"CODE OF SILENCE" Screenplay by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack, Mike Gray and John Mason (uncredited) Story by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack SHOOTING DRAFT 1985 EXT. CHICAGO - NIGHT TO DAWN Thundering north through the glass canyons of the Loop, the elevated train SCREECHES through the city awakening. As it races north across the river past ancient factories giving way to high rise splendor, lights glistening against the dawn, we see the complex business of bringing a city to life in the morning. On the Near North Side an assortment of revelers are winding up their night on the town. The pressmen loiter outside the Tribune loading docks, and fishing boats are outbound through the Chicago River locks. A streetsweeping crew moves through the Fulton Market, Chicago's central meat and produce distribution center. At the Merchandise Mart platform the elevated train picks up two old cleaning ladies wearing babushkas. EXT. ALLEY - DAY The el train RUMBLES north past the aging tenements of Uptown into the Belmont Avenue Station. And down below, a garbage truck is slowly working its way up the alley. A garbage man in city overalls WHISTLES to the driver and the truck stops. He rolls a can to the grinding jaw as the driver sits, tense and alert, scanning the street. There's something odd about this driver. And the garbage man too, for that matter. EXT. EL PLATFORM - DAY SPIDER, a nervous looking black man, steps out onto the platform. As the train pulls away we see him reach into his shirt pocket and CLICKS his ball point pen a couple of times. He WHISPERS into it. It is a concealed radio transmitter. SPIDER Say, hey, Cub fans, I hope to hell y'all down there cause we got a big game today. He heads for the stairs and the street below. INT. TRUCK CAB - DAY The truck cab is equipped with a police radio. The driver, RICH DONATO, adjusts the volume. Over the SPEAKER, HEAVY WITH STATIC, we can hear the SOUND of the RECEDING EL TRAIN. SPIDER (V.O.) (from radio) The school bus be waitin. Donato motions for the garbage man. EXT. ALLEY - DAY EDDIE CUSACK jumps up on the truck's running board and sticks his head in. On the seat beside Donato is a sledgehammer and a sawed off automatic rifle. The two men stare at each other as they concentrate on the CRACKLING RADIO. SPIDER (V.O.) (from radio) S'happenin, Doc? DOC (V.O.) (from radio) Hey, I got it all right here, my man. Jus be waitin on you. SPIDER (V.O.) (from radio) We ain't got far to go. EXT. EL STATION - DAY DOC is at the wheel of a late model Cadillac. Spider gets in and they pull slowly away from the curb. EXT. EL STATION - DAY At the corner in a beat up Pontiac are officers MUSIC and BRENNAN. The two rough looking detectives follow Doc's car through half closed eyes. They also HEAR Spider's TRANSMITTER. The quality of the reception improves as Spider and his antennae clear the steel support structure of the el platform. DOC (V.O.) (from radio) This early bird shit just ain't my style. SPIDER (V.O.) (from radio) Dig it. Too close to real work for me. Doc and Spider talk in a nervous false bravado. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Eddie nods to Donato who grabs a walkie-talkie from the seat. DONATO (to walkie-talkie) O.K. Home Team. Ready in the bullpen. MUSIC (V.O.) (from radio) Copy Shortstop. Double play. We're with him now. SPOTTER (V.O.) (from radio) Center's in. SILENCE. Eddie looks at Donato. EDDIE Where's Cragie? EXT. CEMETERY - DAY Two cops are against the wall separating the cemetery from the El. CRAGIE, a weathered twenty-five year veteran; and NICK KOSALAS, the new kid on the team. Cragie sits on a crate with a styrofoam cup of coffee. Kosalas is trying to maneuver his cup lid off, and still hold on to his walkie-talkie. DONATO (V.O.) (from radio) Talk to me left field. KOSALAS (to mike) Ready sir. Left Field in position. Cragie pulls a pint of whiskey from his pocket and sweetens his coffee with a healthy shot. He notices Kosalas, who has set down the thermos and is nervously moving from leg to leg. CRAGIE Have a shot, kid. A little nerve tonic. KOSALAS What's the matter with you? Cragie grins and raises his cup to drink. His hand shakes and he has to steady it with the other. The RADIO CRACKLES. SPOTTER (V.O.) (from radio) O.K., guys, runner on first base. INT. SPOTTER APARTMENT - DAY A spotter, KOBAS, covers the scene from an abandoned building across the street. KOBAS (to walkie-talkie) Just turning on Paulina. EDDIE (V.O.) (from radio) Double Play, you got him in sight? MUSIC (V.O.) (from radio) Yeah, we got the on him. He's headin for the alley. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Eddie wrestles another garbage can into the truck's hopper as Doc's car cruises slowly past. Eddie and Spider LOCK EYES for a split second. The car moves on and stops at the far end of the alley. The lights switch off. After a moment, Spider and Doc leave the car and check out the scene. Doc carries a satchel. DOC (V.O.) (from radio) I say nice and simple now. SPIDER (V.O.) (from radio) We real cool, Doc. We're frosty. We jus' doin' a little business, you know? Ain't no big thing. The two men slip into the back gate of an old tenement. They pass through a gangway to the front of the building, and climb the front stairs. Though we can no longer see them, we HEAR a DOOR OPENING, a GREETING in Spanish, and FEET FOUNDING up the steps. The garbage truck GRINDS forward and halts again. Eddie comes up to the cab. He is wearing a gun under his overalls. He and Donato listen on the RADIO to the CONVERSATION coming from inside the building. INT. COMACHO FRONT STAIRS - DAY A muscular Latino, POMPAS COMACHO, leads Spider and Doc down the paint-peeling corridor. The SOUND of BABIES CRYING and FAMILIES WAKING gives a sense of teeming humanity behind every door. The Latino knocks at a door heavily fortified with burglar bars. The door opens. The bars are unlocked. SPIDER How y'all doin? VOICE (V.O.) (from within) It's O.K. O.K. Como esta? Pompas leaves the two men and heads down the stairs toward the front door. INT. COMACHO APARTMENT - DAY Doc and Spider enter. They're patted down. A sleepy eyed Latino woman comes to stand in the bedroom doorway. VICTOR COMACHO barks at her in Spanish, and she disappears into the bedroom. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Eddie stands on the running board of the truck with Donato at the wheel. They listen to the RADIO. DOC (V.O.) (from radio) Hey, man, we're clean, huh. We ain't fools. SPIDER (V.O.) You do that real nice, Pancho. what say we get married. Eddie tosses a soiled Rubic's Cube into Donato's lap. EDDIE Found you a present. DONATO Shit, those things will fuck up your mind. EXT. CEMETERY - DAY Cragie is watching over the wall with his binoculars. He looks back at Kosalas, who is hopping from foot to foot. CRAGIE If you gotta take a leak, do it now. KOSALAS I can't go wading in with my shlong flapping in the wind. CRAGIE Sure you can. It's called diversionary tactics. Cragie laughs and swigs straight from the bottle. The RADIO CRACKLES. BRENNAN (V.O.) (from radio) What's going on in the ballpark? DONATO (V.O.) (from radio) Don't get froggy. Wait for the green light. EXT. COMACHO STREET - DAY A painter's van passes Brennan's Pontiac and parks in front of the building half way up the block. INT. BRENNAN'S CAR - DAY Music doesn't like this. MUSIC What the hell is this cat up to? BRENNAN Going to work asshole. What do you think. MUSIC At this hour. BRENNAN They got a hardass for a boss. Like us. EXT. COMACHO STREET - DAY As Music and Brennan watch from their car, the four painters get out of their truck, unpack their ladders and tools, and begin to carry their equipment into the building next door to the stakeout. INT. COMACHO APARTMENT - DAY The room is small and bare. A selling den. VICTOR COMACHO and TWO COUSINS, all young and vicious, are sitting around a formica table with the two buyers, Doc and Spider. The Comachos are heavily armed. There is plenty of tension all around, but Doc seems a little more nervous than the rest. This is an enormous buy. Doc has placed a bowling satchel full of bundled $20's, $50's, and $100's on the table. Victor is counting it rapidly. SPIDER This be better than jukin' Seven- Elevens, huh Victor? VICTOR (to cousins in Spanish) This one's got some balls, huh? (to Spider) I don't juke anybody. Victor nods and one of the cousins brings in half a dozen brick-sized bundles of cocaine from the next room. Doc slices into one of the bags and with the tip of his knife he drops a bit into a glass vial. He adds clear liquid with an eye dropper and it instantly turns purple. DOC I say, awright. The royal colors. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Eddie's eyes scan the scene as he sorts through a garbage can with a stick. INT. PAINTER'S HALLWAY - DAY The painters carry their equipment down the long corridor and enter a vacant apartment. A door opens in the corridor, and a naked toddler steps out. A Latino teenager comes out to retrieve the child. He sees the backs of the painters, and carries the toddler back inside. INT. PAINTER'S APARTMENT - DAY The painters are not what they seem. Working quickly, silently, they open their tool kits and lay out their hardware: machine guns and automatics. TONY LUNA, a barrel-chested Italian mobster is running the show and it's well rehearsed. His boys, GUS, VITO, and EENIE move like oiled machinery. Vito turns on a radio to a Latino station to cover the SOUND of their preparations. They remove the whole window from its frame. Then they rest a wide plank on the window ledge. Three feet away is the window of the adjacent building and silhouetted against the shade we can SEE the drug deal. Luna'ys check their weapons. They put on painters' masks and goggles. LUNA Okay, by the numbers. He puts on his goggles. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Over the IDLING ENGINE of the garbage truck, Eddie and Donato HEAR the deal going down on the RADIO. EDDIE (to walkie-talkie) Everybody on your toes. MUSIC (V.O.) (from radio) Their Right Field's Clear. Those painters are out of the way. EDDIE (to walkie-talkie) What the hell you talking about? MUSIC (V.O.) (from radio) We got a painting crew of painters just went in the building next door. Eddie looks at Donato. EDDIE Painters? That building's gonna be condemned! Like a coiled spring, Eddie leaps from the truck and runs for the rear gate, gun in hand. EDDIE (shouts) Play Ball! Play-fucking-ball! DONATO (to mike) Home Team! We're goin in! Move it! Move it! INT. PAINTER'S APARTMENT - DAY Tony and his men face the window across the gangway. Two of them hold sawed off double barreled shotguns. Tony counts it down, and they all fire as one. One GIANT BLAST tears into the window. It disintegrates. The four men toss aside their empty guns, and grab other guns. EXT. GANGWAY - DAY Eddie HEARS THE GUNFIRE and hits the wall. He sees the glass showering down around him. He vaults over the backyard fence and head for the porch stairs. EXT. CEMETERY - DAY Kosalas is finally pissing against the wall. KOSALAS I knew it. Cragie is using the crate to climb the wall. He is up and over, and falls to the ground on the other side. He's still trying to get to his feet when Kosalas comes over. They start running, yanking their guns out. INT. COMACHO APARTMENT - DAY Doc and Spider are blown backwards in their chairs. One of the cousins has fallen across the piles of money and drugs. Victor and the other cousin are slumped on the floor. The woman in the bedroom is screaming. Through the jagged glass around the window frame, Tony's boys shove a broad plank. EXT. GANGWAY - DAY Three floors up, we see the "painters" rush across the gangway to the other building. EXT. COMACHO BACK STAIRS - DAY EFREN COMACHO, the heavyweight guarding the back door, is distracted by the SHOUTS and GUNFIRE upstairs. Eddie crashes through the door and Efren spins just in time to meet Eddie's blurring attack. The struggle on the landing is brief. Efren's size is no match for Eddie's speed and power. With a grunt he sags to the floor. Eddie leaps over him and bounds up the steps. EXT. COMACHO STREET - DAY Brennan, Music and Kobas are now on their way, using parked cars to cover their advance toward the front door of the Comacho building. EXT. COMACHO BACK STAIRS - DAY Eddie passes the second floor landing and takes a quick look up the porch stairs. The door to the second floor apartment starts to open behind him. He spins and kicks it. There stands a terrified old woman looking up the barrel of his gun. EDDIE (shouts) Police! No se mueve! He spins and bounds up the stairway. INT. COMACHO APARTMENT - DAY The woman is huddled in a corner, still screaming. Tony comes to stand over her, and coldly shoots her. Then he rips off his mask and goggles as his boys clear the bodies and scoop up the drugs and money from the table. Victor Comacho lies slumped against the wall, one side of his face and one shoulder bloodied. He appears dead, eyes open. But then he blinks once. INT. COMACHO BACK STAIRS - DAY Eddie has entered the rear of the apartment. He moves cautiously forward. INT. COMACHO APARTMENT - DAY Tony and his partners start back over the gangway to the other building. Vito is bringing up the rear. Suddenly Victor Comacho comes to life. He gets off A BURST with his AUTOMATIC. Vito catches it in the back. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Donato is moving down the gangway when Vito's body -- followed by the scaffold plank -- falls from the sky and CRASHES into the pavement right in front of him. INT. COMACHO APARTMENT - DAY Eddie jumps into the living room doorway, gun drawn, and takes in the carnage. He kicks the gun out of Victor's hand, and bounds to the shattered bay window and looks down in time to SEE -- EXT. GANGWAY - DAY Donato jumps over the broken body, running through the gangway toward the front of the building. DONATO They're goin out the front! INT. COMACHO APARTMENT - DAY The bridge to the other building is gone, but there is a large drainpipe running down the outside of the building. Eddie climbs out on the shattered window sill, and stretches for the pipe. The pipe is just out of reach. Pushing off from the ledge, he jumps for the drainpipe, grabbing it on his way down. EXT. DRAINPIPE - DAY As he slides down three stories. INT. PAINTER'S HALLWAY - DAY The painters run down the stairs toward the front of the building. EXT. COMACHO STREET - DAY Music, Brennan, and Kobas rush the front door of the Comacho's building, and enter. EXT. GANGWAY - DAY Eddie lands on his feet and heads for the front. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Cragie and Kosalas brace themselves on each side of the rear door to the Painters' building. Cragie is white with fear. Kosalas kicks in the door. They enter. EXT. COMACHO STREET - DAY At the front of the building Donato emerges from the passageway and he's met by a HAIL of GUNFIRE. He jumps back and takes a more cautious look. Tony Luna and Gus make a run for the van. Donato steps out from between the two buildings and raises his gun. But he hasn't seen Eenie, just coming out of the building next door. Eenie fires and Donato goes down, wounded in the foot. But before Eenie can get off another shot -- -- Eddie leaps from the gangway and drops Eenie with a BURST from his AUTOMATIC. EXT. COMACHO STREET - DAY Luna pulls out PEELING RUBBER, but he's nearly surrounded. squad cars have pulled in blocking both ends of the street. Another squad car screeches to a halt and both officers jump out and start firing. Luna hits the fender of the squad car head on, knocking both officers to the ground. He spins the van around with cops FIRING from every angle, jumps the curb, and roars past the roadblock on the sidewalk with pedestrians leaping in all directions. INT. PAINTERS' BACK STAIRS - DAY Heart pounding, Cragie leads Kosalas blindly up the darkened steps. INT. PAINTER'S HALL - DAY A door opens behind Cragie. He whirls and FIRES into the darkness. The riddled body of a Mexican teenager, eyes wide with shock, pitches into the hall. Kosalas, down the hallway, hugs the wall, petrified. KOSALAS Cragie?! CRAGIE It's O.K. I got the sonovabitch. Kosalas creeps ahead, gun drawn, just in time to see Cragie pull a small handgun from his pocket and lay it in the boys hand. Cragie looks up at Kosalas and their eyes meet. EXT. COMACHO STREET - DAY Luna's van, it's windshield shot out, takes the first corner on two wheels. Behind him the police scramble for their blue and whites. Half way down the block, the van lurches into an alley. EXT. ALLEY - DAY The van hurtles down the alley, splashing through puddles past the loading docks of a packing company. Parked along one side of the end of the alley is a meat truck from the opening montage. A loading ramp leads to the gaping rear doors. The thieves have done their homework. The Luna gang slams up the ramp into the rear of the meat truck. A bee fy compatriot in a blood stained butcher's smock pulls several sides of beef along the rail and into the truck. With the van concealed, the line of police cars ROAR splashing by. INT. PAINTER'S HALL - DAY Cragie, kneeling over the body, looks at Kosalas eyeball to eyeball. SCREAMS come from within the boy's apartment. CRAGIE (yelling into the apartment) Police! Stay where you are! They HEAR FOOTSTEPS pounding up the front stairs. Cragie and Kosalas look up. Eddie appears at the front of the hall, gun drawn. He sees the boy on the hallway floor. He approaches cautiously, taking in the body, the gun, Cragie sitting against the wall, and the distraught Kosalas who stands transfixed by the dead kid. Eddie goes to Kosalas. EDDIE Take it easy, Kosalas. CRAGIE The kid didn't dust him. I did. Eddie looks at Cragie. CRAGIE Him or me, Sarge. (pause) The kid saw the whole thing. Both Eddie and Cragie look at Kosalas. CRAGIE Tell him, Nick. It almost sounds like an order. Kosalas looks like he's going to be sick. KOSALAS (softly) Yeah, that's how it went down. EDDIE (pause) Stay here. (to Cragie) Take care of your partner. Eddie walks away. EXT. GANGWAY - DAY The gangway is now filled with squad cars, ambulances, and cops. As the paramedics walk Victor Comacho to the ambulance, bloody, bandaged, but very much alive, he and Eddie LOCK EYES for a brief instant. Several ferocious looking Comacho relatives have been allowed inside the police lines. One of them steps close to Victor. VICTOR (to relative) Call Luis. The lab technicians arrive. The throng of streetwise punks and horrified commuters are across a roped off area. KOBAS Get these people back out of here, wouldja. INT. PAINTER'S HALL - DAY Kosalas and Cragie are still with the body. The corridor is blocked off by uniformed patrolmen. Kosalas is shakey. Cragie is tries to calm him down. CRAGIE Look, it's no big thing, Kid. A friggin' dog and pony show. Some dumb ass questions by dumb ass bureaucrats. "When's the last time you were at the range?" Crap like that. KOSALAS Look. It was a fuckin' accident. Why can't you just be -- CRAGIE (stiffens) You born yesterday?! These ain't cops. They'll roast our ass just cause we carry a badge. Both of us. (menacing) We stick together on this, kid. We're partners, right? Kosalas nods. EXT. GANGWAY - DAY Donato sits on the ground as two paramedics work on his foot. Eddie crouches beside him as one medic cuts away Donato's ankle boot. DONATO Aw man, don't do that. You know how much these things cost? He gasps as they draw the boot off. Donato grabs for Eddie's hand, and squeezes against the pain. DONATO Eddie. Scam this. A bait shop. Worms, minnows. Don't even need real worms. Storage problem. Got those rubber ones, you know? EDDIE Yeah, what about the winter? DONATO We winter in Florida. Rubber neck the beach bunnies. Aw, look at that. Ruined my brand new fence climbers. Hand made in Italy. Someone points Eddie out to Partida, an attractive, no- nonsense woman, who heads for him. Donato sees Partida coming. DONATO Oh, fuck, Partida. I'm gonna tell her you shot me. The resentment the other cops feel against Partida is readily apparent. PARTIDA Cusack. You were in charge here? EDDIE Does it look like it? Partida looks at the covered body nearby. PARTIDA (to Donato) And you were a principal in one of the shootings? Eddie nods. DONATO OW! A goddamn Dr. Jekyll! Eddie smiles at Donato, who with his good foot, kicks at the medic bandaging the wound. PARTIDA Where's the officer who was involved in the other shooting? EDDIE (pointing) Third floor rear. As Partida heads for the building, another suited civilian comes over to meet her. The civilian escorts a Mexican grandmother. The old lady is agitated, jabbering in Spanish and pointing at the cops. Eddie sees this, and then is pulled away as he helps one of the medics lift Donato and carry him to the ambulance. Eddie helps Donato into the ambulance. EDDIE Catch you later, Hopalong. INT. HEADQUARTERS - DAY The two Comacho lookouts who survived the raid, Efren and Pompas, have been brought in for questioning. The interrogation is taking place in a small room. Officers Brennan and Music are here with Eddie. The Comachos sit silent as stones. MUSIC (to Efren) You know that, Efren. When your big bad brother Luis gets the word, your ass is freeze dried and fried. Efren stares ahead. Music looks at Eddie who is fiddling with the Rubic's Cube, to little success. Brennan takes Music's place. He kicks Pompas' chair hard. BRENNAN Talk you hemorrhoid! POMPAS (in Spanish) Your mother fucks dogs in the street. BRENNAN You wanna tune-up? Hey Sarge, you know why a Comacho's like a cue-ball? Cause the harder you hit 'em, the better their English gets. It's not a joke, but a threat. Pompas spits at Brennan. Brennan is enraged, but Eddie pushes him back with a hand. Eddie faces the Comachos. EDDIE We're jerking off here. Eddie goes out the door. INT. HEADQUARTERS HALL - DAY As Eddie emerges, he bumps into the Camacho's lawyer SANCHEZ; thirty-eight, well dressed, smooth as silk. Sanchez sees the tableau in the room. As Cusack walks down the hall the attorney follows him. SANCHEZ Let's cut the shit, Cusack. Eddie ignores him. SANCHEZ Option 1: you can send em downtown. If Judge Collins didn't get laid last night, you can probably get him to arraign my clients for loitering in their own hallway. He'll set bail. I'll take care of it. Option 2: release them here and now and we'll call it a day. (pause) Up to you. EDDIE I like to see you earn your money. Sanchez backs off. We follow Eddie down the hall. INT. KATES' OFFICE - DAY The head of Area Four, COMMANDER KATES, is grilling Cragie and Kosalas. CRAGIE We come up the back stairs. We start cleanin' the hallway when the deceased pops out of a doorway with a 25 automatic. I tell him to drop it, but he's comin. We had no choice. Kosalas here saw the whole thing. Kates turns to Kosalas. KATES Did you? Kosalas looks haggard. KOSALAS I was on another doorway... KATES But you saw the action? KOSALAS I saw him fall. KATES And the kid was armed? KOSALAS That's the way it went down. KATES And you saw the weapon? KOSALAS (nods) Yes sir. I saw it in his hand. KATES O.K. (signs document) Cragie, you'll be assigned to headquarters until the hearing -- CRAGIE Hearing? Who called for a hearing? The little fuck tried to shoot me in the back! Eddie enters. Kates looks up from his desk. KATES Ms. Partida -- CRAGIE That piece of shit! KATES Shut-up, Cragie. (pause) Partida has demanded a formal hearing. You will be under oath so the department will provide you with a lawyer unless you've got your own. (stands) An OPS Review Board member is waiting to talk to you. Doesn't sound like you got anything to worry about. Cragie gets up. Kosalas, sitting through this interview in stunned silence stands also. KATES Kosalas, you work with Cusack until this is over. KOSALAS Yes sir. Kosalas and Cragie exit. EDDIE I ain't got no time to nursmaid a rookie. I don't need a partner. KATES (explodes) Your right! You don't need a partner! You need a goddamn keeper! (slams fist on desk) Jesus Christ! How do I explain this one upstairs? (stands) We gave you 600 man-hours, you took a month planning the damn thing, and what have you got to show for it? Nine bodies? A dead informant? One of my best men shot! For Christ's sake! (stares at ceiling) You're going to have me back on a beat busting perverts in the park. Kates sits, sighs, suddenly tired. EDDIE We got a bigger problem. These Comachos aren't gonna take this lying down. The animals are out of the cages. KATES Just what I need. A goddman war. Eddie turns to leave. KATES Keep track of this business with Cragie? EDDIE Yeah. The PHONE RINGS. KATES I'll deal with upstairs. Eddie starts to leave again. Kates picks up the phone, and puts a hand over the mouthpiece. KATES Just get me some answers, huh. EDDIE That's my job. Eddie exits. INT. HEADQUARTERS OFFICE - DAY Kosalas, without an attorney, is being interviewed by Partida. A court stenographer is silently typing. PARTIDA ...you have the right to remain silent. You have the right to have an attorney present at all times. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law... INT. EDDIE'S CAR - DAY Eddie and Kosalas are parked on an airport access road, watching private planes land and take off. Eddie's car, a five-year old Chevy, is wreckage. The quarter panels are rusted, the radio antenna is a coathanger, and when Kosalas pushes a tape into the cassette player, the windshield wipers start moving. Kosalas pops the cassette out, the windshield wipers stop; he throws the cassette into the glove compartment. But now he can't get the door to stay closed. EDDIE I'm going to have to fix that. Eddie has to shout to be heard over the sound of an airplane passing directly overhead. Eddie glances at Kosalas who looks uncomfortable. EDDIE You know, it's kind of interesting. That 16 year old in the hallway with the gun? Partida told me he doesn't have a record. The kid's never been arrested. KOSALAS Yeah, well, you know, if you read the papers, cops only shoot honor students. Sole support of the family and all that. EXT. AIRPORT - DAY The airport bristles with corporate jets departing and arriving. TOWER (V.O.) ...Lear 9 Lima Kilo number 2 for landing -- wind south 20, altimeter two-niner-niner-two... And now comes a mystery jet, wearing no company colors, banking in over Lake Point Tower and WHISTLING low over the Planetarium to a touchdown. The white Learjet taxis to a halt at the far end of the field as an undistinguished Buick rolls down the ramp to meet it. Eddie and Kosalas stand by their car, parked across the runway from the Learjet. The jet's engines shut down, the door opens, and a grim but handsome man emerges. LUIS COMACHO, a cruel and uncompromising survivor, has arrived. With him is an incredibly beautiful exotic woman. He is met by Pompas and Efren Comacho, the two lookouts who survived the raid. And Victor Comacho, who was wounded in the raid, is here with his shoulder bandaged. EXT. EDDIE'S CAR - DAY From where Eddie and Kosalas are standing it is impossible to hear the conversation at the Learjet, but it is clear that Luis Comacho is upset. They see Luis slap Pompas and Efren. Then he grabs Victor by both arms, ignoring his wound, and screams at him. KOSALAS Nice fellow this Luis Comacho. Donato says they call him the Angel-of-Death. Victor grimaces, in great pain, and his knees buckle. EDDIE Real sweetheart. INT. LUNA'S HOUSE - DAY In the dining room DIANA LUNA, a pretty 19 year old, helps her 80 year old grandmother THERESA decorate a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" banner, some red and green crepe paper. MOLLY LUNA (O.S.) Now? DIANA No! Diana and her grandmother grin at each other. They are done. Theresa stands back to admire their work. MOLLY (O.S.) Now? DIANA Mama! A PHONE RINGS DIANA Daddy, would you get that! Diana rushes into the kitchen and comes right out with a birthday cake, and sets it on the table next to some presents. THERESA Bella. Diana goes to the stairs where her mother sits with her hands over her eyes. DIANA Keep 'em closed now. She leads her mother to the dining room. DIANA O.K., open 'em. MOLLY LUNA opens her eyes. Theresa and Diana beam. Diana kisses her mother who almost cries. DIANA Happy birthday, momma. THERESA (in Italian) Happy birthday, Molly. Diana hands Molly a card from the table. Molly starts to open it. Tony Luna burst in from another room. TONY LUNA Molly! Pack me a bag! Quick! Ok? C'mon I'm in a hurry! Molly heads for the stairs, leaving behind the half opened card. MOLLY But Tony, why...? TONY LUNA Business! C'mon, move. Do what I tell you! Molly goes upstairs. Diana is pissed. DIANA Don't do it, momma! Make him pack his own bag. TONY LUNA I ain't got time to put up with your bullshit today. Tony goes to the phone, dials, gets a busy signal, and slams it down. Theresa sits down watching sadly. Diana goes to stand in front of her father. DIANA Listen goddammit! It's momma's birthday! She deserves better'n this! Tony sorts through the closet looking for a jacket. Gamiani comes in puffing with a clumsily wrapped present under his arm. GAMIANI Hey, Tony. What's shaking? Sorry I'm late. I got stuck on Wacker. Some spook... TONY LUNA Victor Comacho is alive. GAMIANI Oh sweet Jesus. Diana is really angry at her father ignoring her. DIANA You can't go now. TONY LUNA Shut up! He slaps her. She slaps him back, turns, grabs her purse, and runs out. Tony watches her go and turns to Gamiani. TONY LUNA Put someone on the house. And you keep an eye on her. He nods out the door. GAMIANI You got it, Tony. What about your uncle? TONY LUNA What Felix don't know doesn't hurt him. Molly comes down with the bag. Tony takes it from her and starts out the door. Suddenly he turns back, snatches Gamiani's present from his hands, and thrust it at his wife. TONY LUNA Here. Happy birthday. Tony rushes out the door. Gamiani goes to the phone. Molly is left alone in the doorway. EXT. EDDIE'S STREET - DAY Eddie parks in front of his apartment building, leaves the car, and enters the building. INT. EDDIE'S HALL - DAY Dead on his feet, Eddie reaches the top of the stairs and an object comes flying at him out of the shadows. ODELL, a slim 10 year old black kid, fakes a series of karate kicks at Eddie. ODELL Bow to your master! EDDIE Later, Odell. It's been a rough one. ODELL Y' tellin me! We all seen it on the TV! WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.) Odell! EDDIE Bow to your master. Odell takes off. EDDIE Hey, Odell. Here, make yourself crazy. The kid stops, and Eddie tosses him the Rubic's Cube. Eddie nears his apartment, we hear a MALE VOICE SINGING. INT. EDDIE'S APARTMENT - DAY The door is ajar. Eddie lives in a modest apartment. FRED PIRELLI, a great bear of a man, 65, sings at the top of his lungs. He is bent over the space heater, tearing it apart. PIRELLI You look like shit. EDDIE Thanks, pal. PIRELLI They had a shot on the tube of you guys comin' out in front of the building. How's Donato? Eddie collapses on the sofa. EDDIE Pissed cause he lost a shoe. (pause) Luis Comacho is in town. PIRELLI He'll collect himself some scalps before this one's over. Your answering machine is on the fritz again. Some woman with a fantastic voice was callin' about comin' over this weekend ta help you with somthin', and then the tape went nuts. EDDIE Want somthin' to drink? PIRELLI Does the Pope shit in the woods? Is a bear Catholic? ODELL Me too. Odell shows in the doorway. Eddie gets up and the kid tosses him the Rubic's Cube -- all done. Eddie looks at it, and the kid goes into the kitchen. EDDIE I hate smart ass kids. Odell laughs. PIRELLI Gonna get down in the 30's tonight. Your pilot light is out. Eddie tosses the Cube into the waste basket and opens the refrigerator. EDDIE I've been told that more than once. PIRELLI (seriously) So, who you figure pulled out the rug? Gypsies? Mob? Eddie comes back into the living room, hands a beer and a soda to Odell, and flops back on the sofa with his own beer. EDDIE Somebody knew what they were doin'. They blew the top off an anthill. Pirelli reaches for his drink and Odell hands him the soda. Pirelli grabs the beer before Odell can drink and switches. PIRELLI I'd figure the Mob but Scalese ain't that stupid. (pause) Hah! Sombody put the valve in backwards. Pirelli and Odell turn to Eddie who tries to look innocent -- but fails. Eddie purposefully studies the answering machine on the coffee table in front of him. WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.) Odell! I ain't calling you again! ODELL Later, fellas. Pirelli finishes with the heater, and gets up. PIRELLI There. Heat. EDDIE What was the Cubs final score? PIRELLI 8 to 1. Eddie punches a button on the answering machine. It spews tape across the table. PIRELLI Machines just don't like you. Pirelli grabs the machine, unplugs it, and carries it out the door toward his own apartment. EDDIE Maybe I don't like machines. EXT. SOLDIER FIELD - DAY The machine in question looks like a miniature tank. This is the "Prowler," a robot anti-terrorist vehicle that is being maneuvered around various obstacles in a demonstration for the city's law enforcement agencies. The "Prowler" is amazingly agile. And its BULLHORN VOICE breaks everybody up. VOICE (from speaker) Arretez! Halten Zie! Stop! Do not move! No se mueve!... The machine's three video eyes, searching the crowd independently, give it the appearance of an extra-industrial bug. One camera is mounted on a telescoping mast which extends to give it the perspective of a giraffe. The thing seems almost alive. Commander Kates is here, leading a contingent of departmental brass. With them are several dozen officers and a gaggle of city councilmen. The Prowler is being put through its paces by the FACTORY ENGINEER. He controls the machine with a pistol-grip device that looks like a small TV camera. ENGINEER ...After the gyros are locked, any movement of the hand controller is duplicated by the 'Prowler.' He turns his hand to the right and the Prowler, 50 yards away, sweeps its turret to the right, aiming the twin 30 calibre machineguns at the politicians. They move aside. ENGINEER This simple control system means that even semi-skilled employees can operate the unit with a minimum of training. As they say, "Even a child can operate it." Standing with Chief Kates, Eddie watches the demonstration with contempt. Kates turns to him. KATES He's talking about you, Cusack. Pay attention. You're all gonna have to be qualified on this. It's the future. EDDIE Just what the world needs, another gun without a brain. KATES You're looking at the perfect cop. The damn thing follows orders. Eddie has seen enough. EDDIE I got better things to do than play with toys. Kates is about to say something when the demonstrator interrupts. ENGINEER If the Commander will pick someone to try and elude 'Prowler,' we can show how our various target acquisition systems function. Kates points to Eddie, and smiles. Instantly the turret sweeps the horizon and locks on Eddie as he walks across the astro turf. CLOSE-UP of the Prowler's hand controller. The MONITOR SCREEN shows the crosshairs on the back of Eddie's head. ON THE SCREEN the digital readout says: LOCKED AND TRACKING. MACHINE (from speaker) Bang. You're dead. Eddie keeps walking, seemingly oblivious to the Prowler. Suddenly he whirls and ducks behind a wall out of the Prowler's sight. He pops up with his gun pointed at the Prowler's controller. EDDIE Drop it. The controller, scared shitless, drops the hand control. The Prowler dies -- the plug pulled. Eddie smiles at Kates, and exits. INT. MORGUE VIEWING ROOM - DAY The curtain is drawn back from the viewing window and the Comachos SEE the bodies of their cousins. Luis is here with Pompas, Efren, and Victor. Their attorney, Sanchez, has joined them. They are speaking Spanish. SANCHEZ (subtitle) A war does no good for any of us. It can only make what is bad worse. Luis says nothing. He looks through the window at the bodies. Finally he speaks. LUIS (subtitle) Get them out of here. Fix them up. I want them to be beautiful for their mother. He kisses his fingertips and touches the glass. LUIS (subtitle) I promise you, my brothers, there will be blood for blood. Sanchez sighs. INT. MORGUE HALL - DAY Luis Comacho storms out of the room into the corridor followed by the others. Eddie and Kosalas are just entering. Victor spots Eddie and turns to Luis. VICTOR (subtitles) This is the cop. The Comachos slow down. The two groups survey each other -- Luis, hatred oozing from his eyes. And Eddie, without slowing, looks the vicious Colombian over with cool contempt. Eddie walks by. LUIS How much did they pay you to set up my brothers, Pig. Eddie freezes, makes a slow turn, and meets Luis' eyes. Suddenly Eddie moves, faster than anyone else can react to, and he has Luis pinned to the wall, choking him. EDDIE Stay off my streets, asshole. Or I'll bite your head off, and shit in your neck. He releases Luis just as quickly, and turns to walk out, Kosalas backing with him, hand on gun. Luis gets some air back, and starts to scream. LUIS (subtitle) You're meat cop! Dead meat! The other Comachos have to restrain him. INT. MORGUE EXAMINING ROOM - DAY Retired detective HANK FLANNIGAN runs the high-tech morgue where the bodies are stacked on trays like bakery buns. Flannigan, a trim, bespectacled Mr. Clean, clicks his false teeth between thoughts. The body on the exotic lab table is the gunman Eddie shot during the raid. Eddie is here to confirm the identification. His new partner, Kosalas, is with him, very uncomfortable in this setting. FLANNIGAN Eenie Verona is the gentleman's name. (looks down) You did a hell of a job on him. EDDIE I was motivated. Flannigan has already pulled Verona's record. He hands it to Eddie who passes it on to Kosalas without looking at it. Kosalas concentrates on the file, uneasy with the dead. FLANNIGAN Know him? EDDIE He's a punk. Punk thief. Booster. FLANNIGAN Looks like he graduated. EDDIE He had a brother-in-law. They were tight. Served time together. Ganelli..., Gagleone... KOSALAS Gamiani. Eddie looks at Kosalas who glances up from the report triumphantly. FLANNIGAN If I was you, I'd sit on him. KOSALAS You figure he's connected? Eddie just smiles. FLANNIGAN Looks like you're gonna be busy, Cusack. Uh, you gonna be using those Cubs' tickets? Eddie reaches into his pocket, and tosses a ticket to Flannigan who grins. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - NIGHT Eddie and Kosalas cruise the Rush Street area at night. They search the neon lit crowds on the sidewalks for a glimpse of Lou Gamiani. EXT. GAMIANI'S STREET - DAY On a tree-shaded block of classic brownstones, the unmarked car is parked at the corner. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - DAY Eddie is at the wheel wearing a sportscoat and sweater, scanning the sports page. Kosalas is nervous and chatty, bubbling. He's still reading the records from the morgue. KOSALAS This Ganiani's a swinger, huh? EDDIE He's just makin' up for the time he spent in the joint. EXT. GAMIANI'S STREET - DAY LOU GAMIANI, 55, Italian, and huge, comes out the front door of a brownstone, and gives a perfunctory kiss to his aging "Playmate", who stands in the doorway in a housecoat. Gamiani comes down the steps, and jumps into a car. In the car with Gamiani, a fat man, TITO, is at the wheel. They pull into the street passing the unmarked car. EXT. NORTH SIDE STREET - DAY Trailing Gamiani and his partner through the North Side neighborhoods, they wind up in Lincoln Park. With considerable skill Kosalas and Eddie manage to stick to them undetected. EXT. PARK - DAY Gamiani and Tito park by the botanical gardens and stroll past the fields of flowers into the zoo. Eddie and Kosalas follow. KOSALAS Now what? They selling protection to the bears? EDDIE Relax kid. EXT. CHILDREN'S ZOO - DAY Strolling among the baby elephants and fuzzy rabbits, the two heavies could not be more out of place. Tito has a racing form. Lou, tall enough to see over heads, looks like a loose gorilla on the prowl. He is searching for somebody. Surrounding the incubators filled with hatching chicks is a cluster of schoolchildren. They are having a ball. Eddie has noticed DIANA, a lovely 19 year old who is in charge of the children. And she has noticed Gamiani. She's visibly upset. KOSALAS (V.O.) What's this? Kinda young for that old fart ain't she? EDDIE (V.O.) Just watch, kid. Learn. Diana leaves the children with the zoo lecturer. DIANA Be back in a minute. She crosses to the two goons and looks up at Gamiani. DIANA What do you want? LOU Your Papa worries about you. DIANA Get out of here, Lou. Leave me alone. Gamiani shrugs, his pal Tito seems embarrassed, but they don't move. INT. GORILLA HOUSE - DAY The CHILDREN SCREAM, and LULU, the half-ton baboon flies into frame, swinging down from the artificial branches of an iron tree in the three story central cage. The children clutch at Diana in delightful terror. The gorilla, inches away, kisses the thick glass that separates them. Lulu swings to the upper branches and sits, arms crossed, staring eyeball-to-eyeball at her human counterpart, Gamiani. Tito eats popcorn. Eddie and Kosalas walk behind a mother and child, each holding a balloon. EXT. LIBRARY - DAY Diana is on the front steps of the library saying good-bye to two of the children from the zoo. She hands them over to their mothers, and goes up the steps into the building. Gamiani and Tito pull over and park down the street. Eddie comes around the corner, and follows her in. INT. LIBRARY HALL - DAY The sign on the door tells us this is the city's Special Education Program office. Diana enters the office and confers briefly with another staff member. INT. LIBRARY HALL - DAY Through the open door of the Special Education Program office, Eddie observes Diana chatting with her co-workers. INT. READING ROOM - DAY Eddie follows as Diana walks through the great hall past long tables and out the other door. EXT. LIBRARY - DAY Diana comes down the steps, wading through the swarm of homebound commuters, and catches a cab. And head and shoulders above the crowd, scanning the tops of heads, is Lou Gamiani. Tito comes around the corner in his car, and pulls up to the curb. Gamiani jumps in, and they take off after Diana's cab. Eddie and Kosalas follow in Eddie's car. EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY Diana enters an apartment building. EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY By the time Diana exits it is dark. She is with a friend, and both are in some kind of Halloween costume. They catch a cab. EXT. PARTY STREET - NIGHT The taxi stops in front of an ancient brick loft building. Diana and her friend get out and hit the buzzer at an unmarked door. The door opens and they disappears inside. Gamiani's car cruises past. It pulls up at the corner and it's lights switch off. Eddie's car pulls up. Eddie hops out. Kosalas slides behind the wheel. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - NIGHT Eddie leans down to the open drivers window. EDDIE Hold here a second. Eddie goes to the back of the car, and Kosalas follows him in the rearview mirror, losing sight when Eddie pops open the trunk. Kosalas watches the party goers enter the building. There is a tapping at the window. Eddie has donned a baseball uniform, matching cap, and now carries a baseball bat with a pair of cleats hanging from it. EDDIE Keep with Gamiani. Eddie tosses the keys back to Kosalas, and heads to the building. Kosalas calls to him. KOSALAS Bang a few for me. INT. PARTY STAIRS - NIGHT In the darkened stairway Eddie joins a group of outrageously dressed characters. The door at the top of the stairs bursts open on a punk-funk art student Halloween party. INT. PARTY - NIGHT A hundred people are jammed into the studio. It feels like the Star Wars Saloon. The LIVE MUSICIANS match the look of the party. The costumes are outrageous. Everyone is dancing. Eddie looks the place over. He spots Diana. Eddie walks over to her, grabbing a drink along the way. He sidles up to Diana. EDDIE Wanna play ball? She looks him over taking in the outfit, the bat. DIANA Are you pitching? EDDIE Some people say I've got a pretty good inside curve. DIANA I don't know. You look strictly minor league. She smiles. EDDIE I'm Eddie. DIANA I make it Eddie-The-Cop. EDDIE You've had a lot of experience with cops? DIANA All bad. She is angry now, and walks away from him. Eddie watches her go, and is about to follow. He sets his drink down, and turns to find a girl, luscious as hell, dressed like a Frederick's wet dream, making eyes at him. She takes his bat, and gives it a long, lascivious lick. EDDIE You'll get slivers. He walks by her. INT. PARTY BACK ROOM - NIGHT Eddie steps over and around an assortment of wasted witches and gooned out goblins snorting lines on the coffee table to get to Diana who is tensely by herself. He grabs her purse. DIANA Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing? EDDIE I thought you knew all about cops. You don't put anything up your nose do you? Eddie searches Diana's purse. He find her drivers license. EDDIE Diana Luna? (pause) You're Tony Luna's daughter? He drops the license into the purse and hands it back to her. She stares him in the eye defiantly. DIANA I don't know where he is, and I don't really give a shit. (tired) When are you people going to realize I don't have anything to do with my father. Eddie tries to give her his card. EDDIE For when you need a friend. She won't take it. DIANA I've got all the friends I want. Eddie puts the card into her purse. EDDIE But do you have all the friends you need? She walks away angrily. Eddie watches her leave, and then steps over a few of the wasted witches to get to the phone on the drug laden coffee table. He dials. EDDIE (to phone) This is Sergeant Cusack. I want a team to cover a house on the southwest side. (pause) L-U-N-A, Anthony. (pause) Yeah. Crazy Tony Luna. I don't think he's around, but if he shows up bring him in. The dope-smoking party-goers stare at this cop in shock. One of the ladies tries to casually cover the cocaine with a magazine. Eddie hangs up the phone, and pushes past them to the door. EDDIE (nods) Catch you later. He is out the door. INT. GYM - DAY Several plainclothes officers, some of them women, stand on either side of the door with their backs to the wall, guns at the ready. One of the men reaches out and POUNDS on the door. OFFICER Police! Open up! They rush the door and SMASH it, SHOUTING and scrambling into the apartment. KOBAS (V.O.) (from bullhorn) Awright awright hold it. The instructor, Kobas, walks in criticizing their style. KOBAS For Christ's sake! You tryin to get your partner killed, Jackson? This is not the real thing; only practice. CAMERA PULLS BACK TO REVEAL -- INT. GYM - DAY The apartment is only a mockup set in the corner of this vast skylit city warehouse. Runners race around the track at the perimeter. On the wall are large photos and diagrams of the Prowler. Below the photos are sign-up sheets for the required training sessions. In another corner is the weight room, the ring, and the workout area. Eddie is here, working out, sparring with a partner who has large padded mits on each hand. INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY Brennan and a couple of buddies approach Kosalas as he ties his gym shoes. Brennan is carrying a petition. He hands it to Kosalas and looks around the room. He spots another cop. Cragie is in the background putting on his jacket. BRENNAN (shouts across the room) Hey, Mahoney. I want you to help me get some signatures on this letter for Cragie. Brennan looks down at Kosalas who is hesitating. Kosalas looks back at Cragie. There eyes meet. He signs. Cragie comes by and slaps him on the back. CRAGIE Way to go, partner. INT. GYM - DAY We see Music talking to several cops working out the exercise machines, and getting signatures on Cragie's petition. INT. GYM - DAY Eddie gives his sparring partner, Howard, a furious series of blows, driving him back. They are kickboxing. HOWARD Let's try the mitts for awhile. Eddie nods. He sees Cragie cross the gym and exit. As Cragie goes out, Donato comes in on crutches. Everybody shouts a greeting. Eddie sits down to change gloves, and take his footpads off. DONATO Say, partner. EDDIE How ya doing, Richie? DONATO Swinging. How's this? Two G's, we get a sausage and beef stand stand outside Wrigley Field. You pass the beef, I take the cash. Free games. I got a contact downtown. EDDIE How you gonna watch the game if you're hawking sandwiches? DONATO Never thought of that. TV? Hey, I tell you about this nurse I met? Talk about physical therapy. The sparring partner returns, and Eddie goes back to practice. DONATO She's got this friend just dying to meet you. Intensive care. Eddie grins. Brennan comes up to Donato, and hands him the petition. Donato signs quickly. DONATO (to Eddie) Later, partner. Eddie nods to him, concentrating on the sparring. BRENNAN Hey, Cusack. How about taking the gloves off long enough to sign this for Cragie. EDDIE This about the hearing? BRENNAN You bet. EDDIE I pass. BRENNAN (angry) What the fuck's the matter with you? EDDIE He's burnt, Brennan, and you know it. He was a good cop, but he ain't now. PUNCH! Eddie hits the mit so hard that Howard is knocked back a couple of steps. BRENNAN Get off your high horse, Cusack. He made a couple of mistakes, OK. The guy was a hero. What the fuck does a bunch of civilians know about comin' up some shithouse stairway day after day, scared outta your shorts. PUNCH! With a whirling kick, Eddie knocks the mit right out of the Howard's hand, and across the gym. Eddie turns to face Brennan, nose to nose. EDDIE We're all scared, Brennan. Cragie should have been off the street a long time ago. He's gonna hurt somebody else with his bullshit. Maybe even you. Eddie goes back to punching. Brennan storms out. EXT. LATIN STREET - DAY A funeral cortege makes it's way sedately down the street past the Comacho owned pool hall. Two hearses, a flower car, a limo, and several other cars with funeral stickers on their windshields pass bye. The slain Comacho cousins from the raid are being escorted to the cemetery. Luis Comacho is in the limo along with the woman from the airport. INT. BRENNAN'S CAR - DAY Brennan and Music are following the procession. Brennan is on the radio. MUSIC (to mike) The funeral director says they plan on cruisin right past luna's house. EXT. LUNA'S STREET - DAY Tito, one of Tony Luna's bodyguards, watches from the steps of Luna's porch as a procession of cars follows the hearses slowly up the street. At the end of the block, an old man is selling produce to the neighborhood housewives off the tailgate of his truck. They watch the procession in wonder. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - DAY The cortege passes the unmarked car down the block from Tony's house. Eddie is watching. Kosalas is with him. KOSALAS (to radio) They're wastin' the show. Tony's not even in town. EDDIE He'll get the word. Across the street, WE SEE another bodyguard joint Tito on the front steps. They stand, arms folded, watching the procession. INT. LIMO - DAY Luis Comacho takes a flower and tosses it out the window as he cruises past the two goons. Their EYES LOCK. Tito walks up and grinds the flower into the ground with his shoe. EXT. LUNA'S STREET - DAY Brennan and Music bring up the rear in their ummarked car. INT. LUNA'S HOUSE - DAY Tito, the body guard, picks up the phone. EXT. LAKE - DAY At the pay phone next to a lakeside bait shop, Tony Luna is getting the word. He's worried. LUNA (to phone) What the fuck are you talkin about? Nobody's gonna touch nothin. Just stay put. (pause) I give a shit about their fuckin parade? A floozy slides up next to him, and he puts an arm around her waist. LUNA (to phone) They wanna throw flowers we can fix it so they're pushing up daisys. He laughs. The girl joins in like she's supposed to. EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY A tan Dodge rolls over the rutted scrapyard roadway, bouncing toward the immense old warehouse along the river's edge. The city seems to have abandoned this remote industrial area; giant grain elevators, rusting freighters and vast scrapyards surround us. INT. POMPAS' CAR - DAY Pompas and Efren Comacho drive through the gate and enter the warehouse as the door opens for them. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY The car halts in the vast empty chamber. It is quickly surrounded by members of the Comacho family. They begin to unload the car. The trunk is filled with cases of heavy ammunition. At the back of the warehouse, other Comachos are test firing their weapons. INT. LUIS' OFFICE Luis is directing things as they are preparing for battle. The weaponry spread on the table is astonishing. EXT. HARBOR - DAY Eddie's beat up Chevy is parked beyond the line of yachts toward the end of the pier. Eddie gets out of the car. Kosalas looks worried. KOSALAS I can back you up. EDDIE Stay by the radio. Eddie walks to the 75 foot steel cruiser tied to the end of the pier. Eddie walks up the gangplank. EXT. YACHT - DAY An ape in a suit, ROCCO, appears. ROCCO What the hell you doin' here? Off, asshole. Rocco goes for Eddie. A couple of quick blows and Rocco is in the water. Eddie continues up the gangway to the rear of the boat. EXT. YACHT - DAY Eddie finds FELIX (THE RAIL) SCALESE sitting on a chaise lounge, reading. A beautiful girl lays on her stomach on a deck pad typing at a personal computer terminal. Scalese looks up at Eddie. He is momentarily discombobulated, but recovers. SCALESE (referring to computer) The modern age's answer to the crystal ball. Marvelous. If you know how to read it. (pause) Listen. If you have some extra cash, buy oranges. The price is low, and I can promise you the threatened trucking strike will be avoided. EDDIE We talking about a bribe, Scalese? SCALESE It's a prediction. Another beautiful bikinied girl comes by and gives Scalese a tall cool drink. SCALESE No. I wouldn't try to bribe Eddie Cusack. He drops the name with a smile. Eddie doesn't react. SCALESE You're incorruptible. Untarnished. I hear they call you stainless steel on the street. Me, I think you're a fuckin' pain in the ass. EDDIE Thanks. SCALESE (frowning) It's not a compliment. EDDIE I'm looking for your nephew. SCALESE Tony? Forget it. Tony Luna's none of your business. EDDIE Wrong. Tony just made himself my business. SCALESE No he didn't. We take care of our own. Just like the cops. Just like the Comachos. You understand. Eddie sits down next to Scalese and looks him in the eye. EDDIE He shit on my turf, old man. And I'm going to nail him and anybody else tied to him. You understand, Felix? SCALESE (with cool rage) Nobody threatens Felix Scalese. EDDIE (softly) It's not a threat. It's a prediction. On the shore, Kosalas is honking the car horn to get Eddie's attention. Eddie rises. EDDIE There's a shitstorm coming. You better get yourself a good umbrella. The girl at the computer terminal watches him leave. EXT. YACHT - DAY Eddie walks by as Rocco, soaking wet, is pulling himself from the water. Eddie pushes him into the water again. Kosalas is still sounding the HORN. EXT. HARBOR - DAY Eddie runs toward the car. EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY A body lies in the flowers in the service area next to the giant greenhouse. Several unmarked cars and two blue and whites are parked in the dirt drive as Eddie and Kosalas pull up. The cops have roped off the area. Music and Brennan are there. Eddie looks at the body as Music comes over. MUSIC Tony Luna's bagman. Kosalas looks at the body. MUSIC They call that a Columbian necktie. Kosalas winces. MUSIC They found the manager of Tony's restaurant hanging from a hook in his kitchen. Looked like someone tried to carve a canoe out of him. Tony's used car lot on Ashland is burning as we speak. The head salesman is a fried zuccini. KOSALAS Oh Jesus. It's starting. Eddie stands to one side. EDDIE Let's go. EXT. LUNA'S STREET - DAY A kid on a bike makes his way up the quiet tree-lined street, tossing newspapers onto the porches of the block. Around the corner at the end of the block, the produce truck starts slowly forward. As it turns onto Luna's block, a car pulls up behind it and stops, blocking the street. The produce truck parks at the curb in front of the Luna house. A neighbor from across the street approaches. The front door of Luna's house opens, and Tito emerges, helping Tony's aged mother down the steps to buy vegetables. INT. PRODUCE TRUCK - DAY On the floor near the wheelwell is the dead produce man. EXT. LUNA'S STREET - DAY The rear doors of the produce truck swing open. The neighbor, Tito, and Tony's mother are instantly killed. From outside three Comachos enter the open front door of the Luna house. We hear the SOUND of MUFFLED GUNFIRE from inside. INT. LUNA'S HOUSE - DAY Bits and pieces. A Shattered orange juice container. Eggs cooking on the stove. A woman's vanity. On the floor; a woman's legs, a housecoat, slippers. A silhouette of a Comacho in the hallway RAKING one of Tony's guards. A family photo on the mantle which includes Diana and her father is BLASTED to bits. EXT. LUNA'S BACK YARD - DAY One of Tony's men tries to escape through the back of the house. He is pursued by a Comacho who guns him down. EXT. LUNA'S STREET - DAY Luis Comacho sits in a car in the next block surveying the scene. The cousins are walking briskly out. They jump in a car and drive off. INT. LUIS' CAR - DAY Luis nods to his driver. They pull away. EXT. LUNA'S STREET - DAY The street is QUIET again. Next door, a neighbor, wearing only his underpants and carrying an old pistol, stands trembling in disbelief. EXT. LAKE - DAY Pines reflect in the dappled lake as Tony Luna rows slowly for shore. He ties up at the dock. He's taking his tackle out of the boat when one of his boys comes running down to the dock. We cannot hear the conversation but we can see Tony drop the tackle box and we can hear his SCREAM echo across the water. EXT. EDDIE'S STREET - DAY Eddie runs down the rear stairs to Kosalas' unmarked car. He opens the driver's door, pushes Kosalas across the seat, and gets behind the wheel. He PEELS OUT. INT. UNMARKED CAR - DAY KOSALAS Music's at the scene. Eddie picks up the mike. EDDIE (to mike) Was there a girl? Late teens. Reddish hair. MUSIC (V.O.) (on radio) Two male caucasians, two female. One mid-to-late forties. The other a grandmother. With the SIREN full out, LEANING ON the HORN, he simply puts his foot on the floor and sends the car into a four wheel drift that slides into a neat U-turn. EXT. LIBRARY - DAY Eddie leaves the car running, and burst through the main entrance flashing his badge at the stunned security guards. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Eddie races through the corridors and reading rooms searching, Kosalas arriving at his heels. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Gamiani tells Diana about her mother and grandmother. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Three Comachos; Pompas, Efren, and ANGEL, search for Diana. EXT. LIBRARY - DAY Lou Gamiani emerges from the building with Diana. She is terrified. He checks out the scene, then descends the crowded steps and crosses the street, keeping a sharp lookout. EXT. FLOWER SHOP - DAY Luis and Victor Comacho loiter by the outdoor flower stand next to the library. They watch the activity on the library steps. EXT. LIBRARY - DAY Distracted for an instant by a cluster of conventioneers, Lou fails to notice the two Comachos who have fallen in step behind them. He goes down with a gasp, almost silently, a knife sticking from his back. A Comacho grabs Diana's arm. She jabs him in the eyes, and runs. Diana disappears into the crowd. Hysterical citizens scatter in all directions. A woman stands in horror unable to keep from looking at Gamiani's body lying on the sidewalk. She SCREAMS. Eddie and Kosalas come crashing out of the entrance of the museum. The girl isn't here. Eddie spots a commotion at the end of the block, under the el station. He dashes down the steps and across the street with traffic screeching to a halt. Kosalas flags down a blue and white, and barks for backup, then tears out after Eddie. EXT. WABASH AVENUE - DAY In the shadow of the el tracks, Diana runs for her life, racing north on Wabash through crowds of shoppers with the Comachos moving relentlessly a half block behind. Opposite Marshall Field's, she abruptly cuts across traffic and runs into an alley between the giant men's and women's stores. With terror in her eyes, Diana runs, searching frantically for a guard, a policeman, somebody with a gun. But the Comachos are closing in on her. She dives through a revolving door into the building. INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY Diana runs past the perfume displays, notions, and lingerie, and out the Randolph Street exit. EXT. RANDOLPH STREET - DAY Two Camachos, who stayed on the street, spot her as she leaves. Racing through the alley, Eddie spots them running in the next block. EXT. LAKE STREET - DAY Running east on Lake Street, she glances over her shoulder. She doesn't see them. She ducks into the alley. But the Comachos round the corner just in time to catch a glimpse of her. EXT. ALLEY - DAY This alley leads to the lower level of Michigan Avenue. She turns back to find the exit blocked by the Comachos. She flees downward. INT. LOWER MICHIGAN - DAY The green flourescents of the "Emerald City" give a deathly cast to the underground street as Diana rounds the corner, and collapses against the wall. Her heart pounding like a frightened deer, she has run as far as she can. Pompas Comacho and two of his colleagues come racing around the corner. They spot her crouched against the wall. She starts to SCREAM but Angel grabs her by the collar and pulls her up to his face and she stops, wide-eyed with terror as he touches her throat with his knife. POMPAS Come on, Chika. We gonna have some fun. You gonna take us to your father. We hear a loud metallic CLICK. We see the barrel of a huge revolver. They wheel to see Eddie crouched, gun drawn, in the alley entrance. EDDIE Pompas, you're getting to be a fucking pain in the ass. The boys put their hands up, but Eddie doesn't see the third, SAMO, coming up behind him. Angel grabs Diana by the hair, shielding himself, and starts backing up the stairs that lead to the street. EDDIE Let her go, pooch. Samo jumps Eddie, and the gun goes flying. It hits the pavement and bounces off the high curb into the street. In a staggering blur Eddie takes out the Comachos, kicking the last one end over end. But Angel and the girl have disappeared to the street above. Eddie retrieves his gun and runs up the steps. EXT. STATE LAKE EL STATION - DAY With a knife at her side, Angel Comacho leads Diana up the steps of the old el station. They pass through the turnstyle out onto the platform just as the train pulls to in. Angel forces her onto the train. Eddie comes pounding up the steps and onto the platform just in time to stop the closing train door with his foot. INT. EL TRAIN - DAY Eddie wedges his way aboard and the train pulls out. The passengers looks at him like he's crazy. Eddie works his way through the cars toward the rear. Angel spots him. Knife still in hand, he pulls Diana from car to car past the terrified passengers until finally he is cornered at the end of the train. Angel searches frantically for a way out. Eddie enters. Diana sees him. ANGEL Another step, and I take her head off. EDDIE You don't have the balls. Eddie takes another step. Diana slams her elbow into Angel's groin, and breaks free. Angel jumps back. He breaks open the rear door and climbs out. EXT. EL TRAIN - DAY Angel climbs up the back of the car onto the roof. Eddie's right behind him. The spectacular pursuit from car to car on the roof of the speeding el train is witnessed by startled second-floor secretaries whose desks look directly out at the roof of the passing cars. VERY HIGH ANGLE Angel and Eddie's figures appear as specks, roaring through the canyon of skyscrapers. ON TRAIN ROOF A low bridge forces both men to hug the roof of the train. Eddie recovers first and grabs Angel, pulling him down. They roll from side to side on the roof, nearly slipping over the side. With a desperate shove, Angel breaks free. Eddie points his gun at him. The train is now over the Chicago River. Angel dives into the water. Eddie reholsters his gun and dives in after him. INT. EL TRAIN - DAY We see Diana's looking out the window of the train. She follows Eddie's decent with her eyes. EXT. RIVER - DAY Dozens of startled pedestrians line the bridge railing as Eddie swims toward Angel, bobbing in the middle of the stream. A hotdogger in a speedboat is racing up the river and Angel is directly in his path. The skipper, showing off for his passengers, doesn't notice him until he hears the sickening THUNK under the keel. The boat's wake is suddenly red with blood. EXT. RIVER BANK - DAY Eddie is helped from the water by a couple of passersby. He stands there, soaking wet, looking around. A crowd is gathering. We hear SIRENS in the background. Then he spots her. Diana is standing on the bridge watching him. EXT. BRIDGE - DAY Eddie walks to Diana, and she folds into his arms. He holds her a second. EXT. LAGOON - DAY Eddie, now in dry clothes, and Diana walk along the lagoon. They talk, argue, and she sits on a bench and cries. Eddie comforts her. DIANA Where are you taking me? EDDIE Downtown first. Then I'm gonna place you in protective custody. DIANA The hell you are! EDDIE You'll be safe -- DIANA I'll take my chances. NOTE: Ad lib dialogue throughout scene for possible later use. NOTE: Radio newscast describing the Luna killings can be mixed with the above dialogue. INT. EDDIE'S HALL - NIGHT Eddie and Diana climb the stairs. INT. PIRELLI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT The DOORBELL buzzes repeatedly. PIRELLI (shouts) Keep your goddamn pants on! Pirelli, padding across the floor in his shorts, looks like a bear called out of hibernation. He has a service revolver in his hand. He peers through the peep hole, then unbolts the door. PIRELLI This your idea of a social call? Eddie enters with Diana. EDDIE Fred Pirelli, this is Diana. Diana Luna. Pirelli reacts to the name. Diana is in a daze, close to shock. Pirelli takes her and leads her to the couch. PIRELLI C'mon, kid. Let's get you off your feet. Eddie motions him aside. EDDIE Can you put her up till I find her old man? PIRELLI Does a bear...? EDDIE Am I putting you on the spot? PIRELLI I spent 30 years on the spot. What ever you need. Eddie starts to go, and Diana reacts, suddenly frightened. DIANA Eddie? EDDIE I'll be right across the hall. I'm just gonna clean up. He leaves. INT. EDDIE'S APARTMENT Eddie falls fully clothed onto the mattress. The PHONE RINGS. He rolls over in disbelief, staring at the ceiling. It RINGS, and RINGS again and again and again. He finally picks it up. INT. TAVERN - NIGHT This is the after-hours watering hole for the police force and half the cops we've seen so far, including Cragie, are clustered at the bar or playing darts at the back of the room. There are a half a dozen women there also. Three of them are cops. Kosalas is here too. He's been drinking. He leans against the wall talking on the pay phone by the men's room. KOSALAS (to phone) Say, Eddie. Why don' you come by and tip a few? (pause) Cause I gotta talk to you. (pause) Yeah, I know. But we gotta talk. (pause) Please. (pause) Yeah, at Mike's. He hangs up and heads back to his table, passing Officer Music at the bar. MUSIC You oughta crash, man. You had a helluva day. EXT. TAVERN - NIGHT Two tough looking guys are watching the entrance to the bar from a car parked across the street. We can HEAR the NOISE from the BAR. FIRST HOOD Love it, Flash. Gonna be a slide. Easy in, easy out. SECOND HOOD Just a quick and dirty? FIRST HOOD Yeah, yeah, nothin to it. You know the drill. They check their weapons. INT. TAVERN - NIGHT Everybody but Kosalas is having a good time. Donato, flanked by two girls, foot up on a chair, entertains a small crowd. DONATO He picks her up on Forty-third, and he's takin' in. She says, "Say, baby. Ain't no need for goin' downtown." An' she pulls back her skirt. So the dumb shit climbs in the back an' takes a piece... (starts to chuckle) ...an' leaves the keys in the front and locks the two of 'em in the squad. And he hasta kick out the window see, an' she starts screamin', "Rape! Rape!" An' they charge him with rape an' every other fuckin' thing in the book. Internal Affairs is gonna give him a kayak and a lantern an' put him out in the lake. A group laughs at the story. There is a stillness at the front door. One of the hoods from outside steps in. He wears a leather coat. The heads at the bar turn. He walks the length of the bar and enters the john. He is obviously out of place in this saloon. Nobody has both hands on the bar. The front door opens. The other hood steps in, walks up to the bar, and orders. SECOND HOOD Bartender. Gimme a black russian and a Courvoisier. The First Hood comes out of the bathroom and walks up to the bar. Suddenly he whips a sawed-off shotgun from under his coat. FIRST HOOD (bellows) Yo! Get your hands up motherfuckers. This is a ho -- THIRTY HAMMERS CLICK. Thirty guns are drawn. The room is frozen. Only the JUKEBOX makes a sound. The two hoods, eyes fixed on the array of iron pointed at them, can't even swallow. Finally... SECOND HOOD (to partner) You stupid motherfucker. The cops swarm the hoods and in an instant they are on the floor being cuffed and roughly handled. Kosalas is at the end of the bar, frozen, his gun still in his holster. EXT. TAVERN - NIGHT Eddie gets out of his car and heads for the front door. INT. TAVERN - NIGHT The place is in an uproar -- everybody doubled up with LAUGHTER -- as the two luckless hoods, handcuffed together, are lying on the filthy tavern floor under a table. They continue to berate each other. Eddie enters. SECOND HOOD My old lady tol' me you was fucked up in the head. Do I listen? Piece o cake, you say. Snap, you say. Nothin to it, you say. COP Shut up over there. Donato spots Eddie and calls to him. DONATO Eddie! Partner! Meet Ruthie. Dental Hygienist. She's oral. Ruthie giggles. DONATO And this is... Marlene. She works for a proctologist. Marlene swats at him. DONATO Siddown, partner. I got a proposition for you. EDDIE Not now, Donato. DONATO O.K. O.K. But just let me plant two words in your brain. Alligator farming. Eddie shakes his head and walks to the back of the room where Kosalas sits hunched over a drink, the only man in the room not laughing. He looks up whens Eddie pulls over a chair. KOSALAS Beer? Eddie nods, and Kosalas signals the waitress. There is a long beat at Kosalas fidgets and Eddie waits. KOSALAS Looks like I'm caught between the rock and the hard place, Sarge. Eddie just looks at him. KOSALAS You know I really wanted to be a good cop, but... shit. It's hard enough sometimes just to stay alive. Comes so easy to you. You got all the fuckin' answers. Me, I'm still tryin' to find the questions. Eddie is still silent. Kosalas takes a swig of his beer, and finally blurts is out. KOSALAS Cragie planted the gun on the kid. Just wasted him, and then I... I don't know what to do about the hearing tomorrow... EDDIE Tell the truth. KOSALAS See. It's all so nothin' for you. If I talk straight every cop on the force will shit on me. If I don't... Cragie gets away with murder. EDDIE And the chance to do it again. Next time he might take away a cop. That make any difference? KOSALAS He's my partner. EDDIE Your partner's selling you out, Kosalas. He kills an unarmed kid, and now he's risking your ass to save his own. KOSALAS It was a mistake. EDDIE It cost an innocent kid his life. KOSALAS I know that! I KNOW THAT! He is too loud, and attracts attention. KOSALAS (softly) Jesus. I see that kid's face every time I close my eyes. EDDIE Tell 'em like it is, Nick. I'll back you up. Eddie gets up and walks away. INT. TAVERN - NIGHT The two amateur holdup men are being hustled out to the paddy wagon as Eddie heads for the door. Someone grabs his arm. It's Cragie, a little drunk. CRAGIE Nice to see you out with the boys for a change, Sarge. EDDIE Hello, Cragie. CRAGIE They tell me my Sergeant wouldn't sign for me. You want to tell me why? EDDIE You know why. CRAGIE No. Tell me. EDDIE (gently) You were a good cop for a lot of years. You've passed your limit now Cragie. CRAGIE Fuck you. Where do you get off? EDDIE Right about here. Eddie walks out the door. INT. EDDIE'S HALL - NIGHT Eddie buzzes the door. Pirelli opens it. He lets Eddie in, scans the hall, and closes it. INT. PIRELLI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Pirelli sets down his gun, and pours Eddie a cup of coffee. PIRELLI She's havin' a bad night. Gave her a shot of brandy. Maybe she'll sleep. EDDIE Giving liquor to a minor, Pirelli? He turns to leave. EDDIE I'll be back right after the hearing tomorrow, and you can get some sleep then. INT. PIRELLI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Eddie cracks the door and peeks in. Diana sits on the bed, a lonely forlorn figure. She looks at Eddie, and tries a smile that fails. Eddie walks over to sit on the bed next to her. She falls apart, and lies down, on the verge of crying, collapsing so that her head rest in Eddie's lap. They are quiet like that for a moment, she curled into a ball, Eddie stroking her hair. DIANA What do you do when you don't have anyone? EDDIE You find someone. She looks up at him. DIANA Could you... Hold me for a while? Eddie lays on the bed beside her. She curls up in his arms, and closes her eyes. Eddie's eyes remain open. INT. HEARING ROOM - DAY The Civilian Review Board is in the Office of Professional Standards. The panel consists of eight civilians. It is a real cross-section of the city of Chicago. Leon Partida chairs the proceedings. We recognize several faces from the opening bust. An old Mexican woman is on the stand facing the panel. Cragie sits at a table with his representative, facing the officials. A female panel member is questioning the old woman. MALE PANEL MEMBER How far were you standing from where your grandson was shot, Mrs. Murillio? The question must be TRANSLATED by a bumbling clerk, the old woman answers in Spanish, then the answer is translated. CLERK In the next doorway. Four meters. The room is packed. In addition to the police officers, character witnesses, and friends of the dead kid, there are a dozen reporters. Eddie enters and looks over the scene. He nods to Donato, sitting at the rail with his foot propped up. DONATO How you doin', Sarge? EDDIE What's the score? DONATO (nods toward witness) Kid's grandmother says Cragie threw down the pistola. Eddie takes a seat. Officer Cragie is called back to the witness stand. PARTIDA (to steno) Officer Cragie has already been sworn. (pause) Officer Cragie, you have heard Mrs. Murillio's testimony -- CRAGIE Yes, sir. Cragie is neat as a pin, humble, cooperative to a fault. PARTIDA You have heard her tell this panel that she saw you lay the gun in her grandson's hand. He feigns compassion. CRAGIE I'm not saying the woman would make this up. But there's no way she could have seen anything from where she was standing in a hallway that dark. (pause) Like you said, she's the boy's grandmother. PARTIDA If it was dark, Officer, how were you sure Vega had a gun? CRAGIE We were lucky. There was a glint of light, a reflection comin off the barrel of the weapon. EXT. EDDIE'S ALLEY - DAY A carload of Comachos, including Luis, cruises down the street and parks in the alley next to Eddie's building. INT. OPS HALL - DAY The hearing is in recess and the hall is filled with smokers and coffee drinkers. Eddie is getting a BUSY SIGNAL on the pay phone. Donato approaches. DONATO You think he'll get a pass? EDDIE You heard it all. What do you think? DONATO If the hearing was over I'd have to put my money on the old lady. (smiles) But Kosalas's next. My bet's on Cragie. EDDIE The kid may surprise you. Eddie dials the number again. Still a busy signal. INT. PIRELLI'S APARTMENT - DAY Pirelli has Eddie's answering machine plugged in, and is tinkering with the insides. Diana comes into the living room, toweling her wet hair, just out of the shower, but in her street clothes. INT. HEARING ROOM - DAY Kosalas is on the witness stand. PARTIDA And right after you heard Officer Cragie's gun discharge, what did you do then? KOSALAS I immediately advanced down the hall. PARTIDA And what did you see? KOSALAS The deceased, Vega, lying on the floor. Officer Cragie was checking his vital signs. PARTIDA What happened then? KOSALAS We recovered a .25 calibre automatic from the teenager's right hand. PARTIDA Did you see that weapon in Vega's hand before Officer Cragie fired? KOSALAS Yes, sir. Cragie leans back. A ripple is felt in the crowd. The reaction of the boy's relatives, delayed by translation, is one of outrage. PARTIDA No more questions. As Kosalas steps down he keeps his eyes on the floor ahead of him avoiding eye contact. Eddie leans back in his seat. A couple of people get up and head for the door. Eddie gets to his feet and heads for the door. Partida hits the gavel. PARTIDA I'd like to now call Sergeant Cusack. Eddie halts with his hand on the knob. INT. PIRELLI'S APARTMENT - DAY Pirelli works on the answering machine, but the phone is reconnected. Diana is looking at photographs on the wall. DIANA You made that uniform look good. Pirelli looks up. PIRELLI That good looking gorilla next to me is Eddie's father. Better than good cop. Killed in the line of duty. '71. (pause) Another cop shot him. An accident. He goes back to the machine. INT. EDDIE'S HALL - DAY The Comachos come up the stairs, led by Luis. They stop at Eddie's door. They pull out their guns, and kick the door in. Across the hall, Pirelli's door opens, and Pirelli, holding his pistol steps into the hall. The Comachos turn and fire, blasting Pirelli back into his apartment. Through the open door we see Diana dash across the living room. INT. PIRELLI'S APARTMENT - DAY Luis and his men burst in. Diana runs for the phone. A Comacho takes it from her and rips it from the wall. Diana is caught by two Comachos. INT. HEARING ROOM - DAY Eddie is on the witness stand. EDDIE I can't comment on that. It was over before I got there. PARTIDA You are his superior officer, are you not? EDDIE Cragie's in my unit, yes. PARTIDA Did you give the men their various assignments? EDDIE I did. PARTIDA Did you request that officer Cragie be on your TAC team? EDDIE No, I didn't. Partida lifts a document from the table. PARTIDA Sergeant... I have here a department document dated 24 September, of last year. It is a request by you, to your superiors, to have Officer Cragie transferred to another unit. Are you familiar with this document? EDDIE Yes. The room listens to every word. PARTIDA Why did you request his transfer? EDDIE Maybe 30 years is too long for anyone to look at the city's guts, Mr. Partida. PARTIDA What happened to this request? EDDIE It was denied. Partida lifts another document. PARTIDA This is a letter of support for Officer Cragie. (hands it to him) Everyone in his unit signed it but you. (pause) Why? Eddie glances over the letter and hands it back. EDDIE I don't agree with what it says. PARTIDA Are you saying you do not believe Officer Cragie is fit to work the streets of Chicago? EDDIE That's what I'm saying. INT. OPS HALL - DAY The reporters are clustered around Eddie as he emerges but he walks past them back to the pay phone. He puts in a quarter and dials. Frowns. The cops in the corridor are passing the word about Eddie's testimony, discussing it in little clusters. Their appearance is frightening. Eddie dials another number. EDDIE (to phone) I just dialed 348-6610, and I get this funny buzz. Check the line for me? Thanks. Cragie, backed up by a couple of buddies, comes up to him. BRENNAN Seems to me the man's got his tongue stuck to his asshole, Cragie. CRAGIE Hey, that don't bother him. He's the fuckin White Knight. (to Eddie) You wanna take on the whole world by yourself? Now you're gonna get your chance, Sarge. They walk down the hall. OPERATOR (V.O.) (from phone) Sorry, sir, that number seems to be out of service. I've reported it. Eddie drops the phone. INT. OPS HALL - DAY Eddie races down the hallway past hostile clusters of former friends. EXT. EDDIE'S CAR - DAY Roaring north on the boulevard without regard to traffic, Eddie speeds toward his house in his rattling Chevy. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - DAY Eddie rockets through the red lights LEANING on his HORN. INT. EDDIE'S HALL - DAY Eddie runs up the stairs, and slows when he sees Odell. The boy is sitting on the floor, head in his hands, crying. Just past Odell, several uniformed policemen are standing over Pirelli's body. They step back as Eddie approaches. COP He was a friend of yours wasn't he? EDDIE Yeah. INT. PIRELLI'S APARTMENT - DAY Eddie hurries to the bedroom and back. He rushes out of the apartment. EXT. EDDIE'S STREET - DAY Eddie runs for the Chevy and peels away from the curb. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - DAY Eddie is on the radio, speeding west on Diversey Parkway. EDDIE (to mike) Squad, this is 1462. I need a backup. Have 64 and 63 from TAC 4 meet me at the billiard parlor on 18th near Halsted. Questioning suspects. EXT. BRENNAN'S CAR - DAY Music is standing on a streetcorner talking to a couple of hookers. Down the street, Brennan waits in their unmarked car. INT. BRENNAN'S CAR - DAY DISPATCH (V.O.) (from speaker) 1463 and 1464, Unit 1462 requesting assistance at the poolroom on 18th Street near Halsted. Questioning a suspect. Brennan picks up the mike. BRENNAN (to mike) Ten-four, Dispatch. Unit 1463 responding. Music returns to the car and gets in. BRENNAN I could use a cup of coffee. EXT. POOL HALL - DAY Eddie squeals to a stop, hops out of the car, starts for the pool hall. Eddie enters the poolhall. INT. POOL HALL - DAY The place is busy. Everybody in sight is either mean or ugly. Eddie enters and a dozen pair of eyes are on him. The pool players not connected with this confrontation take one look at him, hang up their cues, and split. Eddie heads for the back of the room. A pair of heavyweights fall in behind him. One of them grabs Eddie. HEAVY Hey, you ain't got no business back there. EDDIE I want your opinion I'll beat it out of you. Eddie spins with deadly precision and catches them in mid- step and they go down like gut-shot rhinos. He heads for the rear hallway and everybody clears a path. He steps up to the door in back and kicks it in. INT. POOL HALL BACK ROOM - DAY A startled Camacho, DEGAS, looks up, straw in hand with a line of coke on a mirror on his desk. EDDIE Where is Luis? DEGAS Get the hell out of here. Eddie grabs Degas by the hair and starts slamming his face into the mirror which shatters with every blow. EDDIE Talk to me, Degas, or I'll hit you with so many lefts you're gonna beg for a right. He holds up Degas' head to look him in the eye. Blood and cocaine stain the man's face. DEGAS He's coming here. He's on his way. Eddie lifts the head once and gives Degas one punch in the face that sends him ass over teakettle across the floor. INT. POLICE COMMUNICATIONS ROOM - DAY Beneath the lighted map of Area 4, the police dispatcher trying to raise Eddie's backup. DISPATCHER We need a verification on a back-up for Unit 1462... The dispatcher at the next panel overhears the call. SECOND DISPATCHER 1462. That's Cusack, right? First dispatcher nods. SECOND DISPATCHER Good luck finding a backup for that character. INT. POOL HALL - DAY Eddie opens the door and emerges from the back room. A dozen Comacho goons have gathered. Behind them are another two dozen hostile spectators. But no sign of the backup. He pulls out his gun. The remaining innocent bystanders split for the exit. Eddie walks forward into the room. The Comachos and their soldiers stand around him. Several have guns. Eddie keeps them under the point of his gun. He gets to the door and has to turn his back on it to keep the gang in his sights. A gun is pressed into Eddie's back. He drops his gun. Luis kicks Eddie across the room. Eddie lands at the feet of the gang. LUIS Take him apart. Eddie springs to his feet, and in the same motion decks his nearest attacker. The battle is on. Hardwood pool cues crack around him. The first four or five never get a chance to lay a finger on him. Battered and broken, they litter the billiard tables and floor. But Eddie is outnumbered 20 to 1. INT. TAVERN - DAY Cragie and Kosalas sit at the bar. The TV is off, and the few customers pay attention to the police monitor. DISPATCHER (V.O.) (from radio) ...request verification for backup for unit 1462. Patrol 47, are you in the area. OFFICER (V.O.) (from radio) Squad. 47. We're having vehicular problems. Not able to respond. Cragie smiles. Kosalas looks ashamed. EXT. SQUAD CAR - DAY Two uniformed police sit in a cruiser. DISPATCHER (V.O.) (from radio) ...need backup at 18th and Halstead... One cop turns to the other. COP Fuck him. INT. POOL HALL - DAY Coming at Eddie now from all sides, the Comachos wear into him. Finally they begin to connect. Blind-sided, he goes down and they are on him like jackals. They drag him to the top of the rear stairs, and kick him down to the alley. It seems like they are about to finish him off when suddenly all is quiet. The crowd parts. Eddie looks up through swollen eyes to see Luis Comacho standing above him, cool as ice. Luis reaches down and pulls Eddie's head up by the ear. LUIS The sun comes up. You give me Luna, or the girl dies -- slow. Luis kicks him in the face. EXT. POOL HALL ALLEY - NIGHT Eddie opens a bloody eye and looks over his surroundings. He's alone. He moves, a joint at a time, checking himself out. Staggering to his feet, he opens a spiggot on the wall. He lets the cold water wash over his head. INT. POOL HALL - NIGHT Donato hobbles through the deserted pool hall, his pistol in his hand. EXT. POOL HALL ALLEY - NIGHT Donato comes out the back door of the poolhall, and finds Eddie sitting on his haunches and resting against a wall between two garbage cans. DONATO I would have been here, Sarge. They kept it from me. EDDIE You're Ok, Hopalong. Donato holsters his gun, and helps Eddie to his feet. DONATO Listen, I'm havin' a drink with this friend of mine, name of Mickie. She works on a computer over in the Federal Building, FBI. I got here as soon as I heard. EDDIE They got Diana Luna. DONATO That's what I'm tryin' to tell ya. Mickie told me she read on the wire Tony Luna's comin' into Union Station at ten tonight. Eddie runs down the alley toward his car. EXT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Eddie's car pulls up. He gets out and runs inside. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT A train sits at the platform. Tony Luna is walking down the platform. INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Eddie runs through the cavernous lobby. EXT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Eddie arrives in time to see Tony step into a waiting Cadillac that immediately takes off. Eddie races up the ramp to his car. EXT. UNION STATION - NIGHT Eddie jumps into his car, and roars away in pursuit of the Cadillac. EXT. CADILLAC - NIGHT Tony settles in, and then sees Scalese sitting calmly in the back seat. TONY LUNA (surprised) Hello, Felix. SCALESE Hello, Tony. Tony moves for his gun. The hood next to Tony relieves him of his gun, using his own for persuasion. SCALESE (sighs) You see, Tony. You make no sense. You start a war... Waste people... Money... You're like a kid, Tony. You're a bad boy. Tony is scared. The driver spots something in the rearview mirror. EXT. LOOP - NIGHT The Cadillac rockets through the empty orange-lighted canyons of the financial district, with Eddie in hot pursuit. EXT. UPPER WACKER - NIGHT Roaring north on Wacker past an astonished group in front of the Civic Opera House, the Cadillac drops out of sight on the down-ramp to Lower Wacker. EXT. LOWER WACKER - NIGHT This bi-level street is as different as night and day. The lower level's eerie green lights make us feel like we're under water. Iron girders and concrete pillars support the street above. LOW WIDE ANGLE The Cadillac races through this vast man-made cavern, past the sub-level loading docks and service entrances of skyscrapers above. City work crews and all night commercial deliveries dot both the upper and lower levels of the chase. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - NIGHT Eddie is gaining in the battered Chevy. The Cadillac rockets up the next ramp to the street level. EXT. UPPER WACKER - NIGHT The Cadillac zooms up from below, crosses the intersection, and immediately takes the next down-ramp. Eddie flies up from below, briefly airborne, barreling after them into the tunnel. EXT. LOWER WACKER - NIGHT A block later the Cadillac heads topside again. Eddie takes a gamble and goes straight ahead. At the next down-ramp, the Cadillac descends and Tony's boys find themselves doing 70 knots side by side with Eddie in the other lane. In the narrow concrete tunnel, the two cars battle each other like bulls in a chute, each one trying to cut the other off, bouncing from each other into the walls and back again. INT. CADILLAC - NIGHT The goon next to Luna is trying to get a shot off at Eddie. SCALESE This sonovabitch is crazy! Tony sees his chance and he lunges for the gun. In the struggle, the gun goes off and drills Rocco, the driver, through the side of the head. EXT. LOWER WACKER - NIGHT The Cadillac ROARS out of control, its dead driver's foot pressing the accelerator to the floor. Scalese, in the front seat, tries to grab the wheel. Eddie is all over the road trying to avoid them. The river and the curve are ahead. Scalese's car hits the median at high speed, rolls, and slides SCREAMING into a concrete pillar and EXPLODES. Eddie stands on the brakes as his car slides alongside the flaming wreckage. INT. EDDIE'S CAR - NIGHT Eddie's car is on fire now, and the doors have been rammed shut. He kicks the window out on the passenger side. EXT. LOWER WACKER - NIGHT Eddie runs for his life. The explosion knocks him to his knees. He gets up and moves away, looking back at Luna's and Scalese's spectacular funeral pyre. EXT. LOWER WACKER - NIGHT The fire engines and police cars are arriving from every direction. With the flames still lighting his face, Eddie is making a call. EDDIE You tell Luis I got Tony Luna for him. Get me a time and place. INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT Diana is in bad shape. She is tied up. Numb with terror she listens, not comprehending, as the Comachos discuss their plans for her in Spanish. Luis comes over to her, and with his knife begins cutting off part of her clothes. LUIS Your cop friend is smart. Too smart and he dies. Then I take care of you personally. EXT. LOWER WACKER - NIGHT Eddie's car is totally ablaze. He walks past the streaming hoses and slips into a parked blue and white, it's mars lights still flashing. He roars off. INT. GYM - NIGHT The giant door opens, and a lone blue and white pulls in and parks. The place is deserted except for the duty officer who sits in his tiny office watching television with his half-naked girlfriend. Eddie enters silently, glances into the duty office, and heads to the other end of the large hall. In the background we see the practice apartment set, the boxing ring, and several special task force undercover vehicles seen before. INT. LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT Eddie opens his locker and takes out his sawed-off automatic shotgun. He checks the action. He loads it. He fills a duffle bag with ammo and drops in another gun. He closes the locker and heads out. INT. GYM - NIGHT The duty officer is still occupied. Eddie eases past him and checks the key-board at the desk. He finds what he's looking for. He lifts a set of keys from the hook. EXT. GYM - NIGHT From inside, we hear the SOUND of a TRUCK STARTING. EXT. EXPRESSWAY - DAY This city garbage van, an immense blue semi-trailer, is moving south on the Dan Ryan at incredible speed, pushing traffic out of the way like a battleship slicing through Sunday boaters. Eddie is at the wheel. EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Among the dockside ruins of the old facility, Luis carefully checks his snipers and lookouts. Shouting in Spanish, he directs them into position. From the distance we see a signal from the Comacho stationed at the top of a huge grain elevator overlooking the Calumet Harbor. INT. GYM - DAY Kosalas enters. The place is in chaos. He joins the crowd gathered in the center of the facility. Brennan and Cragie are here. So is Music. Commander Kates has just arrived. KATES What the hell is goin on? BRENNAN Cusack made off with a truckload of armour. MUSIC (shakes his head) He's a fucking one man army now. CRAGIE What'd I tell ya. The sonofabitch is crazy. Kosalas wanders through the wreckage. He is stunned. He is starting to wake up. KATES OK, everybody. No more games. Where's Cusack. The men all look at him silently. Kosalas turns on them. KOSALAS I can't swallow this shit! Eddie Cusack's out there takin' on the world by himself. And you fuckin' heros are gonna sit on your goddamn asses! He is mad and loud. CRAGIE Cool it kid. KOSALAS Don't you fuckin' tell me to cool it. I won't cool it. I'm not going to fuckin' lie for you any more. (to Kates) I lied, Commander. He laid a gun on that kid. I saw the whole thing. CRAGIE You little fuckin' bastard! Cragie jumps at Kosalas, but Kosalas is ready for him, and braces Cragie against the wall. With one hand Kosalas slams Cragie again, and reaches down with his free hand, lifting Cragie's pants leg and extracting a drop-gun from it's concealed holster. KOSALAS What's this for partner? Your next fuck up? Kates steps in and separates them. KATES (to the others) Get someone in the air. We're gonna find Cusack. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Diana, now hanging from her wrists like a slab of beef, is guarded by a couple of Luis' boys, eyeing her hungrily. Luis enters. LUIS (subtitles) Take off the gag. I want them to hear her. EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Luis scans the daybreak sky. He and Efren take up positions. Above them and around them, every line of fire is covered. EXT. GRAIN ELEVATOR - DAY From the lookout's POV atop the towering grain elevator, WE SEE several garbage trucks moving in and out of an adjacent dump. One of them seems familiar to us. INT. TRUCK CAB - DAY Eddie's eyes search the harbour as he maneuvers slowly alongside a rusting freighter. He stops and gets out. EXT. GRAIN ELEVATOR - DAY Eddie opens the rear of the truck and lowers a ramp. EDDIE Here we go partner. He picks up his gun and a duffle bag from the cab and heads out. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY The Comachos are ready and waiting. Luis walks through the middle of the vast empty plant toward the front, checking on his troops one last time. EXT. DOCK - DAY Against the grotesque shapes of the surrounding scrapyards, Eddie moves quickly from one concealment to the next, crouched low, advancing on the abandoned factory at the end of the dock. He lays down his duffle and pulls out a Halliburton case. He opens it. EXT. GRAIN ELEVATOR - DAY From inside the garbage truck WE HEAR an ENGINE STARTING. It REVS a couple of times. And from within the container compartment of the truck emerges the Prowler. It clatters down the ramp. EXT. GRAIN ELEVATOR - DAY The lookout spots the Prowler moving down the dock. He can't believe his eyes. He sights on the machine and FIRES. And in the distance, the Prowler senses the insult and immediately turns its camera eye up to him. The lookout FIRES again. Immediately, the turret swivels and the twin MACHINEGUNS ROAR. It's a long way down. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY The SOUND of MACHINEGUN FIRE from outside galvanizes the Comachos. Luis runs through the long building toward the front with half a dozen of his men, all SHOUTING. EXT. DOCK - DAY Eddies eyes watch the miniature monitor of the Prowler's hand controller. On the monitor WE CAN SEE the Comachos running out in the front of the factory from the camera on top of the Prowler. Eddie gets up and moves toward the factory. He looks up at several high broken windows. EXT. DOCK - DAY The Prowler is having a field day. It's electronic sensors trace the source of every hostile shot and immediately return a withering stream of hot lead that chews the surrounding scenery -- and several Comachos -- to pieces. But Eddie has not figured out how to control the Prowler's BULLHORN VOICE command system. It continues to BARK ORDERS to the dead hoodlums in three languages. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Luis runs through the empty plant toward the office screaming to Diana's guards. LUIS (subtitles) Now! Do it now! Kill her! INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Diana, tied to the chair, is momentarily alone as the guards rush out to the floor of the factory to see what's happening. The two guards, their guns flying from their hands, are hammered back into the room by Eddie who blasts through the door after them. Diana is petrified. INT. SQUAD CAR - DAY Kosalas and Kates are in the same car. Kosalas is driving. DISPATCHER (V.O.) (from radio) ...Harbor Patrol reports gunfire and explosions in the vicinity of Calumet Harbor... KATES That's Cusack. Kosalas spins the wheel into a U-turn. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY The "Prowler" rolls around the corner, its brutal turret bristling with firepower. It is driving Luis and the other stupefied Comachos further back into the building. Eddie guides his deadly partner with the hand controller. The Comachos dive for cover and spray the miniature tank with AUTOMATIC FIRE. But they are no match. Two continuous streams of hot lead chew up the place, splintering the loading dock and the catwalk hiding places and disintegrating the structure, churning the Comachos to hamburger. COMACHO SHOT RINGS OUT Eddie goes down and the Prowler hand controller falls to the ground, shattered. The Prowler goes berserk, SPRAYING DEATH in a 360 degree circle until all the ammo is gone. Then SILENCE. Eddie touches the blood on the side of his leg. It's not serious. It appears everyone is out of ammunition. But a few Comachos are still hidden in the factory. Eddie is after them like a tiger. Victor, shoulder still bandaged, never has a chance. He goes down, battered and broken. But Luis has crept up behind Eddie. He jumps over a steel plate. He's going for Diana, a long knife in his hand. Eddie reaches for a reload. Puts it in his magnum. Aims, and blows Luis away just as he reaches for Diana. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Across the littered battlefield, Eddie escorts Diana toward the light streaming through the factory entrance. He takes off his jacket and wraps it around Diana's shoulders. EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY The pier is crawling with cops with more arriving every second. A fire boat is extinguishing the blaze set by the Prowler's incendiary ammunition. The bodies of the Comachos lying everywhere astound the arriving "Home Team." Officer Kosalas screeches to a halt and jumps from his car. Brennan and Music are running down the dock. Donato, a cast on his leg, hobbles after them. EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Emergency vehicles are arriving, and more squad cars, paddy wagons, and fire engines. Eddie walks by the cops toward an ambulance, now carrying Diana. Kates calls out after him. KATES Hey, Cusack! Eddie stops, slowly turns around. There is a long pause. KATES I'm glad you don't follow orders. Eddie hands Diana over to the waiting medics, who put her in the ambulance. We pull back further and further until we see the rest of the Home Team. The ambulance, carrying Diana, pulls away with it's lights flashing. Eddie walks down the pier alone. THE END