Original subtitles

This is Fred Heckman. You're listening to WIBC Radio.

Fred, we're all very excited. The possibility of you joining us here in

New York. You took the job?

Honestly, I don't know. Do not turn down the CBS job because of me, Fred Heckman.

Tony! Sorry I'm late. Traffic. Well, I appreciate you making the time, Dick.

Indianapolis Police Department.

I got a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun wrapped around a man's neck.

Paul called in during the meeting. He picked up a possible 134 on the police

scanner. 134? Is that kidnapping?

An armed man entered Meridian Mortgage. You got a name? Yeah. Tony Karitsis.

Fred, there's a call for you. No, I've got to get on the air. It's Tony

Karitsis. This is Fred Heckman speaking. Let me tell you about this motherfucker.

He and his father, both of them are born and bred cheats and liars. Are they

planning on foreclosing on you, Tony? You're goddamn right they are, Fred. I

want you.

to interview me live on the air. We absolutely cannot put this man on the

air. You heard the mouth on him. The FCC finds the loan. You know how much they

fucking charge for a fuck? $300.

This is a family-fucking-oriented radio station.

If Tony decides to kill Dick in the middle of your live interview, that is

all you're going to be remembered for. That is going to be your legacy.

I would like to caution our listeners that what you are about to hear will be

an interview with Tony Kiritsis.

Oh, my God.

After considerable debate, we here at WIBC have agreed to his request for an

interview. Better get ready, Dick. If you are listening to this program with

children, I strongly urge you to turn it off right now.

Hello, Tony.

You are live and on the air.

Oh

Tony, I want to get back to something you mentioned to me earlier off the air.

You said you wanted to talk about your grievances. You're goddamn right I did,

baby. These cocksuckers never had any fucking intention of helping me develop

my land. Any more fucks and we'll be bankrupt by lunch. Can you bleep him? I

can't predict what he's going to say, man.

Jesus fucking Christ.

And keep in mind, Tony, we do have families listening to the broadcast, so

maybe be a little more mindful of your vernacular.

Vernacular my ass.

I need to hear this.

now listen listen the halls are a three-headed devil dog they got a

mortgage company they got a real estate company and they also do construction

all under the same roof now you tell me does that sound like the mafia to you so

their businesses are intertwined is is that what you're saying hey that's it

that's exactly it you see it it's a typical bump and squeeze type of

operation the interstate commerce commission tries to discourage and

here's the rub They give you a mortgage just so they can foreclose on you. Your

contention is that they planned to foreclose on you all along.

Yeah, yeah, listen, listen. This man's father, real son of a bitch if you ever

met one, promised me he would help me develop the land, but he never had any

intention of doing so.

Listen, Eisner Osco Supermarkets were prospective tenants. The halls showed

them seven sites on the west side, but not my site.

They steered them away from me, away from my American dream. I have proof,

Fred. Fred, I have proof. Now, why would a mortgage company do that? So they can

pocket the land, Fred. That's the game.

They set it up so I'd have to foreclose so they could buy it cheap in a

sheriff's sale.

They take your money up the front and your property at the end. They get that

long duck schlong every which way. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

They're foreclosing on me March 1st, and I'm trying to stop it. I want an

extension. I paid the interest. I'm entitled to it.

Fred, do you know what this man's father said to me? You're talking about M.L.

Hall, Dick's father and the owner of Meridian Mortgage? That's right, yeah.

This man's father said to me, why should I lend you more money? I'm going to own

that place for $100,000.

This man's father said to me, why should I lend you more money? I'm making money

on you now. Listen, the only thing cheaper than what I've done with this

shotgun is what they tried to do. I found that land, I found it, and fuck

it. Fuck you!

Okay, okay. Fuck you! No, no, no, turn it off, turn it off. Tony, just wait.

Wait a second now.

What dream?

You mentioned a dream.

What is this dream?

Oh, I don't think so, Fred.

You don't think so what?

Well, you know, you start telling people your dreams and they shit all over you.

They call you crazy. I'm not crazy.

I'm not fucking crazy. I've been an angry man for 44 fucking years. I'm the

strongest man mentally I've ever known.

But they betrayed me. They set me up.

They schemed to ruin a human life.

Well, I want to hear about the dream, Tony. Was it about the land?

I own 17 pristine acres in the most profitable, most beautiful area

a man could imagine.

Ideal for a state-of-the-art shopping destination.

Let me ask you something, Fred.

Don't lie to me.

Do you like steak?

Well, I certainly enjoy a nice ribeye now and again.

Of course you do. What honest American man doesn't? Is that what you wanted to

do? You wanted to build a restaurant on your land? No, not just a restaurant.

An experience.

You know what an experience is, Fred?

It's something that changes you, even if it's just a whisper.

Well, in experience, that certainly sounds like something. Picture this,

picture this.

Classic American steakhouse.

Red booths, martinis.

All the sides that people like, the, you know, the baked potatoes and the iceberg

lettuce with the blue cheese dressing.

And don't forget about the pièce de résistance, the steak.

You see what I mean?

Yeah, yeah, I certainly do.

I got a guy lined up. He could get you the best steak you've ever had in your

life. Top of the line. But it wouldn't just be for the hoi polloi, but for the

regular folk, too. You know, still have all the ambiance and the waiters and the

bow ties and the silver trays.

Tony, I can understand why that's very important to you.

And I want to say I appreciate you sharing that with us.

Well, you know, it wasn't just a dream, Fred. It was my last chance. It was my

last chance to make something of my life. And these guys wanted to steal it

from me. They wanted to beat me, to destroy me as a man. Well, I didn't take

Dick here to be a buffoon. I took him for vengeance.

How is Dick doing?

Dick's fine, man. He's had a silver spoon up his ass his entire life. So

much silver, he probably shits dimes, don't you, Dick?

Nick just said yes. I wonder if I could speak to dick directly I want to find

out from him what his condition is his condition. He's a fucking thief He got

it from his father. Okay, Tony. Can I speak to dick? Well, let's

Come from

It sounds like some someone's knocking

at the door

It's the bomb squad.

Tony, can you confirm that there's explosives in the domicile?

You're goddamn right I do, pal.

I got nitroglycerin rigged up to blow the whole place to smithereens.

Roger that.

You getting all this, Fred? Yes, Tony, it sounds to me like you're suggesting

that you have your apartment wired to explode. You ain't just whistling Dixie,

pal. And I know what I'm talking about. I was a munitions expert in Korea, and I

trained cadets at West Point, and that's a fucking fact.

Okay. Listen, I don't like the way these guys operate. They got snipers across

the way. They got people banging on my door just begging me to pull this

trigger.

You know, they're lucky I got a steady hand.

Now, listen, Fred, I'm gonna need two things, and these are non-negotiable.

The first thing is I want an apology from M.L. Hall himself. No flunkies, all

right? And then I'm gonna want full immunity, because none of this was my

fault. Okay, I understand that these are your demands. That will definitely help

us. That's right, demands.

I'm also going to need a couple of lawyers.

You know how it is. Fine print. Are you writing this down? I am. Look, there's

two of them. One's a muckety-muck and one's a good egg.

It's John Ruckelshaus, Johnny Rucks, and... Oh, shit.

Charles Wilson.

Charles Wilson. John Ruckelshaus and Charles Wilson. Johnny Rucks, yeah.

That's right. That's right. Okay, Tony, can I... Can I speak to Dick Hall,

please? Listen, work on those things first. Look into Eisner Osco. Look into

my claims so your listeners know that I'm telling the truth. We will look into

all of that, Tony. And let me just say, I really appreciate you taking the time

with us today.

Fred Heckman thanking me for my time.

That's something else.

Over and out, baby.

this is fred heckman wibc news that was a live interview with tony karitsis the

hostage taker we'll be right back after these words from our sponsors

A dark horse which nobody had ever heard of swept past the grandstand in triumph.

You little son of a gun. What do we know about Meridian and Tony? Ah, standard

mortgage foreclosure. Let's drill a little bit deeper down on that, because

if something doesn't pass the smell test... Oh, there was that protest out

in front of Meridian like two weeks ago. I guess there was, out of 430 mortgages,

they foreclosed on 410?

We should track that down before anybody else, all right? Get down to Crestwood,

get with Paul, get some real boots on the ground reporting, see what you can

do, okay?

Let's get all hands on deck here. We need to plant a flag. Great interview,

Fred. Yeah.

Steakhouse.

Chief. Fred. Hey, Chief.

Called the DA's office, told them that Kelly needs to get his ass down here to

advise on immunity.

Advise? Jesus Christ, what will Tony think of next? Well, Tony would like his

lawyers. Yeah, they're being notified as we speak. Jenny, Tony said he went to

West Point. See if you can find out when he was there. See if there's any former

instructors or classmates.

Give us a general character sketch.

Copy, please. Here, you have two minutes. Thank you. Fred, we are on the

line for thousands in fines because of that one interview alone. And I knew I

should have...

fucking insisted on that dump button jerry okay whatever you find out about

west point take it to ben over at crestwood and then get back here because

i need you to start tracking down leads on this icer osco okay and i need you to

apologize to the listeners and two i need you to tell mr fairbanks this was

you because i had nothing to do with okay jerry i will tell him that it was

all my decision as news director thank you

Ryan. Hey. Hey.

Your friend's interview?

Everyone's listening to IBC, even other reporters.

Plus, see that woman over there in the blue coat?

That's Pearl. Big Fred Heckman. She lives in the buildings over there. Says

that we could use her phone in the bathroom.

I just don't want the rest of these jackals to know, right?

All right. You go left, I go right?

Sounds good. Yes, sir.

Well, then I would like to speak to a representative from Eisner Osco who can

comment on the record, please.

Yes, thank you. Please do call me back.

Eisner Osco's giving me the runaround. I frankly do not give a shit, Fred. Pam,

tell him. Mattress Daddy pulled out. Fucking Mattress Daddy, our biggest

sponsor. Why, Pam? Let me remind you of something.

When I first got to this station, they were selling baby chicks by mail and

chewing tobacco.

It was a garbage can on the air. Pulled it out of the gutter to bring it to

number one in the market. I wiped the filth off and turned it into the number

one radio station in Indianapolis. Brought in his L.A. contacts. It was my

L.A. contacts that landed us McMahon martinis and madness. You think anyone

could do that? Get Ed fucking McMahon to take two yokels out on the town? And me.

Johnny Carson. You think they're meeting Johnny Carson over a WKRX? I'm the

brains behind the promos. I lure DJ Rixie and the pig over from Cleveland.

You know who else is doing that? Fucking no one. That's who.

Anything else?

If that fucking menace, Curtisis, calls again, for the love of God and all that

is holy, please don't put him on the air. Yes. Hi, this is Fred Heckman from

WIBC News. I was given Mr.

Silver's name as a point of contact for a potential property.

Yes, I will, Hope.

Thank you. Jerry, I don't know what to tell you. I report the news. You deal

with the advertisers.

Fred, how many advertisers do you think we're going to have left? You know who

they fire first when the sponsors leave? I'll give you a hint. It's not the

talent. It's me, the station manager.

Pam.

Yes, thank you.

It's a chaotic scene outside here at Crestwood as hundreds of residents are

being evacuated from the building. The city has no shelter in place for the

residents, most of them elderly, but according to a Mrs. Taper, a neighbor of

Mr. Gritz's, there are no hard feelings.

Hey, I... Well, Tony fixed my vacuum, and he's always the first person to get

that maintenance man to fix my heater.

He's a nice man.

For many residents out in the cold, they'll have to rely on family and

friends to take them in.

For how long, no one can say.

This is Ben Hairston, WIBC.

Okay.

Okay,

so there is no record of Tony having ever been at West Point, either as a

cadet or an instructor.

You want to stick around for a while?

I promise I won't tell Fred.

Well, maybe just a couple minutes.

Okay. You say they have a reputation. What does that mean?

No, Mr. Amto, all I'm asking is, what does it mean when you say that Meridian

Mortgage has a reputation? A reputation for what?

Lawyers are here.

Gallagher is so mad he could spit.

D.A. Kelly didn't show his sense of ordinance.

This would be a whole lot easier if the D.A. wasn't trying a police corruption

case. If I were Kelly, I wouldn't even run a stop sign.

Every cop in this city hates him.

Sounds about right.

My uncle says the only reason that Kelly's going after the cops is because

they know all his dirty laundry.

Welcome to Indianapolis.

You're as useless as tits on a bull. I mean, this isn't just a case we're in. I

mean, this is an active situation. You don't understand that.

Fred.

Maybe you can explain the situation to Lucy and Ethel here. D.A. Kelly can't be

bothered to show his face.

I spoke with Mr. Critzis. He has two requests.

Demands.

Number one, he wants total immunity. There's no precedent for that. I'm aware

there's no precedent for it. It's just what he has asked for. Along with an

apology from Meridian Mortgage, specifically for Mr. M.L. Hall. Where's

your boss?

He's apprised of what's happened. Who is he? Or are you two covering for him

because you don't know where the fuck he is? We know exactly where he is. Okay,

we are just waiting on Tony's lawyers.

Damn. Rock!

Glad you could make it so quickly. Always glad to be of service.

I'm not sure why Mr. Kiritsis requested us. I helped him with some zoning issues

a couple years ago, but I'm just not sure I'm the appropriate attorney to be

here. I'm with Mr. Wilson here.

My busy trial schedule is such. Defending crooked cops. Lieutenant Reed

Moissner is a decorated police officer who has been... Who has been bribing

private citizens for protection. I look forward to swatting down all the charges

in this Mickey Mouse game. We have a goddamn witness.

Where's your district attorney? Because funny things seem to happen. Every time

he disappears to California.

What are you implying? That your boss is allegedly embroiled with some pretty

unsavory characters.

Drugs, murder.

Am I forgetting anything? He was only at that party to investigate.

Of course he was.

Allegedly. I will say this for the district attorney. He certainly keeps

busy. You deal with Mr. Davis. Hey, hey, hey. Step back, Judy. Back up. Hey, hey,

hey. Gentlemen, please.

We return to the matter at hand. Mr. Kiritsis has requested two attorneys,

one for the apology and the other for the immunity.

So let's put one in charge of civil and one in charge of criminal.

Criminal, civil.

Good? Good. Now I suggest somebody get on the phone to Meridian Mortgage and

start working on that apology. I need to be elsewhere. Hey, you're criminal.

He said it, not me.

So this is pretty crazy, huh?

Yep.

Tony, uh, he seems to have a lot of goodwill from some of the officers, even

though he's, um, well, he's had some troubles.

You know the Critsits family?

No, just what I've heard on the radio.

Tony's a good guy.

I have a cousin.

Similar situation.

Nicest guy. He just gets a little wiggly now and then, you know?

Has to howl at the moon, but we love him to bits.

That sounds like Tony's family.

Except his two brothers. He fucking hates them.

But his brother Jim ain't his sister. He has a sister.

She must be worried sick about him.

I imagine so.

He would have fallen out over some money years ago.

It's a shame.

It is.

They haven't spoken since it happened. Since what happened?

What?

What'd you say your name was?

Uh, oh, I'm Ginny.

Who are you with again?

No one.

So, uh, what happened between them?

It's nice talking with you, Ginny.

Well, I'll, uh...

Keep you in my prayers, officer.

In an interview with WIBC's own Fred Heckman, Kiritsis asserted his expertise

in the area, citing his time as a munitions instructor at West Point. WIBC

contacted West Point, who would not confirm that Kiritsis was an instructor.

What do you mean, not confirm?

I was a small arms instructor at West Point for five fucking years. I served

as a corporal in the Korean War. The bomb squad is taking Kiritsis at his

word. This is Ben Hairston, WIBC.

I think I got something.

Not confirmed?

You weren't drafted like me. Your daddy paid for your college deferment, then

you joined some fraternity in War Togas and Sis Boomba, you fucking sissy. Not

me. I've been working every day of my goddamn life.

I know what you're gonna say. What, you served in the Navy as an officer during

peacetime? Not as a grunt in the Korean War.

What, where were you stationed? San Diego? Worst thing that happened to you

during your tour was a goddamn sunburn. Not confirmed?

What is it? Is this Tony Kiritsis?

Speaking.

Yeah.

You know what you should do to that rich prick?

Blow his head off.

Come on, blow his fucking head off. You're a lot sicker than I am, pal.

You believe these people? He's telling me to shoot you.

What the fuck's the matter with people?

God damn it.

Will you please tell him I called about Meridian Mortgage?

They need you in the conference room. Bill Hall's on the line.

Mr. Hall, we're all here ready to help you with the apology that Tony has

demanded for Meridian Mortgage. Well, I appreciate your position, but I need you

to appreciate mine.

Your brother's got a shotgun wired to the back of his skull, Bill.

How hard can it be to muster up an apology?

Well, see, the demand is that...

I give the apology, right?

That's right, Bill.

Is your father there? Can we, uh, speak to him?

Well, gee, uh... Dad's, uh... sort of

indisposed right now.

Well, gee, Bill, maybe you could get him on the fucking phone.

He's not here.

In the office?

In the state.

Well, uh...

Where is he?

I believe he's in Florida.

Can you help us out here,

Bill?

Can we get in touch with him?

Gosh, Fred, that's just it.

We can't find him.

Can't find who, Bill?

We can't seem to locate ML.

You can't seem to locate your own father other than knowing that he's in the

state of fucking Florida?

If pressed, I'd say in the Fort Lauderdale area.

If pressed?

Look, can you help us find him?

Bill, we really need ML to sign off on this to help your brother.

I'm going to see what I can do.

What's the matter with these people?

I mean, at this rate, we're going to be here until Easter, and someone will be

dead.

And I don't mean Jesus.

Excuse me.

Hey, where are you at on the ground right now? What happened at the meeting?

It was a total fiasco. I'll fill you in later.

Where are you at with these interviews? Well, Tony's got a lot of friends in law

enforcement, believe it or not. Paul is talking to a sheriff's deputy who had

breakfast with Tony just last week. What about the residents?

Mostly pensioners can barely afford rent charged per phone call.

No, no.

Correction.

33 calls per month, and then they're charged beyond that. Long distance is

extra. Of course. Hey, Ginny was supposed to be here a half hour ago.

Have you seen her anywhere?

I'm here.

That's funny, because you're supposed to be here. Sorry.

I might have something.

A story.

Tell me.

Tony's sister, one of the cops let slip that there was a dispute over money

between them a while back.

She's at a nearby mobile home park.

All right, follow the lead, but don't fuck around.

You got him cussing at you, Ginny. Welcome to the club.

A lot of tentacles to this story.

It's more than just a hostage situation.

There's something here. You're sounding like the guy who hired me.

I have to admit, it's been a while.

It's a hell of a thing.

Yeah, all right. Keep me posted.

I haven't heard him like that.

Fred's been at this a long time. I forget that he was a reporter reporter.

You never think you'd get a story like this in Indianapolis.

Oh, you got to get going.

There's an extra tape recorder and mic in the van.

Okay, well, I'll see you. Okay.

Tell him what you just told me.

Uh, when I was there at Meridian, when they gave Mr. Kiritsis his mortgage, I

didn't really understand why it went through, because he didn't have any

income, and I thought that was strange.

But I don't blame Mr. Hall, because he's kind, no matter what people say about

him. No matter what anyone says about ML Hall? No, dick. Nobody likes ML.

Oh, okay. Well, I'm gonna want to probably talk to you further about that.

Thank you, Helen. You better get back to the phones. Yes, they are ringing off

the hook. People keep calling in. They want us to re-air your interview with

Tony. What?

In its entirety. No fucking way!

I am just telling you what the listeners are saying. Some people are mad they

missed it and they want us to run it again.

How many calls are we talking about? I don't have the exact number, Jerry, but

at least 100.

100. WIPC, Judy speaking.

Okay, I'll look into it. I'll need to talk to Mr. Fairbanks. Not Mattress

Daddy? Fuck you, Fred.

Call on line one.

I have a call, Jerry, on line one. Thank you, Judy.

Go get this call.

Hello. Fred, Ralph Bass here.

In our last conversation, you mentioned your kids, and it occurred to me that my

wife just so happens to know every good school in the tri-state area.

Believe me, she'd be happy to talk to your wife, give her the lay of the land.

Well, that is a very nice offer, and I do appreciate your enthusiasm for me.

And for my town Indy, I mean my town New York.

Has the ring to it.

It sure does, but we're kind of in the middle of a breaking news story here.

I've got a hostage situation in Indianapolis. A gunman has kidnapped his

mortgage broker.

Never a dull moment, not even in Indiana.

No, no, no.

In fact, I was able to interview the gunman live on the air.

You put him on the air? I did. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever

had to make, but it turned out to be the interview of my life.

Any national outfits there?

No, but I bet there will be by day's end. And do you have an exclusive?

I do. In fact, he'll only talk to me.

See, Ralph, this is what I still want to do. This is what I meant when I said I'm

more than just my town Indy or my town New York.

I'm a reporter, Ralph.

You want to do hard news? I do.

This could be a story about a madman taking his mortgage broker hostage or an

indictment on the American Dream or both.

Sounds like CBS.

How would you feel about broadcasting this story nationally?

You're right. It is challenging.

You know, we want to do good journalism. I mean, that's our number one thing. Hi,

honey. How are you? Hi.

Jerry was just telling me about the FCC.

Oh, yeah.

I brought you clean shirts and your job kit in case you don't make it home

tonight. It's $300.

Still no word from Mr. Fairbanks.

I'm so glad that you came. I want to talk to you about something.

Drop these off.

Come take a walk with me.

How are you, Ferry?

You know, uh, it's a lot going on. Yeah.

Yeah.

Come here. Hi.

Hi.

What's going on?

Sorry, I got caught up in the moment. You got caught up?

Not myself.

Say more.

Are you under a lot of pressure?

Yes.

I bet this closet has seen some action.

Motherfuck! Trust someone, most trusted man in reigning, and you know what

happens? They're gonna tell you you're a fucking liar.

Motherfuckers.

Uh, ma'am, are you Effie Kritzis?

I'm Ginny Hughes with WIBC. I wanted to ask you a few questions.

Hey, not a problem. I'll just go next door and I'll talk to your neighbors.

Wait.

Don't go bothering my neighbors.

Is it okay if I take notes?

So I guess you heard about what Tony did to get his money from me.

Mm-hmm.

As far as I'm concerned, it was a family matter.

Okay.

I never called the police. I never wanted to press charges.

Do you mind if I record this?

Gotta give us a win. Gotta give us... Hey, Fred, remind these weasels that

we're hip-deep in a hostage crisis and their boss needs to respond to the

immunity... There's a process!

Don't give me that horseshit!

You still can't find him, can you?

We're ready for you, Chief.

Roger that.

Gotta go.

Hey, but let me know when Malibu Barbie gets back to town. He's at a conference.

Oh, bullshit.

Okay.

Civil. Where are we with this apology?

Meridian is working on a draft.

And? It needs to be okayed by ML. And ML still cannot be contacted. What am I

supposed to tell Tony about this? Mr.

Fairbanks wants to talk to you in my office.

Excuse me, gentlemen.

It's line five.

Hello, Mr. Fairbanks. Fred, I want to congratulate you on a well-conducted

interview with a madman. That interview has gotten tongues wagging all over our

great city. People cannot get enough of it. I want WIBC to be the name on

everybody's lips. You and this lunatic are the best thing on radio. Fred, it's

Tony. I'll take it to my office.

Thank you, Mr. Fairbanks.

I've got to go.

Yeah, okay.

What line?

Two. Tape it.

Tape it? Why are we taping this? No, we need to go on the air. Jerry, I'm not

prepared to go on the air live with him. We have to tape it. He's going to ask

questions that I am not prepared to answer. We don't have the answer to.

Tony.

Tony, did we lose him? Tony, are you there?

Tony.

Yes, Mr. Hackman, I'm here. Ah, welcome back to the program.

Any news at all?

Fuck.

How we doing?

I'm a little concerned about your station's reporting.

Oh. I heard you broadcast that you couldn't find any record that I'd been

at West Point.

Well, who would like to bet me $100,000 that I was there?

Well, tell them to get their 100,000 bucks out, because I was there as an

advisor to the instructor on heavy infantry weapons. That's anti-personnel

weapons, anti-tank weapons, mortars, recoilless rifles. Well, now, Tony, we

had to fact-check that, but I'll concede that just because we didn't find a

record of it doesn't mean you weren't there. Yeah, I can just hear the people.

They're going to call me a phony. They're going to say I wasn't there.

Well, I'll take you there, and I'll show you my name carved into a fucking rock.

Tony, no one's infallible. I will personally look into this.

You know, the average guy that would have gone through something like this

would have had a heart attack or a stroke by now.

They're lucky they're dealing with me because some nervous Norman would have

shot him already.

Did you look into my Eisner-Oscco deal?

Well, about that, Tony, I haven't really received any corroboration on that, and

Eisner-Oscco has no comment at this time. I'm wondering, how is Dick? Can I

talk to him? No, forget about Dick. This has nothing to do with Dick.

Uh, what about ML?

Where's my apology?

Well, um, we have spoken to them, and they are aware of your request.

But I tell you what, Tony, we have to know that Dick is okay.

I mean, his wife, Ibby, and his children are completely upset about this. Yeah,

poor Ibby and the kids. Yeah, I feel for them. Yeah, well, don't you think it

might be a nice gesture maybe if you let him speak to his wife? Why should I be

the one doing the nice gesture, huh, Fred?

You know the truth, Dick.

Why don't you tell a listening audience what you and your family did to an

ordinary guy like me? Go ahead. You know, Fred, he's right here.

We tried to work with you, Tony.

I'm sorry, Tony. I couldn't quite hear what Dick said. That's a lie. Can I

speak to him?

That's a fucking lie.

You motherfucker.

Are you listening to this motherfucker?

You and your father didn't try to work it out with me. Okay, you sound very

upset, Tony. Motherfucker. I understand that. You don't know the hoes like I do,

Fred. They are vipers.

I've met more selfish, deceitful people in real estate than in any other

business I've been in, including the used car business. Listen, Tony, don't

you think that with the increased visibility of this particular situation

that this might reflect better on your situation? Well, I've never told a lie

in my life, and I haven't told a lie since the situation started. I don't

need to because I've got nothing to hide. When we get through with this,

you're going to think I'm a witch, and I think I've already proven that. I knew

what was going on, and there was nothing I could do about it. There was nothing I

could do to stop it. And you know, Fred, Fred, I haven't heard you say that once

on the air as much as I've heard you call me a goddamn kidnapper. Well, now,

Tony, we are looking into all of your claims, and we are taking them very,

very, very seriously. Oh, fuck! Fuck!

Fred, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Fuck.

Okay.

Okay. Yeah.

Did ML issue the apology?

Well, we're... we're working on that, Tony.

Well, did you speak to him on the phone or in person? Well, Tony, we're working

on it.

Well, what'd he say?

Well, Tony, we're working on it.

He hasn't spoken to you, has he?

You don't even know where he is, do you?

There he is.

And he's in Florida.

His secretary told me, he was stuffing his face with crap.

They go down there every winter, deep sea fishing and all that crap.

You know, they're so rich, they don't even hold their own fishing poles.

The boat does the fishing for you.

You hear that, Dick?

Your own father can't be bothered to come to the phone.

For his own son.

Tony, can I speak to Dick?

I'm gonna walk out of here a free man.

Can I speak to Dick, please, Tony? They aren't gonna book me. They aren't gonna

mug me. They aren't gonna print me. They aren't gonna send me to a fucking

psychiatrist because I don't need one. I don't care who knows it or what they

say.

I'm a pretty smart man.

Don't get me wrong. I feel for Ibby and the kids, but...

This is my last chance. That land is all I have left, Fred.

I need you to get me my apology.

Don't underestimate my resolve.

You know, I... I chose you for a reason.

You chose me?

You were a part of my plan all along.

You... You chose me. Of course I did.

You were there on the darkest days of my life.

You didn't even know it. I knew that for people to listen to me, to really

understand my situation, I needed you.

They played God and lost.

You don't have to be smart to be God.

You just have to be cheap.

That's all I got to say, Fred.

God damn it, Fred. That would have been radio gold.

We could have gone live. Instead, we get this.

Bobby Knight certainly took that Michigan loss hard.

As we know, the general takes his defeats personally.

How many times do I have to hear about Bobby fucking Knight? What does he have

for breakfast? Does he give Quinn Buckner a foot bath after practice?

Blah, blah, we get it. We all saw the fucking game.

Hoosiers will be back at Assembly Hall tomorrow night to face off with Purdue.

Some Hoosier hysteria, the likes of which only Carol Lombard has seen.

This is Ed McMahon, inviting you to join me Thursday, September 13th, for a night

on the town in Hollywood.

Gary Todd is coming to visit me in California, and he'll bring two lucky

WIBC listeners along.

If you are the WIBC Tonight Show contest winner...

Your father's not coming through.

I wonder why he's not coming through.

I don't know what's going to become of you.

Poor Evie.

Dekalb? You must be Ibi Metzger.

Hi.

Hi.

Thank you.

You just hate blind dates, don't you? Well, I did until today.

Greg, I never mentioned you were such a knockout.

So?

You're in construction?

My brother Jack does construction.

My brother Bill does the mortgage, and I do the real estate with my dad.

Real estate?

Huh.

So you lived in Japan?

Tokyo, until I went to college at IU.

Kappa kappa gamma.

Did you eat that raw fish?

Yeah, I did.

And what did your dad do in Japan?

He works for the State Department.

Have you ever been abroad?

Does San Diego count?

Well, let's order drinks. I'll flag a waitress and they put our order in. I

heard the steaks are really good. Look, um, you seem like a very nice guy.

Have you ever been in a Cessna?

Well, that's a line if I've ever heard one.

I'm serious. I'm about to get my private pilot license, and I would love to take

you up in one, and I promise you'll never forget it.

I don't know.

I'm not much for jerky movements.

Close your eyes.

What? Close your eyes.

I'm serious. I'll take you through it.

You'll love it.

Just... Close them.

Okay.

All right, you ready?

Mm-hmm. Okay, so you're, um... You're looking

beautiful in the passenger seat.

Thank you.

And I'm looking very handsome in the pilot seat.

All you can see is the back of my head.

Little head of hair.

And, uh...

Start the engine.

It's loud.

We're about to take off, and then all of a sudden, the ground goes away, and all

there is is sky.

You can almost feel the physics of the wind.

Physics of the wind?

See?

I like that.

See, flying is like riding the wind, like people ride ocean waves.

You can feel the earth and the sky. It is so...

graceful moving through the air and your body knows that it's defying physics but

for a moment in time you were doing something beyond language something

close to god himself it's

magical

when

do you get your license

It's a question of when the instructor thinks I'm ready for my first solo

flight one day.

On that day, he'll simply get out of the plane and say, okay, she's all yours.

And then I'll take my first solo flight.

So after the flight, you know, once it's successful, he will... cut my shirt

tails, which indicates that I no longer need to hold on to the instructor for

guidance anymore, so I have been wearing my favorite shirt each flight now for

the past week, just in case.

I hope I'm not too emotional when it happens.

It should be any day now, so I can take you up for real.

You're not at all what Jackie said about you.

Uh-huh.

I take that's a good thing.

Very good.

I think I'd like that drink now.

Um, ma'am?

Hey, Ed.

It's Gene.

You've been listening to the radio?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Things are starting to unravel.

Heckman's a civilian.

We can't have a civilian handling things.

That guy you mentioned, the expert.

I think we're gonna need him.

Judy?

Hi. I've marked ten upscale seafood restaurants in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Can you see if you can find a reservation for Mr. Hall in one of them,

please? Not a problem. Oh, and Ralph Bass is on line one.

I'll take it in my office.

Call from Mr. Heckman?

Ralph, Fred Heckman. Nice to hear from you.

Listen, I don't know if you have been following WIBC, but this story is

looming. And I've also been able to track down a few leads on this mortgage.

Hey, hey, it's big, all right.

We've got a reporter, a whole team, in fact, from CBS heading there now.

What do you mean you're sending a reporter? I thought I was the reporter.

I'm sorry, Fred. You know I'm your biggest fan, but this is how things go

sometimes. I don't understand.

Look, I think this story got away from you.

Turn on the news, Fred. You'll see what I mean.

Respectfully, Ralph, I don't have to turn on the news. I write the news. I'm

the lead reporter on this story.

Fred, you are the story.

Fred Heckman, news director for WIDC.

is the point of contact for Mr. Anthony Kiritsis.

Sources close to WIBC tell us that in a second, unaired conversation, Kiritsis

did disclose that he deliberately chose Mr. Heckman to be his spokesman.

And in fact, he was part of Kiritsis' plan all along.

Sources say Mr. Heckman... If any outside press calls here looking for

information about my conversations with Tony Kiritsis, the answer is no comment.

Is that understood?

Fred. What?

Judy, what?

We found ML Hall at Neptune's Palace, Fort Lauderdale. He's on line three.

He's been notified of the situation.

God damn it.

Mr. Hall, hi, this is Fred Heckman.

Hello, Mr.

Heckman. Listen, we understand that there is a draft of an apology from

Meridian for your consideration, sir.

Hello?

I understand this is a very difficult time for you, sir, but I just want to

tell you your son is in what appears to be a very dire situation, sir, and if

there's anything that you can... I'm not.

I am the very model of a modern native general I do information vegetable,

animal and mineral I know the kings of England and I quote their fights

historical From Marathon to Waterloo in order categorical I'm very well

acquainted too with matters mathematical I understand equations both at simple

and quadratical About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot of news