that long drive home, you're gonna think about her pretty face, your beautiful wife and your nice life out there on the island. And after you get there, you're gonna think how lucky you are to have half the 118 working overtime to ensure that nobody finds out that you're a cold-blooded killer. I'm not no murderer. You're a murderer, Jonathan. Jonathan, you get back here, it'll be like it never happened. You'll get a transfer back to the land where DUIs are your biggest concern. Here in Queens, there'll be a tiny blurb in a little paper about a crazed fan who wrote letters to a lonely woman. He killed her and then he takes his own life. And life will go on, Jonathan ` the life you never dreamed you'd have. Got it? STANFORD: It's gonna be OK. Good. It'll be OK, Jonathan. MATHERS: Go. You're OK, Jonathan. (PENSIVE MUSIC) MATHERS' VOICE: Here in Queens, there'll be a tiny blurb in a little paper about a crazed fan who wrote letters to a lonely woman. He killed her... ..and then he takes his own life. YOUNG VINNY: You're like the only fucking person in this whole fucking world I can trust, Milk. I hate it here. I hate it here so fucking much. Vinny? I never told anyone, never. (TYRES SQUEAL) (HORN BLARES) Whatever you and your little friend did, Milk... ..whatever it was, I could give two shits. You're gonna have to learn to deal with it, live with it, however you do. Remember... ..this is the last time we meet... ..as man and child. Vinny? STANFORD: And a man... ..has to learn... ..to live... OK. ..with shit. Vinny! WHITE: Whoa! STANFORD: No, no, no, no! Jonathan! Whoa! No! No, no, Jonathan. MATHERS: Stupid motherfucker! We told you to go home! You, come here. Come here, retard. WHITE: He didn't kill anybody! Get a hold of yourself! Get the fuck off me! You gonna shoot me now? Back the fuck off. WHITE: He didn't kill nobody! PRUDENTI: You stay the fuck down! You stay down! He ruined your life, and now you're gonna take this gun and you're gonna shoot him in his fucking head. Take his gun and shoot him. (WHITE YELLS INDISTINCTLY) Shut the fuck up! He ruined your life. Do you hear me? He ruined your fucking life. WHITE: Please... You take the gun, shoot him in his fucking head! He didn't kill anybody! You both did! Forget it! MATHERS: Shoot him! (GUNSHOT) (GUNSHOTS) Oh, my God. WHITE: No. Please! No! Vinny! Oh, fuck. Another step, I end it. I end it. You go now. You keep going. You go. You keep going. Keep going. Let him go. Let him go! OK, you can hate me all you want, Jonathan! All you want! But you're a free man now. You're a free man! (SIRENS WAIL IN DISTANCE) Hey, Milk. Hey, Milk. No, no. I never told nobody. I know, I know. I never told nobody. I'm sorry. It's OK. It's OK, Vinny. Milk... VICKY'S VOICE: Jonathan White. I never meant for this to hurt you. Or Vinny. Or anyone. It was always THEM. In the end, we matter. And now one of them is dead and the other... No-one cares about a foolish old man. Funny how things work out. This will be my last letter. Go live your life. You're free to do that. Free to forget. Vicky. (CHARLOTTE AND KERRY CHATTER INDISTINCTLY) (DARK MUSIC) www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2014