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return to due South: season 4 episode 2 (or season 3 episode 15) "Easy Money"
Easy Money
air date September 30, 1998
Scene 1
In a large building with a multilevel lobby, people are moving about on various bits of business. On a landing up one flight of stairs, Fraser is talking to an older Indigenous man where they are both examining a giant photo of a snowy mountainscape.
FRASER: No, I'm, I'm quite certain.
INDIGENOUS MAN: Oh, I don't think so.
FRASER: No, I'm certain.
INDIGENOUS MAN: Look at that rock.
FRASER: Which, the one shaped like a wolverine?
INDIGENOUS MAN: It's not a wolverine. It's an otter.
FRASER: Oh, so it is. Well, nevertheless, it is here that we saw the three-legged cougar. [He points to a spot on the photo.]
INDIGENOUS MAN: No. [He points to a different spot on the photo.] It's here we saw the cougar. Here — [where Fraser was pointing] — is where Lipros Mulcahy got his mouth frozen to the side of the portable toilet.
FRASER: So it is. Been a while.
INDIGENOUS MAN: Yeah. Good times. [He points to another spot.] That's . . .
FRASER: That's where my father's body was found.
INDIGENOUS MAN: He was killed for a dam, Ben. [They walk away from the picture and over to a waiting area.] They killed so they could drown our homes, flood our forests, keep the lights burning all night in the empty buildings of the cities. But not this time.
The elevator dings and someone calls to them.
SOMEONE GETTING OFF THE ELEVATOR: Hey, gentlemen. Jack Goody. Everything okay? We, uh, looking after you all right?
FRASER: We're fine, thank you.
SOMEONE GETTING OFF THE ELEVATOR (GOODY): Great. Has someone offered you a coffee?
INDIGENOUS MAN: No, I, uh —
GOODY: A cappuccino? Espresso? Latte. Regular and decaf, don't say no. [He hits a button on a remote, and a secretary comes out a door another flight up.] Hey, honey, uh, two lattes, a half-caf decaf for me, and — oh, ah, bring some of those biscotti. Thanks, sweetheart.
SECRETARY: Thank you, sir.
INDIGENOUS MAN: I'm Tom Quinn. I've come to see Mr. Carruthers.
GOODY: Oh, well, I'm Mr. Carruthers' personal assistant. Now, I'm not quite up to speed. Do you know Mr. Carruthers?
INDIGENOUS MAN (QUINN): I spoke to him when he came to our town. He said if I was ever in Chicago to stop in and see him. I'm in Chicago.
GOODY: I see. The thing is, Mr. Carruthers is extremely busy right now. So if you could leave me your number, I might be able to get you five minutes in about three weeks.
QUINN: Three weeks? My home will be under one hundred feet of water.
GOODY: Oh, that town. It's always difficult, I know. But you should find some consolation in knowing you'll be providing power for millions of people. Now, my advice to you, sir? You should go home. And move. You can't stop this. It's been approved. We put it to bed. It creased the sheets. We've spent millions. The people have been talked to.
QUINN: What about the caribou, the elk, the beaver? Did you talk to them? 'Cause they, too, can talk.
GOODY: You know, when I was a kid, I used to think cows talked. But when I grew up, I, I realized all they said is "moo." [He slaps Quinn on the shoulder like a bro. Fraser is utterly unimpressed. The secretary is coming back with the coffees.] Hey, there she is! Listen, fellas, ah, I gotta fly. Thanks for dropping by, and, um, leave me that number, okay? Ciao.
Goody oils off. Quinn starts to follow him.
FRASER: Quinn. [The secretary is pouring a cup of coffee to offer to Quinn. He ignores her, grabs a fistful of biscotti, and heads down the stairs. Fraser goes with him.] The caribou, the elk, the beaver, they too can talk?
QUINN: I've been getting into this Native Roots thing, and it seems to work. Besides, I thought the Tonto act might impress that little jackass.
An alarm is going off somewhere else as they walk down the stairs.
So this Goody fellow is a ball of slime, eh? And he's awfully full of himself for being someone's personal assistant. Like that young woman fetching the coffee probably outranks him by about nine levels and he must have paid her a hundred bucks to answer when he pressed the button on that garage door opener.
"The Tonto act" is funny. Give 'em the old razzle-dazzle, Quinn.
Scene 2
The alarm is coming from a jewelry store that is being robbed at gunpoint by a couple of guys in clear plastic carnival masks.
ROBBER: Get down. I said, I said get down! [He kicks a customer to her knees. His buddy smashes a case with the claw of a hammer and knocks a porcelain model down where it smashes on the floor.] Five seconds. All right, go, go, go, go, go. [The buddy smashes another case and grabs a necklace off another porcelain model. Our guy is looking at an old-fashioned Marathon stopwatch.] Ten seconds. Get the pearls! [Buddy gets the pearls.] Fifteen seconds. Go, go, go. [More smashing and grabbing.] Twenty seconds. Go. Move, move, move, move. [Buddy is still hoovering up the contents of display cases.] Twenty-five, let's go, come on. [He grabs his accomplice by the back of the jacket.] Come on, let's go, enough, let's go! Come on! Let's go, come on!
They run out into a mall corridor and up an escalator. The jewelry store was in a sort of subterranean mall under, it turns out, the building where Fraser and Quinn had their meeting. The jewelry robbers are pushing people out of their way; Fraser and Quinn see this, look at each other, and give chase. One robber throws his bag over the railing, hops off the escalator to stand on the banister, and starts shooting at Fraser. Fraser ducks. (I mean, so does everyone.) The guy jumps off the banister and runs down the stairs.
ROBBER: Move! Move, move, move, move, move! Move!
Fraser is trying to follow him. At the bottom of the stairs, he turns and shoots again. Fraser ducks behind the escalator walls and follows as best he can. The other robber ducks into a service elevator. As the doors shut, Quinn presses the emergency stop button. Buddy realizes the elevator isn't moving and is mad; he presses all the buttons frantically. The first robber is going up the emergency stairs, with Fraser behind him. They're about at the 7th floor, and the robber is still shooting. The elevator door opens. Buddy peeks out cautiously. Just when he thinks he's safe, Quinn grabs him and shoves him back against the wall, hard. He slides to the floor.
BUDDY: Augh. My neck!
The robber is still gleefully shooting at the pursuing Fraser. They reach the roof of the building. Fraser runs along the edge but doesn't see the robber until he pops out from behind an HVAC unit and shoves Fraser over the parapet. Fraser hangs on. He's got to be 15 stories up.
ROBBER: Hey! How ya doin'? Huh? Hi! [He steps on Fraser's left hand.] Dilemma! [Fraser lets go with his left hand.]
QUINN: Hey! Get away from him! [The robber turns and aims his gun at Quinn, but it doesn't shoot; either he's out of bullets or it's jammed. He runs away. Quinn runs to Fraser.] Ben! [He leans over the parapet. Fraser looks up at him.] Get your foothold.
Flashback: A kid is hanging onto the edge of a cliff. Quinn is leaning over trying to help him.
Fraser is trying to get his foothold.
Flashback:
KID: I, I can't get it.
QUINN: Yes you can.
Fraser is struggling.
Flashback: The kid is trying to find a foothold.
KID: There's no — there's no way —
Quinn is holding onto Fraser's right hand.
QUINN: Easy. Find your legs.
Fraser's boots squeak against the building windows.
Flashback: The kid scrabbles for a foothold on the side of the cliff.
Fraser is scared.
Flashback: The kid is scared.
QUINN: Take my hand, boy.
Fraser is trying to hold on. Quinn is holding onto his arm.
Flashback:
KID: I can't — I can't.
Fraser is dangling from the top of the building.
Flashback: The kid takes a deep breath and reaches harder for Quinn.
Fraser grits his teeth and swings his other hand up to grab Quinn's hand.
QUINN: I've got you.
Flashback: Quinn is pulling the kid up off the cliff.
QUINN: Here you go.
Fraser looks over his shoulder and then looks back at Quinn, determinedly working with him to get up onto the building.
Flashback: The kid looks up at Quinn helping him.
Quinn pulls Fraser to safety.
Flashback: Quinn pulls the kid to safety.
As soon as he's on the right side of the parapet, Fraser stands up.
QUINN: Whoo. That's a long way down.
FRASER: True enough.
It's so interesting to me how Fraser pops up to his feet as soon as he's back up on the roof. It's the same way he hops back up after he dives for the fan that's about to land on Annie Morse-Torrance and Janet catches it instead; a hop up that connotes a great deal of "I'm good, nothing to see here" or even "That was deliberate, it was deliberate." This is not the first time a baddie has got him in a pickle; what's he so embarrassed about?
Credits roll.
Paul Gross
Callum Keith Rennie
Beau Starr
Camilla Scott
Tony Craig | Tom Melissis
Ramona Milano
and Gordon Pinsent as Fraser Sr.
(plus Draco the dog)
Dean McDermott, Philip Granger, Tyrone Benskin, Clare Coulter, Dan MacDonald, and Gordon Tootoosis as Quinn
Scene 3
The kid is reassembling his shit at the top of the cliff.
KID: Thank you, Mr. . . . ?
QUINN: Quinn. Who are you?
KID: Benton Fraser.
QUINN: Benton? That's kinda long, isn't it? Why don't we just go with Ben. [The kid slings his pack on his back and picks up a rifle.] You're a long ways from town. Young to be hunting alone.
KID (BENTON): My friend Innussiq killed a caribou last year all by himself.
QUINN: Your grandparents are worried. [Benton looks at him, surprised.] Everyone knows Martha and George Fraser. And everyone knows that their grandson ran away from home two days ago.
BENTON: I told you, I'm hunting caribou.
QUINN: Sure you don't need help?
This kid is about . . . what, 12? His voice hasn't changed, and his teeth don't exactly fit in his mouth. I guess he could be as old as about 14 before I'd expect him to have got quite a bit sturdier and stronger given the life he must lead. But I think he's on the young end of the range; if he were already bar mitzvah, Quinn probably wouldn't ding him for being out on his own.
So a 12ish Benton Fraser and he's feeling some peer pressure because Innussiq killed his own caribou last year. Sigh. My six-year-old is annoyed that one of his best friends, who's seven months younger than he is, has already lost three teeth while he, my own kid, hasn't had so much as a wiggle. The explanation that different kids grow at different rates is not really meaningful or satisfying to him. So probably asking 12yo Ben Fraser why Innussiq killed the caribou wouldn't get you far. And yet.
Scene 4
Quinn and Fraser are sitting on the stairs. Police are arriving at the building; Quinn is checking Fraser's hands for injuries.
FRASER: Thank you kindly for your help. That's the second time you've saved my life.
QUINN: We all have our bad habits.
They chuckle. A woman in a business suit goes up the stairs past them.
WOMAN: Still waiting.
FRASER: Sorry for the way things worked out today.
QUINN: Doesn't matter. I will succeed.
FRASER: You know, it's going to be very difficult to even see this man, let alone convince him to give up something that's — [He makes a gesture.] — already creased the sheets.
QUINN: I can talk anybody out of anything. You know that.
FRASER: Quinn. The rest of the town has already moved. They've given up.
QUINN: Sure, because it's easy. It's just rocks and trees and dirt. I know that. Places I stood with my father. Trails he showed me. Rocks we sheltered under. My whole life will be under water.
FRASER: You know, you may not stand much of a chance against these people. You're an honest man, Quinn, like my father, and he wasn't equipped.
QUINN: I'll get equipped.
He stands up and moves away from the foot of the stairs. Kowalski arrives.
KOWALSKI: You okay?
FRASER: Yeah, I'm fine.
KOWALSKI: You want someone to take a look at that?
FRASER: No, no, ah, Quinn had some powdered horn. Thank you.
KOWALSKI: That's good. I left my powdered horn in my other jacket. [He goes to talk to Quinn.] So how'd it go today?
QUINN: Not well.
KOWALSKI: Well, I coulda told you that. These companies only believe in one thing. Money.
QUINN: Money.
KOWALSKI: Yeah, it buys lawyers, politicians, access. That's the way it works.
QUINN: Thank you.
KOWALSKI: Uh, this guy'll take your statement. [He hands Quinn off to a guy in a suit with a notebook.]
HUEY: [coming down the stairs with Dewey] Vecchio.
KOWALSKI: Anything on the other guy?
HUEY: He went out back. Ran through a crowded restaurant wearing a mask and carrying a machine gun.
DEWEY: Surprise, surprise, nobody saw him.
KOWALSKI: Perfect. [He turns back to Fraser.] Sure you're all right?
FRASER: Yeah. I'm fine.
HUEY: Let's go, buddy. [Buddy is wearing a neck brace and handcuffs and sitting against the wall. Huey and Dewey grab his elbows and stand him up.]
BUDDY: Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!
HUEY: All right, take it easy.
BUDDY: I'm hurt here!
HUEY: I'm sorry. [hustles him out of the building anyway, passing Quinn as they go]
BUDDY: You! I'm gonna sue you. Get me a lawyer —
HUEY: All right, all right.
BUDDY: — let me go —
DEWEY: Hey, I'm a cop. Would you rather I come and get you?
KOWALSKI: Come on, move this downtown. Move the circus downtown.
Quinn returns to Fraser, who is on his feet.
FRASER: Well, I have to go back to the consulate.
I'm vaguely interested that Kowalski was all up on Quinn's visit to Fraser before they went downtown.
Scene 5
Quinn is following Benton through the woods.
QUINN: I could wait with you, or you could come home with me. [Benton listens to the woods for a moment and heads off in another direction.] Or I could walk with you.
BENTON: I didn't run away. Well — well, technically I didn't. All right, I ran away. But they wouldn't let me hunt. I'm a twelve-year-old boy, and every other boy my age gets to hunt.
QUINN: Won't find caribou walking that way.
Quinn goes a different way. After a moment Benton follows him.
Ha. Did I say 12? I did.
So: I've been a kid, and I know the tyranny of everyone-else-gets-to. But I'm also a parent, and I feel pretty strongly that Fraser's grandparents will have a reason for keeping him from hunting while every other boy's parents or guardians (if it is in fact true that every other boy his age is allowed to hunt) allows them to hunt. [ponder]
Scene 6
In the squad room, Welsh is yelling.
WELSH: These guys have pulled off five high-profile jewelry robberies in the last three weeks. Now the media's getting all excited. These dopes wanna give them cute names, they wanna make them famous. We gotta nail it and fast. What have we got?
KOWALSKI: His name's Jeff Storey. He's got a short sheet, nothing too serious, but he was not the shooter.
WELSH: All right. Find out what he's got.
Kowalski heads back to interview 2. Welsh turns the corner at the end of the hall. Francesca comes running and calls him back the other way.
FRANCESCA: Sir! [She pulls him back to the front desk area.]
REPORTER: Lieutenant, do you believe the man you're holding is one of the Laughing Bandits who've been terrorizing the downtown area for the last month?
WELSH: We are attempting to establish that now. The one thing I can say is that they're not laughing anymore, and neither are the victims. In fact, there's nothing funny about this whole situation.
REPORTER: Do you have any leads on the robbery?
FRANCESCA: Oh, the, the lab boys are working on that right — right now — [She realizes Welsh is looking daggers at her.] — why don't you field this one, Harding?
Welsh's presser is on TV.
WELSH: We'll be issuing a statement at the appropriate time.
REPORTER: Did you recover the jewels?
FRANCESCA: [scoffs] Oh, God, no. The other guy left with the jewels.
The robber, for it is his TV, laughs and laughs.
WELSH: Thank you, Ms. Vecchio. As I've already said, we'll be issuing a statement when we get more information. That's it for now.
I don't know why Francesca thought it was a good idea for her to open her mouth at all, to be honest.
Scene 7
Kowalski is chatting with buddy (Jeff Storey) in interview 2.
KOWALSKI: Look, you are not doing yourself any favors here. We got you cold. A felony? Two priors? This could be strike three.
BUDDY (STOREY): Oh, come on, man, those other beefs? They ain't nothin', man, they're jokes.
KOWALSKI: I don't think the judge is gonna be laughing, because what I see here is a pattern of escalation, ah, they're gonna want to put you away for a long time for the, ah, good of society, that kinda thing. Look, come on. Cough up some of that dirty cheese. Look, you're doing eighteen to life and your buddy's whooping it up in Monte Carlo or something? You wanna be the fall guy? Wanna be the fall guy? Come on, give us a name. You give us a name, you'll get six months, tops.
There is a knock at the door, and Huey leans in.
HUEY: His lawyer's here.
KOWALSKI: Hey. Think about what I just said. Talk it over with your lawyer. Six months.
Kowalski leaves. The lawyer enters and puts his briefcase on the table. As soon as the door closes, Storey leans over and yells at him.
STOREY: Tim, what're you doing?!
ROBBER: [for it is he, in a business suit] Shut up! Where's the stuff?
STOREY: What do you mean?
ROBBER (TIM): Shh! They said on the news you didn't have it on you. Huh? Did they offer you the deal, huh? You for me? Right? Huh? Huh?
STOREY: Oh, come on, man, I didn't say nothin'.
TIM: You can't trust cops. You give 'em the jewels, you give 'em me, they'll crucify both of us anyway. Now, you tell me where the stuff is and we'll get you the best defense in the country. All right?
STOREY: Yeah?
TIM: Yeah.
STOREY: And what if I don't?
TIM: [He grabs Storey's neck brace.] Then I kill you. Whether if you're in jail, or I'm in jail, or we both are. I will find you, I will reach you, and I will kill you. Understand?
So I've ranted before about how we're up a tree over here loving a cop show where we have to consider the cops the good guys, because Kowalski is Bad And Wrong here and the guy is absolutely right not to be talking to him. But then in comes the "lawyer," that is, the partner in crime, and he too is Bad. (Does anyone for a single moment believe that if Storey tells Tim where the stuff is, Tim will in fact get him a defense lawyer of any kind? Of course not; he'll disappear with the stuff, and Storey knows it perfectly well.)
Scene 8
Fraser is coming along the corridor at the station.
FRASER: Hi, Ray.
KOWALSKI: Where's Quinn?
FRASER: He's at the power company.
KOWALSKI: Oh. I don't get him. He's like, ah, talking to a tree.
FRASER: Well, you know, this is the first time Quinn has been south, and I imagine he's feeling a little humbled. You see, in the North he's — well, he's a living legend. He's a brilliant man, he's very articulate, he's forceful. Not to mention positively a genius in the identification of scat.
KOWALSKI: [finishes pinning a basketball hoop to the bulletin board above his desk] Huh. Let's get a coffee. Ah, scat, you mean like, ah, jazz singing, that kinda —
FRASER: No, no, no, scat as in droppings.
KOWALSKI: Oh.
FRASER: Well, it's a very useful attribute, Ray, particularly if it's forty degrees below zero and you need to find the nearest beaver lodge.
KOWALSKI: [heading into the break room] That doesn't come up that much in Chicago, Fraser.
FRASER: Well, no, and I fear that's part of Quinn's problem. You see, very few of his considerable skills are of any use to him here.
KOWALSKI: Well, why's he your responsibility?
FRASER: Well, because he's my mentor, he's a — a guide. I've known him all my life.
KOWALSKI: [to Diefenbaker, whose front paws are up on the counter] You want a coffee? [Diefenbaker whines] Mm-hmm? [to Fraser] Ah, well, I've known a lot of people all my life, Fraser, it doesn't mean I gotta look out for them. [hands him a coffee, both sit down]
FRASER: What about your family?
KOWALSKI: Um — well, there's my mom, I guess. Heh. She's a responsibility.
FRASER: And your father?
KOWALSKI: Ah, my dad was a great guy. [Fraser is about to sip his coffee but recoils from the smell of it.] Did all the, you know, great dad things. Ah, took me to ball games, you know, showed me round a card table, you know, taught me how to, you know, build an engine. You know, we'd tear down engines, ah, build them back up again. Last car we worked on was this, ah, GTO. Worked on it day, night. Ah, painted it black. Jet black. Six coats. Loved that car.
FRASER: You don't feel he was a mentor?
KOWALSKI: Um. My dad slaved away at this, ah, meat-packing plant, and, um, he wanted me to go — go to college, he said, ah, y'know, he didn't want me to have the stink of dead animals all over me. And I dropped out, I, ah, went off to the Academy. Day I graduated almost killed him. You know, he said, ah, "you're gonna have a stink on you all the same. Bad people. What kinda life is that?" And he moved off to Arizona, and, ah, I haven't, um — well, talked to him, you know, I —
HUEY: [clears his throat] Storey's done with his lawyer.
KOWALSKI: Okay. Good. Round — round two.
This scene is so important.
Listen to the tone in Fraser's voice when Kowalski asks why Quinn is his, Fraser's, responsibility; it's as if it literally never occurred to him that it wouldn't be, and more than that, he doesn't entirely understand the question even now. (I'm going to grit my teeth and skip lightly over his use of the word "articulate" to describe a person of color. Just this once.) Then Kowalski's monologue about his own father ends up with him talking about how much he loved . . . a car. And then the way his face changes when Fraser presses. (And the way Fraser's face changes while Kowalski is talking.) Man, people's relationships with their dads on this show. Fraser's father was absent for most of his childhood, and when he died they hadn't spoken since Christmas. (But he was probably secretly pleased his son had gone into the RCMP.) Ray Vecchio's father was a drunk and an abuser, and he may have been a low-level gangster, which may have been why he hated cops and didn't want his son to become one (although they don't seem to have cared for each other much). Welsh's father is a drunk, and he was apparently in law enforcement himself, but he's not too exercised about the fact that his younger son (I know it's an assumption, but I'm assuming that Wilson Welsh is the elder brother because Wilson was president before Harding) followed in his footsteps. And now here's Ray Kowalski, who knows perfectly well that his father feels like he squandered the opportunities his father (a) never had for himself and (b) worked hard to get for him.
So Fraser feels a responsibility to Quinn, and Kowalski feels that he has already let his father down. But listen: I just did a tangent on everyone's relationship with their fathers on this show, but in fact Fraser nor Quinn has not said more than three syllables about Bob Fraser in this episode (this is where he was killed; he was honest), which I think is not uninteresting.
I'll also bet about five pretend dollars that Diefenbaker might not have been supposed to be sniffing at the countertop and it's actually Rennie asking Draco the dog, rather than Kowalski asking Diefenbaker, if he wants a coffee. He bends down and talks to him nose to nose and it is freaking adorable whether it was in the script or (as I also suspected, remember, when the baby cried and Fraser said "Oh, very unhappy!") not.
Scene 9
Fraser and Kowalski head back to the interview room. Tim the Robber is leaving; Fraser watches him go as Kowalski goes in to talk to Storey.
KOWALSKI: So we gonna talk or tell stories, Storey?
Just as he gets to the end of the hallway, Tim looks back over his shoulder, and Fraser recognizes him.
FRASER: Ray! [He follows Tim at a run. Just as he gets outside, tires squeal; Fraser jumps out of the path of a speeding car. Other people call the driver an idiot. Diefenbaker chases it.] Dief!
Others also take off after the car and the dog. Kowalski comes running out the door.
KOWALSKI: Fraser, what's with you?
FRASER: That lawyer was no lawyer. It was Storey's partner.
KOWALSKI: And he shows up here? The guy's got —
FRASER: What he doesn't have is the jewels. If he had the jewels, he'd be long gone. He wouldn't — [He is running to keep following the car.]
KOWALSKI: Fraser! Car!
FRASER: Ah, right. [He hops into Kowalski's car rather than chase Tim on foot.]
KOWALSKI: So he must have hid them in the Power Building.
FRASER: The question is, did he tell his partner?
KOWALSKI: So what's with Dief?
FRASER: Well, as you know, he's very sensitive. The other day I suggested he was getting soft, so I think he's trying to prove himself.
The timing of Fraser interrupting Kowalski on "The guy's got —" was a little off. I wish Rennie had had the rest of the sentence in mind so he could have kept talking until Gross cut him off.
Scene 10
Tim is driving helter-skelter across Chicago. Diefenbaker is chasing him, taking shortcuts and climbing over cars and running down alleys just like Fraser used to do. He even nods back to a guy he jumped over as if to say "thank you kindly." ❤️
Quinn is back at the power building from scene 1. He's pacing around looking unhappy and indecisive. Tim the Robber comes around a corner; Quinn doesn't see him. Quinn heads to the service elevator where he caught Storey. He sees some dust on the floor that hasn't been cleaned up. Tim is skulking, watching him. Quinn shuts the elevator door, but Tim sees him look up at the ceiling before it closes. Quinn reaches up and moves a ceiling panel; some dust falls. He pulls a jewelry bag from the hatch, which he shoves in his jacket pocket.
There's your titular easy money, then. Is Quinn going to sell the jewels to pay for lawyers and access and whatnot to save his community? Ransom them to stop the dam project?
Scene 11
Fraser and Kowalski are running across the plaza toward the building. Diefenbaker is barking at them from the door.
KOWALSKI: How'd he beat us?
FRASER: Well, he must have taken a short cut.
KOWALSKI: He knows short cuts?
FRASER: Well, he does study maps.
KOWALSKI: What kind of maps?
FRASER: Road maps, street maps, topographic maps.
Fraser opens the hatch in the elevator ceiling, hoists himself up, and has a look around. After a moment he drops back into the elevator car.
KOWALSKI: Anything?
FRASER: Nothing.
KOWALSKI: He must have got here before us.
FRASER: [He notices something on the floor and picks it up.] Somebody did.
What he has picked up is a shell or stone or something on a leather thong—something Quinn must have dropped.
I don't know about you, but this episode is not quite 19 minutes old and I already feel like Quinn wouldn't have been that careless.
Scene 12
Quinn is walking on the sidewalk. He passes a panhandler, whom he gives something from his jacket pocket—either some cash or, for all we know, something from the jewelry heist. Kelly is about half a block behind him, tailing him, smoking a cigarette.
Kowalski, Fraser, and Diefenbaker are coming out of the building lobby. Kowalski is on the phone.
KOWALSKI: I want somebody in the lobby. If he shows his face, we'll nail him. No, I do not have a picture. Well, get a composite! [He hangs up, muttering to himself.] These people. They think I'm a magician. [He realizes Fraser has wandered off.] Fraser. [Fraser is not paying attention.] Hey. Fraseur. [accent on the second syllable]
FRASER: Oh. Sorry. You know, this makes no sense.
KOWALSKI: You're telling me. You okay?
FRASER: [distracted] Yeah. I'm fine.
KOWALSKI: Look, I gotta go back to the station.
FRASER: Okay. I think I'll, uh —
Fraser points pensively in one direction, and then after a moment he walks off in the opposite direction. Diefenbaker follows him. Kowalski watches them go.
I like "Hey, Fraseur" almost enough to forgive the fact that Kowalski pronounces "composite" so goofily (with the accent on the first syllable, ['kɑmpəzɪt], rather than on the second syllable, [kəm'pɑzɪt].
Scene 13
Fraser is walking down the sidewalk. He stops to talk to the panhandler Quinn donated to earlier. The guy points him in the direction Quinn went; Fraser gives the guy some cash out of his hat.
Scene 14
At the station, Welsh is unhappy.
WELSH: Known felon walks into my police station, walks into my interrogation room, and starts talking shop with one of my prisoners. What the hell is this, a drop-in center?
KOWALSKI: No, sir.
WELSH: [to Francesca] Get the desk sergeant in here right now! [Francesca looks chastened. Welsh and Kowalski go into the interview room.] Hello!
LAWYER: What the hell is going on here?
STOREY: [starting to stand up] Hey, you can't do this —
KOWALSKI: [pushing Storey back into his chair] Sit down. Sit down!
WELSH: Can it, can it. Let me see some ID. ID, right now.
KOWALSKI: Hey, you think this is funny? You sit in a hole for the next twenty years and your partner's in Vegas with two million bucks?
LAWYER: Hey —
KOWALSKI: That's funny to you?!
LAWYER: — this is my client.
WELSH: Hey, hey —
LAWYER: — I'm entitled to —
WELSH: — keep your pants on, counsel. Okay, move him to room two, okay? And get our friends some coffee, come on. [Kowalski takes Storey, still yelling, and his lawyer to the other interview room.] I want prints in here. I want the whole thing dusted. Francesca!
FRANCESCA: [just coming up behind him] O— okay, I'm right here.
WELSH: Look, find me a judge.
FRANCESCA: Yeah —
WELSH: I want a warrant for this guy Storey's apartment, his car, his locker at the Y. And I want to know as soon as Perry Mason's finished with him.
FRANCESCA: Okay. [She heads down the hall, talking to herself.] Ugh, God, I'm buying earplugs for this place.
See, in this scene I don't see just a Francesca who is uncomfortable with how loudly Welsh and everybody else is yelling. I see a Francesca who (granted, she shouldn't have run her mouth in front of the cameras in scene 6, but) had the same abusive father as Ray Vecchio and is even now, as an adult, reflexively frightened when a man twice her size is angry. Put another way: Earplugs-schmearplugs, that woman needs an EAP.
Scene 15
Fraser and Diefenbaker are tracking Quinn through a downtown park. Fraser stops to look at a footprint in some fresh earth. Diefenbaker whimpers.
BENTON: Caribou tracks. They're headed that way. [Quinn smiles slightly.] Why are you helping me?
QUINN: That's what I do. I'm a tracker and a guide. [He picks up a caribou pellet and tastes it.] Came through yesterday. We have to move fast.
BENTON: [horrified] How can you do that?
QUINN: It's part of their story.
BENTON: What story?
QUINN: Everything here has a story to tell. What's passed by, when, how. But you have to be open to the earth.
BENTON: Yeah, but tasting things off the ground. Isn't that kind of — disgusting?
QUINN: Not for a good tracker.
Quinn moves ahead in the woods. Benton picks up another pellet, takes a bite, and starts to chew. After a moment he spits it out violently.
BENTON: What's it supposed to taste like?
QUINN: Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't put that in my mouth.
Quinn laughs. Benton wipes his mouth and flings the pellet to the ground, then picks up his stuff and hurries to follow Quinn.
BENTON: The tracks are going this way.
QUINN: When you're tracking, it's more important to know where the game is going than where it's been.
Fraser is lying face down on a sidewalk. Other passersby are looking at him oddly. Diefenbaker grumbles.
FRASER: Oh, don't be so silly. I'm not embarrassed or bored when you sniff things.
Something something student becomes the master? (Although look, Benton, 12 isn't too young to learn that there's a difference between tasting something and eating it. Good lord.)
Scene 16
Quinn is walking along a sidewalk. Tim is still tailing him. Quinn stops to look in a jewelry store window. He can see Tim's reflection across the street. He moves on, picking up his pace, running. Tim runs to keep up with him. Quinn hails a cab. Tim runs and gets in the next taxi, following the one Quinn had flagged down. Once they're gone, Quinn pops up from where he'd hidden behind a newspaper vending machine.
Fraser and Diefenbaker are tracking Quinn. Fraser bends down to look at something on a sidewalk; Diefenbaker backs away, but a street cleaning truck sprays Fraser as it drives by.
Never mind, I guess the student isn't becoming the master at all.
Scene 17
Francesca is looking up the bad guys in the computer.
FRANCESCA: Kelly. [impressed, and not in a good way] Huh-hoh.
KOWALSKI: Listen, save the dramatics and —
FRANCESCA: Okay, relax. May I register my disgust? Timothy Nicholas Kelly, three con—
KOWALSKI AND FRANCESCA: —victions for aggravated assault, three arrests —
KOWALSKI: — for extor—
Francesca glares at Kowalski sideways and he stops reading over her shoulder.
FRANCESCA: — extortion, no convictions. Assault with a vehicle, suspected in three, possibly four, homicides, currently wanted in thirty-four states.
KOWALSKI: And unwanted in sixteen. [Francesca grabs a page off the printer.]
WELSH: We got something?
KOWALSKI: Uh, yes, sir. We got an ID on that, ah, fingerprint from the interrogation room.
Welsh grabs the printout out of Francesca's hand.
FRANCESCA: May I look at that, Ms. Vecchio? Why, of course, Lieutenant, here you go. Thank you, Ms. Vecchio.
WELSH: I want this guy! I don't care if he's on a beach in Mexico or a deli in Queens. Ray. Check the airports, travel agents, bus station. Huey?
HUEY: Yes, sir?
WELSH: All known acquaintances. Check them. He might be holed up someplace here in town. [The phone starts to ring.] Everybody gets a copy of his picture.
HUEY: You got it.
DEWEY: Hey, Ray.
KOWALSKI: What?
DEWEY: [offering him the phone] It's your mom and dad.
KOWALSKI: What about them?
DEWEY: The phone.
KOWALSKI: What do you mean they're on the phone?
DEWEY: They're at a truck stop on the I-ninety. They're heading into town.
KOWALSKI: You're a funny guy. [He grabs the phone and hangs it up.] You're a funny guy. [He stalks off, annoyed.] That's rich, that's —
Where I come from, we don't say "the" I-90. I think of that as a California dialect item (or, of course, Canadian).
Scene 18
Quinn is crossing the plaza outside the power building. As he approaches the entrance, Fraser taps him on the shoulder.
FRASER: It's more important to know where the game is going than where it's been.
QUINN: You hunting me, Ben?
Scene 19
Fraser, Quinn, and Diefenbaker go inside the power building.
QUINN: You want my help?
FRASER: Yes. To track the man who took the jewels.
QUINN: Can't track a man in the city.
FRASER: You told me it was possible to track anything.
QUINN: I told you it was possible to track anything you understood.
FRASER: I understand this man.
QUINN: How?
FRASER: I know that he's a criminal. I know that he tried to kill me. I've seen him. Assuming, of course, that the other thief is the one who took the jewels.
QUINN: Assuming. [They have reached the service elevator. Quinn lifts the hatch panel in the ceiling.] Ah. Someone's been up here. You could have seen that yourself, Ben. Someone tall, about my height.
FRASER: How do you know?
QUINN: Couldn't have reached far enough up unless he was. Didn't stand on anything. I'd have seen it if he did.
He comes down again and they leave the elevator.
FRASER: And now which way did he go?
QUINN: I don't have time for this, Ben. I came here to do a job.
FRASER: They won't see you. What more can you do?
QUINN: I can get help. Hire lawyers maybe? I don't know.
FRASER: Lawyers require money. You have money?
QUINN: I can get it. I have to do this, Ben.
They are outside the building now, walking side by side.
FRASER: Well, that's exactly the way I felt about the caribou, you remember?
QUINN: This is more important than a boy killing a caribou.
FRASER: Yes. But maybe not to that boy. At the time I think the boy felt it was very —
Benton and Quinn are walking in the woods, side by side.
BENTON: This is very important to me. It's about growing up. You don't think I should be doing this, do you?
QUINN: To kill something without need is wrong.
BENTON: But you're a guide. You guide people from the city when they hunt here. They don't need what they kill.
QUINN: You live here, Ben. You're a part of it. All of it.
BENTON: So you won't help me.
QUINN: No, I'll help you.
BENTON: If you don't think I should do it, then why are you helping me? It doesn't seem very logical.
QUINN: I'll help you so you can decide for yourself. If you can't find a caribou, you can't know if you'll kill them.
BENTON: I could find them.
QUINN: Not before they die of old age! [He chuckles.]
Fraser and Quinn are walking in Chicago.
FRASER: He came this way?
QUINN: Yes.
FRASER: Is there a sign?
QUINN: I know he did.
FRASER: Is he the thief?
QUINN: No.
FRASER: Then why did he take the jewels?
QUINN: Why did Stinky Masterson steal Jimmy Longbow's snowmobile?
FRASER: That's not the same thing at all. Stinky's sled dogs had eaten poisoned tallow, and he needed transport.
QUINN: Because he needed it.
FRASER: No, no, no, no. Because he wanted it. There's a difference.
QUINN: The men I'm fighting are just like the men who killed your father. Greedy, corrupt, evil men.
FRASER: Nothing good can come from a bad act, Quinn. You taught me that.
QUINN: Who said I was always right?
FRASER: Maybe we are going about this the wrong way. The man has the jewels. He'll need to sell them to use the money. Now, that means he'll have to go to a dealer in stolen goods, otherwise known as a fence. Now, my friend Ray has, ah, on occasion pointed some out to me. Perhaps we should visit a couple?
QUINN: And you'll be my guide?
FRASER: I will be your guide.
We've come to the heart of the matter. Quinn knows Fraser knows he has the stolen jewels and doesn't think he should keep them, even though selling them and hiring lawyers with the proceeds could save his home. When Fraser was 12, Quinn didn't think he should kill a caribou, even though it could prove that he was grown. The question of need is a sticky one, though. Benton didn't need to kill the caribou in the same way that, presumably, Innussiq and the other boys did—that is, the other boys are subsistence hunting and Benton is doing it for sport, like Quinn's clients from the city. Benton wants to kill a caribou to show he belongs; Quinn says he already does belong and that's why he shouldn't do it. . . . All that does feel different to me than (a) their other metaphorical example, where Stinky Masterson's dog needed transport to an emergency vet and (b) Quinn's situation. It sounds to me from Fraser's own description as though Stinky did need Jimmy's snowmobile, not just want it; and does Quinn have another way to save his home other than hiring lawyers to fight the dam builders? Or another way to hire lawyers other than fencing the stolen jewels? So the parallels are not 100% accurate, but nevertheless, Quinn wants to fight the corrupt, evil men and Fraser says it's not worth it if he becomes corrupt and evil himself to do it. So where Quinn helped Benton find the caribou so he could decide for himself whether to kill one, Fraser is going to help Quinn find a fence so he can decide for himself whether to go ahead with his plan. (For what, as has been pointed out from time to time, shall it profit a man if he should gain the world and lose his soul? That's clearly what the show is driving at here, though it's been pretty careful all this time to keep away from religion as much as possible.)
Scene 20
Francesca steels herself to go into Welsh's office, where she gives him a file. He looks at it, sips his coffee; she is still there and clears her throat.
WELSH: Yes?
FRANCESCA: Yeah, um, Diane Bowen from WOTX TV called, and, ah, she wants to interview me. Kind of a human interest story, you know, Tough Women on Crime. [Welsh stares up at her from his desk and says nothing.] I, I, I wouldn't talk about the specific cases, sir.
WELSH: Ms. Vecchio, do the words "over my dead body" have any meaning to you? I don't want the press within ten miles of this place till we get Kelly. [She looks disappointed but unsurprised.] After that, you can do as you please.
FRANCESCA: [as if a switch has been flipped] Really? Okay!
Francesca practically skips out of Welsh's office. Kowalski is sitting on her desk.
KOWALSKI: Tickets to Acapulco? Shouldn't I be going with you? I'm your brother.
FRANCESCA: [laughs in his face] Oh, Ray. You know that I would much rather spend a weekend alone with you in a hotel room. [They smile insincerely at each other. She answers the ringing phone.] Squad room. Really? [She offers the phone to Kowalski.] It's your parents. They're calling from a pay phone on the interstate.
KOWALSKI: [takes the phone] So you're in on it too. [hangs up] That's, ah, that's very amusing. That's an amusing little prank, and I'm laughing. On the inside. But how about we get back to doing police work? Look, we got nothing on Kelly, we got no address, he's got no friends.
FRANCESCA: Oh, he's got a friend, and, ah, he's in the interrogation room. Why don't you go in and swat his cubes until he talks?
KOWALSKI: Swat his cubes? Don't you mean break his —
FRANCESCA: Okay, you know what? I, I mean swat his cubes. I'm saying swat his cubes, that's what I mean, okay?
KOWALSKI: Okay. Why this sudden interest in, uh, Kelly?
FRANCESCA: I care about law enforcement. It's my life.
Francesca walks off. Kowalski heads back to the interview room.
I'm not sure what sudden interest in Kelly he's asking her about. Other than that, I appreciate Francesca finally telling Kowalski where to shove his corrections of her malapropisms.
Scene 21
Benton and Quinn are in the woods.
QUINN: Just over that hill. You know how to use that thing?
BENTON: Yes, sir.
QUINN: Kill anything big before?
BENTON: Lots of times. Well, almost once. No, sir.
QUINN: Ah.
BENTON: But I understand muzzle velocity and windage, and I'm quite clear on rifling. I'm sure I'll know what to do.
QUINN: It's not too late to turn back.
BENTON: Yes, it is.
QUINN: Okay.
Benton takes his rifle off his shoulder and moves ahead by himself.
If he'd killed anything big before, he wouldn't probably be out here feeling the need to hunt to prove he's a grown-up, right? The "not too late to turn back" exchange is heartbreaking.
Scene 22
Fraser and Quinn have come to an alley.
FRASER: This is the fence.
QUINN: You going to come in with me?
FRASER: I can't do that.
Quinn goes in. Fraser steps a little way away to wait; Quinn returns before he's even had time to reach the door.
QUINN: I suppose you want them back.
FRASER: [nods] I think that would be a good idea.
QUINN: I don't have them with me.
FRASER: I thought not. Where are they?
QUINN: Took them back to the consulate. Gave them to Turnbull for safe keeping. I've failed.
FRASER: No, Quinn, you haven't.
As they walk, it turns out Tim Kelly is following them in his car.
Scene 23
Turnbull runs to answer the consulate door.
TURNBULL: Oh, for the love of Pete, I'm coming. [He lets Fraser and Quinn in.] Sorry I locked the door. I've been cooking. [He heads back toward the kitchen, reviewing his recipe.] Ah, one onion diced, celery, carrots — oh! mushrooms sliced —
FRASER: Turnbull?
TURNBULL: Sir?
FRASER: What are you blithering on about?
TURNBULL: Oh! The ingredients for the dish I'm preparing. You blend them all together, and voilà!
FRASER: Voilà what?
TURNBULL: Ratatouille.
QUINN: Everything I hate in one bowl.
TURNBULL: Mr. Quinn. With all due respect, sir, let me nip off to the kitchen and get you a sample I'm pretty darn confident'll change your mind. [The doorbell rings.] Oh, would you be a peach and get that for me? Come on, Dief.
Turnbull and Diefenbaker head to the kitchen. Quinn opens the door; Kelly rushes in.
TIM (KELLY): Don't move or I'll kill him. [Fraser doesn't move. Kelly starts patting Quinn down.] Don't move. Where are they? Where are they?!
QUINN: You think I'd be stupid enough to carry them?
KELLY: Turn around right now or I'll blow you away!
FRASER: Not very logical. You kill him, he can't tell you where they are.
KELLY: Doesn't stop me from killing you. [He aims at Fraser instead.]
QUINN: You shoot a Mountie, they'll hunt you forever.
KELLY: All right. All right. Let's go. Both of you! Come on, let's go!
Kelly shoves Fraser and Quinn back out the front door onto the sidewalk. Turnbull returns with a serving of ratatouille in a shallow bowl, scolding Diefenbaker.
TURNBULL: Quite frankly, I find it rude. [sees Kelly] Oh, company! [Kelly points his gun at Turnbull.] Gun!
Turnbull turns to get away from the gun threat and runs straight into a office door. He pies himself in the face with the ratatouille and falls flat on the floor, unconscious. Kelly leaves with Fraser and Quinn; Diefenbaker licks the bowl.
Mushrooms? In ratatouille? (Also, doesn't Fraser have keys to the consulate? Why would a locked door stop him?)
Scene 24
Kowalski's phone rings.
KOWALSKI: Vecchio.
TURNBULL: Oh, there's, Detective Vecchio, there's been a kidnapping.
KOWALSKI: What?
TURNBULL: A, an, an, an abduction, an absconding, a seizure, a capture!
KOWALSKI: Turnbull, I know what it means. I need to know who, when, and where.
TURNBULL: Uh, the, the, the who is Constable Fraser and Mr. Quinn, um, the when is, is just recently, and, and the where is at the consulate.
KOWALSKI: What did he look like?
TURNBULL: Uh, now, let's see, let's see, now, ah, Constable Fraser —
KOWALSKI: Not Fraser. The kidnapper.
TURNBULL: Oh! Uh, uh, okay. I, I, I managed to ah, make a quick sketch, a little something in charcoal. You see, I left my pastels at home. But, but maybe I could work it up for you later. I'm doing some lovely work in oils —
KOWALSKI: Turnbull!
TURNBULL: Yes, sir?
KOWALSKI: Fax it. [He hangs up the phone, and Francesca pulls a fax off the machine a moment later.] Who's that, Keith Carradine?
FRANCESCA: It's Kelly.
KOWALSKI: He's got Fraser.
This just in: Turnbull is not, in fact, completely useless.
Scene 25
Kowalski goes into the interview room.
STOREY: Oh, great.
KOWALSKI: You know what I got here?
STOREY: What?
KOWALSKI: It's a ticket. Airline ticket. Kelly booked it yesterday. Acapulco. [He is hanging out behind Storey, who tries to turn around to look at him, so Kowalski paces the other way.] He's gonna be lying out in the sun —
STOREY: Ow.
KOWALSKI: — while you sweat it out, while you get kicked around, screwed around Joliet. He's covering his ass. And man to man, I suggest you start covering yours.
STOREY: He'll — he'll kill me.
KOWALSKI: Wrong! He'll be in jail.
STOREY: Doesn't matter.
KOWALSKI: Look, who's he gonna call? Hits R Us? He's small-time muscle. Once he's in the joint, he's nothing. All you gotta do is tell me where he is. [Storey scoffs. Kowalski heads for the door.] Look I was trying to help you. Kelly's laughing at you. He's laughing his head right off his skinny little neck. [He opens the interview room door.]
STOREY: Wait, wait, wait, wait! Wait. He's in a closed-up shop on Cardero.
KOWALSKI: Closed-up shop on Cardero.
STOREY: Yeah, one-thirty-six. I get a deal, right? [Kowalski shuts the door.] Hey, I get a deal!
KOWALSKI: [to the uniformed officer in the hallway] Put him back in his cell.
UNIFORM: I got it.
HUEY: Hey, Ray! Your parents are on the phone.
KOWALSKI: Look, put it to rest, Jack!
HUEY: I'm serious. They're just outside the city limits.
KOWALSKI: Look, it's not funny.
HUEY: All right.
KOWALSKI: It's not funny.
HUEY: Okay.
KOWALSKI: Shut up.
Huey chuckles.
For our younger readers: Toys R Us was a chain of giant toy stores that for a while in the 1980s and 90s were everywhere. They went bankrupt and closed in 2021.
Scene 26
Kelly is monologuing at Fraser and Quinn, whom he has tied to opposite sides of a support pillar.
KELLY: Okay, we're gonna make this real simple. You tell me where the jewels are, and I won't kill your Mountie friend.
FRASER: Don't listen to him, Quinn.
KELLY: Shut up! [pistol-whips him]
FRASER: He'll kill us as soon as he has the jewels.
KELLY: Oh! Well, maybe one in the kneecap just to get the ball rolling, huh?
QUINN: I'll take you to them.
FRASER: Quinn.
QUINN: It's okay, Ben.
KELLY: All right. [to Quinn] Good boy! [to Fraser] Bad boy! Good boy! Bad boy! Good boy. Bad boy.
Scene 27
The police arrive. Huey and Dewey come from opposite sides of the building as a patrol car rolls up along with Kowalski and Welsh in Kowalski's car.
HUEY: Nothing opens onto the alley.
WELSH: Back entrance?
DEWEY: Nothing.
HUEY: So the front's the only way out.
Fire hazard much?
WELSH: All right, could be nobody's home, could be we got a fruitcake with two hostages. We'll take it real slow.
KOWALSKI: I think I can get up to that window. [Kowalski starts to run, but stops short when Kelly bangs out the door with a gun in Quinn's back.] Kelly!
KELLY: I've got two hostages!
KOWALSKI: Come on. We've all seen the movie. Forget about it.
KELLY: I'll do it. I swear to God I'll do it! Now move back!
KOWALSKI: You put the gun down, we can all go home. Nobody has to die here.
KELLY: One of them's a cop.
KOWALSKI: Right. Just buys you trouble.
KELLY: It buys me a way outta here. You got a cell phone? [Kowalski nods.] Use it! Five-five-five, zero-one-six-five. [He takes Quinn back inside.]
KOWALSKI: [gets out his phone, starts dialing] Five-five-five, zero — you get the rest of that?
HUEY AND DEWEY: Yeah.
WELSH: All right, I want a SWAT team, hostage negotiators, the whole megillah.
KOWALSKI: Look, you get the SWAT team in here, we're not in charge any more.
WELSH: It's procedure, Detective.
KOWALSKI: Yeah, but that is Fraser in there. I don't want to see some black vest hot-shot come in here and screw up our deal.
HUEY: Relax. It's what they're trained for.
KOWALSKI: I know it's what they're trained for. Come on, let me talk to him at least until they get here. [Welsh walks past him.] At least until they get here!
Scene 28
Kelly is retying Quinn to the pillar. When he buggers off, Fraser whispers over his shoulder.
FRASER: How are your ropes?
QUINN: Tight. Losing circulation in my fingers. Can you move your hands?
FRASER: I think so.
QUINN: There. Untie mine.
KELLY: [looking through the window] Come on. Come on! Use the damn phone! Come on! Yeah. Yeah. [He sees Kowalski dialing. He looks back at Fraser and Quinn and isn't sure he likes what he sees over there, which is Fraser working to loosen Quinn's bonds behind his back. But just as he's about to go check on them more closely, his phone rings.] We got a deal?
KOWALSKI: What do you want?
KELLY: Oh, I, I, I thought you saw this movie!
KOWALSKI: Refresh my memory.
KELLY: Okay, listen carefully. You got one minute to put a car outside the door and clear out.
KOWALSKI: Wait a minute, that wasn't in the script.
KELLY: In the script? Forget the script! I'm not waiting for the SWAT team and the hostage guys. Now you do it right now or I shoot the Indian!
KOWALSKI: Look, you shoot anybody, it's all over. You shoot anybody, I'll kill you myself.
KELLY: One minute. And don't forget, I got two in here and one's expendable. All right?
KOWALSKI: Look, we got to do something. He's going to shoot somebody.
WELSH: Do something, maybe we make him shoot somebody, you ever think of that? What do you wanna do?
KOWALSKI: Pull back. Bring my car up here, leave it. Maybe I can get close enough to make something happen.
WELSH: No, I don't like it.
KOWALSKI: Look, I don't care if you like it, he's gonna pull the trigger. He's crazy, trust me on this. Trust me on this.
There's a pause in "Forget the _ script" that sure sounds like the actor playing Kelly did an expletive and rather than shoot the scene again or even do ADR they just deleted it in post. An interesting choice. Anyway, it sounds like they might be talking about an actual movie?, and I don't know which one. Not like there's not a wide selection of heist-and-hostage films to choose from.
Scene 29
Quinn is coaching Fraser through untying his bonds.
QUINN: One knot at a time, Ben. One knot at a time. Concentrate.
Benton is sighting down his rifle at the caribou.
QUINN: Try and feel it. Feel where it's moving. Feel when he turns towards you.
Fraser is concentrating on the knots.
QUINN: Feel it, Ben.
KELLY: Where's that car? I need that car. [He looks out the window and sees the police not hurrying to get him a car.] I can't believe this. Stalling! The bastards are stalling!
Kelly turns around in time to see Quinn get free and run. He fires at him.
KOWALSKI: Gunshot!
Kowalski hops on a police motorcycle and starts it up. Inside, Fraser's bonds are also loose enough for him to step away from the pillar and face Kelly.
KELLY: Don't you move!
FRASER: [still working on his own bonds] Now you've lost a hostage. If I know Quinn, you'll probably never find him. What do you propose to do?
KELLY: I'll kill you.
FRASER: Well, I would have thought keeping me alive would improve your bargaining position.
KELLY: Screw it!
QUINN: [comes out from behind a barrel] Hey!
Kelly turns around and shoots at Quinn. Fraser gets his bonds untied. Kelly aims the gun at him and grins. Kowalski drives the motorcycle right through the window. He lays it down but knocks Kelly down in the process. Kelly aims at Kowalski when he gets up; Fraser kicks the gun away and punches him back to the floor. Kowalski gets out from under the bike and aims his own gun at Kelly.
KOWALSKI: Don't move! Don't move! Hand away from the gun. Away from the gun! [He comes over to arrest Kelly.] Hands behind your back. Behind your back!
Quinn and Fraser look at each other.
So Kowalski the giant Steve McQueen fan on a motorcycle flying through the air—the movie was probably The Great Escape (1963)?
Scene 30
Francesca is being interviewed at her desk, displaying the stolen jewelry.
FRANCESCA: Getting the property back in to the hands of the rightful owners is what it's all about.
INTERVIEWER: Thank you, Ms. Vecchio. [turns back to the camera] For Women Tough on Crime, I'm Diane Bowen.
DIRECTOR: And cut! Good, we got it.
As Francesca is shaking hands with Diane Bowen, Welsh and Kowalski and Fraser and Quinn are walking down the hall.
WELSH: I've got to admit it was a creative use of a motorcycle, but I wonder what would have happened if you fell on Quinn and Fraser.
KOWALSKI: I never thought of that, but I got great cop, um —
FRASER: Instincts?
KOWALSKI: Yeah.
WELSH: Cop instincts.
KOWALSKI: Yeah.
HUEY: Hey, Ray!
KOWALSKI: What?
HUEY: They're here.
KOWALSKI: Who?
HUEY: Your parents.
KOWALSKI: All right, all right, all right. All right. Look, quit kidding around. First time's kinda funny, second time sorta funny, now —
HUEY: No, no, no —
KOWALSKI: What?
HUEY: —it's not a joke. They're set up outside.
KOWALSKI: Set up? Where?
HUEY: In the parking lot.
Kowalski is poleaxed. He and Fraser and Quinn and Diefenbaker head outside. When Kowalski hits the door he pauses, stunned, but as he crosses the parking lot toward his folks he gets a tiny disbelieving smile on his face: He is in fact happy to see them. He irons out the smile as he gets closer. An older couple are sitting drinking coffee in patio chairs on some green indoor-outdoor carpet with a little six-inch picket fence around it, at the foot of the steps down from a Winnebago. His dad's hair kind of stands up just like his does.
MR. KOWALSKI: Here comes your son.
MRS. KOWALSKI: [turns and sees her boy] Stanley! [rushes up and hugs him] Oh, Stanley, look at you! You haven't changed a stick! [Kowalski hugs her back. His dad is waiting uncomfortably back by the chairs.] Your father and I fought from the moment we left the trailer park in Arizona. Fought right across the country. "He'll have changed," your father said, "changed utterly." "Damian," I said, "that's impossible. He's our son!" Look at you! You're exactly the same as the moment you came into this world! [Kowalski and his mom press their foreheads together and smile into each other's eyes. It's a really nice mother-son moment.] You're hungry, aren't you?
KOWALSKI: No, no, I'm not —
MRS. KOWALSKI: I knew it! [She rushes into the Winnebago. Kowalski and his dad don't really know how to look at each other.]
MR. KOWALSKI (DAMIAN): Son.
KOWALSKI: Uh, Dad.
DAMIAN KOWALSKI: I brought along a — [He heads back behind the Winnebago. Kowalski follows him.] — a little something of yours. [The Winnebago is towing a car under a cover. Damian Kowalski pulls the cover off: It is the jet-black GTO.]
KOWALSKI: Wow! She still runs?
DAMIAN KOWALSKI: I've kept her going. [Kowalski pops the hood and they both lean over to look at the engine.] Regular work. Tell you something, son. There's nothing like a long Arizona highway to keep an engine running clean.
KOWALSKI: Thanks, Dad. [They shake hands awkwardly.]
DAMIAN KOWALSKI: [after a moment] Your hair looks good.
Fraser and Quinn are watching this reunion.
QUINN: I've failed.
FRASER: How do you see that?
QUINN: It's hard to think of my land being under a hundred feet of water and not see it as a failure.
FRASER: You know, there's a — a short entry in one of my father's journals that reads, "My adversaries appear ready to listen. I'm nearing victory." That entry was written the day before he was shot.
QUINN: Your father acted heroically.
FRASER: Yes. But he's not here. At least, uh — [He looks around.] — he doesn't appear to be.
QUINN: I want to thank you, Ben.
FRASER: For the jewels? You would have returned them anyway.
QUINN: How do you know that?
FRASER: I know you.
QUINN: You do, don't you.
FRASER: Yes, I do. You let me make one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
Benton lies behind a log and raises his rifle. He has a clear shot at the caribou. It turns and looks toward him. Behind him, Quinn says nothing. Benton sights the caribou. He fires. He must have hit it true, because he is delighted. The caribou groans. Benton stands up. Quinn looks at him. The caribou groans. Gradually, Benton's face falls.
Let's get the Kowalskis out of the way first: I love the way Kowalski and his mom look at each other. I'd like it better if she accepted his chosen name, but if it doesn't bother him that she calls him Stanley, the rest of us can probably get over it. (And at that time it was definitely much more common, wasn't it, for people to tie name changes to life-stage changes as well, so people who had always known them by the old name were often excused for continuing to use it. Today, I feel like your kid—at any age—says "I'm going to use this other name now," you call them by the other name. You at least make the effort. But again, Mrs. K calls her son Stanley and he doesn't say "Mom, for the hundredth time, it's Ray," so I'll just be over here adoring how their eyes both crinkle when they put their foreheads together.) And! How Damian Kowalski (fun side note: we've seen this actor before as Murph, the Whiskey King of the Windy City) towed that GTO all the way to Chicago; that is a father and a son who are both worried they've irremediably disappointed each other, is what that is, so how lucky for both of them (and especially for her, honestly) that all it took was a 2,000-mile road trip to bring them back together. (It wouldn't have been that long, but apparently they came in on I-90, so I conclude they were doing a grand tour and just stopped by when they were in the vague vicinity of Chicago, rather than coming to Chicago specifically, because in fact I-90 only runs in Illinois for about 100 miles between Gary, Indiana, and the state line on the way up to Madison, Wisconsin. You would not use I-90 at any point on the drive from anywhere in Arizona to Chicago.)
But how fortuitous that the Kowalskis happened to be coming by or through Chicago within 24 hours of Fraser and Ray Kowalski having that conversation about how they'd moved to Arizona. Did . . . did Fraser contact them and ask them to come see Ray? Because he absolutely should not have done that. I'm going to choose to assume he did not.
Nowthen. Benton Fraser shooting that caribou. The kid gives a pretty good performance in this scene, nicely showing the initial "I did it!" and the ultimate "What have I done?" The foley guy supplies good dying caribou; I don't know what noises a caribou makes when it has just been shot, but I believe that the one Benton shot is going to take a long time to die. And then what's he going to do? Take the antlers as a trophy? Does he even know how to field dress game? How's he going to get the carcass home? Do his grandparents have the storage space for that much meat? Will he be able to make use of the hide? Or has he, as Quinn suggested, killed an animal not because he needed it but because he wanted to, for himself, which is sacrilege? I can't not think about Sports Night s1e3 "The Hungry and the Hunted," in which Jeremy gets his first producing credit but ends up in the emergency room after he passes out on a hunting trip:
JEREMY: We shot a deer! In the woods near Lake Mattituck on the second day. There was a special vest they had me wear so that they could distinguish me from things they wanted to shoot, and I was pretty grateful for that. Almost the whole day had gone by, and we hadn't gotten anything. Eddie was getting frustrated, Bob Shoemaker was getting embarrassed. My camera guy needed to reload, so I told everyone to take a ten-minute break. There was a stream nearby, and I walked over with this care package Natalie made me. Sat down. When I looked up, I saw three of them: small, bigger, biggest. Recognizable to any species on the face of the planet as a child, a mother, and a father. Now, the trick in shooting deer is that you've got to get them out in the open, and it's tough with deer, 'cause these are clever, cagey animals with an intuitive sense of danger. You know what you have to do to get a deer out into the open? You hold out a Twinkie. That animal clopped up to me like we were at a party. She seemed to be pretty interested in the Twinkie, so I gave it to her. Looking back, she'd have been better off if I'd given her the damn vest. And Bob kind of screamed at me and whispered, "Move away!" The camera had been reloaded, and it looked like the day wasn't going to be a washout after all. So I backed away, a couple of steps at a time, and I closed my eyes when I heard the shot. Look, I know these are animals, and they don't play bridge and go to the prom, but you can't tell me the little one didn't know who his mother was! That's got to mean something! And later, at the hospital, Bob Shoemaker was telling me about the nobility and tradition of hunting, and how it related to the Native American Indians, and I nodded, and I said that was interesting, while I was thinking about what a load of crap it was! Hunting was part of Indian culture. It was food, and it was clothes, and it was shelter. They sang and danced and offered prayers to the gods for a successful hunt so that they could survive just one more unimaginably brutal winter. The things they had to kill held the highest place of respect for them, and to kill for fun was a sin. And they knew the gods wouldn't be so generous next time. What we did wasn't food, and it wasn't shelter, and it sure wasn't sports. It was just mean.
That episode aired October 6, 1998, one little week after this one. What an interesting week on TV dramedies for hunting stories, am I right? The absolute guilt and shame Joshua Malina puts into the silent beat right after "You hold out a Twinkie." is what we're meant to understand Fraser has been living with since he was 12 and shot that caribou not because he knew he needed to for his own survival but because he felt he needed to for his own reputation. Shooting the caribou would prove he was a grown-up, he thought, and here's the thing: It did, but not in the way he had expected it would.
And of course the best performance of all—in that last scene and in fact in the whole episode—is Gordon Tootoosis as Quinn, who presses his knuckles to his lips when Benton sights the caribou and drops his hand when Benton shoots and is so sad and disappointed that he led this boy to where he could make his own decision and then the boy made the wrong decision—and then, while the caribou is groaning and dying, looks at Benton to be sure he's going to be okay.
Cumulative body count: 34 (and one caribou)
Red uniform: The whole episode, but not (of course) the flashbacks