02x12 - The Best w*r in Town

[bunniefuu]

[Kojak's theme playing]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

Okay.

Fine, thanks. I got to b*at it by nine.

Oh.

What's your rush?
It's only till after eight.

Huh?

Hurry, come on.

Alright, alright. So what if you're late?
What do they expect?

Harry Sumar calls you out at midnight.

Tells you to report to some
place at nine in the morning.

It's not your wedding now.

No, it's not my wedding. Come on.

Yeah, you're alright.

I'll fix that. You tuck your shirt, okay?

Ma, I'm late and this is
nothing new to the both of us.

Alright, so come on.

Alright, alright. I'll do it on my way.

Yeah.

Okay.

Tuck your shirt.

Wait a minute.

Here, here, here.

[Music]

What are you?

[Music]

[Music]

Let's get out of here.

[Music]

[Music]

[g*nshots]

[Music]

[Music]

Sit up.

Sergeant Sue Marf from the police
academy, see you at the ton of Kojaks.

Oh yes, Sarge. Go right in.
He's waiting for you.

Thanks.

Oh, yeah.

Sit down.

How are you?

Are you comfortable?

Very nice.

Oh yeah.

When I got your call, I figured you
must have got hit on the head with one

of those barbells you use in the gym.

Now tell me, what kind of a yo-yo
idea makes you take a role recruit still

in the academy and put him
on an active squad like mine?

Now wait a minute, Theo.
I really believe in this.

Besides, it will give you a chance
to be a legitimate father for the first

time in your life.

I gave you the pick of the litter.

He is the best recruit in the class.

His father was a cop. Sergeant Warren.
Ralph Warren, senior.

Well, you got junior.

Get a phone call, lieutenant.

Now take care of it.

One of those.

Lieutenant Kojak.

What?

Out of the mouths of babes here for you.

For me?

Yeah. Yeah. Oh no.

Okay. Okay.

Okay.

There's Warren.

He's in the lobby.

Five after nine this morning, probationary
patrolman Ralph Warren, junior,

slips into this joint to use the phone.

He comes across these three men.
They're about to hang colorful gangland

figure Joseph Laggo.

You all right, kid?

I think so, Kojak.

It all happened so quick.
Did I do anything wrong?

I don't think so.

So now he goes running out,
fires three sh*ts, misses the mall.

They make the corner, hit this woman,
she's in pretty bad shape. I got Laggo

waiting in the head.

Lieutenant Kojak, this is Warren.
Lieutenant, what is all this?

Well, this kid you just walked in on
the juiciest attempted gangland slaying

of the year. What do you got, crazy?

I didn't know who it was.

I know that. How about the three
guys that we got in that little room?

They were just guys.

Just guys?
You fired dumb sh*ts at just guys?

They were getting away. I wanted to stop.

So you decided to use that
BB g*n you got for Christmas.

Don't you know 38's don't stop cars?

See, he wasn't driving.
He slowed down a little bit.

Harry, regulations say you don't fire
in cars unless they're coming at you,

right, Sergeant?

Warren! Hand over your g*n.
You're coming with me.

Warren.

Captain, we're conducting an investigation.
He's our only witness and he's a

police officer.

This man's going downtown with me.
He'll probably be suspended.

I mean, is there a time
limit on suspending cops?

Listen, Lieutenant, you want to go
downtown with him for insubordination?

Captain, uh, there's a scene of a crime.
I'm the ranking detective. I'm in

charge. Those are the rules.

You want to break the rules, Captain?

Well, I'm taking his g*n.

You can take his socks if you like.
Just as long as you leave me his cute

little personality.

Come on, Laggo, talk to me. What happened?

Nothing happened.

There was a rope
around your neck. That's

nothing. That kid
said you're a bacon.

If he says so.
I don't know nothing about it.

Anybody else see it?

Okay, Jimmy, what's it gonna be?
The gunner rules or did your head finally

grow a brain?

I already told everybody
I don't know nothing.

I got hit in the head
out in the street.

Next thing I knew, some cop dressed
like a bus driver's waking me up.

That's not what happened.

This bus driver put his neck in your noose.

Why the hell didn't you let him hang?

How much you figure I owe him?
A grand? Two grand?

Pretty cute, Joey. You gonna talk or what?

I can take care of my own problems.
You take care of yours.

Sit down.

You punk. You are my problem.

You think I'm gonna let you
walk out of here like a big sh*t?

Start putting out contracts on three guys?
Dirty the streets?

What three guys?

We checked on witnesses out front.
Nobody saw anything.

All right, take him.
Book him into night court.

Disorderedly conduct. Vacancy.
Photos. Fingerprints. The works.

He'll walk right out the door and all that.
So what?

Five or six hours will keep the
atmosphere clean. The ecology, huh?

You punk. You. Come here.

Come on, Laggo. I got bracelets
to match your pinky ring. Come on.

It was too fast, sir.
I never got that good a look at them.

I could probably
spot them in person,

but I don't think I
could do it by photo.

How come you were
so sure they were in

the car and started
throwing sh*ts at it?

It was them. I could just tell.

I see. A certain sixth
sense developed from

your long police
experience, right, kid?

Ralph, just take your time. Calm down.

I never saw anything
like that in my life before.

I was just going to make a phone
call and this guy's getting hung.

And then they were
all over me and just

one thing happened
right after another.

I don't even remember f*ring the
sh*ts or even taking my g*n out.

What about the guy getting hung?
He knows. He can tell you what happened.

Joey Laggo won't
say anything. He's a

middleweight contender
in organized crime.

You're all we got, kid.

Stavros.

Take Warren down
to the BCI. Show him

all the photos we got
on the Fisher g*ng.

See if he can ID any of them.

Lieutenant, that lady, the pedestrian,
well, she went out of the picture.

Go ahead. Do what I told you.

All right, kid.

Laggo has the rackets in the Lower
East Side area from the knish joints up to

above the sheets and
blankets market at 12th Street.

And right above him is the Fisher Group.

They control about
six blocks from the

blankets to the necktie
markets on 18th Street.

And a little around
the edge onto Lairdson

Street under the
Williamsburg Bridge.

She ought to run a sightseeing tour.
You got a nice flair for it.

Yeah.

Laggo and Fisher have been beefing
for the last couple of years. They're

really being at each other's throats now.

Well, I wish we could just
let them blow each other up.

Yeah, like the Hayeky
Stadium, what's

left of it and let them
go at each other.

Well, why don't we just rouse
Fisher and his people, huh?

Swing them in here. Let the
kid get a good look at them.

You said you couldn't
make them face to face.

Well, it would be worth it
just for the sake of intelligence.

Fresh pictures and dresses. Come on,
Mac, we don't have enough men to cover

the worksheets now, let alone
rouse a couple of more gangs.

We're not looking for convictions.
Just some fast sweeping.

You got your old partner here, Sumar.
He'll stay till it's over. I'll get

the old Kaiten downtown.

You got the rookie
Warren, he'll stay.

Then cut the rest
of your squad loose.

I see. And top of everything
else they're doing, right?

They'll do whatever you ask them, Theo.
They'll put out for you.

Look, Mac, you're the boss, OK?

But I'm going to try one more thing
before I stretch my g*ng out. Now, what

did I come here for?

It's coffee.

Now, Laggo and
Fisher, they stretch all

the way from caniches
to neckties, right?

But there's one guy who throws a
blanket over them both, Catonsky. He's the.

Patron of the Holy Side. You know what?

Maybe he can force them
into making love, not w*r.

Sure. Hot chance.

[HORN HONKS]

Hey, Kojak!

Relax. All time no see.

What's happening with you? We don't
get to talk too much these days, huh?

Well, since you started sitting back,
Catonsky, you will, uh, pop my back.

There's no reason for me
to make these social calls.

Hey, what's the matter with me?
Henry, move these plates.

Get him some prosciutto and
melon, a little veal, just like me.

Yeah, what are you planning, a food orgy?

Just use your fork on that veal.
No Kn*fe. It's like butter.

Look, Kat, there's a couple of guys
in the neighborhood, and they're not

happy with what they got.

They want to get each other's place.
And I'm talking about Fisher and Laggo.

They're ready to start a w*r.

I want you to send out the word.
Maybe they'll listen.

Look at it this way.
I'm like a landlord. I

got this apartment
house, lots of tenants.

One moves in, one moves out.
Same apartment, same rent.

Unless my house gets damaged, a
little rumble now and then clears the air.

I got to let it happen, Kojak.
It's the rules.

They're not my rules. I'm going to
come down, pussycat, and I'm going to

come down hard.

Yeah, all right.

[

What do you say? You going
to talk to Laggo and Fisher or not?

Have some red.
Compliments of what's-his-name over there.

-Nertzen. -No, thanks.

Hey, little Kat, you
got to do what you got

to do, and I got to
do what I got to do.

I'm very happy you
lost so much weight,

huh? What, seven
and two-thirds ounces?

-Ciao, baby. -Ciao.

That Katonsky's an old man.
He ain't going to do a damn thing.

Get the car.

[music]

With cheese.

Hey, fellas, we got
no beef with you guys.

We're with Fisher.
We ain't with Laggo.

Well, we ain't with either of them.

[g*n sh*ts]

Go straighten this out, Joey.
I got everybody just waiting for your okay.

Then we hit Fisher, all his people.

Nobody saw those guys as good as I did.
I don't belong to Fisher.

Maybe you imported them.

Trust my neck with outsiders? No way
Fisher did this. You take me to a safe

place with a safe phone.

I got to talk this out with
Fisher before anybody gets hit.

[.

Hey, b*at off the furniture.

Okay, you may eat.

You didn't tell me everything
that happened, all of it, did you?

Did Pop tell you everything?

Well, he just told me the funny stories.
I guess he thought everything else

would scare me.

Maybe it would have.

Besides, Mom, you
heard the news. You saw

some of it on TV.
You know all about it.

Oh, I know what happened to them.
I want to know what happened to you.

I froze, Mom. That's what happened.
I froze. I stood there like a jerk.

Ralph, I... Look, Mom,
no lectures, huh? Not now.

Well, no speeches, Ralph.
Just one word. Quit.

I can't quit.
I'm in it now for better or worse.

You took a job, Ralph.
You didn't marry it.

You can get out
anytime you want.

You got no pension to protect, no
longevity, no close friends you're going

to miss, or...

No enemies you hate.
Just where you have to get.

You know, I loved your father, Ralph.

And I would have loved him if
he was a tailor or a bookkeeper.

But he was a cop, and
he ended up dead at 35.

His job got too important to
him, so he only lived half his life.

Hey, you should be out with your
friends or making a fool of yourself with

some pretty girl

instead of sitting
on the couch trying

to figure out how
to get your g*n back.

Get it.

No, I'll...

Yeah, hold on.

Okay.

It's a man. I want
you to go down to the

morgue and look at
some dead human beings.

[Music].

- Is that you, Fisher? - Yeah, who's this?

This is Joey. I'm on a safe phone.
What about you?

- So? - We gotta talk, Fish.

We're being played for suckers.

We're gonna talk? Sure.

Come on over here to my joint.

How about here or at my place or
anywhere in the middle somewhere?

Oh, sure, Joey.
Where's the middle between us anymore?

Hey, what's with you, Fish?
I'm just trying to put a lid on this.

Why, you phony punk.
You hit two of my men today.

Now you're trying to set me up?

Where do you come off
starting this feud anyway?

Let me talk, Fish.
That's not what's going down.

Oh, no.
I'll tell you what's going down, Joey.

You're going down and everyone around you.

You're the pig.
Pigs are good for one thing.

Slaughter.

No, not yet.

Go take a good look.

How can I hurt you? I don't think.

It's not him. He's not one of them.

All right, check the other one.

Are you sure? Take a look at both profiles.

-Take it easy, Theo. It's the kid's first time down.
-Oh, sure. Tell me about it. Stairs, too.

Only one better.

They're staying.

Batman and Robin, you better be talking.
Crime doesn't pay.

What about Warren? He ID anyone?

Maybe you better send
the kid home, get some rest.

Gonna need him in the next
few days, probably nonstop.

Stavros!

Coffee?

Yeah, black, no sugar. Take Warren home.

But have him be available.
Stay near a telephone.

What about the coffee? Get out of here.

I'll be in the garage.

-Just a few minutes, sir.
-Later, kid, later, okay?

Look, Frank, we need manpower and fast.

They're sh**ting up the streets.

- Captain McNeil. - I know, thanks.

I'm trying to borrow some
men from Manhattan North.

They're short, but they said
they could give us one or two.

Queens is giving us a couple.
Bronx has four just coming off vacation.

Staten Island, Zilch, I'm
waiting to hear from Brooklyn.

Hey, Lieutenant. Excuse me, Captain.

But a stoolie just called in.

Fish is in a bar. It's his headquarters down on Fifth Street.
Maybe we can take him.

-Slip in, grab him?
-Tell him Laggo talked.

-Maybe get something out of him.
-Like what?

Now, look, every one of these punks knows something
that could send the other up the river.

If I could get Fisher
to squeal on Laggo...

For which on the
street he would be k*lled.

If I could do it,
that might get Laggo

to turn Fisher in
for something, right?

I gotta take the w*r
off the streets, Frank.

But I gotta keep the w*r going.

Play them against each
other, but on odd terms.

There'll be a hundred to one on that.

I'm gonna get two squads
together, try and get Fisher.

We nail a couple of his men
for trying to hang Laggo, right?

We got a little pressure.
We could bring the bear.

Sumar, you go get
the kid and bring him

down, and Crocker,
you stay with Sumar.

What's that?

Patrolman Ralph Warren Shield.

[music]

[music]

Hey, fish.

Hey, Herb.

Cheers.

How are you, boys?

Take a hand. Come on.

Yeah.

Sit down.

[engine starts]

[tires screech]

Okay.

Okay.

Hey, fish.

You stay. Come on.

Get out. Get out.

Hey, lieutenant.

Naughty, naughty, naughty.

-Hey, what's the matter?
-Come on. Come on.

Get out.

Move it out. Move it out.

[indistinct chatter]

Turn around.

Turn around and let me get
you to your physiognomies.

You know I made a working class.

Yeah, but with the spatch.

Mm-hmm. That's true.

Lieutenant, if there's nowhere around
in these alleys, it could be anywhere.

Joe Rachael, be ashamed of yourself.

Yeah, come on.

All right, Saperstein,
get them all out of here.

Yeah, chief.

Come on, let's go.

Come on, move up.

Come on.

Come on.

Take them out.

Sit down.

I want to see Fisher.

Who's Fisher?

Mm-hmm.

Your boss.

We're going to get
in touch with him,

tell him I want to talk
to him one on one.

I couldn't get in touch
with Fisher if I wanted.

He just busted me.

I guess I'm busted.

And I don't know what for.

Harry, you get Warren, see if we
can identify Cheech to Peach here.

And if you can't, let him
make a brilliant daring escape.

There isn't any Warren to you.

He turned in his passion, McNeil.

He's a genius.

All right, get them out of here.

And with this batch.

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music].

Good with you, Harry.

How are you, Peggy?

This is Lieutenant Kojak.

Hello, Mrs. Warren.

Can we come in?

It's okay, Mom, let him in.

I can talk to them now any way I want.

Mom.

Please.

What is it with you?

Are you giving up before you even start?

What is he doing here?

Hey, patrolman.

I'm a big fan of yours.

Then how come you treated
me like a jerk the past two days?

I mean, what did I do that was so wrong?

Sarge, two months ago,
I was a student at NYU,

and now he expects me to be Wyatt Earp?

Internal Affairs has
my g*n, and they're

just waiting until
he's through with me

to sink their teeth in.

I'm important, like dog
meat, I'm important.

Hey, I don't know how AID
is gonna react to you, kid.

I don't need that, mister.

This isn't the service. I wasn't drafted.

I can quit any time I want, and I did.

What do you mean, you
can't quit in the middle of this?

You saw the guys, you witnessed the crime.

You're important to us.

Important? I don't buy it.

Sarge, you stuck with
me from the beginning.

I only accepted all this abuse

because I thought the incident
was an embarrassment to you.

So you and me were even.

I did the best I
could, and if that isn't

enough, well, then
okay, I'm finished.

I'm still a man, and I'll do other things.

You got no taste for me, do you?

You might say that.

Well, that's too bad,
because it's a tough job.

You know something? You're a cute kid.

It's a very tough job, and I'm good at it.

And that's the way the
crookies crumbled, baby.

Lieutenant, I was
coming here to learn and

to watch, not for you
to teach me anything.

I stumbled onto something I never
expected, and I just, you know--

You just say, "Yeah, I know."

You blew it, because you're an amateur,

and I work with professionals.

If any of my men did
what you did, I'd have

them blowing hot air
in a balloon factory.

You won't give an inch, will you?

You have no feeling for me at all.

For you. You're paid to be a victim.

The public does it for free.

Them, I got a feeling for.

What should I have done?

How the hell do I know?

Well, I know what you shouldn't have done.
You did.

That's a great answer, Lieutenant.

You know something?

You're right, uh, I don't know.

There's no book on reaction, no lessons.

Just experience.

You walk into a hot situation.

You're hoping that you're acting right.

You hope your instincts take over.

You act strong.

People sense this.

They sense you know what you're doing,

and maybe you get yourself
out of an ugly situation.

I did try, remember?

You know something?

If you'd hassle the streets the way
you hassle me today, you'd be all right.

You've got a year's experience,
and one boom-boom moment.

Don't waste it, kid.

Here.

Groza.

What's ever grown on
you is as hard as nails.

I don't want to end up like that.

Hey.

After five years, you come to me
and show me a different way to do it.

You know something? I'm gonna listen.

But in the meantime, you
go pay your dues first, okay?

Goodbye, Mrs. Warren.

Is this your father's shield?

Say goodbye to your mother.

[somber music]

[knocking]

Here, come in.

Mom.

Yeah, yeah.

I had the picture.

The minute those two made
their personal appearance.

Listen.

One way or another, the force is
something my life is all mixed up with.

Some people's lives aren't
mixed up with anything.

So if you made up your
mind, don't you ever change it.

Because you start wondering.

You start making mistakes.

Your father told me that once.

I never asked him to quit after that.

I thought I was in any way responsible.

-You weren't.
-Mom, we know that and you know that.

And this is it for sure?

You made your decision.

Okay

I'm never gonna talk about it again, ever.

You understand?

Don't you ever stop wondering.

Come on, get out of here.

I gotta finish up.

No privacy.

Hey, uh, what's this?

You picked up three of the Fishersmen.

We're casing the joint, trying to get a
fix on Laggo and where he's holed up,

he and his soldiers.

This guy's doing
the same thing. If he

had a piece, he
dumped it, threw it away.

Does he work for Fisher?

I don't think so.
Says his name is Sweetzer, from the Bronx.

Then he says we don't know what
we're talking about. Who knows?

You find Laggo or his men?

They vanished. Nobody's seen them.

Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Hey, what is this?

Lieutenant, this is one of them.

This is the one who was
holding Laggo when I...

This isn't a book, Warren.
Now you listen, okay?

You never want to tell a man under
arrest that you know all about him.

You know why?
Because that way, he'll be as smart as you.

Comprende?

Well, I'm sorry, but
he is one of the three.

That Fisher hired outside
helped us string up Laggo.

Yeah, maybe there's
more going on, we think.

You know something?
I think I want to make a phone call.

I'm having lunch with my family.

How come I gotta catch all these questions?
You want to put me on retainer?

You, eat, eat.
You want to grow up like your grandfather?

Now, look, you don't
like muscle coming

to your area from
other boroughs, do you?

Well, neither do I, and we
cover the same neighborhood.

You want to ask questions about Sweetzer?
You've got to talk to Lairdson.

Lairdson?

I ain't gonna set up a meet with Fisher.

Beautiful.

Come on, Fish. Laggo said it's your fault.

If you just keep
cool and just sit back,

you may be alive
when this w*r is over.

Yeah, when I'm sitting back, these
other guys are gonna be moving in on me.

You mean Laggo, right?

Okay, Laggo, so it's no secret no more.

So I sit back, what's he gonna do, huh?

You know he's still trying to hit me?
You believe me, he's gone that far.

Yeah, you'll be safe.

Oh, sure I will.

Yeah, you'll be in jail in the tombs.

Hey, wait a minute, you set me up?

How can you... I am here before
you start calling me lousy, okay?

Now, look, Fish, I picked up three of
your men yesterday, you know that?

So what? I got more.

I picked up two of them an hour ago.

That leaves you with six.

And right now, as
we're talking and

socializing, I'm stalking
your other six men.

Hey, you can't hold me back.

You can't keep us in the can. We got
lawyers, they can move as fast as you.

Hey, Kojak, how come me?

Can I help her to block how smart you are?

I just can't find him.

That's because you don't know nothing.

All right, where is he?

I don't stool, not for no reason.

Hey, Fish, you listen to me, okay?

Come here.

Now, look, Laggo's gonna
sweep down and take

over your whole
territory, you understand?

Now, you listen to me. It's gonna
look like you didn't turn anybody in, not

even yourself.

You know I'll pick you up off the
streets, it'll seem that one of your punks

squealed on you.

If he buys that, we're on our way.

Okay, I'll bring my guys together
and I'll bring them in and you take us.

But no rough stuff, huh?

But first you get Laggo.

All right, where is he?

The one place I can't touch
him is Martha's house in Brooklyn.

Oh, that's beautiful. Just touch one
gray hair on that sweet head and you

blow all your status.

Laggo is smart.

Yeah, sure, tell me about it.

Okay, Fish, how many men do you have?

All of them except for the bookies.

All right, well, how many is that?

Eleven soldiers with their armory.

All right, now you
check Fisher into that

motel on 44th Street
until we pick up Laggo.

Make sure you sign
the register of McNeil's

name so we can pick
up our expense money.

Right, I've only got about 20 bucks.
Have you got any cash?

Yeah, cash, yeah.

Hey, between you
two guys, you can't

raise 100 and you're
telling me what to do?

I spent that much for dinner last night.

You want a loan?

Come here.

This is official, I'll take 50 NYPD.

Beautiful move.

Here, give him a marker for $50, yeah?

I'll keep five for gas.

Hey, Fish, who loves you, baby?

You're beautiful.

[Music].

Gotta be out of my mind.

[Music]

Stay here.

[Music]

Enough garbage for an army.

[Music]

Hey, if you let me
use your telephone, I

won't arrest your
friend, decent exposure.

Okay.

Joey, he doesn't live here.

Mrs. Laggo, just call out my name.

Say I'm next door,
maybe you'll pop out of the

oven like a little Bill
Cuddler pomegranate.

Here.

Uh, me Kojak.

K-O-J-A-K. Kojak.

K-O-J-A-K.

Mom, I'll get some beer.

Mm-hmm.

It's all right.

What do you want, Kojak?

I'm next door, Joey.

I have about fifteen guys
around your mother's house.

And if I break my eyes,
they come in and bust you.

So just you and your friends
come walking out nice and quiet.

What friends?

Uh, the rest of the football team.

There ain't no one in this
apartment but me and my mother.

And I ain't done nothing
and you can't take me in.

Yo-yo, I've got a pocket
full of warrants for you.

And your people.

I'm giving you this
last chance to walk

out now, or I spoil
your mother's day.

Hey, my mother has to live here.
I don't want her place busted.

She's got neighbors.

You picked a spot, Laggo.

Yeah, you got an honor, not me.

You got three minutes.

Here.

My last one, thanks.

[knocking]

Hi.

Nice to see you.

So glad you could come.

Take your hat off.

What are you doing 140 blocks from home?

[Door opening]

Joey, where are you going?

Hey, Mama, don't worry. It's okay.
Everything's gonna be fine.

But, wait a minute.

Don't worry, Mama.

He's a good boy.

[Laughing]

Come here.

Smile, Joey.

All right, get it downtown
and get the belt right away.

You and me, baby. The same car, okay?

[Door opening]

Who set me up? Tell me. Forget the rules.

This shirt?

That jerk. I had no beef with him.

You bring him into it, it's only right.

Yeah, well, I get him out.
You gotta tell me something.

Huh? Forget the rules, right?

Jack is friends with some
dangling town in North Dakota.

Yeah, pickering North Dakota.

Yeah, he's always joking about this
cowboy he k*lled out in North Dakota.

All right, thanks, Joey.

[Music]

[Knocking]

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

B. Corcheck.

Oh, what are you playing for?

Do name it.

All right. You carry me for another 50?

-Why not?
-If I lose, I'll give you another mockup by McNeil.

-Good enough?
-Yeah.

Oh.

Okay.

Log on his men already in.

Now all we gotta do
is pick up yours, right?

Okay.



Okay. You call them. Don't throw
their g*ns down the dark alley and sit

there and wait for you.

You're asking too much, Corcheck.

Hey, Fish.

Mm-hmm.

You're in enough trouble.

True.

You don't want any more with
any of my people getting hurt.

You know what I mean?

Like, uh, the North Dakota stickup?

Hey, where'd you get that info?

Log. He gave me up.

Like a dead mackerel.

[knocking]

Who is that?

The devil. Fish, yeah, he's here.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

You just came knocking on your door, baby.

Name of the game, Jen.

Getting back to the mockup.

Hey.

What's with you guys?

He's my partner.

Huh.

All right.

Okey-dokey.

Well, let me tell you a little
something about Joey Largo, baby.

Mm.

There've been a few
numbers over the years,

and you ought to
hear about these tricks.

Because when I get through talking,
he's gonna go away for a thousand years.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Hey, Phil, what's happening out there?

They're all in the can. All of them.

Who?

Fisher, Largo, older people.

Hey, that's beautiful.

Now, listen.

We let the streets panic tonight.

Now, first thing in the morning,
we start visiting all their places, start

getting them under our wings.

Now, first thing you want to do is
get all of Largo's places, all of them.

And then Fishers will start
to come in all by themselves.

The cops will hold them, please.

Hey, don't worry about the cops.

The cops have pulled off.
They got everything they want.

Now, they got Largo,
Fisher, all kinds of headlines.

Listen, go walk the streets.

Fill out the places.

Spread around a little
bread and a little mussel.

Tell them Lairdson sent some sh*ts.

Tell them they got a friend coming.

Gotcha.

Gotcha.

Who do you want to take, Largo or Fisher?

Two fallen angels.
I've already taken Fisher, remember?

Oh, yes, man.

You hang here, would you, now, one second.

So, what's happening out there?

You knew it wasn't Fisher.

Yeah, I knew.

And you always knew it
was Lairdson, didn't you?

Yeah, I figured.

Now, what the hell did
you have me chasing

my tail for? I could
have picked him up.

This way he sets you up against
Fisher and it worked, coochie-coo.

Fisher wouldn't listen.

Anyhow, these things always
happen sooner or later anyway.

Lairdson or somebody else
make that kind of move.

I want Lairdson, Joey.

You want to go with me?

I want Lairdson, Joey.

You want them all, so get them.

I got time to do before I
worry about him again.

Oh, sure you do. Two or three
years, you'll sit up there in jail and he's

getting fat moving in on your location.

What am I supposed to do? Cry? That's life.

When I get out, maybe it'll change.

He set you up for a hanging, yo-yo.
That's a hell of a way to go.

You're choking me now.

Hey, look.

You know where Lairdson is.
I'm sure you got him set up.

All you got to do is
tip me and I'm the guy

who's going to do
the dirty work for you.

Yeah.

Set up on a soda
fountain on Bleecker Street.

The counter man's a lookout.

He's got two buzzers under
the counter just like me.

One's a warning and the
other opens a door in the back.

The room leads out into the
back alleys and the basements.

You get out there, you lose them.

And you must have
some other way to get out.

Only I never found out about that.

All right, spell out the buzzers for me.

They're to the right of the cash
register as you come in the front.

Who's your man?

Hey.

Kojak, he plays me for a sucker.

I ain't no sucker, Harry.

I know what you mean.

The other guy causes all the
trouble and then he gets all the action.

Sure. But at least
he's in the same

boat with me and
sailing up the same river.

What are you talking about? He's still out.

Hey, Harry, come
on. Laggo's in an Excel

block. I get the word
from inside here.

I mean Lairdson.

Didn't Kojak tell you?

Well, what's Lairdson got to do with this?
He's just a French hand grifter.

He's the one who hit your two
guys in that hamburger joint.

Lairdson.

Lairdson.

Lairdson.
What does he want to hit my men for?

Unless he's hooked in with Laggo.

I don't know.
Maybe they made some kind of a deal.

Lairdson's moving in on all your spots.

Why not?
Laggo's gonna be out of here before you are.

Then you'll take the
whole thing over again.

You'll be out of everything completely.
That's smart.

Hey, you can't just sit back
and let that happen, Harry.

I mean, you owe me
some satisfaction, Summer.

I mean, if that's what's going down,
the least you could do is go out and

knock that Lairdson into the joint here.

I don't know, Fish.
Seems like Kojak just

wants to forget about
the whole thing now.

I don't know if I could get
away with any moves on Lairdson.

Hey, listen.
I got enough on Lairdson to blot him out.

I can't make any promises, Fish.
But I figure I owe you one.

What have you got I can use?

I got the next.

Where'd you get from fishing?

Oh, he opened up his
heart and soul to me.

Most probably
doesn't like you at all.

Tell me about it.

But since I could understand his
feeling, he gave up a felony m*rder rap in

Jersey on Lairdson.

Beautiful. Laggo gave me a location on him.

You know, the same old buzzer system
with the bell underneath the counter to

the left of the register.

Yeah, those buzzers work. You know,
they always have. They work for Fisher.

Yeah.

You wanna be a teenage hero?
You got a couple of pimples.

Yeah.

Now listen. You go
into the store, you

order an egg cream or
a malter or something.

You go to the cash register,
you grab for the buttons.

You hit the right one, they'll be
into the back in five seconds.

Or maybe ten seconds.

I have to go in with no g*n?

Don't worry about
it. They'll be covering

it. Besides, what do
you want with the g*n?

If the guy rings the buzzer before
you get to it, you gonna sh**t him?

What if I grab the wrong button?

We can win when you make your
move, no matter what. It's just we'll lose

most of the men in the alley.

Come on, let's go, kid.

Now just take it easy. Go in and order
a soda.

When you pay, yank him and go for the button.

What if I grab both?

One's the alarm, it's a 50/50 chance.

Some odds.

Hey, kid.

Yes, sir.

You wanna show a thing, you become
an accountant. If you wanna guarantee you

buy yourself a washing machine, go ahead.

I look at him and I think
I'm corrupting the cradle.

Give me an [unaudible].

We'll panic it.

Alright!

Freeze!

We'll sh**t at the cops!

My God, listen!

Lairdson,halt!

[g*nsh*t]

Crocker!

[g*nsh*t]

Put them in separate cars,
one to a car, then call the DA.

You got it. Come on, move them out.

What about Lairdson?

You better call the medical examiner.
How do you feel, Warren?

I'm alright, sir.

Which button you push?

I don't know, I just
grabbed both and held on.

He worked you over pretty good.

Never felt anything after the first punch.

Stavros! Come here!

Take the kid down to the hospital,
get him patched up, and then I want you

to bring him down to the squadron.

Uh, sir, I don't have to go
to the hospital. I'm alright.

Yeah, and then get the name of the
doctor, get the extent of the serious

injury sustained by Patrolman Warren,
and put it in the record, you're gonna

get a medal.

Ah, Lieutenant, I don't need a medal.

Yeah. No, this is for you.
The medal's for your mother.

[Music].