All language subtitles for Stakeout.on.Dope.Street.1958

All right, get your

hands up there, both of them.

[BLANK_AUDIO]

Come on.

[BLANK_AUDIO]

Unit 386, unit 386 to dispatcher.

Go ahead, 386.

Officers Fred Matthews

and Lynn Donahue reporting.

We are at 503 Cole Street,

repeating 503 COL E Street.

We have suspect in custody.

Request any narcotics

or units in vicinity.

Come to our systems for

further check and area.

Is that 10-4?

That's 10-4, unit 386.

That's 10-4.

This is unit 205,

officers Wilf and Johnson.

We are in immediate vicinity of unit 386

and rolling to their assistance.

Let's have a cigarette, Donny.

[BLANK_AUDIO]

Mitch! Mitch, get the bag!

[BLANK_AUDIO]

What did he have to throw it for?

It's gotta be here somewhere.

Look, look, look for it.

Under the foot, over there, someplace.

Mitch, the cops, come on.

We're about late.

[MUSIC]

Monday, April 14, 930 a.m., Captain

Richard R. Allen of the Sheriff's

Narcotics Detail arrived at

Grover Street Emergency Hospital.

At 11.45 the previous evening, Sergeant

Fred Matthews and Officer Lynn Donahue

had arrested a suspect.

From him, they confiscated a briefcase

containing narcotics.

We answered their call to the dispatcher.

As they waited for our unit to arrive,

the three men were assailed and shot.

The gunman escaped from us.

Sergeant Matthews and the

suspect Jerome Lake were killed.

Police Dr. Franklin Weber

had called headquarters.

At 7.30 a.m., Officer

Donahue regained consciousness.

His condition was reported as fair.

Donahue was ready to make his report.

[BLANK_AUDIO]

Well, Aladdin, glad to

see you among the living.

How you doing, Captain?

Oh, those years as a patrolman.

Doc says you're gonna be okay.

How's Matt?

Matt's on a slab at the morgue, D.O.A.

So is Lake, that pusher you picked up.

Yeah, Matt didn't have a chance, Captain.

Just didn't have a chance.

Now let's get with it. What happened?

Well, Lake had this briefcase.

And when we latched onto

him, we gave it a fast check.

And we found some cosmetics in it.

And we also found a can, a

two pound can full of heroin.

And Lake told us it was pure.

Two pounds.

Pushers don't handle that kind of stuff.

That must have been a big transfer.

Stuff that just come across the border.

Two pounds of uncut stuff.

And we had it, Captain.

We had it right in the car

when the shooting started.

Two pounds.

Whoever shot you must have grabbed it.

Chuck and Stan just missed him.

What a party somebody's gonna have.

Man, do you know what that stuff's worth?

You and I should have that kind of money.

Well, I better call

headquarters and give them the good news.

That's all you know, huh, Lynn?

Oh, they're gonna love

us for losing that bag.

As Captain Allen called headquarters, an

18 year old boy, Julian Vespucci,

returned from making the early morning

deliveries for his father's store.

His route had included a nearby produce

district where the gunfight

occurred the night before.

While in that area, the boy found a

locked briefcase lodged

in a growth of bushes.

He showed his father what he had found,

and then went on to join his two friends

who made a habit of meeting

in the back room of the store.

Jimmy, take that.

Where's the chick with no clothes you

promised to draw me?

Catch yourself a calendar.

Muscles, huh?

Jimmy, dig this.

One hand. Knock it off, will you, Miss?

Now hold it, Nick.

All right.

Hold it. Got it?

All right, take it away

from me, Bess. It's heavy.

It's a little bit too big through there.

I'd take the thing and...

Hey, you don't have

that tricep muscle right.

Okay, out those flex.

All right, here we go.

Look.

Mm-hmm.

That's a tricep. Very funny.

How's that for definition, huh?

Yeah, it's not bad.

Yeah, but it's on the leg.

They're blind. Hey, give me that. I

want to put it on my stage.

All right, lay off. Lay off, Bess.

Hey, when are you gonna draw me?

Come on, draw me, will you?

Next time.

Hey, what you got there, Bess?

Oh, yeah. Why don't you swipe it?

I found it.

Where?

I'm parking the truck

this morning behind a market.

I get out, bang,

there it is in the bushes.

Let's see.

JRL. Must belong to somebody.

Yeah, it does.

Finders keepers. Right

next, finders keepers, huh?

Right. I mean, it's locked.

You know it's loaded?

Maybe jewels or uranium.

I'll settle for some plain old money.

Crazy. I've busted a little.

You leave it right

here and give me a knife.

I'll try to open it.

Yeah, it's a pretty fancy lock.

Let's see that knife

if I can shimmy it open.

All right, come on, take it easy.

What do you hear?

The lawns, perfume, lotions.

Hey, all this stuff is

a bunch of women's junk.

A bunch of nowhere samples. What a drag.

Probably some dumb salesman ditched it.

What do you say we split it up anyway?

I don't want to need that stuff.

Guy that lost his

probably sweating it out, huh?

Yeah.

Some guy probably got

discussed with his job and ditched it.

I think I'll give some

of this stuff to Kathy.

She can probably use them.

I'm hip she can. All right, knock it off.

What's that?

Quality face powder,

non-allergic, non-perfume.

What you guys got here? Here.

It's a pretty fancy can.

How about that? That's your

grocery clerk around here.

What is it?

Beats me.

Tofa.

Must be something for pimples.

The party's over.

Hey, what are we gonna do with this?

What do you think we're gonna do with it?

I don't know. Turn it in.

Hey, you lost some

time. Get a fast reward.

Fellas, you are now looking at a free

trip to the bowling alley.

Courtesy of J.R.M.

Hey, take this crazy shot.

That stinks.

Remind me to show you how to do it.

Come on, it was the greatest.

How much do you think

we'll get for that thing?

I don't know. Four or five bucks?

Come on, I'll give us more than that.

After emptying the briefcase, the three

boys took it directly to a swap shop at

818 Legrange Street,

where they offered to sell it to the

proprietor, Samuel Alber.

Mr. Alber displayed some hesitancy in

purchasing the case,

pointing out that the engraved initials

limited its market potential.

However, Nick Raymond, the oldest and

spokesman for the trio,

attempted to persuade Mr. Alber that

despite the initials,

$5 was a low price for a case of such

high quality and workmanship.

In a short time, a

compromise of $4 was agreed upon.

(Music)

Nick and Vess had to

get back to their jobs,

so the three boys decided to meet at the

bowling alley that evening.

And until that time, Nick, as usual,

volunteered to keep the money in trust.

(Music)

Hi.

Hi, Jimmy. You're early.

Not early. I'm wet.

What have you got there?

Oh, something for you.

Me?

Uh-huh.

What is it?

Where did you get all this?

I've been saving green stamps.

All right. So you won't tell me?

Nope.

Thank you. Anyway, I'll sure use it.

Would you like some coffee?

Yeah.

All right.

How's the job, honey?

Um, jobs.

I've been out of work one week.

Already, I feel like a criminal.

Hey, how's that?

It's not one of your best.

It's nice.

Well, no Picasso, but, uh...

Say I'm gonna have to do

another painting with you.

Why not?

Only this time, let's

do one my family can see.

Yeah.

Hey, how's this? I'm gonna do a real good portrait of you,

you know, real flattering.

Maybe I'll give you two heads.

Maybe I paint one of your faces green.

There's this rich, rich collector, see,

and this guy's just bugged on green.

He's just gotta have this painting.

So, uh, I let him twist

my arm, and it's a deal.

And he leaves me this,

uh, beat-up old $10,000.

So I take the money, and I

pension off Mom and the kids.

Maybe I buy a little book, and I'll sell it to her. I pay off Mom and the kids.

Maybe I buy a little barnacle mine, you

know, some good income property with a

couple of crops a year.

And, uh, then I take the rest of the

money, and you and

me, we go to Rome, see?

And I really learn how to paint.

And I paint a million pictures.

There's not a smidgen

of green in any of them.

Big champ.

Good jazz, huh?

Yeah, real good.

Swings when I'm saying.

How's, uh, how's lover boy Kenny?

He's living.

Still hanging around here?

What's bugging you?

Life, honey.

Wanna go to Rome? How about it?

What about your family?

All right, how's this?

I get a real square job, and, uh, we all

live together in a little crooked house,

and I become a Sunday painter.

Suddenly, when I'm 85, Life magazine

discovers that I'm a genius.

And so I call myself Grandpa Moses, and I

paint nothing but snow and make money.

It's a good dream.

What about me?

What more do you want? You've got me.

So sweet.

Is it a deal?

Are you serious?

Maybe.

Jimmy, when I get married, I'd kind of

like to have things the way they're

supposed to be, you know?

Kind of nice.

At least for a while.

So what do I need, money?

You want me to discover an oil well in

the palm of my hand?

You want O'Kenny with his

beat-up wig and his bank account?

It's not fair.

You know I like it

better than anyone I know.

It's just that I don't know

whether we'd be able to make it.

Won't swing, huh?

I wish it would.

Hi, Daddy.

Hi.

Ninety cents?

Yes.

I'm going to come by later

to see if you need some more.

Would you do that? I

think we'll be busy tonight.

Okay.

Thank you.

See you later.

Are you mad?

No, I gotta take off.

I got something important to look into.

Call me later.

No, I don't know how the newspaper's got

a hold of the story.

Some genius in the press room upstairs.

Well, we haven't lost city hall.

At least not yet.

Sure, the papers are going to blow this

thing up into a

king-size goof on our part.

All right, that's our job.

Our job is to find the stuff.

Now, Donahue saw this load,

and it's a mighty big bundle.

Now, I want you and your men to buzz

every creep, hustler, junky, pusher,

pigeon in the street.

I want you to make the

street unhappy, do you understand?

Now, the chief expects a

positive lead in the next 24 hours.

I told him I had the men to do it.

Now, make it look good for me, will you?

Well, there's the haystack.

All we gotta do now is find the needle.

Go find it.

We had it, you know, it was ours.

Yeah, all of us.

Our fortune right here.

Hey, what's going on back there?

It's okay, Mr. Bostucci.

Nick just tripped over a can.

No damage.

Take it easy, will you?

No, I wish it was his head.

He's always following things up.

I know.

- Hi, fellas. - Where is God?

- Where's what? - Where's the can?

You know, that big can

with the white powder.

- What did you do? - I

threw it out with the trash.

You threw away a

fortune, where to throw it?

Behind Miller's.

- Miller's? - Yeah,

where I always threw it.

- Come on, I know where

it is. - Hey, what's up?

We didn't win.

Oh, boy.

George Littleton, an employee

of Miller's printing company,

told them that a rubbish truck had made a

collection over an hour ago.

Whatever they were looking

for was either on its way

or else had already been

taken to the city dump.

(HORSE WHINNYING)

- We know the cops don't

have it. - We don't have it.

Nobody has it.

Is that right? It just...

(SIGHS)

Lake was hot, Mr. Fennell.

His cord cars were coming.

We met Lake on schedule,

just the way it was set up.

We did all right.

You didn't do all right, you blow!

I want to tell you

something you don't know.

You guys are getting to be the hottest

items we stock right now.

Real hot. Did you know that?

- We'll get it for you. - When?

Now, listen.

I want to make this

very, very clear to you.

I'll leave for Chicago

by the end of the week.

Your time is up then.

You've got influence.

Every contact, every

junkie in town, every root stop.

All you gotta do is

bring the stuff to me.

I don't care how you do it.

The two gunmen, Lenny

Potter and Mitch Swodersky,

passed the word through the

echelons of the underworld.

Their connections were told to

concentrate on one thing.

Find the party who's

lately come into a lot of heroin

and find him fast.

(dramatic music)

At the same time, all units of the

sheriff's narcotics detail

spread out in the search.

From the bait of the bowery, we made

pickups in every area

of the city's network.

From chippy to gutter height, every known

pusher, user and

informant was questioned.

There was still a

possibility that the can was intact,

that the stuff hadn't been cut, but the

possibility was getting slimmer.

We knew that with every passing hour,

what we were searching for

would be buried still deeper

in the bottomless

crypt of the underworld.

The city's traffic and

narcotics quickly tightened.

The heat was on.

The street became a maze of mistrust.

Everyone was frightened.

Everyone was suspect.

The underworld held its breath and waited

to be tapped by a policeman,

or even worse, by

someone in the organization.

Narcotics addiction is a hungry evil,

feeding from the sickness

and desperation of other vices.

Extortion, the numbers racket.

Prostitution, blackmail.

All a lies, each a

means of feeding the habit.

We were trying to choke

off all the lifelines.

(dramatic music)

(upbeat music)

In the language of the street, they call

it junk, or H, stuff,

snow, mooch, happy dust, cochomow, horse.

There are other names for it,

names that aren't so refined,

but it all adds up to

the same thing, heroin.

And two pounds had been

swallowed by infinity.

Every basement, closet and

shelf, every dark corner,

every obvious counter was

a potential hiding place.

(dramatic music)

There were times when the police and the

mob were both looking for the same thing

across the same path, or the same result.

Nobody could turn up

anyone who was in the know.

(dramatic music)

- Nothing, what does he mean nothing?

There must be a million

ways to cash that thing in.

- Name one.

What you got so far is a can of powder.

What are you gonna do with it?

- Oh, you nuts, the paper says, the paper

says it's worth plenty.

- Yeah, but not laying around here.

- Well, then we can sell it.

- Like a rummage sale, you

mean, how, like a raffle?

- Yeah, well, like maybe over

your old man's counter, huh?

Somebody must want it.

- Sure, the cops want it, real strong.

- Yeah, the guy who lost it, huh?

- He's probably looking for

it with a gun in his hand.

- I tell you, that's not

money in that can, it's trouble.

- Cops could put us away just for being

in the same room with that cannon.

I don't want to spend the

rest of my life in jail.

- You know, man, like I

don't want any trouble.

This is my pop's place.

- Oh, don't get panicky, you guys.

Nobody's gonna get into trouble.

- You wanna dump this stuff, huh?

Yeah, give it to the cops.

- All of it?

- You know what this stuff is?

- I can give it a fast cop.

- I don't mean what

it's worth, what it is.

This isn't money in the can.

This is a passport.

This is a golden key.

This is a round-the-world ticket.

And a dame ten feet tall.

- That's a gunpoint

right at your head, Nick.

Be serious.

- You don't think I'm serious, huh?

Look, I punch a time clock every day.

I goof around.

I'm just another guy.

You think that's what I want?

Do you think I want to

get married and buy a house

and have two mortgages and two kids like

just any ordinary guy?

I want to live, Jim.

I want to be somebody.

I don't want to buy my

life on a storming plan.

I want it right now.

- Sure you want it right now.

I want it right now.

Everybody wants it right now.

How about you, Bess?

You want it right now?

- Sure, I want it right now.

- But how bad do you want it, huh?

You willing to get

busted and sent to the pen?

You willing to stick your

neck all the way out, huh?

- Look, Jim, I'm going all the way.

I'll tell you why.

I'm living in a hole

that may be 60 years long.

I could get by.

I can get the stuff the average guy gets.

Is that what you want, huh?

Why do you think I mess

around with this stuff, huh?

I fought a couple of fights.

I thought, maybe this is the way out.

No, it didn't happen.

I didn't make out.

I wasn't good enough.

And this came along.

This is my way out.

- It's no way out. It's

rotten stuff. It stinks.

- It stinks, huh?

But you ran after this stinking stuff.

Now, what did you hear when you ran?

Money?

The jingle of money?

But money doesn't smell, does it?

Now listen. - You listen.

You just chickened out, buddy boy.

You mean to say you wouldn't take this if

it were green stuff?

Now, you'd take it. - If it's nowhere.

It is, huh?

You think you're too

good to take it, don't you?

You're worse off than I am, Jim.

You want to go off somewhere and paint,

but you're stuck with obligations.

You want to make out with some chick, but

you just haven't got

enough money to do it.

You wouldn't take this

if it were cold cash?

You're scared to death.

You haven't even got enough guts to take

what's right in front of you.

You're yellow.

I'm getting out of this hole.

You square stay pure.

I'll swing this myself.

Hey, wait a minute, Nick. I found that.

Nick. Wait a minute, will you?

You guys.

Look, I don't want any trouble either.

We haven't stolen anything from you. We don't even know what's in the can. We

just found something.

That's right. All we did was pick up

something and get it done.

Look, Jim, we don't do anything.

All we need to do is talk to somebody.

Who do we talk to?

Well, there's this guy, Danny.

He hangs around the garage where I work.

Why him?

Well, he's done time. He's a hype.

Maybe if he buys, he'll sell.

Wouldn't hurt to just talk to him, Jimmy.

What do you say?

All right, let's see what he has to say. Danny?

Danny?

Anybody home?

Sleep. Come on.

Danny?

Hey, Danny.

Danny? Danny? Danny? Hey, Danny?

Danny?

Huh?

Huh?

What?

What are you-- Who's there?

What are you-- What are you guys-- What?

Hey, huh?

Just some friends of mine,

Danny. We want to talk to you.

I don't like guys breaking in this place.

They're coming in when I'm sleeping.

What do you want? What are

you going to talk to me about?

We just want to get some advice.

Don't bother because-- Go

on, because this is my day off.

I want to sleep.

Nothing to talk to you about.

What do you want?

What do you want?

Supposing somebody had some stuff.

Stuff? What do you mean?

Did you know--

Dope.

All right. Who--

You kids are going to get

yourself a lot of trouble.

Who says I-- Who says I-- Who says I--

On that stuff, huh? Who

says I touch that stuff?

Now, who says-- Nobody, Danny. Nobody.

Yeah, you better watch

out, every one of you.

You're going to get yourselves in a lot

of trouble with, you know,

talking and saying

things about guys, you know,

nothing about spreading

rumors like that, you know?

Well--

You know, maybe some guys

do fix themselves up now,

and then, you know, with something,

they're just a little--

Pick me up. What's wrong with that?

Guy takes a drink.

Doesn't mean he's a lush.

Oh, nobody said that, Danny.

No.

But what do you-- What

do you really want, huh?

What do you want?

Supposing, um...

We had some stuff.

Stuff? What do you mean?

What are you talking about, huh?

What's that?

What's that?

It's heroin.

I mean, it's junk.

It's pure, Danny.

Pure.

You mean that isn't even cut?

I'll give you a fast ten

bucks for it right now.

What do you say? Don't spill it.

Don't spill it.

That's only the sample.

The sample? The sample, huh?

Well, Nick, uh... I'm not going to give you a chance to get a drink. I'm going to give you a drink. I'm going to give you a drink. I'm going to give you a drink. I'm going to give you a drink. I'm going to give you a drink. The sample? The sample, huh?

Well, Nick, uh... Hey, fellas...

Uh... You know, come on.

Come on, sit down.

This place isn't very... very good.

You know, you can get

something to sit on. Can't...

How much you got?

Don't worry. We can get plenty.

With the prices, right?

Sure. I'll do right by it.

I got plenty of connections.

I'll take all you got.

I'll get you the most.

You got to test that stuff out, you know,

give it a chance to sell itself.

You know, you got to...

I'll get you the most for it.

What do you say, Nick?

Okay, Danny. Four ways.

Try and get what you can.

Sure. I've got to work on it right away.

Remember, Danny, if the

price isn't right, no more.

We'll meet you here about, uh...

Eight o'clock, huh?

Sure, Nick. Eight o'clock.

Listen, if this stuff tests out, you guys

have got nothing to worry about.

Nick, uh...

What are you guys... pick

up on stuff like this, huh?

Look, Dad, we don't ask

you where you sell it.

Eight o'clock, huh?

(HUMMING CONTINUES)

In the jaded world of narcotics, there is

a chain of known and unknown links,

stretching from the highest to the lowest

strata of our society.

Some of these links are invisible. Others

are pathetically apparent.

We tried to snap all the known links,

hoping that someone would panic and the

chain would crumble.

There's not a whisper

of a rumble anywhere.

So where does that leave us? Out in left

field without a mitt.

That stuff didn't just

get up and walk away.

It didn't just decide to play

button-button with us.

It's out there somewhere.

Yeah, but where?

You know, Captain, Stan said something

this afternoon that made sense, maybe.

Oh, well, there'll be a

change of pace around this joint.

How about it, Stan? How about it, what?

What was this sensible

something you said this afternoon?

Oh, I don't know.

The more I think about

it, the more I wonder.

So, okay, Wonder Boy, what is it?

All right.

Look, we've been up one side of the

street and down the other.

Nobody's got anything to say to us.

A, because they're too scared.

Or B, because nobody knows.

Well, I'll pick B.

Like a cop's been killed,

another one's been shot,

and there's a lot of horse on the loose.

Now, in a situation like that, one of our

stoolies should have

come up with something.

Unless that stuff just

didn't end up in the right places.

Do you mean the killers were

all set to hijack that junk?

They had leaks staked out, too.

Yeah, but look, that would mean someone's

buck to send it could.

Tell me, who's that brave?

I wonder if there's a new mob moving in.

It could be.

A whole new crowd.

Tough, efficient, and deadly.

That's the way it counts out, fellas.

It's yours.

It's mine.

I got you the most.

I really got you the most, fellas.

Do you have any trouble

getting rid of this stuff?

I don't have any trouble at all.

Only trouble is, how

much more and how soon?

Like that ain't no trouble, Pappy.

I mean, get plenty.

Oh, you can handle.

Look for us tomorrow afternoon.

When?

Well, sometime about three or four.

Somewhere in there.

Make it 3.30.

That's fine.

You know, I just been thinking.

Maybe it's not too cool having all three

of you guys show up

like this all at once.

Got some pretty square

neighbors living around here.

We wouldn't want them snooping.

Yeah, maybe you're right.

Okay, one of us will be here.

That's right.

Just count.

Okay, we'll dig up something for you.

Just leave everything up to me.

We collect again tomorrow night.

Yeah, tomorrow night, late.

I'd say everything's going just great,

wouldn't you, partner?

Just keep it coming, huh?

Hey, what are you guys

gonna do with all this dough?

Look, let us worry about that, huh?

Let's go.

[music]

Nick and Vess were making plans, and part

of the plan was to drive into the future

on the wheels of a shiny sports car.

They had taken a spin in the fastest,

sleekest, and costliest car on the lot.

Money, or the lack of it,

would soon be no barrier.

A few more transactions were their newly

acquired associate Danny, and they could

afford this and much more.

But just take a little time.

Nick and Vess had passed the earlier part

of the afternoon looking at clothes,

sporting equipment, bongo drums, and

other racy items for kids their age.

As yet, they were too cautious to spend

any of the money from Danny's first sale.

They were just sort of

wandering and window shopping.

But at the same time, they had been

enthusiastic and boyishly optimistic

enough to take a ride in what they

thought their future might have in store.

[music]

Jim was also thinking about the future.

He was making a down

payment on his dream.

He bought a bracelet for Kathy.

It wasn't studded with diamonds, but it

was expensive, and looked it.

You mean you expect me to just say thank

you for this when I know where you got

the money to buy it?

Why not? It's real, isn't it?

It's shiny.

You know, you go into a store to buy

something, nobody asks

you where you got the money.

You've never done anything

dishonest like this in your life.

Jim, the newspapers--

Oh, the newspapers and newspapers.

Make it sound as if it was a mint like we

had a carload of this stuff.

People have been killed.

Don't make it sound as if I killed them.

Can you say it another way

so it'll make it sound pretty?

Well, anyway, that's the story, Kathy.

You think I'm nuts about the deal?

You like it enough to get mixed up in it,

don't you? You're

paddling the stuff, aren't you?

No.

Well, somebody is.

Look, we found somebody, a

junkie, a guy that's an addict.

He's getting rid of this stuff for us.

Does it make it any better if someone

else is selling it for you?

No matter how you say it,

it's wrong, Jim. It's wrong.

Wrong, wrong. Why do you

keep saying it's wrong?

Sure, it's wrong. Don't you think I know?

Look, honey, it's not just the money, but

what we talked about.

Like, you said you wanted

things nice for a change.

You're doing it for me.

Is this what you thought I meant? Did you

think I'd go along with this?

Jim, don't you know what

these drugs do to people?

We're not forcing anybody, are we?

Stores sell rat poison,

nobody makes you drink it.

It's not the same.

It is the same.

Everybody sells one

kind of dope or another.

How about your pal Kenny?

You know, he makes his

money running a game upstairs,

but you're willing to let him take you

out and spend his

money on you, aren't you?

The whole world is a racket, Cathy. Just

one great big connaroo.

All right. So the world's lousy.

That doesn't give you

the right to do this.

All I want out of this is

enough for us to make a start.

They can throw the rest of the stuff in

the river after that.

Look, honey, if we'd

already sold the stuff,

I mean, if I had the money,

and you knew how I got it,

would you take it? I can't go along with you.

Oh, honey.

I was wondering, Danny,

how does it feel when

you're on the stuff?

What's it really like?

Does it make you feel good?

You know what I mean?

Man, you think it's going to be the

greatest at first, just for kicks.

But you want to get with it.

You know, all your friends, the whole

crowd, they're all in on it,

and you don't want to be like a square.

At first, you just try it for kicks.

At first, it's tea, but

I assume that's too weak,

and all of a sudden you find yourself

taking that first pop.

You know, just the whole ice cream habit

for Sundays and weekends.

But weeks get too long.

Right then, then you got

to have that extra fix.

Then, man, you're hooked, but good.

You got that monkey.

I suppose you want to stop.

Stop.

Did you ever see a snake?

Stop.

You could miss a meal, put that fix.

It's the only time of day

you care anything about.

Then, right then, you're in a bind.

It's that old rat race.

You're chasing yourself.

And then it happens.

You spent a night on the rainbow.

You got geed up good, and then the cops

made you while you were on the mooc.

When everything stops

spinning, you look around.

Find yourself in an iron room.

You're sick, and

you're going to get sicker.

Your time's running low, because already

your body's starting to dry out.

Your system's calling for the stuff.

You need a fix to keep the monkey quiet.

Just one fix would kick away the pain.

You beg him, promise him, do anything,

but you know you're not going to get it.

In here, you don't get a fix.

You get a bed, and you get a basin. (Music)

All of a sudden, the room's a crazy

octopus squeezing down,

twisting and tearing you.

(Music)

A lot of pain in your

gut starts spreading.

Try to squeeze it in.

(Music)

When somebody comes to cart you away,

they're going to take

you to someplace else.

Someplace where you'll

kick it the hard way.

A cold turkey.

(Music)

By now, your eyes are

staring out of a boiling haze.

You know there are people around, and you

try to push them away.

But your fingers are

like sticks in the wind.

You can't make them do what you want.

You're at the mercy of strangers, and of

the pain that owns you.

(Music)

Kick it. That's what they call it, and

that's just what you try to do.

But the monkey hangs on

and claws deeper into you.

It gets worse.

(Music)

Your bones scream and

try to stretch apart.

Your hands tremble.

Your throat's dry.

Your brain burns.

Your body shivers.

A pain won't push out of your insides.

One minute you're on fire, and then

you're swallowed up by a giant snowball.

You feel like a scoop of cold jelly.

You want something hard

to press flat against.

And most of all, you beg to die.

There don't be any

good to plead with death.

From another world you hear voices.

After a while, you feel their hands.

They pick up the mass

of agony you turned into.

And then the hands are

strong leather straps.

They're binding at you, mothering you.

(Music)

Crazed animals,

you've got to be tied down.

You won't hurt anybody for yourself.

(Music) (Music)

(Music)

The minutes are like hot pellets dropping

against your insides.

And there's no time, no hours, no

minutes, just suffering.

You're smashed by a million horrible

shrieking animals

stampeding into your sanity.

You see and hear things

that only crazy people do.

Your brain's a funnel for

every torture in the world.

With every breath you almost die.

And then 10,000 breaths later, some of

the suffering eases off.

Your system's dried out.

They'll tell you it's

just been four or five days.

But they don't know.

They didn't go through withdrawal.

You swear it'll never happen again.

But I've been through that three times.

There's no chippian

with age, no such thing.

It's that first one that does.

It's the first one every time.

If I'd only known.

But you're clean, aren't you, Jimmy?

Sure.

Good. Keep it that way,

believe me, keep it that way.

This is strictly business.

Business?

Yeah, good to you.

Come back after 11 on the

money for this load, okay?

Okay, David.

[music]

The break came Tuesday, April 15.

It was provided by Samuel Alber.

When Alber read the description of the

missing briefcase in the

Bulldog edition of the telegram,

he got in touch with

the sheriff's office.

We arrived a few minutes

after receiving his call.

Alber explained to us that Monday he'd

been busy checking his inventory.

He'd worked late and didn't read the

account of the shooting

until the following day.

He recalled the transaction with the

three boys and

immediately checked the briefcase.

The initials were the same.

It was obviously Lake's briefcase.

It was just as obviously empty.

Alber had noted the time and amount of

the sale, but not the names

and addresses of the sellers.

He did know that one of the boys was

called Nick and worked in a gas station

or garage somewhere in the neighborhood.

That same afternoon, one of the

organization's pushers called Mitch and

Lenny to arrange a meet.

He had some information for them.

In spite of the heat, there was a

small-time junkie on the south side of

town who had been pushing a lot of H in

the last couple of days.

All of it pure.

Look, I don't want to go to jail, Nick.

Neither do I. Well, like who does?

All right, then let's turn

this stuff in now. Right now.

Before they come to us, the longer we

wait, the rougher it's going to be.

Let's take an artist, sir, this.

You do that, huh? You'd

walk out on us, you'd rat us?

Look, it's for your own good.

Look, Jim, we got a good

deal here. I thought we decided.

You decided, Nick.

I've had enough to hear.

What's come over you all of a sudden?

Nick, give him a chance, will you?

I'm not going to sweat out the rest of my

life behind bars because you say so.

Okay, relax.

I think it's something.

Man, there's got to be a way.

The only way is to get rid of the stuff.

Look, we'll finish it with

Danny real soon. You'll see.

I'm going nuts trying to explain.

Look, Jim, they can't

trace the stuff. It's powder.

The guys get rid of it

as soon as they get it.

Oh, you know everything, don't you?

Look, the money too rich for your blood?

Cut it, Nick. You

know I can use the dough.

All right, you got a few hundred dollars.

That's not even enough

for a year at school.

I'm not getting through to you.

Wait and talk, Nick.

Oh, I've heard enough

already. He's got the shakes.

So what?

Yes, I've got the shakes, and I'll tell

you why I'm shaking.

Because in a way, this

stuff's got us hooked too.

No, you're talking in riddles.

Ever since that creep gave

you that sad sack routine.

I tell you, I know

what the stuff does, Nick.

You start feeling sorry for the world,

you end up a charity case.

I tell you, I know.

And we've got enough heroin

here to snow hat the city under.

You're thinking about just one beat up

junkie, but what about the others?

Some kid starts out with a Joy Pop

looking for new kicks,

and he greases the skits to the morgue.

Guys on this stuff, they're not human.

They're just an arm. Just one big vein.

It's that the rest of

them had died and rotted.

You know, a few minutes from some hop,

Eddie wants to change the world.

Well, you can't, little man, because that

is the way the ball bounces.

Lately, all we do is

for a creep is a creep.

If they don't get it from us,

they get it from somebody else.

Look, if Danny wants to live that way,

it's no skin off my neck.

Is it hurting you, Eddie?

Yes, it's hurting me.

Nick, just look at yourself.

Listen to yourself, what you're saying.

You're no better than a candy store

pusher who shoves the stuff

on any dopey kid that comes

along just to make a buck.

I always thought that you have guts.

Well, you got so little guts that you're

afraid if you don't make it,

now pushing this

stuff, you'll never make it.

You want four cars and eight swimming

pools and two dozen suits,

and you don't care who you step on to get

it, or you're not stepping on me.

See? I'm turning this stuff here.

No, you're not turning.

You're not turning anything.

Now listen, Jimmy, I don't want to--

I'm sorry.

Jimmy, will you listen?

Let's look at it the way things are, huh?

Man, you're in it. We are.

Look, you sold the

stuff. You spent the dough.

Do you think the cops are

gonna believe your fairy tale?

One of them's been killed.

They're gonna throw the book at anybody

they can get a hold of.

Yeah. And what's your

family gonna say, huh?

Yeah, what about my folks? What about me?

If you turn that in,

we're all gonna get busted.

How about Kathy? Do you think she's gonna

spend the next 50 years

waiting for you while

you're chopping rocks?

It's a drag. I wish we'd never found it.

But, Jimmy, it's like Nick

says. We can't turn it in now.

Okay.

Well, I'm getting out, that's all.

Look, Nick, I can't tell you what to do.

But I don't want any part of it.

I don't want any more money.

I don't want any more trouble.

You guys do anything you

want. Just count me out.

Jim.

That's the way you want it? Okay.

Now, look, you don't have to

worry. We'll take care of it.

As far as I'm concerned, you

still get your share from me.

How about this?

Okay, settle. Don't panic, huh?

You guys still don't understand.

Come on, Bess. Let's go

down to the Boeing alley.

We'll talk to him down there.

We'd spent that afternoon making a check

of the garages and

service stations in the area.

At 501 Monroe Street, we'd been told that

a boy named Nick Raymond,

answering our

description, worked there part-time.

He hadn't put in many hours

in the last couple of days.

We'd checked Nick's home address.

His sister said he might be found with

the other two boys at

Connie's grocery store.

When we told him our story, Mr. Vespucci

became worried about his son

and was anxious to cooperate.

He said the boys might

still be in the back room.

[sighs]

That's you, Nick.

That's you? That Nick?

Who do you guys want? What

do you want to meet, huh?

What do you want?

So you're Danny, huh?

Glad to see you.

Real glad.

Remember this?

No, I never saw it before. I don't know

what you're talking about.

No, huh?

No. No.

No, I'll tell you, you two big junkie,

where'd you get this stuff?

I haven't had any of it.

You never had any of it, huh?

Talk!

Where'd you put that stash?

Talk!

No! No! No!

[chuckles]

All right. I'll see you later.

[indistinct chatter]

[indistinct chatter]

Yeah, all right. What'd you get?

Forty-six.

All right, one and a half a run.

Wait a minute, man. I

gotta change your $100 bill.

Hey, listen, now, let's

start another game, huh?

Don't you think it's about time you went

and took care of that business?

Look, honey, I got some

business to take care of.

Why don't you get a girl for best, and

I'll meet you in a half-hour,

and we'll take him to flick.

It's kinda late. What kind of girl?

Oh, like, kind of... kind of tall and

dark and crazy and...

I know. It's short,

blonde, and anything I can find.

I'll see you in a half-hour.

Don't worry about it, will you?

Fix everything.

Jimmy, don't go. We'll see you anyway.

But he didn't get us so much.

I can't get you.

All right.

See you later.

All right.

Hey, Danny. It's me, Nick.

I brought the stuff.

Hey, what's the matter?

What happened, Danny?

Tell me what happened.

What happened? Tell me what happened.

Hey, who you guys?

Out of your league, aren't you, buster?

What do you mean?

What'd you do with it?

Do with what?

Where's the briefcase?

I don't know what you're talking about.

(GRUNTING)

I can take it easy, will you?

He'll be back any minute.

Any minute? How long is any minute?

He's always doing this to me.

Relax, will you? Relax.

He had something real important to do,

and he's gonna be right back.

Come on, Cindy. Let's take off.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

I got an idea.

I'm gonna go look for

him. I know where he is.

I'll find him.

In the meantime, get yourself a sandwich.

You sell something to eat.

I'll be right back. I'll be right back. Come on, Cindy. Let's take off. Wait a minute. I got an idea. Get yourself a sandwich.

You sell something to

eat, and I'll be right back.

Okay? Stay right here.

Wait right here. Okay?

Okay.

Boy, these guys are all alike.

Have you seen Jim tonight?

I saw him earlier. He

ought to be here soon.

Keep the change. I'll see you later.

Hey, Bats, wait a minute.

Hey, where are you going?

I'm gonna have to nick.

Well, listen, I want to talk to you guys.

Look, I'm in a hurry.

We gotta come and look.

Forget the girls. I want to talk to you

tonight. It's important.

Yeah, look, okay. I'll go get nick, and

we'll come back, and we can talk.

All right. I'll wait.

Nick? You hear Nick?

Danny?

Nick.

Nick.

Nick.

Hi, Peggy.

Hi. It's 2.40.

Got a three.

Good night.

All right, kid.

Make it good.

Let me speak to Jimmy.

That's right.

Jim, telephone.

Okay.

Hello, Jimmy. Jimmy, Jimmy, this is Bats.

Nick and I got a deal to get

rid of all the stuff tonight.

So will you go over and pick it up and

bring it to Danny's place?

Okay.

Are you nuts?

Look, Jim.

Like, don't argue with me,

will you? Just do what I tell you.

Look, I told you, I'm

through with the whole mess.

Look, Jimmy, you can't do that.

Look, look, this is our chance to get rid

of the stuff and get out of the thing.

Yeah, we'll get rid of it, okay?

That's what I want to

talk to you guys about.

I'm waiting for you

guys to get back here.

Jim, listen, Jim, do this as

a personal favor to me. Look.

Do me a favor and go get the stuff and

bring it here, will you?

It's a favor.

Look, I'm gonna do us all a favor.

I'm going down to this door. I'm gonna

get this stuff, and I'm

gonna turn it into the cops.

Run, Jimmy, run!

Oh!

(SIREN WAILING)

Hello, operator. Get me the police.

Hurry. (SIREN WAILING)

Hey, Lenny!

No, no. No, Jimmy's got the can.

(SIREN WAILING)

Okay. Okay. I'll meet

him in front of the store.

(SIREN WAILING)

Hey, Lenny! He's up there!

Try to get him from up there.

Hey, kid!

Come on down. We won't hurt you.

(SIREN WAILING)

Just toss the stuff down. We'll go away.

Come on down.

Okay, throw the stuff down.

Look, kid, play it smart.

Make it easy on yourself.

You're stuck. You can't get down.

Just throw the can

down. That's all I want.

I'm gonna have to go

higher. I can't get him from here.

Monk, if I come up there after you,

you're not coming down.

All right, you punk.

(SIREN WAILING)

(DRUMMING)

Come on, kid. Throw

it down. We'll go away.

(DRUMMING CONTINUES)

(DRUMMING CONTINUES)

Bitch!

(DRUMMING CONTINUES)

Stay down, kid.

Okay, mister. Drop your gun.

(GUNSHOTS) (GUNSHOTS)

(GRUNTING)

(GUNSHOTS)

Unit 364 to dispatcher.

Go ahead, 364.

This is Unit 364 at

Summit & Cherry Streets.

Reporting one suspect shot and killed,

other suspect in custody.

Request prime lab to send a man for

photos and preservation of evidence.

Also request watch

commander in corner be notified.

Is that 10-4?

That's 10-4, 364.

Nick's in the hospital.

Those guys really worked him over.

Huh?

You okay, Jimmy?

Yeah. Good.

All right, fellows, let's go.

(DRUMMING CONTINUES)

(DRUMMING CONTINUES)